A/N: This is a short and purely fluff chapter :)
Disclaimer: Don't own.
XxxxxxxxxxX
What is the song the children sing,
When doorway lilacs bloom in Spring,
And the Schools are loosed, and the games are played
That were deadly earnest when Earth was made?
Hear them chattering, shrill and hard,
After dinner-time, out in the yard,
As the sides are chosen and all submit
To the chance of the lot that shall make them "It".
~'A Counting-Out Song', 1st stanza, Rudyard Kipling
Miya slinked over to Momo, reaching out to grab his watermelon slice. He screeched and ran. Miya thought it was a game and smiled, tottering after him. She wasn't very fast but still caught up with him when he started climbing.
Aang watched as his flying lemur clung to Appa's forehead, glaring daggers at the Koala-Sloth that tried to take his food. Momo chittered loudly when Miya started expertly climbing Appa hair, like she was born to do - the climbing part, not climbing about Appa's hair; although that would probably become habit for her soon, Aang guessed with a humored smile.
"Do you think that'll hurt Appa?" Shaepa asked next to him, concern tingeing her question.
Toph looked up from where she was earth-bending carelessly, not really making anything at all. "What's hurting Appa?"
"Miya," Shaepa answered nervously. She chewed her fingernail.
"Nah, he'll be fine." Aang said and no sooner did he say so than Appa shook his head, knocking both the flying lemur and the Koala-Sloth off. Momo whimpered from where he was getting up, the watermelon skin slice knocked out of his hands.
Miya ran over and snatched it up. "Poor Momo! Miya! Bad girl!" Shaepa yelled, hands on her hips.
Toph rolled her eyes, bending a faceless statue replica of Shaepa. "Oh jeez. Hey, Aang. Is this accurate? I even got the arms right, yeah?" She grinned and Aang earth-bended it back into the earth before Shaepa could see it. The other teen just shrugged, seeing nothing when she looked over, and started walking over to Miya. "Such a buzz-kill."
"Hey look," Aang said with surprise. The Koala-Sloth stopped and plopped down on her butt in front of Momo, holding the watermelon skin out. Momo looked at it and then to her and back again suspiciously. He snatched it up suddenly, holding it up to his nose. Sniffing the whole thing over twice, he went to take a bite. His mouth lingered over the green skin, eyes narrowing at Miya.
"I can't. What's going on?" Toph asked.
Momo broke off a third of the fruit reluctantly with a displeased frown and dropped it in Miya's lap. She picked it up eagerly while grinning her version of an animal smile over at Momo, who sat across from her and ate his fruit sulkily.
Appa, seeing his buddy acting all kinds of unhappy, walked sideways over to the small animals and plopped down behind them. He nuzzled Momo for a moment in what Aang guessed was encouragement.
"Momo just gave some of his fruit to Miya."
"Wait, didn't she try to steal his earlier?"
"Yeah. And again; just now."
"Little thief," Toph shook her head. "My kind of animal."
Aang smirked. "Momo's much more of a thief."
"Yep. And I love him to death."
"Miya wasn't trying to steal," Shaepa argued, walking back over and sitting next to Aang on the bench; they were all under the cherry blossom tree next to the main temple, as had become routine since it's Aang's favorite place. "She wanted to partake."
"Then she succeeded," Aang smiled. Momo looked up at him and chittered. The Avatar just waved.
"It's like he's your son." Shaepa observed. Toph burst out laughing, doubling over.
"You mean Momo? You're kidding, right?" Toph took a deep breath, wheezing. She wiped a line of tears from her right eye. "They're more like brothers! Have you seen how childish this kid can be?"
"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore." Aang frowned.
"Keep telling yourself that, twinkle-toes."
"I'm thirteen. If anyone is a kid, it's you, miss twelve years old."
"That comeback was lame," Toph shook her head. "We don't even have a year's difference between us. It's, like, six months. Maybe."
"Whatever."
"Original."
"You two are cute," Shaepa said, picking at a shedding petal she captured in her hand.
"What?" The two startled and nearly shouted.
"Hey, hey, don't attack me!" She laughed. "I'm just saying: the banter's cute. Very... eh, I don't know." Shaepa wrinkled her nose and paused. "I thought of something, but I just lost it. Oh well. Hey, did you guys see that!" She pointed at Miya and Momo.
"No, what?" Aang asked, confused.
Toph just sighed, annoyed at the other girl.
Aang's cheeks went pink for Momo. "Oh, Spirit World."
Momo was scrambling, his feet and arms flailing, from where he was lying underneath Miya. The Koala-Sloth - and her thirty pounds of extra weight - hugged the flying lemur and toppled him over while hanging on to dear life like one would expect her kind to do with a branch. "I'll go get her up. Miya - no!" Shaepa yelled the last part, standing from the bench and running off.
