Long Overdue - A TAANG Story
[Author's Notes: In the TV series they leave many things unresolved, and I think that what happened at the library was one of those big mistakes. It was an opportunity for Aang and Toph to grow even closer. (Maybe that is why they did it, or they would have added some TAANG to the series) This story isn't an offshoot of 'A Kiss in the Night of Ba Sing Se,' and so Aang and Toph are not involved. Young men can be dense and thus need to be prodded into understanding just because things aren't said, doesn't mean they don't exist.
Time has passed, and now Aang is ready to make amends. How this plays out… well, read on!
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar: The Last Airbender
So as always… On with the Story!]
Chapter 7
Deeper than Want
If Aang wasn't in love before, he was head-over-heels crazy about the petite earthbender now.
Toph gently rocked him back and forth as he rested on her soft pillowy bosom. With occasional comforting kisses, she hummed a sweet melody.
"I'm so sorry they all left you Aang. I can only imagine how you feel. Even though I was kept mostly by myself when I was younger, at least I had my mom and dad. I mean, even if they weren't that attentive, I knew that I wasn't entirely alone."
"What do you mean, they weren't attentive, Sifu? Your father is like crazy protective, even now!"
Toph's chest heaved as she took in a deep sigh. "All that started after I got lost as a kid. Remember I told you that a badger-mole taught me earthbending?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, Twinkle Toes, a wild badger-mole is a giant omnivorous scavenger. Eats just about anything that's slower than them. Normally, a little kid wanders into a den and… one chomp, no more kid. Here I was blind and helpless, in other words, I was easy picking. If I had up met with a male, then my behind would have been his snack. Fortunately, it was a momma badger-mole, and I guess I reminded her of one of her babies, even though I was the runt of the litter."
Aang's eyes widened at the enhanced story. "So she thought you were one of her cubs? That's amazing!"
"I think she picked up on my ability to earthbend and the way I crawled around. Lucky for me, they're totally blind. I also think crawling through the dung heaps gave me their scent, so it was an easy sell."
Aang's nose scrunched up at the thought of her plowing through the enormous piles of shit.
"As cool as a story that this is, why did you call your parents unattentive, Toph?"
"Think Aang. How does a blind child end up in a dangerous place like a badger-mole den, if their parents are paying attention? My dad, of course, freaked out right away when they discovered I was gone, and he even hired some trackers to find me."
"Do you remember why you ran off, Sifu?"
Toph cocked her head to the side. "Yeah. My mom and dad were arguing, really loud. I don't remember about what, but it was hurting my ears. We were supposed to be something nature-y, and for some reason, my mom just started to scream and yell at dad, and then he started to yell at her, and I just wanted to get away from the both of them, so I did."
"I can't imagine you could have gotten very far Sfu, unless they didn't start looking right away."
"I slipped down this big hill, and I guessed I rolled into some underbrush. I could hear them calling my name, but it sounded like more yelling to me, so I just went into this cave. That's when I got scared and couldn't hear them anymore," Toph confessed.
"They must have been pretty scared too!"
"Oh yeah! They thought I was dead. I was missing supposedly for a couple of months, my nanny told me. They even held a funeral, and that's why a lot of people didn't even know I still existed. It was a bit after that, some badger-mole wranglers discovered me and recognized the crest on what was left of my dress. After I got back home, my mom and dad surrounded me with this huge swarm of servants. They gave me everything, but friends."
"I can understand his obsession now," Aang commented as he nodded against her breast. "How did you get out to go to those Earth Rumbles if you were being watched so closely?"
"I made a few friends amongst the guards and servants. That's when I also found out an overheard secrets could open doors. A lot goes on in a house that size."
"So you used to blackmail and extortion to get your way?" Aang asked with a chuckle.
Toph patted his shoulder. "Pretty much.
"Wow, and all this time I thought they were ashamed of you or something. I can see why they went from one extreme to another, Toph."
"Don't make this more than it is Twinkle Toes. I did wound their pride. I wasn't the perfect daughter, and as such, they paid for me to have playmates, for as long as I can remember."
