CH 23 | Secrets from the Water Tribe

Toph could hear the heavy clicks of Sokka's keyboard as he sat at the dining table. He typed as though his laptop had offended him. He still smelled like wet Appa. She padded over to the kitchen; her hair still wrapped in a towel. "Why are you punching your keyboard…?" she ventured quizzically. He didn't bother to look up—instead he hunched further, squinting as he disconnected and re-connected the cable hooked up to the Zhao's hard drive.

"I type with purpose" he defended. Finally looking up, he realized the earthbender was a shade lighter than her normal hue, clean and pajama clad. "Wow, you actually showered." He murmured, taken aback.

"WoW, YoU aCtUaLlY ShOwErEd" she mocked, mimicking his voice. "You could do for one too, honestly. You reek of bison."

"YoU ReEk Of BiSoN" Sokka parroted back, making her grin. "And since when do you care?" he asked, resuming his typing. "I don't." she agreed, still smiling. "Want some whiskey?"

"Do you really have to ask?" he replied, noting that she started pouring before he responded. They gave a half-hearted cheers and dove in. Sokka sighed, "I want to get everything moved over and wiped before bed. The sooner we can trash this hard drive, the better. I don't want anything in this house that can link us to City Hall."

Toph leaned back and considered the raid, mulling a mouthful of her liquor. "You're not…like…expecting us to go right back out and bust down Suki's camp, are you? Because we need to get our shit together first. We cannot be running this next one blind…metaphorically speaking."

She heard Sokka lean back on his chair, his feet curling impatiently against the ground.

"That's pretty rich coming from the person who blew up a building tonight." He challenged.

"-And I'm also the person who had to fish your sister out of the Avatar's mouth tonight. So… you're welcome." Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose and chugged the rest of his glass.

"THIS ISN'T A JOKE, Toph." He said it louder than he meant to, "I can't let Suki suffer in there! She's probably hurt, she could be dying. I can't do that again. I can't have another person die on me because I didn't make it in time!" She heard him stand up roughly from the table, so Toph followed suit.

"What are you talking about Sokka?" she demanded. "Nothing. Never mind…" he mumbled, seizing the whiskey bottle and making to walk away. "—And don't walk away from me with my own damn whiskey. That's my good shit." She said, stomping after him.

"I'm pretty sure you can afford a limitless supply of good shit, Toph Beifong." He shot back while savagely pirating the bottle.

"Oh, is that what you think? Do you even know what I had to do to make rent last month?! It wasn't pretty." The reply was unexpected, and Sokka lowered the whiskey with a mixture of buzzed confusion. "Wait..what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours" she offered while jerking her liquor out of his paws. "Or you can tell me why you're somehow a broke heiress and then we finish this bottle." He replied, sinking back into his chair.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" she asked, topping both their glasses off. "Gaoling is practically bankrolling the White Lotus right now. Which is why I'm not complaining—I'm actually proud of my spineless-ass parents for once." Sokka raised his eyebrow quizzically. "I'm still not following. Are you saying your parents are broke?"

"I'm saying… that my parents are funding the plans to take down the Fire Nation and don't plan to stop until we win or go bankrupt. Or end up dead…just being realistic."

Sokka blinked hard and drank more whiskey. "Toph. When did this become about the entire Fire Nation? We swiped a single hard drive tonight, now you're what…- talking about overthrowing the Fire Lord?"

"What can I say? The Beifongs are goal-oriented. Now let's fix your silly little feelings, Meathead. Who is it you think died because of you?"

Meathead swallowed hard, playing with his glass. Swilling the whiskey around did nothing but make his eyes swim more. "My mom."

Toph sighed. "Yeah, I thought you were going to say that…Sokka, it wasn't your fault."

"It quite literally was, Toph. I had her cure—I had spirit water in my hands as she was laying in the hospital dying. If I had got there sooner…just an hour sooner, she'd be—"

"No, Sokka. Spirit water doesn't work on Cancer. That stuff is just a myth…" Toph leaned forward and squeezed his hand softly. "It's not a myth. People from all over the world go to the North Pole begging for the stuff. If they gave it out to everyone who needed it, Tui and La would've been gone a long time ago, I can tell you that. I had to whore myself out for it."

Toph laughed. "Now that's something I would actually like eyes for: a vision of Sokka on the street corner in some fishnets and hooker heels." He chuckled darkly. "If only. I promised myself in marriage to the chief's daughter Yue. And agreed to remove all trade tariffs between the north and south if I become the southern chief after my dad. They honestly seemed more interested in that part."

"Y-you what?! Promised yourself in marriage!? What the hell year is it? Are we still in the feudal era? Sokka, why would you do that?"

"My. Mom. Was. Dying." Sokka deadpanned. They were silent as he finished his glass and Toph leaned her head on her palm, dumbstruck.

"The ONLY thing funny about it is I still have to marry her. No takesie-backsies. Yep. Mom died while I was driving in from the airport, vial of get-out-of-death-free juice in hand."

"Does…does Suki know about this?" Toph asked.

"NO ONE knows about this, Toph. I don't think I've even said it out loud like that before."

