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Things had been quiet recently in their group; too quiet for Toph’s liking. Conveniently, the lot of them had recently arrived at the Fire Nation Royal Palace at Zuko’s request and she had been in the mood to stir up some trouble for quite a while. The group hadn’t been all together in more than six months; truthfully, she missed messing with them. And although she saw Aang and Zuko and Katara and even Suki minimally and sporadically during that time, it wasn’t the same as being with them all and getting on all of their nerves at once.
She had always appreciated creating chaos among the collective.
After Zuko’s servants showed them to their guest rooms when they had arrived, Toph felt Sokka make the short trip across the hall to her room and throw himself on the bed with a dramatic sigh. He had lamented over the fact that Zuko hadn’t thought about how Sokka might have wanted to share a room with Toph. She just laughed, giving him an affectionate smack on the forehead, telling him that Zuko very likely didn’t consider the fact because Sparky might have brains but he wasn’t the most perceptive of the bunch, especially when it came to relationships. In fact, she was certain that none of their friends knew about her and Sokka’s romantic relationship.
The five of them hadn’t seen each other in so long, so change was inevitable. Within the six months that the group had been semi-estranged, Toph and Sokka fell into each other one night after some tension and flirtation. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but she did know that one day they were merely best friends , and the next, they were that and more . It was most natural and she couldn’t have been happier about the fact.
The issue was just that : no one within their friend group knew that they had gotten together, she was sure. On the off occasion that they did happen to see their friends, she and Sokka tried to keep their relationship to themselves just for the sake of doing so. But considering how quiet their group had been and the fact that they were all in the same place at the same time, she thought that it was high time for her to stir shit up. She smiled cynically at the thought of messing with all of them as an idea etched itself into her mind.
“Snoozles,” Toph called as she nudged her boyfriend in the ribs with her foot. The two of them had been lazily hanging out in the room she was given for the past hour while they waited to be summoned for dinner. The setting sun was determinedly streaming in through the window next to her bed and she was enjoying the feeling of the heat against her skin as she laid back on the bed, one leg hanging off the side so she could feel the ground, her nails scratching the knee of a half-asleep Sokka next to her. “Hey, Snoozles.”
Sokka groggily lifted his head from where it was on the bed. “Yes, dearest?”
She rolled her eyes at the nickname and heard him chuckle at the action. “Do you fancy some… shenaniganing today?”
That grabbed his attention. He quickly sat up and put his elbows on his knees. “What kind of shenaniganing?”
“The shit-stirring kind,” Toph said, leaning toward him with a wide smile on her face. “It would involve an investigation of sorts.”
“I do like shit-stirring.” His eyebrows raised as he repositioned himself and scooted up next to her to pull her into his chest. He hummed, pressing a kiss onto her head. “What did you have in mind?”
Toph was about to open her mouth and tell him her plan, but another thought came to mind, so instead she asked, “Have you...told anyone we’re, uh, no longer friends?”
“You mean that we’re dating ?”
“Yeah, whatever. That.”
She felt the vibration of Sokka’s laughter as he shook his head, still against hers. “Nope. Have you?”
As if on cue, Toph began to feel the familiar vibrations of Aang’s footsteps – or, frankly, lack thereof; he wasn’t dubbed ‘Twinkle Toes’ for nothing – and subsequently heard his fist rap on the door. Before the avatar could twist the knob, Toph swiftly pushed Sokka off of her and onto the ground. She felt him hit the ground unceremoniously after giving a surprised yelp on his way down.
“I hope you’re decent, Toph. Zuko told me to come and get you and Sokka for dinner,” Aang called, peering his head into the room, presumably spotting Sokka somewhere on the ground because he said, “Oh, hi, Sokka! What are you doing on the ground?”
“Yes, Sokka. Why are you on the ground?” Toph asked, holding back a snort and plastering what she could only hope was a surprised expression.
“We’ll be right out, Aang.” He let out an annoyed huff at his girlfriend and pointedly said, “I’ve just got to contemplate my recent life decisions for a second.”
The earthbender had to bite her cheek to keep from howling out in laughter as Aang tittered at Sokka’s response. “Hurry up, then. The food’s almost ready and you know how Katara’s been acting when she’s hungry.”
Katara was pregnant with her and Aang’s second child together, and ironically, she channeled her brother’s behaviors when it came to food. From what Sokka told Toph, much to Aang’s dismay, all she craved was meat in all shapes and forms. Toph found the fact hilarious.
