A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first story (that I've finished!) so please no flames! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of these characters.
Apple Cider
A Kataang Fanfiction
Ding-Dong
The doorbell rang in her ears as she pressed it. Next to her, her brother fiddled with a lose button on his shirt. Sighing, she waited for the door of the abode to open, and fortunately she didn't have to wait very long.
"You showed up, I'm surprised," Azula, the party-thrower and local 'princess', chaffed. Opening the door, Azula beckoned the siblings inside.
A loud ringing of music chimed in her ears, a big contrast to the noiseless air outside of the house. That is, if you would even call it a house. The entryway alone was larger then any other typical doorway, built with expensive trim and the highest level of architecture. Past the hallway, the bulk of the party was located in the living room. At least a hundred people danced and chatted in the opulent room, the crowd breaking up every so often to expand to other corners of the first floor.
Azula led the two guests to the main hub of the party before leaving, without a word, to go talk to another classmate, Chan.
"Wow," Sokka was breathless as he observed his surroundings.
"Wow is right," Katara, like her brother, had never been inside the Fyre's mansion before. To be frank, she was still in shock that she got invited to the Christmas party in the first place.
Katara, a junior at Avatar High School, wasn't typically a "partier". Her motherly attitude often made her a wet blanket and so she wasn't invited to half the parties her classmates, even friends, threw. So, she questioned herself; what had gotten her invited to the biggest party of the year? Well, the answer didn't take long to figure out.
Aang.
Aang, only a sophomore, was liked by almost everyone at their small suburban high school. His natural charisma and charm made him easily likable and his free spirit lifted any party experience-quite the opposite of Katara. And it probably didn't hurt that he was attractive and the star of the track team, too.
Aang and Katara had been best friends since the third grade. When Katara and Sokka moved to his neighborhood after their mother's death, Katara went through a depression that only Aang was able to get her out of. The friendship had blossomed from there. Up through elementary and middle school, more often then not, if you went looking for one of them you would find the other as well.
Things changed in high school.
Their differences in grade levels became more prominent, separating them, and the classes they had together were slim. It was the worst when Aang was a freshman. Katara got mocked often for hanging out with a 'freshie' and they faced some of the worst rumors.
But they got through it.
It became easier when Aang won state for the track team. He was accepted by the upperclassmen, as a savior of sorts. Avatar High School had suffered from some of the worst athletic achievements, but when their track team made it to nationals they got redeemed. Katara and Aang could then be friends without constant ridicule from peers. It seemed as though their bond was as strong as ever, able to face any and every obstacle thrown at them, from relationships to grades.
Katara couldn't ask for a better best friend, right?
Well, Katara wanted to be more than just best friends.
It was during her sophomore year, while she was being derided, that she realized how much her friendship with Aang meant to her. How much Aang meant to her. During that year, Katara discovered that she was in love with her best friend.
She was in love with Aang.
Katara was, of course, too shy to take any action with this realization and their friendship stayed just that- a friendship.
"Katara? Anyone there? KATARA?!" Sokka brandished his hand back and forth in front of his sister's eyes.
"Wha… What?" Katara shook her head wildly. When she regained her composure she smacked her brother's hand away from her. Sokka flinched, and pulled his hand away from his little sister. Rubbing it softly he spoke to her above the sound of the music.
"Sorry, just trying to bring you back to planet Earth, sis." Mumbling, almost to himself he added. "Not my fault you were staring off into space like an idiot."
Katara, blushing slightly at Sokka's almost inaudible statement, looked around with focused eyes. The majority of the room was filled with students dancing and oscillating to the music. Chatter and laughter ruled the air. Behind her, she saw a large kitchen whose counters were layered with food and beverages. Unsurprisingly, Sokka was making his way to the buffet. To her right she noted the "chaperone", Azula and Zuko's uncle, Iroh. He was situated behind a pai sho table, laughing merrily with the teenagers around him. To her left, she noted a small assembly of men cheering a single name in unison.
"Toph! Toph! Toph!"
"Oh no," Katara, dodged the dancers, weaving her wave to the table where her friend sat arm-wrestling a senior, and by the looks of it, winning.
Toph, a sophomore like Aang, befriended Sokka, Katara, and Aang in middle school. Her overprotective parents home schooled her, and still would be if it wasn't for a psychiatrist, who told them Toph would suffer from loneliness and other social problems if they continued to separate her from the rest of society. Toph was one of the toughest people Katara knew, but yet she also seemed to be the frailest. Her small body type kept her smaller then most other sophomores, but Toph's small frame was made up for by her large mouth. Her athletic abilities also put half, if not all, of the football players to shame. And one more thing;
Toph was color blind.
"Toph, what are you doing?" Katara cried exasperatedly, as she shoved her way through the onlookers to stand next to her friend. Next to her, several people were making bets wordlessly.
