Author's Notes
Hey guys! This is my frist fic, which i've finally had the courage to publish after months of reading the great works of other people! I've been writing it for a while now, so i'm publishing 2 chapters right of the bat. I have 3 more that are pratically finished at this point, and a bunch of other ideas that are very well developed, so i should be updating this one pretty regurlarly!
If you love Kataang and love to think of the Gaang as one big dysfunctional family, you're problably going to like what i have in store. Make sure to stay tuned and leave a review if you're so inclined. Thanks!
Chapter 1- Toph's New Family
Night falls in a forest just west of Gaoling. Birds sleep in their nests, the trees shiver gently, and crickets make their characteristic cricket noise. It had just rained during the day, but it stopped at night, creating the perfect sleeping weather. If you asked the four adventurers preparing to sleep at the very same forest what peace feels like, they would probably say that this was it. And they would be sure that their flying bison and winged lemur would agree.
The day was a pretty calm and normal affair, especially by their standards. It mostly consisted of a long training session with the Avatar, which means great things for all members of the group. For Aang and Katara, it means spending time together without having to acknowledge these complicated feelings they have towards each other. For Toph, it means a whole day of kicking Aang's (and occasionally Katara's) butt with giant rocks. And for Sokka it means laughing at Aang and Katara getting their butts kicked by giant rocks.
The pretty normal day gave in to a pretty normal evening, and after dinner, everybody was ready to call it a day, and went to their usual sleeping places. Aang liked to sleep atop of Appa. Katara and Sokka put their sleeping bags close to the campfire, and Toph always made her little rock tent farther away from the rest of the group. Though every day she sleeps a little closer. Everyone had just said their goodnights a few minutes ago, and were in that phase of the sleeping process where you're concentrating on falling asleep. Said concentration is quickly disrupted by the sound of Toph's voice.
"I can't sleep."
It didn't sound necessarily like a complaint. Less like she was disturbed by the fact that she couldn't sleep, and more like she was curious about it. The same way you'd notice that a cloud on the sky is shaped like a dog. She was making an announcement, sharing it with whoever would be there to hear it.
As usual, Katara was there to hear it.
"What's wrong?" She asked, in her trademark motherly voice, while turning herself around so she could look at Toph while she talked. "Is something on your mind?"
"No, nothing's bothering me."
"It´s bothering ME!" Sokka complained, his voice muffled because his face was shoved inside his sleeping bag.
Katara seemed more annoyed at Sokka's insensitive, but predictable, attitude than Toph's sleep- disturbing small talk. In fact, her tone indicated that she was actually happy that Toph was indulging in friendly, non-mocking conversation out of her own free will.
"Are you sure? Is there something you need to talk about?" Katara insisted, hoping to get at that sweet boding spot that always works so well with Aang.
"I swear, there's nothing to talk about. I'm just restless I guess."
From the top of Appa's big, furry head, Aang was sitting down, his legs dangling at around the height of the bison's mouth.
"Maybe it's something you ate?" He suggested, his voice carrying that inane friendliness and curiosity that he brings to every conversation.
" No, I'm feeling fine." Toph paused. "It's like that feeling when you don't feel like going to sleep, but also don't feel like doing anything else you know?"
Sokka audibly, and dramatically, groaned.
"Nope, I just feel like going to sleep really."
Aang continued the conversation as if Sokka was not there, which is a pretty healthy practice for most conversations.
"I get that. When this happens to me, I usually lie down and look at the stars…" He quickly realized that this piece of advice was not going to be of much use to this particular audience. "But that's obviously not an option for you."
"Obviously."
"So maybe we could just talk? I don't feel like sleeping either anyway."
"Yeah! Talk!" Katara seemed happy at the suggestion.
"Nooooo! No talk!" Sokka wasn't quite there yet.
"What are we going to talk about?" Toph asked, even though she was the one who started the talking. "We're with each other, all day, every single day. I think we're already out of conversation topics."
"That's not how this works." Katara protested.
At this point, Sokka had given up on his hopes of sleeping and was standing next to the fire, petting Momo.
