So, I haven't been happy with my work posted in 2009 for a LONG time now (most of it was really written before that). I've decided to go over and edit my various Avatar oneshots! (No worries, TMNT fans, Insecurities 2 is still in progress) Doing this from oldest to newest, so Intoxicated is up first. Hope you like the new one! The old one is on its way out.
"Having fun?" Katara grumbled from her isolated seat in the corner of Mai's private suite. The Waterbending Master was currently scrutinizing her three closest female friends as they giggled on the floor with a full flagon of cactus juice.
"Hey, if you're not gonna join in the party, don't try and make us feel bad about having a good time." Suki turned to Katara and blew a piece of hair out of her glassy eyes. Her half-lidded gaze and reddened cheeks made Katara uncomfortable; she had never seen Suki act so careless before and it unnerved her greatly.
"How is getting completely wasted the night before Mai's wedding a good time?" Katara shot back with judgmental vigor, her complete lack of comfort making it easy for her to project irritation.
"Hey! We're not wasted!" Toph retorted. "Besides, this is just cactus juice." She took another swig of the stuff and set her cup down on the ground next to her. "You can start being Miss Judgy Wusspants when we start on my flask of rice wine here." Katara scowled at Toph, she was not a wuss! She just didn't trust anything that made someone act so different.
"Come sit with us, Katara. You don't have to drink anything." Mai beckoned. "I'm not." She patted the cushion next to her.
"See? She's not participating, but at least she's not preaching." Toph stuck her tongue out at Katara, who crossed her arms and glared outright.
"Fine, I'll come and sit with you. But only because Mai wants me to and it's her party. Also, I'm not sitting next to Toph." She walked over from the table and took a seat between Suki and Mai. "Why are you drinking that stuff, anyway?"
"Wanted to see what it felt like." Suki responded, shrugging. "It's pretty thirst quenching." She let out a hiccup and a giggle. "Come on, Mai, try some. It's harmless."
"I'm not thirsty and I don't know about how my body would tolerate it. I'm not risking the possibility of spouting nonsense about friendly mushrooms instead of speaking my vows tomorrow. Besides, Zuko's going to be hung over on rice wine anyway, and least one of us should be sober."
"Drinking that stuff is just stupid." Katara declared. Toph snorted and cracked a grin. Sometimes, Katara made this too easy.
"Not if you can handle it, Sugar Queen." She taunted, her inner self ecstatic at the prospect of some mischief. Katara rolled her eyes.
"Oh, please. I'm not going to fall for that, Toph."
"I'm not trying to trick you, I'm just stating a simple fact. You think she can handle this stuff, Suki?"
"I doubt it." Suki smiled drunkenly. Katara sighed.
"I'm not doing it." She replied, annoyed.
"You know, when I left to remind get the flagon from Sokka, I checked in on the guy's party. Twinkletoes took a shot of this stuff before I left." Toph gave a sly smile.
"Don't play the Aang card. I'm not falling for it." Katara turned her back on the other girls.
"I'll bet you twenty silver pieces that you can't drink more than I can, cactus juice and rice wine." Toph dealt out her last metaphorical playing card. She knew that Katara wasn't really going to pass up a challenge between the two of them based on something so trivial.
"…I'll do it for forty silver pieces."
...
Aang opened the door to his bedroom to see Mai help a very tipsy Katara stand upright. His girlfriend was flushed and tripping over herself, a sight Aang had been positive he wouldn't see when he kissed Katara goodbye before Mai and Zuko's respective parties.
"Sorry, I didn't want to leave her alone." Aang nodded and took Katara from the soon-to-be Fire Lady.
"What happened?" He asked her. Mai passed Katara to him, supporting her weight until the girl's arms were around Aang's shoulders.
"She lost a bet with Toph. First it was just cactus juice but then we moved on to Toph's personal stash of rice wine and then Suki and Katara snuck into the kitchens for more. So... you guys have fun?"
"Uh...yeah, but Zuko and Sokka…you know what, I'll just let Zuko tell you." Aang gave a wobbly smile. Mai smacked her forehead.
"Great. Did this have to do with the firecrackers and all that giggling I heard in the halls?" Mai inquired. Aang continued to smile as pleasantly as he could.
