One Word
A/N: Wow. I totally haven't written anything in ages, but HERE!!! Toph's actually blind in this one. -shock- This one's a fluffy friendship fic… Yeah, sooo the word's "link":
ATLA
Age 9
"Toph?"
The too-small-for-her-age-girl leaned forward, uncrossing her skate-laces-covered ankles. "Whaddya want, Sokka?"
His eyes fell off to the side, looking at the skating rink beside him. "It's… well… just, uh, you gonna come roller-skate with us?"
Aang and Katara sped by, giggling with big, bright smiles on their faces. Sokka motioned to them, "Dontcha wanna have fun with us?"
She sighed deeply, "Sokka, just go away. You know that I can't."
His head titled to the side in innocent confusion, "Why not?"
"Because I can't see." She muttered, then raising her voice, "Duh, stupid!"
Sokka yanked her to her feet, and looped his arm through hers. "I'll hold on to you, Tophie, I promise. Dontcha worry."
Age 18
His pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, briefly checking the caller ID. "Toph… are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Sokka. I mean, jesus, it's been almost 12 days or whatever." Her voice was bold and showed no hints of, what you'd think she'd be experiencing, grief…
"Toph, look, this isn't norm-"
She interrupted him, jumping into the sentence, cutting off his words before he could take the conversation in a direction she didn't want it to go, "We're going to a party. Pick me up in an hour. See you then!!"
The happiness in her voice was obviously fake, but before Sokka's brain could catch up with was said, the dial tone was bursting into his ear.
--X--
The car ride to Zuko Sozin's house was unbearably awkward, something that didn't usually happen between these two best friends.
Pulling up beside the house, Sokka cut the engine and the two of them sat there. Soon the lights turned off and they sat there in the dark (which didn't exactly matter to Toph, but still) and listened to the mind-shattering bass-line pouring out of the mansion.
Finally, "Toph, you need to talk to someone about this. When someone's dad di- … passes, they're supposed to be-"
"To be what, Sokka!? Sad? Wallow in their sorrows until the life they once had deteriorates? Sokka, my mom hasn't stop crying since that night, and I don't want to be like her and, "everyone else" supposedly. I'm here to have a good time, maybe dance, maybe, and just…" She stopped, hands trembling. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she grasped around for the door handle. She flung it opened and called, "Let's go!"
--X—
Sokka sat in the car. He wasn't here for the party, he was here for Toph. But around 1 AM or so, he decided it would be best if they left. Sokka stumbled into the Mansion, tripping over, none other than, a person. Yup, a person.
He wandered the halls, opening every door and poking his head into every room. Probably his 5th or 6th try, Sokka opened the door to the bathroom. Toph was collapsed, asleep of all things, beside the toilet with a goddamn beer in her hand. A beer! It must've been some slammin' party. Psh.
Sokka gently shook Toph's shoulder. She stirred, "Mm?"
"Can you stand?" He asked gently.
She shoved him away with both hands, sloshing beer from the bottle onto his shirt. She dropped the beer (which splashed onto his pants…) as she tried to push herself up. She managed into a sitting position, and steadied herself against the toilet, trying to stand. And then she hurled, obviously not for the first time this evening, some of it landing in the toilet, but most on Sokka's shoes.
He sighed, "Let's get you home."
He put his arm through hers and pulled her up, "It's gonna be fine, Toph, I promise…"
--X—
Sokka ended up marrying his high-school sweetheart, a nice girl named Suki. They had a quaint, countryside wedding, and then at
Age 27
It was Toph's turn to get married.
Walking down the aisle was one of those things that Toph truly knew she was going to hate with every bone in her body. She flat out told her fiancé and everyone involved in the wedding that she didn't want anyone to walk her down the aisle, that she could -goddammit- do it herself.
They all bought into her story, except for Sokka. And he knew why. And he had a plan.
So, when Sokka showed up in the church, twenty minutes before the wedding was supposed to start, and dressed in a tux, Toph became just a teensy bit frazzled, because Sokka's plans were never good.
Standing out back, waiting for the bride's walk to start, Toph sighed. "Why are you doing this, Sokka? It'll just make me even more pathetic looking without …" She winced, "…my dad, and with you. I didn't even ask you to."
"Toph, here's the deal, I've always considered myself to be a good person with good morals and stuff,"
The familiar "Here Comes the Bride" tune began to play.
"And I made you a few promises in our time together," He linked his arm with hers, "And I always intended on keeping them."
He held onto her arm as tight as he could and everything ended up being just fine.
A/N: Oh. My. GOD! Loves!
-Mandi (Toruh)
