The Best Romances
Deserve Second Chances
Chapter 4
"The Jester"
Dedicated to D0omkitty, she's having a hard time right now.
It was late at night. The moon light shone through Sokka's bedroom windows, lighting the dark room with a white light. Unknown to Sokka, in the night a stranger had stalked into his room. The stranger hid in the corner, and waited for the man to fall asleep. As of dinner time, the stranger held a grudge against Sokka, for sending her into the interrogation room, where thanks to her training, she with stood the barrage of questions and was let free. After being let free, she went to Samson's room, and planned out a hurried act of death with him as an consort. Their boss sent the two of them to kill the Royal Family and their friends, but Samson thought it was really a one man job. So she dawned her work clothes, and set out to kill the man who almost had her ratted out. She stepped forward towards the bed, and set her foot down on the floor.
*SQUEAK*
Sokka jolted up from the noise, as he was now trained to be a light sleeper. He kept his sword close to his bed stand, and before he could reach out and grab his sword, a figure stepped through a portal of moon light hitting the floor. He pushed his body further up the back rest, and he saw the figure leap at him, a knife shining from the moon light. The body was on top of Sokka in a heartbeat, with all of it's strength focused on plunging the knife is Sokka's chest. Sokka had pinned back the knife hand, and he flipped over the body, so now he was on top and in control of the action. The figure was pinned by Sokka's frame, and he heard it grunt and struggle to break free from being under his weight. Sokka held it's arms out wide, and he called out for Toph. In minutes, Toph was at his bed side, wearing nothing but underwear. Sokka told her to go get Zuko, and bring him here. Toph asked what was grunting under him, and he answered back with a repeat of what he asked her moments earlier, but this time with more intensity. She stumbled out of his room, and raced her shadow down to Zuko's room. Toph thought it was weird how that Mai and Zuko were married but weren't sleeping in the same room, well not that they could anymore. Toph woke up Zuko, and they sprinted back to Sokka. Sokka still had the his mystery figure pinned on his bed, and was easily keeping it under control. Zuko fire bended the candles lit, and the room was swathed in an orange glow. Sokka's eyes grew wide, as he saw Mimi under him. While Sokka regained his composure, Zuko told Toph that she should put on more clothes. Toph blushed, and turned around, with Zuko looking at Toph's thong from the backside. She came back with a night robe adorned over her figure, and Sokka along with Zuko pulled Mimi up onto a chair, and bound her hands and ankles. Toph could feel Mimi's heartbeat, and it was as calm as a clam.
"Why are you trying to kill me?" Sokka asked, his hands feeling over a long flesh wound from the knife on his chest.
"I would never try to kill you."
"Oh, please, spare me the theatrics, and tell me." Sokka said, doing a dramatic hand flip wafting the air.
"Fine so I tried to kill you so what!" Mimi shrieked.
"She's hiding something." Toph called out.
"Who sent you to kill me?"
"Oh, don't act like you were the only we were sent to kill."
"We?" Zuko said.
"Call your guards, and tell them to find a tall, big man named Samson. He's the other half of the 'we'." Sokka said to Zuko.
Zuko stepped out into the hallway and called for his guards, and Zuko told them to get a servant named Samson.
"Who sent you?" Sokka said.
"I'm not telling you."
"Then what will you tell me?"
"I killed Mai."
"WHAT!" Zuko shouted from the hallway. He went on, "YOU KILLED MY MAI!"
Zuko charged at the girl, and Sokka had to hold him back. Mimi was laughing at Zuko, taunting him.
"Oh, come on big boy, I can take you."
"Zuko stop, just stop. She knows who hired her." Sokka said.
"No duh Sokka. How could she not know who hired her?"
"Toph, you really aren't helping."
"You know little girl, you aren't so bad. If I wasn't going to kill you, I bet we could have been friends." Mimi told Toph.
"Shut up Prissy Pants. No one wants hear you."
"Tell us who hired you." Sokka said, still holding back an enraged Zuko.
