...And Then, The Morning Comes (Jo)

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph could not recall the last time she had felt so comfortable, and yet so miserable.

The comfortable part was obvious. She was laying diagonally in a rather large and rather soft bed, with a heavy comforter dragged across her naked body. A warm as the blanket was, it was also hopelessly tangled, but she didn't lack for warmth. This had a lot to with the other person in the bed, whom was currently using her left breast as a pillow and with whom her legs were sensual and warmly entwined.

The miserable part came on two fronts. First was there was the psychical discomfort; the pounding hangover, dry mouth, and aching bladder, to say nothing of certain other body parts which had abused and been abused to mutual ecstasy. Still, that was the easy part. That would pass or heal. The second front was curios mix of shock, embarrassment, anger, and just a smidge of desire that could all me summed up in once sentence: What did I just do?

Actually one sentence wasn't enough. There was also: How much did I have to drink? Dead she slip me something? How could I let this happen? Does this mean I'm gay now? Was I always? But what about all those years with Cera? Are we, like, a thing now? When will she wake up so we can do it again? Did I really just think that?

It was pretty much a sure thing she wasn't getting out of this cave without dealing with Jo. Eve if she could get out from under the other woman and untangle their legs without waking her, the sound of her earthbending the entrance to their little love shack would surely do the trick. Plus there the matter of her not having any clothes; her harem girl out fit was now so much confetti if she remembered last night correctly . And she was pretty sure she did.

Still she had to at least get on her own two feet. Carefully she untangled their legs, and slid out from under Jo before finally scooting to the side of the bed and sat up.

Her feet touched the ground, and her surroundings rushed back into 'view'... including the remains of her little 'rock chair' from the night before.

The chair... where she had talked about Cera.

"Oh Gaia," she gasped, feeling lump in her throat. Toph felt as though she had just run into a wooden wall of guilt at the thought of Cera. But that was silly. Her friend had been dead for two years now, and it had never been like that between them anyway. Sure Cera had flirted, had let her know she was interested, but Toph... wasn't...gay...

Oh sh*it...

"Oh," Toph said again. Jo's body was still fuzzy to her, being on the mattress and all, but she still 'looked' back at her. "Oh, oh, no," she said to herslef. Realization was starting to creep through her hungover mind, and she did not want it. She did not want to figure this out. She did not want to know the answer. Denying the answer hurt enough already, she wasn't sure she could handle the whole truth.

Toph placed the heel of her hand in her mouth and bit down hard to keep from making a sound. There wasn't much she could do about the tears though; they kept coming.

Get it all out before she wakes up, Bei Fong! she told herself. Last thing a woman wants to see after a night of lovemaking is her partner crying, lesbian or otherwise!

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Nights, such as the one Jo had just shared with her would-be captor, were always better than the following mornings. Somewhere, deep in the recesses of the thief's mind, she knew this and hence was delaying the inevitable. Both she and Toph had plenty of drink. That alone was enough to wake up with one treat of hangover. And the sex, good as it was, was absolutely exhausting. So, why bother dealing with such things, when you had a perfectly good partner to sleep on.

The rustling from beneath her caused the slightest stir, but Jo was eager to return to sleep. Out of the corner of a half-open eye, she spied Toph getting back to her feet. This mildly concerned Jo, as Toph had made for an excellent pillow. A sleepy smirk crept up the side of her face as she struggled against reality for a few more moments of sleep. Sadly, it was a struggle in vain.

"My, my....what a night..." she mumbled as she pushed herself up to a sitting position. A few witty comments were about to be tossed out, but that was when Jo noticed the curious expression on Toph's face. Well, less curious and more worrying. It was a battle to keep from breaking down. The tears were evidence enough.

"I pray I wasn't that bad..." Jo attempted to bring a chuckle out of the bounty hunter. She moved herself closer to the edge of the bed, to see if she was successful.

