A/N: Thank you to everyone who's been following/favoriting/reviewing this fic! I'm so glad you guys like it :D

"Land! Glorious land!" As soon as they ran aground, Toph dove out of Due and Tho's modified skiff and fell to her knees, pressing her face into the dirt.

Sokka chuckled as he reached into his bag for the last of the his sea prunes, handing them over to a grinning Tho. "Thanks a lot, guys. Enjoy."

"Will do!" Due said. "Remember to come 'round again soon!"

"Ha. Maybe." Sokka gave a nervous laugh and waved as they pushed off and began making their way out of the inlet.

He glanced down at Toph. "Feeling better?"

"You have no idea." She rolled onto her back and dug her fingers into the rocks, as if resolving never to be pried away from the earth again.

He couldn't exactly blame her. Even though she'd skipped breakfast so as to make the trip on an empty stomach, that didn't stop her from dry heaving for most of the ride, actually bringing up bile when the water got rough as they rounded Fong's old military base.

"Come on." He held out a hand to help her up, trying not to be surprised when she actually took it. "I bet you'll have an appetite by the time we get into the city. We have to do a little shopping to replace some stuff that got ruined in the swamp, but then we can relax and have a really big dinner."

She grinned hitched her bag onto her shoulder. "Y'know, Idea Guy, I think you're finally starting to live up to your name."

/

The road to Omashu was long and steep, and Sokka's heart sank when they finally came in view of the city and found themselves in a queue that ran halfway down the mountain path. "You have got to be kidding me."

Toph gave a dramatic sigh. "Can't we just claim Friends-of-the-Avatar privileges and cut to the front?"

"I feel like trying to explain that to all the people currently ahead of us wouldn't go over well." Sokka leaned over the edge of the railing that now lined each side of the road and peered around the switchback. The main gate to the city was now flanked by eight guards in earthbender armor, who stopped each party to demand papers and identification. They opened and closed the walls each time.

He groaned at the inefficiency. "But there has to be another way."

"Like that?" Toph pointed to the right and he noticed an airship descending from the clouds– a version of the original Fire Nation war zeppelins modified to serve as commercial transport.

He grimaced as it landed on a newly-constructed platform connected to a second entrance into the city. People were taking them everywhere these days, now that routes were open between most of the major cities in the world.

"No," he said crossly. "I mean they don't have to open and close the gate for each person in line. And merchants with produce could go in a separate queue. They're just slowing it down for everyone else." He didn't have to explain his general disdain for airships to Toph.

A camelephant roared from the airship landing platform. Toph cocked her head. "Sounds like the circus is in town."

"Where do they plan to put it?" he muttered. "They've gotta be running out of space in there with all these people streaming in."

"These aren't half the numbers Republic City's getting," Toph said. "At this rate it's going to swallow Yu Dao and make one giant city."

"Sounds lovely." Not that he was against progress, but sometimes the constant crush of people in places that used to be relatively sleepy felt strange. Maybe after so much time on Kyoshi Island he'd gotten a little too used to the peace and quiet.

She shrugged. "It's not so bad, although I'd keep one hand on your wallet if you plan on walking the streets at night."

"Great, I'll keep that in mind."

"Not that you'll have to worry about that with me around." She smirked.

"Good point." He grinned. "What would I do without you?"

Was it just the sun, or did her cheeks look a little pinker?

She punched him in the arm.

"Ow." Probably just the light.

"All sorts of silly things."

/

After a trip to the nearest quality market to re-stock, it was nearly dark by the time they both collapsed into a booth at a seedy-looking restaurant-and-bar.

Toph's head thunked down onto the table. "Holy shit, I'm so tired," she muttered. "I didn't know it was possible to be this tired."

"That's because you've barely had anything to eat all day," he said, picking up a menu. Besides some seriously sub-par fire flakes they'd picked up at the market, by his estimation she had nothing else in her system. "Want to hear what they have? Although it's mostly your standard bar food–"

"Hippo-beef burger with all the fixings. Rare," she said.

