Archive of Our Own

Toph’s feet were no longer on the ground. She was tired of feeling all the vibrations in the room: the stomp-dancing the drunk guests were doing, the glasses falling onto the floor and breaking into tiny fragments, her hosts never letting each other go as their hands remained attached wherever they went. She just needed a moment to enjoy her blindness.

She brought her glass to her lips and took gulps out of it, relishing the burn of the whiskey shooting down her throat. She sent a silent thank you to Zuko and the intricacy with which he picked his alcohol for parties. It was never a miss, and right now, even though she wanted to be here and she’d missed her friends, it was hitting better than anything else could.

When she’d gotten the invite to this party, Toph had sighed, lifting herself up from the seat she’d just lowered herself into to take the letter from Penga’s hands. Just from holding it, Toph had known who it was from: the carbon and other small metals in the ink told her so. It’d been a while since she got in touch with any of them. They were all just so busy that there wasn’t really a good way to pause and get together. Ironically, it was Zuko she heard from the most, even despite the fact that she never bothered to reply to any of his letters. Too much to do to sit down and respond.

Regardless, she’d found herself carefully tearing open the envelope, the crinkling sound barely audible to her ears. The moment she began to let her fingers brush against his words, the familiar warmth of Zuko’s prose wrapped around her, nostalgia hitting her. He recounted tales of the Fire Nation’s bustling streets, shared updates on Iroh’s health, and, of course, extended an invitation to celebrate the party in honor of Iroh’s birthday.

As she read about Iroh's latest culinary experiments and the joy they brought to everyone, Toph had felt a pang of longing. It had been far too long since she had been around her friends, and despite her reluctance to admit it, she missed them.

So, here she was, already tired of all the catch-ups as much as she missed everyone. Toph had known that Katara was pregnant, but to actually feel the second heartbeat within her friend was something entirely different. The last time they’d seen each other—so to speak—had been about half a year earlier, when Toph made it her business to drop in on them.

That visit had been brief, filled with laughter and stories, but it had also rubbed in her face just how much had changed. Sokka was busy with his duties as a strategist, Katara was navigating the challenges of pregnancy, Aang was busier than ever, only having time for his wife, Zuko was fire lord, and Toph… well, Toph had thrown herself into her training and work, convincing herself she was too busy for nostalgia.

Now, surrounded by the chaos of Zuko's party, the noises of laughter and music felt overwhelming. The vibrations from the stomping feet of guests dancing nearby were disorienting, each thump jarring against her senses. This was only ever a problem when there was alcohol involved. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, trying to block out the world around her.

Toph took another swig of her whiskey, letting the warmth settle in her chest. Despite the camaraderie she missed, something always felt off in gatherings like this. She couldn’t shake the sensation of being an outsider looking in. She was happy for her friends, but their lives were all diverging. They didn’t seem to need each other anymore. And she wasn’t going to be the one who brought it up. Everyone seemed happy with how things were. Who was she to disturb the peace?

She thought about Sokka, and how their friendship had shifted in ways she couldn’t quite put into words. It was easy to blame the distance they’d let grow, but it was different. When last they met, she had sensed some sort of shift between them—a quiet tension beneath the surface that left her feeling unsettled, though not in an unpleasant way. It was an unfamiliar heat that left her more aware of him than ever before. He’d been different, an intensity in his presence that stirred something inside her. It wasn’t just that they had grown up; it was how they had grown, and the way her pulse quickened around him made her realize this wasn’t how childhood friends were supposed to feel around each other.

She wasn’t going to deal with that, she wasn’t going to unpack it. She also wasn’t going to make herself believe something that wasn’t there because it wasn’t real.

So the distance grew.

She wondered if he would show up tonight. Inexplicably, her stomach twisted at the thought.

What would she even say? How could they bridge the gap that had formed?

Emptying her drink, she set it down and reached for her plate of dumplings, finding it bereft of any food. She frowned. There were dumplings on this plate. She’d left, like, four of them on it after eating several of them earlier, before managing to escape from the mass of people trying to catch up with her.

Before managing to escape from the hot gaze of the person who was once her closest friend.

It was odd. She’d never felt that way around him. She’d never wanted him to strip her bare and talk to her about anything under the sun. She wanted to expose herself to him and she wanted to get the same from him. But it’d been years since they’d last reconnected. How was it possible for her to want such things? It made no sense, and therefore, she would ignore it.

“Damn it,” she muttered at both her thoughts and her now-empty plate.

