Tokka: 5 Years After the War (Avatar: TLAB-LoK WA 2017)

Sokka: 6

   He had been drawn to the bathroom from the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. He practically floated towards the direction of the sound, in a trance. He could now make out the sound as a voice. Who's voice though? The voice came from the other side of the bathroom. He thought about who it could be.

   Sokka had heard Katara sing before and it had made his ears bleed, literally! She sounded like a dying tiger seal and he had seen and heard plenty of those, living in the South Pole. This voice defiantly sounded feminine. Aang wasn't a woman even though he used to have a high pitched voice. His vocal cords had decided to turn into a bass range over the years since the war. Aang was out. He couldn't possibly make that high of a sound. Sokka couldn't even do that. His dad was on an ice fishing trip so he was out too. Sokka doubted his voice sounded that way. Anyway he hadn't heard his dad sing since... since his mom had died. He leaned heavily on the frame of the door trying to catch his breath. It felt like somebody punched him in the stomach every time his mom popped into his thoughts. He missed her terribly.

    He was trying to think of something other than his mother. Toph came flying into his mind. She was the only other person in the house that was a woman. She had to be the one concealed behind the door. He never knew she could sing. Her voice was like calm water. He wanted to swim in it. He was beginning to drown in her amazingly beautiful singing. He remembered the way her silky hair flowed down her back and how her blind, jade green eyes always found a way to stare at him. He listened for a moment and made up his mind. He was to open the door, slightly, to see if it was truly the girl that he secretly liked.

   Sokka gently pushed the door open. It made a faint squeak from over use and rust. He flinched hoping the person inside didn't detect his presence, but knowing Toph he wouldn't be so lucky. With out her sight, her other senses were heightened. She could hear almost as good as a dog. Well maybe not that much but she sure can hear, Sokka thought. He waited a moment... just enough to make sure that who ever was inside had gotten over the squeaky hinges on the bathroom door. He reopened the door a crack and peeked in.

  Inside, he found that Toph actually was there and it was her that the intoxicating sound was coming from. He stood there watching her brush through her silky hair. He got a sudden urge to run his fingers through it to feel if it was as soft as it looked. He deeply wished that he could see her face and how her lips moved with each word she sang, but her back was to him. She continued to untangle and comb gently through her luscious black locks. It looked as though she had just gotten out of the bath because she wore a lose robe and her hair appeared to be slightly damp.

   He just had to say something to acknowledge his presence to her. He couldn't stand just watching her anymore. Sokka wanted her to know that he was there, really there. He wanted her so bad that it hurt. It made his heart feel numb every time he layed eyes on this beautiful girl. He had an aching feeling in his lungs, like he was suffocating.

   "Lovely voice you have,"  before he knew exactly what he was doing the words had slipped from his lips. He sounded pretty cool. He silently prayed that Toph thought so too. She screamed and dropped the comb on hard wood floor.

    Sokka flinched at the sound of the shattering brush, it had been made from bones of a seal about the time that his great grandmother had been born. It had the amazing work of a famous water tribe man who had been his great Gran-gran' s uncle. The blues represented the pull of the ocean against the opal in the middle of the comb the was the moon. He didn't mind that she had dropped it. After all, he had startled her.

   "Sorry, Toph. I was um... just walking by when I um... heard you singing. I thought I would check it out," he was having trouble talking to her. She looked so perfect in her purple silk robe with her black hair hanging over one shoulder. Her milky jade eyes seemed to bore into his mind making his heart skip a beat. He was flustered as he tried not to look at her bare legs sticking out of the robe. The end of the robe was about an inch above her knee and he was starting to sweat badly in that tiny room with her only feet away.

   "Geez Sokka! You almost gave me a heart attack. You should have knocked," she looked a little embarrassed that he was there in the bathroom with her. She pulled the edges of the robe down trying to cover her legs. He liked her eyes today, like every day they were swirly and the color of jade. It reminded him of milk... except milk wasn't green. He frowned at the image of green milk.  Who would want to drink green milk? He looked at Toph's eyes and decided he wouldn't mind it, after all green was his favorite. Her eyes had made him crave the color even more.

    He wished, not for the first time, that she knew how he felt. Sokka had liked her for a long time even though he hadn't realized it until that morning. He felt like his chest was going to explode if he didn't tell her. Soon... He thought. It had to be the right moment and he had to say it in the right way, he really did not want to sound stupid. He decided he would tell her when-

   "Sokka!" Toph sounded frantic.

   "Yay?" He was confused. Why had she sounded worried?

   "You didn't answer... I thought you left and I'm not sure which direction my room is in. I know where yours is for some reason."

  She knew where his room was but not hers. That made him smile a big cheesy grin. He was glade that she was blind because he wasn't sure that this was exactly the right time. It would have been an awkward conversation, especially since they were in the bathroom.

   "Stupid, I know," she sighed," I hate being blind. I've never really been blind before. And now that I am it's kind of scary."

   "I understand. Some things stick in the brain better than other things. In this case, the direction of my room is easier to remember than yours. I agree. My room definitely has simpler directions than yours. After all, my room is across the hall and yours is right next to it," he thought some sarcasm might cheer her up.

  She smiled at him and threw a punch in his general direction, "Oh, quite teasing me."

  "You missed," she moved a step closer and listened for a minute. She then tried to hit him again and he side stepped.

  "Missed me!" He smiled.

   "Ill get you, Sokka. You just watch."

   Toph took another step towards him and stuck out her hand, felling in the air. Her light colored hand connected with his chest. She felt some more, trying to figure out where his arm was. He could barely breath. Her warm fingers emanated heat that he could feel through his shirt. She found his arm and pulled her fist back. She punched him... but not as hard as usual. She must feel it too, he thought. Sokka was referring to the atmosphere in that tiny bathroom.

  "Got you!" She said triumphantly as she pranced from the room to her closet.

Sokka stood in front of the entrance to her room. He wanted to be there with her, but he shut the door so that she could get dressed.

  He didn't want to Tell her. That was lame. He had to think of some genesis way of expressing his love to her without actually saying it. He thought for awhile, nothing coming to his mind. Finally, a light bulb appeared above his head. He knew what he had to do.

Hey guys, what do you think Sokka has in mind to tell Toph the way he feels? Please leave your answer in comments. Thanks! :-)