Feelings
By: Proteus-92
A/N: Now, I support Kataang 110%. But, there's just something about Taang, something that makes it really… cute. But the truth is, I just really want to get this out of my system before I start on any other stories. So, enjoy, if you want.
Toph sat alone on the roof of the building. The building had been a command post built by the Fire Nation while they held Ba Sing Se, an imposing, intimidating structure built in the inner ring of the city, and composed almost entirely of metal. But now that the Fire Nation army had been forced from the city, the Council of Five had elected to give it to Aang as a token of their, and the Earth Kingdom's gratitude. The others were still at the Earth King's palace for some ceremony- the others had made her go, but even worse, they made her wear a dress. The whole thing had been long and boring and unbearable in her dress- it would have been boring even if she didn't have to wear a dress, but having to wear it only compounded Toph's misery. So, when Katara finally said she could go, Toph left as fast as her dress would let her, came back here, and changed back into her old clothes. When that was done, she went up to the roof and sat by the edge. The night was warm, with only traces of the cold that would come with the autumn. The inner ring glowed under the soft light of the partially full moon… but it wasn't like that mattered to Toph.
Toph liked being alone. When she had still been living with her parents, the one good thing was that even though they were always having guards watch her, they themselves kept their distance. It gave her a lot of time to herself, a lot of time to think. But once she started travelling with Aang, all that private time was suddenly cut down to the hour or so that she spent laying in her earth tent before going to sleep. It was nice to be able to keep her own company like she was now- nowadays, it hardly ever happened.
So, she did the same thing she always did when the opportunity presented itself- she thought. Inevitably, her mind came to the events two days before- when she, Sokka, and Suki were taking down the Fire Lord's fleet of airships. There she was, dangling helplessly over an unimaginably huge inferno, clutching Sokka's hand with all her strength, her entire world reduced to where his hand connected with hers. Thoughts raced through her head. But they weren't about herself, or that she was going to die. They weren't about Sokka either, or how he was doing everything he could to try and save her. They weren't even about her parents, or she would never be able to settle things between them.
No.
What she thought would be her very last thoughts were about… Aang.
Her mind flooded with the sound of his voice, the outline of his body (along with the regret that she would never be able to get a good image of his face). She would never be able to hear his goofy laugh; she would never be able to yell at him for waking up early; she would never be able to feel his light, almost imperceptible footsteps… a multitude of other things she would never be able to see again piled up in her head. One thing that stood out prominently in her mind was that, in spite of everything he had done for her, she had never thanked him. Not once.
It was… strange, looking back on what happened. Then, it just felt… right, as if nothing were wrong with thinking that way. But now, it seemed ridiculous. The way she thought about him, she'd been acting like… like she was in love with him. And that was just silly. Feelings… for Twinkle-Toes? Impossible. Why in the world would she feel anything for him? He was just so… girly. And besides, he was with Katara. Everybody had their special someone after all, right? Aang had Katara, Sokka had Suki, Zuko had Mai, and she had… nobody. Just like always. She was alone, like always. But that was okay, right? She could get along just fine by herself, right?
Right?
It would have been more understandable if it had been one of the older boys. But… Aang? Why him?
Almost at once, a voice inside her head answered, Well, why not?
She remembered when they'd first met, at the Earth Rumble tournament. The first thing he ever said to her was that he wanted to talk to her.
He wanted to talk to her.
He- another human being- wanted to talk… to her.
Nobody ever wanted to talk to her.
At the Earth Rumble tournament, most of the fighters kept a respectful distance from each other, and she was no exception. Of course, there were the servants at her home… but there was no guarantee that they would listen to what she had to say. But he wanted to talk. If they had been anywhere else at that moment, she would have been simply too stunned to respond- even in the tournament, she had to suppress a stunned gasp. It had been easy, though, to just shrug off what he said- what with a few hundred people staring down at her and Aang at the time. But later that night, after she had snuck back into her room and as she lay in her bed, her thoughts lingered on that mysterious boy. She eventually concluded that he must have been crazy before rolling on her side and falling asleep.
