Snowball Bending

'Okay, throw another one.'

Sokka pouted. 'Katara, we've been here for like an hour. Can't we just go home now?' His stomach clenched, and Sokka whimpered, pressing a blue-gloved hand to his chest. 'I'm really hungry.' His sky-blue eyes widened with fear - he hadn't eaten since breakfast!

Katara sighed loudly, her hair-loopies flapping in the breeze. 'But Sokka,' she said pleadingly, running over to where he stood, 'I've just about got it. Can we stay here just a little longer. Please?' She crouched down low in front of him, her blue eyes peering right into his own.

'Fine,' grumbled Sokka, grabbing a snowball and standing up, 'go stand where you have to.'

'Thank-you!' Katara wrapped her arms around her brother's shoulders and gave him a small hug, before literally skipping – skipping! – back to where she had been previously standing, a huge grin on her face. Why did she always have to be so … happy? It was annoying.

Sokka picked up one of the snowballs. 'You ready?' he asked, even though they'd done this a gazillion times.

Katara placed her hands, palms spread, in front of her chest. Jaw set, she nodded, and Sokka resisted the urge to laugh at her seriousness - but he didn't. Katara became angry when he laughed at her, and all of a sudden her snowbending aim would become a lot more precise. Sokka threw the snowball. Katara extended her arms, spreading her fingers. The snowball instantly became liquid. Great, they were done.

'Okay, Katara, that's great. Now just let the water –'

She wasn't listening to him. She never did. Instead of just unfreezing the snowball like they'd agreed upon, of course Katara was going to go and try something completely new. She put her hands up in front of her face, the sphere of water swung around her back. Katara then pushed out hand out. The water-sphere hurtled through the air, smacking into Sokka's face.

'Oops,' Katara covered her mouth with her hands, giggling, 'I'm –'

'! I'msoakedtomyskin!' That was the final straw. Gritting his teeth and muttering incoherently, Sokka stomped off, removing his parka and trying to wring the water out of it.

He heard the sound of footsteps, crunching down on the snow. A hand grabbed his arm. Katara's eyes were wide and worried.

'You're still going to make snowballs for me tomorrow, right?'

Sokka considered saying nothing just to spite her, but oh spirits her eyes were already tearing up and he absolutely hated it when she cried. It always made him feel guilty. And if Katara came home crying after 'playing' with him, Mom would want to know what had happened. And then Katara would blab and tell the truth like she always did, and then everyone would start arguing again.

Sokka's head was hurting. Katara had started to sniffle.

'No, no,' he said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder, 'don't cry.' Katara sniffed louder. She thought he wasn't going to make snowballs for her any more. 'I'll make snowballs for you tomorrow, huh? We can get up really early in the morning and sneak out when nobody's awake,' Katara began to smile, because she knew that Sokka never got up early in the morning, 'and practice then. We'll be back home in time for breakfast and nobody will know we were gone.'

'Thanks,' whispered Katara, now grinning stupidly from ear to ear.

Sokka turned away and began to walk back to the village. 'We should go now. Mom's probably wondering where we are.'

He felt a hand grab his. They walked back to the village together, the warrior and the snowball bender.

Eight years later, Sokka watches Katara duel a waterbending master for her right to learn. And although he doesn't say anything aloud, he is impressed when he sees her bend ice-discs across the arena. Impressed when she topples a tower.

He likes to think making snowballs for her all those years ago had helped.

A/N: The idea for this came to me a while ago. Basically, Sokka was making snowballs for Katara so she can practice waterbending - which was something I could totally see him doing.