He had liked her for a long time. Spirits knows when he had fallen for her but all he knew was he couldn't remember a time when he didn't wake up, her name on his lips, yearning for something dreams could do little to satisfy. It was of course just one of those things. When it came to romance, he was as blind as the girl he found himself in love with and by the time he had noticed it... doomed was the only word that sprang to mind. Sokka was so caught up in being THAT guy. The 'hungry' guy, the 'plan' guy, the guy supposed to be in love with Suki. Hell once, a lifetime ago, he had been the sarcasm and meat guy. Sokka ran one hand through his hair again and pulled it back into his signature wolftail. His reflection in the bedroom mirror stared back at him, questioning.

For all the stars, Sokka had never expected to be him.

~ ~ ~ A few days before ~ ~ ~

"Suki's here!" Katara called from the kitchen, spotting the large red air ship pulling in towards Air Temple Island. It was an almost perfect day for flying, though a light cross-breeze caused the ship to tilt slightly off centre. Sokka smiled, the pair hadn't seen each other for months and he'd missed having her around, though something seemed... off. He ached to grin and run across the courtyard and down the stone steps to the landing pad to greet her. To pick her up and spin her round and kiss her, to feel exactly what he wanted to feel. What he knew he should feel. But instead he felt... nothing.

That wasn't precisely true. Sokka felt the longing for an old friend, and there was still a small romantic ache in his heart, that small part of him gave him hope. He put it down to the months spent apart. Visits had been sporadic; Suki's work at the Fire Palace and Sokka's frequent travelling had meant visits were fleeting at best. It had been almost 8 months since they had seen each other last, and four months since they had written. The two of them were drifting apart, each time seeing each other and promising to write. Though after a month of frenzied letters they soon died down and weeks without writing a word would ensue. All was not lost though, perhaps all it would take would be to see her again, to fall back into that familiar rhythm. Sokka hoped it was the case.

Suki was head of the royal Kyoshi guard, in charge of the safety of the new Firelord. The use of the Earth Kingdom Kyoshi warriors had been questioned thoroughly, so soon after the war, the presence of Earth Kingdom warriors unnerved the servants and whispers throughout the palace had been unsettled, anxious. The worries were put at ease however, weeks after the full transference of security to the Kyoshi guard an assassination attempt by the Ozai loyalists had occurred. Six years after Zuko's Coronation and this had been the most sophisticated yet. Three servants and one Kyoshi warrior had lost their lives in the attack. The assailants were not given a trial; it did no good to punish corpses.

After that, the loyalty of the guard was never called into question. Suki spent most of her time with the Firelord, offering her insights where she could. The fact that the earth nation and fire nation could work in harmony set an example for the rest of the nations, and the pair had become closer as the years went by. Zuko had grown into his role as leader of the Fire nation, though whilst his years of banishment had been far from the comfort of the palace, he had acquired a thirst for adventure, that kept the blue spirit roaming the stone roofs of the Palace.

Sokka's travels had been mostly with the Katara and Aang, straightening out conflicts in the Fire nation colonies. Most of the time it was great, he and Aang were close but about 2 years into Katara and Aang's relationship, there were times he had began to feel like an unwanted chaperone.

Toph's metalbending school had been going well and more students had been selected, though they took large breaks through the summer months to relax in which Toph joined the group on their travels. Sokka enjoyed her company and the tradition for the last four years had been the Sokka and Toph joining the couple for the summer months of the year.

Sokka tended to stick around Toph on their travels. His mature answer to why would be that he respected the couple's need for space. Though the real reason was evident; apparently the only thing worse than two people kissing in public, was when one of those people happened to be your baby sister. Toph had wholeheartedly agreed on that count. Make out sessions were twice as bad if you had to listen to them, a fact Sokka had discovered years back, when he'd had to share a tent with the lovebirds. The happy couple had assumed he was asleep and in that moment Sokka had been wishing for unconsciousness of any kind, sleep, a sharp bludgeon to the head. He had planned on braving it out for awkwardness' sake but then the kiss had gotten heated, small moans had echoed through the tent and Sokka had given up on saving face and coughed loudly. They got the message. Needless to say the next morning was uncomfortable at best, that had been the deciding point for Sokka, hence the fleeting summer visits in a thankfully separate tent.

While Aang and Katara shared the air tent, Sokka and Toph bunked together in tents she earthbent from the ground. Neither of them questioned the gesture as they grew older, though they'd both changed a fair bit in the past six years. Sokka, now 22 had broadened from the gangly kid who'd discovered Aang in the iceberg. He took after his father in many respects, his chest was deep and toned from the sword fighting, the muscles on his back lithe and strong. He maintained the same endearing arrogance that Toph had learned both to love and to hate; His quirky personality had landed him more than a couple of one night stands. Not that she was jealous of course. She simply felt responsible for him. Plus she liked to have him around in the mornings, it was nice to know that someone else was as little of a morning person as her.

Most nights travelling they spent camped out in the woods; the earth nation was vast and in the most remote settlements towns were separated by at least two days travel. In the towns the four travelers would usually find themselves in the local bar below the inn. This was part of the trips all four of them enjoyed. A summer evening spent relaxed in a bar, Sokka slipping Toph the occasional drink, not that the bartenders minded. The publicity of having Avatar Aang in their establishment boosted their sales and usually Aang and Katara would retire after sunset, leaving Toph and Sokka drinking and joking until the even the seediest bars closed their doors; most of the time this resulted in them either still drunk in the morning, hungover, or both.

Toph had matured over the years, though she still maintained her quick sense of humour it was now somewhat less innocent, she and Sokka had plethora of inside jokes, mostly the kind that shouldn't be repeated infront of their grandparents. Now 18 she was still short by most standards, though woe betide anyone who dared to mention it. Sokka liked her feisty nature, his usual conquests seemed to care more about his muscles than his mind, and while that made for a thoroughly satisfying evening he much preferred the company of Toph who in his mind was the greatest of the lot. Toph had changed a lot physically in the past few years. She knew she turned heads and flaunted it. She had forsaken dresses long ago in favour of baggy cargo shorts and cropped shirts that complimented her curves. Whilst attractive, Sokka forced himself to see her as a friend. They shared a tent together for spirits sake! But by the time he realised the risk it was too late; He was already falling. And by the time he realised he was falling, a royal Fire nation airship was descending over air temple island and Sokka wasn't sure what he would feel when it hit the ground.


Hi there readers!

This is basically a much needed rewrite of my previous Tokka fanfiction. Its still up on my account for the morbidly curious... it's uh... well its definitely something to improve upon lets put it that way :')

This particular chapter is devoid of dialogue I'm sorry about that. Its a fair bit of exposition but essentially its 6 years on from the end of ATLA. Aang and Toph are both 18 Katara is 21, Sokka and Suki are 22, and Zuko is 23

But most importantly guys: Reviews are love! Please leave a comment I'd love to know what you honestly think. It really inspires us writers to keep on going ^w^ Of course I'd love to hear positive comments but I know I'm far from perfect and I'd far prefer to hear what it is I need to do to improve :)

Thanks for reading!

~ Sirens xx