Unexpected Aftermath

[Since When Was I The Hero?-!]

An Avatar: the Last Airbender plotbunny

By

EvilFuzzy9

Katara was a nice person. She was patient, agreeable, caring, and compassionate. Even with a bit of a sharp temper, she was not usually quick to anger, and it took a LOT to get her truly pissed.

She did her best to be responsible and mature, because clearly someone in their little group had to be. Katara worked hard to keep herself as understanding, nurturing, and accommodating as humanly possible. It wasn't easy being the nice one in a group that included someone like Aang, but Katara did her best.

She was charitable, kind, slow to anger (if also even slower to forgive), and easily moved to compassion. Some might have said she was a bit emotional at times, and maybe a little violent when she got mad, but Katara was still overall a good person.

Heck, she was practically a saint, if she did say so herself. She had to be, to put up with the antics of the people around her, people like Toph and her brother.

But even the godliest, most long-suffering of saints had their breaking point. For Katara, it was...

...Well, she would rather not have it described. But needless to say, it was not something she had expected to walk in on when she had gone into her brother's room to borrow something or other. She could not, for the life of her, remember what it was that she had needed, but seeing the scene before her, some small part of Katara wondered if maybe she couldn't have done without whatever it was she had come for.

Quite understandably, she let out a shriek at the sight of Suki and Sokka in such a... compromising position, even if the two quickly moved to hide their shame, echoing Katara's scream with cries of their own.

"What the hell, Katara?!" Sokka yelped, red-faced as he grabbed a book to hide his more private parts.

"I should be saying the same to you!" Katara snapped, red-tinged cheeks mirroring the flush in her brother's face. "Seriously! What the hell, Sokka?!"

"I-It's not what it looks like," squeaked Suki, pulling the covers on Sokka's bed up and over her naked body. "I was just modeling for him, honest! I was helping him with his anatomy!" she anxiously explained.

Katara, gave Suki a dark look. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were curled into a scowl as she glowered at the older girl.

"Yes, I'll bet you were," she said snidely, distaste evident in her tone. She muttered "harlot," under her breath, spitting the word out with disgust.

Suki winced, hearing Katara's muttered remark. She grimaced weakly, as though she had tried to smile but failed.

"And YOU, Sokka!" Katara snapped, rounding once more on her brother. "How dare you!" She glared at him, dark lips curled back in a snarl. "You're always getting on my case about kissing Aang, but here you are doing... this!" she spat. "You are just the biggest, most hypocritical... ARRRGH! I can't stand it! You are the most infuriating brother in the world!"

Sokka winced at first, but he quickly recovered from Katara's tongue-lashing, and he rejoined with, "I don't care if you're kissing him! I just don't want you doing it where I can see it!"

"And you aren't doing THIS where I can see it?" Katara retorted hotly.

"No!" snapped Sokka indignantly. "I'm not. This is MY room, in case you've forgotten! You came in without even knocking!"

Katara's ears were by this point so red that it seemed almost that they could have been seen even in the dark. She was grinding her teeth and clenching and unclenching her fists, glaring death at her brother.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" she retaliated, unwilling to accept defeat in this argument. "It's just the fact that you're even doing this sort of thing at all! You two aren't even MARRIED! I mean... What would happen if you got her pregnant, you stupid ass?! This is a whole other level of unacceptable!"

There was a moment of tense silence as Katara continued to glare at her brother, who looked very much like he would have preferred to be anywhere else at that moment, naked or not. But then that silence was broken by Suki.

"Katara..." said the Kyoshi Warrior. "I know you're upset, but please calm down. Sokka and I are both adults, and we love one another very much. This isn't just some spur of the moment thing. We've both of us together made a conscious, informed decision to progress our relationship to a deeper level of intimacy. I know it seems unfair to you, but you and Aang are still just kids, and-"

"-THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ANGRY ABOUT!" Katara roared furiously, rounding on Suki. Her eyes were wide and her temples were throbbing. "AND I DON'T NEED SOME FILTHY KYOSHI BRIDE LECTURING ME ON RELATIONSHIPS!"

