keep the paper lantern lit

steam(y)

day five of zutaraang week 2020! i'm sure this prompt could have been more ns.fw for some people lmao, but i'm too ace to write anything convincing. i hope you enjoy my silly little spin on the prompt! :)

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steam(y): in which katara is the mvp (and toph deserves some goddamn earplugs)

"Toph, do you want green or gold nail polish?" Katara asked, examining the small glass bottles in her palm. She'd done her own nails reasonably well, so surely it would be even easier to do someone else's.

"I promise you, Sugar Queen, that they will look the same to me," Toph deadpanned, pointing at her eyes from either side of her face.

"Oops. Right." Katara studied the bottles for a moment longer, then made the decision. "Mm... Let's go with gold." Her own nails were silver, so it would be almost like they were semi-coordinating with metallics.

"Works for me. As long as you do not touch my feet."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Relax. I told you that I'm just doing your hands." As she was spinning the cap off the bottle, she was startled by Aang appearing out of nowhere behind her, resulting in her jumping and losing her grip on the bottle itself. Her boyfriend did manage to stop the nail polish from splattering all over the floor thanks to some quick airbending, thankfully.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed, as he returned the glass bottle to her. "I probably should have knocked before I came in?"

"You think?" Katara retorted as she accepted the bottle, unamused. Nail polish would have been near-impossible to clean off the wooden floor.

"Yeah, you should have knocked!" Toph agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I can't even see with my feet in this stupid house, in case you've forgotten!"

"Okay, okay!" Aang rubbed the back of his neck, his face now flushed a deep red. "I get it. My bad. I'll knock from now on."

Katara decided she'd watched him squirm enough and relented. "So," she said, placing the nail polish down on the dresser to her right, "what made you rush into here in the first place? Did you need something from us?"

Aang's eyes widened. "Right!" He gestured to the door. "I've been called to help resolve some dispute in town, so I don't know if I'll be back in time to help make dinner like we planned."

Katara pouted. She loved cooking with her boyfriend, even if that meant she ended up preparing most of the meat on her own. And tonight was supposed to be extra fun for Aang, too, because he'd finally managed to convince Zuko to join them.

Aang seemed to notice her disappointment, and he hastily added, "I might make it back, though! It's just a minor disagreement between some rival store owners - I think - so it probably won't take too long -"

"It's okay, sweetie," Katara interrupted, unable to stop herself from smiling at his rambled response. "Fingers crossed you'll be back, but we'll survive if you don't. Have you told Zuko yet?"

"Yeah. I ran into him when I was looking for you." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for not being mad."

"Well," Katara said coyly, "if you wanted to make it up to me somehow..." She smirked at him. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few ideas."

Aang's eyes widened before he returned her smirk with a sly one of his own. "Is that so? And what do you have in mind?"

She resisted the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. Spirits, she adored her boyfriend. "I was thinking that you coul-"

"Hello!" Toph shouted, throwing her arms upward and causing them both to jump. "Did you forget that I'm here? I may be blind, but that doesn't mean I want to hear you making out in front of me, either."