Toph wondered how surprised she must have been when the next day, Aang snuck into the garden of her parents' house, still wanting to talk to her. Of course, her anger at him had been genuine- hadn't the guards patrolling the outside been enough of a hint that he wasn't supposed to be there? But at the same time, she was just a little bit flattered that he was so determined to see her. First he wanted to talk; now, he was sneaking into her home. What was next- a serenade beneath her window in the light of the full moon? Toph laughed at this, and made a mental note to never mention it to Aang, lest he actually be dumb enough to try it.
It was also then that she was able to… "meet" Katara and Sokka. Thinking back on it, at least the first thing Aang ever said to her was that he wanted to talk to her- it was more than she could say about the first thing she ever heard Sokka say. What had he said again? Oh right, he'd said to Aang, "Don't answer to Twinkle-Toes, it's not manly!" Katara's first words lightened the mood a little, and made her smile internally: "You're the one whose bag matches his belt." Toph wished Aang had come alone- at least, she could've softened up on him just a little. But it also would've had the more practical purpose of making him easier to conceal. She tried to drive them off, pretend she wasn't interested in what they had to say, until she had to resort to calling the guards. It worked, but later on, he decided to invite himself directly into her parents' house. Another surge of anger flared inside of her- how stupid was this Aang kid? Did he really think he could just walk in here and talk to her? Well, apparently he could, since her parents invited him and his friends to dinner. She refused to think about what happened there- looking back, it was just… so immature, even for her… but then again, hindsight was always one hundred percent correct, wasn't it? Afterward, slightly impressed and possibly just a little bit out of remorse, she decided to call a truce. So she could hear what he had to say.
It was there that she discovered something else about Aang, something that made him possibly the most important person she had ever met.
He could listen.
When she talked to him- about her blindness, and about how she could see through the earth… he listened to what she had to say. It was the first time that anyone actually listened to her- the first time anyone actually valued her opinions.
In short, he was the first person to treat her like… like she was an actual human being.
Maybe, that was the real reason. She left because she simply had to get away from her old life, but there was more to it than that. Maybe the reason she left wasn't because she wanted to defy her parents one last time. Maybe it wasn't entirely because she wanted to help Aang, though that certainly was a large part of it. Maybe the real reason was because it felt… good to be validated like that. To be treated like she really mattered. In a way, she supposed she owed Aang for giving her that feeling of… what was the word?
Euphoria. That was the feeling. It actually felt nice to be able to talk to someone about things like that.
What surprised her most was how… easy it was to open up to him. It had started with her explaining how she saw the world, even though she was blind, but it rapidly progressed to how her parents only saw her as a young, helpless blind girl. Maybe being girly helped open up to him. Maybe being easy to talk to came with being the Avatar. Who knew? This thought brought a sudden realization. Even though Aang knew all about her, she barely knew anything about him. She knew the basics- she knew his name was Aang, and that he was the Avatar, and that he was an airbender, but beyond that there was little she knew about him, even after travelling with him for some months. All sorts of questions began popping up in her head. What was Aang's favorite food? What did he like to do in his spare time besides train? What were things like a hundred years ago? How were things different now? How were things the same? Then, another very odd thought came to her- she wanted to ask him if he would take her flying on his glider. She dismissed the notion- there was no chance that she would be going flying again anywhere for a while, after what happened…
There was one thing, though, which she never considered until now. Aang had been the first person to value her opinions, but he was also… a boy; that fact would never change regardless of how wimpy he was. And on top of being a boy, he was also her own age. Well, he was technically a hundred and twelve years old, but still. She regretted that she hadn't been closer to Aang. She'd been too busy trying to get closer to Sokka. She should have known it was over when she "saw" him and Suki kiss while they were in the Serpent's Pass, but after Suki disappeared, she kept going after him. Or at least, telling herself she would go after him only to back out at the last minute. But her relationship with Sokka (what little there had been, anyway) ended when Suki came back. She'd "seen" everything that happened in Sokka's tent the day before Katara went on her field trip with Zuko, as much as she hadn't wanted to. Then, the very next night, it happened again. One time had been enough; she couldn't bear to see it again. So, she climbed down the cliffs surrounding their island and stood on the beach below, up to her knees in the water, the images in Sokka's tent lost in the blurriness of the sand and the vibrations of the waves as they rolled against the shore. That was the one disadvantage of the seismic sense, as she liked to call it- she'd been using it for so long, that she used it reflexively, without having to think about using it. This would normally be a good thing… except for the times when she didn't want to see something. She couldn't remember how to turn off the technique, to shut out the vibrations. She could see everything that went on around her, whether she wanted to or not.
