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Chapter 29

Another Year Gone By

"I swear, pizza is the second most perfect food in the world," Toph said through a full mouth.

"What's the first?" Aang asked.

"Cream puffs."

"That explains why you like Aang so much," Sokka said as everyone around them laughed.

Considering the fact that this was just supposed to be a small congratulations dinner for Sokka, Suki, and Azula's new contract with her father, Toph was having a great time. That was probably due to the fact that Aang was invited which got Gyatso invited. Then of course there was Hakoda and he was not going to exclude Katara. And Katara was not going to come without Zuko and since both his niece and nephew were there Iroh was invited as well. Iroh, in recognition of all the hard work he had done, had also invited Dwight much to Azula's annoyance. Kuzon was naturally there, so Ty Lee was welcomed to join in on the celebration. And since everyone else was allowed a guest, Azula invited Mai to come along and help keep her sane. That was how the congratulations party ended up being an end of school celebration for everyone.

"I have no doubt that this will be one of our business' most lucrative ventures," Lao smiled as he tapped his glass to Sokka's.

"Can I get anyone anything else?" Jiayi asked as she moved around the table refilling drinks.

"You can come sit right here and help me keep Daddy company!" Ty Lee said.

"B-b-but, I can't," she blushed in response. "I have to--"

"Come on," Hakoda grinned. "We're the only ones here. Take a load off!"

"One must be respectful of a guest's wishes," Gyatso smiled warmly.

"Yes, my dear, please join us," Lao agreed.

"Kuzon could use the company," Huiliang added.

Kuzon rose from his seat and walked over to Jiayi with a mischievous smile tugging at his lips. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently back towards his seat where he sat her down before pulling another chair from one of the neighboring tables.

"It's a party," he said, kissing her cheek. "Have some fun."

"Way to go, Kuzon!" Katara cheered.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Dwight nodded.

"Shut up," Azula said, already tired of Dwight's advances from earlier in the afternoon.

"Come on, darlin'," he said, flashing that smile. "You should be happy about all this!"

"I was happy until I found out you were coming."

"Wow," Mai sort of smiled. "That sounded like something I would say."

"Hey guys, how about a game of mahjong after the food?" Hakoda asked.

"Can you really afford to play against me right now?" Lao asked. "You remember what happened last time."

"Yeah, but now my son's gonna be a rich computer designer. He'll let me bum a few bucks!" Hakoda joked as he wrapped a proud arm around Sokka's neck. "Your mother would be so proud of you, you know that right?"

"Yeah, Dad," Sokka smiled. "I know."

Aang watched the happy families as they enjoyed the festivities. It was nice having everyone together. The last time he could remember everyone doing this was probably Christmas the year before. It was also nice to see Mrs. Bei Fong finally out of the house. She seemed to be doing a lot better. Then his focus shifted to Toph. She was smiling and having fun, but something seemed to be on her mind. He wanted to ask, but he did not want to put her on the spot in front of everyone.

"Why don't you sing a song for us, Ty Lee?" Kuzon asked.

"Hey yeah!" Ty Lee bounced. "That'd be perfect!"

Absolutely perfect, Aang thought. He grabbed Toph's hand and began to pull her out of her seat.

"What's up, Twinkle Toes? I'm still eating."

"Let's dance," he said.

"To what? Bubble Brain hasn't even picked a song yet."

"I'm pretty sure it'll be something we can dance to," Aang grinned.

Neither of them really listened to the music. They just sort of swayed side to side as Aang moved them farther from the party. He was sure Toph knew what he was doing, but she did not stop him so he went ahead and asked.

"What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking," she smiled. "A lot's happened, that's all."

"You okay?"

"I'm good," she replied. "You know what I heard? After we left the tournament Gashwin dropped out. Really pissed off that jerk of a cousin of his too. I guess he didn't like the way he moved up."

"He's a good guy."

"Yeah, I guess. Only because of you though."

"Me?"

"Yeah. The way you handled everything after the fight. You know, the one where you went a little nuts."

"I'm still not proud of that."

"Maybe not, but it helped you didn't it?" she asked. Aang just stared at her quizzically. "Think about it. You crossed the line. Out of everybody I know, you're the only one who'd never done that before. You're also the only person I know that was able to come back and put things right again after. That really says something amazing about you, Aang."

"You're amazing too, Toph," he told her. "After everything that you've been through this year, most people would have just caved in. You and Zuko and Azula had a whole lot of crazy, hurtful stuff going on, but look at you all now. You're still here and you're still strong. That's really amazing."

Toph responded to this with a light kiss on his cheek. Her doing something so girl-y did not happen often, but Aang had to admit he enjoyed it when it did. He pulled her in close and held her affectionately as he kissed the top of her head.

"Aw. They're so cute!" they heard Ty Lee say.

"Save it for the beach, you two," Katara teased.

"Speaking of the beach, you guys coming this year?" Toph asked.

"I wish I could," Katara replied. "I can't take that much time off of school without falling behind. Sorry, Toph."

"I would go, but I've got other things to take care of myself," Zuko said. "I'm going to be enrolling in the police academy this summer."

"That's excellent news!" Iroh exclaimed. "I am sure you will be a worthy and honorable police officer!"

"Then maybe you could do something about my tickets," Sokka grinned.

"Like double them," Azula said as she took a drink.

"Yeah like double . . . hey!"

"You know, Toph, if they aren't going that means we have some room at the house," Aang said.

"How about it, Snoozles? You and Suki wanna spend summer with us?"

"Can we?" Sokka asked his wife, puppy dog eyes practically as big as his face.

"Say no, Suki," Azula said. "Just to see what his face does."

"You're terrible," Suki smiled. "I think it'd be fine if we took off for a week or two this summer."

"Yes! Sunny beach and sand castles, here I come!" Sokka cheered.

"You know dear, with Sokka and Suki there I do believe that they would have all of the supervision they need," Huiliang nudged her husband. "Which means that we could keep Kuzon."

"I suppose," Lao said hesitantly. "But in that case I would prefer Suki were in charge."

"Can do, sir," Suki said with a mock salute.

"Yay!" Ty Lee squealed. "And don't you worry, Daddy. I'll be going with Tophy so you and Jiayi can have a private hot summer romance!"

"Ty Lee!" Jiayi blushed furiously.

"That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea," Kuzon said thoughtfully.

"Kuzon!" The blush now looked like it was never going to leave the poor woman's entire face.

"I'm impressed, Jiayi," Huiliang said. "I've never heard Kuzon so informal or seen him more relaxed."

"I really don't feel up to the beach this year," Azula said.

"You didn't last year either," Toph noted.

"But then the choice was between you people or Uncle's shop. Uncle's shop is not as bad as I would have thought last year."

"Think of it this way," Zuko said. "I'm not going this year so now you don't really have a reason to complain."

"Let her be," Dwight interjected. "If she wants to stay here for the summer, let her."

"On second thought, I've changed my mind. Mai, you come along too."

"Why?" Mai asked.

"More fun! More fun!" Ty Lee answered. "You don't mind, right Tophy?"

"As long as everyone fits in the car, I don't really care," she grinned.

"It's gonna be another fun summer!" Ty Lee cheered.

"We're going to end up needing a vacation from our vacation, aren't we?" Aang smiled.

"Probably," Toph said. "But those are the best kind, right?"

Never End