Decided to post this chapter a day early because I will be busy tomorrow. As always, Thank you for reading and supporting this story.
Just a couple of minutes after Aang and Kano left to greet King Kuei, Hakoda and Kanna made their way to the gang's table. The water tribe siblings got up from their seats and hugged their father and grandmother.
"Katara my dear, you look absolutely wonderful", Kanna smiled.
"What about me Gran-Gran?" Sokka pouted.
"Do not fret Sokka. You look handsome today", Kanna replied. Sokka beamed at her compliment. Katara then pulled Toph from her seat and introduced her to Kanna.
"I hear that you are quite the legend already young lady. Teaching the Avatar earth bending along with becoming the first metal bender in the world", Kanna said.
"What can I say?", Toph smirked, "I'm the best there is."
"Indeed you are", Kanna chuckled.
After that, Zuko nervously stood up from his seat.
"Chief Hakoda, I'm happy to see you again", Zuko greeted.
"Likewise Fire lord Zuko", Hakoda smiled and brought his mother over, "I believe you already met my mother, Kanna, before."
Kanna watched Zuko with narrowed eyes, making him even more nervous.
"Um..well y-y-yes I have…" Zuko stuttered. He had already expressed great remorse to Katara and Sokka about how he treated their grandmother and now here he stood before her.
"You certainly made…quite the impression", Kanna scowled.
'Agni help me', Zuko thought to himself.
"I am so sorry for how I treated you! I'll make up for it however I can!" Zuko apologized profusely. Watching this unfold, Katara couldn't help but feel for him.
"As you should", Kanna growled.
"Mother please", Hakoda chided.
Kanna let out a deep sigh, "Even so, I accept your apology. You've come a long way since our first meeting from what I have heard from my son and grandchildren", she narrowed her eyes at him again, "Don't screw up Fire lord"
"Yes Ma'am!" Zuko said rather quickly. Once that was over, Kanna and Hakoda went off to their own reserved table with the elderly women already complaining about being kept hungry. The gang sat back down on their seats as Sokka and Toph began teasing Zuko.
"Wow Sparky! For a minute there I thought you were going to piss yourself", Toph snickered.
"The great Fire lord Zuko…scared of an elderly woman" Sokka laughed. Zuko grimaced as Suki and Katara laughed along.
"Don't worry too much about Gran-Gran Zuko. She might hold a grudge but over time she'll forgive you", Katara said after getting her bearings from laughing. Zuko only grimaced more. It wasn't long until Kano came back to the table by herself.
"Where is Aang?" Suki wondered.
"The king wanted to talk to him in private", Kano answered as she took her seat. Suki nodded her head.
"Was Bosco there when you met Kuei?" Toph asked.
"Yes, I thought it was odd for the king to have a bear with him in the room" Kano replied.
"I don't think he goes anywhere without that bear", Sokka remarked.
"Bear?" Zuko inquired, "like a platypus bear?"
"No. Just a bear", Katara answered.
"That's weird…" Zuko said, surprised.
"No kidding", Toph responded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Earth King Kuei!"
With the announcement of his arrival the young king made his way down with Bosco at his side. Just like with Aang and Kano, the attendants of the party clapped and cheered at his arrival. The king then stopped in the center put his hand up to gesture for silence from everyone.
"Thank you all for joining me today in celebration of the first of many trade agreements between the four nations. There is still much work needed to be done for the four nations to work together in harmony, but I believe we will achieve our goals and so much more in this new era!"
The crowd cheered at his words until Kuei raised his hand once more.
"As of now there is someone very special I would love for you all to meet."
King Kuei called to his fiancé and wrapped his arm around her in front of the guests at the party.
"My beloved citizens and to all those whom come from around the world, allow me to introduce to you my betrothed, Tomoe Ryosuke!"
A roar of cheers and applause rocked the building as the attendants celebrated the news of a new earth queen. The citizens of Ba Sing Se were especially happy since that meant that there would a royal wedding to celebrate across the entire kingdom. After Kuei finished addressing the crowd, he and Tomoe strode to gang's table where Aang had just arrived and took his seat next to Kano. They greeted Kuei and his fiancé and congratulated them on their engagement. Before the royal couple left, Sokka decided to pull them to a side to speak in private. Suki raised her eyebrow at this.
