Chapter Text
What Toph would do to know what in the world is going through Sokka’s mind right now.
They’ve been sitting at this booth in The Shipwreck Bar for a little over fifteen minutes—she knows; she’s counting—and he’s barely said a word. This in itself is concerning because Sokka never shuts up, no matter how many times he’s asked to do so.
The whole point of her coming to this icebox of a nation was for her to spend time with her best friend after such a long time apart, and yet she can’t help but feel even farther away from him right now.
When she got in earlier, everything felt fine—he was happy to see her, they talked, they caught up, and she went to his place to settle in and have quick chats with Katara and Hakoda before coming to this bar.
Things between Toph and Sokka, though, felt somewhat different—they still do. But she’s been overlooking it, wanting to focus on actually spending time with the guy she barely gets to be around, no matter how much she wants to get to the bottom of why things feel off.
Prior to arriving here today, Toph thought about Sokka constantly, this deep, deep ache in her chest settling there every time she did. Even now, she feels the same ache despite being right next to him. And at first, she figured that it had nothing to do with him, this ache, but the more she found herself thinking about him, the more constantly she felt this aching discomfort right in the center of her chest.
She knows why she’s feeling what she’s feeling, though. She thought it would pass eventually, especially with the grave distance between them and the scarcity with which they see each other, but it only serves to make her sense of longing for him worse.
Especially now that she finds herself in his physical presence… their closeness seems to be increasing that feeling tenfold and she doesn’t know what to do other than ignore it. She doesn’t want anything to ruin their limited time together, and if pushing down her feelings is going to help achieve that, she’s damn sure going to do it. She’s been doing it for long enough, anyway.
Who knows? Maybe these feelings will fade.
And if they don’t, she’ll want to kick herself for missing out on time with him every single day.
All in all, however, she’s happy that she finally gets to hang out with him after so long. He’s her best friend over anything else, no matter what she’s feeling, so when she got the opportunity to visit him, she jumped at the chance.
From the moment she got the letter from Katara and Hakoda asking her if she was able to carve a bit of time to come down to the South Pole, she knew that she had to clear her schedule. She’d been in the middle of repairs for her metalbending academy in Yu Dao while also in the midst of trying to get her Omashu academy opening sped up. King Bumi is taking his sweet time getting her the licenses she needs, and while she wants to go up to the city and curse him out, she doesn’t want to burn her bridge with him. He would understand her if she did, though.
Toph had been trying to get some time off for a bit, and the fact that this opportunity to come to visit Sokka spontaneously presented itself worked out perfectly for her. There was very little that she had to move around, and most of what she had to reschedule was pushed back a mere week.
Of course, she responded to the letter right away, got her shit together, got on a train from Yu Dao and boarded the next boat out of Gaoling, and set out for the South in order to get there in time to spend a week with him.
The trip had been miserable. She hated every minute of it.
For ten days, Toph had to suck up her motion sickness and throw up every single solid and liquid content in her stomach. Not only that, but her sleeping quarters smelled like blasting jelly and sweat. All she wanted was to get her ass off the boat on into the cold of the South—which says a lot when it comes to Toph because she absolutely cannot stand the cold, much less the snow.
Its thickness makes it hard to access the earth that’s surely buried way down in it, and the need to wear boots doesn’t help one bit. But if she wants to be with her best friend after nearly six months, this is the price she has to pay and she’ll do it no matter what it costs her.
But she won’t admit that much to him; he’ll never let her live it down.
As she cursed the name of everyone on the boat with her, she could only anticipate getting to be with Sokka again, she could almost feel his arms around her and hear the sound of his voice in her ears.
It wasn’t long until she actually experienced these things as he surprised her by running straight into her and lifting her off the ground.
Toph had known that she missed him, but being there with him right then made her realize just how much. She didn’t want him to let her go, but she has a reputation to uphold, so of course, she acted brashly.
But she was so happy to be here, especially in his arms, taking in that scent that she’s memorized, feeling the tightness of his arms around her… the cold didn’t bother her then. And she still is happy.
Writing letters to each other constantly is no match for the real thing. Hearing his voice and teasing him in real time. It just all feels right whenever they’re together in any capacity.
Though right now, sitting beside him with her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh in a semi-busy bar, he’s just…there. Not talking, not moving, not doing much of anything, really.
