Hey guys, sorry this is so late in coming... so many things have happened since I last updated this story! I know this isn't a good enough excuse, but this semester has been terrible, especially my English classes. And it's only going to get worse. -sigh- Maybe I should change majors.

Well anyway, I've been in an Avatar mood lately, and I've actually been working on another chapter fic. I don't know if I'll post it (or even if I'll finish it... I'm not quite sure how I want it to end) but since I've got time over Christmas break, hopefully there will be at least a few more updates before I start another busy semester.

I assume that pretty much anyone who's looking up Avatar fanfiction will have finished the series by now, but I suppose I should put a spoiler warning just in case. If you don't know who ended up together, this is gonna ruin it for you.

I still don't own Avatar... Happy reading, everyone!

07. G

Girlish

Toph recognized the footsteps outside her door immediately. They belonged to that loudmouthed warrior that always said things without thinking and never came to see her anymore. For a fleeting second she thought about feigning sleep, but she knew her stupid conscience wouldn't allow it. She was annoyed, but not mad enough to ignore him.

Sokka raised his fist, preparing to knock on the door, when he heard her voice. "Come in!"

Sokka twisted the knob and peered into the room. Toph was seated in a chair next to her bed, directly across from the doorway. "But I didn't - "

"You didn't have to," Toph reminded him, waving one of her feet in the air.

"That's creepy, Toph," Sokka decided, crossing the room to sit on the bed.

"Did you come all the way over here to insult me?" Toph asked, half-pretending to be a little hurt.

"No," Sokka answered, and she supposed it was enough. "I'm bored."

"So go play with your girlfriend," Toph suggested, her voice a little more spiteful than she had intended. She refused to amend her mistake, though, just as Sokka refused to acknowledge it.

"She and her warriors are having a 'girls' day out,'" Sokka said bitterly, completing his sentence with air quotes he forgot Toph couldn't actually see.

"Go find Aang and Katara, then," Toph replied. The suggestion sounded halfhearted to her own ears, and she really hoped Sokka was too distracted to notice that she didn't actually want him to leave.

"No thanks. I refuse to walk in on them making out again." Sokka pretended to gag. Toph decided it was best not to bring up that he did the same with Suki. Toph had already made it plain that she did not like the female warrior, and Sokka had an annoying habit of defending Suki to anyone who even maybe insulted her.

"I'm surprised you're okay with it," Toph said instead, trying to change the subject in her mind. Anything to get out the mental images that had just popped up.

"I'm not, really," Sokka objected. "But Dad doesn't seem to be worrying, so I guess it's not my place to butt in. I've already warned Aang that if he even thinks about Katara in the wrong way, I'll kick his butt."

Toph smirked. "I'd like to see that. The kid who saved the world, getting his butt kicked by someone who can't even bend."

"Hey!" Sokka shouted. "I'm strong and you know it!" As if to prove his point, he flexed one of his biceps in Toph's face.

Then, before either one of them had the wits to process what was happening, Toph leapt at him and pinned both his arms to the bed. "Not stronger than me," Toph taunted him, her face inches from his and the weight of her tiny body curled up on his chest, restricting his breathing.

Sokka struggled uselessly against her grip. Toph's senses started to come back to her as she realized that she was lying on top of Sokka, pinning him to her bed, and he had a girlfriend who just happened to be away and she should definitely not be doing this -

Her legs folded around his chest and she could feel his accelerated heartbeat. His temperature rose a little and she imagined his cheeks must be burning, though not any more than hers. His breathing was ragged and shallow, and she wasn't quite sure if it was from her proximity or the fact that her body weight was crushing his diaphragm. She knew she should get off, that this was wrong, but after all, he had come to her because his stupid girlfriend had deserted him to do something girly, and she was just like one of the guys to him, wasn't she?

Except that Sokka's heart rate didn't double around guys, and he didn't lean a little closer to them and almost -

What am I doing?

Sokka coughed, and it sounded a little strangled to Toph's ears. "Uhh... would you mind...." Sokka left his sentence unfinished, but Toph still got the hint. She stepped down to the floor, away from the welcome heat of his body, and wished she could just melt and become invisible and maybe switch eyes with Sokka so that she could see his expression and he couldn't see hers.

Did we really just... almost...?

Toph claimed her chair once again and crossed her arms. Each time it got a little harder and a little easier to act like nothing had happened.

Stupid Suki, leaving me to deal with this idiot. And she started talking about metalbending because God forbid Sokka would have to have a girly conversation while his girlfriend was off ignoring him.

You haven't won yet, Suki.

A/N: Is girlish even a word? I think I might have invented it. Or, rather, stolen it from Ayumi Hamasaki.

And they finally took Avatar out of the anime/manga category! I'm so proud of you, ffnet.