Author's Notes: Another quick drabble-ish thing for you. I had fun writing this one.
Don't forget to review!
Alisa
Just Him and Her
Surprise
Sokka had to admit, he'd been nearly as surprised by his question as everyone else had been.
On further thought and remembrance, he might have been a little drunk when he'd stated his proposal (but isn't that what the best man is supposed to do—get drunk and tell embarrassing stories about the couple?), but that didn't make it any less surprising. If anything, it made it more surprising.
He hadn't even known where it had come from—just a random thought that popped up in the middle of the best man speech (was he supposed to be drunk already?) that he couldn't help but say. He was met with dead silence, of course—every eye was on him, he knew it, he could feel it—and he blinked. But then, he said it again.
Thinking back, he could remember Aang patting Katara on the back as she choked on something, and the look Suki was giving him from down the table—confused, unsure, pained, even, if he squinted his eyes just right. He could see the look his own father had given him—one that probably mirrored his own at that moment—and that small victorious smile on Gran-Gran's lips. She had always liked Toph.
There were murmurs now, rippling throughout the small crowd like a cloud of dust settling down on the Earth. He didn't really care about them, though—he was drunk, remember; the only thing he cared about was what she was going to say.
Sokka, if thinking about it, might wince at the memory—not one of his smoother moments. But really, he'd never been that smooth anyway, especially when it came to her. She'd back him up on that, of course, with a wolfish grin to match.
But one of the things Sokka remembered the most about the moment was just how right it felt. He was never one for spontaneity, but this—this was how it was supposed to be. So what if it was ruining his little sister's wedding reception? It felt good and he was going with it.
The thought had popped in his head for one shining, ethereal moment and it clicked, and it felt right, seemed right, and he'd wondered why he never thought about it before. It would only make sense, wouldn't it, that it would be Toph?
So he asked her. Didn't even turn to her—didn't even start it as its own question, just the continuation of some story about Katara when she had been four. It just slipped out. If he had been smoother, he might had stood next to her or held her hand, but he'd never been smooth around her before, so why start now?
This is when he blinked as if surprised by his own question—and he probably was—before asking her again, and in a sentence all on its own, thank goodness.
She just stared down at her plate as the crowd murmured and Katara choked and people looked shocked or horrified or pleased. Just looked at that plate and turned just the cutest shade of pink.
He heard her loud and clear when she answered, even if she was talking to that plate. She gave a quiet, gentle, "Yes," her hands in her lap and her head still down.
He grinned at her then, a bright, cheery smile that made him want to laugh. "Well, good," he said, and did give a light laugh. "For a moment there I was afraid you were going to say no." He hadn't actually even thought that she might say no, but that sounded like a good, banter-y thing to say regardless, so he said it.
She just smiled at her plate and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
He finished his best man speech after that, with much extra laughter at things that weren't funny which he doubted had anything to do with the wine he'd been drinking. He sat down next to her then, turned his body toward hers so he could see her every detail in the dim lighting. She turned to him too—just slightly, her feet still tucked under her dress.
"Do you really mean it?" he asked, because he'd asked her twice and she'd only answered once (and that made so much more sense if you were drunk).
She smirked at him with that trademark smirk and said, "What, you think I won't be able to handle you, Snoozles?"
He laughed and then, not quite sure what he was doing himself, reached out and brushed her bangs out of her eyes, which widened at his touch just ever-so-slightly. He leaned in and kissed her for that, his lips finding hers with a surprising familiarity for their first real kiss, her milky blind eyes closing and someone whistling from the crowd (Hakoda, he was sure).
It was an interesting night, Sokka would remember later, filled with surprising questions and surprising answers and many, many surprising kisses. But most of all, it was a night filled with surprising love.
Sokka had been surprised when he said it—probably one of the most surprised, in fact—but he knew it had been the right thing to say.
Toph, will you marry me?
FIN.