"A Matter of Taste"
DISCLAIMER: Avatar is not my property. But the strange sense of humor is.
Note: A Valentine's Day one-shot/gift to the 200th reviewer of "An Alliance of Traitors". Just a little incentive. :) Warning: this is a rather whimsical piece so quality is not a priority much.
And for some of the scenes, please just imagine "Cooking Master Boy" or "Ratatouille". I don't have such powers of description.
--
"I'll let you in on a little secret," Sokka said mysteriously, pulling Zuko down to whisper in the firebender's ear, emphasizing complete secrecy. While the former prince rolled his eyes at Sokka's flair for theatrics, he nevertheless complied with the wily Water Tribe boy.
Zuko was just about ready to try everything he could to win Katara's trust. Even after he had played an important role in helping Sokka liberate his father and lover from the Boiling Rock, Katara persisted in her cold and suspicious treatment of him. He had tried almost everything to get into her good graces but she still would not trust him.
And the harder he tried (and failed), the more he realized just how much he wanted her to like him. This was beyond merely gaining her trust; this was something much deeper than that. But so far, nothing had worked.
That was why he was desperate enough to listen to any suggestion Sokka had.
"A wise man told me this once," Sokka whispered, "the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach."
"What?" the firebender asked incredulously, "isn't it the other way around?"
At least with you, Zuko wanted to add but restrained himself.
"Hey, I hear it works," Sokka answered defensively.
"Why? I don't see you cooking anything for Suki," Zuko argued.
"Yeah, but it's because I already won her heart, moron," Sokka retorted arrogantly.
"Fine, thanks a lot," Zuko conceded, ignoring the epithet. He walked away and considered the option.
Then, he shrugged. It was worth a try. After all, he was out of ideas and he suddenly remembered a recipe his mother had taught him which had very high degrees of success.
Sokka shook his head as he watched the firebender.
"Poor guy," thought the Water Tribe boy, "he's really desperate."
--
In another side of the Western Air Temple, Katara, Suki, and Toph were having some girl-bonding time. They were simply relaxing from their training and trading some stories with one another. Rarely did they have an opportunity to just unwind so they were making the most of this one.
"I commend you, Suki," Katara told the Kyoshi Warrior, "how you can deal with Sokka's craziness and still love him that much."
"Yeah, I can't imagine how you do it," Toph added with a smirk.
"Honestly," Suki replied humbly, "I don't know how I do it either. All I know is that despite all his faults, I really love him. And that's all that really matters, isn't it?"
"Aww," the two other girls chimed in unison.
"That is so sweet, I wish I had that," Katara said dreamily, "don't you, Toph?"
"Nah," the blind earthbender replied, "I'm quite happy where I am now, thanks very much. I don't think I need trouble like that any time soon. I'm still very young."
"But quite mature for your age," Suki complimented.
"Thanks," Toph answered, "but Katara, didn't you have a boyfriend before? That weird guy from Ba Sing Se?"
Katara blushed at the memory of Jet. She felt slightly sad as well when she remembered their last meeting.
"Ooh, do tell," Suki asked curiously, "I never knew you had a boyfriend before, Katara."
"Well, he wasn't really my…," Katara began.
"I can tell you're lying," Toph chanted. Katara pouted.
"Fine, I liked him a lot," the waterbender admitted, "he was a Freedom Fighter and I think the whole daring and adventurous side of him was what initially swept me off my feet. But then I found out that he was willing to do some terrible things just to achieve his goals."
"But you forgave him in the end, didn't you?" Toph asked.
"Yes," Katara admitted, "but it was never going to be the same, anyway."
The waterbender sighed regretfully.
"That's just proof that I've been guilty of rotten judgment," she said.
"What you should say is that you have a thing for the bad boys," Toph teased. Katara glared at her while Suki giggled.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Katara," Suki remarked, "no one is going to take it against you. It's all a matter of taste, you know."
"Oh, shut up," Katara said defensively but she had a small slightly. The girls had a few more laughs after that.
"Don't worry about it too much, Katara," Suki comforted the other girl, "just be as patient as you can. The right one will come along in time, I'm sure of it."
"I hope you're right," Katara agreed with a sigh.
And then, they were interrupted by someone's unexpected arrival.
"Excuse me, Katara?" a soft, hesitant voice asked. The three girls turned to see Zuko facing them, holding a large, earthen bowl that was covered. But some smoke still came from the bowl and the aroma was quite tempting.
"Speaking of bad boys," Suki whispered in Katara's ear teasingly but the waterbender elbowed her in the ribs.
"What do you want?" Katara said, resuming her hostile front while Suki rolled her eyes.
"Well, um," Zuko began, slightly nervously. Finding nothing much to say, he merely extended the bowl to Katara.
"And what is that?" Katara asked coldly.
"A peace offering," Zuko answered meekly, "I made it for you. My mother showed me how to make them."
"Take the bowl, Katara," Suki urged.
"Yeah, it smells really appetizing," Toph added, "and I'd like to see how good Sparky is in the kitchen."
And though Katara too was tempted by the delicious smell of whatever was in the bowl, she simply turned her back rudely. Zuko's shoulders fell. Toph slapped her head and Suki rolled her eyes.
The Kyoshi Warrior walked towards Zuko and took the bowl from him gratefully.
