Hey everyone!

OK. First of all, I'm sorry: I haven't updated in a week. Now that's a pretty bad way to treat your readers, isn't it? Unfortunately, I can't guarantee this will never happen again: my life is at a turning point right now, and a lot of unexpected things are occuring. My mind isn't a hundred percent on writing, sorry.

Second, I apologize yet again because last chapter, I promised you all that chapter four would reunite Toph and Sokka and that I would give you a break with my neverending explanations and get on with the action and dialogue. As you will soon discover (if you're kind enough to bother reading this) I totally blew my promise. It isn't entirely my fault, though: when I began to write chapter four, I realized that some things still had to be said and that I hadn't described Toph's feelings for Sokka enough. So this is it. And then of course, I just had to add a Sokka point of view.

So here, you have chapter four. I'm not sure if I like it. Some parts are deliciously fluffy and/or angsty, but others are just too long. Also, I'm pretty certain that I've left a lot of mistakes in there; sorry.

As always, please, PLEASE review! And if you find any mistakes, please point them out. You have no idea how much it helps!

Thanks for your patience and thanks for reading. It means the world to me.

On with the story!

Chapter Four : Four Years Past

He was coming back.

Four years past, and she was going to see Sokka again.

This was not possible.

The blind earthbender's hands shook and sweat began to accumulate on her brow as she lightly pressed her fingers on the irregular surface of the tablet in her lap.

The vibrations where crystal clear, the words perfectly and deeply carved in the stone. He really put a lot of time and effort in engraving his letters for her, and during the four years they had exchanged this peculiar mail, his artistic talents had significantly improved. Now, decrypting his writing was no longer a strain. Still, it took him a while to carve these messages, and she'd often teased him that, while he had to spend an hour hitting stone with a pick and hammer to write a paragraph, she could write the entire letter with a few flicks of her fingers.

She would never admit it, but she was truly grateful and profoundly touched that he would give himself so much trouble just to keep contact with her. It had been four years since they'd last seen each other, and he still wrote to the little blind girl that had once been his closest friend.

And she very much needed that. She received and read each one of his letters as if it were a life preserver. She needed his lame jokes, pointless ramblings, advices and encouragements as surely as she needed the ground under her feet. She needed to know that he was out there somewhere, and that he sometimes thought of her. She needed to know that he cared, as surely as she needed the earth to sustain her.

And she wanted to be there for him too, no matter the distance. In each or the messages he sent her, he put a piece of his soul, a parcel of his heart's deepest desires, fears and uncertainties. Because he trusted her like no one else. Because she understood him.

Because he hoped that one day, she too would let him see her soul.

So many things she'd confided to him while they were still together at the South Pole. So many walls and fears he'd help her take down. So much about herself had she let him discover. So much of her trust did he gain.

Yet, she'd kept from him the only thing that truly mattered.

And now he was coming back.

After four years of impossibly painful absence.

And for what?

Just for her to realize that her feelings had persisted, if not intensified, through the years. Now that she was confronted with his eminent return, she could no longer live in denial: despite all her efforts and the force of her will, she couldn't be happy without him.

She loved him.

She couldn't help it.

He was coming back.

How could this be possible?

It was all explained in the letter: how Aang and Katara had made everything work out so they could be together. She didn't care about the reasons that had allowed this to happen, nor did she care about the fact that her parents probably wouldn't appreciate the visit. They didn't feel so strongly about the so-called "friends" that had led their "fragile" daughter at the heart of deadly war six years ago. And they positively detested the young "Savage" that had kept her "imprisoned" at the South Pole for two years.

The only thing she cared about was that she was going to be with Sokka again.

A turmoil of contradictory emotions raged inside her, unbalancing her like nothing else could. Terror, anxiety and sadness mixed in with joy, impatience and shear happiness. To top it off, there was an impressive amount of anger, aggravation and frustration. How could she be so weak, so helpless? How could she still harbor feelings for a guy that she hadn't seen in years?

Friendship (especially one as powerful and genuine as theirs) could survive time and distance, but love couldn't. Or so she'd thought. The "crush" (she refused to call it love, but she fully knew that's what it was) she had on Sokka was only a silly infatuation that was generated by the warmth of his skin, the gentleness of his voice, the strength of his arms. Maybe she was physically attracted to Sokka, but emotionally there was nothing more than sincere affection for her best friend. Away from him, she could get over the feelings. Then, in a few years, when she would be older and her heart would be less fragile, they would reunite and things could finally be right between the two of them.

