A/N: Oh dear... the final chapter. Well, all good things must come to an end.

Anyway. On with the final chapter!

"He really did mean the beginning..." Atsuko thought as she listened to Sokka. He had finally reached today's event after at least fifteen minutes of recounting the tale to her.

"And so, Katara and Aang blackmailed me into being their servant for today. If I do that, then they won't come out and expose me to their cold." Sokka sighed. He still hadn't mastered the art of storytelling or explaining something when his emotions were in a turmoil, but he was getting better at it little by little.

"So you just need me to help you cook and get your sister and her boyfriend things?"

"Yes!" Sokka crowed, "That's it!"

"Well, Si-Sokka," she started, stumbling over his name again. "I can certainly assist you with this."

Sokka grinned, then grabbing the girl in a tight platypus bear hug, he thanked her profusely.

xxx

Water slid through the air, changing shape and direction fluently. It clearly was the element of change. The water passed between Aang and Katara, the couple bending together in perfect harmonious union. It slid from Katara's bending and straight into Aang's, the water following the path of a figure 8, occasionally making a small detour and sliding out for a quick flip before it passed back into the hands of the other bender.

"Aang, I'm glad that you can bend water. This is really relaxing." The girl smiled at her boyfriend, a light blush gracing the apples of her cheeks.

"I'm glad too, Katara." The avatar smiled back at her, allowing his body to adopt a bit more of an airbending stance. The stances for airbending were more relaxed than that of water, water more than fire, and fire more than that of earth's stances.

"Remember when I went to see Aunt Wu?"

"Yup, I do."

"Well, she said that I was destined for a powerful bender," Katara said, grinning at him.

"I know."

Katara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You know?"

Aang gulped. He may be the avatar, but there were somethings that you just didn't do to a master waterbender or your girlfriend, much less your master waterbender of a girlfriend. One of those things was letting the secret slip that you had listened in on her private conversations.

xxx

"Pour two cups of flour in, then a cup of milk and an egg. After that, add a pinch of salt to finish up."

Sokka dumped in just over two cups of flour, not taking the time to scrape the excess flour from the top of the cup. With the second cup, small amounts puffed up in small white clouds and settled on Sokka's cheeks and clothing, a small bit even dusting his hair.

Ignoring the flour that now resided on him, he poured in a cup of milk, small amounts splashing over the edges of the bowl and onto the counter. Sokka cracked an egg, and a bit sloppily, he let the yolk and white fall into the milk and flour. Then quickly following, a pinch of salt was thrown in.

"Okay. Got that," Sokka said, looking at Atsuko.

Atsuko dumped in the one-fourth cup of sugar that she was holding back from him.

"Want me to stir?"

Sokka's head bobbed up and down as he nodded eagerly, happy to get out of "woman's work." That's what his sister did! He shouldn't have to do that.

Atsuko briefly worried over his head, praying that it didn't fall off with the vigorous movements and jerks.

She pulled the bowl with the ingredients towards her, picking up the spoon that they had laid out on the counter earlier. She started to stir, mixing the ingredients together. Soon they were mixed, unable to be separated and ready to use.

Atsuko called a firebending cook over, then asked him to light the fire for her so that she could prepare the food. Doing as she asked, the chef lit the fire, and as a helpful addition, warmed a flat pan for her to use.

xxx

Zuko walked into one of Mai's many rooms of his palace, narrowly missing being hit and most likely injured by a small throwing pin. He only knew this however from hearing the light thump as it buried itself deeply into the wooden door that he had just opened to walk through. If not for the door blocking its silent and deadly path, the pin would probably be buried in the scarred side of his face right now instead of the door.

"And that's why I had the servants place the target on that side of the room."

Zuko thanked his lucky stars that Mai had thought ahead. The walls were thick in this part of the palace, and rarely could you hear when someone was walking in the hall outside of your room. This door had saved his life quite a few times already.

Walking forward to meet her boyfriend, Mai let loose one of her rare but beautiful smiles.

"Hey, Gorgeous," the Fire Lord said happily.

"Hot Stuff," she replied back.

The nickname had become sort of a signal between them. Because he was a firebender, his body temperature was higher than that of an average Fire Nation citizens, much less other nations. Mai was on the cold blooded side, which didn't surprise Zuko at all, though he never said that.

Because she was constantly a bit chilly and he constantly quite warm, she had taken to using him as a sort of heater. Whenever she was about to get close to him to do this, she'd always call him Hot Stuff. Never any time but then. Otherwise, he was always Zuko.

Hearing the nickname, Zuko opened his arms for his girlfriend.

