A/N. Shorter chapter, with just some shenanigans! Next chapter, bitter work.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
"Oh, how sweet. Wake up you idiot."
A boot pricked his ribs, and Aang opened his eyes, begrudgingly. Why? He had not slept this well in several days. No nightmares. Just that sweet sense of sleep.
The sun way already high in the sky, but that didn't surprise him. After the few days they had had, no wonder they all slept in. What did surprise him, was the mass of brown hair draped over his chest. Spirits!
Katara still slept, curled against him. How his head didn't melt off, Aang didn't know. Turning to the side where the foot had come from, he saw the green and grey boots, without soles. Toph. Looking up, he saw the earthbender grin towards him. Here gaze was just a few centimetres off, but otherwise, it was quite clear she was laughing her ass off.
"Well? Are you getting up? I need to talk to you." The blind girl said, while Aang gently escaped the arm that the waterbender had probably dropped around him in her sleep. Spirits, no wonder he had slept so well.
Standing up, the airbender quickly glanced towards where Sokka had collapsed the previous night. Thanks the Spirits, he was still in far away dream land.
"Sweetness over there had promised me I wouldn't have to keep my feet up. That was a shitty lie." Toph said, punching the airbender against his shoulder. His right shoulder, the one where his tunic didn't cover his skin.
"Get dressed. And come with me." She began to walk away, cackling.
"I am dressed Toph." Aang sighed, before following the girl towards the other side of the plateau.
"Well, I can only sense some pants. So, whatever you are wearing, it explains Sugar Queen's heart rate." Toph continued to laugh, but when they were out of earshot of the two sleeping water tribe siblings, she turned towards Aang, serious this time.
"Who was the old guy yesterday?" She asked suddenly, without explanation.
"Ehm… Iroh. Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation. He and his nephew kind of chased us all around the world." He answered. Why was she asking this?
"Wait! That guy is the Dragon of the West? The general who burned and pillaged the north of the Earth Kingdom, before besieging Ba Sing Se for six hundred days? That guy?" Toph looked as if she was hit by a wall of stones even she couldn't bend.
"Well… I think! My more recent history is not the best! Side effect of being frozen in an iceberg for one century." Aang laughed.
"Not even going to ask about that one. Rumours said you time travelled. Rubbish, of course. So, stuck in an iceberg for one century. Not weird. But… Iroh? Is he… a bad guy?" She asked, hesitantly. The airbender was impressed by the fact she was capable of opening up. He had not expected her to let go of that hard façade any time soon.
"No, I don't think so. He defended the Moon Spirit and took out the soldiers of his own nation protecting it. And let me tell you… That was the best firebending I have ever seen. He is dangerous… But not a villain." Aang was curious where this was leading.
"Good. In that case… I'm sorry for the past days. For my… attitude. I'll help out from now on. But if you ever tell your girlfriend that I said sorry, I'm going to castrate you. Understood?" Toph's voice became forceful at the last part of her sentence.
"Eh… Yeah, of course… But she's not my girlfriend."
"Yeah, she is. You two are just too blind to tell." With that, Toph walked away.
Aang stood on the ledge, overlooking the canyon beneath them. What was Katara, exactly? A friend? No. They had gone past that kind of relationship. Certainly, after that talk several hours before. He had slipped up, he knew it. Several times, he had said things that were too specific to be theoretical. The airbender had clearly talked about them. And, if he wasn't mistaken… So had Katara.
He knew that the idea of one love scared her. Rightly so, it terrified him. How was he possibly going to figure out what was happening with them if he imposed that rule upon himself? Well, they had an understanding now. They would both take some time to figure it out. Or at least… He thought they had promised that. The conversation seemed to have ended like that. With her, asking for more time. And him, asking the same. Well… That was not so terrible, was it?
"Good morning!" A male voice behind him hollered, and Aang jumped in the air, several feet high. Sokka. Spirits, how was he going to keep his cool, while having spent the night sleeping next to the waterbender… who had a protective brother?