As soon as she heard the door shut indicating Aang’s exit, Sokka irritatedly said, “I’ll take that as a ‘No, Sokka, I haven’t told anyone.’”
Toph’s response was to throw herself back onto the bed and into a fit of laughter, and before long, her sides started to hurt, a tear or two streaming down her face. And though Sokka was evidently trying to hold back his own laughter, he soon joined her in a laughing fit of his own. After their laughs died down, he climbed onto the bed and hovered over her to press a kiss to her lips, which she quickly melted into. Warmth swirled in Toph’s chest, just as it always did when he kissed her. He was intoxicating and she quietly wondered how she lived believing that he would be a vice for so long when he was just the opposite.
Too soon, he pulled away, but lowered himself onto her, nuzzling his head into her neck. The weight of his body was comforting and she could feel his hot breath hitting her skin; she tried to ignore the tickling sensation it caused. Muffled, he spoke. “What were you telling me earlier? About your plan?”
“Get off of me and maybe I’ll tell you,” Toph said in mock annoyance as she squirmed; she couldn’t let him think that she liked being squished by him – it would ruin her rep.
Sokka gave a long sigh, purposely exhaling his hot breath into her neck and making her squirm and shudder at the feeling, before rolling off her body to lie next to her. She pinched the skin on his chest playfully, then moved onto her side, angling her arm upwards, and propping her head on her hand. “So they don’t know we’re a thing.”
“They don’t know we’re dating ,” Sokka corrected, pushing on her arm and causing her head to fall onto the bed. “Is that what you meant?”
She made a small disc out of her space bracelet and expertly flung it into his forehead. Smiling when she heard his grunt, she got back into her previous position after reshaping her bracelet to slip it back on.“Again, whatever . But as I was saying: since they don’t know, what if we bet on who points it out or notices first when they do realize?”
He drummed his fingers on the mattress after giving her suggestion a snicker. “And how do you suggest we do that, huh? They’ll definitely know something’s up if you’re all over me. You’re not the most publicly affectionate person, and this is something they know first hand considering your ways of showing affection.”
“Yeah, no shit, O Sleuthy One, ” she rolled her eyes, standing from the bed and walking to the door with a mischievous grin on her face. “I was thinking of more... covert actions,
“Covert?”
“Just…” she trailed off, thinking about how to describe what she was thinking. “Be mushy, but not too mushy.”
“Right,” Sokka said, chivalrously opening the door for her, letting her out into the hall, and closing the door behind him. “And I’m assuming you have a plan and that you’re not just going to wing it.”
She scoffed. “Of course, I have a plan. Who do you think I am?”
Toph did not, in fact, have a plan and she was, indeed, going to wing it. Sokka knew her too well and she pretended to hate it. She didn’t need a plan for this group of people. Besides, it was always Sokka’s job to come up with the plans; she just went along with them. So could he really blame her for winging it if it was her go-to method of conflict resolution?
No. The answer was no.
“So who’s your bet?” Sokka asked as they slowly walked down the corridor to one of the five dining rooms in the palace. Toph thought that five dining rooms were slightly excessive, but who was she to judge when her parents had two panic rooms installed in their home?
“I think it’ll be Suki.”
“Mm, mm,” Sokka hummed, capturing her hand with his and pressing a kiss on her fingers casually. “No. Definitely Katara.”
“Could go either way,” Toph mused, then bumped her elbow into his side. “But no cheating. Just because these eyeballs don’t work for shit doesn’t mean I can’t catch you being a swindler.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, dearest.”
“Spirits,” Toph groaned in contempt at the forsaken nickname. “I hate you.”
“You couldn’t even if you tried,” he said, stopping and pulling her into him for a quick kiss, but not before checking his surroundings. “What will I get when I win?”
“ When ?” Toph said against his lips. “So confident.”
“Mhm, I have to be if I want to win.”
“What about what you’ll have to do when you lose?”
“Oof,” Sokka playfully winced, pulling away from her, and slamming a hand to his chest. “You wound me. You think I’ll lose?”
“Oh, I know you will,” said Toph with a laugh, resuming their walk to the dining room. “But when you lose, I’d love to experience you keeping a handful of fire flakes in your mouth for a soon-to-be-determined amount of time.”
“When you lose, though,” he countered, his hands now in his pocket as they neared their destination. “I want to see you on pure cactus juice, okay? None of that filtered bullshit we drink.”