Conversation was coming to them easily as if they’d seen each other only yesterday. There was their usual banter, no awkwardness, just simple comfort between them. Now, it all feels stiff.
Something must’ve happened during her impromptu arm-wrestling match with that one blowhard she ran into at the bar. The guy was stumbling around all drunk, telling people that he’d beat anyone at arm wrestling, and Toph raised a brow at his tone and decided to test that theory for herself as she sought a refill for her drink.
Of course, she ended up beating the guy, but that’s not the point.
Maybe he’s tired or suddenly uncomfortable. The thought of the latter worries her. What if her presence in his homeland is suddenly disturbing him? She quickly dismisses the thought—she’s been here before, and he’s been excited about showing her around and all of that. He’d never.
Perhaps he spotted someone who caught his eye here and he wants to ditch Toph in order to get the attention of whoever he set his sight on.
The mere idea of that makes her stomach lurch.
She inhales, lifts her head off her best friend’s shoulder, and fully turns toward him to face him, finding herself entirely fed up with this. “What’s wrong with you?”
Sokka coughs. “Wh—nothing! I’m—this is fine, I’m fine. You—why?”
“You haven’t said a word since I got back from the bar,” she tells him, sounding more irritated than she’d wanted to. “Are you bored? Do you—do you feel cockblocked? Is there some special lady in here tonight that you want to woo? Just let me know so I can get shit done here, Sokka.”
He turns to face her now and grabs her upper arms tightly in his hands. “ No. I’m—I guess—I’m—it must be that—that I’m hungry. Do you—I mean. I can get us something. You in the mood for anything particularly, uh, Water Tribey? I can get us a menu—”
As he rambles on, Toph feels her frown deepen. He’s lying to her. She’s well aware of the fact that he overstuffed himself with stew and cookies at dinner and had a cup of tea on top of that. He’s not hungry, as astonishing as that fact may be to some.
His voice also wavers a bit when he tries lying to her and that’s all it’s doing right now. It’s the funniest thing.
The bar is getting kind of crowded, she notices, as the rustle and bustle of people begins to increase with the later it becomes. They’ve probably only been here for a little over thirty minutes, but she decides to interrupt his spiel and ask, “Do you want to get out of here?”
He lets out a breath directly in her face, so much so that she can smell the alcohol he’d drunk. “Yes, please.”
“Should’ve said so in the first place, Meathead.” She reaches out to pinch his chest before sliding out of the booth, grabbing her half-empty glass, and downing what’s left of it without any thought. The two of them wordlessly slip into their coats and mittens and hats, then she grabs his wrist and pulls him toward the exit of the tavern.
The frigid weather hits her like a speeding boar in the face; the coldness of this place is something she might never get used to.
Not that she has any reason to get used to it, necessarily.
As soon as they’re a few feet away from the tavern, Toph can feel Sokka relax as his hand slips down to wrap his mittened fingers around her own. His warmth radiates through the fabric and she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“You came during the right week, you know,” he says suddenly, startling her a bit as she was stuck in her head, wondering about how he keeps his body so warm in such nippy temperatures. She feels her cheeks flush a bit.
“Oh, yeah? Is it projected to snow this week?”
He shoves her shoulder a bit. “Funny. But no.”
“I have to say, you’ve crushed my dreams.”
“So sorry to disappoint, but the reason I say that is because we have this really cool festival coming up—starts tomorrow, actually—and, uh, I was—I was wondering if you would—if you’d want to go? With, uh, with me? I didn’t plan on showing up this time around, but since you’re here… I figured I should.
“There’s also this place I wanted you to check out while we’re there. But—but if you don’t want to, that’s totally fine. Every frequented place will be empty anyway, so we can do just about anything you want—”
She stops walking, causing him to do the same while ceasing his rambling. She’s biting back a smile, still holding his hand when she smugly asks, “Are you asking me out, Snoozles?”
“Wh—ye— no. I’m—that’s not—it’s just—it’s a friendly outing… like all of our other… friendly…outings.”
Toph grins at him and his nervous stammering, surprised at his suddenly jittery nature and wondering if this behavior is due to what she thinks it’s due to. She dismisses the thought, but still says, “Of course I’ll go on this friendly outing with you.”
