Human interactions are a precious thing :')

~Your Uncle Iroh


: Nine :

An Overprotective Brother


"I saw. My sister. And Aang. Outside. Kissing."

Zuko didn't know how he should have reacted to the statement. But for Sokka's sake, he awkwardly tried to appear concerned. "O-oh, they like each other?"

"That's what I'm saying!" Sokka screeched. "It just came out of nowhere! Did I miss out on all the hints? Were there even any?"

He tried to think back- to remember all the times they, as a group, had spent together during the past year. He knew Katara and Aang were close but for them to have romantic feelings for each other? He never saw the signs! Or had he simply overlooked them?

And then, a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks: back when they visited the fortuneteller, Aang had randomly come to him for lady advice. At the time, he had thought the young boy was talking about the fortuneteller's assistant. But maybe Aang was talking about Katara instead! Suddenly Aang's replies during their conversation started to make a lot more sense.

But the memories didn't stop there. Everything started connecting together as fast as lightning. One memory led to another memory, and another, and another. When the three of them exited the Cave of Two Lovers, Aang had mentioned forthright that he and Katara had let love lead the way… what had he been implying then?! What did Aang and Katara do exactly?! Then when he and Aang were about to embark on their little men-only man trip back in Ba Sing Se… he faintly remembered seeing a blushing Aang stuttering something out to Katara; but he had been too caught up in the moment to let Aang finish the thought as he lunged at the boy in excitement. Maybe Aang had been trying to confess back then!

The ball was really rolling now: The dance party in the fire nation. Aang blushing after making Katara the replacement flower necklace. All the hugs Katara gave him. She had kissed him on the cheek once too, hadn't she? Maybe more than once?! Hugs! Kisses! Aang! Touching! His baby sister! SPIRITS ABOVE! HOW HAD HE MISSED ALL OF THAT?!

Sokka unleashed a hysterical scream, smearing his hands down his face. "You didn't know either, did you?!"

Zuko took a step back. "Well, I wasn't really paying attention to that…"

"They were pretty obvious, Sokka!" Toph proclaimed, making her way toward them.

"They were?!" he shouted whipping his head to the earthbender.

Suki nodded, joining in the conversation.

"Wha-… Why didn't any of you tell me?" Sokka didn't give anyone time to answer before he continued on. "This whole time I've been keeping an eye out for Zuko, when I should've been watching out for Aang!" He turned to Toph. "Toph, this is your fault!"

"Why? Just because I kept teasing Zuko?" she crossed her arms, lifting a corner of her lips.

"Yes! You gave me the wrong guy! Why would you tease Zuko when you knew that Katara and Aang liked each other?!"

"Zuko's funny when he's angry."

"What?!" Zuko fumed clenching his fists.

Toph gestured a hand out in his direction. "See?"

Suki finally stepped in. "Sokka, don't you think you're overreacting? Katara's free to do whatever she wants. And this is Aang we're talking about- you've known him forever."

Sokka pondered the thought. For him, the situation was similar to meeting Appa for the first time and unfortunately only ever seeing him walk around, then days later being completely shocked when it turned out the bison was actually capable of flying. Playful teasing and assumptions were one thing. Evident affirmations were another. "Okay but still, I wasn't prepared-"

"You mean you haven't heard of the theory of trios?" Toph remarked.

The three friends looked her way, their faces scrawled with confusion.

"Whenever there's a trio, more often than not, two of the three members end up getting together." She raised a finger for every name she spoke. "You, Katara and Aang: the original trio, right? Look at that. You guys fit right into it."

There was an awkward silence as they all let the thought sink in.

"See! It is your fault then! You didn't tell me about any of this!" He stared blankly ahead as another thought came into mind. "What else have they been doing that I don't know about?"

"Sokka…" Suki started in concern.

"This calls for Operation: Inclusion! Also known as 'prevent Katara and Aang from getting into suggestive situations'." He slammed a fist into the palm of his hand.

The three friends gave up trying to tiptoe their way out of the Jasmine Dragon when Sokka shot them a lethal glare, and then single-handedly dragged all three of them to find his sister.

Conveniently enough, Katara was walking nearby in the streets of Ba Sing Se carrying a basketful of newly purchased bags of flour.

Sokka spotted her from a distance. He immediately trekked toward her pulling along Zuko, Suki and Toph. It was nothing less of subtle.

"Hey dear sister!" he greeted, wrapping a brotherly arm around her shoulder. Katara merely recoiled, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Hi? What are you doing?" She tried to brush his arm away from her.

