A/N: Ugh, I lost half the file just when I was about to post it. Took a while to rewrite it. I've got terrible luck.
Creating Energy
Toph lazily lobbed a ball up above her, snatching it out of the air as gravity brought it back down. She smirked, satisfied, and continued with her exercise. Of all the waterbending exercises Aang had taught her, she found this the most useful. Since waterbending made her more sensitive to the environment, she was now able to tell to some extent the position of airborne objects.
She entered one of the Western Air Temple's halls and immediately felt a sharp gaze fall upon her. She didn't need to sense who it was. It was obviously Katara. The waterbender had finally given up trying to get them to sit down to talk, so she had adopted a different approach: ambush. She would just keep an eye on them and suddenly yell out bits of advice. Like that one time she had yelled out for Aang to 'be gentle' with her during training.
Ignoring Katara's analytical gaze, she strode over to Aang who was currently lying on Appa's tail, playing with Momo. She sat down next to him, still tossing the ball to herself.
"Hey Twinkle toes?"
"Hm?"
"I just remembered something. You said last time that blind sparring was a test of mastery, didn't you?"
"Yep. I wouldn't say you've 'master' mastered waterbending, but yeah, you've pretty much got it," he answered, smiling.
"So..."
Aang smirked. "So what?"
"Argh! Twinkle toes! You know what's 'what'!"
"No, I don't think so," he answered, keeping his cool as well as his smug smile. "You might have to spell it out for me."
For once, Aang could enjoy watching Toph squirm, even if just a bit. She mumbled something incoherent.
"Excuse me?"
"... you... lement..."
"A little louder."
"I SAID, WOULD YOU TEACH ME THE NEXT ELEMENT?" Aang winced at the volume. It didn't help that he had leaned in to hear better.
Despite possible ear damage, he laughed softly. "There, that wasn't so hard was it?" he teased.
"Shut up, Twinkle toes."
"Anyway, yes, I'll be glad to teach you earthbending." The smart remark cost him a punch in the arm. "Ow! You said the next element!"
"Please, you teach me earthbending? Honestly, your mouth is getting too smart for your own good."
"It's what I get from hanging around you," he laughed. She laughed as well.
"I'll take that as a compliment, Twinkle toes. So? I still haven't heard the answer I'm looking for."
Aang smiled. "Of course I'll teach you firebending. You know you don't have to ask."
"I remember someone saying that its just a formality," she smirked.
"And I remember someone saying that we're anything but formal."
They both laughed. One could definitely say they've been hanging around each other too much. Then again, who said that was a bad thing?
"So, you want to get started?"
Before Toph could answer, Zuko approached the two of them. "Aang, time for firebending."
"But I was about to teach Toph firebending!" he whined.
Zuko looked a moment at the two. Aang was going for the pity approach, his large beady eyes watering pleadingly. Toph was using a different tactic, giving him a 'go ahead and try me' look.
The firebender sighed. Ever since Aang had started training Toph, he could never get him to concentrate in firebending training. The only thing that went through his mind were his lessons with Toph. Still, he supposed he could let him off with good reason this time. After all, Aang said that they were going to do firebending.
"Fine, but I'm going to check in every now and then to make sure you're at least teaching it right."
Another voice suddenly spoke up. "Why not just have Zuko teach her?" Everyone looked over to Katara. "I mean, Aang's still learning firebending, so wouldn't it be better for the actual teacher to do it?"
Zuko was about to disagree, saying that he had no intention of teaching the earthbender firebending. It was just as good as asking her to assault him with a new earthbending style. Besides, it was a bit obvious that Katara had only suggested that to limit the alone time Aang and Toph had, or at least have an excuse to be around if another person was there. Before he could voice his thoughts, another voice had spoken.
"No way! The only person I want to learn from is Twinkle toes!" A moment of silence filled the air as everyone looked at Toph. A light blush reached her cheeks when she finally realized what she had actually said. "I-I didn't mean that!"
"You mean you don't want Aang to teach you?" Zuko asked pointedly.
"No! I-I mean, er... I didn't mean it in the way she's thinking I meant it!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Katara.
"What? Would you care to explain what exactly I was thinking?" she asked, a smug smile on her face.
"You were thinking that me and Twinkles... that we... we were... erm... um..." For a moment, she seemed like she couldn't find anything to say. "See ya!" she suddenly shouted running toward the exit of the hall, grabbing Aang's collar on the way and dragging him along.
Zuko looked at Katara, surprised that she wasn't following them yet. On her face was a strangely happy look.
"That was so cuuuuute!" she gushed. Zuko smiled awkwardly. Her current attitude was a bit better than her being motherly, he supposed.
