Thanks so much for your reviews guys! They make me so happy and encourage me to continue this story. xD

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar:TLA or its characters.

Chapter 11: Three months before 'The boy in the Iceberg'

"What do you mean you're leaving?!" Sokka exclaimed a little too loudly.

"I mean exactly as I say." Lao Bei Fong replied calmly, with a look of slight confusion over Sokka's outburst.

They sat in the Bei Fong's shelter and Poppy knelt behind her husband, Sokka opposite them near the door and Toph was absent. Her parents had already met with her before they sent for the Water Tribe boy and she was back in their shared tent. For a moment, the blind girl was all he could think about, images of her flashed through his mind and he was nearly overcome with emotion. But he tried to pull himself together, not wanting to betray the fact to the Bei Fong's that he was in love with their daughter.

"I-I-But I thought you still had one more site to look at." He fumbled with his words.

Lao waved a dismissive hand, "We've already found what we want at the other two locations. Why waste time surveying another when we can start building and then do it later?"

"So you'll be coming back?" Hope bloomed in Sokka's heart.

"No, there isn't any need, my employees already know the locations. I can put trustworthy men in charge of them and monitor their progress remotely. I do not have the luxury to spend any more time on this than I already have."

Sokka blinked, not having paid attention to anything after the word 'no'.

"You seem more concerned than I would have predicted." Mr. Bei Fong broke through Sokka's bewildered state of mind. There was an edge to his voice, only just detectable.

"…Oh, uh, you know…It's just that we had prepared for you to, um, stay for three more months…wasted effort, I suppose." Sokka quickly covered. It wasn't a lie, strictly speaking.

"Yes, well. We leave in three days." Lao stated unemotionally.

Three days…

Sokka's heartbeat increased.

Three days…

He felt his world falling apart around him.

Three days.

"…and I'll expect that they'll have started work by the end of the year." Mr. Bei Fong concluded a speech that Sokka hadn't heard at all.

"Uh, huh…"

"That's all I needed to discuss. There isn't enough room in our…" Lao wrinkled his nose at their surroundings, "…dwelling, for Toph. So she can stay where she is till we leave."

"Yes, sir." Sokka said meekly, suddenly feeling drained of all energy.

He left the shelter, clearly having been dismissed, and stumbled back to his own. With a limp arm he pushed back the hide door and entered. Toph was on her bedroll, drinking a cup of tea. Sokka silently sat down next to her, placed his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands.

"They told you didn't they?" Toph said quietly.

"Yeah."

She stayed silent and for a minute Sokka let the darkness of his gloved fingers black out the world and all his problems. He tried to loose himself in it. He heard Toph take another sip of tea, more like a slurp actually. He smiled at this and then frowned. Toph wasn't loosing herself in despair and here he was giving up all hope. He was the man, he was supposed to be strong. Yeah, the earthbender probably matched his physical strength, but didn't he have to provide emotional strength? He knew Toph had amazing emotional control, but only because she'd learnt to burry feelings for her parents. She was doing that to him now. He could tell. She shouldn't have to.

Sokka pulled his head from his hands and looked at the girl sitting next to him. She'd finished her tea and had placed the cup near her feet. He watched as the low firelight danced highlights and shadows across her midnight hair. He took her hand and hardened his resolve. This wasn't how it was going to end, they'd think of something. He would think of something to stop the universe taking away his only love besides meat and sarcasm.

Toph's hand felt small in his as he spoke. "Listen, we'll think of something, Toph. Okay? They're not going to tear us apart."

She didn't say anything. He ran his thumb over the warm skin of her palm.

"You know what? We'll have a massive brainstorming session after dinner! And we-"

"But that's not the only thing we have to think about." Toph cut in.

"I-What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"You have to put your Tribe first, Sokka." She squeezed his hand. "We have to make sure that my dad doesn't destroy your home."

"That's not as important to me anymore, Toph. I lov-"

Toph's palm was shoved against his mouth and at the motion Sokka got a different view of her face. With a start he realised she was crying. It was the first time he'd seen her cry in three months, the first time since she'd nearly died on that summer evening so long ago. Her fingers gripped his jaw tightly.

"Don't say it, Sokka." Her face contorted for a moment in a look of pain before she pulled herself back together. "If-if you put me before your village, your tribe, your sister and they suffer because of it…because of my family…I couldn't stand that."