0 oo 0ooo 000 oo 00 oo

Katara didn't respond to his question with words, but instead swept Aang into a deep hug. Warmth flooded his chest as he nuzzled into her shoulder and she his. On their knees next to Appa's dozing figure, she kissed him again—deeper this time, undulating against his lower lip and then his upper, reassuring kisses to every part of his mouth. Aang melted into her sweet softness, returning her pressure and parting her mouth with his own. Soon she was crawling into his lap, twining her hands around the back of his neck, and lifting her body above his as the heat of the encounter amplified.

Her lips, her soft hands, her subtle scent—it fogged Aang's brain. It felt as though his heart suddenly became heavier as it pounded against his chest, heating him and feathering light tremors down his center. Somewhere deep in his conscience, an alarm bell sounded.

You need to stop. You need to pull away. You're ruining a friendship. Bad Idea. Stop, stop st-

Instead,his hands moved of their own volition around her waist, gently grasping her, feeling toned muscle beneath licentious womanly curves. They went breathless when Katara gave the first subtle rock into his lap. He breathed into her mouth, tongue probing for friction, mimicking her own undulation where their laps intertwined.

Aang's phone rang and they both backed off with a groan, expecting an update from Toph or Sokka.

Video Chat request from Azula

"Speak of the shrew" Katara muttered, no small amount annoyed.

Aang gave Katara a chastising look before answering. "Why are you calling me at 2 in the morning?" he demanded sharply. "Hmm, well you certainly don't look like you were sleeping. I just saw a very interesting thing on the news" Azula countered, appearing cool and casual. Aang knew better—she was reading every micro-reaction of his response. "Is your newsfeed seriously something that can't wait until morning?" Aang shot back, feigning ignorance, and putting on his best tired face.

Azula sucked on the inside of her cheek, attempting to read his face. He thought he was making himself unreadable, but Aang's lack of reaction was just as telling. He was evading an answer. She decided to pivot, "where's the info I asked for on Beifong?"

Aang rolled his eyes. "She likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. She's not into yoga..—"

"Don't get cute, shitbag. Are her parents wiring in funds from Gaoling or not?"

"I dunno."

"You BETTER know. I'm meeting with Zhao in the morning, Fang. I don't know what you're up to, but you better Shut. It. Down. Now."

"Awww, are you actually giving a shit about me now?" Aang asked sarcastically.

"I give a shit about my information. Your days are already numbered, you made sure of it tonight." Azula said, voice ever-so-slightly strained. She was lying.

It was then that Katara decided to snake her arms around Aang's waist, sidling her face into the view of the video chat. "I'm not sure what you're up to, Princess" she interjected with a syrupy smile, "but Aang was with me tonight. All. Night." Katara sealed the implication with a kiss to Aang's neck while he rearranged his face into a sheepish grin.

Azula's purple face would've given an eggplant a run for its money.

"So, is that all? Can we get back to sleep now?" Aang asked dryly. The Princess hung up without response.

Tucking the phone back in his pocket, Aang wheeled around to Katara, slightly annoyed. "That was…mean, Katara. I just told you how she handles stuff like that." Katara, slightly taken aback, made to defend herself, "Is this the real reason we're just 'friends who kiss?' or are you going to stand up to her some day? And I never SAID I was nice."

"You ARE nice. That wasn't like you." He said, folding his arms. "I know what you said. She still really pisses me off. I'm not perfect either Aang, and you're not the only person with" she made air quotes, "chaos."

Aang couldn't help but laugh. "Katara. You're like…the least chaotic person in the universe. You're perfect." He trailed off a bit at the end, blushing. Instead of assuaging her insecurity, Aang seemed to only have stoked Katara's defensive posture. She regarded him with a steely glance.

"What if I was a mean person? Would that be a deal breaker for you?"

Aang swallowed hard, on edge about where the conversation seemed to be headed. "Well…I mean, yeah—but that's a moot point because you aren't mean. You're kind and compassionate. That's not just my opinion—those are the first words anyone uses to describe you." He was rubbing his neck nervously. Watching her mouth clench down to a line was reminding him a bit of Azula before a rage storm.

"What if I killed someone?" she asked, fixing her eyes on the barn ceiling. Suddenly he understood.

"Oh, Katara. You didn't kill her." Aang made to close the distance between them, but she pulled back.

"Yes, I did."

"Sokka told me about how it happened. I'm so, so sorry you lost your mom, Katara. But you can't blame yourself for this. The way Sokka tells it, you're the only reason she was able to have that last year in the first place. You did everything you could AND more…"

"—And when she was done and couldn't go on anymore, I killed her." She said quietly, her full eyes now erupting onto her cheeks.

"No, Katara. You didn't kill her—" Aang began, but she interrupted, "You're not listening! I'm being honest with you—you know what? Forget it. I think I have my answer." Katara stood up, shaking and sniffling, gathering a blanket. Aang was completely confused.

"Katara…I'm sorry if I said something that upset—" she cut him off again. "Forget it, Aang. It's fine. Let's just get some rest. I'll see you in the morning." Aang blinked, slack jawed as Katara curled up under her blanket on the other side of Appa. He deflated and sank down against the bison as well.

Why am I so bad at girls? He wondered, flabbergasted.