"So." Yue's voice breaks the silence, cutting through the sound of Zuko and Jin making out in his room after a long day working on the element ball arena and the Jasmine Dragon.

Zuko groans softly, reluctantly pulling back from Jin's lips. "This about to ruin my mood?" he asks, wiping a smudge of red lipstick from his jaw with the sleeve of his tunic.

"Only if you're incapable of appreciating pure genius." Yue steps into the room, holding something behind her back.

Zuko raises a brow and sits up properly, his curiosity piqued. "This like me messing with Sokka earlier, or are you playing a long game?"

"Oh, it's the long con," Yue says, grinning. She lifts her hands and reveals her necklace, unfastening it from around her neck. "Jin. You've probably noticed; Katara and I wear identical necklaces. Hers was her mother's. Mine... was a betrothal gift. From Sokka."

"Yeah, I remember. You had it made to honor Kya's memory too, right?" Jin asks, watching with interest.

"Exactly." Yue affirms before closing the door behind her to make sure no one else hears her. "Here's what I'm thinking, we create a bit of permafrost and carve her a new necklace, but this time it's of the air nomad symbols. Identical in every way except the inscription." An evil grin grows on Zuko's face as she says this.

"And when she's bathing or sleeping..." Zuko quickly catches on,

"We swap them!" Yue finishes. "I'll wear hers for a while, keep mine hidden. See how long it takes her to notice."

"There's a pretty good chance she figures it out," Zuko admits, already plotting how to make the swap without detection. "But if she doesn't..."

"The payoff will be so much sweeter," Yue grins.

"What's the big deal about these necklaces anyway?" Jin asks, cocking her head. "You said Sokka proposed to you with yours?"

"It's the engagement practices of the northern and southern water tribes. Hell I'm pretty sure the foggy swamp tribe has a similar practice as well." Zuko answers. "The necklace will look like it was made by Aang, and given to her as a betrothal gift."

"Katara and Sokka will think that Aang proposed to her." Yue finishes.

"Ohhhh... you two are e-vil." Jin smiles, her lips curl into the same mischievous smirk that sits on Yue's face.

"Baby you know it." Zuko replies, before his eyes widen in realization and he excitedly points towards the door. "Oh! Did either of you have her take off her necklace before her and Aang's date? Now would be the perfect time for the switch!" Yue gasps at the realization.

"I totally forgot about that! We did! It's still in my room by her training clothes. Now we just gotta make the permafrost. Lee, where's your bag of spirit oasis water, that's the only thing we can use that won't melt after we freeze it." Zuko crawls across the bed then leans down to root through the bedside table where he keeps his coin purse, pearl dagger and a few other cherished belongings. In the bottom drawer the fat leather and seal skin pouch sits lopsided but still mostly full of water.

"Got it." He says before sitting up and passing it to Yue. "We can't use too much, we'll never know if it'll be needed."

"I'm gonna go swipe the necklace, I'll remove my pendant, swap it with hers and then replace it with the new carving, this way she wont feel any change in the silk whatsoever." Yue passes Zuko her necklace before tiptoeing to the door and sneaking out.

"I need you to hold this open, but don't spill it." He warns, causing Jin to sit perfectly still with it in her hands.

"What's so special about this water?" She asks.

"The water has healing powers far beyond anything I can normally do, Katara and Yue are even better healers than I am. I can't tell you how many times they've fixed my ribs more times than I can count, thanks to Toph's 'enthusiasm' during our training sessions." Zuko explains as he hands Jin the small pouch then undoes the strings and cork holding it shut. "The spirit water is in a league all its own, Yue once told me it was used to bring someone back even when they're mere moments from death... maybe even after it."

He extends a hand, lifting a few ounces from the bag and forming it into a perfectly circular pendant the same size and width as Yue's. Jin watches in awe as Zuko just curls his fingers and the water reacts to his will. The crystal clear water suddenly has ice crystals grow across its surface, starting out as small snowflakes then growing larger and larger till they touch each other. It freezes completely solid in a matter of seconds before Zuko extends it towards Jin allowing her to touch it. "Woah... I expected it to be cold but... this feels strange." Jin says before handing the necklace back to Zuko. He quickly grabs the pearl dagger from the night stand and begins carving the swirls into the face of the blank pendant. Yue returns no more than three minutes later, a triumphant glint in her eyes and Katara's necklace pinched delicately between her fingers. "Got it!" she says, grinning as she closes the door quietly behind her. "The sun's starting to go down, so we don't have a lot of time till they get back." Yue carefully lays Katara's original necklace beside the water pouch, then opens her own hand and removes her betrothal pendant from the ribbon. The silk lies coiled like a sleeping serpent between her fingers, the empty loop waiting to be filled.