But in spite of the fact that he was the first boy her own age she ever really talked to, she completely ignored Aang. Sure, when they were in the Fire Nation, she held his hand… once. And she'd clung to his arm… once, though that was only because the wooden walkways of that village they'd visited prevented her from seeing. She, of course, spent most of their time there clinging to Sokka. She'd punched him in the arm plenty of times, but other than the one time she held his hand, she'd never shown her affection through any… less painful methods. She'd never even hugged him, or at least, never outside of a group hug, between just him and her.
Aang probably wouldn't have been interested in her anyway. She knew he'd been interested in Katara almost from the day they started travelling together- Toph could see the signs, even if Katara couldn't. His heart would race, his breathing would quicken, and he would shift his weight back and forth nervously if he so much as looked at her. But when he looked at her, there was nothing. It was just like with Sokka- the only time his heart rate increased when he was around her is if he was under the immediate threat of pain from her. Toph sighed- of course Sokka and Aang wouldn't notice her. Suki and Katara were women- and pretty ones too, if their figures were anything to go by, but she… she was just a blind twelve year old girl. She wished that she was a little older, or a little taller, or that her chest was a little fuller, or her hips a little wider. Toph never cared much for her appearance, but if she'd been just a little bit prettier, maybe then, they would have noticed her. But it didn't matter now, even if she had all that. Sokka had already slipped away, and Aang was slipping away too… She shook her head- what was she talking about, Aang slipping away? Why should she care if Aang wasn't interested in her? She could get along by herself just fine. All alone. She could get along… just fine… all… by… herself…
A tear dropped out of Toph's eye onto her leg. And another. And another. Soon, tears began to fall from her eyes like rain. Who was she kidding, saying that Sokka and Aang slipped through her fingers? Compared to Suki and Katara, she never stood a chance. They were just so amazing and beautiful and all that and she… wasn't. She was just… Toph. Toph the blind earthbender. Toph the flat-chested, hipless, blind twelve year old earthbender. Toph the--
"Toph?"
Toph shrieked in terror- she'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she'd been completely unaware that someone had been on the roof with her. Almost at once, the voice began saying to her, "Toph it's okay! It's okay! It's me!" She'd recognize that voice anywhere. She put her hand against the metal; the outline she saw through the vibrations confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
It was Aang.
She brought her hand up to her eyes and wiped the tears away, hoping they were the only evidence that she had been crying. "Oh… hey, Twinkle-Toes. When did you get back?"
"Just a few minutes ago. So, what are you doing up here all by yourself?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about some things."
Aang walked over to the edge and sat down next to her. "Aren't you cold?"
"Not really." She deliberately avoided turning her face toward him. "So, how did it go?"
"Eh, it was okay, I guess. A little boring. I'm kinda glad it's over." He paused for a few moments. "I can't believe it's all over."
"Hey, it's not over yet. You might've beat the Fire Lord, but you still have a lot of work to do before everything goes back to normal."
"Yeah, I guess that's true." He looked over at her. "Is there something on your mind?"
"Huh? Uh, no, no. I'm just fine. Really."
"If you say so. But, I think we should get inside. It sounds like you're catching a cold."
"Uh… that's okay. I'll be okay."
"Toph? Is there something bothering you? It's okay to tell me." Toph didn't respond, but turned away from Aang. "Toph, really. You can talk to me." She still didn't answer. "Why won't you look at me?"
"Uh… hello? Blind here, remember?"
