((AN: Hey everybody! Hope nobody's forgotten me; I know I've been inactive for over a year. ^^; I hate having long hiatuses between stories, but for a while I've felt like I've somewhat lost my Avatar fanfiction inspirations. Especially after Korra and how it's hard to enjoy it when it feels like you can't enjoy it with the rest of the fandom. But, I think I'm slowly getting into things again, or I want to anyway. I finally finished this Between the Pages story after looking for something to add to, because this month I'm writing 1,000 words a day on just anything...and I ended up adding over 2,000 to get this one done. x3

Someone had suggested that I do a short story on what happened after Sokka met back with Hakoda towards the end of the second season. I didn't think much would come of it, but the more I thought, the more it actually would make enough of a short story to tackle. If -very- short, so, sorry about that. x3 Hakoda after seeing Sokka after a long time would have some regrets surface that it would be hard to deal with as a father who'd gone off to war, and disbelief that he'd matured in ways he didn't expect. It made a nice father-son story.

Enjoy. ^^ This one takes place within The Guru, Book 2, Chapter 19.

Hopefully I'll get some incentive back to write a few more Kataangy bits in places too. x3 I miss my lovely OTP. And I'll still take requests for this collection, though I have a couple more ideas of my own.))

It was hard for Sokka to remember feeling so happy before. Happy, relieved, disbelieving...all of this was soaking his mind and emotions as he stood embracing his father. The man who left with all of the other capable warriors to fight, and who he sometimes thought was always a world away from him now.

Just the same, Hakoda could hardly find the will to let go of his son...the young man of thirteen that he'd left to protect the last of the Southern Water Tribe, one of his children, his entire world. Were he not standing in front of his men in their planning tent, he would have broken into tears right then and there...though they all knew his emotions; most of them, after all, were fathers themselves or perhaps would be.

"It's so good to see you," the chief said, his voice cracking with emotion as he held Sokka by the shoulders at arm's length to look him over. "Look at you, boy, you got taller. Heh, but you're still scrawny," he joked and ruffled the top of his head.

"I am not," Sokka snorted and blinked back tears, meeting his father's eyes again. "And it's good to see you too, Dad...in fact, it's better than good, I...I can't tell you how long I've wanted to see you again."

"I'd figured as much," Hakoda smiled. "Bato told me everything about meeting you and Katara." His head tilted in fascination. "With the Avatar?"

The boy put on a sheepish, toothy grin. "Yeah...I've uh...got a bit of a story to tell."

"Hakoda, we can put off the planning for a few hours," Bato called from behind them at the head of the circle. "We've got some resupplying to do anyway."

The chief sent a grateful smile to his old friend, and Sokka waved hello; although he had to wince at seeing the warrior's entire left arm red with burn scars. "Supply away, then. I'll be catching up with my son."

The young Water Tribe heir couldn't keep a smile from his face as he turned and followed his father out of the tent, knowing that not only was he living one of his greatest wishes, he would be proving to him just how much he'd grown up.

"...It was hard to get the Earth King to believe us, but we managed it...Katara's back with him now, and Aang's off to meet with some spiritual expert or what-have-you...he dropped me off here on the way. And that's pretty much what's been going on up to now."

Hakoda had kept his brow raised for the entire story, hardly believing that his own children had gone through so much. He felt proud; but in a way, he also felt scared. Had they gotten themselves in over their heads? Were his children just running in an incredible bout of good luck?

Or had they really grown up so fast since the last time he'd seen them, off the stern of his boat as their fleet was leaving the Southern Water Tribe for the war? Even knowing that Katara had become a skilled Waterbender (even to be seen as a Master!) was a surreal thing for him.

They were walking along the rocky beach, the springtime sun warming everything and making the trees look greener and healthier. The smell of the ocean was ever-calming. No matter where one went in the world, that scent was the same. It had always helped him think of home.

Sokka stretched his arms behind his head, heedless of his father's being lost in thought as he continued to revel in his story. "Yep, hard to believe, but we've become quite the adventurers. I get to kick in some Firebender heads every so often, but ever since uncovering this secret Dai Li conspiracy at Ba Sing Se, I've been kicking in more Earthbender heads, too. They think they're tough, but they've got nothing on my team."

When a long pause followed, the young warrior stopped in his tracks and watched his father pass him by, still lost in another world of musing. "...Dad? You okay?"

Hakoda remembered where he was then, stopping and looking back at Sokka. Suddenly, it hit him that he barely knew the young man standing before him.