"It's done," Zuko murmurs, holding the pendant up.

"That looks exactly like something Aang would carve. It even looks as graceful as an airbender." Jin says as she leans in to get a closer look.

"Perfect. She won't notice a thing until it's too late." Yue says as she ties the finished pendant back onto the ribbon.

Zuko smirks and folds his arms. "Now we just wait..." The three conspirators exchange a look; one part victory, one part evil glee, and settle in to prepare for the return of Ba Sing Se's most obviously-in-love couple.

It doesn't take long for the front door to creak open, the final rays of sunlight pierce over the high walls as the afternoon turns to early evening. Aang and Katara step through the threshold hand-in-hand, looking like they've just waltzed out of a romance novel and face planted into the dessert table. Aang's expression is pure bliss: dazed, dreamy, and completely unbothered by the fact that his entire face is speckled with Katara's violet lipstick. There's one smudge on his cheek, another faint one along the side of his jaw, and a perfect kiss mark dead center on his lips. His hairless head practically radiates inner peace. He wears the dopey grin of a boy who has just experienced enlightenment... or the world's best pastry. Possibly both. Katara, for her part, looks significantly more composed but her cheeks are flushed, her smile is soft, and her fingers remain firmly laced with his. They look like trouble.

Sokka enters from the kitchen just in time to catch a glimpse of Aang's face; particularly the lipstick stamp on his mouth. "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO TO HIM?!" he shouts, pointing a chopstick like a blade as his eyes bug out.

"A lady never kisses and tells." Katara says far too innocently, stepping around him and tugging Aang along. "All I'll say is that we had a great time together. Lots of walking. Some sweets. Wind."

"Wind?" Sokka's voice cracks.

"For it being 'Not-a-date' it certainly felt like the best date I've been on." Aang says, sounding like he's been hit with a love-bending technique. "Ten outta ten. Highly recommend it."

"You've only been on one date, Twinkletoes." Toph's head pokes up from behind the couch. "I will say, it feels like the pastries they had were not the only things getting devoured." Behind her, Yue, Zuko, and Jin sit in the corner of the room, trying and failing to contain their snickering. Yue has one hand over her mouth, Zuko has turned away to disguise his laughter behind an empty teacup, and Jin is biting her knuckle, barely holding it together.

Sokka narrows his eyes at them, then points back at Aang. "You're lucky my hands are full of noodles," he mutters, storming back toward the kitchen.

"Hey! I don't give you a hard time about you and My sister, I don't want to hear it from you about me and Aang." Katara returns the accusatory pointing of fingers as she jousts her hand towards Sokka.

"First off, she's my wife and your sister-in-law. Secondly this is different!" Sokka protests but Katara just ignores him, instead she leans in and plants one last kiss on Aang's cheek purely to infuriate her brother before she lets go of Aang's hand to get changed. "Aang~" Her voice sings like a lark in the early morning light. "We all have a surprise for you after dinner, so just unwind for a little while and get something to eat, ok?" She says just before she walks through the door to Yue's room.

"Ok..." Aang replies, his voice is a mix of bliss, satisfaction and slight disappointment that the kiss didn't last longer.

Just after dinner, golden light spills through the windows, catching the dust in the air and painting everything in soft amber. Aang leans back from his plate, feeling comfortably full from a generous helping of jasmine rice, honey-glazed stir-fried greens, and a side of crispy-fried duck eggs with spring onion. He dabs the corner of his mouth with a napkin, blissfully unaware of the excitement brewing around him. Katara appears beside him with a spark in her eye. "We've all put a great deal of work into this, you ready to see the surprise?" Katara's voice, playful and urgent. "Aang, come on," she says, tugging him to his feet by the wrist. "You've rested long enough."

He blinks, startled but still grinning from their earlier kiss. "Where are we going?"

"No questions," Yue says as she passes by, her arms full of what looks like ribbon and chalk. "Only destiny."

