Indian Summer

By Nagone

For Round 1 of the Pro-Bending Fanfiction Circuit

Summary: Katara teaches Toph how to wim.

Rated: K

Genre: Friendship, Humor

Characters: Katara, Toph

Prompts used: Pillow, "Don't blink" and the Cabbage Merchant

Toph had no intention of stepping into the cool, blue water of the Mo Ce Sea. In fact, she knew she wasn't going near that watery grave.

Somehow, Katara had convinced Toph to take the day off, dragging her to Crescent Beach, on the fringe of the harbors in Republic City near the broad avenues of the United Nation boardwalk. It was a nice enough beach, Toph supposed: then again, as an avid hater of large bodies of water, Toph felt she really didn't have a place to judge.

Katara had only dragged her out here because it was an Indian Summer day: a break in the cool chill of autumn. The tang of Winter's cold was held at bay by the warmth of a summer's day, taking the temperature from near a frost to near what felt like boiling. It was enough to make Toph grumpy, and so instead of swimming –or even chancing the water– she kept to a towel, head resting upon a plush pillow under the shade or a beach umbrella.

"Cabbage pops! Get your cabbage pops! Sweet treats that are good to eat!" It was Lau Gan-Lan, son of the original Cabbage Merchant –the now Cabbage Merchant, in his own right– hawking a new invention. Toph snorted at the though of a cold piece of sweet cabbage: the combination sounded disgusting, and hardly like any kind of treat.

So she voiced her opinion, as she was prone to doing so.

"No one wants those nasty things!" she called out, frowning. She heard the jingling of Lau Gan-Lan's cart halt, and felt a presence hovering nearby.

"Perhaps some Cabbage sunscreen? It'll keep the burn away and make you smell garden fresh!"

"That's your selling point?" Toph asked, waving a hand. "Sweet cabbage?"

"I'll have you know that four out of five-" Toph snorted again, effectively cutting Lau Gan-Lan off.

"Whatever!" She shifted, adjusting her pillow back under her head. "I don't want any." He sniffed, chin hitching up and peddled off, voice calling out even more proudly now as he made his way across the beach.

"Well, someone's a bit grumpy today." Toph didn't even need to feel the sand to know that Katara was seating herself next to her. Instead, she winced, water from her swimsuit soaking Toph's backside.

"Gross! You're making the ocean moisten me!" Toph jerked up, hands ineffectively patting at the towel.

"Here," Katara said, giggling. She placed a new, dry towel beneath Toph, doubling it over to keep her from the terror of dampness. Toph's frown deepened, but gave way to a smirk as she settled back down. "So, are you just gonna… do this all day?"

"Yeah," Toph said. "Why?"

"Well, I mean… we're at a beach."

"So?"

"There's a lot to do. Like sightseeing."

"I'm blind." Toph waved a hand in front her face for added effect.

"Okay. Food?"

"Not hungry." Toph motioned to the basket of food Katara had brought, most of which was empty lettuce leaves and scraps.

"Swimming?" Katara tried.

Silence.

"…I can't," Toph muttered. Her eyebrows knitted together and she adjusted again, tucking her arms beneath her head.

A heavy silence settled between them, and after a minute, Katara broke it. "You can't swim?"

"Yeah," Toph replied. "I can't."

"Why?" Katara asked curiously.

"Becuase I can't."

"Not good enough."

"Because I had parent's who loved me too much!" Toph shot back.

"Then let me teach you," Katara replied. "It'll be fun."

"You're idea of fun is terrible." Toph rolled her eyes, lip twisted up disgustedly. "It's all… moist."

"Come on!" Katara's voice took on an annoying whine, one that Toph knew she was doing only to irritate her.

"…Will you stop that?"

"Wh-at?" Katara's whine remained, though Toph knew she was probably smirking right now.

"You know what!"

"Fine, fine," Katara said. "Now come on. The water's great!"

So you say, waterbender, Toph though with a sigh. Rather, easy for you to say.

Toph hauled herself to her feet, leaving her sandals behind next to the edge of her towel. Katara was quick to drag her across the sand, weaving between teens sunbathing and families snacking on fried foods and fresh melon slices. Soon, the growing noise of the ocean lapping at the sand hit Toph's ears and she shuddered, slowing her pace.

"Here we are!" Katara said, lifting her arms.

"Whoop dee do," Toph deadpanned. "Water." She even added a twirle of her hands, ending in a limp wristed motion.

Coaxing Toph into the water was a beast of a task, but somehow –after a half hour of arguing– Toph was submerged up to her bust in the water, feet still solidly on wet, sand.

"Now, float," Katara commanded. Toph's eyebrown shifted up a bit and Katara exhaled sharply. "Okay, cooperate with me so I can help you float."

"Better," Toph replied. Slowly, she extended her arms out, cool water ghosting over them. "Here I come!" she said, bouncing on her toes. She gulped and jumped forward, body arching a bit.

