Fan 'n' Flame; Earth 'n' Sword

Unintentional Dating: Chapter 4

"Can you please take your feet off the table Toph," Katara asked impatiently, "That's where we eat!" Katara let out a sigh and gave up as Toph simply stretched her legs and moved her feet to another place on the table.

"I smell food!" came Sokka's booming voice as he and Suki walked into the dining room.

"It'll be ready in a few minutes," Katara called out from the kitchen, to Sokka's dismay. Sokka and Suki sat down opposite Toph and Aang.

"Do you mind?" Sokka said to Toph as he looked at her feet. Toph grinned, gave her toes a little wiggle and sat cross-legged like the rest of them.

"I guess I don't need them up here now that you two are here," Toph said nonchalantly. Aang covered his mouth to suppress his laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"I'd rather not see those vibrations," Toph told him, still grinning at him. Sokka and Suki's faces went a bright red and they turned their heads towards each other.

"We weren't-" Sokka began, quickly turning back to Toph.

"You guys should check out the pen Zuko had built for Appa." Aang cut in, hoping to avoid some argument. "He told me he had people go to the Eastern Air Temple and modeled it off of it."

"Sounds like a good idea Twinkle Toes, I haven't seen that giant fuzz ball since the South Pole," Toph said, as Katara walked in and placed the plates on the table and sat next to Aang.

"So what did you and Toph get up to last night?" Katara asked Sokka as he dug into his food.

"Walked around the place, ate some food and played a couple games, it was a fun night," Toph answered as Sokka mumbled his response through his food.

"Oh that was all?" Katara asked sarcastically. "When I went shopping this morning, I was told that the Runaway was in the city, and she was nearly caught. Wouldn't know anything about that?"

"Nope, I'd say that's just rumours." Toph reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pouch. The gold coins inside clattered when the bag hit the table. "Sokka and I found twenty gold pieces last night actually, pretty lucky if you ask me," Toph told her. The group laughed as Katara rolled her eyes. Suki looked around the room, unsure about something.

"Where's Zuko?" Suki asked, worried as she realised what was bothering her.

"Sparky is back in the palace," Toph explained. " He wanted me to leave you know that he's given you the next few days off." Suki frowned at the news.

"Perfect, you and I can go see what's happening in the festival today then," Sokka said as he swallowed his breakfast. "There is this circus just a small walk over, I think you'll enjoy it."

"I don't know, Sokka, with so many people coming into the city during the celebrations, it would be the perfect time for someone to sneak in and attack the Fire Lord," Suki protested, her right hand clenched in a fist near her side.

"Suki, Zuko is guarded by the Kyoshi Warriors and Royal Procession, I'm sure he's completely safe," Sokka insisted. "Plus, we haven't seen each other in months. It's been even longer since we just had a day to ourselves."

"Toph was planning on seeing Appa at the palace anyway, so I doubt that even we could get to Zuko if we wanted to," Aang added.

"Or, I could usurp the throne myself and finally become Melon Lord," Toph said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I guess you're right, just for today though," Suki reluctantly agreed as the rest laughed. Sokka smiled widely and pushed away his empty plate.

"Excellent, I'll grab Boomerang and we'll get going," Sokka told her, standing up and heading for his room.