"I had no idea she had it so rough," Aang thought to himself, burying his nose in her cleavage.
"Hey Twinkle Toes is there a place to land, I have to go pee."
Reluctantly, the Avatar sat up and looked over the edge of the gondola.
"There seems to be a small outcropping about maybe 20 minutes away," he estimated. "Can you wait that long?"
"Don't think so!" Toph retorted.
"If we set down now Toph, it's all open dunes and deep, hot sand. I guess you could sand bend another latrine or something," he suggested.
"I'd piss myself before then," she growled with a menacing glower. "Aang… I really have to go, real bad, and like right now!"
"Go here, Sifu."
"What, have you lost your frick'n mind Twinkle Toes? Who's gonna mop up the mess?"
Aang smiled. "There won't be any mess. I'll just waterbender it away. Katara and I do it all the time when we're on a long trip. I'll even make sure you're as fresh as a daisy-rose afterward."
Toph rolled her big foggy jade eyes. "Figures you two would be raining piss all over the place. Don't you think about those poor people under you?"
"Hey, were careful in how we get rid of it," Aang protested. "Better than going on yourself, isn't it? Besides, are you still embarrassed to have me watch you? After what we did last night and this morning Sifu, I can't believe you're still feeling shy around me," he teased as she began to squirm more at the prospect of relief.
"You plan to mess with me!" she accused, pointing a finger in his general direction. "I... I can hear it in your stupid voice, Twinkle Toes!"
"What? Sifu I'm offended! I would never take advantage of a friend in her time of need."
The urge to pee overcame Toph's suspicion as she stood. "Fine, what am I supposed to Twinkle Toes?"
"Just kick off your pants, and stand with your legs apart while holding your arms up, Sifu."
Toph quickly complied. "Like this?" she asked, feeling her bladder about to overflow.
"That's perfect."
Aang looked surprisingly serene as he was once again holding Appa's reins.
Toph, on the other hand, was still flushed and trying to catch her breath as she shuddered from the aftershocks on the floor of the saddle, pantless.
"You… you liar, you tricked me!" she shakily declared, unable to really get to her feet and rolling to her back.
"How was that a trick, Sifu? I said I would waterbend it away, and that's what I did," he declared with a mischievous grin.
"You know what I speak of Twinkle Toes — holding me spread out like that with your airbending and... and, doing what you did with that water! How you… uh, whoosh, banged, boomed me! Not once… but five times! Who needs their crotch washed out five times after just peeing! You made me cum so hard; I thought I was going crazy!"
"You're welcome, Sifu."
Suddenly Aang felt himself being yanked back as he fell hard into the gondola, his head bouncing off the deck. As the Avatar winced, rubbing the back of his head, Toph had already pulled his trousers and shorts free.
"Now, let me show my appreciation... Twinkle Toes," she replied, latching onto his penis with both hands. "Get ready big boy; I'm gonna make you beg for mercy!"
Toph lifted her head, releasing his semi-soft penis. She moved her sore jaw back and forth to loosen it up.
"Sorry Toph," Aang stated as he sorrowfully looked away. "I don't know what's wrong."
Toph shook her head. "That's okay Aang. Maybe the little guy is still exhausted after this morning. I'm a bit sore myself and mine's don't have to stand up."
The Avatar sat up and hugged his traveling companion tightly. "I love you so much Toph," he declared in a choked voice. "I... I want you to believe me. I want you to trust me when I say this! I've never fucked you!"
Toph felt the tears starting to fill and flow down her heated cheeks. "I want to believe that Aang, I really do. But the whole thing with Satoru, and you seeing him on the beach, well, how can I excuse that?" she cried, turning her face towards his.
Aang swiped away her flowing tears. "I'm sorry I made you cry again, Toph. I told myself before this trip started to make you smile, not cry. The closer this trip got, the more nervous I became."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to be alone with you, just you. I lied when I said Katara decided not to come. She wanted to combine our trips so that you would be inconvenienced one time, she told me. I think it was because she thought if we were alone, things would get weird. Like they did after the beach."
"I thought you said she didn't know about that, Aang?
