Chapter Text
In hindsight, Toph should’ve listened to her boyfriend’s advice. She really should’ve.
But then again, the whole sight thing wasn’t her strong suit in the first place, so who was really the fool in this scenario?
A shiver that wracked her spine reminded her that she might’ve been, but no one needed to know that.
Several times before they flew into the ice box the Patola Mountain Range had become, Sokka, Katara, and Aang told Toph to hang back and put on a jacket at the very least. She hadn’t packed one because she hadn’t anticipated the wintry climate and she didn’t listen when told she might need to pack something warm. And Toph wasn’t about to willingly put on another layer of clothes when she felt just fine in what she was wearing.
Plus, cold climate came with having to force herself to walk around in fluffy boots that clouded her seismic vision. She wasn’t going to put herself through that for the heck of it.
Besides, how cold could the Southern Air Temple really be?
Quite cold from what she was able to tell as soon Appa swooped into Air Nomad territory. There was nothing but a fluffy blanket covering her legs and the only thing she wanted was to wrap herself in it. But she did not wane. She would not prove herself wrong because that was not something she did often, and she wasn’t going to do it now, all because of the traitorous climate.
Spirits, she wouldn’t have even agreed to this if Aang hadn’t begged her that he wanted all his friends there for this memorial being held in honor of the nomads that fell all those years ago. Not even Zuko got a free pass, but then again, he would’ve gone anyway considering the history there. And Toph did want to be there for Aang, she did, but she really didn’t take the damn temperatures at face value when she was warned before they took off a few days back. She insisted that she’d be fine.
It was clear that she was well on her way to becoming an ice pop.
“Still fine without a jacket?” Sokka asked her, a smug tone to his voice that made her want to smack him. “I’ve got a few spare ones here.”
“I don’t want your stinky, behemoth smell on me, thank you very much.” She made a face that she hoped stuck it to him. She resisted a shiver. “Besides, I’m good. No need for that.”
Sokka let out a shocked chuckle. “You’re talking to me about stink? That’s—”
“She’s not wrong, big brother,” Katara chimed in from Appa’s head. It was beyond Toph how Katara could always hear their chatter over the roaring winds as they flew. “You do have a particular… stench when we travel that no one really wants to be associated with.”
Toph didn’t even need her seismic sense to pick up on the fact that Sokka was lifting his arm to get a whiff of his pit, then immediately recoiling and tightly returning his arm to his side. He stammered, “Wh—well, we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about how Toph would rather freeze than listen to anything I’m suggesting.”
“No offense, Sokka,” Aang said this time over the sound of Momo’s chitters, “but I think we all rather freeze than listen to anything you’re suggesting.”
“I—what is this? Rag on Sokka Day?”
Toph snorted, ignoring the significantly chillier breeze that just hit her face as her friends, save for Sokka, laughed. “Always is, Snoozles. You make it way too easy”
“Seriously, Toph. You should try wearing a jacket. I know how cold you get. I’ll even let you borrow one of mine. I’m sure I have a spare.”
“I do appreciate it, Sugar Queen,” Toph replied. “But I think I’ll be good.”
“You know she’s just saying that because she doesn’t want to back down from the fact that she kept saying she didn’t need to pack layers, right? She hates being proved wrong.”
Scowling, Toph reached over to Sokka and jabbed him in the chest. She relished when she heard his pained hiss at the contact. “Would you quit hounding me? I said I’m fine, and I am. I’ll admit when I’m not.”
No, she wouldn’t.
“No, you wouldn’t,” Sokka said with a scoff, echoing her thoughts. Sometimes, she hated how well he knew her. Right now was one of those times.
“Sokka, you might want to be quiet before you end up in the polar bear doghouse tonight,” Aang sing-songed, making his own girlfriend muffle a giggle.
“Oh, no. It’s fine,” Sokka said.
Toph cocked her head at her boyfriend, her brow arched as Momo chittered and landed on her shoulder. “That so?”
“Mhm because you’ll be so cold, you’ll end up in the polar bear doghouse with me, anyway. So who’s the real winner here?”
She hated him for almost making her snort.
Before she could give him another sock to the chest for the comment, Aang announced that they were about to land, and that was when it really hit her. At that moment, all Toph could think about were all the times she took the heat of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation for granted. And sure, the North and South Poles were much worse—she would know, considering the number of times Sokka either dragged or guilted her into accompanying him home—but she really thought that the Southern Air Temple would be kind.
