(Slight Mature Content)
"Katara.. you and Aang are soulmates right?"
Katara's smile wavered.
"Erm.. yes."
"How did you know?"
"Well the soulmate thing works when they look deep into their eyes after you reach the age thirteen." Katara internally cringed... since Toph was blind.
Toph looked down at her feet.
"Does that mean I'll never find my soulmate?" Toph whispered.
"We don't know yet Toph. Don't look so down. Maybe you'll do find him." Katara reassured her.
"Right.. maybe."
It was Toph's birthday.
And of course no one knew.
But what happened was.. when she went to visit Aang, Katara and Sokka.. she can see him.
It wasn't just dull like everything else. Toph could see.. colors. She saw how.. blue. Is that blue? Sokka's eyes were blue. His hair was dark.. Toph didn't know the colors but she admits to herself that she liked how Sokka looked.
She kept her head down and blocked her face with her hair, like she always does.
Is that what they mean by soulmate?
"So Toph.. how are you doing lately?"
Maybe she could ask Katara.
"Fine."
"Okaay.. anything interesting?"
Toph bails out. Its better to keep things to herself.
"No."
"Well we are going to the library later.. do you want to come? I can read the books out loud if you want."
"...okay."
"So Sokka.. how are things with Suki?"
Toph's ears prick up. She wants to hear this.
"Fine.. since neither have I or Suki found our soulmate. But I'm just afraid what would happen if when one of us do finds him or her." Sokka confessed.
"You should just wait you know.. instead of breaking hearts in the process." Katara spoke up.
"I know. But I just have this feeling that I'm never gonna find her."
Katara's eyes softened. She was about to say something but Toph cut in.
"At least you aren't blind."
Immediately that made everyone shut up.
Toph just trailed behind Sokka in the library. The colors on him was almost.. magical. Especially since everything he touched suddenly brightened with colors.
"Sokka.. I want to learn about colors."
That shocked him.
"Colors?"
She nodded.
"Well.. um what color do you see right now? With your feet of course."
"Dark. Everything is dark." Toph lies. She doesn't want him to know that she only saw him in a different color.
There was a squarish object on the table. Once Sokka picked it up.. there showed a book filled with squares and colors.
"This is blue." He points to a drawing of the sea. So she was right. Sokka's eyes were blue. But it looked different somehow.
Then she saw a drawing of the sky.
"What's that then?" She points to it.
"That's also blue. But a different shade."
She doesn't want him to know she could see the colors.
She tricks him.
"And thats red.. yellow.. orange.. green." Sokka continues.
"But they all look the same."
Sokka stops.
"Oh? Then.." Sokka scratches the back of his neck.
"Nevermind, at least I know the names." She smiles, still looking down. "Thank you though."
"Your welcome."
By the end of the day.. Toph realises that Sokka gave the best gift that day.. even if he didn't know it.
That day he given her color.
Sokka and Suki's wedding was a big pain in her heart.
Putting color to the wedding was just rubbing salt into the wound.
She hides her tears with her hair.
Toph, now an adult, grew lonely without her soulmate beside her.
She didn't want to be involved with a man who wasn't her soulmate so she adopted a baby girl named Lin from the orphanage.
Everything was okay until she saw color on her doorstep.
The door knocked slowly.
Five year old Lin was off at Aang and Katara's place to have a sleepover with their kids.
Seeing the door turn brown, Toph knew who it was immediately.
"Sokka?"
He was leaning on the door.
"H-hhheeyyy Toppph."
"Sokka. You're drunk."
"Noooo I'm noott."
"Ugh.. get in." Toph supported him up and made their way to her bed.
She dumped Sokka on her bed and decided to let him stay the night.
"Don't go.." He whispered.
Toph sighed and sat at the corner of the bed.
"What do you want meat head." She said, faking annoyance.
"Yoou.." Sokka began. "I know Suki is cheating on me ya knowww. I think she probably found her soulmate but didn't tell me anythingg."
Toph didn't bother to hide her shock.
Sokka, still drunk started confessing everything.
"I wish I fooound my soulmate.. I'd holdd her tell I die. I don't care if I'm marriedd to another womaaan. I'd love her no matter her flawsss."
Toph blinked back her tears and started to get up.
"That's.. er nice. Okay.. um have a nice night."
"Tophh.. I loveee youu."
She stopped dead on her tracks.
"No you don't. You're drunk."
"Oh yeaa.. but I still loveee you."
"Shut up Sokka."
"Whyy.. I jusst want to say I lov-" Toph cut him off with a fierce kiss.
Making love with married man was not the right thing to do but Toph couldn't care less. He was her soulmate afterall. He should be hers.
He took her virginity that day. That day he also left her a gift. A gift she named Suyin.
But he didn't know.. just like how he given her colors.
When Sokka died all the colors left with him.
She didn't say anything. She didn't need too. The tears spoke for her.
"Hey sugar queen." Toph croaked out.
Katara smiled softly as the tears cascaded down her cheeks.
Toph's time was running out.
"Don't cry for me. I'm welcoming the afterlife with open arms. Who knows what out there left for me."
Katara nodded faintly.
"Where's Suyin and Lin?" Katara asked.
"They don't know. I don't want some sappy cliche death anyways." Toph muttered.
"But help me tell them this.. Lin was an orphan. I don't know who her parents are but they had given her away with reluctance.. And Suyin.. she was really mine." Toph paused.
"Tell her that her father was a great man. Her father was my soulmate."
Katara gasped.
"You.. you had a."
"Yea. It was my thirteen birthday. Remember? When we went to that library? Turns out I already knew him. But when I.. saw him on my birthday. I saw him in color. Not grey but with actually color. I loved it." Toph confessed.
"He didn't know I was his soulmate but I couldn't just tell him. He seemed really happy with his girlfriend. When he married it crushed my heart.. but I learned to live without him and then adopted Lin. Everything was going fine until he popped up on my doorstep all drunk and stupid but.. let's just say nine months later Suyin was born. I couldn't tell him since he was married and he didn't even remember that night."
Katara wondered. "Who is it? Do I know him?"
Toph chuckled. "Yea. He's your brother."
"Sokka?" Katara's eyes widened. "After all this time you and.. him?"
"Believe it or not suger queen." Toph coughed.
It was getting harder to breathe.
"Here, drink some water." Katara offered but Toph pushed it away.
"Tell them okay Katara."
"I will Toph."
Katara held her hand until Toph gave out her final breath.
The light was blinding.
Sokka was there.. looking about 20.
Toph looked down at her hands.. which weren't wrinkly any longer.
"Take my hand Toph." He said offering a hand out to her.
His voice was music to her ears.. she missed it.
Toph smiled and took it.
"I missed you Sokka."
And color was back.