Sokka trails behind, club in hand like a warrior summoned to battle. "You better stretch, Airhead. I want no excuses when I crush you."

"I don't even know what we're doing." Aang protests.

"Exactly. That's your first mistake." Sokka points the club at him dramatically, then spins on his heel and storms outside. As he passes Yue, she smacks him on the back of the head.

"The game hasn't started Sokka, no trash talking." She chastises causing Sokka to grab the spot where she smacked him.

Outside the backyard has been transformed, dozens of tall stone pillars varying in height and width rise high above the villa house with two large upright and U shaped goal posts on either end of the arena. The lawn has been marked with chalk lines and jade tiles. Floating lanterns sway on gentle currents of air. And at center field stands Iroh wearing a striped black-and-white referee outfit with red trim, a whistle dangling from his neck, and the kind of grin that promises mischief.

"I present to you," Iroh declares, "the first ever Royal Upper Ring Element Ball Tournament!" He booms and Aang stares in awe at the arena before him, the pillars, the ball under Iroh's arm, everything a call back to one of his most cherished childhood memories, before the war, and before the ice. Air Ball. Zuko smirks as he walks past Aang then takes the ball from Iroh, with a single jump he clears the fifteen feet needed to get up to the middle post. With a flick of his wrist, air feeds through the ball levitating in his hand as it spins.

"You all decide on the rules for me? It'd be a little unfair if I used everything at once." He reasons, using his bending to orbit the ball around himself.

"Well, since you're the only other person here who can airbend, I think that's what you should stick with." Aang's tone now drips with competitive excitement. "All in favor?" he asks as he raises his hand, around him every single member of team avatar, including Uncle Iroh, raises their hands. Sokka raises both of them.

"Alright then, airbending it is," Zuko says before letting the ball drift downwards back to Iroh. "How are we gonna do teams?"

"How about the canon quartet, Me, Aang, Katara and Toph vs Lee, Jin and Yue." Sokka adds, Zuko deadpans when Sokka says this.

"Pretty sure I died in the original." Yue replies.

"Oh shush, Moon Sugar Queen" Toph shouts, pointing her finger at the white haired princess not even facing her. "Just get ready for us to destroy you." Yue sneers at the insult as Toph walks over to a pillar and taps it with the side of her hand. It retracts all the way into the soil allowing her to stand on it before it ascends again like an elevator.

"I think the teams are more than enough." Zuko says as he grins at Aang below him. The young airbender bounces up to the pillar across from Zuko with ease. "Masters vs Apprentice, but now I am the master."

Aang narrows his eyes at him. "Just because you're a master now, do you really think you still don't have a lot to learn?"

"You're an expert, and a long way off from being a master, Avatar Ashbreath." Katara corrects and insults him.

"Don't push it Sparky. I already said You're adept at best and even that's generous." Toph chimes in, further undermining Zuko's confidence.

"Right, and who beat you at Earth Rumble Six?" Zuko replies, watching Katara and Yue use their waterbending to rise and climb to their respective sides. "Oh that's right. Me."

"You won because you were going all out, but don't forget I came This close to beating you." Toph replies, now fuming mad, holding her fingers so close together that they look like they're touching.

"Aang. I'm willing to bet if you win, Katara might just do more than kiss you. You might even get to second base." Zuko says, now switching tactics to try to get in Aang's head. Aang and Katara immediately blush feverishly when Zuko says this. Sokka on the other hand...

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY SISTER?!" Instantly explodes.

Toph's voice cuts in like a dagger. "That's rich coming from you, Sparky. But you're forgetting that I. Hear. Everything." She turns her head slightly, smirking in Jin's direction. "Hey Jin, you ever wonder why Lee screams Honor! In bed?" Yue has to stifle a laugh as Jin stares mortified at the sassy lost child.

Zuko's face turns redder than a Fire Nation war balloon. His smirk dies instantly. "...I'm going to destroy you now." His voice is now cold, sharp and intense, so much so that the air around them settles instantly.

The air is thick with tension and the laughter is barely stifled as the players take their positions. Zuko stands perched on the highest pillar at center field, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Aang mirrors him on the opposite side, cracking his knuckles and rolling his neck with mock confidence. Katara and Yue flank opposite ends of the arena, water sloshing around their arms, already swirling in anticipation. Jin tests her footing with a quick pivot, her long braid tied up in a high tail to keep it out of the way. Toph slides her feet along her platform with practiced ease, feeling every vibration. Sokka lifts his club like it's the key to victory though the look on his face says even he's not sure how.

