Chapter Text
Toph somewhat knew Aang.
He was a carefree brat. He was the Avatar. He was the love-stricken twelve-year-old boy who got the woman of his dreams. He was a bit of all of them as the years went by.
She recalled he was fifteen at present—mentally, so to speak. And so was she.
What she didn’t recall was how they ended up in her favorite foggy swamp with the rest of the gang when the last thing she remembered was sleeping in her house in Gaoling. Aang did mention he would consult a spirit about a problem with nature. Toph didn’t press on for details.
The first one to greet her was Sokka. “Finally awake, huh? Did you bonk out on Fire whisky again?”
Ironically, someone who was her first love. He never knew. It was her stash of secrets.
“No, sleep has always been a great option for me. It’s better than me listening to those two in the whole trip,” she pointed to the couple on the other side of this humongous tree. They were in this deep discussion about their relationship. They were teenagers for goodness’ sake.
“Tell me about it. I tried sleeping, too, but it never worked.”
Aang and Katara were at their three-year itch—an inevitable trial as a couple and as individuals. Being part of a group made it feel like she was part of their relationship too. Toph would lend an ear to their troubles, but she wouldn’t want a direct participation in it.
Murmurs and whispers among the two dispersed in a tense atmosphere. Aang scratched the back of his head and changed direction, going to her for advice. “I’m in your hands, Sifu T. Know the best spot to meditate around here?”
She deliberated about it. His heart was so loud despite the cricket tunes from afar. She shifted to Katara. Her heart was as loud as his. They were both upset.
Being in love was such a drag, she thought. It probably had its good parts, but committing was more than just being in love. It was the sustenance of emotions and choosing to stay in love despite it all. It sounded too heavy for her.
She turned, deciding to ignore it. “Follow me.”
And he did. He followed her through vines and tree barks—through soil and mud. Toph led them to a secluded region right at the heart of the forest. The deepest roots of the big tree that was on top of them. Aang seemed to feel spiritual energy concentrated in this spot.
“Thanks, Toph. Want to join me?” He asked, genuinely at that.
“No thanks. I don’t have a problem with the living to consult the spirits about it.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Aang said wryly. “How about a visit?”
“I don’t have anyone I’m planning to visit,” Toph replied, taking a seat on a huge root. “If I have, then I will.”
Aang got into his meditating form. He was silent for a good minute as if he was considering something of great value. “If I pass on, will you visit me?”
This conversation took a sudden turn down the rabbit hole. Aang must’ve been so upset to ask her of this. Toph wouldn’t want to rain on his sunshine by saying no. “Securing a guest this early in the game, Twinkle Toes? The afterlife is different from the Spirit World. I don’t want to die just yet.”
Aang let out a hearty laugh. The tremors of his heart lulled by a mile. Somehow, it made things feel lighter for her as well.
“Just booking a reservation.”
“What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes? I’m not in a getup to welcome guests. But, hey, nice to see you.”
Toph Beifong, at age sixteen, leaned against the limestones of her house’s doorway with arms folded, hair down, and sleepy hollowed eyes staring into who she assumed to be Aang. She knew it was him, even when he did nothing but probably stare back at her.
He drew in air, blowing tenderly against her frame. Her hair brushed softly along the breeze.
Toph knew Aang’s air. Sometimes it was warm, just like his nature. But sometimes it was cold and strong, just like when he blew off Ozai across boulders four years ago. It sounded cool. It felt cool. Though the air he gave off right now, it was neither of such. It was mellow. She figured he might be sad, but Aang never came to her whenever he was sad.
He had Katara for that. Toph wasn’t the best option for a consoling hug either.
His emotions through the rocks beneath her soles told her he was seconds away from breaking apart.
“As expected of you, Toph. I can't seem to hide my presence from you no matter how hard I try to mask it.” His voice was gruff and heavy, unlike the softness of the wind. “But it’s nice to see you, too. How long has it been? Six months?”
She lifted her chin, bending a rock behind her as a chair to sit on. She had a feeling she needed it for her back. She sighed, taking a seat as she bent another for him. “Four—if you count the time when one of my lily livers saw Appa fly above one afternoon. We didn’t exactly have the time for merrymaking.”