An exhale. “Okay. Uh, yeah, great.”
She can’t help but agree as they continue to walk back into town.
They take their time returning to the igloo as they stop at a few of the still-open kiosks in the market. He insists on buying her little desserts to munch on as they walk, and as much as she complains, she eats them and enjoys every last bite.
A lot of their time is spent catching up. She hears about how much work he’s done for Zuko while working as an ambassador for the South and about Katara’s work with her seemingly hopeless waterbending students. He also tells her about how much he’s missed being at home and helping his father, which he admitted that he wishes he could do more of.
“I feel like I’m splitting up my time decently,” he tells her after letting her know that they’re not too far from their destination. “But I just—I feel like I could be doing better or more or—I don’t know.”
“You’re doing fine; you’re doing what you can. And I’m sure that your dad appreciates everything you’re doing and all the sacrifices you’re making to help him out with everything else you have on your plate.”
“Okay, but—”
“Don’t be stupid; you’re doing fine, Sokka,” she interrupts him, tightening her grip on his hand, which she only now realizes that she’s still holding. Her stomach flutters a bit, but she dismisses it. “And you know that I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Sokka chuckles sadly at this. “I hope you’re right, T.”
“Well, you should know I am because that’s always the case, anyway.”
By the time they finally make it back to the igloo, she feels exhausted and begins to defrost the moment they step foot into the sitting room. Instead of peeling off all her layers as Sokka does once he shuts the door, Toph chooses to keep her furs on but makes sure to eighty-six her boots immediately. She wiggles her toes and sighs in relief.
Sokka tosses his coat onto the back of the chair she’s next to and laughs. “I hope none of your little bull piggies freeze off your feet tonight… you should really wear some socks.”
“My little bull piggies are fine as they are, thank you very much. They need their freedom and the harsh conditions of this icebox you call a home will not see them waver.”
“Whatever,” he says with a snort, reaching over to poke her cheek. Then, he says, “I think I’m going to turn in. I’m a little beat after today and I don’t think I’ll be too much fun if I wake up in these conditions tomorrow.”
“No, I get it—you want to be all energized and in good spirits for our friendly outing tomorrow. Totally understandable.”
“Why? Why do you have to be like this?”
“You started it at the bar,” she says simply, referring to how he teased her for saying she missed him. She did miss him, of course, but he didn’t have to be all boisterous about the fact that she did. “I’m only finishing it.”
“Good night, T.” He hmphs melodramatically, then leans down to press a kiss to her temple before disappearing into his bedroom and wandering into the bathroom.
Toph relaxes where she’s sitting and lifts her feet up onto the chair beside her, deciding to shut her eyes for a bit. She’s not particularly tired despite her long, miserable trip—she feels somewhat invigorated. Perhaps it’s the couple of drinks she had or maybe it’s the cold that’s still making its way out of her body, but she’s not ready to hit the sack yet.
She thinks about her evening with Sokka and finds that the decision she made to come here was the right one to make. She actually feels happier than she has in a long time just knowing that all she has to do for the next week is call his name and he’ll be right there next to her.
They managed to have little intimate moments today, and she doesn’t quite know what to make of them. She shouldn’t even be looking too much into it because there’s probably nothing to dissect, but she can’t really help it. Their closeness, though familiar, feels different, and she wonders if it has to do with the time they spent apart.
And frankly, she’s willing to bet that that’s precisely what it is because it simply can’t be anything more—she won’t allow it.
“You’re back!”
Katara’s voice suddenly startles Toph out of her thoughts and daze, and the latter lets out a breath. “For the love of—what the fuck, Katara?”
“Sorry.” Her friend approaches quietly then lifts Toph’s feet off the chair in order for her to sit down, then sets them on her lap. She stage-whispers, “You’re here!”
“Wise ass.”
A snort. “What are you doing up? I figured you’d be about ready to pass out as soon as you got back.”
“I just don’t feel like sleeping yet, so I figured I’d—I don’t know—lounge around a bit. I didn’t know anyone was up.”
“Dad isn’t,” Katara tells her. “And I was just tired of twisting and turning for the past half-hour, so I figured I’d make some tea… want a cup?”
Toph nods vigorously, coaxing a quiet laugh out of Katara before she stands up again—not before gently moving Toph’s legs off her lap—and makes for the stove. Katara asks, “Any preference? Jasmine?”
