V. The Morning After
Toph woke up at the sound of voices. Her head felt like someone was bending rocks against her skull. There was probably a God of Hammers, somewhere, who was now getting really busy against her forehead. She could distinguish the voices. One was upset. Or at least sounded like it. She knew the voice. In the haze of her headache, she tried to turn over and realized that there were other people with her in bed. Bed? When did she end up in bed? She didn't remember climbing into bed. She must have done it, because she could hear the soft breathing of two people on each side. The soft breathing noises told her that she was between Suki and Katara. Well, that made sense. Toph wondered if she did anything that was worth remembering. Obviously not, because she was dressed as before and covered with furs and blankets to boot. At least, it was warm and cozy in the bed. Even if surrounded by the smell of drunken women. The known voice was talking with someone at the door.
"I don't want to hear another word, Corporal." It was Sparky, in his best commanding tone. "I will deal with you later. Make sure no one enters this room, understood? Only the Avatar or Master Sokka can come in. You. Go get them. Now."
Toph heard Sparky came back into the room and go over stuff.
"Oh, no!" He muttered. "You didn't." She knew he was looking at the empty 12 year vintage bottles. She heard him doing something, and the noise and the smell told her he was brewing tea. She knew the smell. It was Uncle Iroh's special blend for hangovers. The Chaser, he called it. He developed it especially for the mornings after Music Nights. The tea was part of a complete remedy that needed to be performed by a firebender.
She rested with her eyes closed and heard him come to the bed. He sat, because the bed sank under his weight.
"Hey" he said softly and Toph realized that he was starting with Suki. "Drink this." Fan-girl groaned.
"The lights, the lights!" She said. "Turn off the light!!"
"It is called sunlight, it cannot be turned off." He said gently, and Toph heard her drinking. Suki groaned again. "I'm going to put my hands on your forehead now," he was explaining in a low, soothing voice "and heat my fingertips. It will help you with the pain." Suki must have opened her eyes because Toph could hear her gasp.
"Didn't we finish the bottles?" She asked the Universe. "Hot-prince is firebending my forehead!" Toph nudged her with her elbow.
"You are not hallucinating, Fan-girl." She intervened, before Suki put her foot in her mouth. "It really is Sparky."
"Your highness to you, Toph." He muttered. "I cannot believe you drank the royal gifts. 24-year-old single-barrel bottles of fire whiskey. You have no shame."
"24?" Note to myself: Katara cannot read. "The way I am feeling right now, it was not better than Iroh's moonshine whiskey." She retorted. He did not budge.
"You deserve all the pain. I am not tending you until I am done with your victims." Toph wanted to tell him that if these women were victims, she was a pink flying hippo-elephant but couldn't find the energy to bother. "Are you feeling better?" He asked Suki in the same soothing voice. She shifted a little.
"Not really." She answered. "Can you please massage my neck? It really hurts." 'By the spirits' thought Toph 'I am surrounded by tarts!'
"Don't scold me Sparky." She mumbled, moved more by the need to appease him and get him to take care of her than by any real remorse. "I am sorry."
"No, you are not." He answered. "Here Suki, drink a little bit more. Now, bend your head, I am going to massage the base of your neck now."
Toph heard Suki purr. She sounded really happy. In the middle of her headache, Toph wished for Sokka to appear and rain on Suki's parade, at least to force Sparky to take care of her. Sparky was still talking.
"Where have you been, after all?" He continued. "Negotiations with the Earth Kingdom have been next to impossible. The Earth King refuses to agree to anything unless you show up. He has been particularly difficult this morning."
"Is time for circus-boy to take care of himself." She retorted. "I was thinking about quitting anyway. I am bored of ordering those guys around. It's not normal. The Dai Li, the King, all of them just want me to push them around, insult them and yell. It's not normal, I'm telling you."
Sparky put Suki's head back on the pillow and stood up. Obviously, he was finished. Toph could almost hear Suki's disappointment. Suki burrowed on the bed again, next to Toph.
"I thought you liked ordering people around." He said picking another cup of tea and moving to the other side of the bed, where Katara was sleeping soundly. She heard him bend over her friend and rub her back.
"Katara." He said softly. "Katara, wake up. You need to go to the meetings." Katara mumbled something, and turned. She must have opened her eyes, in the same haze Suki did.
"Freaking Tui and La, can someone please turn off that stupid light?!" She groaned. At least, Toph thought, an advantage of being blind was that she did not have to deal with light-induced-pain.