"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement." He said finally. Mai groaned, slapping her palm to her forehead in frustration.
"Good night." The Avatar said cheerily. Mai waved without making eye contact and made her way down the hall. Aang freed up one of his hands to close the door and made his way to his bed, where he lay Katara down gently.
"You okay?" He asked. She laughed in response, not a giggle but a full on belly laugh. Apparently the concept of her being anything but 'okay' was absolutely hilarious.
"I'm fine, what are you talking about?" She asked when she had finally laughed herself silly. She smiled at him, but it wasn't a genuine Katara smile. Her eyes were half-lidded and her smile sultry, but the intense blush on her face and neck revealed she wasn't totally there with him. Aang backed away from her.
"How much did you drink?" He demanded. She giggled and leaned towards him, batting her dark lashes.
Oh man. Aang didn't like this, but apparently his hormones didn't agree with him.
"Ummmmmmm….I don't know." She walked her fingers up his chest, coming especially close to him as she traced his lips with her pointer finger. Aang flushed and weakly pushed her hand away.
"Katara, no. Not now." His protest was rushed and panicked, which Katara seemed to find very humorous. Aang stood up and went into the bathroom before Katara could fluster him any further. He wet a towel with cool water and left the bathroom, only to find Katara had removed her dress and was now clad in just her bindings and underskirt.
"Sorry. It was just...so hot in here." She spoke in that raspy, sultry tone. Aang gulped and sat next to her on the bed, careful to keep his distance. She giggled again as he set the towel against her forehead, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"You're so cute, Aang." She said, giving him a pouty smile. Aang sighed and took his bottom lip between his teeth.
"A-are you feeling sick at all?" He asked, avoiding her eyes. She shook her head.
"Nuh uh." She replied. "Why would I feel sick?" She lay back on the bed and rolled onto her stomach, smiling up at him enticingly. "As far as I can see, everything's great."
"Katara, just try and cooperate with me, please. This is serious, you're not well." Aang frowned. Katara sat up, leaned on his chest and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"You're no fun tonight, Aang." She rested her head on his chest and snaked her arms around his waist, pouting. "What happened? Usually we have so much fun together." Aang rubbed her back tenderly before pushing her away lightly.
"Katara, stop. We can have all the fun you want when you're sober. Let's just try to get you to sleep or some- mmph!" Aang's eyes widened when Katara set her mouth to his once more.
He tried to wriggle away and close his mouth but Katara pressed on. When his attempt at pushing her resulting in him accidentally groping her breast Katara moaned...and he just couldn't take it anymore. He finally kissed her back without protest, throwing any past objection to the wind. He threw his arms around her neck and drew her in closer, nipping her lips and grabbing at her backside, beginning to plant little kisses along her jaw.
Katara suddenly felt a telltale lurch in her stomach and she shoved Aang off of herself forcefully, making a sprint for his bathroom. For a moment the young Avatar panicked, thinking he had done something wrong until he heard her retching. He sighed, defeated and concerned when he heard her violently heaving into his toilet. He followed her in there, holding her hair back and stroking her back as she was sick.
He just wasn't going to win tonight.
…
When Aang finally opened his eyes he was intrigued to see the sun of mid-morning shining through his open window. When you had a wedding taking place at midday to prepare for, just waking up at mid-morning was not a good sign. He almost bolted out of bed when he remembered his impromptu bed mate was still sleeping soundly, her head on his chest and their legs entwined.
Aang held on to her waist and sat up slowly, shifting both of their positions and doing his best not to jar her awake. He peppered her face with light kisses and mumbled her name. She gave out a light sigh of pleasure and opened her eyes, smiling delightedly when she realized that in fact, she wasn't dreaming; Aang was there with her.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked her, foregoing a 'good morning,' as they were short on time and he had no use for decorum like that with her anyway.
"Um…was I feeling sick?" She responded, clearly confused. "Owww…" The fogginess of waking up cleared with a painful headache. "I have a headache. Did I miss a lot of sleep?"
"Well, you got to sleep very early this morning, so I would say yes, you did miss some sleep." He smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry to wake you up now, but the wedding is in a few hours and we need to get ready." Katara groaned.
