-.x.-

Everything But Mine

"You're the calm when my world is crashing.
My heart, my love, my passion.
Why? Tell me why;
You're everything but mine."

-.x.-

She'd never felt an emotion so appealing. Gazing out into the beautiful morning sun was something she rarely did yet; it felt oddly pleasing as she felt him racing toward the doors. The morning was bright and warm yet it still had that crisp smell in the air. Even if she'd been coated in a thick layer of black all her life, this had heightened her other senses to the max. Relying on her earth bending to "see" along with her hearing and smell, she had always viewed the world this way. Yet, she was not someone to be pitied. She'd been alone most her life really. From her overprotective parents to her prison at home, it was a relief to travel with the Avatar. Toph Bei Fong had found freedom at last.

She'd been watching discreetly from the shadows but, he'd noticed her... somehow. Maybe she should have given him more credit on his senses. He looked ahead briefly and saw her on the ground floor. His pace seemed to quicken, or so she thought. This was possibly her mind just playing tricks. Was there any real eagerness to see her? They'd only been apart for six weeks after the War. She didn't even know how he really felt. He walked fast as a general statement but today, it just seemed he was faster than usual, if that was at all possible. Smirking as he'd reached her, he teasingly held back a couple steps from her.

But what was he trying to prove? She had self-control. Hell, she was a master earthbender as a part of her; calm and commanding. True it was said she was intolerant and snappy at times, especially with Katara, but overall she had that bad-ass aura about her. She wasn't one to be made a fool of. But was that what he was really implying?

She gave him a quirky smile as he tossed his bag from his shoulders and stepped toward her slowly. Gazing into his eyes or, what she presumed were his eyes, she began to speak, mocking him a little.

"So, Zu-Zu," she began with his crazy sister Azula's pet name for him. "What brings you to my part of the ground?" She felt him frown, he hated that name.

Replying with a snide remark of his own he said; "I apologise, Lady Toph, I just happened to stumble on you staring at me." A small chuckle escaped his lips as she shot him a look one could only describe as frightening.

"You better watch it Sparky, you might just stumble on something else if you don't watch your feet." It was her turn to frown. "And, for the record in case you've forgotten, I can't "stare" at you."

She used air quotes at this point, "I'm blind."

Just to prove her point, she shifted her feet a little before he noticed and turned away. She knew he'd walked toward her, still completely oblivious to the fact that she loved proving things. Of course, he fell flat on his face. She turned for a split second hearing his entire body come down to earth. She smirked at her own joke silently as she suddenly felt him pull at her leg.

Crash. Down went her pride along with everything else. Two hopeless fools sprawled in the earth on top of one another. This would be something to explain to Mai if they were caught. As the sudden thought of Mai's love for Zuko prodded its way into her mind, she felt a pang of guilt. Here she was quite possibly flirting with him fully aware of the consequences of Mai's heart. He pulled her close and kissed her forehead softly. This soon escalated into his lips whispering into the shell of her ear as his hands found their way under her green top.

He barely whimpered, but it was enough for her to hear 'Do you find this inappropriate?'

A sudden lump caught its way in her throat mid-way between replying "no" with her end reply sounding something like, "N-uh, cough, n-uh...sigh... Do you still love Mai?"

Clearly taken aback by this sudden mood-killer statement, he replied softly.

"Yes. She is my everything."