"Omm. No."
"Fire Lord, we have Samson, you asked for him."
Zuko snapped out of his enraged state, and conscious, rational thought returned to his mind.
"Leave him out there in the hall. Sokka, I bet we could get the other guy to talk." Zuko said to the guard and then the latter to Sokka.
"Right."
Sokka and Zuko went out into the hallway, and they saw Samson. Sokka had talked to the man before, and he knew how to push his buttons.
"Samson! How are ya?" Sokka said, holding his arms out for a hug.
"Tired, but fine." Samson was physically shaking where he stood.
"What's wrong Sammy?" Sokka asked.
"You should be dead by now. Mimi said she would take care of you."
"Oh well, I guess she didn't get to me yet." Sokka defended.
"Mimi doesn't fail, what did you do to her?" Samson said taking up a fighting stance.
"Oh, we wouldn't want to fight, tell us who hired you and we will let Mimi go."
"You promise?"
"Promise." Sokka crossed his heart.
"A gal named Harley. That's all I know."
"He's telling the truth you two." Toph called out from Sokka's room.
"Harley, huh. Where did she hire you?" Sokka asked.
"She sent us a messenger hawk, with a bank note, good for two hundred gold pieces. Along with the note she gave us a message telling us to kill the Royal Family."
"Also true!" Toph still yelling from the room.
"Well, Samson you lived up to your end of the deal, now for mine. Come on." Sokka said and he beckoned Samson to follow him into his room.
Toph turned around to face Sokka, and Mimi took the opportunity to grab Toph from the behind. Mimi still had her knife, and she cut through the bonds, while she was left alone with Toph. Mimi put her knife to Toph's neck, and whispered into her ear that if she even moves, she will die. Sokka froze where he was, the sight of Toph with a knife to her neck was one of the worst things could have ever seen.
"Woah, hey now. Let's not doing anything stupid now." Sokka said, putting his hands in the air.
"Give me one reason not to kill your girlfriend." Mimi threatened, digging the knife deeper into Toph's throat.
Sokka thought, and he realized that Mimi had all the cards against him, and Sokka had none of his own. He knew he had to save Toph, but he didn't know how. Soon enough he had a plan, and for the sake of Toph's life it had to work.
"Look, you don't want to kill Toph."
"Why not, it's my job. I like doing my job."
"I'm sure you do, but we aren't part of the Royal Family. Samson told me you would only get paid if you only kill the Royal Family."
"Is this true Samson? Did you tell him that?" Mimi asked the brute behind Sokka.
"Yes ma'am. I did."
"Well, you're an idiot." Mimi said.
"Me! You're the one who wanted to do this by yourself!" Samson argued.
"What! You said you were too scared to do it!" Mimi fought back.
"You're crazy!"
"No! You're crazy!"
Mimi was distracted with fighting with Samson, and Toph toke the opportunity to reach up pull the knife away from her throat and sink below the floor. The action surprised Mimi causing her to yelp in astonishment. Sokka's plan had worked, that it was to pit Samson and Mimi against each other. Mimi screamed in frustration and charged at Sokka. From the door way Zuko launched a fire ball at the girl. The flames and the force of the blow, sailed Mimi across the room, setting her unconscious form on fire. Samson watched in horror as he saw Mimi being burned. Zuko repressed the flames at the last possible moment before Mimi would die.
"You two killed my wife." Zuko's voice was eerily calm.
"I didn't kill her." Samson protested.
"ENOUGH! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Zuko yelled in pain at the man.
"Zuko..."
"Neither from you too, Sokka."
"Okay, sorry."
Sokka went to Toph, who had crumbled to the floor, landing on her knees, and he tried to comfort her.
"You will answer my questions, unless you want to end up like her." and Zuko pointed to a charred Mimi.
"Okay." Samson answered whimpering.
"Give us a location of where we can find who hired you." Zuko threatened by forming a fire ball in his hand.
"I don't know that, but Mimi does."
