Sokka was excited to be back on the road with the gAang. He'd always loved traveling with his friends, especially when they were trying to save the world. He was an adventure kind of guy, always looking for something new and exciting. Now they were at it again, but this time a new threat awaited. Who knew what Ozai had up his sleeve this time. It was going to epic.

Toph walked right next to him, their shoulders brushing and hands bumping in to each other. He wasn't sure what to do anymore because he'd never expected to feel this way about her, or anyone else for that matter. He'd thought Suki would be the last, but she had become something different, something that he had grown to love. He hoped things would be like this forever, but Sokka knew better than to get his hopes up. With Ozai out of prision, something was bound to happen. Plus, the universe just loved to make him uncomfortable, as he'd learned a few years back during the War.

Toph's hand bumped into his again, and he suddenly couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed it so that their fingers interlocked. She looked surprised at first, then blush crept up on her pale cheeks. The bright red made her jet black hair look darker some how. He just couldn't stop noticing how beautiful she was. How had he not seen this before? His eyes were glued on her jade ones, taking in how fragile they seemed, even though he knew Toph was definitely not fragile. She was strong and-

That was the moment he chose to run into a tree. As he fell, he dragged her down with him. She tried to free her hand from his grasp, but their bodies were already tangled together. His back hit the ground first, then she landed on top of him, and last, their faces smashed together. Sokka instinctively wrapped his arms around her in a protective move, and his breath hiccuped in his throat as he realized just how close they were.

He couldn't help himself. Leaning a fraction of an inch off the ground, he kissed her, in front of everyone, not caring anymore. The kiss wasn't quite as desperate this time, it was more soft and slow, making his insides turn to lava. Toph placed her hands on his chest, and her dark hair cascaded around them like a waterfall, blocking the world from view.

They kissed for a while longer, but Toph interrupted by speaking against his lips," Mmph,"

Sokka chuckled softly," What?"

"Your an idiot! Did you run into a tree... and then kiss me?"

"Yes..."

"Meat head."

"So, what's the problem?"

She laughed, and he marveled in the flawless sound. It was smooth and silky, just like her hair, sweet and melodic, like her beautiful singing, but it also had a hint of happiness to. He hadn't seen her happy in a long time, and it felt good to be the cause of that. She definitely deserved to be happy.

Toph moved the earth underneath them, making him stand up. He was still holding her, and now that they were standing, he realized how small she really was. Almost two full heads shorter than him, she looked even smaller standing next to his tall frame. He looked over her shoulder at the path ahead of them. Katara and Aang were still happily walking down the road, hand in hand, oblivious to the anything except each other. Sokka unwrapped his arms from around Toph's waist and took her hand, pulling her through the Earth kingdom village.