"Sugarqueen, is that you? And what does it look like I'm doing? I'm beating this punk in… arm… wrestling," Toph grunted as she slammed the football player's arm on the table surface. From the groans and cheers of the audience, you could hear the few people who won their bets and those who didn't. Toph, stilling holding the hand of the jock, flung him out of his chair almost effortless and motioned for Katara to sit down.
"Take a seat." Katara hesitantly sat down across from her friend. Laughing, Toph addressed her.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to challenge you, Sweetness."
The air around the two got more comfortable as the crowd around them dispersed back into the party's mass. It wasn't long after their departure before Sokka, with a plate full of foods, joined their table. Sokka, pulling up a disregarded chair, plopped down in-between the two girls and began eating his appetizers. Katara, looking at her brother in disgust, began to speak.
"Have you seen, Aang?"
"Twinkletoes? Nope, but knowing him, he's probably running late and isn't here yet," Toph eyed Katara with a furtive glance. Katara, nervously under her friends glare, hastily tried to change the subject. If there was one person who would be smart enough to know about her feelings for Aang, it would be Toph.
"How long have you been here, Toph?"
Toph shrugged her shoulders at the question and stole a piece of jerky from Sokka's plate.
"I don't know. Thirty minutes tops. All I know for sure is that the party wasn't this busy when I got here," she motioned with her pale eyes into the crowd. Katara, not knowing what to say to that, looked out into the crowd for a second time that night.
As she examined everything more closely, she could make out people on the dance floor she knew. Teo was speaking animatedly with a brunette girl Katara didn't recognize. Haru, a senior like Sokka, was dancing with one Azula's cronies, Ty Lee. And, in a perfect view, she was able to see an alcove under the stairs where in it stood Zuko and his girlfriend Mai making out. Above their heads, mistletoe hung proudly, a bell attached to the plant gleaming with what seemed like pleasure.
Katara turned back the two other people sitting at her table. Toph, looking as smug as ever, was still chewing on the jerky absentmindedly, her mind scheming. Sokka was quite the opposite, sweating bullets and blushing nervously, every so often looking up into the crowd. Following her brothers gaze, she was met by two hard glares, both aimed at Sokka and both from ex-girlfriends.
Suki, his girlfriend sophomore year, and Yue, his girlfriend junior year, both had broken up with Sokka for reasons unknown to Katara. Though, something in her gut told her that it had something to do with Sokka's close friendship with Toph.
"I got to go to the bathroom, be right back," Sokka slid out of his chair so fast that the chair was left spinning.
Silently laughing at her brother's discomfort, and his lack of courage when facing his ex's, Katara chatted with Toph. The holiday tunes blared in the background, switching from one Christmas jingle to the next.
When Sokka returned, Yue and Suki were gone from the crowd; the relief was plain on his face. Sitting back down in his seat, he scanned the surroundings.
"Looks like Aang is having better luck with the ladies tonight then I am."
Katara, spinning around fast, caught site of the subject Sokka was talking about.
Aang was standing near to the refreshment table, clutching a glass of golden liquid, talking to On Ji. Before Toph or Sokka could get in another word, Katara had left the table, moving as fast as possible towards her best friend.
Toph and Sokka stared at her in stunned silence, amazed at how fast the girl had left her chair.
"So… want to arm wrestle?" Toph said conversationally. Sokka was left dumbfounded for a minute before he responded.
"Umm… no… I mean I don't want to hurt you! Yeah…" Sokka fiddled with his loose button again, avoiding eye contact with the girl in front of him. Of course, Toph saw through his bluff and spotted a golden opportunity to mock his male pride.
"Are you afraid to fight a girl?"
"No."
"Hmm… then are you afraid that'll you'll lose to a girl?"
"No!"
"Then why are you refusing the little… competition?"
"Because… I…" Sokka sighed in defeat, realizing that he didn't have the guts to tell Toph the real reason he didn't want to arm wrestle her. He propped his hand up on the table.
Toph grinned in victory. Grabbing his hand, they both tried to ignore the tingling feeling they were experiencing from the contact.
"Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Katara weaved through the dancing students like the speed of light, trying to reach Aang before he moved again. As she approached, her eyes focused on two things. One being the slightly bubbly golden drink and the second being On Ji's hand on Aang's upper arm.
Trying to ignore the jealously fuming inside of her, Katara walked up to them, catching snippets of their conversation.
"On Ji, you aren't acting like yourself, you sure you had nothing to drink?"
On Ji hiccupped in response, giggling afterward, and moved closer to Aang. Aang began to get nervous at the half-disposed girl on his shoulder when Katara appeared.
"Katara!"
"Hi Aang. Hi On Ji. On ji?" Katara watched as the girl collapsed on the floor, drunk. She giggled softly.
"She's drunk." Aang pointed out the obvious. Katara looked at him in disbelief before exploding.
