Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any other franchises used in this fic.

Title: she could rule the world (and he loves her).

Summary: "You're a good man, Sokka." He gets up to leave. "What does that have to do with anything?" Sokka asks, exasperated. The Avatar shrugs. "Toph has never liked good men," Aang says, and walks away. [Oneshot. Tokka.]

Notes: Toph and Sokka -and everyone, really- are MUCH older here. I don't know exactly how much older, but old enough to be able to talk about sex without turning red-faced, definitely. Also, I did not poof read, so I apologise for any mistakes. Reviews would be uber lovely!

Sokka has always been a romantic.

A believer in true love, in the proven fact that everybody has somebody, or something, that makes unreservedly happy.

He believed, for some time, that his true love was fighting wars, being a warrior, a leader. The adrenaline that ran through his veins when he struck his opponent, for a cause much more worthy than himself, made him feel invincible.

And then.

There was Yue.

Yue challenged the very basis of his romanticism. He realized, for once, that fighting battles was only the effect; the cause was love. And the loved stemmed from countless things. His sister, grandmother. The Avatar. All his friends. The world.

Yue.

He loses her, and it hurts him, losing the girl he could have loved, could have held tight and never let go. But he moves on.

He meets Suki.

Suki is practically perfect in every way. Her hair is always nice, her smile is radiant. She's a capable, powerful woman, a wonderful addition to the team. Sweet but firm, tough but nice. Able to converse about lipsticks and battle strategies, she's every man's dream. For a long time, she's his dream. For a long time, she's the one he loves.

But as the years go by, he finds the love wearing itself down, he finds that the urge to settle down with Suki has dwindled, and he finds that she feels the same way. It isn't that she's a bad person; no, Suki is a wonderful person, a heroine. It's simply that their love had been one captivated in times of war, two soldiers, warriors, on a mission. For a while, they'd kept the love going by proceeding to other missions, fighting renegades and pirates.

But not everything in life is fist fights and victory kisses.

There was also quiet moments of sorrow and tight hugs. And that was how they parted, after the love had died. As friends, saddened by the revelation that not all love is true love. Not all love lasts.

He wanders, over rocks and mountains, land and sea, going back to see friends. The last person he visits -he chose to visit her last, because he knew he'd stay there longest- is the girl who claims the title of best friend.

What Sokka finds, however, is not that girl.

He finds defined hips connected to strong legs, exposed by the slit in the skirt she wears. He finds long raven hair, loose instead of up in a no-nonsense bun, swinging around sharp cheekbones and a knowing smirk, unseeing green eyes (beautiful eyes) and arms crossed underneath a noticeable bust. She is surrounded by men, she oozes confidence, and she is completely at home in the atmosphere. She knows she rules them.

What Sokka finds is a woman, and it throws his entire universe off kilter.

Toph Bei Fong never completely registered as female to him. She was just... Toph. She was just the girl who invented metalbending, capable of handling herself, completely tough, never soft. She was the girl -no, not a girl, his best friend- that couldn't see when they were in the middle of the ocean, the best friend who he protected when she was blind. Toph was the friend who always had his back, no matter what, and he did his best to always have hers.

Seeing her here, now, smiling and flirting and looking not only like a girl, but like a woman, caused his jaw to go slack.

As it was, this was how she found him.

Her feet barefoot, as always, scanned the surroundings and found a man, standing a few feet away from the men who'd approached her (they didn't yet know who she was; they wouldn't have dared approach her otherwise). Further prodding to his heartbeat, intake of breath, silhouette, and gait provided her with all the knowledge she needed.

"I'm not interested," She huffs. Most of the men disperse, downhearted, but a couple remain, sneering, thinking her blind and helpless. "I said I'm not interested." She tries again, warning in her voice.

"C'mon, gorgeous," One says, "Lemme buy you a drink."

Another grabs her arm, roughly. "We'll have a good time."

She senses Sokka (it has to be Sokka, she's almost sure) reach for something behind his back, and she grins to herself. Toph really hadn't meant to cause any trouble, but she had always enjoyed roughing people up...

The rocks that jutted up from the ground nailed the men right below the hips, and she wiped her hands before marching up to her best friend.

"Sokka," She says.

He smiles at her. "Toph," He responds.

Conversation after that is easy, as it always is with them.

(She doesn't see the way he looks at her.)

It is obvious to Toph, after a month of his staying with her, that he is treating her differently. He is being a little bit rougher, touching her whenever he gets the chance. But he is also kinder, pulling out a chair for her when they go out to eat. She doesn't know what to make of it, but Toph likes the balance he keeps. He doesn't treat her like a man, but he doesn't treat her like a girl either.

He treats her like a woman, and she is content.

Another week passes before a thought strikes her fancy, one she cannot shake. It happens when they are practicing forms, shifting from foot to foot. They get hungry, and decide to go out. As always, Sokka pulls out her chair and seats her.

The owner recognizes them.

A man who's voice is similar to Iroh's approaches, and begins an easy conversation. "My daughter," He says, before dismissing himself, "Always said you two would go out. You make a lovely couple."

Toph is about to correct him, when Sokka reaches over and squeezes her hand. "Thanks," He says, smiling.

Once the man walks away, Toph steps on his foot. "What was that for?"

