I sat at my desk, staring at the computer.  The blank white screen of my word processing program stared back, mocking me.

I ripped the glasses off my face and threw them on the desk.  Twelve hours before I had to have this story to my editor, and I hadn't written so much as a word, never mind the fifteen pages I was contracted for.  Another extension was out of the question; I'd had two already.  If this wasn't ready in the morning, I wasn't getting paid.

I reached for my tea cup.  Empty.  Figures.

Out of desperation, I popped the used teabag in my mouth and stared sucking on it.  My eyes squeezed shut as I tried to get any vestiges of liquid caffeine from the poor, abused leaves.

It probably would have been better if I'd just liked coffee.  Or espresso even.  No lack of caffeine there.

The taste in my mouth became bitter and I spit the bag back into the cup.  It was a very ladylike gesture, even if I do say so myself.  I tipped the teabag into the rubbish bin by my feet, where it joined forty-one of its brethren.  That was a lot of tea for one person to drink in two days.

Two days.  Had I really been sitting at my desk for two days?  And what did I have to show for it?  A blank screen, a bin full of teabag carcasses, and a possible case of tannin addiction.

I put my forehead on the desk in resignation.  It was over.

"Hey Lover."

I sat up straight in an instant and stared ahead, right over my computer screen.  It wasn't possible.  After all this time, he couldn't be here.  Not now.

I heard footsteps coming up behind me.  I closed my eyes, both hoping that he was here, and praying that it was all just an insane dream brought on by a tea overdose.

"Cal," I breathed.

My eyes popped open as his hands rested very gently on my shoulders.  I bit my bottom lip to stop any sound from coming out of my mouth.  He brought his head down to mine, his lips perilously close to my ear.  "You've got a problem, don't you?" he asked, his breath warm on my cheek.

"I...uh..."  Why couldn't I ever speak around him?

"Shh," he whispered.  "You don't have to say a word."  That was a good thing I guess, considering I could barely breathe.  "I know just what you need, and it isn't this."  He reached his hand forward and closed the laptop.  

I wanted to protest, but I still couldn't make words form in my throat.  Cal was in total control, and he knew it.  What's more, he made sure that I knew it as well.

His hands drifted up the sides of my face to my hair.  How did he manage to get the palms of his hands to feel like silk?  He massaged my temples with two fingertips.  "Just relax," he sighed.

Relax.  I didn't think that was even in the realms of possibility.  My skin was tingling, getting more intense with every passing second.

Cal's hands passed in front of my face.  "Close your eyes," he ordered, and I obeyed.   I knew what would come next.  I promised myself I would be ready for it this time.

And I knew I would never be able to keep that promise.

His hands retuned to my shoulders.  "What do you see?"  I didn't hear him; I felt the words in my head, in my heart, in my very soul.   The darkness behind my eyelids slowly faded, replaced by vivid flashes of colour.  A landscape formed.   A small pond was in the middle of it.  A couple, obviously in love, sat on its shore.  He was leaving for a while.  He had a quest.  She was begging him to stay.

My eyes flew open.  It was my story, played out for me.   I reached for my laptop, but Cal's hand was faster.  He held the lid closed and chuckled softly in my ear.  "You don't need that yet, do you?"

I wanted to say yes, I did.  I wanted to scream it.   Instead, I shook my head.  No, I wasn't going to need the computer yet.

He ran his hands down the length of my arms.  His chest pressed into my back.  I felt his warmth through my shirt.  I shouldn’t have wanted him to keep going; I knew he wasn't good for me.  

I gave in to Cal's will.

He turned my chair to the left, where a stack of blank paper laid waiting on the table.  He placed a pen in my right hand.  The grip was smooth and cool and comfortable.  I smoothed out the paper in front of me with my left hand, brought the pen to it, and began to write.

It started slow.  The pen glided over the paper effortlessly.  The words flowed from somewhere inside me, down my arm, through my fingers, and into the ink on the page.  The characters were being laid out, the setting, the conflict.  Everything was there.  Everything fit.

