Excuses

Four times Sokka excused Toph's behavior, and the one time he didn't.

Trigger warning on number 3, slight mentions of abuse, though nothing graphic.

1.

Toph waded out into the water and turned to Sokka, smiling mischievously.

"Come get me!" She taunted, reaching down to scoop up some water and throw it in his general direction.

Sokka rolled his eyes from his position on the shore, warm sand beneath him. "I'll pass. I want to finish looking over these scrolls before tomorrow's delegations." He told her, slipping his reading glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.

Toph groaned with exaggerated annoyance. "Bor-ing." She drew the word out, kicking at the water. "We're at the beach! You of all people should be enjoying it." She said, pretending to pout.

Sokka arched an eyebrow and set the scroll he was reading on his lap.

"What do you mean, me of all people?" He asked, curious about her reasoning.

"Well," Toph began, pursing her lips. "You grew up surrounded by water." She settled on, her hands resting on her hips.

"Toph, I grew up surrounded by ice. And snow." Sokka reminded her, smiling when she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, those are forms of water. Just shut up and come play with me." Toph whined, her bottom lip jutting out as she pouted.

"Just let me finish up this scroll and I will." He compromised, hoping to appease her.

Toph shook her head stubbornly. "Ugh...that'll take hours, I'll be a sea-prune! You read so slow." Toph argued, but Sokka shook his head.

"I have to finish this scroll Toph, that's my final offer, take it or leave it." He stated, knowing she would cave.

"Fine." Toph finally huffed. Sokka smiled in satisfaction and forced himself to return his attention to the scroll on his lap instead of his best friend. Sometimes it was hard to be an adult.

He had an important position as a delegate for the Peace Council, something Aang had devised in the years after the war. If Sokka started slacking then his tribe could suffer, his people could suffer, the world could suffer!

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but his work really was important.

Toph continued splashing around in the water for several minutes before going quiet. Sokka looked up, worried that she might have gotten caught in a current or something, but she was lying on her back, floating close enough to the shore that she could still stand if need be, soaking up the sunshine.

Sokka admitted that it would be nice to join her. Toph rarely ever had time off, her days filled with teaching Metal-bending to a few trusted Earth benders.

It was nice to see her relaxing and enjoying herself. Sokka felt a little guilty to be reading instead of spending time with her, but he'd come with her to the beach, so that counted for something, right?

Sokka groaned, trying to keep his mind on the scroll in his lap. He would never finish if he kept getting distracted by Toph, even if she wasn't privy to the distraction.

Sokka resolved to focus on finishing and immersed himself into the scroll on Earth Kingdom peace treaty customs. In fact, he was so focused that he didn't realize that Toph had gotten out of the water.

A shadow fell over him, causing him to look up.

Toph was standing over him, water sliding down her body, her hair falling in damp waves over her shoulders, her hands behind her back.

Sokka cleared his throat and set his scroll back in his bag before turning his attention back to Toph.

"Sorry," He began. "Were you getting pruny?" He asked.

Toph smiled, a mischievous grin gracing her sunburned face, and swayed her hips. "I got you a present." She hummed, pulling her hands out from behind her in a swift movement. "Catch!" She shouted.

Sokka yelped as an octopus sailed through the air and landed on his face. "Ack!" He cried, flailing comically as he fell backwards into the sand.

Toph laughed and pried the tentacled creature off his face, tossing it back into the water before crouching down beside him, arms wrapped around her stomach, sides clenched.

"Sokka, that could not have been more perfect!" She cheered, running a hand through her hair and offering Sokka one to help him up.

Sokka grinned and used her offered hand to pull her down beside him.

Toph laughed in good humor and rolled her eyes.

"That was a good one," Sokka informed her, rolling onto his side to stare at her face.

Sokka froze as Toph leaned up towards him, her lips a fraction of an inch away from his. As quickly as she'd moved towards him, she pushed herself up and headed towards the water, turning back to stick her tongue out at him.

Sokka ran a hand through his hair, confused, before deciding to chalk her erratic behavior up to sun exposure.


2.

Sokka was a man of science. He liked that there were reasons for why things happened in nature. Sokka liked knowing that old books had a specific smell due to the breakdown of their organic components releases chemicals. Or that a person's sense of smell is stronger than their sense of taste. Or that animals chose their mates based off of qualities that were most likely to cause the advancement of their species.