"Well, it's still polite to at least look in someone's general direction when you're talking to them." Slowly, Toph turned toward Aang, but rather than facing him fully, she stopped halfway, facing the edge. Even from his angle, he could see her eyes were red and puffy. "Toph, have you been crying?"
She snapped back defensively, "No! Why would I ever do that!? And if you tell anyone I was, I'll hurt you!" Aang's heart jumped at this, but only for a moment.
"I don't know. I was hoping you would tell me." Toph kept silent. "If you tell me, I won't tell anyone else. And I promise not to tell anyone that you were crying."
Toph was silent for several moments. This wasn't really something she wanted to talk about with Aang, especially because it was partly about him. But the other part was about Sokka. And she trusted Aang not to blab about it so… "I was just thinking about Sokka."
"What about him?"
"Well, you know… I kinda… sorta… liked him. And I really, really wanted him to notice me."
"I know."
She looked over at him completely, confused. "You do?"
"Yeah. It was kind of obvious. To everyone but Sokka, that is."
"Oh. It's just… I wanted this to work out, you know? I thought maybe if I pushed, things would turn out okay. But, I guess not."
"Hey, don't worry about it. So things didn't turn out right with Sokka. So what? I promise you, you'll find a guy who'll completely fall for you." He reached over and patted her shoulder; incredibly, she let him do it. Her heart jumped a little from their brief moment of contact, and she said a little nervously, "Thanks, Aang."
"Hey, don't worry about it. Things like are what I-- wait, did you just call me Aang?"
"That is your name, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah, but I didn't know that you knew. I thought that you thought it was Twinkle-Toes or the Fancy Dancer or Captain Arrowhead, or--"
"I know, and… and I'm sorry." Toph's heart hammered wildly in her chest… but she was at a complete loss to understand why. "And… I know I don't say this too much, but… thank you. For everything."
Aang scratched his head. "Uh… you're welcome?"
"Aang, can I ask you something?"
"Uh, sure."
Of course, it was too late to try and make anything between her and Aang- he was with Katara now. But she had to know. She couldn't just walk away from him without knowing if he felt at least something for her. So, she asked, "Aang, what do you think of me?"
"Huh? I… I don't know what to say."
"Well, do you like me?"
"Of course I like you Toph. You're my friend, remember?"
"What do you like about me?"
Aang moved a little closer to Toph. "Um… well… sometimes, you're stubborn and you hate to admit that you're wrong or that you need help. But, that's a good thing too- you're not afraid to stand by yourself when you have to. And, you're not afraid to speak your mind. You're strong, and you're brave, and… and you're kind of pretty too."
Toph blushed. "You don't mean that."
Aang's hand slid under her chin, and he turned her face toward him; Toph didn't resist. "I do. I know you can't see for yourself, but… you're really pretty."
Toph blushed. In all honesty, she like having her ego stroked, but this was… different. It felt a lot better than the normal ego stoking she normally got. And Aang's heart was level the entire time he spoke- he meant every word. He was being honest with her, so she decided she would do the same with him. "You know, I wasn't just thinking about Sokka."
"What else were you thinking about?"
"Well… you."
Aang was taken aback. "Me?"
"Yeah, you." Toph began to stumble over her words. 'I-I was just thinking about w-what I liked a-about you. L-like how y-y-you're a g-good listener and-and I-I… um…" She took a deep breath. "Well, you were the first person to really ever talk to me."
"Wow. That's really nice of you to say that."
"You know, it was nice to be able to talk to you like that. When I talked to you for the first time, you made me feel like… like I really mattered."
"Of course you matter to me. You're my earthbending teacher, and you're my friend, too." Toph couldn't help herself at this; she wrapped her arms around Aang's waist, and pulled him close. Her heart jumped again. It felt nice to be so close to someone, even if it was just Aang. After a few moments of stunned silence, Aang asked, "Uh… Toph? What are you doing?"
"I'm hugging you. What does it look like?"
Aang slipped his hand between himself and Toph and pressed it against her forehead. "Toph, are you feeling alright? Are you sure you're not coming down with something?"
