Mori no oku de Umareta kaze ga
Harappa ni Hitori datsu nire no ki
Fuwari Kasume Yatte kita
Are wa kaze no toori michi
xxx
The rain still didn't stop. Ever since Zuko's crowned with the fire emblem there was a heavy downpour. Everyone in the coronation ceremony was busy getting themselves sheltered. Right at this moment, the older dignitaries and warriors were chatting up over tea in the main palace ballroom.
It was hard to sneak out of it, but Aang managed to hide himself, somewhere nobody would look. Earlier that week Zuko had given the grand tour over the palace to the Gaang and Aang quickly headed towards the turtleduck pond.
Upon his arrival though, he discovered that he wasn't alone at all. In the middle of it all, his earthbending master stood rather stiffly.
"Toph?" he called out.
She turned her head around and nodded.
Aang flew over to her side and watch in puzzlement. Toph had her face facing the skies and her hands stretched open wide. Her face revealed a very peaceful smile. She was wearing a green silk dress and her hair was done much like when he first met her in the Gao Ling mansion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Letting go."
"Of what?"
Her head still tilted to the skies, she questioned him back. "Didn't Snoozles and Sparky tell you?"
"No, what?"
She brought down her arms and turned her face towards him.
"My parents finally disowned me.", she said with a bittersweet smile.
"WHAT!!??! That's horrible!!" the avatar sympathetically shouted. He proceeded to give her a hug but she shoved him away.
"I'm fine." she said with a small giggle. He noted the somewhat bitter tone in it.
"But Toph!! They're your parents!!! That's like Gyatso saying to me I'm no longer his friend anymore!!"
"Right before we stormed the castle." she started. He looked at her intently. "Hawky came with a parchment. And Sparky caught him and he had the message. He then talked to Snoozles about it and they both agreed not to tell anyone about it. Sugarqueen is known to throw tantrums over things like that and you, Twinkletoes get overly touchy feely about shit like this."
She gave a big long sigh before carving her face into another smile. "So, we won and then both Snoozles and Sparky pulled me aside before his coronation and they told me."
"Toph..."
She blinked. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry to hear that..." Aang quietly whispered.
"BAHHHH. No big deal." she said, waving her right arm.
"You might want to get out of the rain though."
"Why?"
"The mud'll ruin your dress."
She shook her head defiantly.
"Will you at least come in here?", Aang pleaded as he bent the earth around them into a shelter place.
Sensing insistence, she reluctantly entered the little earth tent that Aang just built. He entered after she settled herself rather comfortably inside. They were silent for a small while, listening to the drizzle that still went on.
"What are all the codgers doing out there?" she gestured towards the direction of the palace's ballroom.
"Small talk mostly."
"Oh."
Aang rubbed the backside of his head rather nervously before he fielded the next question to Toph.
"So, um, you know how you can read people and..."
"You want to know how Sweetness feels about you."
"How'd you---??"
Toph folded her arms, tilted her head slightly and pouted.
"Oh, yeah right..,"
"Well," she started.
"Please don't tell me she has a crush on Haru or Teo!!"
"Well..."
"OR ZUKO??"
"WILL YOU LET ME FINISH!!!????!"
"...sorry."
Toph cleared her throat, "She has no feelings towards any of them."
"Oh...", Aang sighed gladly.
"But she doesn't feel anything about you either." she finished.
"Oh."
The rain continued to fall and there was no sound made from either of them.
Toph's upper lip moved upward and her lips started opening.
"I didn't know how to feel either."
Aang's eyes darted up towards his blind companion.
"I thought I'd be happy, you know, freed from my parents' clutches, and everything." She then hugged her knees rather tightly.
"But fact is, I feel mostly numb."
She shifted slightly. "I...don't know. I guess...I have to wake up someday and realize that they won't put up with my shit anymore. I thought it was kinda cool, you know, me, the best earthbender in the world, and your master too. If I were born in Sweetness' family, they would have been proud."
Her eyebrows cocked up upwards and she frowned. "And I bet ya a million coins, if you were like, Snoozles or Sparky's age, she'd be all over you like wasp-bees to honey."
