Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or this awesome, ambiguous scene. ;)

A/N: I dithered a lot before I wrote this one-shot, because it concerns one of my favorite scenes ever, the Sukka tent-scene in The Southern Raiders. Of course, there was a lot of speculation flying around regarding it, so most of the fun came from the whole "What was Sokka going to do? And did they ever get together in there?" But the whole time, I had my own interpretations, which were just begging to be written. And this particular interpretation is just one of many I tossed around. So don't let it ruin your own ideas about what happened...no one will ever really know.

P.S. The title comes from the DVD commentary of the episode "The Southern Raiders." Andrea Romano, one of the writers for Avatar, referred to Sokka and Suki's scene in the episode as "their little evening tryst." I thought it was hilarious, so I stole the reference for this story. :D

Tryst

Suki was cursing Zuko.

It wasn't something she had never done before. Kyoshi knew he had deserved it back when he had burnt up half her village. But it wasn't something she had thought she'd be doing now. Not now that he was on their side. Not now that he appeared to be making an honest effort to be nice, and to teach firebending to Aang.

Not now that he had become an interfering nuisance without even realizing it.

Suki forced herself to calm down. It wasn't really Zuko's fault. The blush from bumping into him unexpectedly was already fading from her cheeks. It wasn't really that big a deal.

Meet me in my tent tonight, okay? I want to…catch up.

Sokka's words, given in a supposedly secretive stage whisper that she was surprised no one else had caught, flared in her mind. It wasn't even so much the words as his tone of voice, and the lopsided smile and wink that had accompanied them.

Suki revised her opinion. It was a big deal.

She eased her head out from behind the spear of rock, watching for any signs of motion in the darkness.

C'mon Zuko…ask Sokka your question and get out of the tent!

Maybe she should just give up. It was late, and there would be other opportunities…

But when? After the war? When we might not even still be--

Suki cut that thought off. She was not about to go thinking morbidly when she had just been reunited with Sokka.

Just then, she heard a soft rustling. Then a murmur of voices.

It was absurd how fast her heart reacted with hope and relief.

She could tell their voices apart by pitch, even when the actual words were just mumbles. She let the barest sliver of her eye peer around the rock, watching as the tent flap fluttered open, and Zuko stumbled through it, framed by a yellow glow. He looked as though he had been forcibly propelled from behind.

Suki resisted the urge to grin. She was not the only one hoping.

Zuko appeared to gather his bearings, looking around the campsite, and then he began to walk.

Suki saw the tent material shift again, and then another stage whisper cut through the darkness.

"Suki?"

She didn't know whether to be embarrassed or laugh. Really, she should have known after everything that had happened that Sokka was no quitter.

Zuko's figure halted to look back at Sokka, and Suki spared some of her own embarrassment for him. She hoped Zuko's apparent obliviousness extended to not thinking too much about the meaning of Sokka's call.

At least he kept walking away. Suki exhaled a sigh of pure relief.

She waited a few more minutes to be certain, and Sokka seemed to have the sense not to call out again. Then, walking as quietly as she knew how, she approached the blue tent.

She had barely knelt at the flap when two tanned arms shot out from inside and pulled her through the entrance. She had time for only a surprised gasp before Sokka's hand was pressed over her mouth, holding her tight against him.

She was about to shove him off and ask him what on earth he was doing, when his face appeared above her, his eyes narrowed, darting back and forth secretively.

"Did anyone see you?" he whispered, his blue eyes serious as he looked down at her.

Suki pushed his hand off her mouth, shaking her head at his irrepressible behavior. "No, Zuko's gone now. So much for being secretive."

Sokka let go of her and fell flat on his back with a dramatic sigh. Only then was Suki able to get a good look at him and the interior of the tent.

It had obviously been set up with care, Suki mused, as another blush crept to her cheeks. There were candles, roses…and was that a sword? She had noticed that Sokka now carried a sword, but she hadn't had time to ask him about it. She made a mental note to add it to her long list of questions for him

Questions that would hopefully get answered tonight.

Sokka half sat up, smiling sheepishly. Suki couldn't help noticing he had on slightly fewer clothes than usual. "I planned it a little differently…but…yeah…Zuko…" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his eyes apologizing.

"Sokka, you goof." She said it with amused affection. "As long as I get to spend time with you, I don't care how it's set up. I've just been wanting to…talk."