"Hey Sokka!" Aang tried to sound nonchalant, and calm. It came out as a squeak. Great.
"What has you so squirmish this morning? Interesting dreams?" The water tribe boy pocked him in the ribs with an elbow, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Eh… Yeah…" Better to have weird dreams than to say he had woken up with a very… hard problem. Next to Katara.
"Don't we all, my friend. So, well rested?" Sokka took a step backwards, while Momo climbed the warrior's leg. Aang nodded.
"Great. In that case, after breakfast, we should get a move on. Those three freaks are probably still somewhere around, and Zuko is an enraged wild card. Toph wanted to find a good place for earthbending, and I suppose we still need a lake or something for your water shenanigans with my sister! So, let's move!" Sokka grabbed Momo and put him on his shoulder. The lemur began going around in the boy's wolf tail, perhaps searching for food.
"Oh, by the way! Have you seen where Katara slept? Crazy girl! Just several feet away from the ledge of this plateau!" Sokka laughed, walking back to where Appa lay, still sleeping soundly.
Oh don't worry my friend! I slept between your sister and the ledge, no worry! She couldn't have fallen off the mountain without sitting on me.
Aang resisted the urge to say that.
The airbender followed and saw Katara stir in the distance. The waterbender looked around, probably looking for him. He changed the direction. Instead of going towards Appa, where Sokka was preparing breakfast while Toph was standing next to him, he went to towards Katara.
"Hey… Did you sleep well?" He extended a hand, which she took. The pull in his heart when she touched him was even harder now than it had been before.
"Uhm… Yeah… I… I'm going to help Sokka!" With that, she released his hand, and quickly went towards her brother.
She seemed embarrassed. Aang thought it over while walking behind her. Of course, he had been the first to fall asleep… So, her staying with him had been a choice. Or at least… He hoped. Of course, it was entirely possible she had just passed out from exhaustion. And he had been the perfect pillow.
The airbender took a bread roll that Sokka was handing him, then took a watermelon. Crossing the little camp, Aang poked Appa's side, at which the bison grumbled, and blew some air towards him. The force pushed him against the soft fur of his pet.
"You are lucky. A bath yesterday, some nice, relaxed flying today" at that, the bison grumbled even harder, sounding none too pleased. "I know, I know! But then, several days at the same campsite! I promise! We are going to find a place with a lake, and some nice shades! You are going to be the most pampered bison in existence." At that, Appa let out a soft bellow.
"Is it just me, or does that beast sound way too intelligent for its size?" Toph asked when Aang came back to the campsite.
"As I said yesterday. Appa." Katara muttered, trying to comb her hair. Aang tried not to look at that scene. Each morning, he was intrigued by her routine. Combing that long hair out, making it look like a battle each time. Cursing, while pulling long hairs from the comb. Aang remembered that the first time he had seen it, he had asked Sokka if they should help. The water tribe boy had just laughed and said something about "Nope, not going near her when she's like that."
"Sorry. Appa. What is he, exactly? He doesn't feel like other bea… creatures." Toph corked an eyebrow, gazing in the direction of the bison.
"A Sky Bison! Actually… the only one." At that, his heart ached. Aang didn't like to think of himself as the last airbender. But Appa was also alone.
Katara probably saw his expression, for she spoke.
"For the moment, Aang, you never know."
"Well, I'm not an expert or something, but doesn't he need a girl bison for that?" Toph's voice sounded serious, but also a bit amused.
"In my time, there were also wild bisons. Maybe… Maybe there are some left." Aang had to believe that. There had been large herds east of the Eastern Air Temple, and there had been several small colonies on the most southern isles of the Fire Nation.
"And… No offence, again, but I have some questions, now that we are not chased around." The earthbender turned towards him, and he saw the curious expression on the girl's face.
"What questions?" Katara asked.
"Well, first of all… How come two water tribe people travel with a century-old skinny kid?"
