A/N: Greetings and salutations, my readers! I am so excited for you guys to read this cuz of all the good feedback I've gotten so far! Thanks so much for the reviews, the adds, and the encouragement. :) Now, enough of the mushy stuff!


Once Upon a Time: Chapter Three

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It was Toph's birthday - her 18th birthday. Which, by Earth Kingdom standards, meant that she could now legally do everything that she had already been doing since she was 9 years old. She was a woman now. So, in celebration of her birthday and her womanhood, she and Aang were at an Earth Rumble tournament before they had to head off to the Fire Nation.

He followed her as she led the way and he gulped at all of the big burly men glaring at him. Could they recognize him? He nervously fixed the hat on his head. "Toph, are you sure that this is where you want to spend your birthday?"

"Questioning what I want to do isn't exactly the best way to woo me, Twinkletoes," she said over her shoulder.

Aang glared at the back of her head. Of course, this was where she wanted to spend her 18th birthday. Toph wasn't like other girls. She wouldn't want to get pampered, have poetry read to her, go on a date or anything girly like that. To celebrate her womanhood, she wanted to do some damage. She wanted to be surrounded by violence and vulgar language that she would now be allowed to be surrounded by (not that it stopped her before).

"I'm getting antsy," she told him earlier. "I need to cause some destruction and mayhem and destroy some morale."

The monk in him felt that he should have at least said something about her wanting to destroy someone's morale (it most likely wouldn't have helped), but the man in him won out. Better them than him.

Finally, they reached the arena. They came just in time to see a boulder crush a man with a sickening crunch. Aang turned green at the sound and Toph grinned. It had definitely been way too long. She grabbed the front of his robe. "Come on, let's get a seat."

By the time they sat down, Toph's nerves got the best of her and she couldn't stop moving. Aang watched as her leg jumped up and down in excitement; she was probably itching to get into a fight, looking for someone to pounce on. He grinned. She really was feeling antsy.

"And the winner is," the referee yelled. "The Boulder!"

At the mere mentioning of the winner, the crowd went wild, jumping and stomping their feet chanting, "Boul-der! Boul-der! Boul-der!"

The Boulder? She remembered him. He was weaker than her, but he put up a good fight. He was the perfect stress reliever. Toph grinned. Oh yes, this was the perfect opportunity to get in on a fight.

"The Boulder?!" She shouted over the chants. "Your opponent must have been pretty weak!"

At her words, the crowd started up again. One side yelling, "Are you gonna let a girl talk to you like that?!" and the other saying, "Good entertainment is what we paid for!" One small section in the middle shouted, "You go, girl!"

Aang sighed and sat back. He wasn't even going to try. He might as well enjoy the show.

The Boulder's eye twitched at the insult. "Puny female! You dare to challenge The Boulder?!" He emphasized his name with exaggerated muscle flexing and the crowd cheered him on.

Toph stood and made her way to the stage. "Yes." The grin on her face grew even wider at the crowd's immediate response. She missed this.

When Toph stood across from him, The Boulder scoffed and pointed a finger at her. "The Boulder doesn't wish to harm you!"

She gave him a scoff of her own and smirked. "Don't worry. The Boulder won't." Then, she gasped in mock horror. "Don't tell me that you forgot about the Blind Bandit already."

A collective gasp filled the whole arena at her declaration. It couldn't be the Blind Bandit. She had disappeared for almost 6 years!

"She was just a little girl when she was last here," a man behind Aang spoke. The disbelief was evident in his voice.

Next to him, another man whistled excitedly. "Yeah, now she's hot! Do you think I could stand a chance with her-!"

Aang turned around and punched him in the nose. This was his platonic-kind-of-real-fiancé they were talking about! So what if he wasn't seriously her fiancé? He still had a duty as a friend and a fake fiancé to protect her honor, no matter how much she would deny it.

"She's taken." He smiled at the bewildered friend with a shrug and turned back to the fight. Toph was rubbing off on him a little too quickly.

The Boulder was just as surprised as everyone else. "The Blind Bandit?! It cannot be!"

Toph grinned triumphantly. Yeah, that's what she thought. That name ought to instill some fear and respect into his and everyone else's hearts. The Blind Bandit was back.

"You-you are as pretty as a wild-lily," The Boulder exclaimed incredulously.

