Aang and his friends decided to stay a bit longer in the Northern Water Tribe before setting off towards the Earth Kingdom. During that time, as thanks for defeating Zhao, master Pakku allowed Katara to extensively train with him. Moreover, she learned quickly that he had almost married her grandmother. Kya had told Katara stories about Pakku as well as Gran Gran's noble escape towards a better life in the Southern Water Tribe. After getting over her initial shock and anger, Katara and Pakku became acquainted quickly and even found it hard to say goodbye once it was time to leave.

After a sorrowful farewell, the crew hopped onto Appa and launched into the sky, finally setting off and leaving their previous sorrows in the Northern Water Tribe.

Well, most of them anyway.

"I'm going back to sleep." Once they were in the air, Ty Lee laid her head down on Appa's back, and Momo curled into a ball around her head.

"Aw, Ty Lee…" Katara could sense her grief as if it were her own. "...we're always here if you need to talk. We know how hard it must have been for you to lose Yue. I mean, I think all of us have lost at least one person to the Fire Nation."

"I know, it's stupid. But she was the first girl who's actually liked me back before." Ty Lee clutched her legs tighter. How could she explain that she was afraid she had missed her one chance at love?

"People will come and go into your life. That's just how things are, especially with the war." Katara stroked Ty Lee's cheek, "the important thing to remember is that, no matter how dark things get, you'll always have us by your side."

"Besides," Suki added, "you're a catch! You're a chi-blocker who can walk on her hands. Plus, you're great at making people feel better. You were there for me when Katara was captured, remember? And when those Northern Water Tribe jerks wouldn't listen to me about Zhao?"

Ty Lee broke into a smile and nodded, turning her head to finally look at the two girls.

"Thanks. Both of you."

"Of course! Now, get some sleep." Katara gazed down at Ty Lee, whose eyelids had grown heavy.

Within seconds, Ty Lee was out and snoring.

"How's she doing?" Aang called from up front. He wished he could've been there more for Ty Lee, but he needed to make sure Appa stayed on course.

Suki gave him a thumbs up and pushed her index finger to her lips, signaling for quiet. In return, Aang nodded and turned back towards the front.

Katara curled into Suki. They finally had a moment of peace and quiet; there was no fighting, nobody was hurt or missing, and Aang was finally moving on to the next leg of his journey.

Katara decided to seize her chance.

Before leaving, Pakku had shown Katara how to make her own betrothal necklace. She didn't want to propose to Suki, of course; they were both children and weren't even officially dating yet. However, Katara figured the gesture of giving her a necklace of her own would still be fitting.

"Hey Suki, I actually have a surprise for you…" Katara rustled around in her bag before pulling out the gorgeous necklace. Not only did it have a charm showing the water bending symbol, but it also had some green accents to represent the Earth Kingdom, Suki's original home.

Suki's eyes lit up as she gingerly took the necklace into her hands. "Kat, it...it's gorgeous!"

"I'm glad you like it." Katara knew it was now or never. She took a deep breath. "You know, those necklaces traditionally are given to future brides as engagement gifts. They represent your relationship status, in a way."

Suki stared down at the necklace. There was no way Katara was asking for her hand in marriage, right?

As if reading her mind, Katara quickly added, "I'm not proposing to you, don't worry. I-I just thought...I mean, we've bonded so much over these past few months and-"

Suki leaned in and kissed Katara, turning her words into soft, appreciative sighs. Her lips were soft and tender, and Katara felt as though she had been waiting her whole life for this moment. She leaned into Suki, trying to savor every second that their lips were connected.

Suki eventually pulled away and took Katara's hands in hers.

"I would be honored to be your girlfriend."

After their failed attempt to capture the avatar, Zuko, Iroh, and Sokka had quickly sailed away from the scene and towards the nearest Fire Nation colony they could find. The nearest colony happened to be in the Earth Kingdom, near the Northern Air Temple.

Well, that was the closest landmark they could find. The colony they landed at, along with the ones surrounding it, had no real outstanding features. They all consisted of lower class, miserable Earth Kingdom folks being ruled day and night by Fire Nation soldiers.

The only redeeming quality this colony had was that it had a beach.

"Well, there don't seem to be any Fire Nation soldiers here." Sokka scanned the empty beach with a bit of optimism. He figured the Earth Kingdom citizens were too busy trying to make a living to go to the beach, and the soldiers were too busy watching their every move.

"That is exactly why we're going swimming!" Iroh emerged in swim trunks, holding a towel in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. It was only early spring, but it was an unusually warm day; a day perfect for going to the beach.

Swimming? Sokka had never swum before. He gulped, but relaxed when he remembered that he didn't even own a bathing suit. He couldn't drown if he never set foot in the water, right?

No such luck.

"Here, I have a few extras." Zuko was already dressed in red swim trunks, and he didn't even pause as he passed an extra pair to Sokka. While he wanted to keep going on his search for the avatar, Zuko was drained after their last attempt and couldn't deny that he needed a break.

