A/N: For the record, I want to make it clear that I HATE 'THE LAST AIRBENDER' MOVIE WITH A FIERY PASSION! It is such a DISGRACE to such a gorgeous series, and I will NEVER consider it part of the world we all know and love! And just so we're good on another thing: THIS IS NOT INCEST!

Fic Basis: This three-shot (a fic consisting of three chapters, if you don't know) solely highlights the three moments throughout the whole film that (I thought) were not as utterly pathetic as the rest. And as they all happen to be Sokka/Katara brother-sister parts, and being that I am a serious analyzer of sibling relationships/bonds, I thought I ought to share my interpretation of them.

That said, please note that I will have either the same or similar lines from said scenes in random parts throughout each chapter. Also anticipate that I have improvised each scene, adding in the stuff of my imagination where I see fit. And to balance it out a little, there will be allusions to events in the series throughout the chapters.

Scene Basis: The very opening of the movie with Sokka and Katara together. There is just something about the slightly OOC way they act (at least in Sokka's case) that intrigues me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the cruddy trash of a film they dare to call its counterpart, The Last Airbender. Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and M. Night Sham. do, respectively, as well as anyone else affiliated.

Protective

The water-ball bursts without warning and before she has time to yell, empties itself on his head, drenching him straight through his fur parka.

"I'm sorry!" Katara cries the moment she is over the shock of what she's done, already taking a step forward to try to help. Now if only she knew enough Waterbending to dry him off… "I'm really, really sorry!"

Sokka knows it was an accident (it always is), but like every other time before it, that does not stop the burning panic from flaring up in his chest. It is this reaction, then, that dictates his next actions.

Stalking forward to meet her halfway, he surprises himself by grabbing her wrists rather roughly. She freezes instantly and waits on baited breath, staring up at him with frightened eyes. He is never this hostile with her (not physically, at least; usually it's just endless lectures on duty and honor), not even when she does something incredibly stupid that puts them both in danger.

He softens almost immediately at the ever-steadfast trust he sees in her blue orbs, at the fear just a hair short of overshadowing it, and releases a cleansing sigh through his nose. His expression is calm when he garners enough courage to look at her again.

"Do you remember what happened last time?" he asks softly, and while it pains him to see it, he is glad of the tears that fill his sister's eyes because he knows she understands. 'Last time' was the day the Fire Nation raided their village in search of the South Pole's last Waterbender, when their Mother had been taken from them. "Just because the Fire Nation ships haven't come around in a long time doesn't mean they won't, you know that. This isn't our fishing boat, Katara; you can't just bend out here where there's no cover."

She nods, both ashamed and silently grieving as she refuses to make eye-contact. It is a long few moments before he hears her voice again, and quiet though it is, he is startled. "Sokka…?"

She stares down at her feet, her face twisting thoughtfully as she fingers their Mother's necklace. Knowing what is coming and how hard (for this is nothing new to him after so many years), he answers gently, "Yeah, Katara?"

"Do you think Mom's watching us?" she whispers, but instead of replying he knowingly keeps his mouth shut. "Do you think she knows we're okay?" The tears begin to constrict her throat. "Do you think she knows how much we miss her?" Her words come out as an indecipherable garble, and her face contorts once more into an expression of agonizing emotional strain.

Commence breakdown.

Her knees buckle, and her fall has but started when she is taken into a pair of safe, loving arms. Her sobs are loud and heart-wrenching, but there is no shame in that. She is only a child, after all, one caught up in this disgusting war that has left both her and her brother parentless in more ways than one.

Sokka embraces her for all she is worth (and that is everything, absolutely everything, to him) not minding whatsoever when she wraps her arms around his neck so tightly he can scarcely breathe and her tears wet the front of his recently-washed parka.

Through it all, he is careful to allow only a few silent tears to fall. He is the warrior of his village, after all, and warriors do not broadcast their pain when others require their strength. Just as, his sister needs him now, and no force in the world will keep him from giving her the reassurance she needs.

The sobbing dies down after several painstaking minutes, and it is only then that Sokka dares to pull away. Gazing into her confused cerulean eyes, he says seriously, "Promise me you'll be more careful, that you won't do anything stupid when I'm not around."

'Something stupid' refers to Waterbending, and even though he doesn't mean it like that, Sokka is sure he sees a flash of defiance cross her face—Katara is a restless spirit by nature, and Waterbending is as much a part of her as his boomerang is of him—before she curiously deflates.

She knows he only makes her take these oaths to keep her safe, and she can't blame him. They've lost so much to the war already, first with Mom, then Dad, so to lose another… Inwardly, she shudders.

"All right, Sokka," she allows, voice hardly above a whisper as her eyes lock not on him, but on his warrior's Wolf-Tail hairstyle. "I promise."

The smile he shows her this time is very nearly full-blown, and she blushes pink to know that she has been the cause of such peculiar joy. Shaking her head, she laughs out loud, grinning brightly herself for the first time in what seems years.

It is only a few days and one impulsive move later that a young boy and his Flying Bison are rescued from an iceberg.

A/N: Thanks for reading! This is my first Avatar fic in years and considering it's nearly 3 AM here, please tell me how I did or if you see any glaring mistakes (grammar, spelling, etc)! Rock on!