I just want to take a short break from my drabble series and post a oneshot.
Is that okay with you?
Disclaimer: Ugh...despite my best efforts, I do not own Avatar.
Aang squinted off into the distance suspiciously. He was sure that he had spotted something. He had known from the beginning that his journey would be long and tiring, but he still felt like he should have arrived hours ago. Despite his exhaustion, he felt a wide grin spread across his face as Ba Sing Se finally loomed into sight.
"Yipyip!" he cried joyously, sending Appa lurching downwards towards the huge city. "We're almost there, buddy!"
He found that he could not stop smiling as Appa slowed down and drifted lazily over the wall, soaring just feet above the rooftops. He saw people in the streets below pointing and staring, and jumping up and down.
"The Avatar has returned!"
He waved down at them happily as Appa continued towards the palace, though he didn't slow down. Excitement was building inside of him, and he wanted to get there quickly.
When they landed in the gardens behind the Earth King's fortress, Aang took a deep breath, sighed, and looked around slowly, taking everything in.
He had been away for far too long.
Over a year, in fact. He had spent so much time traveling around the Earth Kingdom with a group of the Earth King's top generals, trying to put down the many bands of rebels that had sprung up after the war. All of the nations were in turmoil, but the Earth Kingdom was probably the worst.
Aang just wanted to help spread the peace that had finally been reached in certain places across the globe. But the world seemed to have its own ideas. They could get one town or province to settle down and return to some kind of normality, but the whole world simply would not cooperate.
All the same, he felt like he would feel much better once he got back to Ba Sing Se. Once he saw that certain someone he had been missing every single day. In fact, the only reason that Ba Sing Se was the first place he went to was because she was staying there.
He jumped off of Appa, gave him a loving pat on the head, and set off towards the palace.
He had just started walking, however, when he spotted someone out of the corner of his eye. A girl, about fifteen years old, with porcelain skin, long, dark hair, and a pale green dress. She was walking away from him quickly.
Very quickly.
Aang grinned and jogged after her. As he came closer, however, she sped up. Aang raised an eyebrow and broke into a full run. He wondered how someone with such short legs could take such long strides.
"Hey! Hey Toph!" he called after her. She acted like she hadn't heard him. Could she really be that bitter about being left behind?
When he finally caught up with her, he shot a hand out towards her, which she avoided nimbly, still storming away from him. He grabbed again, and managed to catch her arm this time. She tried to pull away, still not facing him, but he refused to let go.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, feeling rather hurt and confused. She shook her head and continued walking. Thankfully, she was now walking at a normal pace. Aang decided it would be easier to just walk with her instead of trying to hold her back. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, however, she finally spoke.
"You messed me up."
Aang blinked. Her voice was bitter and harsh.
"What?"
She repeated it, slower.
"You. Messed. Me. Up."
"What do y-"
"I thought about you every day, and I dreamt about you every night. You know that?"
Aang frowned. Was it just him, or did she seem disturbingly paler and thinner than he remembered?
"I cried over you more times than I can count, and I even woke up crying."
Aang was speechless. Toph stopped and turned towards him, finally. He immediately noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
"I don't cry. I just don't. But you changed me. You made me cry. I couldn't eat, or sleep, or think, or do anything. Because ofyou."
Aang shook his head worriedly. What did he say to that?
Toph crossed her arms. "And what do you have to say for yourself?"
Aang took a deep breath.
"I love you."
Toph's mouth fell open slightly. There was a long pause, before she turned sharply and began walking away from him again.
"Good answer…" she grumbled.
Aang could practically hear the resentful smile in her voice as he trotted after her, once again grinning like an idiot.
Lovey dovey...but I'm not sure if I like it too much...