Typically, Sokka liked avoiding these types of conversations with Aang, since they often ended in the young monk being offended by Sokka's deep questioning of the universe.

But Toph was someone he felt comfortable talking about science with; she was pretty receptive to most things.

Currently they were sitting in a tavern, and Sokka was explaining to Toph the science behind drinking.

"So basically Toph, the reason you got drunk so quickly," Sokka said, pausing to take a sip of his sake. "Is because you refuse to eat like a normal person. There wasn't any food in your stomach to slow the absorption of the alcohol." Sokka informed her.

Toph snorted and raised a hand, signaling to the barkeep that she wanted another shot of fire-whiskey. "I don't really care about the particulars, if you must know." Toph slurred, reaching towards the bowl of salted nuts on their table.

Sokka made a disgusted face and pulled them out of her reach. "Toph, so many people have had their fingers in that bowl. I cannot even begin to tell you how many diseases you could get." He lectured, digging through his bag for some jerky for her instead.

He passed her a strip of jerky and smiled at her.

Toph was wearing the kimono that Katara had sent her, a dark green that was tighter than most of the clothes Toph wore. Her long hair was falling out of it's bun, tendrils curling around her face delicately, her cheeks flushed from the drinks.

She looked beautiful, even drunk.

"Snoozles," She slurred, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention. "I have to tell you, you have to listen to me." She said, leaning in with an air of urgency.

"Okay Toph, I'm listening." Sokka promised, waiting for her to finish gnawing on her jerky before continuing her thought.

"I forgot." Toph declared after several moments of silence, before barking out a loud laugh. A few patrons turned to stare at them, but Sokka waved them off.

It wasn't often that Toph was able to cut loose anymore, with her position in Republic City taking up more of her time than ever. It seemed that with an idea of mixing all of the nations came a great deal of mistrust and animosity.

Aang was pretty haggard as well the last time Sokka had seen him, though that could be because Katara was already pregnant with baby number two.

Sokka swore that he wouldn't have kids, especially after watching Katara cry over her bowl of stew. Even though it was mostly because of pregnancy hormones and nothing to do with her son Bumi, it still turned Sokka off to the idea of kids.

Besides, he wanted to take over as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe at some point in time.

Toph leaned back towards Sokka, and he couldn't help but smile at her antics. "What exactly are you trying to do?" He questioned, leaning parallel to her and grabbing her arm to right her.

"I'm trying to hear the floor, duh." She replied, as if trying to hear the floor was a common occurrence.

Sokka rolled his eyes and helped her back up before standing and collecting his bag and their coats.

"Come on, you can crash at my place tonight." He offered, helping her into her coat before walking her back to his house.

Toph was relatively quiet the way back, but when he settled her on the couch, she shot back up, catching a second wind.

"Can we play a game?" She asked, her smile making her look younger than she was.

"What kind of game?" Sokka asked, only half interested as he dug around in his clean laundry for a shirt long enough for her to use as a nightgown.

"I want to play that game where you tell four things about yourself, but only three are true." She said, her knee bouncing while she chewed on her thumbnail.

"Um, I guess. Here, put this on." Sokka said, handing her a baggy shirt that someone had given him for some reason he couldn't be bothered to recall at the moment.

Toph immediately began disrobing, causing Sokka to hastily turn around. "So, you go first." Toph ordered, oblivious to Sokka's blush.

"I didn't mean right here," He muttered, rubbing his forehead. This was nowhere near Toph's worst drunk antics, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. Mostly he was uncomfortable with how it made his stomach flutter, but he refused to delve too deep into that. "Okay, well...I was born at night. I love sea-prunes, I don't like science, and I miss the snow."

Toph snorted, standing to hand Sokka her kimono. She looked even more beautiful in his shirt, falling down to her knees, her hair a mess, than she had in the bar. "Obviously the science thing is a lie. You're making it too easy. Here, check mine out." She said before flopping back onto the couch and patting the space beside her.

Sokka hung up her kimono and joined her, pulling down a pelt to cover her legs. "Alright, show me oh wise Toph." He teased.

Toph smacked his thigh and straightened. "So, I have never been in love, I hate wearing shoes, I have played the 'I helped stop the war' card to get out of being arrested more than once, and I once had a pet spider." Toph said, smirking with satisfaction when Sokka didn't answer immediately.

