The sky was dark and gloomy, the lightning flashed across the hemisphere every now and then and the rain poured down in buckets. In the upstairs lounge of the Jasmine Dragon though, the members of Team Avatar were nestled snugly around the low table in the middle of the lounge on comfy couches, warm and dry - and also bored.
Toph grunted unhappily. "I hate rainy days. You can't do anything with them around - no bending practice, no random trips to who knows where, not even lying in the sun and picking toes. They suck, period."
Zuko looked at her amusedly. "Then how did you guys survive travelling the world when it rained?"
Sokka shrugged. "Usually we'd be all cooped up in one tent, annoying the hell out of each other and trying to push everyone else out into the rain. This time though," he grinned as he held up the Companion, "we have crazy stories about us to occupy our time."
Katara frowned. "I don't think I'd want to read another story from that book. The last one we did was... weird, to say the least."
"I'll say," Toph agreed. "You sounded like you were flirting with Snoozles or something in there, and then Suki appeared out of nowhere. I totally lost my head there."
Aang jerked up. "Wait, Katara flirted with Sokka?"
"No Aang, it's just your imagination," Sokka reassured him as he searched though the Companion. Suddenly he stopped at a certain page and grinned widely. "Oh, now this sounds interesting. The Talk, it's called."
Toph creased her brow in confusion. "What talk?"
Katara stared at her brother. "Wait, you don't mean... the talk?"
"Oh yeah, it's the talk," Sokka confirmed. "Listen to the summary: Tenzin becomes of age where Aang has to have the talk. Nothing like 2 airbenders and a friendly conversation right? Kataang family. but more of Aang and his kids. Oh, and the author wants reviews," he added as a sort of afterthought.
"Reviews?" Toph echoed questioningly.
"Yeah, you know, the comments people leave about the stories? Almost every story in this book has one," Sokka explained.
Aang looked baffled. "There are other people reading these stories?"
Toph snorted. "Well, I'd like to leave a review myself, just so these authors could have a piece of my mind."
Sokka smirked. "Don't bother, they're not worth it. And considering this whole book comes from another universe, I'm not surprised other people also read this stuff."
"Yeah well, for the moment let's just concern ourselves with how Twinkletoes tells his kids about 'the birds and the bees'. That should be interesting," Toph grinned as Sokka began the story.
Aang and Katara were having a very heated discussion on whether who will tell their youngest child, Tenzin, where babies come from.
"Katara, I am NOT telling Tenzin where babies come from! It'll be awkward!" said Aang in a desperate attempt to get out of this situation.
"Yes you will and why will it be awkward? You're his father and we've had sex before!" Katara exclaimed.
"Gee, thanks for pointing that out Katara."Aang said sarcastically.
Toph shook her head. "Sugar Queen, get a clue: that's exactly why it will be awkward for Twinkletoes. Gotta give you points for the bluntness though, even if it does come off as a little insensitive."
"A bit too much, in my opinion," Sokka groaned. "Does my sister have to announce so publicly that she and Aang have done it?"
The earthbender shrugged. "Who cares? You already knew from the summary that they had kids in this story, which makes it inevitable."
"That doesn't make it any better," her ponytailed friend mumbled.
"Sweetie, Aang will you please do it? You're like a role model for him. It just makes sense... Please?" Katara begged.
"Alright... I will" Aang said finally giving in. He really hated when he did that.
"No you don't; you're just dying to prostate yourself before Sugar Queen and beg her to wrap you around her little finger," Toph chirped in.
"Toph, that's exaggerating things a bit," Katara said a little sharply.
"Just making a joke, that's all," the blind girl responded.
Aang went to seek out his youngest child. His eldest child Kya and his middle child Bumi were upstairs. Kya was most likely practicing her waterbending while Bumi was most likely planning to do something that his mother will ground him for. Aang finally found Tenzin meditating like a true monk and Aang filled with pride, not as much as Sokka had because no one could reach that level.
"I guess that's true," Aang chuckled, joined by the others.
Sokka huffed indignantly. "What, so I'm just a total bighead to you guys?"
"Something like that," Katara answered with a smirk.
"Oh come on, I'm not all that bad! Right Zuko?" Sokka said a little desperately, trying to get some support.
Zuko pretended to ponder thoughtfully on the subject. "Well, considering you called me an angry jerk before, I'm not so sure what I think about you..."
"Come on Zuko, you've already put that behind you! Right?" Sokka beamed enthusiastically.
"Okay, okay, you're not a bighead," Katara answered with a smile. "Now just continue the story."
"Tenzin" Aang turned around and looked at his dad.
"Yes Father?" he asked. His father rarely interrupted him while meditating. And vice-versa.
"I have some... um.. very important things to tell you." Tenzin's eyes were filled with curiosity but then quickly changed to hope.
"Are you and Mother sending Bumi to live with Uncle Sokka?" he asked. Aang gave a side smile.
"No we are not sending your brother to live with Sokka."Aang said. Tenzin was instantly down-cast but became cheerfully serious once again.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "How can anyone be 'cheerfully serious'?"
"Dunno, must be an airbender thing," Sokka replied. "Looks like Aang's gonna have a tough time with the sibling rivalry among his kids though - I mean, they're all hoping the other's getting sent away!"
"To live with you, which only makes it worse," Katara grinned to the annoyance of her brother.
"I think this 'Bumi' might be something like a miniature Sokka," Zuko analyzed. "There was that part back there where he was mentioned as 'probably planning to do something that his mother will ground him for'."
"So when I'm not a bighead to you guys, I'm the troublemaker?" Sokka demanded disdainfully as the others laughed. "Actually, I don't mind being the mischievous one."
"Looks like you're going to have to keep your kids away from their uncle, who's clearly going t be a bad influence," Toph remarked to a grinning Aang.