'Oh, dear me...she's a touch more delicate than she lets on.' Jo thought to herself.

[Toph Bei Fong]

Oh damn it, Toph thought. Jo was aware and was no where near ready.

Not trusting her voice, she shook her head, sending her hair, liberated from the previous day's arrangement, dancing around her shoulders and back. She then scooted on the edge of the bed closer toward Jo, and with the hand she was not currently biting the hell out of to keep from sobbing, ran her fingers affectionately down Jo's bare leg, from her hip till she could no longer reach.

Her teeth slacked from her bite and she actually felt her lips start to curl into a smile at the contact. Even the light of day and with zero alcohol in her system, and with a looming irrational sense of guilt threatening to smash her flat, touching Jo was a pleasurable experience. It brought back all the times she had done it the night before. But that would mean –

No, no, no! Stop That Thought! Dont think it! Now or ever!

Still she took advantage of the receding pain to lower her hand from her mouth and wiped her eyes. “You were...” she swallowed. “Look,” she said carefully, her voice higher than it wast the night before, teetering on the edge or cracking. “I move earth around for a living. I can cause earthquakes by stamping my foot. ride a wave or stone faster than the fastest horse you've ever seen. I learned how to do this from the first creatures on earth ever to earth-bend. So when I tell you that last night, you made the earth move in ways I never felt before... you kinda have an idea of how good I think you are.”

Toph's smile began to fade, but she forced it back up. “Maybe you were too good, Sweetie. I think you jarred something lose I never noticed was danglin' before, but now that know its there...”

Toph's voice broke, and the and went back to her mouth and she bit hard until the feeling passed. “I'm not going to do this. She mumbled, mostly to herself. “I'm not going the weepy loser the morning after. Hell I kicked more than my share of weepy bedmates out of my bunk, and will not join their ranks!”

The room stated shaking slightly. Toph lowered both hands to the bed on either side of her gripping the mattress tightly in both hands. Her feet were flat on the floor, as she shaking in the earthen room grew more pronounced.

I. Am. Not. Gay! Toph screamed in her own head. She took the questions, the doubt, and the guilt in her head, and stuffed it into a corner of her mind as hard as could. It was surprisingly easy to do... and also oddly familiar once she made up her mind to do it. But once it was done, she exhaled wearily and the room stopped shaking as she relaxed, her shoulders slumping. She wiped her face, and her eyes were dry.

One night didn't mean she was gay, after all. She was needy and drunk, Jo was opportunistic and drunk, these things happened. Nobodies fault, just move one. It meant nothing. Least of all that she missed out in what might have been the love of her life by shutting Cera down all those times and –

Bad thought! Back to the corner with you!

“Hey no worries,” Toph said finally her smile almost genuine. “But when you regale your next partner about this night, I'd appreciate it if you left out the cryin'. I do have an image to uphold.”

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

A smile! She was at least relatively successful. Mind you, her companion was still clamping her teeth down on her hand, but she would take her victories where she could. Toph worked through her turmoil as she put a hand on the thief's thigh. It was welcome contact.

Jo lifted an eyebrow when the earth-bender began talking about moving said earth. It was one of the more colorful compliments she had ever heard about her bedroom prowess. A tinge of color even managed to make it's way to her cheeks, "Why...thank you..." she said, then chuckled softly to herself.

Jo listened on, as Toph tried forced back all her tears. And was a remarkable display, even if she was having a rough go at it. Jo was very tempted to wrap the bounty hunter up in her arms but...that was when the room started to shake. Dark red eyes shot around as the jostling of the humble little hideaway raised some slight concern.

Once it was done, Jo's attention returned to Toph. She had apparently settled down. Or at least gotten enough of a grip to put on a smile.

"Not a worry, love..." she smirked, placing a hand over one of Toph's, "My lips shall remain forever sealed. Now, sad though I will be to see you go...allow me to at least dress you properly. Yet another thing I'm wary to do! You're just as enchanting as last night!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph heart s skipped a beta at being called 'enchanting', and she was very, very grateful that Jo was not capable of earthsight or she would have known.