"Aang, I'm just fine. Now no more talking. You're ruining the moment." Toph was ecstatic. How could she have never done something like this? It felt… wonderful! It made her stomach flutter and the rest of her tingle. It was the same feeling as when Sokka had been around, but far more intense. Now, there was only one thing left- only one truly intimate act that she could possibly do with another person, but… She would've stopped there, perfectly content with her tingly feelings, but her body wanted more… much more. She asked, before she could stop herself, "Can I kiss you?"
Almost at the exact moment the words left her mouth, Toph wished she hadn't said them. She let go of Aang and turned away from them, her cheeks turning bright red from… shame? That must've been what it was. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have asked you that." But Aang's answer came as a shock to her: "Um, well, if you really want to… I guess you can," he replied, not entirely sure why.
Toph's heart pounded painfully in her chest. She was paralyzed with indecision. She knew she shouldn't- Aang was with Katara, and it wouldn't be right for her to do something like that behind her back. But then again… Aang had said it was okay, and they were alone, up on the roof. Who would know? And in any case, when would an opportunity like this present itself again? Slowly, she turned toward Aang again. She reached out and cupped his face with both hands, mapping out all of his facial features. What stood out the most were his eyes, those big, round eyes that were most likely staring right into hers. Her thumb brushed across his lips; memorizing the location, Toph slowly began to lean towards Aang. Her heart was racing now, her breathing erratic, her entire body trembling. But… why? It was just Aang after all. And things like this happened to other people all the time, right? Eventually, her face was mere inches from his- her body trembled violently, in spite of her attempts to stop it. Her breath hitched- again, indecision paralyzed her thoughts. But she forced her way through her indecision long enough to lean over and give Aang a quick peck on the lips.
It was… incredible. Every hair stood up on end the moment Toph's lips touched Aang's. A little fire ignited in her belly, and warm, tingly waves washed over her as she felt her face burn with a dark red blush. She was just about to pull away when Aang asked, "What, that's it? You don't want anything else?" Oh, there was no way she was letting him get away with that. Toph pressed her lips against Aang's again, this time with much more force. More tingly waves washed over her, and she felt Aang push back as she kissed him. Wow, she thought to herself, I'm kissing a boy! The thought never occurred to her that she finally conceded that Aang was actually a boy and not, as she speculated, a girl. Then, she felt something very… odd. Something had slipped inside her mouth; she probed it cautiously with her tongue to find it was warm and slippery. But when she touched it, the thing immediately slid across her tongue. She quickly figured out what it was, and pulled away from Aang in surprise.
"Uagh! Aang!" she growled at him.
He pulled away. "What? What's wrong?"
"You put your tongue in my mouth!"
"Oh. I'm sorry, I just thought… you might like it." In truth, Toph did like it. It made the warm feelings in her belly flare, and every nerve light as it they were on fire, if only for a few moments. But it had just been so unexpected that she didn't know how to react- after all, until that moment Toph had never even conceived of open-mouth kissing.
"Well… next time, tell me before you do something like that," Toph said, before kissing Aang again. This time, she pushed her tongue in. Their tongues slid across each other, before Aang took control, dancing his tongue all around hers and sending mind-numbing waves of pleasure through her body. Without even thinking, her arms wrapped tightly around him, and she swung her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together, pressing her body flush against his. Then, she began to grind her hips against his, trying to elicit some reaction she instinctively knew about but could never possibly have encountered. He moaned into her mouth, the vibrations making her shiver with pleasure. She jumped a little when she felt his hands slide around her waist, but, encouraged by his reaction, she pressed on, grinding even harder against him. She jumped again when she felt his hands slide down to her rear. In any other circumstance, she would have unhesitatingly bent him right into the ground, but right now, she didn't mind in the least. In fact, she was just a little… how did Sokka put it? Oh right- turned on by Aang's forwardness. He was too, apparently, because she could feel… something poking the inside of her thigh.
