So, this should be interesting. I'm not sure how what I'm about to do is going to go over, but this is the kind of thing that I can revise in later iterations and I'd really like to move on to where I'm a bit more free. (To be fair, I'm largely restricting myself, but I digress.)
Reunions and broken ribs don't mix. There's a lot of hugging when someone comes in from the metaphorical cold. And strong, "thank goodness you're alive and well" hugs in particular do bad things to broken ribs. Still, it was hard for Tom to complain about being reunited with his friends so soon. It was probably the longest he had been apart from them since he had met them. Parting can be hard, after all.
And of course then came the questions. So many questions. Are you alright? What happened? How did you get away? It was hours before they addressed what they would be doing, but Tom at least didn't mind. They also filled him in on what had happened to Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom while he was captured. For once his surprise wasn't feigned. And when they did get back on topic Tom didn't have much to contribute other than he was also against becoming a cave person. As for their "borrowing" of clothes to blend in with the locals, Tom took something simple, a light, simple red shirt that he could wear over his black t-shirt as well a non-descript pair of pants. He kept his own shoes. Sure, leather shoes and the cheap shirt wasn't a normal combo around here, but by this point they were so scuffed and charred and whatnot, they didn't look that out of place. To some extent, he looked like the pauper of the group.
With disguises procured, the group entered the local city. Sokka, Toph, and Katara put a few extra coins toward buying a few accessors to complete their look before they decided to set out and find something to eat. Tom made a point to note that Aang's slang was literally one hundred years old. "Come on, how much could slang have changed in a hundred years?" Aang asked before he turned the corner and started referring to every random passerby as "hotman".
"Groovy."
The rest of the time there passed relatively quickly for Tom. He'd let Aang have his fun with dance party. Why not, right? They had spent a day and a half there, yet it felt almost as quick as the show. Besides, the time spent on non-violent shenanigans gave Tom time to heal from his latest injury. Though, to be fair, he was feeling worlds better thanks to Katara.
A part of him wondered if he could just meditate his way through the dull moments of the journey all the way to the invasion. Though that was more of a vain hope, then an actual thought. Specifically, he started meditating as soon as Katara, Sokka, and Aang left for their "parent teacher conference" after Aang's little adventure in town and its public school the day before. But of course, no matter how deep his concentration, Toph had her way of breaking through.
"KATARA IS IN LOVE WITH YOU!" she settled on after almost a straight hour of screaming into his ear from an inch away. If the circumstances had been different, Tom might have been impressed by her vocal endurance and lung capacity. Maybe she should take up singing?
Still, his patience had finally worn thin. "Oh, no. Whatever will this do with our group dynamic…" he responded with all the enthusiasm of filing a tax return. He didn't even bother to open his eyes.
"I knew you could hear me," the earthbender growled back, her voice only barely seeming a little horse.
"Well, it's pretty hard to miss you-" suddenly Tom's head turned her way, their noses barely not brushing, "-SHOUTING IN MY EAR FOR A FUCKING HOUR!"
Toph moved away, standing upright from her crouched position. But she was far from impressed by his response. "Well, I guess that's what it takes with you! You haven't said anything about what happened in Ba Sing Se since you came back. It's been two days!"
"What do you want me to say, Toph?" Tom shot back, "I made a play, it failed, bad things happened, and now we're only arguably negligibly better off than we should be."
"How about you say that to Aang! Do you have any idea how much he's beating himself up over what happened?"
Tom's head instinctively tilted in confusion, "What? What are you talking about? He's fine."
"No, he's good at pretending he's fine!" Toph shot back, having whipped herself into a pretty heated rage. "He thinks he screwed up things worse than he was supposed to! He's freaking out! I would think you would know that as his friend even without your psychic powers or whatever!"
Tom paused. "He's supposed to have that reaction to-"
"AND YOU'RE OKAY WITH THAT?!"
"We haven't had a chance to talk!"
"Oh really? Sokka and Katara have never fallen asleep in the two days you been back? And what about right now?! Why did it take me shouting in your ear for an hour to get you to start this unproductive conversation?! Do you even need to meditate right now?!"
"Probably not…"
"Well, I guess you're not stupid enough to lie to me," she paused to add extra venom to the last two words of the sentence, "this time…"
"And now we get to the real reason you're pissed at me," Tom grumbled dryly.
