The pounding heart rate told Toph that, in the room behind her, Katara had awakened and was relaying what had just happened to Suki. A fine opportunity for taunting and teasing, but not quite as great as the disastrous potential of Sokka and Zuko's conversation.
"So," Sokka said, arms crossed and boomerang in one hand, the dull side tapping casually against his hip. Judging from Zuko's rapid heartbeat, he might as well have been holding it to his throat. "Care to explain why my baby sister is soaking wet and unconscious?"
"We were sort of, you know," Zuko started, fidgeting and tripping over his tongue, "goofing off and pushing each other around and I, uh, accidentally pushed her into the fountain."
"You also lost your balance and fell in on top of her," Toph chimed in, barely able to contain her grin at Zuko's sudden spike in blood pressure.
The boomerang ceased its rhythmic tapping as Sokka instead used it to point at the other male, saying, "So, what? She fell in and bumped her head or something?"
Zuko was going to lie – she could sense it in all his physical reactions – but he must have glanced over, caught the beginnings of a smirk on her face and realized it would be useless. So, letting out a tiny sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck, a considerable amount of blood rushing to his face as he said, "No, she . . . She actually fainted because I, uh, I-I kinda . . . kissed her."
"With tongue," Toph was quick to add, positively beaming. She couldn't let any important little details slip, now could she? She would have thrown in why Zuko decided lying soaking wet in a fountain on top of Katara was a good time to make his move (the reason: it was the closest he had been to her since their hug, and he was feeling rather impulsive after their playful wrestling match).
Before she had the chance, however, Sokka had already decided to put his boomerang to its intended use.
Author's Notes: Power is flickering, so I'm posting this with minimal editing.
Blood: 1. Bloodshed; murder. 2. Temperament or disposition: a person of hot blood and fiery temper. 3. Passion. 4. The Fluid that is circulated by the heart.
Disclaimer: "Avatar" and all of its contents are property of Nickelodeon, which I am in no way associated with.
