Chapter Text
Even though we had apologized and forgiven each other, the tensions were still high between Suki and I.. Ugh, things have been going so well, and I feel like I shouldn’t be complaining. Suki, I love her more than anything. I would do anything for her, and she knows that. I guess she’s right that I need to prioritize myself too. I’ve never been able to do that much; it feels weird just doing what I want without anyone else's judgment or opinion. I’m only 25, far too young to be chief. I want to be a father and husband before crossing that path. I know I am doing what’s best for myself and the family I am starting to grow with Suki.
Tui and La, Suki, and I are already a family, but adding children complicates things. Not in a bad way. I am thrilled Suki and I will be parents someday soon; she will be a fantastic mother. Mother– that’s always been a strange concept to me ever since my mom died. I only remember Katara, who was just as equally hurt by our mother’s death. My dad’s getting married and becoming a father again; I don’t know how to feel. Dad’s great, but he left me in charge of my sister and the village for three years. It just feels hard to think that I am going to be a father soon, and my dad is going to be a father again. Suki wasn’t awake yet; her arm wrapped my waist, and she pulled me closer every time I tried to move away. I gave up on getting out of bed and moving to cuddle Suki. I know I am going to love these mornings when our lives become busier, and when have children.
Children, If someone told me, I would be starting a family with my favorite person in the world. I don’t think I would believe it. My hand found it’s way to Suki’s lower belly, she let out a content sigh and cuddled closer to me. There could be a – holy spirits she could actually be pregnant. Children is something we’ve talked about since we were 15 and far to young to be thinking about that; becoming parents. I sniffed, feeling my eyes water as I traced my fingers around her low abdomen. Suki stured beside me, “Sokka, hunny, why are you, Sokka your crying what’s wrong?” She grabbed my hand holding it still, I must have woken her up. “Nothing’s wrong, I was just thinking. When can we find out if you are pregnant?” She giggled, pulling me into a kiss, “You are excited, aren’t you?” “How could I not be? We’ve talked about this for years.” I remembered something about today’s plans, Suki and I were going penguin sledding with Aang and Katara. Penguin sledding wasn’t the safest activity, Suki shouldn’t take that risk. “We need to cancel on Aang and Katara.” Suki looked at me funny utterly confused, “What why? It’s just penguin sledding.” I shook my head she didn’t get it. “You could get hurt! What if you are already pregnant? You need to take it easy, and penguin sledding isn’t easy!” Suki chuckled and rolled her eyes, which slowly got bigger as her hand flew to her abdomen. “Sukes, you okay?” I pulled her back into a hug, kissing her forehead. She looked at me with a mix of fear and excitement in her eyes. “Sokka, I could be pregnant. I’m late, I wasn’t going to say anything but-.” My hand held hers over her abdomen, I stared at her in disbelief. “Really?” Suki nodded and I kissed her, resting my forehead on hers. “I love you.” Suki’s hand creased my cheek, “I love you too.” We heard a knock on our door, I suddenly didn’t want to be away from Suki, I just wanted to be with her.
I pulled myself out of our bed, answered the door, and saw my sister, who was in tears. I pulled her into a hug without question. I’ve always been the one she’s gone to when my baby sister’s upset. She brust into sobs and I knew I needed help with this. “Suki! Living room, it’s Katara!” I guided Katara to our sofa and rubbed her back gently. Suki ran into the room and saw how devastated my sister was, Suki went to kneel in front of her. “Katara, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Katara looked up at us she took a deep breath. “Aang broke up with me.” Suki and I looked at her in disbelief. Aang and Katara had been together for almost as long as Suki and I had. “I’ll make some tea. Do you need your brother, or to talk to me too?” Katara sniffed, wiping some of her tears away and giving Suki a small smile. “Um, I don’t know, Suki.” My girlfriend just nodded and went to the kitchen. I was still in disbelief; Suki was definitely the better person for this conversation. “What happened, Katara? You’ve gotta help me out here; and I have know idea why Aang would have done that.” Katara leaned her head against my shoulder, still softly crying, “I told him I wasn’t ready.” Suki came back into the room with a cup of tea for each of us at that moment, I looked at my fiance asking for her help. Suki set the tea set down and calmly asked Katara, “What do you mean you told him you weren’t ready.” concern was laced in my fiance's voice as she reached out for Katara’s hand.
“He asked me to marry him. I said that I wanted to, but I was not ready for marriage. We argued and said some things. I mean we are only 21 and 23! We have time, and I didn’t say no.” My sister crossed her arms in frustration, the pieces slowly being put together in my mind. Knowing my sister and Aang like the back of my hand, there must be a miscommunication. Aang would never push Katara into something she wasn’t ready for. “Katara, um, please don’t get mad at me for saying this, but did you say to Aang? Word for word.” Katara sent me a glare, one that I was still afraid of. I immediately put my hands in the air, which caused Suki to giggle. “I told him, that I like the idea of marrying him but that I think we needed more time as a couple before we got married or engaged.” Suki's shock was written all over her face, “Katara you and Aang talk about how you both felt about marriage before he proposed to you?” My sister nodded yes, but i realized something.
“Kat, what Suki and I are talking about is ensuring you are both on the same page. Not the general idea of marriage, like deciding it’s a good time to get married and settle down. Did the two of you have that conversation?” Katara shook her head no and looked in her lap, then she looked up at me. “Did Aang ask you if he could propose to me? He said he did.” I though back to the past year or so, no he didn’t ask. Not that it mattered anyway. “No. I mean, why would he? We don’t really do that here. I mean the Northern Water Tribe does, but it’s not a thing.” Katara let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back. “I feel stupid.” Suki let out a chuckle, “You’re not stupid, Katara. Relationships are hard. Look at your brother and I! We argued just last night.” Katara looked at Suki, surprised, “Really? I thought you two were perfect or something.” I let out a laugh at my sister's statement. She looked at me, and I realized she was serious. “Suki and I fight. We always have sprits- our first serious argument was after that stupid play, and Suki found out about Yue. We argue and disagree about things, but we are willing to work through them together. That’s what makes a relationship work. Well, not really, it's much more complicated than that.” Katara looked at me with a questioning look. “You didn’t tell Suki about Yue?” Suki crossed her arms and I placed my head in my hands. “Yeah, I didn’t it wasn’t my best move.” Suki scoffed, “you’re right, it wasn’t.”
Katara, who usually smiled at our banter, had a deep frown. “I don’t know how I will fix this, Sokka.” I squeezed my sister's shoulder and asked her a question, “Are you sure you want to fix your relationship with Aang? I’m just asking– are you happy?” Suki gave Katara a sympathetic smile, “It’s important to think about Katara.” My baby sister sighed, “I honestly don’t know. We travel a lot, and it’s nice, but even if we get married, it’s clear that Aang doesn’t want to settle. I’m not necessarily ready for marriage, but I want to settle somewhere. Ugh, I can’t believe it. Aang wants kids, but he doesn’t want to settle. I think I’m too frustrated to think about this right now.” Katara looked at the floor, I new she needed a distraction and I really didn’t want Suki to go penguin sledding if that was still on the agenda. “Hey, why don’t you and Suki go shopping? Find something cute? Have some girl time; I think you both need it.” Katara looked at my fiance knowingly. Giving her a concerned look, Suki smiled sheepishly and I had no idea what that was about. Suki smiled, pulling Katara’s hand. “We’re going to the market!” I shook my head and smiled.