“Ah, sorry,” someone said beside her, and her eyes nearly widened. She was able to stop herself from changing her facial expression somehow, except for her deepening frown. “I was hungry.”

Toph scoffed, not much humor behind it but not humorlessly, either. She finally placed her feet back on the ground, cursing herself for being so lost in her mind that she didn’t notice his presence. “When were you ever not?”

“Touché.”

“And why couldn’t you get your own?”

There was a pause during which she was sure Sokka shrugged. “It seemed like a good excuse to come over here, stealing your dumplings.”

“That has to be a euphemism for something.”

“I didn’t mean for it to be, but it’d be sick if it were.” He laughed and it did more to her than the soft music playing in the background of the gathering. She found herself fighting a smile at the sound. She missed him. Of course she had.

“I see you’re just as insufferable as you were a few years back. Refreshing to know that nothing's really changed.”

“Sure, but you love me for it,” he shot back, leaning into the table, the familiarity of their banter grounding her amidst her earlier thoughts.

“Tolerate would be a more accurate word,” she retorted, crossing her arms. Yet, even as she said it, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of warmth at his presence.

Sokka pretended to consider her words, nodding seriously as if weighing his options. “Tolerating someone usually means you don’t want to stab them with a chopstick, so I’ll take it.” He glanced around, his voice lowering conspiratorially. “So, is this a good place to confess that I was just standing over there, plotting to get you to come back into the fold? Or should I keep that secret to myself?”

The question made her chuckle. Had it been that easy, they all would’ve gotten together long ago. “What, and get me to leave my comfortable spot? I think I’m okay.”

“You’d rather keep nursing your drink and feeling sorry for yourself all by your lonesome? On good old Iroh’s birthday, too.”

She stomped, causing a piece of earth to jut out of the ground and hit his shin. She smiled; partly at his grunt and partly at how their dynamic seemed to return to what it once was. “Since when do I feel sorry for myself, you idiot?”

“Well, that’s kind of what you were doing. Or at least what it looked like.” He rubbed the sore spot on his leg. “And times change, so you never know.”

A humorless laugh sounded out before she was able to avoid it. “Don’t I know it.”

Sokka reached over to one of the aides walking around with trays of drinks and plucked two from it. He handed one to her. “How have you changed then, Beifong? Catch me up.”

For one, she’d grown up. Things she found important a few years ago were trivial. She had a job she enjoyed, she had a side hustle she loved, and despite not having her closest friends so close anymore, she was fine.

For another, and this wasn’t a surprise, she missed all of them. And she missed him. But that wasn’t really a change.

She didn’t tell him this, of course.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe you’ll stick around for long enough to find out.”

Frankly, Toph hadn’t meant for it to come out as suggestive as it sounded. It just did. And because of it, the energy between them shifted. It was nearly imperceptible, but she could tell.

“And you’re up for that?” he questioned. “I don’t think you’re up for that.”

The whole of her felt warm. She hadn’t felt this in the context of Sokka in a long time. She’d forced it down, even. What good would it have done her to dwell on their relationship and dynamic when they’d lost touch for so long that none of it might have mattered to him? Besides, she wasn’t the kind of person to dwell; she wasn’t going to carry a torch for him if he wouldn’t for her.

But this response, she wasn’t exactly expecting. There was no hesitance on his part, either. This changed things.

Truthfully, she hadn’t thought they’d be able to pick up where they left off before they parted, before they lost touch, but it didn’t seem all that outlandish now.

“I can handle anything you throw at me, Snoozles,” she finally replied. “You should know this.”

Sokka's smile became a grin, but his pulse was skyrocketing. He tilted his head, taking a sip from his drink as if weighing his next words carefully.

“Maybe you're right,” he said slowly, his voice lower, more serious than it had been a moment before. “But maybe I’ve changed too.”

She snorted, running her finger over the rim of her empty glass and trying to not let his tone make her mind run amok. “Good one.”

“You want to know what I think?”

“No,” she replied. “But I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway.”

“You’re right about that,” he said laughingly. He drummed his hands on the table, then knocked against it twice. “I think we should dance.”

Toph pulled a face that she hoped conveyed her displeasure with the idea. “It might have been a few years, but I assure you, I haven’t changed all that much to want to break it down on the dance floor.”

He shrugged and reached for her hand, but she pulled it away before he could take it. Sucking his teeth, he said, “Come on, Beifong. One dance won't kill you, will it?”

“It might.”

“It won’t,” Sokka said with an air of finality as he tugged on her hand, successfully getting her to stand, but only because she wasn’t giving him much resistance. “Now look alive, will you?”

