Day 3- Manners

I watch them together. He's smiling and so is she, and yet they both pretend like they're not. I didn't understand at first, but it didn't take me long to see what was going on.

They've been like this the last few weeks. Spending practically the whole of their day together. They fight a lot, more with bending than with words. But they laugh a lot, too. And I like to see them happy. Him, especially. He's been sad a lot in his young life. He's only sixteen, but he's suffered many great losses.

I think he knows she's the reason he's always smiling nowadays because the last few weeks he's come up with varying excuses to keep her from leaving. Her parents want her to return home, but he keeps coming up with reasons for her to stay.

One week, he needed some earthbending practice. Two weeks after that, he said he was ready to learn metalbending. A month later, he asked her to teach him all the Earth Kingdom dances she had been taught. Though he knew many of the old dances from around the world, he claimed he wanted to know more modern ones.

This week, he came up with the not so brilliant idea of asking her to teach him about manners. That seemed like the flimsiest excuse yet and I was certain she'd see right through his ploy. But, she did not. Still, she didn't make it easy for him. She never does. I think he likes the challenge.

"You want me to teach you what?" she grumbled and he began to grow disheartened, I could see it in the way his shoulders slouched and the corners of his lips turned down.

"Well," began his explanation and I was curious as to what it would be. "I spend a lot of time with kings and nobles and dignitaries, as you know. And, I was thinking, who better to show me the proper way to behave around them than you, Toph. You grew up in that world-"

"And chose to leave it," she reminded him. But he wasn't giving up yet and he cleared his throat once before he continued.

"True, but when we're in court, you're always the one reminding me what to do and what I should stay clear of. And remember when we were in Ba Sing Se a few years ago, you were going to teach me and Sokka about manners?"

She made a face, then shook her head. "No, I said you two would be lucky to pass as busboys!"

"Ah, come on, Toph! Please!"

"What do I get out of it?"

"The satisfaction of helping a friend?" he offered, smiling hopefully.

She laughed in his face, but I knew she was going to agree. Whenever she crossed her arms and tipped her head forward to hide away the color that rose to her face, she always smiled this secret smile I hadn't seen until recently. See, I'm not sure when it started or when things changed, but they have both been acting a little strange and awkward and some days just plain confused. It was almost like once they turned sixteen, they were each very much aware of the other. Things that might have been there before, but they failed to notice, now grabbed their undivided attention.

For example, most nights she asked him to read scrolls to her. Long stories about anything and everything. Pirates, war, fairy tales, and romance. When he read those, they both had turned bright red by the end. And, when he was finished and they were getting ready for bed, she would mumble and complain about his "stupid, stupid voice". But if she thought his voice was so stupid, why would she keep asking him to read to her?

And he was the same way.

"Do you think she's different?" he would asked me on those occasions she left. "She's taller, I suppose. But it's something else... Her hair looks really shiny, especially when she leaves it down. And, her lashes are so long and dark and make her green eyes just... stand out. I can't help wonder why I never really noticed it before. And then there's the shade and shape of her lips which look so soft..."

He would get like that, just lay on the ground and look up at the stars, and talk and talk about her when she wasn't around. But when she returned, he would never tell her any of it. I didn't get it.

And times like now, when they were standing so close to each other, not speaking, not doing anything. He would look at her with this dreamy expression on his face and she looked like she was going to beat him up. Her hands were two tight fists at her side.

"Okay," she said suddenly.

"Okay? So, you'll do it?" he asked, laughing. "You'll help me?"

"Yup, but you owe me."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, wrapping her up in a big hug. When he let her go they were both blushing again. "Can we, uh, get started now?"

"Now? But it's dinner time."

It was dinner time and I was hungry, so I growled to let them know I disapproved of his idea.

"See, Appa's hungry, too."

"I know, I know, but the thing is," he was rubbing the back of his head like he did when he was nervous. I wondered what he could be nervous about? He wanted her to stay a little longer and now she was going to. "There's this thing I wanted to ask you," he continued, "because you're from the Earth Kingdom so you probably have an idea of the proper way to, uh, to, you know..." He shuffled his feet. "Um, how do I ask a girl, from the Earth Kingdom, out on a date?"

She didn't say anything for a long time.

"Lemme get this straight. You wanna know the proper way to ask an Earth Kingdom girl out on a date?"

"Y-yes?"

"That's why you asked me to teach you about manners?"

"...Yes?"

She seemed upset for some reason and started to walk away from him.

"Manners is one thing, Twinkletoes. I ain't giving you dating advice."

"Toph, wait up. I just..." he walked up behind her. His hand around hers stopped her instantly. "I think that I..."

Her free hand was a tight fist again and I was sure that at any moment, she was going to throw one of those powerful punches that sent him flying up in the air.

"I want to be honest..." he said, stepping close to where she stood. He nearly took her other hand, but brought his back down at the last second. "But, I don't want to mess things up between us." His voice was so low I could barely hear and with the lemur chattering nearby, it was difficult to make out the words, but it sounded like he added, "You're my best friend and... you mean so much to me..."

Her expression changed and she raised her face to his. Unlike before, her reply came quickly.

"You won't mess anything up," she assured him, starting to grin. "I'll make sure of it."

I think that was what she said, but the lemur had started jumping up and down in front of me, making it hard to focus on anything else. When I looked back at Aang and Toph, they were standing very close. Moving towards each other, closer and closer until their lips were touching.

I growled to get their attention because I was starving, but now both ignored me. Eventually, I turned away from them and took flight after the lemur. He usually had a good idea of where to find the tastiest fruit.

AN: We're almost halfway through Taang Week! \o/ Today's theme gave me some trouble, but I hope it doesn't show! ;) Anyway, after writing these last few days, I kinda noticed I have three versions of Taang in my head: the young, innocent, and cute ATLA Taang; teenage, unsure, hormonal PMP Taang; and older, hella sexy LOK Taang. Anyone else do this too?