Okay, guys, this is the story that carries on after 'Together' (you don't need to have read that one, but it's only short, and it's better quality, so go and read it anyway if you haven't read it). I haven't put it on as a chapter, but as a new story, because I think it kind of ruins the mood and mushy-ness of 'Together', because there will be a lot more going on.

I've tried to keep all of the characters IN character, but I find it hard,

and Iroh is a bit OOC. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I will [hopefully soon!] be the proud owner of a Nintendo DS Lite, though.

STORY STARTS HERE!

OPTIONAL, but you might just want to read it anyway... It's up to you Background information: After that day, the group had dissipated. Zuko and Mai went to the Fire Nation, to continue to balance the kingdom from the capital; Suki had gone back to Kyoshi Island with the Kyoshi Warriors (+Ty Lee) to see how it had fared while she was away and help with the reparations; Sokka had gone to the South Pole with Hakoda (Sokka's and Katara's dad, just in case you didn't know) to help to repair the city and rebuild it to its pre-war state; Toph had returned to Gaoling to try and sort things out between herself and her parents. Aang had been travelling in between the kingdoms to continue to rebuild places that had been destroyed by Firelord Ozai; but whenever he had free time, which was not often, he went to the Air Temples. Katara had travelled around the world with him, as she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone, but she did spend the previous month in the South Pole with her family to help rebuild.

As everyone had been busy, and not everyone had managed to see each other, the gaang (and a few extras) had decided to regroup in Ba Sing Se, in ex-General Iroh's teashop (A/N: where I left them, I guess).

1 year later: the regrouping

The noise in the teashop had never quite reached the current level before, even when it was much busier than that day. The excitement in the air was obvious, and if an observer were to listen to the general chatter, they would clearly hear that there was, actually, only one subject: the Avatar was coming. However, it seemed as though the customers would be sorely disappointed.

"I'm closing up early today, and I won't be opening up again until tomorrow. Sorry for the rush, everyone, and I would not normally hurry you drinking tea – as it is a highly important occasion - but today is an extremely special day," Iroh said rather hoarsely as he wound his way around the room and started to bustle people out.

Several groans could be heard around the teahouse, but nobody dared to argue with Iroh. After all, he was the owner and the maker of such fine tea, and they would all be desperately gutted if he was to ever close the shop permanently. Of course, as soon as they saw what – or, more importantly, who – was outside, they all sped up and hurried to get out of the teahouse. After all, who would want to keep Firelord Zuko and Firelady Mai waiting outside? Especially when they were all too aware of just how royal their moods were.

As soon as the Fire Nation royalties had stepped into the teahouse, Ty Lee did a cartwheel straight past them, ultimately beating the progress of Zuko and Mai. Ty Lee, when she was upright again, rushed up to Mai, and took the girl into a big bear hug.

"Careful, Ty, not too hard," shooting her friend one of her rare, but genuine, smiles.

"Sorry, sorry, but I'm just very excited," Ty Lee said, whilst grinning one of her 'innocent' smiles.

Zuko, smirking lightly at his beloved wife, piped in, "We have very important news to tell everyone anyways."

"What important news?" Toph, always curious, always used to being the first to know. Holding hands with her, there was a stranger that no one had been introduced to as yet. She had a mischievous little smile on her face, and an "Oof!" could be heard directly behind her.

Suki turned and 'walked calmly' towards Sokka. He, being a 'man', scooped her up in his arms, twirled her round and placed a very noisy kiss in the middle of her mouth, making Suki giggle girlishly. Meanwhile, Hakoda and Iroh were greeting each other as old men did – very formally and courteously, with the hint of smiles and friendliness. Katara had stood near the entrance door, and assessed the scene, with a grown-up smile on her face.

"Where's Aang?" Katara said, breaking everyone out of their overly excited greetings.

"H-h-huh... 'lo Katara! H- aargh! Hi, everybody!" They all swivelled their bodies around towards the source of the sound, only to find Aang surrounded by admiring little angels, inquiring as to where he had travelled, and whether or not he had seen strange creatures. Everyone laughed at the sight, and eventually, Appa had to groan loudly – astounding everybody present – to rescue Aang and distract the children so that Aang could greet his friends. With a giant grin on his face, he walked over to Katara first, hugging her so hard that she could barely breathe. After a while, and a couple of "get a room"'s – from Sokka, of course, at the same time as Hakoda – Aang acknowledged everyone else in the room, without letting go of Katara, obviously.

"Hello Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee. Suki, Sokka, Hakoda. Iroh, Toph. Stranger. How're you guys?"

Toph was the first to answer, "This is Kohter [pronounced exactly the way it's spelt]. He's helped me a lot this year, but yeah. How about everyone else?"

Appropriately, it was Iroh who took charge, "Welcome Aang, welcome everybody. Why don't we all sit down and I'll make Jasmine tea for everyone so we can exchange stories while relaxing?"

CLIFF

A/N: So. Was it alright? REVIEW!!! I know there wasn't a lot in that chapter, but it kind of sets the scene. Some of the things will get explained in the next chapter, but only if I get 5[+] reviews!

Next Chappie: Who's the new dude? What's the important news? What did everyone get up to?
REVIEW!!! All will be revealed :) x