A/N: We love Sokka. We also wish all puberty talks were this awesome.

Avatar belongs to Mike, Bryan, and Nickelodeon

Aang turned on his side and scratched his armpit. He had been banished from the campsite after sharing his burning need with Katara. He couldn't put his finger on why, but he was pretty sure Zuko hadn't told him the truth about puberty. He'd wanted to ask Sokka about it, but Sokka was the one who had thrown Aang out of camp amid the sounds of Katara's crying, Zuko's laughter, and Toph's snores.

Aang directed his scratching to his other armpit. Hopefully everything would look better in the morning...if puberty hadn't killed him first.

Suddenly he tensed as the bushes nearest to him rustled. Remembering that he could no longer bend, he grabbed a twig to defend himself. He waited silently for his attacker to appear.

Sokka's head poked out of the undergrowth. Aang let out a sigh of relief and said, "SoKkA? What are you DoINg heRe?"

Sokka looked at Aang gravely and held a finger up to his lips. He stepped from the bushes, and Aang noticed he was bare-chested and painted head to toe in intricate designs. He made a solemn bow to Aang, and then turned to the empty space next him waiting for something. The space remained empty.

Sokka snaked a hand into the bushes and dragged Zuko out by his ear. Zuko wore a surly expression and crossed his arms over his chest. Sokka motioned for Aang to get up and follow them.

They led Aang to a rock beside the stream. Sokka held up a branch. Nothing happened. Sokka looked at Zuko. Nothing happened. Sokka waved the branch in front of Zuko's face. Nothing happened. Sokka beamed Zuko over the head with his boomerang. The branch burst into flame. Sokka set the torch in a clump of mud so it could illuminate the surrounding area. Then he began to speak.

"Aang, we come here tonight on the eve of you becoming...a Man! It has come to my attention that you have started The Change." Aang looked bewilderedly at Zuko, but the prince refused to make eye contact. Sokka continued, "It has also come to my attention that you received false information about The Change." Sokka threw a dirty look at Zuko who smirked. "It is time we righted those wrongs and cleared up your confusion. But first, we must all strip to our loincloths and paint our bodies. This is the manly way of doing things!"

Aang was mesmerized by the power in Sokka's voice. Without realizing it, he tore off his shirt and removed his pants. Then he knelt reverently before Sokka, who was holding a pot filled with paste. Sokka smiled down at Aang, but then frowned when he realized Zuko hadn't moved. "We must all don the paint of the warrior," he said, "Only then can we come into a circle of peace and trust."

"Nothing doing."

Sokka's serene look didn't leave his face as he said to Aang, "One moment please, and then we will commence with your studies." He walked over to Zuko, placed his hand on the prince's shoulder, and before Aang knew what happened, Zuko was face down in the dirt beside him with only his loincloth on.

Aang looked at Sokka with a new reverence. "How dID yoU...?" He pointed at the newly mostly nude, Zuko.

"You will learn with time young pupil. It is all a part of Manhood. Now let's get your face painted!" Sokka helped Aang glop on the paste as Zuko righted himself into a sitting position and glared.

"You may have been able to freakishly take off my clothes but I am NOT putting that on my face."

"Oh, I think you are." Sokka slid a bowl over to the Prince.

"You can't make me."

Sokka put the finishing touches on Aang's' manly makeup before he turned to Zuko. "I might not be able to bend, but Aang will be up and running before you know it. I'll just have him kick your ass. He'll probably want to do it too, once he hears what's REALLY happening to him. Also if you don't, I'll wear my new pants all day every day you're with us."

Shuddering as he thought of the tight clothing Zuko dipped his fingers into the purple goo and smeared it on his forehead.

"Now we're ready to begin," said Sokka. "Why don't you give Aang the good news, Zuko?"

Zuko clamped his lips shut. Sokka stepped on Zuko's foot. Zuko unclamped his lips. "Hey!" Sokka gave Zuko the hairy eyeball, and Zuko said, "Fine, you're not dying Aang."

"I'm NOt?"

"No."

"BuT yoU sAId..."

Sokka interrupted, "He was lying to you. Screwing with your head. Weaving a web so tangled that it will take a master to unravel his deceit and mystery. I am that master! I'm only sad I missed the signs."

"There were pretty obvious pretty boy."

"Quiet you! Now about puberty. Puberty is the mystical transformation that happens to everyone. It is different for girls and boys. What happens to females is a mystery I have yet to solve."

