Go Figure
Zuko got punched on the shoulder by Toph again as they told midnight stories to each other.
"Hahaha good one sparky." Zuko groaned and rubbed his left shoulder. Ever since she had hit him on the shoulder when they went to watch 'The Boy In The Iceberg' on ember island she has been hitting him constantly.
"Ugh. I'm going to sleep now." He got up and left. He heard them laughing when he left. Even though he was now a part of the gaang he still felt that he needed to earn their trust. Their laughter got louder as Toph told them one of her jokes when she was 'The Runaway'. To tell the truth he hadn't want to leave them at all but he didn't want to keep getting hit by Toph constantly.
It was finally around midnight when they started to go to sleep. Toph stayed up, saying that she wasn't tired yet. It wasn't until she started to yawn when she went to sleep.
The next morning they awoke to Katara trying to get Toph up to go shopping with her. Everyone in the temple groaned at that. They should've gotten used to it by then but they just couldn't find it in them to do it, since this is Toph they were talking about.
Toph groaned as Katara threw away her blanket and started going through her bag of belongings. Toph never liked it when someone besides her went inside her bags. Before Katar could even put her hand into it Toph stole it from her.
"What are you doing Sugar queen?" Toph snuggled her bag into her chest holding it tightly. Some of the members found it cute how she was doing that, well the girls did while the boys stared at them in confusion.
Suki shook her head at that and began to laugh. Toph stomped her foot and sent her hurtling on top of Sokka as he was getting up to see what all the ruckus was about. Suki gave up and just watched as Toph and Katara fought.
"C'mon Toph, this time will be different." She was trying real hard to convince the small earthbender to go 'girl' shopping with her. Although she was begging so much it didn't work on Toph, it never did.
"How do you know that?" Toph was not expecting for her to answer but she did so anyways.
"Because Toph, I just have a feeling that today will be a wonderful day. Right Aang?" Aang was surprised when Katara asked him but he, being in love with Katara and all, had no trouble helping her get her ways with the earthbender.
"Um, yeah I think so too." He grinned happily as Katara gave him a bashful look. Sokka saw this but decided to ignore it, saying that it was completely normal for them to do that.
"Please Toph? I promise you that you will not have to do any chores today. Sokka can do them." Sokka sent his sister a glare but failed when he saw his sister's determined look on her face. He sighed.
"Fine. I'll do it, but, under one condition. You guys have to bring me back some meat." He nodded proudly at himself while the others groaned at him and his eating issues.
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say Sugar queen. But! I am not going to get dresses at all, you hear me?" She was pointing a finger at the waterbender but she ignored that and just dragged her off telling them that she cooked breakfast for them before hand and that Toph and she will find something to eat at the market and with that they took off on Appa.
When they got to town Katara dragged her to the clothing store, hoping to find new clothes. They were walking around the shops until they reached the bridge and Katara decided to break the silence.
"So, I've noticed that you've been hitting a lot recently. Is there any reason behind that?" Toph stopped walking and pointed a glare at Katara.
"Where are you going with this Sugar queen? If anything I should be the one that is asking you questions about you and Twinkle toes." Katara stopped walking and looked back at Toph with an all-knowing smirk.
"Toph, why are you changing the subject?" Katara laughed as Toph immediately shot her head in the direction of her question.
"I'm not changing the subject! You're just going crazy Sugar queen." Toph tried to walk away but Katara walked up in front of her stopping her from walking away.
"Toph, I know that you like Zuko. And I don't think that that is a bad idea at all. You should move on already." Toph looked down at the ground taking in what Katara has just said to her.
"But how can I? I mean I think I still might like Sokka, you never know." Toph dropped down onto the floor and sat there. Katara sunk down next to her.
"I know Toph. I'm so sorry that it had to end up this way." Tears came out from Toph's eyes. Katara saw that and wiped her tears away.
"You know, when Aang got lost and we took that field trip, I told him about my family and he tossed me away. That hurts even more than me trying to get Sokka to notice me." Katara sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear that Toph, but I'm sure that he was just worried about Aang." Katara reassured the girl but it was never that easy to convince someone stubborn like her.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Katara smiled, glad that Toph was getting back to normal.
"I'm always right, Toph." They both laughed at that and got up and started to go back. Toph stopped walking again, stopping at the end of the bridge. Katara looked back at her. Toph sighed.
"I don't know who is more stupid: Sokka or Zuko. I would be wearing a big sign saying how much I love Sokka and that big goofball would still be confused or Zuko, giving him all the signs he needs and he goes ahead and turns them all backwards." Toph pouted. Katara thought about that then spoke.
