Fluffy Tokka one-shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. If I did, Sokka would end up with Toph.
"Come on, Toph. Dance with me. Katara's off dancing with Zuko and Mai."
If Toph had vision, she would see a handsome seventeen-year-old Avatar giving her the biggest koala-puppy eyes anyone had ever seen. However she didn't, but she could still hear the pout in his always-cheerful voice.
"Buzz off, Twinkletoes. I don't dance," was the Blind Bandit's reply in a bored tone. She flicked the earwax she just picked out of her ear off her finger and reached for her drink.
"Pleeeeeeeease, Toph?"
"No."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"Nope." Her lips popped on the 'p' before taking a sip.
"But To - "
"BUZZ. OFF."
Aang lower lip jutted out as he looked at his friend. "But I'm bored."
"So you come and whine to me? Go dance with Suki."
"She's with Sokka, which I don't understand at all. Didn't they break up?" Aang leaned back in his chair as he finally realized Toph wouldn't budge.
"Yeah. They did." Was that a hint of bitterness the Avatar detected in his blind friend's voice?
"Well why are they dancing togeth - "
"I don't know, Aang!" Toph put her drink down, stood up and stalked away from the table she and Aang had been sitting at. She avoided the crowd, not wanting to get pulled in by a random sweaty guy. Or girl.
She finally got to where she wanted - outside. She felt the refreshing summer night air twist itself into her long silky black hair - which Katara got her to leave down somehow - and made her hot skin cool. She felt the bottom of her dress hitch itself up around the mid-calves or her short lean legs. Katara had explained that the dress was a pretty forest green. Whatever that was. Toph guess that it was another one of those 'colors'.
The Blind Bandit sat on the stone floor of the balcony outside the throne room where the fifth yearly-annual celebration of the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai was being held. Toph thought it was somewhat ironic that the celebration was always, well, celebrated at the Fire Nation palace.
She closed her unseeing eyes, allowing a single tear to make it's way down her cheek, hidden by a few strands of dark hair that almost always hung in her face.
"Hey Aang. Where's Toph?" Sokka was breathing a little heavily because of all the dancing he had been doing. He took a seat by his Avatar friend who looked a tad guilty.
"Oh...um...she went outside, I think," Aang replied unsurely, drumming his fingers along the table, with his chin resting in his other hand. Sokka's lower lip poked out, and he looked a bit disappointed.
Then Sokka threw the monk a look. "What did you do?"
Aang looked exasperated. "Nothing! I just asked her a few questions, then she got all angry and went outsi - oh." A sudden realization hit Aang's mind, and he started grinning at Sokka's frustrated face. How hadn't he noticed before?
"Ohhh." He started to chuckle.
Sokka looked quite confused. "What?"
Aang kept giving Sokka his goofy grin.
"What?" Sokka asked defensively, mindlessly scratching the small patch of hair growing on his twenty-year-old chin.
"Sokka, I have a question," Aang announced in a very confident manner, his sly smirk still very prominent on his handsome face.
The water tribe warrior quirked a dark eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"Do you happen to like our beautiful blind friend?" Aang waggled his eyebrows.
"Of course I like Toph, Aang. She's my best friend."
"No, Sokka. Do you like her?"
Sokka stared at Aang, a small blush appearing along his cheekbones, his jaw dropping slightly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about or where you got that idea from," Sokka sniffed pompously, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, sticking his chin out. Then he peeked over at the Avatar, who was still grinning, with one blue eye. "Why? Do you think she likes me?"
Aang laughed with delight. "Oh this is too good," he muttered to himself, then stated aloud, "Talk to her, Sokka. Ask her to dance."
Sokka's eyes widened with disbelief. "Are you kidding? Have you met Toph?"
"Sokka, I have a feeling she will if you ask her. Then while you two are dancing, make a move, or some other guy will. I know I'm not the only one who's noticed she looks amazing tonight," Aang said seriously. "Well to me, amazing in a platonic way of course." He threw in an encouraging smile as he took in the warrior's skeptical expression.
