ZW 2008 Day 3: Smug

(Set between EIP and Sozin's Comet)

Wherein The Water Tribe Loses a Great Deal of Money

Summary: Katara and Zuko leave camp for a few days. It's not what you think, really.

The trap is set. They've stuffed grass and Appa's fur into their bedrolls, put what food won't be missed too badly in bags, and disappeared into the trees. Zuko has been slipping away for days to find a place Toph can't see, and Katara has made enough meals to get the group through three days without her there to cook. They're leaving tonight, Zuko tells her. This is the last chance they'll have before the comet comes, and they take it. It's almost too easy.

"Has anyone seen Zuko?" Aang rubs his eyes as he comes around the corner of the beach house. "He's not in the courtyard."

Sokka shifts in his sleeping bag on the beach, grumbling. "What do you need him so early for?"

"Usually he makes me do breathing exercises at dawn."

Snuggling deeper into his sleeping bag, Sokka waves a hand at his friend. "Ask Katara." The top of his head pokes back above the white fur. "Also, ask her if there's any meat for breakfast."

As Sokka disappears again, Aang squints into the rising sun and tries to decide whether it's really worth trekking all the way back to the beach house, finding out where Zuko is, finding Zuko, and then having to do his breathing exercises. Aang decides today is a good day for a day off. After all, what better way to end a night of camping under the stars?

"Hey, Airhead! Meat!"

On the other hand, he has to go to the kitchen for Katara anyway.

By the time Aang makes it back to the beach, white-faced and nearly trembling, Toph is awake and screaming bloody murder at the Sokka-shaped lump in the sand. Suki is watching the whole thing with a look that walks a thin line between horror and amusement.

"Snoozles! Did you put these shoes on my feet?" That much Aang could hear from the beach house. He knows whatever follows can't be good, but he's fairly certain she thinks Sokka has played some prank. Aang knows better, though, because then Sokka also would have had to leave this note, and even Sokka isn't that cruel.

"Guys," Aang begins, approaching Toph and the cowering lump. "Katara and Zuko are gone."

Toph snorts. "Yeah, we know Twinkle Toes. Suki found Katara's sleeping bag full of weeds."

"What about Zuko's?" Aang is doubly worried now. If they'd bothered to cover their tracks (and Toph's feet), they must have been serious. This concerns him in a way he's not used to.

Suki lifts a pile of red blankets and white fur tumbles out. "He and Katara must have gone together."

Aang holds out the note he found in the kitchen. Sokka springs from the ground and snatches it. " 'Dear Toph, Suki, and Aang' hey what about me?"

"Just keep reading, Sokka." Suki steps behind her boyfriend and looks over his shoulder.

"Fine. 'Dear Toph, Suki, and Aang' and Sokka, 'Zuko and I went to do some reconnaissance. We'll be back in three days. Love, Katara.'" Sokka collapses onto his knees and grabs his hair. "I knew it was only a matter of time! Zuko's kidnapped my sister!"

Aang turns away from the group and mutters, "They probably ran away to be together."

"Okay Twinkletoes," Toph snaps. "We get that you're still a little sensitive after the play the other night. Get over it."

"Besides, Aang," Suki puts in, "Zuko's been scouting the island for days. If he wanted to go further, it makes sense to bring someone else along."

This doesn't seem to help Aang much, but Sokka embraces Suki's theory like it's his lost sister come back to him. Or meat. The two are fairly interchangeable (at least at breakfast time). Toph blows her hair out of her eyes. "You knew he was running off too? Sparky's not as good as he thinks he is."

Sokka barks a laugh and returns to the letter. " 'Aang, do one hundred hot squats every time you hear a badger frog. Zuko.' Aang, you better get on that." Sokka grins. "Oooh! Finally! Somebody cares about me. 'Sokka, it's not what you think. Katara.'"

Sokka narrows his eyes at the paper. Suki beats him to the question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sokka's eyes narrow so much he's squinting at nothing. "If I thought Zuko kidnapped Katara, he must not have. Unless Zuko didn't expect me to think he kidnapped Katara because he's good now. Except Katara said it wasn't what I thought-"

"Shut up, Sokka." Toph snatches the paper from him and crumples it. "I think it's pretty obvious." Her smile turns devious. "Twinkletoes is on to something."

"Thanks Toph." Aang doesn't look especially thrilled to be right.

"No sweat, Twinkles."

Sokka, while slow to take the bait, eventually becomes so convicted that Zuko and Katara have run off on some last-minute romantic escapade that he bets Toph his entire secret stash of emergency copper coins and dried seal jerky that they've done just that. Suki tries to dissuade him for fear that Toph is in on some prank, and Aang tries to dissuade him for fear that it's true. Neither is successful.

By the time Katara and Zuko make it back, Aang has worked himself into a frenzy of firebending, hoping, by some strange logic unknown to everyone but the Very Innocent Party who gave him the idea (Toph), that if Katara realized he was a better firebender than Zuko, she'd leave Zuko for him.

It doesn't quite get him the results he was hoping for.

Zuko nods his approval as Aang finishes the most complicated and difficult form he'd been taught thus far, and Aang bows and collapses. Katara looks at them. "Zuko was right, Aang. Us disappearing for a few days was really good for your firebending. I owe you an apology, Zuko."

"And cash," Toph interjects.

Katara glares at her but produces the agreed upon sum. Zuko is all too happy to take it, and if his self-satisfaction gets any more irritating to Katara, he may find himself dying a mysterious death. "Don't be so smug, you firebending jerk!"

"You too, Sokka. Pay up!" Toph is nearly bubbling from ill-contained glee.

Sokka, grumbling, stomps to his room to find his coins. They're hidden under his mattress where no one can find them (or they would be, except Toph detected them weeks ago and they're quite safely hidden under her mattress now).

Toph and Zuko have themselves a congratulatory fist bump the next time Katara turns around.

AN: In case I didn't make it clear enough, Zuko bet Katara that if neither of them were around making Aang paranoid (because they'd just seen that play), Aang's firebending would improve. Naturally, Toph wanted to torture Sokka and Zuko just wanted to be right, so they teamed up for the exercise. Cheaters.

Is it really Zutara? Maybe. Is Zuko's motive really so pure as to disappear alone with Katara strictly for Aang's sake? I call that a long shot.