42 - text

[kyasdaughter]

Toph Bei Fong has gone home.

Comments

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

[Hope she doesn't mind Jet creeping in her room. Well, he'll lean in the doorway.]

When'd she leave?

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

[She does mind, in fact - she was using text because she was crying, crying too hard to want to let anyone see.]

I don't know, Jet -- ! Get out of here, would you?

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

Katara....

[He frowns. He knows it's more than Toph leaving - it's Aang and Zuko and now Toph, and everything else this place was putting her through. He takes a step in the room and shuts the door behind him.]

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

I said get out, not come in.

[She's crying into her sleeve, now, though she still manages to shout that pretty clearly.] I'll be okay in a few minutes.

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

Yeah, I heard you.

[He sits beside her and puts a hand on her back, not sure what else to really say. It'll be ok is becoming to frequent, especially when they both know it's not true.]

...you still have us.

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

[She jumps slightly at the hand on her back, almost as if she's been burned by something, before she leans into Jet hard and presses her face to his shoulder. The crying gets worse.]

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

[He tenses. A lot. Crying girls weren't something he had to deal with often, and he always saw Katara as strong. Stronger than him, even. But after a moment or two, he pulls her in and strokes her back - letting her cry.]

We aren't going to leave, ok? Me, Sokka, Suki...we're all here when you need us. ....Iroh, too.

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

[That's why she didn't want you in her room, Jet, why she didn't want you to see her. She's sobbing inconsolably at this point, but when he speaks, she smacks his shoulder with her palm.]

Don't say that! You can't choose when you go, you don't know when it's going to happen, it might be tonight, I might wake up alone tomorrow!

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

[The slap makes him jump, but other than that he doesn't let it get to him. He just squeezes tighter in hopes of restraining her arms more. Slaps were one thing, if there was any water he didn't want it coming at him.]

I'm not going anywhere.

[He says it firmly, without question, and wonders if he really believes it himself. What she said was true, he knew that, but seeing her like this...]

You won't wake up alone. I'll do everything in my power to make sure of it. I'm doing the best I can right now...I promise.

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

[She manages to cry it out for the most part, simply shaking against his shoulder for a long, uncomfortable minute.]

I wish you'd all go home.

[Her face is puffy, her throat scratchy, but at least fresh tears aren't falling anymore.]

Maybe - maybe not you. But everyone else. Home is so much better than this.

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

[The Maybe not you, it makes him cringe a little. He knows why, she knows why - everyone does. He wonders when he'll hate this place enough to really want to go home and meet his fate.

But that's another topic for another day. Once she's stopped shaking he pulls away a little only to feel worse when he sees her face. Using his thumbs, Jet wipes the dried tears away, holding her face up and forcing a smile.]

Then I guess I'll have to be the last one to go back, huh?

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

I guess so.

[She sniffles a little bit, rubbing at her cheeks before offering him a crooked smile and standing up, moving to a basin of water on her nightstand and splashing it on her face.]

It'd be great if we could just.. fix this place.

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

[He slumps forward a little, letting his elbows rest on his knees and watching her. Only somewhat contently, though.]

You like to reach for the impossible.

It'll be better if we all get home. That's the only way to fix everything, I think. We forget, right?

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

Every bit of it.

[She scrubs her cheeks hard, trying to get the red to go away - trying to make them look lively, instead of like she's been crying.]

I've gone home before, but I came back. I remember most of it. I didn't when I was home, though.

[offline]

[fn_rebel]

Let me know if you find a way...to better this place.

But when you go home, you forget about this place, right? What happened when you went back?

[...]

Stop that, you're gonna make your face even more red.

[offline]

[kyasdaughter]

It's gonna be red no matter what.

-- and when I went back, I was just.. at home. We went to the Fire Nation. Aang learned firebending. We invaded on the Day of the Black Sun, and lost. I remember all of that, but I'd forgotten Adstring entirely while it happened.