Suki recoiled, as though Katara had physically struck her. She shrank back from the furious waterbender, unwilling to meet the younger girl's eyes. And just when it seemed that things could not possibly get any more uncomfortable, Aang appeared, staff at the ready and wind swirling around him.

"Don't worry! I finally made it-!" he started to say, only to then stop talking when his brain finally registered the scene his eyes were showing him. The staff dropped from his hand, and his mouth fell open in a little 'o'.

What followed was a moment of silence so complete that, were someone to drop a pin to the floor, it would sound like a cacophony on the level of a collapsing building. Then Katara shook her head and gave Aang a look before storming out of the room.

Another silence.

"Sooo..." said Aang awkwardly, looking from Sokka who was concealing his crotch behind a book to Suki who was gripping the sheets tightly to her frame, eyes downcast and stormy. "...What just happened?"

"Well, Aang," said Sokka, "When a man and a woman love each other very much-"

"I already know about sex, Sokka," Aang replied bluntly. "I was talking about Katara. I thought I heard her scream?"

"You did," Suki answered. "She walked in on us while we were... you know... and there was sort of a fight. She was very... angry."

"Oh," said Aang, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I see... I suppose I should probably go to her. See if I can't calm her down."

"Yes," said Sokka. "Please." He then paused. "Just... don't do it where I can see, okay? Knowing the two of you, it'll probably end in another kiss-fest, and I'm really not in the mood to see that. Y'understand?"

Aang nodded.

"Yeah," he said, before turning around. "I'll leave the two of you to your... well, you know."

He then left, shutting the door behind him.

A moment of silence passed between Sokka and Suki.

"Well," said the Water Tribe teen glumly, "I'm pretty sure the moment couldn't possibly be deader."

"Yeah..." said Suki softly, quietly. She was not looking Sokka in the eyes. "Maybe you should..."

"Put on some pants?" Sokka supplied.

"Yes, thank you," she said, a sad smile on her facee. "And I'll get dressed as well."

Suki was about to get up out of the bed when she felt a weight settle down on the end next to her. Sokka softly, comfortingly laid a hand on her shoulder. It was warm and calloused.

"Hey," said Sokka quietly, meeting his girlfriend's eyes. "Need to talk? You look upset."

Suki smiled weakly, shaking her head. "No, Sokka..." she said. "I'm fine. Honest."

Sokka smirked playfully at her. "Yes, you are fine," he said, growling suggestively. But then his composure became more serious. "But you don't sound okay. Katara didn't mean any of what she said, you know. She was... well, mostly I think she was just mad at me. Because I am just so much fun to hate."

He smiled self-deprecatingly, eliciting a little bit of a giggle from Suki.

"You really are," Suki agreed sarcastically, before shaking her head, her smile dimming again. "But I'm alright, Sokka. It's nothing. Katara... I know she didn't really mean any of it. She's a sweet kid. Nothing like her brother."

She punched Sokka playfully in the arm, causing him to laugh.

"C'mon," he said, "We really should get dressed."

Suki smiled.

Toph sighed as she listened to the conversation going on across the yard from her. Katara's blow up at Sokka and Suki had been spectacularly vicious, and the blind earthbender couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for Suki. She knew all too well what it was like to be on the receiving of one of Katara's rants, after all.

The waterbender was a sweetheart most of the time (almost disgustingly so, in Toph's opinion), but when she got mad she could get downright nasty.

"Katara..."

"Yes, Aang, I know I overreacted."

Aang winced. "Oh, I don't know... I wouldn't say that, exactly..."

Katara shook her head.

"No, Aang," she said. "There's no need to sugarcoat it. I overreacted."

