Ch 19- Leaving Gaoling

Earthbending alongside Toph, fighting side by side, it had reminded Aang of his friend. Yes, Toph was noticeably attractive and very pretty (distractingly so at times), but she was Toph all the same. She was still the same girl who cracked jokes while she beat up men three times her size. The same girl who commanded the earth like no one he had ever seen before. The same girl who in victory, pumped her arms up in the air, laughing like life couldn't possibly get better.

When she took his hand and raised it in celebration while they stood in the middle of the arena, he was reminded of all they had been through, of why they were friends. That could explain why he no longer felt that strange weirdness lurking in the back of his head whenever he looked at her.

Now, as they soared through the sky on Appa, when Aang looked over at Toph, all he saw was his friend in deep contemplation. The slight downturn of her mouth made him ask the question she didn't want to hear.

"Hey, uh, Toph? Do you-"

"No."

"-want to-"

"Nope."

"-talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about!" she snapped, causing Momo to fly from her lap to Aang's shoulder.

With a sigh, Aang turned from his only human companion back to the blue sky before him. Not wanting to make her feel worse than she probably already did, he bit back his next question.

"Why would I wanna talk about it anyway?" Toph asked suddenly.

Startled, the boy and his lemur looked at each other. Usually when Toph said she didn't want to talk about something, she meant it and didn't budge.

"Well," Aang answered surprised she had actually addressed the subject. "Because they're your parents and I know you've grown closer since returning home. It can't be easy for you leaving them again..."

Toph stopped listening. That's what he wanted to talk about? Of course that's what he wanted to talk about. What else could it be? It wasn't like he had been there while her mother behaved like, well, like a mother. Saying ridiculous things that Toph just couldn't stop thinking about for some reason.

"Your father simply wishes you to be...careful."

"Mom, please. Me and Twinkletoes can handle anything and anyone that comes our way."

Poppy smiled at her daughter. "While we are both very well aware that you, as The Greatest Earthbender in the World, and Aang, as your first student - and the Avatar - are both able to defend yourselves from most potentially dangerous situations, that is not what worries your father."

Annoyed, Toph blew the loose bangs out of her face.

"What's he worried about then?"

A long moment of silence passed between mother and daughter.

"You are both still very young-"

"Mom," she whined. "We're fifteen! We defeated the Loser Lord back when we were twelve!"

"Allow me to finish," Poppy insisted calmly as she took the hairbrush she would use to untangle Toph's hair. After her bath, the dirt was gone, but the tangles remained. "As I was saying, you're still young, but you are no longer children."

Appeased that her mother was finally getting it, Toph smirked.

"However," Poppy continued, "since you are now a young lady and Aang is a young man...there are certain situations that...may arise between you because you are a young lady and he is a young man." Poppy realized she had simply repeated herself, but hoped Toph understood her meaning. Although she had learned that the direct approach was best when dealing with her daughter, she also knew how Toph reacted when she heard an idea she wasn't too fond of.

Toph's smirked disappeared entirely.

"Hold on. Are you implying that-?"

"No, no, I only-"

"Ewwwww!"

Toph practically gagged. A few months ago her mother had given her the squirrel-birds and the cricket-bees talk, which was such a stupid euphemism. Why couldn't people simply refer to it as courtship and sex.

Trying not to laugh at her daughter's reaction, Poppy simply cleared her throat and smiled to herself.

"So that's dad's big worry!?" Shock filled Toph's wide eyes. "You guys are gross," she muttered, shuddering.

Aside from being ever so slightly intrigued by the change in Aang's voice, his increased height, the broadness of his chest... But it wasn't like she was all that impressed or interested anyway! More like surprised, was all. Aside from that, Toph had never given Aang more than a passing, cursory thought.

"Aang is quite the handsome young man," her mother assured her.

Toph laughed outright. Like it mattered to her what he, or anyone else, looked like.

"He's also very kind. He makes you laugh. You get along very well," she elaborated further, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Mom, come on! You're talking about Twinkletoes!"