Or at least, that's what she'd kept telling herself, hoping that one day she could actually believe it.

Had she been honest with herself, she would have avoided the disillusion and faced the fact that all the things she liked in her best friend- from his unique personality to his unbelievable sense of humor and enormous heart- were also the things that made her fall in love with him. Had she not lulled herself with illusions, she could have understood that the emotional and mental attachment-the love- was at the source of the physical yearning.

She hadn't felt his comforting arms around her in four years, yet she still dreamed of them at night.

And when she read the letters he wrote her, she could hear his voice in her mind and feel her heartbeat accelerating.

She was in love with him, I he didn't-and would never- love her back.

That she didn't need to repeat to herself: she knew it without a doubt.

Two years ago, he had broken up with Suki. She had hated herself then, because no matter how much she tried to reason with her heart, she couldn't help but feel happy and hopeful. Hopeful. As if it changed anything! He was still four years older than her, she was still his best friend, he still saw her as one of the guys and she still was blind… people could adapt to a blind friend, but no guy wanted a blind girl. Let alone a blind girl that could quick his butt. Even if she ran away from home (something she had no intention of doing ever again), even if she stayed with him, even if she admitted her feelings to him…

She wasn't even pretty.

It was hopeless.

He was coming back. So what?

Four years past, and nothing had changed.

Sokka's POV

He was coming back.

Fours years past, and he was going to see Toph again.

He could hardly believe his good fortune: maybe the universe didn't hate him after all.

Aang, being as generous as ever, had giving him a ride on Appa, dropping him and Katara off in Ba Sing Se on his way to the Fire Nation. His sister had stayed in the Earth Kingdom capital while he set off for the small city of Gaoling.

The journey had seemed unbearably long, even if it was only a few days walk. The reason for that was simple: he couldn't wait to see Toph. His nerves had been on end ever since Aang had suggested he went for a visit, and he was so excited he had nearly lost appetite (now that was saying something, considering this was Sokka.) Each step he took was bringing him closer to his best friend, and he couldn't help wondering what he would tell her when he saw her. How would she react to his appearance? Sure, he'd sent her a warning letter and all (with one of those messenger birds they used in the Fire Nation, since ships took over a month to travel from a nation to another and he was planning to arrive in a week' s time. He was just hoping the animal had been able to transport the heavy tablet and that he'd made it to Gaoling without collapsing.), but what if she hadn't received it? Now that he thought about it, that bird had looked kind of frail… Well, he'd see.

But what would he tell her? He felt he didn't possess any words powerful enough to express how much he'd missed her. And she definitely wasn't the type of person who enjoyed sentimental declarations. Probably she'd just punch him on the arm and say he looked good, just to test if he remembered she was blind. He smiled at the idea of the upcoming reunion.

He still was nervous, though.

He was now walking determinedly down the peaceful streets of Gaoling, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. In vain. He heard a couple of girls giggling behind his back, and a group of men whisper at the table of an outdoor teashop. He could almost pick out what was being said around him as he passed: "Is it him?" "Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe? Here? That can't be!" "Wow, did you see him? Now that's my type of man!" "So handsome… I wonder where his from?" He tuned out the irritating murmurs of the passerby and walked on at a quick pace, head bent so he wouldn't give anyone else the chance to notice him. He wasn't in the mood for attention; although ignoring the woman he passed was getting trickier by the minute.

Under other circumstances, he might have watched them out of the corner of his eye, just to see if any of them was well…different. Special. He normally observed the women he met, searching for a particular eye color, a mysterious face, a distinctive sign… anything that could identify one of them as being the woman of his life.

He'd thought about it a lot since his conversation with Aang more than a month ago, and he'd decided that she (if she even existed) would be special. Not like any other girl he'd met. Not like Suki and Yue. She wouldn't be the charming, gentle, fairy tale type like his two previous girlfriends. If he had been truly meant to marry such a girl, than Suki would have been the logical candidate. But it wasn't her, he was certain of that.

Also, he expected to recognize the one his heart was seeking as soon as they met; love at first sight, or something similar. He also guessed that she wouldn't be Water Tribe: that just seemed too obvious. She wouldn't be a warrior either (too much like Suki). Maybe a bender? Probably a powerful one, since he couldn't imagine marrying an ordinary woman, seeing that all his friends where phenomenons. She'd have to be pretty amazing and have a hell of a strong character to keep up with his insane train of life: not all girls had the nerve to be married to a war legend that befriended all of the world's most important personalities (the Avatar, Fire Lord and greatest Earthbender and Waterbender in history, to only name a few…). Now looking for the ideal wife seemed a desperate cause so far, but he hadn't given up on finding her yet.

