Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or its characters.

55

After Suki stifled her third yawn in as many minutes, Katara rounded on her. "Why are you so tired?" she asked. "You just spent the night in the lap of luxury. It should have been the best sleep of your life."

Suki blushed brightly, her expression shifting between amusement and embarrassment. "Well..."

"On second thought, don't answer that," Katara said with a delicate shudder. "I immediately regret asking." She looked around, as if casting about for a new subject. "So, how does the other half live?"

"As lavishly as expected, but it's still a shock to see the actual money values," Suki grumbled.

"Do you think it's worth it?"

Suki laughed. "Do I think a bottle of smashed, fermented grapes is worth my entire month's paycheck?"

Katara grinned. "They must be some grapes."

"From the Spirits' personal vineyard."

The girls giggled, and after a moment, Katara leaned back on the couch. "So, that's all? Just a night spent comparing price points on top shelf alcohol?"

Suki's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "This is an interesting line of questioning."

Katara shrugged innocently. "Just asking about my friend's night."

"More like leading me to an answer."

"A girl can't be curious?"

"Is it still curiosity if you already know the answer?" Suki muttered under her breath.

Katara couldn't resist the grin that spread across her face. Not mocking, but genuine delight for her friend and brother. "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited for you. Sokka told me earlier while I was helping him unpack." She was practically bouncing in her seat, though she knew her exuberance would only cause Suki to be more reticent to share. Taking a calming breath, she reeled in her excitement. "I just want to hear about it."

"What's there to know?" Suki asked. "He said that he loves me... and I said that I think I love him, too."

"How prosaic," Katara said.

"It wasn't prosaic," Suki protested. "It was what we were able to convey- you know me, Katara, I'm not great with this kind of stuff. I feel it all, but I get tongue-tied and my hands and feet sweat-"

"-Ew-"

"-and my heart pounds. Everything I want to say sticks in my mouth. My heart is thinking, 'Sokka, when you're with me, I'm drowning, but I'd rather die than come up for air'. But when I speak, my mouth is saying, 'Sokka, if you don't stop slurping your cereal, I'm going to snap-kick you into the fourth dimension'."

Katara's eyes began to brim. There was nothing on this earth she loved more than romance, and to see her friend and brother falling like this was as much as her heart could bear. She could think of a hundred things to say, but she knew Suki couldn't handle them. Instead, she hastily wiped at her tears, stifling a sniffle, and said, "I'm glad you're not tolerating his eating habits; they're atrocious."

Suki gave her a warm smile. A smile of understanding, as if she knew that Katara had carefully curated what to comment on, and what to let hang in the air between them. "It's intolerable."

"Disgusting."

"We're working on it," Suki said, sighing dramatically. "But, it's slow-going."

Katara smiled affectionately. "Well, it sounds like you have time."

Aang's hands trembled as he tapped out the message. 'We need to meet. We need to have a serious talk.'"

After he had explained the situation to Katara, they'd agreed that confronting Jun -together - was the best, and perhaps, the only way to go about handling this situation. Handling it alone would get them nowhere; past lessons had taught them that already. As far as Aang was concerned, there was only one direction he was willing to move with Katara, and that was forward.

And if that meant having one of the most uncomfortable conversations of his entire life with both his current girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend about how his current girlfriend's ex-boyfriend may have heard some things Aang would have preferred to keep to himself, then so be it. His head spun at the convolutions of the situation. Straight out of those stupid reality TV shows that Suki liked to watch when she thought no one was looking.

His phone let out a soft 'ding!', and he looked down at the screen. 'Aang. Long time, no see.'

He resisted the urge to say that he still hadn't seen her, shaking his head. He'd been spending too much time with Suki and Sokka lately. 'Jun, this is serious.'

'Please, no declarations of love. I'm in a meeting.'

He actually groaned out loud. 'Jun, please. Can you go thirty seconds without being a jerk?'

When the little 'response' bubble popped up, he realized his mistake. One never asks Jun rhetorical questions. It always ends in frustration. And sure enough, her response was characteristically sarcastic. 'I don't know. I've never tried.'

'I don't want to do this any more than you do,' he tapped into the phone screen. 'So, here's the deal. I'm going to be at "Lin's Cafe" at 4pm this evening, and I need you to meet me there because I need to talk to you about the things you've been telling people.' He re-read the message after it was sent. Gruff and direct. Toph would be proud. Katara, too, for that matter.

The bubble illuminated his phone screen for a minute or two, appearing and disappearing as if Jun couldn't quite decide what to say. Thinking back, he realized that she had rarely encountered this version of himself. During their time together, he'd been considerably less direct. But, thanks in large part to her, their time apart had taught him a great deal about standing up for himself. Because of this, he wasn't altogether surprised when her response dinged into his phone a moment later.

'Fine.'

A/N: big things coming for Aang and Katara. Kataang heavy chapters coming this way.