Pulse
Title: Pulse
Characters: Toph, Sokka
Rating: PG
Inspired by this piece of awesome fanart by Cottonball
Originally written for atla_thelibrary Picture is worth 1000 Words challenge.
Toph stepped on to the stone balcony with a grateful sigh. Cool evening breeze rushed into her lungs and chilled the perspiration that had risen on her brow. The din of Fire Nation nobility emerged from behind the curtains that separated her from the enclosed hall.
She reached up and loosened her hairpiece, freeing her long, black locks from the courtly style that had been forced on her and letting it fall about her shoulders. Unlike a comfortable Earth Kingdom hanbok, the formal Fire Nation kimono she had to wear could only be loosened slightly without taking it off entirely. Although that was an appealing thought, there were still several hours of formal occasion to grit her teeth through, and she settled for letting the evening air cool her exposed skin much as possible.
Silly hairstyles, strange dress, and pointless ornamentation. For the thousandth time, she wondered how she had let Bumi talk her into becoming the envoy for Omashu. On the plus side, it came with a stipend and gave her the chance to be independent of her overbearing family. She even got to practice her ‘bending against Zuko and his best fighters. Unfortunately, it also meant that she had to attend these foolish parties and represent Omashu’s interests by picking up any murmurings of Fire Nation’s nobility against the city. She smirked at the thought, as if they could enact any policy or treaty that Bumi’s mad logic couldn’t turn to his advantage.
Exhaling heavily, she earthbent a piece of the wall to shut the outer door, cutting off the clamor of the people within. The only sound now came from the chirping of a few nearby cicadas and, for a few moments, there was blessed stillness.
Her head came up as the door opened and vibrations caused by approaching footsteps touched the soles of her feet. Almost unconsciously, she tapped the ground with her heel, sending a shockwave out through the ground and showing her the surrounding area.
There was another benefit to being Omashu’s representative in the Fire Nation. For the past month she had gotten to work side-by-side with an old friend.
His slightly elevated pulse was quick enough to give her a good sense of what he looked like even while he was at rest, and she was still getting used to his image in her tremor-sight. A month ago, when she’d met him again for the first time in years, she could only marvel that he seemed so different from what she remembered. The image imprinted into her earthbending senses from when he had fallen flat on his face in front of her was that of a tall youth, a few years older than herself, on the cusp of manhood. He was much taller and broader now. His jaw had strengthened and his lean muscles had solidified onto a whipcord frame. He moved with an athletic and almost hypnotizing grace that quickened her breathing every time she encountered it.
“Hey Toph,” came his semi-familiar voice. The carefree ease was the same, but his baritone was still causing her stomach to flutter every time he started speaking to her.
“Hey, Sokka. How’s it going in there?”
“Ah, about normal,” he said with a resigned sigh. “All the Fire Nation nobles want Zuko to ease off on the reparations and... ah... stuff.”
She pressed her lips together. Because the world of sight was denied to her, she’d always had a keen ear for sounds, even more so when she’d learned to sense vibrations through the earth. The last time his flippantly unconcerned voice had trembled like it did now was just before the Black Sun Invasion. Curious.
“So how’s the job being the envoy of the Southern Water Tribes?”
“Oh, y’know,” he responded, his seeming nervousness starting to fade. “It keeps me busy. Get to travel all over the place. Go to parties. Boring parties. Like this one.”
“You sure sounded like you were enjoying it,” she said with a smirk. “And your jokes were certainly keeping those court ladies entertained.”
His heartbeat sped up again. The vibrations it sent through the ground showed his face falling into a sheepish expression. “Oh... uhh...”
He was so easy to rib. “You gonna see any of them?”
“I... I haven’t.. ah... I haven’t had much time to... to see anyone.”
Her smirk died. “Oh. I thought you were single again?”
He had told her of his breakup with Suki two years prior, and she had been surprised at how bad she had felt for the both of them.
“I am,” he responded, his voice rippling with trepidation. “They aren’t who I want to be with.”
Toph’s curiosity was replaced by a twinge of anger. For an instant, her fist clenched at his stubborn refusal to move on, but her irritation quickly calmed in the face of the wistful remorse suffusing his voice. There was something fundamentally missing from the world when he was sad. “Sokka the ladies’ man, still lovesick after all these years,” she quipped. “Has Ozai been released from prison to run a soup kitchen, too?”
“No! No, I’m not carrying a torch for her or anything,” he blurted hurriedly. “I mean, Suki and I were good while we lasted, but... it didn’t work out. I mean, I’m over it. But... but I guess I just don’t want to be with someone else just for the sake of being with someone. Y’know?”
She turned away and hoped that her sigh wasn’t as resentful as her thoughts. “Yeah. I do.”
“And,” his voice was barely a whisper, almost fearful, “I think I’ve found someone.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, grateful he couldn’t see her expression. “You deserve to find someone who appreciates you. I hope she feels that way about you, too.”
His heart sped up, faster than ever. In the space of a few breaths, his pulse was racing as though he’d just run a mile.