Cal's hands never left me.  He rubbed up and down my back, massaging my muscles.  His fingertips brushed over my bare skin, electrifying me.  At each touch, a new jolt coursed through me, and my pen sped up.  My breathing got heavier.  I started sweating.

The first page was finished almost before it had started.  I moved it to the side and started the second page.  It was finished faster than the first, and I kept writing as quickly as my hand allowed.

Hours went by, but I didn't notice.  In the whole world, there was me, my story, and Cal.

I put the pen down and shook out my hand; it was starting to cramp.  Cal stopped his massage.  "Everything alright?" he asked.  I nodded.  "You're almost done, aren't you?"  I nodded again.  His hands drifted from my shoulders and down my chest.  "Well then, let's bring this home," he whispered, and pressed his lips to my neck.

I arched my back into him.  I didn't bother trying to suppress the moan in my throat.  My breath was ragged as I picked the pen back up and wrote the ending.

Every sensation was heightened.  I felt the paper as it was absorbing the words.  I heard the scratching of the pen.  I could smell the clean crispness of the untouched pages, the ink on the finished ones.  My eyes refused to focus on anything but the story.  

And all the while, Cal's arms were wrapped around me, supporting me, urging me on.  His voice came to me in my head again, encouraging me.  I felt the end coming.  I leaned into his strength.  I wanted this.  I needed this.  With one final burst of energy, I wrote the last paragraph.

I placed the last word and I squeezed my eyes shut.  Light exploded behind my lids.  I tilted my head back into Cal's shoulder, unable to suppress myself any longer.  

I screamed.

He held me in his embrace, his lips dancing across my shoulders, up my neck, around my ear.  It was unlike anything I'd ever felt before.  I squirmed beneath him, unsure if I wanted to get away or simply melt into him so he would never be able to leave me again.

At last, it was over.  Paper was spread all around me, every page of it covered with my handwriting.  I leaned back in my chair, spent.

He kissed my temple.  "How do you feel now, Lover?"

I moaned some kind of answer.  At least I thought I did.  I wasn't sure what I'd said, but I made sure that it was positive.

I glanced at the digital clock.  I had four hours to get this to my editor.  "You know I have to go now," he said.  His hands left me for the first time that evening.  "I'm sure you can handle things from here."

"Please," I said.  "Don't go."  My breathing was haggard, my voice raw, but it was the first coherent thing I'd said to him all night.

He chuckled softly.  "You know I can't stay," he said.  I bent my head down, knowing the truth of it.  "But you know I'll be back."

"How do I know that?" I asked, barely above a whisper.

"Because."  He placed his hands on the sides of my face.  "As much as you may need me, I need you more."  He kissed the top of my head and let go of my face.

I turned around, trying to steal a glimpse of him.

He was gone.

I took a few deep breaths to steady my heart rate.  I still had a lot of work to do.  I picked up the papers and put them in order.  I may have had the story finished, but it still needed to be typed.  I turned back to my computer, and was greeted by a steaming cup of fresh tea.

"Cal," I murmured, a small smile forming on my lips.

He was gone again, and I still had never seen his face.  But he said he'd be back.  He said he needed me.

That was good enough for me.

Prologue

The children sat around her, all of them edging forward on their knees.  "Tell us a story, Granny!"

The Bard looked at each of their little faces.  Seven sets of eyes look back, full of anticipation.  "A story?" she said, a wry smile on her lips.  "Well then, let's see.  What kind of story do you want to hear today?"

"Something funny!" one boy shouted.

"Something scary!" yelled another.

"I want to hear a love story!" said a girl.

Seven voices cried out in unison at this, boys protesting, girls agreeing.

The Bard loved telling stories to children.  They weren't yet jaded.  Unlike adults, were always eager for more, and believed every story was true, word for word.

As the children argued over what to hear, the Bard's gaze drifted to one girl, barely twelve years old.  She was sitting apart from the rest of the kids, staring out the window of the inn.  

"Noni," she called to the girl.  "What would you like to hear?"

The children grew silent as they waited for her reply.

Noni's eyes never left the open window.  When she finally spoke, her voice was so quiet that the Bard had to strain to hear her.  "A knight," she said.  "I want to hear about a knight."

