Toko Week 3 – Day 1: Gambling

Rating: K+

Ah, well, after reading Liooness' entry for this most recent Toko week, I felt a bit of inspiration to give it a try myself. Since writing from prompts isn't my usual habit, I'm not too sure how these will come out, but hopefully you'll all enjoy them to some extent. Here we get a high school age AU type setting, beginning with a harmless game of cards. That said, enjoy the Toko.



"Ugh, this is do boring," Toph complained, throwing her arms in exaggerated frustration over the back edge of the small wooden chair. Ebony bangs swayed gently across her porcelain features as she listened to the now familiar sounds of anguish and defeat from her group of friends.

"I wish I could say it's boring, but I can never win," Sokka complained right back, looking at the small tally of marks he had made on the table in front of him. Inwardly the young man groaned, his mind running around trying to figure out how the blind girl was able to win so often at a game she should be lousy at.

"I wish Zuko would hurry up and get here," Aang opined, his arms stretching out over the green felt atop the table, his fingers making a small mess of the glossy cards scattered about. He and Sokka caught one another's eyes, before sighing in unison. Their frustration brought a snicker of amusement from the younger girl to Aang's right, the usual cackle of superior laughter that they all recognized quite well by this point.

"I still think she's cheating," Katara said venomously, her own frustration apparent. Toph's laugh of excitement died as she leaned towards the girl across the table from her, left brow raised in challenge at the older girl.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. I could swear you just said I was cheating, but that can't possibly be right," Toph said sarcastically, inwardly hoping to get a rise out of the darker skinned girl. The tension between the group of friends took on a palpability, Aang and Sokka looking from one another to their female friends.

"Now, Toph, I'm sure Katara's just frustrated," Sokka supplied, before turning to his younger sister, "right, sis?" he tried, hoping to defuse the situation. The girl glared icy daggers at the older boy, before pointing her piercing gaze towards the blind girl across from her.

"No, I'm accusing her of cheating. There's no way someone could win twenty five straight hands without some kind of help," she explained, tossing her most recent hand into the center of the table as she stood from her seat. Aang tried to play peacemaker as usual, watching as the sometimes confrontational girls each brought themselves into standing positions.

He could almost feel the electricity between the pair of girls, finding his voice growing lost in the garble of shouts and insults between the girls. Toph really was unnaturally good at pretty much every game that involved direct competition, and he too had wondered just how she managed it. But he wouldn't have gone so far as to say she had cheated.

"You want to step outside, sugar queen? I may be blind, but I can still take you," the shorter girl challenged, her red t-shirt rustling just a bit as she cracked her knuckles, taunting grin etched firmly in place as she moved to step away from the table.

"Bring it on, mud slug!" Katara challenged, her sea blue blouse straining against her slender frame as she pulled her arms into a similarly defensive posture.

"Come on, guys, we don't need to do this," Aang said, looking to Sokka for some support, emotional if not actually getting involved. His hopes were dashed as the tanned boy looked away, shrugging his shoulders as he traced small patterns on the edge of the table. 'Ugh, where is Zuko when you need him?' the bald boy asked inwardly, knowing that the elder member of their little group would provide some distraction.

The boy's prayers seemed to be answered as he heard the front door of his apartment creak open slowly.

"Sorry we're late, but Suki just wouldn't let it go," Zuko apologized, his voice cutting straight through the palpable tension in the group. Katara and Toph both settled as they focused on the source of the voice.

"You make it sound like it was totally my fault," Suki's voice followed Zuko's, a distinct hint of displeasure on her voice as the door clicked shut behind the pair of teens.

"Well, you're the one who didn't want to quit until you got the lead," he challenged back, his voice sounding over their well timed footsteps. Aang's ears perked a bit at the sound, wondering how it always seemed like their feet were in such good pace.

"Yeah, yeah. But I'll beat you for sure next time," the auburn haired girl said teasingly, nudging the older boy in the arm with her elbow as she passed him. The girl's face seemed to be glowing with the after effects of distinct physical exertion, Zuko's face similarly flushed.

"So, who won today?" Toph asked, her voice taking on a subtly strange tone that none present seemed to notice. Just a slight drop in her volume, her words muffled just a bit more than was usual for the cocky, arrogant young girl. Suki's face fell a bit as she looked to the young blind girl, before looking painfully back towards Zuko.

"He just got lucky that I wasn't feeling well today. And he only won by a few points," the girl said, planting a soft kiss on her boyfriend's lips before taking position between him and Katara.

"Since when is twenty points a few?" Zuko asked seriously, earning a low grown of frustration from the younger girl, who found welcome solace in Sokka's strong embrace.

"Wow, twenty? You must have had some serious cramping to do so badly," Toph teased, causing the older girl's face to contort into an expression of frustration and anger.

"I'm sure it was something like that," Sokka said, his protective instincts taking over as he reluctantly pulled his arms from around his long time girl friend.

"Sure it was. So, I hope we didn't miss anything?" Zuko asked, his good eyebrow raised as he removed his coat, resting the crimson fabric against the back of the last remaining chair. He looked from one teen to another as they each moved to give him a place to set his seat. The young man sighed heavily as he leaned into the well cushioned chair, his golden eyes drifting up as he felt someone staring at him.

