Huge thanks to Nerdy J Fics on FanFiction here for reading over this and helping me! I highly recommend you check out her own stories, especially her excellent work on some of the recent Zutara Week prompts.


Toph wasn't sure exactly what Sokka was talking about, something about using the Southern Air Temple as a hiding place. She had zoned out by the time he had started talking about stealing a war balloon. She put her arm across his chest, snapping him out of his ramblings.

"Sokka, I'm blind and even I can see this plan won't work," Toph told him, causing him to cross his arms and pout. "I have a better idea, how about we see what's happening in the festival, and see what mischief we can get up to."

"I guess we can do that," Sokka said, perking up. "Right now though I'm pretty hungry, wanna see what they got at the stalls?" Toph inhaled deeply, licked her lips and nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Toph said, and the two walked side by side into the festival. The pair got many strange looks as they walked through the crowds. However neither took much notice of it. "Wait a minute," Toph asked, confused by the vendor, "you're saying this is komodo rhino meat?"

"Yep, is there something wrong?" the vendor asked, looking down at his sausages.

"I wouldn't have thought they'd be used for food, I've only seen them in the Fire Nation army," Toph said. The vendor simply laughed at her comment.

"They're made of meat aren't they, only the strongest breeds are taken for military use, it's mostly farm work." The vendor explained as Toph thought it over.

"If that's the case, I'll take two," Toph said, laughing with the vendor. She heard the sound of sticks being driven into meat, and took the sausages.

"That'll be four copper peices." Toph reached into her pocket and handed the vendor the coins. "Earth Kingdom, should have guessed by your clothes." Toph nodded and took a large bite of her sausage.

"I have to say, they're tastier than you would have thought when running away from them," Toph noted. She suddenly heard Sokka frantically calling to her.

"Toph get over here!" She gave a small nod to the vendor and began walking towards were Sokka was shouting from.

"What is it Meathead?" Toph asked, taking another bite of her rhino sausage.

"That's just it Toph, meat!" Sokka exclaimed, a big grin on his face. Toph stared at him, unimpressed.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're surrounded by meat you idiot," Toph mumbled through her food.

"Yes, but this is special meat, come on," Sokka told her, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her towards a stall.

"I think you're the special one," Toph said, smiling anyway as he pull her.

"May I present to you, Southern Water Tribe seal jerky," Sokka announced, beaming as the woman behind the counter looked at him oddly.

"Wasn't that the really tough stuff we had, that wasn't nice at all?" Toph asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah..." Sokka admitted "Except it isn't in a frozen tundra anymore, so it shouldn't break your teeth." Toph's eyebrow didn't drop as Sokka turned his attention to the stall and smiled at the woman at the counter.

"How is there even seal jerky here?" Sokka asked, bewildered at the idea of it being in the Fire Nation.

"Trade with the Water Tribes, once it thaws out it's delicious. Traditional or spicy?" she asked. Sokka looked at the woman, confused again. "Spicy is seasoned with some of our spices." Sokka's mouth dropped,

"I'll have to give that a try," Sokka said, looking back at Toph. "Make it four slices."

"Two silver pieces please." Sokka handed the woman the coins and turned back to Toph.

"Got you some as well," Sokka said happily, holding out two pieces of seasoned jerky. Toph slowly took the gift, then sheepishly held out a half eaten sausage to Sokka.

"Sorry, forgot it was meant to be yours," she said, giving him a cheeky smile. He shook his head but took it anyway, quickly eating the rest.

"Rhino. Nice choice Toph," Sokka said with a mouth full. "I may have eaten a bit of everything at Zuko's coronation," he explained when he saw Toph was surprised. She rolled her eyes and they walked on, continuing to enjoy the festival. They came to one of the larger squares in the Royal Caldera, games and attractions were everywhere. A large circus tent stood in the middle, a long line extending from the entrance. Sokka looked around at the small games, not wanting to wait in line. His eyes lit up when he saw a ball throwing booth. He wrapped his arm around Toph's shoulders again, and led her to the booth. He began to browse the prizes. "How much for the larger prizes?" Sokka asked. The large, muscular man placed three metal balls on the counter, and pointed to a stack of ten cups.

"One silver piece, knock down that thing three times with three throws for a big prize, knock it down twice for a medium one, once for a small prize," the man told him in a gruff voice. Sokka looked back at Toph.

