Chapter 23:
Home Again
The gang wandered over to the Jasmine Dragon where Zuko and Mai were sitting at a table in the corner, sipping on their tea, quietly.
"Hey guys, it's our last day in town so we were thinking we would do something fun. What do you think?" Aang suggested cheerfully.
"Sounds… boring…" Mai said in between sips of tea.
Suki rolled her eyes and put her arm through Sokka's.
"Oh come on. This is the last day that we're all going to be in town together for a long time. Why don't we spend it doing something fun?" Katara backed Aang up.
"So what do you say?" Suki joined in. Any time she could annoy Mai was good.
Mai sighed, "Why not. I guess you are going to bug me about it until I give in, so sure. What did you guys want to drag me and Zuko along to?"
"We were thinking of maybe doing some shopping, but I don't really know." Suki replied.
"I don't really care." Mai said.
"What do you think Zuko? You should be allowed to make some decisions in your own life; you are Fire Lord after all." Katara said.
Zuko shrugged carelessly. It didn't matter that he was Fire Lord, Mai wore the pants in the relationship.
"Shall we head down to the middle of the upper ring to look for little souvenirs to take back with us?" Katara suggested.
Collectively, they responded, "Nah…"
"I thought it was a good idea!" Katara defended herself.
"If that's a good idea, then you're not a preachy crybaby who gives overemotional speeches about hope all the time." Toph responded smugly.
"That was one time!"
It was almost midnight when they returned back to the apartment. The whole group was laughing, telling jokes, and being generally noisy.
Iroh had closed the Jasmine Dragon and was sitting peacefully in his flat upstairs.
"Well we have to leave in the morning. Why don't we sleep now, and pack up all our stuff in the morning right before we go?" Katara suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Suki yawned and stretched. Seizing the moment, Sokka scooped her off the ground and carried her back to the apartment. Aang, Toph, and Katara followed while Zuko and Mai split off to go to their room.
Around 15 minutes later, everyone was in their beds fast asleep.
"Time to get up sleepyheads!" Katara's cheery voice called from behind the door in Suki and Sokka's room.
"Hmph." Sokka mumbled into the pillow.
"5 more minutes?" Suki mumbled.
"Nope! Come on guys, it's time to get up! We have to go in less than two hours!" Katara banged on the door, trying to keep the sleepy couple from dozing back off to sleep.
"Alright, alright, leave us alone." Sokka grumbled, getting up and opening the door.
"See? I'm up, and Suki will be up in just a minute. Satisfied?" Sokka sounded mildly irritated with his sister.
"Yes I am satisfied." Katara turned and walked away.
Sokka didn't bother to wash his face or brush his hair. He simply took both his and Suki's bags and placed them on the bed beside his sleeping fiancé.
He shuffled around the room picking up clothes and squashing them into the bags. It didn't matter which one he put them in, they were living together now.
We sure made a mess of this room. Sokka thought to himself as he found assorted articles of clothing stashed around the room.
About 15 minutes later, Sokka had finished picking up all the clothes from around the bedroom and bathroom. He stashed their money in the bag and some of their other personal belongings. They had slept in the clothes that they were wearing today, so he didn't worry about leaving outfits out for them to wear.
"Come on Suki, it's time to get up. We need to get going back to the South Pole." Sokka spoke in a soft tone.
"Meh." Suki mumbled into her pillow.
Sokka gave her a gentle shake and she simply rolled over.
"Come on, you can sleep when we're riding on Appa." Sokka tried to convince her to wake up.
"Fine." Suki said grudgingly.
"Great, so I think we basically just have to get a few supplies for the road and then we're going to say our goodbyes, and then we'll leave!" Sokka said, but Suki was too sleepy to care.
Suki sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sokka grabbed their two bags and carried them out to Appa.
A few moments later he had returned to find Suki asleep again.
"Adorable." Sokka said half sarcastically. He walked over to Suki and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder gently.
He walked out of the room which was almost empty except for the bed and dresser, closing the door behind him. He did one last check that they didn't forget anything, and walked out of the apartment. Suki was still asleep on his shoulder.
"So are you guys almost ready?" Sokka asked Katara.
"We've been ready for half an hour. We have several days worth of food as well. Basically, we just have to say goodbye to everybody and thank Iroh for his kind hospitality." Katara said.
"Is she dead?" Aang teased Sokka, about the lump of a Suki that was hanging lifeless off his shoulder.
He tickled her in the side, to which she promptly screamed and squirmed.
"Nope!" Sokka laughed.
"Good." Aang smiled and laughed at Suki, who was now standing.
"Where's Toph?" Suki asked.
"She said she's going to leave later today, but she's coming to say goodbye in a few minutes." Katara responded.
"Ah." Suki said, yawning.
Mai and Zuko appeared outside the Jasmine Dragon with their bags ready to go. Iroh followed behind them.
Toph came outside to the courtyard. Appa was ready to go, and starting to get restless.
"I guess we'll see each other soon?" Katara asked at Zuko, Mai, Iroh, and Toph.
"How about we get together again when the baby is born?" Sokka suggested.
"Sure." Zuko shrugged.
"I guess this is goodbye." Katara smiled. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was sad to go back to the South Pole with only half of her friends.
"Bye guys, see you soon!" They all said simultaneously. And with that, Aang, Suki , Sokka, and Katara were off to the South Pole.
That's it! That is the end of the story! Yay, I have finally finished something! XD I hope you guys really liked it and will read the sequel, which I intend to write after I get a different fanfiction under way. If you were wondering about it, it's about the hunt for Zuko's mom. It's dramatic and dark. Much different than this fluffy drabble. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and 40000 words later, it's finally finished! I may wind up editing this chapter to expand it out. Sorry for all the loose ends. They *will* be tied up in the next story. So you will just have to read it to find out! Since this is the last chapter, I hope that everyone that reads it will review it! I love getting reviews lol. Whenever I get the email I always get super excited! Well happy reading to you, and writing if you do that too. Thanks again for reading The Proposal!