Enjoy this 6.8k monster! Can't wait to hear what you guys think.


The rest of the weekend with Shia's absence proved easier than Toph had imagined. Lin had been on her best behavior, choosing to work on her homework than bug Toph relentlessly for attention or playing games. And Toph was grateful for that, what with all of the work she had to catch up on at the station. They'd spent the weekend at headquarters, Lin posting up in Toph's office and making the desk seem humorously oversized compared to her tiny frame propped atop a stack of pillows on the seat. Things would have gone so much quicker if only Toph could read, or if the officers would at least produce copies of all of the reports in the new Braille system that was in the works. It was still relatively new and difficult to interpret, but Toph was catching on quickly and found herself fascinated with the world of written words. Those blessed with the gift of sight, however, didn't necessarily find it a priority to learn it as well, creating a little problem with the number of translators available to actually produce anything in this new language. So, instead of taking care of things herself, Toph had to be read everything that she needed to sign off on. She tried to convince her executive assistant to just forge her signature since it looked like, well, a blind person scribbled it, but he was too much of a goody-two-shoes to actually do it. What was the point of an assistant if they weren't going to make your life easier?

Finally, Sunday came, and Shia returned home after her time visiting her parents. Before she could unpack, Toph asked her to watch the children while the adults had a fun night in on air temple island. If Shia wasn't happy with the sudden responsibility (which she wasn't), Toph didn't care enough to catch on. The Beifong Estate was paying her a lot of money to act as Toph's nanny, so what was adding on three more kids for a night? So what if two of them could bend and the youngest two were curious troublemakers? Shia could just complain to Toph's parents and receive a hefty bonus, as she had multiple times in the past when she claimed Toph put too much on her plate. Personally, Toph thought she was just suffering from fruitcake syndrome, but whatever, she had yet to quit so obviously she could handle it.

Just as the sun was setting, Toph heard a knock at the front door and was greeted by the elated face of a mother about to be relieved of her children. Katara stood with Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin, all donning semi-mischievous looks on their faces in anticipation of tormenting Shia. They each held their own pack of overnight gear, including sleeping bags and pillows despite the excess number of guest bedrooms in Toph's home.

"Hey, Katara," Toph said with a grin, "you ready to go?"

"Of course!" Katara chuckled as she ushered her little herd inside. "You all be good this time, alright? I don't want to pick you up in the morning with the house in tatters."

"We can't make any promises, mom," Bumi winked despite Katara's stern expression. Before she could say any other foreboding words, Lin came rushing into the room and tackled Tenzin, only managing to stay upright when they collided into Bumi's leg. Bumi yelped in startled pain but was swiftly ignored by the giggling children behind his agony. He flicked them away and rubbed at the site of impact before making his way to the kitchen, where he would inevitably raid the pantry of all of the good snacks before Shia could tell him 'no.' Kya ruffled the already-messy hair of her honorary little sister and led them into the playroom, commenting on how cute the pair of them were together and soliciting a bright red flush from the miniature airbender. Katara and Toph couldn't help but smile upon their children's autonomy, proud of the little people they'd grown to be and happy at the fact that they were close friends like their parents. Toph let out a sigh and reached for leather bag, which was already loaded up with her own overnight gear.

"Let's escape before we witness anything need to reprimand," Toph said, already hearing some of Shia's distressed attempts at controlling the gaggle of children overtaking the house. Katara nodded and turned to flee from the area, Toph close behind. Appa was waiting at the end of the yard. Although Toph couldn't see, his fur had streaks of dark grey speckled through his creamy beige coat, and his eyes had become fuzzy from the progressing cataracts. He was nearing the end of his time, but after all he'd been through Toph knew he wouldn't give up without a fight. Once she and Katara were all loaded up, a quick 'yip yip' sent Appa into the air and gliding toward his home. Katara turned to Toph and looked at her excitedly.

"Tonight's gonna be fun," she commented, "it's been a while since we've all hung out."

"Yeah, plus there's gonna be alcohol," Toph said.

"When was the last time you drank, Toph? Was it that one night when-"

"We don't talk about that," Toph interrupted with slight panic in her voice.