He treasured these moments. Mai wasn't one for initiating affection. He usually would have to be the one to move in and hold her hand, or to hold her cheek and lean in for a gentle kiss. When Mai initiated affection, it was special to him. Only he ever had gotten to see this side of her.

She ducked into his arms, tucking her head under his chin and wrapping her arms around his muscular torso. She relaxed against him, sighing in contentment.

"So, how have all the Fire Lord duties been going?"

Zuko's shoulders drooped as he tightened his loose hold on his girlfriend. "It's going well. I just didn't think that it would be this hard. My dad may be a bad father and ruler, but he was good at handling the workload."

"Yeah, I can't really disagree with that."

Zuko buried his nose in his girlfriend's hair, breathing deeply. The scent of her perfume calmed him. It was one that smelled like fire lilies and a wood burning fire. It was fine and rich, smelling exactly as one of such high-society should. Still, it was a warm smell, one that comforted him.

"So…" Mai lifted her head from its position, raising her gaze to meet Zuko's.

"Yes?"

"I don't know."

"Okay," Zuko responded. He kissed her forehead, then placed his chin back on the top of her head. "How do you think Aang, Katara, and Sokka are doing?" he asked her quietly.

"I'm sure that they're fine. If they need something, Zuko, then they will let you know. At least Sokka will."

Zuko chuckled with a grin. "Yeah, you're right." Then he used one finger to tip her face towards his, then gently rested his lips against hers in a soft and gentle kiss.

xxx

Sokka grinned, a bit of batter on his cheek. Next to him, Atsuko crossed her arms in triumph.

In front of them lay two plates on a large, metal platter. Both plates hosted a large stack of steaming pancakes. One had half a dozen thick strips of bacon, the other two eggs that were fried so that yolk would run out in a delicious golden yellow.

On the tray there also were utensils for both benders to use, tall tumblers of milk, and a small pot of honey for the pancakes.

"We did it, Atsuko!"

The girl huffed slightly. "Sokka, you poured the ingredients in, almost put the fire out, ruined half of the pancakes," here she glanced at the bowl full of charred remains, "and managed to break a dozen eggs in one go," she said, this time looking at the trash bin that was topped off with eggshells.

"Shh..." He slipped his arm over her shoulder, slowly making the shushing sound softer and softer as his head drew closer to hers.

"Sokka. Stop," she scolded in a no-nonsense way. "It's honestly a bit creepy."

xxx

Katara moved her right foot forward, then moved her left foot back. She twisted her body, keeping her left foot in place behind her and allowing her right foot to glide across the wooden paneled floor. Her back remained straight until she bent backwards, dropping her hand gracefully down to her hip, the moving it to travel up her side.

All of this was done in beat with a happy melody that Aang was playing on a pipe. His tune carried through the air in a strong volume, not a single note wavering. The music flowed into her like a stream into a river, and a river into an ocean. It felt natural and calming to move with something so light and beautiful.

A few happy fast beats that carried the tune upwards caught Katara by surprise. She did a few quick waterbending poses, which to a nonbender (as long as they weren't as close to a bender as Sokka was to her) would still resemble dancing, not forms that would control an element.

And started to speak, the song still carrying on through the air. "When do you think Sokka will be here with the food?"

A confused Katara turned to face her apparently very talented boyfriend who could play the pipe as well as talk at the same time.

He was sitting with his legs crossed, one hand holding the pipe in front of home, the other bending a steady stream of air through it. Thus, in this method, it allowed him to play a wind instrument at the same time that words were flowing from his mouth.

"Aang!"

"What? I only asked when Sokka will get here!"

"You're cheating!" she accused, gesturing towards his hands.

"No I'm not! It took me years to learn how to do this! It's just like if I had learned to do it with my mouth, only this way I don't get out of breath!"

The avatar was a bit flustered at his girlfriend accusing him of cheating, and as a result, the pipe let out a series of rather out of tune, squeaky, and scratchy notes.

Aang paused in his "music bending" and took a few short and even breaths to calm himself down. Then, after his mood was no longer one of being flustered, he got up and started a new tune in the same manner. This time though the tune was much faster.

Aang started to dance a jig, his feet barely touching the ground before flying up again. This was the lightness of foot that had obviously been the one to earn him the title of Twinkle Toes from Toph when he first opposed her at Earth Rumble VI, though with much less of a frolicsome feel at the time.

Katara felt her heart melt a little from the indignation she felt a few moment previous when she first saw Aang bending the music from the pipe. Her foot started to twitch, quickly gaining momentum before she herself couldn't help but join in with the dance with a grin, a sneeze, and then a happy laugh.

