A/N: So this is Kataang Week… 9001… I promised myself that I would at least participate in one but this one hit me by surprise. So excuse the lateness, and enjoy. (Seriously though, this must be what, the third one this year? Oh well, I'm definitely not complaining. *grin*)

Disclaimer – I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Prompt One (August 19, 2009): Mischief

A Recipe for Disaster

The three lined themselves along the roof of the Jasmine Dragon (Suki, of course, was just there to watch). He neatly arranged the small sacks filled with some of Uncle Iroh's jook, from last night's supper, within the grooves to the wooden shingles in an attempt to keep them from falling.

Sokka then shared a dangerous smirk and a shoulder bump (for Toph's benefit) with his partners in crime and waited impatiently.

Only five minutes passed before Katara, of all people, Katara wandered by on her way inside.

Toph knew by Sokka's sudden jolt and excited shoulder-bumping exactly who was walking by. Suki had also spotted the poor girl, and expressed a glance of pure panic, not wanting to face the Legendary Temper of Katara.

Sokka gave her a half lidded smile of reassurance and Suki kept quiet, convincing herself that Sokka's little sister can take an innocent joke, chewing viciously on her lip the whole while. She screwed her eyes shut as he silently picked up a sack.

As soon as Katara was within range, Sokka readied his weapon and let it fly. Toph clenched her fists in anticipation for the Water Tribe girl's inevitable scream.

She was sorely disappointed.

Suki, assuming the boy to her right missed given the silence below them, slid towards the edge (she must have unconsciously slid away) and curiously peeked at the ground. There, covered in the thick and soupy substance, stood Katara. She was glaring with her mouth open in surprise. Suki let out a sudden 'meep' and wildly stared back and worth between Sokka and Katara, hoping for to something distract the fourteen-year-old from the rage that was quite surely coming.

Nothing came and Katara began to tremble in anger. "I can't believe, Suki, we're, you guys are…" she started, tripping over her words. "Just ugh!!" And with that, she rounded the corner stormed inside. Seconds later, a slam from a door rang throughout the shop.

After a few silent minutes, Toph began to chuckle. And those chuckles turned into stifled laughs. The laughter became infectious as Sokka held his mouth close to keep a few sniggers from floating out. While the two were busy laughing, Suki groaned. How in the world had Sokka convinced her to go along with his scheme, anyway? She remembered being completely against dousing random strangers with Iroh's famous rice porridge ("The stuff would be great foundation for my house!"). She also remembered that Sokka called her uptight and challenged her to loosen up a little.

Suki certainly loosened herself up – right into a sticky situation. She knew this would not be the end of their troubles.

Inside, Aang happened to be meditating in the back hallway when Katara suddenly stomped past and into the washroom, slamming the door and rattling its wooden frame. He cautiously peered outside the kitchen and into the main room, wondering what was going on. Iroh and the customers curiously gazed back at him, hoping for the same answer, all of the normal afternoon murmurs completely silenced. He sighed and made his way back through the large kitchen, through the narrow doorway, and stared at the washroom door. He was not ready to face whatever was going on.

For a brief moment before he knocked on the door, he wished he had been sleeping instead. Abruptly, Katara flung the door open, nearly smacking Aang in the face. Not even turning the face him, she muttered a terse apology and continued scrubbing jook out of her hair.

"Uh, something wrong?"

"Everything is just fine," she punctuated with sharp sarcasm. The jook had crusted over, which worsened her mood.

"What happened?" Aang sighed. He moved in closer to her.

Katara gave a sigh of her own and allowed Aang to accompany her in the small bathroom. He picked up the cloth Katara had long abandoned and began cleansing her long dark brown curls and green robe. The pink flower nestled in her hair, he mused, was long ruined. He should find another for her.

"Sokka, Toph, and, ugh, Suki happened!" she exploded. She stopped picking at the remnants on her face and glowered at her reflection in the small mirror. Aang dutifully stayed silent as he pumped more water into the basket and heated it slightly with his hand. He continued the wash her hair and waited for her to finish. "They were throwing balloons full of this," she gestured at the mess, "at people and decided to aim at me! What are they, five?"

At that, he began to snicker. "This isn't funny!" she thundered, tearing herself away from him.

"Yes it is," he informed her calmly, smiling. She met his response with a narrowed scowl. "Want to know why?" Katara folded her arms across her chest expectantly. "Because that means we can get them back," he explained triumphantly. Normally, he was against revenge, but prank wars were a different story. The Southern Air Temple was especially known for their pranks, and he would gladly share his knowledge with his jook-covered girlfriend. But they would need to plan this carefully before Toph with her skills at detecting lies caught on.

For the first time since this whole ugly incident, Katara smirked. "I'm listening…"

And then Aang told her the plot.

--

Later that night, Iroh inquired about his full pot of jook he had set out that morning, which was now mysteriously half empty. Toph feigned an innocent demeanor and complimented him on his wonderful cooking expertise. She told him how she had gotten hungry and couldn't stop eating. Since Katara had stormed through the Jasmine Dragon so quickly that Iroh had never really observed what was all over her, the little white lie was accepted with tremendous gratitude. Katara, from her seat across the room, narrowed her eyes at Toph gave a small 'humph' in reply.

