Hi everyone! I'm so glad I was able to write the next chapter rather soon, but don't get your hopes up! It might not stay like this.

This chapter is about the gaang going to the noodle place they mentioned in the chapter before. So this starts where the last chapter ended. And as a surprise, the whole gaang will be present:D

I hope you're all staying safe and healthy!

I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.


Chapter Seventeen

The noodle place was… okay, at least. It was not a completely cheap take away restaurant, although one could get take away. Zuko was pretty glad Katara's friends had not decided on take away, but had wanted to sit at a table in the restaurant.

It was a small table, one end directly at the window, with Sokka on the other end, Toph and Aang to his right, and Katara and Zuko to his left. The seating annoyed Zuko very much, because it seemed like Sokka was the one in charge. And from observing him and Katara, Zuko knew that Sokka would never be in charge.

After telling Toph and Aang what he had done after high school, and what he was doing now, it was Aang's turn to talk about his years after high school. Zuko tried to look interested, but since it was the exact same story as Katara's, it was just not as fascinating, as if he had heard it for the first time. But maybe Zuko still had a problem with being nice to Aang.

Toph's story was way more interesting. She had been two years below Zuko in school, but he had still noticed her through her behaviour, and of course because she was blind. Even such a lone wolf as Zuko had noticed the cane. More than once had she hit his legs with it, until Zuko had thought she did it on purpose. Answering his accusation, she had simply shrugged and grinned, saying: "You can see the stick. I can't. So move, if you don't want to be hit."

Zuko had thought about arguing, but had let it be. It didn't do any good arguing with Toph Beifong. From then on she had sat at his table during lunch break pretty often, and Zuko wondered how she managed to find him. He didn't ask her, though, and although she was a younger, tiny, blind girl, who was way too blunt, Zuko enjoyed her company. It was nice not sitting alone all the time.

"My parents let me control my trust after I turned eighteen. So I had the money to travel as a blind person. Our state doesn't just give travelling companions to blind people, so without money it pretty much sucks being blind and wanting to travel." She shrugged. "I first went to China, then to India, where I met a funny old man from Ba Sing Se who was also travelling. For a while we stuck together, we hiked in the Himalaya and visited monasteries. I learned some of their martial arts. Pretty cool," Toph hummed, nodding to herself, before sticking one finger in her ear and turning it around.

Zuko frowned in horror and disgust.

Toph's finger made a squelching sound.

Oh gods! How could she do that? They were eating for gods' sake!

She'd never done that before with him around!

Apparently, he wasn't the only one completely appalled by this, as Aang skidded further away on his chair, and Sokka and Katara grimaced in a very similar way.

Toph smudged her earwax on her napkin with gusto, not once, but five times, until she was positive that nothing was left on her finger.

"The monks made great tea. Seemed to be pretty important to the old guy, too. I left him there, but he wrote me some letters. Now he's back in Ba Sing Se. After seeing my parents for a little while, I decided to move here, because all my friends are here, and I would kill myself if I had to live with my parents any longer. The end," she smiled sweetly, before drinking some of her wine.

It was cheap, smelling rice wine that Zuko would have never touched.

He didn't get it. Toph was from a rich family, just like him, but it seemed her upbringing had been more inspired by animals. Or maybe she just hadn't responded well to the upbringing in a high social class. Even if it did make Zuko sound posh, he would very much rather be seen as a posh idiot than drinking that wine and behaving like Toph.

He was pretty sure that the tea he had ordered was bad, too, but since it was tea, he didn't really taste any difference between this one or Katara's or even Uncle's.

What Zuko did taste was his meat. He tried hard not to grimace, but it was way too done. He had said medium rare, but this couldn't even classify as medium anywhere! He was inclined to complain to a waiter, but he didn't want to ruin the evening for Katara, nor did he want to give Sokka another reason to think about him as an arrogant, spoiled rich guy.

But, what could he expect from a run-of-the-mill noodle place? They probably only concentrated on the noodles and not on the meat and vegetables. And well, the noodles were good.