“Duh.”
Katara clicks her tongue as she pulls out what she needs. Toph can hear the water she bends when her friend replies, “Hey, hey. It’s been a minute since I’ve made you any tea—your palate may have changed.”
“And you’ve known that to be the case with me often?”
She pauses for a brief second. “I yield, I yield.”
There’s the clatter of dishes for a few minutes then the sound of a spoon scraping the inside of a container. Toph feels a slight chill coming in through a window or a door and holds her furs close, relishing its warmth as she stretches out her limbs where she sits.
Along with the sounds that Katara is making in the kitchen, Toph focuses on the whooshing wind and owl wolves howling in the distance, and she takes in the growing smell of the tea Katara’s brewing.
“How’s Pakku’s academy?” Toph asks suddenly, her eyes closed and her head lying against the chair’s backrest. “I hear you’ve been having a hoot with your girls.”
“Sokka can’t ever keep his mouth shut, huh?”
“Is that really a question?”
Setting down a utensil—Toph guesses a spoon—Katara sighs and says, “It’s like they don’t want to improve and like it’s just too much work for them to just crack down and—and do what they have to do to learn.”
“Not everyone’s like you, Sugar Queen; they can’t all learn how to waterbend in a matter of weeks only to become a waterbending master once they do.”
“Please,” Katara replies with a scoff. “I just want to whip them into shape because I know they can handle it, but they’re so, spirits, I don’t know… fragile. I can’t stand the idea of breaking them and risking them getting all unmotivated.”
Toph lets out a breath, slightly understanding Katara’s issue. While Toph isn’t the kind to really care about hurting a lily liver’s feelings—in fact, she thinks that it’s the best way her kids learn— she knows that one action over another can make a difference in the way they work and learn. “Take it from me—if you think that way, you’re never going to see them become what you expect them to become.”
The pouring of liquid into a short cup fills Toph’s ears and her mouth begins to water at the more prominent smell that floods into her nose. After a bit, Katara sets a gaiwan in front of her and Toph grabs it with desperate hands, allowing for the warmth to seep in through the mittens she’s still wearing.
“I guess you’re right—”
“I always am.”
A huff. “But enough about me,” Katara says, sliding a plate across the table and removing a cloth that’s on top of it before sitting down. Toph smells cookies when Katara continues, “How was your night?”
There are a lot of words Toph can use to describe how her time out this evening was: eventful, fun, kind of eye-opening, playful… But she only shrugs, down turning the corners of her mouth to express indifference. “It was good—we had a good time.”
“Oh, yeah? What did you do?”
The tone of Katara’s voice when she asks the question suggests to Toph that she’s incredibly curious about the night’s goings-on, despite the fact that nothing really happened. In fact, it was evident to Toph that Katara is quite invested in Sokka and Toph’s relationship from the moment she got the letter inviting her here.
“I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to him if you could come down—and I know how much you care about all of that. Just imagine how happy you’ll make him, and in turn, how happy him being happy will make you.”
She can’t resist her eye roll when she replies, “We began a torrid love affair. I’m sure you want to hear all about it.”
“Would it be stupid to think that that wasn’t sarcasm?”
“All answers point to yes, Miss Pries-A-Lot.”
Katara heaves a sigh as she sets down her tea. “I don’t know why you two bother trying to deny your feelings for each other.”
“I’m not talking about this with you.”
“Aha!” she exclaims. “So there is something to talk about!”
Toph drains her tea and places it on the table beside Katara’s cup and forces out a yawn. “Won’t you look at that? The tea did the trick. I’m feeling a bit exhausted all of a sudden.” She stands and walks over to the guest room she’d been set up in. “Have a great night, Katara.”
“Wh—we are not done talking about this, Toph Beifong!”
“Shh, people are sleeping. Be considerate.”
She’s sure Katara’s about to curse her out as she shuts the door behind her and throws herself into the bed, coat and all, before crawling under the blanket.
As Toph tries to get comfortable and succumb to her sudden fatigue, Katara’s words bounce around her head. Toph knows exactly how she feels for Sokka, no matter how much she despises the fact; it’s he who remains in denial. And honestly, it’s very likely for the best. It’s their friendship that means more than any feelings that may come and go as they please.