"Yeah…there is a lot to talk about, huh?" His voice sounded sad, and she felt her own pang of sadness for those lost days.

But sadness was not what they were here for. She decided this formal reunion needed to be turned in a different direction.

"We'd better get started then." Suki slid over until she was next to him on the dirt floor of the tent. "But first…"

He must have known what she had in mind, because there was no resistance when she put her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers. This time, there was nothing to worry about as she kissed him, nothing else to think of or keep track of. So she made sure to put everything she was feeling into that kiss. It felt so slow and warm and…natural. Real.

She had to admit, she had been waiting for this.

She rested her face against his chest when they separated, unwilling to let go of him after that. His arms made a circle that crossed over her lower back, enclosing her, holding her.

"Wow," she heard him whisper, with a considerable amount of dazed awe.

That made her want to smile again. "I thought since we kept getting interrupted by little things like prison breaks and crazed Fire Princess attacks…we needed a real reunion."

"I'll say," mumbled Sokka into her hair.

"So, does that mean I get to go first asking the questions?"

"No, I think you'd better start by answering them."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not going to be able to talk properly for a while."

Suki gave him the gentlest of shoves. "OK, Mister Lovestruck. I'll go first. What's your question? Or can you not talk yet?" She grinned at him.

"No, I have a question. How did you get captured by Azula?"

Suki tensed involuntarily, and she felt Sokka's arms squeeze her gently, reassuring. "Might as well start at the beginning, I guess." She tried to keep her voice light. "Well, I was trying to save Appa, actually."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sokka turned her in his arms until she was looking at him. His eyes were wide with surprise. "You saved Appa? When?"

"Well, he went missing, didn't he? About three days after I got back to the Island, the Warriors and I found him in the forest. He looked awful; his fur was filthy and matted, he was practically starving, and he looked like he'd had a run-in with a Boar-Q-Pine. So I got him to trust me, and then we nursed him back to health. Just when he was starting to get better, Azula and those two girls showed up. And I wasn't about to let them get their hands on Appa. I used a torch to scare him off. I didn't want to, but he wouldn't leave otherwise. And I knew Aang really needed him. The Kyoshi Warriors and I fought for as long as we could…but those three are elite." Suki shook her head. "They had a war balloon waiting. The next thing I knew, I was tied up on the floor, cursing myself for not paying more attention and trying to master the urge to murder Azula." Suki shrugged her shoulders. Even here, safe in Sokka's arms, the memory of the overwhelming fury and fear of that day was still strong in her memory.

"You're amazing." Sokka dropped the two words with such a matter-of-fact tone that it made Suki blush as if he'd written an entire song of praise. Sokka was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, "I'd better start keeping an eye on Aang."

Suki was confused at the abrupt subject change. "Aang? Why?"

"Because when he hears you did that for Appa, he might try to steal you from me."

Suki grinned, grateful again for Sokka's ability to insert humor into even the most tense situations. "Nah. He's completely in love with your sister."

Sokka snorted softly, but said no more about that. After a moment, Suki said, "My turn. Where did you get that sword? The one that's currently doing duty as a decoration-hanger."

Sokka glanced at the sleek black weapon, and a proud smile crossed his face. Suki knew instantly that whatever was connected with that sword, it was immensely important to him.

"Well, it used to be a star, actually."

"No way."

"Yep."

"Tell me."

So he did. Suki rested her head comfortably against his shoulder and listened as he told her about the falling meteor, and his feelings of uselessness, and the swordsmaster Piandao, and the long hours he had spent training with and smithing the weapon that now hung above them both in the tent. The excitement in his voice rose with each sentence, and several times he actually removed one of his arms from around her to wave it in the air to emphasize a point. He was so animated about it that Suki could visualize every moment of the tale. Watching his face was almost as entertaining as the story itself.

Finally, he ended with, "…so then I saved a piece of it to give to Toph so she could bend it, because she can bend metal now, you know. Okay, your turn."

Suki sighed, knowing what was coming next. It was somewhat unfair that everything she had to tell Sokka she would rather not remember.

He sensed it, of course. He pulled her up close, so that her back was pressed securely against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder, oddly serious and tender after his animated telling moments ago.

"I'm right here," he said softly, his breath warm on her ear and neck. "I'm right here with you. But you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Suki took a breath. If he could be this patient, this good, than she could tell him her side of the story.

