Tokka Week: Day 1
Prompt: Bending the Rules
Hello and welcome to my first official attempt at a Tokka Week! I know this isn't officially where Tokka Week is held (its supposed to be at .com) but I wanted to participate so this is where I'm posting my prompts. Anyways, this is a very special Tokka week for me, not just because its my first, but also because I'm wondering whether or not this will be my last time writing a Tokka fic. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this ship, ever since I wrote my first fanfiction a few years ago under a different screen name, but I think it's probably time for me to move on to other things. Because of this, I've decided to try and span the realm of Tokka! I'm going to write all the typical Tokka cliches that I haven't tried, all the while putting my own RockaRoller88 spin on to them. For those of you who were reading my fics back when I was Superbleh11, don't worry! By the end of the week, there will have been an action scene or two!
So, for day one here, Bending the Rules is the prompt, and the cliché I've decided to work with is ye olde Drunk Tokka fic. For the life of me, I can't figure out why I haven't written in this cliché before. Anyways, I hope you enjoy my take on it!
A/N: Standard type takes place in the present, italicized type flashes back to the night before.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Mai, the Fire Lady:
I quite simply can't think of another time when I have scowled so deeply. Jubei has thrown me an apologetic smile, but its betrayed by the slight quivering of his legs.
"I... umm, Mrs Mai," he stammers, "I... I really am desperately sorry to have woken you up so early... I just... Well I thought you would want to come and look at this personally before we decided what to do... Masters-"
"Don't you dare say Toph and Sokka," I snap, feeling my trademark apathy dissolve into uncharacteristically open anger, "You had better not be about to tell me that Toph and Sokka have caused some Big Problem somewhere in the Palace."
He pales considerably, and I let fly with a word that is far too impolite for the Fire Lady to use. Jubei's mouth opens and closes several times before I'm able to summon enough strength to treat him mercifully. I run a hand across my face, still drowsy and wrinkled from sleep, and sigh dramatically.
"I know it's not your fault, Jubei," I concede, my voice ripe with irritation"Just show me what they did this time."
He smiles nervously, but bows as befits a Steward and leads me down the staircases. To be perfectly honest, I know where we're headed before he even takes a step. Down the stairs, through the kitchen, into the wine cellar, past the fancy vintages, into the whiskies and hard liquor. I could have killed Zuko for taking them down here and showing Toph (of all people, Toph!) and Sokka where we kept our fancy Fire Lord booze.
And, sure enough, the second we take a step in to our enormous kitchen, already buzzing with staff preparing the morning's breakfast, Jubei points to where Toph made her grand entrance. It's very easy to piece together what happened from there.
"Toph!" Sokka swoons, "I'm already too drunken enough! I can't be sneaky!"
She stops suddenly, whirling around and fixing Sokka with what she hopes is a stare in more-or-less his general direction. Somehow, through the boozy haze, she adopts a look of righteous indignation and claps her hands on to Sokka's face. His eyes, watery with drink, latch on to her very serious expression.
"Focus, Sokka, I need you to like focus and stuff!" she insists, "Do you know what Mai said to me? Do you... like remember and stuff what she did?"
Sokka tries to shake his head, but Toph's hands are still cupping his face and he can't quite manage it.
"She... Mai," she reminds him, "Told me, Toph Bei Fong, that I couldn't have any of her fancy hooch and stuff! Can you believe that?"
Sokka, who can't remember why he and Toph are in the middle of the Fire Lord's garden, lets his jaw drop in shock. "That... that bitch!" he exclaims, sharing Toph's indignation.
"I KNOW!" Toph agrees, shaking Sokka's head, "So now... like we gotta break in there and stuff and steal it... so Mai will know she was wrong and then we'll be the winner!"
Sokka's tries, and fails, to make his expression look even more serious. He reaches out and latches two hands onto Toph's face, copying her, for effect.
"I have... never.. like been more serious about anything ever for all of history!" he blurts, sure that she will be moved by his poetic speech, "They're gonna... write songs about me and you and me freeing the Fire Lord's booze that one night!"
Toph has in fact been quite moved, and she narrows her eyes in solemn determination.
It isn't too hard to follow their trail from the brand new doorway Toph so kindly made in the center of my kitchen wall. Jubei steps off to the side, and I see two trails of muddy footprints lurching chaotically through the kitchen. One set, quite clearly Toph from the subtle impressions of her toes, was apparently capable of walking more-or-less in a straight line through the kitchen, only occasionally slipping or veering to the side as she made her way to the cellar door. The other set, which must belong to Sokka, follows closely behind, apparently bound and determined to run into every possible obstacle in between him and his goal. I can tell just by looking that Toph grabbed hold of Sokka's hand and all but dragged him through this room.