"'Tara," he said, slipping into what must be a very personal nickname, as Toph never heard it before, "you need to wake up. Here, drink this." Katara groaned again.
"My head, my head!" She said grabbing her head, but must have half opened her eyes because she then said, "Kuku!" and jumped to the guy. Toph and Suki tried to fuse with the bed, to spare Zuko the embarrassment. "Kuku?" Suki whispered. "Better than Zuzu, I guess." Toph answered. "Kuku, I missed you!" She was saying "I've missed you so much. And my head hurts, and you haven't spoken to me since you got here and I've missed you soooo much!" Zuko tried to quiet her down.
"Katara" he asked "how much did you drink? I think you are still drunk."
"I am not drunk! I am so OK just seeing you! Oh … why is the room spinning?" Dealing with soldiers and friends prone to explore what life had to offer had made Sparky an ace at gauging people's reaction to alcohol. Katara hadn't finished talking, when Zuko got her in his arms and carried her from the bed to the other side of the room, where there must have been a bin or a bedpan or something because she heard Katara throwing up. Sparky again was doing his "Hush, hush, is OK, Tara" thing. After the first wave, Katara said "It is not OK, Kuku, you don't even look at m…" she couldn't finish before the next wave of nausea.
Just then, the door of the room opened and Toph heard the unmistakable sound of Sokka and Aang.
"What is going on here?" Sokka asked in disbelief. Zuko made a noise and exclaimed.
"Close the door, Sokka. We don't want the entire Pole to know." Toph heard the door closed and Aang blowing past the bed next to Zuko and Katara.
"What's wrong with her?" He asked concerned.
"She is drunk." Zuko answered matter of factly. "Here, hold her head. I need to prepare more tea to help her. You may want to bend some water to clean her up."
Katara made a noise that sounded like a protest but, thankfully, she did not start calling 'Kuku' back to her.
"Wow!" Sokka must have been taking the room in. "You guys had a real party last night. Better than what we were doing with those boring delegates. Suki, move" he got into the bed with them. More than a bed, Katara's sleeping arrangements were a cross between a burrow and a triple bed. It was a sprawling thing with blankets and furs, close to the floor that could fit a family of five, pets and vermin included. Suki grunted.
"Sokka, you are on my hair." She complained. He grabbed her and accommodate her against his body.
"It's OK, babe." He said assurely. "I'm here. So, you guys were drinking last night? Should have invited us. We could have brought some Moonshine Tundra Vodka to accompany you."
"What's that?" Toph asked.
"A vile brew that passes for social beverage among the water tribes." Suki grumbled. Wow, talk about tension.
"It's not a brew! It's the carefully fermented juice of sea prunes marinated in brine first." Toph had to hold a hand to her mouth.
"I think I just swallowed my own vomit." She said. She heard Sparky next to Aang.
"Get her to drink this, and then bring her over. I will teach you how to help her with the hangover. And please, bend that bin out of this room." Toph heard Sparky coming over to her.
"Time for your cure, Champ." He said. She was Champ again. Good. That meant she was forgiven. The thing with Sparky, he could never remind angry at her for too long. Sparky gave her a cup of Iroh's Chaser. She drank the entire cup without breathing. Almost immediately she felt the warm, nearly miraculous tea, ran through her body down to her toes taking away part of the pain and queasiness. He took the cup from her hand, and she raised herself in the bed. Sparky slid in the bed, behind her. He sat with his back against the wall, and she accommodated herself between his legs, comfortably, facing forward, reclined on his chest and stomach. His body was warm, as usual. He placed his firebending fingers at her temples and started massaging, with just the right amount of pressure and heat. She could feel the headache like a veil being raised from her temples and shoulders.
"Hey," Sokka asked with interest "how many times have you guys done this? It looks like a routine."
"Your friend here went through a phase of gambling fire whiskey shots with my men." Sparky said. "I had to forbid the soldiers under penalty of maim and death to gamble with her."
"It didn't work." Toph said grinning. "They fear me more than him."
"I had to send her to the Earth Kingdom to stop her from turning my army into a center of debauchery." His fingers moved to the back of her neck. She hung her head forward.
"Those Dai Li have not idea how to enjoy themselves." She said seriously. "They are horrible. I miss Yin, and Chin, and all those despicable firebenders I used to hang out with."