"Oh, come on, you were an unabashed party animal at one point, shouldn't you be gloriously recounting your epic tales of drunkenness?"

"Not that one, though!"

Katara sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you at least admit that that was your last time getting drunk, right?"

Toph kicked her feet against the saddle with a pout on her lips. "Maybe."

"Wow, that was before Lin was born."

"I'm well aware of that!" Toph cried indignantly, "I don't have time for anything. It's tough being a mom."

Katara raised an eyebrow at Toph as she glanced back at the stubborn woman sitting in her airborne, fluffy mini-van littered with toys and other random children's items. "Really? I had no idea."

"Sorry," Toph muttered, "I'm not trying to be insensitive. You're passing your mom-exam with flying colors, literally," she said as she gestured to the animal chauffeuring them across the city. "I'm just not cut out to be a mom is all."

"Don't talk like that," Katara scolded, "you're doing a great job. Lin is an amazing little girl."

"Well, duh, of course she is. She's awesome."

Toph huffed as she thought of the anxiety plaguing her since Lin's comment. Lin was great, spectacular, and best of all, hers. So why couldn't others see the same? Katara could, so it obviously wasn't Toph's maternal bias blinding her from the possibility that her child wasn't a good one. But as much as Toph needed it, Katara wouldn't possibly be able to provide any insight into her current dilemma. After all, what experience did Katara have with mothering a bullied child?

"Is something bothering you?" Katara asked delicately.

Yes.

"No."

"Come on, Toph, you're not the only one who can detect a lie. Bumi thinks he can get away with a lot of things whenever Aang is away, but I always see through it. What's on your mind?"

Everything.

"Nothing."

Before Katara could interrogate Toph for more details, Appa landed on the front deck of the estate on air temple island with a loud groan. His tail thumped the ground and vibrated the earth beneath them. Toph quickly lept from the saddle as they landed and hit her calloused feet on the stone deck in time to feel the intense waves from Appa's tail, and could therefore see just how much weight he'd lost in his old age. Or maybe it was just because she'd gotten larger herself? It was hard to tell when she only really saw him when they were going to travel via air and was even more blind than she already was.

"Thanks, Appa," Toph praised as she stroked the collosal shoulder of the gentle giant. Katara plopped down from the saddle right in front of Toph, startling her just enough to retract her hand from the clump of fur she had been anxiously detangling. She could tell Katara was glaring at her with some sort of magic mom trick. Toph just raised an eyebrow, proud of her immunity to any mother's tricks.

"What?"

She felt an amused huff of air hit her cheeks. "I'll get it out of you eventually," Katara teased.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Sugar Queen. Let's get inside before the boys drink all the booze."

Toph's words seemed to flip a switch, because as soon as she brought up the alcohol all of Katara's attention redirected to getting inside, leaving Appa to his own devices. As much as she loved her children, Katara became a mother very early in her life and had little time to tend to her own selfish whims. Sure, they had all had some fun in their later teenage years, but when it came to truly letting loose Katara had to settle for once in a blue moon. So when they had the rare opportunity to actually do so, Katara went hard. She was from the southern water tribe, after all, so she could handle her liquor. In fact, Toph almost thought Katara could beat her in a drink-off. Almost.

Katara and Toph made their way through the house, almost stepping out the back door before Katara stopped, pivoted on her heels, and began heading down another hallway.

"Where are you going?" Toph asked, staying put in front of the back door and pointing out onto the deck. "The alcohol is this way."

"Need to make a pit stop! Come on," Katara called behind her, not slowing her pace. Toph grunted and followed. Eventually, after twisting and turning through a back corridor, they made it to a tall room lined with square shelves. Each shelf held a different glass bottle, but that fact was invisible to Toph.

"What is this place?"

"It's our spirits cellar. We don't get into it often, but I know that the boys only have beer out there and I don't particularly enjoy the taste." Katara hummed as she browsed the wall until she found what she was looking for with an 'ah-ha' and snatched a bottle from its shelf. "I've had this stuff for a while, now, but haven't have the chance to drink it. I picked it up when we traveled to the South Pole for dad's birthday."