"That's...you didn't have a spider?" He asked, sounding uncertain. Toph laughed.

"Nope, I did have a spider. His name was Fo, and my mother stepped on him." She informed him.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Of course you would have a pet spider." His eyebrows furrowed as he considered her words. "Wait, you've been in love? That's the only other one it could be."

Toph giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Of course I've been in love Snoozles, I'm almost twenty five. Be reasonable." She chastised.

Sokka blushed at the feel of her warm breath ghosting across his cheek, and brought an arm up around her shoulders. Friends did that.

"Right, I suppose that makes sense. I guess I just thought that would be something you would tell me." He confessed, omitting the part where it stung that she hadn't told him sooner, or sober for that matter.

Toph leaned up and pressed her lips against his temple.

"Don't be grumpy, I couldn't tell you." She said, her head dropping down to his lap where she immediately began snoring.

Sokka told himself he would ask her about it sometime when she was sober, and ignored the kiss she'd given him. She was drunk after all.


3.

Toph was not the least bit amused by what Sokka was saying to her. He could see it in the way her jaw was clenched, the way her knee was bouncing with nervous energy, the way her eyes wouldn't settle on his shoulder, like they always did when he spoke to her.

Sokka blew out a breath and sat down beside her, untangling her hands where they were wringing together nervously. "You don't have to go." He said softly, ignoring the smack she delivered to his shoulder.

"Of course I'm going! The council expects me to be there!" She protested, standing up. Sokka eyed her nervously, but chose to keep his reservations to himself.

"I know Toph, but no one would blame you for staying behind. We understand-" He began.

"Actually, you don't understand, so don't give me that bison-shit. And I would blame myself, okay?" Toph countered, raising her eyebrows, silently daring him to argue with her more.

Sokka sighed but decided that throwing her trauma in her face wasn't the way to go.

"What about Bumi and Kya, don't you want to stay here to protect them?" He asked, knowing that Katara's children were one of Toph's few weaknesses.

It worked; Toph frowned and sat back down. "Who would be there if I decided to go with you guys?" She asked, clearly bothered. Toph typically volunteered to help out with Katara and Aang's children when there was somewhere that the two were required to be.

Sokka paused, wondering if he should lie to her to keep her here. It wasn't really fair to deceive her, but he needed to protect her. He hadn't last time.

"Mai, I guess. Katara said she and Zuko were around for a peace meeting. I think she's already asked her to be on standby in case you decided to go." He confessed, realizing not only that Toph would see through his lie, but, more importantly, he didn't want to lie to her.

"Great, then I'm going. Tell Mai she better take good care of those kids." Toph said, standing and leaving the room, her black cloak billowing out behind her.

Sokka sighed and buried his head in his hands, wishing that he'd just lied.

TSTSTSTSTSTS

Toph stepped closer to Sokka until their sides were pressed together, her smaller frame seeming downright tiny next to him.

One hand was on her dagger and the other hand was on Sokka's arm. Sokka wrapped an arm around her and pulled her flush against his side, trying to pretend he couldn't feel her trembling.

He led her to a row of chairs and sat them down, Aang and Katara on her left side.

Sokka watched Katara slowly ease her hand off the dagger and twined her fingers with hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Katara caught her brother's gaze over the top of Toph's head and nodded once, telling him that they would all keep Toph safe this time.

A group of people walked into the council chambers, one shackled, and Toph stiffened. "I smell him." She whispered, her voice filled with disgust, her free hand clawing at Sokka's thigh.

Sokka took her hand and pressed it to his heartbeat, trying to give her something steady to hold on to.

"We're here today to determine the fate of this man, Hon of the Earth Kingdom, who was found guilty of attempted..." The man presiding over the sentencing paused, his eyes resting on Toph before flitting away. "Assault." He settled on, though it in no way described the anguish the man had unleashed on Toph.

Sokka fought to keep his heart calm, to be strong for Toph, even though he wanted to stand up and punch that pathetic excuse for a man's liver through his spine.

He forced himself to breathe and was stoic through the proceedings, listening to Aang speak, then Katara, and finally, Toph stood up, letting go of his hand.

An older woman that Sokka had never cared for squinted at Toph.

"I understand you were too...shaken...to speak at his initial hearing." She said to Toph, her words filled with judgement.