Muttering unhappily under her breath, cursing Sokka and everything he stood for, she dragged her feet all the way to the dance floor. The live band was starting up a new song, a slow one, and she felt the several couples around them swaying to the soft, unfamiliar-to-her tune.

“Better be a quick song or you won’t be alive by the end of it,” she finally replied through gritted teeth as they settled somewhere around the edge of the floor.

His deep chuckle made itself at home somewhere in her gut, warm and gooey while also unwanted as his right hand settled comfortably on the small of her back and his left fingers wrapped around hers, holding her close.

Toph gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the warmth radiating from Sokka’s hand resting on her lower back. She felt his steady presence, his familiar scent, the way his movements—though clumsy to most—were fluid in her perception, perfectly aligned with her vibrations. His thumb brushed against her knuckles, a touch that felt far more intimate than she had anticipated. Her body stiffened, though not from discomfort.

It was that tension again—the one that had lingered between them for far too long, unspoken and unacknowledged, but undeniably there. They swayed together, and for once, Toph wasn’t sure where her footing was. She could feel the thudding of his heartbeat through the vibrations of the floor, could sense the steadiness of his breathing, but it was the crackle of something deeper, something just beneath the surface, that made her skin tingle.

Sokka’s voice broke the silence, low and just for her ears. “You’re not running away yet. That’s a good sign.”

“I don’t run,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Naturally.”

“But if I did, I would if I wasn’t worried about you tripping over your own feet and falling on your ass,” she shot at him.

His laugh was more of a rumble in his chest, one she could feel rather than hear. “Well, either way, I’m glad. I like being close to you. I always have.”

Toph’s lips twitched into a reluctant smile, though her heart hammered against her ribs. He pulled her a little closer, and she didn’t pull away. Instead, she let her hand slide up from his shoulder to the back of his neck, her fingers threading through the soft hair on his nape.

It was subtle, but Sokka’s breath hitched. She felt the slight tremor in his pulse, heard the silent question in the way his grip on her tightened just a fraction. Almost as if they’d granted each other some sort of permission.

Toph swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She wasn’t sure what to say, how to handle the sudden rush of emotions that surged within her. This wasn’t like any moment they had ever shared before, and she knew—knew that this wasn’t something she could brush off as a moment of friendship.

He tilted his head down slightly, his nose brushing against her cheek, so close that the heat of him made her shudder. Her breath caught in her chest, her grip on the back of his neck tightening reflexively as his thumb traced a slow, deliberate path along her knuckles, sending sparks of warmth racing up her arm. She could feel his gaze on her, could sense his hesitation, the moment when he considered crossing a line they’d both been too scared to acknowledge.

She felt his lips brush her ear, so lightly that she almost thought she imagined it. But the way the hand on her waist wandered, feathering up her back and down again, wasn’t something her mind conjured.

“Toph…” he began, his voice a whisper; his breath, warm and steady.

“What?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Sokka said against her cheek, “that the way I’m feeling for you right now is normal.”

“What is it, then?” she asked breathily, not only to know what his reply would be but also because she needed to know what it was herself.

His hand curled around her jaw as he pulled back, thumb running across her bottom lip. She resisted the urge of poking her tongue out to meet the saltiness of his skin. “I don’t know, but I really want to do something about it.”

Sick of his inaction, or at the very least, of his teasing, the back of her hand clandestinely grazed his ever-hardening bulge. “Then what’s stopping you?”

“Good question.” Sokka inhaled sharply and quietly groaned before leaning towards her again and nibbling on her earlobe. She shivered as he said, “It’s been years.”

“Since what?”

“Since I’ve seen you,” he replied, hot breath against her skin, shielding the way his thumb grazed her nipple over her dress with his body. Her breath hitched as he added, “Since I’ve been around you. Maybe that’s what it is.”

Toph understood. She knew what he meant because she’d thought that her attraction to him had dissipated the same moment they became estranged. But it was the attraction that had set their lack of communication in motion, wasn’t it?

Now that he was here, though, in front of her, touching her, breathing the very same air she was, sharing a single tile on the ground they stood, she couldn’t keep him away.

His nose brushed her cheek, and she reminded herself to reply as the song they danced to ended, “I’ve got that effect on people.”

“Mm, no. The effect you have on me.” His hand toyed with the shoulders of her dress, his fingers sliding down her arm and grabbing hold of her hand. He gently tugged on her hand and pulled her off the dance floor and into an empty corridor. “Don’t really want to hear about people you have an effect on right now.”

“Jealous?”

“Maybe.”

