Prompt 14: Through the Fire (#89)

A/N: Non-comic compliant. Sorry for the long wait - it's been a crazy week.

"I can't do this."

Sokka stared up at the immaculate, polished tiled walls of the vast Beifong estate. Standing beside him was Toph, for once wearing a beautiful elaborate silk dress with her hair done up in a delicate bun and coiled braids, a far cry from her usual messy bun. Compared to her, Sokka felt woefully underdressed, even though he was garbed in traditional Water Tribe formal wear - a blue jacket and long dress pants, with white fur on the shoulder seams, cuffs, and embroidered filigree in the shape of waves.

Toph snorted and punched him in the shoulder, causing him to wince and rub gingerly at the perpetual sore spot. "Don't be a sissy, Sokka."

She grabbed him by the wrist and drags him towards the gates, marching past the stunned looking guards and going right up to the ornate wooden gate. "You're the one who got us into this mess, you fix your own problems."

"Technically it's both our problems…" Sokka protested weakly, putting up nominal resistance as he was pulled along. There was no sense in fighting her when she was determined like that, he figured, as they came to a stop in front of the gates.

"Knock." Toph pointed at the knocker. Sokka sighed, steeled his nerves, and reached out apprehensively for the handle. Toph rolled her eyes. "Oh for crying out loud, it's not like you're going to fight Ozai or anything."

"I'd rather fight Ozai right now," Sokka muttered nervously, giving the gate a nice, firm knock. "Ozai and Azula. Throw evil Zuko in there as well."

"Sokka, I'm sure as intolerable they are, Mom and Dad are not that bad." Toph grumbled, switching the grip on his wrist to his hand. Despite her annoyed tone, Sokka felt a weight lift from his chest when he felt her slender fingers intertwine around his. With a decidedly softer tone, she continued, "Come on. Lets just get this over with, then we can go home."

As though on cue, the gates swung open, and the couple were met with the sight of the idyllic Beifong garden - and the less idyllic sight of Lao and Poppy Beifong standing at the door, staring at the pair with an inscrutable expression. "You're late," Lao Beifong said, matter-of-factly, addressing Toph and completely ignoring Sokka.

Toph's grip on Sokka's hand tightened. "We got held up." She said, tightly. Turning to her mother, she bowed her head slightly, and Sokka, slightly at a loss, followed suit mutely. "Mom. It's been a while."

"Ah-" Poppy started, as though coming out of a daydream, and bowed her head in return. "Yes, dear. It's been too long. We absolutely must catch up - Lao, don't you think so?" She smiled, though Sokka could hear a hint of desperation in her voice.

Catching on, Sokka nodded. "Uh- yeah, maybe we could take this… discussion inside?"

Toph squeezed his hand hard, which Sokka understood to be a gesture of anger. "Yeah, let's go." She growled. Lao nodded subtly, and turned on his heels, sweeping past his wife and heading stoically towards the Beifong house proper. Poppy gave the pair an apologetic look before following in the stead of her husband.

Once her parents were out of earshot, she punched Sokka in the arm, giving him an angry hiss. "I thought you wanted this over quickly. We could have gotten his opinion and be out of here."

"Seeing your parents was your idea." Sokka said evenly, pulling an unwilling Toph towards her parents.

"Well, I changed my mind. It's obvious he doesn't like us. Let's go." Toph grunted, pulling him in the opposite direction.

"Toph." Sokka sighed. "They're your parents."

"So?" Toph snapped irritably, pulling free of Sokka's hand and crossing her arms. "They're clearly still as much a pain as they were when I left. I don't see why they'd even say yes."

"They'll say yes because they're your parents." Sokka said, firmly. "That, and because you won't take no for an answer."

"Toph, dear?" Poppy's voice called out from the direction of the house. "Would you like to come in?"

"We need to settle this, Toph." Sokka said, taking Toph's hand. "You know it'll bother you later on if you don't."

Toph sighed. Sometimes she wished Sokka didn't know her as well as he did. "Fine. Whatever."

Sokka smiled, and the pair started towards the Beifong house.

Lao Beifong did not miss his daughter's hand entwined with the hand of the Water Tribe commoner - and he did not like it one bit. He scowled, already planning the stern reprimand he would have for Toph, when he caught sight of the small, almost imperceptible smile on his wife's face.

"What exactly are you happy about, Poppy?" Lao demanded, turning to look at her incredulously. "Our daughter returns after years of neglect and she brings back a Water Tribe peasant. You've seen them together, you know exactly why she's come back. She wishes to be with some backwater tribesman who likely knows little more than fishing and building snow-huts."

"Well…" Poppy looked back at the pair in the distance, speaking amongst themselves, before finally starting off towards the Beifong mansion. "They look happy together, don't they?"

