My first ATLA fic. I had a lot of fun writing this, hopefully you have fun reading it! Some Sukka and Zukka but it's all in good fun. Post-The Boiling Rock. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender. But it owns me.

" . . . And then Azula was all like whoooooooosh through the air on her fire launcher thingie," Sokka regaled enthusiastically, swinging a delighted The Duke around for emphasis. "And she was heading right up toward us with the most evil face you had ever seen."

He attempted an ugly leer for the benefit of his audience. Most of them sniggered. Zuko, who was standing off to the side, couldn't help but smirk at this impersonation of his sister, even as he rolled his eyes at the other teen's dramatics.

Aang frowned, looking slightly nervous. "Wait, so Azula can fly now?"

"Shh," Toph scolded.

"What happened next?" Teo asked.

Sokka grinned and tossed The Duke to Haru, who fumbled to catch him. "Well, there was this big epic battle on top of the gondola, with all of us fighting for our lives. Then, I saved everyone and we escaped. The end."

A collective protest met the warrior's final words, mostly coming from Zuko, Suki, and Hakoda (who was smirking at his son nonetheless). Thankfully, Chit Sang was settling in elsewhere in the temple and was not within pummelling distance.

"Pfft, yeah right, Snoozles," Toph scoffed.

"I'm sorry, who saved whom?" Suki raised her eyebrow.

Sokka planted his hands on his hips. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Gee I dunno, maybe because we were there?" Zuko said.

The blue-garbed teen frowned at him. "I should have never introduced you to sarcasm. It was a crime against comedy."

Katara, who had been silently shifting between disapproval and reluctant amusement for the duration of the tale, finally settled on a frown. "I think this story is missing something," she declared.

Everyone glanced at her. "And what's that, Sis?" Sokka queried.

She tapped her chin in mock thoughtfulness, "Well, how about that Earthbender?"

The Boiling Rock escapees exchanged a confused look. "Earthbender?"

"Yeah, you know, the one who also bends metal and managed to tear the prison apart in minutes? Or, while we're on the subject, the Waterbender who was very useful on this little excursion to a prison in the middle of a lake? Oh wait, they weren't there, were they?"

"Don't drag me into your vendetta, Sugar Queen," Toph said, pointing her finger in the other girl's face. "If they wanted male bonding time, who are we to interfere?"

"That wasn't exactly the point . . ." Zuko began, but trailed into silence at the Waterbender's glare.

There was an uneasy silence. Zuko noticed Hakoda frowning at his daughter, probably already aware of the grudge she currently had for anything remotely Zuko-related. He'd bet she wouldn't have put up as much of a fuss if Sokka had gone by himself, even though that was just ridiculous.

"Actually, you do have a point, Katara," Sokka said thoughtfully.

She blinked. An admission of her superior knowledge was clearly unexpected. "I . . . do?"

"Yep, this story is totally missing something." A devilish grin spread across his face. "Romance!"

Everyone groaned. Suki gave him a narrow look but he went on regardless. Affecting a low, deep baritone (Zuko couldn't help but marvel at his vocal range), he continued with his tale. "And so, the brave warrior rescued the fair maiden from the jaws of the evil prison, and they shared a passionate embrace on top of the gondola . . ." he turned hopefully to Suki. She folded her arms.

"Nuh-uh."

"Please? For the sake of the story?"

"Not a chance."

"Ugh!" He threw up his hands in frustration. Then, with a speed that shocked everyone, he crossed stubbornly over to where Zuko was standing and pulled him into a dip instead. It was surprisingly graceful, considering their slight height difference, and Zuko's very undignified yelp. "As I was saying . . . a passionate embrace upon the gondola." He sealed his words with a kiss.

There was a moment of stunned silence – then the audience exploded in a cacophony of laughter and foxwolf-whistles.

Zuko, whose thought processes had stuttered to a screaming halt at the first touch, finally managed to yank himself away from Sokka's embrace. "Get off of me!"

Sokka wasn't perturbed. Grinning triumphantly, he gave a low bow. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the story."

Aang stared, wide-eyed, at his two pseudo-brothers. "Wow, that was . . . um . . . unexpected."

Katara buried her face in her hands. "Oh God, I'm scarred for life."

Sokka made a deferring gesture with his hands. "Hey, don't let me take all the credit. The fair maiden deserves his share of applause."

The "fair maiden" got just that, but didn't appreciate it nearly as much as the warrior. Face burning, he stalked shakily over to where Aang was sitting and all but collapsed beside him. Still looking stunned, the young monk patted him sympathetically on the shoulder.

Just then, Suki took the stage once more. A wicked smile bloomed to life on her face as she approached Sokka, and she first spared a wink for the humiliated Firebender before saying, "That was pretty impressive. But I think it went more like this." She pulled Sokka into a dip and pressed her lips roughly against his.

Hakoda's voice boomed over the next round of laughter. "Son, what is this? I go to prison for a few weeks and you romance every eligible soul on the continent!"

"I'm not eligible," Zuko muttered to the floor.

Toph, who was unfortunately sitting nearby, sniggered. "Sparky, your heart rate's going through the roof. Gives a whole new meaning to the word flameo, huh?"

He shot her a glare which was, of course, completely ineffective. She grinned. "Relax, I understand. Snoozles is a big idiot, but he does have an annoyingly irresistible charm. You just have to get used to it."

Luckily, Aang was preoccupied with alternating his gaze between the couple who were still snogging furiously, and a furiously blushing Katara (probably picking up pointers), and didn't notice the conversation going on right beside him. It didn't stop Zuko from whispering furiously, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Right. Keep telling yourself that, Sparky."

He would.

Ah, life at the Western Air Temple. Yes, I know snogging is an English word. But I think it sounds appropriate :). Thanks for reading!