Disclaimer: Would you say that ownership rights of Avatar: The Last Airbender would somehow be turned over to me, between chapters? I have no idea what you were expecting. (To be clear, they haven't.)

A stone flew out of Aang's hand. It hit the surface of the water and rebounded, making seven broad bounces, then a few short skips, before hitting the rock barrier on the other side of the lake.

"I think I've got the hang of it!" he announced, sounding rather pleased with himself.

He flashed Toph a grin that said all about his pride and thankfulness, and even though she couldn't see it, she could feel it. It was as if, besides pulling back the corners of his mouth, Aang's smile created an air of cheeriness around him. As Toph stood and breathed, the air playfully surrounded her, instantly lifting her spirits even further.

Aang turned around and began concentrating on the stones again, and the air was dispelled. In that moment, a strange longing overcame the earthbender, as if something was being taken from her unrightfully. Aang threw again, the stone splashing away. In a moment of bitterness, Toph used her bending to pull it down about three quarters of the way across the lake.

"What was that, fourteen skips? Those are rookie numbers, Twinkletoes." she lectured as he started browsing for another stone.

"But I'm sure I had the hang of it. Must've been the wind, making waves, see I…"

Aang was cut short by Toph walking up to him, grabbing hold of the rock in his hand, trying to winch it out. The airbender didn't give, however, as he was pretty sure he was doing alright.

"You've got the... Aangle... all wrong-" Toph said with pauses while struggling, snorting at her own joke. Aang pulled the hand holding the stone towards himself, keeping his arm raised horizontally, so that he could push Toph away with his forearm and elbow. Toph followed the hand, stepping in front of Aang with her back to the pond, wrestling for the skipping stone.

Aang's hand suddenly shot out, as if he'd released the stone. Toph lost her balance and started to fall. Aang, not wanting her to fall in the water, tried to grab her by the wrist, but ended up tripping too. Splash! The two sat in the cold water of the pond, their surprised faces covered with droplets.

For a split second they sat still, and Toph was quite ready to apologize. Then, Aang started laughing. The earthbender was again struck by that same air as a moment earlier. The infectious laughter extended its tendrils and in a second she was laughing right back at him. How silly, she thought, how silly, yet how wonderful.

Aang stood up and started to move smoothly, rolling his arms forwards and backwards. Even without seeing him, she could identify the soft movements. It was waterbending. He was a good student, Toph acknowledged, a good listener, and before she had time to further appreciate her friend, a wave of water came rolling over her, pushing her a few steps back and soaking her to the bones.

She heard his devilish chuckle and smirked. A loud crack was then heard from somewhere below the lake's surface and Aang's laughter stopped, as the water practically disappeared from beneath them. A stone shield popped up behind Toph and Aang barely had the time to see her stick out her tongue, before a wave, twice his height, came swooping in, mercilessly knocking him back before pancaking him to the ground.

Aang sat up and rubbed the back of his head, wincing a bit, but still managing to flash a playful smile at Toph when she offered him her hand to help him stand up. Water ran from their clothes in little strings that broke into droplets a palm's length below their source in the fabric.

The airbender found himself noticing weird things, like the way Toph's hair, now messy and unkempt, clung to her face and the back of her neck. How the evening sun made a little shining star in the droplet hanging off of Toph's chin. He found himself wondering what it'd be like to pinch the fabric of her shirt and tug at it, letting air between it and her skin. He settled on pulling on his own shirt, enjoying the weird sensation.

"I don't know what Katara and Zuko are doing, but they can't be having this much fun." said Toph absent-mindedly. It unintentionally struck a chord very deep inside of Aang. The peaceful moment, as if it fell off of a cliff onto the jagged rocks below.

Aang felt darkness grow inside of him like a vile, throbbing thing. Jealousy. Skipping stones with Toph had been putting his mind off of it whenever they were together in the past two days. When he had been alone, however, he sunk deeper and deeper into the feeling. It bit and gnawed at his chest, leaving him breathless and shaking.

"I don't care what they're doing."

Aang was trying to sound nonchalant, but a hint of harshness made it past his best efforts. Realizing that he'd perhaps given himself away, he got up, not taking Toph's extended hand, turned on his heel and walked off towards the forest.

Toph was unable to say anything, struck with confusion. She watched the Avatar stomp off angrily, his posture slumped, palms balled into fists. Toph sat down on the spot, thinking about what had happened. Aang's reaction had caught her by surprise. She didn't know he'd gotten so caught up on what was happening.

Aang trudged through the forest, teeth clenched, eyes pressed down to a slit by his furrowed brows. His lips were tightly sealed in a deep frown and he took heavy breaths through his nose, barely holding back tears.

The figurative bubble that held these feeling at bay had burst, allowing it to pour out, eating into his veins, clenching his jaw. He was sinking.

Then came a voice in his mind, a brilliant white ray to trim back the tendrils making for his heart.

