Hey!
A/N: Just a two year long pause between this and the previous chapter. That's nice, keeping a steady rhythm.
"Character Talking"
Character Thinking
And the story:
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Shattering
It wasn't hard for Aang to find the rampaging earthbender, she had a very loud way to relieve her anger, enough to scare every single animal in a 5 Km radius. The hard thing was figuring out how to approach her and what to say to her. Though after remembering all that had happened that day he figured he had a pretty good idea of why Toph was so mad. He just needed the right approach to help her, and he imagined he had a general idea of how get Toph to let it all out.
He landed on a rock keeping a safe distance from Toph and using his airbending to avoid being noticed by her. As he watched her punch huge rock walls and head butt giant boulders he realized he'd get seriously hurt if he ever fought the blind girl in such an angry state. That was another reason for him to think his words very well. She might just decide to use me as a punching bag. he thought.
He climbed down the rock, careful not to make any vibrations the ground. Using his bending he was able to get really close to Toph, enough to hear her cries of rage.
"Damn you Sugar Queen, if you think you can mock Toph Bei Fong like that and get away with it, I'll teach you better!" She shouted as she blew up another rock. Aang could tell from her shaky voice that she hadn't stopped crying yet. "And this one is to get that goofy smile off your face, Twinkle Toes!" She punched a rock the size of Aang's head, blowing it to pieces. Aang pictured his head in that spot and a shiver went down his spine.
Is she really that mad just because I could metalbend?
Aang watched for a few more minutes wondering how safe it would be to make himself known. He didn't see any openings to start a conversation that wouldn't end up with his head in the ground and Toph's foot over it.
It really bothered Aang to see her like that. He felt an uneasiness as if he was the one responsible. I guess deep down I knew she would be like this, but I'm not really sure why. He reflected. Anyway, I'm partially responsible for this, and even if I wasn't, it's just wrong to watch my friend cry and do nothing.
Toph finally took a break out of exhaustion and sat down on a broken tree stump, panting hard. Her head was hanging low and Aang could tell she was sobbing.
Seeing no other way around it he decided to make his presence known and hope for his safety.
"Huh… Toph?" He timidly called her and immediately regretted it. Toph was so shocked to hear his voice that she let out a loud yelp. However, her scared face soon turned into a frown. She stood up to level herself up with Aang.
"Twinkle Toes!" She yelled in anger, nervously wiping the tears from her face. "How long have you been here? And How did you get so close without me noticing? Were you spying on me?" She was angry, but she was clearly embarrassed too. Toph wasn't very keen on being seen on her moments of weakness.
"I'm really sorry Toph, I just wanted to talk, I swear!" Aang hastily said remembering the head sized rock being shattered to pieces by Toph's hand. He held his hands in front of him and closed his eyes expecting an attack from the earthbender but nothing happened. To his surprise Toph only let out a sigh and replied in a calm voice.
"Relax, I'm not in the mood to fight you." She said sitting back down.
Aang opened one eye slowly, still feeling a bit scared for himself, but upon seeing that Toph was now in a more relaxed stance he let himself loose the tension too. "So... Are you feeling better now?"
"Not really." The blind girl replied. "But I guess I'm too tired to be angry."
"Oh…" Aang wasn't sure what to say. He stood there for a while in silence. How come she seems so calm all of a sudden? He wondered. Wasn't she crying just a minute ago? Her face is still swollen. Maybe I have to rethink my approach.
Toph was starting to get annoyed by the boy's quietness. "So, do you have something to say Twinkle Toes? Or were you just stalking me?" She patted the spot next to her on the stump. "Go ahead, sit down and say whatever you got to say. I don't bite you know."
Aang hesitated a bit, he didn't expect her to be so receptive to conversation. A couple of minutes ago I wouldn't be so sure about the biting part. Finally he gave in and took a seat. "I'm sorry I sneaked up on you." He said, intending to start the talk on her good side.
Toph frowned. "You better be. I won't let it slide so easily the next time." Aang shivered. From the tone of her voice he knew she meant it.
Aang cleared his throat to make sure the fear of getting beat up wouldn't show up in his voice, after all Toph was one to pick up easily on one's faltering voice. "I'm sorry I saw you crying too." He said. "I promise I won't tell anyone."
Toph blushed. That was a rare sight for Aang. He thought it was kind of cute to see the tough girl's soft side once in a while, but he wondered if he wasn't poking her wounds a bit too hard. "I… Thanks, I guess." She mumbled, looking very embarrassed about herself. "I'm sorry I mocked your metalbending too. I noticed you've been practicing that a lot lately, I'm actually pretty proud of you, even if it was pathetic bending."
Aang smiled softly. "Thanks, that really means a lot to me Toph."