"I didn't tell her, but she was watching as we walked up from there. I stopped beside her, and you walked right by and went to talk to your students, without saying a word. She asked me if you were alright, that you looked a bit flushed."
"And how did you respond?"
Aang shrugged. "I told her that you were just tired after all that fighting and that you got a bit upset about your pupils almost getting hurt. I thought she bought it at the time, but then the next few days, she just kept staring at you. Sometimes I would see her following your every move and frowning. I finally asked her why she was looking at you so closely. She asked me if you seemed different. I replied that maybe you were in love."
"And what did Sugar Queen say after that?"
"She seemed to get happier. She told me it was probably that guy in your father's office that had you all a flutter. I simply agreed with her," he confessed with a long sigh.
"So did you feel guilty about not saying it was you, Aang?"
"I did, but not for the reason you think Toph."
"Then why don't you explain the reason," the semi-clothed earthbender demanded.
"Uh Toph, can we get all naked? This halfway is throwing me off," Aang asked out of nowhere.
"Ugh, you could have just said you wanted to see my ta-tas, Twinkle Toes," Toph exclaimed as she pulled off her tunic. She had anticipated not needing a bra.
Aang also discarded his shirt and threw it down beside them.
"I would have if that's all I wanted, Toph."
"Then tell me, what this is all about?"
"I was told at the monastery that if two people have nothing between them, not even clothes, the truth may be revealed. I want there to be nothing between us but the truth."
"So for that, you have me get naked under this blazing sun? And when I burn, what are we going to do then, or have you learned to heal to Aang?"
"Let me put some of this stuff Sokka came up with on you. He says it keeps light-skinned people from burning. The original stuff stunk really bad, but this one as a cocoa smell."
"Go for it," Toph exclaimed holding up her arms. "I feel myself frying like pig-chicken bacon."
Aang made sure to cover the earthbender thoroughly. The application gave him a hopeful rise, but it was only temporary. This was one of those moments he was glad Toph didn't know to get her hopes up.
"All done Sifu! How does it feel?"
Toph smelled her arm. "Feels cool. I hope I look as good as I smell. I smell like a piece of chocolate!"
Aang laughed. "Yep, you look and smell good enough to eat!"
"Is that an offer, you bad boy?"
The airbender nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe, that is after I clear my chakras, we can continue."
"Oh, clear your chakras. Of course, that makes absolutely no sense!" Toph yelled at him. "I'm here, I'm naked, I smell so good I want to eat myself, and all you can do is think about chakras, whatever that is!"
"I don't have to have an erection to eat you Toph," he mentioned. "If that is going to help you get relaxed and listen, I'll be more than..."
The earthbender put a hand to his lips.
"Okay, Twinkle Toes, I get it. We're naked, and now you want us to get emotionally naked with each other too. I guess now is as good a time as any. So how do we clear these... chickies of yours?"
He didn't bother to correct the precocious woman. "Do you remember Guru Patik? He was that guy who sent me a letter when we were in Ba Sing Se and asked me to meet him so that I could go into the Avatar state."
"Kind of... well not really," she admitted feeling the smoothness of the lotion on her arms.
"Doesn't matter if you did. He told me about the seven chakras and how they all had to flow."
Toph nodded slowly as if she heard something that got her attention.
"So, you're thinking that one of these shitra thingamajigs isn't flowing and little Aang can't do his thing until it does, right Twinkle Toes?"
"At least she's following this a little bit," he thought, scratching at his brow.
"Something like that Toph."
"Then open it! Flow baby flow! I want you flowing inside me like a waterfalls Twinkle Toes!"
"I wish it was that easy, Sifu. Opening chakras actually take years of training to do it fully. Even most Avatars fail to open all of them successfully. That's why balance in this world has been so far out or reach."
"Why wouldn't the Avatars want to open all these shatras? If it's a good thing, why not just do it, Aang?"
"Because, Toph, there is a high price to pay if you do. You have to be willing to put being the Avatar ahead of everything and everyone. You have to be willing to be totally selfless and sacrifice anything in being the Avatar. That's why."