"Yes! I'm furious about the letter and the ambush! But no, that's not the only reason I'm mad! You're smart Tom! You must know by now that keeping this secret from Sokka and Katara only makes things more complicated!"
"So you keep-"
"Yes!" Toph shouted the firebender down, "I keep telling you because it's true! You know I'm right!"
"I have my reasons…" Tom growled back.
Toph gave a dismissive laugh, "'You have your reasons', huh? What reasons? Is it that Sokka's a blabbermouth? Do you really not trust him enough with something this big?! And what about Katara?!"
"Truth be told, I didn't want you to find out about this!"
"But WHY?! What are you so afraid of?!"
The heat in Tom's voice had been dying as Toph's very true words cut through his defenses. But it returned in force with his answer, finally standing and turning to face her directly, "Do you HONESTLY not understand what the implications of my knowledge means for all of you?!"
And in turn, Toph's anger stalled. "Implications? What implications?"
Tom turned around, trying his best to cool off. The argument had gone far enough. And worse, he noticed movement against the lip of the cave when he turned toward the entrance. "If you don't, then you're better off for it. And so are they." Toph balled her fist as Tom walked away, finally sensing that the others had returned while she was distracted by the argument.
The others entered, knowing they had been spotted, but no one said anything. No one knew what to say. Eventually, they had to talk about something, so Aang's little adventure at the school seemed like a safer place to start. It seemed obvious enough to Sokka that they should just leave, but Aang has already invited his classmates to a dance party in the cave they were staying in. And after all, why not still hold the party? Anything to lighten the mood at this point would be welcome.
With just a few hours before the students from the school arriving, the group got to work prepping the cave for a party. Even Tom and Toph chipped in despite their bad moods. The group's bending took a task that would normally be unreasonable to accomplish over the span of days into a matter of minutes. Tables, chairs, drinks, a stage for the band, and candles for the perfect lighting. With time to spare, Tom headed outside the cave, quietly signaling for Aang to follow. He did, finding Tom resting against the wall of the hill the cave was carved into.
"We're better off, you know," Tom said, unprompted.
"Huh?"
"Ba Sing Se should be a lot worse off than it is."
Aang's head fell in thought for a moment. "Then why did it take you this long to say it?"
"Because you're not the only one good at hiding all that angst, Twinkletoes." They both turned to see Toph standing behind them. They both reacted a little sourly at her comment.
"Angst?" Aang questioned, "I don't have any angst. I'm the happy-go-lucky type, remember?" He expected Toph's look of disbelief, but when he got one from Tom too, he reconsidered. "W-well, I don't have that much angst. I mean, the fate of the world literally rests on my shoulders!"
Toph rolled her eyes before turning to Tom, "And what about you, Hotshot?"
Tom's tensed shoulders slumped. None of them had even noticed his shoulders had been so tense until that moment. He paused, not wanting to get into it, but knowing they deserved at least something. "I should have been able to stop the lightning," he sighed, finally, "But Azula aimed higher than she should have. At your head. I think she's becoming more violent than she should be because of me. If the situation is any worse than it should be, then the blame falls on my shoulders."
"It's not your fault Azula's crazy, Tom," Aang assured.
"I know I'm not personally responsible for Azula," Tom returned, "But I am responsible for any changes in her."
"Oh, stuff it. You're as responsible for Azula as you are for the sun rising."
Tom raised an eyebrow at Toph's comment. It was amazing how used to her he was. "Tactful as ever, I see." Though, now that he thought about it, if you added a little cussing, it would actually sound like something Jen would say to him on the subject. Suddenly the thought of the two of them meeting sent a quick chill down Tom's spine.
There was a pause for a moment. A contemplative one. Then Aang looked up at the twilight. "You're afraid we're not real, aren't you?"
Toph was baffled, but Tom sighed. "If none of this were real, it would certainly explain why a god damned TV show predicted all of your lives so perfectly."
"That's what you were worried about?" Toph snorted, "Relax, Hotshot. I'm as real as it gets."
Tom smiled. "Indeed. But that's not the only thing. You're all like family to me. No matter the part of me in the back of my mind that tries to tell me that I'm hallucinating all of this. It's deeper than that. I've had conversations about all of you before we met with other people from my world. We spoke ill of you, pointing out flaws that made you 'interesting'. Just thinking about that makes me… uncomfortable."
"What are my flaws?" Toph asked, casual as ever.
"Really? You're asking this now?"