"Think I can do it?" he asked her. She didn't reply for a couple moments, until she just gave a small shrug. "Good enough for me," he grinned, handing a silver piece to the man. He picked one of the metal balls. He was surprised by the weight of it, less than his boomerang, but still heavy. He took a couple steps back, giving his right arm a few spins to warm up. He took two quick steps, leaving the ball fly. It hit the cups, knocking most of them over, except for the three on the bottom right corner. Sokka cursed under his breath as he gave the second one a light toss, finishing the job. The man began to stack them up again.

"I thought you were meant to be good at throwing stuff Captain Boomerang," Toph teased him. Sokka glared at her, then something clicked in his brain. The large man stepped out of Sokka's way but Sokka walked up to him.

"We both know I'm not going to be able to win the bigger prizes," Sokka said to him.

"Yeah, so?" he responded, completely disinterested.

"What if we split that ten stack into two stacks of five, and I knock both of them down with one throw," Sokka man raised a single eyebrow at Sokka, gave him a shrug and began to do as he said. Sokka walked over to Toph, taking out his boomerang. "Do you think you'll be able to bend this into the same shape as Boomerang," He asked Toph, handing her the metal ball and his weapon.

"Snoozles, I was able to make the Winged Boar Spirit, the ancient harbinger of doom and eater of fine footwear..." Toph said, a bored look on her face. "I'm pretty sure I can make a little throwing toy."

"It's not a toy," Sokka huffed, annoyed. She handed him back a boomerang, smaller than his. "This is perfect." Toph smiled arrogantly at the compliment. The big man was now watching Sokka as he stood to the left of the booth, trying to find a good angle. He took a deep breath, and whipped the metal boomerang at the first stack. It hit in the sweet spot and they scattered, the boomerang flew out the back of the booth, into the fading light.

"If you just lost that ball, you're paying for a new one," the man said, staring angrily at Sokka, who simply strolled over next to Toph and held his hand a few inches above her head. The man's mouth dropped as the boomerang came back, knocking over the second stack, and landed right into Sokka's hand. Sokka looked down at Toph, smirking at her.

"Pretty good huh?" Sokka boasted, he noticed a couple people who had seen his throw were clapping. Toph looked up at him with an indifferent expression.

"Not bad Captain Boomerang, but I've seen better," she told him, smirking back at him.

"Who?!" he snorted. She simply laughed at him and kept smirking. He rolled his eyes and stepped up to the booth, handing the boomerang to the man, who happily pocketed it.

"I'm impressed, and I don't say that often. Pick out anything you want," The big man told him, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder. Sokka eyed the many different stuffed animal toys.

"I'll take that one," he finally said. He glanced back at Toph, who was still smirking at him. "Think Suki will like a giant stuffed elephant koi?" he asked her. Her face changed to a neutral look.

"Sure, I guess," She muttered, looking away from him. Sokka frowned at her actions but turned back to claim his prize.

"Actually," Sokka began, handing back the elephant koi. "Think I could get that one instead?"

"Are you sure, you could have got that for just knocking down one stack," the big man asked him, putting the Elephant Koi back up and handing over the toy Sokka had asked for instead.

"Yeah, this is great, thanks," Sokka responded as he walked towards Toph, The big man shrugged and turned to a bunch of new customers, who were looking to try out the boomerang. "Toph..." Sokka said quietly as he stepped up to her and held out the present. She turned her head back to him, looking into his chest. "Here." She frowned and took the toy. She felt the shape of it, and suddenly a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Is this... is this a badgermole?" Toph asked, holding the toy close to her face.

"Yeah, spotted it as he gave me the koi, thought you might like it," Sokka explained, grinning as he watched Toph hug it.

"I love it," Toph said, leaving out a small squeal. She caught herself as she did it, punched Sokka in the arm and turned away. "Thanks Snoozles," she said nonchalantly, hiding her blush from him.

"No bother," Sokka said, looking around the square as he rubbed his arm. He spotted a very muscular man swinging a large wooden mallet, then saw the man throw the mallet down in anger. "Hey Toph, want to go play the poundy-poundy game."

"You know the poundy-poundy game is my favourite Snoozles, let's go," Toph said excitedly, turning back to him now that her face was back to normal.

"The poundy-poundy game?!" came a shrill voice from behind. Sokka and Toph turned and looked at the angry woman who was staring at them. "She doesn't even look old enough for marriage, and you're going off playing the poundy-poundy game with her, disgusting!" The woman stormed off, leaving Sokka and Toph to just looked confusedly at each other.

