A/n: This is the first chaptered story I'm working on, so constructive criticism is highly welcomed! Please R&R! The title may change in the future, thinking of those seem to be the hardest for me. Hope you all enjoy, and as always, I don't own Avatar.

Sokka's hands worked quickly, racing the setting sun. The blood from his fresh kill was staining the snow beneath his feet red. He hastily but carefully butchered the animal, and packed it away. He could feel the cold creeping up as the light began to sink below the horizon. He threw the bags of meat onto his back and started the trek back to the village.

Hunting was his outlet, his only chance for any kind of adventure now that he had settled back at the South Pole. The war was far in the past for him, almost seven years past. Immediately following Ozai's defeat, Aang and Katara travelled the world, helping people recover from the destruction of the war, with Zuko's funding. Toph stayed in Ba Sing Se, as a favor to the new Fire Lord, becoming a liaison between the Earth and Fire nations.

And then there was Suki. Sokka had travelled with her back to Kyoshi Island where he had stayed, unhappily, for a few seasons. She was always off with the warriors, and he grew lonely there. He hated feeling useless, and he missed being a part of something. They spent many nights fighting over what their future together held, and ultimately decided there was nothing there.

Although it pained him to think about leaving her, he enjoyed his life here. He and Hakoda worked wonders in just a short time to build up the once small village. Many waterbenders and other tribes-people from their sister tribe moved south to aid in the reconstruction. It was nowhere near the size or grandeur of the North, but it had certainly come a long way from what it was.

He came over a hill of ice and saw the glow of lights coming from his home in front of him. He looked over his shoulder to see the last of the sun dip behind the horizon line, leaving nothing but orange and purple glows on the crystallized snow.

As he was taking in the beauty, he heard a loud whistle, followed by a crack, and his head shot back around to the village.

"Flares…" he whispered to himself. Two more shot up, bursting over the village. Flares, in peacetime, were used to signal to anyone out on the tundra that something, or someone, important was in town. They often were shot when his father returned from diplomatic trips, but Hakoda was already in the village.

Then it hit him. "Aang! Katara!"

He shouted their names to himself, and started running. He hadn't seen the two for almost two winters now. Busy doing 'avatar-y things' as Katara described in her letters. As he drew closer to his village he heard cheers and welcomes, and the undistinguishable roar of Appa.

He pushed through the crowd until he saw Aang, arm in arm with his father. He dropped the pack of meat absentmindedly and yelled, "SISTER!"

He ran forward, grabbed her and squeezed hard. "Hi…Sokka…I missed…you too!" She managed to breathe out during his tight grasp. He let her go, and smiled. Still touching her arms.

"You aren't allowed to go this long without visiting! I thought we had this discussion!" He scolded her in his Wang Fire voice, wagging one finger.

Aang broke from his conversation with Hakoda. "It's my fault, brother, and you can't be mad at the Avatar now can you?" Aang wiggled his eyebrows at him.

Sokka marveled at the boy's height. He had shot up a full head's length since he had last seen him, and even though Sokka had grown himself, Aang was giving him decent competition.

"You've grown a beard!" Katara exclaimed, grabbing his chin and rubbing it a bit. "You look so old now!"

Sokka laughed at her. "It's no Wang Fire."

"I think it looks great." Aang said, patting him on the shoulder. "Very manly, and chief-like."

"I agree," Hakoda chimed in, stepping between the two boys. "He'll make a fine chief someday."

"This is a lovely reunion and all." A strange voice came from on top of Appa. "But could someone get me the hell down off this thing?"

Sokka looked between Aang and Katara, but all they both did was smile wildly at him. "She's grumpy because Katara made her wear boots." Aang whispered, elbowing him lightly.

"I heard that Twinkle Toes!" The voice bellowed.

"Toph?" Sokka shouted, looking up.

Her face peeked over the side of the saddle. "I can't see a damn thing up here, and I have the feeling I won't be able to down there either, so could one of you, for the love of the spirits, GET ME THE HELL DOWN!" She screamed the last part, leaning backwards in a huff.

Sokka nervously climbed up the bison. Seven years he thought. It's been seven years since I've seen her.

Once he reached the top and jumped in the saddle he saw her. Stupidly expecting to see the small, twelve year old girl, his jaw dropped at the sight of her. She was sitting up, legs and arms crossed. Her black hair, reflecting the lights of the village fell both in front of her pale eyes, and down her back, almost reaching the saddle she was sitting on. It had obviously been victim to Katara's boredom, as it had lots of twists and braids in it, ones similar to styles he'd seen around the village. She was wearing thick furs, obviously from Katara's wardrobe, but even through those he could see the womanly form she had developed. He couldn't describe it any other way than she was just simply stunning.

Her voice broke his thoughts. "Anytime guys…really. I can't believe I let you drag me down here."

He reached out and grabbed her hand with his. "Snoozles?" She asked, breaking wide into a smile.

"How did you—" he began, but he was interrupted by a forceful hug that threw him backwards. He laughed at her actions. "I missed you too, Toph."

Sokka and Hakoda prepared a lavish dinner of meat and fish for themselves and the girls, while Aang munched on vegetables he had brought with him. After a few hours of the generic catch ups, Hakoda excused himself, stating he had an early meeting with some of the tribal leaders.

The group talked for a fair amount of time after the chief left. "This is a great home Sokka." Katara said, leaning into Aang. "It looks much better than it did two years ago."

"Yeah, Dad and I put a lot of work into it. I wanted to build it without bending, so it looks like a sore thumb compared to everyone else's places, but I like it."

"Well I think it looks great!" Toph chimed in, smirking.

"You never change, do you?" He said glaring at her, pretending to be mad.