"Don't worry," she whispered to the dismayed firebender, "she'll come around."
"Thanks," he muttered, taking one last look at Katara's back, before walking away slowly.
Suki turned to Katara.
"Really, Katara, you have got to let go of your anger," Suki scolded.
"He's already putting himself in embarrassing positions just to win you over," Toph added.
"Hmmph," was all Katara replied. The other girls shrugged.
"You are just so stubborn," Suki scolded, "and just when he went through so much effort to cook you this food."
"Maybe it's poison," Katara commented.
"Katara!"
"You know what," Toph said, "it's a shame to let food go to waste. So what do you say, Suki? Will we dig in?"
Suki glared at Katara first before agreeing.
"I'm with you, Toph," the Kyoshi Warrior replied, "I was getting a little hungry anyway. Let Miss Bitter go over there and mope."
They lifted the lid of the bowl and when the steam cleared, they saw three, well-formed, rice balls, stuffed with meat and spices. The aroma became even more appetizing as it wafted into the air and even Katara was struggling to keep herself from grabbing one of the snacks and stuffing it into her mouth.
Suki and Toph did not have such a conflict. They gave in to their desires and took a rice ball each and bit into it.
And all at once, as the taste exploded in their mouths, the two girls began to swoon with satisfaction. The food was more than just delicious, it was pure culinary genius.
Their excessive praise of the food was in no way exaggerated, although Katara thought they were just saying those things to tease her.
"It's unlike anything I've ever tasted before," Suki said in awe.
"It's better than anything I've tasted before," Toph agreed, "and I've probably sampled all the high-brow, fancy rich food in the Four Kingdoms. This is so much better, this is just…heaven."
"Oh, be quiet, you two," Katara said after a while, "I know you're just saying that to convince me."
"Whatever, Katara," Toph answered, swallowing the last bit of the rice ball with much gusto.
"If this is poison," Suki said sarcastically, "then I'm more than happy dying now having tasted something so good."
"I'm sure you're just exaggerating," Katara said skeptically."
"Do whatever you want," Suki said, standing up, "I'm off to see if Zuko made any more of these."
Toph was about the grab the third rice ball when Suki grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"What?" the earthbender protested, "she doesn't want it."
Suki nudged her and Toph conceded. They both left the stubborn waterbender alone with the last rice ball, its scent continuing to tempt and tease.
Katara gave a sideways glance at the last little rice ball then she looked away with an audible "hmmph". She would not give in, it was all just a trick, and it might be poison.
She walked away from the bowl. But she never did get very far. She kept walking back to glare at the innocent snack, before walking away, and then walking back again.
She was exhausted from training and hungry as well. And lunch was not until a few hours and she would have to prepare that herself. Sometimes, she was just so tired.
She sat down near the bowl and looked at its contents. Surely it wouldn't hurt to…?
"Aw, heck," she decided finally, giving in to her body's instincts, "he gave it to me anyway; I don't see why they should enjoy it."
She took the final rice ball in her hand and slowly, carefully, took a bite.
And the rest is history.
--
Later that day, Sokka went in search of Zuko. The Water Tribe Warrior was munching on a rice ball the firebender had given him. Zuko had cooked enough for them all and everyone was in awe of his cooking skills. The rice balls were an instant hit and the others begged the poor firebender to make more and more. The perfect combination of meat, rice, egg, and spices was just wonderful to them all.
And that was why Sokka was looking for Zuko now. The Water Tribe boy was on his last two rice balls, and his hunger knew no limits.
"I can't believe he really took my advice about the whole winning a girl's heart through her stomach," Sokka said with a laugh, his mouth stuffed with rice balls, "I don't know how Katara would take it but it sure worked wonders for me. Zuko even cooks better than my sister. Maybe she'd only get jealous and then even angrier at him. Poor guy."
But we'll force Zuko to cook all our meals, Sokka thought.
Sokka finally reached the area of the temple which served as the kitchen. Zuko was busy at work there, his face and arms streaked with flour and grains of rice. He was also wearing an apron which he said came from Ba Sing Se.
Sokka tried to suppress his laughter. If only Zuko's cooking wasn't so good.
But before the Water Tribe boy could reach the new chef, someone else arrived at the kitchen from another side.
Much to his surprise, he saw Katara approach the firebender with a smile, returning an empty bowl to the busy firebender. Zuko looked at her hopefully and was surprised to see that she no longer looked very angry at him. In fact, she didn't look angry at all.
Sokka hid behind a nearby pillar, curious to see how this confrontation would end. He continued munching on his last rice ball and hoped that Katara would leave so that he could procure some more of the delicious snacks as soon as possible.
He couldn't really hear what the two were saying but their expressions showed that they seemed to finally be on the road to reconciliation.
Well, good for them, Sokka thought, it's about time.
"Thank you," Katara said sincerely, "for everything."
Zuko smiled and blushed slightly, unused to her not treating him with hostility.
"It was the least I could do," he muttered.
And then, much to both boys' surprise, Katara leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Zuko's cheek before turning around with a blush and walking away as quickly as she could.
Zuko just stood there staring at her with astonishment and placed a hand on his cheek.
And Sokka nearly choked on his rice ball.
--
Hope you liked it. Reviews are most appreciated! Thank you!