"What in Oma and Shu was she screaming about?" Toph asked, turning and slipping her arm into Sokka's.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Sokka replied, leading her towards the game, which had a small crowd gathered around it.

"Unlucky friend," a jolly man said, giving a friendly slap on the back of another man as he walked away, shaking his head. He spotted them as they walked into the crowd. "You there, would you like to take a swing?" he called out, pointing to Sokka. Sokka and Toph stepped into the circle and the man beamed at him. "A Water Triber, I've heard much about the strength and power of the Water tribesmen, would you care to give a demonstration, possibly win something for your beautiful girlfriend."

"I'm flattered, but I'll have to decline. My friend here," Sokka began, emphasising friend, "would like a try actually." The man looked at the small girl clung to the young man's arm. He spotted her milky green eyes and smiled sadly at the young man.

"Go right ahead," the man said, stepping to the side. Toph slipped out of Sokka's arm and felt around, until she was lined up with the game. A few small laughs and scoffs came from the crowd as she reached for the mallet. Toph leveraged the handle onto her shoulder and took a deep breath. She pushed down quickly on the bottom of the handle, lifting the mallet and tilting it over her head. She simply let the mallet drop while keeping hold of the handle. It struck to the left of the target, and the ball only went up about an eight of the way. A roar of laughter erupted from the crowd, and Toph threw the handle to the floor. Sokka glared at them as he walked over to her. At his touch she turned and hid behind him from the laughing crowd.

"It's okay Toph don't mind them," Sokka said, a comforting hand gently rubbing her back. Toph suddenly pushed away from him.

"I want another go," she demanded, staring at the ground. Sokka heard the laughter threaten to start back up again. Sokka glanced at the man, who shrugged his shoulders and gave him a confused but reassuring smile. Sokka smiled back, and stood away from her. "A little help?" She asked him, as she tried to move the mallet off the target. Sokka picked it up and flipped it around for her.

"I doubt she'll even make it to the same height," came a voice close to Sokka, who looked back and saw a group of four men, laughing at what one of them just said.

"You want to make a bet on that?" Sokka spat angrily at them. Toph and the rest of the crowd stopped and looked at them. The tallest one of the group smirked at Sokka and gave a shake of the head.

"If you're so confident in her, why not make it more interesting. Five gold pieces if she rings the bell, I think that's fair," the tall one suggested. Sokka took a slight step back, looking over at Toph, who had her eyes as wide as they could go.

"Fine," Sokka said through gritted teeth, shaking each of the men's hands as laughter took over the crowd again. He was pulled in close by the taller one, who gave him a nasty smile.

"That's five gold pieces each by the way," he snarled at him. Sokka simply glared back, before he looked over at Toph. She felt the vibration of him tapping his foot slightly, and picked the mallet up by the handle again. This time she spat into both hands and gave them a small rub together. She gripped the handle, the meek expression replaced by an arrogant grin. She stamped her foot forward, and the earth gave her all the power she needed. She simply directed it right into the middle of the target. The ball shot upwards, and the bell let out a loud ding. The crowd were completely silent now, amazed by what they just saw. Sokka turned to the group of men, his palm out to them.

"That'll be five gold pieces each," Sokka said, a mocking smirk on his face. The men stared at him for a bit, until they begrudgingly dug into their pockets and handed him the jolly man let out a loud cheer and clapped, leading a few others to do the same. Toph gave a bow and walked over to Sokka, linking arms with him and walking off.

"Well that worked pretty smoothly," Toph said, taking her half of the bet.

"I always forget how well you play a small, nervous girl," Sokka told her as they walked on.

"Years of practice Snoozles," she replied, grinning up at him. Sokka noticed the line to the circus had shortened and strolled over to it. He paid for the tickets and they headed in.

"I think we're going to have to stand Toph," Sokka told her, as he saw the packed seats. Toph stamped her foot, earthbending a double chair in front of the railing of the circus ring. "Or not." The ringmaster stepped in the middle of the ring and bowed to everyone.

"For the next part of our show, we have an incredibly skilled group of acrobats, many of you will have heard of them. I introduce to the you, the Flying Ty Sisters!" Sokka's jaw dropped as six girls cartwheeled into the ring.

"Why is there six Ty Lees standing in front of me?" Sokka asked, turning to Toph.