Katara and Sokka had both chosen ramen, as they weren't spicy, Aang had chosen fried noodles with vegetables and tofu, and Toph had wanted udon with roasted duck. Sokka made it a sport to steal all the duck pieces from Toph's table, which she, of course, didn't notice.

Zuko had almost complained, when Katara squeezed his arm. "That's always like this," she had whispered.

Didn't make it fair, though. He almost cringed, and couldn't believe that Katara, who always stood up for any small sign of injustice, let her brother steal food off a blind girl!

"She knows he's doing that, don't worry," Katara went on whispering.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

After catching up with each other, the conversation fortunately turned completely away from Zuko. Katara and Sokka bickered, Toph threw in sarcastic remarks and insults, while Aang was always trying to include Zuko in the conversation. He always asked "What do you think, Zuko?" or "What's your opinion on the matter?" or "Would you agree, Zuko?".

At first, Zuko had been very surprised that Aang of all people was trying to include him, but after a while Zuko suspected that Aang was just trying to seem like a good and nice friend to Katara. The more he tried to be nice to Zuko, the less anyone would think he still had feelings for Katara. The only problem was that Zuko couldn't see if Aang still had feelings for Katara. The way the bald boy looked at her could seem longing, but it could also just be friendly. Zuko wasn't good with faces and looks.

While Sokka was coughing from almost choking on broth, Toph picked her next piece of duck and… put it on her napkin, on top of her earwax. She smeared it around, then put it back on her plate.

Zuko stared, completely aghast, waiting for Toph to eat it so that he could finally excuse himself, tell Katara her friends were nuts, and leave, and never come back.

Instead, Sokka picked her duck with his chopsticks, grinning, because he thought he had managed to steal all of Toph's meat without her noticing it, and put it in his mouth.

Aang and Katara busied themselves with their own food, Toph seemed completely nonchalant, and Zuko couldn't stop staring at Sokka chewing the disgusting thing.

Katara quickly turned Zuko's head to her, and he almost jerked away. Did Katara put her fingers in her ears, too? Or her nose?

"Wait for it…", she whispered.

And very soon, Toph let out a triumphant scream.

Zuko turned around, seeing Sokka wide eyed, before he quickly stared gagging.

Katara, Toph, and Aang were all laughing loudly, really loudly, everyone could hear them, and it totally confused Zuko. Sokka hit the table with his hand, as gagging didn't work, and grabbed his coke to rinse his mouth, but still swallowed the content.

They were acting like… a bunch of animals. Wild, untamed, loud, and impolite animals. Zuko couldn't believe Katara hung out with people like these. He couldn't believe she found it funny.

"I win!" Toph howled. "No one can fool the Blind Bandit, you moron!" she cackled before frowning at Zuko. "Did this appal you, Prince Zuko?" she asked mockingly.

Zuko tensed. He knew she probably just called him that because he acted like a… posh, uptight person, but sometimes it felt strange being called this because he actually could be a prince. He was the descendant of emperors, and only the removal of their line from the throne had stopped it. If he had to guess, it was exactly why Toph chose this name to mock him.

He blinked at Toph, feeling confused and so much out of place. "Er…"

"It's disgusting!" Sokka growled. "Right, Zuko? Oh gods, Toph, please tell me it wasn't your bogey!"

Toph grinned. "Nope. It was my earwax this time."

Sokka retched again, only to drink up his drink afterwards.

Katara wore a nervous smiled, as she guided Zuko's attention back to her. "Okay, look. Sokka is crazy for meat, but most of the meaty meals in this city are super spicy, so he always orders less meaty meals, and then steals Toph's meat. In the beginning she didn't notice and thought the service was bad. I talked to Sokka first, but he didn't stop, and then I talked to Toph and this is how she handles it. They're both too stubborn to stop."

"I'll stop, when he stops stealing my meat," Toph growled, pointing her chopsticks at Sokka.

Zuko winced. Oh, the table manners!

"I'll stop, when Toph stops making her meat disgusting," Sokka held against it. and Zuko frowned.

