Hello. This is ForgottenAir!

I'm a bit new at Fanfiction, which means this is my first fanfic!

This is a bit of a prologue, not the actual story. The next chapter will be another prologue so everyone knows what's going on with the Avatar world. The prologues are in a character's POV.

Please enjoy! And reviews are welcome with hugs.

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do now own ATLA. If I did own it, I would be the happiest little girl in the entire world...

BTW the setting for the first prologue sets place during the war and the gAang are in some broken temple or something while traveling.

Legend: Sokka's Thoughts later in the chapter

Sokka

He was supposed to be engaged with Toph.

The new officials and many people who wanted reunification after the Hundred Year War wanted the newest Firelord to wed someone from other nations, but mostly someone from Team Avatar. The master waterbender of Team Avatar (which is my sister, of course) was already taken, but the Greatest Earthbender wasn't.

It was a rough year for Zuko. Everyone was practically breathing on him to get news on who he would marry. For that entire year, his life was literally paperwork and engagement meetings. He never had the time for us NOR did he come to my wedding or my babies' baby showers! Of course a man's pride is hurt when a friend doesn't come to visit you for a while. But I'm not saying I'm hurt..….. Really….

Back to the main point, Zuko was supposed to be engaged with Toph. Every official and leader of the different nations wanted that to happen, but at the last minute, he said he wanted to marry Mai.

There was a HUGE catastrophe. Many opposed the marriage, but Zuko stayed strong and stubborn saying things like "I love her," and "She really is the one for me".

But those were the exact same words he told Toph too…..


You see, Toph was like a little sister to me.

Sure, she held a lot of blind jokes against me, and yes, she did have a way to always get back at me, but she and I shared stuff that weren't really shared amongst Katara or Aang. You could say she was someone I was comfortable to tell some inner feelings I had, mostly based on my past and my mother's death. She usually told me her feelings towards other people, especially her inner thoughts about our gang.

One time, she started to talk about Zuko. She kept saying it was weird for her to trust him so much after what he did to us. Sometimes, she even said she felt really weird around him. For example, she once heard a heartbeat so loud it scared her. She thought it was really strong vibrations, but it ended up being her heart. She was close to Zuko at that time and she asked if firebenders bought down heart attacks.

I doubt that.

Later on, Toph and Zuko became best buddies.

Katara and Aang's mouths fell open when they saw Zuko reading to Toph while having his head on her lap. She was smiling so much and she even began to laugh, and it wasn't her usual sarcastic laughs; it was for real.

Katara, Aang, and I took turns trying to talk things out of both of them.

"Aw, c'mon, Zuko!" Aang tried. "I KNOWWW there's something goin' on! Hey, hey, hey! C'mon, tell me, Zuko! PWEASE?"

"For the millionth time, I told you, THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN US!" Zuko sounded really annoyed.

"Aw, you're a really shy guy, aren't you?" Aang showed a big, goofy smile. "Don't worry, Zuko! Just as the monks said (I think), 'Love will never be silent…' or was it 'Love is always loud….'. Either way, we're eventually gonna figure it out, so suit yourself!"

And it was Katara's turn…

"Look, Zuko," she started softly. "I know there's something going on between you and Toph and I think it's so sweet for you two to be together… But there's a limit, you know; you're pratically five years older than her!"

"Whoa, Katara, what are you trying to say? And I said this already to Aang that there's nothing going on between me and Toph!"

Katara narrowed her eyebrows and gave a motherly look.

"Zuko, stop lying to me. I'm not that stupid. I know there's something going on and you HAVE to tell me what's happening…"

Zuko made a facepalm.

"Katara, you have to trust me. There's nothing going on between me and Toph and I guarantee that."

"Oh yeah?" she replied. "Then explain why both of you act so cuddly with each other!"

"If you're talking about me reading to Toph, that's because…. Uh…. we made some kind of ….bet and I lost and now I have to read an entire book to her every night."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Then explain WHY you read to her while having your head on her lap!"

"Look, I'm done with this!" Zuko raged on. "There's nothing cuddly going on between us and that's final!"

So, I decided to pull out my fake beard and have a man to man talk with him.

"Zuko," I remember saying, "I see you and Toph are PRETTY close…."

He looked at me as though I was insane. "Sokka, whatever you're thinking, it's not true; there's nothing going on between us. She's just a good friend of mine."

"Mm-hmm…."

