Sokka came skidding into the common room of the house they were sharing in Ba Sing Se. "You guys ready for the costume party tonight?" he asked the group.

Aang, Katara, and Toph looked up in confusion. "Um, there's a party tonight?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? Earth King Kuei announced it at the meeting two days ago? I've been digging through all my best costumes since then."

The younger three sighed. "Meathead, you know you're the only one of us who goes to all the meetings yet. We weren't at the one two days ago."

"Oh yeah. Well.. hey guys, there's a costume party! We're invited! Get ready. It starts at 6 o'candle. You get to accompany... Detective Wang Fire." At this declaration, he whipped his fake beard and detective hat out from behind his back. Katara groaned.

Toph shrugged. "I'll be the Blind Bandit. I'm sure my belt is here somewhere."

Katara and Aang glanced at each other. This would be the first party they'd be attending together as a couple so they didn't want to miss it, but two hours was definitely short notice. "Oh, I've got an idea for me! Be right back!" Katara cried as she hopped up and ran into.. Aang's room.

Sokka, Toph, and Aang were curious to see her idea and waited for her in the common room. Before long, she popped back into the room. "Tada!" she exclaimed, striking a pose. "I am.. the Avatara!" She had taken the over-the-shoulder sashes that Aang wore and wrapped the yellow one around in the same style as her chest wrap, leaving the orange layer to drape as usual. Billowy brown pants were tucked into a pair of Aang's old boots, and everything was secured with a red belt tied around her waist.

Toph gave a chuckle, as the "Avatara" wordplay was a pretty good one for Katara. Sokka however just said, "No. No way. Go change."

"What?! Why? It covers more than my fire nation outfit did." Katara shot back. "Besides, I think I look good."

Toph, having had a moment now to assess the others in the room, chimed in. "I don't know what you look like, but I'm pretty sure you broke Twinkle Toes." Sokka merely nodded and flung an arm out towards Aang to direct Katara's attention there.

Aang was standing stock still, staring unabashedly at Katara. As he noticed this attention on him, he took in a breath finally, and addressed her. "You look.. I..um, wow. But I do think if you wear that, there's no chance I can look anywhere but you tonight. And, it's hard to think." This wasn't strictly true. There was lots to think about.. like that she was wrapped up in his colors. And not just his colors, but his own clothes. The sashes that had touched his skin were now brushing hers. He grinned a dopey grin at her and rubbed the back of his neck, trying like anything to stop both the blush and the thought process.

Sokka, having seen plenty enough, turned her around and marched her back to the room. "I'm not having your oogies ruin my appetite at the party. Get dressed and you two figure out something different." Katara sighed and slipped back into the bedroom to change.

She stepped out in her usual gear and, ignoring her brother, turned to Aang. "Well, we don't have much time thanks to the short notice," she said with a pointed glare at Sokka, "so let's take stock of our wardrobes and see what we've got." And so she drug Aang off into her room, shutting the door behind them.

"Well, you've still got that face paint. You could go as the Painted Lady, Katara," Aang said, remembering the most attractive "spirit" he had ever met.

"That's true, we do have the face paint. You could always go as Kyoshi again, Aang." They shared a laugh. "Oh wait, what about the warrior paint of the water avatar before that? Kuruk? That might be fun to see!" she exclaimed.

So they painted it up. When finished, Aang closed his eyes. There was a swirling and a faint glow before Kuruk stood in his place. "Hmm, I never really had much cause to use warrior paint.. how do I look?" Kuruk asked the young water bender with a grin.

Katara, an odd expression on her face, stammered a bit before responding, "Well thankfully, there's not a battle cause for it now either. There's a costume party tonight..."

Kuruk grinned "Ah parties. Those I did partake in," he said with a wink.

Katara smiled politely but said "It was nice to meet you and I'm sure you were a great fun at your parties.. but I think I'd just like to bring my Avatar with me. Could, uh, could you send Aang back out?" She grimaced and muttered under breath. "Geez that's an awkward thing to say."