Toph smiled simply and continued chewing on her dumplings.

They were all sitting in the old general's dining room in his apartment across the street from his shop. The apartment was beautiful, with exquisite little knick-knacks he had collected from different markets in Ba Sing Se. Dinner was always a pleasant affair where Team Avatar gathered around a familiar table and ate in relative peace. Other than Katara obviously ignoring Sokka, Toph, and Suki, and Aang darting worried glances between the four, the atmosphere was relaxed and almost soothing.

After everyone retired to bed, Suki crept into Katara's room. She had been feeling guilty the entire day, and she desperately wanted to apologize.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry."

"Go away." Instead of choosing to be defeated, Suki stayed in the bedroom. Katara repeated her previous sentiment at a much louder tone.

"I never wanted to dump that on you, and I should have stopped Sokka. I am sorry, Katara, and I just wanted to let you know that." Tiredly, Suki began to turn for her own room, having said her piece.

"I expected better from you," the younger girl sighed.

"I expected better from myself," Suki mumbled guiltily. Suki was indeed very ashamed of her actions. Had she let herself become too lax after the war? Pranking was never her thing!

Katara shook her head. "I guess I could forgive you this one time. And it was pretty funny… Just don't ever do it again, okay?" Suki caught her in a quick embrace from behind.

"I don't plan to." And they parted ways for the night.

--

The next week came and went smoothly, and Sokka was sure Katara had forgotten about the little episode. One might have noticed that something was up when Aang asked Iroh for more jook, but no one paid any attention whatsoever. The new peace, the peace that had only recently ascended upon them, gave the kids a new tranquility inside themselves, and they wished it would never leave.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Aang suddenly landed in front of the bustling teashop and raced in to find the devilish trio. At the moment they were drinking tea quietly when Aang raced in, glider still open. "Guys, come quick, we are being attacked by Dai Li agents! Zuko's still down at Lake Loagai!" Without another question, the four ran off.

The Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se was quite a distance from Lake Loagai, but Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Toph hardly noticed as they winded themselves through the busy street, pushing random civilians out of the way, and sweating from the hot autumn sun. They could barely breathe out of panic and worry for the friend. Soon, they had reached the site, but surprisingly, there was nothing around. The lake looked eerily calm. Evidence of all battle had been erased and their panic tripled with no sight of Zuko or the Dai Li.

"Wait!" Toph suddenly shouted as she pointed wildly towards a mass of rocks across the lake. "There's someone over there!" They all rushed right over, ready to strike or help, depending on what the situation would be when they reached the person. As they closed in, the dot of black morphed into a crouching person. His head was not visible from their vantage point, and nothing but the man's black cloak could be seen.

"Who ar—"

"Surprise!" shouted Katara who had suddenly stood up and splashed a huge pot of jook (hidden by her huge cloak, the discovered later) all over the startled teens. Some, to her never ending delight, spilled into Sokka's mouth, which had been hanging open from his interrupted question. She dropped the pot on the ground and placed her hands on her hips. Katara smirked.

Toph, recovering first, was definitely not pleased. And she made it very clear.

"It was payback from your previous prank," Aang answered her rants smoothly. He had hung back from the group to avoid the splash of porridge. After Toph's outburst, he calmly walked around the three and wrapped an arm around Katara's waist. He gave her quick peck on the cheek for all her hard work in the plan. She embraced him, her smirking eyes never leaving the others.

"So wait, Zuko, the Dai Li, all of it, was fake?" Sokka questioned after quickly spitting out the jook. That was one of the few tastes he wanted to linger in his mouth. And he was still very much shell shocked.

"Yep."

"You two disgust me," Toph informed them. She shook some of the food off her arm in an effort to at least take something away from Aang and Katara's victory. They simply avoided her efforts.

"I can't believe this." Suki hadn't spoken this whole time. She exhaled. This was what she deserved, after all.

"We'll see you guys at home," waved Katara as she and Aang turned and walked toward Appa. Wait, where did Appa come from? Was he there the entire time?

Sokka did a double take. "Wait, you aren't going to at least give us a lift back home?" he inquired incredulously. He was having trouble taking it all in.

"Are you kidding? Jook would be a nightmare to clean out of Appa's fur!" Aang replied. Hand in hand, the two climbed on Appa and took off with Aang's signature 'yip, yip.'

They glanced at each other and around praying that some other flying bison would drop from the sky. The rocky shore provided nothing for them. Maybe jumping in the lake would help wash some of the gunk off. Nope, it had crusted over and would be impossible to clean off. Soaked and upset, Sokka, Suki, and Toph set off from Lake Laogai.

Jook, water, and sweat certainly did not mix.

Lesson learned: Food wasn't just for eating.

A/N: Don't you just love Sokka's shenanigans? Anyway, tell me how to improve. I haven't practiced writing in forever. =\ Thanks!