Tokka Fluff/Angst.

Takes place roughly around Chapters 3 & 4 of Push and Pull.

Time.

There has never been a good one in which to tell her. He's not sure there ever will be. Timing is everything, he thinks.

It wasn't the right time when it first occurred to him that he might have feelings for his best friend- small stirrings of emotion, the lightest fluttering in his chest at the sight of her playfully plucking a cherry from its stem. She was flirting and she didn't even realize it.

Her manner was so beguiling and natural that flirtation was the indirect result- never intended, but always present. He wasn't the only man in that small dive bar watching her with rakish smiles- there were plenty of others just waiting to pounce the second Sokka departed. She would have accepted them too, knowing her penchant for physical excitement.

So, Sokka stayed put, just another pair of eyes on her enchanting face, cheeks flushed with alcohol, laughing without a hint of self-consciousness. It was attractive and he knew it then. He'd felt it before, but this time he identified it, claimed it, accepted it and swallowed hard because it wasn't the right time.

He wondered idly, if she had any clue as to how she appeared to people- if she understood the affect it had on the patrons of this bar as she dropped the cherry stem into the glass and flicked the bill of her police hat coyly as it began to slip forward.

"You're sexy," he commented, honestly. His eyes went wide with surprise at his own words and he looked down at the drink in his hand, angry at it for loosening his tongue.

His comment caught Toph by surprise too and she froze, suddenly unnatural and stiff. She leaned back in her chair and after another moment of hesitation she scoffed, "Pffft. You're drunk."

That was true. He was drunk enough to defy good timing, drunk enough to think of himself before her family. He pictured Mo at home with Lin and felt guilt seeping into his veins, his chest constricted further when he thought of Suki.

Their paths were set, their time had passed. Any stirrings he felt were too late to act upon and he felt very low for admitting his attraction to her now.

"I'm sorry," he began, "maybe we should call it a night. I am pretty drunk."

Toph laughed, full and hearty as usual, unwilling to let their awkward moment to stick around for long, "then our outing has been a success!"

Sokka laughed lightly as she stood and held her hand out to help him up from his chair. He took her hand and stood, wobbling slightly.

"Careful there," she joked.

They walked from the bar and down the street in silence, coming upon the intersection that would part them. He had to go home to his papers, she had to go home to her daughter- and Mo of course.

"Well, thanks for coming out with me, Sokka. It was just what I needed, " she sighed.

"Yeah, it was a good time," he agreed.

"See you tomorrow?" she ventured.

"Yeah," he nodded and she leaned in for their obligatory hug. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek- typical of their farewells, but tonight she lingered. He took in a breath, smelling her hair, savoring the softness of her cheek against his. It would have been so easy to return her kiss- move from her cheek to her lips….

If only the timing was right.

"Goodnight," she whispered, finally pulling away from his embrace.

"Goodnight," he returned. He watched her go for a while, until she turned the next corner. Something between a groan and a sigh rose in his throat and escaped into the cool air, creating a cloud before him. The large clock on the tower down the street chimed loudly, the clanging sound reverberating their disapproval off the buildings surrounding Sokka.

He grunted, "I know, I know. The time has passed. I get it."

Dropping his head, he staggered home lamenting that the right time would never come around again.