A/N:
I'm so sorry this is late! I was at Warped Tour all day yesterday, and ended up falling asleep before I could finish this! Hopefully Alternative Universe will be up later tonight! Enjoy!
"Toph, this is SO not fair!"
"You cannot keep us in here! I order you to let us out!"
The sightless earth bender yawns, waving a fly away from her face as she lounges on the ground. The shouts are coming from behind a newly-added wall in the Western Air Temple.
"Where's Aang?" the girl demanded. "If Aang knew what you were doing-"
"Aang's busy communing with nature! He won't be back in time to get your sorry asses out. Besides, I'm still the better earth bender."
"Is this your payback for what I did?" asks the boy. "Because if it is-"
"Oh, shut up! Both of you!" The jailor ensures their silence with a mighty pound of her fist that echoes through the ground of the entire temple. "You're in there because we're all sick of you two constantly fighting! So either you both come out best friends, or only one comes out alive."
"Where's Sokka!" Katara shouts.
"I can't hear you!" The faint cry comes from the end of the long hallway Toph coaxed them down. "I have no knowledge of what Toph is now doing!"
"Figures," she mutters. "HARU!"
Footsteps echoed off the walls. "HARU IF YOU SO MUCH AS WIGGLE A PEBBLE I WILL BURY YOU SO DEEPLY INTO THE EARTH THAT YOU WILL FALL OUT THE OTHER SIDE!"
"So much for that idea," Zuko grumbles. "I guess the kid can't be your bitch when she has you caged."
He receives a water slap across the face for that one. "He is not my bitch," the water bender snaps. "He just listens to me."
"Huh."
She heaves a sigh. "Come on, Toph," she shouts at the wall. "This isn't funny anymore. You had your laugh, ha ha ha! Now let us out."
"Let me think about it no." She grins as she hears the feral scream from behind her prison wall. "Well, I'm hungry. Have fun!"
"Toph Be Fong you get back here right now! This is not acceptable! What would your mother say if she was here!" Katara's screeching orders reverberate around the small prison, and Zuko covers his ears. "What would your father say! What would Aang say! Don't pretend that you can't hear me! Get back here RIGHT NOW!"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP!" The boy's cry makes her jump. "You are yelling at Toph! Do you really think that just because your voice is louder that you can get through that thick skull of hers? I've only been here a week and even I know she's too stubborn and hard-headed for that to work!"
"Why did you come in the first place?" she retorts. "It's not like anyone wanted you to be here."
"Well, there were less people who wanted me alive back at the palace, so I figured I might have better luck here."
"And how's that working out for you?"
"Considering only one of you wants me dead, it's been simply amazing."
"Who wants you dead?"
"One guess."
"In the palace, dumbass."
"My father, for one. And my sister. And the court nobles. And I'm pretty sure most of the senior guards. And more than half of the citizens."
"That's quite a list of enemies. What'd you do, burn down a temple?"
"No. I refused to fight the Fire Lord."
The darkness makes the pause seem like hours, not seconds. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
"That's all you did?"
"Yup."
"How old were you?"
"Twelve."
"You would've died if you'd fought him!"
"I know. But that wasn't why I didn't fight. And as a reminder, he gave me this nifty souvenir."
Flames burst forth in the ink black cell. Katara shields her eyes, allowing them to grow used to the light. "Why didn't you do that sooner?" As her eyes adjust, she is drawn to the scar, as bright red as glowing embers, that stretches across the prince's face. "That was from the Fire Lord?" A nod. "Your father?" Another nod. "You have one messed up family."
A grin. "Tell me about it."
A slight smile. "Okay, Toph!" she yells. "See? We can play nice! Now can we come out?"
"NO!"
Katara's eyes narrow. "What is her problem?"
