Set in Ember Island, sometime before the comet.

Prompt: Teal

"Katara… Katara… I'm sorry, but… what is this?" Sokka pinched the offending garment in his outstretched hand, grimacing as if it might give him the flu.

"Your birthday present." Katara deadpanned. "I really thought you'd be more excited."

"It's the thought that counts, I guess, but... do you not have eyes?"

"What? You love bags! You love anything that has to do with shopping, especially when you're not using your own money! What's wrong with it?" Katara had spent a pretty penny at the Ember Island market that day, and her brother's reaction was turning out less than worth it.

"Number one: it's not even my birthday, you missed it by like two months."

"We were a little busy getting away from Ba Sing Se, if you don't remember. And in case you forgot, you got me an ice sculpture for my birthday… I don't even know what it was supposed to be!"

"I told you, it melted."

"We were at the North Pole!"

"Whatever! Number two: this color is just… ugh. Don't you think, Suki?" He turned to the steps of the beach house, where the others sat and watched.

"I thought it was nice. Blue with a little green. Blue is kinda a Water Tribe thing, isn't it?"

Sokka made an offended sound. "I don't know what blue you've been looking at, but this is not blue. This… this is…"

Sokka shook his head as if he couldn't even fathom a name.

"Teal?" Aang piped up in the middle of Sokka's mournful silence.

"Ugh. Teal. Teal is not a manly color." He kneaded the cloth in his hands, as if the color would wash away the longer he stared at it. "I didn't even know the Fire Nation made things in this color."

"It was half off." Zuko confessed, even though Katara was making some agressive 'keep quiet' gestures at him. "Why do you think we bought it?"

Sokka was about ready to throw a tantrum.

"Suck it up, Snoozles." Toph stopped him. "It's just a 'color'. If I can't tell the difference, it's not that important."

Sokka took a break from being offended at his gift, to be doubly offended at the earthbender. "Color is so important. For example: blue. Good. Powerful. Makes you think the sky and the sea. Looks great on a shirt. Red and black? Bad. Dangerous. Fire Nation."

"Hey!" Zuko interjected.

"Teal? No one can pull off teal."

Toph nodded, as if taking the info to heart. "Earth is brown, right? What do you think about brown?"

Sokka tapped a finger to his chin. "Hmm, brown… It's all right. Kinda one of those base colors, like black and white. Has a nice warm feel to it. Also has the added benefit of not staining easily. Brown is good."

Brown was not nearly as nice when Toph bent a load of mud and dumped it on his head.

"How's that then? Better than teal?"