"Well," Sokka said, moving on the bed. Suki complained again. "They may be horrible, but they adore you. Hearing the Earth King, his kingdom is lost without you. Hey Suki, sit down. Let's see if I can do what Sparky here is doing. Toph seems mellow. I may mellow you too."
"You are not a firebender." She grumbled.
"Well" he said fussing around, "I'm a luv bender. That should be enough."
Suki sounded deeply embarrassed. "You just didn't say that."
Aang called from the other side of the room.
"Hey, sifu Hotman!" He said. "I don't think Katara has anything left to throw up anymore."
"Give her the tea," Zuko answered, "and bring her over."
"Clean her first!" Sokka and Toph yelled at the same time. "And please take that bin out of the room!"
Aang came over with Katara. She didn't sound good. Aang got into the bed, next to Zuko and Toph, and accommodated Katara the same way Suki and Toph were. Zuko stopped massaging Toph's scalp and tried to place Aang's fingers in the right position on Katara's head.
"Look at me." He said gravely. "Look how I am doing it with Toph and heat your fingers just slightly. Not too much. Go ahead. Like that."
"Ouch!" Katara said "You're burning me!" Aang jumped back. Zuko steadied him firmly.
"Don't be nervous. You don't have to be. You are not going to hurt her, but help her. Now, again, softly." Toph thought idly that Zuko was doing exactly what he needed to do with Aang. There may be hope yet for the soon-to-be-committed couple. Except that her friend was not cooperating. Katara kept squirming and complaining.
"Aang, too much pressure. Not there, it hurts!" Aang almost infinite patience was also wearing thin.
"Well" he retorted "your hair is in the way. Why do you have so much hair? Can you tie it or something?"
Toph felt pity building up inside her. She was annoyed with the ice and her friends, but she still loved these people. As the owner of unrequited knowledge, she felt forced to help.
"OK!" She said raising her hands. "Time to change! Aang, I am going to teach you how to cure a hangover, firebending style."
However, he was not in a good mood, which was per se extraordinary.
"I don't need to learn. I don't drink"
"But your friends do." She answered. She could have said 'But Katara does', however instinct told her that it was not the right moment to highlight that fact. Toph raised herself from Sparky's warm body and made a gesture. "Katara, move. Sparky will cure your hangover. Aang, give me some space."
Katara eagerly changed places with her. The woman is hopeless, Toph thought. However, she was not in the mind-frame to judge.
"OK Twinkle Toes, let's see what you got" Toph accommodated herself against Aang's body, facing forward, like with Sparky. Aang was different than Sparky, though. In that sense, Katara was right. His shoulders were not as broad, however he was also slim and hard. All his body was about muscle and grace. He was not as warm as Sparky, but that could be fixed. He was also a firebender, after all. "Raise your body temperature, Twinkle Toes." She ordered.
"What do you mean?" He asked, slightly alarmed.
"I mean, warm yourself like a firebender, so you can make me warm." Somewhere in the same bed, Katara accommodated herself against Sparky without a single complain. He did not say anything, but Toph could feel his careful movements against her friend's head, massaging her head but deliberately avoiding any other contact. As much as you can avoid contact with the woman practically laying on top you, of course.
"That's right, Twinkle Toes." Toph continued. "Warm like that. Now, please put your fingers here and here. On my temples, not my ears. Yes, like that. Take a note Sokka, I think Suki was complaining. Ok, now, warm the fingers. Good, good, Stop! too much. A little bit less. OK, that's right. Yes. Like that. Oh, yes, this is the stuff!" She accommodated herself against Aang, and was surprised to discover that her body shaped itself against his as well as it had against Sparky's. For a couple of minutes the six of them stayed there, in the bed, only little comments coming out of their mouths.
"Move your fingers in circles, Twinkle Toes, yes, yes."
"Sokka, you are going to make my head explode. Not so hard."
"mmmmm" Katara's soft purring must have made Sparky really nervous, because he spoke carefully eliminating all emotion from his voice.
"So, Champ, what is this about quitting?" He asked. "The Earth King is going to blow a fuse."
"You are quitting the Dai Li?" Aang asked with surprise.
"Don't stop, Twinkle toes, you are doing great. Go down to my neck now. That's the stuff. Yes, I'm quitting. I'm up to my ears with circus-kid, that bear and the bunch of sour, evil, power hungry minions that I have been trying to earthbend into shape since I made the mistake of paying attention to you and Sparky."