The earnestness in the one word made her breath catch, but she played it off by pulling her hand away and raising her brow. “How much have you had to drink, Snoozles? This all seems a little bold, even for you.”

“I’m good,” he told her, his tone serious. “I’m just—doing what I’ve wanted to do for too long. What it took you not being around to realize what I wanted. And I think tonight is the most I can wait anymore.”

Everything within her went hot, from top to bottom, from head to toe. The thought of every wicked little thing they could do went through her mind, the possible sensations, the idea that he could make her feel ways that she’d never felt, simply because of their history.

Her voice more sultry than she intended, she reached out for his hardness again, and said, “Prove it, then.”

With a breathless groan, and clearly not needing to be told twice, he closed the distance, capturing her lips with his. They breathed against each other’s mouths, and as her fingers tangled in his hair, Sokka let out a low groan. It was raw, and messy, but beneath the urgency was something tender—something that had been building between them for far too long. Toph let out a soft moan when he pulled back, but he merely sought out the hollow of her neck, his mouth finding the curve behind her ear, licking. He then playfully nipped at her clavicle through the delicate fabric of her dress.

She surrendered to the weight of his body pressing against hers, his hands gripping her hips. It was a new, intoxicating pleasure that felt both euphoric and overwhelming. As he explored her mouth with his tongue, she mirrored his movements, trying to recall if she had ever experienced anything like this before.

“It’s ridiculous,” he murmured, his breath warm against her cheek. “How long it’s been and yet how well I still know you, even if this is the first time I’ve ever touched you like this.” He chuckled just as she squirmed at the way he gently teased her nipple over her dress. “T,” he added, his voice thick with desire, “it’s humbling how badly I want you.”

His hand slid up her thigh, lifting her dress along with it. His fingers trembled as much as her knees did. His thumb grazed the inside of her thigh, and at that moment, she would’ve let him do whatever he desired.

But he stopped.

“Someone’s going to see us,” he muttered against her lips, pulling away and leaving her cold. “We shouldn’t.”

“What? Don’t fancy exhibitionism?”

Sokka snorted a laugh into her mouth. “Not particularly at this moment, at an event most of my loved ones are at, no.”

“Pity,” she said mockingly, lips brushing as she ran her fingers down his clothed chest. “Thought you had the guts.”

“T—”

Toph wasn’t having it, so she closed their distance again, needing more of him. A doorknob poked at her back and she twisted it as his mouth sucked at her collarbone. They stumbled into what was likely a storage room—judging by the metal racks deep inside it—both of them nearly tripping onto the cold, hard ground—which she wouldn’t have exactly minded. Sokka kicked the door closed behind them and tried to push her against it, but she refused, doing exactly that to him.

He exhaled into her mouth, giving her the chance to bite down on his bottom lip before sucking on it. Her hands came down to his waistband, pulling at the belt with a desperation she didn’t know she was capable of as Sokka did the same, gathering the skirt of her dress up to access her wetness.

Undergarments weren’t a problem for her as she forewent them when she got dressed. It had been a good decision made without a premonition as to the events of the evening, considering the sound of Sokka’s groan.

She shuddered and managed a wobbly grin against his mouth. “Satisfied?”

“Hm, almost as much as you will be in a few seconds.”

“Seconds? That confident you can undo me, huh?”

His thumb unhesitantly grazed her clit, and she shut her eyes, gripping his length in her hand without abandon. He had barely done anything, yet she was running head first towards the pleasure mounting, anticipating what came next. They both shuddered, and he kissed the hollow of her right collarbone.

“You tell me,” he replied breathlessly as two fingers parted her.

She suppressed the moan that threatened to spill out as her head fell hard against the door. He sank before her, took her leg, and placed it over his shoulder as his index and middle fingers pushed into her core, his mouth sealing over her clit. Her hand flew to his hair, fisting up a handful and eliciting a grunt of pleasure from him that she felt within her.

The sensation was unbearable, intoxicating in a way she had never known before. His fingers moved inside her, curling, exploring every inch of her slick warmth, while his tongue flicked and swirled against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her breath hitched, chest rising and falling in shallow, desperate gasps. She couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped her this time, her body trembling beneath his touch.

“Sokka...” she whispered, her voice breaking.

He hummed in response, the vibrations sending a fresh wave of heat coursing through her. His pace quickened, both his fingers and tongue working in perfect harmony to unravel her. Her hips moved on their own, grinding against his mouth as she chased the high that was building deep inside her, tightening like a coil about to snap.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she hissed, her head thrown back, eyes shut tight. Every nerve ending in her body was alight, focused on the way he worshipped her with his hands and mouth. She was so close, teetering on the edge of something overwhelming, something she both craved and feared.