Suddenly, she felt someone coming, climbing the steps up to the roof. She broke off her kiss with Aang, and said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she swung around so she was pressed against his back, looped her arms under his, and laced her fingers behind the back of his head. She pushed down, eliciting a cry of pain from Aang. "Toph, what are you doing!? Let go!" he said, as he tried to break out of her grip. A hatch opened, and Katara's voice asked from within, "Aang? Are you up here?" Katara climbed up to the roof, immediately spotting Aang and Toph. "Oh, Toph," she said, "we were looking for you." She stared curiously at the two. "Um, am I interrupting something?"
"No, of course not. Aang and I were just spending some quality time together." She pushed down, eliciting another cry of pain from Aang. "Now, say it."
"Say what?"
"Say that you're a pretty girl."
"Okay! I'm a pretty girl!"
"And say that you like to wear long, flowing dresses and that you like to wear flowers in your hair."
"I don't have any--" There was a loud pop. "Ow! Okay, okay, I'm a pretty girl and I like to wear long flowing dresses, and… oh Toph just let me go, please!"
"Not until you say the whole thing."
"Toph, let him go," Katara interjected. "You're gonna hurt him."
"So? Broken bones build character!" At this, Aang said quickly, "Okay, I'm a pretty girl and I !like to wear long flowing dresses and I like to wear flowers in my hair! There I said it!" Toph pulled her hands away. "There. Was that so hard?"
"Well, if you two are done, I'm going to bed," Katara said, turning back toward the hatch. "You two should come down too."
"Okay Katara," Aang replied. "I'll be down in just a minute." Katara disappeared down the hatch. After a few moments, Toph sighed in relief and said, "I thought she'd never leave." She walked slowly over to Aang and hugged him from behind. "You know, I'm a little surprised, Twinkle-Toes. I never thought you'd have something like that in you. You really are a man after all."
"So… what? Does that mean you won't call me Twinkle-Toes anymore?"
Toph paused for a moment. "If you give me another kiss, I might be willing to consider that." She swung around to Aang's front, and without waiting for an answer, pressed her lips against his. Her tongue darted into his mouth, sliding clumsily across his. Her grip tightened, and she wrapped a leg around his waist. But after a few moments, Aang began trying to pull himself away.
"Mmph, Toph, stop," Aang mumbled, pushing Toph's leg off. Toph frowned at him, a little disappointed. "Aw, Aang, can't we have another minute?"
"I'm sorry Toph, but I gotta go. Katara's probably waiting and she'll get suspicious if I'm up here for too long."
"Oh, right." She wandered away from him and sat down by the edge of the roof again. "Well, you shouldn't keep Katara waiting, then. Goodnight Aang." Aang turned to the hatch for a moment… but just leaving Toph didn't feel right. So, he walked over to her, bent down, and kissed her neck. She jumped a little, bringing her hand up to the spot where Aang had kissed her. "Goodnight Toph," he whispered. "I love you." Then, he darted away. Toph whispered back, mostly to herself, "I love you too, Aang."
Aang climbed down the steps that led up to the roof, head spinning. What was he doing? He was supposed to be with Katara, the only person he ever loved, and there he was, kissing Toph! Sure, she'd asked his permission first, but that didn't change the fact that he was… cheating on Katara. If she hadn't seen Katara coming, or if they'd kept kissing for just a few more seconds, what would've happened? There would be no way that he ever could have explained his way out of that situation. And on top of that, he told her he loved her! What was he thinking!? He'd meant it in a friendly way, but considering everything they had done, it would've been easy for her to think he'd meant it in a romantic way. But, he did like her, more than just as a friend, or as his mentor… no, no, it couldn't be like that! He loved Katara, and she loved him- he knew that much. But, what about Toph? He had to admit, there was something there, a bond stronger than between a master and a pupil, and stronger than between friends. But did Toph feel the same way about him? She hadn't said anything about anything like that, but the way she wrapped herself around him, it was almost like… she needed him. And what was up with the way she rubbed up against him? That's not to say he didn't enjoy it, but--
Aang had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he never saw Katara standing in the hallway until he'd ran right into her. He stumbled- being distracted, he was nearly knocked off his feet. "Oh! Katara, I'm so sorry about that!" he said quickly, recovering his balance. "It's okay Aang," she replied, "It was just an accident." Then she asked, "Is Toph still on the roof?"