"Got it." He flipped over the menu. "Anything to drink? Looks like they have Ember Island wine–"

"Who am I– Sugar Queen?" she scoffed. "But I'm good with water. If I drink anything at this point I'll probably just pass out."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged and stood up. "They've got Blue Spirit on tap here so I'm getting a beer. If the waiter comes by I'll have the same thing you're having."

He left the menu on the table and walked over to the bar, more than ready to blow off a little steam after yesterday's swamp debacle. If they were going to be in the city, he was sure as hell going to enjoy some creature comforts that came along with it.

He was leaning over the bar trying to get someone's attention when he heard a squeal off to the left. He turned and had just enough time to brace himself before a thin but surprisingly strong figure barreled into him, smacking the back of his neck with her braid.

"Sokka!" Ty Lee said. "I didn't know you'd be here!"

"I'm just passing through." He pried himself out of the hug and ignored the irritated glances of several men she'd apparently abandoned mid-conversation.

"Did you get to see the circus?" she asked, sipping from a violently pink cocktail no doubt paid for by one of her admirers.

The circus. Sokka wanted to smack himself. That's why she was on vacation from the Kyoshi Warriors. To visit her circus friends. "Err… no, I didn't– I forgot it would be here."

"Oh." She looked a little disappointed at first, but then her face turned sympathetic and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Did Suki do it?"

He froze. "You knew?"

She took her hand away and fluttered awkwardly. "Oh, you know we talked sometimes…"

Son of a bitch. How many other warriors knew about the end of his relationship before he did? Not a moment too soon, the bartender noticed him and he got his beer, just in time to take a long drink.

"Well, uh… it's good to see you." He gestured vaguely back to the booth where he'd left Toph. "My table's back there and I'm sure you have to get back to–"

"Oh, can I join you?" she interrupted. "We haven't talked in so long!"

"Um, sure. Why not." He led her back to the table and took his seat across from Toph, who glared at them.

"You didn't bring my food," she said.

"Nope!" Ty Lee smiled brightly and took a seat next to him.

"I'm sure it'll come soon." Sokka suddenly felt incredibly awkward, and unable to quite put a finger on why. It probably wasn't the best idea to combine Ty Lee's overbearing enthusiasm with Toph's foul mood, but he crossed his fingers and hoped the problem would be solved when the food came.

Ten minutes later, he and Toph were making quick work of their dinner and listening to Ty Lee babble about everything from her friends in the circus to chi-blocking lessons with the Kyoshi Warriors to the last time she saw Mai and Zuko. By the time they finished, Sokka was on his third beer and Ty Lee on her second cocktail. Toph still hadn't had anything to drink, and she was still glaring darkly at Ty Lee. It was starting to unnerve him.

To make matters worse, Ty Lee had been slowly edging closer to him on the bench, and while he'd been trying to maintain some distance between them, she'd essentially trapped him against the wall. Although, his slightly tipsy brain acknowledged that it wasn't the worst thing in the world to be trapped against a wall by Ty Lee. Obscured most of the time by her Kyoshi Warrior uniform, she still cut an incredible figure, and it was hard not to notice. The low-cut dress she was wearing now wasn't helping.

"Oh, Sokka," she said, finally pausing her chatter to look closely at him. "Your aura is so much duller than the last time I saw you!"

"Yeah, well," he finished the last of his beer, "breaking up will do that to you."

Ty Lee pouted. "It's so sad, what happened between you and Suki."

Toph audibly gagged and slid off her bench. "That's it, I'm getting a drink."

"Bye, Toph!" Ty Lee gave her a smile and wave that were pointedly ignored. She turned back to Sokka. "If you ever want to talk about it, I can be a great listener."

Sokka could think of few people with whom he'd want to discuss this less, but he tried to over it with an awkward laugh. "Thanks, Ty Lee, but I think I'm actually doing okay."

"Really?" She clapped her hands. "That's so good to hear! Is it because of Toph? Your auras are very close."

"What?" Sokka frowned and leaned back. "No, we're just traveling together for a bit."

"She must be repairing it," Ty Lee insisted. "Your aura."