There was a wistful look that passed across Poppy's features when she looked at her daughter's reflection in the mirror. "Yes, I am aware of that."

Shaking her head, Toph stood from the narrow bench facing her vanity.

"I'm gonna pretend this conversation never happened," she mumbled before slipping into bed.

After blowing out the candles lighting the room for her own benefit, Poppy paused under the doorway to relay her parting words for the night. "In any case, since you're leaving tomorrow, both your father and I would feel better about this trip you and Aang will be taking together if...well, if you didn't share a tent."

"Mom, please stop talking!"

Even as she had said it (and meant it wholeheartedly at the time), Toph couldn't help replay the exchange. Except for the good looks thing, her mother's words weren't exactly at odds with how Toph viewed Twinkles herself. That might've been why it was freaking her out a little.

Twinkletoes was annoyingly nice. Even when she teased him. Even those times she went too far. And he was funny. Not in the same way Sokka had been, but Aang made her laugh. And she always had a good time with him. For being a monk who was born over a century ago, he didn't shy away from having fun.

Still, she was probably giving the whole thing too much thought and way too much importance. If only they could get back down to earth already! Because flying on Appa, there wasn't much for her to do but think.

"How much longer?" Toph whined, as she fell backwards, dramatically onto the cushion of the saddle. Momo didn't waste any time flying onto her stomach, making Aang chuckle to himself.

"Seeing as we just left Gaoling, it's going to be a while," he replied.

"How long a while?"

"A few hours."

"What's a few?"

Aang laughed outright, "Have you always been this whi-?"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Twinkletoes," she threatened, sitting up again. "'Sides, we can't all travel by flying bison all the time." Was that resentment he heard in her voice? "Forgot how much I didn't like it."

"Aw, you don't mean that."

"No, I really do," she assured him, but the smile she was fighting gave her away. Honestly, she had missed it. (Who woulda thunk it?) The sense of freedom, having the ability to go anywhere, do anything! No one to tell them no, or where to go, it was great!

Though Toph loved her mom and dad - and now knew they loved her unconditionally in return - they were a pain. They worried about everything! What she ate, where she went, with who, how long she would be gone! Oma, they were even concerned over how much sleep she got on any given night!

Without meaning to, Toph had started to feel a little smothered by her parents. Their overprotectiveness was nothing like it had been before, but...frankly, Twinkles couldn't have shown up at a more perfect time.

Lying down again and tucking her hands behind her head, Toph smiled up at the blue sky she couldn't see. Aang didn't notice, he was deep in his own thoughts.

Nothing against Momo and Appa, but it was nice to have an actual conversation and not a one-sided one. Which was why he couldn't help but be amused by Toph's complaining. By the end of their travels they would probably be at each other's throats, but for the moment, it was all good.

When Aang looked over his shoulder at Toph, she appeared to have fallen asleep. "Don't worry," he whispered, "I'll wake you before we make our first stop."

Green eyes flew open. "Wait, first stop?" she sprang up. "How many stops are we making on this trip?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Aang smiled sheepishly.

"Did I forget to mention that part?"

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Guess, I did, heh." Here goes, he thought. "Well, our first destination's Omashu, where we need to get silk for the bridesmaid dresses. But Appa can't fly there directly, it's too far. So, we'll make a minimum of one stop between Gaoling and Omashu. That is, unless the weather isn't all that great and then we might have to make more than one stop, probably two, maybe three before arriving. Or if it looks like-"

"Ugh, never mind. I don't wanna hear anymore," she complained. "Wake me up when we land."

...

By the time Toph woke up, Aang was already busy setting up camp.

"Where are we?" she asked, stepping out of the saddle which had been airbended off Appa. Ah sweet earth, she thought digging her toes into the cool ground beneath her.

"We're about a day and a half away from Omashu."

"Not bad," Toph smirked, petting Appa's head.

"We'll rest tonight," Aang told her, handing her a bowl of the noodles he warmed up. "Then, leave first thing in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan." Toph nodded her thanks for the food. "Except for the 'first thing in the morning' part."

They sat close to the fire Aang started a few minutes earlier and ate the surprisingly yummy noodles.

