You're So True - Joseph Arthur

With his shoulder pushed up against Keito's, Sokka was beginning to wonder why he'd thought it would be a good idea to share a tent after all. He had been thinking of the first time he'd travelled with Aang, when the tent had been big enough for him and Katara, but that had been years ago. Sokka was much bigger than he was then, and the tent wasn't really meant for two grown men.

Well, he would have felt bad if Keito had been left out in the rain. It was really pouring out there now, and Sokka wondered if Toph would even let Keito into her building if it were raining. He felt like she would leave him out in the rain, and for some reason, the thought cheered him.

"Thanks for letting me share your tent Sokka," Keito said.

"No problem," Sokka answered. "I couldn't just leave you out in the rain."

Keito nodded, and then he groaned. "My thighs… I can't believe I stood there for so long. I wonder if I'll be able to walk tomorrow?"

Sokka stifled a laugh. "You'll be fine," he said. "If worse comes to worst, Toph can carry you over her shoulder."

"And let my head bang along the ground the whole way," Keito said miserably.

Sokka laughed then; he couldn't help it. The mental picture was too funny. "She'd do it too!"

"She's not as kind as she's made out to be in all the stories," Keito said.

"That's not true," Sokka replied. "Not necessarily. She may be rude and abrasive, and she's quite crass after all, but she doesn't do things just to hurt people. She won't give sympathy where it's not needed – I think because she believes everyone should be as tough as she is, but the problem with that is no one realizes just how tough she really is."

"I think I'm starting to get the idea," Keito said.

Sokka smiled. "But you know, once you really get to know her, you find out she's got so much more going on in her head than she lets on. I mean, she really looks out for the people around her, even though she doesn't want anything in return, and she'll do something really selfless, but she'll never ask for credit. In her own way, Toph is really kind; it's just not obvious to everyone at first."

Keito was silent for a minute after Sokka stopped talking, and Sokka had time to realize what a speech he'd just made. He was glad it raining so hard outside so Toph wouldn't have heard him going on about her.

"She's more beautiful than your book made her sound," Keito said at last.

"Well, she was only twelve when I first travelled with her," Sokka pointed out.

"And I'm sure she'll only grow more beautiful with time," Keito said.

Sokka rolled his eyes at Keito's cheesy lines. He half hoped he'd try to use them on Toph. She'd get a good laugh out of it.