Of course, this is the one time he decides to be nice. Sokka rolled his eyes and went back inside the ship to change.

"Sokka, come on!" Zuko yelled. He was in the water, bobbing among the waves and staring down at his friend, who was sitting on a towel, digging a hole in the sand. Sokka had never seen sand before, and he was enthralled by how liquid-like the solid was. It slipped between his fingers, caved under his feet, but was still as solid as any non-malleable solid. Moreover, while the shore as a whole was completely solid and immovable, it was made of millions of minuscule grains of sand.

"I'm good, thanks!" Sokka smiled and resumed his digging.

Zuko had a suspicion that Sokka didn't know how to swim. However, instead of admitting the truth, Sokka was just lying to his face.

Zuko emerged from the water, smoke coming out of his nose, and walked up to Sokka. Before he even got a chance to react, Sokka found himself being pulled into the water by Zuko, who was dragging the other boy by the hair.

"Ow-Zuko, stop! I'm-I'm coming!" Once they were up to their hips, Zuko let go and sank back down until his shoulders were immersed in the water.

"What, are you scared?" Zuko splashed Sokka, who still hadn't made any move to move deeper into the water.

"No-look, I'm getting in right now…" Oh, boy. How was it possible that he, a boy born in the Southern Water Tribe, had no idea how to swim?

He relaxed once the water reached his shoulders. He didn't need to go underwater, right? As long as his feet were sturdy in the sand, he felt safe.

Zuko nodded. "I'm impressed, I didn't actually think-" He was cut off by a giant wave crashing down on both of them

Sokka began freaking out once his head became submerged. He flailed his arms wildly and kicked his legs frantically, but he couldn't reach the surface. When he tried positioning himself so that his feet touched the sandy floor, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't locate it.

His thoughts became fuzzy, and he was beginning to lose his sense of which way was up and which way was down. He could feel himself being pulled out further and further, so what was the point of struggling?

Sokka almost felt relieved. If he drowned now, then Zuko could have a normal, happy life once he captured the avatar. He didn't have to deal with babysitting his idiotic, gay friend who followed him around like a polar bear dog.

Polar bear dog...Sokka thought drowsily, where have I seen one of those?

With one last huff of breath, Sokka went limp and let his body be carried by the waves.

Zuko, who had washed up unharmed onshore, stared out into the sea.

"Sokka?" He called, "Sokka!"

"Is he okay?" Iroh immediately got off of his towel and prepared to jump into the water. "Don't worry, nephew. I'll get him."

"No." Zuko put his hand out to stop Iroh from jumping in. "I got him into this mess, now I'm going to get him out."

Zuko hurled himself into the water with a splash, fighting against the ever-growing waves. Once underwater, he forced himself to keep his eyes open, despite how much it burned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large, unmoving mass.

That's him. Zuko began to swim forward, propelling himself using his arms and legs. Once he was face to face with the mass, which he now recognized as Sokka, Zuko was horrified to find that he was unconscious.

Zuko picked him up and emerged from underwater. He hurled Sokka over his shoulder and began to paddle his way back to shore.

"Boys...boys, are you okay?" Iroh was pacing the beach frantically.

Zuko crawled up onto the shore, Sokka falling to the ground beside him.

"I am, but I'm not sure about Sokka."

Iroh slung one arm around Sokka's stomach, positioning him so that his head faced the sand, and began slapping his back ruthlessly in an attempt to get the water out of his system. Zuko couldn't watch; he couldn't bear the thought of losing his best friend.

Who will I have if he's gone? Uncle? Zuko shook his head. He's a pain, but I need Sokka to keep me sane. I need his ideas, his wit, his-his loyalty…

Zuko whirled around at the sound of coughing and groaning. Sokka had pushed his way out of Iroh's arms and sat keeled over, coughing into his hand.

"You really had us worried there, Sokka." Iroh rubbed his back. "I should have known. The Asao's never cared enough about their children to provide swimming lessons."

"No...Sisters learned...took all-girls class...not me…" Sokka managed to say between coughs.

"Save your breath. I think our little beach day is over." Zuko came and sat down across from Sokka, whose coughs had started to subside.

"Sorry I kinda ruined it…" Sokka smiled sheepishly.

Zuko shrugged. "I shouldn't have forced you into the water. Once I capture the avatar and regain my throne, we can take a trip to Ember Island. My family goes there every year, and the waves are easy to swim in. I'll teach you."

Sokka's face brightened at his words. He'd only heard about Ember Island from the royal family's stories; he couldn't believe he'd finally be able to go himself. Moreover, Zuko's words suggested that, even after he captured the avatar, Sokka would still be in his life.

Zuko stood up and offered his hand to Sokka. He gratefully took it and hauled himself up with a smile.

"You've got a deal."