Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or it's characters.
77
"Okay, are we ready?" Katara asked. She almost winced at her falsely jovial tone.
"Yes, mom," Toph intoned.
Katara ignored that. "You're not even buckled."
The sound of the seatbelt clicking into place was accompanied with grumbling. Satisfied, Katara pulled away from Toph's apartment and made for the airport. The car was filled with the smothering silence that accompanies two people who don't know what to say to one another, and Katara drummed her fingers on the steering wheel nervously. She wasn't at all happy to discover that Aang had suggested to Toph that she join Katara in picking up Kuzon.
"Toph's never seen him, either, so I have no idea how she's supposed to help me find him," she had retorted hotly when Aang explained his reasoning, but he had simply laughed.
"Just give her a chance," he had replied, and Katara instantly knew this was a forced bonding session. Cram them together enough times, maybe they'd learn to get along. She had agreed for Aang's sake, but there was much grumbling and under-the-breath muttering involved. The patient sigh Aang had released spoke volumes.
Now, Katara wished she hadn't agreed just for the sake of sparing herself this awkwardness. "So..." she began slowly. "How did you meet Kuzon?"
"Through Aang."
"How did Aang meet Kuzon?"
Toph frowned. "Shouldn't Twinkle Toes have explained this to you?"
"Maybe I want to hear it from you," Katara said with exaggerated patience.
Toph picked at the faded plastic on the car door. "It's not that different from how Aang and Sokka met, actually. They had a class together and Kuzon went to the same gym. He was the one who got Aang the job there. He moved away when he graduated- he's a few years older than us."
"Oh. Then how did you meet him?"
"I already told you," Toph huffed. "Through Aang."
"Are you always this forthcoming with information, or are you being deliberately obtuse?"
Toph made a show of considering her question. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's deliberate. More like intentional."
"Those words literally mean the same thing," Katara snapped. "Spirits, how you have any positive associations with other people is beyond me."
"Maybe I don't want positive associations outside the ones I already have," Toph said, smirking.
Katara gritted her teeth as she pulled onto the highway. Just ten more minutes, and then there would be a normal human in the car that she could talk to.
"Did I hurt your feelings, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked mockingly after a while, but Katara thought she heard a self-effacing edge there.
"You didn't," Katara sighed. "I resigned myself last night to the fact that you were going to be a difficult bitch for no reason." She let out a little laugh. "It's actually a bit freeing, realizing that the easiest way I can ruffle your feathers is simply by being a nice person."
Toph snorted irritably. "You're not that nice, but you're right. That does bother me."
"Well, look at us. Agreeing on something."
"Don't get used to it."
Katara laughed again. "Please, Toph. I'm sure we'll agree on many things. You're too predictable."
Toph's mouth open and closed several times in indignation, a remarkably good imitation of a fish out of water, and Katara grinned. Her mood suddenly felt much lighter than when she'd left Toph's apartment complex. As she pulled into the airport, she had a renewed outlook on her relationship with Toph. It didn't look like it would be so hard to keep the upper hand.
"So, what does Kuzon look like?" she asked, looking around.
"How the hell should I know?" Toph snapped. "I've never seen him."
Sokka settled on the couch next to Suki, his arm wrapping around her to pull her tight. Work had been a nightmare; no doubt, he'd be scrubbing asphalt out from under his fingernails for a week. The post-work shower had helped to relax him, but Suki settling against him, lending a pleasant warmth, was more restorative than the shower could ever hope to be.
"How are you?" she asked, tickling his side. "Looks like work was rough."
"Work sucked."
She gave him a commiserating look. "We can talk about it, if you want."
"Not much to talk about, really," he sighed, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Hard labor sucks. Who knew?"
"I knew," Suki laughed. "That's why I work in a café."
He laughed with her for a moment. "You had a shift today, yea? Did you-"
"Bring you a latte? Yea. I did. Because I'm amazing."
"You're amazing," he agreed. "Can you get it?"
Sighing, Suki stood from the couch and strode to the kitchen, snatching the latte off the counter and bringing it back to her boyfriend. "Here," she said, holding it out for him. "Don't say I never do anything for you."
"Would I say that?" he murmured, sipping at the bitter drink. "So, how was today? Did you get much planning done?"
"Yes and no," Suki sighed. "Song insists on making things difficult by complaining about every money-saving suggestion I make. She says it doesn't make her feel like a rich girl planning her dream wedding." She shook her head in fond exasperation. "How she and Haru ended up together, I'll never know."
"He settles her out a bit."
Suki harrumphed indelicately. "More like he lets her get away with anything." She chewed her lower lip. "When you made those suggestions early in this process, she seemed on board. Got any more thrifty ideas for us?"
Sokka frowned. "Not really. I haven't thought about their wedding since... well, in a while." He hid the uncomfortable feeling in his heart with a hearty sip from his drink.
But he could see Suki wasn't fooled. "Oh," she muttered. "Well, that's a shame. I hope it wasn't because of us."
"It's not that... per se."
"Then what is it, 'per se'?"
He shrugged, toying with the lid of his cup. "I don't know, Suki."
"Why not?"
"I just don't," he said firmly.
Her lower lip jutted out slightly. "More like you don't want to talk about it."
"More like that, yes."
"Well that seems healthy," she scoffed.
"You're the one who said you didn't want to talk about weddings," Sokka fired back.
"I meant that I didn't want to talk about our wedding," she said angrily, her arms folding across her chest.
He glared at her. "Then there's no problem. We're not talking about that."
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Perfect." He got up to leave, the restfulness of the moment long gone, but as he turned away, he felt her hand wrap around his wrist.
"Wait," she murmured. "I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it anymore. But please... don't go."
He chewed his lip for a moment, torn, but eventually settled back down next to her, pressing another kiss against her temple. "Just for the record, we should at least admit that we're not handling this well. At some point, this is going to come to a head."
"At some point," she agreed quietly. "But not now. Right now, we have this moment, and we don't need to worry about the next one."
"Yea. For right now," he sighed.
A/N: ooh boy
Okay cool probably around ch 85 we'll start up the 2-2.5k chapters. Glad y'all are on board. I have a vision. A clear picture of our endgame. Thank you all for your input!