This particular one shot takes place shortly after The Rift, the third in the group of graphic novels set after the events of the cartoon. For those who haven't read the graphic novels, Satoru is a character introduced in The Rift, and he and Toph kind of end up hitting it off. I personally think he and Toph would make a great couple.

~A~

A Love for Toph

~A~

"Avatar Aang!" the startled young man exclaimed. "Is everything alright?"

The airbender dropped lightly to his feet from his glider, twirling it closed with a quick twist and snap of his wrist. He grinned at Satoru and nodded. "Sure! I just decided to drop in-" he paused for a moment and then chuckled at the unintended pun as the young man he was addressing did the same, "-and see how things are going with the refinery and all. No more 'spirit problems'?" he asked.

At that Satoru's expression cleared and he shook his head. "No, not at all. Everything's going perfectly, actually." He hesitated and then cleared his throat, looking away with a slight blush and adjusting his glasses. "Have you seen Toph lately?"

Aang started walking, looking around the small town that had sprung up on the island a little sadly – he could still remember it as it had once been, beautiful and untouched. "Sure," he said distractedly. "We stopped in to visit her a few days ago."

"Oh. Umm... how is she?" he asked diffidently, trying very hard to control the blush that was at that moment trying to take over his face.

It took a few seconds for Aang's attention to return to him from his perusal of the area, but once it did he came to a stop and looked askance at the older boy as a certain suspicion began to grow in his mind. "She's fine," he said slowly, watching him closely. "Busy torturing and terrorizing her students... you know... doing Toph sorts of things. Why?"

Satoru brushed the question off casually, trying to regain his footing, not realizing it was already too late – he was talking to a young man that well remembered his own painful initiation into love a mere couple of years ago. "Oh, just curious. She was supposed to be stopping in soon, and I was wondering if she'd said anything to you about it."

The slow grin beginning to brighten Aang's face gave the older boy the clue that he'd given himself away, and he sighed and his shoulders slumped as he looked with deep chagrin at the Avatar. "You're in love with Toph," he stated, his grin widening at Satoru's expression.

"Please don't say that so loud!" he begged, looking around to make sure no one had heard. "I... I don't want that to get back to her!"

The young monk blinked, then looked a little concerned. Taking him by the elbow he guided him into the space between two buildings, and once they were alone he let him go. "So... you mean to tell me you're going to keep hiding this?" he asked.

Satoru looked down miserably and sighed. "What else can I do? It's not like she would ever return my feelings," he replied softly.

"What makes you think that?" Aang questioned further, confused by the older boy's seeming certainty.

"Well, because she's Toph Bei Fong! She's the greatest earthbender in the world – what would she want with me? I'm not even a bender – there's no way she could even respect me that much, let alone... y-you know," he stammered, gaping at the airbender. "She's completely amazing, and I'm just Satoru, a poor fool who's no good at anything but tinkering with machines. It's... it's hopeless," he finished, looking away despondently.

"I know exactly how you feel," the airbender said quietly, his gaze going far away as the other boy looked back up at him in shock.

"But you and Master Katara... I mean, I thought-"

Aang held up a hand. "We are. But I meant that I understand what you mean about not feeling good enough."

Blinking wildly in shock at that confidence, Satoru looked completely disbelieving. "But... but you're the Avatar! How... I mean... how could you even think-"

"Because Katara's the most amazing, most beautiful woman that's ever lived. You have no idea, Satoru! Nothing that I've accomplished would have happened if it weren't for her," Aang smiled wistfully as he thought of his beloved. "People thank me all the time for saving the world... but it's really her that people should be thanking. There were so many times that she saved all of us and made sure I'd still be around to fight the former Firelord... in fact, if it weren't for her I'd actually be dead – getting struck by lightning's no joke. So yeah, I know how you feel." Aang blushed a little, and his wistful smile softened even further with adoration. "She deserves to be cherished for the rest of her life – and I will, no matter what happens in the future. I'll always love her."

Satoru knew the expression on the Avatar's face quite well, because he wore it every time he thought of Toph. It was just tremendously surprising to know that the most powerful person on the planet had someone that he didn't feel good enough for, too.

"How did you, you know, get the courage up to approach her if you felt that way?" he asked.

