Severance

Chapter 1 - Sokka

There was something in the way that she moved that made me fall in love with her.
It was her indignant stature when someone underestimated her, her relaxed shoulders whenever she laughed. When she walked she held her head high as if she was better than everyone, because, well, she was.
But I had never seen her dance before.
It was the night of Aang and Katara's wedding. 7 years had passed since the end of the war, and we all had dispersed to live our own lives, occasionally meeting back up to take care of problems. Katara and I spent our time helping with the construction of the South Pole, Aang spent a lot of time doing whatever the hell the avatar does, along with Zuko who attended to his firelordly business, and Toph opened a metalbending school. The last time I'd seen her was 2 years ago, though Aang had sent letters saying that they'd met up. At least we knew she was alive.
Now here we are, 7 years later, 2 of which she'd been too occupied to visit—not that she'd like the South Pole anyway.
When I had first met her, Toph was no more than 4 feet tall. The last time I'd seen her, she was just breaking 5 feet, and now, she was no less than 5 foot 6. Her raven black hair reached just above her butt, and was swaying along to the motion of her hips. She was dancing with a man that I didn't quite recognize, and his muscular arms were gripping onto her petite frame as they danced together.
She was laughing, and all you could see in her movements was confidence. I was in a trance watching her.
I couldn't help but stare until Suki grabbed onto my arm, kissing me on the cheek.
"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," I pointed "is that Toph?"
Her eyes followed my finger and she smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, it is. Wow, she looks great. Let's go say hi!" she exclaimed. And it was true. She looked amazing, and I felt my stomach do backflips every time I looked at her.
I followed Suki's lead and shouted Toph's name as we inched closer, watching as her head turned to face us and then as she detached from the stranger.
"Sokka, Suki, hey!" She hugged me and then Suki, half smiling and half smirking. I knew that she could feel my heartbeat as it raced, I just hoped she didn't know why. And since when had she actually used my name? I knew I didn't have a proper nickname from her, yet I couldn't recall actually hearing her say my name.
"Toph, hey. It's been a while" I smiled and hugged her again.
The man looked at me and frowned, and I just stuck my tongue out at him. She's my best friend even after all these years, and though I didn't know who he was, I was determined to let it be known that I was obviously the superior here. There was a bit of tension that I'm sure he could feel too, and we hadn't even formally introduced ourselves.
"Suki, Sokka, this is Hina" she introduced him, and we shook hands.
I nodded and frowned.
"Hey, Toph, can we talk? Alone?" I asked.
She raised her eyebrow but nodded, and we left the room, going outside together.

"What's up? You seem tense. Or maybe you've just become uptight. Don't tell me you're all stiff like your sister now" she smirked.
I felt a smile creep onto my face and I shook my head.
"No no no, if I was I'd have you knock some sense into me. I was just wanting to catch up. So who's that guy?" I asked, curious.
"Who, Hina? He's my boyfriend" she answered.
"Oh... I didn't think you were the romantic type" I hesitated.
She laughed, and I watched the lines above and around her mouth, her eyes and the way that they shut tightly. I always thought she was the most beautiful when she smiled or laughed.
"I'm not, he was one of my students at the academy and we just kinda hit it off. We've been dating for about two years" she explained.
I thought for a second. 2 years? That's exactly how long it had been since she stopped visiting and really communicating. Could that just be a coincidence? I wasn't so sure, and to be honest, deep down I knew that they were related.
"Oh... well, how's the academy?" I asked, walking along a dirt path with her.
"Great of course. You'd think I wouldn't be doing a good job? My lily livers are actually learning pretty well, and I've moved to a new building thanks to Satoru." She answered.
I was glad she was doing well, but part of me wished I had been there with her.
I had a fiancée, a house, a job, yet for some reason I felt like it all just wasn't right. I wanted something different.
I wanted her.
I shook my head quickly to get those thoughts out of my head, and smiled.
"I'm glad to hear it. We've missed you, you know. I've missed you" I muttered.
"Don't get soft on me, man. Honestly, you're turning into a girl or something" she chuckled.
I smiled and looked at her, shaking my head.
"Yeah well who said that was a bad thing? Let's turn around" I turned, walking back.
When we got back it was time for cake, and I smiled watching as Aang and Katara shoved some onto the other's face. I looked at Suki, and then back at Toph. Who could I imagine myself doing that with?
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
Was it bad that I wasn't certain?
Suki grabbed my arm and I understood that she was ready to leave. I turned at Toph.
"Hey, where are you guys staying tonight?" I asked
"Oh, some inn a block or two away from here. I think it's just called 'Ba Sing Se Inn'" she answered.
"Hey, we are too! Are you both ready to go? We could walk together!" I exclaimed and she smiled, agreeing.
Little did I know, it was a bad idea. There was nothing but awkward silence as we walked, none of us really knowing what to say to each other. We checked into our rooms and made our separate ways, and I tried to analyze just how much she had changed.
Toph would never let there be a silence for too long without there being some sarcastic comment. That's what I liked about her.
Maybe my best friend really had changed, maybe she had gotten mature.
Maybe there was a new her for me to fall in love with.