"Ha! Well, we found dear skinny Aang in an iceberg," Sokka began but was instantly hit in the eye with a blue bead. "Ow! Alright, alright! Katara got angry at me and exploded an iceberg! Better?" He grumbled, while the waterbender picked up the bead to fix one of her hair loopies.
"Much better. Aang and Appa were frozen inside, and after waking up, we took them to our village. There, Zuko, the guy from yesterday, tried to burn down the tribe searching for Aang. He delivered himself in exchange for the safety of the village. Sokka and I went to save him, we did, and then we went to the Northern Water Tribe. Coming back from there, we tried to go to Omashu, but we had to look elsewhere for an earthbending teacher, because it is occupied. Hence, Goaling, and you. So… Basically, that is our journey." Katara explained
Toph nodded, accepting it, and then turned to Aang.
"Two questions for you. Why are you like hovering over the ground? And what is up with all these weird patterns all over you? I don't feel them too well, but I can sense something strange."
Aang laughed. He appreciated that Toph didn't ask about how he had been frozen, or why he was a century late. Just… ordinary things. Finally!
"Well, I airbend most of the time I walk… So maybe my feet just don't really touch the earth?" Aang suggested. He didn't even realize that he did that.
"Great. I have to learn a bird earthbending.' Toph said, with a grin. "And what about the patterns?"
"Oh, I think you sense my tattoos!" At that, Aang was excited.
"Wait, what? You have tattoos. All over your body." Her milky eyes went wide, and the moon peach in her hand was forgotten.
"Yep. From head to toes. It is an Airbending Master thing! Got them when I was twelve." Aang took a bite from the bread bun. At exactly the wrong moment, because he couldn't stop Sokka from speaking.
"Yeah, and let me tell you something! Even his butt is tattooed! Big blue lines, over each cheek! Hey Aang, you're lucky they didn't tattoo the other side!" The water tribe boy laughed, while Toph joined him, cackling. Aang could feel his ears heat up, a cleat sign that he was blushing. But he was surprised to hear a giggle from his left. Turning, he saw Katara, with a hand in front of her mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. Sokka stood up, still laughing, and began to pack his sleeping bag, whistling that song. That song Katara had forbidden him to sing aloud.
Swallowing the bread, Aang spoke quietly to Katara.
"Seriously? You too?"
"Sorry Aang, but can you imagine how funny it would have been to see you at twelve, walking all stiffly because your butt hurt so much from the tattoos?" Katara tried not to smile, but the crinkles around her eyes betrayed her mirth.
"Well, I don't have to imagine. Gyatso made fun of me for a whole week. I had to eat standing up. In the dinner room. With. All. The. Other. Children." At that, even he cracked a smile. He could still hear the laughter from more than a hundred kids. Good times.
Toph stopped laughing, and turned serious again. Only now, one corner of her mouth was turned upwards, in a very sinister smile.
"Sugar Queen, I'm sure you can convince Blue Butt over there to show you the tattoos!" Toph ran towards Sokka. Crafty little earthbender. Of course, Katara wouldn't pursue her, to wash her mouth with soap, when Sokka was there to ask… questions.
"Don't mind her. She doesn't mean it… I think?" Aang smiled. He had quickly realized to just indulge Toph, and not take everything at heart.
"Each freaking time. I can't have a normal conversation with her, without it turning in a joke about…" At that, she stopped. Blushing. But Aang understood. A joke about them. He had been on the receiving end, just this morning in fact.
"Yeah… I know. Come on, let's go." Smiling at the waterbender, Aang jumped towards Appa. The others climbed on the saddle.
"So! A good place to train! A beautiful lake for waterbending! And a cool place to learn earthbending! I can't wait!" He shouted merrily. Finally, things were really looking up!
Answers :
Jjsmith103 : Dancing around their feelings, probing, trying to figure out what the other feels. It is so nice to write! And thanks!
Ashley Barbosa: Oh, they'll figure it out… But is it in the future, or the near future.? You'll have to see. Lol!