Old Man II

Click-Clock-Click.

Aang unlocked all three locks to his house and pushed the old door forward. Exhausted from another demanding day of track practice, he was eager to eat something and relax for the rest of the evening.

"Oh, ho, ho. That's a good one."

"Gyatso?" Aang said from their living room. "Are you there?"

"Aang! You're home. Come here for a moment." Gyatso said, chipper and jolly like he was everyday.

Aang walked into his kitchen to see Toph and his adopted father sitting next to each other at his old circular table. Both were drinking some of Gyatso famous hot chocolate and both were smiling. Appa sat next to Toph, waiting for another treat. Toph had a habit of feeding him her scraps.

"Hey twinkle toes." Toph waved. "Back from the race track already?"

"Uh…yeah." Aang grinned.

"Aang, you never told me your friend was SO funny." Gyatso smiled wider. "She is such an amusing character."

"Yeah Aang, you never told him what an amusing character I am." Toph mocked Aang in front of his father.

"It must have…just slipped my mind." Aang didn't know what else to say. He did not expect Toph to come over. Then again, Toph showed up unannounced often. Most of the times Aang wasn't home, she would leave and bug Sokka or Katara for a while. This was the first time Toph stayed and spoke with Gyatso instead of looking for something else to do.

Toph chugged the last of her hot chocolate then wiped her mouth with her forearm.

"I need some help." Toph got straight to the point. "I gotta get this paper done. I finished it, but you gotta help me revise it. K?"

"Um…yeah, sure." Aang knew Toph was asking for a favor, even though she wasn't being polite. Thankfully, Gyatso didn't take offense.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while." Gyatso took his cup of hot chocolate and went downstairs to the basement. There was always work that needed to be done down there.

While Toph was definitely the muscle between the two of them (which made Aang feel like a weakling sometimes), Aang was clearly the brains. Toph was by no means stupid, but there were so many grammatical errors on her essay that they ended up writing the whole thing over again. Aang helped…a lot…meaning Toph gave him the basic jist of what she had researched and Aang rephrased her facts into sentences.

As they worked, Aang noticed Gyatso peaking in on them every few minutes, always smiling.

After a few hours of brainstorming, Toph thanked Aang with her trademark punch on his arm and left.

The moment she was out of the house, Gyatso reappeared and began to investigate.

"Aang!" He asked, popping out right behind his son

"Ah!" Aang yelped. Gyatso surprised him.

"How long did you say you've known Toph?" He asked with an eager smile.

"Um…I thought I knew her for only two years, but we just found out that we went to kindergarten together. She was that little girl I was always talking about."

"Oh! That was her?" Gyatso became even more excited.

"Yep."

"She very nice. A little rough around the edges, but still...a very interesting girl."

"Hehe…yeah. She's gotta be my best friend right now." Aang smiled as widely as Gyatso.

"She tells me that her family is wealthy."

"Uh-huh." Aang said as he walked over to their couch, still very tired.

"And she likes you back. I mean, is your friendship mutual?" Gyatso followed him for every step he took.

"Of course. She actually took me somewhere…" Aang stopped. He was not supposed to talk about Toph's secret spot. "…I mean, she's getting more comfortable around me. She is kinda defensive." That was the best way Aang could describe it. He lay down on his couch, placing both hands on his stomach.

"Arf!" Appa walked over to Aang and slid his nose underneath his hand, demanding Aang pet him.

"Hey boy." Aang did not refuse. Appa began to moan in happiness.

"That sounds very nice." Gyatso stroked his long beard and looked up at the ceiling.

"Why?" Aang looked at him and noticed he seemed happier than usual.

"Oh. I was merely thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Aang stroked Appa's ear as he waited for an answer.

"How it is so convenient that you know such a pretty girl who is also rich, funny, brave and likes you for who you are." Gyatso looked down at his boy, expecting a defensive reaction.

"What? Gyatso, we're just friends."

"I know. I was merely saying how lucky you are."

"Don't do that. You do that all the time."

"Do what?"

"That thing…I don't know what you call it. When you say things without really saying them. When you act like you know something but you won't tell me."

"Wisdom."

"Yeah, that."

"Don't worry Aang. One day you will understand. Experience is life's best teacher." Gyatso patted Aang on the top of his head and then left to go into the kitchen.

"We're just friends Gyatso!" Aang hollered.

"I know." He yelled back.

"I mean it! Just friends!" Aang yelled louder, making sure that he understood.

"Yes, yes. I heard you the first time."