Aang passed by, Katara did, too. However, only Aang flew down to give a quick hug while Katara sped straight to Ba Sing Se. He said there was an emergency with Uncle Iroh’s heart condition so she said ‘hi’ through her bald boyfriend instead. Toph had to hitchhike with Aang’s glider a little into the afternoon.
It had been a while since she had been with familiar voices from the war—with her friends. Sokka was doing Sokka stuff in the Southern Water Tribe. Suki was still with the Kyoshi warriors, guarding Zuko while he worked with peace treaties and whatnot between Fire and Earth Nation colonies. Sometimes, Suki was with Sokka. Sometimes, Sokka was with Zuko and Suki. Zuko and Mai were together for a while but with their status switching off and on for the last three years, they called it quits and chose to remain friends rather than force a relationship that wouldn’t work. Uncle Iroh lived a quiet life as a tea shop owner. Toph frequented his place enough to have a lifetime pass of Jasmine tea.
Katara was with Aang—either maintaining balance and peace in the world or being lovey-dovey like they had been. Toph grew tired of their canoodling. She knew she wouldn’t stay with either one of them.
She found purpose with her metalbending school. She was—is the boss. The way she ran her academy had Sokka asking why she never charged for tuition, but Toph wanted to make a difference. Being born rich might’ve made life easier, but being blind didn’t. Traveling with Aang and the others made her realize how scarce education was. There were a lot of people who had the potential to be great benders, but never had the chance to.
She never charged Aang for tuition. She wasn’t going to start now.
“It’s Katara’s birthday,” she stated, “I’m sorry I couldn’t come. I can’t go to the South Pole barefooted.”
“Yeah,” Aang replied solemnly, “Katara understands.”
Toph tilted her head, picking up the change of his tone.
She didn’t mind missing a few get-togethers. With everyone having their own thing going on, meetings rarely come by. Messenger hawks wouldn’t exactly do the job for her either. But the weird thing was Aang being here on Katara’s birthday. He chose to be ignorant of her implications.
She asked again, “What are you here for, T.T.? Last time I heard, Sweetness is on the other side of the planet, if it is a globe, at least. I wouldn’t know.”
His heartbeat faltered slightly. It was, indeed, a Sweetness issue.
“I know. I saw her just this morning.” His weight rested on her rock chair. He felt like he was going to sniffle any second now. “And it is a globe. You flew around it with us.”
“Sure feels flat to me. Appa flies a straight line ninety percent of the time.” Toph waved a hand, swatting an imaginary fly. Then, she raised a brow, all too aware he was dodging the question. “You know I don’t ask a question twice—thrice, for your matter. Trouble in paradise? Sugarland not working for you two?”
Toph blinked idly, trying to seem like she was looking at him. She felt him tap his glider restlessly. It sounded like Sokka tap dancing if he was ever good at it. “No, it’s… not really a trouble. There’s no trouble,” he reiterated, “there wouldn’t be if there’s no longer a paradise to begin with.”
Toph wouldn’t want to suggest what she was thinking, but with Aang being indirect, she had to be. “You two broke up?”
Aang didn’t say yes. He didn’t say no either.
His ‘yes’ was his subtle act of looking up at the sky. He was probably looking at the moon—Yue—or Sokka’s first girlfriend. Or he could be looking at the clouds. It didn’t matter. The moon would always be there. Something or someone out of their reach. Katara might be one of them.
This was big. Big-big.
Unlike Zuko and Mai’s on-off history, those two weren’t the type to break-up and make-up. Volcanoes would explode before Aang or Katara would ever call it quits. Calamities would ensue before they tear these two apart. This was a separation for good.
Toph whistled as she got up from her seat and went deeper into her home. No way was she going to be sleep-deprived and listening to this emotional toil without a good ol’ whisky.
“Where are you going?” Aang inquired, taking a peek at the dark halls of her quarters.
“To get a drink. I need one.” She stole a bottle of Fire Whisky back when she visited the Fire Nation on the second anniversary of Zuko’s reign. Aang wasn’t happy with that. Not with her stealing alcohol or drinking it. Uncle Iroh might be impressed, but equally disappointed she preferred to steal rum than his tea leaves.
