Sweat dripped down Aang's back in beads. His senses alert and focus undeterred. He struck with the precision and movements taught to him by masters. He fought extremely well…but so did his opponent.
Blasts of fire were shot at him with impeccable direction and force. Aang dodged them easily. He studied the other's movements, waiting for just the right moment. And it came. Upon direction, slabs of earth rose around the other fighter firmly to the neck, effectively immobilizing him.
The two met eyes for a long moment.
"You get better every day," said a proud fire prince to the young monk. With an accomplished smile, Aang released the fire bender from his earth prison.
"Thanks again for sparring with me. I just want to get in as much practice as I can," Aang responded.
"It was a good way to spend time outside on a day like this," Zuko said with a friendly smile while he brushed off remaining dirt from himself.
Aang then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and dug his toes into the soft soil, a faint blush on his face when he asked, "Uhm…Zuko? I was kinda hoping to ask you something…about a girl."
Zuko immediately froze. Was he going to ask about Katara? Nobody knew, but he and Katara were slowly growing a relationship past that of friends. The very thought of Aang asking him for advice to win her made his muscles tense and he found himself with white- knuckled fists at his sides. "Ask me anything," he said briskly, poorly masking his sudden unease.
"D-do you think…Toph likes me?"
The last part of the question came out so fast Zuko blinked stupidly trying to understand it but when he did, a look of surprise replaced his confusion. "You? Liking Toph? Oh, um, well I'm definitely not the person to ask about this kind of stuff. Maybe you should talk to Sokka." Now Zuko looked embarrassed and even a little flushed. Before his new dalliance with a certain water bender, the banished prince's experience with women was basically nonexistent.
"Good idea," Aang replied awkwardly with eyes glued to the ground.
He was edging past his friend intent on a search mission for Sokka when Zuko said, "Hey, um, good luck…with Toph and all." And with a playful punch to the arm, he sent the younger boy off.
Katara washed the dishes from breakfast in the sink while staring out the window to observe the boys' sparring match. She smiled to herself at the scene. Two skilled benders testing each other's abilities in the beautiful courtyard that belonged to the beach house they were residing in on Ember Island. The trees were thick, green, and numerous and the sky was clear and as blue as her robes. Her eyes were most intently following the muscled, and shirtless, fire bender. Yes, she very much admired her view through the window.
"Felt like a nice match," said Toph loud enough to break her friend's trance.
Katara hadn't even noticed the match over. Ripped from her somewhat dreamy gaze, she felt a blush tint her cheeks when she realized how obvious she was being. However if Toph noticed her heartbeat that was pounding nervously, she said nothing. Katara hastily cleared her throat. "They are a good pair, very different from one another. A good challenge."
Toph, of course, was aware of whatever it was that was happening between Katara and the fire prince. She was aware in a way the rest of the group couldn't be of their rapid heartbeats when they hear mention of the other, the fidgeting when they're together, and that more often she can't sense either of them around for periods of time. She, being her playful self, couldn't resist busting the chops of the older girl. "Oh, they are definitely different. Zuko's bigger, and muscley. I'm blind and even I know he's got a nice bod," she stated simply and propped her feet up on the table.
Katara couldn't think to scold her for it because she trying to conceal how flustered Toph's brazen comment had left her. "I, uh, hadn't noticed."
Toph put on a suggestive voice just to tease Katara. "I'm sure you haven't noticed Zuko has that whole brooding, honor, macho thing and Aang…" she stopped short at the accidental mention of the name of a certain boy who seemed to plague her own thoughts without consent.
"Aang is gentle, sensitive, and sweet." Katara said in honesty. She hadn't meant it to be negative on Aang's part and Toph didn't take it that way either but that couldn't be said for the young air bender who went unnoticed in the near hall and now nursed a wounded ego. Aang crept away silently, feeling a wave a defeat wash over him.
Sokka sat on his bed, absorbed in the polishing of his boomerang when a dejected looking avatar slumped into his room.
"Hey, why the long face? Did you finally realize Momo is evil?" He joked but let his smile fall when he saw Aang went unphased. Aang plopped onto the bed beside Sokka and released a heavy sigh.
"Toph doesn't think I'm manly," he stated staring at his hands that rested in his lap.
Sokka bit his tongue to hold back the laughter but the attempt failed. "But…you…aren't," he wheezed between his fits of chuckles. He wasn't sure if he was laughing at the obvious statement or the fact that his friend liked Toph. Good luck with that one.
"It's not funny!" Aang yelled back, even more self-conscious than before. Sokka realized his error and slowly calmed himself, giggles escaping every few deep breaths.
"So all you have to do is prove her wrong. Show her you're a super-hot, manly, hunk," he flexed and kissed his arms for effect, "and any lady will be all yours. But then again she's Toph and I'm not sure the same girl rules apply to her…she's scary."
"No, she's perfect," Aang defended, "and thanks for the advice. It sounds easy enough. I'll show her she was wrong and then tell her how I feel." He hopped of the bed and with more spirit in his steps began to skip out of the room.
Sokka watched the young boy prance out of the room before he had a chance to object. "She's going to drop a boulder on that goofball," he thought.
After lunch, Aang asked Toph on a walk through the wooded area of the island. They were walking side by side in a silence that, for a reason Toph couldn't place, felt awkward.
"Ugh, so you know I just got done working out with Sokka." Aang said, trying to look casual and indifferent.
"Um, cool," she replied lamely as they continued to trek on.
"Yeah, right after I shaved," he tried to sound matter-of-factly.
Toph released a giggle, "Shaving what, your head?"
"No!" He blushed furiously, "Shaving my face…and my chest."
Toph rolled her eyes and went along with it. "Sure you did."
"I did and I pushed a spider outside of my room this morning too!"
They weren't walking anymore but faced each other on the trail. "A spider? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Men deal with spiders!"
"So you're saying I couldn't deal with spiders?" She sounded incredulous, "I'm the one that smashes them with my bare feet! You can't even kill them, you push them outside like a wimp."
"That's not the point!"
"Well what is it because you're being weird and I don't like it!" Her hands were in fists at her sides and she glared at what she could only guess was where his face was.
"I just want you to know I'm a man now and not a sensitive little boy." He had to admit that even to his own ears he sounded silly.
"Is that what this is about and why does it matter?" She thought for a moment then, "Were you listening to my conversation?"
"No!" He replied but knew it didn't sound convincing.
"Why do you even care what I think about you?" Toph wasn't even sure now why her face was hot. Was it anger? Probably some of that. Embarrassment? A little bit. Something else? She shook her head of any mushy, girly thoughts.
"I just don't want you to think I'm fragile and need my feelings protected. You clearly don't view me as a guy, not like Zuko. You call me 'Twinkle Toes' for crying out loud! That isn't masculine at all!"
"Well your feet barely ever touch the ground, you're literally always floating around. What's wrong with walking like everyone else?!"
"I'll have you know my feet are very sensitive and get blistered very easily! I can't just let my shoes rub against my feet like that, we do a lot of traveling! You're supposed to see me as a super-hot, manly, hu-
He stopped arguing and cursed Sokka's words. He then realized that even if he didn't like Toph's opinion of him, it was fairly accurate. "Just forget it, you're right." He stared at the ground defeated. Toph stood across from him letting his words settle in her mind and her face softened. They stood silently for moments.
Toph knew then the next move to take. She crossed the distance between them, leaned on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on Aang's cheek which immediately grew warm. "I'll have you know," she said softly, "I happen to have a thing for sensitive feet." She wiggled her own toes and before Aang recovered from his shock, she waltzed back up the trail and left behind the stunned avatar.