Chapter Fifteen: Shrimp Puffs

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Water.

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

It has been six years since the end of the Great War. Since Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai.

The citizens are working hard to reconstruct their battered countries, and there has been great success so far. Fire Lord Zuko had reclaimed his nation's honor; Toph is now a great earthbending trainer; Sokka is chief of the Southern Water Tribe, with Suki at his side; Aang had started up a group called The United People's Society.

Great progress had been made in reuniting the Four Nations. Much is being done to maintain order and peace. But my friends and I know that where there is light, there is shadow.

No matter how far we've come, there is always more work to be done.

Chapter Fifteen: Shrimp Puffs

"Are you sure you can do this?" the airbender queried as she walked up the cobblestone pathway.

She heaved an irate sigh. "Aang, for the five hundredth time, yes." Toph took a breath to try and calm her frayed nerves. "Meng said so herself. This is something I have to do."

Aang let out a brief chuckle. "Wow, you really did take her words to heart."

Toph rolled her blind eyes. "Ugh, are you ever gonna let that go? I'm not the first skeptic to change her mind."

The airbender grunted. "Just goes to show you that even the toughest of bulls can be tamed."

Toph spun on her heels to glare in his direction. "What did you just call me?"

"Nothing!" Aang replied hastily. "Forget I said anything."

"Yeah, right," the young earthbender grumbled as she turned around. She swallowed, and stepped forward to gently rap on the large wooden door. Toph waited in silence for a few minutes. No answer. She leaned forward and knocked again, harder this time, then stood back and waited. She extended her senses, attempting to hear any sign of life from the other side of the door. Then she threw her senses into the ground, searching for vibrations. Finally, she could feel faint footsteps approaching her. A muffled voice sounded from the other side, and the grand wooden door opened.

A gasp filled with shock and glee came from the familiar stranger. "Toph!"

As she heard her mother's voice for the first time in seven years, tears instantly started to flow. Much to her surprise, Toph felt completely calm—her heart was beating perfectly steadily.

Weeping heavily, the older woman lunged forward and pulled Toph into a very tight embrace. "Oh, Toph, my baby girl! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Garggh, Mom...!" The young earthbender's arms flailed helplessly as she struggled against her mother's grip. "You're choking me!"

Lao Bei Fong released her daughter, yet her hands firmly rested on Toph's shoulders. A long silence followed, interrupted only by Lao's sniffles. Finally, she heaved a sigh that abruptly turned into a strange laugh. "I can't believe it's you! It's been so long..."

"I know, Mom." Toph lowered her head to hide the tears that were trickling down her face. "And I'm sorry."

Lao continued to sob uncontrollably. "It doesn't matter anymore, darling. All that matters is that you're here and you're safe." She gave her daughter another quick squeeze. Then she gave a startled gasp. "Avatar Aang..."

Toph felt the vibrations in the ground as her mother dropped to her knees in a salute. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence, Avatar Aang?"

"Mom, chill." Grinning, Toph bent and helped her mother to her feet. "Aang's my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Lao squeaked, obviously taken aback. She gave an awkward chuckle, and said, "You've grown up so much."

Toph nodded. "I have," she murmured, mulling over everything that's happened in the last few years. Lifting her blind gaze toward her mother, she asked, "Where's Dad?"

Lao replied, "He's out back in the garden. Oh, he'll be so happy to see you."

•••

He was knelt on the soft grass beside the small koi pond, gazing as the three colorful fish traced each other's paths in the water. Two of the koi were full-grown, and the third was slightly smaller. They must be a family, he thought. Just like I used to have. These kinds of thoughts were not uncommon to him; his heart had been aching for his daughter for the last seven years, ever since the Avatar kidnapped her. The man closed his eyes as he yearned for the past to be erased and for his daughter to be back by his side.

Suddenly he heard noises coming from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw his wife standing in the doorway that leads back into his house.

"We have visitors," a teary-eyed Lao called to him.

With a sigh, Teng slowly rose to his feet, and approached the doorway. As he got closer, Lao stepped to the side to reveal the newcomers. At first glance, Teng hardly recognized them. Only the arrows could mark the identity of the first person. Then the couple came into better view, and Teng saw the second person. His heart squeezed, and sudden tears blurred his vision. He immediately broke into a run, despite painful protests from his knees. Teng abruptly came to a stop in front of the young woman.

