I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or Bionicle (though I wish I did) and no copyright infringement is intended.

Pets and pet peeves

Solek was having a surprising amount of fun. Working at Iroh's tea shop "The Jasmine Dragon" was one of the best things that he had ever done. True he had only been working there for a day, but that didn't stop him from liking it. On top of everything else he had discovered that he LOVED tea, especially Iroh's tea.

"I can't believe that we don't have this in the world of Bionicle." He said to Iroh on their way back to Iroh's apartment. "I mean, it's just so good!" Iroh smiled.

"I wish my nephew felt the same way; he thinks it's just leaves in hot water."

"Well, fire lord or not, he's crazy." Solek smiled. "So, how did I do for my first day of work?"

"Quite well, although, there is something we need to work on." Iroh said as they arrived at the apartment.

"Really…" Solek asked. "What?"

"Your arm." Iroh said.

"What about my arm?" Solek asked while looking at it. He was actually quite proud of it and he liked the way it shined on a sunny day.

"A lot of people who come to my tea shop are nobles who remember the liberation of Ba Sin Se… and the part you had in it." Iroh explained.

"Then I should be fine…" Solek smiled.

"Solek, you destroyed over half the noble's district."

"Oh, yeah… but not on purpose!" he objected.

"I know that and you know that but there are many people in the government who already dislike having you and your kind around." Iroh sighed as he began to prepare dinner. "Politicians are a dangerous bunch Solek, if they worry too much about you then your life could be very hard" Solek frowned.

"I don't see how, I am a Bohrok-Kal, it's not like they could attack me."

"Oh, they know better than to do that." Iroh smiled. "But enough about that… how does roast duck sound for dinner?"

…

Matoro awoke and stretched out. He was a little surprised when his arm touched something but then he remembered that he was sharing a bed with Katara now. It would probably be a bad idea to push her out of the bed, even accidentally. He rolled over as Katara started to wake up.

"Morning sleepyhead." He smiled.

"Morning frostbite." Katara laughed. "Do you even realize how cold you get?"

"I told you, I can't help it." Matoro grinned. "At least I don't snore."

"I do not snore!" Katara insisted

"Yes, you do." Matoro smiled.

"I do NOT!" Katara said while hitting him with her pillow. Matoro retaliated and soon a full blown pillow fight was in progress. Katara eventually won because she knew a little secret, Matoro was very ticklish.

"OK! OK! I surrender!" He gasped out between laughs.

"First admit that I don't snore." Katara grinned evilly.

"O… ha ha ha… OK!" Matoro laughed. Katara stopped tickling him and smiled sweetly.

"See, was that so hard?"

"You're pure evil… you know that?" Matoro said as he regained his breath. "I think you might be able to give a Makuta a run for his widgets."

"I'm a lot prettier than one though." Katara said.

"No kidding." Matoro smiled as he kissed her. They then got up and prepared for the day. Matoro had quickly adapted to having to eat every day and had actually gained quite an appetite. "So…" Matoro asked as they were eating breakfast. "What are you doing today?"

"Well, Pakku said that he wanted me to help him train the new students he has." Katara said. "With all of those new families coming from the Northern Tribe there are a lot of waterbenders that need teaching… what about you?"

"Sokka and your dad are supposed to teach me how to hunt." Matoro said. "They said it was an essential skill to have." Katara nodded.

"They're right, it is very important. I'm sure you'll do fine… especially with my dad as a teacher."

"And Sokka, don't forget him." Matoro smiled.

"Let's put it this way, Sokka's going to need some real help if he ever hopes to be the legendary hunter he claims to be." Matoro smiled, he could believe that.

…

Solek walked over to Toph's house before work. He was looking forward to seeing her, but he also wanted to make sure that Tank was ok. He found out his answer as soon as he turned the corner and could see her house. Between Tank, and Appa there was practically no room left in the yard. Tank perked up considerably after seeing Solek walking down the lane and even ran over to give him a big lick. Solek laughed as he was knocked down.

"Whoa boy, no need to get exited… I've only been gone for a day." Toph poked her head out of a window and smiled down at Solek.