It was one of the first times Sokka had heard her sound concerned for others besides herself and he. It was a side of her he never saw often and she didn't display often. Sokka felt the muscles in her hand weaken for a second and he took the opportunity to rip it away. He now held both in his grasp so she couldn't shut him up.

"We can do both, Toph! We'll find a way. There has to be a way. Alright? I love you and nothing and no one are going to take you away from me." At the last part of the sentence he let go of her hands and took her shoulders, bringing her lips against his. Pulling her closer, he poured as much feeling as possible into the kiss. He felt Toph smile sadly into his lips and he broke away gently, placing his forehead against hers. With his fur-covered hand he wiped her cheeks, "Now, you're always telling me off for being such a softy and yet here you are falling to pieces in my arms! What would the competition at Earth Rumble do if they found out, I wonder? I bet-"

Toph punched him in the shoulder, laughing. Sokka smiled and she sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "I love you too, Meathead."

The next two days were spent non stop thinking, eating quietly and then collapsing with sleep when they could discuss no more. Toph listened patiently as Sokka came up with more plans and theories in 48 hours than she'd heard him dream up all year. Nothing stuck though and she knew he was getting desperate. A straining plead had entered his voice whenever he spoke, as if he were begging the universe itself to give him inspiration. They even consulted with Katara to try and get a fresh perspective, but they could only ask about the mining issue, not their relationship, of course. However, the young Watertribe woman had no better ideas than they did and Toph could hear the mothered concern she used when speaking to her brother, as if she were afraid he would shatter into pieces right before them if she pushed too hard.

It wasn't a bad observation on Katara's part, Toph mused as she lay with her head on Sokka's chest the eve before they were due to set sail. He had become like a piece of rocky shale, he seemed strong at first glance, but with any more pressure he was going to break. She sighed and let the rhythm of his heartbeat distract her for a moment. She tried to memorise the sound, wanting to have the ability to remember it clearly for the future.

Through these last two days she had suppressed her heartbreak entirely for his sake. He had a whole tribe to worry about and protect from starvation as well as the Fire Nation. Her concerns were nothing when compared to that. She knew many other girls would gladly marry a man they didn't know in times like these if he could provide a home and security. Toph didn't want Sokka to bare the weight of her pain on his shoulders, that the girl he loved was being forced to marry another man. But she knew that he already did and so she tried to be strong, because if she lost her ground now and broke…she didn't know if she would be able to pick herself back up again, let alone if Sokka could. And he shouldn't have to.

Toph tackled the problem the only way she knew how. Head on. She'd already worked out the answer months ago, but she'd buried it, selfishly wanting to have these last moments with a boy she new loved her for who she was, not who she wasn't. So, tomorrow morning, she'd stick to her guns and hold steady, like a true earthbender and free Sokka of the burden he was carrying. She didn't care about getting married now, if it meant that he, his family and way of life were safe.

She chewed the inside of her lip and took in a deep breath through her nose, inhaling the comforting smell of salt and hide from Sokka's tunic. There was a weight on her right hip as she felt his hand settle there and pull her closer. "What if," He began, "we used the tentacles of some fish-squids to make it look like you had a rash on your skin? We could pretend it was a bad Water Tribe infection that came around every now and again, and that you shouldn't leave because you might infect your town!"

Toph blinked slowly and ran a hand across the sealskin that covered Sokka's chest, locking the feeling into her memory. His ideas were getting more and more crazy. "I think that would only encourage my father. He'd want to get his poor sick darling back home where she'd get the best care." She said in a mimicking tone.

The hand that had previously been running through her hair thumped down next to hers on his chest. "Ugh." He gave a large sigh. There was a silence and Toph drew spirals on his belly, waiting for him to talk.

"I've failed." He said quietly. Toph's hand froze.

"Sokka-" She began before getting cut off.

"I made a promise, Toph, to my father and then to you. Because I thought I was able to fulfil them, but I was kidding myself…and now-and now…" He swallowed hard.

"Don't do this to yourself, Snoozles." She gripped his tunic tightly. "You havn-"

"I should never have made those promises." He said harshly to himself. "I should never have been put in charge of the Tribe. My father made a mistake trusting me."