"What happened last night?" She winced and tried to stand up, taking a moment to lean on his shoulder. "I remember Toph was egging me on about cactus juice and rice wine…how much did I have?" She turned to him with a pained expression on her face, clearly the headache was rather daunting.
"Well, you had enough to incessantly flirt with me and giggle a lot. And apparently, enough to not remember it at all." Despite Aang's casual tone, Katara felt a knot of apprehension in her chest and headed to the bathroom to heal the headache, or at least take the edge off.
"I…what? I flirted with you?" She dipped her hands in the washing water and bent it around her hands, starting the healing process. "Well, that's okay, I guess. I do that all the time." She placed her hands to her temples and groaned loudly in relief. "Did I do anything really stupid?" She continued her questioning, eager to confirm she hadn't made a complete idiot of herself.
"Well, you did keep trying to kiss me, and when I finally gave in you had to make a run for the bathroom." Katara's expression turned to one of dread.
"No." She gasped, embarrassed. "I didn't…"
"Three times." Aang gave her an understanding smile. Katara grimaced.
"I'm so sorry." She half whispered. He shook his head, waving it off as it was no big deal to him.
"It's fine, really." He reassured. "You would've done the same for me."
"What happened after that?" She asked wearily, almost afraid to hear his answer. He laughed.
"Um, after that I cleaned you up and I guess we fell asleep." There was a pause as the two teenagers blushed and gave shy glances at one another."Sokka's going to murder me." Aang said to break the silence.
"If anyone can find him." Toph alleged from outside the room. The couple jumped slightly; neither one of them had anticipated her presence. Aang hadn't really been focusing on vibrations…his mind had been somewhere else that morning.
"Come in, Toph." Aang earth bended the door open and went to sit on his bed. Toph was already decked out in her bridesmaid gear, a white sleeveless dress with delicate gold detailing and a matching shawl wrapped around her elbows that draped to the floor. Her hair had been let out and curled, but her rebellious locks only submitted to a subtle wave. She had a fire lily tucked behind one ear and held a matching bouquet. She was not wearing shoes, but Mai had probably made that exception for her blind friend. Aang and Katara both started at her, astonished.
"Toph?" Aang's voice cracked. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, shut up." She replied. "I know I look like a circus freak." Katara shook her head.
"No, you look fantastic." She countered. Toph blushed and ignored the compliment.
"The servants in Mai's room are freaking out looking for you. Ty Lee is almost done getting ready, and Mai is about halfway there." She informed her matter-of-factly. "Knew you couldn't take your rice wine, Sugar Queen." She winked. Katara gasped.
"I'm so late!" She panicked, willing herself not to take Toph's bait. Instead, she pecked Aang on the lips and ran out of the room.
"So, what were you saying about Sokka?" Aang asked the blind bandit, who was clearly starved for male company as she hadn't left with Katara.
"Oh! He's missing." She replied casually, fingering the flowers in her bouquet.
"What?!" Aang's eyebrows made a break for his hairline. "He's missing?"
"Well, not really, I guess." Toph sighed. "He grabbed Suki like, and hour ago and no one can find either one of them."
"Suki was already ready and hour ago?!" Aang asked, surprised. "How late is it?"
"We have two hours until the ceremony Aang, calm down. And Suki only really has her makeup and hair done. That's why I've been released from the torturous dungeon of Mai's bedroom, I've been looking for them." Aang nodded, mulling over his own duties that morning.
"Well, I should probably get to Zuko's room." Aang decided. "I'm sure he's freaking out right now."
"Oh, we could hear him while Mai was getting ready. He can really squeak, you know?" Toph waved casually and left the room. "Catch you at the ceremony, Twinkletoes." Aang straightened up, made sure he was somewhat presentable (he didn't want to look completely ridiculous, considering the long trek to Zuko's room that lay ahead) and went on ahead to get prepared.
...
The precession of the wedding party seemed awkward for reasons no one could figure at first; there was just that tense feeling hanging over the group. Even though Aang and Katara had traveled down the aisle with ease and Toph had managed fine by herself, Sokka and Suki looked incredibly uncomfortable as they walked together, and relief broke out on Sokka's face as he released Suki's arm to join the groomsmen. Aang, already positioned by Zuko's side, leaned over to ask Sokka what was wrong.