"Where did-?"

Gray eyes looked to green ones, waiting for her to continue.

"This ain't half bad," she mumbled with a mouth full of food, hidden behind her hand. "Where'd you learn to cook?"

"Katara taught me."

There was something in the way he spoke that made Toph hesitate. She asked her question anyway.

"How's that whole 'Katara thing' going?"

He drew his legs closer to himself.

"There is no 'Katara thing'. We're friends."

Again that same hesitance, but he wasn't lying...

"If you say so," she shrugged, returning to her noodles. They were more interesting at the moment anyway.

Aang and Toph ate in silence, only the crackling fire between them making any sound. Momo slurping his noodles could also be heard nearby.

While they finished their meal, Aang wondered if he did the right thing inviting Toph along. Had he not been so excited by the prospect of traveling with one of his friends again, especially since it was one he had not seen in quite a while, he might have taken the time to consider how she would feel taking a trip all over the Earth Kingdom in order to gather wedding materials for a guy she once had a crush on.

Yeah, real thoughtful, Aang.

"Hey, Toph?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering..."

"Yeah?" she repeated, growing impatient.

"How do you feel about helping me out?" There, he asked. It was out there and they could talk about it.

"Helping you with what?" Toph said, making a face. She was still hungry and asked for seconds.

Aang filled both their bowls again. "You know, with helping me get all this wedding stuff." He placed her bowl in her hands, which might have been a mistake since she would probably just hurl it at his head. "For Suki and Sokka."

The way he emphasized Snoozles' name made Toph want to groan out loud. That right there was the reason why she hated telling people about things like that. They always found a way to bring them up again at the worst times.

She ate more of her noodles. "I'm pretty sure I told you that was old news. Like three years ago!" she cried.

"Okay, okay," he said quickly, but it was too late. Aang missed the slight twitch of right foot which sent an earth spike shooting up from the ground, sending him flying into the air with a surprised yelp.

As he floated back down to earth, he glared at her. "I know you don't especially like talking about this sort of thing, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he muttered.

"Well, now you know," Toph replied, unrepentant as she continued eating as though nothing had happened.

After watching her a moment, Aang stood. He gave his bowl full of noodles to Momo, who didn't waste any time digging in.

"Thought you were still hungry?" Toph called after him, but he made no reply as he walked off.

Frowning, she tried to eat, but ended up just sitting there, sensing the aimless direction of every step he took. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad or hurt his feelings, she just wasn't in the mood to talk about hers.

"Crud, this was supposed to be fun," she mumbled, placing her bowl in front of Appa. The flying bison growled his appreciation for the extra food.

...

It didn't take long for Toph to find Aang. He was sitting in a clearing near a small pond. Both his legs were dangling over the edge, his feet disappearing into the water.

"I won't earth spike you anymore if you're gonna be a baby about it," she said, sitting next to him, cross-legged.

A reluctant smile appeared on his face at the only apology he was likely to get. "It wasn't that," he said. "Well, it was a little," he amended, rubbing his behind at the memory of sharp pain that had already begun to fade away.

Knowing this would probably end up being a lengthy discussion about a topic she wouldn't much like, Toph took a deep breath and asked, "What is it then?"

Gray eyes were pensive. "I don't think this trip was fair to you."

Toph grumbled a curse word or two under her breath. "Look Twinkletoes, I already told you that I don't feel that way about Sokka. Haven't for years." Why did he need to hear her say it?

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Good, I'm glad," he replied, smiling, "but that's not what I meant about it not being fair to you."

Her hands turned to fists so fast, but she didn't take a swing at him. Not yet, anyway. "You gonna tell me or what?" she asked, sounding irritated.

"I guess...I don't know, I just wanted this to be like old times. All of us together. You know, before the war ended. Training and laughing and...and traveling without all the responsibility we have now. But Sokka and Suki couldn't make it with their other preparations and Katara stayed to help Zuko... I mean, even if we were all here, it wouldn't be the same. Things are different now," he sighed, looking at her. "I had all these expectations and it wasn't fair of me to put that all on you."

