Lullaby
It was a beautiful, hazy summer evening in the Fire Nation, and at the palace of Fire Lord Zuko, the celebration was just getting underway. People of every age and every race were coming from all corners of the globe to commemorate the end of a hundred years of war.
And the grand ballroom was a truly marvelous sight to see. Everywhere you looked, there were people talking and dancing and having a splendid time with one another, illuminated by the dim glow of several carefully-placed paper lanterns.
Among those celebrating were the Avatar himself, Aang, and his girlfriend, Katara. On the dance floor, the pair seemed to be off in their own world, ignoring the other couples around them as they swayed to the gentle pulse of the music.
Not too far away, another couple seemed to be having a good time as well. The leader of the Kyoshi warriors was keeping a steady hold on her boyfriend, Sokka, as the two of them twirled around in circles on the dance floor.
Sokka smiled tenderly down at Suki as he used one hand to pull her closer to him. Since she would be leaving for Kyoshi Island the day after the party, he wanted to make sure that this would be a night Suki would not soon forget.
On either side of the dance floor, several tables with chairs had been set up for the guests, accompanied by a full buffet dinner. Seated at one of these tables was a thirteen year old girl by the name of Toph Bei Fong. Dressed in a pale green floor-length dress that complimented her eyes, she sat alone with only a plate of untouched food sitting in front of her.
She did this by choice, in spite of the fact that numerous boys had already asked her to dance. However, she had refused due to the fact that the one boy she wanted to dance with that evening was already dancing with another girl.
She knew it was hopeless, of course, to even wish for him to ask her. After all, he already had a beautiful girlfriend, didn't he? How could Toph ever compare to her?
But ever since the fight that had taken place between him and Suki at the Jasmine Dragon a few weeks ago, Toph had begun to notice a gradual change in the girl's personality, especially around Sokka. Her actions seemed more nervous, to say, like she had something to hide. Sokka, of course, had paid no attention to Suki's unusual behavior, most likely attributed to the fact that he had been helping Zuko to plan this party.
It's obvious that Suki's been hiding something for a while now. thought Toph as she blew a strand of ebony hair away from her face. The question is, what?
Meanwhile, the object of her affections was currently having the time of his life with said girlfriend as he spun her around in circles, laughing all the way.
Suki, on the other hand, bore no smile when she turned to her boyfriend and said, "We need to talk."
"Okay." grinned Sokka. "Talk then."
"I meant privately." she replied. "As in, away from everyone else."
The grin never left Sokka's face. "Sure." he said as Suki took him by the hand and led him out the back doors, towards the direction of the garden.
Toph raised an eyebrow when she sensed the pair walking away from the other guests, especially because Suki's heart rate was beating much faster than it should have been. Getting up from her chair, she silently followed them out the back doors to find out what was going on.
After a few minutes of walking, Suki finally let go of Sokka's hand and stopped so that they stood beside the fountain. Toph crouched down behind a nearby shrub so that she would not be seen, but would still be able to hear everything that was going on.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Suki faced her boyfriend. "Look Sokka," she began. "You know that tomorrow I'm going back home to Kyoshi Island. I leave in the morning."
"I know that," Sokka answered, taking both of her hands in his. "That's why I wanted to make this night so special for you. I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't forget me once you returned home."
Toph rolled her eyes but remained quiet, waiting for Suki's response.
Suki tried a smile. "That's very sweet of you, Sokka." she said. "But my leaving is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Once I'm gone, we aren't going to be seeing each other as much."
"I know." Sokka replied. "I was hoping that maybe I would be able to visit you at some point, but I haven't figured out when I would be able to."
"That's the problem, Sokka." came Suki's response. "To be honest, I. . ." she paused, taking a deep breath before finishing the sentence. "I don't think this is going to work out."
Sokka widened his eyes. "Wait a minute," he said, backing away from her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
Suki nodded. "Yes." she said softly. "I am. I'm really sorry, Sokka, but I think we would be a lot better off as-"
Sokka held up his hand, silencing her. "Don't." he said. "Please don't say the word 'friends' unless you mean it."
"But Sokka," Suki took a step towards him. "I do mean it."