"Anyone have any idea what Sokka wants to talk to Kuei and Tomoe about?" She wondered.
"No clue. For all we know it could be something either interesting or really dumb", Toph responded.
"Maybe he has a new idea for an invention and he wanted to talk to Kuei about it", Aang suggested.
Suki shook her head, "If he did then he would have told me about it. Any time he has an idea, I'm the first person he tells."
"It might not be a big deal. I don't think it is anything we need to worry about" Katara said, rather confidently. Sokka eventually made his way back to the table and took his seat.
"So what did you need to talk to Kuei about?" Zuko asked.
"Oh you'll see", Sokka replied with a smug grin. Everyone at the table immediately grew suspicious.
"Sokka…" Suki started.
"What did you do?" Katara growled.
The water tribe boy only sat back on his chair in a relaxed manner, keeping his smug smile plastered on his face. Suki and Katara continued getting him to talk until they heard the announcer again.
"In celebration of King Kuei and Tomoe's engagement, Avatar Aang and Master Katara of the Southern Water tribe will now share a dance in his majesty's honor!"
The announcement left everyone, except Sokka, tensed up. Aang and Katara were more or less shocked and didn't move. Suki gave her boyfriend a sideway glare. Zuko and Toph said nothing while Kano sat there with a blank expression.
"Sokka", Katara gritted her teeth, "I'm going to kill you."
"What did you say to the Kuei?" Aang inquired, feeling nauseous.
"I simply suggested that Katara and Aang do a dance in their honor. Similar to that dance they did when we threw that fire nation party. Kuei and his fiancé were intrigued so they saw no problem with it", Sokka explained. At that, Suki turned her body around and sent him a death stare that would make Avatar Kyoshi proud. The sight instantly made Sokka tremble on his chair.
Katara and Aang shared a quick glance and immediately turned away with their faces turning red. While Katara would love nothing more than to dance with him, Aang brought Kano as his date. Aang, who was never quick to violence, wanted to blow Sokka out of the building.
Aang stood up from his seat, "I can't believe you would just jump this on us! I'll talk to Kuei and expla—"
"You should do it", Kano spoke up beside him. The gang snapped their heads towards her but Kano's eyes remained on the air bender. Aang could only gape at her.
"Oh don't give me that look", Kano giggled, "I've heard how you threw a secret party for those fire nation students already. I wouldn't mind seeing you reenact that dance with Katara."
"I-I…are you sure?" Aang asked, still in disbelief that she would be okay with it.
"I don't mind Aang", Kano looked to Katara who was just as surprised as Aang, "I would love to see you two dance."
"Avatar Aang and Master Katara! Please come to the dance floor!" The announcer called out for them.
Aang turned to Katara and shrugged, "Do you want to do this?"
"It doesn't really seem like we have a choice in the matter", Katara replied and glared at her older brother. Sokka secretly winked at her.
The water bender sighed and stood up. She and Aang made their way towards the dance floor, both feeling nervous about dancing in front of a larger crowd unlike last time.
"I'm really sorry Aang" Katara said, feeling guilty.
"Don't be", Aang told her, "I'm going to get back at Sokka however."
"I'll be happy to help you with that", Katara chuckled. The two finally made it to the dance floor. They stood in front of each other once the musicians played their instruments. Aang the first to put his arm up. Katara followed suit. When their forearms touched, they started rotating clockwise.
"Just like last time", Aang smiled softly.
"Yeah…" Katara smiled back, "Just you and me."
With their focus on each other, they fell into their steps naturally. They twirled around each other and showed off their acrobatic talents to the crowd. The party attendants awed at the spectacle and cheered them on. While they danced before everyone in the building, the two were in their own little world. For them it was truly just the two of them. Katara's heart fluttered as her face got close to Aang's. Aang found himself enjoying doing this dance once more with her. Their moves in sync with one another that no one would think that this was only their second time dancing in front of a crowd like this. Katara made one last twirl and let her body fall down on to Aang's arms. He had caught her effortlessly. The crowd applauded their performance as they tried to catch their breaths.
