甜
過去 (Sweet Past)

He had never felt so cornered in his life.

Admittedly, that wasn't saying a lot seeing that Bohai had grown up sheltered. It hadn't been his fault; he was born into a noble, royal family, and he was the only male heir—having three sisters had its (many) downsides. One of these downsides happened to be different from most. Although he was blessed with the smartest tutors around, he spent so much time in the library studying that he had no time to practice earth bending. He turned so pale from lack of sunlight and so awkward from lack of social outings, that when he was suddenly thrust into royal council meetings he had become a stuttering mess.

He spent his preteen years being taught manners and speech.

It wasn't until he turned twelve that his overprotective family allowed him to leave his house. He had wandered around the village at first, but somehow he ended up at a loud strange place where large burly men fought one another using the earth bending that Bohai had always been deprived of.

Honestly, he had been terrified at first, but he began to go there every day that he managed to get out of the house. He tried to mimic the movement he saw but had trouble moving anything other than a small pebble. Eventually, he met her, and she taught him much more than he could have ever learned under anyone else.

But his past wasn't anything to wallow in.

At that moment, he felt cornered. He had been running from a couple of fire benders he had angered (he sort of provoked them) and he almost got away, but then they managed to trap him against the wall of an alley.

"Hey boys," he said, "sorry about the 'burned ass' comment. I didn't mean it." He grinned cutely. The two soldiers advanced closer.

"We don't care about your immature sense of humor," one spat, literally, on the ground. "We have direct orders to capture you."

"Oh. Right. Exiled prince," he pointed to himself. "I forgot."

They scowled and came closer. Bohai was never one to get into trouble; actually, growing up, he had been the kind of guy people grew tired of. He was boring, merely standing by quietly and speaking simple short sentences. He never disobeyed orders. Yet, after his father's secret illegal affairs (the actual accusations were never clearly expressed to Bohai) and dethroned, they went into hiding. But then his parents were captured and later killed, and Bohai was exiled and now he was being hunted.

It didn't take much for Bohai's personality to twist and change. He became cynical, almost, and sarcastic. His once-polished appearance was now wild and dirty, his once-trimmed brown hair messy and long, his green eyes no longer refined, but wild and misty. His skin was tan and dirty with mud, his clothes common and old. He enjoyed this freedom, the kind he had yearned as a child, but now that he had it he didn't know what else to do with it.

And now, he could only toss small rocks at the fire benders as he moved the earth upwards and shot up, flipping over them and landing on his feet. He bolted, gasping for breath by the time he lost the soldiers. He knew it had been risky going into the fire nation, but he had to pass through the territory in order to go to his destination.

Which wasn't anything special…he didn't have anywhere to go. But he had managed to draw up some sort of plan; go to Omashu. He knew it was dangerous to go to the place that had exiled him and wanted him dead, but he had to go back one more time to see his sisters. They had been allowed to stay, seen as victims to the royal affairs. Now he wanted to see them one more time before he cut all ties and started a new life.

It had been two years since he left home, and he had been living off thievery and sleeping on the grounds. But he decided to make a new life, officially.

"Excuse me," a girl suddenly grabbed his arm, ceasing his dramatic escape. He didn't mind it, seeing that he already lost the soldiers. "Please refrain from running near the schools. There are children playing."

Bohai looked around, noticing the small fire nation children running about playing. It seems he had run across a school or nursery of some kind. The young woman manning it was staring at him politely and he was glad he saw no trace of annoyance in her, simply patience.

"Sorry, I'll walk," he said, walking onward and waving at her as he did. He continued on, laying low this time and avoiding any soldiers lurking the streets. He was sure the two soldiers he had avoided ran off for back up already. Thankfully, he had already been traveling on this territory for days, and he only needed one more night travel before he passed off it.

He walked all day, deciding to settle in for the night when he reached the border of the nation line. He didn't have any luggage so he lay on the ground, perfectly content with it as he nestled on the grass and pulled his sleeves lower to cover his hands, using them as a hard pillow.

*

"Bohai, you idiot!"

"Ah…I apologize…"

Bohai was staring at his mentor blankly, his hands held up toward nothing, foot slid awkwardly forward in an attempt to mimic the small girl's position next to him. She was staring at him in irritation, eyebrows raised and lips titled into a big frown. He had to admit, she looked cute when she was disgruntled.

"Your footing is all wrong."

"I apologize."

"Well stop it!" she snapped. Bohai was silent, watching as she explained how to slide his foot forward correctly. Bohai mimicked her again, this time succeeding in mirroring her position.