"Look, I just had this discussion with Katara and Aang. And if there's anything between us, we're just friends…"

"MM-HMM…."

"Whatever," and he left.

Eventually, Aang and Katara decided to gang up on Toph.

"So…." Aang put his hands behind his back. "How's Zuko getting along these days?"

"Fine, I guess…. Why are you asking me this dumb question?" Toph answered. "We all see each other every day!"

Katara hastily pushed Aang aside. "What Aang and I are trying to say… is that if you and Zuko have anything SPECIAL (and I mean REALLY SPECIAL) going on with each other."

"Nope," Toph immediately answered. "If you're talking about him reading a book to me, that's cause I won a bet and he's a sore loser."

"Oh… I see…"

"Whatever, Sugar Queen,"


It was close to sunset and Aang, Katara, and Zuko went to get some food. Since Toph and I were alone, I decided to take this opportunity and talk to her.

She was sitting at the edge of the broken balcony. Her feet were swaying back and forth in the air and she seemed deep in thought. I tried to sneak up on her but…

"Sokka, I know you're there," she said. She didn't bother moving her head.

I wanted to say something, but cat's got my tongue.

"So…. Uh…. Beautiful sunset!"

"I can't see, remember? I'M BLIND…."

"Oh, right… Sorry…."

The conversation started out wrong. We were both awkward and she didn't bother to say anything back.

Taking deep breaths, I finally got the courage to ask, "Toph, is there really something going on between you and Zuko?"

She stayed silent.

"You know you can talk to me," I added.

She stayed silent again, but this time, she was trying to think of what to say.

She held out a huge sigh. "I wish I could…."

Those words gave away my full attention.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Look, Sokka, it's not that easy to explain!"

"Geez, Toph! You don't need to be so worked up about it!"

There was another silence.

"Why do you assume it's so hard to talk about?" I started.

Toph was quiet for a long time.

Then she told me stories about the late nights while everyone sleeps, she and Zuko were the only ones awake. During those times, both of them started to share their past stories and problems. Eventually they ended up knowing both weren't that much different from each other and from then on, they became really good buddies.

"See, Sokka, there's no mushy romance between us," Toph exclaimed. "We're just being misunderstood and I hate it how you, Aang, and Katara keep thinking we're lying!" She folded her arms across, not bothered to look at me.

"I guess I owe you an apology, Toph," I said. "I'm sorry."

"You better be or I'll bury you so low in the ground, no one will ever find you and you'll die miserably in a hole! Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good…"


That night, I didn't sleep. I was eavesdropping Toph and Zuko talking at the edge of the balcony. It wasn't easy to hear what they were saying, but their voices traveled through echoes and it helped a lot.

"How was food scavenging with Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen?"

"Horrible. They kept asking the same questions all over again. I almost burned the whole forest down."

Typical Zuko….

"Ouch; must've been fun, huh, Princess?…"

"No kidding…."

The silence was filled with crickets chirping a song and the leaves of the trees scattering with the breeze. (Hm… I feel poetic…)

"How were you? Did you talk with Sokka?"

"Yeah…. What about it?"

"Did you tell him the truth?"

The truth?

"Not really…. Don't worry, Sparky Pants, I didn't reveal too much. I just skipped out a few facts, that's all…."

Haha! Sparky Pants… That's actually a good one….

Wait, what?

"Good. I don't want anyone to find out about us…"

Find out about what?

"Isn't it obvious they're going to realize sooner or later?"

Realize what?

"They will, eventually. But right now, I just want us two to be alone…"

Ok, that just sounded like a creeper….

"Aren't we for now?"

Nope!

"Look, Toph, ever since I talked to you, a few nights ago…"

Aw man! This is going to be one of Zuko's boring life stories, isn't it?

"… I became a happier person. I shared things I haven't talked about to anyone else, including my feelings about my mother and how much I've changed. I was always afraid everyone, including my sister, would mock me and laugh at me in humiliation if I did…

"In my entire life, I bottled up my true inner feelings I haven't been able to talk to my uncle about. But when I talked to you, it seemed as though everything inside me all flew out. And the best part is, you actually understood me….

"When I talked to you, it seemed as though everything was clearer. When I talked to you, I found answers I've been looking for. When I talked about really hard times, you actually cried for me…"

"Hey," Toph stated. "I told you, there was something in my eye…"

"Liar," Zuko replied back. "Toph, you're the person I was actually looking for; someone who is strong, but at the same time, you're really compassionate and kind-"

Well… she is….but she barely shows it….