One of the younger girls barked a laugh.  "She only wants to hear about a knight because she misses her brother!"

A boy swatted her arm with a closed fist.  "Don't pick on her, Jessalyn!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Padric!"

The Bard could see the situation deteriorating.  "A knight, you say?"  She raised her voice to be heard above the din of the argument.  She looked down to the group at her feet.  "What about the rest of you?  How would you like to hear about a knight?"  A few boys clapped their approval, Padric's the most enthusiastic.  "Well now, let's see.  I know many stories about knights."  She made a show of thinking very hard.

"Ah, yes," she said, brightening her features.  "I have the very story."  She leaned in toward the small crowd gathered at her feet and began her tale.

"This all happened almost two hundred years ago," she began, "back before the river in the forest changed its course."  The Bard turned her head to Noni.  The girl was staring right back.  "There was a knight who lived back then, who wanted to prove his love to a princess by slaying a mighty beast..."

The two figures moved among the shadows of the night, seen by none but the moon and the stars.

The taller one led, silently picking his way through the trees, looking for the best place to see, yet not be seen.  The shorter one followed, barefoot, waiting for his signal.

The leader put his back against a tree and gave a soft whistle to the other.  She crouched low, almost crawling to meet him.  He looked over his shoulder into the clearing beyond.  There was a small group of men there, quietly mulling around a cluster of tents.  They all seemed to be settling down for the night.

“How many?” he whispered to her.

She tapped her foot on the ground twice.  “Thirteen.”

He nodded.  “Hardly seems fair, does it?”

“When is it ever fair?” she asked, grinning.  “So what’s the plan, plan guy?”

He was silent for a moment.  “Zuko’s troops should be here in about twenty minutes.”  

She cracked her knuckles.  “Okay, then what are we supposed to do for the other fifteen minutes?

He laughed softly.  “Maybe we should just give them a chance to surrender?”

“And when was the last time that worked?”

“You’ve got a point.”  He stroked his chin and thought for a moment.  "We'll go in with the 'Flying Hog-Monkey' maneuver, then take 'em out with a few 'kick-a-pows.'  And maybe, if we're lucky, the 'Blade of Wing Fun' can make an appearance!"  He was getting excited.  "Just remember that there are only two of us tonight, so watch yourself."

“You know, I came up with better attack names than those when I was twelve."

“Can’t you just be quiet and do it, woman?”  Before she could respond, he held up his hands.  "Didn't mean that!"

Toph sighed.  “Fine.”  She took up a bending stance.  “Usual bet?”

Sokka unsheathed his sword without a sound.  “Naturally.”

Toph slammed her foot into the ground.  The tremor it caused radiated out from them, shaking the group in the clearing out of their conversations and near-sleep.  Suddenly, the peace of the night was shattered as the men grabbed their weapons and took up bending stances of their own.  Sokka broke out of the trees, sword in hand, ready to disarm anyone that got in his way.

The fight was over almost before it had started.

The dark of the night and his own clothes camouflaged Sokka enough that he was already on top of the nearest man before anyone had the chance to see him.  He lifted his sword and brought the hilt down on the man’s head.  He fell unconscious instantly.  All of a sudden there were three men facing him, each brandishing swords of their own.  Sokka sized them each up in an instant.  He first attacked the one on the right with one swing of his sword aimed at his knees.  The stranger was knocked off balance and fell on his side.  As he tried to get up, dirt sprang up from under his wrists and ankles, effectively pinning him to the ground.

“I can handle this,” Sokka shouted.

“Just trying to help,” Toph shouted back as she quickly dispatched a firebender with a few quick earthbending moves.

“Fine, but he still counts as mine!”

“Whatever you say, Boomerang.”

Sokka turned his attention back to the other two.  The man directly in front of him brought his sword over his head to attack.  Sokka didn’t even bother using his weapon – he just punched him in the mouth with his free hand and watched as the man wavered for a moment before falling face-first to the ground.  Sokka quickly made sure he was no longer a threat and before facing his remaining attacker.  He was taller than the others, and was obviously the only one that had actually been trained to use a sword – he swung it around with a precision that would have impressed anyone else.

