Prompt: Avatar State

Word Count: 3,016

But even at my strongest,

Of all things Aang expected to see when he returned to their estate in Ba Sing Se, Toph covered in makeup was not one of them. He performed a double take as he walked past the girl lounging in the bean bag chair. She had her hands behind her head, facing up at the ceiling as she kept her eyes closed, exposing the makeup on her eyelids.

"I can tell you're staring, Twinkle Toes," she coldly addressed, eyes still shut.

"Uhh, why's your face all weird?"

The spike of concrete that collided with his rear end was enough clarity for him to apologize and sheepishly back off.

"So, um, where's everyone else?"

Toph shrugged. "Think Sokka said something 'bout going shopping and Katara wanted to go with to make sure he didn't get lost."

He nodded. "Oh." He awkwardly swayed back and forth. "Did you… get up to anything today?"

She opened her eyes to express her annoyance at his general direction. "Sugar Queen took me to a spa."

"Ahhh," he nodded, "makes sense."

She shot her head up and furrowed her brows. "Why would that make sense, Twinkles."

Aang's eyes widened as he held out his hands. "W-Wait n-not like that!" he hastily amended. "I meant like, I can see why you're all prettied up now—not to say you're not pretty—but I can tell Katara dragged you along." He rubbed his neck "I-It just doesn't seem like a thing you'd do on your own is all…"

He barely paid attention to her slightly flushed cheeks as he was more relieved that her visible anger was dissipating. "What'd you do?" she asked.

"Oh, just went and helped a zookeeper is all." His face lit up as he added, "I made him a whole new zoo using Earthbending!"

Her brow raised in interest. "A whole zoo, huh?"

"Yeah! I can take you to it if you want to see?"

She waved her hand off. "Maybe tomorrow."

His shoulders slumped at that. "Oh, okay."

"Why were you at a zoo anyways?" It wasn't often Toph ended up regretting the words that left her mouth, but in this instance? It was almost immediately she wanted to slap her mouth shut and punch her face in. The way she felt Aang's heart still at her question she felt her stomach drop to the pits. She instinctively sat up and frowned. "Oh… um…" she felt so stupid. "I'm guessing he wasn't—"

"Of course he wasn't," Aang spat out, "otherwise you would've noticed a giant Bison with me when I returned, because even you would be able to tell!"

She winced at the sudden aggression sparked from him. Any other day of the week she probably would've fired back at him but she deserved that one. But of course, being the softie he was, he quickly regretted his words.

"Sorry," he softly apologized. "That was uncalled for."

She chuckled. "No, no, it was a good diss, Twinkles," she offered a small smile, "I've got thick skin—if it was Snoozles he probably would've cried."

She heard him laugh ever so briefly, and chalk that up as a win.

"Well, I'm gonna go meditate," he gestured toward his room, "I'll be in there if you need me."

She held her tongue as she let him leave and clear his head.

As soon as he was out of the room, she released a tired sigh before plopping right back into the bean bag chair. Of all the worst things she could've said, more insensitivity was what had to leave her lips because she was such an idiot. She closed her eyes and thought back…

::::

In the aftermath of the swirling sandstorm, the panicked screams, and a tearful Avatar, Toph couldn't believe what her feet were seeing. She knew the sand made everything fuzzy but what she felt was something far beyond that. She turned to Sokka, she hadn't even realized she was fiercely gripping onto his arm until her face hit his arm. "Sokka…" she panted, "what just happened."

He sighed. "Aang went into the Avatar State."

"The what state?"

He sighed again. "It… It's like a crazy boost of power or something? I don't really get it much either, I just know it lets him do some powerful things with his bending."

She nervously swallowed. "His Airbending?"

"No like, all his bending."

She turned to his direction, and gripped harder at Sokka's arm as she felt the boy cry in Katara's arms.

"It happens when he's… really angry. But, it's supposed to activate in self-defence." Sokka hugged her and patted her back. "But… I think Katara's got it handled…"

She couldn't see or feel much through the fuzzy sand but the point of origin where Aang started it all—she knew he was there crying.

