Toph woke up a few hours later, although she didn't actually know how long it had been, since all her shit had been destroyed in the gods damn fire last night. Bandit was practically on top of her, he hated being in new places like this. Or he was still freaked out by last night, either the fire or he had almost lost her to the fire. Either way, the dumb dog was suffocating her slowly with his gigantic head on her chest. "Time to get up dog."
Bandit sprung into action and bounded off to the door wagging his tail impatiently. "Calm your tits dude. I have to pee too and I'm the human so I get to go first on account of the fact that I pay all the bills and have opposable thumbs." She mumbled as she tried desperately to find the bathroom door. She should have scoped the place out last night instead of just collapsing on the bed.
Finally she found a door and opened it. "Morning." Sokka greeted her and the overwhelming smell of bacon and pancakes hit her like a brick. So much for her fucking diet. This guy was amazing. "You sleep okay?"
"Good morning. Yeah, fine. Bathroom?" She asked while trying to casually smooth down her unruly hair.
"Going into my room it's about three steps in and directly to the left. Careful the toilet has a low hanging cabinet over it." He warned.
"Thanks." Toph closed the door again and followed his instructions and found the correct door this time, she located the toilet easy enough, but forgot about the cabinet in her haste to urinate. "FUCK!" She yelped as she smacked the back of her head. Bandit sniffed at her knee, "You know the rules, leave me alone while I pee." She waved the dog off with one hand and rubbed her noggin with the other.
Finished, she re-appeared into the main room and followed her nose to the kitchen. "Smells good."
"It tastes even better. Here," Sokka guided her over to his dining room table and set a plate down in front of her. "I took the day off work if you want some help salvaging some stuff from your place."
"You are too kind, but I can't possibly let you help after all you've done for me." She protested sitting down.
"Hey, I know when I'm not wanted. Enough said. But I did already take the whole day off so if you need me I'll be right here. Now, please eat the completely unbalanced breakfast I have slaved in the kitchen to make you." He left only to return with a plate of his own. "Pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage. Take you pick its all on the plate. Sorry to say, but I don't have syrup."
"How could you serve pancakes without syrup?!" Toph joked as she fumbled around for her fork. Breakfast was delicious. The sausage was definitely the best out of the whole spread. They ate quietly.
Toph was thinking about all the things she needed to to, call her insurance company, find a friend to crash with, salvage her stuff, new harness for Bandit, take a week off work to get her shit together, either find a new place entirely or start renovations immediately.
"So," Sokka started. "What can I do to help? Seriously. I'm not trying to be creepy here, but I would think that you would want some new clothes or something first before you start wandering around."
Shopping, that was at the top of her list. "Fine, you can help me see if there is anything worth salvaging. Thank you. Can I ask another favor? Do you have a leash or anything that I can use to walk Bandit?"
"Um, not really, but I do have a small back yard. Want me to let him out?" Sokka asked. Before she had even answered, Sokka was already up and calling to her dog, "Come on boy. Outside." She heard the door open and close then Sokka was back.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure." They lapsed into silence again. "Sooooo, would you like to borrow a pair of pants? I mean, I'm not really complaining, neon yellow suits you, but, you know, conservativeness and all that."
"Please," Toph blushed deep red and pushed her food around on her plate. "I would appreciate that."
Sokka left the table again and reappeared with a pair of jeans and a belt, "Here."
She heard him leave again, it sounded like he was going back to the bedroom. Shit, she forgot to remake the bed. Quickly she wiggled into the jeans to find that they fit quite well, maybe a little more loose than she was use to, but not uncomfortably so.
"Oh, good. They fit." Sokka said reappearing.
"Yeah, pretty well too. What size skinny jean are you?" She heard him chuckle.
"They're my sisters, she likes to leave clothes for when she surprise visits." He explained. "Here, I got you a pair of slippers too. Hey, is your foot okay?"
"What? Oh, that. I stepped on a piece of glass last night, I think it's okay." She waved it off, not really concerned.
