How Curiosity Killed the Cat

A Sokka Story

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He should have never investigated those sounds coming out of Zuko's room, Sokka thought morosely, scrubbing the pipes leading to the bathrooms of the Western Air Temple (it wasn't his fault he was born so curious). Pondering the old adage, "Curiosity killed the cat," Sokka wondered the probability of someone finding him twenty years from now, dead and holding a mop in the sewage system.

Four hours earlier

"Zuko! Stop holding back. Just because I'm a few years younger than you and blind, doesn't mean I'm inexperienced. I can take whatever you throw at me!"

Sokka blinked. Was that Toph's voice coming out of Zuko's room? Yep, the world was coming to an end.

"Yeah Zuko, put your back into it!" chimed in Aang's voice.

"Shut up! You're not even supposed to be here!" Zuko's voice shouted.

"Well, someone had to supervise you two!" Katara's voice shot back. At that, Sokka was certain hell had frozen over (even though he didn't believe in hell, but, hey, if Katara was in Zuko's room, he'd believe Azula the next time she said she was a 400 foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings).

Being the smart (and curious) warrior he was, Sokka used his beloved boomerang to his advantage. Crouching down to the floor, he placed Benny (yes, he named his boomerang, along with Sammy the Sword, because "there's nothing wrong with naming your weapons, dammit!") into a position where he would easily be able to see what was going on in Zuko's room.

Truth be told, he was a bit scared.

"Come on Zuzu! Are you gonna take this? Toph's dominating you! Show her who's the man in this relationship!" Sokka had a rather awkward mental image of Zuko tied to a pole and Toph in an Amazon outfit.

"Don't call me that," a smack, "Aang! Stop implying things," "wait, what?…Toph's a dominatrix? Whoa," another smack, and "what's a dominatrix?" were heard from Zuko's "room of doom…and other stuff" (Sokka liked to name rooms too).

After a bit of an inner struggle, Sokka's curiosity finally got the better of him, and he got the angle right on Benny the Boomerang. He braced himself for the inevitable.

Katara, Aang, Haru, Teo, and the Duke, were gathered around Toph and Zuko, who were arm wrestling.

Sokka didn't know whether to be relieved or afraid.

A slam was heard, and the commotion in the room died down. Every head in the room (plus Sokka, who was spying) turned to see who had won.

Toph jumped up and punched her fist in the air. "I win!" she shouted gleefully.

Zuko stood up, fuming. "That's not fair! You used earthbending. You cheated!" He glowered and Toph flashed him the V-sign. "You never said we couldn't use bending, so I won fair and square." Zuko looked ready to show the little earthbender what real bending was, but Katara caught his eye.

Sokka sniffed, outside the door. His baby sister was growing up and instilling fear in the (fr)enemy with just one look. He was so proud (and afraid).

Zuko breathed out steam, and snatched the mop and bucket Toph had handed to him. "Fine! I'll go and clean the dirty, smelly, moldy bathrooms myself!"

Toph rubbed her hands together and looked around the room. "Well, now that that's settled, wanna find out who's gonna unclog the pipes, next? Yeah, that means you too, Snoozles! Don't think I didn't feel you crouching there outside the door this whole time!"

Sokka inched away from the door. Maybe Zuko wasn't the evil one around here after all….

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The moral to this story? Never take on a twelve-year old earthbending, gambling, lying, cheating, and arm wrestling master. You're gonna lose and end up smelling like 100 year old waste (if you're lucky).

A/N: Sleep can do wonders for you. Seriously! The next time you feel like you really are going to punch some slow-walking kid in the back of the head 'cause you're irritable and cranky, I recommend plopping down and getting some shut-eye. I haven't felt so rested since summer! Too bad this time next week I'm going to be in class (making paper cranes out of gum wrappers). I think I'm going to pull a Ty Lee and join the circus. Anyhoo, thanks for reading, and you know the drill! I hope...