Toph looked as though she would crumble, her face paler than normal. But she stiffened and scowled in the woman's general direction.

"I was told that my input was unnecessary considering the amount of witnesses to what that man did to me." She spat. Then she turned to the council, her face neutral. "I just wanted to say that it doesn't really matter what you do to him. I don't need him to die to move on from this. In fact, saying that I care one way or the other in the outcome of his fate implies that he has control over me. He didn't then, and he won't now. Do what you will, I'm moving on from this chapter of my life." Toph declared before spinning on her heel and leaving the meeting room.

Sokka stood to follow her, but not before noticing the old woman smiling appreciatively.

He found her sitting outside, her face angled towards the sky, tears trailing down her cheeks.

Sokka sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm proud of you, you know?" He said, smiling slightly. The situation was terrible, but he couldn't help but admire her strength.

Toph leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thanks." She mumbled, her eyes meeting his, the milky jade penetrating his thoughts.

He started to lean forward, to capture her lips in his, but the door to the building opened, and Katara and Aang joined them.

"They made their decision," Katara said, eyeing her brother as he tried to inconspicuously move away from Toph's face, his cheeks bright red.

"I don't want to know. I just want to move on." Toph said, standing to hug the woman that had become a sister to her.

Sokka decided to chalk the kiss up to her relief at moving on with her life.


4.

Sokka was not surprised that Katara was pregnant again. He was, however, aghast that Toph was also pregnant.

He had thought that...well, he and Toph weren't together per say, but they might as well have been. Toph spent all of her free time with Sokka, staying at his house more often than her own, her back pressed up against his chest as they slept. They went to taverns together, they went to restaurants together, the theater, they even took vacations together.

Sokka hadn't dated anyone since he and Toph got closer, and neither had she. Sokka had just assumed that they would be done with the awkward side-stepping any day now and finally kiss. But that was before she had sat beside Katara, her expression stony, as Katara explained that Toph was about a month or two behind Katara in terms of pregnancy.

Aang had reacted predictably, saying that all children were special. Katara had obviously come to terms with it, leaving Sokka to think that she had known a lot longer than she was letting on.

So it fell to Sokka to either behave like the adult they all expected him to be, or to be the irrational one. Frankly, he felt too betrayed to even think properly about the fact that Toph, his Toph, was pregnant.

"You were with someone else?" He asked, though he hadn't meant to. The words just spilled out of the warrior's mouth without his permission.

Toph narrowed her eyes at him. "Obviously." She snapped.

Katara and Aang exchanged a glance over the roast that Sokka had made when the couple announced they were coming for dinner without the kids.

"But you!" He protested, fizzling off as she scoffed.

"I what, Sokka? It's not like we're together!" Toph shot back. Katara put a hand on her arm to calm her, but Toph shrugged her off. "Seriously, let's get this out in the air. I was in love with you for longer than I wasn't Sokka, and you never gave me the time of day. And then, suddenly you were acting like maybe we were going to be together, but you wouldn't even kiss me! What was I supposed to do? Keep waiting for you?" She snarled, her anger palpable.

Sokka closed his eyes against her words; it wasn't like he wasn't aware of what she was saying. But who could blame him for being afraid to lose his best friend? His ventures in love hadn't exactly worked out.

"Whatever Toph." He snapped, standing and throwing his napkin on the table before storming out of his house.

He walked into town and headed to the tavern that he and Toph frequented.

"Where's your old lady?" The barkeep asked as Sokka took a seat at the bar.

Sokka fixed him with a deadly glare. "I'll take a fire-whiskey, in fact, keep them coming." He said, slapping a pouch of coins on the bar.

The barkeep shrugged and did as told, handing Sokka a glass before moving on to care for his other patrons.

Sokka tossed the drink back, reveling as it burned its way down his throat. He liked that there was a physical pain accompanying the pain in his heart.

He was hurt. He cared so deeply about Toph. Spirits, he loved her. He knew he did. But how could they move past this?

"There she is!" The barkeep announced around Sokka's fifth shot of fire-whiskey. Sokka kept his eyes on the bar, stiffening when he felt her slide onto the stool beside him. "What can I get you?" He asked.

Toph waved him off and turned to Sokka. "Look, I know that this situation isn't ideal, and maybe I was an idiot for not speaking up sooner." Toph began, reaching out to lay a hand on his thigh. "I was scared Sokka, scared that things would never change. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life pining after you. I wanted to feel loved for one night, even if it wasn't by you."