Toph chuckled ironically and stuck a hand out for him to shake on their silly bet. He took it and squeezed it before shaking it as she said, “Not saying that I’ll lose, but you have yourself a deal, Cap.”
When they strode into the dining room, she could tell that she and Sokka were the last ones to arrive; Zuko, Katara, Suki, and Aang were already seated around a stone table that Toph’s feet found hard to miss. Suki’s footsteps approached them and she pulled Sokka, then Toph into tight hugs that she took a minute to respond to, patting the Kyoshi Warrior’s back awkwardly as she felt uncomfortable at the sudden contact. She loved Suki, but the woman didn’t understand Toph’s aversion to physical contact even after all those years of friendship.
“I missed you two,” she said when she finally released Toph. “I’m sorry I couldn’t catch up with you earlier. I kind of overdid it at training and lost track of time. Before I knew it, everyone was here and I smelled like dirt and sweat.”
“Not a bad smell to sport, if you ask me,” Toph shrugged humorously.
“But you’re here now,” Sokka smiled, pulling Suki in for another hug, who was still laughing at Toph’s comment. The embrace Sokka pulled Suki into made Toph smile slightly. She admired the relationship he had with Suki. Before they mutually ended their relationship, they were together for so long that the two of them knew each other in ways others didn’t. Instead of making her jealous, she was happy about the fact that the two of them were able to keep their trust in each other intact. “That’s what matters.”
“This is lovely and all,” Toph heard an exasperated Katara say from where she sat at the table, “but I’m eating for two and I think my child wants to gnaw through my innards, so can we, you know, eat before that happens?”
“Take it easy, Sugar Queen, we’re coming.” Toph snorted, grabbing Sokka’s wrist and pulling him with her. She figured that the contact she made with him would be seen as out of character and turn some heads, but no one seemed to notice – or care about – the gesture. She inwardly groaned.
Before she could pull out her own chair to sit, Sokka did so without needing to be told. To her annoyance, she blushed at the action and took her seat as he did the same to her right. Toph could practically feel the grin he was holding back at her physical reaction, so she kicked the ground with her heel, effectively making a chunk of it fly into his shin. He winced and covered up any expression of pain with the clearing of his throat, while she resisted the urge of laughing.
During usual circumstances, Toph would be achingly annoyed at Sokka doing such minute things for her when she could do them herself, but she had to swallow it for the sake of the bet. And she wasn’t going to admit how she kind of liked the fact that he was being a gentleman to anyone, ever.
“So what are we having, Sparky?” Toph asked loudly, sitting on one of her legs with the other firmly on the ground, allowing her to survey the room with ease.
Zuko chuckled. “A little bit of everything, I suppose.”
As if on cue, the scent of dumplings, extra-spicy fire noodles, glazed komodo chicken, steamed rice, and so many other foods flowed into the dining room from the kitchen, making her mouth water. Tui and La , she thought, how she missed Fire Nation cuisine .
It had been a while since she last visited Zuko, and as much as she missed him, she knew that the food contributed even if a little to her desire of visiting him. Earth Kingdom foods were very similar to those in the Fire Nation, but Toph loved the extra spice that was in the latter’s dishes. She didn’t know where she got her love for spice from, but she did love it.
Sokka had discreetly taken to placing his hand on her knee and rubbing his thumb against it. She could feel his cold hands through the thin fabric of her pants, so she covered his hand with hers as she animatedly caught everyone up on the goings-on in her life. Toph told them all about the mediocrity she had successfully beaten out of her newest crop of metalbending students. At this, Katara sighed and scolded. “Be nice to your students, Toph. One day, they’ll make you proud.”
“Yeah, and clearly, that day is nowhere in the near future, Sugar Queen,” Toph retorted, making everyone around the table laugh. “Those lilly livers-”
“ Toph… ”
“ My students ,” she corrected with an eye roll at Katara’s pointed interruption, “are the least motivated pieces of work I have ever encountered.”
Katara said something about Toph needing to be nicer as the earthbender reached over to a small basket near her and plucked out a buttered bun, popping it into her mouth. She was about to lick off the residual butter that she felt remained on the corner of her lips, but Sokka’s thumb had already done the job. She would have been annoyed at the action, but she knew why he was doing it. In fact, the gesture was so natural that she barely acknowledged it, but someone else sure as hell noticed. To her left was Suki, whose curious eyes were definitely trained on them, a small smile gracing her lips. Toph had to bite back a smirk at the thought of Sokka having to scald his mouth with the fire flakes he pretended to like but hated passionately; the man couldn’t manage his spice.