Sokka shrugs, "Just a little fun."

"What if they talk?"

He winks at her, "I wouldn't mind being your pretend boyfriend."

She rolls her eyes, ignoring the way her heart speeds up at the thought. They banter like that for the rest of the night, flirting and laughing, arms hooked even though Toph can see just fine.

(And he doesn't see the way she looks at him.)

He stays with her for three months, but it isn't until he's packing that Toph confronts him.

"So, is this just sexual attraction, or what?" She is leaning against his doorway, her clothes fire-nation red. He wonders who chooses her outfits.

"What?" Sokka asks, dropping his suitcase on his foot. He cringes.

Toph rolls her eyes, "Are you being so strange because you want to sleep with me?"

"I'm not being strange," He denies, voice an octave higher than usual. He feels fifteen, instead of twenty five. His face is burning.

"I can tell you're lying."

Oh.

Right.

That.

"If you want to sleep with me, think again." Toph says. "I don't sleep with friends."

Sokka shakes his head, "I don't want to sleep with you." It's a bit of a lie, but also true. He doesn't just want to sleep with her.

"Then what?"

He tries again, more firm, "I'm not being weird, Toph."

Toph pauses for a moment, before nodding. She walks up to him, very slow, their noses touching. She wills the rock beneath their feet to lift her, allowing her to whisper in Sokka's ear. Her breath is hot against his neck. A smile fills her voice.

"I can tell you're lying."

Three more months pass before he sees her again.

It's Aang that comes.

The relationship between Aang and Toph has always been a brother-sister relationship, as strong as anything Sokka has ever seen. At times, it has been tested. A sentence said too harshly by Toph ("You're so stupid; no wonder all your people are dead!"), or a calculated action by a seething Aang ("Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you couldn't go swimming with me. You know. Because you're blind."). Life-or-death moments and training sessions that push each other to their limits have tested their relationship time and time again, but they always emerge.

So it makes sense that Aang would come to Sokka. He knocks on the door and says, in a gentle voice that drives the Water Tribe native half mad, "You should go to her."

"Don't tell me what to do." Sokka responds, venom on his tongue.

Aang's face hardens, just a fraction. "You're both miserable. Talk to her."

This piques his attention. "Both?" He asks, glancing up at the Avatar.

"You like her. She likes you. She knows something's up with you and her, but you left without telling her, and Toph was left thinking all those spiked hormones were just you wanting to get in her pants." Aang shakes his head.

"It's not that." Sokka assures.

"I know that, and you know that, but Toph doesn't know that." The airbender moves to sit in front of one of his oldest friends, "She's literally blind about this stuff. She assumes the worst."

Sokka's face turns sour, "Why does she always do that?"

Aang shrugs, pinches the bridge of his nose and breathes out, slowly. "Because you're a good man, Sokka." He gets up to leave.

"What does that have to do with anything?" The older man asks, exasperated.

The Avatar raises a brow at him. "I thought you knew?"

Sokka shakes his head.

"Toph has never liked good men," Aang says, and walks away.

Sokka has always been a romantic.

A believer in true love, in the proven fact that everybody has somebody that makes unreservedly happy.

So of course he comes to her door, in the pouring rain, like every cliche book Katara's ever read and loved (he used to read to her -Katara- he knows all those books, too). His hair is stuck to his forehead, the water dripping down to his goatee and then onto the floor.

In front of him stands a woman.

She's squinting at him, shifting her feet back and forth very slightly. "Sokka?" She asks, her raven hair spilling around her. The loose pants that hang at her hips shimmer in the candle light.

"Toph," He breathes out, like her name is precious. "I lied to you, before."

"I know." She returns, unmoving.

"I don't want to sleep with you," He begins, "At least, not just sleep with you. I know I made you nervous, because, well, Aang said you've never liked a good guy before? I'm a good man, I guess, but the other guys you've liked haven't been good men? I don't know. We usually don't talk about that stuff. Anyway, what I want to say is, I don't just want to sleep with you. I also want to, you know, hold you in my arms, and hold your hand, and call you sweetheart, and, um, cook you dinner! Yeah." He's rambling, he knows, but the blush that is beginning to tinge her cheeks is worth it. "I want to be known as your boyfriend -not just a pretend one, because that's fake and crappy- I want to be the guy that Toph Bei Fong has claimed, y'know? In love with a beautiful, tough, capable, sassy woman. And I'm also praying that I haven't completely ruined our friendship by saying that. So..." He trails off, unsure.

Toph's cheeks are the color of strawberries. He thinks it's cute.

His own cheeks are the color of tomatoes. "What do you say?" Sokka asks.

She stares at him for a long time, before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. It's a gentle thing, so unlike Toph in every aspect, that is startles Sokka into complete and utter silence. He doesn't even breathe.

She pulls back, moving out of the way. He smells food coming from her kitchen, wonders what her cook as made.

"Come in," Toph commands, and he does.

That night, he finds her.

After years of searching, he finally finds the thing that makes him unreservedly happy.

She is able to kick his butt without moving an inch, able to yell and be heard over miles, to strike fear into the hearts of human kind. She could rule the world, if she wanted to. And he loves her.

(Her name is Toph Bei Fong.)