I have returned as i said i would and i have homework for all you readers. I have set up a Poll on my profile which will determine which element Beat will end up Bending. So go vote for it and i will post up the new chapter sometime next week once i see what you guys pick. Anyway for now enjoy the story and keep on reviewing i'd love to get more.

Drunken Bender Ch. 4

As Beat walked back into the house from training, he grunted and rolled his shoulders a series of pops sounding from his back before he walked over and booted Sokka in the ass causing him to curse and shoot Beat a glare.

"Why must you insist on doing that to wake me up?" Sokka ground out.

"Because it amuses me," Beat said simply and Sokka merely sighed and headed into the restroom to get moved then on and roused Aang, who sat up and rubbed at his eyes before looking around bleary-eyed, and half awake before heading into the bathroom adjacent to the one Sokka had entered.

Grinning evilly Beat snuck over to Katara, leaned down slipped the ear buds from his MP3 player into her ears before he cycled through his music and stopped on a song before hitting play.

Katara shot up with a shriek as she was shot into consciousness by the dulcet tones of Heavy Metal.

After Beat recovered from the beating Katara administered on him he moved over to Toph and looked down at her smiling softly as he felt that familiar fluttering sensation in his chest. He then brushed it off and leaned down and blew into her ear causing her to moan out and blush lightly before her eyes shot open, she slugged him in the face, rolled to her feet and stomped off swearing under her breath and blushing lightly. Beat, meanwhile, tilted his head back to stem the flow of blood from his nose. After everyone finished getting ready for the day they sat down and began to try to figure out what to do for the day as it was too late to mount an effective search for Appa.

Beat yawned and listened to them plan before a knock at the door made him helicopter his legs around regaining his feet while Toph muttered 'showoff' as he passed by while chuckling.

"Your just jealous" Beat shot back as he opened the door and grunted in irritation as there stood Ju Dee with that large, fake smile plastered on her face again.

"Hello Avatar and friends I am here to help you search for your bison again today," Ju Dee said her voice full of false cheer.

Beat's eye started to twitch as he turned around and jerked his head at the door, a motion which Aang caught and he rolled his eyes before Katara got up and walked over to the door to explain to Ju Dee what was happening that day.

"That chick bugs me," Beat said as he sat down and flipped through his music again before Katara came back in holding an envelope addressed to Toph.

"Toph you've got a letter," Katara said as she sat back down and handed it to her. Toph took the letter opened it up and felt at the Braille letters her eyes widening with excitement as she went.

"It's from my mom!" Toph said astonished, "She says she wants to talk to me and it sounds like she finally understands the real me…it says here she wants to meet me tomorrow in the hotel she's staying at in the Inner Ring."

All the while during Toph's speech, though it looked as if he wasn't listening, Beat's mind was racing at an impressive speed, something didn't add up but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Shrugging he pushed the feeling onto the backburner letting it stew but not really concentrating on it at the moment before he smiled at the sound of happiness in Toph's voice.

Katara squealed lightly happy for the girl before Aang and Sokka chimed in with their congratulations as well before they turned to Beat, who had remained silent. Realizing they had stopped talking Beat looked up after a moment to notice they were waiting for him to say something.

"Ah, sorry I'm very happy for you Toph," Beat said with a smile.

Toph's grin almost faltered as she felt Beat's heartbeat fluctuate wildly for a moment it wasn't the same as lying nor was it the same as him telling the truth, to be honest she couldn't tell what it was and it confused her. Surely Beat was happy for her she could hear the sincerity in his voice but the way his heart had beat was puzzling. Deciding not to dwell on it too much lest she fall even further into confusion she thanked him and turned to Katara.

"Oh, oh we just have to have a Girl's Day today to get you ready for your Mom tomorrow!" Katara said happily as she grabbed Toph and dragged her out of the house despite her protests.

Beat, Sokka and Aang simply stared at the door that the girls had disappeared out of before laughing.

"Sokka is your sister like that a lot?" Beat asked as he glanced back at the door.

"No, actually, she's normally very level-headed," Sokka said a bit confused by his sister's behavior as well, "I'm guessing it has to do with the excitement she's feeling for Toph."