"Sokka, did anything happen? You were missing all morning with Suki, and just now you guys were acting weird." Sokka looked at Aang grimly and responded,
"We broke up. I'll explain later." Aang's eyes widened and he turned away to face Zuko, trying to put his shock aside for later. Zuko was almost ready to faint at the altar, but no one really noticed as Mai walked down the aisle, Ty Lee holding her train.
Bride and groom both wore gold that sparkled in the afternoon sun, and both also wore matching smiles as they saw each other at opposite ends of the aisle. The ceremony went smoothly with Iroh as officiate, and before anyone knew it Zuko was lifting Mai's veil and smiling at her makeup-touched face.
…
The Avatar and his love whirled around each other intimately as the music echoed throughout the royal ballroom. Aang had done a flip or two as Katara twirled, volumes of white fabric swirling around her long legs. Aang approached with perfect timing to dip her and spin her away from him before she gave a run and jump to grant the audience one final trick: Aang caught her in the air and they both began to spin, Aang slowly lowering her to the floor with each rotation, the song ending as she finally came inches from the floor and she dropped down into his arms, snuggling into his chest as he embraced her lovingly.
The fire nation nobles around them applauded and cheered as the band struck up a slower song and the couple slipped away from the crowd.
"You're a good dancer." Aang complemented, panting slightly from the adrenaline and from touching her so intimately in public.
"You too." Katara giggled and kissed him full on the lips. He hugged her close, deepening the kiss he had been waiting for all day. After the ceremony, everyone had been rushing to get to the reception. Ty Lee had to get back to Kyoshi, so Katara and Suki had gone to see her off. Mai was being fussed over by her family, much to her annoyance, and Zuko's attention was being diverted a hundred different ways by distant relatives and nobles offering him congratulations. Finally, when they had all gathered at the head table to eat, everyone was busy scarfing down food. (Most of them hadn't eaten since early yesterday evening.) And then there was the first dance between Zuko and Mai, which had gone surprisingly well despite a few clumsy steps by Zuko.
"By the way," Aang broke the kiss. "You look stunning." Katara smiled wide in response, her heart fluttering at his easy compliment. She never got tired of how openly sweet he was.
"Thanks, but it's not really my job to look good today, I'm just supposed to be a bridesmaid." She replied. Aang shrugged.
"Well, you always look good to me, I guess." Katara opened her mouth to respond, but Toph burst through the crowd and interrupted.
"Hey, stop mauling each other for a minute and come here!" She gestured to the couple and led them across the ballroom to the other side. She ducked into one of the connected hallways and disappeared behind a curtain. The couple looked at each other, shrugged, and decided to follow. Behind the curtain was a smaller room lit by candles. There was a bar in the back and a small dance floor with some tables off to the side.
"What's this room for?" Katara asked as she sat next to Mai, curious.
"This is where the Fire Lord goes when he doesn't want to deal with people during a party." Mai responded bluntly. Zuko rolled his eyes.
"Basically, yes." He agreed. "And, because there are so many people here, we thought it would be nice to sneak away for a little while."
"Congratulations, by the way." Aang said to Zuko. "I never got to tell you guys before because…well, for obvious reasons." Zuko laughed.
"Mai and I could barely speak to each other after the ceremony; we had to wait until we got here." He replied.
"There are a TON of people here, aren't there? I mean, it's obviously a big event but there are just so many!" Katara sighed. "And it's going to take forever to get them all out of here."
"Actually, a lot of people are starting to leave." Toph spoke up from the corner. "And it's only 9:00."
"That late?" Aang was surprised. "And we've barely had enough time to eat." He moaned. "Am I right, Sokka?" Sokka didn't respond from his place sulking in the corner.
"Wow, way to ignore your friend, Sokka." Suki said harshly from the opposite end of the room where she was doing some serious sulking herself.
"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't hear him, Miss Pleasant." He shot back, standing up and placing his hands on his hips. "Hey, how about you go spend some time with AKI? He seems to do everything perfectly." Suki gave a low growl in response.
"Hey, how about we get a band in here!" Zuko intervened. "I'd like to do some dancing, wouldn't you Mai?" He turned to his wife, hopeful.