"Better," Toph said.

"Thank you."

"Now that you have that down, try moving your arms," she did a fluid movement and then shot her arm forward, moving a rather large boulder up then straight, smashing it against a tree. Bohai's eyebrow rose, impressed. Toph dropped the position and gave Bohai a look.

"You expect me to do that?" he motioned to the broken boulder.

"Well, yeah."

"I cannot do such a thing."

"I know. You can barely lift a pebble."

"Thank you."

"Oh…you know sarcasm," Toph said with a small smirk. Bohai blushed.

"Just try it."

"Of course, teacher," he said.

"There it is again, that sarcasm."

This time, Bohai smiled.

*

When he woke up he wasn't sure why he dreamt of her again. He knew her a long time ago, and he had adored her, but she was simply part of his past…his horrible, broken past. He wanted to forget about it but it was so hard. He was only fifteen; what was he supposed to do? He didn't have anywhere to go…he would have to lie about his age to get a job.

"Maybe," he thought, "I should go into the military."

He shook the desperate thought off and sat up, grimacing at the ache in his lower back. He hated sleeping on the ground but he could barely afford food every other week. He rubbed his back and stretched his aching, cramped limbs. He ran his fingers through his long hair in frustration, suddenly deciding to give himself a hair cut. He wasn't fond of the length; it went to his shoulders. He missed his short hair, even if it was "dorky", as Toph had called it.

He took out his small knife and chopped it off, deciding it would be safe to just cut it a bit above his ears. He managed to avoid cutting his cheek or ears. He put his knife away and stretched some more before he continued on, trudging along the empty land, unsure of where he even was. He knew before when a kind man at a shop showed him a map, but he had forgotten the image quickly.

He didn't come in contact with any life until he heard a girl's voice. He froze, immediately darting to hide behind a tree. "Oh," he thought sarcastically, "I'm so smooth, hiding behind a tree. She's so not going to see me when I'm like this."

He peeked from behind his awesome hiding place, spotting a small group of people gathered around a rather large furry animal. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly. He was more interested in the people.

One was bald, with strange purple arrows on his bald head as well as his hands. There was also a dark-skinned boy with brown hair, clad in water tribe clothes, along with what Bohai assumed was his sister, also in water tribe clothes. She had the same dark, pretty skin, and long brown hair. There was also a small girl with short black hair and misty, gorgeous blue eyes, and Bohai recognized her instantly.

"Sokka and I will go gather some lunch while you two train," the girl offered.

"Food!" the boy, Sokka, cried in glee.

Toph ("She's so beautiful…she hasn't changed much, but she's still so pretty," Bohai thought as he watched her) looked annoyed, but she suddenly froze. Her eyes darted over to where Bohai stood and it took him a moment to remember how keen Toph's senses were.

He didn't have time to flee before the ground under him shot up under his feet, sending him flying forward. He landed face-first on the ground, groaning in embarrassment at being discovered like that. He wasn't all that surprised, what with it being Toph and all.

"What the!" Sokka hollered in surprise. "Intruder!"

Bohai sat up and spit dirt out. "Naw, just a normal kid, passin' by…"

Toph's eyes were narrowed. Somehow, the fact she didn't know it was him made Bohai feel ashamed, and a bit hurt. The girl stepped forward and the arrow boy did as well, a big trusting smile on his face.

"Sorry about that, Toph is—"

"Violent? Unnecessarily so?" Bohai mumbled, rubbing my head.

"What's your name?" the pretty water tribe girl asked.

"Bo..." he stopped. For some reason, he was scared to tell them my name, as if Toph would get upset if she knew who he was. Did she assume he was corrupt like his father, like everyone in the Earth Kingdom did? He didn't want that.

"Bo?" Sokka asked rudely.

"Uh…yeah, Bo," Bohai shrugged. "My name is Bo."

"I'm Katara, and that's my brother Sokka."

"I'm Aang," the bald boy said happily. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm headed to Omashu," Bohai said. "Where are you headed?"

It looked as if Aang was about to reply when Toph interrupted him.

"Why is that your business?"

"Just asking," he shrugged. Bohai snuck glances at her quietly, deciding he was wrong before. She did change. She was much prettier than he last remembered her. For once, he was glad she couldn't see him, or else she might punch his lights out for staring.

"What, if I may ask, is that?" Bohai pointed to the large animal.

"That's Appa!" Aang said happily.

"A bison," Katara added.