"Girls are weird," Aang said as he shook his head resigning himself to never understanding them.

Sometime later Beat, Aang, and Sokka were walking around the marketplace looking for a way to fritter away the day. After a while Beat yawned and said he was going to head back to the house to get some more sleep since he trained longer than usual today. After bidding farewell to his friends who wished him a good night, he turned down a side street and began his trek back to the Inner Ring.

On his way there he noticed a small tea shop and feeling a bit parched slipped a hand into his pocket, feeling at his money, he decided he could afford some tea and cakes. Stepping inside a bell jingled to announce his arrival to the staff which consisted of a portly looking old man with gray hair and a matching beard sporting an apron, the other was a young man looking to be around 16 or 17 who had short black hair and a large scar over his left eye that vaguely resembled a flame.

Sitting down Beat grabbed the menu and flipped it open before the younger of the two walked over.

"Hello my name is Lee, welcome to the Jasmine Dragon," Lee said, "May I take your order?"

Beat set the menu down and nodded before he looked up at Lee.

"Yeah can I have some jasmine tea and a plate of tea cakes?"

"Anything else for you today sir?" Lee asked as he jotted down the order.

"No I'm good with that thanks." Beat responded before Lee nodded and headed off to give the order to Mushi.

As his meal was being prepared Beat glanced around the shop, it was plain looking and a bit small, and other than himself there was no one there. Then again, considering it was near 6pm he wasn't all that surprised. Casting his gaze over at Mushi he noticed the old man was smiling softly as he brewed the tea he seemed to genuinely enjoy his craft and Beat felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips before he looked over at Lee.

The moment he saw Lee he knew something was off about him. It was something about how he carried himself, his movements were smooth and graceful, much more so than a common tea server should be in possession of. Beat mused for a moment and was taken off guard as the old man placed his tea and cakes down in front of him without Beat having known he had left his station.

"This is wrong," Beat thought as he grabbed a cake and ate it, "People don't just move like that."

As Beat pondered on this he grabbed his cup and raised it towards his lips just as someone burst into the teahouse yelling. The sudden noise caused Beat to jump and spill his tea all over the front of his shirt and coat. Sighing, softly he set the cup down and stood up before looking back at the man who had two hook swords and was currently accusing Lee and Mushi of being Fire Benders.

"Hmm that would explain their graceful movements," Beat mused to himself as he watched the young man become increasingly more aggressive. Sighing, Beat placed his headphones in his ears fully intending to simply let the Dai Li he had seen patrolling the streets take care of it. As he made his way by he noticed a small child drop her ball only for it to roll towards the feuding men. Both Lee and the other young man, who's name was revealed to be Jet, were moments away from blows. The child, oblivious to the goings on, ran after her ball just as Jet swung his swords and Lee leapt back away from the blow. So immersed in his rage though Jet had swung his swords too hard and they were heading straight for the young girl's neck. The scream of the child's mother brought Beat's attention back to the fight and reacting so quickly many people lost sight of him he dove at the child scooping her up. Using his forward momentum he spun around the swords arc and landed a few feet forward, cradling the child to his chest though his shirt and jacket were shredded from the near miss.

"Aw dammit, I liked this coat," Beat moaned as both Jet and Lee looked over the sudden movement having snapped them out of their single minded rage. Jet paled as he realized what had nearly happened and looked at the strange man in front of him.

"Are you Fire Nation just like these two!?" Jet demanded the old streak of paranoia robbing him of the ability to think straight as he advanced on Beat. Beat himself wasn't paying attention anymore as the child's mother had rushed over to grab her daughter and began to thank Beat profusely, who waved his hand nonchalantly while blushing a bit not used to such praise.

"I'm talking to you Fire Nation scum!!" Jet roared enraged even further at being ignored as Beat waved goodbye to the mother and daughter. After they left he spun around and launched his foot into Jet's face without warning the impact knocking him back in a shower of blood and broken teeth. Jet hit the ground and slid to a stop some 10 feet back clutching his face in pain. Storming after him Beat grabbed his collar and swung him to his feet without any visible effort slamming him into a wall.