"I don't know what you're–"

There was a crash somewhere near the bar and Sokka craned his neck over the booth. People were starting to yell, and he'd bet his last gold piece that the person at the center of the developing scuffle was Toph.

"Sorry, Ty Lee." He pushed the table back and slipped around her to see what was going on.

"What did you just say?" A tall, burly earthbender yelled.

"You heard me!" Yep, definitely Toph.

Sokka shoved his way to the center of the crowd just in time to see the man plant his feet and sink into a fighting stance, and then Toph shift the earth from under his feet before he could so much as move a pebble.

The crowd cheered and hooted around them, and Toph laughed, although Sokka spotted someone behind her raising a fist.

He sighed, briefly lamented to himself that he couldn't take Toph anywhere without getting into some sort of trouble, then picked up the closest chair and broke it against the nearest person's head.

Chaos instantly descended, and what followed was a short but intense fight to see who could break the most furniture first. Sokka ducked and weaved and got in a few hits with his club, but before long most of the patrons, including Toph and himself, found themselves out on their asses in the street, their belongings tossed unceremoniously after them.

Toph spit into the gutter and dusted off her pants, a self-satisfied grin on her face. "Well, that was fun!"

He groaned and began inspecting his pack for anything broken. "I'm not sure I like your definition of 'fun.'"

She snorted. "That's a lie and you know it."

Sokka chose not dignify that with a response and picked up his pack, tossing hers over a little harder than necessary. "Come on, let's find somewhere to spend the night."

Exhausted and dirty, he stopped at the first inn they came to. The greasy-looking receptionist winked as he handed them the keys, and Sokka didn't realize why until they got to the room.

"Really, Snoozles?" Toph said, smirking. "You didn't even buy me a drink at that bar."

Sokka reddened and tried to keep from smacking his forehead. "He said this was their only room left! How was I supposed to know there would only be one bed?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm blind and even I could tell he thought we were coming in here to bang."

"Ugh." He tossed his pack in a corner and began untying his bedroll. "Whatever, it's too late now. You can have it, I'll take the floor."

She stomped her foot and the earth rippled, sending him reeling backwards. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"What?"

She looked at him like he was missing something very obvious. "You don't think one of us might be more comfortable sleeping on the ground?"

"Okay, fine." He slumped down on the mattress.

Smirking, she bent herself a low palette near the foot of the bed

"I was just trying to be a gentleman," he muttered.

She bristled. "Well don't bother, Meathead. I'm not your lady."

There were several things he wanted to say to that, like– I never said you belonged to me, or Of course you're a lady, and I don't understand why you always deny it like it's a bad thing, but he ground his teeth against all of it. At this point, whatever he tried to say would probably just come out wrong. He should just go to sleep and hope all this weirdness would be sorted out when they got some rest.

Although she was quiet in the morning, Sokka felt Toph's mood lift as soon as they stepped outside Omashu. He couldn't help but feel the same. While it had seemed like a good idea when they started, and became necessary after the disaster in the Foggy Swamp, he was more than happy to put the city behind them and camp the rest of the way to the Wulong Forest.

Leaving the city was much faster than entering it, and before long they reached the main road. Sokka adjusted his pack on his shoulder and made to turn north.

"Wait." Toph stopped behind him.

"What is it?"

"We should go visit the Tomb of Oma and Shu."

"The what?"

She huffed. "Don't you know the story of the first two earthbenders?"

"Yeah, but I didn't think they were real, or that they had a tomb." What was she talking about?

"Well they do, it's at the center of a labyrinth of tunnels under a mountain outside Omashu."

Labyrinth? "You mean the Cave of Two Lovers?"

She made a face. "Don't call it that."

Sokka groaned. "Why would you want to go there?"

"We're in the area, why shouldn't we?"

He looked at his map, then at the mountains around them. "Well, it's not really in our way…"

"It's supposed to be right outside Omashu, it can't be that far."

"It's just–" He spotted the peak marked on the map, and grimaced at the memories of singing nomads and wolfbats. "More west than northwest."

"Really, Snoozles?"

He sighed and snapped the map shut. He knew when he'd lost. "Fine, although I still don't understand why you want to go."