"Don't you trust Katara? She is her own person, and you should know better than to be so unrightfully suspicious."

His calm reason gave him hope. If she truly was the girl he loved so much, who he'd sacrificed his Avatar state for so willingly, she wouldn't do that to him. He loved her as the person she was, he trusted her to make the right decisions.

"How small of you to judge her for actions she hasn't committed, for you to claim ownership over her and question her reason. How petty."

Aang recognized the old wisdom of his forebearers, the other airbenders, who had carefully taught him not to be enslaved by his emotions. Yet, here he was, angrily plodding off to sulk, because the girl he loved was off on a quest for resolution about her mother's death. It truly put his feelings into perspective. Though it was human to be jealous, it was also faulty, and Aang, who had always tried his best to be a better person, decided to kick the feeling to the curb, smother it, so it would go away. When Zuko and Katara returned, he assured himself, his fears would be belayed and he could laugh, looking back at his silliness.

Feeling moderately embarrassed at his little outburst before Toph, Aang made his way to the camp. He spent the short remainder of the day in his tent, going to sleep early.

Toph stayed behind, feeling rather guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt Aang, she had only tried to comfort him in her own way. It also felt unfair that he became angry. Toph, on the brink of becoming upset herself, mentally put herself in Aang's shoes and calmed down. She knew he was insecure and needed to be understood and comforted, rather than confronted or dismissed.

Noticing her own thoughts again made her realize just how much Aang was rubbing off on her. She'd have otherwise called him an idiot and not given it a second thought, until it became a problem. However, she knew that, if Aang had treated her the same way as the others did, she'd still be living with her parents, sneaking out at night to participate in one-sided matches against a bunch of numb-headed brutes.

Toph got the feeling that Aang needed her most right now, since no one else was there and he was experiencing these emotions, likely for the first time ever. The past two days had been a blast and she would make sure that nothing happened to either Aang or the friendship they've been growing.

"Sorry, Twinkletoes."

She wasn't great at this. All her life, people never even tried to understand her, so she gladly returned the favor. Now that she would actually have to hear someone out, she felt her ever-present confidence wane significantly. Toph decided that she'd brave the conversation and set things as they should be.

Determination shone from her stride as she returned to the camp. The sun had already fallen, so she wolfed down an apple and went to bed.

In her dreams, Toph was comforting Aang about Katara. Tears were streaming down his face, and he seemed so helpless. They were in a cold place. Toph could hear the sounds of thunder above, but felt no raindrops on her skin. She kept telling Aang that it was okay.

He couldn't hear her. Despair gripped her chest. Helplessness, this time on her part. She had failed her friend, and he was now suffering. Aang embraced her weakly, and she could feel his tears soaking through the fabric on her shoulder. The storm raged and grew, but still no rain.

Then, it all stopped. She found herself at the edge of a grass field, where the meadow met the forest. She felt two people a good hundred steps ahead of her, at the center of the green grass, sitting together on a tree stump. The sun was warm and the grass was very soft beneath her feet.

It was Aang and Katara, sitting in an embrace. They seemed happy, their heartbeats more or less slow and relaxed, only speeding up every so often, when words she couldn't make out were exchanged. They were just out of earshot. She took a few steps forward, hoping they wouldn't notice her, but the sound didn't get any clearer. Toph's pace quickened.

No matter how much she approached them, the sound was still muffled and about the same distance away as before. Her senses were dull, and she felt confused. They seemed so happy, but something was so wrong. She started running as fast as she could, trying to yell and make noise, to get them to notice her, but to no avail. Crystals of icy terror spread their needles through her chest, slowing her down, making her movement hard and sluggish.

She tripped and fell, helpless, the voices only getting further and further out of reach, until nothing could be heard. Dead silence.

"Aang, I love you." came a voice she recognized as Katara's. It came from all directions, as if it was being spoken directly into her head. It was loud, but not painful, very crisp and clear.

"I love you, Katara." came Aang's voice, also loud and clear. Toph didn't understand why, but hearing this hurt. It was like a cold hand briefly squeezed her heart in her chest when she heard it.

Both of them repeated their words, and the feeling overcame Toph once more. She couldn't stand up, every time she tried, she'd stumble and fall. Movement was so hard. All there was were the voices, saying words she clearly understood and thought nothing wrong of. Why did they weigh so heavily on her chest? She couldn't stand Aang professing his feelings to Katara, it felt wrong to her. It suffocated her. It made her helpless. Why? What was it, again, which was wrong with the two being together?

It felt like there was a faint reason which she couldn't remember for the life of her. Then, she was back in the cold, with Aang now clinging to her, screaming "I love you!" over the thunder while the storm pelted their soaked bodies with raindrops. The words felt so warm inside of her this time. She wanted to hear them again. When she did, she smiled.

A/N:

It's finally here! Two weeks late, maybe, but we did it, yay. Hope you enjoyed, make sure to share your thoughts, they are carefully read and cherished. Have a fine day!