AN: This is a revised story I originally wrote for Zutara Week 2014. Now that I revised it I'm reposting it as its own work. I like this version much better, but if you want to check out the original check out my profile for Zutara Week 2014.

Socks

Katara considered herself a laid back person. Considering pre-Sozin's Comet anxiety that was looming over everyone the group was safe at the Southern Air Temple. That aside, Katara was laid back as she could be. Katara also considered herself as the backbone of the whole group. She made the dinner, shopped, settled disputes, and somehow found time to train Aang and herself. It didn't bother her much, but some days the capacity to keep the peace overflowed.

Three weeks after the day of black sun time had unforgivably past by before she could gather herself together. It was in that time she snapped. Katara didn't mind doing laundry but socks and underwear were becoming a growing problem. The group had gained four other members in the past three weeks. Over the years Katara had built a strong immunity over Sokka's undergarments, but between five other growing sweating boys she was becoming impatient. Her frustration didn't even begin to cover Toph's laundry. She snapped the day she scheduled the second laundry day this week. Katara was irritable that day and everyone knew an irritable Katara was a Katara not to be messed with. Although, when her last stop was Sokka's room he was always oblivious to her frustration.

"It's laundry day. Where's your stuff?" Sokka was wearing his under wraping acting as underwear. He was picking through what looked like his dirty pile. "What are you doing?" Katara grew more impatient as he flung pants across the room.

"I'm looking for pants!"

"You just threw some over here." Katara kicked a pair back at her brother.

"I already wore these like five times this week! Duke said his nose hairs were burning from the stink."

"That's disgusting!"

"Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do." Katara dismissed his comment wondering why he didn't hand his pants over during the first laundry day. She questioned herself how long he wore his under wrappings. She shook her head that thought.

"Just hand me your pile of clothes."

"Here." Sokka sloppily handed his small pile of clothes to his sister. If that wasn't enough to make anyone snap the rage level was off the chart compared to what Sokka did next. "Could you wash these too?" Sokka sat down on his bed and pulled off his freshly worn socks off his feet. He threw them over to the pile in his sisters' arms but sadly misjudged his throw. His socks landed directly on Katara's face. Normally, Sokka would've laugh if it weren't for the fit his sister went into. Katara threw the mixed pile of smelly socks, pants, and underwear at Sokka with all her might.

"Wash them yourself!" Katara stormed out into the temple square. She found Zuko sitting by the water fountain with a pile of clothes. God forbid Zuko wasn't waiting for Katara to hand his clothes over. She was so fuming she didn't care what he was doing. She called the water over to hose him with a jet of water. She stomped into her room until Toph called her to dinner. She snickered curiously as to who made dinner. It sure wasn't her, mother to all, probably Sokka who couldn't go two hours without eating.

Katara stepped out in the square where everyone was gathered. She grabbed a bowl of hot soup filled with an assortment of nuts. She furrowed her eyebrows and almost choked on what she thought was a rock.

"Sokka you can't eat rocks!"

"I didn't even make it!"

"I made it." Katara's attention turned over to Zuko. His face mirrored Katara's. "I'm not sure why I made you angry enough to blast my face off with your hose, but I thought I could try to make it up."

"Yeah, you're angry for no reason." Sokka added. Katara had half a mind to pelt Sokka with the rocks in her bowl.

"No reason? Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, NOT PLEASANT; especially yours!" Katara pointed toward Zuko.

"Mine?"

"Yes! All of you have a pair of working legs and arms. Everyone can wash their own socks and underwear!" The rest of dinner was filled with tension and no one spoke. Katara drank the broth and left the nuts to sink to the bottom of the clay bowl. She thought she spoke her mind and wouldn't find another sock.

Katara went back to her routine the next day. Less irritable she continued her own laundry where it left off. She didn't find a single sock that wasn't hers until she got to the bottom, one pair of red socks. One pair of Zuko socks. Prepared to strike with vengeance she balled the sock in her fist. Instead she decided that for every pair of socks she found she would take one away.
Three days after her discovery she found another pair of red socks in her laundry, then another, then other the next week. She was sure he thought this was a joke, but surely the joke was on him as his sock pile dwindled to miss matched socks missing their twin.

"Katara," Zuko asked her one day. "do you know where my socks are going?"