She reiterates to herself that she doesn’t want to risk seeing their friendship become nothing but a jovial yet wistful memory for a mere fantasy.
Toph is roused early to the rhythmic poking of a finger into her cheek.
She’s so comfortable and, overall, warm as she’s wrapped in her fluffy blankets and still wearing her coat from the night before, though, she belatedly realizes, she's missing one of her mittens. Regardless, she feels as toasty as she possibly can while staying in an ice cube.
But of course, her comfort is damned as her best friend does his absolute best to annoy her out of her bliss.
“Do you mind?”
“Sure don’t!” Sokka exclaims, plopping down onto her bed and pulling off her blanket. “Because you’ve got to get up.”
She plunges her face into her pillow and groans in response, pulling her blanket back up to her neck and curling up. Her grip on the covers tightens when he tries to pry them out of her hands in another attempt to get her out of bed.
Realizing that he’s not going to achieve much of anything by trying to snatch her blankets away, Sokka shoves her a bit and forces himself into the small space left beside her. He’s on his side, facing her, and she remains burrowed in one of the two pillows settled on the mattress while Sokka lays on the other.
“Come on, T—wake up.” He squeezes her hip repeatedly. “Wake up, wake up, wake up—”
Again, she groans and flips over to face him. “I’m up. Okay? I’m up. You happy?”
“Oh, absolutely elated.”
He says this, but he doesn’t move, and neither does she. His hand is still on her hip and she feels his thumb move against it. The mood in the room suddenly turns slightly tense.
They stay like this for a while longer, and she can tell that he’s itching to say something. She doesn’t know how she knows, but she does. Maybe it’s the years they’ve known each other or maybe it’s the fact that he keeps noticeably opening his mouth, inhaling as if he’s going to speak, and closing it again.
But damn it, she wants to know what he has to say.
“Sokka?”
“Toph, I—”
“I hope everyone’s decent!” exclaims an overly cheerful voice from the doorway, interrupting whatever it was that was just happening. Katara throws herself onto the small bed between Toph and Sokka before saying, “I made breakfast.”
“Good for you,” Sokka replies bitterly, pulling his arm away and grabbing the pillow out from under his head to smack his sister in the face with it.
“You really want to get into this so early in the morning?”
“You’re the one who just barged in here and started it.”
“And I’ll also be the one to end it if you provoke me enough.”
Toph rolls her eyes at the siblings, who have launched themselves into some sort of wrestling match beside her, and brings the covers up and over her head. She closes her eyes, trying to ignore the grunts and groans from Sokka as he gets his ass handed to him by his sister.
Spirits—what in the world had that been earlier, before Katara had come in? They were very clearly having A Moment. She squeezes her eyes closed more tightly and puts it out of her mind. It doesn’t matter, it shouldn’t matter. And moments shouldn’t matter, either; they’re Toph and Sokka—there will always be moments.
She’s pulled out of her thoughts when she feels an elbow collide with her rib and her eyes fly open. Mustering the strength she needs, Toph sits up and shoves Sokka off the bed before driving her feet into Katara and bumping her off as well. The siblings moan and complain for a few seconds before Toph unbuttons her coat, pulls off her meteorite bracelet, and holds it up menacingly.
“Either you leave and let me sleep,” she threatens, “or I’ll shove this up someplace you people don’t want this to be shoved.”
Their chattering comes to a screeching halt, then Katara quickly mentions that she’ll have breakfast ready in under an hour if she’s interested and Sokka says that he’ll see her when he comes back for the festival later.
With a satisfied smile, Toph lays back down and cuddles right back into her pillow, trying her damndest to keep her mind blank enough to find slumber again.
After breakfast, the day breezes by quickly. Katara and Toph spend the day together, with the former insisting that the other get ready with her, as Sokka and Hakoda complete their morning and afternoon duties before the festival. Apparently, there’s more to do because of the festivities, so they get a head start, having left before Toph or Katara had finished with their breakfast.
Toph decides that she’s going to take her sweet time getting ready, opting with taking a nap after eating and fending off any attempt Katara makes to wake her up before she gets at least three more hours of sleep in.