Toph's face fell. Her eyebrow twitched at the sound of all the wolf-whistles and catcalls. She took her stance. "I'm not too pretty to kick your ass." She stomped on the ground, causing the arena to shake and the crowd grew quiet. Then, she grinned and launched the first attack and everyone stood up.

"Blind Bandit! Blind Bandit! Blind Bandit!"

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Aang was in serious trouble. No, really. As a monk, he was naturally attracted to everything pure and peaceful and of the light. So, it made absolutely no sense how attracted he was to Toph at the moment. It was Toph! No one he knew was more opposite from everything monk-like than she was. But, the attraction felt so natural. The way she fought that night and all the insults she threw with her maliciously sweet smile - it was just so... sexy. He didn't think that he would ever associate that word with her; it was almost like she was calling out to him.

"What kind of alcohol is this," Toph demanded angrily and he felt his throat constricting. Leave it to him, the Avatar monk and keeper of peace between the four nations to fall for such a violent woman.

But, falling in love wasn't part of their deal. Toph would never forgive him for falling for her. She wouldn't be flattered, she would be angry; once again, she wasn't like other girls. She was marrying him for her freedom and he needed a friend after six years in isolation; love would only trap her. So, he just chalked it up to his hormones and a light crush that would soon fade away.

"What do you mean 'what kind of alcohol'?" The bartender argued. He was obviously sick of her.

They were at a tavern. Apparently, the Earth Rumble tournaments were funded by a seedy pub above the arena. After defeating The Boulder (and several others) Toph decided to continue her birthday celebration by getting drunk. According to her, you aren't officially legal until you get drunk.

Toph slammed the cup down. "I'm not drunk." Thank the Spirits she couldn't see Aang staring at her. "I had, like, seven cups of your alcohol. It's just making me sleepy. You're ruining my first drunken exprience!"

The bartender's face reddened at her insult and Aang offered him a sympathetic shrug. "You think you can go around insulting my alcohol just 'cuz you're the Blind Bandit?" He looked past her and saw almost all of his customers off on a drunken stupor. None of them were sleepy. His alcohol was good, dammit!

Toph snorted. "It's not my fault you've got the weak stuff." For further emphasis, she yawned loudly as if to say, 'See? Sleepy!' She smirked when he started muttering obscenities, then she stood. "I'm getting too sleepy to argue. Come on, Twinkletoes."

The bartender looked up to the heavens. "Good riddance. I'll even walk you two out!"

Once they reached outside, Toph yawned once again. Huh, she really was tired; she wasn't just trying to annoy the poor guy. "I'll go get Appa," she said and she walked off before he could say anything.

Standing beside him, the bartender let out a breath. "Jeez, who woulda thought that Toph Beifong would be the Blind Bandit?"

Aang chuckled. "Yeah, tell me about-" He immediately stopped himself and he looked at the bartender. "Wait, how are you so sure that Toph Beifong is the Blind Bandit?"

The bartender scoffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Tell your friend that if she wants to keep a low profile, she needs to stop showing off like that. Toph Beifong is the only known blind, Earthbending prodigy as of right now since the war ended. It doesn't exactly help that she's a war hero."

Aang nodded. "Oh, right." He would tell her that.

The bartender continued. "So, are you the guy she picked to marry her?" He snorted and looked off to the side. "You sure look at her like you're getting married."

It could not be that obvious.

Aang couldn't stop the blush and he chuckled nervously. "What? No! Me looking at her - like - married - pfft!" The bartender looked at him and his chuckles winded down into a soft sigh. "Her parents are forcing her to get married, so I offered myself up to her. She's my friend. How was I supposed to know that I would fall for her so quickly or even at all? Besides, love wasn't part of the deal." Suddenly, he grabbed the other man's shoulders and shook him a bit. "Who knew that violent females with bad attitudes were so attractive?!"

The bartender blinked. "I coulda told you that."

It sure was news to him. Aang released the man with a sigh. "She'd never seriously go for a guy like me, though."

The bartender frowned in sympathy. He saw Toph walking toward them with Appa in tow. "She's a pretty girl."

Aang nodded with a small smile. "I know."

The bartender remembered her violent fighting skills, her insults, and her inability to get drunk. His frown deepened. "She's not like other girls, though."

The same thoughts ran through Aang's head and his smile widened. "Tell me about it."

The bartender shook his head with a small smile when Aang started walking off. Oh, to be young, stupid, and in love. "Good luck."

Aang didn't even hear the man's advice. He only saw Toph. He blushed when he reached her. "Ready to go?"

