Day Two, Part One

"Katara! I was beginning to think you weren't going to show."

Aang had been nervously pacing the sidewalk in front of Gyatso's dojo when Katara finally rounded the corner. But the instant she came into view, he stopped short and dragged his shaking fingers through his disheveled mop of hair. In that second, he was positively beaming. Katara favored him with a beaming smile of her own.

They regarded one another awkwardly for a few moments. If Aang felt flustered over this second meeting between them, Katara was even more so. She had spent the previous evening after they parted ways obsessing over the reality of what she had just done. She had made a date with the Avatar! She, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe and general nobody, had a date with the most powerful being in the universe! There was certainly no pressure there whatsoever. Granted, she was putting the majority of that pressure on herself, but still it was a lot to take in…especially when she kept being assailed with the vague feeling that she and he had done this before. Katara simply couldn't shake the sense that she knew Aang from somewhere else…that, as impossible as it seemed, they had met one another before. She found the words slipping from her mouth even before she'd completely formulated the thought.

"It's weird, but…I feel like I know you."

"I should hope so since we spent about an hour together yesterday," Aang teased her.

"No. I mean before that moment, before you ran me over like a freight train. Have you ever spent any time in the South Pole at all?"

"My family and I used to travel all around the world, but I've only been to the South Pole a handful of times," he said, trying to recall a specific moment when they could have met one another, "It's possible, but pretty unlikely."

"I guess so…"

"I know what you mean though. I've been getting that same vibe that we've met before too. Maybe we did and we just forgot about it."

"Maybe…" Katara murmured, "It's just driving me a little crazy right now."

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will come back to us eventually."

Katara deliberately shifted her thoughts away from solving that particular enigma. "I'm sure you're right." Once again, they found themselves standing in the middle of the sidewalk and grinning at one another stupidly. Passersby scooted around them and a crisp, morning mist fell over their heads but neither of them seemed to notice. "I'm sorry I was so late," Katara murmured, "I got a little turned around after I got off the train. Deciphering my brother's handwriting is like breaking some kind of secret code."

"You don't need to apologize," Aang said, "I'm just glad you made it."

He surveyed her with an appreciative once-over, drinking in the sight of her long, braided hair with alluring hair loops, tan ankle boots, dark, leather jacket and short, blue striped mini-dress. She offset the ensemble with a clunky, coral bracelet around her neck and a simple, silk choker with a dangling silver pendant. It was a far cry from what she had been wearing the day before. Although Aang had found her equally captivating in jeans and a sweatshirt, seeing so much of her exposed skin was wreaking havoc on his senses. His eyes lingered on her shapely legs for a split second before he deliberately raised his eyes back to hers. But the instant their gazes connected, it was obvious that Katara had been aware of his attention.

She blushed and so did he. Aang rubbed at the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "You look really beautiful."

"Thank you."

She glanced over him as well, surprised to find him in a traditional bronze and gold Air Nomad uniform rather than his usual hoodie, blue jeans and white sneakers. She realized that the attire was rather common among his people, but she still hadn't expected him to be so…culturally dressed. Katara almost felt as if she should have worn a ceremonial Water Tribe tunic rather than the loose fitting mini-dress she had chosen. And what was even more ridiculous, she didn't find that idea at all outlandish.

Katara immediately shook off the crazy thoughts. "You look quite…monkish today." She flicked an ironic look at his tousled locks. "Well, except for the hair anyway. Is there a special occasion you haven't mentioned?"

"It's standard training issue. I didn't get a choice in the matter." He tunneled all ten fingers through his spiky locks, spiking them even further. "As for my hair…don't get too used to it. That's going to be gone before the week is done. The monks are shaving my head before we leave for the North Pole." Not wanting to give her too much time to contemplate the mental picture, Aang extended his hand to her. "Come on inside. I want you to meet someone."

After tugging self-consciously at the edge of her dress, Katara let Aang lead her inside the dojo. She felt as if a million butterflies had been released into the pit of her stomach. The idea of meeting yet another person close to Aang was daunting, not only because he was so willing to introduce her when they had only just met but also because of how desperate she felt to make a good impression. She had only known the guy for two days and already he was consuming every emotion she had. The realization was very disconcerting.