Today, however, he only thought of Toph.

It felt strange that he hadn't told her about his search for the perfect bride. He normally told her everything. He couldn't explain it, but each time he'd considered asking her opinion on the subject, or maybe just share his fears and desires with her, an odd and unexplainable sense of foreboding had kept him from doing just so. He couldn't decipher why, but somehow informing her of his approaching marriage felt wrong. Maybe this was just something he couldn't discuss with a girl. The type of thing only another male friend could understand. It wasn't like Toph could give him advice, like Aang had (although his advice had been far from helpful, mind you). But, even then, this wasn't just any girl: this was Toph. He could tell her anything, so why not that?

He couldn't ignore the small voice inside him that whispered it was a bad idea.

He arrived at the Bei Fong's estate in no time, and the gates stood before him, looking as uninviting as ever. He gulped, suddenly at a lost for breath; his heart was thumping so hard in his chest, he bet she could already feel it. Was she somewhere inside the walls, sensing him there, waiting for him? That was more than likely. That girl had incredible senses. Would she be the one to invite him in? He fought the urge to call her name, so impatient to see her face and hear her voice after all this time that he could barely contain himself.

He had waited four years to see her and, abruptly, he couldn't stand waiting a second more.

"Toph!" He yelled through the gates. "Toph, I'm here!"

He was quite surprised (although he should have expected it) when it wasn't his friend but a hostile doorman that answered him:

"Who are you?" The man demanded harshly. He was standing guard near the gates a few feet away from the water tribe man who, in his excitement, hadn't noticed his presence. "And what do you want with the young mistress? She doesn't receive visitors."

"I am an old friend of Toph," Sokka explained with what he whished was a convincing smile. " I came here to see her. She should be expecting me," he added, hoping that was true.

"Name?" The doorman asked suspiciously. Being the experienced warrior he was, Sokka immediately noticed the guard's stance and the hand he kept ready to unsheathe his sword; this man was a fighter, prepared to defend his master's estate. The South Tribe leader-to-be relaxed his own posture, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. He really didn't want to fight the man, even if he already knew the guard didn't stand a chance against him. However, fighting with the doorman was a sure way to get himself permanently banned from the estate by Toph's parents. They already didn't like him much…

"Sokka", he responded innocently. But the minute he saw the guard's expression, he knew that his reputation had beat him here.

"You're the guy who kidnapped the young mistress four years ago, aren't you?'

"I didn't kidnap her!" Sokka protested indignantly, before suddenly regaining his composure. " I just…"

He stopped mid-sentence, a movement beyond the gates having caught his eye. A delicate silhouette in a dress emerged from the mansion's door behind the guard. For a split second, his heart lurched in his chest, but he rapidly realized it wasn't her. He snorted internally: what was he thinking? Since when did Toph wear dresses? Anyway, this robe was clearly that of a servant, judging by the simplicity of the design and the absence of jewels and embroidery. The young girl – who was pretty, he had to admit, although she seemed desperately ordinary- gingerly approached the guard, whispering something in his ear through the gate. The man sighed unhappily as the girl retreated, shooting a sideways glance at Sokka, her cheeks slightly flushing. Indifferent as always to the effect he had on ladies, the warrior concentrated his attention on the doorman, who was now apologizing to him reluctantly:

"My apologies, sir Sokka. Amia just informed me that the young mistress is in fact expecting you. She is presently at the arena, training for her next earthbending competition" (Sokka noted the disdain in his voice when he spoke of the 'young mistress'. He clearly disapproved- like all the other imbeciles that surrounded his friend- of the young woman's earthbending. He then decided he profoundly disliked the obtuse doorman.). " You may meet her there".

He then returned to his duty, ignoring the Water Tribe man. Sokka couldn't help but flash him a small, triumphant smile as he left. It had been years (four, to be exact) since he'd allowed himself to behave in such an immature way, and he reveled in the thought that Toph was already influencing him, pushing him to be his old, adolescent self. He practically ran the whole way to the arena, were he expected his best friend was kicking serious butt, a wide grin stamped on his face.

Four years past, and nothing had changed.

So, how bad was it? I have no idea when chapter five will be up, but I can guarantee you one thing: this time, Toph and Sokka will be reunited. Can't promise there won't be more explanations, though. Although they will most likely be descriptive paragraphs.

Thanks for reading... go Tokka! :)