A/N: Oh my goodness guys… I am incredibly sorry. I have been so busy! Also, I travelled to Mexico for a few weeks. But still it's not an excuse! All I can say is that I'm sorry and I'll try my best to make it up to you guys some how.

Thanks for reading!

ATLA ATLA ATLA

When Suki woke up the next morning, she found herself curled up on the living room floor next to Katara. A warm cashmere blanket covered them both. She was still dressed in the purple camisole and black tiered skirt that she wore yesterday and she was sure that her make up was smeared all over her face.

When she lifted her head, she saw a long, slender, boyish body stretched out across the couch. She recognized a head of messy dark hair. Teo.

Fortunately somebody had closed the curtains and no harsh light was streaming through the room. Even with her head pounding, she managed to get back to sleep.

ATLA

When Suki woke up again she was alone on the living room floor. This time she wasn't so fortunate because the curtains had been thrown back. She yelped and covered her throbbing head with a pillow, trying to block out the awful light.

"Hey." A voice said softly.

Suki reluctantly looked up from her pillow/shield, catching a pair of bright gold eyes. "Hi Zuko." She answered shyly, memories from the previous night flooding back. She sat up and scooted over, leaning against the couch. She adjusted the blanket so it was resting across her folded knees.

Zuko sat beside her on the floor and handed her a cup of tea- a special blend for hangovers that his uncle created.

Suki thanked him and accepted the tea.

"Where did Katara and Teo go?" She asked.

Zuko wrapped his arms around his folded knees. "Katara's in her bed and I took Teo back to his dorm room a while ago. Poor guy was just totally out of it last night. There was no way we could just dump him at his dorm."

"Oh." Suki said quietly. "That was nice of you guys."

Zuko shrugged modestly.

The silence between the two of them was painfully loud. Zuko wanted to tell her that it was okay, and that she shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable around him. But he wasn't sure how to bring it up without making her feel even more awkward.

Suki expelled a deep breath from her lungs. She finally tilted her head and looked at Zuko, catching his eyes. She had to force herself to hold his amber gaze.

"I'm sorry." She said, feeling her face flush.

Zuko offered her a tiny smile, trying to put her at ease. "Hey, don't apologize. I totally get it… I mean, you were hurting. You're still hurting. And you're my friend so.. I just wanted to help, you know?"

Suki nodded and managed to give him a shy smile. "You know what Zuko?"

"What?" The boy asked, tugging on his shaggy black hair self-consciously.

"You're worth a lot. You're one of the best. And sometimes, I think you're taken for granted. But you never complain. You give and give and never expect anything in return. I'm sorry that it took me so long to see it."

Zuko felt his face redden with embarrassment. He wasn't used to people giving him so much praise. Yeah, he occasionally heard girls whisper about how 'hot' he was, but people had never really had anything really good to say about him. The real him, the guy on the inside. And it felt good to hear it.

So Zuko did something that shocked even him. He stood up and offered Suki his hand. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion but she set her cup of tea down and accepted his hand anyway. He gently pulled her up.

And then his arms were around her, hugging her.

She hugged him back hard, realizing something.

Zuko was hurt. Things weren't right, he wasn't okay. And he really needed a friend.

"If you ever need somebody to talk to, find me." she whispered in his ear.

He gave her a gentle squeeze. "Likewise."

ATLA ATLA ATLA

Later that day when he was sitting alone in his room, Toph waltzed in.

She had a huge bowl of popcorn in her arms and without invitation, she plopped herself on the foot of his large bed, frowning.

"What's up Shrimp?" He asked.

Toph tossed a handful of buttery popcorn into her mouth, glaring. "I saw you."

He raised a dark eyebrow. "Excuse me..?"

"I know what you did last night." She said darkly, between bites of popcorn.

Zuko's lips twitched in an amused smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about kid."

He leaned over and grabbed some popcorn, skilfully avoiding a slap from Toph's small left hand.

Toph adjusted to get comfortable. She folded her legs and set the popcorn on her lap.

She stared at him for a few moments, thinking. "You kissed Suki."

Zuko shrugged, unfazed. He stole the popcorn from her lap and placed it on the bed between the two of them. "Technically, she kissed me. She was drunk and hurting because Sokka is an a-hole."

Toph's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What did Snoozles do?"

"Well, yesterday Suki and I had the pleasure of watching Sokka suck face with my sister."

