"Get out!" Suki held the fan dangerously close to Sokka's face, tears running down her cheeks. "Get out, Sokka."
He took a deep breath. "Suki, please. It'll be okay. We can work through this. We're stronger together." It had been a year exactly since they had lost their daughter and neither of them had taken it well. Their relationship had become so broken, that Sokka had started drinking and Suki spent all her time training.
"I'm done, Sokka." Suki stepped back from him. "Please, just go."
He sighed, knowing this was best. "Let me pack a few things, then I'll go. But I'm not giving up on us, Suki." He packed a small bag of clothes and grabbed his boomerang and sword. He paused in the doorway, wanting to find the right words to make it better, but then turned and left.
He wandered around the city, unsure of what he was going to do. He couldn't bear staying with his sister, not when her daughter was the same age Jiao [beautiful, lovable] should be. As he approached the center square, he sat on the edge of the fountain, which depicted signs of each of the nations. Tears freely flowed down his face.
"Snoozles, why are sitting out here sniveling?" Toph approached the Water Tribe boy, catching him off guard.
"Hi, Toph." His lack of joke back at her for what she said surprised the earthbender, showing how down in the dumps he really is.
"What's wrong?" Toph sat next to him, covering his hand with hers.
"Suki kicked me out. I'm not sure where to stay. I… I can't stay at Katara and Aang's. Not with today." Toph remembered it had been one year and that Kya and Jiao were only a few weeks apart in age.
"Well, you're staying with me." Toph made up her mind instantly. "C'mon, Snoozles. You can worry about Suki in the morning. Right now you need some tea and to talk."
"Who are you, Iroh?" Sokka managed to smile as he let Toph lead him to her house behind the metalbending academy. Toph laughed at his comment while opening the door.
The house was small, with a kitchen, sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. "It isn't much." Toph said as she started to heat the tea. "But I'll let you have the bed, I don't mind sleeping on the ground."
"You don't have to, Toph. You have a couch. I'll sleep on that. It's no problem. I'm just glad you gave me a place to stay." At thirty years old, Sokka was grateful for any kindness granted to him, and wasn't above sleeping on the couch.
"Whatever." Sokka helped Toph make the tea, so she didn't break anything. "What happened tonight?"
"I'm not sure. She just snapped. She threatened me with her fan and told me to get out. I mean, I knew our relationship had been rocky at best this past year… but it's like she didn't even care that I was hurting today, too." He held his head in his hands. "I couldn't argue with her about it. I just grabbed some of my stuff and left."
Toph drained her tea. "Well, feel free to stay here as long as you need. It's not like I have a lot of visitors or anything." She put her cup in the sink. She had built her house out of earth and used fine stone to put a smooth edge to everything. "I'm going to bed. Make yourself comfortable. There's nothing here that can't be used. Just don't eat all my food." Sokka smiled at the last bit.
Toph left early the next morning to train and Sokka grabbed some food on his way to see Suki and see if he could talk some reason into her. When he arrived at the house, he saw a note on the wall behind the door. "Sokka, I'm going back to Kyoshi Island. I told Ty Lee she could have the house. Your stuff should be out by sundown. I can't handle being here with you anymore. Goodbye."
Sokka crumbled up the note and punched the wall. He grabbed the rest of his stuff and stomped back to Toph's house, slamming and punching things along the way. He had lost his goofiness when he lost Jiao. Toph was outside with her metalbenders as he carried his stuff in and could hear the whispers about them.
They were silenced by Toph's bark, as they were sent to do push-ups. Toph walked over to the house. "Okay, Snoozles. You have more stuff. What's the deal?"
"Suki left. She gave the place to Ty Lee. I can't stay there. So I grabbed my stuff." He spoke in jerky abrupt sentences as he shoved his stuff into a corner. "I shouldn't be here too long, Toph. I'll find a place to stay soon. Just in the meantime… can I stay here?'
"Duh. That's what I said last night. Stay as long as you need. But you have to help pay for food." She punched the swordsman in the arm. "I have to get back to those lily livers."
