Chapter 10: Getting ready
Suki sat on her bed with Katara. She was hesitant to start her healing session that Sokka had scheduled for that morning.
"I promise it won't hurt." Katara said in a comforting manner.
"Really?" Suki asked skeptically.
"I wouldn't lie. You would kill me if I lied. No waterbending is a match for you." Katara laughed.
Suki smiled as she lowered herself carefully onto the mattress. She was on her back with her shirt rolled up to reveal her wound. Katara contorted her face in response to the unsightly appearance.
"What, too gross for you?" Suki laughed.
"Just a bit." Katara looked away.
Suki was right; the bruise was pretty nasty. Various shades of yellows had become blotches in between the reds and blues.
Katara knelt next to Suki. She had brought in a bowl of water and placed it next to the bed earlier. Katara bended the water out of the bowl and made the water encase her hands.
Suki closed her eyes anticipating pain, despite Katara's promises. Lines formed on her forehead and Suki's eyebrows furrowed as the cool water made contact with her skin. The water produced a blue light around Katara's hands that made Suki's skin appear as if she were dead.
Suki's face softened as she realized that Katara wasn't lying; there was no pain. Suki was excited by the fact that she was going to be in excellent shape for Sokka's surprise later this evening. Sokka will be so thrilled that I'm better! Suki thought to herself.
Katara soon finished with Suki's rib injury. The constant sensation of pain had dwindled to nothing over the course of no more than 15 minutes. The bruise itself was invisible. It was as if it had never happened.
"I'll try to unblock the chi that has gathered in your lungs. I don't know if it'll work or not." Katara said quietly, trying not to disturb Suki's peace.
Suki nodded and lay there with her eyes closed. Her arms were at her sides with her palms resting gently on the mattress.
Katara's hands were positioned above each of Suki's lungs. 10 minutes had gone by with Katara trying to be rid Suki of her cough when she finally gave up. Suki sat up, propping herself on one elbow as Katara bended the water back into the bowl.
"I really can't thank you enough." Suki said, looking Katara in the eyes.
"It's no problem Suki. I mean you are my brother's fi- girlfriend." Katara smiled, hoping Suki didn't notice her slip-up.
"I feel so much better now. The constant pain is gone, it's awesome!" Suki smiled and laughed. Her expression was of genuine joy, and she reached over to hug Katara.
Katara was slightly surprised by Suki's sudden out of character display of affection. Katara kindly hugged Suki back and stood up a few moments later.
"Sorry I couldn't really heal your cough cold thing." Katara looked apologetic.
"It's not that big of a deal. At least you tried. I'll get better eventually." Suki smiled and stood up as well.
Katara motioned for her to follow, and she did. Katara walked across the great room to the room she shared with Aang. Sokka and Aang had gone up to Zuko's apartment to get ready for the surprise. The gang was going out to a formal dinner and after they finished eating, Sokka was going to propose.
"Sokka bought you a dress for your surprise." Katara said excitedly. Katara and the rest of the group were also going to be dressed up for the formal event.
Suki looked surprised; her eyebrows were raised and her eyes widened. Katara removed the dress from the closet in her bedroom.
The dress was beautiful. It was the latest fashion in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. The top layer of fabric was a light green that appeared yellow. It was trimmed with gold and beautiful embroidery work was done on the sleeves and around the neck in white. The embroidery depicted 3 jasmine flowers on each wrist and other flowers around her neck. The sleeves were loose and hung down several inches from her wrist. The middle layer was a deep green that contrasted nicely with the top layer. It was poofy around the neck and flat at the bottom of the dress where it hung below the gold trim of the top layer. The bottom layer was hardly seen except at the top where it served as a collar and around the wrists where it hugged her skin. The bottom layer was skintight and forced the occupant to move very slowly and gracefully.
Katara helped Suki into the dress very slowly. The bottom layer was the hardest to get into seeing as it was skintight. Suki didn't see much purpose in this layer but she figured this cost Sokka a lot of money so she wouldn't say anything.
"Suck in!" Katara commanded. Suki complied but it wasn't like she had a choice. Katara struggled to lace up the back of the dress.