Once she stepped fully inside the dojo, however, Katara felt some of her anxiety lessen. It was minimally decorated as was the case with most Air Nomad facilities and, therefore, she wasn't completely overwhelmed by any décor or memorabilia. In fact, aside from the rows of mirrors that lined the walls, there were only a few orange and yellow mats on the floor and not much else. The only curiosity was a lumpy mass in the far corner of the room that was covered over with a light blanket. Everything else in the dojo was simple and standard. Katara pivoted once before turning to survey Aang with a questioning glance.

"Is this where you come to train?"

Aang nodded. "Yep…ever since we moved here."

"How long ago was that?"

"I was twelve and a half," he told her, "I spent the first four years of my life living with my parents, but then I had to go to the Southern Air Temple to train and study."

"It must have been difficult being separated from your folks," Katara commiserated. "That's one of the hardest parts about being in Ba Sing Se for me. I hate being so far away from my dad."

"It wasn't so bad. I got to see them pretty often…a lot more than I do now." Despite the somber tone of their conversation, he managed a bright smile. "Besides, I mastered airbending relatively quickly…a lot faster than anyone anticipated. That's why I was able to go back home as soon as I did."

Katara's lips turned up in a coy smile. "You must be very good if you earned your tattoos so young. Would you be willing to show me some of your moves?"

"That depends, Katara," he drawled slowly, closing the distance between them in deliberate inches, "Would you be willing to show me some of yours?"

"Why do I get the impression that neither of you are talking about bending right now?"

Any saucy response Katara might have had to that question lodged in her throat when Aang's airbending instructor suddenly materialized from the back room. Aang and Katara scrambled apart with furious blushes while he simply regarded them with a knowing grin. The airbender took advantage of their mortified silence to stride forward and introduce himself to Katara.

"I am Gyatso," he said, inclining himself forward in a formal bow, "I assume you are the young lady Aang wanted me to meet today."

"Gyatso is the one who taught me airbending when I was at the Southern Air Temple," Aang explained, "He gave me my tattoos. Basically, he's known me my whole life."

"I have a vested interest in him," Gyatso said, "I trained his father Tenzin as well."

"It's…uh…very good to meet you, Monk Gyatso, sir," she stammered nervously, "I'm Katara, as you probably already know. I hope I'm not intruding on anything."

"No at all," Gyatso chuckled, "I've been anticipating your arrival all morning. Aang could barely sit still, he's been so excited. He couldn't even concentrate to train this morning. Suffice it to say, I was very eager to meet the young woman who had left him so distracted."

"Gyatso…" Aang groaned in long-suffering, "If you care about me at all, do not say another word…" He made a slicing gesture across his throat in what was meant to be furtive, but his actions only caused Katara's amused smile to widen.

The older airbender chuckled again. "Fine. I will take pity on you," he relented, "You two enjoy your morning together. I'll be in the back if you need anything." He offered yet another bow to Katara. "It was very good to meet you."

"You too," Katara murmured absently, watching Gyatso retreat with a curious frown. When he was gone, she angled a confused frown up at Aang. "I'm not interrupting your training today, am I?"

"No. I explained everything to Gyatso this morning and he was good enough to give me a day off."

Katara furrowed her brow. "Explained what exactly?"

Aang lightly snagged hold of her wrist and led her over to the corner of the room where the odd, blanket covered incongruity was located. He leaned down to whip it away with a magician's flourish. "Taa daa!"

She was taken aback to discover that what had been concealed beneath the coverlet had actually been two glasses, two plates and two pairs of chopsticks. In the between each setting, however, was an oversized picnic basket. Katara whipped a soft, surprised look over at Aang. His cheeks lightened to a becoming shade of pink with her adoring expression.

"You packed us a picnic?" she breathed in giddy disbelief, "That's so thoughtful!"

"Oh, now don't go building it up to more than what it is," Aang warned, "I only threw some bread, fruit and rice into a basket along with a thermos of hot tea. It's not like I roped the moon for you or anything."

"It's still pretty sweet." Katara rose up on her tiptoes and pressed an impulsive kiss to his cheek. The instant her lips touched his skin, she was assailed with dozens of images of herself kissing Aang's cheek with the same affectionate ease…only none of those things had ever happened. When she pulled back from him, she was more than a little dazed and so was Aang, though for an entirely different reason.

He fingered the tingling skin of his cheek with an airy smile. "Remind me to pack you brunch more often."

