Toph sat on a rock, near the cove, listening to the wind blow and feeling the vibrations of the waves coming upon the sand. It was night time, and to the average person, the waves would appear calm, softly flowing in to the beach. But Toph could feel them, feel how terribly the rocks and stones were being thrown this way and that, skidding across the ocean floor, relentless and unable to help themselves.

And that was how Toph felt.

She was on Kiyoshi Island; everyone was. They'd all gathered the night prior, each coming their own way; Sokka and Katara sailed from the south pole, Zuko and Mai from the Fire Nation via air ship, and Aang had traveled to the Earth Kingdom on Appa to pick up Toph. Others had come their own way, all by boat of course, until they all were there; Haru, Pipsqueak and The Duke, Teo; anyone they had befriended throughout their journeys. Suki, of course, was already on Kiyoshi Island.

They'd all gathered for a very important and terrible (in Toph's opinion) reason:

Sokka and Suki were getting married.

It wasn't really a surprise to anyone. They'd always been so overly affectionate and clearly in love with each other. Toph found it surprising that they were the first in the group to be married; she'd thought it would surely be Zuko and Mai. But then again, Zuko could be kind of chicken shit about things. Things that had to do with girls, at least, so it'd be another year or two before he'd propose, she estimated.

It was easier to think about Zuko getting married. Zuko wasn't her best friend. Zuko wasn't the person she'd had feelings for the past five years, who she'd had to watch flirt endlessly with another girl the whole time.

Sokka was, and that was why this whole thing just plain sucked. She hadn't wanted to come. She'd seriously thought of any and all ways she could avoid the whole damn charade, but there was no way. Sokka was her best friend, and she was his, and there was no way in hell she could ever ruin this day for him.

Even if he was being a stupid ass and marrying someone who wasn't her.

So she'd come to Kiyoshi, and had put on a façade the whole time, making sure to be snappy and sarcastic when need be. She ended up spending the night with Katara and Suki, much to her dismay. It was a girl's thing, apparently, for them to gather and gossip and talk about the wedding and whatnot.

Toph hated every minute of it, mostly because she couldn't bring herself to hate Suki. She wanted to. It'd make things a lot easier, if Sokka had chosen some bitch to wed. But Suki was nice, and Suki was strong, and had twice the balls as most men.

And the day of the wedding- earlier that day, actually- had been nearly unbearable. Katara had been helping Suki out, making sure everything looked perfect, not that Toph would ever see the finished result. She couldn't even compliment her, which was fine with her. And then Katara had attacked her, forcing her into a too confining kimono, and painting all sorts of make up on her face, saying that this was a special occasion and that they all had to look nice.

Look nice. Blegh. As if that meant much to Toph.

The whole ceremony was much to long, and the whole thing just killed. She could feel Sokka's heartbeat through the vibrations, and Suki's; they were in sync, their hearts beating much too fast due to nerves and happiness. The whole thing was just so disgustingly perfect.

Toph couldn't wait to get away, but even after the ceremony was done, she couldn't escape. She had to congratulate Sokka; it was her duty as a best friend.

So she put on her best face, and slugged him hard in the shoulder, telling him that this meant it was finally time for him to grow up, to which he predictably cried out that he was an adult now.

Did anyone really expect Toph to congratulate him any other way?

There was a party, and it was rather nice, to catch up with everyone. But Toph kept getting distracted, whenever she was near Sokka. She could feel all the vibrations inside him, and after years of feeling the different reactions inside people, she knew exactly what it meant. Sokka was happy, happier than she ever knew he could be.

And that was just like forcing a knife into her heart and twisting it.

She wasn't the one making him this overjoyed, and she never would be. It was Suki, and it always would be Suki.

She had to get away.

And that was how she found herself by the beach, sitting by herself and trying to keep herself from wallowing in self pity. Toph hated these stupid girly feelings. She was tough, she was like the very earth she bent to her will; she was strong, stubborn and resilient. Her best friend had just gotten married; this shouldn't be enough to make her feel like a rock that was reduced to dust.

Small. Meaningless. Forgotten.

Toph sighed heavily, and went back to focusing on the small vibrations she felt in every which direction. It was easier to get consumed in how amazing it was, and how alive the earth really was, than to focus on how she'd never, ever be in Sokka's life the way Suki was.