"What?" Toph nearly screamed.

"Yeah. I was surprised too."

Toph shook her head, disappointed. "Poor Suki. So why did you kiss her?"

"She kissed me!" Zuko reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah." Toph said absentmindedly, not caring.

"Anyway yeah," Zuko continued. "She wanted to see if I felt some attraction to her after we kissed. Because, in her mind, if I didn't then Sokka must not be able to either."

"Okay, I see. But still, I can see Suki falling for you. Be careful. Don't string her along, alright? If you hurt her, Katara and I will not hesitate to cut you into a million pieces. Got it?" Toph threatened seriously.

Zuko gulped, nodding. "But don't worry, Suki only has eyes for Sokka."

"Still, be careful."

ATLA ATLA ATLA

At first, Sokka had no idea where he was. He was stretched across a foreign bed, shirtless.

He yawned and sat up, looking around the room. It was tidy, organized and expensively dressed.

The walls were a warm red and the furniture was dark wood. There was a huge, circular rug right in the middle of the room. A familiar piece of blue fabric rested on top of it. It took Sokka a few minutes to realize that it was his shirt.

He slid out of the bed, relieved that his pants were still on. He walked to the other end of the room, ignoring his shirt on the rug. He was about to open the door when something on the wall to his right caught his eye. It was a drawing- a large, expertly done drawing of three girls. The one on the right side had an impassive expression, with thin lips and a narrow aristocratic nose. The girl on the left was practically her opposite. She had a huge smile on her pretty face. She had giant, thickly-lashed eyes that seemed to smile themselves.

Then there was the girl in the middle. The artist had managed to catch her stunning beauty perfectly. Her full lips were quirked up in a sly smile and her gorgeously shaped eyes pierced through the picture in an almost predatory manner.

Sokka knew this girl. It was Azula.

Did this mean that he was in Azula's apartment? In Azula's room? He didn't remember going home with her the night before. But then again, there was lots he didn't remember from the previous night.

Turning away from the picture, he continued his task of exiting the room.

He closed the door behind him and just when he was about to venture around the corner, he heard something.

"He's cute." Sokka heard a bubbly, high-pitched voice say.

"Can't argue with that." A sharp, smooth voice answered back. Sokka recognized it as Azula's voice.

"So what are you going to do with him? You're not going to let your boy-toy stay here all day, are you?" A monotone voice asked.

"He's not my boy-toy." Azula said, her words blunt and a little angry. "And I'm dropping him off soon. I had to call my brother this morning and explain to him that he and I left early. He was all whiny, complaining about how I can't kidnap his friends or whatever. But Sokka was more than willing to leave with me, if you know what I mean."

A giggle was heard then.

Sokka decided that this was a good enough moment to make himself known. He walked around the corner and came face to face with the three girls from the picture. Instinctively, his eyes locked on Azula. Her normally cold, calculating golden eyes lit up like a blazing flame, warm and welcoming.

"Sokka!" She said, a mixture of surprise and pleasure colouring her voice. She got up and walked over to him. When she flashed him her famous sly smile he couldn't help but grin back.

"Did you sleep well?" She inquired.

"Uh.. Yeah." Sokka answered shyly, clearing his throat.

An amused smile fluttered across her features before she spoke again. "Well my brother wants me to take you home. There's a bathroom down the hall. You'll find toothpaste and an unopened toothbrush there for you. And your shirt-"

"Is on your bedroom floor." Sokka finished the sentence for her with a slight smirk.

Azula smirked back. "Yeah. I'll be here when you're done, okay?"

"Sure."

After exchanging a few words with Azula's friends (who's names turned out to be Mai and Ty Lee) Sokka went to the bathroom to brush his teeth then went back to Azula's room to put his shirt on.

Azula was waiting for him in the living room. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over chest. Sokka sucked in a breath, mesmerized by the way her jet black hair fell perfectly around her slim shoulders.

She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at him and titled her head a bit. "Are you ready..?"

"Oh yeah." Sokka blushed. "Let's go."

ATLA ATLA ATLA

Katara was furious.

She sat in the kitchen, knowing that it would be the very first room her brother would step into when he arrived.

She, of course, was right.

Sokka walked in the room, humming. He travelled straight past his sister, (who was sitting on the counter) his eyes trained on the stainless steel fridge doors. Katara watched her brother's head disappear inside the fridge. He pulled out an item that Katara couldn't see and shut the door.