Sokka just rolled his eyes.

He placed his sword in the path of the big man’s, bracing for the vibration of metal on metal.  The swords danced in the moonlight, Sokka easily countering each of the man’s attacks.  Sokka just watched his movements, waiting for an opening.  Then, as he swung his sword from right to left in a wide arc, Sokka saw the weakness.  He waited for the man to repeat his movement, and then ducked to let the blade swing harmlessly above his head.  He stuck his own sword into the ground and, using it a pivot point, swung his legs toward his enemy’s, making him crash to the ground.

Using his index and middle fingers, he gave three quick jabs to the man’s legs and thighs.  He wouldn’t he walking for a few hours, at least.  Thank you Suki, he thought, and went to see if Toph needed help.

He needn’t have bothered.  By the time he got to her side, there were no firebenders in the area that were still standing.

“Only four,” he said, shoulders slumped.

“Ha!”  She laughed.  “I got eight!”

He did a quick calculation.  “You said there were thirteen.”

Toph tapped her foot to the ground again then pointed to her left.  “He’s sneaking off.  That way.”

Sokka didn’t need an invitation.  He ran in the direction she had pointed, Toph on his heels.  Just behind the tree line was an older man, crawling on his hands and knees, trying to get away from the fighting.  With a flick of her wrists, Toph made a column of earth spring up from under him.  He was thrown a few feet in the air and landed on his back.  She raised her hands, and he was pinned to the ground by his wrists and legs.

Sokka pointed his sword at the man’s neck.  “Name,” he said simply.

“Sh-Shun,” he stammered.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?”

“N-Nothing!  I swear!  We…we were just camping…”  He was starting to sweat.  “Just a little fishing trip!”

Sokka looked at Toph.  He knew this was the part she loved.  “You’re lying,” she said, almost singing it.  She made the restraints on his wrists tighter, and he howled in pain.

“I’m not going to ask this time.”  Sokka raised his sword slightly.  “I know what you are.  You are a group of rebels, trying to undermine Fire Lord Zuko’s rule.  You planned on sneaking into the palace to assassinate the Fire Lord.  You are enemies of the Fire Nation, enemies of peace, and therefore…” he paused for effect, “enemies of mine!”

He brought his sword up dramatically and made to plunge it into Shun’s chest.  About halfway through his swing, Shun fainted.

Sokka stopped his sword, looked at Toph, and immediately began laughing.  Toph smiled wide and joined in.  “You know, Snoozles, we have got to stop doing this!”  She removed the restraints around Shun.

Sokka sheathed his sword, picked up the rebel, and slung him over his shoulder.  “Why?” he asked as they walked back to the clearing.  “We’re doing a good thing!”  They reached the rebels tents and he unceremoniously dropped the old man next to the campfire.  “We’re helping to get rid of bad guys.  That makes us the good guys!”

“Not this,” she said.  “Getting rid of these guys is great.”  She gave Shun a little kick.  “We have to stop scaring them all.  It’s no fun if they always faint!”

“Fine, next time, we do it your way, okay?”

She smiled and nodded.  “Promise?”

“You got it.”  He looked around at the campsite and then sat on the ground.  “I guess all we can do now is wait.”

Toph sat next to him.  “Yep.  My favourite part of this job.”

Right on time, a group of twenty Fire Nation soldiers walked into the clearing.  Sokka and Toph stood up to meet them.

“Thirteen of them, Major,” Sokka reported.  “Hope you brought something to carry them all in.”

The major snorted.  “I’ve worked with you before,” he replied, then smiled.  “I brought two carts this time.”

“I take it the Fire Lord wants to see us?” Toph asked.

The major nodded, then spoke as an afterthought.  “Yes.  He’s waiting for you at the palace.  We can take it from here.”

Sokka pointed at Shun.  “That guy’s name is Shun.  He's the one in charge.”

“Understood,” the major said, and proceeded to go about rounding up the rebel group.

Sokka turned to Toph.  “I guess we’ve been dismissed,” he said.

“Let’s just go see Sparky.”  They walked off together toward the capital city.

“By the way, Toph,” he said, “happy birthday.”