Katara removed the cork with an echoing pop and held it out to Toph, gesturing for her to take a whiff. When Toph did, she almost dropped to the ground. That stuff couldn't possibly be legal! "What the hell is that?" she exclaimed.

"A special type of moonshine. It's made from fermented sea prunes, a southern water tribe specialty."

Ugh, so that's what Toph smelled. "And how strong is that, exactly? It could probably dissolve wood!"

Katara laughed. "That's the point, it gets you drunk so much quicker. I think it's 120 proof? Wait, no, 130, says right here on the bottom."

"Katara, you can't possibly be serious. That stuff will disintegrate your throat."

As if she were posed a challenge, Katara held the bottle up to her smirking lips and took a deep swig, not even faltering as the alcohol scorched her tongue. She hissed a satisfied 'ahh' when the last of the liquid made it to her stomach and licked her lips to capture anything that didn't make it on the first gulp. Toph just stood with her mouth gaped open.

"I overestimated you, Toph. I thought you never backed down from a challenge."

After grumbling something about the most innocent-looking people being the worst influences, Toph snatched the bottle from Katara's grasp and took a swig herself. The amount of moonshine she had dumped into her mouth took two swallows to get entirely down. Surprisingly, it didn't taste like sea prunes, and went down a lot smoother than the smell let on. The recipe must have been generations old, having been perfected over and over again to ensure the quickest transportation to the land of the drunk. Toph aggressively pushed the bottle back into Katara's chest.

"You were saying?"

"Impressive," Katara nodded as she replaced the cork back into the spout. "Now let's not keep the boys waiting.

The two women finally made their way into the back deck of the temple, where Aang had started a roaring bonfire in the center of the airbending training arena. The sun had just finished setting, so it was the only light they had to illuminate the backyard - not that Toph minded. Sokka was roasting some sort of meat over the fire with an overly long stick in one hand and holding a ceramic mug of beer in the other. He was so focused on his cooking, in fact, that he didn't notice Toph and Katara arrive when Aang greeted them.

"Hey, you're back!" Aang grinned as he pulled his wife into a quick embrace with a peck on the cheek. "Have any trouble with the kids?"

"Not at all. You know how much they love spending time with Lin, sweetie." The moonshine had already begun to hit Katara and she swayed a bit in Aang's arms. Aang caught a whiff of the alcohol wafting off of Katara's lips as she spoke and blinked a bit at the potency.

"Did you guys get started already?" Aang asked. Katara smirked and held up the bottle she had been carrying at her side, twirling it in the air as she did. Aang, apparently recognizing the bottle, widened his eyes with a smirk and snatched it from her. "Been a while since we had some of this, huh?"

"I'd say about Tenzin plus 9 months," Katara teased as she leaned up to kiss the now beet-red cheeks of her thoroughly embarrassed husband.

Toph had decided to skip to mushy reunion and walked toward the bonfire, feeling the heat in her face from both the quickly absorbing alcohol and the roaring fire before her. Sokka still hadn't noticed her presence. Toph was initially going to make some crass comment to Sokka about how much he loves a good package of meat, but hesitated when she felt his heart beating slower than normal. Now, she didn't necessarily make it her business to monitor his vitals at all times, but Sokka typically ran warm with a speedy heart, what with his energetic personality and constant stress from being on the council. But not this time. Toph paused with a few more steps to go, just watching and studying him. There had to be something on his mind, something so overwhelming that he couldn't maintain his cheery demeanor when left alone with his thoughts. This didn't seem like normal worrying about councilman duties. No, it felt deeper, and Toph found herself concerned, wanting so badly to reach out to him and pull him into a hug that would comfort him until he spilled either tears or words. She may be a stone-cold bitch sometimes, but when it came to her friends she couldn't just stay put on the sidelines. Actually finding the right words to say, however, posed another challenge.

"Hey… you," Toph said as shuffled up beside Sokka and awkwardly patted his arm, jostling him from his trance in a not-so-manly yelp.