Toph walked in on Katara and Suki attempting to get Suki dressed. Suki attempted to cover herself up but soon remembered Toph was blind and it didn't matter.
"I feel an extra presence." Toph said flatly.
Katara and Suki exchanged confused looks. Suki shrugged and Katara managed to finish lacing up the back of the bottom layer.
"What do you mean?" Suki asked.
"I feel four presences in the room. Unless Mai is sitting in the corner being so quiet I can't hear or feel her heartbeat, somebody else is here. I just can't place it." Toph elaborated.
Suki grabbed the middle layer and Katara helped her in it. This layer was much easier to get on, seeing as it was basically a sleeveless dress with a puffy neckline. It was almost as loose as her Kyoshi warrior dress.
"Ok? That's weird. Maybe you need to get your feet checked." Suki laughed as she struggled to get into the dress.
Katara lifted the final layer over Suki's head and Suki attempted to put her arms into the sleeves. After a few tugs and swear words the dress was on. Suki sighed a sigh of relief and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress accentuated her form. There was a band of gold trim at her waist that made her appear very thin. The large sleeves that exposed her wrists and the bottom layer made her arms and hands appear slender and delicate. This layer of the dress didn't have lace in the back, so it was quite a bit more difficult to get on- and breathe in.
"You look fantastic Suki." Katara said.
"I think so too." Toph smiled. Suki rolled her eyes. "It's useless on me." Toph smirked.
"How does she do that?" Suki looked deranged.
Katara shrugged and pulled Suki into the bathroom. Toph followed behind them and sat down on the side of the bathtub. Katara had borrowed a chair from The Jasmine Dragon for Suki to use while she did her makeup.
Suki sat down on the chair and Katara sat on the counter. Katara had laid out all the makeup the two of them could ever need. Suki didn't need foundation because her skin was already flawlessly even. She picked up a dark brown kohl pencil. Suki lined from the outside corner of her eye to about ¾ of the way to the inside corner along the bottom. She did the same on the other eye. Suki lined the top of her eyelids and blinked a few times.
"I haven't worn makeup in a few days, I guess my eyes need a second to adjust." Suki laughed lightly to herself.
She picked up dark green eye shadow and a brush. She applied the dark green powder that matched the color of her dress to her eyelids. The color made her eyes appear more green than blue.
"Why is everybody dressing up?" Suki asked.
"Because you're surprise is that Sokka is going to kill you and they didn't want to change you into formal clothes to bury you." Toph said with a completely straight face.
"Ha ha, very funny Toph." Suki replied.
Toph laughed loudly, rocking back so far she almost fell in the empty tub.
"I'm pretty sure the look on your face was priceless." Toph couldn't control her laughter.
"Did somebody use cactus juice on her rice this morning?" Suki said quietly to Katara.
Toph paused her laughter long enough to speak. "No I didn't have cactus juice this morning for your information." Toph said sharply.
Someone's a little bipolar today. Suki mouthed to Katara. She nodded in agreement. Toph got up and left a few seconds later. She wasn't really needed and it appeared as if she wasn't wanted. Suki and Katara were more mature than Toph and they didn't really identify with her sense of humor.
Toph didn't always want to hang out with the boys, but the way she acted sometimes forced her to. She sighed as she left the room. Suki was right; Toph was acting a little funny this morning. Katara had always thought that Toph liked Sokka. Perhaps the reason Toph was acting weird was because she was jealous Suki was getting married to Sokka.
"My turn." Katara said excitedly. She hopped down off the counter and headed back towards the closet.
Katara returned to the bathroom with her dress slung over her arm. Katara's dress was essentially the same as Suki's, but without the intricate embroidery work.
Suki looked away as Katara undressed. Katara laughed as she tossed her clothes into the bedroom. Katara grabbed the bottom layer of the dress and unlaced the back. Instead of struggling to get it over her head like they did with Suki, Katara stepped into the bottom and wriggled her way into the arms.
"Need any help?" Suki asked, laughing at the spastic movements of Katara.
