["Tohff...?"]

"Urgh." From her booth, Toph growled with anguish at the butchering of her name over the speakerphone. She clambered around, reaching for her cane, but Sokka got up from his chair before she did. Sokka's meandering one-sided discussion had lulled to a stop at this interruption.

"Heh, chill out, 'Tohff,' I'll get it for ya."

"Meat-Head, I don't need-"
"Blablabla, I know," he spat out rapidly. "Shut up and sit while I get your food. No need to go stubbing any more toes today, Gimpy."

Toph's nose wrinkled at his teasing, but her guts swelled with joy at the comfort in his tone and his own willingness to do something of his own accord for her benefit.

"Fine," she made a huff of it, smirking as she relaxed back in her seat. The couple moments of reprieve gave her a little bit of time to reflect that following Katara and Aang's advice was working well enough so far. Sokka seemed more laid back around her than usual lately. Just a brief reminder of the guy she had become infatuated with in the first place was pleasant. For a little while she had found herself doubting why she'd ever started taking a liking to the buffoon at all. And yet in a mere few moments with just the two of them together the feelings felt reaffirmed.

-Skfff!-

"There ya go, Tohff."

Toph swallowed, blinking wide two times as she tried to wipe whatever stupid look had potentially fallen over her face. She quickly fumbled to sit upright in her seat, carefully reaching for the plate and cup that Sokka had set before her.

"Ha," Sokka laughed. "Man. Tohff. Maybe we should incorporate that one into the rotation of nic-"
["Sohkuh...?"]

There was a pause, and Toph's brief embarrassment gave way to a cocky grin, while Sokka frowned.

"You were saying?" she said, gripping her hands around her chicken wrap with care. She could hear his steps stomping off already, and she bit into her food with satisfaction. When he came back, there was a pleasant quiet between the two of them as they eagerly at for a little while. This was certainly something Sokka appreciated about Toph: the woman knew the value of quiet, eating time. Meals didn't have to be a constant jibber-jabber affair like most women wanted from him.

"So..." Sokka casually poked through their silence after a few minutes had passed and they were both nearing completion. "I heard...-" -Schllllrrrppp!- Sokka waited as Toph slurped loudly through her straw, her cup empty. "Heard that-" -Schllllllrp!- "Uh, heard-" -Ssscchhhlllrrrppp!- "Jesus, woman!" Sokka laughed out. "You're such a pain."

"I try my best," said Toph, flashing out her teeth to give Sokka an idiotic grin. She hoped she was presenting her face the way that she'd wanted to. When he snickered, she knew she had.

"Good on ya," Sokka sighed, humored. "Like I was saying, I heard you h-" -Sschhh-! He yanked the empty cup from her hand and slapped it on the table beside his own plate, and Toph flinched from the motion, but the two of them laughed some more. "Yea. Yea, that's what you get," Sokka taunted.

"Oh man, you sure showed me, Derp-Derp," said Toph with a blubbering accent. "Took my cup and everything. Woe is me." Sokka had to force out his words through more chuckles.

"I heard...that last weekend you met some guy and had your way with him?"

Toph's bright smile slipped away, and she leaned back in her seat with disinterest.

"And what if I did?" she asked coolly.

"Er...I...was just wondering. About that. Like, how'd it happen? What's this guy like?"

"You want to know what he's like?"

"Well, duh. I mean, seriously. What kind of guy could win you over so easily?"

Toph puffed out an amused laugh through her nose, her head bobbed in her slumped back position.

"He was nice," she mumbled simply.

"And...?"

"He was talented."

"Talented? At...like...-?"
"At music."

"Uh-huh."

"And it was just a one-time thing. Just a single date. We wouldn't work out."

"And that's it?"

"Pretty much."

"You did the dirty with this guy that you'll probably never speak to again, if only out of sheer awkward-avoidance."

"It wasn't dirty, shut up."

"You like dirt."

"Yes, but-"
"Dirty, dirty woman."

"So your sister-" Toph cut through his name-calling. "-tattle-tailed on me? Is that how you found out?"

"Ha, yea, basically."

"'Kay. But I already got a mouthful and a half from her, so I don't need to hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Your lecture."

"I don't have a lecture for ya."

"Good."

"Katara called you a 'slut,' though. Made me chuckle."