"Toph, fuck, hi there, I didn't… ah, I didn't see you guys get back," Sokka stammered as he looked between both of his occupied hands trying to figure out which item he could put down in order to properly greet his friend. He decided on both, leaning the long skewer against a rock and placing his mug at his feet before reaching out and pulling Toph in a hug. With her face against her chest, she could smell a combination of cologne and his natural musk, and she found herself inhaling his scent just a little too deeply to not be considered creepy. Fuck, he always smelled so good, especially when he had just worked out and was drenched in pure Sokka smell. Toph didn't know why she found it so arousing, but she did nonetheless. She tried to suppress the flutter in her chest until he released her, his fingers lingering on her skin just a little too long as he pulled away.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Toph asked, and Sokka let out a half-hearted chuckle before he spoke.

"Oh, it's a long story, actually, I don't wanna bore you with the details." Sokka patted Toph's shoulder heartily. "Here, we brought out some lawn chairs to sit by the fire. Sit down! I'm sure you're tired from working all day." He continued babbling in an attempt to derail the conversation, even going so far as to physically move Toph by the shoulders and push her down so that she was seated in the chair he so adamantly wanted her to have. He would have kept going, too, if Toph hadn't snapped her hand palm-forward into his face.

"Sokka, you're rambling."

"I am not rambling!" Sokka exclaimed with the faintest hint of a voice crack, obviously forgetting that Toph could see through anyone's facade. Before he could protest further, Toph stood and placed a hand on either side of his face, catching him off guard. She could tell she was now buzzed, because she never let herself get touchy-feely unless her inhibitions were lowered. Whatever her hands were doing, she felt as though she didn't have an active role in controlling them. Her thumbs had decided to rub along Sokka's jawline and explore the rough texture of his stubble, and her other fingers ever-so-gently grazed the soft spot behind the ear that she herself found to be quite erogenous. The moment festered for long enough to bump up Sokka's heart rate and Toph had to snap herself back into focus.

"I believe it's my turn to tell you that we have your back. I know you were lying to me just now - and don't try to deny it, I'll be able to see through that lie, too. But, like a wise man once told me, you don't have to be afraid to ask for help. I'm here for you."

Damn, that came out a lot smoother than Toph had expected. Maybe she should get drunk more often if it put her this in tune with her emotions. Then again, if she drank every time she had trouble finding the right words to say, she would for sure be a raging alcoholic. Once her words sank in, she could feel Sokka's body loosen under her touch. In fact, Toph thought she could feel his weight shift as though he was about to lean forward - at least until Aang and Katara came bounding over to the fire, and Sokka turned his head to greet his sister. Toph pulled her arms quickly to her sides.

"Little sister!" Sokka cheered as he hugged the giddy woman approaching him. She must have taken another swig of the moonshine because she was acting more and more bubbly by the second.

"I have a present for you," Katara teased, "close your eyes and open your mouth."

"I… wait, what?"

"Just do it!" Katara whined with a small stamp of her foot. Not wanting to annoy the beast, Sokka complied. Katara pulled the moonshine out from the inner pocket of her dress and struggled to pull the cork from the mouth of the bottle, even shooing Aang's hand away when he tried to open it for her. The cork finally pulled free and Katara little out a whispered 'ah-ha.' Carefully, and with the grace of a hippo cow, she bent a small blob of the alcohol and moved it into Sokka's open mouth. He swallowed, not even flinching at the strength. A true water tribe man. His eyes popped open with excitement.

"Yo! When did you get another bottle? I haven't had this since I visited dad last summer!"

"I'll never tell," Katara winked. Sokka reached down to pick up his beer, dumped it into the fire - which caused a roar of flames to erupt behind him - and snatched the bottle away from Katara to fill his small cup to the brim.

"Hey!" Aang objected, "Why'd you waste the beer like that? I made that using a special air nomad recipe we found in the eastern air temple ruins. It took a month to make!"

"No offense, Aang, but let the water tribes stick to the alcohol, yeah?" Sokka said as he took a sizable gulp from his cup and smiled wide. "I'm sure you found some salad recipes you can try out! I, personally, will stick to a carnivorous diet, but I'll bet those recipes taste great."