" Yeah, c'mon Toph. You've only been with us for a couple weeks. I've had to look at Katara's face…" He then grabbed Katara's head, pointing at it "… every day for as long as I can remember! Do I love it? No. But I find ways to survive."
Toph laughs at this and Sokka looks satisfied, but it's cut short by Katara pushing him to the ground.
"I don't know Sokka, looking at Katara's face every day hasn't been so bad for me." Aang said, then glanced at her, and he could've sworn he saw her blushing. Or was it just the fire's reflection on her face?
"Yeah, that's because she still has patience with you. Give it time." Sokka said, while getting up. "Besides, same goes for you Toph. With us, things aren't quiet for very long. Eventually, we will run into some fire nation soldiers."
"Or pirates." Katara added.
"Or evil spirits!" Aang was glad he could think of something in time to keep the flow going.
"Or a village with some very specific problem that we just happened to stumble at the right time to be able to help."
"Or Zuko will finally track us down again."
"Not to mention Azula and…"
"Wait." Toph interrupted Aang. "Zuko. You guys never told me about him, only that he was an angry freak with a ponytail."
"Yes, which is very different from a mighty warrior's wolfhound!" Katara said sarcastically, looking at Sokka.
"It is!" Sokka retorted, angrily fixing his loose hair up so it would resemble it's typical tied up state, and then looked at Toph." And I also remember telling you that he chased us all around the world.
"Yes! That must've been so awesome."
"Not sure if awesome is the world I'd use." Sokka said, and Appa growled, indicating that, if he could speak, he would also not use "awesome" to describe Zuko chasing then around the world.
"Yeah, he can be pretty dangerous." Aang said, jumping from Appa's head." Have you forgotten that just a few days ago his sister and her two crazy friends chased us around all night? That was definitely not awesome."
"That was different. We were exhausted and angry. Now we're restless and ready to kick some butt!"
"Speak for yourself" said Sokka. "I'll be happy if we never run into Zuko or his evil sister ever again."
"Oh c'mon." Toph insisted." You must at least have some cool stories!"
"We did go through a lot of crazy stuff together… "Katara remarked.
And so, the gang took turns telling Toph of all the times Zuko tried to capture the Avatar, and Aang made sure not tell the one time he did rescue the Avatar. They told her about the time everyone first met, when Zuko attacked their tribe, when he destroyed Kyoshi Island, the temple where Aang talked to Roku, the pirates, the girl with the blind animal hunter, and finally the siege of the north. As the storytelling got more exciting, Aang and Sooka would reenact some of the moments, which didn't do a lot for Toph, but she seemed to appreciate it. The blind earthbender was a surprisingly good audience, constantly raising questions and reacting when appropriate. As the group told the story, minutes turned into hours; there was always someone to say "oh and then this one time…", prompting another tale, full of interjections and corrections: "you're telling it wrong" was another common phrase, usually uttered by Sokka.
More and more wood was added to the fire and eventually Sokka started eating what was left of dinner, soon followed by everyone else. Eating, laughing and reminiscing under the dark of night; it felt just like a sleepover at a friend's house, something this group of teenagers did not have the opportunity to do very often, some of them not at all. They were talking about almost being killed by the prince of the most powerful nation of all time, bent on conquering the whole world, but in the same way another group of friends would talk about a funny old lady that used to live in their street. When they finally finished telling about the siege of the north, everybody was as awake as they've ever been.
"So… "Toph looked at the spot she knew Sokka was sitting, with the amount of sensibleness and delicacy someone would expect from Toph. You dated the moon?"
"Yeah, I kinda did." Sokka then turned around and looked up at the last moon, maybe to remember her, maybe to try to hide the tears forming in his face.
"I'm really sorry Sokka." Katara sat next to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"i…" Sokka wanted to say something sarcastic, but the truth is that he really appreciated what Katara was doing. He always did. "Yeah. Thanks."
Toph then turned to Aang, who was lying down playing with Momo.
"And I still don't understand why you saved Zuko's life."
"I already told him it makes no sense!" Just like that, Sokka was already back to his former self.
Aang sat up, with Momo on his shoulder.
"I will never just leave someone to die."
"Even if that someone is your mortal enemy?"