"Just spit it out."
"How about; bullheaded to the point of reckless stupidity and a complete lack of regard for social cues." Toph's response was, of course, to punch Tom's arm. "Ouch! You asked."
"Well," Aang emphasized to cut off another potential argument, "I don't think Katara or Sokka would have that much of a problem with it."
"Even if I agreed with that," Tom began uneasily, "I know I have a problem with it. Call it selfish, but I'd rather no one else find out about all of this at all." He smiled, his mood lightening a little. "Besides, Toph is probably right about these sorts of things coming out on their own."
"Well, if you don't want that to be right now, you'd better clam up."
Tom and Aang peeked around the corner to see Katara heading toward the mouth of the cave where they were talking. "So we're in agreement on this now?" Tom asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow.
"Nope, I'm just building up for when I'm proven right."
"Right about what?" Katara asked curiously, rounding the corner. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Tom said, earning a quick, disapproving frown from Katara. Tom ignored it and turned back to Toph. "On a related note, I would have given you the details if we had the time."
Toph huffed dismissively, but there was still the faint crack of a smile on her lips. "Well, next time make time."
"I will. And for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry."
After a brief pause, Toph punched Tom in the arm again. "Yeah, well… apology accepted. It'll make gloating when I'm proven right all the sweeter."
"Toph, you're a class act."
"I know."
All too soon, the students from the school arrived. It took a little prodding from Aang, but eventually the kids loosened up and the party really got started. Tom couldn't help but enjoy the scene all the more in person, even if he was still on the sidelines of it. Something that Katara noticed.
"You're not going to dance, Tom?" she asked.
It was actually hard for him to not laugh in her face, though what stopped him was the knowledge that she had no idea how funny that notion was. "Me? Dance? No, never again."
"You're that bad, huh?" Toph asked, grinning wide.
"You have absolutely no idea."
"I kind of find that hard to believe," Sokka noted, "You're athletic and stuff. What's the problem?"
"If you give me choreography and a few days to practice it, I'm a passible dancer," Tom said, "But I don't do this sort of dancing well. At all."
Katara cocked an eyebrow, "Then why do you keep referring to fighting as 'dancing'?"
There was a pause. "Huh. I do, don't I?"
That was all Tom elected to say on the subject. His mind was elsewhere. Back home. That said, it didn't take much for him to evasively change the subject as soon Sokka noticed Aang dancing with one of the girls from the school. "Wow. They look pretty good together."
"Ehh, if that's what you like…" Katara mumbled, making a point of looking away.
As much as he knew he shouldn't have, Tom couldn't help but comment. Especially since Sokka had wandered off right then. "That's not a hint of jealousy I hear in your voice, is it?"
"Wh-what? No! Not at all!"
"Oh, yes," Tom teased, "That cherry-red face of yours is very convincing."
"You totally like Aang, don't you?" Toph joined in.
"I do not! Stop making things up!" she growled back, trying her best not to draw attention to herself. She was so wrapped up in her denial that she didn't even notice Aang walk over and offer his hand to dance with her. When she did notice, she shuddered at first before quickly getting herself back together. She tried to politely decline, but when Aang insisted, she smiled back at him and took his hand.
"She totally likes him."
"Obviously."
Tom spent the rest of the evening enjoying the party. As much as he enjoyed letting his inner pugilist out as much as he has since he arrived in this world, it was nice to spend some time doing something that was both fun and involved no violence whatsoever. Variety being the spice of life and all that. As a matter of fact, his hands off approach continued through a certain fishing village and through Sokka's apprenticeship with a certain sword master.
In fact, it wasn't until the group arrived at a small lake surrounded on all sides by a natural stone wall that Tom perked up again. He enjoyed the water like the rest of his friends, but all day, he found himself chuckling and looking forward to the coming night. "Oh, I wonder how this one will go…"
With how short it is on the word count end it's depressing that it took me this long to get it done. Still, I think it's got a good amount of content for its modest word count. (And it's still twice as long as some of my earlier chapters in this very story, so make of that what you will.) Again, I'm skipping stuff I could have turned into chapters. On the one hand, it's not like I don't have material to work with. At least as far as Sokka's Master, I'm really not sure what I'd do with The Painted Lady, but I digress. But on the other hand, I actually want to get to the next story in this and actually make it a series. Who knows, maybe I'll do something with the episodes I skipped at some point in the future? Time will tell.