"That's Ty Lee's sisters. That's Ty Lin, Ty Lat, Ty Lao, Ty Liu, Ty Lum and Ty Woo," Toph explained, pointing to the sisters as they preformed intricate moves on the ground.

"How do you know which one is which," Sokka asked as the girls began to climb up ladders to the tightropes suspended above the ring.

"I don't," Toph said cheerfully, grinning at him. Sokka gave a small laugh and watched as the girls flipped above and under each other on the tightropes. He could have sworn he saw one or two of them wink at him, but it was hard to keep track. He couldn't help but think of the possibilities that could be done with seven Ty Lees. A gasp rang out across the tent as one of them slip on the tightrope. She twirled in the air, being caught by the ankles by another of the Ty sisters. Using her own momentum, the one who fell swung back up, landing on another tightrope. The sound of applause filled the tent as the Ty sister took a bow.

"Did you see-" Sokka said, stopping himself as he turned to Toph, who stared at him with a disappointed look. "Yeah yeah, I know," he muttered, waving his own hand in front of his face. He looked at her for another couple of seconds, unsure of something. He looked back up at the Ty sisters, preforming even more dangerous tricks as they moved from tightrope to tightrope. He looked back down at Toph, who was resting her head on his shoulder, staring at the ground. Maybe acrobats isn't the right thing for Toph Sokka thought to himself. He stood up and stretched. "Come on Toph, one Ty Lee is enough for me." She looked up at him, a bit surprised but followed him.

"Are you sure? Sounded like you were enjoying it," Toph asked as they walked out.

"Eh it wasn't that great, couple of nice moves, nothing crazy," Sokka told her, shrugging at her question. She frowned, able to tell he wasn't being truthful, but didn't press it. She felt a familiar vibration and tugged at Sokka's top.

"Want to go back to our roots?" Toph said, jerking her head at the where the vibrations came from. Sokka turned and saw a man moving cups around at high speed.

"Now that's what I was hoping to see," Sokka said, laughing as they strolled over. Toph felt Sokka stop just a couple of paces away from the man. "I don't have anything on me we can use for a big bet," he told her, frowning as he reached into his pockets.

"We can't just use the gold we won and keep playing when we win?" Toph asked, taking out her gold pieces and holding them out to Sokka.

"Nope, once he catches on to our trick, he won't play, we'd have to hope the other scammers don't talk to each other, it's too risky." Sokka explained, shaking his head. Toph gave a small shrug and pocketed her coins. "Wait, do you have your space bracelet, I'm sure that would catch his eye."

"We're not using that," Toph said angrily, crossing her arms. Sokka furrowed his brow, taken aback.

"Why not? I'm sure it's worth a lot of gold pieces," Sokka argued.

"I not taking that risk Sokka," Toph retorted, turning her back to him.

"You didn't have any trouble throwing up Space Sword on the table back in the war." She didn't respond, but he saw her hand go to the bracelet underneath her sleeve. "Alright I get it, we'll just use the money we have." He put his hands up in a I give up pose and Toph reluctantly turned back around. Toph stepped up to the table and sat down, placing a stack of gold coins on it.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" the cup mover called aloud to the crowd. "A girl is braver than many of you." He laughed as he looked at her, and his eyes narrowed. Sokka noticed the man lightly drumming on the table with one hand, and the three men who stood up from different areas around the cup mover. "You play these games a lot little girl?" He asked, moving the cups in a slow manner, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I dabble, I tend to be pretty lucky," Toph told him. She felt Sokka drop a copper coin behind her and her eyes widened a bit. She reached out and took back the gold coins on the table. "Although you know what, I'm not feeling lucky today." She went to walk back to Sokka when she heard the cup mover shout.

"It's the Runaway, I knew I recognised her!" The three men began to advance on Toph from her front and sides. She gave a confident smirk, ready to make quick work of them. She suddenly felt Sokka's hand grabbing hers.

"Run!" he told her through a laugh as he dragged her away from the cup mover's posse. She felt herself being directed by Sokka, making turns at random. She was having difficulty keeping up with Sokka's long strides, but Sokka slowed as he moved through the streets. They took a sharp turn and Sokka stopped, pulling Toph up to him. She moved to his side to avoid crashing into him, and found herself pushed up against the warrior. "Keep quiet," he told her and she could hear the grin in his voice. Toph lightly stamped her foot, and realised her and Sokka were in a small alleyway. "I think they're gone."

