Chapter Seven
When the trio woke up at around nine in the morning, they wandered into the kitchen for breakfast. Sokka remembered how he had wanted to make a plan, involving ways of Aang getting his strength back. He looked over at the boy. The dark circles under his eyes were a little lighter than yesterday, but he still looked worn out. It was going to take time before the rest of the bags disappeared.
Though still pale, there was s touch of peach to his complexion, a slight blush to his cheeks. Even his gray eyes seemed lighter than before. It made Sokka feel some relief for the boy, knowing that although it was going to take time, at least it was start on the road to recovery.
Katara walked over the fridge and opened it. "We have eggs," she told them, pulling out a cartoon of eighteen. She looked at Aang in thought. "Since you don't eat meat, you can pick a side that you would like."
He smiled at her, the blush darkening a bit more. Sokka had to suppress a laugh. The boy looked a little smitten with his sister. It was funny to watch his reaction.
Aang said, "I don't need much, Katara." He looked around the kitchen, brown pinched in thought. "Do you guys have any honey?"
It was Sokka who went over to the cabinet to pull out a bottle. He handed it over. "What are you going to do with it?" he asked curiously.
He smiled, gray eyes gleaming. "It's something my Dad and I used to do." He gestured to the fridge. "Do you mind if I look?" he asked.
The siblings shared a glance. Katara shrugged, looking a little flustered herself. "Uh, okay, sure." She frowned a little before saying, "But you know, you can just tell me what you're making and I'll do it."
Aang grinned, walking over and opening the fridge. "Nah, that's okay. It actually helps to move around." After rummaging around for a few moments, he brought out blueberries, strawberries, and whipped topping. "My Dad and I are vegetarians, so while Mom had sausage or bacon, we would make fruit salads from time to time." He went over to the counter where the bananas were located and set everything down. "It drove my Mom nuts because we would make a mess with the cream."
Katara chuckled, eyes full of humor. "Somehow that fits."
Sokka snorted in amusement, imagining a younger Aang playing war with his father during breakfast. The guy must have been something else before...
He stopped that train of thought. Though they had their suspicions about what had caused Aang to be afraid at first, the boy had made it plenty clear that he wasn't ready to talk about it. He thought about what his own father had told him the night before, about someone coming for Aang. Whoever had stolen him, and judging by how thin and sick he seemed, Aang had been kept in captivity for a long time.
He cleared his throat, pushing the ideas out of his mind. "When was the last time you saw them?"
Aang laid out everything as he responded. "Two years ago." He looked at Katara. "A knife, large spoon, bowl, colander, and cutting board?" he asked.
After she retrieved the supplies, she said softly, "It must have been hard, living without them."
Aang shrugged, grabbing the fruit containers and opening them. "Yeah, it was." As she lowered the supplies to the counter, he gave her a faint smile. "But if I'm lucky, I"ll have my old family together with the new."
Sokka watched as they looked at each other and decided to cut in before any more oogies could come his way. "So, Aang, why vegetarian? Haven't you had meat before?"
He glanced at him and shrugged, grabbing a handful of fruit from each container. "Yeah, but that was before I learned where the meat came from, back when I was five. I remember Mom driving us somewhere, though I can't recall where, and we drove by this factory. It smelled so bad, even from where we were."
While rinsing the fruit he had placed in the colander, Aang continued. "My Dad told me what it was. He'd said it was somewhere for animals to get butchered for the meat they carried." He shuddered before draining the water. "After that, I couldn't even stand the smell of bacon for about a month. No matter what my Mom did, she couldn't get me to eat meat after that."
"But what about protein, man?" Sokka asked. "How do you get that if you refuse to eat meat?"
Aang chuckled, beginning to slice the bananas and strawberries. "There are more ways to get it, Sokka. Tofu is one option."
Sokka made a disgusted face. "Gross," he muttered.
Katara, who had moved over to the stove to begin cooking the eggs, frowned at him, smacking him upside the head. "Don't judge him," she told her brother, looking at him as if he had lost his marbles. "I think it's sweet that Aang cares for life."
Sokka rubbed his head, grimacing and moving farther away. "But, Katara," he complained, "it's meat!"
She looked ready to punch him for that, but Aang came to his rescue. "It's okay, Katara. I don't mind." After adding the fruit back into the bowl that still held the blueberries, he squirted some honey into it, then began to stir it together with a large wooden spoon. "It took a while, but the smell stopped bothering me." He smiled at them sheepishly. "Although, I did have nightmares about chickens without their heads chasing me."
Now Sokka had to laugh at that. He shook his head, chuckling. "Now that would have been funny in animation."
Aang blushed, grinning. "Yeah, it's funny in hindsight." Opening up the whipped cream, he shook the canister and sprayed the delectable topping on the fruit. Once that was done, he put the can down, grabbed the bowl, and flourished it. "Ta da!"
Sokka rolled his eyes, smirking. "What, that was supposed to be impressive?" he sarcastically asked.
Aang's face dropped and Katara, who was finishing with Sokka's breakfast, glared at him. "Sokka," she drawled in warning.
He raised his hands, knowing better than to get a person mad while they were at the stove. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He smiled nervously at his sister.
