A Real Friend
By conspiracytheorist
Set sometime after "The Blind Bandit." After that it's anyone's guess. TophxAang if you squint really hard.
"People see me and think I'm weak. They want to take care of me. But I can take care of myself."
Toph was used to taking help from others. When she had been living at home, she hadn't been given much of a say in the matter. Her father had kept her from performing the simplest of actions. She couldn't wander the grounds without at least two guards breathing down her neck. She couldn't even blow her own soup!
Yeah, she was used to taking help.
But he had showed her how to appreciate it.
"I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend."
The word friend had always been part of her vocabulary, but it had never really clicked until she met him. He had humbled her at Earth Rumble Six and had nearly exposed her secret to the world prematurely. It had seemed selfish to her at the time. But somehow, it was just that he understood her best.
"Is that why you became the Blind Bandit?"
Friends helped each other and understood each other, she supposed. He was her means of escape from her life of confinement. And he always seemed to know what was on her mind. She never had to say a word. He got past her blind eyes and into her head somehow. But instead of being unnerving, it was rather reassuring.
"There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you."
Flying on Appa had always been a little scary for her. She couldn't feel the vibrations of the earth a thousand feet in the air. She couldn't, as she had once prided herself on, carry her own weight. Not amongst the clouds. Only a real friend could guide her to where she needed to go.
And that was okay. Aang was a real friend.