"You stupid little asshole," Beat hissed out before he pulled Jet forward and slammed him into the wall again a sharp crack echoing around the plaza as the wall snapped and crumbled slightly from the pressure Beat was putting on Jet.

"In your idiotic rage against those two men you nearly killed a child, a young girl no less," Beat said his voice dripping with hatred as he lifted Jet off his feet blood starting to pool on said mans shirt. "Your lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd feed you your fucking swords!"

A faint hissing sound caught Beats attention and he threw Jet to the side before spinning around and plucking something out of the air his entire arm flying back to dissipate the kinetic energy. Looking at his hand he saw an arrow between his middle and forefinger. Discarding the projectile he turned back to Jet only to find him missing, a bloody trailing leading off into the crowded plaza.

"FUCK!!" Beat roared before the faint sound of a clearing throat caught his attention, looking over his shoulder he spotted Mushi and Lee.

"My nephew and I would like to offer our most sincere thanks to you stranger." Mushi said as he bowed to Beat who felt his cheeks tinge pink with embarrassment. "If it wasn't for you that young man may have hurt myself or my nephew not to mention that young girl."

"Ah its ok sir I have a thing against hurting children and girls," Beat said as he scratched the back of his head grinning softly, " Besides I was already a bit mad at him because when he came in he made me spill my tea."

Mushi nodded solemnly knowing the sadness of a lost cup of tea.

"Well as thanks you are always welcome at my shop and your next cup of tea will be on the house," Mushi said with another bow which Lee mimicked stiffly his eyes never leaving the snow haired man before him.

"Ah, thank you, are very kind Mr.…" Beat said as he bowed in return a bit awkwardly since he wasn't quite used to it yet.

"Oh, how rude of me, my name is Mushi and of course you already met my nephew Lee"

"Right well Mr. Mushi I'll have to take you up on that sometime" Beat replied before he shivered slightly at the chilling air. "But for now I'm going to head home and get some clothes on that aren't so…ventilated," Beat mused as he looked down at his ruined coat and shirt forlornly.

Mushi gave a belly laugh and nodded, "Good night young man,"

"Ah you can call me Beat"

"Beat?" Mushi said with a quirked eyebrow, "That's a strange name"

"Heh yeah lets just say I'm from way out of town anyway I'll see you some other time" Beat said as he spun on his heel and started back towards the house.

"Such a nice young man" Mushi said as he watched Beat walk away.

"He's strange Uncle," Lee replied watching Beat go with a suspicious eye, "The way he moved was unlike anything I've seen before"

"Yes it was strange, but he saved us and that child Zuko," Mushi said as he stepped into the shop with Zuko right behind.

"Be that as it may we need to be careful around him Uncle" Zuko said

"If you say so nephew"

Scene Break: 3 blocks away

Jet staggered into the small home he, Longshot and Smellerbee were sharing his hand cupped under his chin as blood dribbled down from his mouth and nose. Longshot and Smellerbee burst in a moment later, the latter immediately falling to her knees and grabbing a rag. She then started to wipe gently at the blood on his face concern painting her own while Longshot looked on stonily.

"My god Jet, that boy got you good," Smellerbee said as she saw the few missing teeth and busted lip, his nose still dripping a bit of blood.

"It was a lucky shot," Jet slurred out. The lose of his teeth was messing with his speech. He winced slightly as his face throbbed a bit.

"Sure if you say so Jet," Smellerbee said as she finished cleaning him up and stemmed the flow of blood from his nose, "Lucky or not you need to rest for a couple days and let yourself heal."

"Rrrrgh…fine," Jet said growling in frustration at how easily he was beaten by that strange kid.

Scene Break: Same time on top of a warehouse in the plaza

Two Dai Li agents watched as the snow haired young man left the plaza before they followed him leaping from roof to roof, keeping him in their sights.

"I've never seen anyone move like that boy have you?" One Dai Li murmured. The other Dai Li shook his head in the negative as they followed him for a few minutes before he turned into the high class district of Ba Sing Se.

"Wait a moment, I remember something that came in on a report a few days ago from that assignment to keep an eye on the Avatar's group" The Dai Li who had spoken before said.

