A/N: I don't know what to make of this. Modern AU, but don't let that turn you off - it's just for the purposes of a cute, casual scene celebrating young friends.
Pretend I wrote a disclaimer here.
Of Orange Skies and Forgotten Yesterdays
It is spring. You travel down the winding sidewalk, alternating between skipping and running and simply walking. You grin up at the orange-streaked sky and the gradually setting sun. A light breeze, characteristic of the season, ruffles the branches of the trees around you and skips across your bald head. You always feel better when you're outside with fresh air. You feel like you belong with the wind. You used to spend hours chasing it, following it, trying to capture it. But wind is a fleeting thing – always gone and always free.
You round a corner and see a familiar little park – it gives you a sense of warmth and comfort, with its faded colours and rusted swings and the slides that always end too quickly to be enjoyed. Squinting your grey eyes against the sunlight, you make out a lone figure sitting on one of the swings. With soft sand hugging your bare feet and snaking between your toes, you recognize the girl as you draw closer. Toph. You are surprised that she has managed to stray so far from her large home without supervision. Nevertheless, you greet her cheerfully, on your lips a goofy grin that she will never see. You lean over to pet the large dog that is sitting dutifully beside her.
Toph's fists are clenched tightly around the rope chain of the swing, her heels digging themselves into the sand, pushing her forward and backward, forward and backward. The swing sways against the breeze. Her thick raven bangs fall into her unseeing eyes.
"You ever feel like you don't belong?" she asks you, in lieu of a hello. You sit down cross-legged beside her dog and tell her that sure you do, everyone feels that way sometimes. She remains quiet. It's unusual for Toph, but you notice that as of late, she's been quiet a lot.
Your eyes squint against the sun again. A strong breeze travels over the park, and you laugh and let yourself fall backwards, displacing a cloud of sand. You laugh quietly to yourself again as the dog looks down at you inquisitively before lowering its head to lick your nose. Toph, her back turned to you, calls you insane but you think you hear a small smile in her voice.
You spring up and stare at the sun reflected in her glassy eyes. Muted light creeps around and touches the curves of her face. You grin again and make a cheesy joke. You push her on the swings as the sun begins dipping below the horizon before your eyes. You smile and laugh as the wind pushes Toph's hair back. She laughs with you. Her dog barks and wags its tail. You help Toph off the swing and you walk home together, fingers brushing, feather-light.