Title: Credit Due
Rating: K
Characters: Sokka, Toph
Summary: “Barium chloride is unstable at room temperature!”
A/N: For
tehlobster , a small Escapades-esque fic (using her fireworks prompt) that contains no spoilers.
Occasionally, Toph wondered if Zuko was really aware of what Sokka had done to the bedroom that had been granted to him in the Fire Nation palace. Just sometimes. She didn’t think it was a coincidence that their bedrooms were farther away from the center of the palace than any of the other bedrooms.
Mostly, though, she was glad that Zuko didn’t really pay any attention to what Sokka got into whenever they cooped themselves up in his bedroom. She was pretty sure Sokka’s slightly maniacal laughter would be enough to send a chill down the Fire Lord’s spine.
“Watch the table, Toph!” he almost scolded, reaching out and blocking her path with an arm, as if she wasn’t aware of the table standing directly in front of her. “Barium chloride is unstable at room temperature!”
“Well excuuuuse me!” she tossed her head and sat on the floor, tapping a heel on the ground to make a little foot rest pop up underneath her ankles. “I’ll just sit here and mind my own business then.”
“You know,” Sokka remarked reproachfully, “You can pout as much as you want, but whenever I perfect these and display them on Zuko’s next birthday, you’re going to be the first one in line to take credit for them.”
“I don’t pout,” Toph shot back weakly, fully aware of the truth behind Sokka’s statement, “and I don’t - ”
She was cut off by the sound of glass breaking, following in short order by Sokka exclaiming one of his more dramatic curses and a high pitched whistling noise. Sokka rocked back and threw himself on the ground beside Toph, and the next thing she knew there was a tremendous boom, and the feeling of heat against her face.
He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her from the room, both of them coughing and gagging on the smoke that had instantly engulfed them. Once they were in the clear air of the hallway, both sucking in clean, sweet breaths, Toph gasped out, “What did you do?!”
“Uh,” Sokka was still heaving. “I think I mixed up barium with copper chloride. It shouldn’t have exploded like that.”
“Well,” Toph laughed weakly and patted him on the back. She could see the people at the edge of her vision, hurrying down the hallway. “The good news is I won’t be taking credit for this one.”