AtLA: It's Clear We Deserve Each Other
Title: It's Clear We Deserve Each Other
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender
Author: kawaiispinel
Feedback: ...Is loverly.
Word Count: 1304
Rating: PG
Prompt: 16. Creme de la creme
Characters: Sokka, Toph
Pairings: Sokka/Toph
Summary: Toph has an intriguing proposition to get away from an onslaught of suitors... Well, intriguing to her anyway.
Disclaimer: It's still not mine. Really.
Author's Note: Sokka and Toph hate me sometimes, but that's okay.... I guess.
Sokka stood outside the gates of the Bei Fong estate, leaning against the stone wall, a smug grin on his face. Any minute now he’d have a front-row seat to the same event that transpired every afternoon at this very place around this very time, and as many times as he’d seen it, it never ceased to amuse him.
Just inside the gate, a male voice had started pleading, his voice low as to not alert the rest of the neighborhood to the fact that he was begging. It just wasn’t something a sensible man of means did, especially when confronted with the situation he was currently in. Not that it would have mattered anyway... The woman he was begging for mercy didn’t believe in mercy for his lot.
A second later there was a loud noise- like the sound of the earth rising forth and slamming into some unwitting human body- and a nobleman flew over the gates, landing unceremoniously on his face several feet from where Sokka stood, still smirking.
"So what did you say to tick her off?" He asked.
The nobleman struggled to sit up, staring blankly at the gates. "I... Don’t really know."
"Well, it doesn’t take much, trust me," Sokka chuckled. He cast a wary look over his shoulder, pretending to peer through the gap in the gate. "I’d get out of here if I were you- I think she’s coming back for an encore."
The nobleman didn’t have to be told twice. He was gone a moment later, fear giving his feet wings. Sokka snorted in laughter, interrupted quickly by a female voice on the other side of the gate.
"Did I make him cry?"
He straightened up from where he had doubled over in laughter, still holding his sides. "No."
Toph swore, an unladylike gesture on her part, and opened the gate, looking quite lovely and not scary at all as she was dressed in her finest attire (the sort of dress one only wore when they were trying to impress someone, although Toph Bei Fong had plenty of means to discourage that with or without fancy dress). "I wanted to make him cry," she sulked.
"Maybe the next one," Sokka offered.
She rolled her eyes in reply. "I’m still holding out for there not being a next one. You think my parents would have gotten the hint a long time ago that I don’t want to get married."
"But if you don’t keep smacking your suitors around, where am I going to get my entertainment?" Sokka pouted. She made a move to punch him in the shoulder and he flinched before her tiny fist made contact.
"Two for flinching," she beamed, sensing the subtle tension in his body before punching him twice, hard enough to make him wince and rub his shoulder. "I haven’t seen you asking for my hand in marriage or anything."
He apparently hadn’t quite heard her words completely. "Are you kidding? I’m a peasant from the South Pole. Your parents..." He paused, suddenly realizing what Toph had just said. He looked down- she was taller than she had been once upon a time, but she was still a head shorter than him- trying to decipher the look on her face, but there wasn’t one there- she’d made her face as blank and expressionless as a mask.
"Me... Ask for your hand?" He finally choked out.
Toph shrugged. "Why not? I’d say we were compatible, and it’s not like you’re doing anything better."
"Marriage is generally not something people do when they’re bored, Toph," Sokka said, a weak chuckle escaping his throat.
Toph beamed. "Obviously you haven’t spent much time in my sort of social circles. Marriage is precisely what happens when people get bored... Generally the sort of marriages that cause scandals, like say...." She paused for dramatic effect. "The only daughter of the Bei Fong family running off and eloping with some Water Tribe peasant. I can hear the gossip now."
Sokka couldn’t believe he was hearing this. "...Elope?"
"We wouldn’t have to really elope," Toph shrugged again, a plan obviously formulating in her head. "We could fake it. It’s easier than you pretending to be married to me, assuming that my father didn’t kick you to the street for having the gall to ask. I could leave a note. ‘Dear Mom and Dad, ran off with a poor peasant boy. I hope I shattered all your dreams for my future. Love, Toph.’"
He gaped. "You’re... Something else, Toph."
She smiled in reply, obviously pleased by his stunned reaction. "I know. So do you want to do it?"
"What?" He asked, his voice muffled by the fact that he had just covered his face with his hands.