"Oh, by the way, I'm going with you when you check up on them." The prince's shoulders sagged, noticing that it was an order, not a request. 'Really, the things mothers do...'
-x-
Toph continued pulling Aang roughly through the Air Temple. Once they reached a large enough hall to train in, she finally let go of him.
"Um, Toph?"
"I don't want to hear it, Twinkle toes. Just start teaching firebending already, would you?"
He noticed her slightly exasperated tone. It looked like she wasn't in the mood to put up with any of his questions at the moment. Well, he supposed he could wait.
"Alright then," he smiled. "Welcome to your first firebending lesson!"
Toph smiled when she heard the enthusiasm in his voice, glad that he had set aside his own concerns for the moment.
"So, what are we gonna do?"
"Hm..." Aang fondled his chin in thought. "Well, what do you think our lesson should be?"
"Twinkle toes, you're the teacher here."
"I know, but you should still have some idea on what the lesson could be. Each of the four elements are related, part of a whole. Each are strong and weak in certain points. What is strong in one bending principle may be weak in another. That's why there are opposites, Fire against Water, Earth against Air."
"Okay... so you want me to figure it out based on what I know about the other elements?"
"Yep."
Toph crossed her arms, her brows furrowed in thought. "Fire is the opposite of Water..." she started, "and since waterbending focuses on manipulating forces..."
"Yes, go on." Aang was clearly getting excited by the sound of his voice.
"...firebending works by... not... manipulating forces."
Toph threw Aang an irritated glare when he suddenly laughed out loud. "Oh, shut up!"
He managed to calm himself down enough to talk. "Sorry, Toph! But that's actually pretty good!"
"So it really is about not manipulating forces?"
"Pretty close. Fire is energy. Firebenders gather energy inside of them, releasing it in the form of fire. So we can say that firebending focuses on creating energy, as opposed to waterbending which manipulates already existing energy."
"So how are we going to train?"
"The source of a firebender's energy is in his breath, so beginner firebenders usually start with breathing exercises. But since I know you would hurt me if I ever tried to make you breathe as an exercise, we're going to skip that."
Toph smirked. She was glad that he knew her well.
"After that, firebenders would need to learn to feel and familiarize themselves with the energy they're supposed to bend. This is usually done by feeling the sun. Again, as I have no desire to be hurt for suggesting a lesson you would find boring, we're going to skip this.
"So, we're going to start like this. Since firebenders use their own energy to create fire, we need to have a lot of stamina. We learn to increase the energy we can produce."
He took an earthbending stance, spreading his feet apart with his arms raised level to his waist, his palms turned upward. He gave the ground a hard stomp, turning his palms to the floor and slowly raising his hands. The floor began to rumble and crack. Soon, a chunk of the floor that could have easily fit Appa separated itself from the temple, hovering in the air. Aang held it up for a whole minute before slowly lowering it back into place.
"Okay, you need to be able to hold it up for at least..." He stopped, noticing that Toph had already stepped forward and already in her earthbending stance. She repeated the same movemnts he did, lifting the heavy floor once more. It was quite apparent that she was having an easy time by the look on her face. Also by the fact that she held it up for three minutes without breaking a sweat.
"That... wasn't so bad," Aang muttered.
"Not bad? Come on, Twinkle toes. That was awesome! And a lot better than what you did," she sneered.
"I was just demonstrating! I wasn't going all out!"
"Oh yeah? Let's see you prove it!"
"You bet I will!" It was quite clear that a bit of Toph had been rubbing off on Aang recently. Other than the smart mouth, her stubborn behavior had gotten to him as well. "How are we going to do this?"
"Alright, we both pull and hold up the same amount of earth. Anyone can add more rock to his or her load and the other has to match it. First one to drop or can't match up loses."
"You're on!"
"Hey! Sparky!" Toph shouted to the hall entrance. "I know you're there with Sugar Queen! Come on out, we need a referee!"
No one came out, but a voice answered. "No, I'm not going to referee a potentially dangerous match between two competitive earthbenders!" A little voice murmured, Katara speaking to Zuko by the sound of it. "What? If you want to go in there, be my guest!" More murmurs. "What? No way, you wouldn't dare! ...would you?" Murmur again. "Alright, fine..."
Finally, Zuko emerged from the hall entrance, wearing a very disgruntled look. He was followed by Katara, who had a smug smile on her face.
"There, you got yourself a referee," he grunted. "Co-referee too," he added, motioning to Katara.
"Alright! You and Sugar Queen heard the rules, so let's get started!"
Aang and Toph stood on opposite ends of the hall, already in their earthbending stances, while Zuko and Katara stood at the side betwen them.
Zuko looked to both earthbenders. "Ready?" The two nodded curtly. "Bend!"