It had never felt this way with anyone before.

Sokka’s grip tightened on her thigh, pulling her impossibly closer as if he could sense how close she was. His tongue flattened against her clit, his fingers hitting just the right spot inside her, and that was it. The tension that had been building broke all at once, pleasure flooding through her in waves so intense that she had to bite down on her lip to stifle her scream.

Her body quaked against him, her fingers still tangled in his hair as she rode out her climax, unable to do anything but feel—feel him, feel the heat of his breath, the rhythm of his touch. He didn’t stop, didn’t slow until she was spent, panting and trembling in his arms.

When he finally pulled back, and looked up at her with a satisfied grin she could feel through her bare feet, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I would say I did a good job of undoing you.”

“That was more than a few seconds, though.”

“But I got it done effectively.” He kissed the inside of her thigh, making her tense up. “Didn’t I?”

Toph’s knees buckled, and she leaned heavily against the door for support, still catching her breath. “Cocky bastard,” she muttered, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her.

“Only for you,” he replied cheesily, taking her waist in his hands and kissing her lips. She could taste herself on his lips and in his mouth as he pressed her against the door, his own arousal digging into her stomach.

If she was already undone, the feeling of him against her kept her that way.

Her pulse was still racing, her skin flushed from the aftermath of her release, but she wasn’t done with him. Not even close. Toph tugged at his robes, yanking them off his shoulders, then dropped to her knees before he could react. His heartbeat quickened to what she only knew as dangerous levels; it was priceless—and it fueled her in ways she hadn’t expected.

“You don’t have to—Toph,” Sokka rasped, his voice tight with need as she fumbled with his belt, loosening it quickly before sliding his pants down just enough to free him. His length sprung free, hard and throbbing, and she couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that tugged at her lips as she brushed her fingers over it.

Without hesitation, she wrapped her hand around him, marveling at the weight of him in her grip. She gave him a slow, deliberate stroke, relishing the way his head fell back, his breath hitching. “Spirits,” he muttered, his hands coming to rest at his sides as though he was trying to keep control, but she could feel him trembling slightly under her touch.

“Alright up there?” she teased, her voice low as she leaned forward, her breath hot against him before she took the tip into her mouth.

Sokka swore under his breath, his hands instantly flying to her hair, fingers tangling in the dark strands as she took him deeper, hollowing her cheeks as she sucked him in. She started slow, teasing him the way he had teased her, her tongue swirling around the head of his cock, savoring the salty taste of him. But she didn’t linger long—she wanted more, needed to feel him come undone the way she had.

She moved faster, taking him deeper, bobbing her head as her hand stroked what her mouth couldn’t. His grip on her hair tightened, and the low, guttural sounds spilling from his lips told her just how much he was enjoying this. “Shit... Toph,” he breathed, his hips jerking slightly as she hit just the right spot, the tension in his body coiling tighter with every pass of her tongue.

She could feel him getting close, the way he was losing control, his breathing ragged and uneven. His grip on her hair was almost painful, but she didn’t care, didn’t stop. She wanted him to fall apart.

And then, just when he was right on the edge, she pulled back with a wicked grin, licking her lips as she angled her head towards him. “I think that’s enough,” she said, her voice sultry.

Sokka‘s cock twitched in her hand. “You’re going to kill me,” he muttered, his voice thick with desire.

“Maybe,” she quipped, squeezing him. He was so painfully hard that her stomach coiled at the feeling of it wrapped in her fingers. “But you’ll enjoy every second of it.”

Before he could respond, she kissed him hard, still stroking him slowly. His lips parted against hers, groaning into her mouth as his body trembled with restraint.

She reached down and guided him between her legs, gathering her skirt in her arms and lifting one of her legs to wrap around his waist. Her back hit the door as he pressed closer, aligning himself at her entrance. She pushed her ass against the door, however, making it hard for him to access her. At his sound of exasperation, she chuckled darkly.

“Toph,” he growled, his voice rough with need as his forehead knocked against hers, “please.”

She smirked, enjoying the power she held over him for just a moment longer, before lifting her hips and positioning him at her entrance, hands on his shoulders for balance as she bumped her height with the help of the earth beneath her. With a low groan, Sokka didn’t wait to thrust into her all at once, hands on her hips as he pushed her back against the door with the force of it. Both of them gasped, the feeling of him filling her completely overwhelming them both for a moment. She clung to him, her legs tightly around his waist as her hands fisted in his hair, pulling him close as she moaned into his mouth.