"Wait, you said you liked the beer!" Aang said, his face donning with the realization that his friend may have lied to him to prevent any sore feelings.

"I mean, yeah, it's good and all, but have you tried this moonshine? Nothing compares to this, not even a one hundred year old recipe that somehow manages to taste like pacifism."

Aang could only find himself able to sputter out a few vowels in protest before Katara wrapped an arm around around his waist and used the other to pat his chest comfortingly. "It's okay, sweetie, I enjoy the beer."

It took all of Toph's self-control not to snicker at Katara, knowing what she had said moments ago in the spirits cellar. She managed to convince Aang, though, considering he only huffed in annoyance before dropping the topic completely. Toph wondered just how often Katara lied like that just to quell Aang's emotions. It was so ingrained in her as an automatic response that she didn't falter with her words, even while drunk. Knowing Katara, Toph knew she would dismiss it as too innocent to even be considered a lie, but despite Toph's rough exterior she had a strict personal rule of honesty. It got her into trouble often, but it also gained her respect and got her to where she was now. She would never look down on Katara for lying, but it did make her curious.

"So, are we going to keep taking turns swigging straight from the bottle or are you and I going to get proper drinks?" Toph asked.

"Oh! We don't have cups!" Katara laughed. "I'll be right back."

Katara flitted off into the kitchen. Aang pulled up one of the chairs near the bonfire and arranged it so that it created a circle with the other chairs. He sat down, his back now to the bonfire, and picked up his cup that had apparently been sitting on a nearby stone. Sokka took to sitting in the chair between Toph and Aang, while Aang took a sip of his drink and smacked his lips contemplatively.

"It doesn't taste like pacifism…" He murmured into the cup. Sokka smacked Aang's arm playfully.

"Hey, buddy, I was only kidding! Now chug that down so we can get the real party started," Sokka said while tapping the neck of the moonshine bottle against the brim of Aang's cup.

"This - it's meant to be enjoyed and savoured!" Aang argued.

"Come on, Twinkletoes! Chug!" Toph encouraged. She and began chanting until the corners of Aang's lip upturned and he smiled. Much to Toph's surprise and satisfaction, Aang downed the whole cup in record time, his face twitching with the burning sensation that no doubt hit his throat.

"And the crowd goes wild!" Toph yelled. Sokka hooted and fist bumped the air before he grabbed Aang's forearm and brought it closer to him so that Aang's cup was within reach of the moonshine Sokka was attempting to pour.

"Now, I don't suggest you chug that," Sokka warned, "but I guess you would already know that."

Katara interrupted whatever Aang was about to say by plopping into his lap with two empty cups in her hands. She took the arm that wasn't currently wrapped around her husband's neck and tossed one of the cups toward Toph. Of course, Toph didn't notice this, and wasn't prepared to have Sokka's arm come flying an inch away from her face to intercept the airborne piece of ceramic.

"Katara!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Katara asked innocently before finally looking toward her annoyed older brother. She blushed with embarrassment, although that was hard to tell with the alcohol already reddening her cheeks. "Oh! I forgot Toph couldn't see!"

"How do you forget that Toph is blind? That's kind of a defining feature of hers!" Sokka questioned.

"The same way you forgot that she couldn't read when you sent her a paper invitation just last week!"

A small squeak left Sokka as whatever retort he had pre-prepared in his mind was squashed to oblivion. Toph just laughed.

"You guys act like I'm offended about passing as a seeing person. Like, I get it, I'm really well integrated into the world, no need to make a big deal over it."

And honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. She'd been blind her whole life, so she really didn't know what kind of a world she was in. Sure, she'd never be able to distinguish between colors or pick up on someone's minute facial expressions, but her world wasn't a small one. She had a better connection to the Earth than anyone else, she was sure. And no one could ever lie to her. That was by far the best perk. Well, aside from being the world's greatest earthbender. But the fact that she could survive mostly unassisted was her standard, and she was really fortunate in the great scheme of things. Without her earthbending, she would be stuck, completely dependent on someone else to help her just survive. It was unheard of for a blind person to live a well-rounded life, so if she had to correct people every now and again, she didn't mind.

