She stood in the corner of the crowded room. Alone, bored and much too tired to try and socialize with anyone near her. She barely knew half of the people there.

A bit ironic, really, since everyone in the room knew who she was.

Hearty fits of laughter and joy filled the area as she silently held her glass of wine, gently stirring its contents around as she had her back up against the cold, hard wall.

She didn't want to be there, not even a little. But that would just make her look selfish, wouldn't it? Not attending her best friend's wedding would be too low, despite the thought floating around her mind a few weeks prior to the ceremony.

But there she was, standing in a dress so tight, it restricted almost any form of physical movement possible. That's what Sokka would want, right? Right.

She sighed heavily.

When the young Water Tribe warrior came up to her announcing his engagement, she didn't know how to feel. As stupid as it was, she was shocked. Why, you ask? Even she didn't know.

Sokka's been with Suki for as long as she could remember at this point, despite their relationship being on and off at certain times. Especially after Suki became Zuko's personal bodyguard. But despite that, it would only make sense for him to propose to the Kyoshi warrior. The question was, why did it make such a huge impact on Toph?

It wasn't because she disliked Suki. Heck, she owed the girl her life. After rescuing her from drowning AND not telling Sokka about what she had accidentally called Suki afterwards, she honestly liked her. Suki was strong, independent and from the Earth Kingdom, just like her. Not to mention, she was far more mature than her, and - if what everyone said was true - pretty good-looking.

"Like I care." Toph thought.

She was frustrated. Her stomach churned continuously, the uneasiness leading from her head to her dirt-covered feet.

Everyone knew Toph had a thing for Sokka. Katara knew. Aang knew. Zuko did, too. Hell, even Suki probably knew. The only one who had absolutely no clue was the young strategist himself.

But, something they didn't know was how much of a big "thing" it truly was. It was more than just a "thing". She loved him.

Under the young earthbender's solid, aggressive exterior, she adored every single inch of his being. His voice, his personality, his hands. Spirits, did she love his hands. They were rough and calloused from his years of wielding various instruments of war, yet when he carried or made contact with Toph, he handled her oh-so-very gently. Normally, that would piss the hell out of her, but she knew that when Sokka did it, he wasn't gentle out of pity or fear, he was that way because he truly cared about the girl. More than anyone, even her parents, ever did.

The young woman scanned the room with her feet, struggling to note who was who and where they were. There were just so many people there, she couldn't even tell where Katara or Aang was.

But, there was one heartbeat in the room she was certain of.

And that was the pulse of a certain soon-to-be Councilman and Southern Water Tribe Chief.

Whether it was erratic and cheerful, or strained and depressed, she knew what his heartbeat sounded like. What it 'felt' like. It was what drew her to sleep during the days of their travels, and what kept her up and going as a teenager. She memorized the gentle beats of his heart, no matter the pace.

This time, though, his heartbeat was steady, calm and just, well, so at ease. She could feel it, he was so happy that he wasn't even a tad nervous or scared, all that mattered to him was that he could finally have a future with Suki.

Suki.

"Suki.." Toph muttered, reminding herself that he was in love with Suki, and not her.

As if on cue, she could feel the sound of the boy's heartbeat grow louder. And not in the sense of it beating faster, but that he was growing closer and making his way towards her. She cursed under her breath and quickly put on the best fake smile possible.

"What's the Blind Bandit doing, moping around during a party of all things?" Sokka joked, accompanying the ebony haired girl as he leaned against the wall next to her. Toph turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? Moping? The world's greatest earthbender does NOT mope." She smirked, trying her best to sound as normal and Toph-like as possible. As much as she loved Sokka, all she wanted to do right now was to be alone and, well, mope.

"True," Sokka chuckled, "but seriously, is something wrong? You've been kind of out of it lately, and don't think I haven't noticed." He continued, his eyes turned to her with concern.

"Everything's wrong." She thought.

"How could anything be wrong? My buddy's finally tying the knot!" Toph exclaimed, almost too loudly, as if she was trying to remind herself just why she was even there in the first place.

Sokka stared at her, obviously discontent with her answer. "Is something going on at work? You can always tell me, y'know." He reassured her, gingerly placing his hand on her bare shoulder.

"Oh no.. Please don't touch me, not now, not today." She pleaded in her thoughts, before nervously flinching away from his touch. She couldn't bear it, the way his hands felt, the way he cared so much about her. Spirits knew how much it killed her inside, and how much she wanted more of it.

Sokka stared in shock and confusion, while Toph just grinned the biggest one she could give him.

"Yeah, that's it. Work. Those lily livers sure have been giving me a hard time lately, not to mention the new recruits. Spirits! Are they hard to work with." Toph laughed forcefully, taking a heavy chug at her glass of wine as she did.

Sokka's eyes fell downcast. He knew Toph was lying. She was probably able to scam all those people back when they were kids, but now? He knew her much too well to know when she was bluffing. Her tone of voice, the way she acted. She clearly had something bigger than work bothering her.

"Shit, is he sad?" Toph panicked inwardly, her thoughts slowly starting to grow in concern. She tried to think of a quick way to cheer him up. She didn't want to be the reason the groom was all sad at his own wedding.

Instinctually, she punched him in the shoulder, earning a loud "oomph" from the man. He rubbed his shoulder and glanced at her, a gentle smirk gracing his lips as he did.

"Ew, now you're getting all mopey." She complained jokingly. "It's your big day, what the hell are you even doing over here anyways?" she nudged him, motioning towards the large crowd of people in front of them, and this time, she wasn't lying. She wanted him to be happy today, and being around someone as depressed as she was wasn't gonna do him any good.

Sokka chuckled and stepped forward, glancing back at Toph as a soft, concerned smile graced his lips.

"Don't drink too much, alright?"

Toph sighed as she felt his heartbeat slowly fade out into the crowd.

She lifted the wine glass to her lips once again.

"Sorry, Sokka. I don't think I can make any promises tonight."