Moving in sync, Aang and Toph lifted two huge pieces of stone from the floor, holding it up in the air. As they did so, Sokka entered the hall.
"What's going on?"
"Toph challenged Aang," Katara explained. At the mention of a challenge, Sokka's eyes lit up, but was disappointed to find that they were just lifting weights.
"Aww. Where's the action? What happened to chucking rocks at each other?"
"Keep talking and a rock just might be chucked right at you," Zuko warned, noting the determined faces of the two competitors. It looked like they weren't going stand for any distraction, and anyone who would be one, may get hurt severely.
The two benders continued their match, occasionally adding a few more rocks to his or her own pile. Ten minutes passed quickly, and fatigue was becoming more and more apparent. Still, it looked like neither was willing to give up just yet.
Toph was genuinely impressed with Aang. She had realized that it was probably easier for an earthbender to learn firebending than it was for an airbender. True, he was an earthbender now, but like he had said before, he was still an airbender. That's why it was quite surprising that he was able to put up such a good fight against her. Still, that didn't mean she was about to lose to him.
Noticing that Aang was nearing his limit, she decided to end it once and for all. She gave the ground a hard stomp and a boulder the size of Appa's head was added to her pile.
"Beat that, Twinkle toes!"
He was too out of breath to respond. Aang honestly felt like collapsing on the spot. His arms felt like lead, and all his muscles were screaming for a break. He raised a foot, about to add a boulder to match Toph's, but his body finally gave in, his determination not enough to fight his body's needs. He collapsed on all fours, his pile of rock and stone crashing down to the floor with him. A second later, Toph let her own pile fall to the floor.
"And the winner of this pointless competition is Toph," Zuko announced. He turned to Katara. "Can I go now?"
After receiving an affirmative nod, Zuko, Katara, and Sokka left the severely damaged hall, the Water Tribe boy complaining loudly about the boring match.
Aang had resigned himself to sitting on the floor, leaning against the rubble. He groaned when he heard footsteps approaching and prepared himself for the invitable taunting.
"What was that you were saying Twinkle toes? You weren't going all out?"
"Okay, fine. You win. Happy?"
"Aww, come on. It's no fun if you don't put up a fight."
Aang didn't respond and remained silent. Toph was actually starting to get worried. Did he really take the loss so hard?
"Erm... um... Aang? Hey, you okay, Twinkle toes? You're not sore about losing are you?"
"No, I'm not. Well, maybe a bit. It's just that... I just realized. You're probably a lot better than me at firebending."
Toph felt a touch of irritation. That was it? He had a problem just because she was better than him? "So? What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing. But... how am I supposed to teach you firebending like this? I can't teach you something I can't do myself. And from the looks of things, you probably won't have a problem passing me in firebending. I won't be able to teach you when that happens."
Toph's eyes widened in surprise, and when his words finally sunk in, she smiled. She should have known. Aang was always thinking about her before he thought of himself. He always had her best interests at heart. The concern felt nice.
"Toph, maybe you should learn from Zuko. We can learn it toge-"
"No."
Aang blinked, confused. Didn't she get what he was trying to say? He wouldn't be able to teach her firebending properly! The logical course of action would be to just find another teacher.
"But Toph-"
"No buts. I said it before and I'll say it again. I don't want to learn from anyone but you, Twinkle toes. You were the one who convinced me to learn other bending in the first place. You're the one who taught me so well with fun and occasionally embarrassing lessons. I don't care if Sparky is a better firebender. I know that you're a better teacher for me, and I really think that the only person who can teach me properly is you."
Aang could only stare at her. The things she had said were just so touching, so comforting.
"Who are you and what have you done with Toph?" Not even a second later, he was jabbed on the arm.
"Shut up, Twinkle toes." Her cheeks had flushed a light pink. "Can't believe I said that stuff. I'm really getting soft..."
Aang smiled at her, got up, and suddenly pulled her into a hug. "Thanks Toph. It was really nice to hear."
Toph awkwardly circled her arms around Aang, her face now a deep shade of red. She didn't mind group hugs, but this was a bit more affectionate than what she was used to.
"Okay, okay, enough with the mushiness," she said. She was about to push him off, when Katara's voice boomed across the hall.
"Not so close you two! And Aang, make sure your hands are above her waist! Remember, be mindful!"
A/N: Shippiness levels are still within an acceptable range for this fic XP
Oh, and before I forget, thanks to AvatarAiris who gave part of the chapter's idea in one of her earlier reviews.
Sorry, but firebending will be short. Might reach only three lessons at least, including this one, then the last chapter. Don't worry, I think I have a surprise you'll like. I'll announce it just before the final chapter. I'm getting excited!