"How much damage did they do to the kitchen?" I demand, fixing my angry gaze upon the still-quaking Jubei.
"Actually.. Mrs Mai... not too much compared to their usual... umm... excursions," he admits, thankful to give me at least a modicum of good news. Something snaps in me.
"I am going to have them banned!"I all but scream, startling the kitchen staff, "Banned from the Palace, banned from even thinking about drinking, banned from the whole Fire Nation!"
I take a deep breath, struggling to stay calm as I survey the room full of shocked faces.
"Well?" I demand, "What are you all looking at? Get back to work!"
Getting down the cellar stairs proves to be difficult for the already thrashed pair. Toph is squeezing Sokka's hand for dear life, pulling him blindly down the treacherous obstacle. Unsurprisingly, Sokka misses a stair and falls forward, crashing into Toph and taking her with him. They tumble chaotically down the staircase, alternately gripping hold of each other and trying to push each other away before collapsing in an ungainly heap on the floor.
"Sokka!" Toph snaps, "You big stupid, now we're going to get caught and Mai's gonna think she was right and stuff!"
"Shhh!" he coaxes, prying himself off of her, "Be quiet! We can still.. do what we're... what you want." He struggles, but can't for the life of him remember what they're doing in the Fire Lord's cellar.
Toph barely manages to roll over. She plants her feet on the ground and feels Sokka crawling like a newborn across the cold stone floor. She tries to stand, but the world suddenly lurches sideways and she collapses. Sokka, for some unknowable reason, rolls over on to his back and reaches for Toph, as though to help her.
She manages to crawl close enough to latch her hand on to his; Sokka uses his last modicum of focus to pull her closer to him.
"Sokka..." she moans dramatically, "We're.. like we're not gonna make it and stuff! They're gonna catch us!"
"Shhh..." he coaxes, his eyes drifting shut, "Toph we just need to take a break and sleep for a rest. Then... then we can wake up before the Fire Lord and finish what that thing you wanted to do was."
Toph gasps, astonished at what a good idea that is. "Of course!" she squeals, "You always have such good ideas and stuff, Sokka."
He smiles sleepily, and Toph's incredible level of drunkenness overcomes her inhibitions. She snuggles her way on to his chest, running her arm across him and squeezing him close. She grins and shudders with pleasure at the idea of sleeping like this with him.
"You... you're an idiot and stuff," she says into his chest, "And.. and I love you, you big stupid."
Sokka mutters something unintelligible before drifting off to sleep.
I can only clap a hand to my face as I see the two of them wrapped around each other, less than thirty feet from their goal. They apparently weren't too drunk to blast a hole in the side of my Palace, but they were too drunk to make it the last ten yards to the booze we were after. I suppose I should be thankful that they didn't get the chance to make a bigger mess.
I can feel the expression of disgust worm its way on to my face as I near the snoozing pair, absolutely reeking of alcohol. Toph is sprawled out over Sokka, burying her face in his chest, with her arms wrapped around his waist. My nose crinkles as I see the puddle of drool trailing from Toph's snoring mouth and collecting in Sokka's exposed belly button.
"Umm... Mrs Mai?" Jubei asks tentatively, "Shall I... arrange for a carriage? As per usual?"
I heave another dramatic, angry sigh, about to answer in the affirmative, but a better idea suddenly strikes me.
"No," I start, "I want you to inform the city guard that we have been the victim of a home invasion. Let's let them cool their heals in a jail cell for a while, see if that doesn't help straighten them out."
Jubei smiles, and for a moment it almost looks genuine. "Yes, Mrs Mai".
He scurries off, and I hazard another glance at the two tornadoes asleep in my cellar. Toph squirms slightly on Sokka's chest; he moans and curls his arm around her back. Despite myself, a small smirk worms its way onto my face.
A/N: Well, that's my RockaRoller88ish attempt at drunk Tokka! I thought I'd make it a little different by upping the level of their drunkenness. Usually in these fics, while drunk, they enact some grand plot of mischief that perplexes everyone around them in the morning. For this fic, I wanted Toph and Sokka to fail in their "mission", but cause a massive mess in the process. Hope it worked well for y'all!
I really adored writing the drunken dialogue between Toph and Sokka. I kind of picture Sokka as a lightweight, so I basically had him stumbling over himself and his words the entire fic. Toph I had as a stereotypical "drunk on a mission" with a purpose in mind. I couldn't help but add the "and stuff"s to Toph's speech; everyone whose ever been drunk with their friends knows that every drunk has unique quirks, and I really thought the "and stuff"s in Toph's speech was a funny one for her. Anyways, enough of my ranting. I'll have Day 2 up tomorrow! Until then, keep reading!
