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Tokka Week 2: Pillow

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Tokka Week 2: Pillow

Toph stared out at nothing as they sailed through the air on Appa’s back. She didn’t know where they were going this time, having not bothered to ask before they left. She just held on to Sokka’s arm, smiling the way only Sokka made her smile. After a while, she slowly drifted to sleep, resting her head against his shoulder.

It was only when Appa touched down that Toph woke up, still smiling. She slowly let go of Sokka’s arm and jumped off, back facing the ground as she not only fell on it, but also fell into it, creating a Toph-shaped hole about a foot deep. She sighed contentedly, glad to be back in her element. After a few seconds of just enjoying the feeling of dirt between her toes, she began to feel where they were exactly.

They were on some sort of island, fairly large as islands go, with a village just a short distance from where they landed, as well as a few other smaller ones dotted around the island. But Toph had never been there before, so she was curious.
“Hey guys, where are we?”
“We’re on Kyoshi Island,” replied Aang. “We owe Oyajii a favour, and we were nearby, so we decided to make a stop here.” Toph bent herself out of the ground, the name Kyoshi sparking some familiarity in her mind.
“Wait a minute, this doesn’t have any relation to those Kyoshi Warriors, does it?” she asked, something a little different about her voice.
“Yeah, they live here,” Aang started matter-of-factly, before walking down the road to the nearby village, Katara and Appa in step with him. Toph seemed to be standing still, almost stone still, and Sokka noticed.

“Anything wrong Toph?” he asked with genuine concern. At the sound of his voice, she seemed to loosen a little and walked beside him to the village. As they walked, Sokka kept making sideways glances at the younger girl, who seemed upset about something.
Next time Toph, listen when they tell you where we’re going. It’s bad enough this is an island, but now with Suki around, she’s probably going to have her hands all over him, she thought to herself, unconsciously grinding her teeth.

As the later pair walked into the village, they swore that it was some sort of carnival. The entire village seemed to have dropped everything to crowd around Aang and Katara. Even the Kyoshi Warriors were there, causing Toph to clench her fist involuntarily. She just hoped that the girls would be smart enough to keep that distance from Sokka. She had gone to a lot of trouble to try and get him to clue in that she liked him, and she finally felt she was getting somewhere, and the last thing she needed was someone closer to Sokka’s age ruining it all for her.

When the celebrations finally settled down, everyone went back to what they had been doing, except Oyajii, who seemed to be talking to Aang and Katara. Toph didn’t really care; she was on the lookout for something else. She and Sokka just stood there, Sokka admiring the new architecture of the rebuilding since Zuko had burnt the place to the ground not long ago. Suddenly, Toph heard her name being called by Aang. She reluctantly walked over, keeping some of her senses sharp feeling for anyone approaching Sokka without her around him.

“Yeah, what is it Aang?” she asked, a little impatient. As Aang, Katara and Oyajii explained what they were planning, Toph’s discomfort grew. Oyajii had called them to help in the recovery of an important ship, which had sunken in the bay recently. Toph didn’t really care about what was in it, but Oyajii was adamant that it was recovered.
“OK, so just exactly where do I fit into this plan then?”
“Well,” said Katara, “Aang and I will create a bubble so we can walk along the bottom, and you can use your feet to help us locate and surface the boat.” Toph almost immediately tried to get out of it.
“No way, there is no way I’m going to walk along the bottom of any body of water again. Did you all happen to forget what happened at the Serpent’s Pass?!” She was almost shouting at the end.
“Look, it’ll be different this time Toph. It’ll just be the three of us, and as soon as we find it, we can get out of the water. Besides, without you helping, we’ll probably be here for days trying to do it on our own,” said Aang, trying to reassure her and convince her at the same time.

Toph hadn’t even cared until Aang had mentioned staying here longer. She stiffened slightly as she thought about having to try and keep Sokka to herself for days on end. She quickly changed her tune after that, agreeing to help.
“Good, that’s settled then. You’ll start first thing in the morning, since it’s a bit late now,” said Oyajii, pointing to the sun close to the horizon to make his point. After that, Toph walked back over to Sokka, who seemed to be looking at one of the buildings.