"Alright, sassy pants, let's just fill up your cup and focus on getting you drunk, yeah?" Sokka quipped as he filled Katara's cup with moonshine.

"Ooh!" Katara shouted, startling her friends, "I have an idea!"

"Oh, please, do tell," Toph droned as she rubbed her ear from the sudden shout and accepted the moonshine Sokka had poured into her cup and was handing over to her.

"Let's play a drinking game. I have the perfect one."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Now I'm intrigued."

"It's simple, really. We sit in a circle and we each have a drink. The person next to you will whisper a question that isn't a yes-or-no question, but also can be answered in 1 or 2 words, like a person, place, or number. You have to answer the question out loud, or drink to get out of it. Then, you flip a coin. If it lands face up, you have to say the question out loud. Face down, you're safe. Then it keeps going around the circle, changing between clockwise and counterclockwise once it get backs to the first person. The only rule I like to impose is that the questions have to actually be interesting."

"And by interesting, you mean sexual, don't you?" Sokka asked.

"Well, not exactly, but I certainly think that counts as interesting," Katara said as she took a sip of her drink and flicked her eyebrows at her husband. Aang shifted his legs ever-so-slightly, moving Katara a small ways forward and off of an appendage Toph was sure was intrigued by the thought of Katara getting sexual.

"You're my sister!"

"Oh, grow up! I think I have 3 pieces of evidence proving that I've had sex before, Sokka. Besides, we're sitting across from each other, you won't have to ask me any questions."

"Well, I still don't wanna hear about that stuff!"

"Sokka, I promise to not ask Katara any sexual questions," Aang reassured.

"I'm not!" Toph grinned.

Sokka tried to hide the flush on his face by looking toward the fire while Katara patted her hips in search of something.

"Wait, I don't have a coin on me."

Aang dug into the depths of his pocket until he found a small stone Pai Sho piece. "I think this will work."

Katara plucked the piece out of Aang's hand and sat herself in the chair between Aang and Toph. "Perfect. I'll start."

The group then began the game, going around asking innocent enough questions to start. Katara tried to weasel out the name of Lin's father, but Toph just laughed, sipping her drink and wondering why Katara didn't wait to ask that question when she was too drunk to have a filter. Toph mischievously asked Sokka who his least favorite member of the council was and wasn't all that surprised at the answer. Aang got asked a question from Sokka that immediately made his eyes bulge and cheeks flare, and in response drank some moonshine while glaring at his brother-in-law. Toph managed to get out of Katara that her first kiss was with Jet, much to Aang's annoyance. Eventually, as all drinking games work, they all became much too inebriated to care about the repercussions of their answers, Katara even saying Kya's name proudly when Toph asked her to pick a favorite child. No one else knew that, of course, because luck ran in her favor and the Pai Sho piece landed face-down.

It was Aang's turn to ask Sokka a question, and he smirked evilly before leaning in and asking. Sokka quirked an eyebrow and was about to grab his cup, but suddenly pulled his hand away and puffed out his chest as he answered "9." Aang burst into a brilliant shade of red and Katara looked at him inquisitively.

"What on earth could you have asked him?" She slurred.

Sokka just chuckled. "Oh, sis, you don't wanna know."

Katara frowned and grabbed the Pai Sho piece in one swift, exaggerated movement before flinging it forward and watching it as it bounced off of Sokka's shin and landed face-up in the middle of the four of them. "Well, too bad, because now you have to say it."

"Go on, Aang, you can tell the girls," Sokka said as he gestured toward them.

If it were somehow possible, Aang became more red and attempted to bury his head into his neck to avoid the expectant gazes of Katara and Toph. When his drunk mind registered that that wasn't going to work, he sighed. "I asked him, you know, how big… his, uh, dick is."

It took a second, but Katara screeched and recoiled in her seat. "Why would you ask that?!"

"Because it was what I asked him earlier, but he was too chicken to answer," Sokka teased.