“So do I.”
She turned back to him as he produced something from his pocket. It seemed to be a necklace of pearl chips with a larger, medallion-like circlet of metal in the center. It was a moment before she realized where she had encountered something like it before.
“Isn’t that a necklace like Katara’s? Is that a Southern Water Tribe thing?”
“No,” he said slowly, “It’s actually from the Northern Water Tribe.”
The muscles of his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, the same way he had before facing off against Piandao, years ago. His hand extended slowly.
“It’s... the type that Grand-Pakku gave to Gran-Gran.”
Her sightless eyes widened.
“In the Northern Water Tribe, these are a sign of... of courtship.”
Her jaw dropped a fraction.
“I... want to be with you. We’ve been through so much... and for the past month, it’s felt... right.”
The pulse of her beating heart quickened to match his.
“For years... I’ve never been so happy as when I’m around you.”
She was suddenly aware of a misty sensation emerging from her eyes.
“Toph... will you marry me?”
For an instant, her breath stilled and her heart fluttered. It seemed an eternity before it began to pulse again, faster than before.
She didn’t move, afraid that she would awaken from a dream. The past seven years played out before her. The adventures they had as children. The battles they had fought, the laughter they had shared, and the tears they had shed.
Pulse.
She remembered sitting on Appa’s back, having no earth to sense and being truly blind. She remembered clinging to his arm, knowing that he was a pillar of stability.
Pulse.
She remembered their time in the Fire Nation when he had gone to train with a sword master. She remembered trying to play off the sense of happiness that, until he returned, she had not realized was missing.
Pulse.
She remembered the vague feeling of loneliness as their group began to form relationships. She remembered not jealousy, but a sense of bittersweet contentment at his happiness, even if it was with another girl.
Pulse.
She remembered the feel of his hand and the sounds of his struggles in that nearly eternal moment when he had been the only thing keeping her from plummeting into the endless sky below. She remembered the bond they had shared in that moment, when she knew beyond a doubt that he would die before letting go. A bond so profound as to transcend camaraderie and friendship.
Pulse.
“I understand that this is sudden,” he stammered, “And you don’t have to answer right away, but-”
Her hand came up and cupped against his strong, weathered cheek, forestalling any further words. The shape of his face relaxed, and a slow, hopeful smile began to fill his expression. He leaned forward, pulled by her earthbender’s strength, as she tilted her chin toward his face.
“Sokka,” she whispered into his lips, “I will. Because I’ve loved you since the first time you fell on your face.”
Characters: Toph, Sokka
Rating: PG
Inspired by this piece of awesome fanart by Cottonball
Originally written for atla_thelibrary Picture is worth 1000 Words challenge.
Toph stepped on to the stone balcony with a grateful sigh. Cool evening breeze rushed into her lungs and chilled the perspiration that had risen on her brow. The din of Fire Nation nobility emerged from behind the curtains that separated her from the enclosed hall.
She reached up and loosened her hairpiece, freeing her long, black locks from the courtly style that had been forced on her and letting it fall about her shoulders. Unlike a comfortable Earth Kingdom hanbok, the formal Fire Nation kimono she had to wear could only be loosened slightly without taking it off entirely. Although that was an appealing thought, there were still several hours of formal occasion to grit her teeth through, and she settled for letting the evening air cool her exposed skin much as possible.
Silly hairstyles, strange dress, and pointless ornamentation. For the thousandth time, she wondered how she had let Bumi talk her into becoming the envoy for Omashu. On the plus side, it came with a stipend and gave her the chance to be independent of her overbearing family. She even got to practice her ‘bending against Zuko and his best fighters. Unfortunately, it also meant that she had to attend these foolish parties and represent Omashu’s interests by picking up any murmurings of Fire Nation’s nobility against the city. She smirked at the thought, as if they could enact any policy or treaty that Bumi’s mad logic couldn’t turn to his advantage.
Exhaling heavily, she earthbent a piece of the wall to shut the outer door, cutting off the clamor of the people within. The only sound now came from the chirping of a few nearby cicadas and, for a few moments, there was blessed stillness.
Her head came up as the door opened and vibrations caused by approaching footsteps touched the soles of her feet. Almost unconsciously, she tapped the ground with her heel, sending a shockwave out through the ground and showing her the surrounding area.
There was another benefit to being Omashu’s representative in the Fire Nation. For the past month she had gotten to work side-by-side with an old friend.
His slightly elevated pulse was quick enough to give her a good sense of what he looked like even while he was at rest, and she was still getting used to his image in her tremor-sight. A month ago, when she’d met him again for the first time in years, she could only marvel that he seemed so different from what she remembered. The image imprinted into her earthbending senses from when he had fallen flat on his face in front of her was that of a tall youth, a few years older than herself, on the cusp of manhood. He was much taller and broader now. His jaw had strengthened and his lean muscles had solidified onto a whipcord frame. He moved with an athletic and almost hypnotizing grace that quickened her breathing every time she encountered it.