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After about fifteen minutes of flying, Aang finally found a small hotel. He honestly didn't feel like camping it out that night. "Toph," he said as he landed at the front of the building. "I found a place." Appa landed with a groan and he jumped to the ground and looked around. Where was Toph?

He flew back up to the saddle and found her sound asleep. Jeez, she wasn't kidding when she said that the alcohol made her sleepy. He smiled warmly before he picked her up and flew back down. "Come on, Appa. Let's see if they have room for us." He walked into the building and up to the registration desk. "Hel-"

The clerk gasped and dropped his pen. One thought was running through his mind at the moment. 'OH. EM. GEE.' Finally, after much inner fangirling, his mouth decided to start working. "Mister Avatar! What an honor!"

Avatar? Aang looked up at his forehead. He must have taken his hat off. He smiled sheepishly and gestured towards Toph in his arms. "Do you have any room for us?"

The clerk nodded emphatically. Of course, he would have room for the Avatar and his girlfriend! "Yes! Yes!"

"And do you happen to have a stable big enough for my bison?" He hated asking for favors.

The clerk nodded once again. "Yes, yes!" He took a key from a drawer and handed it to Aang with a shaky hand. "You're in room 103. I'll take care of the bison! Just make sure that you and your friend get some rest!" And he rushed off to Appa.

Aang sighed and made his way up the stairs and into his room, careful not to wake Toph. Silently, he shut the door and took a look at the room. There was only one bed. It was a huge bed, big enough to fit about five people, but the fact remained that it was one bed. He gulped and gently tucked her in before he made his way to the couch and sat heavily with a sigh. He could sleep here.

He watched her bury herself deeper under the covers and he smiled a bit. Quickly, he caught himself smiling and his face fell. What was he going to do? He couldn't like Toph. It was Toph! He leaned forward and cradled his face in his hands. She would murder him once she found out and she would find out - she was a human lie detector for Spirits' sake.

He groaned.

The sheets rustled. "Aang?"

Aang jumped and looked up. She was sitting up in the bed and looked a bit confused. "Yeah?"

She visibly relaxed and she yawned. "Where are we?"

She still had those two braids in her hair from when he met her at Iroh's shop and there was a little crease in her cheek from the pillow. He couldn't help but to smile. "I found a hotel to stay in for the night. We're leaving in the morning."

In the morning? "What time is it?"

Aang looked out of the window across the room. "Pretty late. Still the middle of the night."

"Oh." She frowned. Stupid nonalcoholic, sleep inducing alcohol. She would get some of the good stuff in the Fire Nation. "Did I wake you up?"

She was a little confused after waking up, he observed. He shook his head even though she couldn't see it. "No, you didn't." He frowned. "I didn't even get to sleep."

She yawned. "What's wrong with you?" She fell back onto the bed and shut her eyes. "Before we left, I got some weird vibes from you, but I was too tired to beat it out of you."

He laughed nervously. Thank goodness. "It's nothing," he lied. "I'm just tired."

"I don't need to have my feet on the ground to tell that you're lying to me."

He rolled his eyes and stayed quiet. Why wasn't he surprised?

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "Are you on the couch?"

He sighed. "Yup."

"This bed is definitely big enough for the two of us, Twinkles."

Aang didn't just imagine that. She just invited him to sleep on the bed with her. With Toph. On the bed. With him. And her. On the bed. 'Not romantically, of course,' a voice in the back of his head sneered. He hesitantly stood and made his way over to the bed before he slid under the covers, making sure that there was a decent amount of space between them. He clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "Thanks."

Toph nodded with a yawn. "You still never told me what was bothering you."

Aang gulped. Tell her that he had feelings for her and risk losing her as a friend and some vital organs in the process? No thanks. But, the truth would come out soon enough and he would rather her hear it from him than from her senses. He just had to figure out how to tell her. He smiled. "I'll tell you soon. Not today, though. I'm tired." He wasn't lying.

She seemed to realize that and she curled up at his side. "Soon?"

He nodded and stared at a spot on the ceiling. "Soon." Soon.

With a yawn, she buried her face into the pillow. "Kay." She was getting tired; their conversation would end soon.

He looked at the top of her head. A few wisps of hair were sticking out of one of her braids. He should let her sleep now. "Night, Toph. Happy birthday."

"Night." And she fell asleep.

Aang let a small smile slide onto his face as one, single thought ran through his head: he was in so much trouble.