"And as if you'd stop stealing perfectly fine, non-disgusting meat," Zuko drawled sarcastically. "I think you'd eat it even if she would fart on it." It was a half sarcastic statement, and a half insulting one. He wasn't sure, after all, if Sokka wouldn't eat fart meat.

Everyone started laughing. Sokka probably the loudest, but everyone found what he'd said amusing, and he couldn't even understand it. It wasn't funny what he'd said, just his opinion.

"That's a good idea. Thanks, Zuko," Toph beamed at him. It was a genuine smile.

Sokka pointed at Zuko with his chopsticks and slumped a little. "You know, you're funnier than I thought. But if I'm ever going to eat Toph farts meat, I'll hold you responsible for it."

"As long as you'll do it with your breath five meters away, I don't care," Zuko answered, shrugging.

Aang, Katara, and Toph started laughing again, and even Sokka seemed to fight a smile.

Sokka lifted his glass. "To Zuko. Once, he made us cry, but today he's made us laugh."

"Hear, hear!"

"To Zuko!"

He was not blushing. Not at all. No. And there was no nice, warm feeling inside of him. Uh-uh.

Later in the evening, Zuko excused himself to go to the loo. He had to have a few quiet moments without the loud people out there. He didn't know if he should find Katara's friends endearing or completely disgusting. They obviously were completely gross, but there was something to them… Maybe the way they treated each other, how easily they laughed… It was foreign, but it was nice.

After relieving himself, Zuko took a long time to wash his hands, and then splashed some water in his face to calm down a little. It wouldn't take long now, and he could go. He could leave these crazy people behind and be alone with Katara…

He frowned. Why would it calm him to think about being alone with Katara? She was one of the crazy people! She might be less crazy, but still. Even if she wasn't, being alone with Katara shouldn't be something Zuko was looking forward to. It was an obligation. A work arrangement. Well, Katara worked, Zuko… was the client. Okay, that sounded strange. Maybe he should talk to her about how they could privately refer to each other.

He sighed, rubbing his pale, even, unblemished face, as the door opened, and Aang entered, smiling, when he saw Zuko.

Zuko nodded in greeting, thinking Aang would go to one of the stalls, but instead he kept standing behind him, staring at him in the mirror. "You want something?" Zuko asked, and cringed inwardly. He already sounded so impolite.

Aang scratched his neck, smiling nervously.

He didn't know why, but somehow Aang seemed even taller than those few weeks ago. Was Aang taller than him now? Zuko didn't like Aang's bald head. It made him look shady in Zuko's opinion. With a few tattoos, Aang would look fitting for jail. Okay, not really, there was still too much niceness in Aang's face, but still.

"Hey, er, listen. I feel like there's something uncomfortable between us, and I'd like to remove that," Aang started.

Zuko frowned, then straightened and turned around to face Aang. "Uncomfortable?"

"Yeah. You seem distanced. Like there's a wall around you."

Zuko stared. He blinked, and hoped he wouldn't grimace or roll his eyes. That would make him seem even more impolite.

He grimaced and rolled his eyes. "We don't know each other. How can I be distanced then?"

Aang sighed. "Well, let me say it like this. It seems like you don't want to know me."

Zuko bit on his lower lip. Well, what could he say to this? It wasn't as if Aang hadn't got it right. But he couldn't just admit this, could he?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out an exasperated groan. "Okay, listen. We don't have the best history. And you're my girlfriend's ex, who is still her friend. Do you see any reason for me to want to get to know you?"

"I'm sure Katara would like it," Aang answered, smiling and bobbing up and down, his hands clasped behind his back.

Did he know what he'd just said? This bald guy looked so innocent, but at the same time he uttered threats with a smile! Zuko felt a snarl approaching, as Aang cocked his head to the side.

"Besides, Katara's and your history isn't great, either, and now you're a couple!" he exclaimed, still smiling and throwing his arms out. "So I don't see why we can't try to be friends…" He leaned a bit forward, raised his eyebrows and grinned wider.

