Hey you all! If you've read the "North and South" trilogy, then maybe, like me, you've wondered why Suki didn't arrive to the South Pole together with everyone else. I found it strange how there was no explanation for that and along with a few particular interactions between her and Zuko during some of the previous novels, I got the idea for this story. It takes place right after "North and South" (about 2 years after the series), but even if you haven't read that, no worries, there aren't any major plot spoilers here. Enjoy!

I wrote this chapter long ago and in retrospect I think I was too hasty to upload it and it's quite badly written. For better or worse, however, I don't change anything after putting it up once, so I'll just ask that you read the second one as well!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the sources which this fiction is based upon.

Change of Heart

It was a late evening and Sokka was lying on his bed in Zuko's Fire Nation ship. A few days earlier they had sailed from the Southern Water Tribe and were now en route to the Fire Nation capital. Since everything on the South Pole seemed to be taken care of for now, with Gilak's men no longer posing a threat, the construction going peacefully and Aang being there in case something happened, Sokka felt it was a good opportunity for a small vacation. Therefore he had arranged to go with Zuko on his way back to the Fire Nation. He was looking forward to spending some time with Suki – they hadn't seen each other in weeks and he missed her terribly.

He frowned slightly at the thought of her. Sure, he wanted to see her badly, but he couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't come visit him herself. It made sense that as the Firelord's personal guard she would accompany Zuko to the South Pole, but she hadn't done so. When he had asked Zuko about it, the firebender had seemed quite puzzled himself, only saying that "she didn't feel so well." That sounded strange to Sokka, because he knew Suki and she wouldn't miss the rare chance to see all her friends together due to something so trivial. She would have to be really sick, which from Zuko's words didn't seem to be the case.

Sokka got up from the bed, dismissing the matter. There was probably a simple explanation - he would just ask her when he got there.

Going out to the ship deck, to his surprise he saw Zuko leaning on the rails and looking out towards the sea. It was unusual for him to be up so late in the evening. Sokka walked up to him, patting his shoulder.

"Hey, something on your mind?" Zuko seemed to snap out of his thoughts as he looked at him briefly, before moving his gaze back to the sea.

"Hey. Not really, it's nothing."

"Alright then." Sokka raised his shoulders and similarly leaned next to him. Zuko wasn't the most open guy and probing would probably just irritate him. However, after a few moments of silence, the firebender spoke.

"I was thinking about Mai. Have been a lot recently."

"What's up with her?"

Zuko sighed. "Ty Lee told me she broke up with Kei Lo. She also said she refused to talk about it and that she seemed really gloomy…I mean," he raised his voice slightly when he saw that Sokka was about to say something, "I mean gloomier than usual." The other boy chuckled.

"And you're wondering why, huh?"

"Yeah, they seemed happy together, so I don't get why she'd leave him."

"Hmmm…" Sokka rubbed his chin. "Have you tried talking to her since then?"

"Yeah, nothing. I feel like she's avoiding me even more than before. Why?"

"Cus I think I know why she did that. It was probably because of you."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Me? What have I done?"

"Nothing, I think she just still likes you. It sounded kind of fishy when Aang was telling how touchy she was with that guy. I mean you can't be together for 2 days and constantly be smooching in front of others, even I don't do that. Except maybe that one time…"

"Yeah, yeah." Zuko waved his hand seeing his friend going off-topic. "So what's your point? That she was just with him to get back at me?"

"I'm pretty sure that's it."

Zuko looked away again in consideration. That didn't sound typical for Mai, she normally hated such nonsense. Still, the more he thought about it, the more it was adding up.

"Then why won't she talk to me? Whenever I see her she acts like I'm not even there."

"I don't know, man." Sokka scratched the back of his head. "Maybe she just doesn't want to admit it."

They were quiet for a bit, neither knowing what to say. Eventually, Sokka spoke up again.

"If you want, I can go find out for sure. I'll have plenty of free time there, I can stop by at her place."

Zuko looked at him skeptically. "You? No way, she would stick a knife in my head if you went there for me."

Sokka waved it off. "Relax, I won't saying anything about you. I could just go check what's up and see how she's doing, nothing suspicious about that. Maybe I'll pick up on something that will help you." Zuko was still opposed though.

"She won't tell you anything anyway, she barely knows you. She doesn't even talk to Ty Lee."

"Maybe she will exactly because she doesn't know me!" Sokka put his arm around Zuko's shoulders, seeming more enthusiastic. "Sometimes it's easier to talk to people you don't know, get it?"

"…No?"

"Well, just trust me then. You got problems with a woman, you're at the right place, buddy."

Zuko rolled his eyes. He definitely didn't trust Sokka during his moments like this, especially after hearing Aang's story about his women-advice. There was also something about a fortuneteller and a volcano, he couldn't quite remember. Despite that, his points so far made some sense and it wasn't like things between him and Mai could get much worse.

"Well, I suppose you could try…"

"Yeah, that's my man, have no worries." Sokka let go of him and leaned back on the railing, somewhat content with himself.

Zuko couldn't help but smile a bit at his friend's cheerfulness, in spite of his own skepticism. He hadn't had any real friends for most of his life, so he appreciated such gestures more than he was ready to admit.

The two of them stayed there silently for a few more minutes, before deciding to turn in once tiredness hit. It was already late and Sokka would need his rest for the surprise that awaited him on the next day, although he didn't yet know that.