"Yes, Sokka." Aang's expression got a little more serious, though he wasn't angry." I'm the last airbender. That's not just about bending air. I'm also the last of the Air Nomads, the last living person to have been raised on their way of life. If I don't hold up to these standards, this way of life, literally no one else will. It's already my fault they got wiped out and this war started, I got to do everything I can to keep their memory alive."
There was a small pause, where everybody reflected on what had just been said. Toph and Sokka aren't used to seeing this side of his.
But Katara is.
" You know it's not your fault Aang." She cut the silence." We've talked about this. You don't have to feel responsible for representing an entire nation."
"Yeah buddy." Sokka chimed in, regretting his earlier bluntness, which surprised his sister. "I mean, should Katara worry about represent the entire Southern Water Tribes, just because she is the last waterbender?"
Aang wanted to argue that it wasn't the same thing, but at the same time he appreciated his friends concern for him, and did not want to sour everyone's moods with serious talk.
" Well, you don't need to worry about that, Katara." Toph said, lowering some of the tension, which Aang felt grateful for." I'm sure the Tribes feel well represented by you. You kicked Zuko's butt! Did you really say 'Trust me, it's not going to be much of a match'?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"So awesome!" Toph exclaimed, falling to the ground while throwing her arms up. This made Katara smile shyly. It was nice to receive that amount of respect from Toph. "I need to have one of those prepared for when we face this crazy fire girl again."
The mention of Azula, said crazy fire girl, made the other three a little uneasy again.
"Okay, but is it just me or is Azula way scarier than Zuko?" Sokka voiced everyone's concerns.
"Way scarier." Katara agreed.
"She's on a whole other level. Her fire is blue!" Aang added." She knows she's better than him too. She called him Zuzo before we started fighting."
This triggered a laugh from everyone on camp.
"It's weird to think of these two as goofy siblings with nicknames." Katara said, looking somewhat affectionally at Sokka. She knows that she is very lucky to have him as a brother, even though they've never given each other funny nicknames. "Can you imagine what a family picnic with Zuko, Azula and Firelord Ozai would be like?
"That's gotta be the most messed up, evil family picnic in the world." Sokka said, in a mix of mockery and fear.
"Iroh seems like a pretty ok guy though." Katara remarked.
"Yeah, and for all we know he's dead, killed by his own niece." Aang answered.
"Yeesh." Toph realized right before Azula's cowardly attack that Iroh was the man who had a life changing conversation with her after she left the group, and the nephew he went on about was Zuko himself. "And I thought my family was bad."
"At least they let you come with us in the end."
"Yeah, sure, let's go with that." Toph was not very good at being evasive.
"How evil do you have to be…" Katara was saying with a reflective tone, looking up at the stars. She didn't know how long they were up, talking about Zuko and their adventures, but she knew it was pretty late. "… To fight and try to kill someone so close to you, your own family. It's horrifying. Azula and Zuko were also trying to kill each other before we got to you, weren't they?"
Aang confirmed with a nod, barely visible in the dark of night.
"It's like Sokka said. It's a family with a history of evil. I mean, their great-grandfather is the man who destroyed my entire nation, because he was afraid the Avatar would stop his plans for world domination. How can anybody from that family be a normal, kind human being?"
"Yeah." Toph agreed. "Family can mess you up." After a small pause, she asked Aang: "Were your parents nice to you?
" The Air Nomads don't raise their children in nuclear families like the rest of the nations. The monks raise -raised- us. In a way, the entire society was my family."
"Wow… so no parents to tell you what to do?" Aang tried to correct her, saying that of course there were rules, but she cut him off. "That must've been amazing"
And Aang agreed. It was pretty amazing. At least until he learned that he was the Avatar, that he could no longer play with his friends and live a normal life. Maybe Toph had a point about rules…
"You must miss then so much." Katara said. She always gets a little emotional when Aang talks about the Air Nomads. Again, it's not the same thing, but she knows how it is to lose a family. And what it means to have to grow older much sooner than she should've. To have that childhood suddenly stripped away. Aang carries the weight of the world on his shoulder, yet he is always smiling, and actually constantly reminds her that she herself is still young and should have fun and enjoy life. Things just feel lighter with him, easier. He's such a sweet person, even though he's also the most powerful bender she's ever known…
And that's about the extent of how deep she is willing to go when thinking about Aang, and what he means to her. Anything else is just too complicated. She loves him, and will always be there for him. And for now, that's just enough that she can wrap her head around and not be scared of anything.