Maybe he overestimated Aang. Maybe Aang really just wanted to be Katara's friend. Maybe there was no threat, simply because he did something Katara would like, and Zuko was more reluctant to agree to it. Maybe Aang really just wanted them to be friendly to each other, since they probably had to see each other more often now.

Zuko sighed. It didn't mean he would let his guard down, but maybe it was genuine.

"Okay."

Aang grinned even wider, and jumped a little. "Wow, really? This is super cool! We could meet Saturdays, and we could practise Kung Fu together and…"

Zuko's eye started to twitch, as he took a step forward. "We won't," he said lowly. "We can be on friendly terms, we can even try to be friends, but there won't be anything about Kung Fu. Is that understood?" His ego was still pretty punched by Aang. And now that the Mountainer was even as tall as him, Zuko was sure it would only be harder to win in a match. He didn't need another kind of humiliation in his life.

"Okay, what else do you do on Saturdays?" Aang asked, leaning forward curiously.

Zuko wanted to get out to Katara, but he found himself thinking. "Normally I do some kind of outdoor sports. Climbing, hiking, or parkour."

"You do parkour?" Aang gasped.

Zuko frowned. "Yes?"

"That's amazing! I love backflips!"

Zuko took a deep breath, looking more closely at Katara's ex. He might have grown in height, but he still behaved like an overenthusiastic child. He hadn't changed a lot since high school, just like Sokka.

"It's funny how you didn't change after high school," Aang commented. "Apart from being nicer. Thanks for that, by the way, although I guess you're doing it for Katara."

Zuko shrugged. "Part of it, yeah. But I was an ass in high school, so it's not difficult to become nicer."

Grinning, Aang nodded. "Are you going back?" He pointed at the entrance door to the loo.

"Yeah."

Aang's smile turned a little sheepish. "Okay, well, I still gotta…" He pointed at the stalls.

Zuko simply grunted, walked past Aang and out of the loo.

Back at the table, Sokka and Toph were surprisingly quiet, while Katara didn't even say a thing. Zuko frowned as he walked back to them, only to find out what was happening.

A pretty waitress with short, auburn hair stood at their table, writing down Sokka's order for dessert. Sokka had leaned back in his chair, one elbow on the table, and his smile was slightly crooked, as he looked at the waitress explaining that a fried banana was a banana in a pastry crust and then fried in oil. She seemed pretty annoyed by Sokka, but Zuko couldn't make out why.

He sat back down next to Katara, who gave him a questioning look.

"Took you long," she said.

"Ran into Aang," he replied.

Her eyebrows contorted. "Everything okay?" She looked a little worried, and although Zuko was sure Katara didn't think Aang would try to intimidate Zuko, she still seemed to be worried about his feelings.

Zuko smiled at her. "Yeah. He convinced me to accept his friendship."

Katara burst into a fit of giggled. "I guess he wouldn't let you say no?"

He leaned closer to her to talk more quietly. "He said I became your boyfriend, although we hated each other in high school, so he couldn't see why he and I couldn't become friends."

She smiled widely, giggling again. "This is Aang," she said and shrugged, then pushed her shoulder against his. "I told you he only wants to be a friend."

"Okay, okay, I got it," he whispered back, not really noticing how close they were. He had got used to being close to Katara over last week. Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to not-kiss-Katara, as this was clearly a perfect moment for it. To convince everyone that they were a couple. Not because he wanted to kiss her.

"Can I have it with a little bit of whipped cream?" Sokka asked the waitress, making a strange facial expression.

Katara groaned quietly. "Oh no. That's his flirt face."

Zuko cocked his head to the side, examining Sokka. He smirked, both eyebrows slightly lifted, looking at the waitress from under his lashes. It was quite similar to Jet's flirt face, actually.

"We don't have whipped cream, Sokka," the waitress said, almost tiredly.

"You know him?" Katara gasped.

The girl turned her look from Sokka to Katara, sighing. "Unfortunately."

"Aw, come on, Suki, you know you like me," Sokka said, grinning.