"Hello, brother." Katara spoke coolly.

Sokka screamed and turned around. He dropped a container filled with left over pizza on the ground, his hand flying to his heart.

"Katara? What are you doing?"

Katara's blue eyes narrowed. "You and me need to talk. Now."

She could see the fear filling her brother's eyes. She saw his mouth open and knew that he was about give her some stupid excuse.

"Look Sokka, this won't take long. Just give me a minute or so."

He nodded slowly, cautiously.

Katara hopped off the counter and walked over to him. She bent down to pick up the pizza and placed it on the counter.

She took a deep, calming breath and looked over the kitchen island at the dining table. Textbooks, laptops and empty plates littered the table. After a few moments of stalling she turned back to face her brother. She watched him swallow hard. He was obviously scared.

"What has gotten into you?" Katara asked, staring straight into his ocean-blue eyes.

"Pardon?" Sokka squeezed out. "I'm uh, not really sure what I did so-"

"I mean really Sokka. Of all girls, Azula?"

Sokka's mouth dropped open. "How do you know about that?"

Katara rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh please, everyone knows. We all saw you and her last night. And I know that you just got back from her house. I cannot believe you! I'm so angry with you!" Katara was throwing her arms in the air now and her voice was raising in volume.

"You can't tell me who I can or can't be with!" Sokka exclaimed. All traces of fear had left his voice. Only anger and defiance was left.

"Yes I can." Katara snapped. "And Azula is definitely someone you can't be with. She's not a good person! She's insane! Ugh Sokka, I thought you were smarter than this."

She watched as his jaw tightened defensively.

"You don't even know her, Katara. I would have expected that you of all people wouldn't go judging people you don't know."

Katara bit her lip and looked away. That one hurt a bit.

"Yeah well do you know her Sokka? No, you don't." She threw back at him.

"I do know her!" Sokka shouted. "I've known for a long time!"

"Good!" Katara screamed. "Then you should know that she is a crazy psycho bi- well, er, brat. Stay away from her. I mean it Sokka!"

Sokka stepped close to her, glaring down. "I cannot believe how you're acting right now."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Sokka's glare intensified. "You're not even thinking about my feelings. Are you even stopping to consider the fact that I might actually really like her? And that she could like me too? That I just might want to be with her?"

Katara couldn't say anything. She was stunned into silence.

Sokka stepped around her, picking up the pizza and walking towards the archway that led out of the kitchen and into the hall.

"Zuko isn't happy about this either!" Katara finally found her voice and called after him.

Sokka stopped but didn't turn around. For a few seconds there was a tense, defining silence between the two siblings. Katara could hear her heart thundering in her chest.

"Well you know what? You and Zuko are not my parents."

Then he left.

"Why is there no door for me to slam?" Katara heard him grumble from the hall.

Katara sat on the kitchen counter again, consumed by shock and confusion. She stared at the clock on the opposite wall. She watched the hands cycle at snail speed. How could so much damage be done in such a short amount of time?

If only she could turn those hands back and stop it all from happening.

ATLA ATLA ATLA

Katara's day was turning out horribly. First Jet wouldn't call her back, then she got into a fight with her stupid older brother. Now thanks to said fight, her best friend was a weeping mess.

"I was so stupid!" The athletic, auburn-haired girl wailed.

Katara sighed, pulling her friend into her arms. "You were not stupid Suki. Sokka was- and is."

Suki sniffled loudly, wiping away the salty tears from her pretty face. "But you heard him, he 'really likes her' and 'wants to be with her." Suki put two slender fingers of each hand in the air, making wild air quotes. "Who was I kidding Katara? He would never go for a girl like me. A sloppy, boring girl like me."

Katara's eyes watered. Who was this girl? It certainly wasn't her confident, bold friend. It was broken girl who's heart had been stolen and broken by a pair of careless hands. She was so angry with her brother for turning her friend into a low-self-esteemed mess.

"Sokka is just… confused." Katara attempted to make an excuse for her idiot brother. Yes, she was furious with him. But he was also her big brother and her first instinct was always to defend him and have his back. "We all knew that he felt something for you. That couldn't just disappear!

"I don't know." Suki finally spoke again in a small, sad voice that was not at all like her usual cheery tone. All of the defeat and sorrow that was in it broke Katara's heart.