She was winning this bet.
Before anything else could happen, Sokka retracted his hand as the food she was smelling was set promptly on the table in front of them. Frankly, it wouldn’t have surprised her if she had started salivating at that point because of the beautiful aromas beaming out of the multiple platters. Still, she tried to focus her mind on the conversations between her friends as she served herself a heaping plate of food.
The seven friends ate their first round of food silently, the hunger and strong desire to eat winning over any previous conversation they were having. Though, after they started on their second helpings, talk continued with Aang listing most of Katara’s bizarre cravings, making everyone both laugh and mock-gag in disgust. Meanwhile, as Toph worked on her second plate of dumplings, a thought occurred to her. She turned her head toward Sokka, who was about to steal food off her plate as he always did, and pinched a dumpling between her chopsticks, holding it up to him. He exhaled a laugh, knowing what the action was about, and humored her by eating the dumpling she intended on feeding him. “That’s good.”
“Enjoy it,” she chuckled, popping another one of her own into her mouth. “Because you’re not getting any more off my plate, Snoozles.”
“That… is not fair.”
Toph snorted this time. “‘Course it is. You have your own plate full of ‘em.”
“Touché.”
The earthbender laughed, then turned her attention to her friends around the table, wrapped up in their own conversations. She groaned, Sokka chuckling beside her, probably already knowing that she was moments away from beginning a rant fest. How had her so-called friend not questioned anything yet?
Toph leaned over to him and asked, “Are they… Do you think they’ve noticed?”
“I’m not sure,” Sokka whispered back with a shrug. She let out a sigh and slumped back into her chair, frustratedly shoving another dumpling into her mouth. She’s not acting the way she would normally act around Sokka, and that should be enough to clue them into something going on.
With a frustrated huff, she pushed back her chair and stood. “Hey, dingbats!”
The lively chatter around the room stopped and she felt their heads turn toward her. She crossed her arms over her chest as Katara gently said, “Yes, Toph?”
At her side, still in his seat, she could feel Sokka trying – but failing – to hold back his laughs behind his hand at her outburst. She gave him a smack in the back of his head before scoffing and saying, “Have you people not noticed a new dynamic in our group as of late? Hm?”
There was a contemplative quiet, then a round of dissenting noises filled the area and she gave another scoff. And to add to her dismay, they weren’t lying about it either! Their heartbeats were beating steadily. This is ridiculous , she thought. Eleven years of friendship and they can’t care enough to realize when two of their own have started canoodling!
“No?” Toph asked incredulously. “I’ll show you ‘no.’” Then, she pushed her seat out further to give herself more space, grabbed Sokka’s face, and pressed a wet kiss to his lips, quite accurately, she believed. When she made contact with his mouth, he let out a surprised squeak of some sort, and as quickly as he had, that’s how quickly the kiss was over. It was certainly not one of their best kisses, but it probably made her point. “Does that prove a change in our dynamic?”
Everyone was silent, then they all started laughing maniacally. Toph’s eyes were the size of discs until she couldn’t resist joining in on the laughter, none of them stopping until their sides hurt. It felt good to laugh like that and she missed fooling around with her friends; being rude in a way that would only irk Katara or being outspoken in ways that would make Aang and Zuko squirm, but make Suki chuckle.
“Okay, wait, wait,” Sokka said when their howls died down to cackles. “You all... knew, didn’t you?”
“We didn’t know for sure,” Aang said, still recovering from his laughing fit.
“Not for sure ,” Zuko confirmed, taking a sip of his water. “But we definitely suspected that something was going on.”
Suki giggled at her side. “We even placed bets.”
“Not you, too,” Toph said, throwing her head back with a laugh and a clap of her hands. “Snoozles and I bet on which one of you would bring it up first; I bet Suki would, and he bet Sugar Queen.”
“None of us should have had to bring it up in the first place,” Katara said bitterly. Then, quietly, yet light-heartedly added, “But… we’re still happy for you.”
“It’s great to get your blessing, Sugar Queen, but we knew we’d have gotten it anyhow.”
Toph could feel the death glare Katara was sending her, which only made the smile on her face widen.
She felt Sokka’s hand on her knee again after retaking her seat, resuming the position she was in prior to her scene as Zuko let out a laugh and said, “You all owe me fifty yuans.”
Suki groaned. “See, I don’t understand why we have to each give you fifty yuans when you don’t even need them.”