"Yea, well...What she thinks doesn't really matter, does it?"

"I...I guess not. I just thought it was funny."

"How is that funny?"

"Just...Katara complaining about anyone being a 'slut.' It just...is funny. Her, saying that kinda stuff. Like, just the sound of her voice speaking mean words like that."

"Ah...Heh. Actually, yea, she was in a real pissy mood before, when we argued about it - man, she was like swearing and everything. I found it kind of funny, too."

"Haha. Wow, good job. I can't remember the last time I got her that annoyed."

Toph chewed at the last of her wrap thoughtfully, and Sokka partook of the final bits of his bacon-cheddar burger.

"Is that what you think?" Toph asked after the pregnant pause, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Whuffatt?" Sokka spoke with a full mouth.

"That I'm a slut."

"Oh...Er...-"
"Yes!" Toph quickly decided for him based on his stumbling.
"Nooo! No-no-no. You're just...errm...-"
"You can just say it, Meat-Head. I don't care what people think."

"Assertive. Yea. That's the word."

"Tsh! Ahhh, all right. Sure, I like the sound of that. Smooth recovery there."

"Smooth as butter."

"Silk."

"Silk?"

"Smooth as silk. I mean, you can be like butter if you want, but...-"

"We both know I am way more like butter than silk."

"That's true..."

"Ouch. I thought you were gonna insist I was classier, like silk."

"Nope."

"Slut."

"Whore."

There was a pause between the two of them, both struggling to hold in giggles to maintain the air of mock tension. After barely managing this, Sokka continued, pushing to come off as serious.

"Wh-? Wow, that is...just...uncalled for!"

"Hey, if I'm a slut, you are totally a whore."

"What?"

"Dude. Please. The way you've been, like...pushing yourself out at women these days?"

"Eh..." Sokka shrugged in acknowledgment. "Fair point."

"I'd think you needed to get laid more than I did."

"Rub it in, rub-it-in."

"And I wish I coulda seen the look on your face when you found out that lesbian chick was just trolling you this whole time."

"OH MY GOD, I KNOW, RIGHT?" Sokka exploded, slapping the sides of his head in disbelief. "That was...-! And she just...-! Rrrgagh."

"Heh."

"Well..." Sokka sighed and scratched his nose. "At least me and Suki got to hang out and dance a bit."

Toph's stomach, full of soda and food, wriggled unpleasantly at the thought - but she knew full well that if she was going to defend her right to have a night with Ohev that she had no business criticizing Sokka's evening.

"And...how'd that go?" she asked, keeping herself calm as she ate.

"Eh..." Sokka sighed again. That seemed telling, in Toph's opinion. "It was all right. Like, it was nice, and stuff. We kissed, even."

"Oh?" Toph held in her dissatisfaction. Her brain kept repeating Katara's advice about just...being his friend.

"Yea, it-...Oh! Oh, man." In an instant, Toph could tell he was elsewhere by his vocal pattern changing.

"What?"

"Our booth. Those people left our booth."

"Oh. Well...hell, we gotta go claim what's rightfully ours."

"Right? Let's do it." Sokka scooped up Toph's empty cup, stacked her empty plate under his own, and trashed the lot of waste into a nearby bin. By the time he did this, Toph was on her feet, cane in hand. "Need an escort there?" Sokka wondered with some grumpiness.

"Nah, I'm all good," Toph answered with nonchalance, finding her way around the tables. She almost whacked one student in the knee, and nearly bumped another in the head.

"Uh, actually-! Toph? Hey, wait..." Sokka pursued her through the sea of tables, muttering some apologies as he whipped by folks. By the time he'd caught up with her, she'd already reached the row of booths by the edge of Appa's. She was heading for the wrong one, however. "Right!" Sokka called out, nudging her with a gentle press against her left arm.

"Ohp-! This the one?"

"That's the one."

"Ladies first," Toph teased. Sokka made her jump by applying a light smack to the back of her head. After she heard him sit down, she slid into the booth on the same side as he was sitting. Side-by-side, their backs to Appa's front counter, they faced the restaurant. The booth ahead of them had been emptied out, and the table to their left was about to be open, as well, as the single student sitting near them finished their food.

Toph fiddled with her ponytail, making sure Sokka hadn't messed it up somehow, while Sokka tapped his chin.

"Where were we...?"

