A/N: The idea for this fic has been lying around in my head for who knows how long. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. If I did, Suki would have died.
After the war, Toph went missing.
It was utter pandemonium; a giant stain on the white sheet that is their victory. Government officials were forced to delay meetings as the Avatar and his friends were too busy with their search. Finally, Zuko had to take over the throne, and Aang was dragged along with him. Still, both refused and argued not to attend any meetings until their friend was found. But alas, no avail.
Unlike the others, Sokka held his ground. Hadokka understood and lead the village while Katara took Sokka's place during meetings. He spent months in desperate search for her. Sometimes, luck would find him and he'll have a lead on where she may be. Other times, he'd end up with no trace whatsoever and have to start anew. He questioned villages he came across and they all came up with the same answer: A beautiful, pale, dark-haired girl with opaque eyes, as if she was blind. She had a hood and cape, which made it difficult to see any other aspect of her. She came and left quickly, like a passing breeze. There was a certain area though, where she stayed for 3 days. She taught kids how to earth bend for a small, modest price. Those were the most productive days of the children's lives.
Whenever Sokka found a clue, he practically jumped for joy. And when he reached a dead end, his heart would break. The longer it took to find her, the harder it took its toll on him. There were days wherein he'd be so depressed he'd lock himself in his room and skip meals, plotting and planning where his next destination would be. If you were to enter his room, you'd barely be able to take two steps in. The place was crowded with maps and pencils, rulers and compasses. Pieces of paper would be stuck to the wall; some with circles, some with exes.
As the weeks rolled by, Katara started to get worried. He would mumble to himself when he slept, and he could barely think straight when he was busy. His conversations consisted of finding Toph and where he was going to go next. He was always serious, a smile coming from him was so rare, Katara treated it like gold. Out of curiosity, she accompanied him to one of his expeditions. She found herself praying for her brother's health once she figured out he searched without food or rest; looking for Toph non-stop.
At first, she felt angry at her. Angry that Toph would just leave like that. She quickly ushered the thought away though, when she asked Sokka exactly why he was trying so hard to find her. He gave a logical answer she couldn't question.
All this searching and tracking gave Sokka very little time with Suki, only saying goodbye to her when he left or hugging her once in a while. This lead to their untimely break up. Katara boiled with anger for the Kyoshi warrior. Their separation came during the day, just when Sokka was about to leave. She hugged him, said they were over and ran away, crying hard. Sokka, on the other hand, merely bowed his head, fixed his hat and walked in the ship. Iroh had joined him on this one. He explained "I haven't seen him peaceful for a while. I think it's a blessing in disguise."
The search went on. Sometimes, Zuko or Aang would find the time to squeeze helping out into their schedules.
Zuko had sent the (newly trained) Dai Li in search for her. They were very quick and reliable, and in the end, they were able to find and interrogate the master of the dojo Toph taught in. He was a very old, forgetful man. And his speech was slurred, as if his tongue was swollen. He was found to be of no help at all, and the rest of the village had no idea where she went either. Sadly, the Dai Li came back to Zuko with no new information.
-Line Break-
The day Toph came back, it was a sunny morning. Perfect timing, too. That was the day Zuko and Aang got a break. They both (along with Mai) went from their headquarters in the office into the comfort of Katara and Sokka's Fire Nation home. At that time, Sokka was asleep, Zuko and Mai had just woken up and were still groggy. Aang and Katara were wide awake.
Toph entered their house with a grand yet modest entrance. The door squeaked lightly, opening all the way. The light entered from outside, enveloping her in a magnificent yellow light. The bun in her hair was lost and in its place was a long mane of straight black hair. She had grown in those couple of months (growth spurt) both in height and in body. A large, heavy-looking gray hood sat along her shoulders, extending to a hood that reached the floor.
She grinned the way she always did. "Did you miss me?"
Katara walked her way towards her. She wanted to hug her and hit her at the same time. She settled for a strong embrace, her closed eyes overflowing with tears.
Toph hugged her back. Aang came immediately after, laughing like a child and eagerly wrapping his arms around the both of them. Zuko came a little later, the thought of his eyes playing tricks on him the cause of the delay. Mai had tears stinging her eyes, allowing them to pour as she stood by them.
They separated after some time. Finally, a question they wanted the answer to for a long time could be asked. "Why did you leave?"
But before Toph could answer, Sokka entered the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He had no plans of going anywhere on that fateful day, just staying home to continue the research.
His eyes landed on Toph. They widened.
She gave him a wicked smile, opening her arms wide.
He cast a glance at Katara, whose eyes were watery and lips were curved to a smile. Tears of joy. She nodded.
He looked at Toph once again. Then he ran towards her, tears already spouting from his eyes. But before he could hug her…
Toph pulled two things from her back. In one hand was a blue boomerang, and the other hand: Sokka's space sword.
She blushed as she handed them over to Sokka, rubbing the back of her head. "I…felt bad you lost these because of me. So I went to look for them."
Sokka stared at her, wide-eyed.
She grinned. "It took a while, since a bunch of historians took them and was transferring 'em to a museum of some sort. Sorry."
Sokka looked from his weaponry to Toph, then back again and again. He dropped the wares on the table and engulfed Toph in a hug, her eyes enlarging in surprise. He was crying, burying his face on her shoulder. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I spent months in search for you! I thought you were dead!" he shouted, gripping her hard.
She put a hand on his head, allowing him to cry.
A few minutes later the crying had died down, and after a few more he was able to speak. Katara, Aang, Zuko and Mai were no where to be seen. "All this time you were missing, you were just looking for my stuff?" he smiled, releasing her slightly, resting his arms on her shoulders. "You know, it was a choice. I wasn't forced to let them go, I willingly did. For your safety, for your life. I admit, I treasure my boomerang and sword greatly. They mean a lot to me. But," he blushed, looking away. "You mean more to me than any weapon in the world, whether it has sentimental value or not."
Toph's face turned red. She looked away, coughing. "Well I…I guess. I mean, you just put so much work in maintaining them. Wiping them, polishing them, cleaning them, sharpening them… I thought you felt angry and annoyed you lost them, just because of me. If you had let me go, you would have escaped with your life and your weapons. You should have let me go…"
"And what, lose my best friend?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. He felt a pang at his chest that wasn't there before, knowing fully well what it meant. It brought a whole new meaning to "You don't know what you got 'till it's gone". The incident with Yue repeated itself, only worse. He knew Toph far longer than she did Yue. She meant more to him. "Look, I meant what I said. I don't regret anything. And neither should you."
She gave a low chuckle, which evolved into a hearty laugh. "Okay, enough of the sap. I'm here, alive and no longer missing. The search is over. Peace once again, yadda yadda yadda."
She took a large bag slung on her shoulder and opened it, revealing souvenirs of all shapes and sizes. She grinned, taking an odd-looking object from her bag. "Yo Sokka, where's your little girlfriend Suki? I got a surprise for her."
A/N: :D happy the story's done! Please please please REVIEW! Begging!