Tokka Week: Day 3
Prompt: Weather
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when sky's are grey…
"It's raining."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Toph snorted. "I kinda guessed when water started falling on my head.
"Just saying," Sokka shrugged, opening his umbrella with a whoosh as he balanced precariously on the curb. "Wasn't sure if you could tell."
She snorted. "I'm not that oblivious."
"I figured." Sokka continued to walk, concentrating hard on his task at hand. "Augh!" Flailing his arms, umbrella and all, Sokka found himself fighting for balance. "Toph!" he yelped. "Help—I'm gonna fall!"
"Oh—what was that?" Toph asked innocently, cupping her hand to her ear. "I wonder if someone said something."
Either way, it was too late for Sokka. He'd already been sent falling right into a puddle. "Thanks a lot, Toph," he grumbled, shaking his soaking sleeve and glaring at the good-for-nothing umbrella.
"Unlucky for you," Toph chuckled. "That it was raining."
"It's always raining, since Suki left," Sokka said quietly. Toph stiffened.
Though she didn't know the details, Sokka and the Kyoshi Warrior had broken up a few weeks ago. Sokka had come to visit her in her Ba Sing Se apartment—better than Gaoling, at least—but he'd been down.
He'd been in the rain.
Concealing a sigh, Toph knew she had to give it one more go, give it one more try, to dry Sokka up—figuratively, at least. It was too much fun to watch him shiver.
"Hey, I'm normally not the most optimistic person, but the sun's gotta be there, even if it's hiding behind a few clouds. Or ten million or whatever." Toph bit her lip. "And…and…" She turned away, then whirled back to Sokka.
"The sun," Toph said fiercely, "is at least trying to shine, okay? But sometimes it needs a little help from the world, because believe it or not when a ray does shine through the world doesn't always appreciate it."
She was so frustrated and hurt she couldn't stand it—this upset over Sokka? But for all his normalcy, he was keeping her out and keeping himself under the clouds, in the dark.
Would he ever snap out of it?
She was trying so hard, all for him. You better thank me for this, Suki, Toph thought bitterly. After all this time, she still cared. Still loved him.
So why wouldn't Sokka just shut up and see it?
Squeezing her eyes shut, Toph fought back tears and hoped for something, anything to make him see.
Meanwhile, Sokka was bewildered. Sun? World? What could she be speaking of? He'd never been good with metaphors, anyway.
The world, the ungrateful world Toph had talked off…it couldn't be him, could it?
Nah. No way.
But…if it was true, then who shone on him? Sokka pondered. Who was his sun?
It could have been luck or it could have been chance, but either way the tiniest ray of sunshine pierced the clouds to shroud Toph's head in gold.
His eye's widened with realization. How couldn't he have realized it before?
Toph was his sun. Toph was the one to shine on him, to give him life—and since when had he thanked her for it?
The earthbender's frustrated and sad eyes went wide as Sokka reached for her and pulled her into an embrace. Then, he stepped away, holding her at arm's length.
"Look," Sokka whispered, wiping a single tear from the corner of Toph's eye, "The sun."
A/N: Not my best, but I wanted to get it up. Maybe I'll do another one later, who knows.
I hope that you all like it enough to review :)
