It seemed that for every step forward, they took five steps back. At least Toph did. She wasn't even pretending to be in denial anymore. It was all so glaringly obvious, and yet she refused to give in to it. Which was why during the next few days Toph proved how elusive she could be. The plan wasn't to avoid Aang forever - because now she was most definitely avoiding him! - she simply needed some time to work through whatever it was she was going through.
Aang, convinced he upset her by his unwanted behavior - "I wish you wouldn't" - only made matters worse with his persistence. It led to Toph wanting to avoid him further, which in turn made him seek her out more, and it quickly escalated into a vicious cycle.
After two weeks of her working excessively long hours and traveling nonstop, he decided she left him no choice but to corner her at her home. She wouldn't be able to give him the runaround there and would have to talk to him, finally.
It was late, near midnight when he was about to knock on her front door. Startling him, it flew open and out stepped a man all in black that Aang had never laid eyes on. He was slim and tall and noticeably bald.
The man looked at Aang up and down, at his conical hat and Earth Kingdom greens and browns, and sneered. "If you're not some chump named Aang, don't bother with this one," he spit out, pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards the inside of Toph's house.
Blinking a few times, Aang watched the man walk off, down the pathway onto the street until disappearing from view. Still reeling from what he witnessed and heard, he stood motionless by the front entrance. A few more minutes passed before he could step inside. Slowly, he closed the door behind him.
Unsure if he should laugh or cry or be happy or heartbroken, Aang sat down on the first chair he stumbled into and tried to make sense of it all. As eager as he had been to see and talk to Toph, to try to explain himself, he wasn't ready to face her at the moment. At least not until he sorted through his mixed emotions and hundreds of thoughts.
Unfortunately for him, only a few minutes passed before Toph, fresh from a bath, stepped out into the waiting room where Aang sat cross-legged. As usual, her feet were bare, but her dark hair was loose and dripping wet. The short, pale green robe she wore matched her eyes and left little to the imagination.
Looking down at his own feet as he placed them on the floor, Aang rose from the chair he had been sitting on. Toph froze mid-step and whipped around to face him.
"What...what are you doing here!?" she asked, suddenly very self-conscious. She tightened the flimsy robe around herself as she waited for his reply.
"Your...friend...let me in," Aang answered, eyes flitting away as nausea grew in the pit of his stomach.
Toph fought the violent blush she felt creep up. "You shouldn't be here, Aang."
When he took a step forward, he saw the flash of something cross her face. She looked embarrassed and uneasy. It prevented him from taking another.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I haven't seen you in a while." You've been avoiding me, he wanted to add.
Toph shook her head. "Now's not a good time."
His jaw tensed. The nausea intensified.
"Because your...friend...will be returning?"
"He wasn't my friend," she muttered in a low voice.
The stranger had been lean and lithe. Even had a shaved head. He moved differently, but Toph tried to focus on the similarities instead. Without thinking things through, she brought him home.
The kisses were decent enough, hot and wanting, but not as tender as she imagined. The way he touched her, with urgency, was close enough. And when he kissed along her neck and she held onto the back of his smooth scalp, for an instant it was him and she moaned his name.
The stranger stopped.
"Who the fuck is Aang?"
Even if he had managed to put it more delicately, Toph wouldn't have been able to continue. The guy's voice was a pitch too high, his scent too strong, and the feel of him was just off. It was all wrong.
As easily as she invited him in, she kicked him out, relieved things didn't get far. Before he was out the door, she was in a bath. Toph didn't bother warming the water. As if scented oils or a warm bath could wash away how awful she felt, how low she'd sunk.
Aang risked another step towards her, his movements bringing her back to the present.
"Who was he?" His voice was timid, but he asked like he had a right to know.
Blind eyes snapped to his.
"Aang, go home."
Her tone didn't waver. She wasn't about to let him see her fall further. Because if there was a word that meant someone was more pathetic than pathetic, that was what she felt like. And it wasn't that she almost slept with a random guy, but her reasons for it.
"I'm not leaving you," he stated.
Her heart pounded in her chest.
As if realizing the truth his words revealed, he quickly amended, "Until I know you're okay."
"Twinkletoes, I'm fine," she assured him. Even added a believable smile to the lie. He didn't buy it.
In three long strides he closed all but a small distance between them. Gently, he grabbed her upper arms, the fabric wet under his fingertips.
It had taken so long and now it was all happening too fast. It was too much and not enough, she honestly didn't know which. Legs unsteady, Toph sat on the couch behind her. Aang followed, never releasing his hold.
Her face was still turned up to his and Aang didn't know what to say. Even though the urge to kiss her again was a powerful one, he kept himself in check because he had never seen her look more lost. Not even on his birthday, out in the stairway. The confidence she exuded all day, everyday just wasn't there.
"Trust me," he promised, cradling her face in his hands. "I'm not going anywhere." Whatever had occurred, whatever would occur, that much was true and she had to know it.
Shutting her eyes tight, Toph couldn't help but revel in the sound of his voice. The need to hear it again was undeniable and before she knew it she was asking him to say something else.
"Say something about what?" he asked, unconsciously drawing her closer.
Toph looked like she might cry and Aang swallowed nervously unable to recall the last time she cried.
"Anything. Anything at all," she replied well aware that everything she desired for so long was so close within her reach.
With a curt nod he started to tell her about his day, the many meetings, the people he spoke to, and how he received a letter from Zuko informing of his impending arrival within a week. Halfway through his melodious chatter, Toph leaned into him and buried her face into the front of his tunic.
Aang's heartbeat sped up, making her trademark smirk appear for an instant. She took a few deep breaths letting his scent engulf her. Everything got better when he wrapped his arms around her completely.
It was the strangest thing. Toph always seemed larger than life, loud and boisterous, but there in his arms she seemed small and almost delicate. He smiled, utterly content to have her so near.
Oma, Toph was so tired of fighting her feelings and the ever growing attraction, tired of not getting what she wanted. She tossed caution aside and gave in momentarily, snaking her arms around his waist. They sat there, in silence, uncertain about what to say or do other than hold on.
"Toph, I need to tell you something." Aang's face was quickly turning crimson and his heart was beating incredibly fast, but he forged on. Or he tried to until he heard the sounds of quiet snoring. "Toph?"
Turning his head to get a better look at her face, he realized she had fallen asleep. Internally, Aang groaned. It was just his luck that when he finally gathered enough courage to say it, she slept through his declaration.
It wasn't a complete loss, however, as she was still in his arms. While he leaned back against the cushions, debating if he should carry Toph to her bed or remain together where they sat, sleep soon claimed him as well.