Sokka let go a soft whistle.
"He's not going to like it." He said.
"Who?" Suki asked, seemingly more content now and less aggressive toward her boyfriend.
"The Earth King. You guys have been involved in your girly wedding preparation world, but the three of us have had to put up with really weird stuff during the last day. This morning, the Earth King practically sat in the middle of the negotiation table and refused to talk to anybody except Bosco unless you showed up."
Twinkle Toes fingers were becoming more firm, less timid and flighty. He seemed to be emboldened by his own success. She liked it. The fingers moved from massaging her neck down to her shoulders, where he starting working a knot just between her shoulders.
"We couldn't find you anywhere." Aang said. "Your room looked as if you have hardly been there. Actually, the Boulder and the Hippo were almost crying because they couldn't find you. They are terrified that you or your father are going to kill them or something. Zuko was the one to suggest that we looked in Katara's room, as none of you guys showed up for dinner last night or for the meeting this morning."
"Actually," Sokka said "Dad was upset that you were missing Sis. Seems like half the North Pole delegates wanted to see you." Katara grumbled something and buried herself even further into Zuko's body. Zuko shifted his position, and Toph felt his uneasiness.
"So what did you do with circus-guy's temper tantrum?" She asked. Aang was the one to answer.
"We promised him that we will find you, of course, and called for a recess."
"So you guys are in negotiation recess right now?"
"It was about time." Sokka intervened. "The entire meeting was getting really weird and out of hand."
"Yep." Aang sighed. "The Earth King refuses to let Bumi name a successor with no royal blood, citing some old Earth Kingdom law. And you can imagine how Bumi took those news."
"Doesn't Bumi have any kids or grand kids?" Suki asked.
"Not really." Aang answered carefully. "Family is not his thing."
"I thought Bumi was like the Earth King. You know, with the thousand concubines and stuff." Suki mentioned.
"Wow!" Sokka sounded wistful. "A thousand concubines!"
"One thousand is as good a zero when you don't have any use for them." Toph interjected.
"What do you mean?" For the first time in the conversation, Katara intervened. Toph shrugged her shoulders.
"The Earth King, Kuei. He has no use for his concubines. He never visits them. I think there may be a couple of children from before he joined the circus, but since I've been in his pathetic court he hadn't visited them, ever."
"How do you know that he doesn't go there at night, when no one is looking?" Sokka insisted.
"I'm the head of the Dai Li, moron. I know everything that there is to know in that city."
"Imagine that," Sokka sighed "one thousand beautiful women and he ignores them all."
"They are not beautiful." Toph remarked.
"How you know?" Sokka asked. "You cannot see."
"Because I can feel beautiful. And whatever those women are, they are not beautiful. No wonder Kuei prefers to hang out with Bosco. And just for the sake of accuracy, they are not one thousand either. More like two hundred and seventy two."
"So," Suki changed the subject "What about Bumi's heir?"
"You mean Haru?" Aang asked. Toph rolled over her stomach and rested her head in Twinkle Toes chest, to allow Aang to massage her back. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then started moving his fingers across her back. She sighed happily.
"Warmer." She ordered. Next to her, Katara was doing something similar, she could hear her soft breathing and how she seemed to melt over Sparky. Toph was actually surprised that neither Sokka, nor Aang would pick up any of the undertones of the current situation.
The idle thought struck her that in a twisted way this felt right. Six friends all on top of each other, on a bed, talking. It was bound to happen that because three were girls and three were boys, things would get messy. And complicated. It came with the territory. It was also to be expected that if Sokka and Suki were together, and the resident hot mama (and local tramp) was juggling the other two, she was bound to finish with whomever was left after Katara finished making up her mind. Her second conscience (that was what she usually called the conscience of her conscience: the second voice that second guessed everything her conscience told her. It was more like a hag in her head, frankly. A nagging, sour, hag. Maybe having several layers of conscience was a blind thing. The rest of her friends seemed to be surviving happily without even one.) Again, her second conscience whispered in her head: So, you what? You keep Katara's rejects? She did what she usually did to her second conscience: she dismissed it.
"Well, you know how Haru is. So calm. He was there next to Bumi when Kuei refused to honor the appointment of Haru as heir." Aang continued answering.
"Just because he is not royal?" Toph asked in disbelief. "I thought we fought a war to change the way people looked at the world."
