Note: Do not read if you don't want to read about characters being inebriated, or vaguely suggestive jokes.

Liquid Courage

"What a beautiful wedding," said Sokka in a sing-song voice to one of the passing palace servants as they halted by their table. He was about to serve them another pot of sorghum wine. "Oh, what a shame…what a shame that the bridegroom is a—"

A hand was unceremoniously slapped over his mouth. He gagged underneath it with the words forever stuck on his tongue. "And that's enough out of you," growled Suki beside him.

He peeled her hand off him, pouting. "I was just trying to have a little fun!" he whined.

Suki shook her head. "No, you were trying to cause trouble for Zuko. Just because you're in his wedding party doesn't mean you can have free reign over his and Mai's reception."

Okay, so he might have scared away the servant. Poor guy. Boo-hoo and all that. It was not his fault that he was a particularly skittish-looking man that startled at every mention of his last name. (It was Dung. Sokka was not going to fault him for being upset about it.) Still, Eunuch Dung could have at least played along. It got boring when you were trapped inside a stuffy palace all day.

On top of all the tedious duties Eunuch Dung was commanded to do on a daily basis at the Fire Lord's residence, he had to deal with his monarch getting married. Now, Sokka was planning on marriage himself, so it was not that this was a bad thing. No, this was an interesting thing. This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to completely embarrass Mai and Zuko.

Though, he supposed having to run around at the beck and call of every single noble in the palace was tiring. He was not jealous of the fact that Eunuch Dung was assigned to wait on Zuko's second cousin once removed, Lady Kim. If he had to hear her shrieking in the middle of the night about the lack of honey cakes at her bedside again, he was planning on baking honey cakes himself just so he could eat them right in front of her.

"Yeah Sokka," agreed Aang. "It's a wedding. Dance with someone! Have a cookie!"

Aang was at the other side of their circular table. He was dressed quite nicely, far from the off-the-shoulder robes he usually wore. He had a yellow collar and a row of buttons that led up to his neck, tied together with an orange-red sash. Katara kept giving him those eyes and Sokka was decidedly uncomfortable because of it. Sure, his sister and Aang had been together for years, but he was still her older brother. In short, he did not want to know.

He may or may not have made the same eyes at Suki just to annoy her though. Unconfirmed.

"You're just quoting Roku now," said Sokka. He waved his komodo chicken drumstick in his face, to which Aang grimaced.

Aang shrugged. "He is my past life."

Sokka sighed. He was way too bored for this to be a wedding reception. He needed fire and excitement! This was the Fire Nation, was it not?

Zuko and Mai's ceremony had been beautiful. Mai had her hair up in an intricate braid wrapped around her head and woven through an elaborate hairpiece that looked big enough that it must have been headache-inducing. Zuko worse his formal robes and appeared more put together than he had ever seen him. He had even combed his hair. What a miracle that was.

The two of them exchanged cups of wine. Their family members had been on either side. (The ones that did not have homicidal tendencies, that is.) They had presented teacups. There was a dove involved. Honestly, he had zoned out somewhere between them bowing to each other and to their relatives.

But it was so long since they saw each other properly. Without the dignitaries and pompous know-it-all governors, of course. There was only so much he could take.

Sokka stood up. His chair's legs screeched on the clean cobbles of the courtyard, disrupting the flow of the celebration that surrounded him. "I propose a toast!" he exclaimed. "To the newlyweds!"

At the head table that sat on the top of the steps leading to the throne hall, he saw Zuko's surprised look. Mai rolled her eyes and nudged him.

Everyone lifted their porcelain cups into the air. Clink, clink, clink, and people were passing around bottles of sweet sorghum wine around.

Toph gulped down three shots in a row and poured fresh alcohol into Katara's cup. Suki tapped her cup to Sokka's and Aang somehow got a hold of two cups which he carried in each hand. He suspected that the extra one was for Momo, but Aang was too nice to tell the servants that Momo was no longer allowed to consume spirits. Sokka himself wanted to forget that time. He had been coughing up furballs for days.

Aang sipped on one cup, and then transferred to the next one when he was done. Perhaps that was when things really started to go downhill.

He was not quite sure how much time had passed. He coasted through the rest of the party in a sort of happy haze.

Aang leaned over to Sokka, intent on whispering something in his ear. "Hey," he said. His cheeks were flushed. "You know I wanna ask Katara to marry me soon," he slurred with a hiccup. "But I'm kinda nervous. What if she says no?"

Sokka laughed and shoved at his shoulder. "Just like…" He waved vaguely at the dancefloor. The lanterns that were strung above them looked too bright. "Just like…ask her over there."

He was not sure what happened next. He was feeling fluffy all over. Fluffy like…he was full of cotton? What was cotton anyway? Who was he again?

He stumbled out of his seat, clutching onto an empty cup. He wanted another refill. Their table did not have any more drinks left.

Somehow, he found himself tapping his toes to the beat of some unknown rhythm. The drums were wild and catchy as far as he could hear. He caught sight of a familiar pair of shadows. He jumped when he realized who they were.