She glared. "You don't understand why I, an earthbender who learned from badgermoles, would want to visit the tomb of the very first earthbenders, who also learned from badgermoles?"

Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

Toph turned on her heel and began walking up the trail heading west, and Sokka jogged to catch up with her.

"Wait, Toph, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I didn't realize it would be important to you."

"Don't worry, it's not."

"Come on, don't be like that."

"Like what?"

He caught her shoulder so she stopped and turned to face him. "Toph, I don't want to fight."

"Who says we're fighting?"

He gave her a look, then remembered she couldn't see it and sighed. "Okay, I don't know what the problem is– if something that happened in the city or if we're just still getting used to traveling together, but if something's wrong, you know you can tell me, right?"

She shifted away so his hand dropped off her shoulder and his heart sank. But then she took a breath and her expression softened. "Alright. I'm sorry."

He blinked. "You are?"

"I don't want to fight, either." She looked uncomfortable. "It's just… Ty Lee reminded me of some shit, okay?"

Ty Lee? "What kind of shit?"

She licked her lips, shifting her weight back and forth.

Sokka held his breath, waiting. It made him nervous, to see her unsure like this.

"Like, you disappearing on us after Aang and Katara got married." She crossed her arms, staring hard over his right shoulder. "I mean, you basically sequestered yourself on Kyoshi Island for years and I get you were trying to make it work with Suki or whatever but y'know… the occasional visit might've been nice."

He tried not to flinch at the poorly-masked pain in her words. "Toph…"

"And I don't hold it against you or anything, it's just that Ty Lee got to see you all the time back then and I couldn't so… yeah." She earthbent a rock out of the ground and kicked it into the bushes.

He stepped forward. "Toph, I'm sorry."

"I said I don't hold it against you."

"Well, let me apologize anyway." He squared his shoulders. "And I'm going to make it up to you with this trip. Starting with the Cave of Two Lovers."

She cracked a smile and shoved his shoulder as he walked past. "There are earth sages who would pound you into next week for calling it that."

"I guess I'm lucky you're so forgiving."

"I wouldn't go that far." She earthbent a hill under his foot so he stumbled.

He laughed. She's back. "I'm still lucky."

/

After a much longer trek than Sokka remembered, they found themselves standing at the entrance to the tunnels. It looked pretty much the same as it had ten years ago, when he'd ridden out of the mountain in triumph on the back of a badgermole.

He hesitated a few feet away, peering suspiciously into the darkness. "Hey, uh… how certain are you that we'll be able to find the center of this place, anyway?"

Toph rolled her eyes and grabbed his elbow, dragging him forward. "It's a network of tunnels made of earth, Meathead. I'm positive."

He couldn't argue with that logic, but his heart still pounded as they walked further away from the light.

Then they were in pitch darkness and he was completely dependent on her. Fireworks burst in his vision as his eyes adjusted and he instinctively opened them wider, even though there was absolutely nothing to see. He wondered if this was how she felt on wooden floors, disoriented and jumpy at the slightest sound or touch– blind.

There was no sound except for their footsteps and breathing. Every once in a while Toph would step especially hard, feeling out the paths around them. She kept a firm grip on his elbow and he bowed his head, trying to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. He squinted, imagining he could see the outline of his boots against the earth floor, like there was a dim, green light coming from above them.

Or maybe he wasn't imagining it… he looked up and gasped. "Toph!" He tore his arm away. "I can see!"

She whipped her head around. "You can?"

"Yeah!" He pointed to the vaulted ceiling of the tunnel. "There's glowing crystals on the ceiling." He remembered meeting Aang and Katara at the end last time, their burnt-out torch in Katara's hand. "That must be how the two lovers did it."

"What?"

"Instead of trying to get around with torches they must've put them out and followed the crystals to the center."

She crossed her arms. "Pffft. If they were really taught by badgermoles they wouldn't need the crystals."

Sokka smirked. "Now who's being irreverent?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "If you think you know where we're going now, how 'bout I race you?" She didn't wait for an answer before dashing off, moving the earth under his feet and tripping him just for good measure.