Sokka took another step forward, his brow furrowing. "Something wrong?"

The chief smiled and shook his head. "Nah...not really. It's just...a little hard for me to listen to all of this and still think of you as the young kids that I left behind. It's hard to imagine that Katara's a powerful Waterbending fighter. The same girl that was clinging to you for comfort when you watched us leave. It's hard to imagine you, leading them so well."

The boy's eyebrow raised. "Really? C'mon," he set his hands on his hips. "I've always been a good leader. I can tell you right now that I just bet those kids we left back home are protecting the place."

Hakoda laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it. But, that's not what I mean." He sighed, and walked a little further to sit on a boulder. He faced the sea and smelled its wind, timeless and unchanged. "I've..." he grunted and held his face in his hand, thinking of the words to come.

Sokka was confused, and more than concerned. He'd always looked up to his father as the warrior he always wanted to be. He always wanted to make him proud. At first he thought that he'd done something wrong. But then, Hakoda said something that he didn't expect.

"...I've missed so much of your growing up. It was hard even for me to hear it from Bato, how it was he that took you on your first ice-dodging trip. Or rock-dodging, same thing. I wouldn't want another man to do it, if I couldn't be there, but...it's only a part of what I've missed." He looked over to his son, and Sokka thought that he looked a little older, a little more tired and ragged. "I don't regret my choice of leaving. But sometimes I hate myself for not regretting. Because something keeps telling me that I abandoned you and your sister."

Sokka opened his mouth to argue, but the words didn't come. He just looked away and grimaced.

Hakoda's gaze dropped. "It's true, isn't it? You've felt it too."

"No, Dad...well, actually, I used to."

The boy came up and sat next to him on the boulder, his eyes more to the beach than the sea. "We always hoped and knew that we'd see you again. But sometimes there would be a hard day, and Katara would get angry...or I would...and we'd wonder if you really did abandon us. Then the next day we'd feel bad about it, because we knew that wasn't the case. I guess we didn't understand yet.

"But after flying around the world, chasing this hope that we were helping with the war, and putting it on ourselves to protect the Avatar, this kid that's supposed to fight the Fire Lord and bring it to peace again...well, I think I know why, now. Maybe it's your duty. Maybe it's for the better. Maybe you'll make a difference."

He looked up into his father's eyes and smiled. "You were just protecting us. We knew that before, but it took this journey to make us understand. So what I guess I'm saying is, no. We don't think you abandoned us."

Hakoda's eyes softened with pride, and he berated himself for doubting that his son would understand. His head tilted. "Does your sister really think that, too?"

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "It's hard to tell. She's been more focused on watching over Aang and making sure we're all alive day by day. But she always seemed as happy as I was at the prospect of seeing you again."

"Why didn't she come with you?"

"Like I said; she volunteered to stay with the Earth King and talk to his men; y'know, about sending help out to execute the Day of Black Sun plan. Someone had to. Honestly," he scratched his head, "I volunteered to do that first, but she said she would instead and had me come."

"I see," he sighed and scratched his chin. "Can't fault that sense of duty of hers. I just hope that she's been doing okay, too. I know that your mother's death has been hard on you both, but on her in particular."

"Oh, don't worry about Katara," Sokka chuckled. "She's got strength to spare. Remember the story about the desert? She kept us moving while we were all dehydrated, our Sky Bison was lost, Toph couldn't sense anything, and I was whacked out on cactus juice..."

"Whoa, back up," Hakoda blinked. "Cactus juice?"

Sokka slapped his forehead, embarrassed. "It wasn't intentional, Dad! I didn't know that the stuff messed with your head!"

But to his surprise, his dad laughed again. "I believe you, boy. I'd only heard such things when learning about potent plant ingredients from some Earth Kingdom travelers. I'd definitely believe that my son would figure it out the hard way."

"Oh, thanks."

Sokka received a hearty slap on the back by his chuckling father. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear that Katara's okay."

"You should've been there, Dad. I'd never tell this to her face, but...she's really something else. She could even get Aang out of a glowing ball of rage." He smiled. "You should be proud of her. Mom's death still gets to her, and she's got a real temper around Firebenders, but she can focus on the important things. Wait'll you see her Waterbending."

"And what about you?" he crossed his arms with a grin. "You've really been training yourself?"

"Oh yeah. Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors, she taught me a lot. And I can pick up a few tricks here and there." He beamed proudly. "So I promise, if you need anybody to help you kick some Firebenders around, I'm there."