Aang pulled himself back from thoughts of his gorgeous, amazing girlfriend and sighed. "It wasn't easy, but on the day of the first failed invasion I kept thinking that I might not come back, might never see her again, and I just... I couldn't die without knowing what it was like to kiss her. So... I just did it. I kissed her, and it was the most wonderful thing in the world. And then I flew off to look for Ozai."

"Oh," Satoru chuckled wryly. "You kissed and ran, huh?"

The airbender grinned, rubbing the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that until you try, you won't know how she's going to react. I'll never understand what Katara sees in me – she could have just about any man in the world, but she chose me, and I thank the spirits for that several times every day. Hiding it forever is going to do nothing but make you miserable, Satoru, believe me." He shook his head and exhaled deeply. "At least if you try and she doesn't feel the same then you know for certain and can try to move on and heal instead of being stuck in that corner wondering for the rest of your life."

"I don't know," the older teen began nervously. "I understand what you're saying, but still – you're the Avatar. You're the most important person in the world, and I'm just-"

"Satoru," Aang interrupted, "stop. You're a genius! I know for a fact that Toph is fascinated with what you do. All your machines and stuff really make her curious, and even though I probably shouldn't say this because she'll kill me if she ever finds out I did," he said with a shudder, "she talks about you a lot – probably more than she even realizes."

A look of wonder lit the young man's face as he stared at the monk. "Really?" he asked. "Do you really think I have a chance? I mean, even above and beyond her sheer amazingness she's a Bei Fong!"

The monk shrugged. "So? I can guarantee you Toph doesn't care about anything like that, and she's not about to let anyone choose who she does or does not get involved with – including her father." He sighed. "Look. It's up to you. No one can force you to say something to her about this, but I have a good feeling about it. I really do think you've got a shot."

It was quiet for a few moments as the young man thought it over and then he nodded, his expression firming with determination. "You're right. I'm going to talk to her when she visits next. Never knowing if I have a chance or not is worse than knowing for sure that I don't. Thanks, Aang."

The Avatar grinned. "No problem! I'll be rooting for you, but like I said, I think things will work out for you two. Heck, for a while back during our adventures in the war Toph had a short-lived crush on Sokka, and he's no bender, either. She really doesn't care about things like that – she's going to judge you on who you are, not what you are."

"You're right again," Satoru said with his own sheepish grin. "I guess I wasn't thinking about that, was I? Toph isn't the type to care about superficial things, and that's one of the things I love about her. I've been being a bit stupid about this, haven't I?"

"Don't feel like you're alone," Aang laughed, shaking his head ruefully. "I was the same way. I think it's just something that happens when you care about someone like that. You think they're so amazing that you feel you could never measure up, never be good enough for them. I'll tell you a secret, though – they feel the same way when thinking about us guys. Katara told me that once when we were talking about this same thing."

"I don't know about that... it's hard to imagine Toph worrying that she's not good enough for someone," Satoru returned dubiously.

"I know, right?"

Both boys dissolved in laughter at that, because the idea of Toph Bei Fong, the self-proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world (though she was probably right about that) suffering from a poor opinion of herself in relation to anyone was absolutely ludicrous.

Aang patted Satoru on the arm once their laughter had calmed. "I'll be cheering for you. I think you guys would make a great couple," he said, genuinely pleased at the idea of Satoru and Toph together.

The young man blushed but smiled. "Thanks again, Aang. I'm glad we had this talk – it's really been hard to keep my feelings hidden when she's around. The uncertainty's been killing me," he confessed. "Even if she doesn't feel the same, at least I won't have to deal with that anymore."

"That's the spirit!"

Satoru turned with a friendly wave of his hand. "Well, come on... I'll show you some of the progress we've made in the mine, since that's what you originally came for."

Aang shook his head. "Actually... I really just came to see if there was anything you needed my help with. But I'd be happy to see what you guys are doing with the mine, so lead away!" he said, following the bespectacled young man cheerfully, all the while keeping his fingers crossed for him.

He was pretty sure the young man had Toph's attention already, so there was every chance that the last one of the gang left unattached wouldn't be for much longer.

I've gotta tell Katara about this when I get home – she'll be so excited!

Making a mental note to drop by again in a couple of weeks just to see how things had gone, Aang trailed along and watched and listened with interest as Satoru proudly showed off some new inventions he'd come up with to make their operations not only safer for the workers but more efficient, as well.

Things here are turning out very well... I think Lady Tienhai would be pleased – by all of it.

He smiled.