"What the crap?" Sokka's voice rang out across the dimly lit patio. Katara and Aang looked up quickly in surprise, their kiss interrupted.
"Excuse me?" Katara replied, immediately defensive.
Sokka quickly strode towards them, waving his hands in exasperation.
"Honestly, one would think you two would at least allow your celebratory TEA to get cold before resorting to this nonsense!"
"Nonsense?" Aang asked innocently. Katara clearly was stifling a smile.
"Well, because you…you…" Sokka stammered. "You two were….kissing?" he finished weakly, as the significance of this finally dawned on him. Katara looked to Aang with loving eyes as if she was allowing him to clarify. Aang's heart swelled with pride. Standing a bit taller, he spoke confidently.
"Yes, Sokka. Kissing. Wouldn't you at a happy time like this?" Katara's mouth twitched in amusement as she waited for her brother's reaction. Sokka's eyes widened.
"Kiss KATARA?! She's my sister, you freak! I'd much rather kiss Su…Suki…" Sokka trailed off into silence, then looked away quickly. "Ya' know, I think I'll just go, er, see what she's up to…" Within seconds, he was gone.
Katara and Aang laughed together for a few moments. Looking up at Aang, Katara whispered, "It's so good to laugh again." Aang smiled back at her and gently laid her arm in his, leading her back in to join the celebration.
--
It was another lovely autumn day in Gaoling. The trees were just beginning to change into a vibrant auburn—a color that Toph would never see but had heard so much about. Her blindness didn't keep her from visiting the city's lake, however. It lay on the outskirts of town, and was rarely used except for the occasional swim. The water had become too cold to attract too many villagers, so Toph had it all to herself.
"I don't mind the cold so much, " she said out loud. "My feet are too strong to feel it," she continued, wiggling her toes just under the surface. She had earthbended a small hole near the bank to recline in and begun to compose her next letter to Katara as she rested.
"Katara—How is my little Sugar Queen doing? Hope you're biting off the local boys' heads just like I taught you. I don't want you joining forces with anyone anytime soon, you hear me?" Toph laughed inwardly before speaking again. As if that would happen.
"I'm doing fine here in Gaoling. Food could be better, but I'm not complaining. Fall is really spicing things up around here. The lake at the edge of town is a sweet place to hang out while waiting for a guy to talk to me…hasn't happened yet, but I'll let you know if it ever does." She ended with a smile in her voice, but it soon faded. Smashing the water with her foot, Toph struggled to keep the tears back.
"Ah, who am I kidding? I'm just a lousy ole' earthbender with no social life. What guy is gonna talk to me?"
"Did you say…earthbender?" a voice said from behind Toph. She jumped in alarm and twisted her head toward the general direction of the sound.
"Where did you come from?" she queried. "I didn't f-" Toph was about to say "feel you coming", but changed her mind at the last second. Better to leave that a secret. "I didn't HEAR you coming," she corrected herself.
"Hear me?" the boy scoffed. "You could've seen me half-a-mile away."
Toph turned back to face the lake, smirking. "Well, if you'd paid more attention, you would've noticed my vision isn't too good these days." She sensed the boy leaning in to examine her eyes more closely and wished she could have the satisfaction of seeing his surprise.
The boy's stance relaxed, a barely audible "Oh…" and scratch of the head following. "Sorry, I didn't realize-"
Toph cut him short. "It's cool. Don't get all weepy apologetic on me or anything." She looked away, biting her lip to avoid saying more.
There was a rustling of leaves as the boy took a seat next to her. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.
"I heard you say something about earthbending," he started lamely. She could hear him swallow, and her heart flipped. What was she doing? Here a boy was actually attempting to speak to her, and her razor-sharp sarcasm was on autopilot, as usual. Get a grip, Toph, she told herself. At least give him a chance.
"Yeah, I suppose I mentioned it," she conceded. She could almost feel the tension easing from his muscles as she spoke. She straightened and leaned forward.
With a hint of eagerness in his voice, the boy asked, "Do you think you could teach me? I've always wanted to learn."
Toph earthbended a tiny pebble between her fingers as she weighed the possibilities. Turning her head to him to emphasize her sincerity, she replied, "Sorry, but kinda just finished something like that. Teaching the kid was like…hauling rocks. Across my face." She managed to elicit a laugh from the boy, and it compelled her to continue. "I mean, this guy was like, all cocky, thinking he could learn like that." She snapped her fingers. "Sure, his job was crazy important, but still…give it some time, ya' know?" She rolled her eyes.
The boy looked at her questioningly. "Job, huh? What kind of job?"
Toph began to answer "The Avatar, duh!", but again, something stopped her. To prevent the boy from being suspicious, she briefly said, "He…had to save his village from burning."
The boy's tone expressed mild surprise. "By earthbending? Wow, that must've been some task."
"Eh, not too bad if you do it right," Toph shrugged it off, knowing full well it would be difficult without the element of water being involved. She suddenly felt foolish for lying and wondered what the boy thought of her. Best not to speak off-hand so easily in the future.
He seemed to recognize the near fate of the conversation as Toph "absentmindedly" picked at her fingernails. Rather than allowing the uncomfortable silence to drag on any longer, he rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. Stealing a glance at Toph, he decided he might as well leave. He turned to go but was stopped by Toph's quiet statement.
"Thanks for talking with me."
He looked back at her, but she continued to gaze across the water. Smiling, he answered, "My pleasure." After a moment, "What's your name, earthbender?" He waited for a response, but none came for a few moments.
"Toph." She had taken some time to utter this one word. "My name's Toph."
But the boy was gone.