"Yeah, she's drunk! And you will be two! Don't try to hide the beer from me! Yeah, I know what it is! I thought I knew you better then that Aang! I know Gyasto isn't that strict, but he never- I never- imagined you drink alcohol! Now you are going to be just as wasted as her in a couple of minutes-"
"Katara!"
"Don't try to distract me from the issue at hand Aang…"
"KATARA!"
"WHAT?"
Aang grabbed Katara and held the glass to her lips. Katara struggled, but when she felt the liquid in her mouth she stopped.
"It's… it's…"
"Apple cider," Aang laughed at Katara blushing face.
"Oh, Aang, I'm sorry. I just assumed…" Katara trailed off incoherently.
"You can make it up to me," Aang held out his hand, grinning boyishly, "by accepting my offer to dance."
Katara, blushing even redder, took his hand and let Aang lead her onto the dance floor. Aang lightly put his hands on her waist and her hands glided up to sit around his shoulders. Nervously, they avoided eye contact with each other. Katara's heart raced rapidly at the contact she was sharing with Aang. Trying to compose herself, and end the awkward silence, she looked up at him. Aang, obviously had the same idea, and looked at Katara.
The music around them seemed to disappear as blue eyes met silver. Katara smiled softly as a single thought ran through her head.
"It's just me and him."
Sokka was sweating with the effort of not letting Toph win easily. His arm ached, but he was too pride to give up to a girl-not to mention his crush. If Katara was here she would give him a lecture on how he was "a sexist pig" or some other insult like that, but fortunately for him, she wasn't.
Toph sensed that Sokka was trying his hardest, and was still losing terribly, decided to give him half a chance by distracting herself. She gazed lazily into the crowd. When her eyes caught Aang and Katara, her grip slacked in surprise.
Sokka took the advantage and was able to tie the match once again, a smug look on his face.
Toph laughed inwardly at Sokka's false hope of winning, but she didn't try to win right away. As the arm wrestling continued, Toph continued to watch Aang and Katara oscillate to the other side of the room.
Her grin widened when she saw the plant they were unintentionally moving towards. Toph suddenly knew exactly how she wanted to beat Sokka.
Katara and Aang danced until they reached the end of the song. They stopped and Katara face fell slightly; the dance seemed to fly by! Preparing herself to let go of Aang, she realized that Aang was still holding on to her. Opening her mouth to ask him why, she noticed that his attention wasn't on her. He was staring at something above them. Katara looked up and saw what he was looking at.
Above them was the mistletoe.
She gaped at the small plant above her, noting the same gleam that was there when Mai and Zuko were under it was still there. Blushing she turned her gaze back to Aang, who was blushing as well.
The music played in the background and she became hyper-aware of everything around her. They both motioned like they were going to speak, but no sound came out. Neither Aang nor Katara moved; unsure if the other wanted this as badly as them.
Aang finally built up his courage and tentatively touched his lips to Katara's. Katara stood there dumbfounded until she felt him starting to pull away.
Grabbing the back of his head, she pushed Aang back into the kiss hungrily. She felt Aang smile against her lips as he put his arms on her waist, pulling her closer.
She tasted Aang just as Aang tasted her, savoring the moment. She even smirked a little when she tasted the small hint of apple cider.
As Toph watched Aang kiss Katara, she allowed a smug grin to appear on her face. Sensing that they weren't going to pull apart anytime soon, she initiated her plan on Sokka.
"How are you faring, Sokka?" Toph asked sweetly.
"Just… fine," Sokka struggled to keep his voice normal.
"Good, good," Toph nodded her head. Sokka's confusion was plain on his face. Toph smiled inwardly, trying to keep the smirk off of her face.
"Is that? Is that Twinkletoes and Sugarqueen?" Toph tried to keep her voice as surprised as possible. She could see Sokka struggling to not turn around and look.
"Very funny. Next you're going to be telling me that they're making out," Sokka rolled his eyes, trying to concentrate on the arm wrestling match.
"Sokka, you already know what they are doing?" Toph faked surprise again.
"Yes… wait. Know? THEY'RE DOING WHAT?" Sokka turned his head around quickly. Toph, taking advantage of his curiosity, slammed his arm on the table.
Sokka gaped at the couple making out under the mistletoe, but when he felt his hand on the table he turned his attention back to Toph.
"You cheated!"
"How? It's not my fault that you got distracted by Aang and Katara. If anything you should blame yourself by your lack of self control."
Sokka's mouth hung open as he blubbered and stammered.
"But… you… them… what?"
Toph, smiling victoriously at Sokka, dragged him off of the chair. Sokka, just realizing that his hand was still connected to Toph's, blushed. She smiled at Sokka before pulling him into another room.
"Come on, Snoozles. Let's go find some mistletoe for ourselves."
Merry Christmas! Please Review!