Katara caught her firmly, arms scooping her up so that Toph's entire form was balanced on them. She was weightless, light enough that there was barely a burden. "Okay, that was good," Katara said.

"Now what?"

"Now, we go out a bit further into the water so I can show you how to swim," Katara replied.

"Don't blink," Katara whispered. Her hands pressed firmly on Toph's belly, and Toph squirmed anxiously, casting her glance back over her shoulders.

"Won't matter if I do," Toph shot back. "It's not like I can see."

"Whatever," Katara replied, giggling. "Now, I'm going to float you out a bit, okay?"

Toph closed her eyes, trying to ignore the wildly untethered feeling she felt tugging at her belly button. She instead tried to focus on Katara's surprisingly warm hands, and tried to let the water pull at her as Katara shifted out further, to the point where she had to kick her legs to stay above water. It was an easy task: her legs worked to shift the water into a solid, liquid disc beneath her, helping her stay above the water with ease. "Kick and paddle your arms, okay?"

"Okay," Toph replied. She slowly shifted her limbs, splashing water all over herself and Katara, and soon, her motions evened out a bit more, becoming a bit more tame. "Okay, so I got this. Now what?"

"I let you go." Katara's arms dropped from beneath Toph in a swift motion, and Toph kept pumping her arms, though more water splashed up. Slowly, she thought she was moving forward, but it was a snail's progress, and anxiety began to cloud her mind. "You're doing fine!" Katara cheered. "Just stay calm!"

Toph began to sink, heavy as a rock. The water sucked at her, and Katara's voice faded into a syrup thick timbre, growing less and less defined as the water sucked Toph down, down, down. She shifted her arms and legs, kicking viciously, and yet she was caught in the water's solid grasp, helpless and out of her element. There was no metal here to bend, no earth she could grip at, and Toph's chest was beginning to tighten. The ache roared through her chest, spreading to her fingers and toes, and Toph let her eyes closed, still kicking and fighting the water.

So instead of fighting, she relaxed, half resigned to drowning, half angry at the idea of drowning, and found that instead of sinking, she was beginning to float, arms moving, legs slowly kicking, propelling her towards the lightness of the surface.

Katara was coming towards her, though Toph didn't sense it, bending the water away in order to cut through to Toph quicker. They met in the middle in an odd way, and when Toph felt Katara's gentle hand grip hers, she smiled, shifting closer to the woman.

Katara bend a bubble around them and Toph inhaled sharply, refreshing oxygen filling her lungs. She coughed hard, still buoyed by the weightlessness of the water, and blinked, milk white eyes stinging still.

"You did it!" Katara exclaimed. "Well, kind of. You almost drowned."

Toph growled, and with a flash of white teeth, wound her hand back and slapped Katara soundly across the cheek, every bit of frustration.

"Ouch!" Katara winced, hand coming up to cup her cheek. She quickly dropped it though, setting her hands and arms back to keeping the bubble solid. "That hurt!"

"That's for making me swim!" Toph shouted. "Don't make me give you another one!"

"Well, maybe if you would have listened-"

"Look here, Madame Fussy Britches!" Toph exclaimed. "You forced me into… this… this death trap!"

"Death trap? It's water! You know, that thing you bathe in, Miss Police Chief!"

"Bah!" Toph threw up her hands. "Let's just get to the top of this… thing."

"Want help?" Katara offered.

"No!" Toph shot back. "I got this."

"Fine then. Take a deep breath. The bubble's going away now, okay?" Katara stopped manipulating the water and took a deep breath, waving as she kicked off towards the surface.

Katara moved like an Elephant Koi, cutting through the water like her skin had scale. As she jetted away, Toph felt a bit of envy. But she soon propelled her self off too, even if it was sloppy.

Toph grabbed fistfuls of water, yanking herself back towards the surface. Her legs kicked hard, and she slowly, steadily, made it closer and closer to the blue-white rippling light. After a minute climb, she broke the surface, gasping for air, and twisting about. "Haul me in, Sugar Queen," she ordered, and she felt Katara bend the waves, taking her back to shore and propping her upright on the sand.

Toph's body felt heavy, immensely so, like gravity was a crushing force. Feeling around, she could sense Katara's own exhaustion too, though it seemed a bit more of waning frustration rather than sheer tiredness.

They kept silent until they made their way back to their blankets, up the beach and on the fringe. "So," Katara said. "What did you think over all?" She sidestepped a toddler building a sand castle, waving at him with a bright smile.

"…Let's try it again," Toph whispered, wringing out her hair. She tossed it over her shoulders, showering a group of girls with water. "After I get a Cabbage pop."

"A cabbage pop?"

"Yeah," Toph said. "It's a sweet treat that's good to eat. Plus… I need a break from all of this water business."

"Getting a little weak?" Katara said. Toph simply growled in reply, cheeks flushing red, and Katara gave a whoop of a laugh, not even caring when Toph twisted the sand beneath her, knocking her off her feet.