The girl turned her face away. "Whatever."
They sat there in silence for a while more, none of the two really sure whether they were on good terms yet. This time the silence lasted much longer. Both of the children reflected as best as they could on what had really happened that day. Aang stared at the stars while Toph tapped her feet on the ground repeatedly. It was her way of looking at what was going on around her.
Finally Aang felt he had to finish what he had started and help Toph sort out her thoughts. He'd gotten the feel of the situations and decided he was ready to put his talking skills into action. "Hey, Toph."
"What is it Twinkle Toes?"
"You know, while we're on this journey, all we got is each other." He said staring at a pebble on the ground. "And if we can't rely one on the other, then we're going to be all alone."
Toph raised an eyebrow. "So… what's your point?" She asked. Aang noticed that she didn't have her usual attitude in her tone of voice. She seemed more calm and pensive. It was almost like she wanted to hear what he had to say rather than just get it over with so she could leave.
"I mean, if there's something bothering you, you shouldn't keep it bottled up inside. Maybe we can help you feel better." Aang replied. He showed her his best smile. "All you gotta do is tell us what's in your mind."
"What's on my mind?" Toph took her feet off the ground and laid down on the stump. Aang found that very weird, she rarely ever broke her only means of sight out of free will. "Right now my mind is set on giving Katara a lesson for butting in other people's business." She said punching her palm to show she meant her words. Toph waited for a response but Aang said nothing. She couldn't feel his vibrations either so she didn't really know his reaction, that was in itself annoying. "So, I've said what's on my mind. You wanna help me feel better? I don't think you've got it in you to fight Katara."
Aang sighed and stood up. Time to launch the bait. "If you think fighting her will make you feel better you might as well keep beating up those rocks cause that's just another way for you to escape your real problem." He said in a serious tone that didn't please Toph at all.
"You're sounding just like her. Gah!" She raised her hands in exasperation. "Do you people think you're my counselors or something?"
Aang started walking away. "We're your friends Toph. I was worried cause you were crying but you're better already. If you don't want to talk about what's bothering you then I'll just go back to the camp."
"Oh, so you think you know better than me about my problems, is that it?" Toph asked, putting her feet back on the ground so she could see the boy. "You guys are what bother me! God, you're worse than my parents sometimes."
The young avatar kept walking away. "Suit yourself, if you wanna talk about it I'm always available." It's working. I'm getting on her nerves.
"About what? What do you think bothers me so much that I wouldn't tell you?" Toph was now following right behind Aang and was getting as irritated as she was with Katara.
"I don't know, but it's not Katara. I noticed you were irritated before talking to her already. You got irritated during the training." Aang calmly pointed out. "I'd think about letting it out already cause you're only hurting yourself Toph."
Suddenly realization hit Toph, she stopped dead on her tracks and stood in disbelief. "You actually agree with Katara don't you? You think I'm intimidated by your metalbending."
Aang stopped walking too, he smiled inwardly, proud of his successful plan. She bit the bait. Now we're getting somewhere. "Maybe I do." He said, his tone of voice a bit smug. I just have to push her a bit more.
"Listen, I don't get intimidated by anyone. If anything, thinking that there might be a stronger earthbender somewhere makes my blood boil in excitation." She cried out in her defense. "I thought you knew me better, Twinkle Toes."
And now the check-mate. Aang turned around and faced the blind girl. "If you were not intimidated, then what was it about me metalbending that made you so mad?"
Aang felt a bit sorry for Toph, even if he knew deep down he was helping her, the way her face went from earthbending rage to childish pouting was heartbreaking. She was holding up her fists and clenching her teeth. For a few seconds she had nothing to say. Suddenly, her muscles relaxed and she turned away. "Nevermind. It's not your problem anyway."
Aang could tell she was starting to cry again. Keep at it Aang. He told himself as he followed Toph. "Toph, wait."
"Leave me alone!" She yelled earthbending several pillars of earth to hit her chaser. Unfortunately Aang was a difficult target to hit. She couldn't get him off her tail.
Aang kept giving chase. "I just want to talk Toph." He used a gust of air to jump towards the blind girl. They collided and went to the ground. To the boy's surprise, however, Toph didn't get try to escape anymore, she just laid down defeated. "I'm sorry." He said standing up. "But you and I have to clear this up now."
Toph turned her body so she was lying on her back. Aang could see she still had water in her eyes and cheeks. "You know, I feel pretty pathetic right now." She said.
"You're not pathetic Toph. You're the greatest earthbender alive." He extended his hand to help her up. "And you're a great friend too."