"Apparently, us." He stretches, and she can hear the popping of his joints. "Let's see just how big this place is." He gulps in a lungful of air before a stream of fire erupts from his mouth. The flames illuminate the rough, dark stone cube they are locked in. Katara spots several thin streams of water tracing down the walls like tear tracks. Some thirty feet above their heads, thick roots tangle through the stone and leave vines dangling like stringy, dirty hair. "So, we have water and tinder," the prince says at the last of the flames disappears. All that is left is the small orb he holds in his hand. "That's a start."
"I bet I can use the water to carve away the rock," Katara muses.
Zuko looks at her. "I could heat it. Melt it away."
She fixes him with her darkest look. "As if I need a fire bender's help," she snarls. "You've caused enough damage for one day, thank you very much."
His scowl reminds her of the days when he always wore armor and a pony tail. "Was that supposed to be a joke? Because it was not funny." She sticks her tongue out at him before turning away. "ARRGGHHH! What is your problem!" he explodes. The light in the room grows with his rage.
"My problem?" she spins, her eyes flashing in the fire light. "My problem! Take a good look around and then ask me what my problem is!"
He turns around once, his arms spread wide. "What is your problem?"
"My problem is YOU!" She lunges at him, pulling with her the water from the walls and her pouch. He surrounds himself in fire; he's used to her attacks from both ends. After all, he had been the first one to attack her that way.
"How am I your problem?" he demands, throwing several fire balls in her direction. "I'm helping the Avatar! I'm nice to the brat that trapped us in here! I'm not trying to kill you!"
"Then what do you call this?" She points to a flame that whizzes past her head, so close that she flinches from the heat.
"You started it!" He cracks two fiery whips at her head.
"I did not!" She extinguishes the flames, and freezes his feet to the floor.
"Yes you did!" He unfreezes his feet to kick more fire at her.
"Did not!" She swallows the fire in her water and sends hundreds of icy daggers at his body.
"Did too!" An arc of flames destroys the deadly projectiles.
"What are we, eight?" Eight water whips pin the fire bender to the ground.
"You tell me, since everything I say or do is wrong!" Two fire streams flatten the water bender against the wet ground.
"Who said that?" Ice climbs up his body.
"You did!" Fire encircles her sprawled form.
"I never said that! When did I say that?" She is standing, the ring of flames dying out, launching dagger after dagger, stepping closer and closer.
"You don't have to! It shows every time you criticize me or yell at me or threaten to end me instead of giving me a friendly greeting!" He has two flaming knives in his hands, blocking her missiles as he approaches.
"Fine, let's start all over again." A tugging at her gut, and she can feel his very pulse, the quick rhythm of his whole body. He cannot move now, not unless she allows it. He is struggling, fighting her, but he will not win this time. He drove her to this. He must suffer the consequences. Her splayed fingers pass in front of her face before pushing down. The Fire Prince crumples to the floor. She saunters up to his immobile body, a predator grin across her face. "Hello, Prince Zuko! Welcome to our small group of kids trying to save the entire world! Even though you used to want to capture us, most of all the Avatar, who is the last hope for this world, by the way, I forgive you! I forgive you for terrorizing my village and taking my necklace and tying me to a tree and burning down Kyoshi Island and taking Aang away from the Spirit Oasis and for hunting us all over this war-torn planet and making my life so fucking miserable! Oh, but most of all, I forgive you for lying to me and leading me on under Ba Sing Se by saying that you changed, for giving me a reason to trust you, and then letting it all go up in smoke the second Azula arrived! I forgive you for all of the shit you have started and for the life you ruined for me!"
"Oh really?" He pushes up with his right side, throwing her off balance. Her arms can't take his weight, his strength, and she collapses as he rolls over her. "I ruined your life. Me. The prince who walked into your village nine months ago. I destroyed your life by hunting the Avatar? The boy you chose to protect." His hands tightened around the wrists held over her head. "I ruined the life you had in that small, sheltered, frozen village. You traveled the world with my prey, you saw worlds and wonders you hadn't even dreamed of, and I ruined the life you could have had in that tiny collection of animal-skin huts."
"It was my home!" she cries, tears in the corners of her eyes.