The girl, Suki, glared at Sokka, but the look definitely lacked real venom. "So, a fried banana with vanilla ice dream. Do you guys want anything for dessert?" Suki asked, now trying to ignore Sokka.

Toph blew her fringe away from her face, and turned around to stare out of the window. Katara raised her eyebrows at her behaviour, as she stared at her friend. Zuko turned to the waitress. "I'd take an espresso, thanks."

"You've got anything with chocolate?" Katara asked.

"Ice cream?"

"Okay, I'll take that. Thanks," Katara smiled at Suki. "And please excuse my idiot brother."

Sokka glared at Katara, as Suki chuckled. "It's alright. He's a harmless idiot." With one pat on Sokka's head, Suki turned around and walked back to the kitchen.

"Man, Katara, what was that?" Sokka whined.

"You being an idiot," she answered.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "I don't need interference from you. You probably just erased weeks of progress."

"Oh, is that the girl you've been stalking for weeks now?" Katara asked in an innocent tone.

Zuko's eyes widened. What? Sokka was a stalker?

Sokka rolled his eyes. "It's not stalking, Katara, and you know it. It's just difficult to coincidentally run into someone in a big city over and over." He shrugged.

"So you're not a stalker?" Zuko wanted to know for clarification.

Sokka shook his head. "Of course not. I just really messed up my first meeting with Suki, and I'm trying to make amends. She forgave me, but she has to see that I'm a good guy, and that she can like me. The oftener she sees me the more likeable I'll be to her." He said it as if it were obvious and completely normal logic.

Aang came back from the loo, still grinning at Zuko, who smiled slightly and again nodded a greeting. Aang's grin widened automatically. It was almost creepy.

Zuko pressed his lips together, almost slumping in the attempt at recoiling, as Toph got Aang's attention.

Zuko leaned closer to Katara again. "So, grinning wildly is normal behaviour from Aang?" he asked in a whisper.

She nodded. "Yes. Why?" she whispered back.

"It's creeping me out. Why is he so friendly?"

She suddenly squeezed his thigh. "Don't worry your head over it. That's just how he is. You could pour hot, boiling soup over his lap, and he'll probably apologise to you," she said.

Zuko sighed. "Your friends don't make much sense to me."

She stiffened.

He leaned closer. "But I think I still like them."

She turned her head to him, while he was still leaning very close, and smiled widely at him, as if he had gifted her the greatest thing on earth. Just then, did he realise that Katara had probably worried about this meeting just as much as he had. It was good Zuko and her friends seemed to get along. Even though they weren't really together, through putting an effort into meeting friends, it seemed very much like it, and then her friends could be convinced, too.

She then did something that took him completely by surprise, as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "Thanks for being so patient. You don't have to, and I know they're a lot."

He smiled in return. "I live with Jet. I think I can handle seeing your friends once a month."

Katara chuckled. "True."

"Ey, Zuko!" Sokka called. "You remember our deal, right? Because this seemed a lot like having your face in my sister's, and I hope I don't have to talk about how hot Azula is."

Zuko grimaced.

"Your fried banana." It was put in front of Sokka with much more force than was necessary. Suki's lips were pursed, as she seemed even more annoyed with Sokka than before. She quickly put down Katara's ice cream and Zuko's espresso, before smiling at all of them, except for Sokka. "I hope you have a nice evening. Another waiter will bring your bill later, as I'm leaving now. Enjoy your dessert and please visit Oyaji's Noodles soon again." Her smile seemed very fake, as she said the last part through gritted teeth.

Sokka's eyes were wide, as he stared at his plate, when Suki left.

Aang looked from one to the other in a worried way. "Well, I guess this wasn't so bad."

"Oh, no, it was," Katara objected.

"Do you guys think she heard?" Sokka whispered.

"You saying another girl's name, and how hot she is in one sentence? Yep, I think she did," Zuko answered.

Sokka groaned loudly. "Oh no! I…" He quickly stood up. "I'll meet you guys later outside. I should fix this. Er, if anyone would eat my dessert, I would be very thankful. It shouldn't go to waste."

And off he was.

