Ty Lee watches the embracing couple with a soft smile. She turns to Suki, her new comrade-in-arms, and her smile widens. "They are so cute! Can I also have a boyfriend who's shorter than me so he can put his head on my shoulder? Or a girlfriend. A girlfriend would be good too. Not both at once, though, just one or the other."
The skin between Suki's brows furrows with her puzzled look. Oh gosh, she is going to give herself wrinkles doing that, Ty Lee frets. She starts to mention this danger, but halts when she remembers how awful she felt every time her mother warned about ruining her looks. Suki is so smart and strong and interesting; Ty Lee doesn't want to hurt her feelings or alienate her. It is so nice having friends who don't also scare her half to death. Not that Suki's a pushover, but she's reasonable.
"Who are you talking about?" Suki scans the crowd in the grand ballroom. People from all nations are gathered here, dressed in their finest and bedecked in jewels. It's inspiring to see people from all nations celebrating the new Fire Lord together.
Ty Lee giggles and uses a gentle touch to turn Suki's head toward Aang and Katara. "Those two! The Avatar and the Water Tribe girl. Seriously, they have to be one of the cutest couples in the room. And their auras complement each other perfectly; the colors are so balanced and beautiful." Ty Lee sighs dreamily. She can feel how sappy her expression is. A lifetime of friendship with Azula has her bracing for a stinging rebuke about her obsession with romance.
And Suki does laugh, but there's no ridicule in it, only a gentle humor. "Oh, Ty Lee, that's a good one."
She continues snickering and Ty Lee feels her own brow knit. "A good what?"
Suki's giggles trail off. "Oh, you're not joking? You really think Aang and Katara are a couple?" At Ty Lee's nod Suki shakes her head and continues "No. No way. He's her best friend and she's his. There's nothing romantic there."
Ty Lee looks at the two again and can't understand how Suki could miss the spark between them. Okay, Suki can't see auras. So she doesn't know how the iridescent halos of light emanating from the two intertwine and mingle. Where their auras touch the colors blaze even more brilliantly, clearly revealing trust and joy and friendship and passion. But even someone who can't see auras shouldn't miss the purely mundane clues! For goodness' sake, they are still holding each onto each other. In Ty Lee's experience purely friendly hugs don't go on for that long after a mere few hours spent apart.
"Suki, forget what you think you know about them and really look." She waits to continue until she is sure Suki's eyes are trained on the couple. "Look at Katara's hand. She's stroking the back of his neck. Do you do that to your good buddies? Look at Aang's face. Do you see how deeply he inhales? He's breathing in her scent. I bet you a gold coin that if you ask him what Katara smells like he can describe her scent exactly and in the most flattering terms. Trust me, they are extremely attracted to each other."
Suki tilts her head a bit and there's that crease in her forehead again. Ty Lee bites her tongue once more on unsolicited beauty advice.
"Huh" Suki breathes out a bemused little sound. "If I didn't know them and saw them for the first time, I guess I might think they were a couple. But that's just how they are, Ty Lee, they're always looking toward each other and holding hands and hugging and she touches his face a lot and they cuddle together by the campfire and they do a lot of waterbending practice in their underwear..." With each behavior described, Suki speaks more slowly, wonder creeping in around the edges of her words. "Oh, spirits, maybe they are together. But, no! They would have told the rest of us, right? Or at least Sokka..." Suki's voice trails off as if she is unsure on this final point.
"Well, if they're not officially a couple, they should be." Ty Lee's voice is firm with conviction. "It's ridiculous for two people who clearly adore each other that much to not be together."
And then inspiration strikes. Perhaps the two only need a small nudge from someone who can see how well their auras mesh. Someone who believes in love and wants all of her new friends to experience maximum happiness. Someone who successfully played matchmaker for one of her sisters, and an uncle, and even for Mai and Zuko after Azula brought him back to the Fire Nation. That is to say, someone like her. And maybe Suki will help, now that she sees the truth.
Ty Lee hugs herself in delight. This is going to be so much fun!
