A/N Chapter six! Fun on a bun! Thank you to everybody who has favorite-ed me, or added me to their alert list. It makes me happy ^^ But let me know what you think, alright?
"You're sure you got all that, Twinkletoes?"
Aang pored over the sheet of paper they had written the plan on, and nodded.
"You going to remember all of it?"
He nodded again.
"Okay, good. Burn it"
"Why?"
She sighed. "What would somebody think if they perchance came across this little sheet of paper? 'Oh, that's nice'? Come on. We can't risk anybody else knowing"
And so he burned it. Toph watched her master plan shrivel and blacken. She smiled a thin smile. She reached out and took Aang's hand. They were still sitting on the floor, so Toph leaned onto his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She closed her eyes contentedly.
"So, are we starting the plan now, or tomorrow...or....?" Aang asked her. She sat up, and nodded.
"We should start now. How long will the messenger-hawk take to reach Katara?"
"Two days, tops. We'll need to find a way to keep you hidden by then"
"And also find a suitable woman"
"Who are you thinking?"
"I'm not sure. Some of those girls in my old circle would love a chance like this, apparently Oro is attractive -"
Aang shrugged, gave a half-nod, and made a non-committal noise.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't feel that" Toph laughed, then continued, "...but I'm not sure any of them are in his tastes. Maybe just a cheap hooker? That might due"
"But wouldn't she be more likely to tell? That and it'd be hard getting a prostitute into the upper ring"
"That's true"
"So, should we use the nobility, then?"
"Looks like we're going to have to"
"Which one?"
"I think I know just who. A girl named Misa always got on my nerves, but she always made sure to sit closest to Oro"
"What's she like?"
"Stupid as an armadillo-mole. But from what I hear, pretty. Gullible as hell, that's for sure"
"She sounds perfect"
"Tell me about it"
"Do you think Katara will be...willing to help us?"
"Probably not, at first"
"Because she thinks that Blood-Bending is a dark art?"
"In part that, and also, we did have a thing, you know, before you came into the group..."
"Oh...yeah" Toph said as she winced internally. Half because that would hurt their chances and half because she hated that fact.
"Well, we used to be a thing, but then she met Zuko. Back in the Fire Nation we seemed to be just as good of friends as we used to be...maybe that won't play a part"
"But she is a Sugar-Queen. She doesn't like doing things that are 'wrong'"
"I'm sure she'll see this as different. She has to"
"Our happiness is on the line, here. But maybe, if this doesn't work out, I could just flat-out ask for a separation, and he could say that I was the cheater. Which, in all technicalities, I am"
"Well, that's simple! We could score a separation just off of this! We don't need Katara at all!"
"But you're forgetting one thing. Even if we told Oro about this, it wouldn't matter. I'd still be his wife. His very, very confined wife. He wouldn't ask for a separation"
"Why not?!"
"He's too damn prideful. If he won't let me have a job because he thinks that will make people think we're poor, he sure as hell won't make it public that I cheated on him. It would just look like he couldn't 'provide' for me so I went elsewhere"
"So we're sticking to the plan?"
"We're sticking to the plan"
"Let's start the letter to Katara"
And so Aang wrote while Toph dictated. They were spinning it off as they just wanted Katara and Zuko to visit, but seeing as they knew that Zuko couldn't just up and leave the Fire Nation, it would be alright (they supposed) if just Katara came, but by all means, Zuko was still welcome any time (not). When they were done, Aang sealed the letter, and sent it off on Hawkie.
"Isn't he getting old?" Toph asked.
"I guess, but he still does a great job"
"Do he and Momo get along any better?"
"Not particularly"
They laughed. Now, all they had to do was sit and wait for Katara's reply, maybe even her arrival. Toph sincerely hoped that Misa was ready to get her marriage destroyed. She felt bad, doing that to another person, but she knew well and good that Misa's relationship with her husband was just as fake as Toph's was with Oro. Most upper-ring marriages were fake. Something to be endured, never enjoyed. She was happy that the two weren't happy in their marriage, because even if they were, Toph would still blow full steam ahead on her plan. It scared her, how much she was willing to sacrifice to be with Aang. But she wasn't going to be tossed around by her fears anymore.
"I can't believe this is happening..." Aang murmured.
"What? Helping me leave my husband?"
"Well....yes" Aang lied. Toph could feel it through the floor.
"Aang..." she prodded. He made a little sound, exhaling through his nose impatiently. He didn't want to tell her.
"Fine...I guess I can't believe that I'm breaking you out of a marriage...it's true to some extent. But what I'm more surprised, and kind of hurt at, is that you would marry somebody else in the first place"
"I wouldn't have felt the need if you had written every once and awhile"
"Urhg! That's true" Aang admitted dejectedly. Toph swung her arm around Aang's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Twinkletoes, we're together now, aren't we?"
"If the plan works"
"It will. If it somehow doesn't...we'll find another way"