ShyGuy: Hey guys! This is our second fanfic. It's a different style than our other one–Mind Games– and it's a new style for us too. I did swear that this was the last fanfic I would write about ATLA, but I was struck by inspiration so now GeekForAang and I are working on another one. Hope you enjoy! :)
GeekForAang: *Cheers* Yay! Another one coming soon! Sorry it took us so long to come out with this one. Unlike Mind Games, which was mostly passed-around dialogue, this one was passed back and forth differently. Please leave a review, it brightens mine (and ShyGuy's) day!
Disclaimer: We own nothing but our creative minds…
Blowing Out the Candle
"Aang? Aang? Wake up, Aang."
Aang shuffled around in his sleep and let out a groan.
"Aang?" Katara kissed him on the cheek before going up towards his temple, then his forehead, his other temple, back down to his cheek, and finally on the lips.
Aang started to smile. Katara pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Happy Birthday," she whispered before nuzzling her face into his neck.
"Thanks," he whispered back. "Anything we're doing today?"
"Get up," Katara replied, ignoring the question. She started to lift him up by his arm. They both laughed. She pulled him out from under the sheets and he fell to the floor.
"Drag me," Aang said lazily.
Katara laughed before pulling him out of his room and towards the stairs. "Whoa, whoa! Wait! I'll walk!" he yelled.
They started to walk downstairs, with Aang's arm around Katara's waist. When they reach downstairs, no one was there to tell him Happy Birthday.
"Where is everyone?" Aang asked.
"I don't know," Katara replied. "Maybe...? Yeah, I don't know."
"Ok. Then let's just eat breakfast."
"Way ahead of ya, Aang. I made your favorites! Moon peaches, an egg custard tart, and fruit pies!"
_
"The chicken has entered the coop, repeat, the chicken has entered the coop. Over. "
"Message received, loud and clear, Boomerang Boy. Prep for phase two of Mission Surprise. Over."
"Roger, Flame. Over. "
"Ugh," sighed Toph. Zuko, Mai, and Suki were all squished in with her in the basement of Aang and Katara's house. It was dank, dark, musty and being cooped up with them didn't make it any pleasanter.
"Shh…" hissed Zuko, giving her a dirty look.
"Relax, Zuko," whispered Mai, rubbing his back. "Don't overdo it."
"Yeah, yeah," said Zuko, clearly not believing her. "Blind Bandit, carry out the distraction." Zuko handed her a badly-wrapped empty box.
"Way to make me look bad, Zuko," said Toph, glaring in his direction.
"What? I did the best I could…" he said. "Now go!" Zuko gently shoved her to the door. Toph snatched the package and stomped towards the stairs, muttering under her breath.
"Sok- er, Boomerang Boy. Blind Bandit here. Are you ready to launch the banana peel? Over."
"Roger that, Blind Bandit. Banana peel ready to launch. Await signal to enter the scene. Over."
"Roger. Err…what's the signal again? Over."
"The bird, Blind Bandit. The bird, for Pete's sake. Over."
"Wow! That was good, Katara!"
"Thanks! Glad you liked it," Katara said with a smile.
'Ok, time for the plan,' Katara thought.
"Uh, Aang?" Katara looked up at Aang with puppy-dog eyes. "Let's go back up to your room."
"O-ok."
Katara backed up with one hand in Aang's and one behind her back to signal Mai to tell Toph to throw the banana peel. The signal was a quick flick of the wrist, which Katara did when Aang was right in front of the first step of the stairs.
/\/\/\/\/\
Mai looked over to Katara who flicked her wrist. "Now Toph."
Toph lightly stomped on the ground with her foot and the banana flew right into the spot that Aang stepped on half a second later. "Bingo," Toph muttered.
/\/\/\/\/\
"What are we gonna–whoa!" Aang's head landed on the ice-floor with a loud thud. Aang started to push himself up with his elbow and let out a groan.
"TwinkleToes!"
"T-Toph?"
"Here's drink this, TwinkleToes. It'll ease the pain."
Aang took the mysterious smelling tea and drank it all in one gulp. "Thanks T–" Bang. Again, Aang's head landed on the floor and he was out cold.
Katara crossed her arms in annoyance. "I can't believe we actually had to do that."
"Do you want him to have an awesome birthday?"
"Well, yeah, but–"
"Exactly. Now let's go get his birthday party ready!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Flame, this is Blind Bandit, reporting with the results of phase two. Phase two successful, repeat, phase two successful. Bringing River up to headquarters. Over."
