tradition // an avatar: the last airbender one-shot
A/N: I'm pretty much positive that Valentine's Day doesn't exist in the Avatar world, lawlz. (But "facepalm" IS a verb there, FYI. ;D)
It was Valentine's Day and Toph was as pissed as usual. She didn't even know why, either. Maybe it was because she didn't go to regular school like every other kid so she never participated in the always awkward exchange of valentines among peers. It was like a tradition in itself, really—as soon as the horrid day came along, her mood OOZED foulness and hostility.
It just happened Toph was letting her new (and only) friends know all about said tradition.
"You oaf!" she spat, pointing a stubby little finger at the Airbender at her feet. "Get up!! Geezm you're not gonna pull the 'Oooh, I can't Earthbend, WAH-WAH-WAH' stunt again, are you?!! Because, frankly, I'm sick and tired of it!"
"Sorry, Sifu Toph…" Aang muttered, rubbing his scalp. "I'm just a bit distracted…since it's Valentine's Day and all."
"I KNOW what it is today!" Toph's cheeks turned notably redder. "You think just because I'm BLIND I'm out of touch with pop culture or something!?? Don't make me Earthbend you AND Katara into the ground, Twinkle Toes!!"
"…What, not Sokka?"
"SHUT UP, WILL YOU—?!!"
In a mad fury, she sent Aang flying through the air with a single wave of the hand. Katara, Sokka, Momo, and Appa watched, their eyes following the screaming boy. Katara gave Toph The Look, raising an eyebrow.
"Touchy much," Sokka said, approaching the girl. "Talk to me, Toph—what about Valentine's Day rubs you the wrong way?"
"What about Valentine's Day DOESN'T rub me the wrong way?!" Toph stomped a foot, sending a slowly falling Aang back up many feet. "It's just…UGH! Not something YOU'D understand for sure, Sokka."
"Try me." Sokka crossed his arms. "Remember—you are twelve and I am fifteen; that is THREE YEARS of knowledge that you don't have yet. In conclusion…" He took a big breath. "…try me."
Toph looked unsure of herself, but then sighed. "Alright, alright…" She paused for a moment, obviously uncomfortable. It kind of saddened Sokka how insecure Toph was, even though she was an AMAZING Bender, not to mention immensely cute (not that SHE was aware of that). But Sokka saw it as his job to make people feel good about themselves—whether it'd be by comparison or kind words and stuff. Sokka perferred to stick to the latter.
"Well…" Toph chirped. "I've…uh…never had a Valentine before…like, ever."
"Oh, I can relate."
"Really…?
"SURE I can! But, actually, since you ask and all…" He ruffled the girl's hair a little. "It's kinda the other way around for me. I AM the manilest-man in the whole South Pole. Everyone, and I mean everyone, wanted to be MY Valentine. It was pretty insane! Katara always had to pull the hose on them!"
On cue, Katara popped up at Sokka's side, not too please. "For one, there aren't any hoses at that South Pole. And secondly, Sokka, that happened once. And it was two years ago."
"Yeah?" He grinned, flexing. "I was a player back then, too!"
"Oh, puh-leaze. Your Valentines were five-year-olds! You gave them the cookies me and GranGran made!"
"Whatever pleases the ladies, as they say, Katara."
Katara rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to a word he says, Toph." Nose stuck up, she walked away.
Toph looked even worse than before. "So you lied, huh…"
Sokka waved his hands. "No, no…!!" He stopped. "Well…yeah. Sorry. Just wanted to make you feel better, I guess…To be honest, I've never had a Valentine, either." He scratched his neck stupidly.
Toph, pretty fed up, started to walk off, when Sokka called, "Hey, we can be each other's Valentines!"
The little girl stopped, turning around. "What…?"
"We can be Valentines! Since, you know, you've never had one, I've never had one…It's only fair, right?"
Toph blushed, playing with a rock between her toes. "Okay, Sokka. Whatever you say…you being an adult"—she strongly emphasized this word—"and all…"
"That's right!" Sokka felt quite proud of himself. "Sokka, the meat and sarcasm and adult guy…!"
"So…now that we're Valentines, what are we supposed to do?"
"Welllll….Since I'm a MAN, it's my job to buy you chocolates and flowers or something! But since we're kind of in the middle of nowhere, I guess you can settle with an Appa pie!"
"How 'bout no? You can buy me something when we get to a village. Like, a doll or whatever."
"You like DOLLS?" Sokka laughed. "A big, mean Earthbender like you?"
"NOOOOOO! I'm just—uh—playing the role of the woman! And the last time I checked, woman are all up for everything frilly and fluffy and adorable. I should know."
Sokka wasn't very convinced.
Toph rolled her eyes. "Just sayin'.
"ANYway, what am I supposed to do for you? Am I supposed to get you a gift or what?"
"Since you're a girl and all, you should make me a card. With glitter and buttons and a cute little poem inside…! And be sure to sign it either 'Suki' or 'Yue,' too!"
"What…?"
"Nevermind! Just, uh…make me a card." He ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah."
"One problem."
"What?"
"Unless you want a piece of ripped paper with a few scribbles on it, don't ask for a card."
Sokka facepalmed. "Okay, fine. Then what do YOU wanna make me?"
"How about something out of rock?"
"Rock, hm? Classy, yet…manly. Sounds good to me!"
"Alright then." Toph readied herself. "In the shape of a heart."
"Go for it!"
"Question!" Toph looked sheepish. "What does a heart look like…?"
Sokka, again, facepalmed.
The End.