The first time he told her he loved her, she didn't even notice.
Summer was moving slowly in the Earth Kingdom, and Sokka was fine with that. He'd spent too many seasons of his life either freezing in the Water Tribe or sweating in the Fire Nation. The mild temperatures and light breezes that were normal in Gaoling were both welcome and relieving.
He stood in the grass covered courtyard practicing with his favourite weapon. His sword was great and powerful, but there was just something about the boomerang that he couldn't deny. Throwing and catching it was just too familiar to him, and brought a sense of comfort.
He had just thrown Boomerang when a door slammed behind him. Startled, he turned just in time to see a flash of green and black rush by him. Apparently Toph's reunion with her parents hadn't gone as well as she would have liked. He was about to call out to her when Boomerang came back, like it always did. But instead of catching it with his hand, he managed to get hit in the back of his head. It crashed to the ground as he rubbed the sore spot on his skull.
Sokka walked over to where she was pounding holes in the estate walls. She muttered obscenities under her breath that would make even the most hardened soldier blush. "Hey Toph," he said
Toph was pretty when she was angry, and he'd never seen her so beautiful. "Don't 'hey' me," she growled, "unless you want to become part of this wall."
"I'll pass." He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He loved seeing Toph like this, especially when her anger was directed at someone other than himself. "So I take it things went as well as expected?" he asked as he sat in the grass.
Toph stopped bending. "They want me to get married, Sokka." She spat the words out as she sat on the ground beside him. "This is exactly why I've stayed away for three years. I am not marrying some spoiled little rich brat with more money than sense!" The ground around them trembled in response to her anger.
Sokka knew it was time to intervene. "So don't get married," he said.
"It's not that easy, you know."
He shrugged. "Maybe not, but for right now, let's just forget about it. What about some lunch?"
Toph's entire visage changed. She brightened at the thought of escaping her parents' watchful presence. "The market?"
"Where else?"
Without another word, she stood up and dashed back inside the house, her green dress trailing behind her. He chuckled under his breath as he, too, stood and retrieved Boomerang. Before he even had the time to sheathe his weapon, Toph had re-emerged, this time wearing her travelling clothes, her hair in a loose braid over her shoulder. "Well, Snoozles," she asked. "What are we waiting for?" She flicked the braid to her back as she faced him.
He held his arm out to her. "Shall we?"
She threaded his arm through his. "We shall."
As they walked the streets of Gaoling, Sokka couldn't help casting his eyes in her direction repeatedly. For the first and only time in his life, he wished Toph could see, even if only for a moment. He wanted her to see what he could not say with his voice.
His eyes spoke for him.
His eyes told her he loved her.
A/N: Usually at this point, I would be saying something about how silly Sokka is. Not this time, however. This time, he's got everything well worked out.
As the title suggests, part one of four; more to come soon. Thanks for reading!