"I never saw the outside of the Boiling Rock when we came in. All I felt was the steam, and the heat. They blindfolded me as soon as the balloon touched down. When I realized it was only me they were taking out, I started fighting. They'd always taught me I could never desert my fellow warriors. But it's kind of hard to fight when you're blindfolded and the person who's got you has a grip of iron. Azula is strong." Suki clenched and unclenched her fists involuntarily, as if she were resisting all over again.

"I knew when we were inside, because the footsteps sound different. And Azula wasn't being gentle, either. I would have tripped a lot more if I hadn't been a Kyoshi Warrior. It was funny, though." Suki paused as she put together the events of their escape with a memory she hadn't processed before. "I remember the acrobat girl…Ty Lee, she kept asking Azula if she should be treating us like this. Azula pretty much ignored her; you know how she acts towards people. But then she started taunting me, whispering that this was only the beginning, that the Avatar and his friends were going to be in here soon too, and…Sokka, I can't breathe, here."

Sokka's arms had been tightening progressively around her, and now they relaxed. But she could still feel the tension in every inch of him.

"Maybe I should…"

"No, keep going." He exhaled heavily, stirring her hair.

"So when she started taunting me, the other girl, Mai…she said, 'Give it a rest, Azula.' It didn't mean much then…but she saved us, later. I wonder if even back then…"

"She's Zuko's girlfriend, I think," Sokka said, sounding almost thoughtful. "That probably had something to do with it. I can't exactly forgive her for throwing sharp stuff at me all those times…but she's okay, if she helped us. Keep going."

"Well, there isn't much to tell about when they put me in my cell. I was really, really mad by that point, so when they took out my gag I started yelling all kinds of things, about how I was a Kyoshi Warrior and I was going to get back at her and how…you were going to come for me. I kind of went crazy."

"So that's how she knew my name," Sokka murmured.

Suki twisted slightly in his arms. "What? You ran into Azula? When?"

Sokka mock-scowled at her. "It's technically still your turn."

Suki reached up and caught his chin. "Tell me…please." She did not like to even think of Sokka within miles of the Fire Princess.

"The Day of Black Sun. Remember, it was the eclipse we were supposed to use to defeat the Fire Nation. But I messed it up."

"You messed it up? That's a lot of blame for one person to take, Sokka."

"But it's true. We had everyone together, everyone was fighting, we were winning. The firebenders were helpless. And then Toph and Aang and I went to find the Fire Lord. And there was a bunker, underground, where he was hiding, only when we thought we found the right one, Azula was there instead."

Despite the fact that Sokka was giving far fewer details now, Suki could still picture it in her head. It was not a good image.

"We chased her, and she led us all over these underground passages. I figured out she was just trying to distract us…I mean, it was so obvious!" Sokka shook his head. "We were about to leave, to find out where the Fire Lord really was…and then she mentioned you. That she was keeping you prisoner."

The breath went out of Suki. She really could see it, the taunting sneer on Azula's face, the look of shock and fury on Sokka's face. Somehow, she knew what he was going to tell her.

"I snapped. I wasn't thinking. I was so stupid, Suki. I knew what she was trying to do…but I didn't even know if you were alive…!"

Listening to him, Suki sensed that he was wrestling with himself all over again. His voice was tight.

"I went at her. She was holding a dagger, but I didn't even see it until Toph pinned her to the wall. And I still went straight for her. I backed her up against the wall…and I tried to make her tell me where you were. But she wouldn't talk…of course. But that didn't mean I didn't waste all our time trying. And then the firebending came back…and we lost our chance. I lost our chance."

"Sokka…" Suki could hardly speak through the lump in her throat. Knowing that, that his love for her had put him and the rest of his friends into such a position…she couldn't even begin to sort out how it made her feel. Except…as selfish as it sounded, she loved him for it. In a rush of spontaneous affection, she twisted enough so she could kiss his neck. He hugged her in response.

"Tell me more about what happened to you. I kept thinking about you…what might be happening to you, the whole time Aang was throwing dance parties and hallucinating, and Katara was dressing up as a spirit, and Toph was scamming people. And after I knew you were alive, after the Day of Black Sun, when Zuko showed up at the Western Air Temple…"

Suki reached up and covered his mouth with one hand. "Slow down," she told him, feeling overwhelmed. She hadn't realized exactly how much she had missed. "How can you be asking what happened to me when all that was happening to you? I want to hear about all this stuff."