Katara was still trying to shake off the strange sensation that had assailed her when they sat down to eat. Eventually, though, she was able to relax enough to become fully engrossed in her conversation with Aang. As she did, Katara came to understand why Aang had to leave at the end of the week. He explained to her that avatars were usually told their identity when they were sixteen years old. Although, he had always sensed that he was different from others practically his whole life, he never really understood why he felt that way until the monks came. That was the point where he started to lose control of his life.

"The monks said that the time had come for me to begin my training," he went on to explain, "I would travel all over the world, starting in the North Pole and then I would move on to the Earth Kingdom before finally completing my mastery of the elements in the Fire Nation."

"How long does that usually take?" Katara wondered, nibbling a piece of fruit.

"It took Roku nearly a decade," Aang told her, "Centuries before him, there was an Avatar named Kuruk and it took him twice as long."

Katara deflated with a disappointed sigh. "I guess that means you won't be returning to Ba Sing Se for a long time, huh…I mean, if you do at all?"

"I'm definitely coming back and it's not going to take me nine years to do it," Aang declared unequivocally, "My parents are here. My friends are here. And, hopefully," he added with a shy smile, "you'll be here too."

"It's possible. It depends on how long it takes the University to approve my application."

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Close to six months," Katara mumbled in reply, "I had to disclose the fact that I'm a bender. You know how they get about that these days."

Aang flinched. "I'm sorry, Katara."

"It's okay. I know you're going to fix all of that." She seemed not to notice Aang's uncomfortable fidgeting as she added softly, "I saw your press conference last night. I'm glad you're going before King Keui to oppose the law. Benders need someone to speak on their behalf."

"I agree," Aang said, abruptly rolling to his feet, "I'm just not sure that person should be me."

Katara frowned at his back. "Of course, it should be you, Aang. You're the Avatar. Who else should it be?"

"Everyone keeps saying that," he lamented, "But it's only words. This job didn't come with an instruction manual, you know! I don't know anything about this stuff. Six months ago, I was busting my tail just to pull a C in my history class and now I'm supposed to be this crusader for peace, justice and equality? I feel so inadequate!"

"Maybe that's how you're supposed to feel," she murmured, "It seems to me that being the Avatar would take a lot of humility otherwise you could abuse your power…"

"…and validate every bad thing the public already believes about benders," Aang finished grimly.

"Exactly," Katara muttered, "They don't understand us and they fear what we can do, so of course we need to be locked away in little boxes so they can control us."

"I'm not even sure when it became 'us' against 'them,'" Aang said, "There's never been a separation for me…Air Nation or not, bender or not…I have friends all over the world." He shrugged lightly. "I guess I just love people."

Katara smiled at him fondly. "And that, I think, is why you're the Avatar, Aang."

"Yeah, I don't know about that," Aang grunted in dismissal. He resumed his seat across from her. "We've beat this Avatar thing to death. Tell me something more about you. Do you have any other siblings besides your brother?"

She shook her head with a short laugh. "Believe me, Sokka is more than enough."

"But you guys must be pretty close if he's letting you live with him."

"Very close," Katara whispered, "Especially since our mother died. Losing her was hard."

Aang reached over to pat her hand in commiseration. "How long was she sick?"

"She was diagnosed when I was fourteen. She'd been fighting it for a while. My mom had a lot of spirit, but I could tell her body was getting tired. She spent a lot of time in the hospital. Finally, she told my dad that she wanted to go home and spend what time she had left with us." Katara blinked back the tears gathering in her eyes. "She died a month later."

"I'm sorry, Katara."

"I blamed myself for a long time," she muttered thickly, "You see…I'm a healer. I worked really hard to keep my mom's cancer at bay, but…in the end, it was stronger than me. I failed her."

"You didn't. Some things are out of our control, Katara. Some things we aren't meant to control."

She scrupulously avoided his compassionate gray stare as she whisked away the tears falling on her cheeks. "Maybe…" While she was making her valiant attempt to pull herself together, Katara caught a glimpse of the clock on the far wall. She emitted a small, panicked cry and began quickly gathering together her jacket and purse.

"Aang, I'm sorry," she said as she scrambled to her feet, "I have to go. I should have been home half an hour ago! Sokka's going to kill me!"

