Chap. 5

Meet the Parents Part 1

"Anybody want dessert?" Fuego asked a while later. This was met with complete refusal, as everyone was quite full from dinner. Even Jin shook her head and said "No thanks."

"I didn't want any either. I just thought I should ask." Fuego replied, as he leaned back in his chair, feeling rather full and lethargic himself.

"You have got to show me how to make those things." Katara said. "When I go back home, I want to show Gran-Gran that I learned how to really cook something without her help."

"Hey, you show how to make those dumplings, we've got a deal." Fuego replied.

"As much as I would love to discuss that wonderful food," Iroh said. "There is a more pressing question at the moment; who has dish duty tonight?"

At that, there was silence, followed by much looking to the side and slight coughing. "Come on, someone has to do it." Iroh said good-naturedly." However, this was met by still more silence, until Agua suddenly smiled and said, "I'll do it. But I think I could use some help. Aire, Toph, why don't you give me a hand?"

"Last I checked, you could still use your hands." Toph muttered.

"I did it last night." Aire replied.

"I know a way we'll be done in five minutes." The cat replied slyly.

"What? Magic?" Toph asked sarcastically.

"Yes. The kind you two are very skilled in, that uses earth and air."

"Oh, I get it." Aire said in sudden recognition as he got up and moved over to where the cat stood.

"Hey, if I get to earthbend, why not?" Toph said, as she joined them. Agua quickly brought them in close and whispered some instructions to them. Aire nodded, and Toph just smiled. Moving apart, Toph stood by the table, while Agua grabbed a bar of soap and dunked his left hand in the washing basin. He then moved to stand a few feet behind Toph. Aire went to stand a few feet behind them.

"This is another thing from our world, Jin." Agua said, as he began to rub the soap against his soaked left hand. Within seconds, that hand was dripping with soapy water. "We call it 'dinner and a show.'" The cat said, as he placed the soap down. "You guys might want to take any utensils and such off your plates now." He said. Once they had complied, Agua said, "Toph, if you wouldn't mind?"

The young Earthbender nodded, and using her power, reached out to the stone plates on the table. They instantly lifted up into the air and remained there, held by Toph's earthbending. As the others watched, Toph brought the plates forward towards Agua and held them there. The cat quickly brought up his soapy left hand and blasted the plates with a stream of soapy water. They were sprayed clean in a matter of seconds. Agua then brought up his clean hand and sent out a stream of clean water to wash the soap off.

As the plates dripped water, Toph sent them over to Aire, who collected the air around him and sent it out in a high-powered blast, drying the plates almost instantly. Once they were dry, Aire stepped back, as Toph piled the plates together and sent them neatly into their place in the cabinet. Aire shut the door, and then the trio took a collective bow.

The others smiled and applauded, Jin most off all. "Now I really wish I could bend." She said with a laugh. "I could've used that trick growing up."

"You would've had to learn more then one for that." Toph replied. "Earthbending's too dirty to do that sort of job by itself."

"And if you don't believe that, you need to see Toph and Tierra's rooms." Zuko said. Jin laughed, happy that Zuko had finally made a joke, while Toph and Tierra glared at him.

"You know, I just thought of this." Toph said suddenly. "How come you never let me use bending to do the dishes before?"

"We had a guest tonight, and this was a nice little bit of entertainment." Agua said. "Besides, making you actually do the dishes taught you about the value of hard work."

"I know all about the value of hard work." Toph snapped. "How do you think I got so good at Earthbending?"

"Yeah, but you can't always use Earthbending to fix problems." Agua said. "You don't see Katara or Aang or me and the Knights using our powers for everything do you? Besides, you did it and you're still alive aren't you?"

Before Toph could answer that, there was a sudden series of small explosions from the time candle by the door (apparently, the Mechanist from the Northern Air Temple had been able to patent this particular invention and it was now found in every home in the Earth Kingdom). The candle sparked exactly eight times, signifying that it was now 'eight o' candle.' When Jin heard the candle, her eyes went wide, and she shot up from her chair.

"Oh no, it's that late?" she cried out.

"Is something wrong?" Iroh asked.

"My father told me to be home half a candle ago! And it'll take me at least that long just to walk home from here! He's gonna kill me!"

"Well, maybe we can help." Aang said. "I have a way to get you home quickly. But you're gonna have to know the way back perfectly."

"I've lived in the city for most of my life. I know it like the back of my hand." Jin answered.

"Good. Follow me outside." Aang said, as he headed for the back door. Jin raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked over at Zuko. The former prince nodded, and got up to follow her.

"Hey buddy, how you doing tonight?" Aang asked Appa, as he stroked his friend's fur. The bison replied with a yawn and got to his feet, just as Jin and Zuko walked outside. Jin's eyes immediately went wide at the sigh of Appa, as she nervously pointed a finger at him and asked, "What is that thing?"

"This is Appa, my flying bison." Aang replied.

"Wait, flying bison?" Jin asked. "How? He doesn't have any wings or anything? And you expect me to ride him?"

"Believe me, he flys." Zuko said. "And don't worry, he's perfectly safe." To demonstrate, Zuko moved over to Appa and put his hand on the bison's face, gently stroking him.

"See?" Zuko said. "Perfectly safe." Jin seemed to believe this, as she began to move towards the bison, but then stopped and gasped as Appa began to open his mouth right behind Zuko. But her fears were alleviated a second later, when Appa merely stuck his tongue out and gave Zuko a long, wet lick that went from the small of his back to the back of his head. Zuko grimaced as the drool slid down his back, but Jin just laughed, walked past him, and climbed onto Appa's saddle with some help from Aang.

"You coming, Li?" Aang asked, stretching out his hand. Zuko paused a moment here; he still hated flying on Appa (Firebenders were apparently very attached to the ground), but at the same time, it was his doing that had brought Jin to the inn. The least he could do would be to go home and apologize to her parents for keeping her out late. So with a sigh, Zuko put his hand out, took Aang's, and climbed into the saddle.

"So how does this work?" Jin asked, as Zuko settled in.

"You both holding on tight?" Aang asked. Both of them nodded, so Aang said the only thing he needed to say; "Yip-Yip." Appa instantly took off, which lead to screams of shock and then amazement from Jin.

"This is incredible!" she cried out as Appa soared above the city. "I can't believe you do this all the time."

"Neither can I." Zuko muttered, as he tried not to look at the ground.

Appa flew through the city quickly, as Jin guided them towards her home. After about ten minutes, Jin saw the front of her home and called out, "That's it! Land here." Aang steered Appa down to the front of the house and then once the bison landed, leapt off. Zuko slid off Appa's saddle, took a moment to steady himself after the flight, and then helped Jin back to the ground.

Unsurprisingly, Jin's legs were also shaky after her first "Appa ride" and she needed a few minutes to collect herself. "Does the ground always look better after riding on Appa?" she asked as she unsteadily took a step forward.

"Always." Zuko replied, as he watched her walk. Just as he's known from his own experience, Jin stumbled on her first step. Moving quickly, Zuko caught her and helped her back to her feet. But by doing this, Zuko neglected to hear the front door opening, as well as the footsteps coming towards him. However, he was quite observant when a hand grabbed him by the collar and jerked him forward, and even more observant when an angry face screamed at him, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN WITH MY DAUGHTER?!!"