Alright so here's a go, I'm a bit of a lurker but I've had this idea in my head for a while now and I finally got it down on paper/computer. I've read so many great Avatar: the Last Airbender fiction that I can't help but want to write my own. As it stands now this is a pseudo one-shot, however I would like to turn it into something more, I'm just not sure which of my many in-brain storylines I should go with. Please let me know what you think, reviews are much appreciated but flames will be used to toast marshmallows...
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, it belongs to the wonderful guys at Nickelodian that came up with it...
Perhaps...
Chapter 1
By Hekikuu
Zuko was heading towards the little foyer that their little group used as kitchen, Aang and him had finished firebending practice for the day and he'd stayed behind to meditate afterwards. He'd been hoping that by lagging behind the younger boy that by the time he went down to eat, the others (read angry waterbender), would have eaten and he could have his lunch unharrased. However, as he approached the corner that would take him into the kitchen he was rather surprised to find Aang standing flush against the wall, listening with interest to the conversation going on in the kitchen.
The older teen raised an eyebrow and opening his mouth to ask him what he was doing but the airbender grinned at him, putting his finger to his mouth for silence and nodding his head towards the inside of the kitchen. Zuko nodded and peaked around the corner, Katara and Sokka's backs were to them but Toph sat facing them, but seemed totally oblivious to the fact that he and Aang were there, Zuko wondered if she was so wrapped up in the conversation that she wasn't paying attention to anything else.
"What other powerful benders are there?" Toph asked her grin widening greatly, something about that grin told Zuko she knew he was there.
"Aha, Master Pakku." Sokka waggled his eyebrow at Katara, Zuko wondered what they were talking about.
"UGH Gross!" Aang made a face beside Zuko.
"Who's Master Pakku?"
"Mine and Aang's waterbending master from the North Pole."
"Yeah he's old and in love with our Gran-gran."
"Okay if you like 'em older why not Zuko's uncle, he's a pretty cool guy. Pretty powerful bender too."
Sokka looked torn between laughing and angrily declaring something about firebenders being bad.
"Ummmm that's quite alright, could we..." Katara stirred a pot on the fire.
"Oh I know!" Sokka looked like he'd had the most brilliant idea. "King Bumi!"
Aang had to cover his mouth to muffle his snickers, Zuko wondered again what they were talking about. From the way she'd slapped her forehead (spoon still in her hands) it had something to do with her...
"Isn't he that mad Earth King from Omashu?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't he like...?"
"Old." Sokka finished.
"How old?" Toph raised an eyebrow, Katara's vibrations were thoroughly disgusted, what could be so bad about an earth king?
"About as old as Aang but without the age defying sleep in an iceberg for a hundred years."
"Oh. Okay who else?"
"Guys, could we just..."
"Drop it? No, this is the most fun I've had in a while." Toph declared. "Almost as fun as the first few times I made Sparky give me a piggy back. Now who else is there??"
"Ummm... Haru?" Sokka replied.
Toph snickered, and from her posture Zuko and Aang could tell Katara was blushing.
"Come on Snozzles I could kick that boys butt in my sleep. But then again, I am the world's greatest earth bender."
"Umm... guys..." Katara's ears were turning red.
"Okay then what about you Toph?" Sokka laughed.
Toph and Katara 'look' at each other and burst out laughing.
"What?!"
"Ahahaha... no way that'd be like marrying you Sokka!" Katara wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Not to mention the fact that we'd have a little problem with the marriage and children aspect of that relationship."
"This is true." Sokka scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Besides who would be the guy?" The waterbender asked, still grinning.
"Toph would."
"I would."
"Hey!"
Aang chuckled from his place around the corner and motioned for the firebending teen to follow him, apparently the conversation was safe enough now that they could enter the room.
"Toph would what?" Aang asked curiously, as if they hadn't been sitting around the corner listening into the coversation.
"Be the guy in a relationship between her and my sister. "Sokka said totally non-plussed.
Zuko paused in his tracks for a half second before continuing to walk. He was rather disturbed by Sokka's lack of disturbance at the topic of conversation. Weren't older brothers supposed to think their little sisters would never get married and be old maid's until the end of time?
"Why would Toph be the guy? I could be a good guy couldn't I?" Katara asked imploringly.
Zuko's snort of amusement was covered by Sokka and Toph's outright laughter, even Aang chuckled.
"Hahaha! Come on Sweetness you're way girlier than I am!" To make her point Toph turned and spit out the window.
"Yeah..."
"Sorry Katara, but I can't see you as anything other than my little sister. I guess you're stuck as the weaker sex." Sokka said haughtily, helping himself to a bowl of rice.
"Weaker sex!"
"Hey!"
The water tribe boy found himself frozen to the ceiling rather quickly, his food meters away on the floor. "Awww my food..."
Note to self, Zuko though warily. Never say anything about women being weak...
Aang eyed Sokka's frozen form nervously. "So what brought this on anyways?" he asked.
Good idea, change the subject.
"Sugar Queen was telling me about this Aunt Wu lady. She was saying that once the war is over we should go back and get our fortunes read." Toph explained, taking the bowl of rice Katara offered her (actually that wasn't where it had started but close enough...).