"Blind Bandit, message received loud and clear. Over."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"So…what do we do with him?" asked Katara.
"Oh, I guess we'll just throw him in…this bag!" Toph pulled out a big, empty rice sack with a flourish.
"A bag? Really?" said Katara skeptically. "Will he fit? What if the bag breaks? And we're treating him like a hostage or prisoner for Pete's sake…"
"Eh. Don't worry about it. What Aang doesn't know won't hurt him," said Toph casually.
"Ok…" Katara agreed reluctantly as she helped Toph heave Aang into the rice bag.
Both girls grunted softly as they dragged Aang down the stairs to the basement.
When they reached the door to the basement, Toph softly, quickly knocked twice. After a pause, Zuko's face peeked out from behind the door. He quickly glanced at the bag in the girls' arms before letting them in.
"They've got the chicken," announced Zuko to the rest of the group. Relieved sighs slipped out from them. The hardest part of the plan was over with.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Hey Toph, can you pass–Err… Sokka! Can you pass me another candle?"
"I can pass it to you too, SugarQueen." Toph stomped the ground and the candle flew up into the air and on the tablecloth before Katara could catch it.
A fire ensued. Sokka started to run around screaming as the fire spread throughout the banquet hall. Katara was on a ladder, so she didn't have the balance to waterbend. And Toph's and Zuko's bending would only make it worse. Katara quickly flew down the ladder as the fire spread to the whole room. Everyone decorating evacuated the hall and went outside the expensive (and now burning) Earth Kingdom building.
"Way to go, Toph!" Katara's arms flailed.
"Hey!" Toph began, "If it weren't for you suggesting that I pass you the candle, we wouldn't have this mess!"
"Well, if it weren't for you, being so stubborn and letting Sokka pass the candle, the fire wouldn't have started!"
"Well I wouldn't have passed it to you if–"
"STOP!" Zuko yelled. "Now before you guys start beating each other up, I suggest that we get new decorations and a new venue and get this party started before Aang wakes up!" He glanced at the burning building. "Right after Katara puts out this fire!" He started to stomp away and everyone but Katara followed suit.
/\/\/\/\/\
Katara huffed as she watched the group stomp off. Why did they always leave her to pick up the pieces of their mess? Oh well.
She jogged down to a nearby stream and filled her water skins and a bucket with water. She glanced back at the burning building. This was going to take a while.
/\/\/\/\
As the smell of smoke left the air, Zuko calmed down. He took a big breath of fresh air and dropped onto the grass, and spread his arms. The others looked at him curiously before following suit.
Finally, Toph broke the silence. "Um, Zuko… What are we doing?"
"Taking a break," came the terse reply.
"Ok," Toph sighed.
The group drifted off to sleep, tired from the excitement of the morning's activities.
/\/\/\/\
Zuko spluttered awake, cold water dripping from his hair.
"YOU, MISTER, ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!" shouted an enraged Katara. "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME TO FIGHT A FIRE THAT BURNED DOWN AANG'S PARTY ROOM WHILE YOU RELAX HERE?"
"I-uh, I–" Zuko stuttered.
"You WHAT!" Katara screeched. "Huh? Tell me!"
Toph stared at the ground while listening to the yelling before she walked behind Katara, squeezed Katara's shoulder, and Katara dropped to ground, just like Aang did, hours before.
"Toph!" Sokka cried out! "We NEED her for Aang's party! She's the one who knows the most about Aang and what he likes!"
"Calm down, Sokka," Zuko's face had a relaxed expression. "We'll get this party read, even if it kills us. Now, we all know Aang at different views of his… emotions. So we'll just put together what we know, and get him a party."
"Sounds good," Suki mumbled.
"Ok, I, for one know Aang with his frustrated side showing up." Toph piped up.
"Yeah, me too," Zuko agreed.
They looked at Sokka for his answer. Sokka was staring off into space trying to think of what to say about Aang. He lightly stroked his chin as if he had a beard and he had a thoughtful look on his face. He opened his mouth and raised his fingers to speak. They all leaned in…
"I got nothing."
"Really?" Suki said. "Even I have something."
"Ok. Whatcha got?" Zuko asked.
"Well… when I'm with him… I can see his love for Katara."
Sokka half-gagged, while Toph smirked and Zuko looked away.
Zuko growled. "This is NOT helping."