She did that.

Toph removed her hand from Sokka's arm and clenched it. This was her fault. She failed to protect Appa. She was responsible for unleashing this unyielding rage. Tears pricked her eyes as she gripped harder at her palm. He wasn't some twinkly toed pushover. He wasn't a wussy Airbender. He was the Avatar.

And she just pissed him off.

All that stored up anger… that raging sandstorm, it came from him.

Because of her.

::::

Standing outside Aang's room was almost as nerve wracking as stepping in and talking. She knew he was sat cross legged in the centre of his room, likely meditating. And while her usual routine would be to waltz in and annoy him, completely disregarding his concentration, she wasn't keen on doing that now. In fact, she hadn't been keen on doing it… nearly at all. Ever since the desert, Toph had laid off of Aang in favour of his anger but also in fear of it.

This was the first time it was just the two of them since then.

There was no time for training nowadays and Aang wouldn't be in the mood for it anyways. But that kind of setting let Toph shrine in her comfort zone. She had control. She was in charge. She could set the tone. Now? She was at Aang's mercy. And she had to let that be.

With a deep breath, she stepped into the room.

"Hey, Aang?"

He didn't budge from his spot nor did his stance falter. "Yeah?"

"Do you… uh, do you have a minute to talk?"

The uneasiness in his heart quaked at her question. Of course it would. Why would she ever say something like that? She felt him turn around and seemingly stare at her all confused. "Um, sure?" He paused. "Listen, if this is about what I said, I'm sorry—"

"It's not!" she hastily interjected. She realized she instinctively clenched her hands and slowly unfolded them, awkwardly letting them fall to her sides. "I… I wanted to talk to you… about…" she took a breath. "About…"

"About?" he prompted.

"Give me a minute!" she stomped her foot.

He raised his hands. "Alright!"

Toph grabbed her head and groaned. "I'm not good at this," she muttered as she threw her head back.

Aang tilted his head. "Good at what?"

"Apologizing," she grumbled out.

He in turn, furrowed a brow. "'Apologizing'?" he echoed. "What for?"

Hoarsely, she answered, "Appa."

"Oh." His face fell at that. Yeah, her ignorance earlier kind of irritated him (read: vexed him to a surprising degree), but he knew it was an honest mistake. He wasn't that mad about it—he just needed to meditate to calm down. "Toph, it's not a big deal."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He sighed. "I mean, you didn't know, it's fine."

"Didn't know?" She was befuddled.

"Yeah, it's not like you knew where I was all day."

She facepalmed. "That's not what I'm talking about Twinkle Toes!" She took another deep breath. Trust Aang to make apologizing even harder by being such a Dunderhead. "I meant what happened back in the Si Wong Desert."

The second his heart stilled, Toph wished she just buried herself with Earth.

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

Aang dropped his head as he slumped his shoulders, looking down at the floor. A pregnant pause hung in the air. And after a shared breath, they both spoke.

"Toph I—"

"Aang—"

They lifted their heads up and out of their sad state, awkwardness now taking them.

"Sorry, you go ahead," he urged on.

She shook her head. "N-No. It's fine. You can say what you need to say."

Aang nodded. "Well then, I…" he rubbed the back of his bald head. "I guess I should say I don't blame you, for what happened."

Her eyes shot wide open at that. "What."

"I don't", he earnestly affirmed. "I-I know I said some harsh things back in the desert—I get that you were trying your hardest to keep us all safe and protect Appa. But it's okay Toph," he stood up and smiled at her as he slowly began to approach, "I know you did your best."

A stinging pain attacked her eyes and left her forcing back a salty substance that dared to release. She shook her head. "But I didn't." She humourlessly chuckled. "How can I call myself the world's greatest Earthbender if I can't master something so lame as sand!" She stomped her foot, creating a small crater around the impact as she clenched her fists. "I lost Appa because I couldn't do anything."