She was interrupted from studying all the small tremors of the earth by a new set of vibrations; that of someone coming her way. And she knew immediately who it was: the Duke. He'd grown considerably over the last five years. No longer was he the small child with the heart of a lion-turtle; he'd shot up, now a very tall teen, who towered over Toph. She'd remained short; sure, she'd grown as well, but not very much. Apparently she was doomed to always be small and disarmingly harmless looking.

Not the Duke. He was a good foot taller than her, but with his sudden growth spurt, he didn't seem to have adjusted well to it. He stumbled slightly over his long limbs, and seemed generally unsure of his new height.

Normally, Toph would have called out to him, letting him know she knew he was there. But, he wasn't coming all sneaky-like; it was more like he was strolling over to her. So she just let him come and remained silent as he walked up to her and took a seat on a rock near her.

"What're you doing all the way out here?" the Duke finally asked, after a few seconds of sitting in silence. She could tell he was looking at her; she didn't repay the courtesy. It just was meaningless to her. She knew who she was talking to, and it wasn't like she'd get anything out of facing the person she was talking to.

"It's not really my scene," Toph said simply.

She felt him nod. "Me too," he said. "All that dancing…. Not really my thing. Dancing is stupid."

"Yeah."

"It's nice out here," the Duke continued. "The ocean's so calm, and kinda nice looking, you know?"

"No," Toph snapped slightly. "I don't know. I'm blind, remember?" Seriously, how hard was it to remember she couldn't see a damn thing? Pretty meant nothing to her, as did colors and hues, and light and dark.

"Oh. Sorry. I forgot."

"No kidding."

There was a pause. The Duke seemed hesitant to speak now, which Toph didn't really mind, but deep down, she felt kind of bad. She liked the Duke. He was so totally badass for such a young kid. He'd just as fearlessly jumped into battle back when the Fire Nation was a huge asshole, and he'd been only eight at the time. He'd forever be one of the coolest people out there in her book.

"So Sokka married Suki," the Duke finally said, and Toph tried not to cringe. This was exactly what she was not trying to think about. "They make a good couple."

"Yeah, I guess," Toph replied, perhaps a little too bitterly, and she sighed again. The last thing she needed now was for it to somehow get back to Sokka that she didn't approve of his marriage- which wasn't exactly true. If he was going to be with someone who was not Toph, the second best choice was Suki.

But Sokka did not seem to be aware of that order of things.

"I mean," she continued, to cover up her tone, "Suki's one hell of a fighter. She'll be able to keep him in line when he gets stupid. And everyone says she's pretty- I don't know, I don't know anything about pretty and ugly. She's nice too…."

She trailed off, absolutely hating that she was naming all these good qualities about Suki, and simultaneously hating that she was sort of disliking Suki a little for it. These stupid feminine, Katara-like feelings had to go away.

The Duke was quiet again for a moment. And when he spoke, Toph didn't know how to react.

"You really like Sokka, don't you?"

Her initial reaction was to deny it, but she held her tongue. If the Duke had caught on, then good for fucking him. But she wasn't going to confess or deny it.

"It must have been hard seeing him get married," he continued. "I mean, not seeing- I didn't mean it like-"

"I know what you meant," Toph said shortly, cutting him off. She let out another loud sigh. "So yeah, what if it was? It's not like I can blame him; Suki's great. And they've always been together. He'll be happy with her, even if she can't bend any element."

That was the one thing she'd always have over Suki; she could earth bend, and Suki couldn't bend a damn thing. Not that that really mattered, though.

The Duke let out a small laugh, and Toph's brow furrowed. Was he laughing at her? If he was, she was going to punch him really hard- and not out of affection, either.

"Yeah, you're right," he said, and shifted so that he was facing more toward her. "I've heard you're the best earth bender in the whole world, too."

Toph couldn't help but to grin cockily. It was a natural reaction. "I'm the best bender there is, kid."

"Better than Aang? He's the Avatar, you know."

"Psh, I taught his scrawny ass how to earth bend."

The Duke laughed again, and Toph couldn't help but to join in a little.

So, first chapter up! I've been itching to write this- so much that I've been neglecting To Me You Are. Don't worry guys! Another chapter for that will be coming soon, I promise.

Please leave constructive criticisms.