"No not yet." Katara replied, her face was mildly contorted.
Suki smiled and sat down on the edge of the tub. Toph came back into the bathroom, because she remembered the boys wouldn't let her in while they were getting ready. Toph leaned up against the wall and her arms were crossed over her chest.
"Your next." Suki said in an ominous tone.
"Huh what now?" Toph asked, slightly alarmed.
"Can you lace me up?" Katara asked.
Suki stood up and grabbed each end of the lace for Katara's dress. She began to thread them through the designated holes and pulled each one tight as she did so.
"You're wearing a dress to dinner tonight." Suki said, concentrating on Katara's dress.
"The hell I'm not!" Toph yelled.
"Why not?" Suki argued.
"Because dresses SUCK. I much prefer my current outfit, even though I have no idea what it looks like." Toph retorted.
Suki rolled her eyes and sighed. She felt like Mai. A few moments later, Suki finished lacing up Katara's dress. Katara grabbed the dark green layer and slipped it on easily over her head. Suki tugged on the bottom portion of the dress to make it sit right on Katara's hips.
"Looks great!" Suki smiled excitedly.
"Thanks." Katara replied, spinning around. "I feel so girly." Katara sounded happy.
"It's nice to not have to be a warrior for once." Suki said as she picked up the top layer of Katara's dress.
"Time for the fun part." Katara said sarcastically.
Suki nodded in agreement and unlaced the back of Katara's dress. Katara lifted her arms in the air and Suki lifted the dress over Katara's head. Katara attempted to put her arms in the sleeves, but they were quite floppy and hard to maneuver into. Suki pulled and tugged at the dress until it was finally on. Several swear words later, the lace in the back was done up.
"Well that was needlessly complicated." Katara breathed heavily.
"What was that, like, 2 layers of lacing up, much wriggling, and a lot of swearing." Suki laughed.
Katara nodded and turned towards Toph. "Your turn!"
"No. I am not wearing a dress. There is no way in hell I am ever wearing a dress again. I'd rather be naked." Toph sounded annoyed.
Suki walked over to Toph and grabbed her arm. Toph tried to resist, but Suki wouldn't have it.
"Child! You will wear a dress! I don't care if you want to or if you like it but you will wear it." Suki was tired from traveling so much over that last few days and she wasn't willing to put up with Toph's rebellion.
Katara was taken aback by Suki's sudden intensity. She went to the bedroom nonchalantly and returned with Toph's dress.
The dress was unlike Suki and Katara's. It was simple and had hardly any form. She didn't have any shape to accentuate seeing as she was only 12, so the dress was appropriate.
Toph tried to leave but Suki stopped her. Suki was substantially taller than Toph, so she bent down and wrapped her arms around her, picking the very angry Toph up off the floor.
"Put me down!" Toph yelled.
"Are you not going to run away?" Suki asked, trying to hold on to the wriggling Toph.
"No." Toph said grudgingly.
Suki released Toph and folded her arms across her chest.
"Why didn't you leave 5 minutes ago when you had the chance?" Katara asked, confused.
"It didn't occur to me until just now." Toph said with an unimpressed look on her face.
Katara shrugged. "So to get the dress on, you kind of have to have no other clothes on."
"I know, I know." Toph replied reluctantly. She began to remove her pants and shirt. She was decently covered up below it, so it didn't really matter if Katara and Suki looked or not.
Toph's dress was quite simple to put on. All she had to do was lift up her arms and put them through the sleeves. Katara lifted it over her head and Toph raised her arms. Suki guided her arms into the sleeves and pulled the hole over her head. A few tugs later, the dress was situated perfectly on Toph's childlike body.
Toph's dress was a simple one; it was white and green. The sleeves and chest were white and the bottom was light green. It looked almost identical to the dress she was wearing in Aang's vision at the swamp, except the colors were reversed.
"I know it means nothing, but the dress looks really good on you." Suki smiled as she adjusted a few points on Toph's dress.
"Mhm." Katara agreed.
"Time for hair and your makeup!" Suki said excitedly. She was quite excited that she could be girly for once without being criticized.
