Disclaimer: nope! Me no own…
Dedication: To my friend, Hannah-banana, who sometimes reminds me of Toph…
A/N: In case I messed up the replies to some of your guys' reviews (I may have – don't know how I managed it!)… just wanted to say that you all rock my socks!
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"We're going on a vacation," Toph said, informing all of her friends at breakfast the next day.
"That's news to me," Zuko remarked with a hint of playful sarcasm.
"Well, Sparky! Out of the goodness of my heart, I felt that you might need a relaxing break from all of that paperwork that you've been slaving away at for the last few weeks…" Toph replied with mock worry in her tone.
"I like the idea!" Aang burst out. "After all, I haven't been that busy, so we might as well go and take a break!" Turning to Katara, he anxiously added, "What do you think, Katara?"
Startled from thought, she glanced up and after a pause looked over at the Fire Lord. "You have been working yourself to death, Zuko. You need a vacation."
Aang's smile fell.
Toph's mischievous grin grew wider. There's no way that Hothead over there will be able to say "no" now…
To Toph's increasing delight, Zuko nodded his assent to the plan.
Like stealing candy from a baby… Toph thought wryly.
Iroh, in an attempt to dissipate the strange tension at the breakfast table, asked, "And where are Sokka and Suki this fine morning? It is rare for Sokka to miss a meal…"
His eyes gleamed with amusement as though he already knew the answer.
Toph took the hint and remarked, "I'm sure the two of them have better things to do together than eat…" After a moments thought, she added, "Don't worry, though, Iroh. I'm sure that they're enjoying themselves in some secluded portion of the palace…"
Katara gagged a little on her toast. Looking up, she said, "I do not need to hear that sort of stuff about my brother… It gives me mental pictures that I want to burn out of my retinas…"
"It gives us all images we'd rather ignore, but there's nothing we can do about that, now is there?" Toph said, matter-of-fact.
Everyone at the table nodded and silently agreed to not think about it…
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"So…" Sokka said, chomping on some jerky he had gotten from the kitchen. "You all decided to go on a vacation…"
Sokka and Suki observed the three heads nod solemnly.
"I like the idea, personally," he began, but sparing a glance towards his betrothed, he added, "but I think Suki and I would rather stay here and… you know – watch the palace and all that."
Three pairs of eyes pinpointed themselves on the faces of the couple.
"Really! We'll be fine here," Suki protested, nervous from their stares.
Aang, Toph, and Katara simultaneously looked at each other, and without hesitation, they proceeded to make gagging noises.
"Haha, you guys," Sokka said, folding his arms on his chest. "Just wait 'til you get older, then maybe you'll understand…"
Toph perked up. "Oh," she began. "So you admit that you've been off doing the nasty?"
The couple in question blushed. "He meant no such thing," Suki scoffed.
Toph grinned. "Whatever. It's not like I care either way." Moving on to business, Toph remarked, "So that means that you two get to stay here and help Iroh run the country in Zuko's absence."
"Zuko's going too?" Sokka said, surprised. Glancing swiftly at his sister (an act that did not go unnoticed by the Avatar), he turned to his fiancé and said, "Suki, maybe we should go…"
Before Suki could respond, Toph cut in. "Too late, Snoozles! You've already been assigned regent-duty with Iroh! No refunds!" Looking at Sokka's shocked look, she remarked, "Now… why don't you two go off and do whatever it is that you two have been doing?"
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"What are you so worried about, Sokka?" Suki asked, putting her hand on his shoulder as they arrived at their joint bedroom.
"Zuko. With Katara. Alone," he said glumly, plopping down upon the bed.
"Which they won't be," Suki assured. "Toph will be there. So will Aang… and Appa… and Momo."
"Yeah, like any of them will help!" Sokka remarked. "Toph will probably lock them up together and then listen at the door (A/N: heehee) and Appa and Momo are animals for goodness sake!!! What are they going to do about it!?!"
"True…" Suki allowed. "But Aang will be there…" Though this was supposed to be a comforting thought for the two of them, they both immediately found their faces set in a worried look.
Chewing her lip thoughtfully, Suki remarked, "That only makes things worse doesn't it?"
Sighing heavily, Sokka rubbed his hands over his face and whined, "Aghhh! My sister will be stuck in a tank of cheetah-sharks!"