"Oh yeah?" responded the other Dai Li as they leapt onto the ground and began tailing the youth using the shadows to their advantage.

"Yeah apparently he's part of the Avatar's traveling group."

"Huh…well if he is he certainly isn't a Bender and I've never seen that sort of combat from a warrior before."

"Yeah…think we should report this to Long Feng?"

"Without a doubt."

Watching as Beat turned towards the Avatar's home they nodded to each other and slipped deeper into the shadows. The growing night seeming to swallow the two agents.

Scene Break: With Toph and Katara

As Toph and Katara walked home from their Girl's Day, they talked to each other about nothing important, simply one of those conversations that people have when there's nothing to talk about.

"So what do you think about Beat?" Toph asked all of a sudden catching Katara off guard at the abrupt change of topic.

"W-well he's a sweet guy, though a bit childish at times, but he's definitely strong yet he's not overconfident about it really," Katara said before looking over at Toph suspiciously. "Why the sudden question Toph?"

"What, oh uhm no reason I just wanted to know what you thought about him." Toph said stumbling a bit causing to Katara smile softly as she recognized the real reason for asking.

"If you say so Toph," Katara said as they turned the corner and slammed into someone all three falling flat on their asses.

"Ah I'm so sorry about-Katara…Toph?" a voice said as they looked up to see it was Beat…shirtless and splattered with blood

"What happened!?!" Katara said as she scrambled over water already covering her hands to heal him before he raised a hand.

"Whoa, whoa there Katara, its not my blood" Beat said as he raised his hands in a placating manner.

Katara sighed and dispelled the water rubbing her forehead softly," Dammit Beat what did you," Katara started before she waved her hands, "You know what no I don't wanna know just…stop it" with that she stalked off into the house fuming leaving Beat and Toph alone.

Beat turned back around to look at Toph and felt himself flush deeply, she looked incredible. Her hair was pulled back revealing her face light blue eye shadow accented her pale lavender eyes. Her cheeks were covered with a small amount of blush while her lips were a rich ruby color.

Toph was really confused, after Katara left she felt Beat turn and look at her. After a moment though she felt his heart start to beat wildly.

"Beat are you ok?" Toph asked, "I can feel your heart beating really fast,"

"I uh…it's uhm…huh?" Beat stammered as he continued to stare at Toph whom had stood up.

"O-ok…well uhm goodnight Beat" Toph said as she skirted around him and headed inside leaving Beat there. He came in a bit later, promptly fall onto his bedroll, and avoid any questions thrown his way.

The Next Morning

As Toph got ready to leave her mind was whirling with everything that might happen. She was excited that her mother seemed ready to accept the real her, but was scared that she might not approve of the actions she took in the past few weeks. She looked around the house at the almost empty bedrolls, the only one still occupied being Beat's who wasn't feeling well. Aang, Sokka, and Katara where already out searching for Appa again today. Though they had offered to go with Toph she refused, saying she should see her mother alone. With one final once over making sure she had everything she needed, she turned on her heel and headed out of the house to go meet with her mother.

Waiting a few moments after she left, Beat sat up and dressed quickly. He had had a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind for a while now and it was time to pay it some attention. Slipping out of the house Beat quickly raced up a pile of crates onto the roof of the house next to theirs. Then looked around before he spotted Toph making her way through the city streets of Ba Sing Se. Rolling his neck and shoulders to loosen up Beat took a few steps back and rushed forward bounding from roof to roof. He made sure to keep Toph in sight but kept far enough back so his footsteps would be lost among the countless others she was feeling.

Scene Break: With Aang, Katara, and Sokka

As the three companions combed the city for clues, they came upon a cluster of people in the marketplace talking loudly about a disturbance that happened the night before.

"…well I heard it was a young man with white hair that saved the girl"

"That's what I heard too, I hear he saved her and trounced that boy with the hook swords before catching an arrow mid-flight."

The three looked at each other before sighing and shaking their heads, looks like Beat couldn't even go a day without getting into some kind of trouble.

Katara rubbed her chin softly the conversation cycling through her head again. Something about the phrase 'boy with hook swords' was trying to kick off something in her mind but she just couldn't remember.