While the two hot-headed water tribe siblings bickered over why he would ask that of his sister's husband, Toph sat in an almost trance-like state. She squeezed her legs together discretely, pressing firmly on her throbbing sex with her thighs and sending a small shock up her abdomen. It wasn't like she could actually see how long that many inches really was, but the way he said it insinuated that it was an impressive number. Plus, just talking about Sokka's dick was just sexual in nature, how could she not be turned on? She finally snapped herself out of imagining the feel of him inside of her and laughed, interrupting the argument and bringing attention to her.

"Honestly, Katara, it's not that big of a deal. He's a guy, he has a penis, it's simple logic. Besides, what was that measurement in, anyway, millimeters?"

The siblings gaped at her with their faces a cool pink as Aang snorted and began laughing. Katara's astonishment didn't last long, because soon enough she was laughing alongside Aang and Toph at Sokka's expense. A very flustered Sokka kept trying to formulate a response about how it would have been too obvious of an answer if he had included the units in his initial answer, but he gave up when he realized his words were only being drowned out by their laughter. They continued their game further, getting more and more inebriated and not realizing that they were all quickly hitting their limits.

"C'mmere," Katara mumbled as she flailed her hands, gesturing Toph to come closer, "Now it's my turn to ask you a question."

Toph leaned in close, intending to prop her elbow up on her knee and settle her face in the curve of her palm so that Katara could whisper in her ear. Instead, her drunk brain miscalculated and sent her elbow too far out, slipping past her knee and causing her to practically nosedive into the ground below. She managed to catch herself when her elbow stabbed the ground and propped up like a tent post, but her chin still smacked against her hand and she couldn't help but cackle at the whole thing. Katara laughed, too, hunching over as she clutched her stomach in tears. The grown women-turned-girls couldn't stop laughing; the alcohol in their system just made everything that much funnier. A piece of moss came flying toward them, bouncing off of Toph's forehead and catching her attention. Where had that come from? She didn't see it coming. Everything was so fuzzy to her, what with her head spinning and interfering with her seismic abilities.

"Hurry up!" Aang said with a giggle, "you two are… you're taking for-ever."

"Sweetie, shhh," Katara hushed as she tried to catch her breath from all the laughter, "I got this, just, shhh. Toph, Toph, listen, I have the perfect question."

Toph had to practically cling to Katara shoulders as the drunk waterbender leaned in and cupped her hands around Toph's ear, lips almost touching her earlobe were it not for the hair blocking it. It took a few interrupting giggles, but Katara managed to get her sentence out.

"If you could fuck anyone in the whole city, who would it be?"

What a saucy question for the poised airbender monarch to ask! Toph immediately knew her answer, but she was smart enough not to say it out loud, not when he was right in front of her.

Unfortunately for her, alcohol doesn't discriminate based on intelligence.

"Sokka."

Katara and Toph simultaneously slapped their hands over their own mouths, Katara making a surprised gasp and Toph a groan.

"Wow, that's quite the response, Katara," Sokka said, intrigued. He grabbed the stone coin from the center of their little circle and twirled it between his fingers. "Can't wait to see what all the fuss is about."

Fucking hell, what did she just do? She just admitted the name of who she'd fuck to his sister. Katara was way too drunk, and would certainly not remember any details in the morning, but now there was a chance that he could find out as well! Why did she drink, again? Toph just prayed that the coin landed face-down. Were she able to differentiate the two sides, she'd just earthbend her way out of this mess, but no, she just had to be blind and the designs just had to be painted on.

Toph heard the flick of Sokka's nail against the stone coin and held her breath. Her fate was about to be determined for her. Could she just run? She should run. They couldn't get an answer out of her if they couldn't catch her. Before she could plan her escape route, she felt the weight of the coin hit the ground and her chest tensed, waiting for someone to speak.

"Tch," Sokka tutted, "heads down. Guess you got lucky."

Toph was about to exhale a sigh of relief when she felt the firm grip of a certain waterbender enclose her wrist and yank her to a standing position, despite how wobbly Katara was from the alcohol.

"Sorry, boys, but we're gonna have a girl chat. Excuse us."