"Spirits Toph, you honestly think that I don't love you every night?" Sokka slurred, his eyebrows high on his forehead. "I love you every day, every night. I would go to the ends of this world for you." He declared, leaning towards her.

Toph's eyes filled with tears. "Sokka, I didn't...I don't know how we're supposed to get past this." She confided.

Sokka sighed and pushed the glass away before standing. "Let's not do this here." He said, taking her hand and leading her out of the tavern.

They wound up at his house, where Aang and Katara were conspicuously absent.

"Sokka, if it means anything, I'm sorry." Toph said, pulling her hand out of Sokka's.

Sokka snatched her hand back and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Spirits, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it doesn't matter. I want to be with you. I'm assuming that you don't want to be with the father?" He asked, hoping that Toph's expression would confirm his hopes.

"No," She said, sounding sad. "I was drunk and it was stupid. I don't even know who he is." She confessed.

"Okay, then that's not an issue. So you're going to have a baby, so what? We are stronger than this, we can get past it. You didn't know how I felt, and that was my fault as much as it was yours. Now that you know I love you, I expect you to be mine." He said, his words surprisingly calm. "No more excuses, you're mine."

Toph was blushing as she smiled, her whole face lighting up. "Can I kiss you now?" She asked timidly.

Sokka smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "Spirits yes." He said before crashing his lips against hers, Toph giggling at his enthusiasm.


5.

Sokka's eyes were narrowed as he watched Toph scold Lin for running off.

"You don't just take off without telling us where you're going!" Toph snapped, struggling to keep her anger in check.

Sokka couldn't help but roll his eyes at Toph's words.

"Sokka doesn't seem nearly as angry as you," Lin protested, waving at Sokka for emphasis. After spending the majority of his life being able to get away with making faces at Toph, it was hard to remember that Lin could see them, and would use them against her mother.

Sokka raised both hands, palms up. "Lin, your mother has a point. You should have told us." He said, waiting for the flash of disappointment in her eyes that always came when he took her mother's side.

Sure enough, Lin's eyes filled with tears and she stomped off to her bedroom, slamming the door.

Toph rubbed her temples and groaned.

"I'm not being unreasonable." She said, turning towards Sokka. He moved towards her and put an arm around her waist, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"A bit hypocritical." Sokka replied, dodging the fist she aimed at his shoulder.

"I am not!" She shrieked, causing Sokka to back away. "I'm not," She amended, her voice quieter.

Sokka resumed his position at her side and led her to their bedroom, where it was less likely that Lin would listen in. They sat down on their bed and Toph grabbed a pillow, worrying it in her lap.

"Toph, honey, you ran away from home when you were even younger than her. And Lin wasn't even running away, she just wanted to see some more of the world. In a couple years, she'll be an adult." He reminded her, ducking when she tossed the pillow at him. Some of Toph's men had found her at the docks, attempting to board without a passport and brought her home.

Sokka arched an eyebrow, but after a moment of looking indignant, Toph flopped backwards, letting out a groan.

"Damn it all. I'm being like Poppy." She mumbled.

Sokka laughed and laid down beside her, kissing the tip of her nose. "You aren't being like your mother. She tried to lock you in a cage." He pointed out, smiling at the irony of the conversation. If someone had told him years ago that Toph would be paranoid about being like her mother he would have laughed in their face.

Funny how kids changed things.

"Maybe I should take her somewhere, you know, give her a chance to see something other than Republic City." Toph said, rubbing her chin as she thought.

"You have way too much going on to take a vacation Toph, I'm assuming that's why she just went to the ferry instead of asking for you to take her." Sokka reasoned, linking his hand with hers.

Toph sat up suddenly, her face filled with excitement. "You could take her! I mean, you don't have anything going on this week. You could take her home, show her the Southern Water Tribe." Toph suggested. "You know you miss your father."

Sokka raised his eyebrows, but nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll see what she thinks about it." He said finally.

Toph pushed Sokka off the bed, grinning when he landed on his butt with a thud. "Get to it." She teased, motioning to the bedroom door. "I'm going to take a bath."

Sokka rolled his eyes and stood, heading out of the bedroom and down the hall. He knocked softly on Lin's door.