"I do miss then." Aang got her out of her own head. He's also pretty good at that, as it turns out." But it's okay. I have you guys now!" He said, and pulled out his winning smile. She loved that smile.
" What a great family we are." Sokka said, in playful sarcasm. "Four kids, living in the wilds, that can't spend more than a week without running into some kind of life-threatening situation. One of us chooses to be bald AND VEGETARIAN…" This caused Aang to rub his head, feeling somewhat hurt. "…The other is a blind fighting champion… "Toph only smiled at this. "And the other…" Sokka turned to Katara, who was looking straight in his eyes, bending a body of water on the air, pointing at him.
"I dare you to finish that sentence." She challenged him.
"… Is a great sister?" He said, flinching.
"That's what I thought." Katara, satisfied, stored the water in her cantrip, and Sokka let out a sigh of relief.
"Don't forget about Momo and Appa!" Aang reminded him, always sticking up for his animals.
On cue, Appa growled happily and licked Sokka, in one big swoop from his feet to his head, leaving the warrior completely covered in bison saliva.
"Yes, thanks for reminding me Aang. How could I forget."
Aang giggled, and hugged Appa.
"Besides." He said, his voice muffled by his face being pressed against Appa's fur." We can't be the worse family in the world. We're at least better than Zuko's family.
"It's better than my family too." Toph agreed." I'd much rather be a part of this family than the one I had back in Gaoling."
"Oh really?" Katara said, feeling very self-righteous. "So Ms I-don't-need-help-i-can-pull-my-own-weight admits that she is actually a part of something?"
"Don't push it, Sugar Queen. And leave the nicknames to me."
"Yeah sis, that was way too long."
"It wasn't supposed to be a nickname, it was more like a-"
"But yeah." Toph interrupted Katara before she could explain herself, which was probably for the waterbender's own good." It's not just that it's better than when I was stuck back home. Hanging out with you guys, training the Avatar, it's been really good. Better than I expected. We're always going to different places, doing cool things. I've never felt so free, and had so much fun. I'm glad I decided to stick around."
"I'm really glad too." Aang said, now moving closer to where the rest of the group were. "You're the best earthbending teacher I could've wished for."
"I know!" She answered with a cocky smile.
"Can I hug you?"
"Sure, but I'm gonna punch you after."
"Worth it". Aang then hugged her, and although Toph didn't hug him back, she seemed to be a little okay with the situation. Of course, when Aang let go, Toph punched his arm, who let out a big "Ow!"
"I warned you."
"That just can't be worth it man." Sokka remarked.
After a few seconds of silence, Appa growled and lied down.
"I'm gonna have to agree with Appa there guys. "Sokka said, stretching and getting on his sleeping bag." It's been great, but it's time to sleep."
"Yeah." Toph agreed." I'm actually very sleepy now." Everybody then lied down on the exact spot they were, close to the dim light of the campfire. As she laid on the ground, Toph thought about this group of people, who just spent almost all night up, talking with her, just because she said that she couldn't sleep. These people who respected and admired how powerful she was, to the point that she had to constantly remind then that she was, in fact, blind. She thought that she was really lucky.
"Hey guys." She said, with her eyes closed." Thanks".
"Don't mention it." Sokka grumbled, already half asleep.
Aang and Katara looked at Toph, and realized that this time she was sleeping there, around the campfire with then, not in her little hut away from everyone. They then looked at each other, in a knowing look that acknowledged that they had accomplished something that night, and where proud of their achievement.
"Yeah, don't mention it." Katara, said, lovingly." Good night everyone."
The day was almost dawning when the group finally fell asleep. In the distance, chicken crowned to announce the beginning of the morning, a deer was drinking water by the river, and the rays of sun crossed trough the leaves of the trees. If you asked the four teenagers sleeping there what peace felt like, they would probably answer that this was it.
End