Tokka Week: Day 4

Prompt: Alcohol

The Merits of Alcohol

It was just a normal morning at the Western Air Temple, camping out for old time's sake—and mostly because Aang's birthday was coming up, as however tough he acted Zuko secretly hated sleeping on bed mats of any sort.

Zuko was innocently—innocently, dammit—strolling into Toph and Sokka's unofficial area of the temple, and not looking for something to steal as a last-minute birthday present for Aang, when….

He saw them.

At first, he gaped.

Then, he blushed.

Then, he flailed, and maybe accidentally dropped the swords he was carrying right onto the ground.

And finally, Toph and Sokka woke up.

Blearily, Sokka glanced at him while Toph just smiled and snuggled deeper into her warm set of covers. "Do you mind?" the Water Tribe warrior mumbled, sporting a rather magnificent bout of bed head.

Zuko couldn't believe it. Really.

He couldn't believe he'd caught them doing something like this—hell, Toph was only fifteen!—and then they'd caught Zuko staring at them and their…and their…

And their dirty and perverted ways! Even he and Mai had never…never done something like this! Well, at least at their age they hadn't. Though that might have had to do with the fact that a continent and a few different oceans separated them at the time…

There was no more time to muse on the horror and embarrassment of his current situation. From the look on Sokka's face, and was expecting an answer—and soon. "Seriously, Zuko." He squinted at him carefully. "What are you doing in here?"

"You—you—" Zuko spluttered, turning a deep shade of red. "Augh!" Taking a deep breath, he gingerly touched his suddenly aching head. "Well why don't you just strip down in front of me and—and—"

Struggling to find the proper comparison, Zuko at last settled with blowing out a huge puff of fire and steam through his mouth and nose. "I," he snarled, "am leaving."

With that, the firebender marched out of the room, glaring at Toph and Sokka—both fully clothed, and in their separate sleeping bags. He made certain to send an especially vicious glance towards the two hands, light and dark, intertwined in the narrow space between their bed mats.

Sokka blinked. "What's with him?" he wondered, letting out a wide, sleepy yawn.

"He's just being Sparky," Toph said dismissively. Her eyes went wide. "And he's gonna tell the others," she whispered, swallowing hard. "What the hell are we gonna tell them?"

"Hm..." Sokka stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know," he pointed out, "we were both technically 'under the influence when this happened. Technically."

Toph snorted. "Only a complete and total wimp would've called us drunk," she scoffed, as Sokka looked away, clearing his throat.

"Still, they might believe it." Sokka gave Toph a sidelong glance. "Maybe…it was the alcohol?" he proposed.

"It was the alcohol," she agreed.