The two friends sat together for a long time. Suki buried her head in Katara's lap and sobbed while Katara ran her fingers soothingly through her friends silky, chestnut strands. Once she used up all her energy crying out every drop in her body, Suki got up and announced that she needed a nap. As soon as the door shut behind her Katara broke down.

She cried and cried and cried. For how long, she didn't know. She cried for her dejected friend and her brother, who she was worried about.

Once she had dried her face, she sat alone on the floor of the bedroom she shared with Toph. Her eyes stared blankly at Toph's side of the room. Her eyes traced Toph's expertly-drawn sketches and doodles, looking but not really registering every piece of art.

There was a knock on the door. Katara's eyes flashed up to the door. Who could it be? If it was Suki, Sokka or Toph they would have just walked in. Could it be Aang? Or Zuko? Or… what if it was Jet dropping in for a surprise visit? That would be nice.

"Come in." Katara called out hoarsely.

The door opened slowly and a tall figure stepped in. The person was looking away shyly, not meeting her eye. Dark, shaggy hair framed their pale, angular face. The person wore a pair of thoroughly worn out dark jeans and a faded red T-shirt with a fraying hem. Zuko.

Katara's pretty lips quirked up in a tiny smile. She found Zuko's messy weekend look completely adorable. He was always so neatly put together during the week so it was nice to see him a little ruffled up on the weekends.

"Hey… I just uh, wanted to see if you were okay." Zuko said, sticking his large hands into his pockets and shrugging, trying to appear nonchalant.

Katara got up, slowly crossing the room to where he was. Zuko was being so sweet, checking on her. Everything about that moment… the calm, peaceful air between them, Zuko's endearingly dishevelled appearance, and Katara's desperate need for a cheering up seemed to whisper that now was a perfect time for her revenge.

So Katara crossed the space between them in three long strides. She looked up at him for a moment, hesitating. Then she leaned up on her tip-toes and wrapped her skinny arms around his neck, resting her head bellow his chin. Instinctively, Zuko wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you." Katara whispered in his ear.

He pulled her closer, his mind reeling. "For what..?"

She kissed his cheek, her lips lingering. "For checking on me. That was really sweet."

"Oh." Zuko replied awkwardly. "You're welcome?" He didn't mean for it to come out sounding like a question but it did anyway.

Katara pulled back a bit, but her hands remained on his shoulders. Zuko's warm, strong hands remained on her waist.

"I don't know what to do." Katara said honestly, feeling familiar tears rise to the surface of her ocean-blue eyes.

"Me either." Zuko whispered. His head dropped closer to hers, causing his unruly hair to fall in front of his shaded face like a curtain.

"Your sister-"

"I don't know what she's doing. She hates me." He spoke, his voice still quiet.

Katara was suddenly reminded of what Azula had told her yesterday night. She looked for Zuko's molten gold eyes, hoping to find some answers.

Zuko sighed heavily. It was a weary sigh of defeat, like all the word rested on his shoulders. He let his head drop forward till his forehead was resting against hers.

Katara felt herself stop breathing. He was so close, she could feel the heat on his face radiating onto hers, warming her body to the depths of her soul. She wasn't thinking… about the revenge, about Jet or about her brother. She felt her fingers climb up his neck. Her fingers tangled themselves with the soft hairs at the warm place where the bottom of his head met the top of his neck. Suddenly the breath that she was holding whooshed out of her lungs, leaving her body with every single thought in her brain.

Her eyes fluttered closed when Zuko inched closer, pressing his lips to her jaw. He kissed her skin softly, sweetly. And then it was over and he was kissing her delicately again, this time on her cheek. Her heart beat rapidly, her breath shortening. She could hear his heavy breathing as his lips ran across her cheekbone, barely touching her skin, almost teasingly.

Her hands ran around to rest on either side of his face. She gently placed her thumbs above his lowered eyes. She liked the way his thick lashes brushed against her thumbs, tickling her skin.

She leaned up higher, her nose sliding up against his. His lips were inches away from hers. If either one of them moved just a little closer…

Katara's eyes flashed open. What was she doing? She had a boyfriend! And this was Zuko. Zuko. She wasn't supposed to kiss boys who weren't her boyfriend. She wasn't supposed to kiss Zuko.

So she moved away, taking away her hands and wringing them, anxiously. "Why does Azula hate you?" She blurted out before she could stop herself. Could what Azula said be true?

