In the Western Airtemple, the guests residing there wanted to resolve an ongoing war. The Waterbender Katara sent the Freedom Fighter, The Duke, and the Earthbender Haru to help find lunch. The Firebender Zuko and the Avatar Aang were harnessing energy, controlling it into one compact fireball.
And a certain swordsmen was complaining. "Katara, my stomach can't take it much longer! I need food!"
"Don't you think I know that?" Katara flicked some water from her pot at her brother, which wasn't boiled, but extremely hot.
"Ow!" Sokka exclaimed, retreating from his sister, rubbing vigorously on where the water landed. "Hot, hot!"
Zuko was ready to take complete control of the fireball, but didn't. He seethed, "I'll show you hot in about five seconds if you don't shut your mouth!" Calming down, he settled. "Why don't you make yourself useful and get some wood or whatever?" Sokka jumped up like one of Zuko's flames, able to get away and do something productive.
"Hey! What about me?" The blind Earthbender wondered eagerly.
"Why don't you check up on Teo, we haven't seen him today." The Avatar suggested, trying to compress the fire sphere little by little.
Toph's enthusiastic side fell at an instant, and she groaned. "Awh, never mind, I'd rather not. Teo's the goggle boy, right?"
Katara nodded. "C'mon, give him a chance, will you?"
When Toph still didn't budge, Aang cut in. "If you don't, I'll tell him personally that you secretly wanna try out his glider."
Toph paled, if her skin was possible to turn into an even lighter color. "Fine, I'm going." She muttered dejectedly. "As long as I don't have to go flying." Once in the temple, she turned the corner and gave a light knock on the door in front. "Knock, knock. You in there, Teo? It's Toph."
"Hey, Toph." She walked slowly inside the boy's room, trying to hide the fact she was slightly annoyed. In Toph's mind, Teo was nothing more than a blurry image of a teenage boy. A boy shrouded, clouded by a wooden cart that stopped herself from getting to know him.
"Twinkletoes and the others were just wondering why they haven't seen you today."
"Oh, actually I've been sleeping. Wanted to get some extra energy today. Is Duke and Haru outside?"
"Yeah." Toph replied curtly. "But Sugar Queen sent them to get food and stuff."
"Oh." Teo tried his best to keep up with Toph's nicknames, and saddened a bit learning that his two friends wouldn't be available today. "Well I guess my plans are kinda ruined. Unless," he tried keeping his smile up. "Toph, do you wanna come with me?"
Toph, taken aback by the sudden gesture, shrugged. "I don't know. Where are you going?"
"Well, I found some tunnels around this temple, The Hall of Statues—so cool! You just have to come, when I first saw them, I could tell I could get a serious rush. Almost like flying!"
Toph was totally turned off at the mention of flying. She was about to decline the offer, but thought about how Teo would feel. He sounded so excited and eager. How could she possibly ruin that? Well, she could think of a few possible ways, but decided against it, he'd probably would smile a bit and wait until The Duke and Haru got back. She nodded. "Fine…"
"Yes! You don't regret it Toph, I promise! You'll have the time of your life!" Teo exclaimed, ecstatic. He slipped on his amber-orange goggles and wheeled away, Toph in tow. Yeah, compared to fighting the Dai Li, and beating nearly everyone at Earth Rumble Six, yeah, a tunnel could be the time of her life.
Teo breathed in the air as if it was containing a gas for immortality. "We're here, isn't it amazing?" Toph shrugged, and moved her feet around, getting to know the place. She finally reached the tunnel, and blinked. For a tunnel, it was amazing. Toph could feel the intricate coils, and every sharp turn. Hell, there were even borders around the entrances and exits! She had to admit—to herself—it was indeed cool. Teo went to the edge of the tunnel's entrance and sucked in another deep breath. "Well, are you ready?" He asked Toph, who looked at him in surprise.
"Wait, what?" Toph asked in snafu. "Go into your wheelchair… with you?"
Teo nodded slowly, because Toph didn't seem to understand what she was getting into. Though he looked kind of hurt that Toph was bailing on him so late in, he still went on with a polite word. "You know, if you don't want to—"
"No, it's fine." Toph said hurriedly. She then Earthbended two bricks under her feet. "I'll just earth-skate down if you don't mind."
Teo pursed his lips together, but nodded. "Alright, ready?" He adjusted his goggles, and gave the Earthbender a thumbs up. He slowly moved himself forward, and he quickly descended down, disappearing from a visual sight. You could hear his laugh and cheers echoing through the area.
