Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.
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She leaned on the porch railing, feeling the breeze from the ocean blowing against her face. The taste of salt stung her lips. She twisted her fingers in the honeysuckle vines that tangled over the wall and dug her toes in the thin layer of dirty sand that covered the planks of the porch.
"Toph?"
She accidentally pulled off a handful of honeysuckle blossoms, cursed under her breath, and dropped them over the railing. "What?" she said, wiping her hands on her sleeveless white tunic.
"What are you doing out here? It's the middle of the night."
"I wanted to take a walk," she said.
"In your skivvies?"
"You have something against my skivvies?"
For a moment she paused as she realized what had just come out of her mouth and warmth crept over her cheeks. "Your skivvies are fine," he said. "I just don't know why you're walking around in them in the middle of the night when you ought to be sleeping."
She folded her arms on the railing and rested her chin. "Don't want to sleep," she said.
"Don't or can't?"
"Don't," she said.
She felt him lean the small of his back against the rail. "You let your hair down," he commented.
"Katara made me take a bath," she said. "And it won't dry if I put it up."
His fingers raked through her long silky hair. "Pretty," he commented.
She pulled away. "Don't say stupid things."
He fell silent. "What's bothering you?" he asked.
She rocked back on her heels. "We could die tomorrow," she said quietly.
"So?" he said. "That's been a possibility since day one. You know that."
"Of course I know that," she snapped. She twined a strand of hair around her finger, then tossed it back in irritation. "It's just…it seems more real now. That we really could…"
He draped his arm around her shoulders. "I know," he said gently.
They stood together in the comfortable quiet. He watched the water lap against the shore; she listened to the soft swishing sound the waves made.
"I'm not ready to die," she said. "I'm not old enough."
"Me neither," he said.
"There's so much I haven't done yet," she said. "I've never gone to school. I haven't traveled nearly enough. I haven't been k…" She broke off and turned away from him, the warmth returning to her cheeks.
"Never been what?" he said. She could hear the gentle teasing behind his words.
"Never been kissed," she mumbled.
He laughed. She punched him. "Why are you so concerned with getting kissed?" he asked.
"I've waited my whole life for it," she protested.
"All twelve years of your whole life?"
"Twelve and a half," she corrected.
"Forgive me," he said. "Twelve and a half. Because that makes such a difference."
"You don't understand," she said. "When you're the youngest in the group, every month counts."
"I like that you're the youngest," he said. "You're the baby. It's kind of cute."
"I'm not a baby and I'm not cute," she said.
He squeezed her shoulder. "You sure are," he said. "And you're definitely too little to be worried about kissing."
"When did you have your first kiss?" she retorted.
He paused. "Last winter," he said quietly.
She dropped her head. "Oh," she said.
"It's all right," he said. He cleared his throat. "You know, kissing isn't really all that it's cracked up to be."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she said. "Because everyone seems to think it's pretty awesome."
"It's not," he said. "I mean, it's nice and all, but still."
She wrapped her arms around the railing. "All I want is just one kiss," she said. "Is that so much to ask?"
He sighed. "I suppose not," he said.
She ran her hand through her hair. "So what am I supposed to do?" she said.
He lifted her chin, catching her off guard. "I promise," he said.
"You promise what?"
He leaned closer. Without thinking she breathed in the scent of sunshine and pine trees that clung to his skin. "I promise to kiss you before you die," he said.
She took a deep breath. "So?" she said.
"So what?" he said. "I just promised to kiss you. Doesn't that mean something?"
"It's one thing to promise," she retorted. "What if I die tomorrow? Then your promise will be completely useless."
He laughed. "I guess you're right," he said.
By now he was so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek. Her heart tapped rapidly against her ribcage. His strong hand still tipped her chin up, angling her face towards his. It didn't matter, but she closed her eyes.
"Get ready," he said.
She squinched her eyes tightly. "I am," she said.
His lips brushed hers. She opened one eye. "What on earth was that?" she said.
"I kissed you."
"That wasn't a kiss. That was a lip touch."
"Isn't that all a kiss is?"
"A kiss is more than that," she said, exasperated. "That doesn't count. Do it again."
He laughed softly. "I won't kiss you if you're going to order me," he said. "It definitely doesn't count. I'll kiss you when least expect it."
She scowled and leaned over the railing. "Whatever," she mumbled.
He wrapped his arms around her protectively, pressing his chest against her back and resting his chin on the top her head. "I promise to give you a real kiss before you die," he vowed.
"On the lips?"
"On the lips."
She huddled in the warmth of his arms and impulsively kissed his wrist. He gently rubbed his thumbs against her soft bare skin.
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Her hand slipped from his grasp; he tightened his grip. She clung to him, thankful that she couldn't see the faraway ground. Her legs swung in the backdraft left by the airship.
"I don't think boomerang's coming back, Toph," he said. Her eyes stung, and it wasn't just the hot air blowing into her face. "It looks like this is the end."
She held onto his hand, their sweaty palms sliding. His pulse pumped through her. There were only moments left.
