"Dude, what are those?" Sokka asked, pointing his boomerang at a pile of fruit. Zuko had gone hunting for food and returned with the small brown-ish fruits, as well as a young sabertoothmooselion. The meat had been whisked away by a hungry Katara but the fruit had remained where Zuko'd dropped it. "Are they edible?" Sokka continued, poking the fruits with his boomerang.

Zuko walked back from the hallway where he'd been in his room changing from his dirt-stained tunic. "Of course they're edible," he replied, annoyed. "I didn't go on a ridiculous hunt for them in this heat for them to not be edible."

Sokka picked up one carefully, examining it for a minute. "What are they called?" he continued to question.

Zuko rolled his eyes and snagged one for himself. He made an exaggerated motion of chewing and eating the fruit before answering. "They're called dates," he finally said. He closed his eyes and leaned back comfortably against pillar. "They're used in desserts in the Fire Nation and I figured you guys would want something other than bread and travelling food."

Toph perked up at this, having been sitting and watching Aang run through Earthbending forms. "Did someone say dessert? I want some!" she called. Aang paused halfway in a lunge, curious and hungry as well. Toph lightly bent a rock at him, hitting his head. "You're not done yet, Twinkletoes!" she yelled. The Avatar grumbled under his breath and ran through the form again.

Katara came out from the makeshift kitchen, the sabertoothmooselion now on easy-to-eat skewers and with some meat-free skewers as well. She looked over at the fire ring, frowning at the pitifully low flames. "I'm going to need a fire or we won't be eating anything at all guys," she stated, putting the plate of skewers down.

Aang bounced over from where he'd been doing his exercises. "No problem Katara!" he beamed. With a concentrated look he shot a ball of flame at the small fire. Rather than making it bigger, the larger flame actually extinguished the cookfire. He grinned sheepishly and said quickly, "I'll fix it! Just give me a second."

Katara rolled her eyes at Sokka, who had been stuffing more dates in his mouth. She meandered over to where they were gathered, ignoring Zuko when he moved away -after of course taking another date- and picked up a single one of the new, tasty fruits. "So these are tasty you say Sokka?" she asked.

Her brother nodded furiously. "Oh man are they good," he sighed happily. "You agree, right Toph?"

The blind girl cautiously bit into the fruit, unsure if she should trust Sokka's sense of taste. A slow smile spread across her face after a moment of chewing and swallowing. "It's so sweet! Sugarqueen, you gotta try it!" she insisted.

The older girl shrugged, thinking, Why not? She popped the fruit into her mouth and opened her eyes wide at the taste. It was sweet, almost like honey and sugar. She started to say how surprised she was when another thing surprised her. In the air was the smell of cooked meat and smoked vegetables. She turned her head and was surprised to see Zuko picking up the last skewer of the meat and gently cooking it over a flame cupped in his other hand.

He finished the skewer just as Aang jumped up excitedly, both of them saying simultaneously, "Done!" Aang looked crestfallen once he realized what Zuko had been doing. The older bender only shrugged and said simply, "Sorry bud. Better luck next time."

Toph sniffed the air and smiled brightly. "Alright! Food time," she cried happily.

ooOOooOOooOOoo

After everyone had finished dinner people had dispersed about the Temple. Katara cleaned up where they'd eaten, the pile of dates now long gone. Somehow during dinner most of them had vanished into Toph and Sokka's mouths. By the time "dessert" officially rolled around there were only enough for Katara to get three or four.

After putting out the cookfire she scowled at the lack of "fruity deliciousness" as Sokka had coined the dates. She muttered under her breath about "boys and their metabolisms" until she heard someone chuckle from behind her.

Zuko was leaning in the doorway, a bag slung over his shoulder. "You're really quite funny to listen to when you're talking to yourself Katara," he said. He stepped into the moonlit courtyard, gesturing to where they'd been eating. "I take it you liked the dates?"

She smiled, hiding it with a shrug. "I suppose," she said simply. "Thouhg I only got a few before Toph and Sokka finished them all." She idly walked over to and sat down on the fountain. Her eyes flicked around, not resting on any one object for longer than a moment. Finally they landed on Zuko and she flushed. His golden eyes were directly on hers.

He ruffled his hair nervously. "Uh, did you want any more of them? I was going to go get some more but I didn't know if anyone actually wanted them besides Sokka and Toph so I figured I'd ask you. But you know that now since I just told you so now I'm just rambling," he chattered.

She twitched a smile, nodding. "I would love more," she murmured. She finally looked away, her hair -down since she had finished her chores- fell in front of her face like a curtain.

Zuko moved to leave, then stopped. He turned around back towards Katara and asked nervously, "D'you, I mean, would you want to come with me this time?" He shifted nervously from foot to foot as she moved her head and looked at him.

Her blue eyes sparkled and she smiled for real now. "I'd love to."

Author's Note:

'Sup guys! Haha another day has passed so enjoy some more Zutara Week 2010! :D

Again, I take an alternative view on the word "Date" to make it the fruit not the time or the interpersonal pasttime. Enjoy! :3

Stay Classy~!
-DragonMaster65