Toph bickered in protest as she was drug to the air temple for a private conversation. Katara spun on her heels once she closed the back door and faced Toph.

"You want to fuck my brother?"

"What?" Toph asked, exasperated, "He's hot!"

"Toph, you can't even see."

"Well, he sounds hot, and he feels hot, so as far as I can tell, he's hot. Happy?"

A drunk Katara tried to shift her weight from her left to right hip, only to fall off balance and catch herself on a nearby wall. "Have you… have you fucked him before? Wait," she interrupted herself very dramatically, "Is my brother Lin's dad? Am I an Aunt? Toph, you need to tell me if my brother is the father of your child -"

"No, Katara, fucking Spirits," Toph had to stop Katara's words with a hand over the waterbender's mouth. Her rambling was spilling out in a single, panicked breath and she wasn't giving Toph any time to actually answer her questions. "Lin is the result of a failed little fling that I never told you guys about. She is not, I repeat, not Sokka's child." She hesitantly removed the hand from Katara's mouth, hovering until she was certain Katara wouldn't begin another tirade. When Katara didn't immediately start shouting, she retracted her arm completely, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" Katara asked, "I'm supposed to just, what, pretend I don't know that one of my best friends is pining after my annoying older brother?"

"Well, one, I'm not pining over him, and two, you are way too drunk to remember any of this."

As if she were offended, Katara pulled her hand to her chest and gasped. "I am not!"

"Yes you are. In fact, I hope that I am as well. In the morning, you won't know what happened tonight past your fourth cup of moonshine."

"Oh yes I will!" Katara yelled just a little too loudly before storming off in the direction of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her as she went. Toph groaned and leaned back against the wall behind her, her head making an audible thump on the wall as she did. This night was quickly becoming a disaster, and to make matters worse Toph was beginning to feel dizzy, completely skewing her field of vision to where she didn't notice Sokka quietly walking into the house. She was about to slide down the wall and sit on the floor when Sokka's voice startled her.

"Hey, you guys alright?"

Toph jolted straight up and off the wall, only staying upright from Sokka catching her and holding her steady. Holy shit, her heart was beating out of her chest. Sokka's large hands held her firm, yet they were tender as he re-positioned her against the wall and lingered well past when she had regained her footing. She could feel her entire body heat up under his gaze and could tell that his body was doing the same.

"...Where'd Katara go?" Sokka asked, sounding like he sobered up under the tension of whatever little moment they were having.

"Her room, I think," Toph stammered. She didn't dare move, not because she feared Sokka would harm her with his intense grip, but because she feared she would be too turned on under that intense grip and climb him like a tree. "She's pissed."

"Why?"

Toph knew she shouldn't tell him but it slipped off her tongue regardless. "I said that she was so drunk that she wouldn't remember her question in the morning. I think it hurt her ego."

"Oh? Well then, maybe you should tell me the question. You know, for safe keeping," Sokka purred just a bit too close to her face. She could smell the faint hint of sea prunes on his hot breath and was surprised that she didn't find the scent disgusting when it came with the sound of his voice.

"I…"

"Yes?"

Oh, get it together, Toph! She yelled at herself, You're acting like a total girl! Just because the guy you've wanted to fuck since you were teenagers has you pinned up against a wall doesn't mean you should act like a blubbering idiot. Toph took a deep breath and tried to focus as she bumped up two small mounds of earth from the stone floor, hitting the balls of Sokka's feet and knocking him a couple of stumbling steps back. She quickly maneuvered away from the wall and skidded in the direction of her room, pin-balling between the corridors walls as she went.

"Hey!" Sokka called after her.

"I'm going to bed! Goodnight!" Toph shouted back. Before she knew it, Sokka was swooping up behind her frame and holding her straight by the undersides of her shoulders.

"At least let me at least help you to your room. You're as blind as a bat when you're drunk."

"I said goodnight," Toph said as she grunted and squirmed her way out of his grip, dashing to her room as well as she could and slamming the door behind her.

What would happen in the morning? Of that, Toph wasn't sure. It would be one hell of a clean-up. But one thing was for certain: Toph would never drink that damned moonshine again.