Chapter 9: Sustenance

Six Months Later

Her blue eyes were filled with pride as she stared into his grey ones.

Aang smiled brightly at his bride, his heart swelling with love.

Sokka and Hakoda watched the two take their bows, Aang in his traditional Avatar garb, and Katara in her custom gown. The two men were just as happy and proud as the couple.

Far in the back, a young woman sat, her long ebony hair pulled into a delicate twist. She wore a green silk dress, and her long bangs covered her misty eyes.

Toph could not see how beautiful Katara looked, but she could feel the sheer love radiating from the two of them. Their hearts soared with the promise of the rest of their lives together. Toph was beyond excited for her friends. But, as of when she entered, none of the family had any idea that she had shown up. She had declined Iroh's offer to sit with himself, Mai and Zuko. She also decided not to sit in the seat they had reserved for her in the front row.

As the ceremony drew to a close, Toph stood and faded into the background, heading to her old bedroom.

Sokka hugged his sister and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"You guys have a good time and be safe." He whispered, pulling her close. Katara smiled at her brother, and nodded.

"Thanks Sokka. I love you." she replied before hugging Hakoda.

"I love you too," he said before motioning towards the temple. "I'm going to go get changed." He said, indicating his formal robes. Sokka turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Hakoda kissed his daughter's forehead before noticing the grin she had plastered to her face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he asked. Katara laughed and nudged Aang.

"You didn't notice a certain blind woman in the back row?" she challenged. Hakoda's eyes widened as a smile seized his features.

"Ah, and I take it Sokka didn't notice either?" he said, happiness creasing his eyes.

"Probably not…at first I was so worried that she wouldn't come, but when I saw her…it was like everything was perfect. Today couldn't have been better." She replied. Hakoda smiled and hugged his daughter.

"Well, you better get going. Appa is starting to take the flowers off that those singing nomads put on him." Hakoda said with a laugh. Katara smiled and gripped Aang's hand tightly.

"You guys take care. I want a hawk with a letter about what happens with them." She said before they left the temple.

Sokka opened his bedroom door and was about to shut it when he heard a soft thump in the bedroom next to his; Toph's old room. No one was supposed to be in there.

Sokka turned around and shut his door softly, hoping to keep the element of surprise on his side. He hoped that no one had seen the room and decided it would be fun to fool around in there.

Sokka pushed open the door and stared at the back of a woman's head. Her hair was done in an elegant fashion, so he was certain that she must have been invited to the wedding. A friend of Mai's perhaps?

"You aren't supposed to be in here." He stated, but the woman didn't move. In fact, she didn't seem startled by his presence.

"Is that so?" she challenged, her voice soft and unfamiliar. Sokka took another step into the room and shut the door. Maybe that would shake her up. Yet the woman remained unfazed and kept her back to him.

"Yeah, that is so. This room belongs to someone special." He stated. The woman chuckled.

"I assume that's why it smells as though no one has been in here for nearly a year." She challenged. Sokka was really starting to get sick of this woman's presumptuous behavior. She seemed hauntingly familiar in that sense.

"For your information I come in here all of the time. I even dust so it stays the way she left it." He smirked, feeling as though he had outsmarted her. His comment elicited a laugh from the woman, her voice ringing out like a melodic bell. Sokka forced down the sense of recognition and sighed.

"It seems to me that dusting is a woman's job." She stated, running a manicured hand over the bed frame.

"Look, can you please not touch anything. Toph is really picky about her stuff. She doesn't like when anyone touches her things." He stated, moving closer to the woman. It wasn't just her mannerisms, she smelled hauntingly familiar. Oh spirits was this one of the women Sokka had slept with during his poor-me stage? The woman reached up and took the pins out of her hair sending the ebony locks cascading down her back.

"This Toph sounds like she doesn't have a clue." She stated. Sokka felt fury ignite and knew that he had had enough of this woman.

"You don't know a thing about Toph. She's smart and kind, and beautiful, and she's honest and she's real. Toph is the best person someone could know. She has a great sense of humor and she's beautiful and she's…" he trailed off as the woman's milky eyes settled on his blue ones. Sokka gasped.

"Thanks Sokka. You aren't too bad yourself." She quipped. Sokka stared at her in awe. He hadn't thought it was even possible, but she had grown even more beautiful then when he had seen her in Ba Sing Se. But, reality crashed down on Sokka and he closed his mouth.

"Where's your husband?" he demanded. Toph arched an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Fiancé," she corrected. Sokka rolled his eyes, annoyed that she was still going through with the arranged marriage. "Sokka, why don't we have dinner? I'll even cook for you." she offered, her voice soft. Sokka huffed and then sighed. He loved Toph, so he knew that he shouldn't pass up a chance to spend some time with her.

"Alright, my place though. You don't even have a stove." He pointed out. Toph laughed and shook her long hair before blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Sounds good Snoozles." She replied.

Toph set down the plate of meat in front of Sokka, and set a small salad in front of her own seat. She sat down and dug in, not bothering to wait for Sokka.

Sokka stared at Toph in horror.

"Why aren't you eating any meat?" he demanded. Toph tilted her head up from her plate, and sighed.

"My mother wasn't too keen on me eating it back home. She used to give me this crap, and eventually, I found that I really like it." She replied. Sokka shrugged and took a bite of his hippo-cow.