"Is he expecting you?" Aang wondered, helplessly trailing her towards the exit. He didn't want her to leave, but short of throwing himself at her feet and begging her not to, his options were limited.

"No, it's his pet rabbit-lemur," she explained, "I'm supposed to feed him every day at 1 o'clock and if I don't, he goes a little nuts. Sokka's crazy about him. I swear, he'd probably marry Momo if Suki weren't in the picture."

"Um…well…okay…"

Katara pivoted to face him abruptly. "Can I come back again tomorrow?" she asked, "I…I'd like to see you again."

Aang's fretful disappointment gave way to a trembling smile. "You…you would?"

"Well yeah…"

His widening smile abruptly collapsed. "I can't tomorrow," he mumbled in regret, "Gyatso is taking me to see my parents. It's going to be my last opportunity to tell them goodbye."

Katara slumped forward with an unhappy sigh. "Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Katara. Seems like you and I have really lousy timing, don't we?"

"The lousiest," she agreed. She perked abruptly as an idea suddenly occurred to her. "Why don't you come with me, Aang?"

"Come with you?" Aang echoed blankly.

"Yeah…back to my brother's apartment," she clarified, only to blush hotly when Aang practically gaped at the suggestion. "I…I don't mean it like that," she emphasized in a mortified stammer. "I…I just mean you could come with me and we could hang out or something. This probably sounds incredibly lame considering the fact that we barely know each other, but…I don't usually make a habit of inviting strange boys to my house, if that's what you're thinking."

Aang scowled at her good-naturedly. "You think I'm strange?"

She relaxed a bit with his joking manner. "That's putting it mildly," she teased, "So will you come?"

He didn't even take a second to contemplate the offer. "Give me five minutes to change my clothes and let Gyatso know that I'm going."

After promising his mentor that he would return before late evening, Aang and Katara rushed for the subway to catch the first express train down to the lower ring. On the way there, Katara tried to prepare Aang for her humble living quarters. "It's not the fanciest place in the world," she warned him, "Nothing compared to the Beifong Luxury Suites."

"Good. I hate that hotel. It's too full of fussy people." He grinned at her. "Anything else?"

Katara tapped her chin in consideration. "Um…my brother's pet lemur is insane, especially when he's hungry. You might want to prepare yourself."

"No problem, Katara," Aang said when an easy smile, "I'm great with animals."

Ten minutes later, Aang was rethinking that cocky declaration when Katara opened the door to her brother's apartment and his pet lemur leapt onto his head with an outraged screech. Aang yelped and ran around in frantic circles trying unsuccessfully to detach the clinging animal while Katara shouted, "No, Momo! Stop it! Bad lemur! Bad, bad lemur!" Seconds later, Momo discovered the lychee nuts in the breast pocket of Aang's jacket, snatched them and then absconded to the far corner of the living room with his pilfered treasure.

"Are you okay?" Katara choked in horror, "He didn't scratch you, did he?"

Aang regarded her with a dazed expression. "He…he stole my nuts."

"I am so sorry, Aang," she groaned, caught somewhere between mortification and outright laughter, "He's never done anything like that before."

"Sure he hasn't…"

"I tried to warn you…"

"Katara, he stole my nuts."

She lost the fight against giggling then. "I promise I'll buy you some more before you go back to the hotel. Come on in and make yourself comfortable while I fix Momo's dish."

The living room and kitchen were an open layout, separated only by a small island that served as a demarcation between the two rooms. While Katara rummaged around in the pantry, Aang kept a wary eye on the rabid lemur as he surveyed his surroundings. Sokka's apartment was very much a bachelor's pad. His living room consisted of a recliner, a beaten down sofa, a rickety coffee table and one of the largest television sets Aang had ever seen. Upon closer inspection, Aang also discovered a gaming system.

"Sweet…" he uttered in an appreciative mumble. He thumbed through Sokka's selection of games. "No way! Your brother has Airball Pro 9? I've been dying to get that!"

Katara groaned. "Please don't tell me that you waste your time playing those useless video games too."

"Well, what else is there?"

"How about going on a hike or reading a book?" Aang's unenthused grimace of distaste spoke louder than any words he could have spoken. "Or, maybe not," she chuckled as she stooped down to set Momo's dish down before him. When she was done, she straightened and regarded Aang with a laughing smile as he excitedly flipped through Sokka's collection. "Can I give you a tour of the place or have I lost your attention completely?"