"Hey, how'd the first day of work go?" she asked.

"Awesome. Iroh said that they don't open until lunch so I have the entire morning off." Solek smiled.

"Sweet, what do you want to do?" Toph asked.

"Well, I think we should start by finding Tank and Appa a bigger home." Momo jumped on Solek's shoulder and chattered his agreement. "See, Momo likes the plan." Toph sighed.

"I guess you're right, my mom should be happy. She's been dropping hints since I brought them here that it would be a good idea to move them. Just give me a few minutes to get ready." In less than a minute Toph was outside and they took off. Knowing that Tank needed a lot of room, not to mention Appa, Solek suggested that they look outside the inner wall for a place to put them. On their way to the front gate they chatted about friends, how Iroh was doing, what Solek had done for his job the day before, and what Toph's father was doing with his new job. To the casual bystander they would have looked like a normal preteen couple, except for Solek's eye (he was wearing a cloth wrap to cover his arm) and the fact that there was a sky bison, a Kikanalo and a winged-lemur following them. They found the gates open and walked through. With the new age of peace the earth king had declared that all gates of the city were to be opened. Solek was surprised to see a large grouping of fences right outside the city.

"What is that?" he asked.

"It's a zoo." At his confused glance Toph explained. "It's a place where we keep animals that we might not normally see and keep them where we can see them." Solek's eyes lit up.

"You know… that gives me an idea." He smiled.

…

Umbra quickly wheeled into the next room. With any luck he would be able to hide in this one. It wasn't that he didn't like Mai's parents… it was just that he needed a little alone time every now and then. From the second he had awaked he had had to put up with Tom-Tom's screaming and his father in-law's discussions of fire nation politics.

"I almost wish that Zuko hadn't given me that job." Umbra snarled to himself. Zuko had given him an honorary position on the new counsel. A job that, at the time, Umbra had been flattered to accept, he knew that Zuko wouldn't give a job like that to just anyone. All he had to do was appear once a month for a meeting unless he was summoned for an emergency. All in all, a good job, there was a little paperwork that he had to do every week. And Zuko had asked that he watch over the plans that had been salvaged from Mutran's lab and decide which would be worth trying to build. But in reality he didn't have to do that much. If only Mai's father would stop talking about politics. Her mother wasn't much better, she seemed to talk nonstop about the latest gossip in the higher circle of the fire nation. Like how lord so and so's daughter was getting married or how lady what's her name was getting a new hog monkey as a pet. It was infuriating. Sensing that he was alone Umbra sighed. He leaned back in his wheelchair and wondered how he had gotten himself into this mess. He smiled; it was worth it for Mai. Suddenly he saw a flash of red at the window and Lhikan was sitting on the windowsill.

"Oh, hi Lhikan." He said.

"Hi Umbra. Wow, you look down. Are you ok?" the six year old toa asked.

"I could be better." Umbra answered honestly. "How about you?"

"Well," Lhikan started. "I've tracked down and killed about five Rahkshi out of Mata Nui knows how many… so… pretty good, I guess." he smiled.

"Sounds exiting, I kind of wish I was out there with you." Umbra smiled.

"Now, now Umbra, you're happy being married and you know it." Lhikan admonished him.

"Oh, I am, I just wish that I could get some peace and quiet." Lhikan looked at him in confusion. "Mai's family decided that it was a good idea to move in with us for the time being." Umbra explained.

"Ouch, I met them at the wedding." Lhikan winced. "Tom-Tom isn't so bad but his parents…"

"Yeah… I know." Umbra said, holding his head in his hands. "What am I going to do? I don't want to be rude and throw them out of the house, even though they technically gave it to us, I really don't know what to do." Lhikan nodded sympathetically.

"I guess that hunting Rahkshi seems easy compared to dealing with in-laws huh?"

"Lhikan, you have no idea." Umbra smiled. "But, I love Mai… so it's worth it."

"Yeah… I guess it is." Lhikan smiled sadly. "Well, I had better get going, don't want those Rahkshi to get to far away or I could be at this for a while. Don't worry Umbra, things always get better, eventually." With that Lhikan jumped on his lava board and flew away. Umbra watched him go until he was a speck on the horizon.