"Are you sure we should have let Toph go on her own?" Aang said breaking Katara out of her thoughts.

"I'm sure she'll be fine Aang," Katara said as she pasted up another poster of Appa.

"Yeah," Sokka said, "Toph is tough and I'm sure her mom will be understanding"

"Yeah I know but I can't help but worry" Aang said.

"Don't worry Aang she'll be fine I'm sure of it" Katara said softly

"I guess your right Katara"

Scene Break: Rooftops of Ba Sing Se

As Beat landed on the building across the street from the hotel Toph went into he waited a moment before slipping down the building. He landed as softly as he could before he crept on up to the side of the building and peeked into the window. Beat grimaced as inside he saw the hotel was rather rundown, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, it looked abandoned. Turning his head he noticed that even though they were still in the Inner Ring the people around looked like trouble. Grunting softly Beat looked back inside and saw Toph was being lead into a back room but he could see she was on edge now. Slipping around the side Beat clambered up onto the fence lining the building and peered into the backroom just in time to see a steel box drop from the ceiling and encase Toph before a half dozen Dai Le dropped from the shadows as well. Beat snarled and opened the window to slip inside.

Scene Change: Inside the box with Toph

Toph slammed her hands against the steel walls of the box in anger as she felt the six people outside surround her before suddenly a voice rang from outside.

"Toph Bei Fong you and your friends have been judged hazardous by the Dai Li, as such you shall be imprisoned pending trial." the voice said, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Let me out of this fucking box and I'll show you what I think!!!" Toph roared as she slammed against the box with renewed vigor her mind spinning as she started to grow more frantic with every failed attempt to escape.

"Very well then," the voice said before she felt the box being lifted and she fell to the floor and cupped her face in her hands.

Suddenly the box lurched and the front side fell to the floor causing Toph to tumble around before the back end hit the ground with a thud. She heard the people outside crying out and the telltale sounds of Earthbending before she felt and heard something land on top of the box with a bang.

"I believe you have something very important to me in here" a new voice said which she immediately recognized as Beat.

"Beat is that you!!?" Toph yelled, hope swelling in her chest along with that warm fluttering feeling. Though this time she didn't push it away but reveled in it instead.

"In the flesh Toph, can you get out of there?" Beat asked

"It's solid metal I can't bend that!" Toph said as she felt Beat leave all of a sudden a rock slamming into the top of the box.

"Metal is Earth Toph!!" Beat cried out his voice bouncing around as he dodged the numerous pieces of Earth being sent his way. "Its just purified, BEND IT I KNOW YOU CAN!!"

Toph nodded to herself and placed her hands against the cool surface of the metal and felt around. She could feel the bits of Earth inside the metal and she willed them to move. Slowly, she could feel them budge as her fingers sank into the metal a bit before she pushed harder and, with a shriek of metal and a grunt of effort, she peeled the door away and stepped outside only to see Beat pinned against the wall with Earth. A Dai Li agent was standing before him sneering softly.

"We have orders for you as well," He said, " You will be given an option, you can teach the Dai Li your strange fighting styles and we shall make sure you live the rest of your life in comfort or…we will simply kill you here and now."

"Oh sure and after I teach you all my secrets why don't you BITE MY LEFT ONE!!!" Beat snarled as he strained against the earth pinning him to the wall.

"Very well then," The Dai Li said as he shifted slightly, "Goodbye Mr. Shepard!" thrusting his hands forward a spike of Earth racing for Beat's heart just as Toph broke the bindings keeping him held to the wall. As he dropped he spun to the right the spike passing through his shirt ripping it off him as he fell to the ground with a thud.

"DAMMIT CAN I NOT KEEP MY SHIRT FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES IN THIS GOD DAMN CITY OR WHAT!?!" Beat roared as he leapt forward and drove his knee into the stomach of the closest Dai Li, who bent over gasping, only to fly back as Beat slammed the heel of his hand into his nose causing it to crack and break under the strain. Blood flying from his nose as he crumpled to the ground.

Flipping over to Toph he pulled out his flask in mid air and drained it in one large gulp before landing with a stagger. He then discarded the flask where it clattered to the ground where it was crushed by a block of Earth a Dai Li had thrown at Toph.

