Being a teenager can be rough. Nothing says responsibility like saving the world and then having to put the pieces of society back together. And nothing made Toph more uncomfortable than rules and regulations. Which is exactly why Toph was bored with the stiffs and ready to break some rules. Nothing major, just enough to annoy her favorite target.
They were all gathered in an inn Aang had rented out for them when the first incident happened. Boys in one room, girls in the other, and came together in the foyer between the rooms for meals and spending time together.
Late that night, Katara couldn't sleep. She lay perfectly still, hoping that sleep would wash over her. The day had been so long and exhausting she wondered why she was still up. Just before she sunk under, she heard the rustling of sheets and the sound of bare feet on the floor.
"Toph?" Katara asked over her shoulder. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm going for a walk." She said and had her hand on the door quickly.
"Can't sleep?" Katara asked softly.
"Something like that." She said, trying to sound as blasé as possible. It worked and Katara closed her eyes again as Toph shut the door. She fell asleep shortly afterwards and never heard when she came back.
X
A loud screaming woke her up in the morning. She jumped up and looked around to see Toph on her bead with her arms behind her head. Katara heard the scream again and Toph started laughing. The scream was coming from the other room.
"Sokka?" Katara called and hopped out of bead. She entered into the foyer they shared and crossed the room, pressing an ear to the door.
"Everything okay?"
"Don't come in! Aang, look away!"
"It's not like I haven't seen it before!" Aang commented and you could hear the smile in his voice.
"I don't care! Look the other way!"
Katara banged on the door.
"What is all the screaming about? Why can't I come in?"
"Katara, all of my clothes are missing!"
Katara put her hands on her hips and her scowl looked dangerous.
"TOPH!" She yelled and you could hear Toph laughing form the other room. She came walking into the foyer holding her stomach from laughing so hard.
"This is the best thing I have ever done. Besides inventing metalbending." She said and crossed her arms.
"Toph, come on, give him his clothes back." Katara tried to reason.
"TOPH! I SWEAR I'M GONNA - "
Toph burst through the door and Katara looked away.
"Gonna what meathead? Beat me up?"
"GET OUT!"
"I can't see you idiot!" She said and waved her hand in front of her face and Aang snickered from his own bed.
"Wait a minute. I don't sleep naked… YOU UNDRESSED ME?!" Sokka gaped and pulled the covers up to his chin, wrapped in them like a toga. Toph waved her hand in the air.
"Don't worry, I didn't get too handsy." She said and laughed again. "Man, you will sleep through anything!"
Sokka was about to say something but Aang chimed in.
"Toph, we get the joke. Can you please give him back his clothes?"
"Oh, he can go get them himself."
"Where are they?" Sokka asked.
"Tied to a rock pole in the middle of town." She said with a wicked smile.
X
Toph of course couldn't watch him walk through town in a bed sheet, but she knew by the laughter of the townspeople when the sheet had fallen off. Sokka swore he would get her back one day.
X
Sokka had tried many things in his life to get back at Toph. He had tried sneaking into her room while she was sleeping but that quickly became a loud and painful situation for him… multiple times. He tried replacing her clothes with nothing but frilly pink dresses, hoping that would work. She buried them and went naked a whole day, not caring. That was an image that would haunt him. Everything he threw at her was thwarted. He started to question exactly how blind she was. Then one day he had a brilliant idea.
Everyone was together again, staying at another inn close to Yu Dao. Girls in one room, boys in another. It had been a hard day of keeping the peace, Katara's jealousy flaring dangerously high and Toph not making it any better. Toph pushed the door open to their shared suite and that's when it all came crashing down. Sokka had rigged a huge bucket of ice cold soapy water to dump on the person who entered the room first and of course Toph would go first. As she was doused with the freezing water she gasped and gripped her fists. Katara covered her mouth and Aang rubbed his temple.
"Haha! Gotchya!" Sokka laughed from the hall and Toph turned on her heel. She marched up to him and grasped his lapel, shoving him against the wall.
"Fine, you wanna play? Figure this one out!"
Toph stood on her tip-toes and kissed him harshly on the mouth, the cold water dripping all over him. She let go and pushed him into the wall again, walking off to her room and slamming the door. Everyone was speechless, Aang with his mouth wide open.
"What the heck was that?" Aang asked and started to laugh.
Sokka had the stupidest look on his face like he couldn't decide if he was supposed to like it or be appalled.
"I think that was Toph's version of haunting Sokka." Katara said and dovered her smile with her hand.
"Wh… what do I do now?" Sokka asked and Katara laughed.
"Don't laugh! It's not funny! Does she like me? Was this just a joke? What do I do?!"
"You're on your own Sokka, I am not touching that jar of worms." Aang said and looked to Katara. They locked hands and disappeared. Down the hall, Leaving him to slouch against the wall.
X
The kiss did haunt him. He spent countless nights trying to convince himself that it was nothing more than a trigger to his own anxieties. Sometimes he knew this is exactly what she wanted. Him losing sleep over a kiss that meant nothing to her. But did it? Maybe it did. What would he do then? How did he feel about Toph? If he were honest with himself their relationship was not always easy but they had a comfortable understanding of one another. He knew what she was capable of, and she usually knew what he was thinking. But did that count as a…. relationship?
After a month of fussing and fuming about it he finally had to ask her.
It was late after a banquet to celebrate peace in Yu Dao. Everyone was full and straying away from the table in twos and threes. Sokka caught Toph leaving by herself and followed her. They didn't get far outside the building before she spoke.
"You know sneaking up on me doesn't work."
He stepped forward closer to her and folded his arms.
"I'm not sneaking up behind you. We need to talk."
"Ooh, sounds serious." She mocked and turned to face him. "So, what's bending your boomerang now?"
"Toph, I need to know. Why did you kiss me."
She was quiet and waited for more. Nothing else came.
"That's it? That's your big question?"
"Well, I mean, I have a lot of questions. But that's a start."
She sighed and crossed her arms.
"I kissed you to mess with your head. And it worked, didn't it?"
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well yeah. But, did it mean something?"
"No snoozels. It was meant to torture you and it did its job."
He looked down and his heart fell.
"So you don't like me then."
"No, I like you." She said simply and uncrossed her arms.
"But you just said it meant nothing!" He groaned, confused. She came up to him and poked his forehead.
"A kiss can mean absolutely nothing Sokka. It can just be a kiss." She leaned up on her toes and kissed him again, but much softer and sweeter this time.
"And sometimes it can mean a lot more." She said with a genuine smile and walked away, leaving Sokka frozen in time. He snapped out of it and chased after her, more questions bubbling in his head.