With Love, Snoozles

The Bonding Project (Pt. 2)

Katara stormed in, ready to fight just in case. But when she walked in, she saw someone unfamiliar. "Uhhh, Aang? That's not Suki." She said. Aang peeked around the corner and his eyes widened. "It's not?" 

The woman turned around, her hands on a man's face, who both were embarrassed. "Um, hello! I'm Willa, and this is my boyfriend Jin!" He waved shyly, and Aang waved back. She really does look like Suki, Katara thought. "What are you guys doing here?" Katara asked.

Willa's eyes lit up. "Oh, we heard about the Avatar and his friends going to a dance, so we came here to shop for some dresses and suits!" Katara raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Aang. "Looks like it's not gonna be just us, sweetie." 

The girl gasped. "Wait, are you Avatar Aang? I'm so sorry, I just now noticed the arrow on your head-!" Aang backed away, chuckling nervously. "It's alright, really. I just thought that you were someone else. And I'm sorry that Katara and I," He said, motioning towards her. "kicked down the door." 

Katara scoffed and crossed her arms. "You said it was Suki..." She murmured. "So, who else is coming?" She asked Willa. She shrugged sheepishly. "Well, probably some people from each and every nation." Katara's eyes went wide and looked up at Aang, who was also surprised. "We've gotta tell the others." They said in unison.

Meanwhile, Sokka and Toph were walking around the almost deserted gift shop that was a part of the clothing store. Sokka kept a sharp eye, hoping to find something that would suit Toph the best. After all, he felt she deserved it. It was awfully quiet since both of them were looking, but Toph felt like she had to say something. "So what's going on with you and Suki?" 

Sokka glanced over at Toph, noticing that the overhead lights of the gift shop reflected on her silky hair just right. "Uh, well...It's just that she can be a bit controlling sometimes." Toph rolled eyes. Yeah, more like all the time, She thought. He continued on. "I just hope that one day she'll calm down, and that not everything sets her off. She wasn't always like that, but she's just been real anxious lately." Toph sighed heavily. "Well, I'm sure we've all been feeling a little off these days." She replied. Sokka nodded, running his fingers along the marble counters of all the little trinkets on display. Then something caught his eye. "Ooh! Toph, come look at this!" She sighed. "Oh right...Well, uh, just use your feet-eyeball-seeing-thingies." He said, making her laugh.

She walked over by Sokka, feeling through the glass case. And gasped, As far she could see, inside it sat a cushioned little headpiece that was golden and fragile. It felt you could break it just by looking at it. Sokka stared up at her expectantly. "Well....Do you want it? It's only 500 Yuans." (A/N: Almost a HUNDRED dollars in U.S currency, by the way.) Toph inhaled sharply. "That's a lot for just a new headpiece. We can look for a different one-" 
"No no no! I'll buy it for you, really! " Sokka exlaimed, gently grabbing her by the wrist. She blushed madly, not knowing he was this excited about getting her a present. "Really, I'm fine, lets just keep looking, Sokka. I can always come back for it when I have the money!" Sokka's jaw dropped. "Or I could just get it for you now! C'mon, you deserve it!"  He said, making direct eye contact with her

Toph looked away, not wanting to make her red face noticeable. "No I don't." She said quietly. Sokka sighed, and let go of her wrist. "Oh, alright, fine." Suddenly a cashier popped up from behind the counter. "Hello, how may I assist you?" He said. Sokka smiled slyly. "I'll take that beautiful headpiece on display right there sir!" The cashier nodded. Toph grabbed Sokka by the shirt, bringing him face to face with her. "What did we just talk about, Sokka?" She growled. He gulped, forgetting how scary Toph could get.

 "All I heard was something between the lines of, 'thank you Sokka, I will quite enjoy this gift'. " He said. Toph clenched her fists harder around Sokka's collar. He looked up at the cashier. "Hey, a little help here?" The man looked up and shrugged. Sokka sighed. "Thanks, I appreciate the effort, and that was sarcasm by the way." 

The cashier put the headpiece into a shiny box and gave it to them. "I will give it to you for free, just please leave." Toph and Sokka made quick glances at each other, and then back at the man. "Are you sure? That is way to expensive to give away like this!" Sokka said. He shook his head. "Just take it and leave, I want to go home please. Plus, no one's been here for days, and I am just about tired of this job anyways." He said, shutting the display window and walking away. Toph finally let go of Sokka's shirt, letting him drop to the floor as she felt around for the box. She managed to open it, and felt it's shiny diamonds sitting atop of the smooth and sturdy base. "Wow..." She whispered. Sokka stood up, smoothing out his shirt. "See? I told you, it suits you! Or at least it will once you put it on."

Toph hesitated to slip off her old head band, feeling bare once she did. She immediately put on the new one, setting right where the old on used to be. And just for good measure, she let her hair down. Just this once, she thought. She turned around for Sokka to see. "So...?" She said. Sokka felt his heart skip a beat when he saw that she had let her hair down. "Gee whiz..." He whispered. Toph looked right at his face, hoping he didn't regret getting her a present. She felt her face get hot with anticipation. "Does it look bad? Or does it make me look too prissy? Well, say something!" She exclaimed, getting just a bit impatient. Sokka felt himself smile. She's gorgeous... "You look so beautiful..." He finally said. Toph smiled, feeling her heart burst with happiness. "M'lady." He said, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles, making her stomach flutter. She giggled. Sokka looked up, a silly smile on his face. "Did you just giggle?!" He exclaimed. Toph felt her face get hot once again and backed away. "Kinda..." She said. 

Sokka kept on smiling, not letting go of her hand, when someone ran through the doors that led to the clothing store. "Toph! Sokka!" They heard voices call. "Is that..Aang?" Toph said. Sokka nodded. "And Katara." 
They caught up with the voices and comfirmed that it was them. "Guys, what's the matter?" Sokka asked. Aang was out of breath. "There's...more...people...coming to...the dance!" He managed to say. "More people? People like who?" Sokka asked. Katara rolled her eyes. "People from all over the world, Sokka!" 

He sighed, disappointed that he wouldn't get more alone time with Toph. "Have you told Suki and Zuko yet?" Toph said, holding on to Sokka's arm. Katara shook her head. "I haven't seen them yet, but there's a bit of a problem..." 
"What is it?" Sokka asked. Aang pointed to the nearest window that led outside. People were surrounding the whole outside of the building, and crowding around the sky bison. "We can't get to Appa."