"Oh," Bohai said. "Interesting…"

"Actually," Aang said, glancing at Toph, "We're headed to Omashu, if you need a ride."

Toph didn't look happy but she also didn't say anything. Bohai seemed to seriously consider it, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, almost comically serious.

"Sure. It beats walking all the way there."

"We were just about to train," Toph said. "So don't bother us."

"I won't," Bohai tried not to laugh. "I understand."

"Well, we'll go get some food," Katara said. Sokka perked up and pranced off, Katara following behind. Bohai sat down near Appa, patting his nose fondly as he watched Toph begin to train with Aang, showing him how to move and focus—Bohai felt like he was a kid all over again.

He saw himself in Aang, for a little bit; the naïve way he moved and the awkward way he mimicked her.

At one point Toph began to raise her voice and Bohai unconsciously said, "It's harder when you're screeching at him."

She stopped, turning to face him. "Did I ask your opinion?"

"What? I was just pointing it out," he said casually. Toph frowned deeply. He smiled slightly. "You're angry face is so cute."

"Shut up!" she shouted, sending a wave of rock at him. He dodged it, dancing away playfully.

"Oh, missed."

She was red in the face.

"Um, Toph," Aang spoke up awkwardly, "like this?" he slid into the position Toph had been showing him earlier. She calmed down and felt him using her feet and, a little of her hands, and they went back to training. Bohai caught the little frustrated movements in his direction though.

An hour later the siblings returned, carrying armfuls of fruit. Bohai stood, walking over to them. Aang walked over too, grabbing a yellow fruit and biting into it, talking about how hungry he was. Everyone sat down and began to eat, chatting idly, except for Toph, who was silent. Bohai had sat next to her and was about to talk when Katara addressed him.

"So, Bo, why are you headed to Omashu?"

"To see my sisters," he said. "I haven't seen them for years."

"Oh," Katara said. "That's nice. Are you from the Earth Kingdom?"

"I was born and raised there," he said, glancing at Toph as he said it. "I haven't been there for years though. I've just sort of been…wandering. What about you guys?"

"Aang is the Avatar," Katara said. "I'm surprised you didn't know. Everyone does by now."

"I haven't exactly been in the loop," Bohai admitted. "Avatar, huh? You're what, twelve?"

"Age shouldn't matter," Katara said. "He's really strong."

Again, he looked at Toph. She was a good example of that. She was years younger than him, yet she was so much stronger.

"Yeah, I know."

Toph wasn't looking at him. He wanted her to look at him with those eyes, like she used to. He wanted to tell her his real name, but he was still nervous about her reaction. He settled with eating in silence, listening as Aang told him stories about their adventures so far.

After they ate they decided to head over to Omashu. As everyone began to climb onto Appa Bohai gave them wary looks.

"What?" Sokka asked. "Get on!"

"Won't that huge thing be a bit obvious?" Bohai asked.

"Just get on," Sokka rolled his eyes. Bohai shot him an irritated look and climbed on, getting comfortable on the large saddle. Aang was on Appa's head and picked up reins, shouting "Yip yip!" and the large beast lifted up high into the air. Bohai let out a very unmanly squeal and clung to Sokka.

"WHAA! IT'S FLYING!"

"Get off!" Sokka struggled to peel the terrified boy off him. "Yeah, he can fly!"

"You could have warned me!"

Katara began to laugh. Aang apologized with a goofy smile and Toph was silent, staring at the sky nervously but somewhat calmly as well. Eventually Sokka managed to get Bohai off him and the boy got used to the flight rather quickly, easily easing into conversation with Katara.

He wanted to talk to Toph but every time he tried to she answered vaguely or refused to answer at all.

They flew for a good half a day before Sokka began to complain about being hungry. Everyone gave in and landed Appa on good solid ground. Katara and Aang left to find food while the rest of them watched Appa.

"That stomach of yours is impressive," Toph said sarcastically.

"Don't blame my appetite! I'm a growing boy!"

"So am I," Bohai said, "but that meal earlier filled me up."

"Yeah well, you're skinny, you obviously have a puny appetite," he pointed at Bohai accusingly. "You don't run around fighting as much as I do! That works up an appetite!"

He had no idea.

Bohai felt guilty when, not long after their interesting food conversation, two fire nation soldiers jumped out of nowhere and began shooting fireballs at them. Toph instantly began to send waves of rock at them. Bohai recognized them as the two back in the fire nation city a couple days ago. So they followed him. How nice.

