Off Limits – TFU Pic & Fic

When Toph had stormed out of the trade talks, Sokka was sure she would return within the hour.

She didn't.

Three hours after her outburst, he was still searching the Northern Water Tribe for the earthbender, and he was getting desperate. A whole host of situations played through his mind. She was blind on the snow and ice, and all it would take was a single misstep for her to have fallen into one of the canals. He'd lived in the South Pole long enough to know how frigid the water was. No one could survive long in it, and when you added in the fact that Toph couldn't swim –

Sokka grabbed another passing tribesman by the front of his parka. "Have you seen a blind girl come through here?"

The man, too startled to speak, simply pointed to his left, indicating a small alleyway. Sokka let him go and ran down it, praying that he would find a perfectly fine Toph at the end of it.

Relief flooded him as he found Toph sitting on the edge of a fountain made – not surprisingly – of ice. She had pulled her knees up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them.

He marvelled at how small and helpless she looked. She wasn't at all like the Toph he knew.

And it wasn't at all unattractive.

Sokka shook the random thought from his head, reminding himself again that she was just a friend, and thereby off limits.

He ran to the fountain and tried to skid to a stop in front of her, but only succeeded in sliding on the ice with his arms flailing at his sides. He was glad Toph couldn't see his lack of grace and therefore keep a degree of manliness.

"Hey Toph," he said after he recovered. "I found you."

"No kidding."

She flinched when he put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes that had obviously been crying.

"Toph, are you okay?"

"You are an idiot, aren't you?"

Her answer shocked him. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't that.

She seemed to sense his confusion. "I'm blind! And not just in the regular way that I'm blind, I'm really blind here! I can't feel where I'm going, I keep running into things, and now I can't get back to the guest house because I'm lost! Is that enough for you?"

Sokka just stood there, staring at her. It was the one admission he would never have expected from Toph. He knew she was blind on the ice, but this was different.

She was scared.

"Wait here a minute," he told her. "I'll be right back." Without waiting for a response, he ran as fast as he could to the nearby buffalo yak stable. After a brief conversation – and a little Avatar namedropping – he'd convinced the stable master to loan him one of the animals, along with a rather attractive riding blanket and bridle.

When he returned to the fountain, Toph was just as he left her. He dismounted and strode up to her. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

She barely had time to respond before Sokka bent over and, in one fluid movement, picked her up bridal-style.

Toph didn't say a word. She just clung to his neck with such ferocity he thought that he might pass out. When they finally reached the buffalo yak, he sat her on the blanket and climbed up in front of her. Toph wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed herself against him. Sokka placed a reassuring hand on her leg. "It's okay, Toph," he said with a gentleness in his voice he didn't know he was capable of. "Just hold on tight. I know somewhere you'll feel a whole lot better."

Toph still didn't say anything, but buried her face into his coat. Her body heat seeped through the layers of fabric, warming his back. He sighed at how good it felt. Sokka kicked the sides of the buffalo yak, urging it forward.

They were almost to their destination when she finally spoke. "How badly did I mess things up?"

Sokka looked over his shoulder at her and shrugged. "It's not as bad as you think. I'm sure the ambassador has been called a wailing hog monkey before." She still didn't so much as smile. "And if he hasn't, then it's long overdue. You did him a favour, Toph."

A weak laugh rewarded his joke – a tiny sound that reverberated in his head like beautiful music.

When they reached their destination, Sokka dismounted and took off his parka. "Hang on, Toph. I'll come get you in a second." She just attempted to blow her bangs out of her face, failing as always. He opened a small wooden door, then went back to her. "Ready?"

As gentle as he could possibly manage, he took off her shoes. Her small feet were still warm from the fur-lined boots. He found it hard to believe that the dainty feet he was holding were probably the most powerful weapons on the planet.

"Hey genius," she said, shaking him from his thoughts, "you want me to get frostbite?"

Sokka let out an awkward cough as he let go of her feet. He picked Toph up again and took her through the open door.

He walked, with Toph in his arms, to the middle of the Spirit Oasis. He finally put her down in the warm, green grass and removed her coat.

It took Toph a moment to realise just what was going on. Sokka suppressed a laugh as a grin spread across her face and she fell backwards to the ground. She looked like a kid who had just gotten exactly what she wanted for her birthday. "As long as you're careful and don't disturb too much with your earthbending, I don't think the moon and ocean spirits will mind you spending some quality time here."

Before he knew what was happening, Toph was crushing him in a fierce hug. "Thank you," she whispered into his tunic.

Sokka put his arms around her shoulders and held her close. He inhaled the scent of her hair, revelling in her proximity. "Anything for my best friend."

Because that's what she would always be: his best friend. Toph was still off limits.

If he told it to himself enough times, he may just end up believing it one day.

A/N: How cute is denial!Sokka? If only he would man up and say something, they both would be a lot happier, because we all know exactly how Toph feels.

This was written for the tokka-fans-united Pic & Fic exchange over at dA. Head on over there and check out the pic that goes along with this.

Thanks as always to my friend and beta, AKA Arashi/Capt-BA, who's never too busy to tell me that I can do better (she's usually right, too).