"Did he just…?" Katara started.

Toph's milky eyes were incredibly wide, and her expression somehow blank. "I think he did," she said slowly.

"What?" Zuko asked.

Aang raised his eyebrows. "He didn't just tell us to HAVE HIS FOOD, no, he also CHOSE A GIRL OVER FOOD!"

Katara looked in the direction where Suki had disappeared. "I guess that's my future sister-in-law then," she joked, and Aang laughed, while Zuko grinned.

Toph laughed the loudest laugh, even wiping tears of laughter from her face. "Wow, that was really good. Future sister-in-law! And this coming from you, Sugar Queen!"

Katara scowled at Toph. "Would you stop calling me that?" she growled.

Zuko downed his espresso, as he gently nudged Katara by her arm. "Maybe you should eat, before your ice cream melts." He wasn't very worried about Katara getting into one of those squabbles with Toph she had told him about, but he'd like to speed the rest if the evening up. He was getting incredibly tired, as this had been a long day.

Katara listened, but she kept glaring at Toph, before she took a spoon from her dessert.

Aang helped himself to Sokka's dessert, and offered Toph some of his banana, but Toph glared at Aang, before turning her nose on the dessert, and looking in another direction.

"Someone wanna bet if Sokka will have a chance with Suki?" Aang asked through a mouth of vanilla ice cream.

Katara grinned. "I think she'll slap him."

"I hope so," Toph grumbled, but then leaned back casually. "He did behave like an idiot after all, and that Suki girl sounded way too smart for him." She got her chair to balance on the hind legs, which reminded Zuko of the meals he had shared with her in the high school's cafeteria, before Katara had befriended Toph.

The waiter who brought their bill was a stammering young man, who flushed the whole time, and had trouble to get any words out. His name plate said his name was Awayatsu. He kept looking at Zuko, which was incredibly annoying. He probably recognised him from one of his father's public outings for his campaign.

Zuko tried to glare the guy into submission, but Katara ended his plan, as she kicked his shin under the table, making him look at her, and then she batted her eyelashes at him. "You told me you would pay, Sweetie," she said.

Of course. Yeah, he had said that.

In the end, he paid for both Katara and himself, and for Sokka, as he wasn't here anymore.

Aang and Toph paid for themselves, and then they got up to leave, unsurprisingly they didn't see Sokka standing in front of the restaurant.

"So, it was nice," Toph started. "And I know we all wanted to meet in my flat afterwards to continue this fun evening, but I have to ban you, as I'm totally beaten." With that she turned around and walked the few steps to the door of her building, as if she could see them. She didn't even say Bye or Good night.

"Is she okay?" Zuko asked, as soon as Toph was inside.

Katara nodded. "She'll be. Aang, do you know how to get home?"

He nodded. "I've got my bike with me. So, it was a short evening, but still nice, wasn't it?"

Zuko nodded reluctantly, while Katara smiled widely at the bald guy. "Yeah, it was."

They hugged to say good bye, and Aang and Zuko shook hands, before Aang left with a wave over his shoulder.

That left Katara and him.

He turned towards her, a question on his tongue that he didn't know how to and if he should ask. But then again, the question wasn't that strange. It was just about practising.

Katara sighed deeply. "Wow, this went really good, didn't it? They totally believed us," she said, grinning.

"Hey!" They suddenly heard a voice call. Sokka was jogging in their direction. "Could you maybe drive me home?" Sokka asked sheepishly, his hand rubbing his neck.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Seriously?"

"I forgot my monthly ticket for the underground."

She groaned in annoyance, but then yanked one arm through Zuko's and looked up at him, questioningly.

Zuko nodded. "Sure." He cocked his head to the side to look better at Sokka. He seemed dishevelled. Not in an I-was-snogging-way, more in an I-was-knocked-over-way.

"Did you get in a fight?" he asked.

Sokka flushed immediately. "Er… No, I just… tripped. And then fell into… bushes. Yes, and that's why I didn't catch up with Suki."