There it was. Like a snapping branch, she couldn't stand it any longer. To see him in such despair, it made her eyes sting and her throat choke up. Frowning, she hardened herself, keep it together, Toph, and took a breath. "Listen, Sokka-"

"No, wait. I'm sorry." His hand shifted on her hip and she felt him tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I shouldn't be dumping this on you. Not now."

"It's fine, Sokka." She said, turning her head up towards his voice. "But listen, I've thought of something…to stop my father."

Sokka's body went ridged against hers. "What?"

"I-I'm going to make him a deal." She paused to make herself draw a breath. "He leaves this place the way he found it, no station, and I get married a year early, when I turn seventeen."

There was an odd sensation as Sokka sat up suddenly, taking her with him. She felt his hands on her shoulders. "No! Toph you can't-"

She placed her hands on his chest and said strongly, "I can, Sokka. It's the only way now. My parents don't need the money from this project; they're swimming in wealth already. They'd happily trade a few more coins for the societal and political advances they'd make if I did this."

Sokka was shaking…or was that her? She couldn't tell. "It solves all our problems."

"…But what about you?" He asked in a whisper.

"I don't matter, Snoozles. Your family and Tribe need you, and you need your home's safety more than I need my freedom."

His forehead was suddenly against hers, his hands on her cheeks and he spoke, "But that's not fair. You can't!" She could tell from his voice that he was crying.

"We don't have the luxury to choose what's fair." She told him, reaching to wipe his face. Her touch was met with a strong jaw that had a few days worth of stubble. "This is how it has to be. I don't mind, Sokka, really. As long as you're safe an-"

His mouth on hers silenced her. Like a hungry animal he pulled her toward him so quickly that she had to grasp his shoulders for balance. Taken by surprise, it was a moment before she let is lips meld with hers. She could feel his pain through the kiss. Toph reached up a hand and untied his wolf-tail, running her fingers through the hair in an attempt to comfort him. He gave a moan and she felt him move a hand back to her waist. Something had sparked between them; maybe it was her imminent departure or the fact that they wouldn't be seeing each other ever again. But Toph's heartbeat increased as Sokka's actions became increasingly intense. Somehow she found herself lying back down, the Watertribe boy above her. His mouth was suddenly on her neck and she arched her back, hands gripping his shoulder blades, "S-Sokka!" She let out huskily.

He gave a low grunt in response and continued down to the hollow of her throat, where her stone necklace and pendant still rested, before moving back up to her lips. Toph's fingers dug in more firmly and her breathing became laboured. She found her body feeling hot and she gasped as a cool hand met the skin of her belly. It traced it's way slowly, achingly, to where the linen wraps bound her chest. Feeling the need to take control, she bit his lip and demanded he open to her. His hand paused just near her sternum as a war began between their mouths. She won, of course, but Sokka seemed to let the victory slide and returned to exploring the untouched skin of her stomach and lower back. She did likewise, moving her hands underneath his tunic to trace his spine.

He pushed her further into the furs with the force of his kiss and Toph began to lift the hem of his shirt, wanting to satisfy the strange and sudden desire to have more skin to touch. They broke apart for just a second when she pulled the tunic off of him and then his mouth was back just under her ear. Slowly, her own tunic regressed further and further up her torso and her skin felt as if it were on fire when her stomach brushed against his. This continued for another minute or so, and Toph's tunic was completely removed, leaving her in nothing but her leggings and wraps. Sokka's fingers slipped under the hem of her pants and ran along the lining, Toph's hips lifted involuntarily and she moaned into his mouth. He had pulled the band just below her hipbone when he froze, breaking off their kiss.

Toph was dazed for a second, stuck in the bliss of signals that her body was sending her. "W-what's-wrong?" She struggled to talk and breathe at the same time.

"I-we can't-I can't do this." He spoke in a low and laboured voice, like he was only just holding it together. She felt him move away from her.

"Wh-Sokka?" She reached for him but he pushed her hands back. "Sokk-!"

"It's to final!" He moved and Toph guessed he had stood up. She tried to do the same and found her limbs not responding normally. Sokka sounded panicky, "We can't, I can't. Not yet. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Toph reached for him again but only grasped thin air. Goosebumps rose on her naked flesh as the hide door of the shelter was parted and shoved roughly aside. "Sokka!" She yelled.

He was gone.

Sokka ran blindly through the dark of the night and somehow found himself in the chief's tent.

He collapsed, the furred floor drying the sweat from his bare back as he lay, looking up through the smoke hole in the roof at the stars.