"I am?"

"Yes, Toph, you are. You just don't really know yourself because you're used to that pompous attitude of yours all the time…."

"Well, I'm flattered," I could tell she made a smug face. "Continue and praise me, your highness…"

"… You're…. uh…. Um…." Zuko took awhile to say this. "You're incredibly beautiful…"

I could hear Toph's eyes widening in surprise.

"Nice joke," I heard her say. She laughed a lot.

"Toph, I'm serious!"

"First of all, your highness," Toph started. "I don't know how you can say that to someone five years younger than you! You're practically saying you think a CHILD is beautiful, not a woman or someone of your age. And besides, even if I'm blind, I can't really tell the difference between ugly and beautiful, especially on looks….. Are you right in your head?"

A slap sound was heard. It sounded awfully similar with Zuko's facepalm.

"Toph, I was serious about that," Zuko struggled to talk any further while Toph was quietly laughing. "And I didn't mean your appearance… Uh, I mean, you are a really beautiful person outside…. But… the POINT IS: What I meant to say... is that you, as the real person you are, are beautiful…."

Toph stopped laughing.

"What are you talking about?" she complained. "I'm the least beautiful person there is in this entire world!"

"What are you talking about? Stop lying to yourself!"

"Well, stop lying to me!"

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

"Fine; then test my heartbeat! See if I'm lying to you or not!"

I looked over and saw Zuko pulled Toph's hand onto his chest. The moonlight made her red face obvious.

"L-Let go of me! What are you trying to do: make a girl feel your chest? Pervert!"

Toph tried her best to avoid her hand to go on his chest….

But she finally stayed calm when her palms rested outside his heart….

There was another great silence….

"Tell me, Toph. Was I lying?"

The air felt hot.

"N…no," she whispered.

Zuko's free hand took Toph's hand and had her very close, face-wise.

He took Toph's hand to his scar.

"Can you feel my face, Toph?"

Toph's hand began to scatter across his face.

"I felt a scar. It's a bit rough…. And then next to it is soft skin…."

"Can you see me with vibrations?" Zuko asked with lots of hope. Toph nodded.

"Yeah…. I can 'see' you, but not all the details and colors, obviously…. Wait, hang on for a second…" Toph took her hand to release the meteor bracelet I gave her a while back.

"Wear this," she told him. He did exactly has he was told.

"Why do you want me to wear it?" he asked her.

"Zuko… That bracelet is made out of this weird space rock. That space rock keeps transmitting ultra-fast vibrations that makes me able to actually see you, but without colors, of course. It also helps me see really great distance. Usually whenever I wanted to see someone, I had to keep moving my feet in order to send vibrations, but with the bracelet, it does all that work for me. I haven't told this to anyone else, not even Sokka what that space rock can do…."

"So… does that mean you can see me? Tell me what you see!"

"Well, obviously I see you…. You have long hair, for a guy…. And I can see the difference of your scar and the rest of your face…"

"And what else?" Zuko asked desperately.

"You're skinny… but still well-built…"

"Oh... that sounds right… Have you ever seen yourself before, Toph?"

"Never," she replied. "I tried mirrors, but reflections can't be detected from vibrations…."

"I see…" Zuko sighed. "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry about what? Y'know, I don't get you at all… Why are you always sorry when you did nothing wrong but don't apologize when an apology is most needed?"

You know, that is so true…

"I'm sorry…"

There you go again….

"There you go again," Toph groaned.

"Toph, please let me get to the point. No interruptions. I'm being serious here…"

"Alright, whatever, Princess,"

An awkward tense began to spread through...

"Toph…. I love you…."

"I love you too as a friend, Sparky,"

"Toph, I didn't mean it that way! You just interrupted me!"

"Sorry, Princess… You can go on…."

Zuko pulled Toph's shoulders towards him."What did I just say to you?"

"That I interrupted you and you didn't mean it-"

"NO!"

"Fine! I heard you love me!"

"And can you believe that? Do I need you to feel my heartbeat again to prove myself?"

Toph panicked. "NO! I don't have to!"

"Then hurry up and accept that I love you…."

There was a cool breeze passing by. It ruffled the leaves and scared the crickets away.

