A/N: Thanks to my reviewers and everyone whose put an alert on the story! I'm sooo happy so many people like my story! Again, if I need work anywhere, please let me know. BTW, just saw 312, love it! Especially Katara at the end. )

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar

Chapter 4: Walkin' and Talkin'

The river was deeper than he had thought and freezing cold. He took a deep breath and held onto the girl as they went under and through rock. He saw a light ahead, and held on tighter as they fell with the river twenty feet into a lake. He almost lost his grip as the water pushed them under, but held on tight and swam out and to the surface. He took a deep breath as they breached the surface.

"Toph?" he asked. He looked at the girl when she didn't respond, and saw she wasn't breathing.

"Damn it!"

He swam to the shore quickly and laid her on her back. He opened her mouth and tilted her head back. He moved his mouth to hers and gave her two breaths of air before rising. He then started pumping her chest. He was just about to breathe for her again when she sat up, coughing. Toph turned her head to the side and spit out water, coughing for a while.

Zuko sat back and let her cough up as much water as she could. He noticed her start to shiver uncontrollably as she stood up.

"Here," he said as he stood up. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, heating his body up.

"Get away from me," she said, struggling, but Zuko just held on. She finally stopped struggling, but he could tell from her rigid posture that she was mad, and was going to let him know exactly how mad she was.

Once she stopped shivering, Zuko let her go, and stepped back, out of her range. But that wasn't far enough, for she simply raised her arms and the earth rose up around him and encased him again.

"You know we didn't have a choice!" He yelled at her, angry that she would imprison him again.

She simply glared at him.

"Don't do that again!"

"I saved your life, just like you saved mine!"

Zuko saw a hint of a blush form on her cheeks, but it was gone when he blinked. She lowered her hands and the earth encasing him crumbled and fell down. He looked at the earthbender, puzzled, as she turned and sank into a sitting position, her arms wrapped around herself.

"I don't need mothering, especially from you. I can take care of myself!"

Zuko sighed and walked over to sit next to her.

"I'm sure you can. In fact, you just did, and me too. I'm…sorry. If we hadn't jumped, there's no telling what would have happened to us."

Toph turned her head further away from Zuko.

"That's not what I was talking about," she said, anger and a hint of something else in her voice.

He leaned forward and caught the glimpse of a blush on her cheek.

"Then, what?"

She turned and her milky green eyes stared at him, as if she were studying him.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"No."

"You…hugged me. Why?"

Zuko saw the blush return to her cheeks and smiled at her.

"You were shivering. That water was freezing. I had to warm you up before hypothermia could set in. I didn't mean for it to seem…like that."

He felt a blush come to his own cheeks as he thought more about what he had done, but quickly brushed it off. She was cold, and had needed to warm up, that was it. Toph turned her face away from Zuko again, and continued to rub her arms. Zuko stood up and turned to her.

"C'mon. It's early afternoon, we should get moving."

Toph continued to stay seated, a scowl on her face.

"You'll warm up as you walk."

"Fine," she said, sighing as she got up. She started walking into the forest and Zuko shrugged before following. She was certainly stubborn, but he knew he was too. They kept walking in silence for a while.

"Why can't you swim?" Zuko finally asked her.

He saw her shoulders stiffen for a second before she answered.

"My parents saw me as frail and weak, and so never saw the need for me to swim, especially if I was never going to leave the house. Besides, I don't like water, I can't see a thing!"

Zuko smirked. "You can't see anyways."

She stopped and stared at him as he came abreast before stopping. He saw a smile tug at the corner of her mouth, and knew he was in trouble.

"I can 'see' just fine, thank you. I know you're standing right next to me, you're about 5 foot 8, 140 pounds, lean but mostly muscle, and you can handle yourself. You've never lied to me, you're heart rate tells me that you're calm, but you're wondering how I do it.

There's a howler monkey troupe coming this way, with 14 members, two harp birds above us, and a large cricket going over you're left foot right now."

Zuko looked up and saw the two songbirds looking at them before glancing down at his shoe. He jumped back as the cricket jumped off his shoe and onto a nearby tree. Toph stepped up to him, poking her finger into his chest as she smirked up at him.

"And I can beat you any day, any time, in any condition."

Zuko smirked back at her. "I'd like to see you try, but not now."

Toph continued walking, and Zuko jogged until he caught up to her. "Would you like to learn?" he asked her.

"Learn what?"

"Learn to swim."

She stopped for a second before continuing on. "But I don't have anything I can give you in return. You can't learn earthbending."

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I guess, but not back there," Toph said as a shiver went down her body.

"No definitely not there," Zuko agreed. "That water's way too cold. When we have time."

Toph nodded. She was silent for a while before she brought another topic up.

"What do colors look like?"

"What do mean, colors are colors."

Toph punched him in the arm. He rubbed where she had hit him and looked at her.

"Duh, but I can't see colors. Describe them; you've got to do better than Twinkle toes and Snoozles."