Enlisting Suki's aid is simple enough. It turns out her commander has a romantic streak nearly as wide as Ty Lee's own. They work out a plan of attack while observing Aang and Katara until Aang is pulled away by someone quite serious and official-looking. He looks back toward Katara reluctantly as he is ushered away. Katara frowns down at her hands, fingers tangled together.
It is time to enact the first phase of their plan. She and Suki move toward Katara with studied nonchalance.
"Hi Katara!" Ty Lee says too brightly. Uh-oh, she didn't mean to sound so eager. Ah well, her reputation for extreme bubbliness can be useful in deflecting wariness.
Katara, thankfully, doesn't seem suspicious. "Hi, Ty Lee. Suki. What's up?" Ty Lee hadn't quite realized how pretty Katara is. Most of their previous interactions, of course, found them on opposite sides of a battle. Up close, outside of war, surrounded by friends and at peace, she's radiant. Sparkling eyes, smooth brown skin, and a cloud of soft dark hair. Wow, she is simply lovely.
"Suki told me the Avatar is your best friend, so I thought you'd be a good person to talk to about him." Ty Lee begins to spin her web.
Katara's open expression quickly slams closed. "Why? Is something wrong?" She looks around the room anxiously, no doubt trying to locate Aang.
And the fly flits right into her sticky net! "Oh no! Nothing's wrong. I just wondered if you could tell me how old he is, exactly. And if he has a girlfriend. Or boyfriend."
"What?" Katara's voice is shrill. "Why?"
"Watching the coronation today, it struck me that he's pretty cute. Plus he seems kind and he's definitely interesting. It's obvious he's younger than me, but I don't know by how much. Perhaps it's not an insurmountable gap? If, that is, he's not seeing anyone?"
Katara's face goes oddly still and her mouth is pressed into a tight line. She is so clearly distressed by the thought of someone else pursuing Aang that Ty Lee finds it hard to keep from laughing out loud.
Katara grimaces. "He's 13, which is too young for you. What are you, 18?"
Oh, she does have it bad, Ty Lee thinks gleefully. "I suppose he is for now. But..." Ty Lee pauses for effect, tapping her chin with an index finger. "My cousin Ling seemed pretty intrigued by him, too. She's 14. That isn't too big a difference. And maybe in a few years, after he's had some more experience, our age difference won't matter." Ty Lee trails off, looking thoughtful.
The sound coming from the other girl could definitely be classified as a growl. Ty Lee bites the inside of her cheek to restrain her incipient grin. Her gaze slips to the side, signaling Suki. It's Suki's turn to add a bit of tinder to the blaze.
Suki speaks up. "Is your cousin the girl who came to get you from practice yesterday morning?" At Ty Lee's vigorous nod she continues "Oh, she's so pretty! And tiny! Even though she's older, I bet Aang's half a head taller than her. They'd be so cute together! Is she here tonight? We should introduce them!"
Katara glares fiercely then turns away, spitting an almost polite "Keep arranging Aang's life without me. I need some fresh air" back at them as she stalks toward an open stone archway leading to one of the palace gardens.
Ty Lee looks to Suki, grinning broadly. Who cares if it causes wrinkles!? But Suki seems uncertain now, biting the corner of her lip, eyes downcast.
"What is it?" Ty Lee asks.
"I didn't quite believe she thought of Aang that way. Not until I saw how she reacted to what we just did. I don't know. It felt like a game before, but now I'm worried we may hurt them."
Ty Lee replays the interaction in her mind. "I don't think she was hurt. She seemed angry to me. Trust me, this is working out ideally. Let's go find the Avatar. Quick! Before she comes back in."
Trying hard to hold a somber expression, Ty Lee extends her hand to Suki. Suki's head tilts slightly and a faint pink tints her cheeks as she takes Ty Lee's hand. Ty Lee does not allow herself to think about how warm and strong Suki's hand is. Nope. Not thinking about that at all because the girl is taken. And Ty Lee does not poach. She pulls Suki toward the last place she spotted their quarry.
As they make their way to the Avatar, Ty Lee reminds Suki "You're going to have to do the talking here. You know him and I don't."
Suki doesn't even have time to nod before they're at his side.