"Keeping you company."

She looked back to see Zuko, Suki and Toph trailing behind with forced smiles and waves.

"A lot of company," Sokka added when she gave him a weird look. "You shouldn't be walking out here alone, especially when it's getting dark out."

"Right," Katara said unimpressed.

"What's with all the flour?"

"Iroh said he needed some for a recipe he wanted to try out. He had to watch over the shop, so I offered to pick it up for him."

"I hope the recipe isn't unfried dough."

They were about to turn the corner of a building when Sokka burst into a full out shriek.

"KATARA! STOP!" He stepped in front of her, blocking her route with arms wide open. He continued before she had a chance to speak. "You have to be more careful going around corners! What if you ran into someone?"

"Like who?" Katara angrily placed her free hand on her hip.

"Hey Sokka; I thought I heard you," came a young, cheery voice. "Mai said she saw you guys heading this way, and it was getting dark out, so I thought I'd see what was taking you guys so long." Coincidentally, it was Aang and Momo who emerged from behind the corner.

"Like Aang," Sokka said holding his hands toward the boy. "See? Then you two would've fallen on top of each other!"

Katara scoffed. "That's ridiculous." As she was about to take another step, Sokka stopped her again with another outburst.

"WAIT!"

"Sokka!" Katara retorted, whipping her hair around ferociously. He lowered himself to, once again, gesture a hand at the situation.

"You almost tripped on Momo's tail!" he squealed dramatically. "Then you would've fallen on top of Aang and landed in a very. Suggestive. Position."

Silence.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I could say the same to you," Toph shamelessly announced to which Sokka struck her a glare, failing in any attempt to shush her.

"No, nothing at all," Sokka mended. "Just keep going about your day."

The next afternoon, the streets of Ba Sing Se were nearly vacant when Sokka chased after a lively Momo. All Sokka wanted was to paint a portrait of Toph and Momo for one of his parting gifts. But that idea became difficult when the lemur escaped from his grasp and fled to the expansive city.

"Momo! Come back here!" The teenager was led back to the intersection where he had found Katara yesterday. He stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes focused on the scene in front of him. Corner. Katara. On top of Zuko. With Mai standing nearby. Emotionless as ever. With her arms crossed.

"What is this?!" he cried out.

Katara shifted from her position on the ground, pushing Zuko's chest away from her. "Okay, Sokka, you're not going to believe this, but Zuko ran into me when I turned the corner and-"

"We both ran into each other!" Zuko insisted, untangling himself from the waterbender. "After you tripped over the lemur's tail!"

"As stupid as it sounds, it's true," Mai added without the slightest quiver in her voice.

Sokka stood flabbergasted. His jaw hung low while his eyes bugged out. The phrases repeated in his mind, following his intake of the scene. Corner. Zuko. Katara. Tripped. Very. Suggestive. Position! That was exactly the kind of situation he was trying to prevent with Aang the day before!

Sokka unleashed an exasperated growl and threw both hands over his head in fury. If Zuko hadn't been so concentrated in recovering from the unfortunate accident, he would have been proud of Sokka's anger: It would have been on equal levels with the hot-headed Fire Lord's.

Speechless, Sokka stormed off in the opposite direction running into Toph along the way. "I don't know who I should be more worried about anymore! Zuko or Aang? Aang or Zuko?"

Toph cracked her knuckles and stretched them over her head. "Think of it this way: For now, Aang will just want to kiss. Zuko will want to-"

"Okay stop! I have to rethink this." He left the scene with heavy footsteps.

The earthbender kept a blank face as she perceived the scene playing out before her. Katara rose to her feet, brushing the dust from her outfit while Zuko rested a hand on his head, still settled on the ground. The waterbender offered him a hand, but the Fire Lord raised a hand out, gently shaking his head. He picked himself up, and Mai latched onto his arm while Katara went along her way as usual. It was like their little accident had never happened.

Toph sharply blew her long bangs out of her face, which only fell back to their original position. She mumbled her previously interrupted sentence to no one in particular. "I was going to say: Zuko will want to be friends…"


A little note to leave you off with this time!
Each individual perceives him/herself to be the main character in his/her life story. The nice thing about A:TLA is that there's a blurred dividing line between good and evil. Escape the confines of a single character's point of view, put aside your own feelings for a given subject, and the foundation of an idea becomes clearer. Understanding is different from liking and approving. All right, don't get too scared off :) So why does Sokka care so much? The reasons will sneak its way in! Thanks for reading!

~Roze