And if there was one thing Toph couldn’t stand, it was being wrong.
So she decided that she simply wouldn’t be.
The wind was relentless as they made their descent, and Toph really tried her best to keep herself together. Mind over matter, she thought. Beachy temperatures were on her brain. The sun beating down on her, the wind being warm and not at all frigid. The mentality almost seemed to be working until she felt Sokka’s cold-ass hand land on her jaw, his thumb stroking her cheek as Appa landed.
“How you doing, baby? Cold yet?”
She forced a grin as she whipped off the blanket on her lap against her better judgment. “Nope. I’m fantastic, thanks for asking.”
With that, she swatted his hand away, ignoring what things the ridiculous pet name did to her stomach, and hopped off Appa’s saddle, sliding down his fluffy tail with practiced finesse.
Goosebumps were visibly decorating her arms and clearly adorning her entire body. It wasn’t as cold as she’d experienced before, but it was less comfortable than she’d hoped. The coldness in the air was thick and it smelled faintly like snow.
Mind over matter, she reminded herself as she waited for Sokka, Katara, and Aang deboarded Appa, who bellowed at Toph.
“I know, buddy,” she said, patting his thigh. “I know.”
Due to the wonderful lack of snow on the ground and the very slight warmth coming from below, Toph’s bare feet miraculously didn’t feel like icicles. She could accurately feel the vibrations of the people in town for the celebration and could hear the chatter in the distance. At the very least, she wouldn’t be suffering through the cold alone.
Still, she was colder than she would have liked. This was not something she was willing to admit, however. So she toughed it out and dealt with it. It wasn’t like it was the damn frozen tundra—it was just autumn weather, nothing to be worried about. It was like Katara told her once when they were visiting the South Pole: Toph was conditioned to the hot weather; of course she would’ve gotten cold at every puff of lower-than-normal-temperature wind.
She was being dramatic, she was sure. It wasn’t that cold if her feet weren’t frozen solid. She would be fine. All she had to do was concentrate, focus. She was very strong-minded, even in her craft, so she focused on the very subtle warmth beneath her feet and began to walk in the direction of the crowd of people, her friends following closely behind as Appa and Momo remained in each other’s company on the cliff where they landed.
Coming up behind her, Sokka threw his arm over he shoulder and pulled her into his chest, instantly warming her. Toph tried hard not to melt into his embrace in order to keep herself from proving him right as he said, “I missed this.”
“What? Being a thorn up my ass? Because I can assure you that even if we don’t see each other as often as we’d like, you’re still quite the thorn.”
“You’re so—” He huffed, making her chuckle to herself. “I meant that I missed all of us hanging out like this. And I missed you up until you started verbally accosting me.”
“I always verbally accost you, though. It’s on you if you haven’t gotten used to it yet.”
Sokka stopped walking and pulled Toph into him, holding her face in his hands. Hovering over her lips, he said, “You’re so lucky I love you, Beifong.”
“Hm, what would happen if you weren’t?”
“Not even a possibility.”
At that, Toph suddenly forgot about the chill she was experiencing and felt herself blush as his lips brushed her own. Before anything could escalate, however, Zuko’s booming voice suddenly filled her ears. “Alright, lovebirds. That’s enough of that.”
Regardless of the command, Toph remained hooked to Sokka’s lips for a while longer, then walked over to wrap her arms around Zuko’s torso. With not much effort, she picked him a few inches up off the ground and set him back down in her usual greeting.
“Must you always?”
“‘Course I do,” Toph replied to Zuko’s sarcastic question.
It took the group no time to catch up and they were prodding and getting on each other’s nerves in no time. It was as if they’d all seen each other the day before and no time had passed since the last time they shared a space. It was exactly how Toph preferred it.
They all walked the Cragfoot Crossing and into the Air Nomad Sanctuary where the ceremony ahead of the celebration would take place. It was warmer inside, but Toph was still feeling a bit chilly. She made an effort to stand close to Zuko, who was quite the furnace in moments like these. He didn’t expect a thing, though she sensed that he kept glancing at her as if he was trying to figure out what crawled up her ass.