"I don't understand," Toph said as her jaw stiffened.
"I'm sure you remember Roku's Island and that spirit journey I took? If Roku had abandoned all ties to this world, he would have eliminated Sozin, but instead, because Sozin was his friend, he allowed him to live and eventually the Air Nomads all got killed. Roku also put his family before the world, and that allowed the Fire Nation to capture Earth Kingdom cities."
"But that was him; you're you Aang!"
"Don't you get it Toph? The other Avatars made compromises too, and so they couldn't keep the world in balance, no matter how hard they tried. Kyoshi breaks the continent, but because she did, many natural disasters occurred. Her actions weakened the Earth Kingdom by causing famine and flooding, and the list goes on and on."
"So what did you do besides stopping Ozai from burning the Earth Kingdom down that was so terrible, Twinkle Toes?"
"Toph, I abandoned my training with Patik to save Katara, did I ever tell you that? If I would have stayed, I'd been able to master the Avatar state and stop Ozai, long before that comet arrived. I almost got myself killed, and that would have ended the Avatar cycle. I was stupid. I was following what I thought was love, playing the invincible hero. In hindsight, she would have been in less danger if I would not have acted so selfishly. Everyone would have."
"In my opinion, it's the universe that screwed up Twinkle Toes," Toph replied. "How can you expect a twelve-year-old boy with waterbender pussy on his mind to think straight? That Guru Pathetic guy should have been teaching you about boys and girls and not about those stupid knockoffs! That's a lot to put on an adult, and you were only a kid back then Aang. A dumb, naive, kid at best."
"Uh, thanks I guess," he replied unsure if it was a compliment or an insult. "At least you had faith in me Toph."
"Twinkle Toes, I'm a Beifong. My money was on Snoozles. If it were solely up to you, we'd all be singing the Fire Nation anthem. If you didn't know, let me tell you, he's the reason this world is still in one piece."
Aang tapped his chin, feeling a bit anxious at her comment.
"How did you come up with that Toph. I defeated Ozai."
"Yeah, but it was Sokka who destroyed his fleet, with more than a little help from yours truly," she proclaimed, patting her chest. Okay, taking out the big bad Fire Lord was cool, and you get your props for that, Twinkle Toes, but didn't you do it the hard way?"
"Hard Way?"
"Aang, Ozai was a one trick ostrich-pony! He had the fire. You have the air! What if you just bent the air away from his fire until the comet was gone? He would have zero air fleet left and probably been locked up in Ba Sing Se. Even if Zuko had lost to Azula, she couldn't have beat all those old dudes. But that was never going to happen with Sugar Queen there! That girl would never live down losing to that crazy bitch."
"B-but what if Ozai would have killed me!"
"Then I would have ended him," Toph exclaimed in an even tone. "Metal trumps fire, or haven't you been noticing that in Republic City. He would have lasted, uh, maybe five seconds after my foot hit the ground, but I wouldn't have given him that much time."
"Let me guess, that was part of Sokka's plan as well?"
The metal cop smiled. "Nope, that was all me. I loved you back then, and if he killed you, I was prepared to drop that damn mountain on him."
"Thank you, Sifu."
"For what Twinkle Toes?"
"Keeping it real."
She smiled. "Somebody has to keep that ego of yours in check, or your head would explode. So is this helping. Are you starting to... you know, get hard?"
Aang looked down. He indeed was ready for action, but still wanted to talk some more. "Almost there."
"Aang, just tell me you want to keep talking. That's okay."
"No really Toph, I have a stiffy, and it's getting better."
Toph's cheeks flushed. "Where do you want me?"
"Can we keep talking, just to get my head clear? I swear I won't take long," he promised.
"Fine, what do you want to say."
Aang took in a deep breath. "I want you to know Toph, I made love to you not because of him or my pride, but because I loved you. When we kissed, I felt like my mind was spinning out of control. Your face was filled with such passion; I had never seen someone, so beautiful in my life! I knew then that my heart just wouldn't be satisfied with a simple kiss. That guy, Satoru, was already walking away before I took you to that boat. He might have looked back, but I didn't care. I swear, even if it were Katara, at that moment, I wouldn't have cared. You were my one desire."