He chuckled and followed her, although with their heavy packs they weren't running so much as stumbling through the tunnel, choking down laughter and shoving at each other when they got close.

As soon as he saw the tunnel open up, Sokka threw himself forward into an awkward tuck-and-roll just in time to see Toph sail over him, using the earth to launch herself into the air.

He scrambled to the center of the cavern, at the base of a dais supporting two coffins, and slapped the ground with his hand just as Toph landed.

"I win!" they shouted.

There was a brief stare-off.

"Jan-Ken-Pon?" Sokka held up a fist.

"Fine." Toph did the same. "1, 2, 3–"

"Fire!"

"Earth!"

"Dammit!"

She smirked and flicked his temple. "You always choose fire."

"I do not."

She shook her head and slumped down next to him, shrugging off her pack and taking a deep breath. Both her hands and feet were flat on the floor, like she was taking it all in.

Sokka did the same, although it was difficult to see in the dim light of the crystals. He looked up at the carving of Oma and Shu kissing. "I bet Aang and Katara found this place last time we were here."

"You think so?"

"They must've, if they followed the crystals out." He pointed to the carving and snickered. "I bet that's what inspired their first kiss."

She snorted. "This is where they had their first kiss?"

"Yeah, in the labyrinth. Aang told us at his bachelor party. He said they were trusting in love."

"Romantic."

"I mean, it is now that they're married and actually in love." He shrugged and picked at a loose thread in his tunic. "If they weren't, it would just be more evidence that love is untrustworthy."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"I mean, look at where it got these two." Sokka gestured to the coffins behind them. "Look at where it got Zuko's mom, or your parents. Or my parents."

"Look where it got you."

The thread between his fingers snapped. "Yeah," he admitted. "Look where it got me."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" she said.

He hunched forward over his knees. "I don't see why it matters."

"Well, you spent years living on an island with her away from all your friends and family, so the relationship had to mean something to you. And since I'm basically the only friend you've seen since then and you haven't talked to me about it, I assume you haven't talked to anyone, which can't be healthy." She paused, bowing her head so her face was in shadow. "And that matters to me."

Sokka's hands stilled. It wasn't like Toph to talk with such sincerity, and he braced himself her to break the moment with a punch in the arm, but none came.

"I wouldn't even know where to start," he said.

"The beginning usually works."

He threw out his hands. "I don't even know where that is! I moved to Kyoshi to be with her, and when things were good, they were good, but when they weren't… they really weren't."

She didn't say anything, although he waited. She didn't move at all, just stared sightlessly at the carving of Oma and Shu in front of them, although he knew she was listening.

"That last year it feels like all we did was fight." It was almost physically painful to speak, but at the same time a subtle weight seemed to lift from his chest as he continued. "Mostly about stupid shit like housekeeping and bad habits, but also about real stuff, like the direction of our relationship, and what we ultimately wanted out of life."

Maybe Toph was right. It would be good to get it all out into the open.

"I don't think we went two weeks without one of us sleeping somewhere else." He huffed a bitter laugh. "Looking back on it, I can't believe that went on for so long. We were miserable."

Toph nodded thoughtfully, her face serious. "So what finally did it, in the end?"

"She said…" He swallowed. "She said I resented her for trapping me on the island, and that's why we hadn't gotten engaged." His fists tightened. "But it's not true. And besides, how can she tell me what I feel?"

Toph nodded again. "So what's the real reason?"

He glared at the floor, feeling frustration curl in his stomach all over again. "I just wasn't ready. I could never think of anything else to say."

She shrugged. "I'd say that's a fair reason."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She shifted, leaning forward on her elbows. "I mean, you don't want to make a decision like that unless you're sure, right?"

"Right." He let out a breath, surprised and somewhat relieved to know he wasn't crazy.

Then Toph continued, "Although… maybe you did resent her, just a little bit."

He groaned. "Not you, too."

"Think about it," she said. "You sacrificed a lot to live with her– living near your friends, your family, traveling. What did she give up? Was she willing to make the same sacrifices? So maybe you resented her for that."