"Yeah. She said she wanted to stay up there for a little while." That was a lie. Toph hadn't said anything about how long she'd be up there.
"So, what were you and Toph doing before I showed up? She wasn't giving you any problems, was she?"
"No, not at all. We were just… talking." There was a gnawing in the back of Aang's mind, telling him he should just tell Katara exactly what happened.
"Oh. What were you talking about?"
"Um… she… wanted to talk about… me."
"Really? What did she say?"
"Well, she said that I was a good listener, and… and… oh I can't take this any more- Katara, I kissed her."
"You… what?"
"I kissed Toph. Well, technically, she kissed me, but she asked if she could and I said yes and… Katara I'm so sorry, I didn't… it wasn't…"
"Aang… listen. I'm not mad at you."
"…you're not?" Aang looked at Katara, stunned.
"Of course not, Aang. Now, you should be going to bed. We have to leave for the Fire Nation tomorrow morning."
"What about you?"
"I'll come back in a minute. I just need a breath of fresh air."
"Katara…" Aang began hesitantly. "Don't be too mad at her, please."
"Aang, I'm not mad at either of you. I just need to talk to Toph, okay?" She began to head up the stairs. "You should go to bed, Aang. Everything will be fine." She disappeared up the stairs.
Aang had no intention of going to bed just yet. Not without knowing what happened up there. He darted down the hall a little, and pressed his ear against a bare section of the metal wall. It was cold, but he was willing to put up with it. He focused on the vibrations, remembering what Guru Pathik had said- if metal was just purified earth, then maybe… the rough, chalklike outline of Katara as she ascended the staircase appeared in Aang's mind. Eventually she reached the roof, and he then felt a chain of vibrations through the wall- Katara was saying something to Toph, but he couldn't make out what. He strained, focusing on the vibrations as hard as he could, and eventually he could make out their conversation.
"…wanted to talk to you," someone said- Aang guessed it was Katara. The voice was muffled, making it a bit difficult to pick out exactly what she was saying.
"Let me guess- you're here to yell at me because you think I'm trying to steal your boyfriend, aren't you?"
"No," Katara walked to the edge of the building and sat down next to Toph. "Look, I… I don't know how you feel about Aang, but I'm not… I'm not mad."
"You sure about that?" Toph must have picked up Katara's heart rate, or something else Aang couldn't from his distance.
"Really, I'm not. It's just… this is so sudden." There was a pause. "I thought you liked Sokka."
"I know. But… when Suki came back… you know…"
"Yeah, he can be oblivious like that sometimes." There was another long pause. "Look, I don't know what's going on between you and Aang--"
"There isn't anything going on." The vibrations from this were a bit harsh- Toph seemed to be rather defensive about this.
"--but until you get this all figured out, if you want to… spend time with Aang, I won't stop you."
Aang was stunned. Was Katara actually saying she would… share him with Toph? Apparently, Toph must have thought the same thing, because he heard (well, felt) her ask, "Are you telling me you and I are going to share Aang?"
"It's only until you get this figured out, so don't push it."
"Well, let's just say, hypothetically, that I decided that I loved Aang. What then?" At this, Aang pressed his ear against the wall as hard as he could- there was no way he was going to miss this. But for several moments, there was nothing, no vibrations for him to read. Finally Katara replied, "Well, I guess it would be up to Aang to decide."
"Decide what?"
"To decide if he feels the same way about you."
"So… if he does…?"
"If he does feel the same way… he can decide for himself what he wants to do about it. If he doesn't… well, you move on. You find someone else. I know that sounds cold but that's just what you have to do."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Do I have a time limit? On how long I have to decide on how I feel about Aang, I mean."