"Suki?" Toph flatly replied, her mind still intent on finding out more about that.

"Right! Yea. But, man..." Sokka ran his hand through his hair, which was hung down today. "That woman's just confusing. It's like she wants one thing one day, and another thing the next."

"Ha! Yea, that's women, Pal, better get used to that. With how crazy Katara is, I'd figure you'd get it already."

"Well, give her some slack, here, Katara's having a rough time of it lately."

"So? You said she called me a slut."

"She did. I thought you said you didn't care?"

"That's not the point, she called me a slut because she thinks I can't make good decisions for myself." Toph had ended things on good terms with Katara, sure. But knowing that the woman was calling her bad names behind Toph's back didn't settle well, nor did the concept of Katara tattling about her personal life to Sokka, of all people. In hindsight, Toph was figuring this must've happened before they'd had their blowup, but...still. "She's just annoying, is what I'm saying. Paranoid."

"Uh, yea. That's...kind of her thing. Like, my thing is sarcasm. Aang's thing is...-"

"Being nice?"

"Yea, let's go with that."

"Katara's thing is being all controlling and preachy and yelling at you like you're a kid, and-"
"Hey, whoa, whoa, let's stop that train at the tracks, here, Miss Mud-Slug. All slugging mud around."

"Slinging mud."

"Right, right. Come on, now, though."

"Lemme guess. Now you're going to try telling me that your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be?"

"Nah, she's...pretty much a pain." Sokka sighed and complained in a meandering manner of speech. "She's always gotta be right about everything, and she gets all bossy, and involved, and...in your business..."

"Chyeah. You said it. Seems like every fuckin' week, sometimes every day, I have to deal with her jumping down my throat, trying to tell me what to do. And then now, with her mood lately? It's fucking ridiculous, she's a walking mine field. Sokka, I don't know how you deal with her sometimes and her control-freak-mode."

"Actually, in a way...I rely on it."

Toph's brain did a double-take. That had not been the answer she'd expected.

"I don't understand," she mumbled dryly. Toph was touched by the way Sokka's voice shifted gears to a somber pitch.

"When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a...mess. But Katara, she had...so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom, even though she was hurting just as much as we were."

"Oh..." Toph's stomach churned with guilt from how easily she let herself forget those circumstances of Katara's youth. "I guess I never really...thought about that..."

"It's the truth. It was during that whole time that Katara really...changed. She grew up so much in such a short time. She started caring about things...way more than she had used to. Caring about us - me and our dad."

"She...became like your glue," Toph murmured thoughtfully as a sympathetic smile crept over her cheeks. "She held you together. Just like...she does now. With us."

"Mm-hm." Sokka's face matched Toph's look as the two of them spent a quiet moment of reflection over their mutual connection to Katara. Sokka's eyelids squinted shut, his eyes quivering from the pressures created by the maelstrom swirling within his brain. His heart yearned to let something he'd been holding spill out. He didn't understand why, but he felt compelled to confess this very personal concept with Toph in that moment.

"I'm going to tell you something crazy," he said cautiously, glancing to his side. "I've never told anyone this before," he pointed out with a rare touch of timidness that startled Toph. Her heart pounded hard once or twice at this. He was going to tell her a secret? He had never told her a secret before. Not something with that tone of voice. "But, honestly?" Sokka went on, looking back out to the hum and buzz of the restaurant. "It seems like my whole life...Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's...there. More than anyone else. I mean...sometimes it feels like the entire reason she went to this school is just because I did, like she came here just to stay here to keep taking care of me. And these days, when I try to remember my mom - and I know it's weird - but Katara's is the face I picture."

"But...That doesn't make sense, you have, like...photos of your mom...Don't you?"

"I told you it was crazy," Sokka grumbled with some shame. Toph wished she could swallow up the words she'd just carelessly spat out. He was trying to open up to her for a change and she was being stupidly insensitive. Sokka covered his eyes with his palm, his cheeks slightly warm with embarrassment. "Ugh, see? It's weird. It's dumb, I don't even-"
"No, no," Toph rapidly spat out with an intentionally apologetic tone. She turned her face to his general direction and reached out her arm. It found its way across Sokka's shoulder. She found her own solace in the heft of his meaty back beneath her arm, separated only by his cotton shirt. Her hand clenched down on his bare bicep and she squeezed him with empathy. "I get it. That's...actually very sweet."

