Under blind stars- A Sokka and Toph fan fiction. I do not own ATLA or their character. REVIEW! And if you see a mistake please tell me!
It's been so long since they last seen each other and now almost two years' later they planned to meet at a grassy hill in the middle of nowhere to gaze upon stars. If only Toph could see, though, today she is not going to let that bother her, not for a night so important. But she wished that the vibrations in her feet would let her aware of any change in any of her friends. Heck for two years? there has to be.
She was the first to arrive… on foot. All of which rested- Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka and even Mai though she doesn't know about Suki- are traveling on Appa. It seemed as though she was the only one who actually broke the team, living so far and everyone else so close. And when they told her this, she couldn't help feel that all this arranging and planning was more directed at her. But it didn't matter, she dissevered it, wasn't she the best Earth Bender in the world? For what was left they should bring a fest for her accomplishment. Even though this gathering and the probability of a feast was very wanted, the waiting wasn't.
After a while she made a bed of rocks and grass as she concluded that it'd be best to rest, then waste energy on useless time. But she couldn't, not when what waited were instants away. All she could get her mind set to was on her faceless friends, and there personality and their only descriptive thing… their voices. She wonder if time treated them nicely, like it did to her even if she couldn't see it, but the comments given to her daily were promising. Add that they weren't lying, and if they were, they were good because she couldn't feel a difference. She also wondered if her friends would see her change, and comment on that, too. But she rather not because then, how can she return the compliment if she didn't have an idea if they altered?
"Hey Toph!" A familiar voice called out, but it was a little lower though with one sense of the vibrations in the ground she figure out who it might be.
Toph jumped off the rock-bed as she started questioning when they had gotten there before saying, "Is that you, twinkle-toes?"
A sigh. "How come she remembers that, Katara?"
Big motherly vibrations. "Did you expect Toph to forget you?"
"KATARA!" Toph was surprised by the shriek that escaped her.
Toph sensed two foots steps behind her. "Try to be more happy Mai."
Mumurs. "Don't tell me what to do."
"Mai, Zuko." Toph said and was relied with agreeing heys and yeses.
Something was missing, she felt it. She came closer to Katara as she asked, trying to keep her voice low, in case she was wrong. "Where's Sokka?"
Katara took a few seconds to answer, she guess she was 'rolling eyes' at what she was about to say. "He's still on Appa. Been depressed this couple of weeks because one of his former girlfriends moved away and decided that 'distance could separated this time', so before that happed she did."
Toph couldn't help the shock. "Suki dumped Sokka."
"For the record I wouldn't say 'dumped', I would say miss understandings. And I was the one who dumped her."
Sokka's footsteps were heavy and more determent then when she first met him. Her heart fell and she wished she had sight just for a microsecond.
The moment was interrupted, by a snort from her side. "I thought you 'wouldn't say dumped'. And dear Brother, the rumors say otherwise and I was there too. Don't you remember?"
"I don't remember such things." Sokka whined to his sister. Still the same.
"Can we stop using quotations? And just have a good night, guys?" Aang interrupted. "Besides, Appa offered to be the bed tonight."
It took ten minutes but they had already organized everything, from the small food to comfy sheets to keep from cold. Now all of them sat there: Zuko and Mai beside each other, his arm other her head, Aang and Katara cuddling, saying cuddy things to each other and Sokka tense beside Toph in-between it all, patronizing. But he had been tense since he laid feet on the ground, or was it when Katara brought Suki in a topic? Either way she didn't like it. It felt awkward and unwanted when instead she should be feeling comfortable and at home.
She sensed something stop. "You changed a lot, Toph." Katara felt close to her even though she knew she wasn't. That was one of the downfalls of being blind and incriminating the other senses, you were too overwhelmed by every movement, and sound, and sometimes nothing.
"Really?" Toph was kind of flattered by the words, something that if it came from a stranger she would have felt sort of creped.
"Not like she can, actually, see it." Sokka muttered.
Toph felt a pang in the only place she should have felt relief. She never, in a million life times thought that someone so understanding like Sokka would hurt her with piercing-kind-of-words. It was like an unwanted universe that she was suddenly transported or an unwakeble nightmare.
"Sokka," his sister protested.
"What?" Sokka seemed unchanged. "I'm just stating the obvious here."
"Thanks. You changed a lot, too," Toph whispered to nobody in particular. It seemed as though nothing stayed the same after all or as she thought.
To fill the on-edge atmosphere Aang started talking about the last two years. How Zuko was Fire Lord, how Katara and him were making the nations balanced, and even mentioned Sokka, who came with a quick annoying remark. But as things around her move she tried to puzzle back what made things so hateful. Why was Sokka picking on her, when Katara was the one who started it all? By the time Aang finished, Toph had completely lost track of what the Avatar was saying, so she just 'Uh-Huh' to pretend some interest.
Maybe Sokka will get over it.
Maybe he wouldn't.
For the long minutes that rested whenever Mai, Zuko, Katara or Aang spoke and visual seeing was required Sokka would point out that Toph couldn't necessary be included in the conversation. And every single time Toph had to bite deep in her nerves not to break.
At some point, they started talking about the stars and their forms, luckily Katara had managed for Sokka to stay quiet for the longest in over three topics they discussed my now.
"That one is the bear-lion," Aang pointed out.
"And that one is the dolphin-octopus," Katara added.
