Here ya go, Chapter one of my second Avatar FanFic, Up for Grabs.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my words.

(Up for Grabs)

Chapter I (Arrival)

Toph Bei Fong could not see the stares of the people she passed by, but she could still feel their gazes on upon her nonetheless. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Don't people have anything better to do than stare at visitors? Sure, I've helped save the world and all, but come on…

Toph's thoughts roamed back to her friends, her fellow war heroes, while her feet traveled through the streets to her home.

No, it's my parent's home. It was never my home. My home is where my friends are.

Aang had dropped her off at the outskirts of Gaoling about an hour ago on Appa. After that, he headed to Omashu, to say hi to Bumi and relax for a while. He had promised to return in a week to check up on her, or sooner if he heard something interesting.

She hadn't seen Katara or Zuko for almost a month. They had departed for the Southern Water Tribe, and planned to help to rebuild it. Toph suspected that they were also going to introduce Zuko to Hakoda, Katara's father.

She had seen Sokka last in the Fire Nation. Then he had left to 'escort' Suki back home from another one of her visits to the former aggressors. Toph didn't think he would return from his sojourn on Kyoshi Island for a while.

She had left Iroh a week ago at the Fire Lord's Palace. He had many responsibilities as the Fire Lord, but was handling the burden well. He took up the post after the war and named Zuko his heir. He did not want to be the Fire Lord, but loved Zuko very much, and wanted him to have a as many years of freedom as he could before taking up the crown.

Toph sighed as she felt her family's estate just around the bend. It had been over four years since she had last seen her parents. She had sent exactly three letters during this time. They had sent her three letters, two of which were replies. She had memorized their last letter, having asked Aang to read it to her, repeatedly. It had been sent by messenger hawk (which was now a universally used mail system around the world) and had asked her to come home.

"We just want to see you again. You've been gone for four years…"

Toph sighed again as she approached the outer gate. There were two guards standing watch. Suddenly, she felt a pang of indecision.

It is my house, but can I just walk in? Will the guards stop me? Will I be announced, like a visitor or a stranger?

She just kept on walking towards the gate, and was saved having to say anything at the gate when the soldier opened it for her. She couldn't help a shiver going down her spine as she walked under the ancient archway.

I wish that Twinkle-toes was here, or any of my friends for that matter…

The gardens had hardly changed at all. A handful of new saplings here and there, but overall still the same. She used to love walking in the gardens when she was limited to the world within the surrounding walls. She had been walking there when Aang, Katara, and Sokka had come in to try and talk to her.

Toph was feeling small and helpless again, as her parents used to treat her when she had lived here. Toph Bei Fong was not small and weak, and did not like feeling as if she was. She took a deep, fortifying breath to steady herself, before she knocked on the main door. The door swung inward freely and she stepped inside.

"Hello?"

Toph felt a serious sense of déjà vu. It was eerily similar to when she was captured in Ba Sing Se, four years ago.

No, this is the ancestral home of the Bei Fong family, not some random house in the midst of the biggest city in the world.

Still, Toph was on her guard, and was about to go back through the door when someone walked through the doorway at the other end of the hall. She felt her stomach flip, and for a moment, Toph was once again a twelve-year-old girl standing before her father. For Lao Bei Fong was standing in front of his daughter for the first time in over four years.


A/N: I hope you like it. The fun stuff starts next chapter.

Again, foamy won't get you if you don't review this one... it would be nice if you did, but I'm not threatening for this chapter...