Written for Tokka Week on KataangForever(dot)com

Prompt #2: Redemption

Time Enough

To say that Toph Bei Fong was not comfortable would be an understatement.

Katara had happened, a whirlwind of bath scrubs, hair products and the stagnant smell of new clothes. There had been fights where voices were raised to amplitudes loud enough to make the earth shudder, a blatant refusal to wear the carefully selected outfit and a grudging compromise. Now, Toph was sitting stiffly upon a rocky hilltop in shoes she could barely see in, her face dewy and cleansed, artificial ringlets framing her face swaying with the breeze.

The sun was mercilessly beating down on her, sweat seeping through silk to form blossoming stains on her back and beneath her armpits. There were trees offering cool respite somewhere below, yet she stubbornly remained rooted to the crest of the hill. Toph kicked off her shoes, then sunk her feet into the dry earth, her toes tickled by the sparse blades of grass braving the terrain. Sighing contentedly, Toph resumed examining the town a little ways below that she had been sightlessly gazing at for the past few minutes.

Home at last, she thought ironically, just as the sounds of wheezing approached her.

'Toph?'

She acknowledged his presence with a simple incline of her perfectly coiffed head; Toph had felt him a mile off, so in tune to his thudding heart she was. Still, he didn't have to know about it.

'So,' Sokka slid down next to her, copying her position with his knees drawn up to his chin. 'From the way you took off back there, I guess you weren't too pleased when Katara whipped out the make-up.'

Toph grunted her agreement, stretching out her leg and flexing a foot encrusted with dirt and several questionable items. 'Sugar Queen has obviously forgotten what happened at that spa in Ba Sing Se,' she grumbled.'

Sokka sighed, pinching the bit where his eyebrows met as his forehead wrinkled in exasperation. 'Toph, she's just trying to help by making you look presentable for today.'

Her bottom lip couldn't help but jut out, giving Toph the look of a sullen child. 'I know she is,' she groused, fingering the traditional gown she wore. 'But-'

'-But you'd much rather walk into your parents' house covered in dirt and wearing your own clothes, showing them who's the greatest earthbender on the planet,' Sokka finished, a wry smile flashing across his face. 'Right?'

She flushed, but thrust her chin out pugnaciously. 'So what? Do you think getting me all prettied up is going to make a difference?' Toph hugged herself, resting her chin on her knees. 'They didn't even bother sending me a reply.'

Her tone dripped with bitterness. It had been five months since Hawky had flown off, carrying her heartfelt message. Toph had lingered at The Jasmine Dragon as long as she could, spending her nights out on the balcony, facing the sky expectantly. She was eventually forced to admit that Hawky had either lost his way, which she vehemently refused to accept, or that she simply wasn't worth her parents' time.

She felt Sokka cast a concerned glance at her. 'Toph, if you don't want to do this- Well, we'll pack up and head home. It's okay.'

It wasn't okay. And where was home, anyway? Great as her makeshift family was, Toph couldn't shake the feeling that she was still someone's little girl, someone's daughter. She was permanently tied to her parents, that bridge fraught with danger and damaged- but was it beyond repair?

Seeing her eyebrows furrowing, Sokka proceeded gently, tilting his head to peek at her expression. 'Is that what all this is about? The fact that they don't seem to care?'

In less than a minute, Sokka had worn down her prickly defenses, seen through her temper tantrums and childish grouses, prodding the vulnerable spots to diagnose the root of the problem. She had been impulsive in her decision. She was desperate to see her parents, to make amends- but as the meeting dawned, Toph's pride got the better of her, deciding the effort was simply a waste. Toph stamped down the quivering emotions that seemed to well up inside before grunting her assent. 'Maybe.'

'C'mon, Toph. You were so eager to see your parents on the trip over here- what happened?' He paused. 'Talk to me.'

Toph sucked in a breath, flopping onto her back. 'I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, okay?' she snapped at the sun. 'How're they going to react? I want them to accept me, but… Maybe they don't want a daughter like me.'

Sokka shrugged. 'You won't know till-'

'You don't understand!' Toph burst out. 'All I want is for them to know how sorry I am that I ran away without telling them and caused them so much worry, but when I think of what they might do… I get so scared.'

The word left her mouth in a rush, the truth slipping away with the teasing wind. Sokka lay down next to her, propping himself up with an elbow to face the blind girl. With his free hand, he reached over to envelope Toph's fingers, brown and pale intertwining, the young bender jerking in surprise.

'Sometimes,' Sokka said, 'If you love someone enough, you have to take the first step and lay your pride down, no matter the stakes.'

The heat rising in her face, Toph lay in a confused silence. She marveled at the warmth emanating from Sokka's fingers, surreptitiously observing the ebb and flow of the blood in his hand. She felt the internal struggle and anxiety fading, a vague sense of comfort and calm taking over that had everything to do with the reassuring hand clasped around hers.

As the sun continued its sluggish passage overhead, Sokka broke into her thoughts, his voice mild and transient. 'So, what do you want to do now?'

Toph thought back to his words; redemption had never been her strong point, having habitually stomped over everyone else's desires as she saw fit. Yet it was the one thing she needed most now- to know that her actions were forgiven, her identity accepted. Toph needed to be brave, to risk her pride like Sokka had said, to discover if her parents loved her as much as she loved them.

There was no hesitation in her voice as she replied, considering the vastness of the air above. 'I want to redeem myself, tell my parents how much they mean to me. That I'm still their daughter, and will be no matter what they think. And if they turn away,' she turned her head towards Sokka, a small, melancholy smile playing on her lips, 'At least I know that I did the best I could.'

Smiling was infectious; Sokka looked proudly at his companion. 'Atta girl.'

Hand in hand, they got up and began their descent, Sokka thoughtfully maneuvering Toph around the more perilous areas. Once they reached the paved walkway back to the inn, he tried to venture a comment.

'You know-'

'Yeah?'

He hesitated, appraising the elegant figure she cut. How could he tell her without sounding like a fool? 'Nothing.'

Later, as they stood outside the gates to the Bei Fong estate, Toph would clutch Sokka's hand so tightly that both their knuckles would turn white from the lack of blood circulation. Only when they were ushered into the drawing room would she let go of her anchor, sailing into the waiting arms of her parents and bursting into uncharacteristic tears. Her father would be inconsolable, while Poppy would survey Toph with a watery smile, exclaiming all the while about how beautiful she had grown.

And as Toph sobbed anew into her mother's shoulder, Sokka would wish that he was the one to tell her that.

A/N: First off, thank you to Invaderk, 13designershoes and wtng for the reviews :) More Tokka fluff (sorry, I have to get it out of my system, and who doesn't like oogie-inducing moments?)! This is, unfortunately, the best reply I could come with to the prompt (I really hope the theme was consistent throughout this time), but I had fun examining the existing Tokka friendship as well as showing the subtle moments where their (potential) romantic interest in each other is revealed.

Please read and review, with all comments/critiques welcome with open arms :)

Until tomorrow!