Toph took the hand, but the words hadn't done much to change her mood. She earthbended a rock bench for them to sit on. "I'm not really mad because you can metalbend." She said. Seeing that she'd decided to talk, Aang sat beside her and gave her all his attention. "I usually get very excited when I see you making progress, but now you're reaching my level. Soon I won't have anything more to teach you. I mean, I thought I was a gifted but you… You're a genius, no, more than that."
Aang blushed. "It's not like that, you're much better than me at earthbending."
"Yeah, but for how long?" Toph started to fiddle with her feet. "But like I said, I don't really mind you being better than me. You're the avatar after all, right? You're supposed to be the best."
"Then what…"
"I'll get there, calm down." Toph said pressing her finger against Aang's lips to silence him. "Did you know that my father kept my existence a secret from the world? Only a few selected people were aware that he had a daughter."
Aang felt really bad hearing that. He remembered hearing that the Bei Fong's didn't have a daughter, but he'd never thought about that from Toph's point of view. "Yeah, I knew that."
"I never really cared for that. When I was a kid I was too naive to understand it, and once I learned earthbending and started to sneak out of my house I was already tough enough to take care of myself." She said. "But recently, traveling with you guys, I started to understand everything I missed out while I was locked in that mansion, and the effect it had on me."
"But you're free now."
"Let me finish!" She retorted with annoyance. Aang meekly nodded in apology. Toph couldn't see it but she moved on anyway. "As I was saying, I grew up completely alone, and my parent's never really cared much for me. I never knew what it meant to have friends and relationships of any kind. Socially, I was a vegetable."
Aang felt Toph's pain resonate deep within him. He recalled his friends and masters at the Air Temple and realized he couldn't imagine growing up without them by his side. "That's terrible. You must have been very lonely."
Toph shook her head. "I wasn't. I mean, I didn't know anything else apart from that. I felt curious about meeting people other than my parents and the servants, but I didn't feel lonely. It was something so distant from my reality…" She paused to recollect her trail of thought. "Then I met the badger-moles that taught me earthbending. That was the first time I had ever had someone pay attention to me for who I am and not treat me like some frail object. Thanks to them I understood that I didn't have to let my blindness limit me like my father said. That's when the Toph you know was born."
"So you wanted to meet more people because you'd gotten a taste of what it was like to have friends, that's why you created the blind bandit." Aang concluded.
Toph smirked. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way, but back then I was more concerned about the fighting and the earthbending. I mean even as the blind bandit, people still saw me as an object. Nobody really cared for me." She said. "To tell you the truth, I guess that was my own fault. I didn't trust people, I never did. I did my best to avoid getting close to anybody. I had the badger-moles to keep me company and I was having fun at the tournaments. I was content with my life." She paused for a bit. "But then you guys came."
"Now that you mention it, you really didn't care much for us at first." Aang pointed out.
Toph sighed. "Yeah, I just wanted you to leave so I could go back to the spotlight in the tournament." She said. "But after that fight we had at the dinner table in my house, I was feeling so excited… It was the first time I wanted to get to know someone better like that, so I sucked up my pride and called up a truce with you guys. I wasn't even considering running away to travel with you, I was just curious. You seemed different from the people I'd met up to that point. You seemed fun."
Aang grinned. "Well, I am the avatar after all."
Toph snickered. "That's not what I meant. When we were fighting, I felt the same way I did with the badger-moles. It was as if the loneliness would go away. I mean, all of a sudden I realized how lonely I'd been and how terrible that was." She started to look sad. "This empty feeling has been with me ever since."
"But you got us now. You know you can always count on us." Aang said trying to cheer the girl up.
Toph kept her sad expression. "I know that. But, whenever I see you guys talking about the past and all the people you've had in your life I feel distant. I feel that I'm different from you. I was raised alone, that's how I learned to live. I'm a loner by nature…" She sighed. "But not by choice."
The two sat there in silence once more. Aang was shocked to see such a delicate side of Toph. He wasn't expecting her to be so open about her feelings. Considering his words well, he placed his hands over hers gently. She didn't show any reaction.
"Toph, you shouldn't let your past haunt you like that, you've met so many people just like we did. I mean, all I have today are the people I met while travelling with you guys too." Aang stared pensively at the stars. "Everyone I knew while growing up is gone."
"I'm sorry, I know I can't compare my problems with what you went through." Toph said sincerely. "It's just… I was able to overcome even this blindness, but I feel like I'll never be able to overcome this feeling of distance from other people. It's like I'm always pushing myself away, I can't help it." Tears started to fall from her blind eyes and her voice lost its firmness once more. "And when I'm training you, that's our thing you know. I mean, we're both putting our hearts into this together and everyday you make so much progress. It's probably the most exciting thing that I've ever done and... The loneliness goes away whenever I think about it." For a split second, she let a smile form beneath her tears. "That's why when I think about it ending, I can feel the emptiness staring at me. And the closer it gets the more despair I…" She couldn't finish. Her crying overcame her.