Suddenly metal scraped against metal. A terrible jarring crash tore through her and she winced. The airship, she thought. Something's destroying the airship.
Her hand dropped from Sokka's, and she plummeted through the sky. She didn't even have time to scream. Her body felt like her stomach was left behind.
And then suddenly she hit something hard, scraping her knees and her palms and singeing her skin on hot metal. Sokka fell hard beside her. She desperately scrabbled for something to grip as her equilibrium struggled to stabilize. "How did that happen?" she cried, her voice tight and high-pitched. "Did boomerang come back?"
"No, Suki did," he said. She could hear the relief in his voice, and it made her feel just a little better.
The hot air whipped against her face as the airship lurched and tilted through the sky. She slid across the roof of the ship. Sokka took her by the arm and pulled to his side. Toph latched onto his shoulder, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "Are you all right?" he said, his mouth close to her ear.
"I think so," she said. "Just a little shaken up, I guess." Her voice quavered. He wrapped his arm around her tightly.
"Sokka, you and Toph should get below deck," Suki called over the roar of the propellers. "I'll take us down."
Toph broke from his embrace and stood up shakily. Her head spun. "Come on," she said, forcing her usual bravado to return. "Let's go."
"Help me up," he said.
She frowned and held out her hands. "Let's get off this metal deathtrap," she said. "I'd rather be inside of it than on top of it."
He gripped her hands and his center of balance shifted, nearly taking her down. "What's wrong with you?" she said.
"I think I broke my leg," he said. "Or sprained it, or something. Something not good."
Her stomach twisted. "Are you serious?" she said.
"Well, I'm not joking, if that's what you mean," he said. He struggled into a standing position, leaning heavily on her hands. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around his waist; he balanced against her narrow shoulders. "The hatch is about ten paces in front of you."
"I can see it," she snapped.
Truthfully, the fall had shifted her sense of balance and the world was still in a shadowy haze. She inched forward, the hot metal of the airship searing her small feet. The emptiness of the hatch stood out faintly against the solidity of the roof. She fumbled for the top of the ladder.
Sokka guided one of her hands to the top rung. "You get down first," he said. "I'll follow."
"No, you're hurt," she argued. "You go first."
He guided her other hand to the ladder. "Go," he insisted.
She climbed down slowly, hand over hand. Her foot skidded against the vastness of the floor and she stumbled off the rungs. "I'm down," she called.
Toph wrapped her hand around the side of the ladder. He climbed slowly, his injured leg dangling uselessly. The vibrations thudded through her hand.
Sokka paused, a rung away from the floor, and collapsed to the floor. "Are you okay?" she cried.
He didn't answer. She knelt beside him and pressed her hands on either side of his face. "Sokka?" she said.
"I'm okay," he groaned. He pushed himself onto his elbows, his chest heaving. "I think my leg's falling off, but I'm okay."
"Can you move?" she asked.
"Not much," he admitted, leaning against the wall.
The hold was quiet compared to the roar of the sky above them. She placed her hand on his injured leg. She felt the blood pumping through his veins- but without release, so he wasn't bleeding. Toph trailed her fingers along the lines of ligaments and tendons, until she touched his shin. He winced, hissing through his teeth. "Sorry," she apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
"I know," he said.
She touched his calf lightly, feeling the clean sharpness of the cracked bone. "You broke your leg," she said. "I guess we'd better wrap it up. Or something." She swiped at her eyes. "I don't really know what to do. I mean, that's the reason we keep Katara around, right? She's the one who's supposed to fix everything. I don't really-"
He tilted her chin up and leaned forward. For a moment she felt his warm breath against her cheek, and then his lips touched hers.
Her heart, already beating fast, sped up. His lips were rough and chapped, but gentle. She leaned forward with her hands on either side of his hips. He kissed her thoroughly and she kissed him back, suddenly sharply aware of the gentleness of his hands on her cheeks and the warmth of his lips against hers.
Sokka ended the kiss slowly. He rubbed his thumb against her chin. "I promised to kiss you before you died," he said huskily. "And I almost lost you before I could make good on that."
She still leaned towards him, her breaths coming warm and quick. Her lips tingled.
"So…was it good?" he said. "You're not saying anything."
"I just got my first kiss from my best friend right after an epic battle," she blurted out. "What's not to like?"
Sokka kissed her temple; she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I'm glad," he laughed, and he pulled her into his arms.
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Author's Notes:
So sweet, you might get cavities.
I've had this plot bunny running through my head for forever. Seriously. For forever. Originally he was going to kiss her for reals in the first part, and then it would be done, but then Sokka pulled away, and Toph punched him, and everything was out of my control...and the second part materialized.
This was inspired by one of my favorite couples, Theodore "Laurie" Laurence and Amy March, in my all-time favorite book, Little Women. (If you know me in real life...I really am a real-life Amy March). In the 1994 movie version, Laurie is taking Amy to stay with scary Aunt March so she won't catch scarlet fever from Beth. She tells Laurie about how she's scared to die, and that she can't die before she gets her first kiss. Laurie promises to kiss her before she dies...and it's so cute. So, so cute.
I hope you enjoyed this!