"No wait!" Toph told him, putting both hands on the wall that Sokka was leaning on, stopping him from moving to either side. "I can still sense them." She could feel his heartbeat beating quickly, but slowing down as he took deep breaths.

"What are they doing?" Sokka asked, trying and failing as he attempted to shift to create a bit more room for him and Toph.

"They're just walking around, but they're close. Would you stop moving, it's distracting," she snapped at him. He looked down at his friend, who was staring straight into his chest. "Why did you have us run? I could have easily of taken them."

"I don't think Zuko would be very appreciative of us fighting in his city," Sokka quietly laughed. He brought his leg back and around, so Toph wouldn't have his leg between hers.

"I told you to stop moving Meathead!" Toph snapped again, "I can't focus on them with you making all those vibrations. They're still close." She was glad he couldn't see like she did, or he would easily tell she was now lying. She was focused on his heartbeat, and it's irregular rhythm. She could sense it beginning to beat ever so slightly faster again after slowing down.

Is she staring at me? Sokka asked himself as he watched her, her eyes still looking directly at his chest. He couldn't help but notice how much she had grown since the end of the war. She isn't that little girl that would grab on to you whenever she was uncomfortable anymore he told himself, remembering the times they flew on Appa without a saddle. She's certainly got a lot cuter. He quickly pushed that thought away, However his lizard brain wasn't allowing it, and Sokka began to mentally debate himself.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Toph whispered to herself as she felt Sokka's heartbeat rapidly increase. She sensed how tense he was, his ragged breathing and how he was looking down at her. For once she realised just how close she was to him. If she shifted forward just a bit, her hips would be against his inner thighs. Not like that would a bad place to be. Toph jumped back from him at the thought, pushing herself against the opposite wall. "Okay we're safe," she muttered to him. She hoped the alley wasn't well lit as her face turned a deep red. Sokka gave a small nod as he stepped out of the alley. He breathed a sigh of relief as he looked back at Toph, who was staring at the ground, her hair covering her eyes.

"I think we should probably get back. It's getting really dark, plus every gambler in the city probably knows the Runaway is here now." Sokka said as he looked at the sky. Toph gave a small nod and walked beside him. A couple of silent minutes passed as they walked.

"So..." Sokka began, getting bored of the silence, "What did you get up to after you left the South Pole?"

"Well I had to deal with the lily livers for a while, Penga won't stop bothering me about you,"

"Wait I thought Ho Tun was her new love or something like that?" Sokka said, surprised as he remembered the small nine year old telling him to kick rocks.

"He was, for about a week. Since then all she ever about does is ask about it you, when you'll be back to sweep her away from Yu Dao and bring her on a great adventure," Toph explained, Sokka chucked as she went on. "Personally I don't know what she see's in you," Toph said teasingly.

"Hey, I'm loved by ladies all over the four nations!" Sokka protested, getting a curt laugh from Toph.

"Keep telling yourself that, I hear the ladies love confidence."

"Not confidence if it's true," Sokka shot back, grinning at Toph. ""So is yelling at your lily livers all the great Toph Beifong did?"

"Thankfully not. As a executive partner of Earthen Fire I did a lot of travelling with Satoru." Sokka clenched his teeth at the mention of the name. "Satoru is a really smart guy, I think you'd get on with him, he could actually turn your terrible ideas into not half bad ones," Toph continued, "Although he's a bit of a pansy."

"A pansy?" Sokka repeated, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, constantly fussing over machinery, keeping schedule like you, but never wanting to break any rules. He's a bit boring when talking about the business. Although he's very sweet otherwise," Toph finished, the smirk gone from Sokka's face.

"Sweet how?" Toph smiled at the venom in his voice, ready to twist the knife a bit further.

"He's just sweet you know, always complimenting me, showing me interesting things they find in the mine, like weird rocks and stuff. He usually tries to find the best place for food wherever we are, and I just flash the Flying Boar and we're treated like King and Queen. Also remember when I said I'd seen better when you did you little trick?" Toph said. Sokka stopped in his tracks.

"You were talking about Satoru?!" Sokka exclaimed, and Toph simply looked back at him and grinned. "You're joking, the guy has got arms like twigs, I doubt he can even hit a seal with a spear."

"Is that some weird Water Tribe proverb?" Toph asked, still grinning as Sokka seethed.