"Toph", he grabbed her shoulders, "you held up a library. Not just any library," he shook her body, "a library being taken into the Spirit World." He laughed. "You know how insane that sounds? You are strong."

She scoffed as she shook off his hands. "What good was I really? I…" she sighed. "I'm really sorry Aang."

He sighed back, clearly frustrated with how she was handling this.

"I-I didn't mean to make you so upset an-and I swear I'll do everything I can to help you find Appa!" she confidently affirmed. "I just… never want to make you that mad again…"

He furrowed a brow at her. "Toph, the anger wasn't there all that long," he assured her. "I swear. I was more… sad than anything else, after we left the desert."

She shook her head. "That's not what the Avatar State felt like."

His heart stilled.

"You were sandbending too, Aang," she pointed at his chest, "the mini storm you whipped up was so powerful my feet felt like they were vibrating." She scoffed. "I could barely see anything in that desert but the second I felt what you were doing I was just frozen." She rubbed her arm and thought back at that moment. "Sokka pulled me away, but I never knew you had so much anger in you."

He tilted his head. "What?"

"The Avatar State comes from rage… right? Sokka told me," she clarified.

Aang took a small step back as he shook his head. Rage. He had never used it so unprovoked before. It wasn't like the other times. He was in part control there. He had power. But Roku said he was also at his most vulnerable then too. He laughed, shaking his head as he held it in his hands.

"Aang?" Toph concernedly said.

"How can I call myself the Avatar if I can't control such a dangerous power?" he threw back at her with a ssad smile.

"What?"

"It's not rage… Toph. It's… a spiritual connection. From all my past lives coursing through me, all their power and knowledge—it's when the Avatar becomes their strongest. But it's not supposed to be used like that." He frowned. "A-A last resort, I guess. Emotions help but… back then, I… I wasn't thinking," he explained. "I don't ever think with it to be honest. I-I know how Sokka made it sound—Katara and him are… well, I think they're afraid of it." He crouched down and fell on his bum, resting his elbows on his knees as he sunk his head. "For good reason I think. It's…"

"Powerful," Toph finished. "And…" she bit her lip as she carefully thought over her next choice of words, "and there's nothing wrong with that, Aang." She sat down in front of him, legs stretched out. "You're the Avatar. You're supposed to be powerful." She smirked. "I mean, you apparently just built a zoo using bending that's not only so opposite of you, but something you learned in like a couple of weeks!"

He chuckled. "Yeah… I did do that…"

"You did," she affirmed with a nod. "Well, you told me," she corrected. "But, I… felt bad about what happened because I thought that power was… like, something you were bottling up. I just…" she closed her eyes and sighed again. "I couldn't keep pretending like I didn't just kill your best friend!" He flinched at that. "I… I couldn't do anything else but when I felt what you could do?" She scoffed. "It's incredible, Aang. I spent this entire time thinking you were just some pushover who happened to grow a spine for Earthbending but…"

"But?"

"You've got stuff," she smiled, earning a laugh from the Airbender.

"Thanks Toph." He smiled back at her as she comfortably leaned back on her hands. "And just to clear it up once more: I don't blame you for what happened with Appa." He chuckled. "Even the world's greatest Earthbender has her limits."

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean I don't like 'em," she grumbled.

The two sat in a comfortable silence.

Aang watched Toph relax visibly as her face went blank like usual. The emotion and vulnerability from before was now shielded, and it perplexed him. She actually came to confront him one-on-one about her feelings. It was a genuinely appreciative gesture. Some might say that act itself made him want to forgive her so quickly. The main reason was because she was beating herself up over something that couldn't be changed. He easily placed her among the strongest of their group but he knew that wasn't without its merits.

Her power had limits.

His eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. Aang looked down at his palms, clenching and unclenching them. His power had limits too. She understood that rage. Of course she did. To have such a time bomb of emotion and passion stored up inside of you for so long—she released hers through a bending arena, Aang released his in a fit of the world's most powerful temper tantrum.

He looked at her again, observing her face.