From the middle of the arena, Iroh steps forward with theatrical grace. His referee uniform somehow gives him an air of both complete authority and complete absurdity.He raises his voice, loud enough to echo across the stone pillars.

"Welcome competitors! The rules of Element Ball are simple!" He spins the ball once on his finger, the jade and stone surface gleaming in the lantern light.

"One ball. Two teams. Your goal is to get the ball through the opponent's goal three times to win. You're only allowed to affect the ball by bending and bending can only be used to move yourself, or to prevent your opponent from getting the ball. In Sokka's case he's only allowed to use his club to hit the ball. No maiming, no blinding, and no touching of the hair or face." Iroh explains as he rolls the ball around his shoulders before spinning it on his opposite hand. "Lastly if you fall off the pillars you're not allowed back up until the next point is scored."

Zuko shifts his feet, bouncing slightly in anticipation. Sokka flexes his hand and tightens his grip on the club. Iroh catches the ball and raises the whistle to his lips. "Ready..." He says causing a few of them to flinch preparing to pounce. "Begin!" He shouts before blowing the whistle and throwing the ball upwards.

Aang and Zuko launch into the air at the same time, rising like twin blurs of motion. The jade ball spins above them, catching the light from the lanterns, hanging weightless for one heartbeat. Zuko's foot shoots out in a sweeping kick, sending a sharp gust of wind at the ball, just as Aang whirls his body in a spin, forming a tight cyclone to counter it. The two forces meet midair, suspending the ball in a shimmering standoff of swirling air. It's quickly slammed by a discus of stone launching it bouncing from pillar to pillar. Zuko turns to face Jin who has several floating disks of stone pulled from the pillars around her.

"Sokka! On your left!" Toph yells causing Sokka to swing wildly but only swipes the air as the ball slams his pillar and bounces again, pinballing towards Katara acting as the goalie. The water covering her arms launches outwards, snatching the ball mid flight as it bounces up towards her. "Aang!" She shouts before jumping, spinning and launching the ball towards him. He spots the ball arcing towards him with a wide curve and he aids its flight. With a blast of air on the opposite side, the ball stops rotating mid flight then starts spinning the opposite direction. The movement causes it to S curve around the arena towards Zuko's goal but it's stopped by a wall of ice created by Yue.

The ball thuds against the ice wall with a heavy crack, crystalline shards scattering through the air like shattered glass in the moonlight. Yue keeps the surface frozen just long enough to kill its momentum before flicking her wrists outward, breaking the wall and sending the ball skidding along a new arc toward Jin. Without missing a beat, Jin punches forwards launching one of the floating discs towards the jade ball, catching it like a springboard. With a single pivot, she launches it skyward in a smooth, curved pass toward Zuko. He's already on the move, leaping from his perch as the wind coils around his limbs like a living thing. The ball curves toward him and he meets it midair, twisting at the apex of his jump like a dancer in flight. His foot swings around and strikes the ball with a razor-thin gust of air, slicing the wind into a crescent.

The shot hisses like an angry cat, flying in low, fast, and curved. It's not aimed for the goal... at least, not yet. It's aimed at Sokka. "What the-?!" The jade ball smashes into his pillar with a crack, blowing wind and dust into his face. Sokka barely has time to yelp before the force knocks him clean off the platform. He flails as he tumbles off the edge, his club spinning from his grip before he splashes into the shallow stream below.

"Aang!" Katara shouts, lunging forward as the redirected ball curves now for the goal, but the gust of air from him comes a second too late. She throws both arms forward, water snaking into a spiral shield, but it's not enough. The spinning ball drills straight through the rushing veil of water, tearing past her defenses and slamming cleanly between the towering U-shaped stone uprights.

Iroh raises his hand, and a chorus of enchanted lanterns flicker to a brilliant gold above Zuko's goal. "Point!" Iroh declares. "Team Avatar leads, one to nothing!"

Zuko lands lightly on a nearby pillar, smirking down at Aang with hair tousled from the wind. "Still think you've got nothing to learn?"

Aang exhales, brushing a strand of hair from his face. "Okay," he mutters. "That was actually kind of cool."