Their eyes stayed on each other and both held wide smiles. Katara's eyes fell to Aang's lips and she fought the urge to kiss him right there and then in front of everybody. Aang pulled her up with ease and the two turned back to the Kuei and Tomoe, bowing their heads. The king and his fiancé sang praise for the performance. Finally, Aang and Katara took one more for the party attendants and left for their seats.
"That wasn't so bad" Aang said.
"No it wasn't", Katara grinned. Her face was red from blushing but Aang only assumed that it was from the dancing. They got back to the table where their friends looked to them with smiles.
"That was amazing!" Kano exclaimed.
"I have to agree. That was great performance" Zuko added.
"Thanks" Katara said and began fanning herself, "I'm going to step out of the balcony for some air. I'm feeling really hot right now"
"I bet you are", Toph smirked. Suki gave her a subtle kick to the leg under the table. Katara held back from laughing at Toph's pain and walked on.
After she stepped our from the building, Katara walked over to the edge of the balcony and looked out to the view of Ba Sing Se. The air cooled her body down as she contemplated that dance. 'If only we could have stayed that way for a while longer.' There was no where Katara would have wanted to be other than in Aang's arms tonight. She wondered how long it would be until she got that opportunity again. If that opportunity ever came again. It seemed unlikely given how infatuated Aang was with Kano.
'Do I even stand a chance anymore? Am I too late?' Katara thought to herself as she clenched the stone balcony rail.
"Hey" a voice spoke up from behind her. Katara glanced back to find Kano walking up to her. "Hope you don't mind some company."
"I-It's fine" Katara accepted, "You didn't want to stick with Aang?"
"A bunch of crusty old nobles got a hold of him and fire lord Zuko." Kano stood next to her and took in the view.
"Spirits, they'll keep those two occupied for a while", Katara chuckled, "What about the others?"
"Suki dragged your brother by the ear somewhere and Toph said she was going to play with the bear."
Katara was sure Suki was planning on giving Sokka an earful for his actions tonight. She just hope that Toph would play nice with Bosco.
"Sorry for being the only person you can hang with at the moment.." Katara said.
"Don't be", Kano turned to her with a smile, "I wanted to hang out with you anyway."
"Really?"
"Of course! I don't want to miss out on talking to the Great Master Katara"
"I don't know about great…" Katara said rather modestly.
"Then how about legendary? Considering that is what you are across the world."
"I don't know about all that"
"Are you kidding me?" Kano chuckled, "You're an inspiration to water tribe girls everywhere. Training yourself to water bend and then fighting a sexist old master and becoming Aang's water bending Sifu! Not to mention you also took down Azula, who I heard was a real piece of work. You're incredible Katara."
She blushed at the kind words Kano had said about her. "Thank you for saying that. I only wanted to help Aang save the world and he did."
"After I met Aang and got to know him he told me it was thanks to you that he was able to save the world."
"Aang talked to you about me?" Katara asked, surprised.
"But of course…you and everyone else", Kano explained, "He never really said a bad thing about any of you now that I think about it."
Katara had always thought Aang avoided talking or thinking about her after his sudden departure. The thought weighed heavily on her after her trip to Omashu. Even after he did admitted to missing her as much as she missed him, the thought had plagued her.
"You know, after meeting you and your family I kept thinking about how different my life would have been had my family stayed in the South Pole." Kano spoke again, "Maybe if they had then you and I could have been friends."
"I would have liked that", Katara said with a smile, "It would have been nice to have a girl around my age to talk to. You and I could have been best friends."
"Maybe even more than friends", Kano slyly suggested.
"Hmm like sisters maybe?"
"I was thinking of something different from sisters" Kano stepped closer to Katara and placed the back of her fingers against her cheeks. Katara's eyes widened as she realized what the other girl was indirectly insinuating. Her face instantly flushed.
"I-I-I thought you liked A-aang", Katara stuttered. Kano pulled her hand back and kept a flirtatious smile.