Aang’s firm grip on her wrist stopped her from finding out what the whisky bottle was from the numerous types of sriracha sauce. He was fast on his toes. Toph rarely sensed his movements. “You’re underaged. You shouldn’t be drinking.” He grabbed the bottle of Fire Whisky and stashed it in his bag. “I’m confiscating this.”
“What do you want me to drink? Apple juice?”
Aang perked up. “You have apple juice? That works.”
She settled on not drinking at all. Aang had a glass of apple juice while they resumed his woes on the inevitable end of his first love. Hunched back. Voice cracking. Head bent to the ground. Toph couldn’t see it, but Aang was the most upset he had been since his disappointment after Azula struck lightning at him. It wasn’t a pretty sight even for a blind person.
Aang wasn’t saying anything about the breakup. Not the whys nor hows. Not even the whens or whats.
Toph figured she had to press on Katara about the details. Maybe invite Suki and Ty Lee. If Mai was up for a chitchat, maybe she wanted in, too. Nothing beats girl talk after a post-break-up crisis.
However, what she couldn’t figure out was Aang coming to her metalbending school in the middle of the night. She had nothing to offer to him.
A hug? Maybe.
A life lesson? Not so much.
A spar? Definitely.
Toph got up from her seat, stretching her limbs as her fingers cracked in satisfaction. “On your feet, Twinkle Toes.”
Before Aang could respond, his rock seat retracted to the ground as a pile of earth pushed him above. He managed to land with ease. “Toph, what are you—”
“You come to a bending school, disturb my sleep, and don’t expect a lesson? You might be the Avatar but you don’t know a thing about metalbending.” Toph raised a hand, beckoning him to make the first move. “If you manage to bend that metal flagpole behind me—barehanded, at that, then I’ll hug you and tell you everything’s gonna be a-okay just like how your ex would. Isn’t that a great treat?”
It was rude, but Aang didn’t need consolation. He needed an outlet to release his frustration. Either by being an Avatar or by being a simple brokenhearted man. Toph could understand that much.
Aang looked at her—maybe confusingly with how odd the silence was, then made a lighthearted sound of laughter.
“You wouldn’t do that, Sifu T. Not even if I win.” Yet he went into stance, getting rid of his footwear to feel the earth just as she always did.
“You don’t think I do comfort?”
“Not that kind of comfort. It’s effective, anyway.” Aang admitted subtly. “How about if I win, you would stop stealing things? Whisky and all.”
Toph blew a raspberry. “It’s not stealing. He offered it to me by displaying it on my table.” Aang wrinkled his nose at that. She felt it. “Whatever. Stop acting as if you’ve won.”
The night went on. Toph’s metalbending school was remodeled after a sparring session. Broken walls. No walls. New walls. Uneven floors. No floors. If there was one notable change, it was the slightly bent pole in the middle of the wreckage. Aang took the liberty of repairing everything in place since he technically won. Toph underestimated his innate talent for bending.
“No stealing from now on, Sifu T.” He reminded her as he bent a new wall for her classroom. Toph acted as if she heard nothing, plopping herself on the ground. Tired and sleep-deprived.
Comforting Aang was tiring. She had it rough.
“You barely made a dent in it, and I don’t steal.”
“You told me to bend it and I did, just an itty bit.”
“Physically. Try folding it if you can.” She closed her eyes with a sigh and heavy legs. It didn’t help with her seeing things but it did help with sleeping. Momo dropped to her right, snuggling comfortably beside her while Appa lay on its back a few feet below her. Her students wouldn’t mind if their teacher hit the ground tonight.
“Are you sleeping?” Aang was on her other side, joining her on the ground.
“Your question doesn't make sense,” she replied, eyes still closed. “Why would you ask a person if they’re sleeping just to wake them up? Again?”
“Sorry. Force of habit.” He didn’t sound sorry, but he did feel like one. Probably a habit he had with Katara. She shouldn’t ask. The last time she asked Aang a question, he didn’t answer her. “I don’t think I can sleep,” he admitted, looking back at the sky. Toph preferred if he looked at the sky. His other option would be looking at her and she didn’t know if she would be comfortable with that.
“Then don’t. I, however, want to sleep.”
“I should get going, don’t I?”
“I don’t even know why you’re here, Aang.” Truth seeped out of her mouth. “But that doesn’t mean you should leave. If you need a good beating, I’m all up for it.”