Aang returned the game to its rightful place and favored her with a crooked smile. "Never. Tour away."

It was a rather modest apartment with two small bedrooms located on opposite sides of the narrow hallway and an even smaller bathroom at the end of it. Aang was surprised that Sokka was living in a two bedroom place at all. Property was expensive in Ba Sing Se, even in the lower ring. He had imagined when Katara said that she was staying with her brother that she would be bunking on his couch. He made mention of that when they finally returned to the living room.

"Well, I got sort of lucky there," Katara explained, "Suki, my brother's girlfriend…she was originally his roommate. But then, one thing led to another and they ended up with a spare room instead."

"How long have they been together?"

"A little over a year now. I like her a lot. I think she's a keeper." Aang sat down, his teasing remark forgotten when Momo, the rabid lemur, abruptly leapt into his lap and curled up there. Katara laughed at his revolted expression. "Aww…I think he's trying to apologize to you."

"I don't know if I can forgive him," Aang said with a haughty sniff, "I can get over the assault, but there's no excuse for petty theft. I would have been happy to share." Momo chittered in remorse while Katara giggled behind her hand at their antics. "You really hurt me," he told the lemur. Momo mewled again, this nuzzling against Aang's forearm and uncurling a single lychee nut from his paw. Aang plucked up the peace offering. "Okay, fine," he relented with a tender scratch behind the animal's ears, "You're lucky you're so cute."

"Wow…you really are good with animals," Katara breathed, "He doesn't usually warm up to strangers at all."

"And what about you?"

It was then that Katara because intensely aware of his heavy stare. That half lidded look coupled with the husky timbre of his voice made her breath catch and speed up a bit. She leaned in a fraction closer to him, as if drawn by an invisible string. "What about me?"

His gray eyes dropped briefly to her lips before connecting with her stirring gaze once more. "Do you warm up to strangers?"

Katara could feel herself blushing madly, but surprised herself when she answered, "I guess it depends on the stranger…"

Her eyes sank closed in anticipation of contact with his lips just as the apartment door suddenly swung open and Suki tumbled inside. For the second time that day, Aang and Katara jerked apart with guilty starts. Suki froze and bounced a questioning look between them. "Um…hello," she drawled slowly, "What's going on here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Katara retorted in a frenetic attempt to regain her composure, "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't scheduled to get off of work for another two hours."

"I wasn't," Suki explained as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the peg next to the door, "But our lovely next door neighbor called and gave me an earful about an hour ago. She said that Momo was going crazy again. I figured you probably forgot to feed him, so I decided to come home and do it myself." She appraised Aang curiously. "Though now I can see why you forgot…"

"Suki, this is my friend Aang," Katara burst out quickly before the older girl had the chance to embarrass her further, "Aang, this is Suki…my brother's girlfriend."

He shifted from beneath Momo, much to the animal's disappointed chagrin, and rose to greet Suki with a proper bow. "It's very good to meet you, Suki. Katara has told me a lot about you."

"That's funny because she hasn't mentioned a word about you," Suki drawled in growing amusement.

Katara lurched forward and hooked her fingers around Suki's forearm, steering her back towards the door. "Well, as you can see, I have everything under control here so there's no need for you to linger. Try to stay warm out there. Bye, bye now."

Suki shrugged out of her hold with laugh. "I'm not going back to work. I'd like to stay here and get to know your friend better."

"Don't…" Katara growled in a warning tone.

"You've never brought a boy home before," she said, "I'm curious. Sue me."

While they exchanged furious whispers, Aang occupied himself over near the sliding glass door that led out to the balcony and pretended that he didn't know he was the topic of discussion between them. Katara snagged hold of Suki's sleeve and dragged her into the hallway. "I swear if you say one thing to embarrass me in front of him, I'll make you sorry," she warned her in an under-breath, "Remember, I'm the one who cooks in this house. Don't make me do something desperate!"

Suki only chuckled at the threat. "Katara, come on," she coaxed in a low tone, "You have to admit that I have reason to be curious. Now spill your guts."

Katara fixed her with a narrowed glare before snapping erect and whirling around to bestow Aang with an over-bright smile. "Aang, could you excuse us for two, short minutes?"