After Aang took a podium in the center of the sanctuary and said some things about legacy and appreciation, they all congregated in the gathering hall, which was very clearly—according to the way her mouth watered and Sokka let out a satisfied and anticipatory moan at the smell—full of food.
She turned to him. “You do realize that there’s no meat—”
“I was trying to concentrate on the aromas, Toph.”
“Right.” She snorted, suddenly cold again as the afternoon turned to night. Of course the temperature was going to drop when she was trying to prove a point. Scowling and trying to keep her arms at her sides as opposed to hugging herself for body heat, she turned to him, a plan formulating in her head. “I’m gonna—I’ll be outside. With Appa.”
It took Sokka approximately fifteen seconds to follow her out and she cursed under her breath. She figured she’d cuddle up to Appa and bask in the warmth his fur offered, but no because Sokka was on a mission to ruin her life.
When they were far enough away from the temple and nearer to the cliff on which Appa and Momo were perched, Toph felt a strong gust of wind blow against her neck, causing her to shiver.
“Toph—”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, whipping around to face him to show him just how fine she was. Her teeth were chattering and it wasn’t helping her prove her point at all, but she wasn’t going to lose here. “I’ve got Katara to baby me, I don’t need you to do it, too.”
“I've seen your feet turn into icicles before,” Sokka replied with an obvious eye roll, “so don't act like you're immune to the cold.”
Toph huffed, her bravado wavering just a bit. “Feet are different. And this isn't even close to icicle weather. Trust me.”
“Well, I know that. But just take my jacket. You can be high and mighty about resisting a chill later.”
“I don’t want your jacket.”
“You should take my jacket.”
“No.”
He groaned at her, taking her hand in his—his warm, warm hand. “You’re really telling me you don’t want my jacket when your fingers are as cold as Katara’s when she bends?”
“Absolutely.”
“T, come on—”
Snatching her hand out of his, she turned on her heel and continued down to the cliff with Sokka still following behind her. They kept walking, the chilly breeze picking up just a bit more. Toph held her head high, her expression determined. As they walked, her steps became slightly less confident, and she discreetly rubbed her arms in an attempt to generate some warmth.
Sokka glanced at her as they approached Appa, evidently trying to hide his grin. “Everything still okay over there?”
Toph’s cheeks flushed, both from the cold and a growing realization that she wouldn’t be able to keep the charade up for longer. “Yeah, yeah, just give me a damn minute.”
They walked a little farther, to the very edge of the cliff, and Toph’s shoulders began to tense, her bravado all but forgotten. She could tell that Sokka was about to make some sly comment, so she spoke before he could.
“Sokka, I said I’m fine,” she told him once more irritatedly. “I don’t need—”
“Oh, for the love of—would you—you’re freezing!” Sokka exclaimed in annoyance, ripping off his outer layer and holding it out toward her. “Just—take my jacket. Please?”
Proudly, Toph stuck out her chin and turned her face, shuddering like a leaf in the wind. She would not relent. As the minutes ticked by, Toph stood her ground, her arms crossed and her expression unyielding. But the wind picked up much more, and even her stubbornness couldn’t entirely shield her from the chill. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, her attitude slowly fading into a more neutral expression.
Grumbling, Toph finally gave in and snatched the jacket out of his outstretched hand, shrugged it on, and crossed her arms petulantly. “There. There. You happy now?”
He was grinning even more now if that were possible, and it was evident in his voice. “I’m very happy, actually. Makes me even happier that you had to admit defeat at my hand.”
“It’s not at your hand if I was simply cold and needed a jacket.”
“A jacket, I may add, that I’ve been pestering you to wear all day.”
She frowned at him. “Can’t a girl change her mind once in a while?”
His only response was a slow chuckle as he pulled her into his chest, kissing the top of her head. She made sure to deepen her frown as he noted, “You look really hot in my clothes, as I’m sure I’ve told you.”
“Ironic, considering the circumstances.”
“And you’re a piece of work,” Sokka said, pulling away slightly to readjust the jacket on her shoulders and button her up. His hands lingered on her upper arms before one of his hands came up to her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. “But I love it. And you, as luck would have it.”
Toph harrumphed but leaned into his warmth, nonetheless. “Yeah, yeah. I love you, too. But you’re not getting this jacket back.”
“I was counting on it,” he replied with a laugh, his breath grazing her lips. “It’s all yours.”
And unfortunately, so was she despite her better judgment.