Of course , she also had no way of knowing the the warm feeling on her face was the result of rather rosy blush.

"Kicking me out already? What, no breakfast?" she said, trying very, very hard to keep the mood light. "Coffee? A lil' hair of the dog? Maybe an --"

Toph mouth slammed shut mid-sentence, her teeth meeting with an audible *click*. She had been about to say 'maybe another go'. It had just almost slipped out, and she was not sure if she had joking. Her face felt hotter still.

She stood up quickly -- to quickly as it turned out as her hangover was sure to let her know in the form of an series of unforgiving silent poundings went off in her skull. She was mid stretch when they hit, lost her balance and tumbled into the bed gain.

"Whoa... got up too fast." she mumbled to herself. "Time like this I'm glad I'm blind. I'm told light makes hangovers worse..."

Her feet dangled over the edge of the bed, off the ground, and the cave vanished from her perception once more. Toph felt oddly alone even though she could hear Jo breath and feel her moving on the mattress.

"I guess I do need to go though, huh?" she asked in a small voice, speaking mostly to herself.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Jo, of course, knew when she was getting at people. Of course that went under a variety of definitions. With a wide array of people it was annoyance. In special cases.....well, the blush across Toph's cheeks was the only clue she needed. Her smirk tugged itself further up the side of her face.

Stifling a chuckle (perhaps it may have even been a giggle), Jo watched the Earth-Bending bounty hunter flare up even more. She leaned back and carefully observed her companion as the effects of the previous night's shenanigans took hold.

"Ah, yes...it can be rather unpleasant." she said, "But, that's why my little hideout is good for recovery. I don't get much light in here, beyond the candles."

A few dim, albeit drastically short, candles still burned away. Jo got up and maneuvered her way around the small room. With some new candles in the holders, her surroundings were adequately lit. The floor was still quite cool to the soles of her feet. She didn't often stroll about barefoot...it was only after "special" evenings that she did.

"Now...if you're in such a condition, what kind of host would I be to shuffle you off?" Jo's smirk returned, "Now I simply have to see to it that you leave in a comfortable state."

Jo was off to a closet. Rummaging through it's contents, she produced two robes to provide some temporary cover for herself and her guest. Slipping her arms through the sleeves of one, Jo strolled back to the bed. She playfully dropped the item on top of her guest as she crawled forward atop the mattress.

[Toph Bei Fong]

The robe surprised Toph as it landed on her; she had not 'seen' it coming. She scrambled with it for a second or two, before her groping hands worked out what it was. She sat up -- slower this time -- and with some effort (hands sweeping in all directions searching for the top, then the bottom, then both sleeves, then finally the opening), she pulled it on.

She felt the mattress shift again as Jo climbed back in bed. She busied herslef with working the tie to her robe. She had it worked out on the second attempt, but delayed herslef to the third or fourth pass just to stall. "Well I guess I can enjoy your hospitality a bit longer," she said. "Probably wouldn't be smart foe me to earth wave my way back to the castle with a pounding headache." Which was technically true, but felt like a lie on her lips anyway.

She scooted toward Jo on the mattress, letting the natural dip that the other's body made on the surface guide her. She found Jo's hand in her search and wasted no time in lacing their fingers together.

"I should be pretty pissed at you right now, you know," she said, but her voice sounded like anything but upset. "Not only have you cost me a lot of money, but you've totally gotten in my head. No one's done that since -- well no one's done that in a long time. Its confusing. I wish I was the girl I was pretending to be yesterday. Things would be so much... simpler..."

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Moving the earth with a hangover? Ho ho! Dear, I can't think of worse ideas...well, given some time, I probably could..." she smirked as she watched Toph endeavor to work her way into the robe.

