Caves

If Aang hated anything besides people who hurt animals, it was caves.

Aang didn't just hate caves, he loathed them. He never showed it, though; he didn't want Katara seeing him like that, and Toph and Sokka would just make fun of him.

What the young Avatar loved most in the world was flying. Soaring through the sky on Appa's broad back, zipping through the air on his staff, or simply falling from a great height. He could always control where he landed, so Aang was never afraid. It comforted him to look up and always see the sky. Always. The sun was always there. Clouds were always there. Everything, was always there.

But in a cave, nothing was there.

It's dark in a cave. That's the first thing Aang disliked about a cave—darkness. He didn't have a particular problem with darkness; he just didn't like bumping into stuff…or people. Once he accidentally touched Toph in an area that made her jump up, squeal, and bash him on the head screaming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TWINKLE TOES! YOU PERVERT!" When she'd calmed down Aang had explained to her that he was not trying to cop a feel, he just couldn't see. "Well don't do it again!" his Earthbender teacher had exclaimed, and bashed him on the head again.

More often than not when they traveled in a cave, they had to crawl through tight tunnels. Sometimes Toph could move the earth to make the tunnels bigger, but that was dangerous because she could accidentally bring the entire cave down on them.

Aang was claustrophobic. He hated being in small spaces for too long. He hated the stale air in the cave and wished desperately to see the sky again, to feel a breeze brush his face, to feel the grass sweep the soles of his bare feet as he flew across a prairie. There was no grass and no wind in a cave. Nothing but rock and small tunnels.

Toph liked caves. She can see extremely well, she said. It's completely made of earth and rock. And the darkness didn't bother her, because her vision was always dark.

Aang was almost envious of her. But of course, he was too kind to be completely envious.

Why did I let her talk me into this? Aang thought as he squeezed himself through a tunnel, sliding across like a snake on his belly. His clothing was completely muddy and he was soaked to the bone. He could hear Toph's voice somewhere above him.

"Come on, twinkle toes!" she said.

"It's too dark! I can't see!"

"I can't see either!" Toph shouted. "In case you've forgotten! You need to learn more about earth, not just bending it. Every rock has its own story. Learn to listen to it."

I know that, Aang thought bitterly. Why is she always making me do ridiculous things? She calls them "Earthbending Techniques" but I call them torture!

"Don't worry, Aang," Toph's voice became surprisingly soft. "I'm standing right here above you. If there's a cave-in or anything I'll be down immediately to help you. You're almost to the end."

"Okay," Aang said.

"Not only is this about listening to earth, it's about trust," Toph said. "Trust the fact that the cave will not fall down on you unless you disturb it somehow. If you don't hurt it, it won't hurt you."

"Okay," Aang repeated. He gritted his teeth and continued wriggling through. He nearly fell and got a side of his head caked in mud. He wiped it impatiently on his sleeve.

Up ahead he saw the light from Toph's lantern and a small opening. Aang happily increased his speed using Airbending and hopped out. "I did it!" he exclaimed happily.

Toph nodded. "Good job. We'll be hitting some smaller caverns tomorrow."

Aang's smile disappeared. "We have to crawl through smaller ones?"

"No. You do."

"What! That's not fair! You were caving with me part of the time today, why not the same tomorrow? I don't want to be by myself!"

"Oh shut up with your whining!" Toph said, knocking Aang upside the head. "Besides, I'll give you a reward if you complete the training well."

"Like what?" Aang asked, still bitter.

"This," Toph said. She walked over to him and kissed his cheek, the side that was muddy. She flicked a dried piece of mud over his eyebrow. Then—without warning—she turned the light off and exited the cave, giggling slightly.

"Um…Toph?" Aang asked, touching his cheek. "Toph...Where are you?" He sighed. "Not again…"

Author's Notes:

Yesterday my class went caving, and I was thinking, "You know, I bet Earthbenders do a lot of caving. That sounds like one of the crazy training regimes Toph would make Aang do." And here it is! I wrote this in twenty minutes I think, surprisingly. Sorry if the flow doesn't really make sense, and also sorry if Toph and Aang seem a little OOC.

I love fluff and Tophaang! XD Please review.