Sokka had his flaws, he admitted as much. His inhumanely handsome body crushed self-esteems by its mere existence and distracted people to the point they couldn't notice his unsurpassed intellect, which itself designated him as the sole provider of plans and ideas of the entire group. He had his burdens, but lack of attention was not one of them. Granted, some would spitefully pretend that his vigilance could sometimes be unfavourably compared to Ty Lee's in a petting zoo, but Sokka knew such comments were spawned from unending jealousy.

It didn't take long for him to notice Suki and Zuko's strange behaviours. Alcohol could do many things, he knew, but instantly looking away each time they accidentally glimpsed at each other wasn't one of its typical effects.

Something embarrassing happened between the two, that much was certain. He'd just have to deduce from his current information what exactly happened. He recalled leaving them alone in the dinner room, completely inebriated and talking merrily. Only a handful of things could have happened from there.

Them sleeping together was immediately cast aside. Suki had demonstrated an excellent taste in boyfriends and would never lower her standards so that they fit Zuko, whom Sokka just couldn't for the love of him picture interested in the weaker sex. The staff of the inn had confirmed him they didn't have to clean the room more than what is usually necessary, so it eliminated the food fight as a source of their awkwardness.

Sokka hypothesised an instant that they bonded. He racked his brains to find possible common points they could have bonded over. They both were warriors who placed a high value on honour, though Suki was infinitely less whiny than Zuko, not that it was difficult. They also could easily be mistaken for homicidal maniacs if addressed at the wrong time; he perfectly remembered how eager Suki was to throw them back to the unagi – Sokka had always suspected she was a closet sadist. Or they could talk about their crushes. Zuko certainly was girly enough to have a girl talk with Suki… he wasn't so sure if she was, though.

Then it hit him and the colour then drained from his face. They hadn't refused to look only at each other, they also refused eye contact with him; and now he had found the reason. It was so obvious! They had talked about their crushes and Zuko revealed who he crushed on. No wonder they felt so awkward. All made sense now.

But why, oh why, why did Zuko have to be crushing on him? Why not Aang? He wouldn't mind after all, seeing how comfortable he was with the firebender. Or even Katara? She would most certainly not mind since it would only give her more reasons to persecute Zuko. But no, it had to be him. The universe truly got its kicks from watching him suffer.

-

Zuko angsted. And angsted. And angsted some more, just for good measure. But it wasn't the angst he was usually subscribed to. He wasn't angsting about betraying his father, nor about Azula going out of her way to make her brother a hero only to have him spit the gift back in her face. He wasn't angsting about his mother's fate either, nor about his behaviour towards his uncle. He wasn't even angsting about the comment from Sokka which pretended even Haru was manlier than him. Indeed, the cause of his current angst was precisely what rendered that last point moot.

It was bad enough that he had slept with Suki, cherished friend of the Avatar, girlfriend of that annoying boomerang-totting buffoon and former enemy. It was most definitely worse that he had actually enjoyed his time with Suki. And it really didn't help that she was better than Mai, too.

Suki, for her part, was also angsting. Of course, hers wasn't as grandiose as Zuko's, since unlike him she had only a few weeks of experience starting when Azula captured her and separated her from her friends, but still, she angsted a good deal. Zuko would be proud if he wasn't feeling a tad threatened. And she, as well, felt more guilty than ever to have enjoyed the accident so much.

They angsted so much, in fact, that their very vibrations overflowed with enough angst to jam Toph's radar. She thus decided to take the matter in her own dirty hands as soon as they came back to the western air temple.

Everyone but her dispatched to go on their business after Appa landed. She waited for a few minutes before going to Suki, who was stretching in her room to occupy her mind. She asked the warrior to meet her in a secluded room of the temple for a private discussion. Though she didn't understand why Toph didn't consider her room private enough, Suki accepted.

Toph then went to Zuko who was pacing back and forth in a courtyard, radiating pure angst. She offered him the choice to meet her at the same room or be buried under two inches of ground. Zuko wanted to change his mind and a conversation would help, even with Toph, so he accepted. Toph buried him anyways just for kicks and then proceeded to drag him by the hair in the halls of the temple, much to the witnesses' amusement or confusion.

She arrived at the desired room in front of which Suki was waiting. She grew anxious as she realised Zuko would be part of the discussion and, remembering Toph's way of locating people, had a slight hunch as to what the discussion would be about.

Toph dropped her victim in front of Suki and entered the room by its only entrance, walked to the centre of the big room and whirled around, waiting for them to enter. Suki helped Zuko up and entered the room as well, unable to hide their fastened heartbeats. Toph then sealed the entrance with earthbending.

"We've got privacy now," she stated as she dropped to the floor into a cross-legged position, swiftly imitated by the teens. "I know what happened."

Inhabited by a last shred of hope that what Toph knew wasn't related to the night at the inn, Suki chose to beat around the bush. "What do you mean?" she asked softly.

Toph rolled her eyes. "You slept together." She blew a hair strand away from her nose. "Duh."

The two guilty teenagers heaved a sigh in unison. "Yes we did," Suki confirmed, "but it was an accident, I swear!" She took particular care to never say how much she had liked that particular accident, to her conscience's agony.

"I know. You were plastered."

"How did you know?" asked Zuko.

"Interesting fact. When plastered, Haru snores. Very loudly." She massaged her ears for emphasis. "So I didn't sleep before a long time, and I felt the waiter take you to the room."

"Did you feel us having…?" Suki shyly said, flustered.

Toph grimaced. "The beds were made out of wood so I couldn't feel anyone on them but…" She stuck her tongue out an instant. "…you didn't limit yourself to the mattress." She cleared her throat while Zuko and Suki blushed and blanched at the same time, leaving their face pink.

"What do you want with us?" Zuko then enquired. He didn't know the earthbender much, but enough to know she could have quite a sadistic streak when the mood hit her. "Blackmail?"

Toph scrunched her nose. "I may be a brat and jerk, Firecrackers, but I'm no Azula."

"Okay, okay…" he conceded. "What do you want?"

"I want to help you."

Zuko's jaw dropped whereas Suki merely blinked. "Why?" she asked.

"One, because Sokka cares for you. Two, because even if we both like him – tell anyone that, Firecrackers, and I'll drown you in mud – I'm still your friend. And three, I have nothing better to do."

"…Thanks."

"And the first thing to do is to get rid of all this angst."

"But that's an important part of my character!" Zuko whined.

"My point exactly." Zuko pouted. "There's so much angst I think I can see it." Toph interlaced her fingers and cracked her knuckles. "Thankfully, I have exactly what you need." She shoved one hand in her hair bun, rummaged a little, and took out an artificial beard which she had borrowed from Sokka when he wasn't looking. "Therapy!"

As she put on the beard, Suki and Zuko suddenly wondered whether the seal door was to prevent people to spy on them or to prevent them to leave.