"Wow… do you really not know one of yours friends that badly?" Mai sighed. "Figures…"
"Hey!" Sokka shot back. "We know Aang plentiful!"
"Oh yeah?" Mai challenged. "What's his favorite food?"
Silence. No one knew.
Sokka scoffed. "How would I know! He's not my boyfriend."
"You wish he was…" Mai mumbled. Everyone caught that. Sokka had his mouth agape in shock that she actually went that far.
"Mai!" Zuko scolded. "What was that?"
"Yeah!" Sokka agreed. "I'm not gay!"
"You know what?" Suki said. "This is wasting our time. We have to get Aang's party ready, even if it kills us."
"We can always cancel," Toph suggested.
"No. Aang is turning sixteen. Sixteen. We all had a birthday bash at sixteen. Now it's Aang's turn."
"Hey! I haven't gotten one."
"What do you expect, Toph? You're still fifteen." Suki reminded her. "Now let's go find a new venue, new food–" Sokka did a fist pump,"–chosen by non-carnivores–" Sokka slumped down,"–new decorations, and new everything!"
They all trotted away as Toph was mumbling, "It's not fair that I'm not sixteen yet. Why do I have to be the smallest, yet the strongest?"
/\/\/\/\/\
Suki weaved drunkenly from side to side, staggering under the load of non-meat foods in her arms. Toph followed in a similar fashion and dumped the bundle onto a pile of similar bundles on the ground.
They had just returned from the marketplace, buying up a ton of raw ingredients for Aang's favorite vegetable stew, buns, and vegetable dish.
"Seeing all those veggies make me gag," commented Sokka, miming the motion of throwing up.
"Shut up," huffed Toph. "Unlike you, Aang has a well-balanced diet of vegetables."
"Yeah? Well, I have a well-balanced diet of meat," retorted Sokka.
"Chop, chop!" barked Zuko. "We don't have all day, you lazybutts!"
Suki gathered a bundle of firewood for Zuko to light and filled a big pot with water. "Okay, Katara, all ready!" she shouted.
Katara emerged from the bushes in an old dress with an apron, sleeves rolled up her arms. "Let's get this party started!" she grinned.
/\/\/\/\/\
As Sokka tried to steal (surprisingly) a carrot, Suki slapped his hand, Toph spit in a nearby pot, Katara put up the last decoration, and Zuko brushed his hands off and kissed the bored-faced Mai; they finally knew they were ready for the birthday bash.
Toph quickly shot up from her lazy position as she looked over to where she felt–and everyone else heard, footsteps.
The Earth King poked his head through the doorframe.
"King Kuei! So nice to see you!" Katara smiled politely. Bosco's head also peeked through and Katara's smile droped half a centimeter. Thankfully, Kuei didn't notice.
Bosco had been known for his carnivorous eating. Although he was an honor to be around, it could always getting annoying when he reaches for your food.
"Katara! Sokka! Toph! Been a while hasn't it?" King Kuei looked at them from above his small glasses.
"Yeah, last time was at–" Sokka was interrupted by the smashing of the west side wall of the party room. They heard a familiar cackle, as a large figure's shadow loomed around the hole in the wall.
"Bumi!" Sokka yelled, "You just smashed the wall!"
"Calm down, Snoozles. I'll fix it." Toph calmly lifted her arms up and the wall was brought together.
"So where's the birthday boy?" Bumi said with a chuckle.
They all pointed to a closet. "Well, all right then. I'm sure he'll be just fine in there."
Everyone's mouth dropped open. Bumi was always so out of it.
/\/\/\/\/\
Aang 's eyes fluttered open as he awoke.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" shouted everybody in the room.
"Uh…Wha?" Aang replied groggily.
"Happy Birthday, Aang!" Katara said cheerily as she leaned over to kiss him. "We threw you a surprise party!"
Aang looked around blankly.
"My-my birthday?" said Aang, confused.
"Yes, it's your birthday, Aang. We threw you a surprise party," Katara said slowly, as if speaking to a small child.
Aang stared back at her blankly.
Katara turned to Toph. "What the hell did you put in that potion? It was just supposed to knock him out for a few hours, not give him amnesia!"
"Well, sorry! Gosh, why didn't you just make the potion yourself? YOU'RE the cook, not me!" retorted Toph.
The guests crowded around Aang. He stared at them confusedly.
"Great, now what? Aang forgot about everything!" sneered Zuko. "And after all the things we did!"
There was a pause as everybody examined Aang closely. He stared back at them.