*****

Zuko was pacing the floor of his private study.  Sokka knew from experience that that was never a good sign.

“You know,” he said, “you could wait for the troops to arrive before you go and do everything yourselves.”

“And where’s the fun in that?” Toph questioned.

“The ‘fun’ is that you wouldn’t be risking your lives needlessly!”

“What risk?  Neither of us got so much as sweaty!”

Zuko sighed.  It was a familiar fight, and one that he knew he would never win.  “Okay, back to this Shun character.  You know for a fact that he was involved in an assassination plot?”

Sokka held his head in his hands.  “Yeah, Zuko.  I know.”

“And, let me guess.  You can’t tell me how you know.”

He looked at Toph, who just shrugged.  He shook his head.  “No, I can’t tell you.  Just have Shun questioned, you’ll get the information you want.”

Zuko pulled the clip from his hair and threw it on the table.  He sat in his chair, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed.  “Well,” he said, “you haven’t been wrong before.  I guess I’ll just trust you.”  He glared at Sokka.  “Again.”

“Are we finished?”  Toph jumped out of the low chair she had been lounging in.  “Because, if we are, there is supposed to be this great party in town in honour of a certain blind earthbender’s birthday!”

Sokka smiled and stood.  “Sounds good to me.  Coming, Zuko?”

He shook his head.  “I can’t.”

“Sure you can, Sparky!  Aang and Katara are going to be there,” she teased.   Toph walked over to Zuko and pulled on his arm.  “Just for a little while.”  He didn’t answer.  “For me?”

“Please?” Sokka and Toph said together.

Zuko looked at them and suppressed a laugh.  “Fine, but only for an hour.”

Sokka and Toph simultaneously raised their arms in triumph.


*****

“No weapons!”

Sokka, Toph, Zuko and Mai were standing outside the Dragon’s Den Tavern.  They could see people milling about inside, could hear the conversations, and Sokka could almost taste the meat being prepared.  The only thing between them and a fantastic party was a rather large man at the door, staring at them.

“What?”  Sokka yelled.  “Don’t you know who we are?”

“Yes sir, Captain Sokka, I know who you are.”  He made a point of looking directly down at Sokka, as if the emphasize the large height difference.  “And I remember the last time you were in here.  So, I say it again: no weapons!”

“But…but…” he pointed at Zuko.  “This is your Fire Lord!  You can’t tell him what to do!”

The doorman looked to Zuko and Mai and gave a slight bow.  “I do realize that this is Lord Zuko and Lady Mai, but I simply cannot allow weapons into this establishment when you are also present.”

“I understand,” Mai said, and came forward to remove her knives.  She took two rolls of knives from her sleeves, one from each ankle, three from inside her belt, and one long, gruesome knife from behind her back.  She dropped them all on the ground in front of him.  “I take it these will be fine here until we leave?” she asked, and then entered the tavern without waiting for an answer.

Zuko held out his hands in apology.  “I am afraid I’m unarmed this evening,” he said, and followed his wife inside.

The doorman placed his hands on his hips, waiting for Sokka.  “Um, I’m unarmed too?”  Bluffing wasn’t Sokka’s best skill.

“If you are unarmed, then I’m a baby mooselion.”

“Fine,” Sokka conceded, “you win.”  He took the sword and boomerang off his back and put them in the pile of Mai’s knives.  He drew two knives out of his boots, his club and machete from his belt and a small knife from inside his gauntlet.  “Happy?”

“No.”  The doorman continued at glare at him.  “All your weapons.”

Sokka sighed and turned to Toph.  She raised her arms, and Sokka pulled two more knives from the sides of her belt.  He threw them on the ever expanding weapon pile.  “That’s all, I swear it,” Sokka said.

The doorman eyed both of them and pointed to Toph’s space-earth bracelet.  “I seem to remember that bracelet being a lot sharper.”

Quicker than Sokka could see, Toph grabbed the front of the doorman’s tunic and pulled his head down so it was level with hers.  If she could see, she would be staring into his eyes.  “If you try to remove this bracelet from my arm,” she said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, “I will remove your arm from your body.”  She released his tunic and smiled, deceptively sweet and innocent.  “Besides, it’s my birthday!  A girl’s allowed a bit of jewelry, isn’t she?”