“Hey Toph,” came his semi-familiar voice. The carefree ease was the same, but his baritone was still causing her stomach to flutter every time he started speaking to her.
“Hey, Sokka. How’s it going in there?”
“Ah, about normal,” he said with a resigned sigh. “All the Fire Nation nobles want Zuko to ease off on the reparations and... ah... stuff.”
She pressed her lips together. Because the world of sight was denied to her, she’d always had a keen ear for sounds, even more so when she’d learned to sense vibrations through the earth. The last time his flippantly unconcerned voice had trembled like it did now was just before the Black Sun Invasion. Curious.
“So how’s the job being the envoy of the Southern Water Tribes?”
“Oh, y’know,” he responded, his seeming nervousness starting to fade. “It keeps me busy. Get to travel all over the place. Go to parties. Boring parties. Like this one.”
“You sure sounded like you were enjoying it,” she said with a smirk. “And your jokes were certainly keeping those court ladies entertained.”
His heartbeat sped up again. The vibrations it sent through the ground showed his face falling into a sheepish expression. “Oh... uhh...”
He was so easy to rib. “You gonna see any of them?”
“I... I haven’t.. ah... I haven’t had much time to... to see anyone.”
Her smirk died. “Oh. I thought you were single again?”
He had told her of his breakup with Suki two years prior, and she had been surprised at how bad she had felt for the both of them.
“I am,” he responded, his voice rippling with trepidation. “They aren’t who I want to be with.”
Toph’s curiosity was replaced by a twinge of anger. For an instant, her fist clenched at his stubborn refusal to move on, but her irritation quickly calmed in the face of the wistful remorse suffusing his voice. There was something fundamentally missing from the world when he was sad. “Sokka the ladies’ man, still lovesick after all these years,” she quipped. “Has Ozai been released from prison to run a soup kitchen, too?”
“No! No, I’m not carrying a torch for her or anything,” he blurted hurriedly. “I mean, Suki and I were good while we lasted, but... it didn’t work out. I mean, I’m over it. But... but I guess I just don’t want to be with someone else just for the sake of being with someone. Y’know?”
She turned away and hoped that her sigh wasn’t as resentful as her thoughts. “Yeah. I do.”
“And,” his voice was barely a whisper, almost fearful, “I think I’ve found someone.”
“Well, good luck,” she said, grateful he couldn’t see her expression. “You deserve to find someone who appreciates you. I hope she feels that way about you, too.”
His heart sped up, faster than ever. In the space of a few breaths, his pulse was racing as though he’d just run a mile.
“So do I.”
She turned back to him as he produced something from his pocket. It seemed to be a necklace of pearl chips with a larger, medallion-like circlet of metal in the center. It was a moment before she realized where she had encountered something like it before.
“Isn’t that a necklace like Katara’s? Is that a Southern Water Tribe thing?”
“No,” he said slowly, “It’s actually from the Northern Water Tribe.”
The muscles of his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply, the same way he had before facing off against Piandao, years ago. His hand extended slowly.
“It’s... the type that Grand-Pakku gave to Gran-Gran.”
Her sightless eyes widened.
“In the Northern Water Tribe, these are a sign of... of courtship.”
Her jaw dropped a fraction.
“I... want to be with you. We’ve been through so much... and for the past month, it’s felt... right.”
The pulse of her beating heart quickened to match his.
“For years... I’ve never been so happy as when I’m around you.”
She was suddenly aware of a misty sensation emerging from her eyes.
“Toph... will you marry me?”
For an instant, her breath stilled and her heart fluttered. It seemed an eternity before it began to pulse again, faster than before.
She didn’t move, afraid that she would awaken from a dream. The past seven years played out before her. The adventures they had as children. The battles they had fought, the laughter they had shared, and the tears they had shed.
Pulse.
She remembered sitting on Appa’s back, having no earth to sense and being truly blind. She remembered clinging to his arm, knowing that he was a pillar of stability.
Pulse.
She remembered their time in the Fire Nation when he had gone to train with a sword master. She remembered trying to play off the sense of happiness that, until he returned, she had not realized was missing.
Pulse.
She remembered the vague feeling of loneliness as their group began to form relationships. She remembered not jealousy, but a sense of bittersweet contentment at his happiness, even if it was with another girl.
Pulse.
She remembered the feel of his hand and the sounds of his struggles in that nearly eternal moment when he had been the only thing keeping her from plummeting into the endless sky below. She remembered the bond they had shared in that moment, when she knew beyond a doubt that he would die before letting go. A bond so profound as to transcend camaraderie and friendship.
Pulse.
“I understand that this is sudden,” he stammered, “And you don’t have to answer right away, but-”
Her hand came up and cupped against his strong, weathered cheek, forestalling any further words. The shape of his face relaxed, and a slow, hopeful smile began to fill his expression. He leaned forward, pulled by her earthbender’s strength, as she tilted her chin toward his face.
“Sokka,” she whispered into his lips, “I will. Because I’ve loved you since the first time you fell on your face.”