Arranged Love Story

Toph woke late the next morning. Normally she had a maid wake her and dress her. She sat up slowly, her hands searching the bed to see if she was truly alone.

Aang had said he wouldn't touch her... She hadn't really believed him. She expected him to come back in, and the anxiety made her toss and turn all night long.

But Aang never came back into the bedroom.

Getting dressed took her longer without a maid, but she didn't mind. It gave her more time to be alone and ponder over her new husband. Eventually, she had nothing to do but go out and face him. Would he be awkward, or even resentful? Surely this man couldn't be as nice as he seemed, right?

She didn't know this inn very well, but by walking slowly and following the scent of cooking food, she made it to the kitchen area. She made a mental note to try and map out the layout later.

"Good morning, wife!" Aang said cheerily. "Breakfast is almost ready!"

Well, he didn't seem upset at all. Happy, even. She would follow his lead then. Toph raised an eyebrow in the direction of his voice. "You're cooking?"

"Yep! I promise it will taste good!"

Toph hummed, a small smile unwillingly pulling at her lips. Who would have thought that Mr. 'Savior of the World' Avatar would cook his own food... She voiced her question, "Why don't you have a cook or a maid prepare it?"

Aang's voice seemed closer when he answered, "Oh, I thought you'd be tired of servants. Your dad told me you'd rather do things on your own." He continued hurriedly, "But I can hire some if you want! Or if you ever need help with anything, you can always call on me, I don't mind!"

Toph knew her eyes must have been blown wide. This man...

He was thoughtful?

"Here." She heard a chair scraping across the floor. "Sit and I'll bring out the food."

His hand fell on the small of her back, and Toph instinctively flinched away. Aang immediately withdrew his hand and she heard him walk away from her. She felt a little bad, he had already proven he wasn't going to force himself on her and he was only guiding her to the chair. But still she flinched away from him.

Toph sighed softly in annoyance with herself and took her seat. He had been nice to her so far. She didn't want to make him angry.

It seems she still hadn't upset him.

Even though the floors were wooden, she could practically feel his flighty steps as he ran about the kitchen, humming quietly to himself. She felt herself relaxing a bit more in his presence. (Maybe she could believe him that he wasn't going to be cruel to her.)

Soon enough he had two plates on the table and sat across from her. It smelled delicious.

"Dig in!"

Toph couldn't fight her lips twitching up. "You must be a morning person then."

Aang laughed, with a mouth full of food it sounded like. "I sure am! I know I can be annoying; I'll try to tone it down."

"No." Toph said before she could stop herself. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "No it's... nice."

He must have had his mouth too full of food to answer her so she only shook her head and dug in herself. She still held her fork gracefully, eating small bites like how she was taught.

"You don't have to do that, you know."

Toph blinked. "Do what?"

"Your parents aren't here. It's just you and me. You don't have to be proper and formal."

Wasn't she supposed to be the perfect wife? Isn't that why he wanted her? Toph Beifong was the perfect little doll to play the wife of the Avatar. She represented prestige, power, and money. That's why so many people wanted to marry her after all, despite her blindness and aloofness.

She hesitated for a moment more before shaking her head.

"You're a strange man." Nevertheless, she started taking bigger bites, and even placed her elbow on the table. Her mother would have been swatting her with a fan.

They finished their breakfasts in a- dare she say it- comfortable silence.

As Aang stood to gather their plates, he spoke, "So, I heard that you're an earth bender."

"Yes..." Toph wasn't sure what he'd heard, or how much she should tell him. Her parents were supportive of her bending, but they often hid her talents.

"Would you care to spar then?"

Toph's eyes widened. Now that was odd. "You... want me to fight you?"

Aang backpedaled, "Oh, like a friendly fight! And we don't have to, I just thought maybe you'd like to practice or just-"

"That sounds fun." She interrupted him. He seemed to ramble a lot. But... in a way that made him more conscious of her own agency. Like he was giving her a choice.

"Great!" She could almost feel him smiling. "I'm sure you'll want to change though, right?"

She nodded. It would be best to not ruin a nice dress. Her mother would be furious.

As she went to her room, she found herself growing excited for the chance to fight. But then she caught herself... How much could she trust her new husband? She probably shouldn't give too much away. Her abilities were... not well known and downright strange.

Toph was still unsure by the time she rejoined him in the kitchen in looser clothing.

"Perfect, there's a large clearing just on the other side of the creek."

They made their way outside, and Aang idly chatted the whole time.

"Out of all the elements, earth was the hardest for me to grasp. Pretty ironic I married an earth bender, huh?"

She couldn't help but giggle softly at that. "Why was it so hard for you?"

"I'm an air nomad. The very idea of earth goes against my nature." He joked.

Toph's lips tilted up. "But isn't it nice to think about how everything is connected? Can't you feel it?"

She could almost feel Aang's eyes burning into her. "That's one way to put it."

Aang stopped, right before the creek. "Here's the water, the rocks can be slippery, so be careful."

Toph took his outreached hand as he helped her cross the creek safely. She hoped he didn't notice that she shouldn't have been able to see his open hand. Already, she was letting herself slip around him.

"Oh my spirits, I'm an idiot."

She raised an eyebrow at him as he dropped her hand only to hit his forehead.

"I'm sorry Toph, that was so insensitive of me to ask you to spar when you can't see rocks being thrown at you. I feel so stupid, I swear I'll get the hang of this!"

She simultaneously felt relieved and disappointed. She wouldn't get a good fight, but her secret was safe a little longer. At least until she could trust him more... And maybe one day he wouldn't treat her like a little glass doll because of her blindness. But maybe she shouldn't be too hopeful for that. Everyone treated her that way.

Aang turned to her and continued, "We can just practice our forms together!"

"As long as I get to chuck rocks, I'm happy."


End Notes:

Here's chap two folks! I've got a pretty good layout for the next four chapters, and then it's kinda... hmm. I'll figure it out lol. It'll probably end up being 10 chapters I would guess! Stick along for the slow burning affection!