I know this is going to sound awful, but I can't promise consistent update times. That's me not treating the readers properly…yeah…yeah. I don't know how the 1L is going to affect things, but fiction writing will be my connection to sanity. I promise the story will finish sometime within the next few months. I'm not going to abandon it. That much, I can promise. Here is 21.
"Sokka," Aang warned and pleaded in the same voice.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. No speaky about the Azula," Sokka huffed as he threw his hands in the air. "Sheesh, I can keep a secret. Who do you think I am, Appa?"
The sky bison issued forth a low growl.
"He didn't mean it, buddy. We all know you're the best at keeping secrets," Aang said, patting Appa's head for reassurance.
Aang jumped from the sky bison, floating gently to the ground.
"You can trust that my lips," Sokka pulled his index fingers and thumb across his mouth, "are sealed. Now, come on, I gotta show off Space Sword and Boomerang."
"In a second, Sokka," Toph interjected. "We'll meet you inside. Aang and I need a moment to chat about his Earthbending training."
Sokka looked from Aang's confused face to Toph's wide smirk and shrugged.
"Eh, don't break anything out here," Sokka said nonchalantly as he headed for the palace entrance.
The pair remained silent until Sokka was well out of earshot.
"So," Aang drawled, unable to discern what Toph wanted to discuss in regards to his bending practice, or lack thereof.
Silently, the young girl jumped from the sky bison's saddle and fell to the ground. Landing flat on her feet, she produced a wave of force that rolled the tiled stone towards Aang at vicious speeds.
A yelp escaped the Avatar's mouth before he propelled himself into the sky with a swift gust of air. He floated to the ground, a few paces away from his teacher, slightly confused.
"What was that for," he blurted out.
"What's wrong, Twinkletoes? You wouldn't even be asking that question if you bothered to see with your feet instead of your eyes. You haven't been practicing, but we'll talk about that later," Toph said.
"That's not what this about," Aang asked as he fell to ground, sitting comfortably, legs out stretched.
"Nope," Toph said as she stomped.
Her action caused a small pillar to jut out of the ground, and into the seat of Aang's pants. The Avatar rose instantly and began to rub his pained rear end.
"Gonna need you on your feet, Twinkletoes," Toph said.
"Of course," Aang grumbled as he continued to rub his tail bone. "What's on your mind?"
Toph smiled as she spoke, "So, how many times have you and Hot Britches kissed?"
Aang's face went red. Though Toph could not see his embarrassment, she could feel it. Her friend's heart rate began to increase and his muscles began to tense.
"What," Aang blurted out.
An uproar of laughter erupted from the young Earthbender as she doubled over, barely able to compose herself.
"Priceless," Toph said as she finally regained the ability to speak clearly.
"I swear she kissed me, you were watching," Aang exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
Toph's eyes widened in tandem with her mouth.
"You two actually kissed! Oh man, Katara is going to kill you," she practically yelled, her voice brimming with excitement.
"Wait," Aang said, his face twisting in distress, "You didn't see what happened last night?"
"Considering the fact that I don't see much, no," Toph joked.
"You weren't there, were you," Aang groaned as his hands pulled against his face.
"Nope. So you're gonna have to tell me what happened," Toph said as her grin seemed to overtake her face.
Aang sighed as he started into the sky.
"I don't know. I woke up and saw that she wasn't there last night. I almost panicked. Zuko didn't even know that she left the island," Aang rambled.
"You're breaking all the rules lately, I like it," Toph added.
"I don't," Aang replied.
"I can see why," Toph laughed. "You're running around all stressed out, and you keep piling on the responsibilities like it's no big deal. So, I imagine you ran to her and gave her a long mushy kiss of relief when you found her."
Aang's hands covered his eyes as he tilted his head back in a combination of frustration and humiliation.
"No," he refuted in a childish tone. "I just…sat there and talked with her for a while. She was crying about something a-"
"Fire Lily can cry," Toph exclaimed in surprise. "This just keeps getting bet-"
"Toph," Aang said in an attempt to admonish his friend.
"Look, don't blame me, this is a lot of juicy stuff to take in at once. I'm not going to apologize for enjoying it," Toph confidently explained.
Aang groaned once more.
"I didn't see this coming. I mean, I expected and even hoped she'd grow close. That was the point," Aang stammered.
"But you didn't expect her to get this close, right," Toph asked.
"Yeah…one second we're laughing and the next, she pretty much holds me down and kisses me," Aang said.
Toph's eyes seemed to light up as her cheeks burned a rosy red. She let out an astonished laugh as she placed her hands on her head.
"Is that the story you're going with when you tell Katara," Toph asked.
Aang's heartbeat increased in tempo as he fell back to the ground.
"You don't plan to tell her, do you," Toph confirmed to herself.
"What would I say, 'Oh, hey sweetie, Azula kissed me, but everything is ok. No need to worry. Oh, and by the way, I still plan of seeing her from to day to day'," Aang said as he acted out the scenario.
Toph raised an eyebrow.
"Am I doing this right," Toph asked.
"Doing what right," Aang inquired as he looked up at the small Earthbender.
"The whole, 'did he really say that' look," she replied. "You still plan on visiting her just about every day."
"Well, yeah. A promise is a promise, right," Aang said, reassuring himself more so than explaining the situation to Toph.
He could see her mouth twist to one side as her hands secured themselves to her waist. The Earthbender stood frozen in thought for a few moments.
"What do you think I should do," Aang asked.
Breaking her train of thought, Toph began to speak, "For once, I'm drawing a blank. Usually, I'd tell you to stay rooted, don't hesitate. You know, make your decision and hold firm to it. But…something tells me this is going to be a bit trickier than basic Earthbending."