"They look happy, of course." Lao sniffed, striding through the mansion doors and heading for the guest dining room. "But all youngsters who think they've found the one for them look happy."

"Yes, but…" Poppy sighed. "You're right, of course. It's for her own good."

"She needs a man who can support her, Poppy." Lao sighed heavily. "She thinks she can run around and adventure forever, but that boy can't support a family when the time comes."

"Maybe so." Poppy turned to look at the approaching couple. The Beifongs seated themselves in the familiar dining room where Aang and Co first ate with the Beifongs during their first meeting. "Maybe so."

Toph and Sokka eventually made their way into the dining room - Toph somewhat unwillingly, with Sokka showing some apprehension as well - and they sat down opposite to Poppy and Lao, Toph glaring daggers and Sokka looking between her and Lao like a bird stuck between hungry foxes.

"So…" Poppy started, uncomfortably pushing cups of tea delivered by a maid forward. "Tea?"

Toph took the tea and sipped at it murderously. Sokka took the tea awkwardly and sipped at it gingery. Lao ignored the tea. Poppy gave Sokka an uneasy glance, as though imploring him to do something about the dense silence.

Sokka fidgeted, and was about to speak, when Lao suddenly broke the silence, leaning forward and staring directly at the young man. "What are your intentions with my daughter?" It was a calm, even statement, but the threats implied by the words were not lost on Sokka.

Suddenly finding his mouth very dry, Sokka shifted in his seat before breathing deeply. "I- we- want your permission for me to court your daughter."

Lao pursed his lips, staring at Sokka with piercing eyes borne of a life in business and elite society. "I see." He muttered, finally bringing the cup to his lips and taking a slow, long sip. "I refuse."

Sokka closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. Toph, on the other hand, shot to her feet, slamming her palms against the table with a loud bang. "Why?!" Toph demanded, her clouded eyes burning with anger. "Are you just that determined to ruin my life?!"

"Believe it or not, I am trying to save it." Lao said, coldly. "You are still young. You don't know how the world works, and you have no idea what's good for you."

"I'm perfectly aware of what's good for me, Dad," Toph seethed. "He's a good man, he understands me, and he loves me - unlike someone here."

Lao matched her angry glare evenly, though she could feel his heart rate spike when she uttered the last sentence. "What good is all that when you've been abandoned on the streets because he can't afford to support you anymore? He looks like he barely has a coin to his name, let alone enough to feed a family."

"Lao!" Poppy said, aghast at his words. "You're going too far-"

"You have no idea who Sokka is." Toph interrupted, her voice suddenly frighteningly quiet. "You barely even know me."

Lao's expression hardened. "You are young, and confused, and have no idea what the future has in store for you. You're willing to throw away a life of contentment to spend your days with some Water Tribe peasant who doesn't even know how to hold a tea cup. I know exactly who you are."

"You're wrong." Toph said, simply. Turning around, she swept past the doorway and out of sight, slamming the door shut hard enough to buckle in the door frame. Poppy stood up quickly, rushing to catch up with her daughter, leaving Sokka and Lao alone in the room.

Lao slumped, suddenly seeming haggard and exhausted. Grabbing his tea, he abandoned all pretense of class, and downed the whole cup. Sighing, he looked away from the cup and Sokka, focusing on a painting hanging on the wall.

Following his stare, Sokka studied the painting closely. It was a family portrait, a younger Toph standing between a happy looking Lao and Poppy. The real Lao stared wistfully at the painting, and after a few moments, Sokka muttered, "You know, it was her idea to talk to you."

Lao jumped, looking at him in confusion. "She… it was?"

"I was pretty sure you'd say no." Sokka said, sipping his tea to mask his nervousness. "She was convinced that she could make you see sense."

"'Sense?'" Lao snorted. "She has no idea what the word means."

"Yeah, I figured," Sokka steeled his nerves and stared directly at Lao. "After all, she trusted that you would understand her."

Lao stiffened, looking sharply at the young man. "You tread on thin ice, boy. Don't think that just because you travelled with her for a few years that you know her better than her father." He stole another glance at the painting.

"She's not Toph, you know." Sokka said, quietly. He gestured at the Toph in the painting. "The perfect little lady. That's not Toph."

Lao grimaced, looking away from Sokka as though to avoid his gaze. "Toph's not prim and delicate. She's a fighter. She's talented, and charming, and damn well able to take care of herself. She wants to see the world, not be dressed up and told to play tea party like a life-sized doll. She's been lying to you for almost as long as you knew her, and you don't even know it."

"Stop talking." Lao growled.