He smiles and bows slightly in greeting. His smile is adorable and his eyes are truly beautiful. Despite his youth he looks mature and wise in his saffron-colored formal attire. Really, if he were even a year older, Ty Lee might actually consider setting her cap for him. Well, if he were a year older and not utterly in love with someone else. Ty Lee is beginning to worry that she might be a bit too personally focused on love and attraction. Her goal here is to instigate someone else's relationship, not to find one for herself. Focus, Ty Lee, focus, she reprimands herself.
"Hey, Aang, do you know what's wrong with Katara?" Suki's soft question breaks into Ty Lee's self-examination and she is grateful to be pulled out of her head.
Aang's expression quickly switches to one of concern. "What do you mean? I was talking to her a few minutes ago and everything was fine." He is scanning the room now, surely trying to locate Katara.
Suki continues "She went out to the gardens and she looked upset."
Aang's expression of worry deepens. "I better check on her" he announces. "Or should I send Sokka? Did I upset her? She seemed okay when we were together."
Suki flashes panicky eyes at Ty Lee. Ty Lee shrugs in response, then answers for the other girl. "If you did upset her, better go make amends, right?"
"Yeah, you're right." His smile returns briefly, wordlessly conveying his gratitude. "I'll go find her. See you later." Without another word he's moving toward the nearest open archway leading to the conservatory.
"Quick" Ty Lee whispers once he's through the opening. "Let's find a spot to observe them."
They speed through the same exit Katara used, hoping to locate her before Aang does. Luck is on their side and they spot her quickly. Katara hadn't gone far into the garden. She sits on a bench next to a small ornamental pond. A swirling orb of water rotates slowly above her upturned palm. She doesn't look angry any more. Instead, she seems pensive, gaze trained on the water floating above her hand. Silently, Suki gestures toward an alcove that is partially screened by deep burgundy leaves on the drooping branches of a willowmaple tree. There they should be able to observe secretly. Ty Lee holds the branches aside for Suki and then follows her into their concealment.
Only a heartbeat later Aang strides off the path onto the lawn that abuts the pond. He pauses briefly and observes Katara. Then he says her name softly. Ty Lee marvels again that anyone is unaware of how the two feel about each other. The longing and adoration between them is unmistakable.
Then Katara is rising, rushing toward Aang. She pulls him into her arms and holds onto him tightly. The tension that filled his frame when he left the path drains away and his arms wrap around the girl's shoulders.
"What happened? Are you okay, Katara?" he whispers.
Katara leans away from him slightly and stares into his eyes for a long moment. He looks back at her steadily. Then she tilts her head down and kisses him. In the quiet of the garden, their observers hear his sharp inhale and her soft sigh. Through the leaves they see when she curves her palm around the side of his face as the kiss deepens.
Suki places her lips against Ty Lee's ear and whispers "Come on, it's time for us to go." Aang and Katara are so caught up in each other that Ty Lee believes they can steal away unnoticed.
When Suki has gone through the doorway Ty Lee looks back. Aang's head is resting against Katara's shoulder once more and his aura is the most sublime representation of joy she has ever seen. And Katara is looking right over his head at Ty Lee. Her eyes are narrowed with suspicion.
Ty Lee stumbles slightly. Thinking quickly, she raises her eyebrows at the other girl and gives a slow, deliberate wink. She points to Aang, then to Katara and lifts her brows again. Ty Lee smiles blithely and mimes applause.
Katara's eyes go wide. Slowly a smile transforms her face. She shakes her head wonderingly and chuckles. When she does, both her aura and Aang's blaze so brightly that Ty Lee has to look away.
Ty Lee decides that perhaps she should make a match for herself next. She dances back into the ballroom, considering her prospects.
A/N This was written months ago for kataang week on Tumblr, but I...okay, this is embarrassing...I couldn't decide on a title and I didn't publish it anywhere else. Anyway, today I'm trying to clean out my WIP folder and I decided to siimply use my workiing title and to heck with it. For those following The Only Way to Hold On, I promise that I am working on it. I have about half of the next chapter written. Thanks for your patience.