“I don’t think this would fade even if you beat me up a million times, Sifu T.,” he whispered, peeling himself out of his shell. He sniffled, voice lowered into a whisper. “I can’t see myself without her.” Without Katara.
Toph had a guess as good as a shot in the dark, but Aang might’ve come to her because she couldn’t see him crying—while also needing a friend. She wasn’t selfish enough to point it out, though. “That’s what they all say before they move on,” Toph said. “Sokka used to think that way. Now he’s happy with Suki.”
“That’s different. Yue is gone. Katara isn’t.”
“She’s not. She’s always there.” Toph raised a finger to the sky, pointing at the dark part with no stars. Aang had to move her hand to where the moon was at. “I get it. You saw Sweetness first. Loved her first—”
“I’ll always do.”
“Yeah, you’ll always do, one way or another. That’s why we’re here, aren’t we?” Toph remarked with bags under her eyes. “Maybe that’s the problem, Twinkle Toes. You can’t see yourself without her and vice versa. She’s the first girl you saw after being in a block of ice for a century. You’re the first guy she saw as a nice outsider from southern iceland. For two people who've been all over the four nations, your worlds are quite small.”
Aang was on the clock the moment he woke up from his personal ice age. He didn’t have the time to grow as Aang because he was forced to grow as the Avatar. Even after the war, his responsibilities continued to pile up. Katara helped him most of the time, and she eventually found out what he really needed. Himself.
Toph knew she wasn’t in the position to give advice. She had no idea why they broke up anyway. She was uttering nonsense for a man who was just as lost as she was with romance. “I don’t know what happened, but you’ll live, Aang. Maybe if you go on one or two trips, you’ll find something else to love. A woman. A man. A hobby. A tree. Yourself. Katara, again. I don’t know. Anything can happen.”
Aang considered it with silence. He moved slightly, legs curled and an arm underneath his head as a pillow. It reminded her of the days the four of them slept together on Appa’s saddle when Azula was chasing them. It had been a long time ago.
“She told me that I should discover the world. Find myself.” He voiced out loud. “What if I don't find anything good to love?”
“Impossible. There’s always a good whisky to love.”
“Toph, what did I say about whiskies?”
She knitted her brows. “Fine. You drive a hard bargain for a good night’s sleep.” She wasn’t thinking. She was mostly joking. She just needed Aang to feel better so she could feel better. “If you don’t get hitched when you’re twenty-five and I happen to be miraculously single, then let’s get married.”
His heartbeat slowed, then went faster than normal. That might have struck a chord.
“Love isn’t that simple, Sifu T.” Aang shook his head, unconvinced. “I know you’re saying this so I can get off your back, but you can’t say those things to someone you don’t love.”
“I’m saying it as an if scenario. There’s ninety-nine percent it won’t happen.”
“What? Me not finding love or you not finding love?”
“Both,” she paused, considering, “or us marrying altogether. You’re swell and all, Twinkle Toes, but I don’t think you’d find what you’re looking for from me. I’m not exactly the overbearing mother type.” Aang frowned. She couldn’t see it, but she knew. There was a certain change of pace to how his movements were whenever she said something against Katara. She just wanted to sleep. “What do you say? Deal?”
Aang was about to say no but with a leaf falling on her head and her consciousness fading into dreamland, he relented. “If you and I didn’t find anyone, then alright.”
“Divorce exists anyway, right?” She yawned, scooting closer to him. “It’ll be convenient.”
“Monks don’t divorce, Toph.” His voice sounded heavier. Maybe he felt sleepy, too.
“Then I guess I’m lucky since I’m not a monk.”
Aang made a sound but pushed out whatever comeback he had in mind. They wouldn't argue about his practices since it would ever happen—he and her as one package.
She was thinking of it as she slept beside him. He was thinking of a life without Katara as his other half as he slept beside her. If Toph would like a man, it would definitely not be someone thinking about another woman while sleeping next to her.
She got it, though. He needed time.
Toph had no clue if she would find someone, but Aang would and it wouldn't be her.
Toph spent her seventeenth birthday with tea, cake, a beautiful sunset—according to Ty Lee, and a circle of friends she made from the war. The usual bunch. A great one.