His voice wavered as he murmured, "Could it be...?"

The young woman shrugged, and gave a weak grin. "Hi, Dad," she said softly.

"It really is you, isn't it?" Teng said, sniffling.

The woman nodded, and slowly stepped forward to hug him.

Breaking into a sob, Teng wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his face in his daughter's soft black hair. "My daughter..." He gave a single sobbing breath. "You've returned to me."

"Of course I did, Dad." Toph sniffled. "I wasn't gonna stay away forever, you know."

A few minutes passed, and Teng found himself settled on his couch beside his daughter. Lao was sitting on Toph's other side, and Avatar Aang was in a chair opposite them.

His eyes stung greatly now, after having shed so many tears. He swallowed, and fixed his gaze on the airbender. "So, after all these years, Avatar Aang, you finally decide to return my daughter to me."

Aang fidgeted uncomfortably, and confusion shone in his brown eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Don't dance around the subject, Avatar. You kidnapped my little girl!" Teng thrust an accusing finger in his face.

The young airbender's eyes stretched wide. "What? No, I didn't!"

Teng rose to his feet and took a challenging step toward the young man. "Enough with the lies, you—!"

"Dad, stop!" Toph lunged forward and gripped her father's shoulder, pulling him back. "Aang's telling the truth!"

Teng wordlessly turned away from the Avatar and sat back down on the couch.

His daughter blew out a long sigh, and said, "Aang didn't kidnap me. I ran away."

•••

Lao's grey-green eyes widened. "What do you mean, you ran away?"

Teng turned to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder. "Toph, you don't need to cover for the Avatar. We know—"

"I'm not covering for him, Dad!" Her eyes blazed like angry emeralds.

"Toph—but why?" her mother asked softly.

The earthbender scoffed. "Isn't it obvious? You guys were suffocating me here!"

Teng gave a huff of anger. "We had only wanted to protect you."

"I know that." Toph's voice softened. "I know you were only doing what you thought was best for me, but what you were really doing was keeping a warrior captive. I needed my space, my freedom. And I finally got that when I met Aang." She flashed a wide smile in the Avatar's direction. "Before him, I never knew the world beyond the Earth Kingdom. I never even knew the world beyond our garden. Aang's the best thing that could have ever happened to me." Toph paused, and her grin turned into a frown. "Think about it. Had I never run away to train him, the world would be nothing but a burnt pile of rubble right about now."

"You do have a point, Toph," Teng muttered. He ran through all of this in his mind. "Perhaps we were a little too strict with you."

Lao nodded in agreement. "We're sorry, Toph. We never realized how difficult it had been for you to live like that."

The earthbender shrugged. "It's too late now, but thanks."

A long, awkward silence followed. No one was quite sure where to go from this point.

Lao decided to break the silence by offering an appetizer of shrimp puffs.

Aang waved his hand. "No, thank you. I'm a vegetarian."

Toph also declined.

"You're vegetarian too, Toph?" Lao asked, stunned.

"Yup. I've been meat-free for a few months now." She shot a longing look at the Avatar. "Mind if I have at least one shrimp puff?"

Aang shrugged. "I don't see the harm. Just brush your teeth afterwards, will you?"

Toph nodded her reply, and said to her parents, "He has an issue with the meat smell."

"Ah." Lao's gaze flicked from Aang to Toph. "All right. I'll be back in a minute."

Lao rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen. She slid open a cupboard, revealing many wrapped bundles stacked neatly atop one another. She dug around until she found the package labeled "shrimp puff". Lao was careful to slide the package out without disturbing the rest of the stack. Then Lao bent and searched for her cooking pan in the bottom cabinet. After a minute of searching, her hands finally stumbled upon a metal pan. She set it on the counter top and loaded the shrimp puffs into the pan. Lao turned the knob and started the flame. As the shrimp puffs cooked, Lao left the room to rejoin her family in the den.

"So what did I miss?" Lao asked as she approached the chattering group.

"It's amazing!" Teng exclaimed, his eyes stretched wide with amazement and a large grin plastered on his face. "Avatar Aang was just talking about how he ended the War."

"Really?" She switched her gaze to the Avatar.

The young airbender gave a weak shrug, and smiled. "Well, I couldn't have possibly done it all myself. My friends all handled different missions. Toph, for instance, was involved in stopping the fleet of air ships that was heading to the Earth Kingdom."