"Pretend to elope, dummy!" She snapped. "Haven’t you been listening?"
Sokka nodded, his hands still covering his face. "I’m pretending this conversation isn’t happening."
Toph rolled her eyes and forced his hands away from his face so that he could look her in the eye. "We either pretend to elope or you kidnap me.... Which do you think you’ll get away with?"
"Kidnaping," Sokka offered meekly. "I’ve technically already gotten away with it once."
"It’s not like I’m forcing you to really marry me or anything," she muttered, releasing his hands. "Geez, Sokka, I didn’t know the thought of even pretending to be married to me was disgusting to you."
"It’s not that," he protested, his voice pained. "It’s just...." He paused, fighting for the right words. "You... Deserve better."
She arched a brow. "Better than what?"
"Than that. Pretending to elope with me... For what? The chance to escape this? The battles are over, the wars have been fought... There’s nothing much left. You’d be better off staying here, getting married to some rich noble and beating him up for the rest of your life... Don’t you want that?"
"No," she replied honestly. "What I want is something a little less classy.... A little more crude. I don’t want what’s best for me... I don’t want the best. I want something completely imperfect and unconventional." She stomped her foot on the ground hard, causing the ground to tremble a little. "And if I have to get married and have kids, then I want to do that in some little village where my whole family doesn’t have to adhere to all these irritating social norms."
Sokka almost smiled. "That actually sounds nice."
She looked up at him, her expression pleading. "And I won’t get that here."
"No," he responded, his voice flat. His mind had gone to the one place he hadn’t wanted it to go, but it seemed so painfully obvious that what he needed to do that he couldn’t help it. "But I won’t pretend to elope with you."
Toph crossed her arms over her chest. "Jerk."
"I’m not finished," he protested. "I’ll-" he almost laughed before the words left his mouth, because they just seemed so amusing- "Really elope with you."
Toph couldn’t have looked more surprised if he had suddenly shown her that he had randomly developed Bending powers overnight. "...What?"
"Toph Bei Fong," he said dramatically, deciding to milk this for all it was worth, "Will you elope with me?"
They stared at each other for a long time and then both of them burst out laughing. "We’re weird, aren’t we?" She asked when she finally managed to stop.
"Yeah," he replied, smiling at her. "I guess that’s why we deserve each other."
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender
Author: kawaiispinel
Feedback: ...Is loverly.
Word Count: 1304
Rating: PG
Prompt: 16. Creme de la creme
Characters: Sokka, Toph
Pairings: Sokka/Toph
Summary: Toph has an intriguing proposition to get away from an onslaught of suitors... Well, intriguing to her anyway.
Disclaimer: It's still not mine. Really.
Author's Note: Sokka and Toph hate me sometimes, but that's okay.... I guess.
Sokka stood outside the gates of the Bei Fong estate, leaning against the stone wall, a smug grin on his face. Any minute now he’d have a front-row seat to the same event that transpired every afternoon at this very place around this very time, and as many times as he’d seen it, it never ceased to amuse him.
Just inside the gate, a male voice had started pleading, his voice low as to not alert the rest of the neighborhood to the fact that he was begging. It just wasn’t something a sensible man of means did, especially when confronted with the situation he was currently in. Not that it would have mattered anyway... The woman he was begging for mercy didn’t believe in mercy for his lot.
A second later there was a loud noise- like the sound of the earth rising forth and slamming into some unwitting human body- and a nobleman flew over the gates, landing unceremoniously on his face several feet from where Sokka stood, still smirking.
"So what did you say to tick her off?" He asked.
The nobleman struggled to sit up, staring blankly at the gates. "I... Don’t really know."
"Well, it doesn’t take much, trust me," Sokka chuckled. He cast a wary look over his shoulder, pretending to peer through the gap in the gate. "I’d get out of here if I were you- I think she’s coming back for an encore."
The nobleman didn’t have to be told twice. He was gone a moment later, fear giving his feet wings. Sokka snorted in laughter, interrupted quickly by a female voice on the other side of the gate.
"Did I make him cry?"
He straightened up from where he had doubled over in laughter, still holding his sides. "No."
Toph swore, an unladylike gesture on her part, and opened the gate, looking quite lovely and not scary at all as she was dressed in her finest attire (the sort of dress one only wore when they were trying to impress someone, although Toph Bei Fong had plenty of means to discourage that with or without fancy dress). "I wanted to make him cry," she sulked.