"Good luck," muttered Zuko.

"BuT If it isn't a DiSeaSE, then WHat is iT?"

"It is where you change from a boy to a Man!"

Aang looked confused, so Sokka racked his brain to find an explanation. "Well, look at you. Scrawny, tiny, a pipsqueak, a teensy weensy-"

"I geT the IdEa!"

"Right. Well, compare that to me and Prince Pouty Pants over there. We are rugged, deep voiced men with hair. We command respect, and if we don't get it we take it by force for WE ARE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"

"You have an odd flare for the dramatic," Zuko said.

"QUIET! But do you see where I'm going with this Aang. You see the difference?"

"I gUeSs."

"Well you are in the midst of the change from scrawnikins to beefcake."

"So all tHIS...?"

"Perfectly natural."

"WhaT about mY BEndINg?"

"Why do you think I brought Zuko? So he could sit there half naked and glare?" The two boys turned their gazes to the angry prince. "Tell him. Tell him or the pants are coming back on!"

Zuko shuddered. "You'll be able to bend again."

"ReaLLy?"

"Yes. Your body is changing and so is your bending."

Aang thought about it for a second as he scratched a fuzzy armpit. "So my beNding is goINg thRouGH PuberTY toO?"

"That's one way to look at it." Zuko shrugged.

"How long will tHIs laSt?" The question was directed to both of his puberty masters.

Sokka shook his head. "No idea little buddy. It might be a couple of months it might be a year. Some people are still going through it." He tried to subtly point to Zuko.

"SO my voice sQuEAks beCausE iT is deePeNinG? AND mY HaIR iS grOWinG iN..."

"Because that's what hair does, it grows," snapped Zuko.

"BuT oNLy on BoYS? I haven'T noTicEd aNY hAIrY GiRLs."

"That's because girls shave off their hair, for a smooth feeling. And some guys shave, especially guys who have hairy backs," said Sokka. Aang jerked his head around to lay the fish eye on his back - lucky for him it was hairless...for now. Sokka continued, "And some guys shave their chests, but that's because they prefer to look like girls." Again he pointed at Zuko. "Me, I prefer to be as nature intended - hot and hairy."

"BuT YOu don't hAVE anY chEst hAiR."

"That's because he's not manly enough to grow it," Zuko interjected helpfully.

Before Sokka could pound Zuko's face into the ground, Aang continued, "BuT WhAT abouT my SteNcH?"

"Yes, we can't forget about the stench," Sokka said while giving Zuko the evil eye. "Puberty makes you smell. It's your body's defense against girls."

"WhAt?"

"You may have noticed you want to be around girls more, girls like my sister." Aang blushed. "But puberty is a time you shouldn't be around them. You can't speak well, you itch a lot, and you can't control body parts." He looked at the Avatar knowingly. "This is
your body's way of saying 'Whoa bud, let's back up for a second.' But when you're done with puberty BAM! the smell goes away. Then all the girls, who you've been ignoring, are all in awe at your new kickin' bod and deep deep voice. They don't know where it came from and you become mysterious. Girls love mystery in relationships."

Aang was starting to understand. "WiLL being the AVAtar affect this in anY WAY?"

"That's a stupid question. How the hell would we know?" Zuko found himself on the wrong end of a boomerang once again.

"Well hopefully your body will be able to restore balance a lot quicker since you are the physical embodiment of balance," Sokka said as he withdrew his boomerang from Zuko's stomach.

"Oh." Aang thought for a moment and said, "AbOUt what HapPeNEd eARlier...wITH kaTArA?"

A brief look of utter panic crossed Sokka's face, but he masked it quickly. "Yes, well, um, you see when a boy and a girl like each other..." He looked to Zuko for help, but found none. "They, become one."

"WhAT?" Aang looked horrified. "I'Ve nEveR seEN aNy hAlf-Boy HaLF-giRLs...I tHiNk."

"Not become a horrifying mutant creature...but...umm...you know...become ONE." Sokka entwined his fingers trying to make what he was saying to Aang clearer.

"I don't unDERstaNd."

"Of course you don't. This idiot is doing a horrible job." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Do YOU want to do this?!"

"Not really."

"Then SHUT UP!" Sokka cleared his throat and turned back to the younger boy. "You see Aang when a man and a woman love each other and are in a very permanent committed relationship, preferably married," Zuko let out a cough. Sokka glared at the Prince before he continued. "They make the choice to..."

Half an hour later Aang's world had been turned upside down.