She thought about his words for a minute.

"So, you're saying you wish you could go back to running for our lives, not having a set place to sleep on any given night, always running low on supplies, all while trying to stay a step ahead of the entire Fire Nation, not to mention the likes of Azula and Combustion Man?"

"Well...?" When she put it like that it didn't sound as great as he remembered. "Yeah?" he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Toph laughed, surprising him. "Yeah, it was pretty sweet. Right now Sugar Queen would be yelling at us to start getting ready for bed. Fangirl would make Snoozles help her with the dishes, which he always tried to get out of. And, Sparky would be threatening you with extra hours of firebending the next morning if you showed up late again."

"Yeah and you would tease him until he got angry and left."

"Yup, good times," she laughed.

"You teased him a lot," Aang noted, only then realizing it.

Toph shrugged. "It was fun." Plus it kept her distracted from thinking about certain Water Tribe warriors and what not.

"Did you ever notice Sokka and Suki would disappear for hours at a time?" Aang asked.

Toph snorted, but nodded. When she had finally grown too curious and decided to use her seismic sense to find out what they had been up to, she regretted it immediately.

Hmm, did the others know, she wondered suddenly. Zuko was old enough, so he must've, but the other two?

"You do know what they were doing, don't you?" Toph asked him. Now, it was almost amusing, two teens having the liberty to do whatever they wanted since there was a serious lack of adult supervision (but that was them, not her, she mentally screamed at her mom). Anyway back then, learning about that kind of thing in that way, it had stung. In any case, it definitely helped her move on from her little crush.

Aang shifted closer to the water. "I asked Zuko about it once."

That piqued her interest. "What did he say?"

"He said that I would know when I was fifteen."

Toph laughed again. That time Aang didn't join her. "And, do you?" she teased.

He could feel the blush coming. She stopped laughing to give him the most incredulous look she could muster.

"What?" he asked sheepishly.

"Nothing, forget about it," she laughed again, shaking her head and standing. What would it be like to be that innocent and naive?

"What!" Aang demanded, not wanting to forget about it just yet. Annoyed with her, he flicked water in her direction. She was doing that thing everyone else seemed to do around him - treating him like he was still a child, still that twelve year old who fell out of the iceberg, like he knew nothing about nothing.

Toph swirled around to face him.

"You think you know everything," he accused.

"I know more than you!" she growled, steadily growing angrier at his daring to throw cold water at her. True, Aang barely wet her, only a few drops landed on her shorts and bare feet, but that wasn't the point. And she wasn't going to let him get away with it either. Quickly, before he could move, the heel of her foot hit the ground and a mound of earth beneath Aang's butt sent him flying all the way into the pond.

"What was that for?" he cried, soaking wet and shivering. It was a cool evening and the breeze blowing was only making it worse.

"You started it," she grinned, a smug expression overtaking her features. "So, I finished it."

Oh two could play that game, Aang thought, grinning himself. Toph had started to walk away when he used his airbending to lift her from the ground and pull her into the pond with him in one swift motion.

"Hey!" she sputtered, flailing in the water before realizing it wasn't very deep and was able to stand. It only reached her waist. "What is wrong with you!?"

"Nothing's wrong with me?" he countered, trying not to laugh at the wet mess Toph had turned into. Though the sun had disappeared over a row of trees, he could see her clear enough. Her hair was falling out of its bun and covered her face completely. Her clothes were dripping wet and stuck to her body at weird angles. And though she crossed her arms and tried to look menacing, she looked like a drenched koalaotter. "You're the one...you're the one that...I'm sorry," he said, chuckling until he couldn't hold it in any longer. "You look hilarious!" he laughed.

Toph couldn't argue with him since she couldn't see herself, but she had other means to get even. Without warning, she lunged at him, cutting through the water to wrap her arms around his neck until she had him in a tight chokehold. Feeling the soft fuzz all over his head, absently she wondered when he shaved last.

"Who looks funny now, Twinkletoes?" she cackled, half climbing on his back for better leverage.

