A/N: I just want to be clear that I, nor will I ever condone kidnapping, or anything in the kidnapping family. This is just a fun story I thought of about the lengths people could go through for the people they love.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or anything affiliated with it, I just own this story.
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Character List:
Toph Bei Fong aka: The Bride- age 21
Sokka aka: The Kidnapper- age 24
The Duke aka: The Groom- age 20
Katara aka: The Maid Of Honor- age 23
Aang aka: The Best Man- age 21
Ty Lee aka: The Bridesmaid- age 23
Hakoda: Father of Sokka and Katara- age 55
Lao and Poppy Bei Fong: Parents of the Bride- ages 57 and 55
(***)
"You know she asked about you today at the rehearsal dinner," Katara said, watching her brother carefully.
He was sitting on his sofa with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. Aang tried to pretend like he was reading something fascinating in a vegetarian cook book while Ty Lee just watched the two siblings, silently.
Katara sighed. "You're really not going to say anything? You're really not going to go to Toph's wedding?"
"I already said I'm not going, Katara," he said finally, "I'm not going to change my mind."
Katara let out a loud groan as she rose to her feet. "You're unbelievable! Toph's your best friend! How can you not go to her wedding?"
"I... look, I don't need to explain myself," said Sokka, "I said I wasn't going and that's final."
"Don't be so hard on him Katara." Everyone turned to look at Ty Lee, who was still sitting in the corner quietly. "Look at it from his perspective, I mean if someone I was in love with was getting married I wouldn't be able to go to their wedding either."
This brought Sokka out of his funk, for a mere second. "Wait a minute, I'm not in love with Toph," he lied, as his face grew hotter by the second.
"Oh please," Ty Lee said, "everyone knows you love Toph, we talk about it all the time."
"You do?-"
Katara raised her hand to silence her brother. "Even if he does love her he should still go, he's her best friend..." she trailed off as her face softened. "You didn't see her, okay. She was crying to me tonight. She was upset that Sokka still wouldn't speak to her, and that he still refused to come to her wedding."
Sokka did feel bad about that. Even now the last time he and Toph spoke to each other haunted him, but what could he do? His mind was made up.
Knowing how stubborn her big brother could be, Katara let out an exhausted sigh, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen Sokka, I know this is probably hard for you, but this is supposed to be the happiest day of Toph's life and she wants you to be apart of it." When he said nothing she continued. "If you really love her you'd do whatever it takes to make her happy." With that she stood up and faced her friend and boyfriend.
"Come on Aang, Ty Lee," she said, "we need to leave so we can get ready fo Toph's wedding tomorrow."
The trio left Sokka's apartment, and while he sat there alone, sinking in his sister and friend's words, he groaned. Why should he feel guilty? Toph's the one making the mistake, not him. He told her getting married to The Duke would be a mistake, and it's true.
"Go to the wedding, yeah right," he scoffed aloud. Sokka stood up and went to his bedroom, once inside he found a framed photo of him and Toph at her high school graduation on his night stand. He picked it up and stared at it fo a while. The longer he stared at the picuture the more he felt sick to his stomach that Toph, his best friend was getting married to someone else.
If you really love her you'd do whatever it takes to make her happy
His sister's words echoed in his brain for what felt like an eternity. After thinking hard about it, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Katara's number.
"Hello-"
"I have to tell her Katara," Sokka said.
"Tell her what? What are you talking about?"
"I have to tell Toph that I'm in love with her."
Katara sighed. "Wait a minute Sokka, that's not a good idea."
"Why? Toph has to know how I feel. I can't let her marry someone else without her knowing the truth."
"Sokka, she doesn't love you anymore, she loves The Duke. If you go to her right now and tell her, the only thing you're going to do is mess with Toph's head and ruin her wedding."
A moment of pause had stretched between the two siblings, and when her brother still remained silent, Katara let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Look Sokka," she said, softening her voice, "I know this is hard for you... but it's too late, you missed your chance."
When her brother still didn't respond, Katara started to grow a little more concerned. "Sokka? Are you still there?"
"...Yeah, I'm here, he replied in nearly a whisper.
"Listen, if you don't want to go to the wedding that's fine, but at least talk to Toph. She really misses you, and you and I both know you miss her."
Sokka let out a long sigh. "Okay Katara, I'll do it, I'll talk to her."
"Great." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I have to go okay, Toph's wedding is tomorrow morning."
"That's fine," he said, "sleep tight, sis."
"Wait, Sokka... I'm sorry."
Sokka didn't respond, instead he hung up the phone and collapsed on his bed. While staring at the ceiling, Sokka thought about the last time he spoke to Toph, it was the day she told him she was engaged. He remembered how angry he got, and how he refused to come to her wedding. It was literally the biggest fight they had, and the longest they've gone without speaking. It's not that he didn't want to, for months Sokka picked up his phone, but he couldn't bring himself to dial Toph's number. What could he say? He still would have told her that marrying The Duke is a mistake, that he still wasn't going to come to her wedding.
"If you really loved her you'd do whatever it takes to make her happy," he mimicked Katara's words while impersonating her voice. "Like I'm supposed to know what that means." He sat up in his bed, directing his eyes to the full moon outside his window. Sokka continued to play his sister's words in his head. How could Toph really be happy with The Duke anyway? Sokka's watched them together, and she's not the same when she's around the Duke, she doesn't make jokes or smile, she doesn't even laugh as much when her and The Duke are together.
He thought about what his sister told him over the phone and immediately felt a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Maybe Katara's right, he thought, maybe it is selfish of me to tell Toph how I feel. Sokka knew Toph used to have feelings for him, and for a long time yes, he never returned them, but they've always been close, and for the past year in a half, he's noticed a change in his feelings for his best friend. He knew he was beginning to develop strong feelings for Toph when she and The Duke started dating. And Sokka tried to be a good friend, he even tried to like The Duke, but he could only take so much. I mean seriously, how could he possibly congratulate Toph on her marriage, and attend her wedding when he couldn't bear seeing her with someone else?
What if she still loves me? A voice in the back of his head said. This thought caused him to quickly jump out of his bed. It's true, Toph did used to love him, and maybe, just maybe a part of her still did. Sokka had two options here, he could either keep his mouth shut and let Toph marry The Duke, and spend the rest of his life wondering what if, or he could take a chance and tell Toph how he feels. It wasn't hard for Sokka to make a decision, and once his mind was made up he knew there was no turning back.
A/N: Yeah, I know this chapter is super short, but I promise the next chapters will be longer. Let me know how you like this story, reviews as well as any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading :)
Free-Spirited Dreamer
