A gentle rain pitter-pattered at Toph's earth tent. Thunder crashed, and lightning lit up the sky. She was safe, she was sure; safe under her sturdy earth tent. She heard another crash. She couldn't see the lighting, but she'd heard it was beautiful once before. And deadly.
She heard scuffling from the outside. Someone was sloshing in puddles towards her tent.
"Toph…" he called quietly.
"Sokka, what're you doing?" she asked through the wall of earth.
"Can… Can I squeeze in with you?" he asked, sounding pitiful.
She bended down the wall that would've been the tent flaps.
"You're afraid of a little storm?" she laughed a little.
He shuffled his feet a little.
"I… I just don't think my tent's gonna hold up much longer, is all," was his excuse.
Toph sighed.
"Get in here."
"Thanks Toph!" he exclaimed quietly, then crawled inside. The water on his clothes turned to mud when it met the dirt. Toph didn't really care; now he had a healthy coating of earth as well.
She bended the tent wall back up. Now it was just her and Sokka. Alone. In her little earth tent. They were kind of forced to huddle together inside; there wasn't much room, since it was originally only meant for Toph. She leaned against him a bit.
"It did occur to you that you have a tarp, right?" she said, sounding a bit annoyed. She was truthfully kind of glad he was here… she wasn't so fond of the unpredictable lightning, and somehow it seemed that it wasn't brave enough to strike two people.
Sokka shrugged and she slid farther into him.
"Hey, those things can break, y'know," he defended.
Toph sighed and shook her head.
"Well, spirits forbid worry keeps you awake, Snoozles," she joked. She felt him chuckle next to him; it kind of shook her a bit as she lounged. Sokka put his arm around her, in order to get more comfortable. She felt her cheeks become a bit warm. Her mind whirled slightly. She found herself snuggling slightly into his side. It was warm and very comfortable. He was still kind of wet and smelled like rain, Toph realized, but she didn't mind… she actually kind of enjoyed it.
Though she couldn't see it, he was gazing down at her. Something about the way she fit in his arms just felt kind of… right. He pulled her closer and felt her breathing slow as she drifted off to sleep, and it wasn't long before he'd drifted off himself…
Glass hailed from the sky that night
I couldn't hide to save my life
Standing drenched in open wounds
You took my hand and pulled me through
The next morning Toph woke up in Sokka's arms, her head on his chest. He held her around her waist, and she couldn't remember a touch in her life that had ever felt as wonderful as this embrace. He snored slightly. She dared a smile. She put her hand on his face, wishing she could look into his eyes. Wishing she at least knew what color they were… Wishing she knew what colors were. He stirred slightly under her gentle touch. She felt the corners of his mouth pull up into a smile under her fingertips. She smiled a bit, herself.
"Good morning, Snoozles…" she said sleepily. Her voice, though, held something more in it than it ever had before. The feelings she'd had inside for quite some time were fighting to the outside as hard as they possibly could. He pulled her closer to him, her head now resting on his shoulder.
"Good morning, Beautiful," he said, before he'd quite thought.
"Huh?" she said, confused.
Though Toph couldn't see, Sokka blushed.
"Oh, uh, sorry. I didn't…" Sokka shook his head in an attempt to clear it.
"You… think I'm beautiful?" Toph asked, for confirmation.
"Well, yeah…" Sokka admitted. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly. She kissed him back, then felt wild amounts of heat rise to her cheeks. She raised her hand to one side of the fire. She heard Sokka chuckle once, then placed his hand on top of hers.
"You're blushing," he told her, which made her blush harder.
"I can feel it," she said, almost mesmerized. Sokka nodded, unsure if she could tell. The toes of her left foot were touching the ground. She could.
I want to give you everything I'll give you my all
Because you gave me, you gave me your lips a gentle kiss
The medicine to cure my pain
Listen to all of this glass shatter
It pierced my ears and made them bleed
Now it sounds so beautiful, cause you're beautiful you're beautiful
"Toph?" he called her name gently.
"Mm?" she responded, busy enjoying his embrace.
"I've been thinking…"
"Oh, you shouldn't do that, Snoozles, you might hurt yourself," she interrupted.
"Ha ha, very funny," he allowed. "But, yeah. I don't know… Last night. Today. I… It feels good, doesn't it?" he asked, wondering if she felt the same way he did.
"What're you talking about?" Toph asked, now more aware.
"I don't know… This. Us. I mean… You think I'm stupid, don't you?"
She sat quietly for a moment.
"I don't think you're stupid…" she complied.
"Y- You don't?" Sokka asked, caught a little off guard.
She shook her head.
"Nope."
"Oh," he said almost hesitantly.
"Yep," she concurred.
"You… You think it feels right, too?" he asked, still slightly dumbfounded.
Toph sat. Toph blushed. Toph thought…
"Yeah. I do."
Sokka kissed the top of her head gently.
"It should storm more often, huh, Beautiful?" he smiled into her hair.
I want to give you everything I'll give you my all
Because you gave me, you gave me your lips a gentle kiss
The medicine to cure my painI want to give you everything I'll give you my all
Because you gave me, you gave me your lips a gentle kiss
The medicine to cure my pain…