She held still for a moment, adjusting to the fullness, her hands braced on his chest as his fingers dug into her hips. “Fuck,” she whispered, her head falling back as pleasure shot through her.

Sokka’s grip on her hips tightened, his nails digging into her skin as he thrust up into her. Toph gasped, her head falling against his shoulder as the sensation of him buried deep inside her sent waves of pleasure shooting through her body.

She whispered incoherences, her voice trembling as he began to move, pulling out slowly before thrusting back into her. The sensation was intoxicating—raw, intense, and so much more than she had anticipated. She pressed her forehead against his cheek, biting her lip to suppress the moans that threatened to spill out.

His hands gripped her ass tightly, lifting her as he thrust into her again and again, their bodies colliding with each slam of his hips. Her nails scraped along his back, drawing shuddering groans from his lips, and the tension coiled tightly between them. The door rattled behind her, but neither of them cared.

“You feel... so fucking good,” Sokka muttered, his voice strained as he thrust harder, deeper, his breath coming in short, ragged bursts against her ear.

Toph’s eyes fluttered shut at his words as the pleasure mounted, her body arching into his, desperate for more. She couldn’t get enough of him, of the way he filled her so completely, driving her towards that edge again. She’d wanted him, sure, but she hadn’t realized just how much she needed him, too.

“Don’t stop,” she demanded, her voice a breathless plea as she pressed her lips to his ear. “Faster.”

He groaned, his thrusts growing more erratic, more desperate as he neared his own release. He buried his face in her neck, his breath hot against her skin as his hands tightened on her hips, pulling her even closer. “Toph, I—”

She didn’t give him a chance to finish, her own climax hitting her so hard she had to bite down on his shoulder to stifle her scream. Her body clenched around him, shuddering violently as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her, leaving her gasping and trembling in his arms.

Sokka wasn’t far behind. His hips jerked against hers one last time, his grip tightening as he came with a deep, guttural moan, his release spilling into her as his body shook with the force of it. They stayed like that for a moment, their bodies trembling and hearts racing, still pressed against the door as they caught their breath.

When they finally broke apart again, both still panting, Sokka slid onto the ground and pulled her with him. They fell in a heap, laughing in the afterglow of their sex. It felt normal and right and she hated how much her stomach was twirling in utter delight. She shouldn’t want this, and now that she’d gotten a taste, she feared that she wouldn’t get enough of it. And she didn’t very much believe in the odds being in favor of it happening again.

“Safe to say that this isn’t what I imagined when I thought of us meeting here tonight,” he murmured, pulling her close and playing with what was surely the mess of her hair.

“Then what did you imagine?” she asked. A playful smirk returned to her lips despite the doubt wandering through her mind.

“More talking, less kissing,” he joked as he took a silky cloth to her sex, wiping her clean. She felt hot as he added, “Less… touching.”

Toph raised a brow, pulling her hands away from him. “That is still doable.”

“Don’t you dare,” he rasped, holding her wrist firmly but gently. He kissed her again: her lips, her jaw, her cheek, the corner of her eye, her temple. “You deserved better than this.”

“What could ever be better than hot storage room sex?” she questioned, ignoring the tightening in her chest.

Sokka laughed into her hair. “You're absolutely right, but even so, you deserved a bed and pampering and—you just deserved better because I don’t—this isn’t the only thing I want from you. You know that, right?”

Her body tensed slightly against his, but she didn’t pull away. “You’re too damn corny for your own good.”

“I’ve heard,” he said, chuckling. “And you’re not exactly cynical, either, even though that’s what you want to come off as half the time, Beifong.”

“I don’t have to be cynical,” she replied, her tone softer than usual. “I’m just... realistic.”

“Realistic,” he echoed, almost as if he were testing the weight of the word on his tongue. He shifted so that he could look at her, his fingers tilting her chin just enough to meet her gaze, more for his benefit than hers, clearly. “So what’s the realistic version of this? We go back out there, pretend nothing happened?”

Toph’s jaw clenched for a moment, but then she let out a resigned sigh. “Maybe. I mean... what else are we supposed to do?” She didn’t say to him that it wasn’t as though this would go beyond what had just happened, despite it meaning more to her than she was willing to admit.

Sokka was quiet, and she felt his eyes on her before finally shrugging. “I don’t know. But I’d rather figure it out than pretend it didn’t happen.” His hand brushed her cheek, and she didn’t flinch or brush him off. “I don’t expect us to suddenly make sense of all this in one night, but I’m not about to act like this was nothing either.”