"Not really." She replied, clearly oblivious to her husband's attempts to clear up the tension in the room.
"I haven't gotten my dance with the groom yet." Toph called from the back of the room, clearly sensing the palpable discomfort.
"Me neither." Katara insisted, picking up on Toph's cues. "And Aang and Sokka haven't gotten to dance with the bride yet."
"I've done my first dance, now I'm done." Mai replied. "Aang and Sokka can dance with each other if they want to dance."
"Come on, Mai." Suki urged. "I'm sure that Sokka would love to dance with someone who isn't me." She shot a glare in Sokka's direction.
"You know what-" Sokka started angrily, but Toph clamped her hand over his mouth.
"I'll dance with you, Sokka." Toph decided calmly. "Katara can dance with Zuko first."
"Fine." The warrior agreed through gritted teeth.
"I'll dance with Suki." Aang volunteered. Suki nodded as Iroh set down his tea and took his tsungi horn up from beside him.
"I'll provide the music." He began with a steady tempo as the couples took the floor. Sokka and Suki placed themselves on opposite ends of the dance floor, setting a dark mood over the others and prompting a few worried looks from Aang.
Katara's fluid movements were stunted by Zuko's rigid dance steps, eliciting a few quiet snickers from Mai. Aang faced a similar problem with Suki, but only because the warrior's focus was directed at Sokka in intense glares and disruptive stomping. Aang's poor feet took a beating.
Sokka and Toph, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying themselves. They stepped in rhythm and moved cautiously (the dance floor was wooden, so Toph couldn't see) but constantly cracked jokes at one another and discussed how boring the ceremony was. Soon, however, the curious side of Toph took over.
"What's up with you and Suki?" She asked bluntly. "You disappear for hours this morning and now you can barely speak to each other without exploding." Sokka sighed.
"She broke up with me." He confessed, defeated and sad. "After the war ended, and we were back on Kyoshi, Suki was hanging out with this Aki guy. I thought they were just being friendly. But I caught them kissing last month. We've been fighting ever since, her insisting that he's the one that kissed her and me just...well, it hurt, Toph! It still hurts. So I...haven't really been one for talking. Stuff sort of came to a head this morning when I tried to confront her again before the wedding so we wouldn't be awkward during the ceremony. That worked well. She told me that she was sorry, but that she was done. We…were done."
"Wow." Toph replied, and there was a long pause. "Her loss." She shrugged. Sokka thought of how to reply, but couldn't really come up with anything to say.
After Zuko had danced with all three bridesmaids, Iroh decided to take a break from playing and get back to his tea, leaving the group to come up with another activity.
"How about we play a game?" Aang suggested. The others shrugged indifferently and inquired as to what game they would be playing.
"How about a drinking game?" Toph suggested excitedly. "Sokka and I still have some scores of cactus juice…"
"I'm staying out of it." Mai insisted.
"So am I." Iroh announced. "And I advise that the rest of you do too. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll visit with some of the nobles." He smiled and whispered some loving comment to Zuko and Mai before leaving the room.
"Anyway," said Sokka, rolling his eyes. "I think that after last night we know how much we can take responsibly." Still, the rest of the group looked uneasy.
"What kind of drinking game?" Katara questioned. "As long as I can avoid drinking and still distract Sokka and Suki from fighting, I don't care what we do." She though.
"A daring type of drinking game." Toph's eyes widened with excitement. "Every time you get asked a dare, you can pass that dare to someone else, but you need to take a shot of cactus juice with it. Then you give someone else one!" Silence filled the room. "Unless you're all babies or something."
"Some of us probably wouldn't be able to handle it." Suki interjected, a hint of challenge in her eye as she glared at Sokka.
"I'm going to assume you're talking about Aang." He responded confidently.
"Oh, I'm fine with cactus juice." Aang yawned nonchalantly. "It's Zuko who can't handle it."
"Actually, we all know that Katara's the one with cactus juice issues." The fire lord smirked.
"Okay, then I give Zuko a dare!" Katara crossed her arms, ready to get the game underway.
"Okay." Zuko replied. Katara considered what to do for a moment, but could barely hold in her excitement when she came up with her challenge.