"She always looks amazing,"Sokka finally replied in a rather pathetic tone.
His bald friend snorted, and his smile grew. "You've got it bad. Now go." Aang shoved Sokka off of his chair. "Ask her!"
"Fine, fine. Pushy," Sokka grumbled under his breath. "Where?"
"Outside, she went past all of them." Aang gestured to the dancers.
Sokka mustered up all of his courage and stood confidently, though feeling anything but. He felt like he was going to vomit as he made his way past the crowd of dancers. He stomach felt like it was in knots, and his heart was racing a million miles a minute.
Toph blew at a piece of her hair, back to being bored and not really feeling sorry for herself anymore. One of her knees was raised and the bottom of her forearm rested on the top of it. She cursed quietly as she felt familiar footsteps come near. Great. Just the person she wanted to talk to.
"Toph? You out here?" Toph felt an involuntary shiver work it's way down her spine as he said her name.
"Down here, Meathead," she replied and 'saw' him stop right next to her propped knee.
"Oh. Hey Toph," she heard Sokka choke out. She frowned as she felt his heartbeat. It was going a bit too fast.
"You okay, Snoozles?" The Blind Bandit wondered, getting to her bare feet in front of Sokka. "Your hear - "
"Doyouwantodance?" he said suddenly.
Toph blinked in surprise then scowled as her own heart sped up. "Twinkletoes set you up to this, didn't he? I told him to just leave me alone!" Toph threw her hands in the air in aggravation then they came to rest on her hips.
"No, he di - Well, yes he did, but I wanted t - I wanted to ask you, Toph. You're the most beautiful woman here, and I don't think you should be spending this time alone," Sokka said earnestly, and Toph felt his familiar big warm hands tug hers away from her hips to envelope them in his. Toph's cheeks were oddly warm in the cool air. The most beautiful woman here? With Mai and Ty Lee and Katara and Suki here? What?
"Please, Toph? Dance with me?" Sokka asked gently, carefully pulling her toward him. The Blind Bandit tossed the warrior a small smile.
"One dance, Snoozles. That's it," Toph agreed, letting her tiny but tough hands slide up Sokka's bare arms to lock together behind his toasty neck.
Sokka grinned at the blind girl. "That's all I need." He pulled her back towards the throne room and stopped somewhere outside the crowd. Luckily, a slow song happened to be playing. "I also wanted to talk to you about something," Sokka admitted, his heart still hammering quickly as Toph rested her head against her best friend's chest, her hair tickling his arms.
"What about?"
"Well...it's more of a confession, really..."
Toph chuckled. "Spit it out, Meathead."
"I - I...I really like you, Toph."
Toph froze in Sokka's arms. Did he mean what she thought he meant?
"I'll take your silence as an 'I don't like yo - " Sokka began bitterly.
"Shut up," Toph interrupted and pulled her head off of his chest so he could see the humongous smile she held on her face. "Of course I like you, you idiot."
Sokka stared down at his best friend, who was grinning happily and swaying with his arms around her, her face turned up, but her eyes somewhere past his shoulder. "I - really?"
Her laugh was dazzling. "You're an idiot, Snoozles," she said then stood on her tip-toes to peck his lips. She started to move her face away, but Sokka captured her face between his hands and brought her lips back to his. She made a small, adorable squeak in surprise, making Sokka smile against her lips. Toph's hands cupped the back of his neck, enjoying the buzz of electricity moving between them. The pair then noticed the sudden cheering led by a group of six, who were the loudest.
"You all owe me ten gold coins," Zuko said smugly.
"He's my boyfriend, so you all owe me ten coins, too," Mai added.
"I'm the Avatar; I don't owe anyone anything."
"And I'm the Avatar's girlfriend."
Sokka and Toph broke away, laughing, still holding each other.
"They're idiots," Toph said affectionately.
"Of course they are. They're our friends," Sokka agreed, smiling down at the Blind Bandit. Their cheeks may or may not have been a bright pink. Sokka, then, looked right at Aang, who was already looking at the older man with that sly smirk.
The Avatar mouthed, "Told you so."
Fin