"It may be that," Katara said from somewhere buried in Zuko's shirt, "or it may be that Kuei opposes Haru's alternative choices."
"What alternative choices?" Sokka asked. He suddenly noticed Katara. "Hey sis, you should move a little. I think Zuko cannot breathe. You are drowning the guy with your hair."
"Well," Katara raised her head, but refused to move. "The fact that he doesn't have a traditional approach to relationships."
"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked, exasperated. "Haru is the most traditional guy I know."
"She means that he likes boys, not girls." Toph said running out of patience.
"WHAT?" Sokka was in shock. "What do you mean? Haru? Our friend? Our 'we-are-all-sleeping-together-at-the-Temple' friend?"
"Come on Sokka, stop it." Suki cut him. "You're moving too much. Keep with the massage, please, and stop yelling. We all knew at the temple that Haru liked boys, it was evident."
"Evident to whom? Not to me! Did you know that the he liked boys, Sparky?" Sparky sounded mildly alarmed.
"I had no idea. Did you know, Aang?"
"Well, not then, I did not. But Bumi may have mentioned something."
"We didn't know. How did you guys know? How evident was it?"
"Weeell" it was Suki the one who decided to break the news to them. "He was always checking Zuko out."
"WHAT?" This time Sparky jumped on the bed, and almost made Katara fall. "What do you mean, checking me out?"
Katara sat on the bed, pouting.
"Zuko" she ordered. "I still have a headache. I am hung over and you are not being a good friend. Stop fidgeting. Look how Aang is massaging Toph's pains away." She resolutely accommodated herself, again, on top of the shocked firebender. "Besides it was your fault. You kept taking your clothes off, all the time, in front of the poor guy."
"You mean, I was leading him on?" He sounded panicky now. Katara shushed him.
"Well, you were always very nice to him, bringing him tea and stuff."
"I was nice to everyone there! I brought tea to everyone!"
"Yeah, but not everyone looked like you without your shirt off." She said. Silence felt on the bed and Aang's fingers stopped making circles on Toph's back. Uh, uh.
"What do you mean?" Sokka intervened, sounding annoyed. "Do you mean that I don't look good with my shirt off? Wait a minute, are you saying that Haru never checked me out?"
"Well" it was Suki again "It's more a matter of the type of exercise. You see, the bending movements are very interesting."
"I have a sword. I can be interesting." He sounded offended now. "So, Haru was only checking benders out?"
"Not Twinkletoes." Toph said with certainty. "He didn't check Twinkletoes out. It would have been fairly disturbing if he would have been checking Twinkletoes at the time. I mean, the guy was twelve, for earth's sake. Keep massaging, T.T., you really are good."
"And all this time I thought he had a crush on Katara." Zuko was mumbling.
"Don't get sad, sifu Hotman." Aang intervened. "I thought so too at the beginning, but then I realized that his attention was somewhere else. It was more than checking you out, though. Seems like for a while he was really infatuated. Bumi says that it was actually really sad, a serious case of a broken heart. If it's any consolation, he is over you now."
"And how do you know?" Sokka asked suspiciously.
"Because he and Teo have been together for a while." Sokka and Zuko seemed to be on the verge of running around, screaming, at the never ending array of shocking news.
"Teo?" Zuko said "Our little Teo? and Haru? Is there anything else that I don't know? Like, one of you is not really a woman, or something?"
"Well" Aang scratched his head. "Bumi is also into alternative choices."
"He has an awful sense of style for being someone with an alternative lifestyle." Sokka said.
"So" Toph intervened, changing topics drastically. "How is the Duke doing, Sparky?"
"Not dating any alternative guy that I know off!" He said, still in shock. "He's Uncle's little page. They have grown quite attached. He did not come in this trip because of school. Uncle is very serious about his schooling."
Katara raised her head and Toph could hear her hands reaching for his face, probably (hopefully!).
"I'm so proud of you. You took the Duke under your care and gave him a home."
Sokka was still fuming, though.
"So what else was going on at that temple that we don't know about? Zuko, these women have kept us in the dark."
"What difference does it make?" Toph intervened. "He's still our friend."
"You are not hiding anything, are you Toph?" Sokka prodded.
Zuko intervened.
"The way the Earth King have been acting, I think he has a crush on Master Bei Fong here."
Aang laughed.
"Who doesn't? I mean, all those Dai Li are crazy about her. She treats them so bad, it pains my heart to see how much they like it."