She sighed, before gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

"But it just makes me so mad!" she continued angrily. "What right do they have? What right does she have?! Telling me I'm just a kid, while saying that she and Sokka are adults! They're just screwing around! Doesn't she even care?"

"Yes, Katara," said Aang slowly, placing a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "She does care. She just... has her own way of showing it."

"You mean seducing my brother and calling me a child?" Katara muttered bitterly. "Yeah, I can just feel the love."

"Well, not quite like how you said it," replied Aang, "But she and Sokka are both adults, aren't they? I mean, I'm pretty sure that's what the whole iceberg dodging ritual was for..."

This time it was Katara who winced. "Okay, yeah, Sokka is a man as far as the Southern Water Tribe is concerned, but he hardly acts like it! He's still such a kid."

"Is he?" Aang asked. "I mean, I know he likes to play and joke around with me and Toph and Momo, but that doesn't make him childish. Monk Gyatso loved playing around and telling jokes, and he was ancient."

"But, Sokka..." Katara said weakly. "Sokka's not like that. He's still..."

She sighed morosely.

"He plans to marry Suki, you know," said Aang. "He told me all about how he's already got the whole wedding ceremony planned out in his head." He tapped a finger against his arrow tattoo. "I know you still feel like you need to take care of him, but Sokka's grown a lot. He doesn't need his little sister watching out for him all the time, now."

He brushed his hand against one of Katara's, taking hold of it and squeezing softly, comfortingly. Katara blushed faintly, softly smiling. There was a moment of silence between them, before Katara whispered.

"Aang... How much do you know about the Kyoshi Warriors?" she asked him. "Because I've heard rumors, here and there... and, well, what if Sokka can't marry Suki?"

The young Avatar shrugged. "Does it matter?" he asked her. "If they really love each other, then that's all they need."

"But what if she breaks his heart?" Katara asked. "You know how Sokka is. He's so emotional, and he gets so invested in stuff. I still hear him mourning that space sword of his sometimes, when he thinks nobody is around. And he still gets depressed during full moons. If Suki breaks his heart, Aang... I don't care if she's a friend. He was my brother before he was her girlfriend, and if she hurts him I will hurt her twice as bad in return."

"Sokka's lucky to have such a loving sister," Aang said. "But I'm sure you won't need to hurt anyone. Suki loves Sokka as much as I love you," he said, blushing brightly and squeezing Katara's hand a little tighter. "She wouldn't hurt him any more than Toph or I would."

"I still don't trust her," Katara muttered darkly. "How can she act so lovey-dovey with him when she's... you know, sworn to Kyoshi?"

"You're letting worry cloud your mind, Katara. Avatar Kyoshi wouldn't have forbidden anyone from loving," Aang said firmly. "Even if I don't see eye to eye with her, she's still my past life. No matter what sort of oaths the Kyoshi Warriors might make, I'm certain they're still allowed to love. What would be the point, if they weren't?"

"She DID almost get you boiled in oil, you know," Katara replied.

Aang chuckled awkwardly.

"...Well, I didn't say she was perfect," he responded sheepishly.

Neither Aang or Katara noticed when Toph got up and stalked off into the house, grumbling under her breath. She was really not in the mood to hear them go on about Sokka and Suki.

She really wasn't.

Her stomach was knotted unpleasantly as she thought of what the pair had been saying. On the one hand, she knew what Katara was saying, and under other circumstances she might have been inclined to agree with the girl. But she couldn't quite bring herself to side entirely with Katara - not in this case. Even though she knew where the waterbender was coming from, she also knew that - if nothing else - Suki really did love Sokka, and Sokka loved Suki. Both of them were one hundred percent serious.

Oh, it galled her, at times, to think of how the Kyoshi Warrior had swooped into their lives and taken Toph's chances at... well, nothing she would admit. Not aloud.

But still.

Toph felt sorry for Suki, at least in this case. She knew how hard it was to get in Katara's good books once you were on her bad side - just ask Zuko - and also knew that, at least for this once, Katara had not been in the right. Not really.

