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Chapter 7: Nine months before 'The boy in the Iceberg'


"Toph!"

No answer.

"Toph!" Sokka yelled, pounding his fists against the wall. He was in complete darkness; stuck in an earthy tomb, ready to be crushed at a moment's notice, should the Earthkingdom girl wish it. He really hoped she didn't wish it…

He called again and she still refused to free him. In the end he was left to contemplate how he had come to be stuck in the ground. For a few minutes he rattled his brain trying to work it out. Though he kept drawing the same conclusion.

He'd made a mistake.

A big mistake.

He'd fallen for her.


Toph paced back and forth, she could hear Sokka's muffled calls from beneath her.

She ignored him.

He had enough air to last at least ten minutes or so anyway.

She kept walking.

Step, step, step, step, turn, step, step ,step, step, turn, repeat…

Toph gritted her teeth at the pain in her feet. While Sokka's wraps stopped her skin getting cut, they didn't do much for the cold. She suddenly wondered how she would know if she was getting frostbite. Would her feet start to feel wa-

Toph frowned as another call from the Watertribe boy interrupted her thoughts.

She stopped walking and gave a sigh. She was going to have to tell him…and he was going to hate her for it. But that was her fault; she should have told him at the very start, before he had a chance to develop feelings towards her…and she towards him.

Not that she would have expected that in a million years.

Emotions began to bubble inside her and tears threatened, taking a breath, she tried to push them aside. She was Toph Bei Fong, the Blind Bandit, and reining champion of Earth Rumble…she did not cry in front of others. Ever.

With a quick flick of her wrists, Toph bended Sokka out of the ground. She felt him stumble slightly before he spread his arms out.

"Air!" He exclaimed with joy.

Toph moved herself back to avoid his flinging arms. She waited while he caught his breath, not that he needed to, and hopped from one freezing foot to the other in an attempt to warm them up.

"You good?" She asked.

"For the most part." He sniffed and she felt him roll his shoulders. "Could you give me a little warning next time?"

Toph blew the bangs from her face in a nervous tick. "Heh I-uh, guess I have to explain-"

"Ya think!?" He took a step back shaking his head. "Spirits, Toph, you could've killed me!"

"Oh, don't be a baby, I wasn't going to make you stay there for long." She was taken aback by his yelling.

"Right, just long enough for you to pick the dirt from your toes!?"

"I needed to think!" She yelled back.

"What for!?"

"You kissed me!" The earth began to rumble.

"And you kissed back!"

"Argh!" Cracks formed around them and Toph stomped one foot against the ground. "I'm engaged, you idiot!"

She felt Sokka's heartbeat falter and the mini-earthquake stopped.

"…what?" He whispered.

"I'm sorry, I-I should have told you earlier." She stepped towards him but he stepped back.

"But why-why would you kiss back?" He was shaking his head and his voice had risen again.

Toph felt the tears begin to slide down her cheeks. "Because I like you!" She yelled.

His heartbeat increased.

"And as weird as it may seem, I don't want to marry some stuck up guy I've never met before!"

"I-"

"You don't get it do you!? This," Toph waved a hand between them, "can't happen. I leave in nine months."

Sokka surprised her by taking her hand, she felt weak and a mess, and she hated herself for it. The Watertribe boy spoke in a low voice, seemingly over his anger at her confession, "I know you're leaving, but can't we have those nine months?"

"And then what?" Toph ripped her hand away. "I go back home, get married at eighteen and you stay here, find a nice Watertribe girl to marry and have a family. And I'll be stuck with a stranger, being tortured by the memory that I once had something better?" She shook her head. "That's not fair, Sokka."

"I won't let that happen." He said firmly.

"Oh? And what are you going to do? Waltz up to my father and say, 'Sorry, Mr. Bei Fong, your daughter doesn't want to go back with you. So she's staying here, okay, thanks, bye!'" Toph put a hand on her hip and wiped her face with the other.

"I-no-w-we'll work something out." He took a hold of her shoulders. "Listen to me, you are the most amazing, strong, beautiful girl I've ever met and I'm not going to let that slip away. These past months have been filled with more fun than I've had in the last two years!" She felt him smile as he shook her gently, "Don't tell me you don't think the same, we're the dynamic duo, earth, meat and sarcasm, right?"

