Toph sighed as she took a sip of tea. Aang was at a festival, being the center of attention and Katara was probably right there with him. She could see them standing underneath an array of fireworks smooching and laughing. Everyone would be kissing and having fun, Zuko and Mai, Sokka and Suki. Toph was alone though, sitting at the empty Jasmine Dragon drinking tea and listening to the crowd outside. Toph could be out there having fun too, but being out there watching everyone kiss and hold hands for the Valentine's Day celebration didn't sound like any fun. Why was she the only one on Team Avatar without a true love? And why did she feel this way? She had never cared about love before. Was it just the stupid pressure that the hideous holiday called Valentine's Day puts on everyone or something more?
She closed her eyes as she savored the bittersweet taste of the tea. She heard the fireworks go off outside and she heard the crowd applaud and cheer. "Its just fireworks, it's not like they're going to hear your stupid clapping and do an encore," Toph spat.
"Would you like more tea?" Iroh asked as he came in with a cup of tea for himself and another one for her. Toph smiled and took the tea she was handed.
"I must say that I do not understand why you aren't with your friends," Iroh said as he sat down across from her.
Toph sighed and shrugged, "Today just isn't about friends, it's about romance and I just don't have experience in that sort of thing. Besides, they'd all just ignore me so that they could watch the fireworks and kiss and stuff."
Iroh laughed, "I sense a bit of jealously in your voice, is it for someone certain?"
Toph's eyes widened, "No."
Iroh shook his head as he said, "I may not be able to read a person's heartbeats like you, but I can still tell that you are lying."
"Okay, okay, I might be a little jealous of Katara, because well…Twinkle Toes is…" Toph stopped, not knowing how to continue.
Iroh smiled a smile that Toph could not see. "I may be old but back in my day I had problems with romance as well, only mine were of a very different sort. When I was a young man I was believed to be destined to become Fire Lord, which meant that I was rich and soon to be very powerful. Many young women used to flirt with me, which I let go to my head for awhile. Soon enough though, I realized that these women did not love me at all, they only wanted the money and power that I had. It became very difficult to find a women who did not just search for those things but who actually searched for what I did. I believe that if you open yourself up to Aang for the right reasons he will see you for what you are. And someday he may see that Katara is not there for those reasons, or that she has doubts, but if you have no doubts in love, he may see that you are true."
Toph smiled, "Iroh?"
"Yes?" Iroh questioned.
"Did you ever find that girl?" Toph asked.
Iroh smiled and nodded, "Yes, I did."
Toph sipped her tea and smiled, "Thank you for the advice, it's nice to be able to tell someone."
"Well you shouldn't have told me, you should have told him."
Toph sighed, "Yay, yay, I'll get around to that after the whole Katara doubt thingy, what did you mean by that anyway?"
Iroh just smiled and shook his head, "Would you like more tea?"
Thanks for reading and please review! And if you're wondering what Iroh meant by the Katara doubt thingy, one word, Zuko. :D Also this was my first Taang fic so don't judge or flame please!
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.