She was only more than happy to have her fingers wound around Toph's. An eyebrow arched up above a maroon eye as Toph continued. "Oh? Well, I'll have to find some ways of paying you back..." she leaned in closer with teasing tone leaking into her voice, "But please, let's be honest. Nothing is ever fun when it's simple."

With her free hand, Jo turned Toph's face towards her own. She took a long look into the earth-bender's sightless orbs. "And I would take you over a hundred of the girls you pretended to be."

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph jerked her head away from Jo's fingers, turning her head to face the room proper. "Don't tease," she warned. "I'm serious! I know that for you, this is normal. Hell, you were bragging about it last night! I can't even calling it bragging, really, 'cause that implies exaggeration. Well obviously you were telling the straight up truth about your skills, 'cause," she waved her hand up and down her body, "here I am, half-naked in your bed the next morning!"

"But for me, last night was a big deal. It changed things. And I'm trying not to go all weepy morning-after virgin on you right now, but I am confused and it would be simpler if I could be mad at you, or If I really was 'Tabitha'. At least then I could just beat you up or climb back on top of you with clarity of purpose that I could really, really use right now!"

Toph used her free hand to wipe her face clean of the fresh tears. "Fuck... I am going all weepy morning-after virgin. Gaia, I'm pathetic..."

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Who said I was teasing?" Jo said...but then smirked a little, "Well, perhaps a little..."

She scooted herself closer to Toph, fingers still intertwined. "Oh, now I would humbly object to such a statement. Skilled though you are, you are human. And we humans are subject to all sorts of insidious emotions. But, you are far from pathetic."

Jo spoke with a firm tone. It was an odd change to her usual speech. But, the gentle squeeze of Toph's hand made it clear that she simply desired for the bounty hunter to cease her worries. Complicated, though they were.

"If it was that drastic of a change, than I suppose it's something you will be able to handle. And I'm quite certain you will do so." Jo grinned, once more, "And do not forgot...I take no night's, like the one we had, lightly. It was a wonderful evening! I will always treasure it's memory!"

[Toph Bei Fong]

There was silence in the room for a time, then Toph exhaled deeply, under control once again. "You're right. I'll figure it out. I'll handle it. Its what I've always done. Its not the future that's driving me nutty. It's the past." she shook her head. "I dont want to talk about this anymore."

Toph slid into the bed near Jo. "I just need to rest for a bit. Rest and not think. My head hurts enough already. But could you... maybe.. just... hold me for a bit?"

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

"Ah?" Jo looked at Toph, for a moment before the foggy memory of last night clicked, "Ah...very well, then."

She smiled and was quick to wrap up the bounty hunter in a warm embrace. The two sunk back down atop the soft mattress and the tangled mess that had been the sheets and comforter.

"For as long as you need." Jo spoke softly. A rare occurrence, but the thief could certainly be capable of it.

[Toph Bei Fong]

Toph was silent for a long time. Silent and still, wrapped up in the darkness of her world as much as she was in Jo's arms It was a nice buffer, this dead zone of darkness and warmth where she didn't have to think and feel. But it was a denial. She was running away. And Toph Bei Fong never ran away.

Other than that one time. Cera hadn't been there either.

"We fought side by side," she said softly to no one, though she knew Jo could hear. "Killed together. Was injured together. She stitched up my wounds. I re-set her bones. She saw me covered in blood, I smelled her on the second weak of a march without a shower break. We slept back to back to keep out our faces out of the mud. We may have had different lovers, but there is no one else we'd rather actually sleep with.

"She loved me, didn't she?"

Who knew a rhetorical question could sound so pleading.

[Daring Jo Lockwood]

Did she want an answer? Did she already know the answer? Jo had no way of knowing. She just held on to Toph, as requested. What else was there to do?

Silence, it seemed, was the best option. Either answer was sure to send the bounty hunter back to tears. But, she felt pretty certain that she had already knew what it was. Her arms gently squeezed around Toph.