Meanwhile in Iroh's flat, Aang, Zuko, and Sokka were getting ready. Mai was there too, except she wasn't going to dress up more than her regular fire nation robes.
Zuko played with his hair in the mirror, trying to part it just right. He brushed it and styled it so perfectly that Mai commented on his feminism. She was sitting on the bed, watching him get ready for the dinner in the mirror.
"What, you're more excited about this than I am." Mai said bleakly.
"Everybody is more excited about everything than you." Zuko replied.
Mai sighed and rolled her eyes as she always did. She reclined on the bed she shared with Zuko.
In the other room, Aang and Sokka were getting ready in a slightly less particular manner than Zuko.
"Do you think she'll say yes?" Sokka asked worriedly.
"Of course she will Sokka. She's your girlfriend of what, 2 years? Of course she'll say yes." Aang replied, brushing his hair.
Aang had let his hair grow out since the war ended because he saw no real point in keeping his head bald. It was quite the pain to keep it short, and since he didn't have to advertise he was the avatar now the world was at peace, he had longer hair.
Sokka had shaved the sides of his head like the traditional water tribe warrior wolf knot. He was no longer in hiding from the fire nation so he decided to go back to his cultural traditions. When he got back to the southern water tribe or wherever Suki chose to live, he was going to grow out his hair like his father's.
"You really think so?" Sokka asked hopefully.
"Of course I do. I mean, if she marries you she'll be related to the avatar!" Aang smiled.
"How do you figure?" Sokka asked.
"I'm eventually going to marry your sister. Duh!" Aang made a face at Sokka.
"Oh." Sokka squeaked. He was quite surprised by Aang's definitive tone.
Aang smiled cheerily as he exited the room. He was going to change into his formal air bender robes.
Sokka decided that he was finished with his hair. He should've been, he had spent 20 minutes on it. Sokka left the bathroom and decided he should probably get changed into his formal clothes. It was 4 o'clock and dinner was about an hour and a half away. He still had to finish getting dressed and they had to get to the other side of the upper ring to eat.
Sokka wore the same outfit as he did in the Jasmine Dragon after the fire lord was defeated. It was dark green and had gold trim. It was a shirt with long sleeves and long, loose pants. There was also a matching robe without sleeves.
Sokka had brought his outfit from the apartment to Iroh's and put it in the living room earlier. He left the bathroom to retrieve the clothing and returned a few moments later. Aang had stolen the bathroom in the few seconds Sokka wasn't there.
"Really?" Sokka called to Aang from the other side of the door.
"Yep!" Aang said cheerily.
"Well hurry up ok? I don't want to be late." Sokka said impatiently.
"Calm down Sokka, we've got a little less than an hour and a half." Aang replied as he finished getting dressed.
Aang adjusted his clothing in the mirror and opened the door. He was wearing the same outfit as he was when the war was declared over. Aang exited the bathroom and Sokka pushed past him to get in.
Aang smiled at Sokka's ridiculousness. Sokka scrambled to get himself ready for the biggest event of his life.
A few minutes later, Sokka had finished getting dressed. He was all ready to go, as was everyone else.
Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Mai all headed downstairs to the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh planned to work that night, so he stayed behind.
Suki, Katara, and Toph were all finished with their hair and makeup. They all walked out of their apartment and met the boys and Mai.
"Wow." Aang and Sokka said simultaneously. Their jaws dropped at the sight of their girlfriends.
Katara and Suki blushed at their boyfriends' absurdity. Suki walked over to Sokka and planted a kiss on his lips. Sokka was pleasantly surprised.
"Shall we be on our way?" Aang asked, taking Katara's hand.
"We shall." Sokka replied. He put his arm around Suki's waist and pulled her closer to him and smiled. His master plan had finally come through.
And thus concludes chapter 10. Hope you liked it and think it was worth the wait. I have about a million things going on right now and writing was at the bottom of the list unfortunately. I think this chapter is ok, but not a favorite. Hopefully you think otherwise. Anyway, now that I have time, I'm going to write more. yay avatar! Again, apologies on the late update.