"I dare you to lick the bottom of Toph's foot!" She said slyly, a wide grin spreading across her features as Zuko's smirk morphed into a frown.
"Don't I get any say in this?!" Toph protested.
"Hey, the game was your idea, Toph." Katara giggled with delight.
"Where are the shot glasses?" Zuko asked with a defeated sigh. Sokka went to check out the bar and found shot glasses under the counter. He grabbed six of them and headed back to his friends, handing a glass to each player and filling Zuko's glass with cactus juice from a flask. Zuko gulped it down quickly.
"I pass my dare to Katara." He smirked again, but Katara was not to be outdone. She filled her glass and took her shot quickly.
"I pass the dare to Sokka." She concluded. Sokka shrugged.
"I take the dare." He decided. "And let me just say that I find it pathetic that you would waste a shot on the first dare."
"Don't take your time, okay Snoozles?" Toph held her foot up to Sokka nervously, who quickly skimmed it with his tongue and shivered. Toph (who was actually quite glad she'd washed her feet yesterday) was justifiably mortified, but determined to get revenge on Katara at her first opportunity.
"Okay, Aang. Your turn." Sokka declared, feeling triumphant that he'd survived the ordeal and been the first of his friends to step up and take a dare. The monk nodded calmly in response. Sokka thought hard for a few moments, stroking his chin.
"Okay…I dare you to lick the floor!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. Mai groaned.
"Is this game just going to involve licking things?" She asked. Sokka glared.
"What do you suggest I make him do?" Sokka inquired.
"Well, if you're trying to get people hyped up on cactus juice and you can't think of anything, just dare him to drink some." She offered the obvious response. The players stared back at her, beginning to feel like idiots.
"Okay…I dare you to take a shot of cactus juice." Sokka said, a bit stunned that he hadn't come up with the dare. Aang took a shot and thought about who to ask.
"Suki." He settled. "I dare you to…" The group didn't really expect anything impressive. This was naïve, innocent, light-hearted Aang, who for some odd reason decided to ask where a bathroom was. Zuko, confused, pointed to a door in the back of the room. Aang ducked into the small room and came out with a bar of soap.
"What's that for?" Suki asked, a bit nervous.
"I dare you to take a bite out of this." Aang said smugly, handing Suki the soap. Suki looked as if she was about to be sick. The other teens stared at Aang in dumbfounded astonishment. Even Mai looked a bit bothered.
"That's disgusting!" Toph gagged. "You're evil!"
"I think having to lick someone's foot is worse than eating soap." Katara reflected.
"I disagree," insisted Sokka. "I've already lost the…foot taste. Suki's gonna be tasting that all night!" He began to laugh heartily as Suki glowered.
"I'll take the dare." She decided proudly and grabbed the soap. However, she took a wary glance at the small bar, almost as if she was scared of it.
"Are you gonna take a shot?" Sokka waved the flask teasingly at his ex.
"In your dreams, boomerang boy." Suki screwed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and bit down on the bar firmly. Sokka's eyes widened in surprise that she'd actually gone through with it...but he'd always liked Suki's tendency to step up to a challenge.
"Do ah haa hoo shwallow et?" Suki asked with a full mouth, glancing at the now disgusted Avatar. He shook his head no, eyes wide, and the Kyoshi warrior proudly headed to the bathroom and disposed of the soap.
"Okay." She greeted with ease as she emerged triumphantly. "Toph. I dare you to wear shoes for the rest of the game." Toph sighed.
"Why pick on me?" She asked. Suki shrugged.
"Sorry, I couldn't really come up with anything good." Suki looked apologetic.
"Whatever, I'll just take the shot and pass the dare to Zuko." Toph took a quick shot and leaned back, relaxed.
"But…I'm already wearing shoes." Zuko said, perplexed.
"Yeah, but I have a great tolerance to this stuff and I don't want to lose my ability to see for the rest of the night." Toph replied without opening her eyes. Zuko shrugged.
"All right then…Katara. I dare you to make up a song about Toph and sing it to us." He said after careful consideration.
"What is it with you people dragging me into your dares!?" Toph protested.