"Reset." Iroh says prompting each of them to return to their starting positions, it also gives him enough time to retrieve the ball. The old general returns to the middle then looks up at Aang and Zuko who've changed battle stances slightly. "Each point will start from the middle... ready..." He explains lifting the ball over his head then blowing the whistle. "Begin!"

Zuko lunges forwards for the ball but Aang dips low, the young airbender opting to spin a spinning disc of air into his hands then blast it into Zuko's stomach launching him clear to the otherside of the arena. Zuko hadnt even been looking at Aang, he was focused only on the ball when the airbender attacked. Aang grins seeing his plan work perfectly before he twirls his hands above his head and summons the air currents needed to create an air scooter. As the ball comes down he catches it then jumps on the scooter piloting it forwards. Zuko manages to catch himself with one hand on one of the shorter poles near his goal. His muscles tense and strain as he holds himself up with one hand before he clasps the other onto the column and climbs up it.

"Haha! Yea-ha-hahh!!!" Aang howls as he races forward across the tops of the rising stone towers, the ball balanced like a jewel in his hand. He's nearly there, just one pillar away from a clean shot through the uprights. Suddenly the final pillar in his path suddenly shoots three feet taller. "OOMPH!" Aang slams straight into the stone, arms outstretched, face-first, the jade ball still clutched in his hands. He pinwheels once, then vanishes off the side and splashes into the stream below. Katara and Yue both flinch when Aang slams head on into the pole, Sokka trying and failing from laughing as Aang peels off of it and falls backwards into the water.

Iroh blows the whistle and holds up his hand, "Dead ball. Reset back to the center." He says as Aang drags himself out of the shallow water with all the enthusiasm of a corpse.

"Ouch. I felt that in my ribs." Zuko says before bending the water around Aang and dragging him the rest of the way out of the water. "You wanna call a timeout?" He asks and Aang shakily raises a thumbs up. Katara nimbly descends from the stone pillar before walking over to Aang preparing to heal him.

"I don't think you need to go that far, Sugar Queen." Toph says, causing Katara to shoot a glare in her direction. "I'm pretty sure the only thing bruised was his confidence."

"I feel like that pole left a dent in me..." Aang groans as Katara places her hands on his chest, channeling her healing chi into him.

"Well you definitely left one in that pole, that's for sure." Yue's sarcasm causes Sokka to grin widely.

"Tui and La, I love that woman." He swoons.

"Mr Mushi, Can we change the rules to award points when someone gets knocked into the water?" Jin asks, Iroh glances at Zuko for a moment still questioning why he still hasn't let her know about their real names before replying.

"Now that's an interesting prospect, it'll certainly add a bit more consequence to falling off the pillars... Alright I'll alow it. Point to team Avatar." Iroh declares as he gestures to Zuko's side of the arena. Jin and Yue both high five each other before returning to their spots for the next round.

"Ok, I'm alright! Let's do this!" Aang springs up before Katara takes a step back and helps him to his feet. "You're going down! You hear me, Avatar Grumpy."

"Really? That's what you call trash talk? I've heard meaner things from Momo." Zuko rolls his eyes, still smirking as he retakes his place atop the central pillar. "You better hope Katara scores for you, because you are not getting past me."

"Momo says some not nice things, so that's probably accurate." Sokka adds but the others just stare at him in confusion.

"I will get past you," Aang shoots back, puffing out his chest. "I've trained with the best!"

"I am the best." Zuko spins the ball on his finger casually before returning it to Iroh.

Toph slaps the side of her pillar. "Can you two airheads stop flirting and start the game already?"

"Hey, Dirt Duchess! You better start praying to your fancy palace tile gods, 'cause I'm about to wreck your team's hopes and dreams!" Sokka exclaims, pointing his club across the field at Jin.

"If your aim is as bad as your metaphors, I think we'll be fine." Jin laughs.

"Oh, it's on!" Sokka growls, gripping the club tighter like it's his trusted boomerang. He looks to Iroh. "Let's go, ref! Drop the ball!"

Iroh chuckles, raising the whistle to his lips once more. "Round reset. Score is two to zero, match point. Begin!" He hurls the jade ball skyward again.