"Woah, woah, woah!" shouted Sokka. "Leave room for Appa!" He dipped underneath the clasped hands of his sister and Aang, and stood straight up in between them, effectively blocking them from seeing each other. Never mind that Aang was taller than him now.

"We're just dancing, Sokka!" retorted Katara. She swayed on her feet. Her hair was stuck all over her sweaty face.

Sokka swung his head over to Aang and gestured at him from top to bottom. "Be careful what you do, buddy, or I'll make you a eunuch!"

"So, you're going to give him one of those flowy robes?" asked Toph. He had no idea when she had gotten there. And since when did she have a chopstick stuck in her bun?

He shook his head viciously. "No, I'm going to take away his…" He made a violent slicing motion with his arm. "…take away his bending! Like he did to Ozai!"

Katara looked absolutely offended. She snapped her mouth open, about to argue in that entitled younger sibling way of hers, but she was cut off before she began.

"And that's enough," interrupted Suki. She seemed coherent. How nice for her. She snatched Sokka by the collar and dragged him backward until Katara and Aang were free of him. She looped her arms around their waists. "We're going to put you guys to bed now."

It did not take them long to make sure that both Aang and Katara had jugs of water set up on their bedside tables, and that both were tucked under the sheets on the beds in their respective rooms. They seemed to knock out as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

Sokka was starting to feel a little tired. Or was it embarrassed? He was sure that he needed another drink or something. Suki and Toph had already started the trek to their quarters. He felt left out.

The hallway started to stretch out before him. A little too long in one second, and a little too short in another. The crimson curtains that brushed against the tall pillars of the palace were inviting. He almost decided to use them as a blanket and pass out right there on the floor.

Then, he saw it.

A bird swooped past him. But it was not just any bird. It was Hawky III, and he was carrying a letter in the direction of Katara's room.

Sokka did not know what else to do but panic. He ran after the creature, only to find that his sister's doors were wide open.

He was met with the strangest sight possible when he entered the dimly lit room. Katara was sitting cross-legged on her bed entangled in her sheets, an ink brush in her hand and her fingers strained in black. There were a dozen or so crumpled pages of paper strewn around her.

He could only wonder how this happened. They had left her only a half hour ago!

Hawky III landed beside her and extended his leg. She took the letter tied to him, unfurled it, and read it. Whatever was written on there must have been entertaining because she giggled. She bowed over a sheet and wrote something. All the while her hand wobbled across it in crazy arcs.

Before she could roll it up and attach it to the bird, Sokka stole the letter. Katara protested.

He grimaced when he saw the characters that were written on it. The whole thing was nearly indecipherable.

Aangg,

You're the bestest person everr. I love lurve loveee you the most. Miss you right naoww!

–Katarjea

Frowning, he shoved the paper back to his sister. She tied it to Hawky III's leg and the bird flapped his wings until he was onto his next destination.

By then, Sokka was at his wits' end.

"Suki, we have a problem!" he screeched as he sprinted down the hallway. He was able to catch up with her and Toph before they turned down the staircase leading to their rooms. "Katara and Aang are writing to each other!"

Suki swiveled around. Her eyes were wide with alarm. Beside her, Toph scoffed. "Why is that a bad thing?" she inquired, crossing her arms.

Sokka skidded to a desperate stop, looking to Suki for answers.

She sighed and pinched her eyebrows together. She placed her hand on Toph's shoulder and with a voice that Sokka could hear was teetering on the edge of both hysteria and laughter, she said, "They're drunk, Toph."

He heard a squawk. Hawky III was racing toward them, headed back to Katara's room with a new note. He waved the bird down, and in Hawky III's confusion on whether to listen to his master (Sokka) or be a courier to Katara, he tripped on air and dropped to the ground.

Sokka scrambled to help the poor thing up and sighed in relief when he righted himself. He patted Hawky III on the head and borrowed the note, showing it to Suki.

Katarha,

Ever since we're started oure fruneshop when were we kids, I alwkasys wanted to lovee you too. What if we've will stayed together forevers?

–Aanggs

After reading it, he thought his head would burst.

"…fruneshop?" read Sokka aloud, utterly bewildered. "What is this supposed to mean?" He felt his sobriety kicking in as swiftly as it had disappeared.

"I think that's Aang trying to write 'friendship', Sokka," Suki said while hiding a laugh.

"I'm so thankful I'm blind," added Toph.

Suki returned the letter to Hawky III. She straightened, brushing herself off. "Well, I don't see any harm in letting them continue what they're doing."

Sokka stared at her.

"It's cute," she explained, snickering.

He was beginning to question her sanity.

He questioned it even more when, for some spirits-forsaken reason, the three of them decided it would be an absolutely wonderful time to watch the letters fly back and forth between the two lovesick idiots.

After a while, he was starting to doze off. But of course, his peace and quiet were going to get interrupted. He almost regretted hoping for something exciting to happen that night.

Katara's doors slammed open, and she screamed, "YES!" as she ran all the way down to Aang's room. Her voice reverberated throughout the palace's west wing like some unhinged lemur searching for a tree full of moon peaches.

And that, Sokka was sorry to say, was how Aang gathered up enough courage to propose.

Note: Thanks for reading! Any comments would be appreciated!