"Come in," She called, and he pushed open the door. Lin was sitting on her bed, a pair of scissors in her hand.

"Um, should I be concerned?" Sokka asked, gesturing to the bed to ask permission to join her.

Lin scooted over, giving him room to sit, and snorted. "No, I just thought if I didn't look so much like her, then she wouldn't treat me like we're the same." Lin reasoned.

Sokka slid the scissors away from her and ruffled the top of her hair.

"Don't do that, your mom is just being a mom." He assured her. "It's her job to make you crazy, just like it's your job to do the same to her."

Lin rolled her eyes, looking eerily like her mother, minus the milky eyes. "Whatever."

Sokka cleared his throat. "Listen, I was wondering if maybe you would like to join me on a trip to see my father. I mean, there isn't much in way of entertainment out there, but they're slowly building back into the great Tribe that they used to be." Sokka opened his mouth to add more, but Lin launched herself into his arms, knocking the breath out of him.

"That would be amazing! I'm gonna go tell mom!" She squealed, standing and running from the room.

Sokka smiled to himself and shook his head in amusement before trailing after her.

STSTSTSTSTST

Lin glanced around and pulled her coat tighter against her body. Sokka caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned towards her. He shed his outer coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked incredulously.

Sokka laughed heartily, feeling light since he would be seeing his home country for the first time in almost sixteen years. He had stopped when Lin was born, instead encouraging his father and Bato to come to Republic City to visit.

"I missed this weather." He admit, spreading his arms wide and breathing in the scent of the ocean as the ferry moved closer to the shore. Sokka was surprised to see a bustling seaport where there once was only a snowy embankment.

"This is so beautiful. I wish mom could have come." Lin said, smiling as she looked around at the city they were nearing.

A city. The Southern Water Tribe had become a city in his absence.

"Your mom won't come here, mainly because of the shoe thing. She thinks I would walk her into a lake if she relied on me to see for her." Sokka quipped.

Lin raised her eyebrows and fixed him with a look. "Intentionally or unintentionally?" She joked, causing Sokka to wrap an arm around her as he laughed.

"Look, we're here." He said, guiding her off the boat and onto the dock. He spotted his father and waved.

"Son," Hakoda said, grabbing his son's forearm as a greeting before pulling him into a hug. He released him and turned to Lin, who was suddenly bashful. "Ah, the beautiful Lin. Come here sweet girl." He said, wrapping his arms around the blushing teen.

"It's good to see you dad," Sokka said, smiling at the pair. Hakoda let Lin return to Sokka's side before guiding them back to his home.

They sat down around the fire, and Hakoda passed out bowls of seal meat stew. It was both Lin and Sokka's favorite native dish.

Sokka took a large bite and smiled.

"It's very delicious," Lin said politely, suddenly her mother's opposite. Toph would have belched and ended the compliments there.

Hakoda smiled at Sokka knowingly. "Where's your other half?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

"She had to work." Sokka reminded him, suspecting his father of old age and nothing more.

Hakoda's grin widened. "Leaving her to make the money, eh? When are you going to marry her?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

Sokka blushed and nearly choked on his stew, glancing at Lin quickly. "Dad," He whined, reverting to a kid in the presence of his father's teasing.

Lin grinned as well. "Yeah, when do I finally get to call you dad?" Lin added.

Sokka's smile slipped a bit, but he shrugged, playing off the way her words stung. He had raised her from a baby, and she had known from the time she could speak that Toph was mommy and Sokka was Sokka. It hadn't bothered him when he had agreed to Toph that they would raise Lin that way, though she had only been in Toph's stomach at the time. He'd never known how much Lin would come to mean to him.

"Your mother isn't one to be tied down." Sokka said, quoting Toph verbatim.

Hakoda laughed. "Oh please, you two might as well make it official, you've been married since you were sixteen."

Lin's eyes widened at Hakoda's words. "They fell in love that young?" She asked, curious at the stories they'd never told her.

"We weren't that young dad!" Sokka protested. "I was still with Suki back then."

Hakoda shrugged. "You may have been, but that was when you fell for Toph, whether you knew it or not. I certainly did. Now Toph," He turned to Lin. "Your mother loved Sokka at first sight."

Lin frowned as she considered her words. "Then how come I was born?" She asked. "If mom and Sokka loved each other for so long, how come I'm not his?" She asked, glancing at Sokka.