"FOOLED YOU! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Aang burst out laughing. He rolled around on the ground, clutching his sides, gasping out, "You should've seen your faces! Boy, did I get you guys good! That'll teach you not to drug me ever again!"
After a few shocked minutes of silence, Sokka started to laugh weakly in relief.
Katara hit Sokka's head.
Aang's laughter trailed off. Katara glared at him, fury in her eyes. "You are SO lucky it's your birthday, mister. Now, you are going to enjoy the party that we worked all day for, and then you and I are going to have a talk."
"Yes, Katara," Aang said with his head down, eyes averted.
/\/\/\/\/\
"So, Aang. Enjoying the party?" Katara asked him out of breath. She had been dancing all across the dance floor while Aang watched.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. He was having fun, no doubt. But he had other things on his mind. Specifically the plan he had.
He hated to admit it, but he was scared of what Katara said earlier, about having a "Talk". So he proposed a plan to get out of it. He looked at Katara; she was bouncing up and down in front of him to the beat that the band was playing.
"So... Katara. You want a drink? You seem thirsty," he looked up at her; she was all sweaty.
"Sure, Aang. You can choose what's refreshing for me." She smiled as Aang looked at the bartender and winked. The bartender knew about the plan and pretended that he didn't see Aang's wink. "Hey bartender!" The bartender turned at the Avatar's words. "Fix something refreshing up for my beautiful girlfriend." Katara rolled her eyes playfully as she saw the bartender grab a bottle and pour it in a wooden cup. He turned and skidded the mystery-drink towards Katara and it fit straight into her small hand. She took three big gulps. Her eyes went wide and she twitched. She put on a calm smile before she scooted closer to Aang. The bartender shook his head from side to side while he let out a chuckle and cleaned a glass.
"So... Aang," Katara started trailing her fingers around his face, "Wanna go dance?"
Aang looked at her nervously. "Uh, no thanks."
Katara pouted. "Why not, Aang? It'll be fun..." she explained drunkenly, her voice rising.
Aang looked at her. 'She's so cute when she's drunk,' he thought.
He couldn't say no as she drunkenly pouted, so he mumbled an 'Ok' as she brought him to the dance floor.
"WHHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!" howled Katara, her voice laced with alcohol. "Let's get this party STARTED! Turn it up DJ! I can barely hear the music!"
The music was already turned up pretty loudly, the house shaking with every beat. The DJ shrugged helplessly at Aang before pretending to turn the music up to satisfy Katara.
"THAT's more like it, handsome! Now why don't you come out here and show me your moves!" Katara beckoned, hands on her hips. She swayed dangerously from side to side before dropping to the ground with a loud thud.
"Aang? Pretty lights..." Katara whimpered before closing her eyes and starting to snore.
"I'll take her upstairs," Aang smiled sheepishly.
"Nice going, Twinkletoes," muttered Toph before rejoining the crowd on the dance floor.
/\/\/\/\/\
Aang carried Katara bridal-style up to his room. He would've taken her to her own room, but he believed his room was more comfy for her state.
Aang kicked his door open, with her in his hands, and set her down gently on his king-sized bed. She slurred in her sleep, but didn't wake up.
"Hmmmmm..." Aang mumbled. "Where am I gonna sleep...?" He put his hand on his chin thoughtfully.
He could always sleep with her, but they weren't married yet. But, one night couldn't hurt, right?
/\/\/\/\/\
He was on the right, she was on the left. He had his arm gently wrapped around her waist, she held onto his arm. Sunrise was about to appear, but they were both still out cold.
Sokka threw the door open. He let out a gasp before yelling. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" The couple shot up and saw Sokka there with his eyes covered.
Katara was grabbing her pounding head. She felt like crap, and she was on the brink of barfing at any minute.
Any minute came seconds later as she ran towards her bathroom and threw up. Sokka just stood there with his face twisted in disgust when it turned into anger. "You... didn't..." He pointed at Aang.
"No I didn't, I SWEAR." Aang had his hands up in defense.
"Then why is she BARFING as we speak?"
"She... Uh... kinda drank too much last night."
Sokka glared at him as Katara emerged from the bathroom looking like a mess. Sokka looked at her before bolting out the door.
"She's your problem now!" he called out as he ran out of the room.
"Aang..." Katara groaned. "We need to have a talk, still."
'Dammit.'
Sorry if the title doesn't make sense to you, but it does go with the story!
And sorry for typos. That was probably me (GeekForAang).