Onward to chapter one! I'm a tad dissatisfied with the result, so if any of you reviewers have got critique, I'll take it. An outside look always, always helps.

"D-did you see that?! That look he had was totally sinister!" Sokka sputtered in anger, turning towards Toph and not bothering to note her blank expression. She hadn't, obviously. The water tribe warrior began to fume, thinking about all the things Aang could be forcing his sister to do in that lonely room. And all the possible weapons he could subdue the avatar with. He stood up from the game he and Toph were playing, preparing to sprint back into the palace and interrupt the action going on in Katara's room. Toph, sensing this, grabbed for his arm.

"Toph! Let go! I've got to go save my sister from that devious little-" The blind brunette didn't show any sign that she had heard him and slammed him back down onto the ground. The ground shook at the impact and a squeal escaped Sokka's lips.

"Ow…Did you have to throw me that hard?" he whispered, reaching for his backside. Toph crossed her arms with a look of authority.

"Let the two lovebirds be by themselves if that's what you're freaking out about. They haven't seen each other for days and seriously…Sokka…" He looked up from rubbing his buttocks. "Do you think Katara would let anyone, even Twinkle Toes himself do anything she doesn't want to do?" Sokka cringed at the thought. It was true, once when they were kids, he and a group of boys had been playing a game and every one of them had rationalized that it would be right for Katara to be the mother who stayed home during war. She had found that the conditions of the poorly built snow house didn't suit her. After a few moments of heated ranting and intimidating foot stomping, Sokka's sister was fighting the imaginary enemy alongside his friends. She had worn a satisfied smile.

"Ah, you're right," His attitude suddenly aloof and laidback, "He's barely thirteen anyway." Toph's face contorted to a triumphant expression that matched Aang's once her opponent looked back down to the game board. Get 'er, Twinkletoes.

"Hey! Did you throw more of my pieces in the water again?"

"No. I'm winning."

"Oh."

Moments after the two of them had stepped into her room; Aang seized Katara into his arms and tossed her gently onto the bed. Instead of joining her though, like she thought he would, he walked past the bed and pulled on a small bell by the door, something she had been too unsure of to do herself. Within moments, there was a soft knock at the door. Aang opened it a crack to speak to the servant that came.

"My friend here could use some tea. Could you get on that please?" He asked quietly. Katara smiled at the politeness he had in his voice, admiring his ability to treat anyone, no matter what their rank with genuine respect. It was one of the many traits she admired about him.

"Yes, yes, right away Mr. Avatar, sir."

"My name's Aang. Please call me Aang." Katara saw him scratch the back of his head in embarrassment and quietly close the door. He let out a small sigh and turned around, showing off a playful grin.

"Finally, we're alone." He jumped onto her bed, and lied down at the foot of the bed, his face inches from her feet. A loaded silence floated between them, both of them wanting to say so much. However, it was the young airbender that decided to speak first.

"I've missed you, Katara." He said it to the ceiling, stating it more as a fact than a confession. He turned towards her and rested on an elbow, searching her eyes with his grey ones. Katara gave a soft smile, and reached for his hand. With their hands gripping, and his blue arrow tattoo nearly glowing in the dark room, Katara felt she could say anything.

"I've missed you too. Tell me, Aang. How's it been restoring peace to our nations? Is fire lord Zuko behaving?" Aang gave a half smile, the previous sparkle in his eye faltering.

"Everything's going well, the occasional stubborn negotiator is pretty much as dangerous as it gets. Otherwise, it's boring. Zuko's doing well as the fire nation's new leader, although some people suspect he'll turn out to be just like his father." Aang grimly shook his head. "But he'll be different. He is different." He turned back to the face of his love, the spark returning to his tired eyes.

"But why don't we talk about something else? Zuko's given us this great chance to spend time together." Katara caught his eye drifting towards her chest, and she quickly adjusted the material that was rapidly undoing. With her cheeks pink, she slid off the bed, dragging the avatar with her.