"Well, at least she taught you how to cook meat thoroughly." He amended. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Actually, Iroh taught me how to cook, not her royal-pain-in-my-ass." Toph joked. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"If she pisses you off so much, why do you stay with her?" he asked. Toph sighed and cast her eyes towards the leafy greens on her plate.

"I don't want to talk about my mother." She said, pushing her food around with her fork. Sokka reached out and went to touch her hand, but drew his hand back. It wasn't right for a man to touch what didn't belong to him.

"Sorry, I won't bring her up again." He promised. Toph was silent for another painstaking minute before smiling.

"My father wrote me a letter. He told me that he was proud of me." She informed. Sokka smiled.

"That's wonderful Toph." An awkward silence followed his words. Sokka hated that their relationship had become strained. "I'm surprised you came. Did you get to see Katara and Aang before they left?" he asked. Toph smirked.

"I didn't see anyone, but they knew I came. Iroh brought me here." She said, a small smile lighting her face. Sokka smiled again, the sight sending his heart soaring. "So, how have you been?" she asked. Sokka shrugged.

"Okay I guess. Katara and Aang worked me to the bone. I was thinking about taking a trip to find Boomerang and Space Sword." He replied. Toph chewed on a piece of lettuce and nodded.

"Yeah, it seems weird not being able to call you the Boomerang Guy." She admit. Sokka laughed and was surprised when Toph joined in. When their laughter finally died down Toph sighed. "I didn't think that you would want to see me again." She confessed. Sokka rubbed the back of his neck and chewed the last piece of meat on his plate for longer than necessary.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you Toph." He said finally. "I was pretty emotional when I came to see you." Toph shrugged and picked up her plate. She took his and put them both in the sink and turned towards the door.

"I should probably get going. People might think that it's strange that I'm in here. You know, what with Suki and whatnot." Sokka stared at Toph as the words left her mouth.

"Katara didn't tell you? Suki and I broke up. And what about your fiancé, what's he going to say about you having dinner with another man?" Sokka demanded, his voice harsher than he had intended. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Sokka, have you ever considered the fact that maybe I missed you. Some people are able to grasp that concept." She stated before leaving his room. Sokka stared after her and face-palmed.

"I am such an idiot." He confessed to the emptiness surrounding him.

Iroh stared at Toph in shock.

"You didn't tell him?" he asked. Toph slowly shook her head.

"What difference would it make? It's like, he thinks I'm this person that isn't who I used to be. What does it matter if I love him or if I came back for him?" she demanded, standing up. "Well, I messed things up with him and I messed things up with my mother, so I guess I have nowhere to go. Who knows, maybe I can go screw up things between me and his excellence the Firelord." She said bitterly. Iroh put a hand on her shoulder.

"Toph, love always makes a difference." He said sagely. Toph snorted.

"Yeah, it made a big difference in the level of shit I'm in." she quipped. Iroh sighed and hugged her.

"Just tell him the truth." He commanded.

Sokka watched Iroh and Toph part ways and fear seized him. Was she planning on leaving already? She couldn't, he hadn't spent enough time with her.

He took off after her before he realized what he was doing.

"Toph!" he called out. Toph stopped walking and turned towards him.

"What do you want Meathead?" she asked, her voice soft. Sokka closed the distance between them and stared at her.

"Are you leaving already?" he demanded, desperate for her to discount what he had just heard. Toph stiffened.

"So what if I am? You've made it clear that you have your ideas about me and I can't change them." She stated. Sokka stared at her blankly.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Toph laughed bitterly.

"You think that just because I was trying to please my mother that I would just let some man tell me who I could and couldn't see. Or tell me what to do." She stated. Sokka grabbed her shoulders.

"Toph, that isn't what I meant. I don't think that. I was just…I was jealous." He confessed. Toph stared at him.

"You were jealous?" she asked skeptically.

"Toph, I don't like the thought of you with someone else. I meant what I said. I love you." he said, stepping closer to her. Toph longed to stare into his eyes, but she could tell that he was sincere.

"Sokka…" she began, but lost her nerve. So much had happened. She believed that he still regret what had happened between them. She didn't want to be a source of remorse.

"It's Ryu, right? You've fallen in love with him?" he asked, dropping her arms. Toph felt confusion take hold of her in a firm grasp.

"What?" she asked, clearly confused. Sokka snorted.

"Your fiancé." He clarified. Toph laughed, finally catching on, and regained her confidence.

"Sokka, there is only one man in the world I want to be my fiancé, and that's you." she stated before leaning in and capturing his lips in a sweet kiss.

They broke apart and Sokka stared at Toph blankly.

"What about Ryu and your mother?" he asked. Toph sighed.

"I left. I gave the crown to my mother and left. I told Ryu that I didn't love him and I couldn't commit to him. He said he understood. Turns out he was in love with one of the servants anyway." she said. Sokka stared at Toph in disbelief. Could they possibly have a chance together? Was the universe really being that kind to him?

Sokka decided to tempt fate and leaned forward.

"I think we can arrange something." He said coyly. Toph giggled as his lips found hers again in what should have so long ago.

A/N: There you have it. Like I said, I'll probably toss an epilogue up there, but not tonight. Thank you all for reading, please review. Huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed. ~Kirsten