It’s not until she’s well rested that Toph gets up, and good thing too because she’s finished getting ready by the time the men get back, much to Katara’s satisfaction. She’d been stressing over not being done in time to leave as if the festival depends on their mere arrival. She gets her wish, though, and she, Sokka, Toph, and Hakoda make it to the center of the town.
The overall environment reminds her of when she was last at a festival with her friends—when shit went down during the reconstruction project all those years ago. She can hear the sound of music playing, the crowd of people gathered in the square, the widespread feeling of elation that could be felt for miles… it felt good to be here with at least half of the gang.
“So, Toph and I are going to go… in that direction,” Sokka tells his father and Katara when they all stop walking. “Don’t wait up.”
Before anyone could say anything, Sokka grabs Toph’s hand and pulls her in the direction of the commotion. She can smell the nation’s delicacies prominently as they rush past the festival’s food kiosks and hear the uproar of those playing games and winning prizes, so she halts.
She wants in on the food and games if she’s being dragged to this festival.
“I’m not going anywhere if my stomach isn’t full.”
Sokka chuckles and tugs on her hand to get her to budge. “I’ve got that covered, so get moving, Beifong. We don’t have all night.”
She doesn’t move, though, but she’s got a curious smile playing on her lips. “Where are you taking me?”
“Would it kill you to let me surprise you once in a while?”
“It might, actually.”
“I guess we’re going to have to find out, then,” he tells her with mock indifference as she finally lets him continue to drag her around the square.
They don’t walk for too long to make it to their final destination, and she notices that they’re at a higher elevation than they had been only moments ago. Her curiosity heightens when they come to a stop where she can clearly feel a large rock and smell the unmistakable scent of roast duck—one component of her favorite meal.
“Sokka—”
“Have dinner with me.”
The swirling and fluttering that she’s been feeling since he grabbed her hand and pulled her away from his family to this very second intensifies. Nonetheless, a smile tugs at the corner of her lips at his words and at what he’s clearly doing. “You better not have burnt any of that duck.”
He breathes out a nervous laugh before leading her over to the boulder and sitting down. “I mentioned I wanted you to check something out, and, well, this is it. So I figured we’d have some, uh, food and wine in the meantime.”
“Mhm, sounds like friendly outing material to me.”
“Would you just—” He huffs. “Sit your ass down and have dinner with me.”
For a moment, she relishes in the fact that she has close access to her element, but then she snorts at his demand. “I don’t think that’s proper etiquette for a—”
“Please, don’t—”
“Friendly outing.”
“Damn you.”
“Feeling the love, Snoozles.” She beams and plops down beside him, holding her hands out for him to give her a plate of food, which he does immediately, followed by a bottle of plum wine they’re due to share.
The container it’s in is still hot and even with the lid on, the smell of the duck is prominent, making her empty stomach growl and her mouth water. She pulls the cover off and snatches the chopsticks out of his hands to the sound of his chuckle and digs in.
The rice is sticky and the duck is rich in a way she hasn’t had in a long while. It tastes just the way she likes, so after she’s gone through most of her meal in silence, Toph elbows Sokka in the ribs. “How’d you pull this off?”
Sokka shrugs, ridding himself of his mittens and prompting her to do the same. “There’s this woman who lives nearby who knows Earth Kingdom cuisine like the back of her hand, so she helped me get it ready.”
“And you did this for me.”
“I’d do anything for you, T.”
That tension that she’s been feeling around him since she arrived settles upon them once again, but before she can look too much into it, he speaks again as she takes a swig of the wine and hands him the bottle. “So I brought you up here for three reasons.”
“Hm, let’s hear ‘em.”
“For one, we deserved to enjoy this meal without Katara or Dad trying to steal a bite away from us because I only made enough for two.
“There’s also the fact that this rock has a perfect view of my favorite part of this festival, and I wanted to, uh—well, I wanted you to know what I liked about it.”
Her cheeks are on fire at this point, she’s certain. But she nods at him, stuffing a piece of duck into her mouth. “You said there were three reasons—I only heard two.”
He hesitates by drinking. “I wanted some time alone. With—with you.”
“Right.”
“You know… because it’s been a while since we’ve hung out.”
“Mhm.”
“And I just—like I said at the bar, I missed you.”