"Why don't you meet me at the palace gardens tonight? That's a good place to talk. And plus…" The both of them looked down at her skimpy robe. "I'll be more properly dressed. Thank you for getting me tea." She said this all quite quickly as the avatar nodded in agreement. Before he stepped out of her room however, Katara grabbed him affectionately by the ears and planted a kiss right beside his mouth and pushed him out the door, back onto the balcony before he could say or do another thing.

Zuko stood before a grand, circular mirror in his bedroom, with a blank stare, not exactly looking at himself. He had politely dismissed every servant that had come to check up on him so far that day, not wanting to be disturbed.

He knew that Katara and the air bending boy were probably taking advantage of the free time, using every available moment to bond. Ever since he had joined their group, it proved impossible to overlook the intimate bond they two had. Admittedly, it had been difficult for Zuko to decipher whether the water tribe girl felt merely a motherly attachment towards the avatar or if she truly returned his blaringly obvious, romantic feelings. It always was a source of amusement to him. How innocent it all was, the nature of their relationship having absolutely nothing to do with the future of the world which was something the avatar should be thinking of…But when Aang looked to Katara, the exotic, alluring water tribe girl…

It was like the young boy was glimpsing his whole world and future at the same time. Zuko could see the change in his eyes, the excitement he felt on the inside. He would always feel as if he was intruding on an intimate moment when he saw it happen. He wondered if Toph or Sokka ever noticed.

Perhaps…they had just gotten used to it.

Toph dozed peacefully on the grass, as Sokka admired the scenery, flinching whenever the earthbending girl jerked or snorted in her sleep. It was impossible to let your guard completely down when around her; Sokka had learned this over time as he was frequently left alone with her. Once Toph had joined their group to teach Aang earthbending, Katara and Aang felt less guilty about running off together and leaving Sokka behind now that he had a companion.

Truly, he hadn't minded. Toph was almost like another guy, something who could take and throw punches and even supply her own lewd humour into a conversation. She fascinated him, always straight to the point, ruthless, and an intensely loyal friend. It was easy to forget that she was blind, capable of being fragile, but she just…wasn't.

A young turtle-duck hobbled over towards the still Sokka, coming to a stop right beside his knee. It gave him a questioning look, although Sokka wasn't sure what the question was. He didn't have a chance to ask though; the quacking creature retreated once Toph gave a sleepy jerk of her foot. He looked over just in time to see the back of her throat and a full set of teeth as the earth bender gave a hearty yawn.

"Don't you know those things bite if they get too close?" Toph inquired sleepily. Her eyes were still closed but Sokka could tell that she was fully alert now, "seeing" the world around her. Her palms lay flat on the ground. Sokka wanted to touch them. Maybe if he was still enough while touching her, he would feel the vibrations she did. It was an incredibly tempting thought.

"Hello?" Toph glared at him with a furrowed brow now, rudely waving a hand in his face.

"W-what'd you say? Sorry, I was…thinking about Suki." Sokka lied. It was then he remembered that she could tell when he was lying. He almost always told her what was on his mind yet his last thought had been a bit too embarrassing to share.

She said nothing and closed her eyes again, choosing not to say anything either because she hadn't picked up on his fibbing, or because she didn't want to get into the topic of Suki. Toph sat up and frowned.

"What do you wanna do?" Her voice was bored and monotonous. The second chilly wind that day whipped through them, and Sokka realized as the he saw the beginning of a sunset, he had spent most of the day with his younger, rowdy friend.

Sokka's stomach beat him to answering Toph's question by letting out a loud moan in response.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too." She answered as if it had been Sokka that had voiced his hunger. "Let's eat."

He could get used to spending vacation days with her.

Next chapter: Awaited Katara and Aang time, a focus on Zuko, and Toph and Sokka eat.

Don't forget to review.

-Sarah