"I may not be able to feel you, and this hell hole may be completely void of earth, but I can still kick your ass, Sokka." She had her feet free of the boots Katara had forced her into, and she was wiggling her toes against the warmth of the fire. He could see her slender frame much better now that she had removed the thick coat.

Sokka kept catching himself stealing glances at her throughout the whole evening, and he was hoping the others didn't notice.

"Well," Aang began to say as he stood up. "I think it is time for bed for me. It was a long flight today, and I'd like to get some rest and have a talk with you in the morning, if that's alright with you Sokka?"

"Am I in trouble?" He asked, looking between the Avatar and Katara warily.

"No, of course not!" Katara stood as well. "It's just something we'd like to discuss with you, in person. But it's best to wait until the morning." She yawned. "I'm rather tired too. We'll see you in the morning Sokka." She hugged her brother, and said goodnight to Toph. The both left, hand in hand.

Sokka and the earthbender sat quietly for a few moments. He gazed at her freely now, no longer worried of his sister or her boyfriend noticing. Her bright green tunic was hugging her form. Her long dark hair fell softly over her shoulders and down her back. The firelight was painting her face with colors and shadows, as she stared blankly at the ground with her arms crossed over he chest.

He knew she couldn't feel him but he was worried the silence was distractingly obvious. "So…" he began awkwardly. "Do you know what they want to tell me?"

"Yep." She said abruptly, before he even finished his sentence.

"Want to tell me?"

"Nope."

He was taken aback by her shortness with his questions. "Why not?"

"Because Katara asked me not to."

"Since when did you ever listen to Katara?" He asked jokingly looking over at her.

"Since she was the one that has written to me and visited me in the last seven years." She snapped, blank eyes still staring into the fire.

Her words hit him hard. He had almost expected that. He thought of excuses to why he hadn't spoken to her, but they all came down to one thought. He had left her friendship to be with Suki, and after that didn't work out he was too ashamed to admit his mistakes to her.

She obviously knew he was mentally kicking himself, due to the silence. "Look, Snoozles. You were my best friend, the only person in the world who understood me, and you left without so much as a second thought. I've moved past that, and I'm really not one for holding grudges. I came here mostly because Katara asked me too, but to be honest I really wanted to be with you again. I've missed you…a lot."

He stared at her, surprised at her forwardness, it was very different than the Toph he remembered, but when her small fist made hard contact with his upper arm, he smiled.

"And let's just forget I said all that ok?" She said glaring at him.

He reached forward and touched her arm. "It's forgotten, but just so you know…I'm sorry."

She slowly reached her hand to cover his and closed her eyes. They stayed like that for a moment before he realized the familiar cold stone under his fingers. "Space rock!" He exclaimed. "You've kept it all this time?"

"Of course I have," She said laughing. "What did you expect, I shot it back into the sky the second you got on the train with fan-girl?"

"Well I don't know…" He began. He shrugged and then said "I'm just glad you still have it."

She smiled again, her fingers playing with the black band on her arm. "So, I heard something about a beard?" She asked, smirking.

"Yeah." He said, blushing slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "To be honest, I've just gotten lazy, but it's working to keep my face pretty warm. I've grown my hair out a bit too, so I don't think you should call me ponytail anymore." He laughed at her disgruntled reaction.

"I'll call you whatever I want, Snoozles." She scooted closer to him as she said it. Afraid of more fist flying retribution he backed away slightly. "Relax!" She snapped at him. "I just wanted to see the beard. Or feel it…whatever you want to call it." She giggled at her own joke.

He smiled back at her nervously as she reached her hand to his face. She was off by a few inches, so he grabbed her fingers and guided them to his chin. He swallowed hard, praying that she couldn't feel his heart beat quickening or the heat flushing across his cheeks.

She pulled her hand away and she looked down, trying to hide her own flushing cheeks. "I like it." She said quietly. He smiled at her, as she drew her hand up to cover a yawn.

"Are you tired?" He asked. "Come on, I'll walk you back to the room we set up for you." He started to pick up her boots and coat.

"Sokka?" She said quietly. "Do you think I could just stay here tonight? I know I'm blind and all but sharing a room with Aang and Katara is going to be worse than flying with them."

He laughed at first, and then stopped after he realized what she was implying. "Sure Toph, you can have my bed, I've got a mat I'll sleep on."

"No, it's ok, I'll take the mat, the closer to the ground I am, the more comfortable I feel, even if it is just an icy wasteland." She said gazing downward.

He smiled at her. "I love that you haven't changed a bit. Well, your personality anyway. You look so different."

"I wish I could say the same." She said, waving her hand in front of her face. "But I'll say your beard is manly to make you feel better."

"Gee, thanks." He replied sarcastically. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but decided against it. It was a compliment that she deserved to hear from someone who hadn't blown her off for years.

"Come on, I'll get you the mat." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He overestimated the strength it took to pull her up and she collided into him, her body pressed against his. He saw a flush form on her cheeks again. He chuckled nervously. "Sorry." He pulled her with him towards the wall the mat hung on, rolled up.

Letting go of her hand, he walked next to his bed and laid down the mat. He grabbed his pillow and placed it on the mat. She didn't need to know he was giving her his. He reached for her hand again, and led her to the make-shift bed. "Here you go. Can I get you anything else?"

She laid down, and he placed a blanket on top of her. "No, Sokka. But…thanks." She smiled as she closed her eyes.

After he was sure she was comfortable, he doused the fire, and climbed into his bed. His thoughts drifted as he looked out the window up at Yue. What does Katara and have to tell me? Why is being around Toph making me feel this way?

The sounds of Toph's soft breathing kept his thoughts from running away, and he soon fell asleep.

Thanks for reading! Please review! Second chapter coming soon, it is already half done!