Sokka used a blue boomerang to fight and Bohai jumped forward, earth bending along with Toph.

One of the soldiers managed to grab Bohai at one point but Toph sent him flying back. Bohai smiled at her and they managed to defeat the soldiers; Bohai sent them away a good distance, creating vines to tie them to a tree. When he returned Sokka was staring at him and Toph was glaring.

"Why didn't you tell us you were an earth bender?"

Bohai shrugged. "You never asked."

"That was strange, though, that they attacked us even though Aang wasn't around…" Sokka said,

Bohai was silent.

"Have something to tell us?" Toph asked the guilty Bohai rudely. He didn't answer for a moment.

"I'm sorry. My real name is Bohai Yan…they're after me because I'm an exile from the Earth Kingdom…they want my head on a platter…" he shifted awkwardly, daring a peek at Toph, who had looked startled but then lucid upon hearing the truth. Bohai looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry."

"As long as you weren't exiled for anything bad," Aang's voice suddenly said as he walked from the flurry of trees with Katara, "I don't mind."

"Why were you exiled?" Katara asked as Sokka nearly knocked her over grabbing at the food she had gathered—some appetizing berries.

"My father did something terrible," Bohai said honestly. "They assumed I'm a bad seed too."

"Oh, I'm used to that," Aang said. "I understand."

"Thanks."

"I'm going for a walk," Toph suddenly said stiffly, spinning on her heel and stalking off.

Bohai winced and Sokka, through a mouthful of berries, said, "What's her problem?"

"I'll go see," Bohai said instantly, making to leave.

"What about food!" Sokka pointed to the few berries left.

"I'm not hungry," Bohai said coolly as he hurried after Toph, a familiar sense of guilt creeping into the pit of his stomach. She was obviously mad but he wasn't sure if it was because she thought he was bad too, or just because he lied to her.

He managed to catch up to her.

"Wait, Toph…"

He didn't expect her to actually stop, but she did. She spun to face him.

"Bohai."

He shifted awkwardly again. "It's been so long. I'm sorry, when I saw you, I just—"

"You were scared I'd turn you into the Earth Kingdom? That I'd assume you were like your father?" she asked bitterly. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I was stupid. I was….scared…"

She was silent, as if thinking over his response carefully. Finally she said, "So that's why you lied? You were scared I'd be mad?"

"…yeah."

"….idiot," she snorted, crossing her arms. "You're such a baby."

He went red. "Toph! I'm serious!"

"So am I."

"Gosh, you haven't changed."

"You have," she said quietly. "Not for the better. The only thing that hasn't changed is how stupid you are."

"Ah!" Bohai tried not to laugh. "Toph, you're as mean as ever."

"Well."

"But you've grown much prettier," he grinned. His grin widened when her cheeks turned pink. She glared at him but he advanced closer, lifting his hand to run his fingers through her soft hair. She stared at him stubbornly, expression annoyed, but her cheeks turned darker so Bohai knew she wasn't really mad.

"Guys!" Katara suddenly appeared. "Are you alright?"

Toph tore away and Bohai stepped back, running his fingers through his hair and glanced at Toph, who was talking to Katara and nodding her head. They went back to the others so Bohai followed, relieved everyone knew the truth. They returned to the skies not long after, safely on Appa's back with Aang steering up front.

Bohai and Toph talked a lot during the ride, though Toph's stubborn responses didn't change. Eventually they reached Omashu and Bohai smiled, yet somewhere inside, he felt a bit sad leaving everyone…mostly Toph, but he liked the others, too.

They wandered into Omashu and Bohai kept his head low, silently wondering if the others would be offended if he asked to travel with them a bit longer. He knew the real reason was selfish; he wanted to stay with Toph. But he also felt like if he had to start a new life, why not start it off with helping the Avatar save the four nations?

He decided he'd ask Aang, since the Avatar seemed really nice and more prone to say yes than the others.

"You guys wanna come with me?" Bohai asked. "To see my sisters, I mean. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to feed you guys and let you stay."

"That's not a bad idea," Katara said. "We don't really have any place to stay."

"Follow me then," Bohai said. "We'll go to Lan's home first. I'll visit my others sisters on my own time."

It didn't take long for Bohai to locate her; he remembered that she describe her home in a letter she sent not long after Bohai fled. His sisters, he remembered, sent him one letter months after he left the Earth Kingdom. It told him of their homes and how they loved him. He hadn't replied and nor did they.

But he knew it was her home, he just knew it somehow. It was a pretty house and as he approached the door he swore he saw something move inside the window. He knocked on the door and smiled nervously when it swung open.