"You think so?"

"I do. And the truth is, sometimes - er, a lot of times - Katara does act motherly. But, like...that's not always a bad thing. I know sometimes I can be a real bitch...but she's always there for me, too, just like she is for you when you're a dumbass." Sokka shot her a dark look, and she kept going without skipping a beat or allowing him to protest her insult. "We fight a lot, we piss and moan at each other, I know, but...Katara is compassionate, and kind." Toph swallowed hard, her heart pumping from her contact with Sokka and the swelling emotions of this moment as the reality of just how much she loved the people she'd befriended at this school splashed across her. "And the whole reason she acts the way she does...I know it's because she actually cares about me." Toph's eyes were tearing up and she casually rubbed her left palm up across her cheek. "Ya know...the real me. The prick, the bitch, the...stupid child I am sometimes."

"The 'awesome,' too?"

"Ha, y-yea, the 'awesome,' too...Katara loves me for who I am. All of me. And...and that's...-" She sniffed and exhaled a shaky breath, surprised at her own trembling. "-...that's more than my own mom," she acknowledged sullenly.

A heavy silence hung over the two of them, though the shuffling crowd of students across the restaurant served as a strange but soothing backdrop, like a trickling waterfall of human voices.

"Don't tell her I said any of that," Toph broke the moment, brusquely wiping tears from her face, as Sokka took the opportunity to dry his own eyeballs. Part of her wanted to land a punch of threat right into his side...but the sensation of holding him in her arm was too pleasant to risk breaking it off like that. "I want to tell her myself," Toph added solemnly.

"Hey, my lips are sealed," Sokka answered, shrugging up his shoulders, which were still caught within Toph's arm. "Uh...So, like...you do want a hug this time, or...-?"

Toph's heart skipped, her teeth clenched, and she desperately hoped her cheeks were not as visibly warm as they suddenly felt. She couldn't form a word in reply. Sokka went on, his eyes nervously darting this way and that.

"I know before you said that you'd 'say so,' but, uh...like, I thought you didn't like my 'meaty meat-hands' on you." I hate seeing girls cry and crap, but I remember last time we had a touchy-feely talk and I tried the hugging bit she freaked the hell out. What's up with her today? Must be the estrogen. It's always the estrogen. Mucks up their brains. Yep.

"Umm...Yea, that's-...But my hand is on...you. So. It's different." Oh-god-oh-god-oh-god I'm messing it up messing it up fuck fuck urgh-

"Yea, I...don't quite see your logic. I think all this girl-talk has your estrogen levels overflowing. I can see it coming out of your face. Ha." Wow, what's going through her head? It's like she's all embarrassed that we had a moment. It's cool. I can dig it. The feelings, the talking. See? I can do that stuff. Being all...friendly and having girl-talks. No problem. "So...we should hug it out and call it a day."

"Yes. Sure. That. With the hugging, and being happy." Jesus fucking christ Toph you moron shut up your face.

"Let's just...bring it in, then. Keh-mon." Sokka squirmed his left arm up and around Toph's back, and he twisting his torso. Toph was confused, still swimming in the complex emotions from their conversation, but sexually aroused and elated, all at the same time. She couldn't compute that Sokka was awkwardly trying to hug her for a second of two. When she came to, she immediately tilted her head down, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be able to tell how embarrassed and aroused she was at the warmth of his arms around her, hugging tight. Sokka, likewise, was relieved that his waist was pointed in another direction, because the squishing sensation of her bosoms against his chest, though brief, was alluring all the same.

Sokka made sure to slap her back roughly, and Toph reciprocated the notion, baffled at the past two minutes' events entirely. Sokka cleared his throat and nodded, essentially to himself, as they naturally broke off.

"Yea, see? We can...be all, like...talking about our emotions. And stuff."

"Almost like adults n' shit," Toph sheepishly laughed out.

"Almost," Sokka clarified. Both of them still had an arm lingering across the other one's back. Sokka retracted his awkwardly, and Toph immediately flung her hand from his body, as well.

How had this even happened? How had that gotten...there? It started from, what? Complaining about Katara? And ended like that?

Wow, Sister-Face. Even when you're not here, you're still helping me hook up with your brother. You must really approve.