"I do like Aang, but I also have to admit that I find you incredibly attractive as well. I like to enjoy the best of both worlds if you catch my drift."
"I-….um…well I think y-you're pretty as well b-but—" Katara felt her face heating up more and more. Kano couldn't help but laugh at her expression.
"Relax Katara. I'm still only interested in Aang so rest easy."
Katara let out a deep sigh and then chided herself for how she reacted, "I'm sorry for overreacting like that. I just…well…"
"Never been hit on by a girl? Oh yeah I could tell. It's fine. You've handled it a lot better than most other girls I've flirted with before" Kano giggled.
"So are Sato and Suna more than just friends to you?" Katara wondered.
"Well Sato and I had a brief stint together but we decided that we were better off as friends. Suna has always been like a sister to me", Kano stated.
"Have you dated boys other than Aang?"
"I have but they were all so lackluster compared to Aang"
"Aang seems to be a rare exception" Katara remarked.
"No kidding. He truly is one of a kind" Kano agreed. "You seem to be very aware of that fact yourself." Kano nudged her should against Katara's. Katara didn't understand what she meant by that.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I can tell that you're in love with him."
"OWWWW! Suki come on! my ear is sensitive!" Sokka cried out as the Kyoshi warrior dragged him by the ear and pulled him to an empty hallway.
"Just be glad that's all I'm doing after that stunt you pulled!" Suki finally let go, "What in the world were you thinking Sokka?!"
"Listen I know you're mad, but I thought them dancing together would make them become close like they used to be" Sokka explained as he rubbed his freed ear.
Suki pointed at him, "You said we would wait until the right time!"
"We haven't told Aang anything he did not know yet Suki. That doesn't mean I couldn't give him and my sister a little nudge in the right direction."
"Aang literally brought Kano here as his date! Did you ever think about how she would have felt when you dropped that idea on Kuei? How uncomfortable she must have felt?"
"Okay I'll admit that I didn't take her feelings into consideration but don't forget that she encouraged Aang to go along with it", Sokka countered.
"For all we know she could have done that so that there wouldn't be any more of an awkward tension then there already was!"
"Did you not see how great Katara and Aang were? You saw how happy they looked dancing together!"
"Be that as it may, you could have ended up putting their friendship at risk. The last thing we need is for either of them to get hurt!"
Sokka let out a deep sigh and placed his hands on Suki's shoulder. "I understand how frustrated you are with me right now Suki but I'm only doing what's right for both Aang and Katara."
"And what about Kano?" Suki narrowed her eyes, "You expect Aang to just throw her out to a side for Katara? She is a girl with feelings too you know."
"Don't get me wrong, I like Kano. She's a great girl but I don't believe Aang likes her for the reasons he think he does."
Suki shrugged Sokka's hand from her shoulders and stepped away from him. "I can't deal with you right now."
"Suki", Sokka called out to her, "Babe! Come on!"
"What did you just say?" Katara questioned, wondering if she heard Kano right.
"I can tell you're in love with Aang."
"Why would you think that?" Katara narrowed her eyes.
"I saw the way you looked at him while you were dancing together. It definitely isn't how a friend looks at another friend."
"Maybe you just weren't close enough to see better. Our table isn't exactly close to the dance floor."
"I know what I saw. You know that I am telling the truth and you don't want to admit it" Kano stated. Katara crossed her arms and looked away from the other girl, choosing to stay silent on the matter.
"I'm not trying to start anything Katara", Kano sighed, "I'm not going to tell Aang if that is what you're concerned about."
Katara glanced back to her, "You won't?"
Kano nodded, "It is not something for me to tell him. You have to be the one to tell him that."
"And you would be okay with Aang being with me instead of you?" Katara asked.
"PFFFTT! I didn't say that", Kano scoffed, "Sorry but I don't intend on letting you have Aang. Just because I know you love him doesn't mean I will forget about my own feelings for him."
Katara's eyebrows furrowed, "then why not just keep what you knew to yourself?"
"Because I meant all the things I've said earlier. I have a high amount of respect for you and I guess you can say I felt honor bound to say it because I respect you so much."
