Disclaimer: I don’t own Avatar: The Last Airbender; Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have me beat in that area.

Author’s Note: Due to the plethora of spoilers being posted for A:TLA from NYCC, as well as the actual episodes of “The Boiling Rock”, I’ve been bit by the inspiration bug for Suki and Sokka and felt like participating in a LiveJournal challenge dedicated to them. This challenge is from the 10(underscore)themes community, and there (as the community name suggests) are ten prompts. So, basically, these will all be ten one-shots dedicated to Suki and Sokka!

Please, review when you’re done and tell me what you think! Enjoy!

There aren’t any serious spoilers other than the obvious of the two of them being together.

04 : Rough

Rating : PG-13

Theme : 01. Rough

April 29, 2008

Waking in his arms was her new favorite thing.

At first, they had spent long hours talking–catching up, making up for lost time–and eventually fell asleep leaned against each other, his arms wrapped around her. As time progressed, it elevated to they would sleep in the same room in different beds, but somehow either one of them would wind up in the other’s bed before dawn. Eventually, they gave up formality when he proposed to her one summer night, and they started to share the same bed–among other things. Despite the fact that they were not legally bound to each other, if his father would let the Avatar stay in the same bed with his younger sister–innocently, they claimed (yeah right)–he couldn’t deny Sokka the right for his future wife to stay with him in the house he built.

So, even though waking up in his arms was a seemingly old habit, waking up in the same bed with him after a long, peaceful night of sleep was new.

Being back in the South Pole was hard enough for her; living on Kyoshi Island wasn’t nearly as cold as the South Pole, and she feared one of these days she would turn into an icicle if she spent too much time outside. She would have to talk to Sokka about that–but that was beside the point. He had built them their own home, much to her astonishment, and that’s where they were staying. Her awe for him grew with each passing day, with each skill he proved to her, and how he held his own.

Despite the horrible climate (to her), she felt... complete... lying there in his arms as the sun began to rise. He had a relaxed, though still strong, grasp around her waist and his head lightly atop hers as she snuggled against his chest. He was always warm when she needed him to be.

Although she was awake, she chose to keep her eyes closed and revel in the feeling of contentment, serenity, and the feeling of simply being loved. Deciding to take a chance and move to see his face after lying with her thoughts for so long, she leaned her back slightly only to see two blue eyes looking right at her. Suki couldn’t lie to herself and say that they didn’t take her breath away every time; she figured that was Aang’s hook, as well. Damned Water Tribe siblings, they knew how to hook the defenseless souls in by just a glance.

“How long have you been awake?” she asked softly, moving back to her previous position against his chest. Her hand rose to absentmindedly play with the pendant of her betrothal necklace.

When he spoke, she smiled as she felt the deep vibrations of his voice underneath her cheek. “Not all that long. I didn’t feel like moving, especially with such a good body pillow to keep me comfy.”

“Neither did I,” she agreed, now looking up at him again with the best puppy-dog eyes she could muster. “Can’t we have a lazy day in bed for once?” she asked, hoping to persuade him into staying with her, here, all day, instead of going off to hunt or help expand the ever-growing village. She wanted to be selfish, to claim what was hers only for herself, but...

“As much as I would love that–and really, I’m not lying–I did promise that I would help out today,” he said sadly, tilting her head back to place a soft kiss on her lips. As a reflex, she cuddled against him, rubbing her cheek against his with the beginnings of a smile, only to frown suddenly and pull away, rubbing her cheek.

Propping herself up on her elbow, she sat up a bit to look at his face more clearly. “Oh, Sokka, you need to shave.” She cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over his chin. “This is so rough, it hurts my cheek.”

“It’ll be better when it gets longer–“

“Oh, no, it won’t,” she argued, sitting up fully now with a glare etched into her features. “Sokka, you’re young. Why would you want to look older than you really are? You look so much more handsome without any facial hair.”

“Why, thank you, but,” he paused, shrugging, “I just wanted to see what it’d look like. Why, is that a crime?”

“It’s... it’s...” she sighed, “It’s just that I’d rather you wait at least until we’re older so it’ll be more fitting. You’ve seen Haru, that moustache looks absolutely ridiculous; I don’t know why all of you men feel the need to do that to yourselves. Plus, it’d be like I was kissing my father. That’s a mental image I could do without, especially during sex, you know.”

He scrunched up his face and frowned. “That’s...”

“Disgusting? Of course. I love the my father, but... wow, we need to change the topic of this conversation to something else and fast.” She lied down next to him again, snuggling against his chest for warmth. “I’m cold.”

“I have an idea,” he grinned, his intuitive, dirty mind going to work. “And a way to warm you up,” he added, maneuvering them until he was on top of her. As he wiggled his eyebrows for extra emphasis, she rolled her eyes with a chuckle; he was known for his morning romps, something she really shouldn’t have been surprised about. She enjoyed them more than she let on, but she’d never tell.

He kissed her tenderly on the lips before trailing down her face to her throat and beyond. She felt mild discomfort from his stubble as he attended to her breasts, but the moans tumbled from her lips regardless. He kissed down her abdomen, past her navel, and to the juncture between her thighs.

As soon as he pushed past her undergarments and moved closer for a taste, she recoiled, gasping softly in severe discomfort.

“Okay, you need to shave before you do that again!”