"Suki!" called out Sokka and ran out of the ship towards his girlfriend.

"Sokka? What are you doing…" she was cut off when he hugged her, "…here?"

The other Kyoshi warriors around them gave a few chuckles and awwws at the sight, but their leader didn't exactly feel that way. As the Firelord's escort, she and her fighters had to be at the harbor waiting for his disembarking. A standard safety precaution, since there were still supporters of the old regime and that was a convenient place for an assassination attempt. However, she hadn't expected to see her boyfriend along with Zuko.

She briefly hugged him back, immediately asking as soon as they released each other, "Sokka, what are you doing here? You didn't write that you were coming."

"Yeah, it was a bit of a last minute decision, so I wanted to surprise you." He paused and looked at her slightly confused. "I thought you would be more excited though, is something wrong? Are you still sick?"

"…sick?" she took a second to catch on. "Oh, no, not really. I'm just a little tired, that's all." She pulled away without looking in his eyes. Sokka didn't miss that, but before he could say anything, Zuko came up to them, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"I'm also happy you're both here together," he said with a smile, "but let's save the reunion for when we're at the palace. It's getting dark and we shouldn't stay here."

Suki looked away with a slight blush, which none of the two guys noticed. Sokka nodded and offered her his hand, which she took still looking away from him.

It took them a good while to get to the palace due to the crowds which gathered a few times to either greet or voice their protests to the Firelord. Sokka had already heard from Zuko that his reputation wasn't that good after the whole story with the kidnappings. Ozai's supporters were also still not fully dealt with and were most likely taking advantage of the situation to seed further displeasure among the citizens.

"Wow, is it just me or have people gotten a lot less friendly here?" Sokka scratched his head. "Has something happened?" he didn't get an answer. "...Suki?"

Suki snapped out of her thoughts, "Sorry. Yeah, pretty much. Some are still blaming Zuko after the whole thing with the Kemurikage and think he should favor his own people even at the expense of outsiders. It's crazy, that sort of thinking started the war in the first place. Zuko is just trying to make up for it, but no one sees how hard it is on him."

Sokka noticed her angrier tone towards the end. He had just remarked that the people seemed displeased, he didn't expect such a long answer.

"You seem frustrated somehow."

She sighed. "I just want to get to the palace already. I feel uneasy among those crowds."

By the time they arrived it was time for dinner. As usual, Sokka was starving at that point and the abundance of food and the attention for being the Firelord and the Avatar's war-hero friend made him forget pretty much all else. Normally he was overshadowed by Aang, but in his absence everyone was a lot more interested in talking to Sokka and he definitely wasn't complaining. For that he didn't really notice that Suki was still quieter and more detached than usual. Whenever he looked spoke to her she smiled and went along with it until soon someone inevitably drew his attention again. That's how the whole evening went on until people began leaving for bed and the hall gradually emptied. Sokka and Suki said good night to Zuko and followed a servant to Sokka's room.

"You know, I could really get used to this. They have even more food here than back home!" he said enthusiastically and Suki laughed.

"Yeah, I saw you were enjoying yourself."

"Yep! Toph's right - hero worship is the best."

"Mhm…"

They reached Sokka's room and the servant let them in with a bow. "Your room, sir, your luggage is all inside. Call us if there is anything you need."

"Thank you very much! I'll let you know." The servant bowed again and left.

When they remained alone Sokka gave Suki a long hug and a kiss. "What do you say you stay here with me?"

"Here?"

"Yeah, I'll help you move whatever you need from your room."

Suki stepped away a bit. "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm in a different part of the palace with the other girls from Kyoshi."

"So what? I'm sure they won't mind."

"It doesn't really work that way, there are some rules…"

"Rules? I don't think Zuko would have a problem with it."

She didn't answer and Sokka became more confused.

"Then how about I move into your room?"

"No, you can't."

"Why not? It's not like we haven't…"

"No, Sokka, it's not about sleeping together. That's not the problem."

"Then what is it?" He let go of her. "You've been acting strange all day. Has something happened? You can tell me."

Suki was looking down, not saying anything.

"Are you unhappy that I'm here?" He asked and she caught his slightly hurt tone, though he tried to hide it.

"No, it's not that, it's just…I'm sorry, could we talk about this tomorrow, please?"

"What? But…" Sokka was quite worried at that point and really wanted to know what was going on. Her pleading look made him sigh in acceptance though. "Alright, I guess if you want to…" He gave her another hug and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

She kissed his cheek, whispering "Good night." and opened the door to leave. Sokka was flabbergasted.

"Wait, wha…"

"Tomorrow, ok? I promise…" she closed the door and left.

Sokka reached for the door with the intention to go after her, but then decided against it. Instead he just fell on the bed and slapped his forehead. He had definitely noticed her not saying "I love you" back before her abrupt leaving. That was what bothered him the most, in fact. And just a cheek kiss? They were together for almost 2 years already, they should be way past that point. It was definitely not the greeting he expected after weeks of not seeing each other.

He got up to take off his clothes, before going back to bed. He couldn't relax though, so he just stared at the ceiling for a good while, trying to make a guess what the issue might be. Unfortunately, his mind couldn't come up with anything. Hopefully she wouldn't stall much longer and tell him first thing tomorrow.

"Ugh, girls…" mumbled Sokka, after which he turned on his side and soon fell asleep.