Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

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001: Betrothal

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"Where are we?"

Sokka smiled as he watched her totter across the hot sand. She was not nearly as ungainly and unsure of herself as she had used to be, but there was still that inherent clumsiness that made her miss a few steps every now and again. Steadying her before she had a chance to fall, he said, "Why, the beach, silly. Where did you think we were?"

Teasing her helped ease the churning in his sick stomach.

Toph scowled and caught him on the arm with a hard little fist. "You idiot! I know that! I can hear the ocean. What beach are we on, specifically?"

He wrapped an aching arm around her slender shoulders, and led her to the shallows. The warm water, dappled with sunlight and white waves, lapped around and over their feet and calves.

"Ember Island, actually."

"That's why we just had to use Appa?" Toph leaned against him, her head resting just at his shoulder. The close contact made them both shiver.

"Well, it's not like you would have wanted to take a boat ride with me," he said.

"It's not like you wanted me to throw up all over you, either." She grinned wickedly. "You should be thanking me for saving you from a whole day of washing."

"True, true. And I am very grateful, believe me."

"So why are we here anyway? Vacation?"

Sokka looked around and reached into his pocket to rub the smoothed stone. They were alone. "Not exactly. I mean, Zuko said we could use his summer house if we wanted to, but that's not why I brought you here."

"What? We're not gonna mess it all up just to annoy him?"

"Oh, we can always do that. And we probably should, since he forced us to go through that whole banquet last week. But that's really not why we're here."

"Then what's the deal?"

"The ocean... It's where the earth and the water come together, and become one."

Toph came to a halt, a look of confusion and outright disbelief painting her expression. She kept a firm grip on his arm, so he had no choice but to stop too. "A who, what now?" she said. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It's why I wanted to come here."

"You said that already."

He could tell that he was getting close to getting a thrashing. Toph had little patience for people who dodged around the bush. Sokka still wished that he could delay this a little bit longer. It was not as if he did not want to go through with this. He did, very much so, but he was so nervous and afraid of the answer.

What if it was too soon?

What if he said something wrong, or sounded stupid?

What if she said "no"?

"Sokka, what's wrong?" asked Toph. She turned her face up and, by some unknown, almost magical, means, her glassy eyes locked onto his. He was the only one she was able to do the impossible with, each and every time. "You're acting all weird."

He took a deep breath, hoping it would settle his nerves.

It didn't.

"Toph... I've been wanting to ask you something for a while, and now... Well, now I think it's the right time. Please, listen?"

"I'm all ears," she said, with a toothy grin. When he did not laugh at the age-old joke, she frowned. "I'm listening, Sokka. Really, I am."

"Okay." He placed his hands on her arms, and ran his palms and fingers up and down her exposed skin. The small gesture of affection made her smile again. "I have something, for someone special. I've been working on it a long time."

"Wait, is this the same something you wouldn't let me check out? The thing you've been hiding from everyone for about a month now?"

Sokka nodded, remembered she could not see the gesture, and said, "Yeah, that's it."

And it had been very difficult, too, keeping it secret from her.

He reached into his pocket and took out the hidden treasure. The sunlight flashed against the polished jade stone, highlighting the intertwined symbols of the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. Black silk, thick and long, was folded beneath the rounded piece.

"And I was making it for you."

Surprise danced across her face. "Wh-What?" she said, unnaturally stammering. Had this been a different time, a different setting, he might have teased her a little. "For me? But, Sokka, what-"

Moving quickly to get behind her, he slipped the necklace around her neck. It fit nicely, as if it had been made with just her in mind.

And it had.

Toph touched the stone with trembling fingers. She gasped, and turned around to "face" him. "Sokka! Is this...?"

"Yeah. It's a Water Tribe betrothal necklace." He swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I made it. For you. I made it for you."

Sokka had seen the necklace for days upon days, had slaved for countless hours and worked long into many sleepless nights, all so that it could be just perfect, perfect for her, but it had never looked as amazing as it did now on her. The green shade of the jade stone graced the pale skin of her throat in a lovely way.

It was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

He took her hands and went to bended knee, ignoring that his pants were now getting wet. Nothing mattered at this moment in time but her. Only her. "Toph, I love you. Will you marry me?" he asked.

There. Straight to the point and very, very blunt. Just the way she liked it.

He wondered if she could hear his heartbeat. It hammered against his chest and throbbed in his ringing ears.

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and her breath caught noticeably in her throat. A tiny smile flitted over her lips.

"Let me guess," she said. "This is what you meant by the water and earth coming together as one, here at the beach. You didn't just mean the obvious. It's me and you, right?"

"Huh-uh. That's it."

He wished he had the courage to tell her that he had wracked his brains for a long time, and had gone so far as to ask his father for advice, in his search for the perfect place to propose to her.

"That's incredibly corny, Sokka, you know. Even for you."

"So, is that a yes or a no?"

She laughed and threw herself into his arms. All in all, it was more like a ramming tackle than an affectionate hug. Losing his balance, Sokka cried out and stumbled back, and fell into the water. "Omph!"

He sputtered, spitting out briny sea-water and a piece of seaweed, and struggled to sit up, only to find that Toph had draped herself over him. Holding his cheeks, she kissed him, long and slow and sweet, and pressed her forehead against his.

"I'd say that is definitely a yes," she whispered, her breath tickling his face. "Yes, Sokka. Yes, yes, yes. I'll marry you."

"Really?" he said, voice squeaking.

"Yes. You're the only one. You were always the only one. I love you, Sokka."

Sokka smiled, and he was sure it was a very stupid one at that but he did not care, as he drew her up into his arms. He whirled her around and around, never letting her go, never wanting to again, and laughed and cried along with her.

The sky was painted in hues of red, pink, and orange, as the sun set on the place where earth and water met and came together.