Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Author's Note: This is what Aang and Sokka were talking about as Toph and Katara made their way back to the house. I want to thank the ladies who reviewed and assured me that I was not alone. avatarkataang, I asked them to comment on that, so don't sweat it! More specific review responses at the end.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

"Hey, Sokka," Aang called out as he entered the house they were sharing. Sokka was on the floor of the common area, a few scrolls and books strewn around him. He was lying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows and looking at one of them.

"Hi, Aang," Sokka responded distractedly. Aang threw himself onto one of the floor cushions, dropping his staff carelessly to the side.

"What did you do today?" Aang asked.

"Got involved in a poetry duel."

"Really? I didn't even know you could fight with that."

"Well, I sort of stumbled into a poetry reading and started composing haiku," Sokka explained, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"Sounds fun. Does that make you a poetry bender?"

"I prefer wordbender, actually," Sokka replied, adopting his fake, high-class accent.

"How did you do?"

"Well, I was going really good for a while, but they threw me out for putting an extra syllable in the last line."

Aang began to laugh.

"It's not funny!" exclaimed Sokka irritably.

"Are you kidding? It's hilarious!" Aang managed, once he'd caught his breath.

"Well, what did you do?" Sokka challenged.

"I built a new zoo."

Sokka blinked at him a couple of times.

"You know, it should probably worry me that I'm not even surprised anymore when you say things like that," he commented dryly. Aang just grinned impishly at him, then put his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling.

"So, what do you suppose Toph and Katara are up to?" Aang wondered aloud.

"Who knows? Girl stuff. Shopping, long baths, doing their hair and makeup."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Aang replied, trying to push the image of Katara bathing out of his mind. Then he smiled and rubbed his shaved head. "Except for the hair and makeup part."

"What? You didn't like wearing the Kyoshi makeup?" Sokka teased.

"Well, it did feel kind of familiar," Aang reflected. "You've worn it, too. What did you think?"

"It wasn't all that different from the war paint we wore at the South Pole. Besides, there were benefits." Sokka gave a lopsided smile.

"Same here," Aang remarked, closing his eyes to better remember the touch of Katara's hands on his face as she had applied the makeup for his trial and the way parts of her body had occasionally brushed against him as she worked. "Ow!" he exclaimed, sitting up suddenly and catching a blurry glimpse of the scroll that had just bounced off his nose.

"Don't think I forgot who put that makeup on you!" Sokka warned, who was now standing with a book at the ready. "Stop thinking about my sister like that!"

"Hey, you're the one who talked about her taking a bath," Aang retorted petulantly, rubbing his nose. "What did you expect me to think about?" Sokka looked thoroughly nonplussed for a moment, and he lowered the book slowly.

"Sorry," he apologized. He sat back down and exhaled heavily, puffing his cheeks out. "All right, we're going to have to lay out some ground rules here. It's not like I'm surprised by recent…developments."

"You're not?"

"Nah. You guys always had some kind of freaky connection. Just because I don't understand it doesn't mean I didn't see it. It was only a matter of time before…I don't even mind all that much. I just don't really want to watch. Do you understand?"

"Not really," Aang admitted. Sokka rubbed his temples as though he were getting a headache.

"Yeah, I guess not. How about this? You try to keep the stuff that happens in front of me to a minimum. In return, I'll work harder not to say things that will give you thoughts that'll make me hit you."

"I can't control what she does," Aang pointed out, frowning doubtfully.

"Who can?" Sokka shrugged helplessly. "I've been trying for years. You and I just do what we can. And I'll try to restrain myself if I see that something is clearly her fault."

"Deal," Aang agreed, and they bowed to each other to seal it. "So…what are you doing now?"

"Oh, I thought I'd look through the library to see if there was anything interesting. I should have known better; it's mostly poetry and boring romance stories."

"Oh, really?" Aang's eyes lit up. "Can I have one of those?" Sokka shook his head disbelievingly.

"You know, you really are weird," he said flatly, handing over one of the scrolls with an attitude that suggested he thought Aang was a lost cause. The Avatar just grinned back. He was used to this accusation by now, and he had realized that, from Sokka, it only meant you were different from him.

All things considered, Aang was quite glad not to be too much like Katara's brother.

Author's note: That last little bit was for you, SnakeEyes. I think you and Aang might have a few things in common.

Forgot this part last time…member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129

Review responses:

frozenheat: Hope you liked this one as well as the first. It was the guys' turn.

MormonMaiden: Thanks, hope you liked the guy talk, too. I agree on your assessment of Aang. Those Zutara people who refuse to see Aang as anything but a little kid just don't have a clue! I do hope they have an epilogue at the end of the series to wrap everything up.

Kairuthefrog: Thanks! It just occurred to me that the episode ended that scene a little too soon.

pinguinolatino: Thank you, and I'm glad you agree.

Dakyu: Ah, well. I didn't mean to steal your thunder on the clothing thing, but it sort of makes sense that more than one person would come up with it.

JoJoDancer: Yes, I know what you mean. I'm a girl who's not all that girly.

avatarkataang: I know exactly what you mean. I, too, was hoping for some Aang and Katara interaction there. Technically, I still haven't written that, but at least you can see they're thinking about each other.

Jesus.Lives: Yes, Aang seems to be maturing both physically and emotionally, which makes sense in light of everything he's been through.

kataang93: Yay Kataang!

SnakeEyes16: Thank you very much, I'm happy to help people get their fluff quota for the day. It's fun for me, too. As long as I have these scenes running through my head, I might as well write them down and share them.

ScatterdParchment: Thanks, and I hoped you liked this one, too.

Supergirrl: Very true. On the other hand, she's never known life any other way. It would probably be kind of like growing up in a nudist colony. You just accept that's the way it is.