"At least you had a home!" he shouts. "While you were cuddled up in those tents you call houses, surrounded by people who love you, I was scouring the earth for my ticket home!"
"And who's fault was that?" she asks sweetly, her tone dripping in sarcasm.
"AAAAAHHHH!" His fist slams into the floor next to her face. "Why are you so... so..."
"So right?"
"So infuriating!" He pushes up and storms away, his hands holding the sides of his head. "How is it that you always do this to me? That you push me to the very tip of the edge and just when I think I've taken a few steps away, you say one more thing, do something unexpected, give me one more look that crumbles the ledge and drops me down the cliff."
She can only look at him, her jaw on her chest. "What... I... huh?"
The prince cries out again. "See, that's exactly what I'm talking about! Whenever you're around, nothing I do make sense! Instead of lashing out, I stay calm! I stop to think, where I would act on impulse! I'm not myself when you're around!"
"I lash out and attack you where I would be gentle and kind. I act irrationally where I would stop to form a plan or talk it out with my friends. Even when we're practice sparring, I don't hold back when I know it's you I'm fighting."
Zuko stands, breathing heavily from his passionate tirade, his wide golden eyes watching her. Katara sits on the cold ground, her arms hugging her knees to her chest. "So what does it mean?" she whispers into her legs. "What does it say about us? That we're sworn enemies?"
The prince comes to kneel in front of her, his hands reaching for hers, but pulling back at the last moment. "I don't think so," he murmurs. She peeks up at him through her loose hairs. "Maybe it means... that we're able to bring out the worst in each other. That we're able to push each other to be better, as fighters and people."
She places her hand on his scar, smiling sadly. "I was so happy when you let me do this the first time. I knew it was a big step for you, that it was the first step towards you being good."
His hand rises to cover hers. "Your kindness was what helped me leave. Your endearing kindness. You unwavering hope."
"I always admired your passion, your ferocity. It's what makes you you."
"Our fights were my favorite," he grins. "It made me feel more... alive. I lost myself when I was fighting you."
"I fought at my best against you. No other opponent has been able to do that to me."
A sly look crosses his face. "You know, if we fought so well together when we were on opposite sides..."
"...we could be flawless together," she finishes, a broad smile engulfing her face. "Oh Toph!" she sings, knowing her voice will carry to the blind earth girl. "We don't hate each other anymore!"
The ground rumbles just outside their prison. "It's about time!" she exclaims, bringing down the wall.
The tunnel is thankfully cloaked in darkness. "Now!" the prince cries, leaping on their jailor. She squeals as he pins her to the ground. Rolling her onto her back, he lays her on his chest, using his arms and legs to keep her from touching the ground. "We don't appreciate people forcing us to do anything," he growls with a grin.
"Not at all." Katara leans over the helpless girl. "Do you know what we do those people?" She steals a glance at Toph's captor. He seems to understand her glance, for his grip on her limbs tightens. The water bender is kneeling on the ground now, her hands snaking ever-closer to the young girl's sides.
"No, no! Don't you dare! What are you doing!" She begins to struggle, flopping around in Zuko's grasp like a fish on land.
"We..." Katara brings her mouth right next to Toph's ear. "...tickle them."
"NO!" the girl squeals as Katara's finger wriggle along her sides. "No, please, stop! Stop!" Toph thrashes from side to side, an uncontrollable smile on her face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"
"You bet you won't," Zuko chuckles as Katara's fingers migrate to the area under Toph's arms.
From around the corner at the end of the long, empty hallway, Teo, the Duke, and Haru are watching the three squirm around on the floor.
"Well, at least they're working together now," says Teo. "In perfect harmony, too."
The Duke nods, his helmet bouncing on his head, before placing a hand on Haru's arm.
Teo notices. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, Haru," he says kindly, reaching up to pat the older boy's shoulder. "I guess she isn't still your girlfriend after all."
He wheeled away with the Duke, leaving the sad teenager to watch the two former adversaries tag-team a helpless kid from his own nation. What was the world coming to?