Toph let a small laugh escape and she placed her hands on Sokka's forearms. "I guess." She sighed. "While you are a complete idiot, you do know what to say some of the time."

She gave a yelp of surprise as Sokka suddenly pulled her into a hug. His arms wrapped around her back and she was surrounded by the smell of hide and salt. She buried her nose into his parka and he spoke near her ear. "We're the Blind Bandit and the Idea guy, I'm sure we can come up with something."

Toph smiled into his chest before pulling away and punching him in the arm.

"Wha-!?"

"My feet are practically popsicles!"

"And that's my fault?" His voice cracked and she tried no to laugh.

"Yes. Now help me back to the sled before I get frostbite." She said, folding her arms.

She felt Sokka move forward and he swiftly snuck his arms to the backs of her thighs, picking her up in a frontward piggyback. "Why, of course your majesty. It would be my honour to escort you back to your carriage."

"You're damn right it would." Toph said in all seriousness, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sokka began to laugh and she found herself doing the same.


Sokka stuck his tongue out in concentration as he fastened one last knot. Toph spoke in a whisper next to him, "What's taking so long, Snoozles?"

"Shh! It has to be perfect!"

"Oh, for the sake of Oma and Shu, hurry up!" She hissed. "Katara's gonna be back any second.

"Okay, okay!" He made sure the string was taught. "Done, lets go!"

He took her arm and they snuck out under the back of the shelter rather than using the door. They ran over to a tent some distance away and lay on their bellies behind it, with Sokka peeping around and keeping watch.

"Here she comes," He spoke quietly and snatched a glance at Toph in time to see her smile before there was a loud splash from his sister's tent. A hair-raising scream split the air and a soaking wet Katara ran out from her tent. She screeched to the air, "Sokka! Toph! When I find you, you are dead meat!"

Sokka waited long enough to see her bend the water on to the snow and march towards their shelter, before he grabbed Toph by the arm and they fled out of the village to hide while Katara calmed down. Toph was the first to break into laughter when they'd reached an ice cave some distance from camp. Sokka followed her example and found himself in tears before long. Eventually the chortling died down to giggles and then to the occasional laugh.

"O-ha-oh-man, Katara is gonna kill us!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Ah-ha, I don't care. It was totally worth it." Toph replied, a grin was still trying to split her face, and she seemed to be having trouble containing it. He decided to help by placing a quick kiss on her lips before darting out of reach.

"Hey!" Toph looked around, trying to work out where he'd gone on the snow. "What did I tell you about surprise kisses?"

"Uhm, that they should happen as often as possible…?" He only just dodged the punch that swung his way.

"No." She said, trying to sound serious, but he could hear the laughter in her tone. "That I only like surprises when they're happening to other people."

Sokka snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure?" He asked, placing another kiss on her neck.

This time he didn't move fast enough and Toph's fist caught his stomach, he stumbled back, "Argh!"

"Yes." She stated with a laugh. "Now, I'll bet Sugar-Queen's going to be pissed for the rest of the afternoon. Got any ideas as to what we can do till it's safe to return?"

"Well…" He coughed and rubbed his belly. Then he stepped towards her and took her hand to let her know where he was. "We could begin with a no-surprise kiss?" Sokka took her cheek in his other hand and leaned down to her. Toph smiled impishly and pulled her head away.

"And then what?" She asked, taking the front of his parka in her hands and gripping it tightly.

"Uhh…" He swallowed. "P-penguin sledding?"

"Mmm." Toph stood on her toes and snatched a quick, if a little lopsided, kiss from him. "I think I have a better idea." And she whispered something in his ear.

Sokka sighed. "Alright, but first thing's first."

And he bought her face to his in a fiery kiss that took up more time that either of them had expected.


"I can't believe I'm doing this." Toph heard Sokka say from near her feet.

"If you weren't happy with the terms of the deal, then you shouldn't have agreed."

"I was happy with the original terms…" He mumbled.

"I heard that."

