"Alright, alright. So you guys weren't off canoodling with the other." Toph conceded, grabbing several tea cakes from a nearby platter. "But come on! You guys really do act like you're dating!"

Katara rolled her eyes and made a noise that sounded like she was trying to get something out of the back of her throat. "No we don't! Zuko and I are just friends! We don't act like a couple." She paused a moment, suddenly unsure. "...Do we?"

Suki coughed awkwardly, and looked at Katara like the answer was obvious. "Well…"

Oh come on. "How?! How do Zuko and I act like we're a couple?"

Before Suki could respond, the lady giving Suki her pedicure started scrubbing at her feet, and she started giggling uncontrollably. Toph, not missing a beat, jumped in on Suki's behalf.

"What about the fact that you two take naps together!" Katara's face turned deep red. Oh please no not this.

Suki shot straight up, almost kicking the poor pedicurist in the face. "Sorry!" She squealed before turning to Katara. "NAPS? As in more than one?! It's happened more than once?" Suki couldn't contain the pure joy and amusement on her face.

Katara was going to kill Toph. "NO. It has NOT happened more than once." She glared daggers at Toph, even though her death stare had no effect on the blind earthbender. "It was ONE TIME, and that one time was an accident."

XXX

In the days leading up to Sozin's Comet, everyone was, understandably, stressed out. It was hard enough not truly knowing what to expect, but after the group saw 'The Boy in the Iceberg' and watched the entire nation cheer for their defeat, tensions were especially high. Sokka spent all his time studying old maps and military reports while Suki helped him strategize. Bending practices were more intense than ever. No one held anything back, and no one stopped until they were about to pass out. Aang got hit the hardest. After one element practice, he'd barely have time to catch his breath before having to jump into the next.

There was one day that was particularly exhausting for Katara. She and Aang always practiced on the beach, where there was easy access to all the water they'd need. Normally, the two would go easy on each other. Neither wanted to hurt the other person accidentally which resulted in some pretty mild spars. Katara hated that Aang would go easy on her, but she couldn't really complain as she did the same thing for him. She knew deep down it wasn't truly beneficial for him, but she couldn't help it. Katara would always feel the need to protect and nurture Aang. It would feel wrong to attack him. He'd look at her with those big puppy dog eyes and she'd just feel guilty.

Silently, she was grateful for the company of Toph and Zuko. Those were people she could actually train with. She'd know her victories had been rightly earned, and her defeats would always pinpoint what she needed to work on.

After that play, though, it seemed Aang finally understood how serious all of this was, and how he needed to step up and really practice. Though things were still… awkward after what happened between the two during the intermission of the play, Katara decided she would just ignore what happened until she could figure out what to do about it. To Aang's credit, he seemed to finally respect that Katara wasn't ready for this discussion, and made no reference to their kiss. Conversations were strained, but spars became beneficial and demanding.

It shocked Katara at first, but she quickly rose to the challenge. During one particular battle, the two were putting everything and then some into their duel. As much as Katara enjoyed the fight, it really drained her. Aang was growing more powerful every day. That was great for their cause, but not so great for Katara's muscles.

The massive hill leading back up to the beach house wasn't so great for her muscles, either. By the time she reached the top, Katara was ready to collapse. Walking up the stairs to the house, she noticed Zuko. He was sitting on the side veranda, leaning against the side of the house, reading. Rather than go inside, she decided to join him. When he noticed her, he looked up from his scroll and gave a small smile. She took note of him quickly putting down what he was reading, almost like he was hiding it. Hmmm.

"How was practice?" He asked as she slid down the wall, planting herself right next to him.

Katara sighed. "Exhausting." She looked over him at the scroll he was trying to push away. "What are you reading?"

Zuko slightly paled, and started stammering incoherently, "I... uh... well it's nothing just..." Katara's eyes narrowed, and she reached out for it. He tried to pull it away, but Katara was too fast. She wrestled it out of his hands and held the scroll in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Love Amongst the Dragons?" Katara couldn't hold her laughter in. "Isn't this the play you told us about?"