Swaying and staggering around Beat started to tear through the Dai Li agents like paper while Toph took on her fair share as well. Together they quickly dispatched the Dai Li, their movements flowing together in a brutal dance before it came to a close with Beat throwing a Dai Li which Toph intercepted mid-flight with a large boulder.

Beat bent over panting and sweating numerous shallow cuts littering his body from near misses. After a moment he stood back up and walked over to a pile of rocks shifting through the rubble and pulled out his flask, it was clearly crushed beyond repair.

"Fuck" Beat swore tossing it away before he turned to Toph who was encasing the Dai Li in earth. He then trotted over to the Dai Li who had spoken to him before he rifled through the Dai Li's pockets before pulling out a scroll.

"Oi Toph I think I may have found something," Beat said as Toph encased the Dai Li in front of her before she made her way over to him.

"What is it?" She asked as she came to a stop beside him.

"Looks like orders…from someone named Long Feng" Beat read on before he slipped it into his pocket, "It seems you were to be transported to somewhere called Lake Laogai"

Toph arched a brow and looked confused, "Wait isn't that just outside the city over the ridge?"

"Yeah that's what I've heard" Beat said as he scratched his chin," You know if this guy wants us so bad I wouldn't put it past him to use hostages"

"You mean like me for you guys" Toph said trailing off.

"Or Appa for Aang!" Beat finished as he turned to Toph, "We need to get to the others and show them what we've found!" As Beat made his way past Toph she reached out and grabbed his pant leg softly. Looking back he saw that Toph was looking away her face a light pink before she looked up at him.

"I wanted to thank you Beat" Toph said none of the usual bravado or confidence in her voice as she wrapped her arms around herself protectively, "You always seem to be there to save me when I need help"

"Ah Toph its nothing rea-" Beat started before Toph raised up a hand causing him to fall silent.

"No, please let me finish" Toph said before she drew a shaky breath and moved closer to him wrapping her arms around his chest her face buried in his neck.

"You're always there for me…and I know we haven't known each other that long but I can't continue to deny what it is I've been feeling for the past few days" Toph said shakily.

Beat looked down at her a bit shocked, this was a Toph that he had never seen before. Sure he was always aware she was a girl, of course, but she was always so confident and self-assured. The girl in front of him now was scared and unsure of herself.

"I love you Beat," Toph whispered before pushing herself up onto her toes and pressing her lips against Beat's.

Beat's mind was reeling, he had no idea what to do. He could vaguely feel Toph pull back and looked down into her eyes at that moment. A light pink blush was dusting her cheeks and her were eyes full of expectancy as she nibbled her bottom lip.

Beat smiled lightly before cupping her cheek with his hand, which she immediately leaned into, "Toph, you have no idea how that makes me feel," he paused for a moment, "you are an extremely attractive woman, and I have been finding myself feeling something I've never felt before when I'm around you."

Toph felt her heart beat faster and faster as Beat spoke her eyes shining with happy tears she refused to let fall.

"And now I know, it's love," Beat whispered to her softly.

Leaning in, he wrapped his arms around her waist firmly as he pulled her in for a deep kiss.

"I love you Toph," he spoke against her lips. Toph's eyes fluttering closed as she wrapped her arms up around his neck. The tears she had been holding back now running down her face while she returned his kiss. Soft light from the setting sun filtered in through the windows of the old hotel, gently illuminating the young lovers with it's touch.

AN

So as you've noticed i sped up the pairing a bit more than i wanted but i have a few plans that are made easier if these two are together. I've also made Toph seem a bit more vulnerable during her confession I did this because confessing something like that isn't easy your putting a lot out there so your completely out in unfamiliar territory. Remember to vote in the poll and i'll be back with the next chapter in a week or so once i've closed the poll. Remember though that the type of bending he gets will effect the path of the story i take with him so choose wisely also depending on what element he receives will also change how quick i teach it too him. I'd also like to thank my beta Ibinx Rae who helped me with my horribly crappy romance scene which she said made her want to slap me. Apparently i need to work on that ///

Ja

Soulnin