Hakoda chuckled, though inside he still felt some doubt about that. How could he allow his only son into a fight, if need be?

"So then, tell me more about the Avatar," said the chief, deciding to change the subject and return to happier conversations. "He sounds like a good kid."

"He is. Pretty goofy at times though, but he can really fight when he wants to. He's just learning Earthbending, but he's got the skill. Not to mention the Waterbending lessons he's getting from Katara. She's pretty hopeful that we can get him trained before the solar eclipse and ready to take on the Fire Lord. I have my doubts, but I don't wanna trample all over their hope and all. It got us this far." He sat up straight and snorted. "The only thing I find weird is that he's a vegetarian. I mean, come on. I don't know that much about Airbenders, but an entire culture that didn't eat meat? What's up with that?"

Hakoda laughed, finding the thought a bit odd himself, and patted Sokka's shoulder. "There are stranger things in this world, son. You seem to have met a few of them. Speaking of which, you said that you guys travel around on a...flying bison?"

"Yep, ol' reliable Appa," Sokka confirmed. "Aang's best friend."

"Funny thing you should say that. It was probably a few weeks ago, I was standing outside on the ship and saw something huge going past in the sky. It was pretty late at night, so I thought it was just a fast-moving cloud or whatever, and I was sleep-deprived. But it was a big animal it looked like, heading for Ba Sing Se."

Sokka's eyes widened. "Really? Whoa...yeah, that had to have been Appa. He's the only flying animal that big that we know. Six legs, big paddle tail, horns?"

"That's the one."

"That's him!" the boy beamed. "Strange though...we thought he was in Ba Sing Se the whole time. I guess he escaped from somewhere and came back, then got captured by the Dai Li."

Hakoda chuckled. "I swear it'd be hard to keep all of this adventuring straight, if I were in your shoes."

"Wanna switch places?" Sokka mumbled. "I can't stand Katara's nagging me to wash my socks anymore."

The father laughed again, and felt a little more uplifted. His son had been through more than he could imagine, but on the inside he was still Sokka; a boy who could find humor in anything and yet put his all into a creative plan and fight for its outcome.

Maybe he could be a warrior, now. But more than that, Hakoda was beginning to believe that he could stand on his own two feet better even than himself.

And more than ever, he hoped that when they were to soon part ways, he'd see him again much sooner. Him and Katara, the brilliant children who were his whole world; who found the Avatar and were now on a journey to save the world, whether anyone saw fit to stop them or not.

A comfortable pause settled between them once the laughing died down, and they simply sat to watch the waves wash up on the shore. They saw a few tiny creatures crawling around among the sand, and all over it was a peaceful scene the likes of which neither had experienced in some time. Sokka reminisced to sitting on the ice beaches as a kid, fishing with his father and listening to his stories about himself and Hakoda, and their younger days (and how Kya would just shake her head at their antics and still help fix the scratches at the end of it).

In ways, things had definitely changed. Sokka had grown to experience more than Hakoda could ever teach him, and Hakoda was still a man to look up to, someone that his children still needed—but whose own experiences gave him regrets that he had yet to admit to.

So long as there was still a war, everyone still had some changing to do.

Finally, Hakoda sighed. "Well, I suppose we should be heading back. Maybe the others have the supplies by now. Heh, and I've got the best idea for a trap to use against the Fire Navy ships if they come nosing around."

"A plan?" Sokka perked up. "What is it?"

"You'll see."

As they started back, the sun almost ready to set for the evening, the chief turned back to his son. "You know, I may never get used to knowing all of the things that you and your sister are doing. The dangers you put yourselves in..."

"Dad, don't worry about us," the boy insisted. "I promise, I'm taking care of everyone as best I can."

"I don't doubt that," Hakoda smiled and pulled him back into a firm hug. "Just promise me that whatever happens...you don't regret what you've decided to do. For yourselves and for the world."

"Oh, there are things I'm always gonna regret. Like the cactus juice," he smirked, and his father chuckled. "But," he sighed. "I don't regret going on this whole journey. It feels like after so long of feeling like we were left behind, we're actually doing something important."

Hakoda smiled. "Exactly. But I am sorry if I'd ever made you or Katara feel like you were left behind."

"It was never your fault, Dad," Sokka said as he put a hand on his arm, "I always blamed the Fire Nation anyway."

"There you go," said the chief with a grin as he ruffled the boy's hair, and together they made their way back into the camp, feeling like they were finally catching up.