"Hey, if you need me to go—,"

"NO!" she exclaimed before he could finish the statement. Her outburst startled not only Aang and Suki, but herself as well. In a decidedly softer tone, she said, "I don't want you to go. We have a limited amount of time, remember? I'd like to make the most of it."

"So would I," he whispered.

"So you'll stick around?" she cajoled sweetly.

He relaxed into a shy smile. "Yeah…I'll stick around."

Katara smiled at him. "Good. Feel free to fiddle around with Sokka's video games," she told him as Suki started tugging her into the nearest bedroom, "I'm sure he won't mind!"

The instant the door was secured behind them, Suki demanded, "Okay, you want to tell me what that was about?"

"What?"

"You know exactly what? Who is that guy, Katara? Are you dating him? When did that happen and where was I?"

"I…I already told you," Katara fumbled self-consciously, "His name is Aang. And no, I'm not dating him. We're just friends."

"You seem pretty passionate about a guy who's just your 'friend,'" Suki observed, throwing up an air quote for emphasis, "I thought your head was going to explode when he said he would leave."

"You don't understand. He leaves in four days. He's going to the North Pole and there's no telling when I'll see him again. I don't want to waste a minute we have together."

Suki studied the subtle emotions that flittered across Katara's face with a perceptive frown. "Katara, if you like him, why don't you just tell him so?"

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"Because I only just met him two days ago," Katara revealed hesitantly.

"What? You only just what?" Suki exploded.

"Shh! Not so loud!"

"You only just met this guy and you're bringing him home?" Suki hissed at her, "Are you insane?"

Katara flopped onto her bed with a frustrated huff. "Obviously yes!" she cried softly, "I'm completely insane! I've been obsessing about him since we met and no matter how many times I tell myself that it's crazy to feel so attached to him after such a short time, I still feel attached."

Commiserating with the misery she detected in Katara's tone, Suki sat down beside her distraught friend. "Look, Katara, I get it," she sighed, "He's definitely good-looking. He seems pretty sweet and harmless enough. Believe me, I know how easy it is to get caught up in attraction, especially when it hits you like a punch in the face. But two days definitely isn't enough time to really know someone."

"You don't think I know that? You don't think I've told myself the same thing over and over?"

"But…"

"But…it's like I'm drawn to him, Suki," she murmured, "I can't explain it. I feel like…like there's a connection between us. I can't describe the feeling…it's familiar, comforting. I know instinctively that I can trust him and that he would never hurt me. It goes beyond physical attraction. It's almost like…like something deep inside me knows him on the most basic level. Sometimes when I'm with him, I see things…I see us together, only it's not us. I don't know what it means."

"Whoa…"

"Yeah…"

"Have you told him any of this?"

"Just bits and pieces. But we've talked about it enough for me to know that he feels the same thing too."

"That's…uh…wow…that's pretty intense," Suki said at last.

"Tell me about it."

"So…what are you thinking? Is this love at first sight or something?"

Katara considered the possibility for a second before shaking her head. "No. It's not anything like that." She shifted around to face Suki fully. "Have you ever met someone and known almost instantly that they were going to change your life in some profound way?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Well, that's what I feel for Aang. I liked him immediately. The second I looked at him, I had this sense that I had been waiting for him this whole time and this peace came over me. It's weird. I feel like we were supposed to come into each other's lives, that there's something incredible between us that can't be explained."

"Like destiny…"

"No. It's more like we have this friendship that defies time and space," Katara whispered, "Like we have an instinctive bond between us. I feel protective of him and…and…"

"…And what, Katara?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I guess…now that I have him in my life, I don't want him to leave it."

Suki shuddered a little. "You know you're freaking me out, right?"

"I'm freaking myself out," Katara confessed glumly.

"Listen," Suki urged, "I know you're all caught up in these intense emotions and everything, but can you promise me that you'll try and take it slow? The way you're talking, I'm almost afraid you'll run off and marry this guy." She had meant that last part as a joke, but when Katara didn't crack so much as a smile, Suki started to panic a bit. "Katara, you do know I was kidding just now, right? Right?"

Katara had very little time to contemplate whether or not Suki's comment had been a joke to her because a split second later, the bedroom door flew open and her brother came spilling through it. "Uh…would either of you mind telling me exactly why the Avatar is in our living room playing my video games right now?"