A/N: Back to the present day in this one. Hope you enjoy. :)

Aang hesitated to answer her, trying to pinpoint the exact moment.

"Just gonna leave me hanging."

He shook his head, "No, I was just thinking."

"Yeah?"

"It was around the wedding, actually. I think maybe that was around the time I started considering ..."

"That girls other than Katara existed?" She said. Blunt, as always.

He grimaced, "Kind of. But I wouldn't put it like that. What I mean is that -"

A hefty yawn from the bison behind them interrupted his train of thought and he turned to pet his head.

"Wait," Toph said, "so you waited 3 YEARS before saying something to me? You really do avoid confrontation."

Aang laughed, "But asking you out isn't a confrontation. Besides, you are always so direct. I assumed if you didn't say something, you weren't interested. I didn't want to lose you as a friend."

"Well, I – um…. didn't think I was exactly your type. And you know, this kind of thing isn't like the stuff I normally bother with. It's got all these rules and such which I'm not about. It's all," and she gestured wildly, flipping her wrists flamboyantly, "It's not something you just solve by just hurling rocks at it… Unless you want me to." Toph's lips turned into a mischievous grin as she bended some pebble's at Aang's head.

"H-hey!" He said. Aang responding in turn by blowing some wind through her hair.

"That feels nice," she said quietly and he move to her side, continuing the light breeze, manipulating the wind to play with her hair and tickle her cheeks. She smiled back at him. It was a rare sight – not her smile but to see a smile from her that wasn't plotting or triumphant. She was simply content.

He pulled her under his arm, continuing to play with her hair.

"Before that night, I was so worried about feeling alone. Feeling awkward. But I realized that I was so focused on this one person because and maybe it was because we were fighting a war and I was 12 and maybe I was so focused on not being alone that I put all of this, this romance on something that wasn't really there. And here I was at this fancy party. This huge crowd and there you were sitting in the crowd and"

"Are you going to tell me how pretty I looked just because I threw on a dress?" She asked softly, her usually venom missing.

"That's a bit cliché, no?"

"Eh, it's on brand for you."

"Maybe. But I've always thought you were pretty."

"Really?"

"Yes. But that night, well. How do I put this…?"

"What you thought I was hot?" she teased.

"Yes," he said, without any hint of laughter even thought that was not the direction he had originally intended to in. Toph merely gulped. She was not expecting him to become so forward so quickly.

"We were dancing. And you were just so ... And you were so close and you were dancing with me. And it was fun and it was easy and I liked just being with you. I liked it very much. I wanted to have your attention like that all of the time. I still want that, before you ask."

His voice grew progressively lower as he whispered in her ears, describing in surprising tasteful but clear detail everything else about her that he liked "very much" both that night and as he would reminder every few sentences, this night as well. Her spine tingled as the vibrations of each word hit her ears and it was the umpteenth time in the past 24 hours that he'd left her completely flabbergasted.

Because while she had certainly had less than savory thoughts about him since her precariously little crush had began, she'd always been embarrassed by them. And even now, with absolutely zero doubt that those feelings were fully and quite enthusiastically reciprocated, she was still too embarrassed to actually voice them.

Finally, after what felt like an entirety of his teasing, she finally said very quietly, "somebody's bold."

"Easy to be when its well received."

"A-and how would you know that."

"Are you forgetting that you taught me how to read people based solely on the slightest twitches and heart rate?"

"Well, I-I," she would be lying if she had said that the entire exchange was not doing it for her.

"It's much easier when your target jumps in your arms," he laughed.

She exhaled forcefully, "You grabbed me to you, not the other way around."

"Would you like me to stop?"

"Yes."

He demeanor instantly changed as he moved his arm from around her. "Okay."

"That's not what I meant," she said.

"What?"

"I want you to stop talking," she said, moving to close the space between them again with a kiss.

"O-oh. Okay."

He kissed her more fervently than before, for the 3rd time that day, stopping only for air and to re-arrange his hands, placing them first at his sides, then in her hair, then on her sides.

For her part she reciprocated his advances, letting him lead the way. Maybe not her style, but excellent confirmation that if this had at any point started out as settling, it no longer was. He said her name softly, with no hesitation. And if his body pressed against her was any indication, he was not disappointed by his choice in partner.

One by one all of the insecurities she'd had around feeling that she would have not even 24 hours ago called a cruel twist of fate melted away. This was not her first foray into a romantic entanglement and she was beginning to figure out that it wasn't his either. Which begged questions not out of jealously but genuine curiosity. She had certainly mentally cast him in the roles he was now playing before but she had had doubts he'd actually be able to live up to them.

As it turns out, he was actually better than she had expected. Just when things started to go beyond what she was willing to do just yet, she pulled back slowly. He whined just a little, low almost like a growl. Still not intimidating but definitely to some effect.

"It's getting late," she whispered.

"Yeah, it is. Time for camp then?"

"I think so."

"Toph, you.. well that's a good look for you," the grin on his face dripping on each word.

"What?" She moved her hands toward her face and then her sides, until she found that her clothes had shifted significantly, "Oh. Well. Hope you enjoy the view."

Her hair was completely tousled and her shirt, too big for her frame had fallen down past one should, exposing much of her shoulder and collar bone. Her lips were slightly swollen, cheeks pink and until he'd said anything, a small but giddy smile had been plastered on her face, though it was quickly morphing now into a smirk.

"I certainly am," Aang said moving forward to catch her lips in another kiss.

"Hey, it's getting late."

"I know. You're just too cute. You're gonna have to get use to this." Aang laughed, kissing her this time on her forehead, self satisfied as he moved to set up their camp for the night. By tomorrow morning, he'd be dropping her off. Truthfully, had it not been for the date or his decision to stop less than an hour from her house to make camp, she'd have been home tonight.

But of course that had been intentional and neither of them had a problem with delaying the journey to an overnight stay.

Toph supposed she should feel odd for spending the night with her boyfriend the very same day he asked her out. But this was Aang and they had spent the night at camp together many times before. Of course this time, they went with laying on the uncovered dirt, earth tent overhead and cool evening breeze instead of bothering with the camping supplies that neither of them had packed.

Toph snuggled up against Aang, resting her head on his chest.

"Good night Aang."

"Night babe."

"I-"

"Shh," he put a finger to her mouth, "let me have this."

She rolled her eyes. Whatever, as long as he was willing to be a human pillow and nobody heard him call her babe, it would be okay.

Maybe not exactly like old times. Better. Definitely better.