Sokka fell silent for a minute as her words sank in. They'd never discussed the alternative, he realized. He offered to move to Kyoshi with her, and she'd accepted. He never asked if she'd come with him to the South Pole, or Republic City, or any of the places he'd considered settling down. He kind of assumed she wouldn't, and maybe that was the problem all along.

"I thought love would be enough," he murmured. "I thought it was enough that I loved her, and I wanted to be with her, but it wasn't. I'm not even sure–" his breath caught. "That night… she asked me if we were still together because we were in love, or because it was familiar." He had to blink away the moisture in his eyes. "I couldn't answer her… and the look on her face… maybe I didn't need to."

Toph didn't speak for a long time, long enough that he wondered if he'd revealed too much. The thought made him uncomfortable– that she might feel awkward around him, and he started thinking of ways to break the tension.

But then she said, "That blows."

He swallowed, the simple acknowledgment loosening the knot in his chest. "At first I wondered whether I was ever really in love with her, but I was, I'm sure of it. I'm sure there were times…" He shook his head. "But somehow I don't think I am anymore. And I don't know what happened."

Toph looked thoughtful. "You were a lot younger when you met," she said. "Everyone grows up, you guys just grew in different directions."

"Maybe." He rested his chin on his knees. "But it still makes me feel like shit. That we invested all that time and this is how it had to end. And I never found it in me to propose."

She shook her head. "No, don't beat yourself up over that," she said. "If you don't want to get married, no one should pressure you."

"I guess so…"

"Besides," she looked away into a corner, "marriage is lame."

He frowned. "Why do you say that?"

Her hands curled into fists. "It's just another way to make you belong to someone."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Even though he could never quite imagine it with Suki, the thought appealed to him in the abstract– having someone by his side for the rest of his life, someone he could always rely on, and who'd always rely on him.

"No." She turned back to him, her face hard. "I've spent my whole life trying to be my own person. I'm not giving that up to tie myself to someone else."

"Even if you love them?"

She pressed her fingers to her forehead, eyes closed tight as if she had a headache. "Do you want to know the real reason I ended it with Satoru?"

Sokka swallowed, not sure what to say. Truthfully, he was curious– they'd seemed perfectly happy at Aang and Katara's wedding, but he was hesitant to pry.

"I mean, what I said before was true– he left for business and I didn't want to do long distance. But the reason I just let it go was because my dad was all over me to get married. And he was willing to let me choose Satoru, but he still–" she grimaced, "offered him my dowry." She shuddered, as if the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Ugh, you don't get it!" Toph was up on her knees now, as if she was about to stand up and start pacing the room out of sheer frustration. "If I get married, even if I do get to choose who it is, they basically get paid in the process. It's disgusting!"

Sokka opened his mouth, then closed it again. He'd never considered how marriage might be different for her. Sure, it was something that terrified him and he'd spent countless hours agonizing over it, but it had always been a choice. He felt his cheeks heat up with shame.

Toph sat back on her heels. "Anyway, Satoru would've taken it. And not with any bad intentions– he was great. I… well, I really liked him."

"But not enough to marry him?"

"It doesn't matter." She tucked her knees into her chest. "For me, marriage won't ever be about love, not really. It'll be a transaction– one I don't ever want to be a part of."

While she said it with her usual bravado and it was right in line with her I-don't-need-anyone attitude, her face was serious, and Sokka couldn't help but feel sad at her words. Either way, the choice was still taken away from her.

He picked at the loose thread again, trying to think of something he could say. "…That blows."

She huffed a laugh and punched his shoulder. "Thanks for listening, Meathead."

He grinned. "Happy to return the favor."

After a moment of silence, she smiled back and jumped to her feet, brushing the dirt from her pants and picking up her pack. "Enough talking about depressing shit. Let's get a move on."

He stood and did the same, hefting his pack over his shoulder with renewed energy. "I was going to warn you," he said, walking to the stairs leading out of the tomb, "that the other end of these tunnels is blocked off by a cave-in, but I guess with you here we don't need to worry about that."

She tossed her head. "Between the two of us, Snoozles, I don't think we'll have to worry about anything."