“So, what’s going on?” Sokka asked as he turned around, hearing Toph walking up to him.
“Oh, just a little treasure hunt in the bay tomorrow, nothing terribly exciting. So, why are you so interested in the building? Find a conversation partner on your own level finally?” she chuckled at her own joke, seeing Sokka get a little hot under the collar.
“No!” he said defensively. “It’s just that last time I was here, this beam here was the only thing between me and a grisly death,” he said, seeing a phantom fan hitting a flaming replica of the beam, as his memory played like a filter on his vision.

“Whatever,” said Toph, pretending not to care, but really very interested. “So, when’s dinner?” Sokka just smiled at how much Toph didn’t really care where she was, as long as she was near him. Of course he had noticed how Toph had been acting towards him, he wasn’t totally oblivious, and he had something special planned for a little later. But for the moment, he just enjoyed her company, like he knew she enjoyed his. He held out his arm to her, which she quickly took, letting him lead her on a walk through the island.

Just outside of Toph’s range of sight, someone was watching Sokka very intently.

***

As the new day dawned, Toph’s room resembled a small earthquake. Her bedsheets and pillow were anywhere but the bed, and yesterday’s clothes were thrown about with uncaring abandon. Katara was a little apprehensive about actually waking Toph, she wasn’t always a morning person. As the waterbender walked over to the wild, gravity-defying spectacle that was Toph’s morning hair, she gently shook the earthbender’s shoulder. Toph just groaned.
“Come on Toph, time to wake up,” she said, shaking Toph a little harder.
“Fine,” came the grumpy reply, before Toph got up. Katara just left, a little curious about how Toph’s hair managed to look like that in the morning, but having more pressing things on her mind.

Soon enough, the three benders were ready to get underway, walking purposefully towards the shore of the bay, Sokka and Oyajii joining them. As they reached the water’s edge, Katara stepped forward, splitting the small waves as she walked. Toph stepped in close behind her, with Aang bringing up the rear. They walked along until the water level was nearly at their shoulders. Toph turned her head and gave one last longing look at Sokka, before her face disappeared beneath the water, vanishing in a curtain of water as Aang completed the bubble and the three began searching for the sunken ship.

Sokka just kept watching that spot long after they had gone from sight, Oyajii leaving him after a few minutes to work on official island matters. Sokka finally turned around, deciding to take a hike around the island.

As he walked, he slowly became aware that he was being followed. Whoever it was, they were good, keeping off the ground as much as possible, and constantly moving their position relative to him. Sokka eventually knelt down, looking for all intents and purposes like her was adjusting his boots. Suddenly, he jumped up, expertly throwing his boomerang into the trees, hearing a surprised sound, before running forward, ready to face his unknown pursuer as they fell from their hiding place. He got there just in time to see a body fall down, at the last second gracefully turning their fall into a landing roll, turning to face him already in a fighting stance.

Sokka didn’t even need a second to recognise who it was. The green and gold warrior’s uniform, the painted face, the gold headdress, the mastery of stealth and the battle stance before him all told of one person: Suki.
“So, how are you Suki?” he asked in a conversational tone, not lowering his stance.  
“Pretty good actually. You aren’t doing to bad yourself, judging on our current position,” she replied in the same light, and almost jovial, tone.
“So, how do you want to do this then? Weapons, or just plain unarmed combat?” asked Sokka, in the same tone one might use when asking whether someone wanted water or juice with a meal.
“Well, I was thinking weapons, but I’ve actually been dying for a good hand-to-hand recently.” She threw down her fans, prompting Sokka to thrown down his machete and club.

As soon as their weapons were gone, they jumped at each other, hands and feet flying in all directions, punches and kick, blocks and deflections, moving at a speed that only martial art veterans could move, before they jumped back, circling each other, sizing up their opponent. Suki hadn’t been slacking in her training, obviously learning well from Ty Lee on pressure point attacks, since Sokka had only just managed to dodge a few. Sokka hadn’t exactly been lazy either. It wasn’t exactly the same situation as he was taught by Piandao, since he didn’t have a sword, but he had improvised, using his environment to his advantage.
“So, had enough yet?” he called out.
“Not even close!” came the reply.
“I was hoping you’d say that!” he called back, jumping once more into the fray with Suki. Their fight moved into the trees at one point, jumping from branch to branch, battling for balance as well as each other.

