Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or its characters.

53

Aang kicked open the front door with one foot, arms loaded with camping supplies.

"Went a bit overboard, did we?" Katara asked dryly.

He grinned sheepishly at her. "Maybe just a bit... but I love camping, and we can always do it again, if our date goes well." As he passed by the couch, he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. "It'll be the gift that keeps on giving," he said airily.

Katara snorted indelicately. She was looking forward to the camping trip- although, the last time she had gone camping had been with Sokka and her father, and it had ended with her falling into a river and spending the rest of the night in damp clothes and smelling like dirty water. That was nearly seven years ago, and she hadn't exactly rushed to repeat the experience. But Aang's enthusiasm was catching, and she didn't want to spoil his excitement by seeming reticent. "Hopefully it goes well, then," she said mildly. "How was your time with Toph? I'm still not sure how I feel about that little reunion," she sniffed.

"It was typical," Aang called from the kitchen where he was now stacking his purchases. "She displayed her affection with barbed comments and backhanded compliments, and I had to sit there and endure it because no one else is willing."

"That's exactly what I don't get. She's so mean to you. Why do you put up with it?"

"It's how she expresses affection. She didn't have what you might call a conventional upbringing. Her parents were distant at best." He shrugged. "I know she has deep feelings- friendship feelings- that she doesn't know how to express, and if I cut her off just because her delivery is unorthodox, then she'll be all alone."

Katara frowned. "It sounds like you're enabling her."

"Maybe a little," he admitted. He sat down heavily on the couch next to her. "When did you become such a psychologist?" he asked, tickling her stomach.

She swatted his hands away, but couldn't stifle a giggle. "I'm just good at these kinds of things."

"You are," he agreed, kissing her cheek. "But what would you have me do? Ignore her until she can express her feelings?"

"Of course not," Katara sighed. "But, there are ways of allowing her to feel safe enough to express her feelings through kind words, instead of barbed witticisms."

"I'm not good at psychology. I just want to be supportive in the ways that I can."

Katara smiled warmly at him. "I know you do- that's what makes you such a good friend. I just want to make sure that she's a good friend to you, too. Friendship is a two-way street. Rough-around-the-edges has its own appeal, but allowing oneself to be emotionally vulnerable can be very freeing."

"Hard to argue with that logic," Aang said mildly. After a moment, he gave her a shy, sidelong glance. "Want to have sex?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"I'd like a sweet tea, with pho, please," came the voice.

Toph was jerked out of her doze. It was that voice again. She knew that voice, she was sure of it. "I swear I know you," she said firmly.

"Yea, we've met," was the girl's evasive reply. "But it's been a while."

"Where did we meet?" Toph demanded. "How?"

There was a heavy pause. "Can I just get my order and go?"

"No," Toph said bluntly. "Not until you tell me how we know one another."

When the girl's sigh finally ended, she gave the answer Toph knew was coming. "I dated Aang. For a bit. You and I met at that party- the one with the pool, remember?"

"What were you doing with Jet?" Toph asked, frowning.

"He's just a friend."

"A bad one. He's been absolute shit to Aang."

The girl scoffed. "Maybe Aang deserved it."

"Maybe you deserve it, you little weasel. All that shit that Jet talks happened because of a situation that you put him in."

Moonlight streamed through the massive windows, leeching the brown and gold hues from Suki's hair. Her eyes were closed, and her head rested on Sokka's chest. He smiled as he ran his fingers gently through her hair, and snuggled deeper against her.

She loved him. She'd said those words. Well, more or less.

And he hadn't been able to contain his joy. They'd fallen against the mattress together, to love and to join and to cry out, when the moment called for it. Her lips had hovered against his ear, and he'd felt her contract around him, and then he'd been lost, too. But now, they lay together in peaceful silence, the weight of the moment somehow heavy and freeing at the same time.

She hadn't been a part of his plan at all- the 'five-year plan', Aang had called it. And he knew that he wasn't part of hers, either. But nearly half a year of living with her and half that time dating her, he didn't know how he was going to live without her.

He always did this. Always fell too hard, too fast. Here he was, thinking about marriage to a girl who, though she no doubt felt the same as he did, was reticent to move forward in every step. Sokka had thought that tonight was a huge step forward, for her. He had seen the nervousness in her eyes, in the way she wouldn't look at him, in the way her shoulders had hunched around herself, as if she could shielding herself protectively. But she had leaned in regardless. And nothing would ever be the same.

His time with Yue had taught him a great deal. They might still have been together, had he not let her go. But he did.

He wouldn't make the same mistake with Suki.

A/N: for those of you joining me on that roller coaster ride of the last four or five guest reviews- these reviews were in response to my last A/N and then the fact that I posted on the Kataang discord more or less asking if I was in the wrong or this person was. I shared their unkind words and discovered that they're on the discord, too, but instead of speaking with me, they decided to harass me in a way I can't respond to. They said some particularly unkind and vulgar things, which you can see in the reviews, and then insulted the overwhelming support I received from genuinely kind people whom I am honored to call my friends. Unoriginalpoet, Marjojo, bay coconut, wil, and too many other amazing people lent their emotional support and I could not be more grateful.

For the record, the 'ableist' phrase I used was "what a loon"- and it may not have even been about them, since it was about another review that someone gave of another writer's story. And even if I had called them that, I apologized in the discord for potentially giving offense.

This is a long A/N because I need some very certain people to know that this behavior is disgusting. Some incredible works from incredible writers have been abandoned because of harassment like this. Constructive criticism goes like this- "I see you said xyz here, but I might have worded it this way". Or, "you're not using appropriate punctuation in this particular sentence". Criticism of the story itself- the plot line- might include- "I see what you're trying to do, but the point of XYZ scenario escapes me. Could you elaborate?"

"We don't like Zutara" is not constructive criticism. "Katara isn't allowed to think other people are attractive because she has a boyfriend" is not constructive criticism- and it's actually a bit of a frightening and unrealistic mindset for you to adopt.

This blew out of proportion because you refused to talk to me like an adult on the discord, where we could have settled this privately. I repeatedly insisted you reach out to me privately. You used a guest review account- which I can't respond to directly. If anyone got called out, it was you. I'm honestly angry with myself for giving you this kind of attention. I think people like you thrive off of it. But still- you're a bully who thinks they're a vigilante, and you need to know that it's not the same thing. I won't miss you- and the readers who agree with you, I'm sorry to see you go, you've probably been fed an incredibly skewed version of events, but if you believe this person, I won't miss you, either. That is the end of all this.