Toph bit down on her cheek, as her fingers traced lazy circles on his chest that she couldn’t bring herself to stop drawing. She didn’t like where this was going, not because she didn’t care, but because she did. And that scared her more than anything else.

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” she muttered, though her voice had lost its edge. Perhaps it’d lost its edge a while back, but she didn’t care to recall.

His tone exposed his smile. “Maybe. Or maybe you’re just afraid it could be easy if you let it.”

She frowned at that, ready to fire back, but the words died on her lips. Instead, she just pressed closer to him, letting the silence stretch between them. It wasn’t uncomfortable, though. It didn’t have to be with him. It never had to be.

“To answer your question: yeah, I do know,” she finally admitted, her voice soft as if hoping he would somehow not hear her. “It’s not the only thing I want from you either.”

She felt the shock radiate through him; it nearly made her laugh. “It’s not?”

“Should I be offended at how surprised you are at this?” She snorted, then pinched his peck. “No, it’s not what I want. But I do think that we need—we have to—”

“Talk? Yeah, we do.” He let out a long breath. “Especially about—about why we kind of… stopped talking there for a bit.”

Toph scoffed. “I blame you for that.”

“I think we’re both at fault. We—I was scared. I didn’t know what I was feeling.” Sokka ran a hand down his face and let out one dry, incredulous laugh. “I didn’t want to mess us up, and that’s what ended up happening, right?”

Taking a breath and holding it for a moment. It was what ended up happening, and it wasn’t exactly one-sided. If anything, she was the first to begin putting distance between them. She was the one to make sure he stayed at arm’s length, and he did because it was now that she recognized that he would do what he could to keep her comfortable. Happy. And if what she wanted was to no longer have his friendship, he would oblige.

She didn’t say all of this, though. “I didn’t want to mess it up, either.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to gather that now.” His nose brushed hers. “So, definitely need to talk.”

Her hands started exploring him again. She felt the scar on his shoulder from when he’d gotten grazed by a stalactite after foolishly standing below one in the South Pole; she felt another scar on his chest from when he, Zuko, and she were playing with fire while drunk; she felt a third by his pelvis from a confrontation with a swordsman some years back. In the same vein, she felt goosebumps adorn his skin as his own hands roamed.

“But,” she muttered, reaching up to kiss his neck, “maybe we talk… later?”

“Mm, later.” His fingers squeezed her nipple, making her gasp as she brushed his length. “Later’s good, right?”

“So good.”

Sokka’s hands were already on the move again, sliding under her dress, fingers skimming the smooth curve of her waist. Toph pressed into him, her lips trailing from his jawline to the pulse point on his neck, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her mouth. His breath hitched, and she could sense the way his body reacted to her touch—how every muscle tensed as though he were bracing himself against the rising tension.

She tugged at the waistband of his pants, smirking against his throat when she felt his hands grip her thighs tighter in response. “Still think we can talk later?” she murmured, her voice low, teasing, as her fingers dipped just beneath the fabric, grazing the base of him.

Sokka’s breath stuttered, a low groan escaping him. “I’m starting to have some reservations,” he told her, his voice thick with desire. Something girlish within her bounced at the fact that he sounded this way for her, but she tampered it down.

He shifted beneath her as she swung a leg over him to straddle his hips. His hand slid lower to cup her backside, pressing her firmly against his arousal. She felt the heat between them rising again, their bodies moving in sync as her fingers wrapped around his length, drawing a soft curse from his lips.

Toph grinned wickedly, enjoying the effect she had on him. “You like that?” she teased, her hand moving with just enough pressure to make him squirm beneath her.

His head fell back against the wall, eyes closing as he breathed out a shaky, “Mhm.”

But just as she leaned in to nip at his earlobe, about to push things further, a thought flitted into her mind, and she paused mid-motion.

“So wait,” she said again, pulling back slightly, her hand still wrapped around him but no longer moving.

Breathless and disoriented, Sokka grunted. “Seriously?”

Toph held back a laugh. “I just need to know.” 

“Can’t it wait a few minutes? Seconds, even?”

“Mm, no.” She fished her hand out of his pants and he deflated, making her laugh aloud this time before asking, "Does all of this mean you were pining for me these past few years?”

Sokka kept quiet, caught completely off guard by the question, pulling away and giving her what she was nearly sure was some kind of humorously incredulous look. “That’s what you got from all this?”

“It’s among the many things, yes.”