"So! Yea." Sokka nodded to himself some more, off-put and thoughtful about what that interaction had all meant. "Good talk."

"Good talk. Yep."

"Mm-hm."

"Warm fuzzies all around," said Toph.

"Giving our minds some...mental health."

"Say what?"

"Erm, talking. Openness, and...honesty. Whatever. Like, it's good for you."

"Oh. Uh, right."

"That sure is a thing we just did."

"Sure is."

"I'm...gonna go order a milkshake now."

"Uh...Me, too!"

The next twenty minutes were spent discussing Sokka's network-problem-thinger that had begun the conversation as well as Toph explaining Ohev's amazing sight-reading abilities, all while slurping away at yummy milkshakes. The evening concluded with Toph and Sokka heading out across campus, side-by-side as they had sat, two partners in crime. Sokka didn't offer Toph his arm, and Toph didn't grab for it, either. Both were content with this: each walking their own steps, in their own manner, but each parallel to the other. When they reached a fork in the sidewalk, where one path led to Aqua House and the other down the way to Aero House, the two simply bid each other good night and went off their separate ways.

Sokka felt some relief that he had his friend back. He'd forgotten how fun Toph could be to have around when the two of them were in-sync with each other. Toph seemed to be carrying herself a lot better these days, he could tell. And perhaps more importantly, she just seemed...happier tonight, than in evenings past. More relaxed. It was like she was finally getting over all of that drama from the winter. Sokka was glad for her.

Toph's stomach swirled with butterflies. She wanted to pound out a chord on her electric guitar and shout, rattling walls with her joy and excitement. Every moment had felt right back there. It was invigorating. She really felt like she had a shot with him. The thrill of trying to 'win' at this game of 'capture Sokka's affection' was all-encapsulating.

- Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 -

"Howdy there, folks!" cried the warm, energetic voice of the man behind the post office counter. "What can I send out for you today?" He was a wrinkly man with bright, brown eyes and a grizzled, gray beard. He was wearing a blue cap with the US Post Office logo embroidered across it. Both Katara and Aang were somewhat familiar with the man, since they'd at least pass him by all of the time. The post office of SRU was a square compartment built into the the basement of the campus center, residing on the opposite side of the floor from Appa's. Student post office boxes ran along the length of three of the compartment's four walls, one of which also opened up as the service counter.

"Uh, actually...-" Aang set the laminated red slip onto the counter. "-we're here to pick up a package, Doc."

"Aha!" The man winked at the them, disappearing out of sight for a couple seconds. Katara, familiar with the quirky old coot's routine, rolled her eyes with crossed arms and sighed through her nose. Aang playfully tilted her chin back up, sliding his thumb along her jawline with a pleading smile, hoping she'd cheer up.

The man reappeared, now wearing a red hat where the blue had once been.

"So it's incoming mail you're here for," he said, carrying himself in a somewhat more formal manner. He pointed a finger their way as he scooped up the slip Aang had set down with his other hand. "What's the name?"

"Kesuk," Aang answered.

"Katara," his girlfriend added in her first name for clarification. She figured the loon would have an easier time with that name.

"Just a jiffy, kids!" The spritely man bounded around the room, scoping out shelves out of sight. Aang scratched his hand across Katara's back, her arms still folded. She looked quite tired. He wished he could figure out a way to help her. "And here. You. Are!" 'Doc' gently pushed the small, rectangular box over the counter.

"Thanks," said Aang, giving the man a wave as Katara moved away from the counter, letting the next student in line up front. Aang went to her side, where she was hovering by the recycling bins, examined her new box.

"It's...from my dad," she muttered.

"Your dad?"

"Yea..." Katara rubbed at her eyes, double-checking the mail-back address on the package. Yea, {Hakoda Kesuk}. And that was definitely her home address. She suddenly found herself splashing through a puddle of remorse. Her father had come all the way down here when she and Aang had been in the hospital, and she'd hardly spoken with him since. Life was just so stressful, and she didn't even know what they'd talk about, and...part of it was that in talking with him, that on its own led to some guilt these days.

"So..." Aang rocked up and down on his heels. "What is it?" He reached out and rubbed a hand across her lower back as she stepped over to the nearby recycling bin. She tore open the package and discarded the remains into the blue, plastic bin, which was packed with mail scraps and other pieces of cardboard. Katara was frozen with emotion by what remained in her hands: a leather-bound journal with a single word impressed into the cover: {family}

"Aw...That's really nice," Aang murmured in her ear whilst he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yea, it is," Katara agreed, her eyes glazed over. She ran her fingertips over the indentations of the letters on the front cover.