Aang had to fight the urge to cry too. Seeing Toph say all those things was heartbreaking. He squeezed her hand to show her a bit of empathy. "So, you were nervous because when you saw me metalbending you thought that soon I won't need a teacher anymore." He stated, finally comprehending the girl's grief.
Toph nodded timidly, as if she was embarrassed to admit it. "I always knew that this thing was temporary. I just thought I'd have more time to enjoy it, but it went by so fast, I'm not ready to leave it behind. I guess I'm addicted to being your sifu." Toph chuckled at herself while constantly wiping the ever flowing tears. "How stupid is… H-hey!" Toph was caught by surprise when Aang embraced her and put her head on his chest. Her body stiffened, she could feel her cheeks burning up. "T-Twinkle Toes?"
Aang gently put one hand on the back of her head. "I know you're scared, but that's because this is all new to you. I see how confident you are when it comes to fighting and how awkward you get when I'm just hugging you." He said. "I guess that training me was sort of your way of having a relationship but with one foot on the fighting and that made you feel more secure about these new experiences." Toph started to relax. She found that position quite comforting. "The monk's taught me that everything in life passes and that's why we shouldn't get attached to things, and the key to doing that was realizing that for everything that we lose to the past, there is something we gain from the present. Even if I learn everything you have to teach me, we still have our whole lives ahead and there's a lot that we can do together. You just have to have faith in yourself and believe in the future, Toph. Think of how much you've changed in the couple of months you've been with us."
"But what if things don't turn out so nice?" Toph asked. "What if I go back to being alone?"
"Then I'll personally visit you every day and we'll train together. And when you get tired of that I'll find something new for us to do together, over and over again for how long it's necessary."
Toph's tears were coming out faster now. She buried her face in the young avatar's chest. "Aang?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry you have to be a crutch for a socially crimpled girl."
"No sweat. You know, I'm a big fan of our training sessions too."
"Can we stay like this for a while longer?"
"Sure, take as long as you want."
Toph let her crying get louder and Aang stood like a rock, just serving as support for the girl. His robes soon became soaked in tears. When she thought she could control herself a bit more she spoke up.
"Aang?"
"Yeah?"
"You're a really cool guy. I'm glad I decided to travel with you… And, uh… Thanks for everything, the stuff you said and being there for me, I really appreciate it. So promise me we're gonna be friends forever. I don't want to go back to my old life."
"I'm glad you're here with us too Toph." Aang smiled inwardly. "And it's a promise."
After a few minutes more the girl seemed to be stable once again. Lifting her head, Toph stood up from the improvised earth bench and cleaned the dust from her butt. "I'm feeling much better already. I guess I just needed to get that all out of my system. I'll go back and try to pretend that nothing's happened. You coming?"
Aang shook his head. "I think I'll stay here a bit more."
"Suit yourself Twinkle Toes." The girl turned around to leave but stopped midway. "Oh, I almost forgot." She moved closer to Aang. "This is a warning shot, to make sure you never mention this conversation to nobody. Ever!" She kicked the boy right in the shin.
"Ah! That hurt, why did you..." Aang lost his trail of thought however when Toph leaned close to his face and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Uh…" He blushed, but more than embarrassed he was shocked to see such a gesture from Toph. The Toph!
"This is to say thanks." She turned her back to him. "And for earth's sake, next time you're out to comfort crying girls, take a bath first, you stink Twinkle Toes!"
Aang grinned, rubbing the back of his head. Just like that, the old Toph was back. "I guess I'm still a bit sweaty." He said sheepishly.
"You bet you are. Goodnight Twinkle Toes."
Toph walked away leaving Aang alone to reflect while lying down and staring at the stars. That night he couldn't get the blind girl out of his mind. He'd always known she wasn't the kind that showed her real feelings all the time, but he had no idea of what was coming to him when he decided to make her open up.
I guess it was a nice surprise. He thought. She has a cute side to her after all.
He recalled the kiss she'd given him. When he tried to picture it however, his mind deceived him. An image of her kissing him on the lips popped up in his head. He enjoyed it for a while before widening his eyes in realization. "What was that?" He asked himself out loud.
He looked around to see if there really wasn't anybody nearby and furtively returned his thoughts to that image. Just a bit more and I'll go back to camp.
THE END
A/N: Much too talking and too little fluff? Maybe, but I was going more for the understanding Toph story anyway so I liked the way it turned out. I might continue this or not, I'm still deciding, but don't get your hopes too up.