"See that Mai," Zuko said, "that's the Fire Phoenix."
"Wow," but Mai didn't sound impressed.
Sokka didn't remark anything.
And Toph felt out of place. She only saw dark, if what she was seeing was dark. She didn't know what all those creatures were and she didn't know what stars look like. But she felt that she had to comment on something, just to fit it in what they were saying, feel expected. Even though she didn't know what she was even talking about.
"The moon must be full today," Toph said and before anyone interrupted she quickly added more to include the affect of knowledge as the rest of them had, "they say that when the moon is full is because it is fulfilled, complete, that it's happy and-"
"Funny. I can see how it could be working out- me and Suki no more. And Yue is fulfilled because of that." Sokka said bitterly and Toph felt her heart sink but he wasn't done. "It might actually get me laughing if you could really see. But it only makes me feel sorry that you would stood so low as to-"
"Yeah, it makes me feel sorry too." Toph said sarcastically, pretending to laugh as she came to a stand. "Actually I'm kind of grateful that I can't see because then I have to watch that ugly moon every night. Or worse: you. But don't get me wrong it must be really beautiful. Everything must be really beautiful, heck, what do I know? I can't really see. Though I never did like to take the roll on self pity for my disability, but if I would ever mourn on something for the rest of my life if would be the fact that I didn't see your pathetic face when Suki dumped you. Not misunderstanding, not misscalculations just dumped and I'll give her credit too." She started walking the other direction though before she said, "And if you're going to accuse me of anything I rather you do it when I'm really trying, but, hey, I'm not the one who's standing so low in this instant."
Toph heard the others call her name, even Sokka but she didn't care now. Nothing, him or anyone could say would make her feel better or just slightly. Because none of them could give her sight. Not one of them understood or tried to understand what it's like to live in a world of darkness, in a world where you don't know when is day or night, what's red and blue, even what she looks like. She can only feel, and hear, and smell. That doesn't give her an image. She might be the World's Greatest Earth Bender, but if felt as though she won it by unfathomable default. She was useless.
But she wasn't about to cry, it was not worth it. For Sokka, or because of fate or irony or even herself.
The only thing Toph can do is walk. Create a distance between a moment ago-past.
Let nothing stop her. Not even the footsteps that came her way.
"Toph. Toph! I'm calling to you, can't you hear me?"
Toph gripped fist as she snapped in the direction of Sokka's voice. "Oh, sorry. Did I forget to tell you that blindness comes with deafness?"
He started walking when he was paces away from her, his heart racing from the chase and breath all over the place. And she wondered if he was doing this to stall. "I'm so sorry, Toph."
Toph moved her eyes, hoping that they were rolled, then remembered he couldn't actually see it. "I don't have time for this."
Sokka stopped. "But do you have time for me?"
Toph halted, hesitant. "I don't know… anymore." She added before he could talk.
"Look, I'm sorry."
Toph managed a rough laugh. "Great words, genius."
"I'm sorry." Sokka insisted taking a step towards her. "Sometimes I forget that you can't… see."
Toph huffed, as she raised an eye brow. "You didn't forget a moment ago."
"I was, just, angry." Sokka admitted.
"And you have to take it on the blind girl, huh?"
Suddenly, she felt two arms on each shoulder, and she jumped. When had he gotten there? "No. I didn't mean to. It's just…"
"It's easier picking on the weaker ones." Toph added, bitterly. "But guess what?" Though she answered anyways. "You picked on someone better than you. Stronger than you. "
There was hesitation, and his heart felt heavy now. "No, that's not it. I just… hoped… you could… really… see."
Toph swallowed. "Well, your choice in persons stink. What can a blind girl hope to see?"
Sokka heart sank. "They say that the deaf can hear planets from afar better than a person can hear another scream, that the mute can express themselves better than any word ever spoken by men and that blind see better than those who are blindfolded in a dark room."
Toph huffed again, as she repeated the same question. "What did you hope for me to see? What great person you are? How you can't spear others feelings? What a horrible person you have become?"
"I thought you were stronger," was all Sokka said.
"You know what?" Toph felt her voice crack, and something warm trickle down her eye. "At least I'm strong enough to stay here. At least I wasn't weak enough to give my back to you when all was falling apart and turn myself into a hideous 'moon' to save the world, I don't mind shadows in the planet, I don't mind the dark, I'm already there. At least I didn't dump you because distance separated us. It seemed as though that is the only reason you end up being alone. At least… at least I even think of you when we're miles apart. At least I'm strong enough to remember you."
Toph heard a sigh. "I thought you were blind enough to see that I needed a friend in a time like this."
"And you thought bringing me down would help?"
"I thought that reminding you of what are will. I'm sorry."
"And here I thought you were smart."
"And here I thought you'd forgive me."
"And here I thought you knew me well enough to know I always will…."
"And here I thought I was stupid."
"Then why ask for forgiveness?" Toph asked, staring to walk again.
Hands caress her tears away, as it pulled her for a tight embrace, stopping her. "Because: Under blind stars lay probability scars."
Toph was too drained to fight, but she struggled to make sure she wasn't comfortable with this even though she was. "I'm sorry but I don't speak idiot."
Sokka started laughing like moron. "Aside from all that, I really missed fighting with you."
Toph found her arms, as they lock behind his back. "I just… missed you."