With Love, Snoozles

Party At Kuang's Diner (Part 2)

Appa took off, lifting them in the air. Toph looked over at the rest of the group, and felt weird because Zuko, Katara, and Aang were there, but Sokka wasn't. She remembered how she used to hold on to Sokka when they were in the air like this, but pretty soon it got awkward when Suki had been there, so she forced herself to stop relying on Sokka to keep her safe. 

Katara looked over at Toph and saw a far-away look on her face. She scooted over by her. "Are you thinking about Sokka?" She whispered. Toph looked up, surprised. "You just love bringing up the one thing I hate thinking about..." She said looking down. "Which is what, exactly?" Katara asked. Toph sighed and kept quiet before finally replying. "The past."

MEANWHILE AT KYOSHI ISLAND WITH SOKKA AND SUKI:

"What in the world do you mean, Sokka?!" Suki exclaimed. Sokka backed away from Suki slowly. "I just said I'm excited to see Toph after all these years, that's all!" He replied. That's not exactly what he meant, but he wasn't going to say what he was really thinking to his own girlfriend, otherwise it would just make things worse. "Sokka, how long are we going to have to wait here?" Suki said, changing to subject. "Just a little bit longer, Aang's going pick us up on Appa! Y'know, like we used to do!" 

Suki smiled. "Well that's good. I've missed Appa." Sokka was relieved to see that her mood was getting a little better. The wind starting picking up. Some of the Kyoshi Warriors ran outside to see what the commotion was. Ty Lee, who was one of the warriors, ran out as well. "Appa!" She cried out as the sky bison landed. Suki's smile widened, letting Sokka know that she had calmed down fully. "Sokka!" Katara said. She hopped off of Appa, making her way to her brother. "I've missed you, I'm glad you decided to come to Kuang's with us!" Aang grabbed everyone, including Zuko, into a group hug. Zuko waved after finally being released from the tight hug. "I missed you, Mr. Councilman. So, how's it feel to be in position of power?" Sokka sighed. "I honestly feel bad for you, Zuko. I don't even have to run a whole country, and I'm already considering giving up meat just to make my life more exciting!" 

"Hey, Captain Boomerang." a voice said. Sokka looked behind the rest of the group to see Toph leaning up against Appa, with a small smile on her face. "Just to let you know, Aang and Katara have been giving me the oogies the whole ride here." Sokka walked up to her, and gasped. "Did you get taller, Toph?" He joked. Toph laughed, punching him in the arm. "Maybe I did." She replied. Sokka chuckled, embracing her in a hug. He didn't mean to, but it just felt like the right thing to do. Toph stood there a few seconds, then put her arms around him too, blushing madly. Please don't let me go... She thought. Without meaning to, Sokka closed his eyes and smelled her hair. He caught a whiff of something that smelled amazing, like sugary fruit and jasmine. He snapped back to reality, opening his eyes. When he and Toph pulled out of the hug, they realized that they had been hugging for a whole minute. "Uh...sorry." Toph said. Suki was staring at Sokka, another scary look on her face. Aaaaand there goes her good mood, Sokka thought. Aang cleared his throat to turn the attention to him. "Well, to Kuang's we go, everyone! Onward and yonward!" He said, galloping back to Appa. Katara shook her head at him. "I hate it when he says that." And with that, everyone climbed on. After saying goodbye to Kyoshi Warriors, Sokka attempted to help Suki up, but she refused his help. "I've got it, Sokka, I don't need help." Jeez, what's her deal... Toph thought. She took a step towards Appa, trying to grab hold of his saddle, but she missed. "Whoa-!" Before she hit the ground, she felt arms around her. Someone had caught her. "Are you alright, Toph?" Sokka asked. He straightened her back to make her stand up straight, keeping his arms around her. Toph nodded, holding on to him as well. She couldn't see his face, but she could feel his body heat rising. No way... Toph thought. Sokka helped her up, and this time she made it. He climbed on shortly after, ignoring the look on Suki's face. 

"Uhh...everything ok, Suki?" Aang asked. "Yup." She replied. Aang and Katara looked at each other and shrugged. "Are you ok, sweetie?" Aang asked. Katara giggled. "I certainly am, sweetie." Toph finally sat down, gagging. "Ugh, oogies." Sokka whispered to her. Toph laughed louder than she meant to, but she didn't care. It's nice to see him again... She thought, wrapping her arm around his. I sincerely hope that Suki is seeing this right now.

AT KUANG'S DINER:

The whole table remained silent. Aang sipped his lychee juice and chewed on his cabbage cookie with a smile on his face. "Isn't this fantastic?" He asked. Everyone shrugged and stayed quiet. Zuko sighed. "So, what was the problem at the Air Temple?" Sokka perked up, wanting to know the same thing. "Yeah, what was so important?" A nervous smile slowly crept on Aang's face. Zuko made a face. "That face does NOT look right, Aang." He quickly fixed his face and looked down. "Well, I kinda sorta---really not of that big of a deal by the way---maybe, definitely lied about there being a problem at the Northern Air Temple-" 

"WHAT!?" Sokka and Zuko exclaimed. Aang put his hands up. "I-it was the only way to get you guys here! You've all been so busy, and I was afraid we were gonna lose touch with each other forever. Guys, we saved the world together, did you forget?" Toph spoke up. "Guys, he's right. Do you wanna just act like none of what happened meant anything to us? I know you've all had things to do over the years, but get over yourselves!" Suki, Zuko, and Katara looked down. Sokka stared at Toph, knowing that what she was saying was true.

"Once again, this makes me wonder who the blind ones really are..." She said, quieting down once the waitress brought them their food. "If you guys really don't like it, then go back home," She said after the waitress had left. "but I'm not just going to act like a stranger around just because its been a few years." Toph stood up, walking away to get some air. "Well that went well." Sokka said.