Practice
Toph sat down next to Sokka on the old, mossy log where he had absentmindedly been watching Aang and Katara practice Waterbending in a pond some distance away. She let him continue watching them for a bit before she finally broke the silence.
"What's up?" she asked him.
"Nothing," he said, and then sighed without realizing.
"Sokka, come on. I know you're lying. You've been really mopey these past couple of days, and you haven't practiced with your sword at all. Something's wrong. Tell me."
"I… just haven't felt like it," Sokka said.
Toph waited for him to continue. She waited several minutes. Finally, Sokka seemed to decide that his answer wasn't going to cut it with her, and he went on.
"OK, well… Suki and me, we broke up. I don't want to talk about it. Or think about it."
Toph was silent for a moment before she said, "I understand that. But I don't understand why that stops you from practicing with your sword."
"Well, I just… why not?"
She was silent again, but something in his tone encouraged her. He seemed really interested in why she thought he should be out practicing with his sword if he'd just broken up with his girlfriend of over a year. And maybe a little surprised at the thought, too. She took a few moments to formulate her thoughts before she spoke, so that he could understand exactly where she was coming from.
"Sokka, I have a lot of experience not talking or thinking about things. How do you think I got so good at Earthbending?"
"What do you mean?"
Toph hesitated, and then said, "When I was still living with my parents, there were just a lot of… things… that I didn't want to think about. So I practiced Earthbending. When I was Earthbending, I didn't have to think about my parents. I could just focus on the earth, and my connection to it."
She paused for a second, but went on before Sokka could say anything, "So I just thought, well… If you don't want to think about Suki right now, why don't you just practice with your sword, and focus on that? …At least until, you know, you do feel like thinking again and talking about it. Then you can come and talk to me, if you want. I'm good at listening, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember," he said, putting his arm around her in a one-armed hug. His body was warm against hers and her stomach gave a little flip.
"You're also a good friend," he went on. "I think I'll take your advice. I don't know when I'll feel like talking, but when I do… I promise I'll find you. And don't forget, you can talk to me, too."
After a moment, he removed his arm, stood up, and said, "I need to go get my sword if I'm gonna practice."
As he walked away, Toph could still feel the weight of his arm around her, and she didn't call after him, I love you.
Instead, she, too, stood up, and went to practice Earthbending.