The image of the moon gliding across the sky was the last thing he saw before he succumbed momentarily to the blackness of sleep.

The sun was low on the horizon, just peeking above the line of land in the distance. The morning air was cool and crisp. It stung his lungs when he breathed too deeply. He was near the shore, blind to all the people moving around him. Except for one that was.

She stood with her back to him. Her hair was down and blowing in the wind, moving in intricate patterns through the air. She looked like a spirit, not to be touched no matter how much you felt the desire, with her back straight and skin so pale. She wore her Earth Kingdom garbs now, her parents not having any taste for her Water Tribe ones. Sokka spotted her green and white headband resting across the top of her head, pinned by Katara's bone clips. He willed the image to burn into his mind, so he could remember it forever. He suddenly became aware of the sailors and workmen that moved in the background, hauling cargo aboard the ships, ready to sail.

To take her away from him.

Slowly, he approached, clearing his throat quietly behind her so she didn't get startled. "Hey." He said.

Toph turned around. Her blind eyes weren't cold with hate like he'd expected, rather they were soft, sad…

"Hey, yourself, Meathead." She stared at his chest. For a moment he wasn't sure how to continue. She beat him to it. "I told him."

He swallowed. "…And?"

"He agreed." Toph replied in an emotionless tone, as if they were discussing the weather. Her 'gaze' had turned away from him.

Sokka reached out to grab her hand but hesitated in a moment of indecisiveness.

In a heartbeat he chose and slipped his fingers through hers. "Listen, about last ni-"

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything." Toph quickly put in. "I, uh, I understand."

"No, I'm sorry." He paused. "But, anyway, that's not what I meant."

Shifting his grip on her hand he pulled it between them and turned her palm upwards. "I couldn't sleep. So I…well here." He placed two white puffballs in her grasp.

Toph's fingers examined them lightly.

"They're for your headband." Sokka explained. "They're poler bear-dog fur, from the hide my dad gave me when I turned sixteen. It's a father son tradition, a sign of faith, acknowledgement…of trust."

"Thank you." She pulled them to her chest and tucked them inside her tunic. A gust of wind carried her faint grassy scent to him.

"I take back what I said last night!" He blurted out suddenly.

"What?" Toph's nose crinkled with confusion.

"About not making promises." He gripped her upper arms. "I can't do it, I can't just let you go-"

Toph sighed and her lips pursed in a pained twitch. "Sokka, I really don-"

"I'll come for you, Toph!" He shook her gently in his insistence. "Okay? Before your birthday, I'll find you! We'll run away together!"

He pulled her to him as if his life depended upon it. She circled her small arms around his back and he felt a tickling sensation as she breathed into his chest. Sokka placed a hand behind her head and one between her shoulders. He spoke softly into her hair so only she could hear, "I promise."

He kissed the top of her head and watched silently as one of her hands snaked back from behind him and reached up to her throat. With a sudden clench of her fist, part of her stone necklace came free. She bent it into a little rectangle before his eyes, the edges rounded off. Toph pressed the creation into his chest.

"Here." She stated. "You can take out one of the pieces of your bone choker and replace it with this."

Sokka smiled sadly and closed his hand over hers, extracting the gift from her fingers. "I will."

"Toph!" Lao's call interrupted them. "We're leaving!"

One of the workmen moved towards them.

"I'll find you, I promise." Sokka spoke hurriedly, kissing her forehead. "I love you."

Toph gave him one last punch. He didn't even feel it. "Love you too, Snoozles."

And then the workman was upon them. He took Toph's arm and led her to her parents. Sokka's fist gripped his stone tightly as he watched them board the boat. The next half hour felt like a dream, he didn't feel the cold wind on his skin, didn't hear his sister come up beside him…didn't notice the tear slip down his cheek. The Water Tribe boy stood there, still as a statue, till the ships were out of sight.

He let out a shaky breath before being suddenly overcome by a sense of dread. He stumbled and Katara called his name. What? What was wrong? His heartbeat increased and he struggled to get enough air into his lungs.

What had he missed?

What was happening?

Then he realized with a choking gasp.

Not once had Toph mentioned the name of her town.

He sank to the ground in disbelief. He had five months to search the whole southern Earth Kingdom.

Don't worry! I'm not a mean writer, I won't have them separated for long. You'll see. :) Please R&R!