“I suppose I can use them for a rainy day,” Zuko said with a shrug and a smug expression Toph knew he had on his face. “You never know what could happen.”
“Such as? What?” Toph asked, bringing her foot onto the chair, her arm hanging over her knee. “You plan on buying your honor back with the money you won if you lose it again?”
Everyone burst out laughing again at Zuko’s expense – even he did. When they settled again, Toph asked, “What were you all betting on, anyway, Firepants?”
“He bet that you wouldn’t be here for more than a day without trying to clue us into it,” explained Aang. “He said that he knew you too well for you not to do that, and I guess he was right! And Katara and I bet that you would just come up and tell us-”
“Which you did not ,” Katara interrupted unambiguously.
“-And Suki bet that you two would make it official while you were here.”
Toph was, frankly, surprised at the fact that it was Zuko – Fire Lord Clueless – that guessed correctly. Before she could give a response, she felt Sokka sit up straight in his chair and his hand fly off her leg. Dramatically, he questioned, “Well then why didn’t you give us the same room if you knew we were together, Jerk bender?”
Toph felt a bit of a shift from Zuko, indicating a shrug. “I guess I figured it would help push you over the edge.”
“It almost did,” Sokka muttered.
“Cry about it, then,” Katara said jokingly, sending a small wave of water in her brother’s direction, effectively drenching his head and some of his clothes. More laughter ensued as they continued joking around and talking about how the tribesman and metalbender had finally gotten together. Neither of them had a proper explanation as to how they did, but they certainly questioned the fact that they wondered why they were expecting it to happen.
“It was obvious,” Aang said. “It was only a matter of time, honestly.”
“You may not see it, Toph,” Zuko said, a touch of humor in his tone. “But Sokka looks at you like you’re the last non-hallucinogenic drink in the Si-Wong Desert.”
Katara hummed, less bitterly than earlier. “And you were a blushing mess around him for the longest time.”
“I do not blu-”
“ Yes , you do, Toph,” Sokka interrupted smugly, a pat on her thigh. Toph didn’t hesitate to accurately send a glare in his direction. Then, she sunk into her seat and remembered that Suki was sitting next to her, but the warrior seemed nothing but happy for them. Despite that, Toph felt strange as she realized that she might have not hidden her affection for Sokka as well as she thought.
As if tapping into her thoughts, Suki touched her shoulder and gave it a reassuring pat. “I’m happy for you both. It was about damn time for this to happen, actually. And I’m flattered you thought I’d help you win your bet.”
Not knowing what to say, Toph poked her index finger into the warrior’s stomach. “You really disappointed me, Princess. I expected more from you.”
“Next time,” Suki laughed.
Toph was about to tell her that Suki would have to be in on the bet next time so they could share any winnings, but she was interrupted by Zuko asking if anyone wanted anything for dessert. A sly smile made its way onto her face and she felt Sokka’s eyes on her before she said, “No, I’m alright.”
“ You don’t want dessert?” Katara questioned disbelievingly. “Is hell freezing over?”
“Actually,” Toph responded, standing up and grabbing Sokka’s wrist to pull him with her toward the exit of the dining room. “I’ve got my own dessert. But thanks for asking.”
There was some quiet before everyone caught onto what she was insinuating and they all let out sounds of disgust. She was certain that she had heard Zuko say something about how he was happy that the walls in the palace were so thick they could be soundproof and she had to laugh.
Sokka’s heart was beating rapidly in embarrassment as she pulled him farther down the corridor. “Did you just imply that-”
“As if you weren’t thinking it, too,” Toph said with an eye roll, letting Sokka’s arm go. “Unless you don’t want dessert… I won’t hold it against you.”
He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her into him. “You didn’t have to announce it.”
“But it was the truth!”
Sokka gave an eye roll of his own and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “You make a good argument.”
“Always.”
They promptly resumed their walk to Toph’s room – which was to become theirs for the time being. He entwined their fingers and exhaled a laugh. “We both lost the bet, then.”
“A shame, really,” Toph lamented in response. “I wanted to see your cry over spice.”
Sokka paused, then said, “You wouldn’t have been able-”
“You’re painfully unfunny.”
“And that’s painfully untrue.”
Toph paused in front of the guest room’s door, her hand on the knob and a blank stare at his chest. “Keep it up and you won’t be getting any dessert.”
“Oh no,” he said, a lustful tone complementing his voice as he pushed open the door to the room and pulled her in with him. “We can’t have that, can we?”