Author note: Thanks ATLAlover3 for all the sweet reviews!
Here's an update, it's a bit longer than some previous chapters, so I hope you enjoy! Let drama ensue!
As the night grew longer and the partying went on, Toph continued enjoying herself with drinks and dancing, even going so far as to take a singing groundhog and put it in her hair. After spilling her drink on Haru and laughing too hard about it, she realized something was missing…Where was Sokka? As she grew more intoxicated, her vision appeared to be getting a bit fuzzier, and she couldn't see as clearly or as far as usual. She planted her feet firmly on the ground and tried to sense the Water Tribe warrior. She couldn't feel him anywhere. She excused herself by pushing Haru into Ty Lee and walked off, eager to find her friend.
Toph had spoken to her mother for a bit at the beginning of the party, and she had gushed over how well-mannered that "young man" Sokka was, and how he had essentially planned the entire party by himself over the course of a few months. Toph couldn't believe that he went through all of this trouble for her…it was really, well, thoughtful.
"Where is that oaf?" she mumbled to herself out loud, misstepping slightly as she searched for Sokka.
"…I can't keep living like this!"
Toph's ears perked up and she froze, shifting herself so that she was hidden behind an abandoned snack vendor's stand.
"Suki…" a familiar voice murmured softly.
"I just can't…It's not fair to him," she responded. "I know we haven't…actually done anything…but it still feels so wrong," she whispered.
"Look, I don't care if it's not fair, I really like you and we can't keep pretending that something isn't there," said another hushed voice.
What did Toph just stumble into?!
"I…I think I love you," the man said pleadingly.
I've gotta get outta here! Toph thought, and she started to flee the scene, only bump into the stand a little too hard, causing the umbrella to wobble into a string of lanterns that were hanging low in the air…which ripped down the lighting and caused some momentary chaos.
Toph continued her attempt to run, and ended up in a tangle of paper lanterns and egg rolls.
"Toph?!" Suki exclaimed, frozen in shock at seeing the blind earthbender feet away from where she was having a very private conversation.
"Agni…" Zuko groaned.
"Uh, heya, guys," Toph said sheepishly, lifting her hand to wave slowly at them. "Nothing to see here. I did not hear a thing!"
Suki and Zuko groaned simultaneously, the Fire Lord pinching the bridge of his nose and Suki covering her face in embarrassment.
"Why couldn't she be deaf instead of blind?" Suki moaned, cursing her luck that her boyfriend's best friend happened to overhear someone else confessing his love to her. What a mess…
Toph tried to untangle herself from the string of lights, only to tie herself up further. She let out a frustrated cry and proceeded to flop backwards, giving up.
"Just leave me here to die," she whined.
Zuko, the most sober one of the bunch, made his way over to the birthday girl and began to help her. She lay there as he tossed bits of food away and worked at untangling the knots she had managed to get stuck in.
"There, you're free to continue wreaking havoc on your friends' lives," he told her with a grim chuckle.
"Why me?" she asked herself.
Zuko, extending his hand and helping her up, responded, "Because you're a natural born trouble-maker, that's why."
Sokka was a mess. He was pretty worried about what was going on with Suki, and he was looking for distractions. Luckily for him, he was at a party. Unluckily for him, there was alcohol. Sokka had already done shots with Longshot and challenged The Duke to a drinking contest, and he was starting to look worse for wear.
Katara decided that she couldn't take Sokka's embarrassing behavior anymore, and knowing that he wouldn't listen to his baby sister lecture him, she pushed her fiancé towards him.
Aang cleared his throat as Sokka finished telling the story about how he lost Space Sword to whoever was listening. "So…Sokka…think you might wanna slow down on the drinking?" he suggested.
Sokka clapped Aang on his back, sending the airbender off-balance for a moment. "Oh, Aang…you don't get it yet…this-" he lifted his mug into the air, holding it like it was a holy relic, "-is how you have fun. This is how a real man solves his problems," he explained with a belch.
"Er, right," Aang said, trying to pull the drink from his hands. "I think you've had enough problem-solving juice to solve all of our problems."
"Aang!" Sokka whined, tugging his mug back so quickly that is sloshed and splashed onto his tunic. "Please…I kind of need this tonight," he finished quietly.
Aang sighed heavily, then patted him on the shoulder. "Whatever you need, buddy." He rejoined his fiancé, who was frustrated that he hadn't slowed Sokka down at all.
After downing the last of his drink, Sokka realized very suddenly that he needed to use the bathroom. He ran off to the estate, hoping he wouldn't bump into Ms. Poppy…that would be embarrassing. He knew he was in no state to hold a decent conversation with Toph's mother.
He emptied his bladder, then took a moment to observe himself in the mirror. His eyes were red and his wolf's tail was coming slightly undone. He splashed some cold water on his face in hopes that it would sober him up a bit.
When he wasn't out at the party distracting himself with other people, his thoughts immediately flew back to Suki. Would she leave him? Or did she want a commitment from him? He loved her, and he wished that she lived closer to him (or even with him, at this point), but he wasn't sure if he could handle marriage…Aang and Katara were trying that, and they were still so young! How can you tell that you want to be with someone the rest of your life at that age? Was that how he felt when he was with Yue?