"Fine, I do accept it," her voice was half-assed then usual. But I could tell she was just speechless and nervous. Her eyes weren't facing Zuko but rather the broken floor.

In a flash of a second, I saw Zuko comet his mouth to hers. It seemed a bit surreal to me. I was too dumbfounded to move my eyes away from them. Right then, I was looking at Toph receiving her first official kiss (she told me she had her first kiss with a little boy when she was three, but that didn't count).

I couldn't really see behind the shadows, but I knew Toph was closing her eyes and made that moment memorable. It seemed long since they started kissing, but after they stopped, they looked breathless.

You know... maybe because Toph was like a sister to me, I had my manly, dependable, brotherly urge to beat Zuko up until he barely lived….

The next thing you know, Zuko told her to forget about what happened and ran off somewhere else. Toph was sitting down in shock, her fingers resting on her lips, until dawn stuck through the mountains…..

Ever since then, I knew both of them liked each other but they started to act more separate. I expected them to get together officially and eventually marry each other because of the world's wish…

But instead, he went for Mai and left Toph all alone…


It wasn't long before their engagement announcement I found Toph sitting alone, outside, in the dark corner of the garden walls.

"Toph?" I remember asking.

She lifted her head up from her arms. I wasn't blind, I could've sworn I saw a single teardrop at the edge of her chin. She was so out of character, it made me worried; when she was out of character, you knew something was wrong with her.

"Sokka?" she took some sniffs, wiped her eyes with the ends of her sleeves, and got up. She immediately changed into her pompous-self. But I knew something was wrong if she recovered too fast. "What's up?"

"Toph," I remember having cold sweat drip from my face. We were so quiet, I knew Toph heard the sweat drop on the tiles of the garden. I swallowed hard. "Um… Zuko's engaged with Mai…"

Toph's face was unemotional. "That's it?" she replied. Her voice was a bit too loud. "I already knew Sparky was getting married to Needles. So what?" Her final words became soft whispers. It was almost time for her to breakout again.

"He told me about Needles a long time ago…" she continued. This time, she tried to have her voice a bit more confident, but I knew she was trying to hard. "It's such a sappy love story. Girl likes guy and guy likes her later and they marry. Yay; such a wonderful story!"

"So…. You're just going to let this slide?" I asked her in a serious tone. She looked as though I just said the weirdest thing on earth.

"Whaddya mean 'let it slide'?" Toph replied in annoyance. I made a frown.

"Toph, it doesn't take a master earthbender to know something is wrong,"

"Yeah, so what? Get to your damn point already!"

I took a deep breath. Toph was impatiently waiting for my answer.

"So what I want to say," I started (and my voice cracked too much) "Why aren't you doing anything? Why are you not fighting for him? You aren't acting like yourself! If you truly like Zuko, why aren't you fighting for that small chance?"

Her eyes widen. "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" she had her hands up in the air, giving us more space between us. "Whoa, Sokka, what the hell are you talking about?"

My own patience was low on supply.

"I know why you were crying, Toph. You were crying because Zuko, who was supposed to be with you, ended up with Mai. You're crying because in the end of all the crap that happened to the gang, he ended up with someone who doesn't know half the shit he's been through!" every word I said, it seemed the volume went up a bit. "And worst of all, YOU LOVED HIM AND HE LOVED YOU but he ended up with someone else. Toph, WHY AREN'T YOU FIGHTING FOR HIM?"

Toph was silent and kept her blind eyes aiming for the ground.

My blood boiled, not because of her, but because I couldn't do anything to help her.

"He's really happy right now…" she whispered. I saw several tears fall on the tiles. "And if I do fight for him, I'll only look stupid." She wiped her eyes. "Besides," she continued. "Who'll fall in love with an ugly, blind girl anyway?"

From that moment on, I wanted to say she was beautiful and it didn't matter if she was blind, but I didn't want to hurt her any longer. If I told her that, she would've pulled a tantrum and started to argue that she was an ugly, blind girl, regardless of how beautiful of a person she was. It was hard to accept the fact she said in front of me. Since the beginning, she always told me looks never mattered to her because she was blind. In that very moment, she proved her logic wrong. She was just a regular, beautiful girl.

But I wish I said that.

You have just finished a fourteen page chapter!

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! If there is something bothering you in this fanfic or if there is something you really like, please please please don't be shy! Reviews always makes my terrible days better!

See you in the next chapter!

ForgottenAir