Peace or Not (Avatar Roleplay)

"How 'bout just Toph?" she said. She heard him moving through the water and turned towards that sound. "Nicknames are my gimmick, and the ideas are yours. Let's not change a good thing." She smiled. "But if you insist, just go with Bandit."

"No. I...I think Azula is free. I think she planned the attack on us last night," he said, as hard as it was. He didn't want to think his sister could do such a thing. But he couldn't lie to himself either. "I sent a hawk to the Earth Kingdom to be sure."

"As you wish," Sokka told her with a shrug. He couldn't help smiling back, "Toph is a nice enough name."

*

"What? Are you sure?" Mai asked Zuko, eyes widening as she gripped one of the knives hidden up her sleeve, "Did the prisoner say it was her?"

"I like to think so," she said. "It sounds like "tough," after all." She chuckled at the stupid joke. It was certainly better than the other things her name could mean, after all.

"It does," Sokka agreed, laughing a little at her joke, bad jokes being his sense of humor. He spoke, "Doesn't it mean, something lotus too?"

She flushed a little. Darn. She had hoped he had never learned that. "Supported lotus," she said. "You know, a flower that has to be protected. I guess that's what my parents thought fit me."

"Oh," Sokka told her, feeling sympathy for her because of her parents. He shook his head, "Well, that doesn't fit, exactly. I mean, you can protect yourself for most of the time, though, sure you need protecting sometimes, but everyone does once in awhile. No one's invulnerable. But you're very strong. You've saved my life tons of times."

Toph shrugged. "I guess so." Trying to change the subject, she added, "Depending on how you write it, I've heard my name could also mean "entrusted man," or something like that."

"Well, that doesn't fit either," Sokka told her with a grin, once again noticing how she had grown over the years. He blushed, "You're definitely female."

Toph burst out laughing. "Noticing something are we, Snoozles?" she teased, pushing him a little. A pleased blush darted over her cheeks. She was blind, but not stupid.

"No. But the way he described the person who hired him and him calling me Zuzu gave me a suspicion it might be her," Zuko said. He had to sit down. This was beginning to be too much for him to handle.

"Well... I'd have to be, well, you know, blind or stupid not to notice," Sokka told her with a deepening blush, "You're really pretty, Toph."

*

Mai took his hands into hers and led her to nearby bench, sitting him down. She frowned, but made sure to look Zuko in the eyes, "You beat her before, Zuko. You will again if you need to be."

Toph took on an even deep stain of red. She suddenly felt rather shy; she did not know if she liked that or not. Wasn't she supposed to be rough and tough? Still, she could not deny that she liked hearing that Sokka thought she was pretty.

"I'd return the compliment," she said, with a nervous sounding chuckle, "but I have no idea what you look like."

"I know. But it's hard," he began looking back at Mai. "She's my family and not mentally sane. It's horrible to think that she may be out there and that I may have to stop her again."

"Yeah, right," Sokka told her with an even deepr blush. He looked away slightly, feeling his heart beat incredibly hard. He shrugged, "Well, I guess you'd have to take my word for it."

He blushed even more as he remembered something he heard about blind people earlier, "Or... Well, you could, um, touch my face if you want to know what I look like, I guess."

*

"I know," Mai told Zuko softly, "It's that kindness that made you different from your father and sister. I know you can defeat her and, maybe, get through to her."

Toph was surprised by the offer. "You'd actually let me do that?" she said. "Most people find it either creepy or an invasion of their personal space. It's why I never did it with any of you."

"Well, I don't mind," Sokka told her with a reassuring smile, "I mean, you're my friend and I trust you. I know you're not weird or going to bend my face. And I think you deserve to know how handsome I am."

"Thank you Mai. I'm glad that you're here. If you weren't, I don't know what I'd do." He gave her a hug, closing his eyes. "Let's just hope my suspicions are wrong."

"I already know how humble you are," she said, snickering. "Okay, then, if you're sure."

The shyness returned, but she was bold and reached out for him anyway. Her fingers found his chin first. "Um, you might want to close your eyes. I don't want to poke them or anything."

The blind girl held her palm against his cheek, and rubbed her thumb over his jaw-line and lips. She felt some rough stubble growing on his chin. She smiled at that. Sokka wasn't some scrawny teenager anymore. He was a man, and a strong one.

Toph slowly moved up his face, reaching his nose. She felt out the bridge of his nose, and ran her fingers along his cheeks and the hollows below his eyes. She almost laughed when she touched his eyelashes and brows. He still frowned a lot, but he also laughed a lot. She could tell by the marks and lines in his face.

Running her fingers up to his forehead, she realized it was broad; how appropriate, for the thinker and planner, she thought. His hair was down and wet, but it was soft and clean. Toph edged down a little and found his ears. She did laugh at that. They wasn't that big. They were just perfect for an idiot like him.

"You're pretty handsome, Snoozles," she heard herself saying, before she could stop herself. Realizing what she had done, Toph jolted away, mortified beyond belief, and could only mutter, "Um, thanks. For that."

Mai hugged him back, more used to displays of emotion since she began dating him. She nodded, "Me too."

*

Sokka blushed as he closed his eyes, feeling her run her fingers around his face. It felt nice, if a bit weird. It was like she was examining and analyzing his face, like a master jeweler would an emerald. He felt himself blush even more at her words.

"Thanks. And no problem. You can do it anytime," he told her with a grin, actually feeling warm inside from her comment about his looks. He joked, trying to put her at ease, "So, did my head feel as empty as Katara claimed it was?"

"Hmph. The jury's still out on that one," said Toph, smiling. She was glad he was joking again. She didn't feel so awkward then. "Maybe it's only empty some of the time."

"Dear woman, that is impossible," Sokka told her, taking on an exaggerated educated Ba Sing Se accent, "To imply such an occurrence is to accept that a burning rock in sky can somehow make firebenders stronger or that the Avatar is really a wise spirit in human form."

"Weird crap happens to us. I thought you'd know that by now, Mr. Genius," said Toph with a laugh, poking him in the chest.

"Hey, watch the muscles," Sokka joked, trying to suppress a laugh. The last thing he needed Toph to know was that he was ticklish, "And even if strange things happen, they all have a logical explanation."

"And I'm sure one day you'll be able to explain them all," she said, nodding. "Makes sense to me."