Aang sat down next to Tenzin and tried to be serious but it was just too weird as an adult Aang was still childish.
"Too bad. I was hoping he'd lose that trait of his as he grew older," Sokka sighed.
Katara shrugged. "I don't mind him like that - he's cuter that way."
"Duh, that's why you married him, Sugar Queen," Toph pointed out.
"Son I think we need to have a little talk" Aang said nonchalantly. 'Good job so far Aang' he mentally coached himself.
"I'm gonna tell you a little story" Tenzin listened closely. He loved his father's stories.
"Once upon a time there was a girl penguin, and a boy penguin...They played games and slid down hills together everyday...
Sokka burst out laughing. "Penguins? Seriously?"
"What?" Aang asked. "Penguins are cute."
"Yeah, but using them as an example... I'm starting to hope for your kids' sake that it's Katara that's going to give them the talk when they're older," Sokka grinned.
"Maybe she'll have to do the same for your kids as well," Toph smirked. "Knowing you, you'd probably going to mess up just as bad as Aang."
"Oh really? Well, I think I'll do quite fine on my own, thank you!" Sokka declared defiantly.
"And what example are you gonna use?" Toph enquired.
The Water Tribe teen paused and thought for a while. "Um... hog-monkeys?"
Then one day the boy penguin started to have all kinds of strange feelings-" Aang was cut off by his son.
Tenzin crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at his father's obliviousness.
"Father please stop, I already know where babies come from." Tenzin said. Aang, very confused, just stared at Tenzin.
"But- who told you?" Aang asked heard his other 2 kids rush down the stairs and outside to where they suddenly realized it all at once.
Aang tilted his head to the side slightly. "Do you get the feeling that the last sentence might have been two or three different ones merged together somehow?"
"Yeah, kind of," Katara answered.
Sokka shrugged. "So these people messed up on their words. Big deal. As long as we understand what they mean, we'll do fine."
"I'll give you 3 guesses" Tenzin said. At that moment Bumi and Kya ran over to where they were.
"Awwh is Tenzy getting the talk?" Bumi asked in a baby voice.
"Not really because you already told me and DON'T CALL ME TENZY!" Tenzin said, even more annoyed.
"Alright fine ... Tenzy." Bumi started laughing at that.
"Now I'm thinking Bumi sounds like Azula," Zuko commented.
"'Tenzy' does make a cute nickname," Aang grinned.
Sokka shook his head. "Oh man, your kid's going to hate you so bad."
"Alright Bumi leave your brother alone and go do your chores" Aang said fatherly. He did have to be the father since Katara wasn't here to ground anyone.
Toph grinned. "So Sugar Queen has a habit of grounding her kids? That's not very surprising."
"Oh no, I'm not going to be the bad guy when it comes to parenting," Katara said.
"Looks like you're on your way though," her brother told her.
Bumi then crossed his arms and had determined eyes.
"How bout I do 1-2 chores and stop bothering Tenzin" Bumi asked.
"How bout I tell your mother" Aang shot back.
Sokka grinned. "Nice one, Aang."
"Thanks."
Bumi stroked his imaginary beard.
Toph laughed. "He has an imaginary beard? All he needs now is a fake mustache and he'll make the perfect mini Sokka!"
"Ugh, I hope not," Katara groaned jokingly. "I already went through that during childhood; I don't want to relive it again."
"But having a kid like me is going to be great!" Sokka exclaimed. "Just look how cool I turned out!"
"I don't think I want my child to read crazy stories about himself to his friends," Aang said, and the others laughed while Sokka shot him a glare.
"You drive a hard bargain'' Bumi said decisively.
"As do you" Aang said. After a minute of this Bumi finally gave in.
"Alright fine..." Bumi said dramatically.
"Oh and don't forget to do your homework!" Aang replied. Bumi then got this pained expression on his face and a far away look in his eyes.
"I would but... everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked." Bumi replied distantly. Aang tried not to but he started laughing uncontrollably.
Aang looked confused. "'When the Fire Nation attacked?' Where does that come from?"
"Probably from your stories that your kids love so much where you retell your great adventures about saving the world and you start with some corny line like 'Long ago the four nations lived in harmony until everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked'," Toph speculated.
Sokka looked at her curiously. "How did you come up with that?"
The earthbender shrugged. "It just came to me. But it would be a great way to start a story, huh?"
"Yeah. Who knows, maybe someone will come along and create stories about us - and they'll use the line every time to start the story," Katara guessed.
"It could be a possibility," Zuko agreed.
"Oh and dad?" Kya asked. Aang seized his laughter and turned to his only daughter.
"Yes Kya?"
"Penguins just aren't an apt metaphor!"
"Looks like your daughter knows her facts well," Sokka grinned at Aang.
"Alright let's get inside before your mother sends out a search party because she didn't look outside again." Aang said knowing his wife would panic.
So him, Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin walked back to their house.
"The end," Sokka concluded as he looked up at his friends. "So now we know that Katara's going to be the kind of mother who loves grounding her kids and then freaks out when she can't find them. Understandable - she's always got this paranoia thing going on ever since we were kids."
"Says who?" Katara retorted.
"Says the guy who got chewed out badly for trying to get a fishhook out of his thumb with another fishhook."
"Only because you ended up getting both fishhooks stuck in your thumb." And as the others started laughing, Sokka simply sat back and scowled comically at them all.
Many thanks to Danyella413 for suggesting her story! I spent quite some time fixing up some (okay, a lot) errors with the usage of capital letters, but the story itself was quite good and everything else was fine! Besides, even the most accomplished authors started out with a few bumps and trips along the way! So anyway, reviews are welcome, and I'll see you all again soon!