"Hm… if we're talking about stupid, then it's Sokka but dense? That's more like Zuko." Toph nodded at that than began walking towards Katara.
"Yeah, that sounds more like it." Katara laughed.
"Well, I guess we should be going home now, since we have everything already." Toph nodded and they made their way towards the place where they hid Appa.
The boys were watching Aang train himself while Zuko rested, tired from teaching. Zuko was still thinking about Toph when Sokka spoke up.
"So Aang, how do you cook? Because I'm getting hungry and Suki's mad at me so she won't cook for me." Sokka was starving. All he ate that day was their breakfast. Zuko looked at Sokka, giving him a skeptical look. Aang gave him a more confused look.
"Well, I don't know Sokka. I'm not a girl." Aang pouted at that having most of the guys laugh.
"Well you're always helping Katara cook so I thought that you might know how to. Man, I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually miss Katara and Toph." Sokka was frowning now too. As much as Sokka couldn't believe himself, Zuko didn't believe himself more. He was starting to remember how Toph would always hit him on the same arm on the same spot too. Zuko thought for awhile then got up and looked at Sokka and Aang.
"Do you guys know why Toph is always hitting me on the shoulder?" Both boys stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Then Sokka snapped his fingers and spoke.
"That's just how she shows affection. Why?" Sokka was looking at Zuko confused at why he had asked that.
"Because she's been hitting me a lot lately and it hurts." Sokka and Aang looked at him then at each other. They were still confused.
"If that's how she shows affection and if she has been hitting me a lot lately then that must mean…" Zuko stopped walking and Aang and Sokka looked at each other wide eyed.
"She likes you!" Sokka and Aang both said at the same time. Suki walked in and heard that then walked up to them and dragged Sokka's ears and pulled him away from them.
"Ouch! What was that for Suki? Are you trying to kill me because you're still mad that I ate Your share of the breakfast?" She shot him a look then grabbed his shirt.
"You weren't supposed to say that you idiot. Now it's going to be awkward for both of them." Sokka smiled at this.
"So I was right then." Suki just hit him again.
"Sokka, don't speak of this again. You're going to hurt Toph." Suki looked concerned so Sokka dropped it and apologised.
"But just to be sure, she does like him right?"
"Sokka!"
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be sure. She is like a sister to me too." Suki smiled then hugged him before they both got back to Aang and a very confused Zuko.
"Just forget about what we said Zuko. I was wrong. Maybe she just wanted to hurt you, you know, being Fire nation and all." Zuko glared at him before leaving them.
'So if she does like me what'll I do?' Zuko was still concentrating before he heard Appa settle onto the sand. 'Great, here she comes.' Zuko was walking up to them to help them but when he noticed that Toph just jumped off from Appa and didn't say anything to him he almost thought that she was avoiding him. 'No. It might have just been my imagination.' Zuko shook his head away from his thoughts as Katara handed him some stuff to bring.
It was dinner time as everyone gathered for their storytelling. Zuko walked up to their table but noticed that Toph sat in between Katara and Aang, leaving Zuko to sit by himself. He thought about her avoiding him again but convinced himself that that was not it. 'Maybe she just wanted to tease Aang and Katara.' The whole Gaang knows that Aang and Katara likes each other now so every now and then someone would tease them, especially Toph.
Katara handed them their dinner as they listened to Sokka tell his story of how hungry he was without them but glad that his starving paid off as he saw Toph climbing down Appa with his bag of meat. Sokka shifted his eyes to Toph as he ate asking her if she scammed anyone today bringing the signature smirk on her face.
"Nope. Not with Sugar queen around." Toph smiled wider at that as Katara pouted.
"Hey, I can be fun if I wanted to too." Toph laughed at that.
"Sure you can. So Twinkle toes, how was training today without the greatest earthbender in the world and your beautiful, beautiful waterbender." Katara and Aang's face got red as she said that last part with a hint of sarcasm.
"Toph!" Katara yelled at the earthbender sitting next to her or shall I say, in between Katara and Aang.
"What? I was only speaking the truth." Everybody laughed except Zuko. 'Ugh. Why does he have to be so quiet today? Did I do something wrong?' Toph was still thinking about that until Aang interrupted her from her thoughts.
"So Toph. What did you guys get today?" Toph scoffed.
"Gee, I don't know. Why don't you ask the other person that went with me that can actually see?" Aang apologized to her as the rest laughed at him saying that they were expecting that from Sokka making him angry.
After dinner everybody was going to sleep but again, Toph wanted to stay a little bit later. Zuko was trying to sleep but couldn't. After they came back from shopping she hasn't even said one word to him. He decided that he will go and talk to Toph so he got up from his bed and made his way to find her.
