A/N: In honor of reaching 100+ kudos (a rarity for a rare pair fic, thanks for reading y'all) here is a little bit of soft angst for you because Toph Beifong thinks feelings are dumb. Cross-posted to AO3 and FFnet

Another shout out to gimmezutara for always helping me get unstuck when writing


Toph felt herself slowly drawn from sleep. It was so warm, she could just keep her eyes closed and let unconsciousness claim her again.

Plus, Aang's steady heartbeat under her ear was soothing. Comfortable. Safe.

"Toph…"

She shifted her head slightly as Aang mumbled her name, but when he said nothing else she realized he was still sleeping.

Was he dreaming of her? Did he think of her constantly- even in sleep?

…Did he love her?

A panic suddenly gripped her as she realized that she wanted to wake up every morning in his arms. She wanted to spend every day with him, forever. She wanted to kiss him and- and more. She wanted him to love her and want her as much as she-

Toph considered her words with Song the previous day. Had she really fallen for him so fast and so hard?

Was she truly in love with him?

Aang's heartbeat changed and he began to shift around as he woke. Toph quickly smoothed out her features and pretended to still be asleep- she couldn't face him when this sudden fear was making her almost shake.

He stirred and she felt his fingertips caress her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear. She almost felt her heart stop when he pressed his lips against her forehead.

Toph remained still as he slowly slid himself out from under her and pulled the sheets back up over her shoulders before he left the room quietly.

This man was the sweetest, most kind, most lovely person she had ever met. She wanted…

She wanted him. She wanted to wake up every morning like this.

That warm fluttery feeling erupted like butterfly-moths in her stomach as her emotions for this man overwhelmed her. Was this love?

And so what- they were married! It wasn't bad so why was she feeling like this? So out of control? So unsure? So hesitant?

She grew antsy in the bed, sleep was not going to let her escape these feelings. Maybe she just needed to get some energy out and clear her head.

Toph dressed quickly and wandered outside, she couldn't feel Aang so maybe he had gone somewhere. That was for the best probably, she needed to be alone…


Toph grunted as she threw the boulder as hard as she could. She was trying to clear her head- well, more like trying to use her head. All these feelings were swirling inside and making it hard to think straight. She'd never had so many strong emotions.

Did she really love Aang? Wasn't it too soon to say such a heavy statement?

Aang just… he had this effect on her. He was unlike anyone she had ever met. It was as if she already knew him.

He somehow made her feel safe enough to let her walls down, to be vulnerable and….

"Ugh!" Toph grew frustrated and bent several more rocks into the clearing.

Toph prided herself on not being an emotional creature. She liked being logical and level-headed and always right. Maybe it was something she had picked up from her parents. To appear strong and perfect and inflexible- to not let anyone see what you were really thinking.

Getting to know Aang, spending time with him, it just made her soft and warm and...

And Aang just seemed to slip past all defenses she had, as soft as a breeze, landing in her heart.

Toph punched into rock repeatedly. "That! Is! Too! Mushy!"

Trusting Aang with who she truly was was no mistake but… trusting him with her feelings? With her heart? …with her body?

Did she know him well enough to trust that he would catch her if she jumped all in to this? Could she depend on him, confide in him, give all of herself to him?

Sure she didn't really have a choice- Aang was already her husband. But for him to be her genuine lover? She needed to be cautious.

She had kissed him. She had woken up next to him twice now. And it was amazing, and they were growing closer and more physical and it was oh so intimate and it was…

Wonderful. Really, it was.

It was so easy to be with him. It was so easy to have the L-word on the tip of her tongue.

And that's why she needed to step back! Because she was falling in love with him and what if this all blows up in her face somehow! Well, she's not sure how it would but-

"Hey!"

Toph jumped at her husband's voice, too focused on her thoughts to register his footsteps. She cursed herself for getting so introspective when she was trying to do the opposite.

"You alright?" He asked in concern when he saw he'd startled her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grunted, bending up a rock that was vaguely human-shaped.

Aang continued when she didn't elaborate, "Okay, do you wanna spar?"

"Not really." She punched the statue, but not hard enough to topple it over.

He nodded slowly. "Do you… wanna do something else? Did you have breakfast?"

"I want to do this." She snipped. "I want to bend, alone."

Aang frowned at her rude tone. "Are you mad? Did I do something to upset you?"

"Spirits, Aang! I just said I wanted some alone time, what's with this interrogation?"

His heartbeat jumped- in shock? Hurt? Anger maybe? Aang seemed like he wanted to argue back; she could feel him bristling. But instead he took a deep breath and answered her evenly, "Fine."

He walked back into the house, and Toph kicked the statue, making it crumble.

Was her biggest fear getting hurt, or was it hurting Aang? (And why did it seem like she just managed to do both..)


All day long, Toph stewed. And all day long, the newlyweds avoided each other.