Zuko's dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why do you want to know?"

Katara ignored Zuko's question, firing another one of her own at him. "What happened when you guys were kids? What happened after you lost your.." Katara shut her mouth. She knew the pain of losing a mother and she didn't want to stir those painful feelings in Zuko.

He stumbled backwards, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "I-I-It's so… it's just complicated! I don't want to talk about it. Did she tell you all of this?"

Katara felt her blood run cold. Why was he acting so jumpy and anxious? It must be true. She felt hurt and disappointed, like it was him personally who had wronged her.

"Yes Zuko, she did! And I can't believe you would just… abandon her like that! She's your sister Zuko. I don't care how-how.. Difficult she is. She is your sister and you should have reached out for her, not pushed her aside."

"That's completely unfair!" He shouted with his famous temper, looking hurt.

"Well it's the truth!" She shouted back, her hands moving around wildly. "When my mother died, I did everything for Sokka! Even when I felt he didn't deserve it, even when he made me want to pull out my hair. He was still my brother and it didn't matter what he did- I did everything for him!"

Zuko's eyes were flashing violently. His hands curled into fists at his side. Of course Katara knew (or at least thought, she wasn't sure that she even knew Zuko anymore) that he would never actually hit her, but she couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"Well sorry that I'm not perfect like you! I'm sorry that I'm only human."

And with those parting words, Zuko stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

ATLA ATLA ATLA

It had only been a matter of time. And really, it a was her fault. Every student visited the UB library at some time or another.

"Hey." He said, towering above her. Together they stood in the art history section of the library, wedged between two bookshelves. Toph felt claustrophobic, like the bookshelves were closing in on them.

"Hi Four-eyes." Toph replied somewhat reluctantly, tugging at the sleeves of the old army green hoodie that she'd had since the eighth grade.

The sleeves of Teo's red plaid shirt were rolled up, revealing the marker all over his arm. He always wrote notes on his arm, to remind him of the things that he was always forgetting. His head was forever stuck in in the clouds, causing him to forget things easily. Toph squinted her eye at his left forearm, spotting something written in dark green marker. 'TALK TO TOPH!' It said in all caps, with three exclamation points. The little voice in her head screamed the words as she read them.

"So uh, about last night.." He ran his hands through his messy brown hair, licking his lips.

"Yeah?" Toph cocked an eyebrow. She leaned against one of the bookshelves, crossing her little arms over her chest.

"I was totally wasted. So I was being a complete fool." He avoided her eyes, focusing his gaze on his beat up converse instead.

Toph smirked. It was just like Teo to say 'fool'. A flood of relief flowed through her whole body. She knew it! She knew yesterday had been complete nonsense. He had just had way too much to drink.

"But," Teo began, "It was uh, true."

Toph froze. "What?"

"It was true. What I said about you. I mean, you're the only thing I can think about Toph." He stepped closer to her, gaining confidence. He lifted a hand and fingered a strand of black hair that had escaped from her messy bun. "I love your long black hair, I love the smell of your lemon-lime gum, I love the way you tilt your head to the side and smirk when I say something stupid, I love it when you lean back and laugh crazily, like you don't care who sees… I love everything about you." He said it all in one breath and when he was done, he panted like he had just ran a marathon.

Toph just stared at him, her mouth hung open in shock. "Teo," She stopped to clear her throat, hating how squeaky her voice her sounded. "I can't- I just- I don't think that I-"

"Hey, don't worry about it! Well I'm going to go now, so I'll see you later." He cut her off, looking relaxed and worry-free. He took a few steps, still facing her before saluting and turning around and walking, his back hunched a little and his hands jammed in the pockets off his ripped jeans.

"Oh hey Toph?" He suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, a teasing smile playing on his cute, boyish features.

"Yeah?" She answered weakly, dazed.

"Just wait- I know you'll be up all night thinking about me." He winked.

Then just like that, he disappeared and Toph was alone again, between those two bookshelves.

ATLA ALTA ALTA

Well I hope you guys liked that! At first, writing this was incredibly hard. I've had writer's block for awhile. But then, during my vacation in Mexico I was suddenly hit with a speeding train of inspiration. And I was able to write this last half of this chapter just like that!

I really hope you guys liked it. Don't forget to review!

Xoxo,

-Tk.

Ooh by the way, how was everyone's Christmas/ New years? Let me know in your reviews! ^_^