"Fortune teller?" Zuko raised an eyebrow. "You don't actually believe in that stuff do you?"
Katara glared at him, puffing out her cheeks angrily, looking rather affronted but deigned to answer civilly, "Why not since we've been traveling with Aang a whole bunch of stuff that was supposed to be legend or myth has turned out to be true. Why can't fortune telling be real as well?"
She looked like she was going to go on but Aang interrupted her. "yeah but what does that have to do with Toph being manlier than you?"
Thank you Aang.
"N... nothing, "the water bender stammers, but the earthbender cuts her off.
"Katara said this Aunt Wu lady told her she would fall for some powerful bender." Katara went red and looked down at her rice."Naturally I was at the top of the list!"
"Actually the first people you said were -"
Sokka landed with a painful thud as the ice freezing him to the ceiling suddenly melted, "owie..."
Toph's evil grin returned and the look on Aang's face told Zuko that he was starting regret following up with this topic so eagerly.
"So we were trying to think of other powerful benders for her to marry. Sokka suggested the Boulder!"
The waterbender's face ran from embarrassment, to relief, to disgust so fast that if he hadn't seen it the he wouldn't have believed a person's expression could change that fast.
"Ugh! I can't believe he did either!" She exclaimed, violently serving up more rice for Zuko and Aang, who wrinkled his nose at the name.
"Who's the Boulder?" The Duke asked as he, Teo and Haru trundled into the room.
"A smelly, muscle bound, earthbending fighter who -"
"Is going to be Katara's future husband if we can't think of someone better apparently!" Toph cackled, cutting Katara off again.
"Ewwww! No way in hell Toph! I'll die an old maid first!"
"You just might at this rate," the shorter girl teased mercilessly.
"Hey it's not my fault that every guy I meet can't stand up to me in a fight!" Something about the way she said it made Haru and Aang flinch.
"Ouch, that's a little harsh Katara." Aang said trying to diffuse the situation from where it was going. Straight for a fight and somebody with hurt feelings at this rate.
Something inside Zuko wanted him to point out that he could, and had in fact, take her in a fight. But another side of him, the side that sounded like his Uncle, told him it probably wouldn't help. That it was in fact, not the best way to win back someones trust, by pointing out that you could possibly beat them up that is.
"You know maybe if you stopping trying to beat them up maybe they'd pay more attention to you." Sokka pointed out sagely, digging into his beloved lunch. "It's not very feminine, guys like girls that are calm and compliant and well, girlie. I hate to break it to you but you may be girlier that Toph but that doesn't say much."
"Hey!"
"And you might be good at womanly chores," he continued. "But you're not very womanly."
Sokka was intent on eating so he didn't see the anger and hurt that passed over his sister's face as he went on with his monologue. He totally missed Toph slapping her forehead and Aang's eyes widening as horror. He wasn't ready for what was coming next either (although maybe he should have been).
"Oh yeah Sokka! What about Suki!? Huh? As I recall she kicked your ass rather soundly! And afterwards you just love her!"
Haru, Teo and the Duke hadn't been around long enough to be used to Katara's anger, Zuko however was used to being on the receiving end of it, so was Sokka. But from the stricken look on the young man's face her words were a low blow.
"Don't talk about Suki, Katara." He warned in a low voice.
It didn't seem as if his sister had heard the words though, she kept going. "But I guess you'd know more about femininity and being girlie is more than I would huh?! Seeing as how at the end of the day you were the one wearing the dress and the make-up!!"
Everyone except Aang looked a little surprised by this revelation, something about it niggled at Zuko's memory.
"You know this is why guys don't like you, you know! Even at the north pole! By the time we left even the warriors were afraid of you! I should have been trying to beat them off with a stick, but no they were sympathising with me for having such an ungirlie little sister. Some of them even told me how sorry they were that my 'little brother' could scare away so many men in one go!" Sokka exploded.
"Yeah and when we were at Kyoshi they kept telling me that I was so lucky to have such a sensitive older sister, one who'd be able to teach me all the fine things about make-up and hair care when the time came!!" Katara snapped back, sometime during the shouting they'd stood up and were now standing in the middle of the room.
"Yeah well at least I don't fall for guys who blow up damns and drown entire villages of innocent people!" The dark angry look on Sokka's face fell when he realized what he'd said. He opened his mouth to apologize but his sister was gone.
Their little group was silent for a time that seemed to stretch for centuries, Sokka's shoulders slumped in the middle of them, looking for all the world like he'd just killed his own mother. Finally Aang stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll go see if I can find her," he said and jogged out of the room.
Sokka nodded and dejectedly flopped down beside his forgotten bowl of rice, his entire posture screaming the fact that he was no longer hungry. Toph sat down beside him.
"Good going Snoozles. So what's this I hear about you running around in a dress and make-up?"
Sokka sighed heavily.
"It wasn't a dress and make-up, it was traditional Kyoshi warrior garb!"
Zuko looked at Sokka long and hard for a minute and then it clicked.
"Wait that was YOU!"
A.N.: Review please!