Girls’ night finally happened after one year—at her home in Gaoling. It was difficult to match everyone’s schedules since they were all busybodies in their own right. Toph didn’t have to tell her stories despite being the celebrant, Katara would do it in her stead.
“So, let’s talk about the elephant in the room,” Toph started, tired of the how are yous and happy birthdays —cheek on her palm with chocolate icing smeared on the corner of her mouth. “What happened between you and Twinkle Toes? I can’t keep walking on eggshells around him whenever your name comes up and that’s all the time.”
She had been with Aang more often for the past year compared to the last four years before that. He visited her metalbending school as an excuse to touch base or to ask about efficient ways of teaching for his own students—the Air Acolytes. Toph didn’t consider it an excuse for the first few visits but with his different opinions and negative comments about her teaching style, she guessed he just wanted a valid reason to have a friend nearby. It didn’t help that they argued with every visit.
It told her he was evading the huge ice in the Southern Water Tribe unless necessary. If he had any business, he would relay it to Sokka instead.
Katara shuffled on her seat, tucking her legs against her chest. “He never told you?” It sounded sad. Toph disliked sad. Must have been a really bad breakup.
Toph shrugged, leaning her weight to her side. “I never asked. Just confirmed if you two called it quits.”
She felt Ty Lee scoot closer, fully invested. “What a shocker! You two are the most forgiving people in the whole world that I never considered break-ups existed in your dictionary.” She grabbed a bag of chips and opened it. “Oh, but you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. We all have our reasons.”
“Ty Lee’s a professional in breaking up,” Mai added stoically, earning a shove from the acrobat warrior as she took a chip, “but she knows how to console as well. Part of the job description.”
“It wasn’t mutual, well, not at first,” Katara mumbled, face deep on her knees. “Aang is amazing. He’s been nothing but supportive of my bending and healing practices, but… you know, three years after the war, I’m starting to learn more about myself.”
Toph felt Suki behind her, unclasping her bun to let her hair fall flatly to her back. Toph was quite touchy with her hair. “Suki, what are you doing?” She whispered, trying to let Katara have her moment.
“Braiding your hair. I need to do something while listening to Katara’s feelings. It makes me think.” Maybe that was why Sokka kept his hair long. Suki was careful with her locks, brushing her hair softly with a comb.
Toph hummed. It felt nice.
"I can’t keep staying with him all the time, unlike before while we were still fighting against the Fire Nation. He needed me, and I… needed to protect him from bad people—no offense, Ty Lee and Mai.”
“None taken! We had fun chasing you all,” Ty Lee beamed.
“I had thoughts while he was busy keeping his culture alive. Weird thoughts. What ifs.” Katara sighed, reliving the moment she broke the ice. Figuratively. “After the war, I had a routine of taking care of Aang even when I didn’t have to. I felt like my world revolved around him and him alone—being his other half. I thought, what if we weren’t together? Would I be able to help Dad and Sokka? Would I be doing more than watching him from under a tree? Am I Katara of the Water Tribe or am I Katara, the Avatar’s girlfriend?”
Mai commented, “You were living a pretty boring life. I considered you quite cool back then.”
“Exactly,” Katara wasn’t offended in the slightest bit. “It came to a point that I asked myself if things would’ve been better if Aang and I stayed as friends. Just friends. Maybe we rushed this relationship thing. It was war. We were vulnerable. Emotions were high.”
“How long have you been carrying these thoughts?” Suki asked, weaving one flock of Toph’s hair above the other. They see each other the most with her being Sokka’s girlfriend. Suki had no idea Katara had been burdened by this after all this time.
“Probably for a whole year before we broke up,” she swallowed the imaginary lump in her throat, continuing, “I wasn’t sure of a lot of things. I needed more time to decide about my life, and my life consisted mostly of Aang.”
“Maybe you were waiting for that one thing to happen. You know—a trigger of sorts. A slip-up or a divine intervention,” Toph said. Katara had no backbone with heavy decisions concerning Aang since she babied him too much. The only time she would decide on something was if there was an ultimate reason to answer. A yes or a no.
Katara breathed deeply. Toph could feel it clearly with how she moved on the floor. What she just said had struck her friend with a bitter memory.
“Yeah, I didn’t really decide until…”
“Until?”
“Until Aang proposed to me.”
