A/N: This scene is the mandatory restaurant incident scene and is, of course, a cliche. Let this author partake in the entourage, too.

***

"Please take this seat. A waiter would be taking your order soon."

The host smiled and left with giddy steps. After all, it isn't easy to come across a 25 coin tip and for Nik's generous tip, he received a seat in well-lit area with the lower levels of the city visible from the location.

Of course, Sokka and Nik were forced to sit together while the girls took the three seats opposite to them and took the small board that had today's dishes, main dish and the chef's recommendation written over it.

"I want to try this Cat Hen leg and a plate of Dry Pineapple!"

Yue immediately picked two dishes while Katara smiled.

"You should probably try the raspberry blend alongside these two."

"Eh? You know about these dishes?"

Karna and Yue looked at Katara, who simply shrugged.

"Well, we ate a lot while we traveled..."

Katara stopped in her tracks as the surroundings grew awkward while Nik rubbed his chin and spoke slowly.

"I'll probably try the same thing as Ignit. A large serving of Elephant Koi."

"What? You do not want to try that, dude. Not only does it feel a bit hard to chew, but it also fills your stomach way too quickly."

Sokka immediately spoke while Nik shrugged.

"If they can eat it, why shouldn't I?"

This time, Karna spoke with an exasperated expression.

"Nik... your tendencies are growing way out of hand. You should try something else, what do you think, Katara? Any recommendations?"

While Katara took a moment to realise that Aang may have disappeared just like the previous Avatar, she sighed loudly and pointed at three dishes once again.

"Why don't you try a platter of roasted Koi Tail with a bowl of chili soup and peanut plateau as a dessert?"

As Nik frowned, a shrill voice suddenly broke their chat.

"I said, I want to take that Table! And now that you tried to stop me, I WILL SIT ON THAT TABLE!!"

Though arrogant, the high-pitched voice felt nothing but disturbing as Nik strained his neck upwards to look past the girls and found a thin youth garbed in extravagant green robes followed by a group of rowdy youths that gave no fucks about the elder host trying to persuade them.

"Well... isn't he the rude one."

Sokka muttered while Nik shrugged.

"Let's just change the seats."

Nik shrugged and got up, meanwhile, Sokka looked at him with quite a shocked expression, making him frown.

"What? Anything on my face?"

Nik asked out while Sokka shook his head.

"I just thought that you would kick his ass."

"Fighting a group just to win a seat in a restaurant. Sorry, I am not that bored."

Nik shrugged while Yue and Karna nodded seriously after hearing Nik's words. In reality, the two girls were ready to help Nik should the need arise, but Nik's statement opened a new oath if thinking for them.

He was right. Why should he even bother arguing about a table seat? He can simply change the seat and save himself from the trouble of arguing with an idiot and then dirtying his hand if things grew physical.

"See? Now back off! I like that seat!!!"

The youth immediately rushed towards the seat and sat at the corner most seat and looked at the lower levels of the city with rather excited eyes. But after a few moments, he looked towards Nik and grinned.

"Yo! Thanks, man! Hey, boss, his group's meals are on my tab!"

He immediately waved at the host before raising his cup of water towards Nik and smiling happily. Nik shrugged with a smile and raised his own glass before ordering a few dishes when a waiter came running towards them.

"He is... quite the pleasant one."

Karna muttered while Nik smiled.

"Well, this is what happens when you avoid fights. You make friends."

Nik looked at Sokka and then whispered a few words into his ears and almost instantly, it looked like Sokka was pumped with adrenaline as he immediately nodded like a grinning monkey.

"What did you say?"

Katara finally couldn't keep her curiosity within herself and looked at Nik with a puzzled expression.

"Nothing, it was a gift for Sokka."

"Yeah!"

Sokka smiled happily as he emptied his glass of water. Meanwhile, Yue snorted.

"Hmph! I saw Nik grinning like that when we— anyway, it isn't anything good."

Karna nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, Nik is a dirty-minded person. If Sokka is this happy, it must be something dirty."

"Oh, come on." Nik grinned with evil intentions clear on his face while Sokka stood up and made his way towards the thin youth, attracting Katara's puzzled expression while Nik continued, "You guys aren't saints, you know, after all, we—"

"Not a word, 'Master'."

Karna smiled, yet the vein popping over her hands and forearms spoke a different story.

"Yeah! You da bully!"

Yue shrunk her neck and spoke timidly, a flush evident on her face while the thin youth's loud laughter attracted the group's attention. The youth nodded at Sokka and whispered a few words while his friends also smiled at Sokka warmly before he returned with a triumphant smile.

"Hehe! We got it!"

"I never doubted you."

Nik grinned as they gave each other a brofist before the dishes soon filled the entire table. Of course, as the chat started to steer away from the topic of their whispers, the girls' curiosity wasn't the least bit satiated.

***

The group soon left the restaurant and made their way towards the inn. The strangest thing was that Sokka already seemed to know the directions of the inn, which caused a few creases to form over Katara's forehead. And the fact that this time, Karna and Yue were asked to sit inside the caravan instead of accompanying Nik was quite strange.

Opening a tiny slit of the short metal window, Katara placed her index finger over her lips and looked at Karna and Yue, hinting then to be silent while she peeked on Sokka and Nik, who were whispering something in each other's ears.

But after hearing a few words— Katara's face paled in disbelief as she hastily backed away.

"What happened?"

Karna. immediately asked out. Between Katara and the duo, it could be said that Karna was quite appreciative of Katara's talents and decisiveness. But she couldn't help but wonder what could she have heard to look so frightened.

And the most disturbing thing to Yue and Karna was when Katara looked at the duo with a small amount of pity hidden within her gaze.

'How could... they have fun with themselves... especially Nik... to go after Sokka with Karna and Yue by her sides...'

As Katara imagined the scene of her brother and Nik... 

Shiver.

Her body unconsciously shook as she felt dizzy and fell back on her seat, unable to speak any words after almost imagining the forbidden image.

It didn't take long to find the lavish Inn that was actually willing to accept Nik's salamanders and they were quickly settled in three different rooms. While Sokka was shocked that after so much travel, Katara would ask for a different room, he also felt fortunate due to his expected guest tonight.

Meanwhile, Karna and Yue simply stuck themselves with Nik. After all, they didn't need to fight for the pillows. Yue would sleep on Nik's left arm while Karna would occupy his right, officially numbing Nik's upper limbs to comfort themselves.

Katara, on the other hand, felt quite an urgency to find a private room after Nik's scent seemed to explode. This was the major reason she asked for a different room. Now that she finally found a comfortable place, she fully intended to make use of such a location.

Also, after hearing Sokka's whispers, Katara felt that Sokka also would have been holding himself back for quite a long time and if Nik was accommodative enough then she could only give them her blessings.

Of course, Katara was quite frustrated at the thought of Sokka monopolising Nik's sweet-scented body. Gah! She needed to reach her room, QUICK!