Dedicated to one of my fanfiction BFFz, SailingSeas! Happy Birthday! Sorry it's a day late, internet crapped out, LOLz. Enjoy!
Toph's parents always turned her birthday into just another big ordeal in the Bei Fong household. Stuffier-than-usual clothes, "gourmet" feast, extravagantly tiered cake. Her father would make a speech, and the table would applaud. But really, it was worse than any other day of the year. Not only did she have to continue being the proper little girl, but she had to acknowledge every stiff remark with a smile, accept every uninteresting gift with dramatized gratitude. Her birthday had always been miserable.
That's why, when she joined the gaang, she vowed never to reveal her birthday to them. Even if they wouldn't overdo every thing like her parents habitually did, they would still fuss over the matter. They fussed over Aang's birthday in September. Katara's in January. She wanted none of it. She wanted no gifts, no special meals, no overenthusiastic singing. All she wanted was her freedom, which she now had.
What was a birthday, anyways? It was just a day. A day signifying that you were another year older. That was it.
Specific birthdays marked importance, she knew. Ten was entering the double digits, a bigger number. Thirteen was becoming a teenager, almost an adult. And sixteen was the most important of all, becoming an adult and being of marrying age. But the rest, she didn't see the purpose to celebrate. She didn't even see the purpose to make an event of any, except for the milestone of sixteen.
So that's why she sat at the edge of the fountain, feet swirling around in the cool water, noting the fact that she was now thirteen years old. She was a teenager. But, in her mind, what difference did it make? She was still Toph Bei Fong, she was still the Blind Bandit, she was still just herself. There were no accompanying privileges to her age, nor new challenges. She was just…thirteen.
The rest of the gaang sat not too far away from the fountain, eating dinner. Their unknowing made her feel private, secretive. She liked it. She had her ordinary day, all to herself.
She reminisced on past birthdays, grateful for the peace and calm she now had on her day. Just the thought of not having to wear a starchy, "elegant" gown, or having to force down mushy, wallmon caviar brought a small smile to her lips. She closed her eyes and leaned back, letting the cool water sooth the burns still on her feet.
She was completely relaxed, almost to the point of drowsiness. But she didn't care. If she wanted to fall asleep sitting on a cold cement fountain, so be it. At home, she'd never be allowed such a luxury. But here, she could.
Suddenly, a pair of arms hefted her out of the water. In shock from not sensing him approaching beforehand, she gasped. He slung her over his shoulder and began to walk towards the fire to rejoin the group. Toph pounded her fists on his back.
"Sokka! Put me down!"
This was not what she had been planning for. She had wanted a nice, quite relaxation time to sooth her feet. And now she was being manhandled, carried against her will.
Sokka chuckled.
"Oh, no you don't. You're coming over here and having dinner with the rest of us."
She huffed.
"Well, put me down then! I can walk by myself!"
Sokka smirked.
"Really?"
She was becoming agitated.
"Yes!"
"Okay then, if you say so…"
He lowered her off of his shoulder and gently set her on the ground. The immediate stinging as the ground just barely made contact with her soles made her bite her lip. The more weight that was put on her feet as she stood, the more painful it became, until finally she just couldn't take it any longer.
"Ow…ow…ow!"
Sokka picked her back up, relieving her damaged feet.
"Are you so sure about that, now?"
Toph scowled, infuriated that she had been proven wrong by an idiot.
He gingerly placed her on the ground next to the rest of the gaang. Carefully, she sat down and joined the conversation.
As long as they didn't fuss, she didn't need to avoid them. She realized that as they talked.
She was enjoying herself, actually having regular conversations, which she wouldn't have had if they'd known. She relaxed once again, and spent the next few hours chatting with her friends.
She began feeling groggy as the fire's warmth started fading away, and by that time everyone had begun to retire. She lay down where she was and prepared to go to sleep.
Sokka walked over and ruffled her hair before she closed her eyes.
"Hey."
She sat up and faced him.
"Happy birthday, Squirt."
He smiled at her.
How…how did he find out? No one was supposed to know. And…did he just call her "Squirt"?
He leaned down and kissed her cheek in a brotherly fashion before returning to his sleeping area. Toph touched her cheek.
She'd have to remember to get him back later for the "Squirt" remark, but…
Best birthday ever.
Sorry it it's a little crappy, Tokka's a bit against my pairing so I'm not very good at writing for it :P Oh well, let me know what you think.
And once again, happy (late) birthday, SailingSeas!