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Standing outside Sokka and Suki's bedroom, Toph listened for a moment.
"Okay… Let's do pro's and con's…" Suki said. "Pro's first. Zuko is the Fire Lord. Aang is twelve-years-old. Zuko is withdrawn and distant…"
Sokka stopped nodding. "No. That's a con. Katara's the type to go and try and make him more lively…"
"Oh. Right."
Just as Suki opened her mouth to continue her list, Sokka interrupted. "Which of the two is more trustworthy as far as Katara is concerned?"
A smug voice behind him replied, "Zuko, obviously."
Nearly jumping out of his skin, Sokka turned around to find Toph entering the room.
Continuing, the earth-bender explained, "Sparky may be a jerk sometimes, but he's disciplined. Aang isn't. If Zuko, let's say… kissed Katara and she didn't like it, he'd tell her to forget about it and go on with his day. If the same thing happened with Twinkletoes… he'd give her the same look an abused puppy would. Then, she'd feel guilty about it later…"
Toph looked at her rapt audience. "See where I'm going with this?"
Sokka shrugged. "Not really."
Toph shook her head. "Snoozles, Snoozles, Snoozles… Zuko's the type that, even if he's snubbed by her, he'll still stick around and protect her. The Avatar would probably fly off on his glider to 'collect his thoughts' like he did before when he found that lion-turtle…
"Zuko will do right by her… you can count on it." Seeing their incredulous looks at her, she added, "And I'm not just saying this because I'm the one that vouched for him upon entering our happy family – I can tell a lot from his heart beat."
Sokka and Suki looked at each other. They seemed more relieved.
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A light knock sounded on Katara's door.
For some reason, her heart fluttered with expectation.
"Katara… It's me, Suki! I've come to help you pack!" she cheerfully called out.
The fluttering stopped.
"Come in, Suki!" Katara replied, laying the last of her new clothes in her bag. Suki entered, noticing that there was nothing else to pack. Walking over to Katara, she sat down on the bed and looked at her sister-to-be's face.
"Have you given Aang an answer, Katara?" she asked quietly.
"No need," the water-bender replied, fussing with an extraneous thread on her bag. "I've told Aang before that it wouldn't work between us…"
"He's in love, Katara," Suki said, "and you know his personality – he's got more false hope than a desert hive has scorpion-bees." Pausing she added, "Plus… he's gotten more than enough encouragement."
Looking up at Suki, shocked, Katara's mouth tries to form words, but fails miserably.
Tears well up in Katara's eyes. Without a second thought, Katara water-bends them into the soil of one of the potted plants present in her room. I'd rather they didn't go to waste, she thought sadly.
"Suki…" Katara began. "I never meant to encourage him… in that way."
"I'm sorry to ask this, Katara," Suki said, "but Sokka and I need to know: what were you doing if you weren't encouraging him?"
Pausing for a moment to think, Katara realized. "Building myself a family," she replied, standing up straight. "A family that would never abandon me. Made of people that would be able to protect each other and help the world learn peace."
Taking a deep breathe, the water-bender added, "That was all I wanted – until now…"
Katara's voice faded into oblivion. She hadn't even realized that she meant those last two words unto they were spoken aloud. For some reason, Zuko's face appeared in her mind.
Shaking her head to release the image, Katara found Suki looking at her oddly. "What?" she asked, confused.
Smiling, Suki got up and made her way towards the door. Turning around at the last moment, she said, "Wear your hair down, Katara. Zuko likes it that way…"
Staring at the door, Katara felt her cheeks flush.
Hardly realizing what she was doing, she pulled her hair out of its braid, blushing even harder.
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A/N:
WOW!!! THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN TOO MUCH FUN TO WRITE!!!
PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ENJOYED READING IT AS MUCH AS I DID WRITING IT!!!
Side note:
Feel free to give me ideas as to where the vacation place will be…
So far, the only place I can think of is Ember Island, but that may be a bit too cliché, so review and share your ideas!
I'm making it up as I go along, so feel free to make requests…
Other side note:
Was Toph's super-long explanation of why Zuko is better than Aang difficult to understand?
Another random side note:
Oh! For any Kataangers reading this… sorry for bashing on the Avatar, but you've got to admit, I made some valid points…
VIVA ZUTARA!!!