Letters: A Tokka Fanfic

8

Sokka's P.O.V:

After Katara and I finished dinner—without Toph again—I went to my room to do some work. I'd received quite a few reports from the Southern Water Tribe since we arrived and it was about time I sent a reply. There wasn't really anything urgent, mostly the letters were just from Dad and Gran, but that was all the more reason to reply. Gran wouldn't be happy if I didn't let her know we arrived safely and were doing well. I quickly wrote an update before moving on to the other reports waiting for me. Eventually, I heard footsteps and the door closing. My heart picked up its pace and I quickly finished my last reply before getting up to see Toph. As I made my way downstairs, I could hear Katara and Toph talking.

"It's a new place. Satoru wanted to check it out together." I scoffed at her words; the idea of that guy choosing anything Toph does was completely laughable to me. The very concept of them going out to dinner together left a bad taste in my mouth. Toph had enough trouble in her life without some hair-brained idiot clinging to her... and if any idiot was going to it should be me. I paused just before rounding the corner, the meaning of that sinking in. I shook off the confusion I felt about comparing myself to some love-sick prick chasing her just in time as she called me.

"Sokka stop standing like an idiot and come in." I swallowed hard as I turned to the two girls, the words a little too on the nose for my liking.

"How was dinner?" Don't say good. I chide myself for the thought, hating how jealous I sounded.

"It was good." She almost looked nervous as she answered and for a second I remembered Katara's words. I really had been ignoring the more sensitive side of her until now. I kept thinking that word was so far removed from Toph, but now that felt stupid.

The silence stretched around us for a moment before Toph finally spoke again.

"Well, I'm gonna call it a night. I have a busy day tomorrow."

"Goodnight Toph" Katara and I spoke at the same time as she made her way upstairs.

"What's tomorrow?" I asked Katara.

"We're going shopping with her mom. Did you write to Gran?"

"Yeah I already sent it. What are you going shopping for?" I could tell she was deflecting and it piqued my interest. There was no reason for Katara to get cagey over shopping.

"Just some girls' things." She tried to wave me off.

"Since when does Toph want girly stuff?" I scrunched my face in mock disgust but Katara only smiled sadly at me. "...What? What did I do?"

"Sokka, Toph has always liked girly stuff. Just because she's a great bender doesn't mean she can't be feminine. Have you really not noticed that Toph is a beautiful young woman now?" My heart skipped a beat as I thought of how Toph had looked before going upstairs, her hair done nicely and a seemingly new dress on. She was gorgeous. She always was.

"Obviously she's a beautiful woman, Katara, I just meant that she's never really shown much interest in that stuff." She looked at me with exasperation before huffing at me.

"How would you know?! You were never paying attention!" It was my turn to get weirdly defensive. Toph was my best friend. Of course I was paying attention.

"And before you say you were—dont. You hung out with her and were her best friend, sure, but were you ever really paying attention to her? Not team avatar's Toph, just Toph the girl? You weren't there when she asked if she was pretty or when she talked about what was expected of her as the only daughter in her family. You never paid attention to that side of her."

"Why would she think she wasn't pretty?"

"Sokka, how would she know? She can't see."

"Someone would've told her. She must've heard it her whole life." I don't know why I felt so strongly but I felt like I'd lose it if that wasn't true.

"No one that mattered." It felt like Katara was blaming me but that was ridiculous. Of course I had... not. Had I really never said anything? I must've. Did I? That wouldn't have mattered to her anyways... right?

"Sokka, why are you trying so hard to make things right with Toph? Why now?" I hesitated, not really sure what to say.

"It was a good opportunity to break the ice..."

"No, Sokka. Why are you trying so hard? Now?" I stayed quiet as I thought, "Sokka, are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous? That's completely ridiculous." I hurriedly denied her words, the truth of them surprising me.

"I mean Toph has been spending a lot of time with Satoru..."

"That imbecile? He couldn't hurt a fly. The guy is so boring it's hard to stay awake when he talks." I sound defensive even to myself.

"Satoru is very nice and Toph... she's committed to giving him a chance. So I don't want you ruining this for her if you're just feeling threatened as her best friend. Toph deserves a chance to be happy—even if I don't understand her choice. Just... be careful. She's a lot more delicate that you think."

Katara left after that, her words still resounding in my head. I eventually went to bed, still thinking about her words and what they mean. Was I really jealous? Of what? Sure, I was annoyed that Satoru was taking up so much of her time, but really I just got a weird feeling around him. Toph always seemed so un-Toph-like when she was around him. She was always so quiet and polite in a way I could never get used to. Why would I be jealous about that?

Haven't you noticed that Toph is a beautiful young woman now?

Toph was always beautiful. I knew that. It never occurred to me to say anything because I thought she knew that. I didn't think Toph would ever worry about something like that and I figured she'd probably hit me if I said it. But maybe that was the problem—I kept assuming I knew everything there was to know about Toph. Katara made me second guess that. Maybe I really have been ignoring a huge part of her up until now. Katara was right, I wasn't there when she talked about being a daughter. She had talked about her family, but she only ever really talked about how she had to be prim and proper, not anything else. It was one thing she kept vague. Now everything feels vague. I don't know what I'm missing now.

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