Katara: 10, Zuko: 12

He grimaced as he heard her heave again, the spagetti which he had cooked for them all in the bowl of the toilet. He held her hair back, making sure none of the vomit got into her mass of tangles. Once she had finnished emptying herself he took her to the kitchen and got her a glass of water which she downed in seconds. After grabbing himself a glass his hand ghosted over the box of twinkies. He looked at the quaking mass perched on the counter.

"You wanna twinkie? I hear they help..."

They both knew they didn't, and neither seemed to care, as they sat on the kitchen counter, eating twinkies together in bliss.

*~*~*~*~*~

Katara: 20, Zuko: 22

Once again Katara had misjudged her limit, and once again the pre-med sophmore student of USC was bent over the toilet of engineering senior Zuko, puking her guts out after a night of far too hard partying. He held her now considerably shorter and tamed hair back from her face, this routine becoming too much of a habit than he would like to admit.

"I told you Katara, mixing jolt and Wiser's does not sit well with your stomach."

"I only had 2 drinks..."

"You only remember having 2 drinks. You had about 5 pints of Wiser's ultimately."

"Remind me to...*blargh*"

"Never drink again? When? In between your trip from the bar to the tobacco gin pipe? Or while you're on the dance floor being knocked around by some senior you don't even know?"

"Zuko, your a senior."

"Yeah, and unless you haven't noticed I'm not fucking you nearly as much as those guys were, and I've known you since you were what? 2? 3?"

"That's not the point."

"Well then what is the point huh? No I'll tell you what it is, it's this..."

And before Katara could protest, he planted his lips on hers.

"The point is that I love you and I'm worried about you. You can't keep living like this, coming home a mooped wreck. And I can't stand to see those guys trying to get their way with you alright? Please stop this."

They sat in silence for a few moments, and once Katara could feel her insides settle, she gave Zuko a quick peck on the cheek, and leaned into his ear and whispered "I promise, but you need to give me something in return."

"Anything."

"A glass of water and a twinkie, and once I've cleaned my mouth out kiss me again, and this time don't stop."

Zuko gave a light chuckle and smiled. "Of course." he said.

*~*~*~*~*~

Katara 30, Zuko: 32

"Katara, why is it that you're always the one keeled over the toilet and I'm the one holding your hair back? It doesn't really seem fair."

"Zuko? Shut the fuck up."

And once again she emptied her stomach into the white porcelain.

"But you're always in such a good mood when you're like this! And I'm taking such good care of you."

"You'd be taking better care of me if you were a seahorse."

"What?"

"A seahorse. If you were a seahorse then you would be the one pregnant, not me..." and out came the guts once again.

"Why does that thought strike me as extremely and painfully disturbing?"

"Zuko? Do you know what the first thing I'm going to teach them is?"

"What?"

"Where you keep your secret stash of twinkies."

And on that note, she once again vomitted into the toilet.