Now Lao felt her own eyes widen with awe, and she stared at her daughter. "Oh, my! You didn't actually hurtanyone, did you, Toph?"

The blind earthbender shrugged. "I dunno. I'm sure not everyone got away without a scar or two." She gave a little smirk.

Her mother huffed. "I wouldn't be smiling if I were you. There is nothing funny about hurting other people."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Mom! We were in war. When you're in war, chances are you ain't walking away without some kind of wound. Hell, my friend broke his leg!"

Before Lao could send a retort, the Avatar intervened.

"Sometimes violence is necessary, Mrs. Bei Fong," Aang said. He lowered his head and continued softly, "I learned that the hard way."

Lao stared at him, and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly the boy had meant. However, she could clearly see the level of distress that his words had brought him, and Lao decided against questioning him.

"I suppose," she responded. She gazed at her daughter and smiled. "All the same, I'm proud of you, Toph."

The young woman grinned, and leaned over to hug her. "Thanks, Mom."

•••

Aang's heart warmed at the sight of mother and daughter embracing, together again for the first time in years. A faint bell suddenly sounded from behind him, and Lao Bei Fong sprung to her feet. "Oh, the shrimp puffs are done!" she exclaimed as she hurried into the kitchen.

So Lao had exited, leaving Aang, Toph, and Teng alone in the den.

Suddenly leaning forward, Teng asked, "So how long have you two been together?"

Aang glanced at Toph, and shrugged. "Officially? A few months."

Lao returned, and set the tray of steaming shrimp puffs on the small table in front of them. As she took her seat beside Teng, he flashed Aang a sly grin. "So do you mean that there was a little something present before you were 'officially' together?"

Aang turned to Toph, who blushed and grinned. "You could say that."

Her father studied Aang. "So when's the wedding?"

Out of the corner of his eye, the airbender spotted a half-chewed shrimp puff soaring across the room.

"Dad!" A bright-red Toph choked the word as soon as she found her voice.

Chuckling awkwardly, Aang turned to Teng. "It's a little early for that, don't you think?"

Teng gave a hearty laugh. "Nonsense! Lao and I were married before we were 17 years old." With a shrug, he added, "If you've been together for a few months, I'd say you're ready to be together for a few years."

Aang's cheeks burned with embarrassment. "Well...nevertheless, I—I don't think we're quite ready for that yet."

He switched his gaze to Aang. "Now, then, Avatar. You were telling me about the War?"

The airbender gave a single nod. "Yup. I—"

"He finally got into the Avatar State and kicked Ozai's ass!" Toph blurted with a toothy smile.

Aang glared at her teasingly. "Hey! Who's telling the story here—me or you?"

"Aw, please, Aang!" Toph replied. "You're a lousy storyteller! It always takes you too long to get to the point."

"Now, Toph, let him speak," Teng said, flashing a smirk to the Avatar. "I'm quite interested in hearing the details of his battle."

Aang smiled, and started from the beginning of their warrior quest, on the Day of Black Sun.

"Well, our original plan was to invade the Fire Nation on the solar eclipse—the Day of Black Sun. Everything was going pretty smoothly at first. We were at an advantage because on solar eclipses, the firebenders temporarily lose their power." With a shrug, he added, "Same goes for the waterbenders during a lunar eclipse. So anyway, once Toph, Sokka—a friend of ours—and I got to the Fire Lord's Palace, we were shocked to see it totally deserted."

Lao gasped, and her grey-green eyes grew wide. "He escaped?"

It was Toph's turn to shrug. "Not exactly. According to his evil daughter, who had already been there, waiting for us, she'd known about the invasion all along. They'd evacuated the whole palace and settlement before we even got there."

Teng leaned in, deeply engrossed in their tale. "So what did you do then?"

Aang looked away, still feeling ashamed as he said, "There wasn't anything we could do but retreat. A few of the warriors on our force were taken prisoner. Toph and I and our friends fled to the Western Air Temple and hid out there for a while."

"Then—get this—you know Prince Zuko?" said Toph.

Teng exchanged a glance with his wife. Turning back to his daughter, he replied, "Sort of. The Fire Lord, right?"

Toph nodded. "But back then, he was just the prince. So a little while after we got to the Western Air Temple, it turns out Zuko had followed us."