Toph was annoyed with herself.

She had gotten caught up in her own fears and struck out. She had hurt his feelings- and what for?

Because she wanted him?

Even if it was quick and unexplainable… Toph wanted his company, his friendship, his laughter, his inflaming touches and bewitching kisses and everything.

And that scared her, but Aang didn't deserve to be given a cold shoulder. He'd done nothing wrong- in fact he just kept doing everything right. (Damn him.)

Toph sighed and got up from the empty-feeling bed, stomping out to the living room. She crossed her arms angrily. "So what, you're going to sleep out here and avoid me?"

"You wanted space. I'm giving you space." Aang said shortly.

She grit her teeth, reminding herself to not snap at him again. He had the right to be irritated with her. How to repair this little rift she had caused?

Tension filled the air between them as she awkwardly stood in the hallway entry. She didn't know how to start, but she wasn't going to just leave and give up so easily.

"Unless," Aang sighed and she heard him sit up. "You're ready to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you."

Toph recognized the olive branch. Here Aang was, being so patient with her once again. She felt like she didn't deserve him. He was too good to her. It just made her feel even worse.

She said nothing, tentatively sitting down on the opposite side of the couch and fiddling with her fingers.

"I'm just…" she trailed off. Where to start? Toph wasn't known for her stellar communication skills. She didn't really have friends, unless you counted her parents and maids and one badger mole.

"Scared." She decided to land on that word. That was a good collective description for the reason of her sudden outburst.

Aang gasped in horror, "You're still scared of me? Toph, I promised I wasn't going to hurt you, I'm sorry if I-"

"No, no, no." She waved her hands, frowning at him. "I'm not scared of you. Of course not, Aang. I know you aren't going to do anything to me that I don't want you to."

He breathed a sigh of relief. She would have told him if he was crossing a physical boundary.

"Scared of what then?" He asked softly, shuffling a little closer to her.

Toph picked at her nails. "Aang, you need to know that I don't like being vulnerable. I lash out sometimes. I don't like talking about my emotions."

"Yeah, kinda picked up on that."

She refrained from punching him. She would allow his petty comment after her petty tantrum.

"I'm scared because… I'm having a lot of… feelings."

Aang couldn't help but snort. "Uh huh. What kinds of feelings?"

Toph growled at him, "Strong ones! I'm not good at words."

"Is it strong feelings like…" he frowned, "like you want me to go away?"

"No!" Her eyes widened. Then she looked away from him, feeling her cheeks warm up. She mumbled, "The opposite…"

"What was that?" His voice teased.

Toph crossed her arms. "I want to be around you. All the time. Okay?"

Aang sighed and reached out for her hand, taking it gently and allowing her to pull it away if she wanted. "Toph, I'm not going anywhere. Unless you wanted me to, which you're saying you don't. So please, don't push me away. I want to be around you, too."

She flushed brightly, tempted to pull her hand away and end the discussion there. But she needed to finish properly.

"I've been really sheltered. You know that. So this is just a lot, really quickly and I-" She cut herself off as panic seemed to grip her.

But Aang rubbed his thumb on her hand and said, "Okay. We can take our time. As long as you need, Toph."

She took a deep breath. Right, Aang wasn't going to rush her. But she still needed to be upfront with him, he deserved that instead of petty fights. "I… I really like you, Aang. And it's… confusing and new and I've never felt this way. It's just scary."

Aang raised her hand and kissed it softly. "I know. We aren't in any hurry, right?"

As he repeated her own words from yesterday back to her, Toph felt that knot of panic loosen and relax. There was no hurry to sort out these confusing, strong and sudden feelings. She just… could be with him. With no rush. He made her happy, and that was enough. She was just getting stuck in her head- being silly- of course Aang wasn't going to rush her. In the time that they'd been married, he'd never once rushed her.

She let out a breath of relief. But there was still one more thing. Something she hated doing.

"I'm sorry." She frowned down at her lap. "For pushing you away instead of talking to you."

Aang rubbed at her hand again. "Hey, we're new at this whole marriage thing. There's gonna be some bumps along the way. But thank you, and know that you can always talk to me about anything."

Toph smiled. Maybe this communication thing wasn't so bad. Then, she raised his hand up and kissed it softly, like he had done to her.

"Let's go to bed now?" She offered hopefully, craving his presence after being separated all day.

He squeezed her hand and chuckled. "Yeah. Come on."


A/N: if you are here for the M rating (cough mycomfortblanket cough) please stick around for a few more chapters we are almost there folks 😂 It's about to go from slow burn to a nice SIMMER

I'm not super in love with this chapter but I do think it's fitting for Toph to be frustrated with herself for having feelings at all. I'm a heavy believer that Taang would struggle with communication- at least at the very start of their romantic relationship. We get it tho, feelings are hard.