"She isn't going to help you. Now tell me."
"We did meet this guy in the forest outside of Capital City, who said that he might have a line of work for us."
"Sokka get me a map."
"Right...here."
"Where exactly in the forest?"
"I'd say what about here." and Samson drew a small circle on the map with his finger. It was deep into the forest, and hunters would be abundant.
"Can I go now?" Samson asked, still shaking.
"Go." Zuko ordered, and Samson sprinted out of the Palace, never to be seen again.
The room was tense. Mimi's corpse in the corner, Toph on the floor with Sokka, Zuko standing there looking at a map, and two guards outside the door, barring entrance to the room. The sun was starting to rise, giving way for the start of day and the end of night. The course of action took over the time of an hour. In that time, it had resulted in a dead body, a location, and a major conspiracy of an assassination plot against the Royal Family. Sokka took Toph to get breakfast, which wouldn't be served for another six hours, but Sokka was hungry. Zuko called a war meeting, and met with his generals. In the meeting Zuko explained the current situation regarding his life. All the generals were eager to defend their Nation and serve their Fire Lord. After Zuko explained the situation, he went on to tell the generals about what happened that night, with Sokka, Mimi, and Samson. The generals were rapt in the story, and after Zuko showed them the location on the map, they were all against him leaving his throne. Zuko's plan was to leave with Toph and Sokka, and kill whoever was the head of the conspiracy, for trying to kill him and for killing Mai. Zuko was convinced by the generals to at least wait after Mai's funeral before he ventured out. Zuko was against a detachment of guards following him, Sokka, and Toph, as a larger group would attract more attention opposed to a smaller group. After six hours of debating on a plan of action that everyone could agree upon, Zuko emerged from the war room and got some breakfast.
Sokka and Toph went out of the Palace, and since this morning they haven't let each other sight, and for Toph's case, she hasn't let Sokka out of her 'sight'. Sokka went to check if he had gotten any mail from the Air Nomads. To his luck, he had a received a package. It was a glider. Sokka didn't know why they would send him a glider, as he couldn't bend air, but Sokka was touched by the gift. At the least he could use it as a staff, or a fancy walking stick. Toph was still distraught from the night, and she would often zone out, thinking about that night and how she almost died.
"Thank you." Toph said, after a period of zoning out.
"Ommm, you're welcome?" Sokka answered.
"I would be dead if it weren't for you."
"Toph, stop thinking about that, it can't be healthy."
"Sokka, you saved my life. I have to make it up to you. Let me buy dinner."
"Toph, we eat at the Palace, we don't have to pay."
"Then let me make it up to you in someway!" Toph shouted in frustration.
"Toph, you already made it up with me, just by being with me. You don't have to do anything special for me."
"That's the point, Meat Head, I want to do something special for you."
"You're a big girl, I'm sure you can figure something out."
"Right, I'm sure I can too."
The couple returned to the Palace, hand in hand, for lunch. After lunch, Toph went back to the balcony, and held out her hair into her hand, making her 'stars'. Sokka was walking with his new glider, swinging it around like a staff. Toph heard Sokka before she 'saw' him. When she finally felt him, she earth bended little rock 'dummies' from the tiled floor. Sokka swung his staff at the models and they all crumbled to the ground, only to pop up again further along the hallway. Sokka was getting a workout done, and when he finally reached the balcony, he brought in Toph for a hug. She pulled away, refusing to hug him as he was smelly. He skulked off and went to his room to gather supplies to take a bath in the river that snaked along the Palace. He walked through the hallways shirtless, and only covered with a towel. In one hand he held a small basket filled with soaps, cologne, and a razor. Little did Sokka know, but Toph was also planning on taking a bath. She followed Sokka, but she kept at a distance, so she could surprise him. Sokka reached the river, and was surprised to see other people bathing in it as well. He followed the river until it banked, and he found a spot covered by the brush and shaded by trees. Even the top of the river was covered by the brush, and the sunlight twinkled through the leaves. He removed his towel, and stepped into the river. It was lukewarm, and he dropped his head under the water. He resurfaced to Toph standing on the embankment.