"I guess I'll take the dare." Katara answered indifferently. "Um…should I start?" Sokka was about to burst with his built up giggles, fighting not to laugh and offend his sister. However, part of him just couldn't resist.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He exploded, crouching over and slapping his right knee forcefully. Katara glared, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Dare I ask why you're laughing?" She said through gritted teeth, clearly irked.
"Nothing, nothing. Just the fact that you're the worst singer and poet on the planet." Sokka smirked. "I mean, the last time I heard you sing-"
"Shut up!" Katara leaned towards her brother and covered his mouth. "I thought I told you never to mention that! Ever!" Sokka licked her hand and grinned as Katara drew her hand away, squealing with horror.
"Sorry sis, but I just think it's hilarious that you made up a song about A-"
"NO!" Katara cut him off. "Sokka, please!"
"You should probably drop it, Katara." Toph stated casually. "It's obvious that you made up a song about Aang." Katara's face turned bright red and she scooted away from her boyfriend, who tried to reassure her that he didn't mind, that he actually thought it was sweet.
"I was just doing my laundry, people sing all kinds of stupid things when they do their laundry. Why would you bring that up?" Katara asked Toph, pouting at having been betrayed.
"Because." Toph replied without remorse, "You made your brother lick my foot."
"I still haven't gotten a song." Zuko insisted from the other couch. "Perhaps you should sing us the one about Aang." Katara turned to face the fire lord, glaring with livid eyes.
"Okay…stop." Mai spoke up from the corner. The group turned to her, confused.
"This is my wedding day. Everything has gone perfectly so far…but I don't want to spend it making each other do embarrassing things. Though, watching Suki eat that soap was pretty awesome." She smirked, which earned a glare from Suki. "Today, I married the man I love." She smiled and turned to Zuko. "I'd like to remember this day for that."
"You're right, Mai. We should just stop this nonsense right now. Today is a celebration of love…not a celebration of how mortified Toph looks when someone licks her foot." Aang snickered.
"CAN WE PLEASE FORGET THAT!?" Toph and Sokka protested in unison.
"Fine, fine. I won't bring it up again." Aang promised.
"We still need some music." Zuko said. "I would like to dance with my wife." He smiled beguilingly, but Mai still grumbled.
"Fine. But after this night, I'm never dancing with you again." She took his hand as he led her out to the dance floor.
"I'll go find Iroh." Aang jogged out of the small room and departed into the huge crowd.
"In the meantime…" Sokka cleared his throat. "A tribute to our new married couple: the fire nation national anthem! FIRE LORD (and lady) MY FLAME BURNS FOR THEE- OW!" Sokka was cut off when a golden shoe hit him in the face.
"Please spare us the painful performance next time." Mai requested, glaring.
"Sorry!" Sokka rubbed a sore spot on his nose and tossed the shoe back. "Hey Toph!" He excitedly addressed the blind girl. "You want another dance?"
"Sure." Toph replied with minimal enthusiasm. "But…what about Suki?"
"I think I'm going to head back to my room, actually." Suki decided. "It's getting late." She said goodbye to Toph and Katara, gave Sokka a sad glance, and said a loving farewell to both Zuko and Mai. With that, she was gone. Sokka had never looked more forlorn.
"She's never going to speak to me again." He moaned. Toph laughed.
"Sure she is, Snoozles. Just give her time. And give me a dance while you're waiting!" Toph whisked Sokka out onto the dance floor, her blind eyes unable to see his nervous blush.
The couples danced happily as Iroh accompanied with his tsungi-horn, everyone in step as they danced with their desired partner. Aang and Katara were graceful, Mai and Zuko were balanced; Sokka and Toph were gentle. However, the flask of cactus juice on the table seemed a bit lonely, and the avatar couldn't help but become a bit curious. His girlfriend saw him eyeing the flask.
"Aang, don't do anything you'll regret." She warned.
"Hey, it's just cactus juice." He reassured, breaking away from her to snag a drink. "What can go wrong?"
...
When Aang awoke the next morning to find himself in the imperial garden with his friends (and his clothes) nowhere to be found, he decided that his question the previous night had been answered.
Lemme know what you all think! :) I'm personally glad I can look over this without cringing now, lol. Hope you all enjoy!