"Well I want to hear about your stuff."

Suki laughed abruptly, shaking her head. "Well we're not going to get anywhere like that."

"Then I guess we'll just sit here."

"Fine with me."

And it really was. Suki was completely content to sit snuggled against Sokka, listening to his heartbeat and trying to hang on to every moment that passed. The comet was coming soon.

Besides, she knew he'd give in first.

Just as she'd predicted, Sokka fidgeted after about five minutes. Then he shifted a little more. He made a slightly muffled sound, as though he were trying to hold his breath. Twisting her head lower so Sokka wouldn't see her grinning, Suki counted mentally in her head. 3...2...1...

"Okay, well, the time Aang got this crazy idea in his head and decided to attend Fire Nation school was pretty memorable. And I had to pretend to be his father, can you believe it? I got to wear this awesome beard though…I think you would have liked it…"

After Sokka finished the "Aang throws a dance party" story, Suki felt cheered enough to attempt talking about the Boiling Rock again. Hers were gloomy memories, and she tried not to linger too long on the details of the sleepless nights she'd spent, the unwelcome advances of some of the bolder male guards, and the long, arduous days in the prison yard. Sokka seemed to understand the balance between their stories now, and he followed each one of her recollections with a more lighthearted one of his own, and never once did he relax his warm, solid hold on her as she retold her days of imprisonment. Suki loved him for it, but she could not help hoping that it would not always be like this between them. Now that she was free, she wanted some happy memories of her own.

But as she sifted through her time in the Boiling Rock, she did uncover a few things that she had dismissed before. Some days, she had felt hope. There was the day she had almost stepped on a little seedling flower that was shoving through the stone cobbles of the yard. There was one day she had spent in the almost-happy company of two other girls, Taya and Nia, exchanging stories of their homes and histories. There was the time she had spotted a cloud drifting high above that she could have sworn looked like Appa, so much that she took it as a good omen. And she hadn't realized how much they stood out among the other days until she spoke them out loud to Sokka.

But she knew which day out of all of them she loved best.

"Guess," she told Sokka, when she put the question to him.

"The day you threw me into a door?"

"Is that how you remember it?" Suki laughed, relieved that they had arrived at the part of the story where she had no cause to be gloomy, where their lives intersected again.

"Hey, it was a metal door. It hurt."

Suki elbowed him gently, but she was still smiling.

"Nah. Mostly I remember…this." Sokka placed his hand against her cheek so it curved to fit the shape of her face and jaw. It was as warm and sure as the day he had done the same in her tiny iron cell. In response, she raised her own hand and pressed it to his face. It was the gentlest of contact, but Suki knew it would always hold a certain meaning for them both.

It was then that Suki noticed the subtle glow filtering through the canvas walls of the tent. When she turned to look, she saw that the candles Sokka had lit were beginning to gutter.

"Um, Sokka. I think it's almost morning."

Sokka turned to look, sighing when he saw that she was right. "It doesn't mean you have to leave…" he said hopefully, pulling her back against him again.

"I don't want to, Sokka, trust me, but now that it's morning, someone might decide to check on us. Do you want a repeat of the Zuko incident?"

Sokka scowled, blowing a piece of hair out of his eye as he muttered something about "clueless prince". His eyes flicked between Suki's face and the increasingly lightening walls of the tent. Finally, with a heavy, dramatic sigh that suggested he was making an immense sacrifice, he eased Suki into a sitting position.

"Thanks Sokka," she told him, reaching out to stroke the side of his face again. "This was…I needed it." It occurred to her that she and Sokka had never had a time like this before; a time to just tell each other everything that had happened, everything they had thought and felt. It made her feel even closer to him, if that was possible.

Giving him one last smile, she turned with some regret to the entrance flap of the tent, pushing it aside to let in a beam of watery sunlight from the coming dawn.

Abruptly, a hand grabbed her by her shoulder, and she was pulled back into one more warm, fervent kiss. And despite her cautions about someone discovering them, Suki did not hold back in the least.

The comet was coming soon. Soon, the grey-eyed boy who was their friend would face his destiny. Soon, the fate of the world might be decided, and no one knew who would be lost.

But in the dim rays of a steadily rising sun, within the strangely secret confines of their blue tent, Sokka and Suki, at least, were willing to hope for the best.