Chapter 19
Conversations: Iroh and TophToph entered the Jasmine Dragon, where Iroh was standing behind the counter. It was quite late at night, and everyone else was in bed.
"Hello old friend! Come, have a seat." Iroh said warmly.
"Hey Iroh." Toph sighed and sat on one of the tall chairs at the counter.
"What has you upset?" Iroh leaned forward and rested his arms on the counter across from Toph.
Toph turned her head away from him.
"It's stupid stuff that shouldn't even affect me." Toph gazed away from Iroh.
"That doesn't mean it's not important to you." Iroh put his hand on her arm.
Toph turned to face Iroh again.
"Now, tell me what's on your mind." Iroh smiled. He knew it had no affect on her, but it didn't matter.
"Do I have to?" Toph resisted.
Iroh turned away to get Toph and himself tea.
While pouring it, he responded, "No, but I figured you came in here to talk about what was troubling you."
"Yeah…" Toph sighed. "I guess you're right."
Iroh served her the tea, and continued to lean on the counter.
"Take you're time. I have all night." Iroh said warmly. Toph was much more pleasant to talk with than Zuko, who was almost always in a bad mood.
"I guess its Suki and Sokka." Toph took a sip of her tea.
"Yes, Suki has had quite the difficult past few days hasn't she?" Iroh chuckled slightly.
"It's not that. I'm used to that kind of crazy stuff happening to me all the time." Toph smiled slightly.
"Alright, then what is the matter?" Iroh said, sipping his boiling hot tea.
"They're getting married. That's the problem." Toph sighed and held warm cup in her hands.
"That's a problem? Wouldn't you be happy for them?" Iroh sounded confused.
"I should be, but I'm not. Whenever I think about it, it just makes me upset." Toph sounded ashamed of herself.
"Now why do you think that is?" Iroh questioned, asking very therapist like questions.
"I don't know. I feel jealous of Suki. I don't know why though." Toph took a sip of her tea.
"Do you perhaps have unrecognized feelings for Sokka?" Iroh said bluntly.
"No!" She immediately replied.
"Maybe…" She paused.
"Yes." Her voice fell as she said it.
"There's nothing wrong with that." Iroh tried to console her. "Sometimes you feel things that aren't necessarily convenient, or wanted for that matter." He laughed.
Toph gazed down at the counter, unresponsive to Iroh's words.
"Like me and June, that bounty hunter. It would never have worked, and that's ok with me." Iroh smiled and laughed.
The side of Toph's mouth curled slightly into a smile.
"Well I don't even understand why I like him? He's related to Katara. I barely even want to be in the same room as her." Toph scoffed as she said her name.
"You can't judge someone based on their siblings. Zuko is the poster child for that." Iroh smiled and laughed again. He was quite happy even if Toph was rather melancholy.
"Yeah, I guess your right. But that still doesn't answer the question. Why do I like Sokka?" Toph had finished her tea, and Iroh began pouring her another one.
"I don't know. That's a question you have to answer for yourself. Do you have to know why you like him, or is there a different underlying problem."
"I don't know… or care anymore. I know that I'll never be with him, for unknown reasons and the newest one." Toph continued sipping her hot tea.
"There's more than their marriage? Oh my." Iroh sounded empathetic with Toph.
"Yeah. Suki's going to have a baby." Toph said it with a resentful tone.
"Oh really?" Iroh sounded happy, and realized that Toph was visibly upset. "Well that's very fortunate for them, but I'm sure this isn't as bad as it seems. Sometimes the worst part of the storm is just before the skies clear."
"You're probably right. I'll find someone that I like more. I know it." Toph sounded much more happy and confident.
"Now this new baby is really something special! I'm quite excited for them!" Iroh sounded like it was his own child.
"Yeah, me too! That might be me someday. If I find someone who isn't like twinkle toes. Whose as tough as I am." Toph laughed.
"That might be difficult, but I'm sure you'll find him." Iroh finished his tea and placed the cup on the counter.
"It'll happen sometime. I've got plenty of time, I mean I'm only 13." Toph laughed. Iroh always knew how to cheer her up. He also always seemed to know the right thing to say to make someone feel better.
"Indeed you do."
They heard a crash from upstairs, and then a laugh.
"What was that?" Iroh sounded confused.
"You don't want to know. I'll leave it at Mai and Zuko. Use your imagination. Well don't… that may not be a good idea." Toph smiled and laughed. She was in a much better mood now than 10 minutes ago.
"Thanks for the counseling and advice." Toph said, hopping down from the tall chair.
"Any time old friend." Iroh said warmly.
Toph waived as she left the Jasmine Dragon to go back to her room.
All finished! This was written while I was sick, so pardon the crappiness. The story is almost done, and I will be working on the sequel. Hopefully you liked this one enough to read the next one. Tell next time, have fun on winter holidays!