To his credit, he recovered quickly.  “Happy birthday, Lady Toph.  Enjoy your evening.”  He stepped aside and let them pass.

“Nicely done,” Sokka said, and put his arm around her shoulders.

Inside, the party was in full swing.  There were twenty or so people there, mostly residents of the palace that Toph and Sokka were around on a daily basis.  Of everyone there, however, there were two people they wanted to see more than anyone.

“Sokka!  Toph!”  

Sokka was attacked by his sister, while Toph was nearly lifted off the ground by her student.  “Put me down Twinkle Toes!” Toph yelled while laughing.  Aang obeyed.  “Well, you’re not so scrawny anymore, are you?”

Sokka was sure he saw his friend blush.  “Guess not,” Aang agreed.  Toph was right.  In the three months since he’d last seen Aang, he must have grown another four inches.

Sokka grasped his friend’s hand and was slightly disappointed to see he had to look up to Aang now.  “Seriously, Aang,” he said, “stop growing.”  Aang smiled and embraced Sokka.

Katara hugged Toph.  “Hi Toph!  I missed you!”

Toph smiled and hugged her back.  “Missed you too, Sweetness.”

The four of them walked to a table close to the back wall, where Mai and Zuko had been waiting for them.  They sat and ordered dinner and drinks from the server.

“I hope you brought a lot of money, Snoozles,” Toph said.  “I plan on eating my weight in pig cow.”

“Good thing you don’t weigh much, then,” he snapped back.

“Okay then, I'm going to eat your weight in pig cow.  Satisfied?”

He held his face in his hands.  “Did you make another bet with her?”  Katara whispered.  He nodded.  “You really ought to know better by now.”  Sokka could only agree.

Dinner arrived, and they played catch-up with all the things they’d missed in the three months since Mai and Zuko’s wedding.

“Toph was offered a great new job!”  Sokka was almost bragging.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m taking it!”

“What job?” Aang asked.

Sokka put his arm around Toph.  “The Earth King himself asked Toph to be on the Council of Five!”

Toph pushed him off and punched his arm.  “And I said I’m not taking it.  I hate Ba Sing Se.”

“But you would be General Toph Bei Fong!  You deserve it!”

Toph shrugged.  “I don’t need some rank and title to know I’m good.”

“Still,” Zuko said.  “It is an honour.”

She dismissed him with a flip of her hand.  “Yeah, yeah, great honour.  I’m not going to take some cushy job in the Earth Kingdom, and that’s final.  I’ll get soft.”  
This brought a laugh from the table.  She turned to face Sokka.  “Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you and Suki.  It’s not like you can save your own butts.”

“Speaking of, where is Suki?” Katara asked.  “I thought for sure she’d be here.”

“Back on Kyoshi,” Sokka answered.  “They got some new recruits, so she has to be there for a while to begin their training.  She doesn’t trust anyone else in those first few crucial weeks, or so she says.  Personally, I think she just wanted a vacation.”

Toph turned to Aang and Katara.  “How about you two?  Behaving yourselves?”

“They better be,” Sokka said under his breath.

“Knock it off, Sokka.”

Zuko knew when it was time to change the subject.  “How are trade talks going?”

Aang turned to Zuko.  “Not bad,” he said.  “Naturally, there are more than a few provinces that would rather not have anything to do with the Fire Nation, but there is a genuine desire for trade that would be ‘mutually beneficial,’ as one mayor put it.”

Zuko nodded.  “How far inland have you gotten?  Can our ships-“

“Sorry to interrupt,” Mai said, “but can we please not talk politics tonight?  It’s bad enough that I have to listen to it all day.”  She and Zuko looked at each other, and then both smiled as she leaned into his outstretched arm.

“Yeah,” Toph agreed.  “Let’s talk about the presents you got me!”

“Mine first,” Katara said, and she placed a box on Toph’s lap.

Toph opened it and felt inside.  “Um, thanks Katara, but…shoes?”