"Toph? Omm, what are you doing?"
"Two things."
"Mind sharing?"
"One, I'm taking a bath."
"Two?"
"Two, I'm making it up to you."
Sokka tilted his head in confusion, but his eyes followed every move Toph made. She put down her bath basket, and dropped her towel. Sokka's eyes grew to accurately absorb all what he was seeing, Toph naked. She turned around, and bent down and picked up a bar of soap, and Sokka almost fainted from the blood rushing from his head and to his extremities. Toph straightened her back, turned around, and strutted her stuff to the edge of the river.
"Sokka." Toph said in a sing-song voice.
"Ye...yeah?" Sokka stumbled out.
"Would you be a dear, and help me into the river, I can't see in the water."
Sokka gulped, and waded towards Toph. He put his hand in hers, and lead her into the river. The water was deep in the middle as it hit Sokka's chin, and he was six foot four last time he was measured. Toph kept hold of Sokka's hand, and waded her body to latch onto his. Skin touched skin and things got introduced for the first time from her movement. She wrapped her legs tightly across his hips, and her arms followed suit. Toph laid her head on Sokka's shoulder, and kept it there. The current of the water was light, but enough to help push Toph further into Sokka's body, when he faced up river. The water's buoyancy helped Sokka wash him and her. Toph didn't do anything except shift her hips or torso once in a while. Toph reminded Sokka to use the right soaps, and Sokka did make sure. He rubbed her back with her soap, as it was the part of anything he could clean. He mostly kept up towards her shoulder blades, but Toph soon corrected the man.
"Sokka, you aren't getting my butt."
"Oh, I didn't realize. Oops. Well, when I saw it, it did look pretty clean."
"Oh, so you were looking?" Toph teased.
"...Yes..."
"That was the point." she whispered into his ear.
Toph unwrapped her arms, and put her hands on Sokka's forearms. She pushed the appendages further down her back, and she stopped when she got to her gluteus maximus. He just kept his hands there, motionless.
"SOKKA!"
"AHH WHAT!"
"What are you waiting for? A letter, clean!" Toph ordered.
"I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THIS! There I said it."
"Ouch, Sokka I'm right here, no need for yelling. And so what, I'm fine with it."
"I don't know Toph I've never touched you like this."
"Just shut up and rub the soap."
Sokka slightly rubbed the bar of soap up and down. Focusing on the cheek his hand was on.
"There you go. Now, the other."
Sokka again gulped, and his heart was about to explode. He carefully slid the bar of soap, making sure not to drop it through the crack, as he didn't want to be the guy who dropped the soap. Sokka again barely moved his hand to 'clean' the next cheek. Toph asked Sokka to hand her his bar of soap, so she could clean him. He gave her his soap, and she rubbed his backside, relaxing the tense muscles. Toph was literally giving him a full back massage, her pressure on his back pushing him more into her. Sokka's brain was melting down. The good vibrations from Toph's amazing back rub, and the raunchy contact with her body, made Sokka completely shut down. He gave up, as Toph was 'washing' his back, Sokka moved his hands more vigorously on her hump.
"There's my Sokka." Toph commented as he finally joined the party.
Toph leaned back and sat on his hands, and she started to clean Sokka's chest. To Sokka's surprise she kept up on his chest, but it was a folly and she worked her way down. She never really touched 'it', just accidental bumps and nudges. Sokka and Toph both agreed not to go all the way, not until they got married, and Toph and Sokka kept the washing to a borderline of 'R' rated and 'XXX'. Sokka adjusted Toph's seat down to one arm, and he washed her flat abdomen. She started below a laugh, as she was ticklish, and begged Sokka to stop tickling her. He stopped after a minute, and she brought her forehead to rest on his. She put her hand on his chest, and he kissed her. Toph brought her body back into Sokka's as they continued to kiss. Toph leaned out of the kiss, to leave a puckered Sokka hanging.