"Okay, so what's going on? Is Miya violating Momo's food or something with her slobber?"
Aang recounted the scene to Toph, who promptly smirked. "I would high-five her, but I'm afraid of the talon-like claws that Koala-Sloth has." She stopped her bending exercises, now bored, and sat on an intricate rock seat next to the bench. "This place is nice," she breathed as the wind picking up.
"Yeah." Aang agreed and smiled.
"I could get used to it."
He looked over with a raised eyebrow but she just propped her arms on the arm-rests, sagging down like he'd seen her do often. Her bare feet didn't even touch the ground. He turned back and closed his eyes, mimicking her. The breezed tickled across her bald head.
"Yeah," he simply repeated.
XxxxxxxxxxX
When a friend calls to me from the road
And slows his horse to a meaning walk,
I don't stand still and looked around
On all the hills I haven't hoed,
And shout from where I am, What is it?
No, not as there is a time to talk.
I thrust my hoe in the mellow ground,
Blade-end up and five feet tall,
And plod: I got up to the stone wall
For a friendly visit.
~'A Time To Talk', Robert Frost
Sokka gasped, waking up from a cold sweat sleep and accompanying nightmare. I never asked permission! I never asked her father for consent! He groaned loudly, stumbling out of bed. Sokka quickly donned his South Pole boots, wrist wraps, and his South Pole robe over his under garments. He exited the small, closet-sized room he was assigned to sleep in at Suki's house and trooped down the stairs to ground level.
The sun now shone, low and bright, and caught him in the eye. He bent over jarringly as his eye burned. "Gah; bright!"
"Hello Sokka."
He started up again and looked over. Shielding his eyes, he saw Suki's father sitting by window in his usual rocking chair. "Uh, Blais; sir. Good morning."
"Yes, it is." He nodded, looking out through the large window that ran nearly the length of the porch behind the house with only carved wooden sticks scattered about to hold it up against the brutal summer storms.
"I wanted to speak with you about something... sir." Sokka said, walking closer. The sun nearly blinded him again and he squinted, turning his back to the window once he was next to Blais.
"I love sunrises. They're always the prettiest. Do you think so?"
"Yeah. Sure. I've seen enough from sleeping outside lately to last a lifetime," Sokka joked. He swallowed the laugh when Blais simply looked at him sternly. It was intimidating. Sokka shifted his gaze. "So, uh, I know I asked for Suki's hand in marriage without your permission first... so, can I marry your daughter, Blais Eltsina?"
The father just looked at him, an incredulous expression on his face - and maybe even one holding amusement, if he looked hard enough. He didn't though, feeling the sweat pool on his hairline instead. "You're asking me now? You and Suki went out for invitations yesterday."
Sokka blanched. "Well... yeah."
"Okay, okay." Blais held up his hands, looking at the Sokka with the stare he would give rowdy kids during his days of teaching. It worked with the same effect it had years back. "Answer this one question properly and I will give you late permission."
The South Pole teenager nodded.
"Why did you propose to Suki when you did?"
Sokka frowned, forehead scrunching as he searched for what to say properly. "You mean location? We were leaving in a day and I wanted to propose in that spot. Actually, I, uh, kind of dreamed about it," he admitted while scratching his neck; embarrassed.
Blais shook his head. "No. I mean why."
"Because I want to marry Suki and I can't imagine being without her again."
Suki's father grinned, holding out his hand. "Permission granted."
"Really? Just like that?" Sokka exuberantly shook the old man's hand.
"Ow, careful, son." Blais rubbed his shoulder. "This arm's never been the same since I fell and it slipped out of socket." The boy grimaced at that mental picture but Blais smiled. "Since you're going to be my son-in-law in a few months, I should probably tell you I approved of you ever since Suki wrote me, saying you rescued her from that awful prison. Going up against the Fire Nation like that is good enough for me. Plus, you actually won against them! Good. Good."
"Thanks, sir."
"Could you do me a favor?"
"Of course! Anything for my new father-in-law." Sokka smiled.
Blais gestured to his chair. "I haven't had breakfast and I can only stand for a few minutes."
"Ah! I'll whip up some... do you like fried beef?"
"What I would really like is two eggs, beaten, with two pieces of toast, one with a red-berry jam - not purple - and another with a tomato spread, and then one of those corn muffins that my sister made last night. We do still have some, yes?"
Sokka's jaw dropped at the request. Eventually, he realized how foolish he looked and recovered – but, his mind was still processing. "Err, yeah. Okay. Be... right back." He took off stumbling to the kitchen.
Blais laughed when the boy was out of the room. He didn't actually care what the kid came up with, he just wanted breakfast. It would be fun to see him sweat, though. I've missed this, he thought with a chuckle, happy that his home was full again.
XxxxxxxxxxX