Kuruk laughed. "Oh absolutely, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have let me take any more face time with you anyway. You kids are perfect for each other. Don't ever take it for granted." His wistful tone as he said that seemed oddly out of character for the persona he put forth the rest of the time, but Kuruk faded away back to the face Katara knew so well.

"Well? Whatcha think? Should I go as Kuruk?" Aang asked brightly.

Katara shook her head, hard. "No. Absolutely not." She started to wipe off the war paint.

Aang was confused. "Why not? What happened? I always thought he seemed kinda cool."

Katara stopped and sighed. "He was fine, Aang. But.. now that I know what actual Kuruk looked like, I'd think of his face. And well... he looks way too much like my dad. You know how weird that would be?" she asked, scrunching up her nose.

Aang paused for a moment and then threw his head back in a laugh. "I'm guessing it would ruin my chances for some things."

Katara shuddered a bit. "This whole 'multiple lives' thing gets weird sometimes. Now stop moving so I can get all this paint off and remind myself that you are just Aang, and exactly who I like to do 'some things' with."

Aang froze in place, letting only his eyes move as they followed the cloth Katara was using to wipe his face clean. The moment she set it down, he pounced, wrapping his arms around her and grinning while looking deep into her eyes. "Good enough?"

She beamed back. "Yeah, that looks like my sweet little guy." She gave him a kiss - a small one, they couldn't resist getting off-track with the party coming up so soon. Then she got an ornery smile. "That's it! Sweetie, you can go as Momo."

Aang looked indignant, and jumped into action. As the Very Serious Tickle Attack of Retribution commenced, they both toppled to the floor. Katara let out a squeal and a cry of "Stop!" amid her laughter. The door cracked and the pair looked up to see Toph.

Toph turned her head and called down the hall. "I think they're okay, Sokka. Feels like they're just rolling around on the floor."

"WHAT?!" they heard an agitated Sokka shout back.

Katara, sitting up, snapped out, "Not like that, doofus."

Aang meanwhile turned his question to Toph. "Did he really send you to check on us? The one who can't see?"

"You're asking the real questions, Twinkletoes. Our plan guy doesn't think ALL of his plans through," she responded with a shrug. "I'm gonna go hunt down my belt. It better not be in his room again."

Sokka came skidding around the corner. "Alright you two, you better-" He stopped as he saw his sister and her boyfriend, fully clothed and decent, just sitting on the floor next to one another. Katara had an expression that clearly dared him to continue on with that sentence. "Um, you better.. get ready for the party. I don't wanna be late. All the best food is all picked over if we get there late."

"Okay, we'll see you down there soon," said Aang as he peered into his girlfriend's closet. "Katara, I think I've got an idea." He ran to the other rooms to gather a few items before coming back to get started.

Sokka and Toph finished getting ready themselves and settled in the living room to wait. They had only been sitting for a few minutes when a dark form came swooping into the room with a rush of air.

Aang bowed deeply. He had the dark cloak Katara had worn on her raid draped around him, hood pulled up over his head. His face was painted white in a rounded heart shape, with dark framing it. His eyes were outlined by angular dark marks, and he had an orange "beak" painted on his nose. "Presenting the wise and formidable knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong.. as well as his absolute fox of a sidekick, the knowledge seeker." Here he gestured to Katara with a flourish as she entered. She had pulled the top of her hair up into two "fox ears." The paint on her face brought the brown color down to surround her eyes and travel down the bridge of her nose, which ended with a black tip. Her cheeks and chin were painted a beige color. She wore a dark brown cloak that went to mid-calf. Underneath the cloak she sported the beige overwrap of one of Toph's outfits to mimic the knowledge seeker's light-colored belly. She had used a piece of brown cloth as a belt, tied in back to become the tail. Brown pants tucked into brown boots completed her ensemble.

Sokka was impressed. "Wow, not bad for not having known about this till an hour ago!"

"He's right," agreed Toph. "You look just like those guys the first time I didn't see 'em!"