"Alright, if you say so." Sokka said as he handed her the shoes and cleared the table while she put them on. "Want to make some calls before we go look at your place?"
"Nah, I'd rather figure out what I need before I start talking to people."
"Then lets go."
They walked down the hall and stopped in front of her door, with a careful push she managed to open her apartment. Behind her Sokka let out a low whistle. "What does it look like?" She asked.
"Not good. Everything is covered in black soot." He pushed past her, she heard the crunch of his shoes against the remains of her belongings as he moved around looking for anything. "It looks like there are a few clothes that made it, they might never be soot free but they would work until you can get something else. I can wash them for you later. He brought the items to outside the door. "Hey, here's Bandit's harness. One less thing to worry about."
Toph couldn't really say anything, she just let him rummage. He would occasionally come back with something like a hairbrush that hadn't melted or a single sock. She just stood there in the doorway thinking about everything she had lost. Her books, Bandit's toys, bedding and bed for that matter, her degree, her family photos. Everything.
"I don't think there's anything left to salvage." Sokka said shaking her out of her thoughts. "Hey, it's going to be okay."
"I know. Did you manage to find my purse? It was on the coffee table by the couch."
"You mean the lump of coal on the pile of ash next to the remains of what looks to be a couch? I'll check." He rushed off leaving Toph to crack a sadistic smile. "Found it!" He called and came jogging back. "It's singed on the outside, but the inside should be fine."
"Thanks." She took it from him and rummaged around before she found her wallet. Good her cards hadn't melted and she had a bit of cash too. Already she was feeling better, now she wasn't forced to mooch off her parents or anyone else.
"So, what next boss?" Sokka asked.
"Back to your place so I can call a few people."
Toph talked to her mother, who freaked the fuck out for all of ten minutes and sent Dad over to get her. After finally hearing enough of The Life Giver's voice Toph hung up on her and caller her boss. He was pretty chill about her taking as much time as she needed to get her affairs in order, but she would be on call if they had an emergency. Which was fine. She expected that.
Next she screamed at the insurance company and threatened to sue if they didn't have an appraiser out here by tomorrow afternoon and a check by Friday. After she had the insurance person on the other end of the phone about to piss themselves they hung up on her and she replaced the phone on it's connector. "Gods damned sons of bitches better show up." She mumbled to Bandit who was sleeping at her feet.
"Hey, while you were on the phone, I managed to finish the laundry. Most of the soot came out. It's all folded on the couch." Sokka said from somewhere off to her right.
"Thanks!" She called back. "My Dad's going to be here soon. Thank you again for everything." There was a rap on the door.
Toph quickly made her way over to the door and was greeted by the sound of her father's voice, "TOPH!" He swept her up in a giant bear hug. "I've been so worried. Are you okay? Have you been back to your apartment yet? Do you need anything?"
"Dad I'm fine. Yes and just a place to crash for a while. Preferably where mom stays out of my hair." She replied as he returned her father's hug with the same fervor. Bandit came bounding up, he really liked Toph's Dad. Probably because whenever he was around Bandit got way more treats and playtime.
"Hey, bud. How's it going? Been good?" Dad broke the hug to greet Bandit then he noticed Sokka. "You must be the young man who helped my daughter last night. Sokka is it? Hello, I'm Lao Beifong."
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Sokka replied.
"Thank you for all your help."
"It was my pleasure. I would hope that if the situation was reversed then your daughter would be kind enough to give me a place to crash for the night. Here," There was a rustling as he passed something in a plastic bag over to Dad. "Everything that we salvaged is in there."
"Everything?! Everything I own fits into a plastic bag…" Toph thought ruefully.
"Thank you again. Well, we should be going, Toph. Your mother is worried sick." Dad said giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
She nodded not really wanting to say anything for fear of exposing the lump in her throat that had just formed. She grabbed Bandit's harness and quietly fastened it. Soon she was in the car letting her tears surface and silently slip down her cheeks.
Posted 6/25/15