Ignoring him, Sokka continued. "She's been struggling against your 'protection' and 'privilege' since she learned how to walk, running away just so she could be herself. Toph has every right to hate you, you know. You've been suffocating her all this time, preventing her from showing the world who she really is. But she doesn't hate you. She still loves you, however hard it may be for her to do that."

"Stop talking." Lao said again, this time more angrily.

"So what's the first thing you do with that love and trust? You throw it all away because her and I being together doesn't match the perfect little world you had planned for her." Sokka said, standing up. "Look, I'm sorry that I'm not rich, or prestigious, or related to some distant noble living in a golden palace. I'm just a swordsman who loves your daughter more than the world, and if you can't accept that as being enough to make her happy, then…"

"SILENCE!" Lao stood up suddenly, pointing furiously at Sokka. "You have no idea what you're doing. She could have had the world. If she's tied down to you, all she's going to be is a spirits-damned commoner who can barely scrape by day to day with nothing to hope for in the world, and it'll all be your fault."

"Clearly," Sokka said calmly, "You don't know the first thing about your daughter." Turning around, he strode from the room after Toph and Poppy, leaving Lao alone with his thoughts.

"Toph." Poppy called out in exasperation. "Please, just… wait!"

"I know when I'm not welcome, Mom." Toph growled, walking through the garden at a brisk pace. "I'm leaving."

"Honey, please," Poppy pleaded, walking up and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Your father's just… concerned."

"Well, he's welcome to stop caring." Toph spat, stopping reluctantly. "I have."

"Toph, he's your father. He can't just… stop caring about you," Poppy said. "That's just not how it works."

"Well, he's gonna have to make it work." Toph crossed her arms. "I'm going to be with Sokka and that's just how things are going to be. He can either deal with it, or stay the hell away. I'm not going to give him another chance to ruin my life again."

"Toph-" Poppy tried again, but was cut off once more.

"I'm sick and tired of him being obsessed with being rich and famous and prestigious. Can't he see that all I want is to be happy? I don't need what he offers."

"He wants you to be happy too, Toph." Poppy said quietly, and Toph stopped in her tracks, though she itched to bolt and leave the place behind.

"Your father - the Beifongs fell on hard times when he was a child. Your grandfather was not the businessman your father or great grandfather was, and the war ruined what little business the family had. They came close to starvation, Toph. They were ruined." Poppy explained.

"When your father came to age, he managed to restore the family fortune - but he resolved that no Beifong need ever live like a commoner again. Arranged marriage is already a common practice, and Lao believes that he can make sure you live long and happy if you are married to a rich, affluent young noble that can support you as well as the Beifong treasury can."

"Mom." Toph sighed. "That's not going to make me happy."

"I know, honey." Poppy sighed as well, wrapping Toph into a hug. "I know."

"Why can't he just accept that I want to be with Sokka?"

"Your father is… stubborn. Like you." Poppy murmured. "He's as much your father as you are his daughter, Toph. You have to understand that."

She looked up when she heard footsteps approach, and smiled weakly when she saw Sokka walking up to them. Holding out a hand, Sokka spoke up. "Come on, Toph. We should go now."

Toph breathed in deeply, and nodded slowly, taking Sokka's hand. "…Okay."

"It's been an honor meeting you, Lady Beifong." Sokka nodded politely to Poppy, and she bowed her head in reply.

"And you, Sokka of the Water Tribe." Poppy said, diplomatically, before reaching out and grasping both their hands. "Please - stay safe. Be happy. Don't… don't waste what you two have."

Sokka smiled at that, while Toph simply stepped closer to Sokka. "We will," he promised.

"I'll write," Toph said. "Well. He'll write. But… we'll stay in touch this time."

"Of course." Poppy let go of their hands. "Now, you two go on. I'll… talk to your father."

Nodding a final farewell, the couple departed the Beifong estate, starting the trek back to where they parked the borrowed Appa.

A week later, Toph and Sokka received a letter in the mail. It had no writing on the outside, but on the inside, it read:

Dear Toph,

I'm sorry. I was a fool, blinded by what I thought was right and unable to see what you really need. I see, now. I see that you've become a capable young woman, more than I could ever have imagined. I wasn't protecting you from the world - I was committing a grave injustice by denying the world your talents for so long. I don't know what I can do to make up for the miserable childhood I forced upon you, so all I can offer are the contents of the Beifong coffers. That, and something I should have said to you face to face.

Love whomever you see fit, Toph. If that Water Tribe boy makes you happy, then be happy. As a parent, I can't hope for anymore than that.

I pray that in time, I can prove myself worthy of your forgiveness. For now, I can only apologize once more.

I love you,

Dad

By the time Sokka had finished reading it out, Toph was crying.