"Maybe the next one," Sokka offered.
She rolled her eyes in reply. "I’m still holding out for there not being a next one. You think my parents would have gotten the hint a long time ago that I don’t want to get married."
"But if you don’t keep smacking your suitors around, where am I going to get my entertainment?" Sokka pouted. She made a move to punch him in the shoulder and he flinched before her tiny fist made contact.
"Two for flinching," she beamed, sensing the subtle tension in his body before punching him twice, hard enough to make him wince and rub his shoulder. "I haven’t seen you asking for my hand in marriage or anything."
He apparently hadn’t quite heard her words completely. "Are you kidding? I’m a peasant from the South Pole. Your parents..." He paused, suddenly realizing what Toph had just said. He looked down- she was taller than she had been once upon a time, but she was still a head shorter than him- trying to decipher the look on her face, but there wasn’t one there- she’d made her face as blank and expressionless as a mask.
"Me... Ask for your hand?" He finally choked out.
Toph shrugged. "Why not? I’d say we were compatible, and it’s not like you’re doing anything better."
"Marriage is generally not something people do when they’re bored, Toph," Sokka said, a weak chuckle escaping his throat.
Toph beamed. "Obviously you haven’t spent much time in my sort of social circles. Marriage is precisely what happens when people get bored... Generally the sort of marriages that cause scandals, like say...." She paused for dramatic effect. "The only daughter of the Bei Fong family running off and eloping with some Water Tribe peasant. I can hear the gossip now."
Sokka couldn’t believe he was hearing this. "...Elope?"
"We wouldn’t have to really elope," Toph shrugged again, a plan obviously formulating in her head. "We could fake it. It’s easier than you pretending to be married to me, assuming that my father didn’t kick you to the street for having the gall to ask. I could leave a note. ‘Dear Mom and Dad, ran off with a poor peasant boy. I hope I shattered all your dreams for my future. Love, Toph.’"
He gaped. "You’re... Something else, Toph."
She smiled in reply, obviously pleased by his stunned reaction. "I know. So do you want to do it?"
"What?" He asked, his voice muffled by the fact that he had just covered his face with his hands.
"Pretend to elope, dummy!" She snapped. "Haven’t you been listening?"
Sokka nodded, his hands still covering his face. "I’m pretending this conversation isn’t happening."
Toph rolled her eyes and forced his hands away from his face so that he could look her in the eye. "We either pretend to elope or you kidnap me.... Which do you think you’ll get away with?"
"Kidnaping," Sokka offered meekly. "I’ve technically already gotten away with it once."
"It’s not like I’m forcing you to really marry me or anything," she muttered, releasing his hands. "Geez, Sokka, I didn’t know the thought of even pretending to be married to me was disgusting to you."
"It’s not that," he protested, his voice pained. "It’s just...." He paused, fighting for the right words. "You... Deserve better."
She arched a brow. "Better than what?"
"Than that. Pretending to elope with me... For what? The chance to escape this? The battles are over, the wars have been fought... There’s nothing much left. You’d be better off staying here, getting married to some rich noble and beating him up for the rest of your life... Don’t you want that?"
"No," she replied honestly. "What I want is something a little less classy.... A little more crude. I don’t want what’s best for me... I don’t want the best. I want something completely imperfect and unconventional." She stomped her foot on the ground hard, causing the ground to tremble a little. "And if I have to get married and have kids, then I want to do that in some little village where my whole family doesn’t have to adhere to all these irritating social norms."
Sokka almost smiled. "That actually sounds nice."
She looked up at him, her expression pleading. "And I won’t get that here."
"No," he responded, his voice flat. His mind had gone to the one place he hadn’t wanted it to go, but it seemed so painfully obvious that what he needed to do that he couldn’t help it. "But I won’t pretend to elope with you."
Toph crossed her arms over her chest. "Jerk."
"I’m not finished," he protested. "I’ll-" he almost laughed before the words left his mouth, because they just seemed so amusing- "Really elope with you."
Toph couldn’t have looked more surprised if he had suddenly shown her that he had randomly developed Bending powers overnight. "...What?"
"Toph Bei Fong," he said dramatically, deciding to milk this for all it was worth, "Will you elope with me?"
They stared at each other for a long time and then both of them burst out laughing. "We’re weird, aren’t we?" She asked when she finally managed to stop.
"Yeah," he replied, smiling at her. "I guess that’s why we deserve each other."