That was not to say that Toph might not have said similar things if she had been in Katara's place - she probably would have been far meaner, nastier, for reasons she would never admit to out loud. She certainly knew countless, exponentially more colorful invectives (it was amazing what people would say when they thought no one could hear them), and she would not have hesitated to throw all but the harshest, cruelest ones at that floozy.

But still.

With the benefit of her current perspective on the matter - having heard the argument go down without actually being involved, and having been able to sense how each party reacted - Toph could not help but feel sympathy for Suki. Heck, in another lifetime maybe it could have been her who had been caught by Katara - not that she would ever actually want to do something like that with Sokka, she insisted silently to herself in spite of the growing blush spreading from her ears to her chest, but hypothetically speaking.

In another lifetime it could have been her, or so Toph told herself vainly, hopefully. It could have been her who was caught by Katara, then berated and insulted. She could have been the one Katara cursed and derided for doing something like that with her brother. Somehow, in some world or other, it could have been her.

So Toph felt sorry for Suki, as strange a notion as that might seem. And perhaps this, more than anything else, was what led her to where the girl was sitting, by herself, outside Appa's massive stable, perhaps watching the gigantic bison sleep. Sokka, she could tell from the vibrations, was going through sword kata in his little training area off to the side of the house. Probably working off his frustrations by swinging around that heavy, sword-shaped hunk of wood he had taking to practicing with.

Shaking her head, trying to clear it of the thoughts of how interestingly Sokka's muscles coiled and released as he went through the motions with an almost uncharacteristic grace and fluidity, Toph took a seat next to Suki. She plopped herself down on the thick stone floor, crossing her legs and putting her hands on her knees.

"Hey," she said, casually greeting the older girl. "You wanna talk?"

Suki gave a start, surprised out of her dismal reverie by Toph's words, but then she smiled softly. She knew that she had told Sokka that she was fine, but she also knew that he knew that she really wasn't. But he had understood what went unsaid, and he'd gone to practice, to give her some space to think.

She knew that she had been reluctant to talk to her boyfriend about this, but she also knew on some level that talking would probably help.

She had not wanted to talk about it with Sokka, feeling like it would have been too uncomfortable to discuss with him, but maybe Toph would understand. She was a girl too, after all.

"Sure..." said Suki slowly. "I'd like that. I really would."

A/N: Well, this chapter... I'd had the idea of it in my head for several days, I think, and I knew - or at least had the notion - that it would be important, in terms of character development. I've spent the last few chapters establishing that Toph and Suki don't exactly get along all that well, and now... well, I'm sure you can figure out where I'm going with this.

With that said, part of me worries about whether I overdid it with Katara's blow up. I mean, I did my best to show where she was coming from while still making it clear that, at least this once, she was not exactly in the right. I figure, what with how nurturing and motherly she acts, Katara is probably very protective of Sokka. Because, younger sibling or not, you get the idea that she's really taken care of him for a number of years, and she clearly still sees him as a kid, traditional manhood rite of passage or no.

Additionally, it's not like there's no canon precedent for Katara being nasty when she loses her temper - The Chase, The Runaway, The Southern Raiders, the end of The Western Air Temple - just off the top of my head, those are four episodes where we see what an angry Katara is like. When she's mad, she gets downright mean, and she has a talent for saying the things that will hurt people the most when she loses her temper. So, again, it's not like what happened in this chapter is exactly out of character for her, perhaps.

But still. I can't help but feel a little like I'm making her hold a Conflict Ball here, justified or not.

I'll probably end up, I dunno, giving her a really nice moment later on to balance it out, just in case. Maybe. I dunno. Give me your thoughts on what you think of how I handled Katara, here.

On another note, drama aside, there are a few jokes in this chapter that I rather liked, and hopefully you guys liked them too. :D

(longest chapter so far, at 3,000+ words - posted 7-19-13)

TTFN and R&R!