"Yeah, it will eventually get better… but how long with that take?" Umbra grumbled to himself.

…

The zookeeper was more than happy to house Tank and Appa. He was especially happy with Tank.

"If people don't come to see a giant metal creature fro1m another world then they won't come at all." He smiled happily as Toph finished making the new exhibit. "I only have one question." He said.

"What?" Solek asked.

"What does it eat?"

"Protodermis mostly, but I doubt you have anything like that…" Solek said thoughtfully. "Do you have any high grade metal?" The zookeeper nodded enthusiastically.

"The earth king has been looking for a way to get rid of the drill that the fire nation tried to use to get inside the city. When I tell the guards that I have something that will eat it I'm sure they'll send the metal right over." Solek nodded as looked at Tank. The Kikanalo was exploring the exhibit that Toph had made. He looked at the walls and raised a metallic eyebrow at Solek.

"I know buddy, those wouldn't hold you if you really wanted to leave." Solek laughed. "But this is the most room we could find… and I'll visit you every day before work. It won't be so bad." Tank nodded and sat down. Solek grinned; at least Tank wouldn't be alone. Appa was right next door in a slightly smaller exhibit. Momo jumped from one to the other and finally landed on Solek's shoulder. Toph lightly punched her boyfriend in the shoulder.

"I guess you really have a way with animals, huh?"

"It comes in handy." Solek smiled. Keeping his little, well I am dating one, joke to himself. He wasn't about to get punched again anytime soon.

…

"Just a little closer… come on!" Sokka whispered to himself as he crept closer to the Tiger seal. Matoro exchanged glances with Hakoda. Even with his limited skill he could tell what was going to happen next. Sokka finally jumped and tried to stab the animal. But he had forgotten that the ice was thinner and the seal just whacked the ice in-between them and Sokka fell into the water. Matoro sighed as he helped Sokka out for the fourth time.

"Sokka, you really should have seen that one coming." He grinned.

"Well why didn't you help me?" Sokka asked. "All you needed to do was make a little extra ice and then POW, instant seal jerky." Matoro shook his head.

"Sorry Sokka, but I have to see where the ice is going, I can't just make it appear." They looked up as Hakoda finished killing the seal and Sokka laughed.

"Although I guess that we did provide a nice distraction." He smiled.

"Yes, yes you did." Hakoda smiled. "Now how about you help me haul this beast back to the city?" Matoro looked at it nervously and was shaking.

"Something wrong Matoro?" Sokka asked.

"It's just that… blood… I haven't quite gotten used to it yet." Sokka glanced at his brother-in-law in surprise.

"But you've fought thousands of battles, how can you not be used to it?"

"We… we don't bleed in Bionicle." Matoro said. "I'm… I'm sorry but I think I should go back… I don't think that I can handle this." With that Matoro turned around and walked back towards the city. Sokka looked at Hakoda in shock.

"Could he really be that sensitive?" Sokka asked. Hakoda shrugged.

"Possibly, it doesn't change who he is, it just means that he'll have to get used to it." Sokka nodded. After all, what could Matoro do if not hunt?

…

Solek walked Toph home before going to work. They stopped at her front door to say goodbye.

"This morning was nice Solek; it was almost like we were normal." Toph smiled.

"Well, I tried my best." Solek blushed.

"Tell you what…" Toph said. "After work tonight do you want to go out for dinner, just the two of us?" Solek nodded franticly.

"Yes, yes, yes! I mean… I would like that very much." Toph grinned.

"Good, I would have been worried if you had said no." With that she gave him a kiss, not a little one either. This was the kind of kiss that left Solek standing in shock long after she had stopped and sped inside.

"Wha… um, see you tonight." Solek said quietly at the closed door. He walked off in a daze. Had he been paying more attention he would have realized that his right arm was glowing slightly through the wrappings. And that was definitely not a good thing.

Hm... I wonder what's wrong with Solek... it's not like puberty would have a negative effect on a Bohrok-Kal like it does humans is it? Nah, that could never happen. ;)