She huffed haughtily and thrust his plate at him. "Get some fruit salad and go eat. No bacon for you this morning."
Sokka grumbled, taking the eggs to the fruit salad and scooped a spoonful of the stuff onto his plate. He went to the table and slumped into a chair. "Stupid sister, stupid veggie boy, stupid fruit."
This was the first time that Katara refused to put meat on his plate. The fruit did look good, but he wanted the crisp taste of bacon on his tongue. He sighed, starting to eat. This was going to be a long morning.
(***)
Hakoda had already left for work before everyone had awoken, so after they had eaten, Sokka led the other two to his truck. Since it had four seats, everyone sat comfortably, though Aang sat by himself in the back. He watched at the landscape flashed by the window, taking as much as possible so he could at least understand where some things were.
It didn't take long to reach the city proper, where Sokka drove them to the cafe. Looking at his, Aang felt his heart beginning to race. It was crowded today, and though he was pretty comfortable with the siblings touching him, the thought of strangers like these people made him want to lose his breakfast.
Forcing himself to stay calm was a challenge, but he somehow managed as Sokka parked the truck and they exited it. Katara went to his side and grasped his hand. He thought he would have gotten used to the zing the contact initiated, but it seemed a little stronger than before. Aang hoped Katara thought the sweat was from fear instead of anticipation.
She smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry, Aang. It'll be okay."
Taking a deep breath, Aang nodded, and was pleased when didn't release his hand as the followed Sokka inside. There were a couple of lines of people waiting to order and receiving them. Releasing a shaky breath, he held tight to Katara, not wanting to get lost amist a sea of bodies.
Sokka turned to him. "Suki should be working at the counter, handing out orders. We'll head over there in a minute." He clasped Aang's shoulder in comfort and leaned close. "Everything will be fine, Aang. I've told her about your predicament. She wants help the search for your parents."
Heart pounding at the thought, he frowned at his friend. "I don't want the entire city to know about this, Sokka."
Sokka smirked, amused. "Aang, I highly doubt Suki is going to tell." He let him go and grinned. "Besides, I thought you would enjoy a little danger."
Before Aang could argue, Sokka moved away, and he shook his head. So far, Sokka seemed to be the joker, though some of his comments were kind of lame. Katara scoffed, pulling him along. "Sometimes I wonder how we're related."
Aang chuckled, heart still pounding with nerves but finding Katara's disgruntled face amusing. "Besides the humor?" he asked.
She mock glared at him. "Don't start on that, mister. I happen to tell great jokes."
He grinned, face splitting wide. "At least you don't think I should have more danger in my life."
Katara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, being kidnapped, I would think you-"
Aang stopped, feeling his grin drop as the blood drained from his face. "You-you knew?!" he stuttered in horror.
When she met his gaze, she blushed, as if coming to realize how far her words had gotten. "Well, Sokka and I kind of thought of the possibility shortly after you arrived."
Aang felt as though the world was falling. Breathing hard, he gripped his head, though he should have known they would figure at least that part out. How could they not? He was sick looking, and not just because he had lived on the streets for a couple of weeks. All that time in the subterranean palace had taken a lot from him.
Swallowing, he almost jerked out of Katara's hand when it touched his shoulder. His panicked gaze met her sorrowful one. "I'm sorry, Aang. I didn't want to scare you. We care about what might have happened to you, but we also know you're not ready to talk about it."
As their locked eyes remained, some of the panic and anxiety faded from Aang, and he lowered his hands with a sigh. He covered the hand on his shoulder, smiling a little shakily. "I know," he said softly, before breathing deeply. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Katara."
She smiled at him, squeezing his shoulder. "You had every right not to. Whenever you're ready, we can talk."
Just then Sokka came back, looking confused and a little irritated, as if they were holding him back, which, in a way, they were, They lowered their hands as he glowered at them. "What are you guys doing? The line's gotten shorter, but it won't last. Come on!"
He marched away and the other two exchanged looks before following him. The crowd was thinning somewhat, but Aang could hear the sound cars coming and going. Sokka seemed to have about this place. Of course, he worked there, so it made sense.
When they got to the counter, Aang could see someone with auburn hair, their back to them. The feeling of familiarity came to him again. There as something about the short, dark red strands that made him think of home.
Sokka moved over to an empty space and called, "Hey, Suki. I wanted you to meet someone. Can you come over here?"
The girl called back, "Just a second!" She moved quickly over to the delivery counter and placed the drink she had been preparing down. "Large mocha frappe!"
When the person picked up the drink, she turned and walked over to the part of counter where they were.
It was then Aang could see her face and felt his breath leave his lungs.
'No way,' he thought in a daze. 'It can't be...'
She smiled, her cobalt eyes shining under her black hat. "Hi, Sokka, hey Katara," she said in turn before facing Aang. "Who's-?" Her mouth dropped open in astonishment. Her eyes widened so much he almost worried they would pop out of their sockets.
There was a tense silence as the siblings looked at them in confusion, like they were watching a ping-pong battle. Aang blinked at her, feeling his heart race.
Finally she spoke, face filled with shock. "Aang Windstorm?"
He swallowed nervously. "Suki Fronds?"