"You can go back to doing that thing you wanted to do," Aang observed, watching Katara flip open the book. She was a little disheartened that it was totally blank. Last time the journal had contained some entries written by her dad. How come that wasn't the case this time?

"I can," said Katara. The firmness of the fresh binding crackling ever so lightly in her hands as she closed the book...it was like music. She leaned back into Aang, nuzzling her temple against his neck as her eyes slipped closed and she tugged the journal to her chest. "I just...I don't know what to write in it to start out now," Katara bemoaned with a bit of a whininess to her tone.

"That's OK, just give it some time. You'll think of something."

"Hm..." Katara looked at the front once more: {family} "Hey. Aang."

"Yea?"

"I want...you...to start it this time."

"What? But...but I'm not your family, Katara, I-"
"Yes you are, don't be silly."

"Ha..."

"I mean it. You know, I think...I really want this to be, like, my whole family, writing in here. You know? That includes you. Especially you."

"O-OK," Aang gave in. "If you insist...I'd be honored to."

"I'm glad."

The two of them were pressed against the back wall, facing the post office's slow trickle of activity. They both took in a moment of respite during this busy school day, each knowing that classes were looming before them.

"Hey, guys."

Katara opened her eyes to see the sharply dressed Zuko standing before her. He nodded to Aang, then Katara. Katara straightened herself out and stood more upright, still enveloped in Aang's loving arms.

"Hi, Zuko," Aang greeted back. Katara just gave a reciprocal nod. She noticed that Mai was now at the desk, a few cardboard tubes in hand as she spoke with 'Doc,' who was now garbed in his blue hat.

"How are things going?" Zuko asked, lifting his Jasmine Dragon cup to his lips to sip from his coffee as he awaited a response.

"Uhh, they've been better," Aang admitted with a nervous shrug. "Just...you know. Surviving."

"I know how that goes," Zuko sighed out, scratching the back of his ear. "Um...So, I forgot to ask at the dance, but...-" He looked clearly hesitant, but pushed through his doubt. "-...how's your back doing, Aang?"

"Oh, it's...-" Aang shrugged with a slight head shake. "Yea, it's fine. Much better. Hardly hurts anymore. It, uh...left a decent scar, but...-"

"Ah, that's-...Well, I mean, I'm relieved to hear it's healing well, but...that's a shame about the scarring."

Aang and Zuko's interaction had carried a somewhat awkward tone ever since the United Republic had burned down. Zuko hadn't outright said it, but Aang could tell that the guy felt guilty, as if he were somehow partly responsible for Aang's injury.

"Actually, I...don't really mind the scar," Aang admitted with an embarrassed smile. "Heh. Adds character, I guess. Besides, it's...like a mark of proof of...-" Aang kissed the back of Katara's head. "-...how much I love this lady here." He grinned stupidly, and Katara's cloud of gloom cleared up at this gesture. "So every time she sees it, it'll be like a...strong reminder that I'm never going to let anything happen to her." The two both leaned their head over Katara's shoulder to exchange flickering eyes of affection for the briefest of moments.

Mai was at Zuko's side at this point, her poster tubes mailed out, and she cast a sneaky smirk in Zuko's direction.

"See, Zuko? I told you scars can be romantic," she told him with that sneaky glint in her eye that Zuko adored. "You just have to-...How was it you put it? The silver lining thing?"

"Take a bite of the silver sandwich," Zuko chuckled out with a face-palm in spite of his own phrase creation.

"That's it," said Mai with a nod, her hands on her hips. "Scars can be romantic, you just need to take a bite from the silver sandwich."

"What?" laughed out Aang, sinking his chin onto Katara's shoulder. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail today, and he could tell it wasn't clean, but that meant that it smelled more like...Katara...today. And he didn't mind that. "What's this about a sandwich?" Aang mumbled out, confused.

"Nevermind," Zuko shamefully dismissed the matter with a flick of his wrist, drinking more of his coffee. "Anyway, we have to get going - I have a meeting coming up soon." Zuko pushed up his buttoned sleeve, double-checking his gold-plated watch. "Uh, but...it was nice seeing you two."

