Toph stood squarely in front of the mirror. She "stared" into it intently, comb in one hand, deftly brushing over a part so that some pieces of hair fell over her face. As if unsatisfied, she leaned closer into the mirror, tucked a piece behind her ear, and stood back.
"You see, it is exactly that that confuses me so much," said Sokka out of nowhere, peering at her from the sofa he lazed about on.
"What," said Toph flatly, with no indication of interest or concern.
"You are blind. So why do you stand in front of the mirror like that? And it's not just the mirror thing. You also flip through books, and you like to choose green over other colors. And sometimes you tell me I look bad. All those things confuse me simply because blind people don't do that!" said Sokka. "Half the time I forget you can't see."
Toph spun on the balls over her feet to meet eyes with Sokka.
"You idiot. Just because I am blind doesn't mean I have to act like it," stated Toph, crossing her arms. "Didn't you ever pause to think, if thinking was possible for you, that I like the feel of old books? Or, that green and white suits me better than red and black? Did you ever think that I would just mess with you for the sake of messing with you?" exclaimed Toph, hands on her petite hips.
Sokka leaned forward, more tense than before. "Hey! ….Well I guess I can understand the part about messing with me, and the touching thing. But since when did you care about how you look?"
Toph spun around again and pretended to comb her hair, hands shaking ever so slightly, with an itsy bitsy flush creeping to her cheeks.
And Sokka noticed.
"Ha ha! You like somebody, don't you Toph?" he asked, standing immediately and assuming his investigator stance, hand on chin and one arm folded over his chest. "But who could it be? Zuko is already with Mai….Aang with Katara….And Suki and I are still together. It's like, you are the only one who doesn't have somebody!" Sokka said.
But he had gone too far.
Toph's gentle blush turned into a beet red, a prelude to her next rage. She turned around and her face contorted into a pain and sadness unmatched before; it was a pain that far surpassed ill feelings towards her family. Her little fists clutched together, shaking. Sokka began to anticipate the moment he would be catapulted through the wall. But it never came.
He approached Toph tentatively, until they were less than a few inches apart. Sokka reached for her wrists and held them up to his chest. They stopped shaking altogether and Toph drooped over, defeated at her most helpless state he ever saw her in.
"I…didn't mean to say that, Toph. I really didn't, I—"
"Sokka, no, it's okay. You are just one more person who doesn't understand what being blind really means. It is something that has separated me and categorized me all this time. I don't regret it. If it were not for the loneliness I experience, I wouldn't be the world's greatest earth bender. Still, little things like standing in front of mirrors help me to remember that…that I am still a girl. Not a stereotyped blind person." Toph glanced up at Sokka.
Her clouded eyes were softened by plump tears that began to run down her cheeks, cutting a clear path from her dusty face, like a small rivulet over a rocky riverbed. She smiled weakly, feeling oddly smoothed. She fell all the way into Sokka's embrace, and he dropped her wrists to encircle them around her small body.
Never has she exposed herself to be so…vulnerable. Toph seemed to crumple into herself, soft cries giving away to louder gasps and sobs, so unlike the tough, stalwart stones she commands.
Toph's moment soon quieted as she placed a hand on Sokka's chest, over his heart. The moment consumed her; for a little while, it was all she sensed and all she saw. The beats were the same she felt in the rocks of the earth; she wanted to stay there longer. She wanted to learn to control it, as she did with the earth. She wanted to force Sokka to love her.
"Toph," said Sokka softly. "Anything…anything at all I can do to ease your suffering, I will do it."
She wished she could simply tell him to love her, but it wouldn't be fair to Suki, nor would it be realistic.
She drew in a breath and began to compose herself as she said in a husky whisper, "Please, be blind for a little while."
"What do you mean?" asked Sokka.
"Wear this ribbon," she said, pulling out a green piece of silk from a pocket within her sleeve.
Sokka agreed, tying the green silk over his eyes. "Now what?"
"Now that you aren't relying on sight, concentrate more on touch."
He clumsily began to walk around and stumbled over a table. "I don't know how you do it, Toph," he said thoughtfully while running his fingers along a wall and awkwardly placing his feet.
She walked over to grab his hand. "No! You aren't doing it right," she said, guiding him back to the mirror. "I think you can best experience touch…like this…." She said softly, standing on her toes and placing her lips over Sokka's lightly, then immediately backed down, half-fearing what he would do from the transgression she caused.
Sokka surprised her by bending over, placing his hands on her face and returning the kiss more deeply, allowing himself to enjoy the tingling sensations that danced from his lips to his whole body, never before felt with Yue or with Suki. He pulled away slowly, still savoring the lingering tingles on his lips.
"If being blind is like this, then it isn't so bad," Sokka said softly, eliciting a smile from Toph as she turns away from the mirror.
A/N
A quick one-shot I dreamed up after a long Friday and three episodes of Avatar when I was half-asleep. I might read this the next morning and go "LOLWOT is this…?" but now it seems like a good idea, so I will post it now and see what happens…though right now, as I foresee criticism…the little scenario might be too predictable; I didn't really check other fics for an idea like this...
I might write more of these separate one-shots featuring Toph and Sokka. For now, this one will go up.