Katara raised a sceptical eyebrow, but didn't say anything, as Zuko took a step towards Sokka, sniffing. "Did you fall into a dumpster?" He craned his neck and saw a banana skin sticking on Sokka's jeans.

"Nooo?" Sokka answered, consciously dusting himself off, and trying to get rid of all the rubbish.

Zuko leaned back, grimacing. "Sorry, but you're not getting into my car like this."

He felt a sudden pain in his ribs, coming from Katara's elbow. "What he wanted to say is, you can't get into his car without us cleaning you up and you bathing in your body spray. I take it you have it with you?"

Oh. Sokka was one of those guys.

"Pfft, of course I have it with me," he snorted and began rummaging in a large, green shoulder bag in traditional Eastern Province fashion.

Katara had said 'us', but there was no way Zuko would move around Sokka and pick up food leftovers from his jeans and jacket. She could do that alone. It was her brother.

Katara began picking things from all over Sokka, his hair, his jacket and jeans, while Sokka took a deep breath to hold it and began spraying the blue can all over him. Katara quickly backed away, coughing.

"Gods, were you trying to kill me?" she exclaimed, shoving against his back.

"I'll have you know that The Mechanist is the latest fashion of fragrances," Sokka huffed.

Zuko grimaced. "Kind of smells like foul eggs. And candle wax."

Katara raised an eyebrow at Sokka and turned big, pleading eyes at Zuko. He was very inclined to not let Sokka get in his car, as he was reeking of this body spray now, which was not much better than dumpster. Anyway, Sokka would touch his car seats and he wouldn't like that.

He took a few steps to Katara, until he stood very close to her. "You're going to check later if he left any stain anywhere, and if he did, you can clean it." These were his conditions.

Katara caught him completely off guard, as she beamed widely and kissed his cheek, before turning to Sokka. "It's alright."

Sokka's grin seemed sheepish and relieved, while Zuko had trouble hiding his sour mood. Now, Sokka would be in his car, and he would have to drive him home, instead of getting the few minutes with Katara he had hoped for. Now everything would be way too late, and they wouldn't be able to talk about it.

After sliding onto his seat and fastening his seat belt, Zuko turned to Sokka and Katara, who seemed both a bit uncomfortable.

Sokka whistled. "It's like some high tech car from the future."

"I know, right?" Katara said in a breathless way, as if she had been dying to say that.

"What do you need all those buttons for?" Sokka asked, gesticulating at the air conditioner.

Zuko didn't want to touch Sokka's hand, so he used his elbow to slap the hand away. "Don't touch anything! It's precisely set how I like it, and it's the air conditioner." He didn't say 'you moron', but he really much thought it.

"Okay, fine," Sokka pouted, as Zuko started the engine with an exasperated sigh.

"It would be better if you drop off Sokka first. He lives closer to here," Katara said before giving him the part of town he had to drive to.

"Katara…", Zuko began after a few minutes of blessed silence and driving through the late evening traffic. "Are you free next Wednesday for lunch? My family would like to get to know you, as there's a gala at the weekend we're invited to, and they'd like you to come. But they'd like to meet you first."

He knew it wasn't ideal to tell her this with Sokka in the car, but he had to now, if there would be discussions ensuing, and since he was too exhausted to be able to handle this later.

"A gala?!" Katara shrieked, sounding panicked.

Oh no.

"Seriously?" Sokka snorted.

"Sokka, shut up," Katara snarled, then turned back towards Zuko. "Next week already? I won't have time to get a dress!"

"It's a week," Zuko deadpanned. Seven days. One-hundred-and-sixty-eight hours. How could this not be enough time to find one dress?

"B-but it's not just the dress, it's also about the shoes, the jewellery, the make-up, the hair…" Her voice mounted in pitch with each word she was saying.

"Dude, you can't just dump something like this on a girl one week before," said Sokka critically.

Zuko pressed his lips together in annoyance. Mai had never… But he stopped himself, before he could think the thought through.

"What kind of gala is this?" Katara asked nervously, fidgeting in her seat.