"Yea! We should try meeting up again some time soon," Aang called out to the couple, who were making their way toward one of the staircases that led to the center's main lobby floor.

"Sure! I'll shoot you an e-mail when I have time," Zuko called back, waving them off.

"Bye, guys," bid Mai. "Don't offend anyone with all that PDA stuff, all right? You might want to dial the cuteness down a notch or two."

Aang smirked at Mai's picking, watching the couple vanish. When he looked back down to Katara, she seemed lost in her murk of discouragement once again. He gave her a light shake.

"Hey. Sweetie."

"Mmph."

"C'mon...We've gotta go, we have classes in a few."

Katara inhaled a deep breath through her nose, like a yawn, and broke free from Aang's grasp. Aang kept one hand latched to her waist as they made their way to the stairwell they'd just watched Mai and Zuko go up through.

"Hey. Ms. Eskimo," said Aang, scratching his fingertips along her side. "Come on. What could we do to help cheer you up tonight? Mm?"

"I don't know, Aang," Katara huffed with some impatience. She was starting to get a little tired of Aang asking this every day, and her hardly having an answer for him. She knew he meant well - it wasn't him she was annoyed with, it was her own lack of a proper response to that question.

"You were in a good mood yesterday, right? You told me."

"Well, yes, but...that's because I was helping Toph out with her...boy situation, and...-"

"And you actually helped," Aang pointed out. "She seemed so happy last night. She, like...called me just to tell me about how things had gone well with him."

"Ha. I remember, I was there, in the room with her."

"Oh. Right. Well, but-...See? You helped out a friend, and it made you feel better."

"So, what are you suggesting, Aang?"

"Wh-? I-I'm not sure, I'm just...pointing that out. Like, it might be a good idea to think on that."

"Yea...I guess."

The stairs were surpassed, and the couple traversed outside, onto the campus sidewalk. It was that after-lunch hour, where people were scuffling about to make it to their one o'clock classes. Not far off down the way, but heading in a different direction, Mai and Zuko walked, hand-in-hand. Zuko was in his usual: tucked into his black trousers, a button down shirt of maroon with a golden, satin tie accenting his simple apparel. Mai, beside him, looked entirely different, wearing baggy black goth pants, metal rings lining the sides, her tall, thick-soled boots of black, and a logo-less T-shirt to match the dark color scheme. The pair were like dawn and dusk, their appearances acting like counterweights to each other.

"What's this meeting about?" Mai casually asked, after they'd finished a brief bit of small-talk over the company they'd just encountered.

"Nothing special, really."

"Why do you look worried about it, then?"

"Ah, well...There's one detail I can't seem to figure out."

"What's that?"

"One of our security guards quit last week, and especially with...-" Zuko glanced around them cautiously. "-...how crazy...you-know-what...has been? We really need all the security we can afford."

"Sounds kind of stressful."

"Yes. And the problem is, I can't seem to think of anyone to suggest, and everyone's expecting me to come up with some recommendations since I was the one who got asked to look into it."

"Hm..."

Mai contemplated the matter. A security guard? Did she have any ideas? And then it came to her.

St. Patrick's Day.

Aang's scuffle outside of the United Republic - that racist little prick...She couldn't remember his name. But she could remember Aang's friend, Korra, slamming the guy down with no problem, restraining him with ease.

"What about...Korra?" Mai offered a suggestion.

"What's that?" Zuko mumbled, though he was already processing the concept.

"Korra. I've seen her deal with...violent types. She's actually pretty strong and capable. And she does still need work, right?"

"Mm." Zuko's brows lifted thoughtfully, and he rubbed his chin. "I think so, yea...And, well, actually-" Zuko tapped his index finger to his lips as he remembered some details. "-now that I think about it, I do think she had some relevant training, too."

"Katara's dad is a police chief," said Mai. "I think I remember Korra mentioning that she had originally wanted to get into her uncle's line of work. So...-"

"Hm." Zuko nodded thoughtfully. "I'm a little worried that she might be a little too reckless, but...on the other hand, we don't have a lot options right now. No one's applied ever since we posted the opening, and we need it filled ASAP. So, yea. That's a good idea, Mai."

"Of course it's good - it came out of my brain."

"I expect nothing less."