Fan 'n' Flame; Earth 'n' Sword

Three's Company: Chapter 10

Sokka groaned as his eyes fluttered open and the pounding headache came to him. He always hated that downside of drinking. He laid in bed for another few minutes before slowly getting to his feet. He squinted as he looked out to the lashing rain, the grey sky still too bright for his eyes to handle. He began getting dressed, but froze. His eyes widened.

"She was completely drunk. There's no way she'd remember what happened last night...right?" He quickly said a silent prayer to whatever spirit dealt with memories and finished getting dressed. He stepped into the hallway and glanced into Satoru's empty room as he walked past. "She's probably still asleep. Just act like nothing happened."

He let out a loud yawn and stretched his arms towards the sky as he stepped into the kitchen. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Satoru sitting at the table, writing in his notepad. He let his arms drop and hit noisily against his sides. Satoru glanced up at him and quickly looked back down. Sokka watched him as he walked to the counter before heating up a pot of tea. After a few minutes of silence, Satoru sighed and flicked a couple of pages back.

"Sokka–"

"Don't even speak to me."

Satoru pushed his glasses up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I want to apologise for–"

Sokka turned quickly, slamming his fist onto the table and glaring at Satoru. "I told you to stay quiet!"

Satoru gulped but didn't break eye contact. He calmly raised his palms to Sokka. "We need to talk," he said, keeping careful watch for any sudden movements.

"No, we don't." Sokka turned back around, picking up his cup.

"Yes, we do!" Satoru sat up straighter when the Southern warrior looked back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. "I don't want to fight; I wouldn't have a hope of winning."

"I know you wouldn't, especially against a savage like me," Sokka spat, and Satoru's face fell.

"Please, just sit down and listen to me." Satoru mumbled, his voice wavering.

"Now you want me to listen to you? What happened to us talking?"

"Sokka, please." He fidgeted under Sokka's gaze as he stood there. Sokka slowly walked over and sat at the table. "Thank you."

"Have you talked to Toph?" he asked, eyeing Satoru suspiciously.

"Yes. She told me to apologise to you and tread very lightly from now on," Satoru said while Sokka looked back to her room. "Apparently, her head was killing her and she was throwing up. She went to the Jasmine Palace to see if Iroh has anything to help." Sokka twisted back around, eyeing Satoru. "First things first, I'm sorry about what I said last night. I was drunk and I know that–"

"I was drunk too, but I didn't go around calling you an ash maker," Sokka cut in. "Even though I have a lot of reasons to still be angry at the Fire Nation."

"You're right, but would you please let me explain?" Sokka gave a slight shrug and motioned for him to continue. "Thank you. I headed straight back here last night to do a bit of thinking," Satoru told him. "Would you agree that you haven't been the most...hospitable person towards me since you joined this trip?" Sokka cocked his eyebrow. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm on about."

"So you called me a savage because I've been mean to you?" Sokka said as he leaned forward.

"I never called you a savage."

"You implied it," he shot back. Satoru rubbed his eyes again as he let out a long sigh.

"Fine, yes, I did."