Rather irritated, Aang answered, "Yeah well, I'm THE AVATAR. Roku said it'd help me with girls."
"Cheer up, Twinkletoes, you're only 13, there's bound to be some hot air nomad chick who'd shack up with you someday."
"Oh Spirits..." he moaned. Amidst his heartbreak he had completely forgotten the fact that he was also bestowed with the responsibility of helping build the Air Nomad culture back to its former glory. The gaang had found a few existing air nomad families all over the globe but there were only few of them left.
"What?"
"Why does it have to be me though?" he complained.
"Well, it's better you than some shmuck who can't even retaliate to her attacks. At least you can fight her with other elements."
"What?"
"You know, Sweetness, Sugarqueen?"
"No, no, I meant why do I have to be the one building the Air Nomad culture alone!"
"Huh?"
"I had wish Katara would come with me and help me build again. And you know later on perhaps we could uh...marry...and have lots and lots of airbending children..." he confessed rather sheepishly. He twiddled with his thumbs as he spoke of his dreams.
Toph's eyes grew as wide as saucers and her blind stare pierced at Aang.
"What the hell are YOU on?"
"Oh! How like you, here I am, saying all these things and you're insulting me?" Aang burst out angrily.
"...you're not the only one with problems too you know." she said hoarsely. Toph then proceeded to lie on her back.
"Sorry if I'm not like Sugarqueen all right? I don't know where to go now that your training is finished! My folks just kicked me out like a stray! And Sokka just proposed to stupid Suki. What the hell am I supposed to say??", she yelled. Toph's mask began to slowly crack.
"Sparky said he'd adopt me as his little sister but frankly I DON'T WANT TO LIVE LIKE THAT! I RAN AWAY FOR A REASON!!!!"
Aang turned his face around to face her. But Toph quickly flopped her position and lied on her side.
"Toph, I..." he began.
"Oh shut your trap Twinkletoes, nothing you'll say will make me feel better anyway."
Toph waited for a response but she heard nothing. She bit her lip and swore under her breath. She was about to get up when two arms seized her hips and cuddled her.
"You can come with us.", the airbender requested softly.
She blinked in disbelief. "What?"
"Come with us, Toph."
His hug became tighter. "I'm sorry." he muttered. "I wouldn't have gotten upset like that if you had told me."
Aang took a deep breath and continued. "I guess it's time for me to grow up huh?"
Toph felt her ear growing longer in anticipation over what her friend would say next.
"I lied about that time after I met with Guru Pathik. Just because I still hoped that Katara could...you know."
"And that almost costed you your life." she said soberly.
"And we could have won the war more easily if I had let her go."
"No point regretting the past." Toph responded. "We wouldn't have met each other, especially Sparky, the Lord Mayor of Partytown, he helped us a lot during the invasion."
Aang nodded.
"We'll get through this Twinkletoes." she replied softly. There was a genuine smile in her face now. Aang hugged her tighter. There was something in her voice that was oddly very comforting. But that moment didn't last too long when Toph jokingly said "Let go, what is it with you airbenders and hugs?". She began to rise up.
"Odd." she said.
"What?" said Aang.
"Usually after a heartfelt moment like this the rain will stop completely."
Aang laughed. "Now YOU'RE the silly one."
"I was trying to be like you.", she replied.
The both of them shared a laugh together amidst the still-heavy downpour that didn't seem to want to stop.
"You know, funny you should ask me to come with you." Toph started.
"Why?"
"My mother used to say that before a wind dies, it'll help the earth to grow a tree by dropping its seed to the earth. And then when the trees grew up, the wind will be reborn again."
Aang looked at her.
"Gyatso used to say that to me too.", he confessed.
"Silly fairy tales for the children eh?" she grinned.
He grinned back at her.
"Guess we'd better head back inside eh?"
"Yes, Sifu Toph." he answered cheerfully.
"So we can sneak some booze while the old codgers are busy."
"TOPH!!!"
End
xxx
Mori no oku de Umareta kaze ga
Harappa ni Hitori datsu nire no ki
Fuwari Kasume Kiete iku
Are wa Kaze no toori michi