A/N: This is just a short taang oneshot I came up with. Parts of it can be taken as Tokka bashing. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.
Denial
They were supposed to be training. Aang knew that, Katara knew that, everybody knew it. What they were doing instead varied from teen to teen. Zuko had vanished with Sokka in search of "meat" so Aang was without his fire-bending instructor. Zuko had of course left him with instructions but without the threat of getting burned for slacking off they didn't mean much.
So instead Aang and Katara were talking. The others had disappeared somewhere else in the western air temple except for Toph who was letting off some steam earth-bending. She had wanted Aang to practice with her but he blew her off. Instead he sat around gossiping with Katara like a pair of school girls.
"No way!" Aang cried out in surprise. "You're kidding me right? Sokka?"
Katara didn't respond right away as she was too busy laughing to say anything. "I'm serious," she said between giggles. "I saw the way she looks at him sometimes. I'm telling you, Toph is in love with Sokka!"
"That's crazy! Wow Katara I would never have guessed."
She wiped a tear from her eyes. "Well don't say anything about it to her. She'd probably flip out and earth-bend you off the side of the temple." Aang nodded in understanding. He got the message: don't blab to Toph.
But of course he did it anyway.
"Hey Toph, been missing Sokka since he left?" Aang asked unable to stop himself from smiling like an insane person.
Toph turned around and leaned her head to the side. "Twinkle toes what are you going on about now?"
"You don't have to hide it from me Toph, I know all about your feelings for Sokka." He teased her.
"What?" She choked. "I don't like Sokka!"
"It's okay, I won't tell him." Aang reassured her.
By now Toph was red in the face with embarrassment. "It's not true! I don't like him!"
"That's not what I heard…"
"Who told you that?" She demanded.
"Sorry I'm not supposed to say—"
"It was Katara wasn't it?"
"…Maybe."
Clenching her fists Toph screamed at the sky. "Stupid sugar queen I'll kill her! Where is she?"
"You don't have to feel embarrassed Toph, your feelings are completely—"
"Enough!" She interrupted him and slammed her foot down on the ground. Suddenly a boulder as big as Aang came out of the ground and flung him across the temple. Toph stood there for a moment seething in anger before walking away.
A few minutes later Aang picked himself up off the floor and wiped the dust off. A normal person would've given up right then and there for the sake of their own well being but for some reason Aang didn't. Instead he decided to continue pestering Toph about the matter until he got her to admit she loved Sokka.
At lunch that day Toph decided to pretend the whole thing had never happened. She sat down silently and ignored Katara's greeting creating an awkward silence. She didn't mind however; instead she grabbed the sandwich Katara had made for her and started to eat loudly.
"Wow," she said after taking a bite. "This sandwich is great Katara!" Toph wasn't usually much for compliments but she couldn't help herself; it just tasted that great.
"Really?" Katara asked surprised but happy.
"Yeah, I love it." The earthbender said taking another bite.
"Almost as much as you love Sokka right?" Aang said coming out of nowhere.
Toph was so surprised she spit the food out of her mouth onto Aang's face. "Twinkle toes…" she growled menacingly. "What the heck? I told you I don't like Sokka!"
"Eww…" Aang said wiping the food off his face. "Listen Toph you don't have to hide it. Me and Katara already know so you might as well come clean."
At hearing this Katara's head whipped around to glare at the airbender. "You told her? Aang what's wrong with you, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I am not in love with Sokka Twinkle toes," Toph glared venomously at him. "Just leave me alone!" This time Toph ran off before using earthbending to fling herself fling into another room entirely.
"Was it something I said?" Aang asked. Katara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
2 hours later…
"Just admit it."
"No."
"It'll make you feel better."
"Leave me alone!"
"Come on Toph," Aang said for the fortieth time that day, "you like Sokka don't you? I see the way you look at him when you think no one's looking."
"I-I do not!" She said flushing pink.
"Now you're blushing," he smirked. "I must've hit the mark. I'm right aren't I?"
"Please Aang just stop…"
"Not until you admit it," he said. "I'm so close! Now say it."
"No."
"Say it."
"Say it."
"Say it…"
"—NO!" Toph turned around and screamed at him. Her voice was so loud Aang fell over onto the floor. Walking over to him she grabbed the airbender by his shirt and pulled him off the ground till he was dangling right in front of Toph feeling rather threatened.
"For the last time I don't love or even like Sokka! He's annoying, all he ever talks about is meat, he's not a bender, he has enough girlfriends and he's not you!"
"W-What?" Aang asked confused. "What do you mean he's not me?"
Toph looked embarrassed but she didn't back down or let Aang go. "You heard me; he's not you. He's not an over the top optimistic dweeb whose the only other earthbender I've ever respected who rescued me from my parents isolation who manages to care about my problems despite having to save the world! And I don't love him because I love you okay? There I said it!"
She let go of his shirt and Aang fell on his butt. "Now just leave me alone!" She said before running off.
Aang just sat there for a minute trying to process what just happened. "She…likes me?" He said out loud. "Toph wait!" Airbending to his feet Aang ran after her. He found her a couple minutes later sitting on some falling debris facing a wall.
He noticed she wiped something from her eyes. "Are you…crying?"
"Don't flatter yourself," she sniffled. "Tough guys like me don't even have tear ducts."
"Listen Toph," Aang walked right up behind her, "I've been a real jerk today and I wanted to apologize. The truth is when Katara told me you like Sokka I felt really jealous."
"Is that why you kept bugging me all day?" She asked.
"I think so," Aang said feeling ashamed. "I'm really sorry for the way I've acted. But the truth is I'm actually really happy about what you said."
"Why's that? Aren't' you supposed to be in love with sugar queen?" She didn't manage to hide the bitterness in her voice.
"I was," he admitted. "But the thing is I realized she wasn't ever going to see me as anything more than a friend or little brother. Then I realized that I actually have feelings for you."
He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I love you Toph."
She hugged back, "I love you too Aang, but don't think that means I'm going soft on you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." He smiled. "Hey you want to kiss?"
"Let's get things straight: I'm the one in control in this relationship. I say when we kiss."
"So?"
"So now we're going to kiss," She said enveloping his lips with hers. They held the kiss for a minute before letting go.
"Mhmm," she smiled, "Much better than Sokka."
A/N: Reviews are appreciated.