The two continued to dance, the light streaming in from the window and dancing with and around them as they moved. Aang couldn't keep his eyes off of Katara. She was beautiful.

Her natural grace of being a waterbender carried through into her dancing and showed itself clearly. Her movements were always fluid, never seeming to exert her in anyway. They fit her perfectly, and Aang wouldn't want it any other way.

Unfortunately, or fortunately in the case of their stomachs, this didn't last but a few seconds longer.

Knock, knock, knock.

Aang cheered, practically flying towards the door as he tossed the pipe towards his mattress. "Sokka with the food!"

The door opened quickly, making a slight bang before it bounced back and hit Aang's outstretched and open palm which brought its movement to a halt.

It wasn't Sokka on the other side of the door, however. It was a girl in the palace uniform. She did bear food though.

The food was on a sturdy wooden tray. It consisted of two tall stacks of perfectly prepared pancakes, crispy bacon that smelled delightful to everyone but Aang, as well as eggs, Aang's usual choice of protein. There was honey for the pancakes and milk that had condensation gathering on the outside of the glasses.

"Where's Sokka?" Aang questioned, tilting his head and stepping out of the way for Katara who sniffled before stepping forward and accepting the offered food.

"I'm here."

Both Katara and Aang peeked their heads out of the door to see Sokka at the end of that part of the hall, a rag held to his face to cover his mouth and nose.

"You said that you'd stay inside!" he screeched, stepping back and knocking against a small table. A vase that sat on the table wobbled, almost falling over if not for Sokka's fast reaction time, gained from the year or so that he had spent training with benders and his girlfriend who was a Kyoshi warrior.

"We're not that sick, you idiot," Katara said dryly.

"Hey," he reasoned back, "I'm just being on the safe side. Suki will be back later today from training since dawn, and she won't kiss me if I'm sick."

Katara gave him a look as if to question his sanity. "Okay, well, you may go now that we have food." She looked at the girl who had been holding the food when the door was opened. "Thank you for helping him…?"

"Atsuko."

"Yeah! Thanks for helping, Atsuko! I'm glad that we didn't get just burned seal jerky!" Aang piped in, showing real and genuine appreciation for the meal and understanding that Sokka most likely wasn't the only chef, much less the only chef.

"No problem, Avatar."

"Aang."

"Aang," she accepted, nodding her head respectfully.

The 'thanks you's said, the two benders retreated back into Katara's room, happy to finally satisfy their growling stomachs.

"Atsuko smelled a bit like smoke, didn't she?" Katara noted, pulling a plate of pancakes towards her and popping a piece of bacon into her mouth.

"Well if Sokka was involved with the kitchen, I wouldn't be surprised, Sweetie." Aang lifted a fork and cut a piece of egg from the rest, placing it in his mouth.

"That's true, Sweetie."

xxx

"It's a good thing that you didn't break that vase, Sokka. It cost 8,000,000 gold pieces."

Sokka paled, hoping that had he broken it, Zuko would have forgave him.

"It is supposed to be auctioned in the next few weeks to raise money for the Harmony Restoration Movement."

The walked on in silence to the kitchen where they were going to work together to make quick work of the cleanup required.

"Sokka?"

"Yes, Atsuko?"

"May I ask you something?"

"Of course." He looked at her. "I don't see why not."

"Why were Katara and Aang in the room together?" Had they been married, she would not have questioned. Had they been younger or more innocent, she wouldn't have wondered. But war took innocence away from people, even if the part of innocence it destroyed had nothing to do with what the war was about. "Doesn't the Ava-Aang have his own room?"

xxx

Zuko, who was still with Mai, lay on the couch. Mai sat on the floor near the end of the couch that his head was resting on, gently running her fingers through his hair.

They were still enjoying their quiet moment together. Zuko had another peace meeting to attend later. This time with a few of the governors of the smaller Earth Kingdom colonies where Fire Nation citizens continued to reside.

Sadly for the Fire Nation couple, the peace and tranquility wouldn't last much longer.

"AANG! WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING IN KATARA'S ROOM? AND WHY WAS THERE A MATTRESS?"

A series of loud crashes followed the angry yell.

"If that's Sokka, then remind me to put it on the Fire Palace's diplomacy bill, Mai."

A/N: And that's the end! You know, I haven't gotten any reviews on this story, so maybe as a final and parting gift you could leave a review?

For other things, I'm still working on the sequel to Prize Date. Also, I may be posting a story that I wrote for ArtemisDay over for the DeviantArt Rangers Christmas Secret Santa. If I do though, it won't be until the new year.

Oh, and I put a poll up on my page! So head on over and let me know what fandom you'd want me to write a story or next!

Until next story!