Sokka felt his stomach clench painfully at her words. "Oh Lin, it's not that simple." He said, reaching forward to push a lock of hair behind her ear. "Your mom and I were stubborn, it took us too long to just admit our feelings. You are mine, regardless of any of that." He said, pulling her towards him.

Lin smiled at him. "Sheesh, I knew that already. I just thought maybe mom had cheated on you. Spirits that would have been terrible to know." Lin said, her mouth puckered at the sour thought. "I was always worried that maybe that was why you never took my side when mom is being a dictator."

Hakoda laughed at the analogy, and shook his head. "Leave it to you and Toph to have the poor girl confused about her origins. For as straightforward as that woman is, she never seems to be a wealth of information when it comes to you." He said to his son, rolling his eyes.

"So if mom didn't have an affair, how come you haven't married her?" Lin asked, returning back to their original topic.

Sokka sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ask your mother." He said finally. "It's not like I haven't proposed to her a dozen times. She always has an excuse."

Lin rolled her eyes. "Of course she does. Don't take no for an answer." Lin suggested.

There was a knock at the door, startling the trio, and a tribesman slowly opened the door. "Sir, pardon the intrusion, but you have a visitor." He said, stepping aside to pass Toph to Chief Hakoda.

Toph looked embarrassed, her feet adorned with boots, shivering in a coat that Sokka had bought her years ago.

"I took the week off. I thought I would catch you guys at the ferry, but it had already gone, so I had to take the next one." She said, clearly flustered.

Sokka stood up and took Toph from his father, guiding her to her place between he and Lin. Lin leaned into her mother's side and accepted a kiss on the cheek from her.

"We're glad to have you." Hakoda said. "We were just discussing you." He added, causing Sokka and Lin to send him simultaneous death glares.

Hakoda laughed, clearly unfazed.

"Oh?" Toph asked, rubbing her hands together briskly near the fire. "Nothing bad I hope." She added, more for Hakoda's sake than genuine concern. Toph couldn't care less what people thought of her, her family included.

Well, maybe.

"We were just telling Lin that you fell in love first." Sokka said, trying to soothe her without hurting her feelings. In truth, Lin was probably the only person whose opinion could destroy Toph.

"Oh," She said, sounding relieved. "Yeah, I fell for your dad first. I actually kissed his ex-girlfriend when she saved me from drowning because I thought it was your father." She confessed.

Sokka nearly choked on his stew for the second time that night. "You kissed Suki?" He asked, mortified. "Why am I just now hearing about this?" He demanded.

Lin laughed loudly along with her mother and the man she viewed as a grandfather. "You would." Lin declared, clutching at her stomach.

Later, when Lin was helping Hakoda wash the dishes, Sokka and Toph took a walk. When they had made a loop of the city, and they had reached his father's home, Sokka stopped her from going inside.

"Toph, marry me." He said, pulling out the betrothal necklace he always kept with him. He pressed it into Toph's hand, but she tried to push it back at him.

"Snoozles, come on. We've gone this long without being hitched, what's the big deal?" She asked.

Sokka thought about letting the subject drop for a moment, just cut his losses and enjoy what he had, but he remembered Lin's words and shook his head.

"No more excuses Toph. Marry me." He said, stepping behind her to put the necklace on her whether she liked it or not.

"Sokka, what if something goes wrong?" She asked, her voice soft. "Lin and I love you so much, I don't know what we would do."

Sokka laughed, his breath warm on her ear. "Oh honey, you should know by now that I will never leave you two. Marry me?" He asked again, his voice soft.

"Okay," Toph whispered, lifting her hair so he could tie the necklace on.

The silence was shattered by Lin and Hakoda's cheers, and Lin ran out, nearly tackling Sokka. "It's about time dad." She said, hugging him tightly.

Toph's eyes were filled with tears of happiness at her daughter's words, and she wondered how she could have possibly held out as long as she had.

She was glad that Sokka had finally insisted that he wasn't taking no for an answer.

They had always been a family, but maybe there was something to be said for taking the conventional route. Besides, Toph was pretty sure that there was cake at wedding ceremonies.

Sokka pulled Toph into his side, hugging two of his favorite women to his chest.


A/N: I had been aiming for about 2500 words, we see what happened there. Thanks for reading.