Zuko looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment. "Uhm... yeah... After seeing the Ember Island Players, I was thinking about when my mom used to take us to see it. Their performance was awful, but..." Zuko looked as if he was about to burst from embarrassment. "It was always one of my favorite stories." He looked at Katara nervously, as if she were about to start endlessly mocking him.

Instead, she smiled and handed it back to him. "Can you read me some?"

Katara could tell from the shocked look on his face that was not the reaction he was expecting.

"What?"

She scooted closer to him, so their sides were touching. "Yeah," She explained, "if it's one of your favorites, it must be good. And I'm not going to take it from you, so you'll have to read it to me."

Zuko looked at her, perplexed. But instead of protesting, he just looked back down at the scroll. "The scene opens on the throne room of the Immortal Dragon Emperor Noren. He sits atop his throne, overlooking..." As Zuko read, Katara rested her head against Zuko's shoulder. He tensed for a short moment, but didn't say anything. He just continued reading.

Katara thought it was a good story. At least, the few lines she heard from it. She didn't realize how truly tired she was until her head hit Zuko's shoulder. She let Zuko's words flow through her, even though she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. He has a nice voice. Katara thought. Has it always been this nice and relaxing? Katara decided she could listen to Zuko talk all day. Her eyes grew heavy. She tried to stay awake, she really did, but it was so warm outside and Zuko's voice was so soothing and she was so sleepy.

When her eyes finally closed, she was out like a light.

Xx

Suki had spent her day at the town's market. The group was running low on food, and they needed to stock up for the rest of the week. Normally Sokka loved doing the shopping for the group, but he was wrapped up with some Water Tribe trade agreement, so Suki went out alone. It was a weird experience for her. As she walked through the stalls, she realized this would probably be the last time their group needed to restock or visit the market. The comet was only in a few days, and the group liked to be prepared for a while. Everything is coming to an end, she thought sadly.

Suki returned to the house, arms full, and was about to open the door to the house when she glanced to her side. She almost dropped her bags in surprise, she wasn't expecting to see anyone. The railing in front of the house had prevented Suki from seeing them at first, but there they were.

Katara and Zuko were on the veranda, leaning back against the house, completely passed out. Katara had her head on Zuko's shoulder, and Zuko had his head on hers. His unscarred cheek was smooched into Katara's hair. Her legs were curled to the side, whereas Zuko's were stretched straight out. There was something that looked like a scroll halfway held in his hand. Suki stared for a moment before smiling.

Well. She thought. Most things are coming to an end. But maybe a couple things are just beginning.

She opened the door as softly as she could as to not wake them and slipped inside.

Xx

After putting everything away, Suki went out to the courtyard to practice her warrior forms. Though She no longer had her Kyoshi Warrior uniform or fan with her, Suki made sure to practice daily. She couldn't afford to get rusty, and knew she'd need to be in top form for the Comet.

In the middle of her routine, Sokka came outside. He beamed at her, and as she paused to breathe he planted a quick kiss on her cheek. She blushed, and then went back to practicing. "Hi, honey," Suki offered, attention focused away from her boyfriend.

Sokka started talking, but Suki wasn't listening. She arched her right arm over her head, then punched out with her left. Sokka coughed. "Suki?" He asked. Suki glanced at him, embarrassed that she hadn't really heard what he was saying. She twirled the decorative fan she found in Zuko's attic and used in stead of her own.

"What?" She kicked upward, then stepped past Sokka. Fists down. Back straightened. Fan open.

Sokka looked at her weird. Fan closed. Knees relaxed. Suki turned to him and noticed he was holding one of his military reports. "Katara. Have you seen her? I want her opinion on this."

Suki turned away again, tossing her fan from one hand to the other. Arms extended. Feet planted on the ground. "Oh yeah, Katara." Another punch. Fists out. Fan open. "She and Zuko are sleeping together."

Suki froze. She turned to Sokka, eyes wide and horrified as she realized how she just worded her last sentence. The shock in Suki's eyes was mirrored in Sokka's. The entire courtyard was so silent a leaf falling would have made a sound. Sokka inhaled sharply. He let out a scream that most all of Ember Island was sure to have heard.

"WHAT?!"