Oh, gosh I missed this!

The 100! I've slacked so terribly but I hope ya'll can forgive me and keep reading! Pretty please with sugar and the topping of your choice on top? ^_^

But I had, like, pure nostalgia when I reopened my '100' since I remember when I wrote this and a bunch of cool kids were writing them, too. I don't think any of us finished them yet, though. :P But, definitley check out ones like '100' by Skrybble and '100 Little Tokkas' by .RubyT because they're awesome!

But enough of the lengthy intro (yeah, I bet you missed that, right?) on with the show!

And, as always, enjoy!

31. Family

"I can't believe they're gone," Toph said, pulling herself off of the the other toys. Blindly, she leapt to the floor, landing with a thud. Another quickly followed, as did a plastic hug. She extended her arms as much as possible, to return the hug, but it was a fruitless attempt.

"Ugh!" she grunted, throwing her arms above her head in frustration. "And I hate being plastic." The other doll (or action figure, as her correcting a hundred times), Sokka, watched her sadly as she struggled to bend her arms as she had seen the humans do.

"Toph...Toph...Toph!" he shouts, running to stop her as the crags begin to form in what would be her elbow.

Suddenly, she begins to sob, something he's never seen before. "I hate life," she mutters in one quivering breath.

"I know you do," he says, sitting down. She sits rigedly while he being one of the newer dolls - the ones with bend in the knees and arms - kneels, trying to pull her as close as possible. He makes a feeble attempt to stroke her knotted hair before bending over as far as possible, landing a soft peck on her head.

Toph pulls herself together for the time being, turning to find all the other toys of the toy box watching her meltdown.

"What the hell are you looking at?" she asks sternly. "Show's over."

Sokka watches his girlfriend put up her walls again, the ones he's taken so long to break down. Sadness overwhelms him as the reality of the day set in. His sister, Katara, and her boyfriend, Aang, are gone. They've been sold at a garage sale, the least dignified way to go. He'd been with Katara all his life, since being packaged in a 2-for-1 sale. Aang came along about two years later and him and Katara quickly fell in love. As for Toph, she had been there before any of them, a doll belonging to the mother of their child. She was a hand-me-down. While the other dolls could bend their arms and flex their legs and, hell, some could even rotate their wrists, she was stuck. One form forever.

She turns to him and he just wants to whisk her away from it all, to sit with her in a shady place and hold her as close as possible and let her cry.

But Sokka knows she's stronger than that.

Toph takes a deep, shuddering breath closing her eyes, the smile that's usually plastered on her face curling into an exhausted frown. And he decides to do what's best for her, taking her hand in his.

"Let's go for a walk," he says. She nods, sniffling.

They don't say much as they take a walk to the other side of the room, away from the bed and toy chest and towards the computer and shelves and desk. They sit on the window sill, looking at the sky which is an appropriate overcast.

"We're never going to see them again...are we?" she asks as thunder rolls in the distance. She turns to 'look' at Sokka. That's another thing, she's blind, from years and years of playtime wearing her down.

"I don't think so, Toph," he replies quietly.

She inhales deeply, exhales sharply. What is there to say?

"...I love you," he tells her, sliding closer.

She chuckles, but it's short-lived and bittersweet. "I love you, too." She bites her lip, leaning her head on the window pane. "I just wonder how long we'll be together."

He's never heard anything so bleak and heart-wrenching come out of her mouth. "I'm not going to let that happen." She looks at him as though he's crazy. "I don't care where you go. I'll follow you." She grins. They both know it's most likely a lie, that once they're seperated, they're seperated for good. They're dolls. What choice do they have?

"There are days like this," she mutters, "that makes me want to just leave on my own accord. You know? Just get lost."

"We could do it," he says, gazing at the vast suburban landscape. "The big bad world won't get us, Toph. Not if we're together."

She snorts. "Why don't we then?"

"What? Leave?" he asks.

"Yes...like tonight," Tohp counters.

He examines her closely. There are two choices: stay and live comfortably, day after day, being played with until they're worn down and suffer the same fate as Katara and Aang and Zuko and maybe even Iroh (may he rest in peace). The other, he thinks while staring at the chips in her arm, could offer up difficult times but there's that sense of adventure. And that way, it would ensure them being together for eternity.

"Let's do it, then," he says, crawling up next to her. His new body presses against hers, enclosing her between himself and the glass. Sokka reaches down to take her forever stiff hands before pressing his cold lips against hers.

...

In the dead of night, their owner snores while her television quietly drones on.

"Ready?" he asks her. She throws her hands over her head, the bag sliding over her plastic skin and onto her shoulders. Inside are some of the doll clothes and one of those umbrellas you get in fancy drinks.

"Ready," she whispers. He's got his bag slung over his shoulder as well as one of those plastic swords you get from drinks. Inside the bag are a box of matches and as many toothpicks as he could gather.

Sokka carefully lifts the hood of the toy chest, peering into the dark. "I'll go first," he says, crawling over the edge and carefully landing on the carpeting. Toph follows suit, keeping hold of his hand. He presses his forehead against hers and, for the first time in days, she genuinley smiles.

"We're getting out of here," she says longingly.

"Hey," a voice whispers hoarsely. They look up at the toy chest, where the other toys are crowding to see them. "Where're you going?" The voice asking is a ballerina toy they call Ty Lee.

"We're leaving together," Toph says. "Setting out into the world...maybe we'll be back one day."

"But...who will lead us now?" a voice calls.

"Lead yourselves. You're perfectly capable. You are all strong toys, I know you can take care of each other," Sokka ensures them.

"Where will you go?"

Toph grins, gripping Sokka's plastic hand.

"Anywhere but here."

So, a super short fic to get the ball rolling again, I guess. I was watching Toy Story 2 and got the idea. It's angsty with a somewhat happy ending. Review monster has flown the coop but left behind three hungry spawnies behind so if you wouldn't mind feeding them? :)

Peace, L.