He closed the washroom door behind him a little more loudly than he had intended to, and he flinched. The house was very quiet and very still. He wondered if Ms. Poppy was sleeping. He crept down the hallway, hoping to make it back to the fun of the party quickly.
The hallway led to a sitting room-type parlor, which he didn't remember walking through to find the restroom. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a sniffly sound ahead of him; he could just see the silhouette of a man sitting in a chair and holding something small in his hands- a portrait of some kind? Oh jeez, that's Mr. Beifong! Sokka realized. He quickly started backtracking, but his foot knocked into a decorative table with a vase on it. The vase began to wobble, and despite his inebriated state, he was able to gently push the vase back down to rest on the table once more. The sound, however, attracted Lao Beifong's attention, and as he turned to ask, "Who's there?", Sokka rushed into the first open room in the hall.
Sokka pressed his back against the wall inside the room, panting at the sudden rush of adrenaline he felt. He was glad that his warrior instincts kicked in…he did not want to have a conversation with Toph's depressed dad while he was drunk. Talk about awkward.
When he was sure that he wasn't being pursued, he stepped away from the wall and surveyed his surroundings. It was a rather large bedroom, with beautiful curtains and a handcrafted furniture set, complete with vanity and armoire. The vanity, however, had none of the typical female accessories such as make up, jewelry, or perfume. All it held was an old-looking comb. There was no art on the walls. He also noticed the rug that was around the bed wasn't even, and instead was kicked up in some places and looked to have some fresh mud on it. Was this…Toph's room?
He wasn't sure what came over him, but he snooped a little more, and when he found a long metal chain in the nightstand drawer, he was sure it was her room. He knew that she didn't stay here often, but this was her childhood room and it was where her mother always put her when she returned home.
"How long are you planning on creeping in here, or should I just come back later?"
Sokka practically jumped out of his skin at the sound of Toph's voice. He dropped the metal chain he had found and avoided her gaze, not considering that she couldn't read his facial expression.
"Sorry, Toph, I just…er…I don't know what I was doing," he admitted.
Toph shrugged and walked across the room, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I guess you're just nosy then, huh?"
He blushed slightly and sat down next to her. "I guess I am…what is this thing anyway?" he asked, picking up the chain from the floor and lifting it up.
"Oh, my chain!" she said, bending the metal out of his hand and into hers. "I use it as a weapon most of the time," she explained. Even though she was still pretty drunk, she had the urge to show it off to Sokka. "See, I work it like this…" she bent the metal so that the chain coiled a bit around her wrist, giving her the stability and control to whip it forward then back to her. She bent the metal across the room and flicked her comb off of the vanity, which sent it flying to the other side of the room.
"Hey, that's pretty cool!" Sokka said, wide-eyed.
"Hmph, normally I could grab something small and bring it back to me," Toph frowned. She wasn't sure if she liked being this out of touch with her bending. She probably shouldn't have had so many drinks…and egg rolls…
Sokka sighed and said, "Toph, you're so cool."
She slumped back onto the bed and shook her head. "I don't know if I feel like it right now," she admitted to him.
He lay back as well, turning to face her and propping his head up on his elbow. "Why?" He yawned. Getting too drunk makes him sleepy.
"It's been a weird couple of days," she said, shrugging slightly, her sightless eyes staring up at the ceiling.
"Welcome to the grown up life, kid," Sokka chuckled, looking down at her. He couldn't believe it…Toph was the toughest one of their group, easily the strongest and most badass earth bender he has ever known, and she's always been a kid. Now she's an adult. When did time start flying by so fast?
"You know what would make me feel like a grown up?" she asked him, turning toward him and propping herself up on her elbow as well.
"Hmm?" he asked, trying not to doze off right there. This bed was pretty freaking comfy.
"Fulfilling a childhood wish," she said softly. She blew her bangs out of her face, and he felt the little puff of air across his face.
Was she getting closer to him, or was he just woozy? "And what would that be?" he asked her quietly, his hand muffling his words slightly as he forced himself to stay propped up.
"Let me show you," she whispered as she started leaning in toward him.
Woah, now she was definitely getting close…what was going on? Sokka's eyes widened as Toph's closed, and she leaned in, closer, closer…their lips were inches apart…
Toph's eyes snapped open, a look of panic on her face. Before Sokka could even think of what to say, she turned her head slightly and vomited all over his arm.
He groaned as she recoiled away from him as fast as she could.
"I'm so sorry," she managed to get out before she puked again in her open nightstand drawer.
He jumped off her bed, shaking his arm out over it and groaning. With his free arm, Sokka pulled the collar of his shirt up over his nose to try and keep the smell out of his face. "What did you eat?!" he squealed at her.
She spent the next few moments vomiting up the contents of her stomach into one of the finest nightstands in the earth kingdom. After she was done heaving, she answered, "Dirty egg rolls..."