Ty Lee gasped. Suki stopped braiding Toph’s hair. Mai probably frowned. Toph nudged Suki to continue braiding her hair. She wasn’t surprised by the marriage proposal. Aang and Katara were the marrying types. She was more surprised that Katara said No.
“It was on my eighteenth birthday. He got Dad’s and Sokka’s blessing, too. He followed my tribe’s customs and carved a necklace.”
Suki let out a sound as if she realized something, resuming her braids. She was halfway done. “No wonder Sokka was so giddy on your birthday last year. He was pacing around his office the whole day, expecting a messenger hawk to arrive.”
Safe to say it never arrived. Toph had a sky bison, a lemur, and a broken man on her doorstep, though.
“I realized that I wasn’t ready… both for marriage and a lifetime with Aang. I realized that’s not what I wanted at all.” Katara was the saddest she ever was. Toph reached for her sleeves since she couldn’t move from her spot, arms outstretched as she gestured for her to come closer. Katara leaned in and hugged her tightly. “I wanted to help rebuild my tribe. I wanted to teach my fellow waterbenders—bending and healing. I wanted to do more than just be the Avatar’s girlfriend, and I couldn’t do that while I was tied down to Aang.”
Toph nodded, brushing her hand on Katara’s back. She played with her own braid as well.
“I’m sorry. I know I disappointed a lot of people that day. I was a coward… I let it all on for four years before I found out what I really needed.” Toph’s shoulder felt wet. Katara was crying. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you soon, Toph.”
“If there’s someone who should apologize, it should be Baldy since he’s been taking advantage of my kindness. And, you’re no coward,” Toph assured her with a few pats on the back. Suki stopped braiding her hair, tying it on the end with a ribbon she borrowed from one of Katara’s loopies. Toph uttered a small thanks before continuing, “What takes real courage is to say no. It’s easy to say yes and go along the flow, but you chose to be honest and walked away. That takes guts, Sweetness.”
Mai leaned to the sofa’s backrest. “You’re fortunate that you discovered what you want in your life. Some don’t. Not even for a lifetime,” she responded, “Take it from me. It took a while before I found out being a Fire Lady wouldn’t suit me, but what I wanted and needed was out there—just not with Zuko. He’s still trying to find his.”
Mai’s relationship with Zuko had a rocky phase, but their final break-up was a smooth one. They were never wishy-washy about it. Always direct. Always honest. Maybe that was why they liked each other in the first place. From what Toph could remember, Mai became a more responsible older sister for her brother and began a relationship with a humble man from the Fire Nation. They had been stronger than ever.
“Maybe yours is nearby as well,” Ty Lee suggested, “you don’t have to force it, though. If it’s really meant to be, then it will be. I found mine when I became a Kyoshi warrior.” Toph recalled it was a fellow warrior.
"Yeah, maybe. I’m not looking for anything right now.” Katara eased on the hug, wiping the corner of her eyes. “I haven’t talked to Aang either, but he does relay his greetings to Sokka sometimes.”
“That doesn’t count and you know it,” Toph let go. It was quite difficult getting sandwiched between her two closest friends. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be okay.”
Aang wasn't okay for a long time, but Katara probably knew that already.
“Yeah, Aang will be okay. You will be okay.” Suki pulled Katara up and wiped her tears with her sleeves. “Let’s wash our faces for the night. Come with me? I haven’t removed my makeup yet.”
Katara nodded, turning to Toph before they left. “Thanks, Toph. I missed you.”
Toph waved at her and smiled. “I know, right? I’m quite the presence.”
“Toph.”
Toph shook, feeling the ends of her braids brush her back. “Yeah. Yeah. I missed you, too.” Katara seemed satisfied with that, following Suki to get her puffy eyes toned down.
Getting up from the ground, Toph bent the spot where the blankets were, throwing one over to Mai and Ty Lee as she felt Mai’s steady breathing. Ty Lee caught the blanket with ease, uttering a small thanks to cover them as they retired for the night. Toph, however, was completely awake.
Only the smitten could sleep peacefully after that hot issue. Toph realized that her nonchalant proposal to Aang might’ve been insensitive to him since he got dumped on the same day—after his proposal, to boot. His was on the end-of-the-aisle kind of serious. Hers was just to literally sleep on.
Toph scratched her head. Serious stuff might end badly. Bridges burned. No U-turns.