Zuko thought for a minute as they walked.

"Well, blue is cold. Cold and icy like water and, well, ice. It can be beautiful and deadly, light blue like the sky to almost black like the ocean depths.

Green is warm, like spring. It's the color of grass and leaves. It makes you think of a warm spring day on a grass lawn, and an excuse to be lazy. It also can be light in color to almost black, but its warmer than blue."

He stopped for a moment. She noticed it and stopped as well. "Well, what next?"

Zuko continued walking. "Red is the color of fire, it warms you, but can burn you. It's kind of opposite the others, as it becomes stronger, it gets lighter, changing to blue then white. It's also called the color of love, but now it's seen as the color of hate."

He turned sour as he tried to explain red. It had meant so much to him, to be fire nation. But now he was ashamed, of his country, his blood. Toph startled him out of his thoughts.

"I heard many flowers are red, some of the most beautiful."

"Yeah, roses among many others."

"Then how can it be a color of hate?"

Zuko stared at her as they walked. "Because red's the color of fire, and the fire nation."

Toph punched him again, and he saw that she was smirking at him.

"You're fire nation, Hothead. It can't be that bad.

"Any other colors?" he asked her, frowning.

"Nope," she said, still smirking. "I like your descriptions. Much better than Snoozles. Wait."

She stopped, looking worried. Zuko stopped as well, and drew his swords as he entered a fighting stance. He had learned to trust her senses in the caves.

"This way," she said as she started running to her left. Zuko ran after her, looking around as they ran. He could see nothing but forest for a while. The trees started to thin and he could see a cliff face ahead.

"Here," she said as she ran into a crevice. Zuko looked around, and followed the earhbender into the crevice. He was surprised as it opened into a small cave about five feet wide, and six feet deep, with just enough room for him to stand straight up.

"What…?" he started asking as the earth rose up to nearly close the crevice opening.

"Shh."

He glared at her, but her concentration was elsewhere.

"What's going on?" he hissed in a whisper.

"Two basilisk mounts, with riders, searching for something."

"Basilisk mounts?"

"Shhh! They're coming."

Zuko wanted to know more, and he was about to ask when he heard basilisk feet and a familiar voice outside the crevice.

"I'm sure they went this way Mai, but I don't see anything. You really think Zuko could have done what Azula said he did?"

"I don't know," Mai replied in a bored voice. Zuko heard an undertone of anger to her normal tone.

"Let's go, we'll try and find some tracks."

"Ok," Ty Lee said, her normal, happy tone sounding dejected.

The sound of reins and basilisk feet running away let the two know that their pursuers had left. Toph waited a few minutes longer before lowering the earth hiding the crevice.

"You know those two?" she asked Zuko as she exited the crevice. Zuko frowned at her as he followed her out. He sheathed his swords before answering her.

"Yeah, they're my sisters' friends and Mai… Mai is my ex-girlfriend."

Toph stared at him, amused shock written on her face.

"I never thought you'd hook up with miss boring."

"She's the only reason I didn't want to leave," he replied as he stalked off.

Toph jogged to catch up with him.

"I'm sorry," she said as she started walking next to him.

Zuko sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "How do you know them?"

"We met in Ba Sing Sae, First outside the wall, then in the palace."

Zuko nodded and stopped, looking at the small earthbender.

"Which way did they go?"

"You're asking me for directions? How sweet."

Zuko frowned at her. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Well?!"

Toph laughed. "They're heading north; they're about a mile away and getting farther away by the minute."

"Ok, let's get moving."

The earthbender smiled at him and started walking southeast again with him.

"We're probably going to have to face them if Twinkle toes doesn't show up soon."

Zuko looked at her intently as they walked side by side. What was this girl up to?

"Your point?"

"Can you fight your old girlfriend?"

Zuko thought about it as they walked on. Could he fight Mai and Ty Lee? Could he actually fight Mai? She meant a lot to him, even now, but she would always side with Azula against the Avatar, and he couldn't let her defeat Aang.

"You done thinking, Sunshine?"

Zuko glanced at her and saw a smirk on her face.

"Oh, so it's Sunshine now?"

Toph shrugged. "You need variation for your moods."

Zuko laughed, the first time in a long time that he had truly laughed, and it felt good to laugh. Toph stared before laughing herself.

"Well, Rockhead, it's good to see you have a sense of humor under all that dust."

Toph punched him in the shoulder. "It's the Blind Bandit, and it isn't dust. It's a healthy layer of earth."

"Hey, I'll need that shoulder if we're going to fight them," he said as he rubbed his shoulder again.

"Ah, so you will fight her."

"Yeah, if it comes to that. C'mon, let's keep as much distance between us and them. We'll find some cover if the Avatar doesn't find us by nightfall."

A/N: I'm sorry, but I'm going to be like some of my favorite authors. I need 5 reviews before the next chapter goes up. I know you guys will do it, because you have been, and I love you all for it. Thanks and Happy New Year!