Don't Touch My Body
Disclaimer: Demon, Temper, and I do not own A:tLA nor its characters and the original plot.
A/N: Y'all might be wondering who Temper is. Actually, Demon dragged Temper along from her "haven" when Demon decided to stick around me. So… she's kinda one of my "friends".
(whispers) I hope you will take care of her… she's touchy. ;P
(clears throat) Introductions aside, this chapter is not based on Toph's POV. ("Aww…")
Chapter 10
"Reality is never as bad as a nightmare, as the mental tortures we inflict on ourselves."
-Sammy Davis, Jr.
Aang woke up that morning when a weird dream jolted him awake. He quickly opened the window nearest his bed and breathed in the damp morning air in attempt to wash away he dream – or nightmare, whichever is suitable.
In his "dream", Toph was scolding him and yelling at him for not accepting Zuko and Katara's relationship. He stood firm on what he believed in and insisted on getting Katara back. Enraged, Toph caged him but his head with earth and suddenly kissing him hungrily.
Aang's breath shuddered as the memory of the kiss hit him like a battering ram. True, it was a dream but Aang can almost feel Toph's lips and tongue playing with his.
Why am I even thinking about… that? Aang thought with self-disgust and quickly dismissed the notion. He decided to meditate in the backyard since he couldn't get back to sleep and it would be too late to grab one. With a sigh, he opened his door and got out of his room.
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In her room, Toph felt Aang and the person residing next to her room. She was slightly bewildered but then forgot about her bafflement as the waves of anxiety rode her nerves. She immediately got out from her bed and stealthily stood near her door, her ears pressed against the wood. She was afraid that Aang might burst and go into Avatar mode.
"Hey," Toph heard the other person speak, "are you gonna meditate also?"
There must be something wrong, Toph thought, panic rising in her throat. Sugar Queen does not speak like that.
Toph sensed Aang's head bob up and down weakly, his heart rate speeding. Toph noticed that hers was having a race with Aang's.
"Uh… how long was I out?" Zuko asked sheepishly when Aang didn't seem to stir from the spot where he stood. Aang's heart stopped and Toph almost collapsed.
This is a nightmare. Please tell me it's a nightmare! Toph reflected wildly.
"Well," Aang spoke, his heart restarting, "er… you and Katara were unconscious for four days. I-Including the day you bumped heads."
-O-
"Somebody seems to be in a foul mood," Sokka chuckled as the distant banging of pots and pans in the kitchen reached his hearing. His mood brightened the moment Toph broke the news to him and Suki that the two benders returned to their respective bodies and forgot the things they did at that short span of time.
Suki's mood was no better than Katara's. Her lips were formed into a scowl and she kept ignoring everyone but Toph, who was also feeling miserable.
Aang was back to his cheerful and goofy self. He kept "pestering around", as what Toph called it, asking his teachers to teach him some new and cool bending techniques.
"Not today," Zuko muttered, his face a perfect mask of calm, when he asked.
He got the same results from Katara and Toph.
"I'm still cooking, Aang," Katara said patiently as she swiftly cut the carrots into many pieces rather noisily.
"Turn it off, Twinkles!" Toph screamed as she stormed into the kitchen. The disappointment, the tension, the rejoicing, and the irritation of the Gaang were getting into her nerves. She had to stop it or she would decapitate herself.
"What's wrong, Sugar Queen?" Toph asked slowly, feigning anger. "If you don't like to cook anymore then just let somebody do it. I'd rather eat something inedible than hear your pots clanging like cymbals due to your annoyance."
Katara sighed. "That's not it."
"Then why are you acting like a bratty kid who hasn't received a single gift on its birthday?"
"I don't know," Katara said in a frustrated voice. "I just think that I have missed something important and glorious the moment I opened my eyes this morning. Something that happened these past four days."
Toph opened her mouth to say something but closed it due to lack of words to say. Katara, after waiting for a good whole minute for Toph to recover, shook her head and continued cooking their breakfast.
(a long pause)
Readers: (screams screamed at the same time)
Me: Whoa! Whoa! I know that it sucks and I am so sorry!
Readers: (hushed silence)
Me: I won't say that my hands did it again like the last time. I have visualized this before but I never knew that it would be this... devastating.
Please review!!!!! :'(
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Chapter 9
Thank you very much:
- nemiah, EmpressVicky, spkdog, Turtle-chan in Blue, things24, wolfdog127, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun, Silverishmoon, Knucklesfanforlife, and McKenzie rox for the reviews;
- superspongy for the fave; and
- Knucklesfanforlife, Densharr, and zutarababe for the alerts!
Arigato y'all! ^o^