"We should get back to the Palace, before Zuko thinks we did something that we didn't do."
"Right."
Sokka lead Toph out of the river. The moment she touched ground, she took her hand out of his, and dried off. They wrapped their towels around them, and they walked out of the brush together. They went back to their rooms, both blushing from the looks they were receiving. They got clothed, and went to dinner.
"So, I heard you two 'bathed' together." Zuko said using air quotes on bathed.
"We didn't have sex, Zuko." Sokka defended.
"Sure. Whatever."
"Really Zuko we didn't. We just bathed together. Nothing wrong with that." Toph said.
"Yeah, Mai and I would 'bathe' all the time." Zuko said sarcastically.
"Seriously Zuko, drop it. It isn't funny or mature." Sokka reprimanded.
"Who do you think you are? Correcting the Fire Lord, pah!"
"At least I'm not a widow." Sokka muttered.
"At least I had a wife, someone who would actually wouldn't leave me, unlike Suki!"
"You pig headed buffoon!" Sokka said slamming his hands on the table and kicking his chair from under him.
"You snot nosed monkey!" Zuko said returning the hand slam and chair kicking.
"You scab picker!"
"Booger eater!"Zuko yelled back.
"Fart sniffer!" Sokka returned the volley.
"Wow, real mature you guys." Toph chided in, unheard.
"Piss drinker!"
"Shit for brains!"
"At least I can fire bend, all you can do is play with sticks!"
"At least I have a stick to play with!"
"Mai can vouch for my stick."
"Yeah, to bad she was MURDERED!"
"THAT'S IT YOU AND ME RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Zuko shouted ripping off his shirt.
"YOU ASKED FOR IT BUB! BRING IT!" Sokka yelled returning the shirt ripping.
"OH, IT'S BEEN BROUGHT!"
"COME ON BABY ZUZU!" Sokka screamed back using Zuko's childhood nickname.
"YOU'VE GOT NOTHING ON ME PEASANT!" Zuko cried out.
"THIS LITTLE PEASANT IS GOING TO WHOOP YOUR ASS!" Sokka exclaimed.
"LEAVE MY ASS OUT OF THIS! THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME!" Zuko called.
"ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT YOUR ASS ALL DAY OR ARE YOU GOING TO FIGHT ME!" Sokka thundered.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Aww, man I ended right before the fight. I know you have a lot of questions about Samson and Mimi. I have told you everything you need to know in this chapter. Yes, Mimi is dead, and Yes we'll never see Samson again. Now the closest thing I have EVER written to a lemon. A lemon for all you noobs out there, it's Fanfiction Lingo for a sex scene. But I had to write it, Toph had to make it up to Sokka somehow, and what better way than taking a bath with him. I want people to know that, that almost lemon 'lemon' came from a typo. That's right folks, that whole river scene came from a mistake. Don't laugh at me, it's not like anything else can come from a mistake (pregnancy :D ) you see, I meant it to be 'Sokka was going to take a shower.' but my sister walked by and said something about how older kids never take bathes, and have you ever found yourself writing down what other people are saying, well instead of 'shower' I put 'bath', and pure inspiration came to me! It's 900 words of good lemon. Now the fight between Sokka and Zuko. I always imagined them having immature name calling in the show. I modeled the insults off the movie 'The Sandlot.' And the last ten lines of dialogue, I kept on going until I ran out of homophones of 'shout'. Ten I think is decent.
Thank you for all the Faves, Story Alerts, Story subscribers, Author Alerts, and Favorite Authors on this story alone. I'm sure all of you will be happy with this one!
EDIT: I corrected some spelling errors and grammar. I think this chapter has it all, Action, Smexy Tokka Bath Time, and a hilarious Fight between Zuko and Sokka. Zuko said ripping off his shirt, Sokka replied returning the shirt ripping...HAHA
PLEASE R&R and follow me on twitter WmitchW