Aang and Zuko don't lunge after the ball this time, instead both airheads blast each other with a massive current of air. The winds blast both of them off the pillar they're standing on but Aang manages to blast air down beneath him to float up to a shorter pillar before hitting the ground. Zuko slams into the pillar behind him and knocks the top half of it off but enough of his momentum is absorbed by the impact that he manages to right himself before falling off. Before the ball can land in the water, Zuko bends an air current through it, hooking it upwards towards Aang's half of the field. Rather than targeting the ball, Toph opts to target her earthbending counterpart, she jumps backwards, kicking the top foot of her column off and launching it at Jin. "So much for playing the actual game, Toph." Jin says as she punches the column sent at her and shatters it into a million pieces.

"We're playing for bragging rights!" Toph declares before slicing several stone discs from the pillars around her and firing them towards Jin. "I'm gonna take down the avatar and his girlfriend!" She shouts before firing all of the discs right at her. Across from her, Yue suddenly has to dodge several icicles launched with enough force to embed themselves half way into the stone pillars around her.

"Hey! Non Lethal projectiles only!!!" She shouts, her eyes flaring and her teeth gnashing with anger. Across from her, Katara smiles coyly as a ring of water orbits her entire body.

"Oh you would've been fine." Katara says dismissively before thrusting her arms forwards and spraying multiple jets of water towards Yue, Jin and Zuko.

Reacting quickly, Jin launches the pillar Zuko is on upwards protecting him and herself from the jet of water. Toph's discs slam into the surrounding pillars and even some of Jin's own. Zuko descends in a swirl of dust, spiraling his arms to form a tight landspout around his waist, riding it like a tornado. The Jade ball bounces off a pillar then gets sucked up into the tornado. Aang counters instantly, calling forth his air scooter and spinning it anti-cyclonically as the twin spirals collide in a blast of wind. The ball tears through the air like a comet, and Aang uses the scooter like a battering ram, slamming it into Zuko's chest and knocking him out of the vortex. Zuko catches the edge of a pillar with both hands, dangling, but Aang gives him no time to recover. He launches across the gap, arms rotating upward as wind gathers behind him. One more hit should do it. One clean-

"PHWEEEEET!!!" The whistle shrieks. Aang freezes mid-attack, arms wide and above his head. From across the field, a voice roars in triumph.

"YEAAAAAAAAAH!" Sokka yells, both arms raised in wild victory. "THE CLUB STRIKES AGAIN!"

Iroh lowers the whistle and nods solemnly. "Sokka scored. Game over."

"Well that was anticlimactic." Zuko grumbles as he slides down the side of the pillar. His feet land in the soft mud just beside the stream flowing beneath them. "I wanted a challenge, but instead this was just a warm up." He says dryly before peeling off his sweat stained shirt. He chucks it haphazardly over the balcony railing of the villa before stretching. His muscles roll under his skin as he stretches his arms overhead with a lazy elegance. He leans back as he stretches before taking a deep breath and turning his attention to the stream. He raises one hand causing a long ribbon of water to float into the air, curling like a serpent before coalescing into a perfectly spherical bubble above his head. The moon light catches the surface, making it shimmer like glass. Then, show-off that he is, he opens his mouth slightly, and the water floats down in a clean stream, feeding directly into his mouth like he's some kind of shirtless elemental wine drinker.

Sokka watches this unfold, jaw slowly dropping. Then, flatly: "Did you just... bend yourself a floating drink... Did it also require you taking your shirt off?"

Zuko finishes his sip, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, and shrugs. "I was thirsty."

"Thirsty for what, attention?" Sokka groans, throwing his hands up. "Spirits above, we get it. You're broody, a bending prodigy and ripped. Take it down a notch dude."

"I'm staying hydrated," Zuko replies evenly, clearly unbothered as he sends the remaining water back into the stream with a flick of his wrist. "Besides. Sounds like you're just jealous." He continues, using the water in the stream to splash through his hair for added bonus.

"Jealous?! I'll show you jealous!" Sokka roars before he rips his own shirt off and throws it on the ground in protest. "How do you like this mister eight pack!" he shouts, trying and failing (Mostly failing) to show off his own muscles. While he is muscular it's nowhere near Zuko. Sokka flexes his biceps, turning sideways like a bodybuilder. "Boom! Look at that definition! You could carve a canoe on these bad boys."

Zuko doesn't even blink. He just raises one brow and slowly, very slowly, flexes his arms in return. It's not showy, but the ripple of muscle is undeniable. The girls watching from the pillars begin murmuring among themselves. Jin stares with blush burning across her cheeks, a line of drool down the corner of her mouth and a bit of blood dripping from her nose. Katara covers her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. Yue shakes her head with a soft smirk.

