The Escapades of the Blind Bandit and Meathead
Chapter the Sixth: Honorable Reputation
A/N: 92 Reviews. You guys! 92 reviews for these silly little stories! I am shocked and kinda touched, in a good way.
This is short and sweet. A little thing for JoJoDancer, who requested Sokka streaking for Christmas. Warnings for being blatantly unbeta'd
Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Avatar. This is being written purely for mine and your amusement.
"Toph, this isn't fair!" He was whining at this point, and he did not care.
Toph, as usual, was immoveable as a rock. She reclined in her chair, feet casually propped up at the table, the bowl of noodles that was to make up her lunch perched dangerously in her lap. She snorted at him in an unladylike manner. "You lost the bet. That's your forfeit."
"But Toph!" Sokka pounded a fist on the table in frustration. "This is ridiculous! You've been with me naked before, and even if you hadn't, how can you have any appreciation for streaking? You're blind!"
Toph's hands flew to her eyes, the bowl of noodles crashing to the floor.
"I'm blind?! What?!" She cried before dropping her hands back into her lap, feeling for her lunch. "Thanks for reminding me, Meathead." He was quiet in response, and Toph frowned unpleasantly at him. "I do hope you're not trying to get out of this. It wouldn't be very honorable to welch on a bet."
Sokka sighed and dropped his head to the table. He had thought he was safe making a bet about Katara – after all, who knew his sister better than he did?
Toph Bei Fong, apparently.
"Now," she said, leaning forward and crossing her arms in a businesslike manner. "I have a very specific route I want you to follow."
The servant, Fire Lady Mai noted with some tinge of annoyance, had forgotten to set out clean towels again.
She sighed and hoisted herself from the now cool bathwater, opening the pantry door and searching for a fresh towel to dry herself off with.
Her wet hair dripped into her eyes, and behind her she heard the door slam open. Thinking it was the servant who had realized her mistake, she didn't bother to turn around until she heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a mouse being stepped on. Mai straightened and turned around slowly, unsure what was about to greet her.
The Water Tribe warrior was standing behind her, naked as the day he was born.
Mai blinked at him.
A blush started at the tips of his ears and traveled down. Mai couldn't help following the blush.
He repeated the squeaking sound, but didn't move, frozen in his shock. It was quite possible he was imagining all the different ways he was going to be punished for this transgression.
(Mai would never find out, but Sokka was actually wondering just where Mai was hiding her knives on her naked body.)
She wordlessly offered him the towel she had just removed form the pantry.
He started to reach for it, then faltered. Mai raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"It's just… Toph would kill me if I came back with a towel." He said by way of explanation.
She nodded in understanding, and, not bothering to cover herself, walked to the door on the other side of the room that would lead to the (now empty) changing room that would eventually lead him back to the hallway and his own bedroom. Mai opened it and gestured, and he took off, trying, and failing, not to make any eye contact with the Fire Lady on his way out. His face stayed a shade of red that she'd only seen on the royal tapestries.
Her eyes followed him out the room, and she allowed herself a small laugh.
Breakfast the next morning was a tense affair.
Sokka had managed to run into a servant carrying fresh laundry into the changing room. She had shrieked something awful, and soon a report of Sokka's jog through the palace had reached Lord Zuko.
Mai's eyes stayed focused on her plate of food. Across the table, Ty Lee and Toph were picking at their food, a tense air of expectation around them as they waited for something to happen, some sort of spark that would make everything explode. Aang was cheerfully talking to the servants, aware of the anxious atmosphere but determined to ignore it.
Sokka was no where to be found.
Zuko was shoveling food into his mouth as fast as he could. He was only halfway through the plate when Ty Lee accidentally let a nervous giggle escape. With a loud clang, he slammed his spoon onto the table and stood up, mumbling something about getting to work early.
There was no response. Zuko glared at Aang, who suddenly got the message. With a surprised "Oh!" he reluctantly put down his own silverware and stood up to follow Zuko, pausing to give one last longing glance at the fresh fruit still on his plate.
The door clicked behind them, and Ty Lee turned to Mai.
"Well?" she demanded.
Mai gave a small smile and a nod, and Ty Lee let out a whoop.
"Really?"
"Told ya." Toph said knowledgably, giving Ty Lee a smug grin.
"You're blind!" Ty Lee insisted. "How would you know about… Sokka and Zuko's little benders?"
"I see more than you do because I'm blind." Toph drained her orange juice, then turned back to Mai. "Are you satisfied with my forfeit?"
Mai nodded. "Never let it be said that Toph Bei Fong is not honorable with her bets."
The three of them were quiet for a moment, each amused by their own private thoughts.
"So," Ty Lee broke the silence, looking at Toph questioningly. "When did you see Zuko naked?"
Sokka was roused from sleep by a loud pounding on his door.
Rubbing his eyes blearily, he cracked open the door only to be shoved back as his sister blew through the door and breezed past him.
"So," she asked in her false-casual-I'm-actually-angry-at-you tone, "What's this I hear about you betting about me?"
A/N: I'm just amused by the idea of the boys being nothing more than pawns in the girl's plans.
There'll be a double update on Shadows, maybe by this weekend. Chapters 7 and 8 are being revised now. I had to break from it, momentarily, to write something for someone who has kept me writing fanfiction when I got all distracted and encouraged me even when I was in full on pout mode.
And finally, my thanks to my reviewers on the last chapter: Ron Weasly Girl, Ultra-Geek, nOt-X-dEaD-x-YeT, sugarland31, PO.Texaco, Typewriterman, Chigirl, Piezo, frozenheat, P.M. Hall, Sifu Toph, Earth's Luxery, Jess Readin, Yumi52IshiyamaQ, SakuraAyanami, December'sRose, shinjae, Dragonkid1191, Crazy Freckles, ShinakaStar, AssaultSloth, Meow-Mix-91, Willow-Bee the cat, and Owl of the Night.
Seriously, I cannot thank you guys enough. I'm amazed at how much you guys enjoy these silly little things – thanks for being patient with me while I finished out this semester.