"Toph we life in the South Pole, besides fishing how do you think we survive, it's a basic skill that any man worth his spit can do, so once more, I doubt Satoru could do it," Sokka explained angrily, as he strode after Toph.

"I wasn't talking about Satoru," she admitted, and he stopped again, dumbfounded.

"You weren't?!" he yelled. "Then who?"

"For the brilliant strategist of our group you really aren't all that intelligent are you?" Toph joked. She stopped and waited for him to be besides her. "I was talking about when you beat Combustion Man at the Western Air Temple, don't think I'll ever see, well sense, a more skillful throw for the rest of my life." Sokka stared at her, surprised and moved by what she just said. She lightly punched him in the arm "That doesn't count anything I do of course, no one can match the greatest earthbender of all time."

"Of course," Sokka agreed, smiling as he slipped his arm into Toph's and continuing on their way. Toph rested her head on his shoulder, with both arms holding on to his arm. As they left the festival and the crowded streets, Sokka felt Toph giving his upper arm a squeeze.

"Maybe Penga was right about Snoozles' biceps, they've definitely got bigger. Maybe not enormous though," Toph mumbled to herself. Sokka could feel his face going red, but a plan formed in his mind. Toph, being too busy with Sokka's arm, didn't notice him looking down at her. He slowly began to flex his arm, and held in a laugh when he saw Toph's look of surprise. He could feel her pretend to shift her grip, moving her hand fully on to his bicep. He lowered his head close to hers.

"I don't know about enormous; impressively large is a better description," Sokka whispered to her as he remembered saying a similar thing to Penga. Toph's face went completely red and she let go of his arm quickly. She reached up and began pulling her bangs more over her face, trying to hide from Sokka. She gritted her teeth as she waited for Sokka to make some dumb comment.

"I told ya Toph, ladies from all the nations want me," Sokka reminded her, laughing at his own joke. She didn't react, just kept walking in the direction of the house. "Oh come on Toph, I caught you." She quickened her pace, which Sokka easily matched. "Can't wait to tell everyone about how the big and tough Toph was ogling my muscles," Sokka said aloud, causing Toph to stop and grab him by his collar. She pulled him down to her level, staring him right in the eyes.

"You won't utter a word of this, understood?" Toph told him, "If you do, your big biceps won't save you." Sokka couldn't help but smile at her threat.

"So you do think my biceps are big," Sokka teased. Toph released him and punched him hard in the arm.

"Shut up Snoozles," she said, hands going to her bangs again.

"I won't breath a word of it Toph, as long as you admit my arms are big." Toph raised her hand, and brought her hand to a near fist. Sokka felt the ground cracking underneath him. "Or I just won't say anything," Sokka uttered panically. Toph smirked back at him, dropping her hand. They reached the house a couple of minutes later and Sokka quietly opened the door for them. "Goodnight Toph," Sokka said, walking to the stairs.

"Sokka..." came Toph's voice, quiet as to not wake the rest of the house. Sokka turned back and looked at his friend in the low light. He pushed away the thought of how pretty she looked and walked back to her.

"Yeah?" She tugged slightly on his sleeve and he squatted down a bit to be at her height. "You feeling okay?" Toph's hand shot out and punched him straight into his bicep.

"Yeah, just wanted to say I had a lot of fun tonight," she muttered. Sokka frowned at her as he rubbed his arm.

"You had to punch me to do that?" he questioned her, raising his eyebrow.

"Seriously Sokka, I missed this. Just you and me, going out and pulling scams and having fun together. We should do it more often." Toph entwined her legs together, looking down at the ground. Sokka gave Toph a sincere smile and put his hands on her shoulders.

"That doesn't explain why you punched me, but yeah sure. I had a great time tonight, plus it gets me away from Aang and Katara's oogies. I'll make sure to drop by Yu Dao or wherever you are. There's still a lot of money for us to make together." He gave her a light punch on her shoulder and stood up. "Night Toph."

"Night Sokka." Toph shook her head as he went up the stairs. Why do I keep getting all weird around Sokka. I'm acting like some dumb girl Toph told herself as she waited for Sokka to reach his room and climb into his bed. Oh... she's there too. Toph rolled her eyes as she walked up the stairs and headed for the kitchen. She realised a certain Fire Lord was asleep, sitting cross-legged by the table. A half empty cup of tea was on the table next to him.