Soft gasps came from her parents. Toph continued. "But he wasn't there to fight us, for a change. He wanted to join us. Of course, at first we were skeptical and suspicious. But over time, Zuko had really proven himself." She began to count off the events on her fingers. "He saved us from an assassin—"

Her parents gasped again.

"—he reunited my friends with their father, he saved us from his sister, he taught Aang firebending and how to redirect lightning—"

"I never knew there was such a thing!" Lao murmured with awe.

"—and most of all, he defeated his sister to become Fire Lord," Toph finished with a grin.

"My!" Lao had a soft smile on her face as her gaze flicked from Aang to Toph. "Sounds like you kids had quite an adventure."

Toph snorted. "That wasn't even half of the hell we've been through."

Aang nodded in agreement. "And the adventure isn't over yet."

With a smile, Teng started to rise to his feet. "Well, we'll have to continue this story another time. We have another affair to tend to in a few minutes. Come, Lao"—he extended a hand to his wife and helped her to her feet—"we can't be late."

Teng gave a bow to the airbender. "It was wonderful seeing you again, Avatar Aang." With a knowing smile, he added in a lower voice, "And thank you for keeping my daughter safe."

Aang blushed and his heart warmed. He returned the bow and replied, "It's my pleasure."

"Oh, my daughter." Lao swept Toph into a tight embrace. "I'm so happy that you visited. I've been so worried about you."

"Augh, Mom!" Toph wriggled free from her mother's arms. She smiled, and Aang thought he saw tears starting to make their presence known in her glimmering green eyes. "Don't worry about me, okay? We can take care of ourselves."

Lao's smile was enormous. "It's impossible for a mother not to worry about her child."

"Mom!" Toph rolled her blind eyes. "I'm not a child. I'm nineteen years old!"

Chuckling, Lao shook her head and said, "Toph, no matter how old you are, you'll always be my little girl."

Toph stepped forward and gave her mother another hug, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

•••

"Promise you'll return to me," Lao murmured, stroking the girl's hair.

Tears stinging her eyes, Toph replied softly, "I promise, Mom. I'll be back."

She clung tightly to her mother's kimono, breathing in the combined scents of tea and herbs and incense. Her mother always had a thing for incense.

Toph was never one to show her emotions, and even though she and her parents had never been especially close, at that moment, her heart ached with a longing to be back with her parents, a longing for them to be a family again. Suddenly the realization hit her that she would have to let go of her mother eventually. Toph gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on Lao. However, a few more silent minutes passed, and Toph reluctantly pulled out of the embrace. She swallowed hard and resisted the urge to leap back into her mother's arms and bawl.

"Aang," she said over her shoulder, careful not to show her tears, "let's go."

"All right," the former Avatar replied, and without another word, he took off towards Appa.

"Stay safe, Toph," Teng said, giving her a quick farewell hug.

"We will. Thanks, Dad." She started to take off before she could get swept up in any more emotional stuff.

"Toph!"

Her father's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Yeah?"

Her father hesitated. "We'll see you again, right?"

"Of course you will!" Toph called back. She shrugged. "Maybe in a few months. Maybe sooner. Who knows?" When neither of her parents said anything more, she gave a single nod, and continued toward the waiting Aang and Appa.

She found the giant flying bison resting at the base of a small mountain, not too far from her parents' estate. Aang called down to her, and Toph reached up to grasp his hand and climb into the saddle-basket. The two got settled into the saddle, and Aang gave his command for Appa to hoist them into the sky.

Toph was hunched over, willing her hair to fall over her face and conceal her tears.

But Aang wasn't fooled. Toph suddenly felt his strong hands stroking her face and wiping away her falling tears. "You okay, Toph?"

Toph raised her head and sniffled. She attempted a weak smile and said, "I will be." She took a single steadying breath. Toph really didn't know why she was crying. Could it be that she missed her parents? No. She'd only just seen them, and she assured that she would see them again soon. Maybe her tears were the manifestation of her relief that her parents had been safe from the wrath of the Great War. Whatever the reason, she had to admit that it was a great release. It was like a heavy weight had been lifted from her spirit.

Toph brought her hand to her face and wiped off the remainder of her tears. With a sigh, she leaned back into Aang's arms.

"You know something, Twinkletoes?" she began."Meng was right. That really was what I needed."

End of Chapter Fifteen.

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