"You can take as long as you need to. But that doesn't give you the right to fool around with him whenever you want. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Fair enough. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Yes. That's all. Goodnight Toph." Katara stood up. At this point, Aang pulled away from the wall and darted down the hall as fast as he could. He dashed down the stairs to the second level and down the hall until he came to a door near the middle of the hall. He opened the door; beyond was a lavish room, filled with many Fire Nation luxuries. Pushed against the right wall was a massive bed, the emblem of the Fire Nation embroidered into the fabric of its cover; curled up by the foot of the bed was a small white mound. Aang paid no heed to this, however; in mere moments, he shut the door, literally leapt out of his clothes, and darted under the covers. The sudden motion disturbed the mound, which unraveled into a lemur, who hissed lightly at Aang.
"I'm sorry Momo," Aang said to the lemur. "I just had to get here in a hurry. As Aang laid on his back, making himself comfortable, the lemur crawled up to his stomach, purring softly at him. He reached over to scratch the lemur's ears, saying, "It's okay buddy. You can go back to sleep." Although Momo didn't understand his words, the way the arrow-headed boy scratched his ears put him at ease, and he soon curled up again on the boy's stomach and quickly fell asleep.
However, sleep would not come so easily for Aang. His mind lingered on the conversation he had just heard, especially the last part. I'll be keeping an eye on you… Katara had always been a bit protective of Aang, but it became much more prominent after he had awoken, after he… died. But what struck him is that sometimes, she was very defensive against her own friends or family members: Sokka (though as brother and sister, that was to be expected), Zuko (though, considering the history between him and their group, perhaps it was justified), even her own father at one instance (though in regards to that, Katara admitted she wasn't especially proud of it); now, Toph had been added to that list. He wished he hadn't said yes when Toph asked to kiss him- it had been just a simple request between friends at first, but it felt… right in some way he couldn't explain.
The door creaked open; Aang quickly shut his eyes, and slowed his breathing to appear as though he was asleep. He heard footsteps cross the room, and something come to rest on the side of the bed. Katara's voice whispered to him, "Aang? Are you awake?"
Aang made a small moan, hoping it sounded convincing. "Uhng… Katara? What are you doing here?" he asked in a low voice, as someone would if they were very tired.
"I finished talking to Toph. You two can spend as long as you need to figure all of this out."
"Thanks Katara."
"Just don't forget about me, okay?"
"I won't." Katara bent down and kissed Aang softly, then, she rubbed her nose against his. Aang blushed and asked, "What was that?"
"That's how you kiss someone in the Water Tribe."
"Oh…"
"What about you? Do you know any special Air Nomad kisses?"
Aang's cheeks burned a little in shame. "No, I don't. Sorry." Katara planted another soft kiss on Aang's lips. "Well then, we'll have to make one up one day, won't we?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Okay then. Goodnight Aang. I'll be across the hall if you need anything." She stood up and quietly left the room. Aang laid in the darkness, trying to fall asleep, when the door creaked again. There were footsteps, and the bed dipped again under someone's weight. "Katara, if you wanted to stay, you could've asked."
"Well, I know I'm not Katara, but thanks for the offer," Toph replied. She laid down next to him and continued, "Katara says we can see each other until I get this figured out, but you already know that, don't you?"
Aang was stunned. "You… knew… I was there?"
"I have to admit, that was a pretty clever trick Aang. Listening in on a conversation by feeling the vibrations through the wall… why didn't I ever think of that?" She rolled on her side, wrapping her arms and legs around Aang. "You're such a smart kid. Just think of all the things you could teach me."
"So, you already made your decision?"
"Yeah."
Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why me? Why not someone else, like Sokka? I thought you didn't like me."
"Well, it's a little complicated. I think… I think it's because you've done all this stuff for me, but I've never made it up to you. And I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for being flattered. Now I have a question for you."
"What is it?"
"Have you made your decision?" Aang hesitated to answer for a long time. "I… I don't know. I like you, and Katara said I would get to make the choice, but I don't know what that means. Does it mean I'll have to choose between you and Katara, or that she'll have to share me with you or… I just don't know."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure whatever you choose, Katara will be behind you a hundred percent." She leaned over and kissed Aang's cheek. "I should go. Goodnight Aang."
"You too, Toph." And with that, Toph slipped out of his bed and out the door.
Wow. This turned out quite a bit longer than I planned. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I'll be starting up another big story soon, so stay tuned.