Quickly looking over his shoulder to see if the other street was empty, Zuko turned left on the small junction. "Er… I think something about orphans. Or ill puppies. Or orphaned, ill puppies? Look, it's one of the charity events my family has to go to every year, because my father donates millions of Yuans to that organisation."

Sokka gasped. "Seriously? Can you make him donate that to the Boomerang Squad?"

"What?"

Katara groaned. "Sokka! Shut up." She turned back to Zuko. "Fine. I'm free on Wednesday for lunch, and I'll accompany you to the gala thing. But only if you tell me the details before. Friday or Saturday?"

"Saturday," Zuko replied.

"Great!" Sokka exclaimed. "That means you can come to our parents' house on Friday. I'm sure they're dying to get to know your new boyfriend, Katara."

His eyes widening in slight horror, Zuko almost missed taking a turn, as his brain started panicking at the thought of meeting Katara's parents. He had thought he had more time! He didn't know enough about Katara yet to make it seem like they were actually a couple, and what if her parents noticed they weren't in love, or that Zuko didn't care that deeply for Katara?! They would expose him as a liar and bad actor and then Zuko would get worked up and probably do something that would insult every one of them, and then Katara wouldn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, and then Ozai would…

Katara gulped. "Isn't Gran Gran about to arrive here next week?"

"Yep, she is," Sokka answered, and even Zuko could hear the evil grin in his voice.

"Seems like we'll have a busy week," Zuko rasped, his voice hoarse from panic.

A hand cautiously touched his shoulder, as not to startle him while driving. "It'll be okay, Zuko," Katara smiled. "We'll manage this."

She didn't say 'together', but her hand on his shoulder seemed to deliver this information.

Shortly, Zuko raised one hand from the steering wheel and squeezed hers. It did make him feel better.


Thanks for reading!:)

So, what did you guys think of Suki here? I implied Sokka seeing her before in chapter five, but I don't know if anyone caught that. Anyway, the back story is that he talked to her once, got her to drink a coffee with him and behaved like a total idiot, assuming his job and muscles would impress Suki. She had told him what she thought of him and left. So then Sokka had first tried to tell himself she wasn't worth it, and he could find another girl, but he was already smitten with her, and so tried to apologise. He talked to some of her friends and found out where she worked. Since it's close to Toph's, it proved to be pretty convenient. Suki had almost softened up, but is still a little reluctant. And of course talking about how hot another girl is, didn't help Sokka. Suki is also in this AU a fighting pro, and when Sokka got too close to her, while trying to explain the Azula incident and annoying her even more, she lost it, made some quick, awesome fighting moves, and Sokka lay in the dumpster.

I know Suki actually accepted Sokka's apology quite soon in canon, but it's not like they had a huge fight before. And in here, it's not about fighting, just the general female role, so Sokka insulted way more than just girls's fighting skills. Plus, Suki can't find a way to ridicule Sokka and Sokka can't find a way to show humble respect to Suki in this more modern society. So that's why this process is taking more time in this AU.

Please let me know what you think! Reviews mean everything to me!:D

Answers to reviews:

To uchihaNaruto247: Of course she will. Azula is one of my absolute favourite characters to write. It's so much fun! I know, I had only appear her so far in chapter seven, and very shortly, but I'm also still thinking about how I will use her for this story. I don't know yet how she will interact with Katara, because I don't really want to have this cliché of the rich guy's sister who helps his poor girlfriend from a lower social class renewing her wardrobe so that she will be accepted in high society. And I still don't know with whom or if I will pair Azula up with anyone...

To Lizzy786: Here it is! I hope you enjoyed it!:)

To Smckoy929: Thanks so much. I know I don't have to, it's just that I know the feeling, too, as I am reading a lot of fanfictions, too. And sometimes I get really frustrated with the lack of updates from some authors... And I never wanted to be one of those authors.

To IDidn'tSignUp4This: Aw, that's so sweet:D This totally made my day, the thought that someone out there thinks of themselves as a fangirl because of something I wrote! Well, okay, the characters aren't mine, but still, I was beside myself with joy! So thank you!:D