He spotted her resting on her right side against a wooden brick. He walked up to her and sat down next to her. They sat in an awkward silence. Toph shifted a little until her head fell onto Zuko's lap startling him. He looked down and saw that Toph had fallen asleep and fell onto him not knowing that. He was about to move her until he heard her call his name. He shifted his eyes back onto her.
She looked a bit uncomfortable so he moved her, so now she was lying on her back and her head on his lap with her face looking straight at him. He concentrated on what she was saying. Again he heard her say his name. His face suddenly became red. That was the first time that she has called him by his real name. Plus she was sleeping and looked so cute and adorable and peaceful right then.
She shifted on his lap, her head still on his lap but she was on her right side putting her arms around his waist. He moved her bangs away from her face and stared at her peacefully sleeping on his lap. He never noticed how beautiful she was until now. He put his hand on her forehead. When she felt that she shot up instantly startling him.
"Wh-what are you doing Sparky?" Her face was red making him go red as well. This was his first time seeing her like this. 'She looks so cute like this.' Zuko was still looking at her flustered face until she turned away from him.
"I feel asleep didn't I? I knew I should've went to sleep minutes ago." She was now on the sand, sandbending it out of embarrassment and anger. He just looked at her venting out her anger on the sand.
"I'm sorry Toph, if I startled you." He felt so stupid apologizing to her out of the blue.
"Whatever Sparky. Well now I'm going to sleep." She was walking up the stairs to the house until she stopped and looked at him her head tilting a little making Zuko blush harder.
"What were you doing out here in the first place sparky?" Zuko had wished that he would've at least came up with an excuse but couldn't think of anything so he told her why he was there in the first place. She looked at him then moved back towards him and sat down next to him.
"What did you want to talk about?" He shifted under her gaze.
"Um-well it's kind of because you've been hitting me a lot recently." She blushed red when he said that making him blush as well.
"I-I I don't know what you're talking about Sparky." She turned away from him crossing her arms under her chest.
"You know how you said that that was how you showed affection? Well I just thought that maybe you liked me." She turned to look at him with a sad look on her face.
"Is it so bad that I like you? Do you hate me for liking you?" She looked like she was about to cry. Zuko took her hands in his then looked her in the eyes.
"No, I don't." She moved her hand to wipe away her tears.
"You don't?" He smiled then answered her.
"No. In fact I think I might like you as well." She smiled then hit him on the shoulder where there were multiple bruises.
"Hahaha, that's how I show affection, Sparky." He laughed along with her. She had the most cutest look on her face and her cheeks were just so pink and red that he wanted to pinch it. So he did and got hit on the head this time.
"What was that for, Sparky!?" He laughed at her sweetly then got up and picked her up by the waist and spun her around then dropped her gently on her feet making her go dizzy. She was still spinning around when he kissed her on the cheek making her go red all over again.
"That's how I show affection, Badger, Bandit, or whatever your name was supposed to be again." He laughed then ran into the house leaving her shocked. She then regained conscious and ran after him stopping a little since the house was made out of wood.
"That wasn't fair Sparky! You cheated!" she ran into him as he opened the door to check if she was all right. He laughed then carried her to her bed, bridal style.
The next morning the rest of the Gaang was teasing them about them getting together but Toph, being who she is, always only left Zuko to clean up after their mess, meaning he had to ask all the question and all the teasings but all in all, they both loved each other.
"Sparky, put me down RIGHT now or else I'll hit you!" Zuko laughed at her as he was making his way into the ocean.
"Toph, your affections for me are getting more and more intense as we spend time together. If we swim together you might want to kiss me out of the blue like Suki and Katara to their boyfriends." Toph hit him as hard as she can on his head. As much as it hurt he just wanted to tease her.
"See? It used to be the arm but now it's the head. That shows how much you care for me Toph." He laughed as she pouted and rested her chin on top of his head as they went in more deeper.
"Now don't worry Toph. If you drown I'll rescue you and-" He was cut off when Toph hit him on the head again.
"Haha, sorry, sorry. You're just so cute that I just want to tease you." She scoffed.
"Whatever Sparky, but if you really drop me I will personally kill you, you hear?" Zuko laughed.
"If you're this cute when you're mad I wonder how cute you can be when you kill me." Zuko didn't get to laugh after that because Toph had drown him and her under water. He poked his head out and went to Toph's side. He knew that she was conscious but he just wanted to kiss her, so he did and received major bruises.
He smiled at his angry girlfriend as they received a lecture from Katara.
"It was worth it."
Awww... aren't they just so cute? I just LOVE toko soooo much! :)