Toph followed, a bit more comfortable because she was close to her earth. She pushed her legs as fast as she could to keep up with Teo. Although she enjoyed the feeling of the wind smacking her porcelain face, it was getting harder and harder for her to spot Teo. She tried to move her earth blocks faster and faster, but it was also damaging the tunnel at the same time, and she had a feeling both Aang and Teo wouldn't appreciate it. Her legs were on fire, but she was finally skimming neck and neck—though she was panting for dear life—to the young earth refugee.
Teo looked at the young girl beside him, trying to cling airlessly to his speed. He could tell how she just wanted to sit down and relax. He carefully extended his arm toward her. "C'mon, you look tired."
Toph pondered at the hand stretched out in front of her. So Teo would expect her to sit on his lap for the rest of the ride, and to have fun at the same time? She didn't think so, but Teo was right, she was tired. "Only because my legs are starting to hurt." Toph put as an excuse, she felt so weak saying that, but she knew she wasn't. So what was making her cave in so easily?
Once Teo got approval, he snatched Toph's arm quickly, pulling the small girl on himself. He wrapped on arm around her, and another leaning on the chair's brakes.
Toph was clinging tightly to Teo's sleeves as they went down. She could feel every bump and crack they were landing on as they went farther and farther into the tunnel. She wondered how long it would take for the wheelchair to break down from such intense sports Teo was inducing into it. "Wow, it's getting steeper and steeper." She noted, grazing a finger over the dirt.
"Really? Wow, it's so cool having a friend who can see everything." Teo complimented.
Toph grinned in pride, then smiled in genuine. She and Teo were officially friends. She relaxed a bit, and leaned back. In fact, the day spent with Teo wasn't as bad as it seemed. They plummeted down the tunnel faster and faster. While Teo was laughing his head off, Toph was scared—that she was squealing like a girl. Teo noticed this and started chuckling a bit more personally to Toph, giving a light squeeze to her arm.
It perked her up. Her face was almost pink, he had such a cheerful and youthful laugh, it was contagious. Toph's shrieks evolved into laughs—she was having fun. She got a firm grip on Teo's arm. "I'm so glad you got to laugh along with me." Teo shyly murmured into her hair.
Toph didn't say anything back, too fazed to reply. But she was glad that Teo was laughing right next to her too.
The wind was indeed a rush, like flying. And Toph didn't mind at tall. Her hair was wind-blown and flowing freely. She brushed a finger to the funnel's floor, and her milky eyes widened. The end of their ride was getting closer, and they were still going at hyper speed. "Teo!" she barked, breaking the boy out of his reverie. "Put the breaks on, now!"
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Teo obeyed, and slammed down the brakes almost immediately. A sigh of relief emitted in the air as they both heard a rough screech.
But by then, they would've stopped by now! Teo panicked and moved the brake back and forth. Nothing, they were still going as fast as they were five seconds ago. From the far end, he could spot the light at the exit of the tunnel.
He looked back and forth from the ground to the back of Toph's charcoal bun of hair. She was such a nice girl once you got past her rocky exterior. Since the invasion, he wanted to know so much about this fearless girl. He wanted to know where she was from, her favorite color, why she was so thick, and were they the same? He wasn't too sure if she was blind, but her eyes always seemed pretty distant. Could they be a pair of people who had disabilities that prevented them from doing what they wanted, but it didn't stop them anyway?
His dad was right when he said that in serious things like this, humans act on impulse.
Teo pushed Toph off his chair.
He even ignored any protests she yelled. She might've gotten a scratch or two from the fall, but that was better than crashing. As the light got closer and closer, Teo held tightly on the handlebars of his cart and braced himself. Oh, he was so going to crash.
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Toph coughed out some dirt that made way in her mouth and got up. Did Teo, the epitome of a nerd and the almost goody-goody guy—don't forget Aang—push her of his cart? What the hell just happened? "Teo?" she called. She felt a boy sprawled on the floor of rock and earth, and a certain wheelchair tipped over not far from him. "Teo!" He lay, moaning in pain, clutching his forehead with his black finger gloves.
Even though it was such a beautiful opportunity to get a good look at Teo, she had to simply pass it up. She lightly touched his forehead, which in response Teo flinched. Toph zipped her hand away, realizing what the liquid substance on her finger was. Teo was bleeding.
"I—I'm gonna get Katara!" she said, trying to stay calm. Toph felt a hand weakly circling her wrist—Teo—she froze in place. "What…?"
"N-no, I just want you stay." He urged softly, Toph was still as ice at such sensitivity and vulnerability. "Look at the sky."
Toph, finally coming back to earth, realized what he just said. Even if Teo was injured Toph went on a natural reply when it came to her so-called disability. "Idiot, if you've forgotten, I'm blind." She deadpanned, swiping her foot over the crumbly earth.
"Actually, I didn't even know." Teo admitted. "I mean, Aang did tell me once, but I couldn't believe such a master Earthbender like you…" he trailed off, sheepishly.