"Quit it," he gargled, water going in his mouth and up his nose.

"Not 'til you say you're sorry," came her retort as she struggled to keep her hold on him. Not only was his skin slippery from all the water sloshing around them, but he was a lot stronger than he used to be.

Aang knew he had the upper hand. They were in one of the elements he had mastered years ago and could freeze it at any second, but he wanted to get out of it without any bending. Just to see if he could.

Still in a chokehold, he twisted enough within her grasp to come face to face with her.

"Stop...moving," Toph growled, but the corners of her mouth were curled up into the beginning of a smile.

"You stop," he laughed, splashing water in her face.

They were so busy wrestling in the middle of the pond that neither noticed the two individuals approaching.

"Excuse us?" came the meek interruption.

Toph and Aang froze in place.

Both had been so busy trying to gain and/or keep the upper hand, neither stopped to think what their antics would look like to anyone else. One of her legs was wrapped around one of his to keep him from swimming away. One of his arms was secured around her waist so he could hold her still while he continued to throw water in her face. Both perfectly reasonable tactics, except when used simultaneously, while alone in a secluded pond, at night. Their fighting could've easily been misconstrued for a rather intimate moment, ignoring of course the way the water had been sent flying wildly in every direction.

Aang and Toph were out on dry land and at opposite ends of the pond in the blink of an eye. He double checked that the headband he had been wearing was still covering his arrow, but it was gone. When he looked over, Toph held it in her hand. He didn't ask for it since the girls were standing a ways away, but he watched as Toph buried her feet into the earth and waited.

"We didn't mean to interrupt," a girl was about to apologize when Toph cut her off.

"All you interrupted was Twinkletoes getting his butt whooped. Now, who are you and what're you doing here?"

There was no one else around and these two seemed more nervous than a pair of newborn turtleducks, but you could never be too sure.

"I told you we shouldn't have come," the other girl whispered. "Let's just go back home."

"We've come this far," the first one argued.

"Come for what?" Aang asked. "What were you looking for? Maybe we can help," he offered, smiling at them.

Toph groaned inwardly. Twinkles was way too nice and far too trusting for his own good.

When the girls moved in his direction, Toph was quick to cut the distance between herself and Aang. They seemed to grow even more nervous the closer they got to him, their heartbeats escalating for no reason Toph could see. Couldn't be anything good though. She handed him his headband just in case and he tied it around his head almost immediately.

"That's close enough," Toph told them, the warning clear.

Gray eyes flickered to her. He felt like he should apologize to the strangers for her rudeness, but held his tongue wondering what Toph could sense that he couldn't see. It was getting pretty dark after all.

"Look, we don't want to cause any problems between you and your girlfriend, so maybe we should just go."

Before either Toph or Aang could correct their asinine assumption, the second girl added, "Yeah, we're very sorry."

"Wait," Aang called them back. "You needed help with something earlier."

"It's not important, thanks."

Toph crossed her arms when she sensed their lie. "It's important to you, so talk. And make it snappy, will you?"

"Toph," he muttered, offering an apologetic smile.

They shuffled closer, towards Aang anyway. Neither wanted to accidentally provoke Toph. Though she was the shortest person there, she was also the scariest.

"Are you two the ones throwing the secret dance party?"

Unsure he heard right, Aang looked over at Toph, who only raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm sorry," Aang shook his head, "Did you say 'secret dance party'?"

"...Yes."

"Nope, not us," Toph assured them, but pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "Though she might have something to do with it."

The others followed in the direction she indicated and saw someone approaching. It was a girl carrying a lit torch and wearing Fire Nation clothing. The closer she got, the more they saw of her. She had kind eyes and a kind smile.

"Hi," she said, looking at the teenagers gathered there. "You guys are early. But that's okay, you can help us set up if you like."

Aang couldn't believe his eyes.

"On Ji?"

She did a double take.

"Kuzon?"

Who saw that coming? =P So another year has passed since I touched this story! O.O Ikr. *sighs* Anyway, I haven't given up on it yet and I hope you haven't either! ;)