"But seriously, Toph. I could swear it was two foot massages and not three…" He continued and she blew the bangs out of her eyes, waiting for a further stream of complaints. They were still in the cave, sitting down now on their over parkas, a fire burning to her right to keep them warm and her back was against an icy wall. Her feet, bare, were in Sokka's lap and he was rubbing some kind of oil into them to help heal her blisters. In all truth she was having quite a hard time thinking about anything other than the feel of his rough fingers as they rubbed her sore heels, then up to her toes and back again. If she were a mooselion, she'd probably be purring.

"I mean, it was two weeks ago." He pointed out.

"Sokka, when Toph Bei Fong makes a deal, she doesn't forget it. We agreed on three foot massages and one shoulder rub, in exchange for my forgiveness in regard to your idiocy that caused these blisters." She clarified, waving a hand at her feet.

"W-we never agreed on shoulders!"

"We did actually."

"Ugh, fine…" Sokka paused and Toph felt his thumbs run up the bottom of her left foot. He dug in harder from annoyance. She bit her lip as he resumed talking. "But I didn't bend myself into the ground."

"No, your stupidity did." She grinned at the pout she knew he'd be wearing and sat up straighter against the wall. Sokka's hands continued to work wonders for most of the afternoon.

It was almost dark when they returned, not that Toph could tell, but Sokka told her as much. Amazingly, they managed to sneak into camp without being spotted. As Toph sat on her bedroll, she waited for Sokka to return with their dinner. It wasn't long before he was back and they were soon tucked up in their respective sleeping sacks, exhausted from the day's events. Wiping her nose to rid an itch, Toph sank further and further into the fur that surrounded her, secretly delighting in the warmth of the Watertribe creation. She mused about taking one back home with her, but decided that in the winters of the southern Earthkingdom she would over-heat in such a bed.

But it would remind her of Sokka at least…

She gave a sigh at the thought. While she really liked Sokka, she was still hesitant at committing to this…whatever it was they had. In her heart, she knew that he wouldn't be able to stop her father from taking her home to get married. The Watertribe boy had lied, they wouldn't figure out a way, because there wasn't one.

A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily, sick of not being in control of her emotions anymore. It was his fault, he made her feelings turn against her.

This idea only held for a moment, because she knew that she'd let him do it and so, really, she couldn't blame him for anything.

"You okay?" His low voice floated over to her.

"Yeah." She gave a subtle sniff, trying to hide the fact that she was upset. "Just can't sleep."

"Oh." She heard him roll over and his voice became clearer, "Anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and moved onto her back.

"Well, do you want to talk about it?"

She gave a small smile at his continuous attempts to help her. "No. But listen, can you, maybe, tell me about your parents?"

Sokka didn't say anything at first but then gave an "Okay," before beginning to describe his mother and father. In truth, Toph didn't really want to hear about them, it was more that she wanted to hear him talk. There was something about the Watertribe boy's voice that, when it wasn't complaining, was soothing. Like a pebble that had been tossed into the ocean for a time, it was worn down, but not broken, smoothed out, but with a few cracks here and there, and it spoke to her. Not to a little girl that was blind and defenceless, but to a young woman, who was to be respected for her power and there was also…she listened closer, yes, it was there, a kind and caring undertone that she knew he only used for her.

Being blind her whole life had meant that she often used peoples voices as their image. Because, besides the basic outline and muscle structure, she had nothing else to go on and that was increased by a tenfold out here on all this snow. She listened to the voices of people around her and she could hear them, their past, their sorrow, their lies, their hopes, their love… A cracked sentance here, a strained word there, she heard it all and used it to make up her own image of them.

For example, before Sokka even told her, she could tell from the start that his mother had died. Besides her obvious absence, there was the fact that he avoided using the word and when he did it was with a sadness that only Toph could pick up on. Sometimes she wondered what other people could hear about her when she spoke. Could they sense her anger, her annoyance at her parents? Would they be able to tell that she liked Sokka just from the way she said his name?

No, probably not.

Would anyone ever know her that well? As Sokka's voice willed her to sleep, she wondered if, maybe, he would. She hoped so and she hoped that they weren't going to be ripped apart at the end of this year…but her faith in that was waning.


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