"I don't get it Aang. Why are you telling me all this now? You're about to get married, and not to me, but Sweetness. You expect me to believe that somehow you love me more than her? I may have been naive back then, but I'm not anymore. Why would I not believe it was just about the sex, Aang. Even after that incident, how many times did you try and bed me? Do you recall pinning me against that wall at your 18th birthday party and squeezing my tit?"
"I remember that a knee to the nuts can make a man throw up, that's what I recall, Sifu."
"I'm glad you learned something that night."
"Listen Toph, that was the cactus juice. Sokka and Zuko thought it would be funny to slip a little into my peach nectar. Next thing I know, I'm on my knees puking my guts up, and you're calling me a filthy pervert. I'm just glad it all happened when we were alone. That next year, Sokka told me about what they had done. I didn't think you would believe me if I told you then."
"You're probably right, Twinkle Toes. When you grabbed me by the hand and dragged me from the room, I didn't know what was happening. I thought about beating the shit out of you for good measures, but you kept saying, I'm sorry, over and over between puking and crying... that was pretty sad, actually."
"Honestly Toph, everything that happened was like a dream. I wasn't sure if it was real or my imagination, that's why I didn't know how to approach you after that."
"So those sly pats on my ass at the office, also imagination?"
Aang cleared his throat. "Uh, nope, not imagination. Those were on purpose, but I always keep it to an open hand, no groping."
"That's called sexual harassment, Mr. Avatar."
"So why didn't you tell Katara or simply beat the shit out of me, like you said before?"
"You figure it out, Twinkle Toes. Maybe you brushing my ass wasn't all that bad."
"So you liked it?"
"No, it was pretty annoying most of the time, especially when I needed to focus. You thought you were slick, sliding past me. It would have been better if you had given it a good hard slap."
The Avatar's eyes almost doubled in surprise as he gasped.
"Don't be so shocked Aang. What would you call this thing that we're doing now? So many times I wanted to drag you into some empty office or obscure corner and fuck you silly, but I figured you would have just gone right back to her. This trip is just a fantasy that's going to end once we get back, or do you intend we have rendezvous in the broom closet or after hours like some of our colleagues? Sokka seems to have a steady flow in and out, from what I hear. I didn't want to be another check mark on your to-do list, like those acolytes girls. Just the means to an end, so this is on my own terms."
"I swear, Toph, that's not true. I love you more than anybody, including Katara! The person closest to my heart is you. The nearer I get to this wedding, the more I want to be with you instead."
Toph started to laugh. "They call that pre-wedding jitters Aang. You're just getting nervous because Sugar Queen is going to ground your high-flying ass like a ten-thousand-kilo boulder! I'm probably your last fling before the old sea witch becomes the only hole you're flying down! Aang, I don't mind you saying you love me, and right now, I think you believe it. I would be lying if I said this hasn't been fun. I can only speak for myself, but I wouldn't do this with anybody else, but you Twinkle Toes."
Aang looked down. He was deflated both mentally and physically.
"I wish this was all simple Toph and that we could just run away and be together forever."
"Why can't we Aang? If you say that you love me, why can't we just tell the world, monkey fuck yourselves, and leave it all?"
The Avatar's head sunk into his shoulders. "Because Toph, if I die without re-establishing the Air Nomads, then all bending will fade out of existence."
An incredulous gasp escaped the earthbender's lips. "You mean air would be gone, right?"
"No Toph, I'm saying that all forms would cease. What Sozin didn't understand was that the difference between the four elements is just an illusion. There is only one source of bending. The individual is like a filter that forms the source to the element."
"So who sold you this bag of crap Aang? Was it the White Lotus so that you would dutifully screw those girls in the hope that the Air Nomads would be restored and their consciences for doing nothing, appeased?"
"No Toph, it was my past lives. They all told me the same thing. If I leave this world and have not established a portal to air by then, the source would begin to dwindle and eventually cease. That includes your earthbending as well."
"I see," Toph exclaimed, feeling like someone had punched her in the gut.