Just like him, having such a vulnerable limitation was anchoring.

She faulted herself because of it.

"Toph."

"Yeah?"

"Are… Are you scared of the Avatar State?" he asked.

"I mean, it's scary, sure—"

"But are you scared of it?" he asserted.

Toph leaned her head back as if to ponder the question a short while. Was she scared of it? She thought back on her emotions and feelings the second he stirred up that sandstorm and remembered one word. Shock. Sokka and Aang's sullen mood scared her—it worried her. His power? She was blown away by it.

So that was what she said.

"It surprised me," she tilted her head a bit, "it's insane, to be honest. In a good and bad way I mean. And, in my opinion, a balance of both isn't so bad." She faced his general direction and offered a small smile. "I think it's okay to feel frustrated with it, but you don't have to be afraid of it, Aang."

He nodded with a wide grin. "Then I won't be." He crossed his legs as he leaned over, scooting a bit closer to Toph. "But that means you also shouldn't be upset with your limits as well."

"Excuse me?"

"Your way of 'seeing' comes with its weaknesses, but it also has the most in-depth perception out of all of us too." He flicked at her left foot's sole, causing her to flinch a bit. "You can be upset about it of course, but I don't think you need to ever think of it as something that's holding us—you, back. Because I know you're plenty strong with how you are now anyways."

She chuckled. "Thanks Aang." Her face shifted into a scowl as she pounded her fist on the ground, summoning a spike of rock between Aang's legs. "And if you ever touch my foot like that again, the next time I'll hit you right in your Momos."

He coughed uncomfortably as he looked away from Toph, scooting back to his spot. He tugged at his collar and averted her sightless gaze. Even if she couldn't lock eyes with him, he was too afraid to be caught looking her way regardless. Aang resumed his meditative stance and hoped Toph would just sink the Earth spike down and leave her threat there. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind," he said as he closed his eyes.

Toph on the other hand, felt flushed, annoyed, and also touched. Toph appreciated his sentiment, but she wasn't going to say that. She'd done enough sappiness for one day. But…

The way his heart settled as he dropped into his mediation, it made her smile for some reason. Under all that exterior: the bravado of the Avatar, the timidness of an Airbender, and the potential of an untapped power—he was still just a kid. Like her. And he got her. He had anger deep inside too. He had his own ways of expressing it. He also had his own ways of coping.

He showed his appreciation through acts of service, through friendship and bonds.

She was his teacher yet she found herself learning more today.

Maybe it was time to extend her sappiness just for a quick moment.

"Twinkle Toes?"

"Yeah?"

"I think…" her face felt a bit hot for some reason, "I'd like you to take me to that zoo tomorrow."

He blinked his eyes open with a wide excitement as he beamed at her. "Sure! What time should we all get up?"

"Uh… can it… be just us?"

His brow raised, but his smile remained. "Sure, Toph." He nodded. "It can be just us."

A/N: Apologies for the delay on FFN! For some reason the site wouldn't let me log in and so I couldn't post the story here. Hope this doesn't continue for the rest of the week. Anyways...

Y'know, us fic writers of Taang really delve in here and there about angsty stuff and such, but I realized there was like, one glaring event that had like, peak angst material. I don't blame Toph for what happened to Appa and canon Aang doesn't either (he was mad at the time of course) but from a fic perspective, I realized this was the first time she'd seen Aang's Avatar State.

I wanted to play with that a bit! Sure, get into the awkward Toph who puts a wall up against the issue, but in terms of her thinking back on Aang being weak? Perspective surely must change then! Writing this interaction was hard, but I think letting it settle was easy. The way the two are, I get the impression for all their clashing they blend so seamlessly well that it's just part of their charm at this point. And for that reason, I just believe they're more upfront with each other when the time counts!

As equally as they can compliment each other, they also know how to rile each other up. Was that a smooth nod toward tomorrow's prompt? ( ¬‿¬) maybe.

Hope you all liked this one! Lemme know your thoughts in the reviews/comments!

Until next time,

- Bleh