“I thought we agreed on talking later,” he nearly whined, which kept the smile on her face. “If you were serious about what you said, we have plenty of time for talking.”

She brushed her fingers over his collarbone, leaving goosebumps on his skin. “Tell me.”

“You know what?” He asked her, poking her side. He took her face in his hands and kissed her softly enough that it made her warm to her core ten times over. Against her lips, he said, “It’s not beneath me to say that, yes, there was a little bit of pining, okay? Just a touch.”

Before she could stop herself, a grin began to spread across her face. She clicked her tongue playfully. “I knew it. I knew that I was just too hard to resist.”

Sokka groaned. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet, here you are.” She leaned in, her lips brushing against his ear. “Pining for me.”

“Maybe I was. But don’t let it get to your head.” His hands slipped down to her hips, squeezing lightly. “Remember that I’m not alone in this, am I?”

Her smirk softened, but only for a second. “Fair enough.” She shifted her weight, pressing herself against him again, her fingers trailing across his chest. “So, what’s next?”

Sokka sighed contentedly, letting his head rest against the wall again as his fingers traced lazy patterns on her back. “Well, if you’d stop interrupting…”

Toph chuckled, rolling her eyes, but before she could make a snarky comeback, he tilted her chin up and kissed her again, and just like that, the teasing was replaced by something deeper, more intense. His hands roamed her body with more intent, and she felt herself give in to the pull of his touch.

Something had changed in the midst of this. She was convinced it was the weight of the admissions they’d just shared. But it felt right, right enough that she didn’t want it to end, and she didn’t think she planned on letting that happen if it came to that.

A loud knock on the door burst their bubble. Toph, annoyed that she’d been so distracted to not have clocked the footsteps of their interloper, cursed, throwing her head back as Sokka laughed into her neck.

“I know the expression is ‘get a room,’ but no one ever means to find one in their palace in the middle of their elderly uncle’s birthday celebration,” Zuko’s miserable tenor rang through the door.

“Is it any consolation that no one told us to get a room?” Sokka asked laughingly as Toph shook her head at him bemusedly.

“Can you believe that it isn’t?”

Toph snorted. “Is there anything you need, Fire Pants? Either way, I’m going to need you to scram.”

A heavy sigh sighed on the other side of the door. “We’re getting ready to give Uncle his envelopes, so… hurry it up.” Then, before walking off, he belatedly added, “And don’t be so loud.”

It didn’t take long for Toph and Sokka to burst out laughing. Her head fell on his shoulder, which was shaking with his own laughter. When they got themselves together, her sides aching, he regretfully said, “We should get going.”

“I would’ve disagreed if Iroh weren’t involved,” she told him, reluctantly sliding off his lap. She wasn’t going to miss out on giving Iroh his red envelope, as is tradition across the four nations on someone’s birthday. She didn’t know how long she’d get to do that for.

She ran her hands down her dress to tamper the wrinkles that would surely make her look freshly fucked. She felt Sokka’s hands on her hair, brushing it out, removing her headpiece, and placing it back on after raking his fingers through it gently.

She didn’t know why she let him, but then again, she’d always let him help her. Despite this, she childishly said, “I could’ve handled that.”

“But I handled it,” He kissed the corner of her mouth. “So you’re welcome.”

It startled her how comfortable they were like this, acting like they were together and had been for longer than what was fathomable. But, like much of what they did this evening, she liked it.

She leaned against the wall behind her, waiting for him to finish dressing and cleaning himself up. A sense of warmth spread through her, as she recalled what they’d done and how the night started, how they’d been so far apart for so long, letting misunderstandings and tension come between them.

But what did that mean for them? Could they really make this work? Would they risk everything for the chance at something real? A part of her reveled in the excitement of the unknown, while another part was keenly aware of the potential for complications—both with their past and the expectations of their roles in the world around them.

Toph shook her head slightly, pushing the thoughts aside. They had a chance to figure it out later; for now, she wanted to savor this feeling, to relish in the lightness between them that had been absent for so long. It felt like they were finally stepping into a space that had been waiting for them, and she wanted to grab it with both hands.

“As much as I want to stay here,” Sokka said, pulling her out of her thoughts, “we should get going if we don’t want to miss the envelope ceremony.”

She took his hand and laced their fingers before getting on her toes and kissing him, softer than she ever had, granted, today had been the first time she’d kissed him. “We’ll make this work.”

Toph could tell that he wasn’t expecting her to say anything remotely like this, but she felt him squeeze her hand before bringing it up to his lips. “Fuck yeah, we will.”