"They are all sick and crazy in that city." Toph grumbled. "I'm not going back. I know the Dai Li are a threat if not controlled, but you two better start looking for some other earthbender to scare them into obedience. I am not going back. Not that I need the job anyways. And what the hell do you mean about circus-moron liking me?"
"I mean, I think the King really likes you." Sparky insisted. "He doesn't act normal around you."
"He's never normal." Toph said. Katara intervened.
"Actually, it sort of makes sense." She said. "Think about it, he was orphaned when he was like what? Four? So all he knew while growing up was that creepy Long Feng. He likes to be manhandled, commanded, and ordered about. It makes sense if he is in love with you."
"Stop it." She commanded, uncomfortable. "Let's change topics. Sparky, why didn't you tell me that you were back with Needle-Queen, again? This is like what? Your third round?"
Silence followed for several seconds.
"It just didn't come up before." He said tiredly.
Sokka intervened.
"Iroh is pestering Sparky here to settle down." He said. Toph tilted her head to one side.
"Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"Because I will be 21 next summer." Zuko answered. It took Toph one moment to remember.
"By the Spirits!" She said. "I forgot. And Pops wants you to settle down with the Queen of the Death?"
"That's not her name."
"OK, Sunbeam then."
"What are you guys talking about?" Suki asked.
"Zuko will be 21 next summer" Aang said. "He will be of age. Fire Lord Iroh only agreed to be Fire Lord until Zuko reached the age of majority."
"That's definitively not common knowledge. So … why do you need to settle down? Do you need to married to be Fire Lord?"
"Not really." Zuko shifted uncomfortably. Katara suddenly sat down, removing herself from his body.
"Iroh worries that all his friends are settling down, except him." She said. "By friends he means Aang and Sokka." She explained to Suki. Suki sat down herself.
"Sokka is not settling down." She said with certainty.
"No?" Toph asked. "I thought you guys were practically engag…"
"We are not." Suki said resolutely. "So, unless he is settling down with someone else …" Sokka tried to say something, but Suki suddenly stretched her arms above her head and continued, with forced cheerfulness. "Really, Sparky, that tea of yours was fantastic. And the firebending of my brains, priceless. I appreciate it. I feel much better now." She gave him a very light kiss on the cheek. "So, what is this about you dating to make your uncle happy?"
"I'm not dating to make uncle happy!" He said defensively.
"No?" Toph sat down herself and crossed her arms. Aang made a little sound, almost like a protest.
Sparky scratched his head. It was the same gesture Twinkle Toes did when he was embarrassed.
"Is not like that. Anyway, did it ever occur to any of you that I may be in love with Mai?"
Silence followed and then, almost at the same time, a choir of shaking heads and voices could be heard:
"Naahh", "No way" and "Good try!"
"Well" Zuko said, determined. "I need to move on."
Before anyone could ask from what? Sokka intervened
"What I need to do is eat. We are not wanted anywhere right now, it's cold outside, I am hungry and we are having a good conversation here. I say we take advantage that we hang out with the Crown Prince and the Avatar and order some food."
The girls all covered their mouths trying not to gag. Sokka ignored them and went to the door to give some orders. Toph raised her voice.
"Sokka if you order sea prunes I swear on your momma's grave that it will be the last time you eat anything!"
Katara shifted next to Toph.
"I can't keep my head straight." She muttered. "I need to lay down." This time, however, instead of lying down on top of Zuko, she laid down across the bed, putting her head in Toph's lap. Suki did the same. Toph shrugged her shoulders. There were more undercurrents in that room and in that bed than bacterial life at the bottom of the Foggy Swamp, she thought, patting blindly the heads of her friends.
"So," Toph asked, partly to fill the void. "You guys don't have anything to do, really?" She could feel Aang and Zuko's movements. Like they were looking at each other or something. "What?" She asked bluntly. "What is it?"
"Weeell..." Aang said slowly, "we rather stay here for now."
"Why? What is going on out there that you guys want to stay here with some hung over women?"
"They are worried their fans will catch them." Sokka answered, with a very small dose of resentment in his voice, coming back to the bed and sitting next to Zuko, reclining against the wall.
"Fans? What fans? What are you talking about?"
"You know Toph, you have missed a lot this last year that you have been absconded in Ba Sing Se." Sokka said. "These two, they have become, I don't know, popular or something. Every time we go anywhere there are these girls that pop out like magic mushrooms, screaming, foaming, sweating and throwing things at them."