“Not just any shoes,” she said.  “A stylish shoe for the blind earthbender.”  Toph pulled them out, and it was obvious that they were missing soles.  “I saw them and thought of you, since they are the same colour as your eyes.”

Toph laughed.  “I’ll take your word for that.”

“And I knew there would be some kind of function that you would need them for.  State dinner, dance, birthday party…”

“Okay, Sugar Queen.  I can take a hint.”  Toph bent down and put the shoes on and smiled.  “Thanks Katara.  I really do like them.”

“Me next,” said Aang.  She opened the next box and pulled out the item.  “They’re wind chimes!”  Aang explained.  “I made them myself out of bamboo.”  She held them up and listened to the center hammer strike the bamboo.

“Thanks, Aang,” she said.

An hour later, right on time, Mai and Zuko made their way arm-in-arm back to the palace.  Shortly after that, Aang and Katara left as well.

Toph turned to Sokka and jabbed him in the chest.  “Babysitters are gone,” she said.  She smiled the smile that told Sokka, “Let’s have some fun.”


*****

“One more,” Sokka said to her.

A grin crept across Toph’s face.  “You really are a glutton for punishment tonight, aren’t you?”

“Oh, come on!  Just one?”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t,” he teased, “I’ll just say you forfeit.  Then you lose anyway.”

She snapped up her head to face him.  “Fine.”  She put her elbow on the table and held out her hand to him.  “Just don’t cry when you lose this time.”

He took her hand.  “You are so going down!”

She smiled.  “Not likely.”

“And no bending!”

She blew a piece of hair out of her face.  “I don’t need to bend to beat you!”

He began pushing against her with all his strength, focusing on their interlocked hands.  After a moment, he managed to move her arm a few inches toward the table.  He looked at her, expecting to see her struggling.

Instead, she was almost laughing.  He knew what that meant.  He held her hand harder, vowing that if he was going down, she was going down with him.

As if on cue, Toph put all of her strength into pushing Sokka’s arm to the table.  At the last moment, he moved his elbow to the edge, and let her push down toward the floor.  With nothing to stop his momentum, his whole body went crashing to the floor.  He held onto her hand and pulled her after him.

She didn’t expect it.  She tried stopping herself, but only succeeded in breaking the chair against the table.  She landed on her side next to Sokka, still holding his hand.  

“Gotcha!” Sokka laughed.

She glared at him, then broke into laughter as well.  The two of them lay there, sprawled on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.  They stayed that way until the doorman stood over them.

“Out!”

Sokka stopped laughing to catch his breath.  “What?” he said.

“You heard me.  That’s the third chair you’ve broken tonight.  You’ve had your fun, but now it is time to leave!”

Sokka finally let go of Toph and tried to stand up.  His legs were weak beneath him, but he did manage to stand somewhat straight.  “Now you listen to me,” he said, waving his finger in the doorman’s face.  “This is Toph Bei Fong you are speaking about!  She is a war hero!  She is the best earthbender in the world, and you…you…”  He faltered and looked down at Toph.  “What can’t he do,” he asked her.

Toph had managed to get to her knees.  “He can’t kick me out on my birthday?”

“That’s right!”  He faced the doorman again.  “You can’t kick her out on her birthday!”

“By my calculations, Miss Toph’s birthday ended an hour ago, and we are rapidly running out of furniture.  Now, you can either leave quietly, or I can escort you out personally.”  He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for an answer.

Toph grabbed Sokka’s arm and pulled herself to her feet.  “You know, I think we should leave,” she said.

He looked at her with his mouth open.  “You…what…why?”

She grabbed Sokka’s shirt and brought his ear to her mouth.  “Secret stash,” she whispered.

“Oh, yeah,” he whispered back, and grinned.  He stood back up.  “We will be leaving now, and don’t expect us to come back!” he announced, and led Toph by the hand to the door.

“Wait!” she said.  “I need my presents!”

“The Lord Zuko and Lady Mai already arranged to have them sent back to your apartments in the palace, as well as your weapons.”  He was herding them out.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Sokka said.   The doorman followed as he half-pulled Toph through the door.  Once outside, the doorman stood at the threshold, almost daring them both to try and return.