"That's not even your final form, is it," Sokka grumbles.

Zuko rolls his shoulders and gives a lazy shrug. "I train daily."

"So do I!" Sokka protests. "I just... don't have firebending! Or a fancy hair routine! Or a backstory full of tragic crap that gives me bonus abs!"

"Clearly," Zuko says flatly, and this statement causes Sokka to blow a gasket.

"Do you think because you're not wearing a shirt you can do whatever you want?" He walks forward, jabbing a finger into Zuko's stomach, then pauses, eyes wide. "Gods damn that shit is rock hard." He says in a moment of unfiltered honesty, watching as his finger bends backwards as if he poked a marble wall. "You know what?! That's it! Flex-off. Right here, right now!" He shouts before striking a ridiculous pose: legs apart, fists on hips, chest puffed, back arched like some kind of bison-themed pro wrestler.

"What? You feeling intimidated? By all this... beef?" Zuko continues to egg Sokka on. Zuko tilts his head, unimpressed, then steps forward and slowly raises both arms in a deliberately lazy double-bicep pose. The movement is controlled, effortless, with the definition and bulk of a lifelong martial artist.

"I can't see them flexing, but I can tell that they have two brain cells competing for third place... in the wrong race." Toph groans as she pinches the bridge of her nose.

Before the next round devolves into shirtless posing and emotionally scarring Katara forever, Iroh raises a hand and blows his whistle sharply. "Gentlemen!" he bellows. "This is not the Fire Nation Army's spring calendar shoot. Save your peacocking for after the match!"

"Fine. But I'm not putting my shirt back on until I've scored again. For honor." Sokka declares before stabbing the bladed side of his club into the side of the pillar so he can get a foothold to climb back up.

"How very Fire Nation of you," Toph snarks from her pillar.

"Enough warming up," Zuko says with a roll of his neck. "Who's next?"

"I vote for everyone versus you." Sokka demands, pointing down at Zuko as he shimmies up the pole.

"Excuse me?" Zuko blinks.

"Think about it," Sokka says, gesturing to the others. "You're the Avatar. You've got four elements. You've got fancy abs. You've got a smug face. It's only fair we even the odds."

"You just want revenge for being out-flexed," Zuko says.

"That too."

"I second the motion," Yue chimes in. "It sounds fun." She grins at Zuko.

"You could use a proper challenge." Katara says, lifting her hand with a devilish smile.

"Fourth!" Aang says, practically bouncing on his toes. "You're gonna get Blown away by the competition!" Katara is the only one that laughs at his pun.

"This will be the easiest round ever. Five on one. Masters versus Apprentice." Toph beams with glee but beside her Sokka protests being forgotten.

"Actually Toph, there's six of us." He corrects her but Toph just shrugs dismissively.

"Oh... I didn't count you. No bending and all." She admits, but Sokka turns to shout at her.

"I CAN STILL FIGHT!!!" He roars, flaring his club in the air.

"Alright, One versus five plus Sokka."

"GRRRRRRR!!!" Sokka growls, practically foaming at the mouth.

"I'm just here to watch his shirt stay off." Jin says meekly.

Zuko sighs and hauls himself back onto one of the central pillars, steam still rising off his skin. "Fine. All of you versus me," he growls, cracking his neck with a smirk. "And I'll hold back, just a little bit." He lies. With a sharp inhale, he puffs a stream of fire from his mouth like a warning shot, the flames casting a flickering glow across the field.

"Hold it right there, buster." Jin's voice cuts through the tension as the column beneath her begins to rise, meeting the others in height. Her arms are crossed, one brow arched. "I know that look. You're gonna launch three of us into the drink the second the whistle blows."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Zuko feigns innocence.

"Mr. Mushi," Jin calls sweetly over her shoulder, "let's change the knockout rule. It only counts if the person who falls is holding the ball."

Iroh pauses, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm... a fair adjustment. Very well. Only ball-carriers will count for a point if knocked off."

Zuko snorts. "Fine by me. It'll make this more interesting than giving Sokka, Toph, and Aang a bath."

"Hey!" Sokka barks. "I just dried off!"

Iroh blows the whistle again. "Enough with the posturing, we have a game to play."