Lan stood there, her pretty green eyes widening when she saw Bohai. Her curly dark brown hair fell to her waist, her light green dress matching her eyes. She had darker skin, similar to Katara's, though lighter, and she was chewing on her fingernail when she eyed the group that stood behind her brother.

"Bohai," she finally said, stepping back, "come in, come in. Hurry."

They all walked in and Lan shut the door. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous."

Bohai noticed a small black cat pad away and realized that was what he had seen in the window. He returned his attention back to Lan, who was still chewing on her nail nervously.

"I came to say good bye—officially. I'm starting a new life. I'm going to cut all my ties with my old life. So…I wanted to say good bye."

She frowned. "Bohai—"

"Lan, please," Bohai said coolly. "I know what you want to say. 'Don't say things like that', or 'I don't want this to be good bye'. But you and I both know there's no other way."

Lan looked like she might cry. She stifled her emotion and rubbed her eyes, forcing a smile at Bohai's silent companions.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes," Bohai said. "Please, if you wouldn't mind, we haven't eaten for a while."

"Of course," Lan said, bowing slightly before hurrying to another room. Bohai led them to another room, where they sat down at the kitchen table.

"She's pretty," Katara offered.

Lan returned soon after, carrying bowls of hot soup-like food. Sokka practically inhaled it and the others ate, mostly quiet as Lan and Bohai stood further away talking lowly. At one point Lan nodded but was crying, and Bohai hugged her and pat her back soothingly.

After they quietly talked some more Bohai walked over to the others.

"She said you can stay here with her while you're in Omashu."

"Oh, thank you," Aang said with a smile. Lan smiled in return, nodding slightly.

"I'll show you your rooms," Lan said.

"I'll be back," Bohai stood. "You guys go ahead and settle in. I won't be long."

He left without looking back.

*

That night, Bohai settled onto the floor of Lan's room while the others occupied the guest room. He couldn't get the faces of his sisters out of his head; he even got to meet one of his sister's daughter's, a bright-eyed black-haired girl who seemed delighted to meet Bohai.

He couldn't sleep so he left the room and went outside, not at all surprised to see Aang sitting out back. Bohai sat next to him and Aang glanced at him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No," Bohai said.

They sat there in silence. After a while Bohai spoke.

"It must be hard, what you're doing."

"Yeah…"

"Could I help?" Bohai asked boldly, turning to face him. "I mean, I can help you guys out. I have nowhere else to go…"

Aang was silent. "Sure."

"What? Really?"

"I don't see why not. Katara said you know Toph, and she spoke highly of you—in her own way—so…I don't see why it would be a problem."

Bohai smiled. "Thanks Aang."

He mirrored the smile. "No problem."

The next morning Bohai helped Lan make breakfast as Aang told the others about Bohai joining them. By the time they were done cooking the others were ready, happily digging into Lan's meal.

After they ate they left, and Bohai and Toph lingered behind the group.

"So you're going to stay with us?" she asked casually.

"It seems so. Are you glad?"

She glared at him. "Not really."

"Hey…"

She turned her face away. "I don't mind."

Bohai grinned.

*

When it was time to leave Omashu Lan bid the group farewell, letting her tears fall freely down her face. Bohai held her tightly, kissing her cheek and mumbling things to her. The others were silent as he said good bye to his favorite sister and returned to them, climbing onto Appa with the others.

He settled down next to Toph and Aang waved to Lan gratefully as Appa began to lift off the ground and soared through the air. Bohai sat unusually close to Toph but she didn't notice, staring ahead.

"Hey Toph," Bohai said, "You'll train me some more, right?"

She shot him a look. "What?"

"Like we used to, you know…I'm still not nearly as good as you are."

Her lips twitched, as if she was resisting a smile. "Whatever."

Bohai boldly swept forward, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth before pulling back as if nothing happened. Sokka swooned onto Katara in shock, having witnessed it, and Katara was grinning for some reason. Toph looked stunned, then angry.

Her hand shot out and Bohai went flying. Aang had to use his air bending to save Bohai from a probably-would-be-fatal fall, and by then Toph was red in the face and the others were trying not to laugh.

"Well," Bohai said as he dusted himself off, glad he didn't die. "I'm glad I missed your mouth."

結束 (end)

A: Blah, just a random Toph/OC oneshot. I know it sucks, but whatever, I only wrote it for fun....XD
I love Toph. She deserves a guy. :D