Eventually, it was Sokka who made the first mistake, misjudging a branch to land on, which broke as soon as he hit it. He fell awkwardly to the ground, but before he had time to recover, Suki was on top of him. He felt the thuds of her feet landing on opposite sides of his chest, waiting for the final blow to come with closed eyes. After he didn’t feel anything, he slowly opened his eyes. He could see the fist a whisper away from his nose, and could see the eyes just above them. But instead of a look of cool determination, it had a look of youthful enjoyment, like a kid who had just won a game. Quickly, the fist retracted a little, opening to a helping had, which Sokka took with a smile, one returned by Suki.

“Bad luck there with that branch,” she said, picking a stick out of his hair. “You’ve gotten a lot better since the last time I beat you. Not even a little bit humiliating this time!” she laughed at the end of it, the way an old friend would. “By the way, interesting form. What is it, a combination of Kyoshi and a sword technique?”
“Yeah. I took as a student to a sword master a while ago, and he taught me a lot of really good techniques that don’t necessarily need a sword to use. You’ve obviously been learning a lot from Ty Lee as well,” he said as they walked over to their weapons, picking them up before walking back to the village.
“Yeah, well she is a good teacher. Though I’ve got a long way to go before I get that good. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pull of some of the things does, she’s just way too flexible.”
“You’ve got that right!” he agreed, before they both began talking about random things until they got back to the village.

About noon, the two warriors walked into the village. Suddenly, Suki grabbed Sokka’s hand, stopping him in his tracks.
“Woah,” he said as he was turned around. “What’s up Suki?”
“Sokka, do you ever think about what it would be like if you and I had gotten together?” Sokka opened his mouth, trying to think of something to say, but not seeming to find the words.
“It’s just that, well, I miss you sometimes,” she continued. “I know we decided not to for a reason, but do you ever wonder what could have been between us?” Sokka just looked down, a little embarrassed about what he was about to say.
“Sometimes, yeah. But we decided not to, and I don’t regret it Suki, and neither should you.” He looked back up to look her in the eye. “And yeah, I do miss you sometimes. But then, who wouldn’t miss a good friend?” he said, smiling at her.
“Thanks Sokka, for everything,” she said, smiling back. “You know, I’m glad you came back,” she said, planting a small kiss on his cheek.

***

Toph just blew her bangs out of her face as she and Aang finally got the ship to shore on a little platform of rock, the two of them bending it towards shore. It had taken a while to find it, but it was simple enough to get it back to shore.

As they neared shore, Aang let out a relevied sigh.
“Whew, for a while there I was worried about the Unagi coming to get us. Guess we got lucky today.” Toph’s head turned sharply at the unfamiliar word.
“Unagi?” she repeated.
“Yeah. It’s a giant eel that lives around here. Sort of like the thing from Serpent’s Pass,” said Aang, not realizing the impact this statement might have.
“WHAT!?!?” Toph shouted, almost dropping the rock holding her up. “You walked me out into the middle of the ocean and didn’t even warn me about a GIANT EEL!?!?”
“Yeah…” said Aang, a bead of sweat forming on his shiny head.
“This is the last time I let you convince me to go out in the water,” she said loudly, before jumping off as they reached the shore. But her shock at learning about how close she came to being a morning snack paled in comparison to what saw as soon as she hit the ground.

It was Sokka and Suki, who were just on the edge of her vision, as Suki leaned forward and kissed Sokka. Toph didn’t even move, she couldn’t beyond her lip quivering and tear making its way down her cheek.
“Toph?” came a concerned voice from Katara, who just came out from the ship where she had been sitting, making sure what Oyajii told them to look for was still there. This had two effects. It made Sokka turn around to see Toph standing there, looking like her heart had just been broken. Toph stood there for a few seconds as Sokka looked at her, before running off, tears steaming silently down her face.