Catching the sightless gaze of the young blind girl, he shook his head. He must have just been paranoid after meeting his sister a few days prior. She always did know just how to push his buttons and make him doubt even his own basic sanity.

"Oh, nothing, just Katara and Toph about to come to blows. Might have even ended up in some mud wrestling," Sokka joked, earning a jab of his girlfriend's elbow, followed immediately by an apology for his poor joke. Zuko groaned at his friend's bad taste, hoping he never put his own foot that far into his own mouth again. Moving his eyes a bit, he watched the reactions of the two girls in question, each looking down a bit embarrassedly at the mention of such an act.

Sokka was always the easiest one to read in the group.

"So, I figure Toph was winning again, and Katara got frustrated?" Suki suggested, the subtle tensing of the tan skinned girl's shoulders giving the appropriate admittance. "Guess she's on fire again today," Suki said, almost admitting defeat before things even got started.

"That's right. But then again, when am I not on fire?" Toph asked rhetorically, before breaking out into an undignified bout of laughter.

"What about when I beat you at bowling a few weeks ago?" Zuko asked, not liking to hear anyone laugh in such a way, especially a young woman. Reminded him too much of his sister. The maniacal laughter died down, and he could feel the young blind girl glaring at him using her sightless jade eyes.

"I'm sorry, I must have been thinking of when I owned you in soccer last week," Toph said, never one to back down from a challenge. Unfortunately, Zuko shared that particular personality trait. He felt his eyebrows narrowing towards the younger girl as she smirked triumphantly, feeling like he would explode as he recalled the events in question.

"Too bad you can't ever win at basketball," he countered, his face lightening to a smirk as their facial expressions seemed to almost instantly flip. Sokka, Aang and Katara each watched the heat rising between the two most accomplished competitors in their little group. They were all riveted to the scene at hand, knowing that Zuko was usually the best bet to keep Toph in line.

"You trying to say something, Sparky?" Toph challenged, clasping her hand to the edge of the small table for the second time in the span of an hour. Zuko countered her movement by leaning in towards the center of the table, his golden eyes narrowed as he gazed at the feisty girl.

"Just that you're not totally invincible, Shorty," he said, raven locks falling in front of his molten eyes, coloring the world around him just a shade darker as suddenly his black tanktop felt entirely too small for his body. It was strange, how easily Toph seemed to make him lose it. It wasn't the same kind of frustration from his sister, but something else entirely. Something he couldn't really put his finger on entirely.

"Better than you, Zuko," Toph said, catching everyone's attention. Rare indeed were the occasions that Toph used someone's name directly. It usually meant either she was incredibly annoyed with the person in question, or she felt incredibly close to that person. But Zuko didn't quite pick up on that fact, too focused was he on not losing to the younger girl.

"The results seem to say something different, Toph," he countered, his nostrils flaring as he fought to keep his breath relatively in check. He still felt a little fatigue from his little pick up game against Suki that afternoon.

"Then maybe we should settle this once and for all," the shorter girl suggested, planting her bare feet against the smooth beige tile of Aang's floor. Zuko watched as she pushed her chair backwards, as though she were getting ready to fight.

"Sounds like a plan. But how about we make it interesting?" he suggested, catching the girl's attention. A barely noticeable smile crept across her lips at the thought, causing Aang and the others to groan inwardly at the mention.

"Interesting, you say? Personally, I think beating your arrogant butt would be interesting enough, but I don't think that's what you meant."

"Well, since I'm the one who is going to win, obviously not. I mean a wager," he said, crossing his well toned arms in front of his chest as he pushed himself away from his seat, staring directly into the endless pools of forest green in the girl's eyes.

"A wager, huh? But what are you going to bet? Money's really no fun," Toph said, to which Zuko agreed. Both were pretty well off, so money lost its inherent value barring the use of huge sums of it. He thought for a moment, before being interrupted.

"How about the loser has to do whatever the winner says for a month?" Sokka suggested most unhelpfully. Toph and Zuko thought it over, considering the positives and negatives. Admittedly, they were probably two of the most stubborn people in town, if not the world at large. So to be subjugated to another person would be utterly humiliating. And humiliation was always fun.

"I'm game if you are, Princess," Toph said, her lips curling into a dangerous smile as she crossed her arms.

"You're going to regret it, squirt," Zuko responded. The two hesitantly reached out, closing the deal with a shaking of hands before storming out of the small apartment in unison. Sokka and the others looked to one another, sighing in desperation as they listened to the listless wavering of the door accompanied by the now barely audible sound of heavy footsteps as the two hot headed teens stormed off to settle that week's bet.

"You think they know we're on to them by now?" Suki asked, earning a shake of the head from the rest of the group remaining.

"I don't think so. They really should just make it official, since everyone knows already," Sokka continued, gathering the scattered cards. "So, who's in?" he asked, before they resumed their card game, minus the irritating younger girl to beat them senseless.

"Some people just have a hard time getting that stuff out in the open," Aang said, casting a glance out of the corner of his eye towards his girlfriend, smiling as the girl blushed.

"I guess. But do you think we need to worry? I mean, one of these days they're going to get caught, and it'll be big trouble," Katara suggested, to which the others blinked in unison a few times.

"Naah, it'll be fine," Sokka excused, causing the others to shrug their shoulders.

Zuko and Toph could definitely take care of themselves, after all.