“Watch this,” Toph whispered to Sokka.  She raised both of her arms slightly, and he looked back in time to see the doorman be pushed fifteen feet in the air by a column of earth.  The man didn’t stop yelping until he had fallen quite ungracefully back to the ground.

Sokka didn’t wait for the tirade of curses to start.  He grabbed Toph’s hand and started running toward the palace.  He almost tripped twice and was laughing so hard that he could barely see.  Once they got to the palace courtyard, he stopped running and pulled Toph into a hug.  “Wow,” he said between laughs.  “Now that was fun.”

Toph stopped laughing and tried to catch her breath.  She took a step back and turned to him. “What did his face look like?” she asked.

“It was classic!” he answered.  “Pure terror!”  He started laughing all over again.  “Man, I am so glad Suki’s not here.”

“Why?”  

Sokka put his arm around her shoulder and they started staggering toward the palace.  “You know she hates when we do this!”  Toph wound her arm around his waist as they both helped each other walk.  “So,” Sokka said, “how was your birthday?”

“Almost perfect,” she answered.

“What?”  Sokka stopped walking.  He stood in front of her and held her shoulders. “What do you mean ‘almost’?”

She shrugged.  “Almost.”

“Nope, no good.  My Toph cannot have an ‘almost’ perfect sixteenth birthday.”  He thought for a moment.  “You got some great stuff, we broke some furniture, got kicked out of the tavern.  What else?”

She smirked slyly.  “I got this, too.”  She reached behind her back and pulled a small knife out of her belt.

“Where did you get that?”

“It’s one of Mai’s.”

Sokka stared.  “No way!  You managed to get that off of her?”  Toph nodded.  “And she didn’t know?”  She shook her head.  “Wait.  I thought she gave them all up at the door.”

“Did you give all yours up?”

“No…”

“Well neither did she.  She always has at least four on her, even when you don’t think she’s got any.”

Sokka narrowed his eyes and looked at her.  “Okay then, how do you know about them?”

As an answer, she just tapped her foot on the ground.

He broke into his own sly grin.  “Oh, yeah.”  He chuckled.  “You are amazing, you know that?”

“Yes, I do, but thank you very much for noticing.”  She put the knife back in her belt.

“So what would make this day perfect for you?”

“Well,” she said softly, “you didn’t give me your present.”

Sokka opened his mouth, then hung his head.  “I know.  The truth is, I didn’t get you one yet.”  He looked at her.  “It’s not my fault, though!  I just wanted to get you something as amazing as you, and I couldn’t find anything!”

“It’s okay Snoozles.”

“No, it isn’t.”  He raised his head and rested his elbows on her shoulders. “Anything you want – anything at all – just name it and it’s yours.”

“Anything?”

He nodded.  “Anything.”  He bent his head closer to hers.  

“Okay then, I want…” she whispered in his ear, then trailed off.  He waited, but she didn’t say anything else.

Instead, Sokka felt something warm and moist on his lips.  It took a few seconds to realize what was going on.  He let out a small gasp of surprise and broke away from her.  He quickly backed up a few steps, tripping over his own feet and landing quite ungracefully on the hard stone.  He looked up at Toph, whose eyes were open wide and hand was covering her mouth.  She looked horrified.  “What was that?” he asked.  “Did you just…kiss me?”

“I…I…” She backed up a few steps.  “I have to go,” she said, and turned and ran out of the courtyard.

“Toph!  Wait!”  He stood up and ran after her.

He almost lost her twice, but managed to hear her running each time.  Finally, on the main street, Sokka knew he was going catch up to her.  “Please, Toph,” he yelled at her.  “Stop!”  When he thought he was close enough to grab her arm, he made a sudden lunge and grabbed the fabric of her tunic.

Sokka could only watch as she sunk into the ground.  He let go at the last possible moment, slamming his shoulder into the solid earth.  She was gone.

He sat there in the middle of the street, alone, confused, drunk, and hoping that Toph would pop back up and explain to him what was going on.

She'd kissed him, and he'd never seen it coming.

"Toph..."

He strained his hearing, listening for any sign of earthbending.

"Come back, Toph."

Only silence answered him.