"Oh." Toph mumbled, a bit embarrassed. "Well, believe it."
"… Well, Appa was flying around." Teo finally continued, breaking the awkward moment. "He's probably telling the guys right now to get over here. Do whatever you want, just don't leave me here."
Toph fought the urge to go and punch Teo for being so damn sappy. She ripped an uneven strip of her clothing and folded it so it was a thick gauze. She pressed the green silk firmly to Teo's forehead, which was still bleeding profusely. Hopefully the bleeding would slow down. "I don't apologize too often, but I'm sorry that I'm pretty much useless at this sort of thing. I wasn't raised learning first aid."
Strangely to Toph, Teo found the need to laugh. "But yet, that still isn't stopping you, is it? That's what I like about you." He brought his hand up to the cloth, brushing hands with the Earthbender. "So thank you."
"Don't thank me." Toph said, turning her head away. "It's my fault this happened; I wasn't paying attention to the tunnel."
Teo frowned. "No," he disagreed. "It's my fault. I was so caught up in everything, I didn't think to check for a rusty screw or—" he looked to his wheelchair, alone without his body. "Or a too-loose break."
Toph shook her head. "It's stupid to be bantering on whose fault it is… but I could've Earthbended us to safety if you didn't push me off!" Toph huffed, pressing the cloth harder on Teo's forehead. She wasn't too sure herself if Earthbending was an easy option at that time, but she wanted to keep up her front. But why did Teo have to face the blow alone? She couldn't help asking, "Why did you? Push me off?"
Even though Toph wouldn't be able to see it, Teo gave him a weak smile. He did his best to conceal how much pain how much Toph was excreting on his forehead. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt. Are you?"
Oh my freaking gosh, while Teo's bleeding his brains out, he asks how she's doing. "Are you serious!" Toph exclaimed in disbelief, causing Teo to cringe at the volume of her voice. He wasn't one of the guards her parents hired to protect her all day every day. And yet, he still felt the need to protect her. So... weird. "Actually, that's kinda… sweet." She confessed, her voice barely audible.
More blood rushed to the Mechanist son's face, flustered on his cheeks. Toph grinned, for once, she could actually see him. To sense the tips of his unruly shaggy hair, to seeing how his heartbeat sped, or the intense race of heat from one ear to the other.
Or was that her? Was she blushing, did she have the funny feeling in her gut? She wasn't too sure, but she imagined she'd have plenty of time to dig deeper into this keen note after the war.
"Despite well, this—" Teo referred to the cut on his forehead. "It was a great day, wasn't it?" He smiled widely.
"Yeah, it was."
"We should do this again sometime!"
Toph, impressed by his sudden brusque straightforwardness, smirked. "Sure, as long as there's no injuries involved." Teo laughed. Then from one direction, Toph quickly noted that Katara's footsteps were dashing closer and closer to them. "Sugar Queen's coming. Tell her anything about me calling something sweet, and you speak to my fists." She hissed harshly, turning into the bad girl demeanor she usually put on.
"Sure, you got it." He promised, crossing his heart solemnly. Teo once again chuckled, it was like magic. She could trust him, she just knew it. She landed her fist slowly to his shoulder, putting her lips in a thin line. After all they've been through today,
Toph snorted. "You're such a gentlemen." They both laughed.
Toph broke away from Teo, scrunching up the bloodied silk. On cue, Katara came running by, gasping at the scene before her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Teo your forehead!" Katara smoothly kneeled in front of him, softly fingering the wound. She gaped, reaching for her water pouch. "Toph, what did you do!"
"Don't go assuming I did something! I wasn't the one who didn't double check the brakes!"
"Hey!"
Before Katara noticed, Toph and Teo exchanged quick glances and even quicker smiles.
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Aang was gliding the area in subtle circles, making sure no one saw him. He watched as Katara finished off her master healing powers, wrapping a white bandage on Teo's forehead. Toph seemed so much more… jovial. And maybe Teo was a bit flustered, but it seemed a brand new friendship was born. He bet they would never have quality time like this anytime soon, but at least they had today.
"Aang, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this." Katara doubted, her pot of water peaking to the boiling point. "I mean, Teo's so nice and Toph's well… you know what I mean."
"Katara, relax. It's perfect." The Avatar assured, Teo had just what the Earthbender needed. He thought Toph wanted something today, she just didn't know it. "What she needs is a little spirit."
I hope you understood the story! Anything bad I should fix or remove? The italics were from beforehand when Toph left to find Teo, if you didn't know. Honestly, this is what I wanted as a back-story to Teo's bandage on his head during Book Three. And he was like, "Now that my breaks are fixed..." then he somehow ends with "Tunnel." so I put this up.