Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of its characters.
Flying Free
She heard him give a loud whoop. That was all she could do. Listen. She had been blind since birth but she had found a new way to see. She was able to listen through the vibrations of the earth. But when he left her element, she could no longer feel his vibrations and could only wait until she felt the light bounce of his footsteps hit the ground again. Soon, there they were. Those familiar footsteps again just as expected.
"Hey Toph, you need to try this!" Aang held his glider out with an inviting gesture.
"No thanks, Twinkle Toes. I mean as much as I would love being totally blind, I think I've already got it covered." Her words were dripping with sarcasm.
"But Toooooooooph! It's so much fun!"
"I said no, Twinkle Toes. Or are you too dense to understand that?"
"Please?? If you do it just this once, I promise I'll never ask you ever again." He begged with pleading eyes even though he knew she couldn't see them.
I suppose I could let him win this one time, she thought. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Ok, Airhead, you win. I'll ride with you on your little toy."
He let out a cheer of joy and said, "Alright, come over here and we'll get to flying!"
She walked over to where he stood, with his glider in hand. He told her to put his arms around his waist. Something she was not so accustomed to doing. Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around him. Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, she thought, Am I blushing? No way! Toph Bei Fong doesn't blush!
Before her mind was able to register what happened, Aang had taken off into the sky. Everything went black around her. She was completely and totally blind. Her arms tightened around him and a loud, earsplitting scream from her mouth shook the sky. Surprisingly, Aang didn't go deaf. He laughed and whooped loudly clearly enjoying the moment. But Toph was definitely not enjoying it.
"Aang, take me down, right now!" She meant for her voice to be threatening but that was hardly the effect she got. It was more like a nervous stuttering. But for the first time in her life, she felt afraid. First the blush, and now fear? What is wrong with me today?, she thought. Aang could hear the fear in her voice and obliged to her command.
As soon as they reached the ground, he asked, "Were you scared, Toph?
She quickly put her rough outer shield back into full force, "Of course not, don't be silly. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world! Remember?!"
"If you say so, Toph."
"And Twinkle Toes, if you evesr tell anyone about this, I'll kill you. Got it?" She poked his chest as she said the last sentence.
"Got it. Oh…and Toph?" His heart started to beat a little faster. Toph heard it and wondered what he could possibly be thinking.
"What?"
"You look really pretty with your hair down." And with that, Aang was off in the air yelling just as loudly and joyfully as he had before.
Toph, for the second time that day, felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She just noticed that her hair had fallen out of its tight bun from the wild ride through the sky.
He thinks I'm pretty? Maybe that ride…wasn't so bad after all.
And silently she knew, that she would be up there with Aang more often. Flying free.
A/N: This is the first story I've ever written. Review and let me know what you think!