Sokka tried to run after her, but he was held back by Katara, who had trapped him in a water whip.
“Do you have a death wish?” she asked rhetorically. “Never, ever run after a woman in that state. Now, if you want my help you better tell me what could possibly make her do that, or else I’ll let you get killed by an angry blind girl.” Sokka just sighed.
“OK, here’s the deal. I’m pretty sure Toph likes me, and I like her too. And Suki just gave me a kiss on the cheek, a friend kiss, which I’m not sure if Toph could see clearly or not. So there you have it.” He looked into his sister’s eyes. “So, will you help me or not?”
“Well, of course I’ll help you Sokka, because you’re being honest. If you had lied though, it’d be a different story.”

***

Toph just sat in her room, crying into her pillow, trying to let out all her emotions of frustration and sadness. She had tried to hard to show him she liked her, and then all it takes is one look from an old flame and he forgets all about her. He hit her pillow a few times, trying to vent her anger, before finding a dry spot on it and crying out some more of her heart.

After what seemed to Toph to be forever, she felt someone walking towards her room. It took her a while to recognise Katara. She contemplated refusing to talk to her, but it might not be a bad idea to talk to another girl, and being Sokka’s sister couldn’t hurt her chances that she’d understand a little better. Katara walked up to the door and knocked.
“Come in, it’s open,” said Toph in a shaky voice. Katara opened the door and walked in, a little surprised to see her friends red eyes. She had never really imagined Toph being able to cry, let alone this much. She just hoped for Sokka’s sake she would listen to him.

Sokka, at this point, was being held in the air by Katara’s waterbending, to keep him from Toph’s vision. Katara looked up at him, and he signalled that he was ready. She dropped him to the floor, and he began to talk very quickly.
“Toph, listen to me. I didn’t know you were watching, or else I would have stopped Suki. She was the one who kissed me, and it was only on the cheek. I had nothing to do with it.” He then braced himself for what was likely to be one hell of a punch. But it never came. He tentatively opened one eye, not sure what to think. He had of course hoped she would sense he was telling the truth, but he still expected her to hit him. He saw her standing up, fists clenched, but not otherwise moving. As he stood there, she slowly let her fists unclench, before sitting back down in a heap. Katara took this as a good sign, and after a confirming look with Sokka, left the two of them alone, closing the door behind her.

The silence hung in the room, neither one of them prepared to break it first. Finally, Sokka couldn’t stand it.
“Toph, I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.” He considered taking a step forward for a moment, before taking a small one. When no boiling lava came erupting out of the earth to destroy him, he took a small, relieved breath, before slowly walking over to Toph’s side and sitting down. She hadn’t spoken to him yet, but as soon as he sat down next to her, she immediately clutched his arm like it was the only thing that mattered in her life.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
“I know,” she finally said, leaning into his arm. “I was just jealous,” she said simply.
“I know,” he replied. The two of them sat there a while, before she spoke again.
“So, are things over between you two now?”
“I’d say so.” He put a finger under her chin, so her could look her in the face. “Besides, I think I’ve found someone else who likes me.” Toph’s eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in anger, but before she could speak, there was a finger on her lips. “And before you ask who it is, it’s you.”

Toph’s eyes widened again, before she let go of his arm and tackled him in a fierce hug, determined to never let him go again.
OK, so this turned out to be a lot longer on paper than it was in my head. Usually, my oneshot stories tend to be under 1500 words, but this is more than double that length at over 3300.

I tend to like my own stories, but I particularly like how I had Suki and Sokka start off with a fight, before hinting perhaps at what happened between the finale and whenever this is.

Anyway, this is my sixth submission for Tokka Week Feb 2009. I suspect that it won't be the last, and probably won't even be the last for this year.

I'd like to thank Tokka Fans United, and all associates, affiliates, members and leaders for organising this excuse to write more random Tokka.

Comments are the best way to ensure high quality, long length and quickly written works from Yours Truly, so by all means, if you want more, comment more.
© 2009 - 2024 Sun-Tsu-Toriden
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2ampartygirlduh's avatar
this is how i wanted the series to end.

this made me cry i love tokka, they are SO adorable together