"No." Sokka shook his head sadly. "I don't think you do. Because if you did, my heart wouldn't be breaking."
Toph felt her jaw drop but still didn't say a word.
"I'm sorry, Sokka." Suki took another step towards him. "But I really think this is best for now. Maybe if I ever come back, we could try this again. But not now." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Sokka." she whispered, before turning around and walking out of the garden, leaving behind a cheerless -and very confused- Sokka. Numbly, he sat down on the edge of the fountain and placed his head in his hands.
It was at this moment that Toph chose to come out of her hiding place. Going over to Sokka, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
Sokka answered her by placing his head on her shoulder, tears forming in his sapphire eyes. Toph responded by placing her arms around him, pulling him closer to her and stroking his back comfortingly.
"It's alright, Sokka." she murmured quietly. "You'll be okay. You're much better off without her. Trust me." She felt the fabric on her shoulder beginning to dampen as Sokka continued to weep. Toph hated seeing her friend in such distress, and at the moment, desired nothing more than to find Suki and make her sorry for what she had done to Sokka.
She chose this moment to think back to her childhood, back to her home. Sometimes when Toph would have a nightmare and wake up crying in the middle of the night, her mother would come in, pull Toph into her lap, and sing her a lullaby. Much as she tried, Toph could not remember the exact words to the tune, but she remembered the tune perfectly.
She softly hummed the tune in Sokka's ear, and felt his grip on her tighten considerably. For the next few moments, the two of them sat there, holding on another and forgetting all about the rest of the world.
Finally, Toph finished the lullaby and Sokka pulled away from her embrace. "Thanks." he said, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his kimono.
"You're welcome." Toph replied.
"Where'd you learn that tune you were humming just now?" asked Sokka.
"My mom used to sing it to me sometimes when I was little." admitted Toph. "I couldn't remember what the words were, but I do remember that whenever she sang it, I would always feel better." She turned her sightless gaze towards him. "And I thought you might want to feel better, after what just happened."
"Yeah," Sokka sighed heavily. "I suppose I should have been expecting it, though. For the past few weeks, she's been acting different. Not like her usual self, you know?"
Toph nodded. "I was actually wondering when you'd notice." she said. "I knew that there was something up with Suki, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I guess that was it just now though, wasn't it?"
"Uh huh." Sokka responded, lowering his head slightly.
Tentatively, Toph reached out a hand and placed it under Sokka's chin, forcing him to look at her. "Listen to me," she said. "You deserve someone a lot better than Suki, alright?" she paused. "You're a great guy. Any girl would be lucky to have you as a boyfriend." she finished at last.
Sokka looked into her eyes. "You think so?" he asked.
"Of course." replied Toph. "I always have." Her cheeks reddened at the last bit.
"Really?" Sokka gazed at her in the moonlight. He smiled at her. "Thanks."
Toph smiled in return. "No problem. Now, do you want to go back to the party? Maybe it will help you to forget about Suki for a little while."
"Sure." Sokka stood up. Leaning forward a little, he pressed a kiss onto Toph's forehead. "Thanks again." he said.
Toph's eyes widened in surprise as her cheeks flushed once more. "Y-you're welcome." she sputtered.
Sokka's smile widened as he slipped his hand into hers and led her back inside, and for the rest of the night, the two of them were inseparable. They danced every dance, paying no attention to the bemused grins of the other party patrons. After it was over, Sokka escorted Toph back to the room she was staying in, outside of which the two of them were able to share their first kiss.
Yes, Sokka was still a bit upset over what Suki had done to him, but he decided that he wasn't going to sit around feeling sorry for himself. After all, Toph seemed to like him a lot, didn't she? And he had found that he liked her very much too.
In any case, this particular evening had certainly been one that neither Sokka nor Toph would be able to forget anytime soon.
FIN
D'aww, don't they make such a great pair? ;) In case you haven't already noticed, this is supposed to be a sequel to The Blind Leading the Blind. Out of all the prompts, this one was definitely one of my favorites. I hope you all had a nice Tokka Week, and please review on your way out.
Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA. If I did, you would not be reading the above story.