0.0.0
Toph was happier. All those training under her could tell. She was more lenient, happier than they had ever seen her. When she wasn't around they whispered about Councilman Sokka's effect on her.
She and Sokka made great roommates. Toph was considering adding another room to her house so he could have an actual room to sleep in. She smiled as she made these plans. It was the second week he had been staying with her. She was getting ready for bed, putting on a thin silk chemise to deal with the warm temperatures and climbed onto her metal-based bed, curling up to sleep.
Sokka lay awake, pondering the feelings he was starting to feel for Toph. He hadn't been in love with Suki for years. He cared for her, but not truly loved her. Jiao's death had just been the breaking point. He smiled, realizing he was able to let Suki go. He decided to write a letter to her in the morning.
As he started dozing, he heard sniffling. He got up and approached Toph's room wearing just his short. "Toph, are you okay?" He was surprised to see the earthbender half asleep.
"What's wrong with me, Sokka? Am I really that undesirable? Men never ask me out." Toph couldn't believe what she was saying. But her short dream of kissing him and having him turn away disgusted left her too vulnerable.
Sokka sat on the bed next to her. "There's nothing wrong with you, Toph. You are a gorgeous woman. Seriously. All your training has paid off! Most men are probably just intimidated by you. I'm not. But then again, I've been around you while you grew up. I know that you're tough but you still want to have someone care."
Toph leaned against him, loving the feel of their skin touching. "I don't know what I look like. I don't know what guys want to see. I don't know if I'm what a guy wants to look at, if I'm beautiful or not. I… I tried not to care too much. I always was proud that I would fall in love with someone based on their personality, because I couldn't fall in love based on looks. But… but I do wish I could…" She stopped herself there.
"Toph, you are fantastic. You are the best earthbender in the world. You are a gorgeous woman, I wouldn't lie about that. What brought all this on? Is there a special someone you want to get to know better but he's afraid to ask you out?" Sokka teased her, although his heart tightened at the thought of her with someone who was too afraid to get to know the real Toph.
"I know he's not afraid. I think he just doesn't care."
"I don't think that's possible." Sokka smiled at her, although he knew that she couldn't see it. "If he hasn't asked you out, he has to be afraid."
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Toph started to get frustrated. What is wrong with me?
"Toph, why else would he not ask you out?"
"You tell me!" And she threw herself against him, knocking them across the bed, and kissing him on the lips. She didn't know what to do, but when his arms wrapped around her, she let her hands flow over his body, trying to see what he looked like.
They broke apart, Sokka staring at the earthbender. "I had no idea." The voice was quiet.
"Suki never told you?" Toph was surprised.
"Told me about what?" Sokka was confused, and although they spoke casually, he made no effort to change the way they were laying.
Toph blushed, surprising Sokka once again. "When we were crossing the Serpent's Pass and I fell in. I thought it was you. I kissed her on the cheek and said, "Thanks, Sokka!" and she laughed and told me who it was. I asked her to let go and let me drown... but she wouldn't take that kind of pity on me."
Sokka smiled again and kissed her cheek. "I've started to realize that I stopped loving her a long time ago. And you're the one who made me realize that. With her… it was a lot of work. But when I'm around you, it's just easy to be around you. I wasn't lying about you being gorgeous Toph. But I know you're so much more than that, too."
"Can… can I touch you? Not intimately or anything. I just want to understand what you look like." Toph had never been this nervous in her life. Her heartbeat was irregular and she started to worry he would say no or leave.
"Of course. It's not fair that I can see you and you can't see me." Sokka guided her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. "Here's a starting point." They sat in silence as she slowly caressed him, putting together an image in her mind of what he looked like.
"Thank you. Do you… do you want to stay in here tonight? I don't mind sharing the bed." Her voice was quiet. She wanted to lie in his arms and feel like a woman, something she had never really wanted in her life to be.
"I'd love to." They repositioned themselves to sleep, Toph curled up against Sokka's chest, both of them feeling more content than they had in years.