"Things? what things? Rocks?"
Zuko grunted, Aang mumbled something very low, and Sokka chuckled, still resentful.
"You wish. No, more intimate things. Like pieces of clothing and stuff."
"Whatever for?" Toph asked in amazement. "What do they expect you to do with clothes?"
Katara moved.
"What you mean intimate?" She asked as well.
Sokka shrugged.
"You know, underwear."
"WHAT?" Katara sat down. Toph imagined that she was crossing her arms. Sokka always said that that was Katara's way of dealing with the world. "Women throw underwear at you?" She asked, then she added, like an afterthought. "I mean, to both of you?" Toph slapped her forehead, imagining to whom was the original question directed at.
"All the time." Sokka answered. Then, he mumbled almost wistfully. "Women don't throw anything at me."
"Why?" Do you want them to?" Suki asked from Toph's lap.
"No, of course not!" He said, but his answer had no heart. Suki suddenly sat up.
"You know?" She said. "I feel much better now. I think is time to go to my room, get cleaned and prepare to meet the rest of my delegation for the afternoon meetings. The girls must be wondering were I am." She got up of the bed, and mumbled something about the light in her eyes under her breath. "Girls," she added "Are you going to the bath house? Please knock on my door when you are on your way there. Then, we can all go together to the meeting hall."
"Suki!" Sokka started, trying to catch her, but she was fast.
"Not now, Sokka." She said and left the room.
Something stayed in the air, hanging.
"What was that?" Toph asked. She knew from Sparky's and Aang's breathing that they knew but were not telling.
"Sokka" Sparky said with a groan, "You know those occasions when I tell you to improvise?"
"Yes?"
"This is one of them! Go, run after the girl, now!"
Sokka, however, stayed.
"I don't know what she wants." He said dejected. "I seriously don't."
"I told you last night." Aang said "Maybe she wants you to propose."
"She doesn't want me to propose." Sokka affirmed. "She told me herself."
"Girls don't always tell the truth." Zuko said in a very low voice. "Because they are mostly crazy." He added as an afterthought.
Katara stood up.
"I think Toph and I are feeling much better now." She said to the three young men. "You guys are probably wanted by Bumi or Iroh or someone. Let us get dressed and we will meet you over there."
The three guys in the bed seemed truly disappointed.
"But" Aang started, "there are all these people out there that …"
"Want to throw their underwear at you? I get it. You should have no problem catching it." Katara said. None of the guys moved, though. Katara suddenly threw her arms in the air. "You know what?" She said. "I'm going to check on Suki. You guys stay here if you want." She stood up, went to the door and stopped. "Sokka" She called "Come with me." Sokka was surprised.
"Why?" He asked. "The food is coming and Suki definitively does not want to talk to me."
"Sokka!" Katara insisted, and her voice was pure ice. "Now. We need to talk."
Sokka grunted, but got up of the bed and followed his sister. Toph heard a soft "thud!" when they left the room.
"So," Toph said, laying on the bed facing the two guys that she could not see, but feel. "That was awkward. What's going on with Sokka?"
Silence followed. She kicked Aang, always the weakest link in the tug-of-war of their personalities.
"We are not allowed to say." Aang answered.
"Rule number one of the Manly Code." Zuko added. "Never tell on your fellow man". Toph snorted.
"The Manly Code? Is that Sokka's code for 'How to screw it up with your girlfriend?' I do sincerely hope that you two are not following Sokka's advice regarding women." Both shifted uncomfortable in the bed. She slapped her forehead. "Oh, by the Spirits, a year away from you and this is what I found? No wonder Katara and Suki are such a mess! I'm not even going to inquire after Sunshine back in the Fire Nation, she is probably throwing senbon at innocent children right now." She could feel their movements, and by the shifting of their bodies, it seemed like Zuko and Aang were both lowering their heads.
"You know Sifu T." Aang said sincerely. "We missed you."
"It's true." Zuko added, relieved. "We are so happy you are back."
Toph sighed. This was to be harder than she thought.
"Well" She said resolutely, "Now that we are here and alone, there is something that Zuko and I want to talk you about, Aang."
The fact that she called them both by their names and not their nicknames meant business.
"About what?" Aang asked, while at the same time Zuko mumbled for probably the fifth time that morning "Oh no, you don't!"
"Oh yes." She said. "We need to talk to you about the facts of life."