"So, you don't know either," Aang asked in a dejected manner.
"Nope. Sorry. I don't think the direct route will work this time around," Toph responded. "However, there is something that can probably help you out here."
"What's that," Aang asked, masking his desperation for a solution.
"How did you feel when Azula kissed you," Toph asked.
There was a slight silence between the two as Aang realized the gravity of the question.
Hesitantly, Aang attempted to respond to his friend's query, "Toph…I love Katara, and that's just how things are."
Toph sighed. She stomped her foot against the ground once more, forcing Aang to his feet.
"I didn't ask how you feel about Katara. I asked how you feel about the kiss," Toph insisted.
Aang's mouth opened to answer, but he could not find the words to express his thoughts and emotions. Azula left him in a bewildered state of pure uncertainty. He feared the Firebender now more than ever. What he thought was a blossoming friendship revealed itself to be something more precious in the princess's heart. The feeling of her lips upon his ran through his mind. There was a spark, the feeling of cold fire. The sensation seemed to linger on his lips, tingling sensually, permeating his very being.
"It made…," Aang wavered. "It made me feel distant, almost sad."
"What? Distant," Toph mulled the idea around in her mind. "How so?"
Aang closed his eyes and sighed, "I don't know. I just felt removed from everything."
"Distant from Azula," Toph pushed forward.
"Yes and no," Aang said as his brow furrowed in thought. "This is going to sounds strange, but…I think I felt what Azula felt."
"Ok, you lost me," Toph said.
"I believe that she's trying to make a real effort to connect. She's bridging the distance with something," Aang said.
"With you," Toph said, grasping an understanding of the situation. "Well, this is interesting."
"Maybe," The Avatar responded. "But I just want the best for her."
"I never said you didn't," Toph clarified.
Aang opened his mouth to reply, "Yeah, but…"
"I'm not going to tell you how to do your job, but don't make yourself the only hope that Fire Lily has left," Toph stated.
Aang looked away from his friend and towards the palace.
"So, at best, it looks like I have to talk to Zuko about this again," Aang sighed.
"Yeah," Toph agreed. "You're gonna need help from Sparky, Ty-Lee, and Mai."
"That's not going to be easy," The Airbender commented.
"But, for some reason you're going to try anyways," Toph said as she knowingly shook her head.
"You know," he whispered to himself while dropping his chin to his chest. "I just wanted to help. But I've made a mess of things."
The Earthbender laughed, disregarding the increased heart rate of her friend.
"Well, think about it like this. Without you, where would she be," Toph asked confidently.
"Abandoned," Aang answered meekly.
"That's right, abandoned." Toph praised as she forcefully poked Aang's chest. "You're doing her a world of good. Don't think of it any other way. If her coals burn for you, then that's her problem. The best you can do from here on out is to help her form new bonds with others."
The Airbender stood silently.
"Look," Toph said, seeking to reassure Aang. "I'm going to tell you this just because. Keep it between you and I, Twinkletoes."
"Ok," Aang responded gingerly.
"After I joined the group, I had a tiny crush on Sokka," She confessed.
"Really,"Aang asked as his eyebrows rose.
"Yeah," Toph said, blushing and turning her head away. "But, the point is, I got over it just like Azula will get over whatever she has going on in her mind with you."
Aang smiled widely, "Maybe, but did you really get over it?"
"Yes," Toph responded curtly as she gave Aang a shove, her cheeks blooming red.
"You're lying," Aang delivered playfully.
Toph stomped, shifting the ground under Aang's feet. He slammed to the tile with force, finding himself staring towards the vast blue expanse of the mid afternoon sky.
"I don't remember teaching you how to tell the difference between a lie and the truth using Earthbending," She stated, slightly ruffled.
Aang sat up.
"Didn't have to. You were blushing so much that you were almost on fire,"Aang laughed.
"Well whatever," Toph huffed. "Fire Lily will learn to deal with it just like I have."
"I dunno, that doesn't sound too promising," Aang teased as he dusted himself off.
"Watch it," Toph warned.
Aang chuckled, "Ok, sorry."
The Earthbender began to make her way towards the palace entrance as the Avatar followed. He pondered upon the situation in depth. Doubt filled his mind as he questioned whether or not normalcy, or what passed for such, could return between him and the princess. The kiss, and the emotion that lingered upon her lips, only compounded his suspicions. The abject loneliness imparted in the brief meeting of the pair was all too well known to the Avatar. He understood, now more so than ever. Within Azula's heart lay that same pain, the heartache he endured over a year ago on that bleak and foggy morning in the Southern Air Temple.
The Avatar found pause as soft hands rested upon his shoulders. Gaining focus, he found himself staring into vibrant blue eyes. Her smile appeared to glow as he emerged from the solitude of his thoughts.
"Sokka has been waving that sword around in the air like a maniac. Two guards tried to tackle him before Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors called them off," Katara giggled. "Thank you for making my knuckle headed brother happier. It means a lot."
Aang provided Katara with a modest, courtesy smile as his mind focused upon other matters.
"Is Zuko here," he asked as his expression deteriorated to one of pressing concern.
"Yes, he's finishing up a meeting with his advisors," Katara responded as her smile slowly waned. "Aang, is everything alright?"
"Yeah," Aang lied, feebly smiling. "Everything is fine. I just need to talk to Zuko," he said as he gently broke away from her touch.
The young woman of the Watertribe gazed upon the Avatar as he walked towards the Firelord's war room. For one reason or another, she felt a pressing weight upon her chest.
Suspicions will grow and lips will whisper. Sometime in the future, blue and orange torrents of pure power will clash; can't wait to get there. Ok, as always, thanks for reading!