Toph bites down on her cheek and then finishes off the rest of her meal before slapping the lid onto the bowl of food and giving Sokka one of her affectionate punches. “Tell me why you like the view of this place.”
“Mm,” he hums, swallowing his current bite. “So the tribe does this whole thing every full moon to celebrate and memorialize those who fell during the Hundred Year War and the benders we lost. I’ve been here for a few of them, but I always look forward to these ice sculptures. They’re hand-carved and I—I really love just looking at them, and from here, the moonlight hits them just right when they’re displayed on stage.
“But yeah, you can stop me at any time. Literally, tell me to shut up and move on. Katara tells me how annoying I get when it comes to this but I can’t help it. This is one of my favorite parts about being home around this time—”
At this point, Toph kind of dozes off, listening to the way he animatedly explains what he finds so amazing about this festival and the ice sculptures. He describes them with so much detail that she’s convinced that she knows exactly what they would look like if she could see them.
One thing about Sokka is that he’s always been like this when it comes to her. He’s always so detailed and careful when describing things to her, and it’s one of the things she loves the most about him.
She’d never admit to anyone how much this type of thing means to her, though she has a feeling that he knows just how much it does, even if he doesn’t realize it.
On top of that, hearing him talk about something he loves, something that he’s so passionate about makes her heart swell. She can’t help but smile at the tone of his voice or the particular way his heart is beating into the boulder they’re settled on.
He’s still talking, but when she gets this sudden impulse, she can’t ignore it because she’s already done precisely that for long enough.
Fuck it, she thinks.
And in the middle of his impassioned monologue, Toph sits up, grabs the back of his neck, and pulls him down to her lips.
His closed eyelids brush her cheek with his lashes and she involuntarily shivers. His hands then raise and gently brush her arms, and promptly squeeze them in a way that tells her that he’s in this in a way she never expected.
Despite the fact that her entire body is on fire and they’re both equally lost in each other, she forces herself to pull away from him for a moment.
Her lips brush against his when she breathes out the words, “Shut up.”
“I—you’ve got it—”
No more talking ensues for a while.
It’s exploratory, their second kiss, as they’re just getting used to the way each other’s lips feel and taste, but it quickly turns fervent and desperate, as they both try to express something that they’re unable to verbally.
Her lips burn, and her blood heats beneath her skin. She exhales in a frantic gasp. His hair becomes tangled in her fingers as she holds him close and allows him to part her lips with his tongue insistently.
He tastes like the plum wine they’ve been downing.
When she feels his bare fingers brush against her jaw, she moves her own to cover his and clasp his fingers in her cold hands. And suddenly, he’s pulling her down on top of him and keeping a steady hold on her waist without their lips ever detaching, even in spite of the gasp she lets out into his mouth.
Toph is clutching his coat for dear life, letting out a lone moan at the same time he does. Their midsections and thighs are flush along with their hips and despite the fact that she needs to come up for air, it’s the very last thing she wants to do because this feels right.
The heat between them works in perfect contrast with the cold-ass temperature. Honestly, she’s stunned by the fact that she hasn’t frozen at this point, but she’s too distracted by the way his hands are traveling up and down the length of her body over her several layers of clothes. She wants nothing more than to rid them both of what keeps them apart but she’s getting ahead of herself.
She’s never felt the way she’s feeling now. This growing fire in her belly as she memorizes him in this new way—this new, addictive way.
Much to her dismay, Toph pulls away abruptly when she feels something cold hit her cheek, startled. Puffing out a laugh as she realizes that it was a small snowflake, she kisses the corner of his mouth breathlessly before sitting up.
“I—you—I feel the same way,” Sokka admits, following her lead, propping himself onto his elbows, sounding as absolutely winded as Toph feels.
Biting her lip, she says, “I’m glad.”
“It’s safe to say I missed the ice sculptures, but it was worth it in my opinion.”
“Again—very glad.”
Sokka leans over to her and nuzzles his face into her neck. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
“Precisely the type of thing that happens on a friendly outing.”
“You—”
“Hm?”
“I hate you,” he says into her neck, his hot breath against her skin making her squirm the tiniest bit.
“You’ve mentioned.” Toph snorts, then grabs his face in her hand, and against his lips, says, “But that’s the furthest thing from the truth, and you know it.”
The way his heart beats into the boulder when they kiss proves her point marvelously.