"Okay…So where does this leave us Kano?"
"Well I guess that is up to you isn't it? If you truly love Aang then you will have to fight me for his love…or not. It's your decision", Kano stated.
At first Katara wasn't sure what to make of this. Kano was constantly surprising her. She appreciated that Kano would keep her word and keep mum about Katara's feelings for Aang but could she truly trust her? So far Kano didn't give Katara a reason to distrust her since their first meeting at the Jasmine Dragon. Before she could say anything else to Kano, a voice spoke up from behind them.
"Hey you two!"
The water tribe girls turned around to see Aang coming up to them from inside the party.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything", Aang said.
"Don't worry. Katara and I were just having some girl talk", Kano responded with a smile and turned her head towards Katara, "right Katara?"
Katara only nodded her head.
"Well I just came to ask if you wanted to dance Kano. The dance floor is open to everybody and I did promise to show you how an air bender parties."
Kano clapped her hands together, "I'd love to!" She put an arm around Aang's. Aang then looked to Katara.
"You coming back inside Katara?"
"Just in a minute. You two go on ahead" Katara replied. Aang nodded his head and led Kano back with him to the party hall. Kano took one last look towards Katara and shot her a wink.
For the time, Katara was once again by her self at the balcony. She rewinded the conversation she had with the other water bender and contemplated. Kano practically challenged her for Aang's love. It was unexpected but it did nothing to deter her. Katara, just like before, never backed down from a challenge and she wasn't going to start now. She would accept Kano's challenge.
The celebrations eventually came to an end and it was time for everyone to go home. Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, and Zuko were back in their carriage and headed home. Aang and Kano rode back to her hotel suite. Suki was still very much irritated with Sokka and ignored his attempts at making her laugh with his terrible jokes. Zuko and Katara spoke about the stingy nobles until Toph pulled out a glass liter out from under her seat.
"What's that Toph?" Katara asked, already not having a good feeling about this.
"While I was playing with Bosco I managed to swipe this bad boy" Toph proudly stated and pulled out cups for everyone. Zuko pulled the bottle from her hand and examined it.
"Wow I think I've heard of this brand. It's called 'Monkey's fist' and it is supposed to be really good sake." Zuko stated.
"You have got to be kidding me Toph! You shouldn't have stolen that!" Katara scolded.
"Well guess what? I did it anyway", Toph replied and not caring for Katara's attitude, "I say we keep this party going!"
"Need I remind you that we are underage!"
"I'm not…" Zuko muttered.
"So what?! We were younger than now when we ended the war! We deserve this." Toph stated.
Katara turned to the others, "Tell Toph that we are not drinking any alcohol!"
To her annoyance, the others decided that they wanted to instead go along with Toph's idea. Katara looked to Suki, surprised that even she would want to drink.
"Suki you can't be serious!"
"I wanna drink too", Suki mumbled.
"Look little sis, you've been outvoted. Just pipe down and join in on the fun." Sokka said.
"Yeah!" Toph piped up, "Try to have fun once in a while. Don't be a party pooper!"
"I am not a party pooper!" Katara seethed.
Zuko then poured a cup and passed it to her, "Then drink. What could go wrong?"
After dropping off Kano at her hotel, Aang finally made it back to the house and felt rather tired. He and Kano had danced for most of the night and he could not wait to jump into his bed. The air bender made his way to the back entrance of the house from Appa's stable and noticed there was still light from inside the house.
He opened the slide door, walking in to find his friends sitting in a circle on the floor in the living room. They had all switched out from their party outfits and wore their night clothes. Upon closer inspection, Aang noticed that his friends were acting differently than they normally did. Suki was the first person to see him coming and was extremely elated to see him.
"AANGY IS HERE!" She yelled out and pointed towards him. Toph, Zuko, Sokka, and Katara turned around and looked to him with the same elated expressions. They all raised their arms up together and cried out.
"AANGY!"
They were all drunk. They were all very drunk.
Aang pinched the bridge of his nose as he realized that sleep was going to have to wait, "Aww monkey feathers."
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I'm not sure when I will post the next chapter but just know that you won't have to wait too long.