Whenever sleep avoids her, Toph takes a walk around places. Her house. Her school. Her special foggy swamp. If Suki needs to braid hair to think, Toph needs her feet to braid the earth. She guessed she was in her garden right now. There was crinkly, well-kept grass under her soles.
Toph blinked idly, considering Katara’s admittance. She might have answered why they broke up, but Toph still had no idea why Aang went to her school instead.
Just as she thought of the bald monk, a familiar growl resounded in the skies. Toph turned left and right, lips stretching to a grin as she heard her furry friend. “Appa!” It landed right beside her with a horrifying blast of wind by a normal person’s standards, and she immediately hugged one of its fluffy legs. Hair in disarray. Clothes mostly wrinkled. She still hated flying though.
“I’m here too, you know.” Aang chided with an outstretched arm. “Give me your hand, Sifu T.”
Toph gave a palm with a couple of Appa’s furs sticking in. She didn't bother with pleasantries. It has been like this every time. Aang blew the fur away from her skin, grabbing her arm to tug her up into Appa’s saddle. There might have been a bit of airbending too since she felt floaty at the same time.
“You didn’t tell me we’re going somewhere,” she remarked as the wind blew lightly on her skin.
“You didn’t even say hi.”
“This is a hostage crisis. The Avatar is committing a petty crime.”
“You sure look too calm for a hostage. Do you like flying now?” Aang humored her. Her sarcasm grew a little on him in his frequent visits, only in small, harmless amounts. Toph couldn’t tell if it was character development or character regression. But he still badgered her if it was crude by his standards.
“If it’s you and Appa, then it’s okay. I don’t like any other form of flying.”
“I’ll get you home before they even consider the great Toph Beifong kidnapped.”
By they, he meant Katara and the others, but mostly Katara.
“So, you know she’s there?” Toph leaned back against Appa’s saddle, face looking up on the possibly starry night. It was pointless to ask Aang for a destination. She wouldn't know of it anyway if it wasn't Ba Sing Se—and she was tired of Ba Sing Se.
“You’re wearing her hair tie.” Aang might have noticed it right in the beginning. When Toph did nothing but stare back at what she assumed to be him, he added, “You look great Sifu T. I mean, you always do. Just different today. A different kind of great.”
Toph had the urge to undo her braids. Momo seemed to like it with how the lemur was playing with it. “Is it greater than the usual kind of great?”
“I dunno about that. You look the best when you do earthbending.”
She bit her lip. Aang wasn’t even sugarcoating his words but that was the best compliment she had for tonight—or she would ever have. She might’ve been affected by a second.
Aang was quite dangerous. He spat nonchalant cheesy words straight from his lungs. Airbenders.
“If you’re saying that to get brownie points from me, I’m telling you now, you won’t.” Toph had a knuckle under her cheek. Her smile said otherwise. “But I am a badass earthbender. I’ll give you that. I trained the Avatar myself.”
He laughed merrily, shrugging off the tension. Toph spared him from deeper Katara topics. He appreciated that. “Really? I’m guessing he complained a lot.”
“Only because he lacked the backbone for it.”
“What do you mean I have no backbone for it? I almost died every time you threw rocks at me! My first lesson was a literal death match with boulders rolling down cliffs and I was just twelve.”
“I was also twelve back then, Twinkle Toes.” Toph grinned. “Are we breaking character now?”
Reminiscence with Aang was always fun. It wasn’t mushy or sad. It wasn’t strained or mandatory. It was just two people on a huge flying animal, talking about what they used to be and what they would turn out to be.
With a couple more jests and stories of each other’s travels, Toph felt Appa stop on top of a tall rock—rocks, in plural.
“We’re here. Need help, Sifu T.?”
“I can’t bend Appa’s saddle, so yeah. Try not to drop me.”
With her soles back on the ground, Toph found out where they were—at Wulong Forest, the famous battle site of Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Ozai which marked the end of the Hundred Year War. She turned to him, curious. “You brought me for a field trip?”
“Maybe. You were there so I don’t think you need a history lesson.”
“I was on a blimp. Sokka reenacted it for me, but one actor for two roles with a script of boogsh , whoop, and bleghh doesn’t cut it.”
Aang cackled. She felt him take her hand, placing a small object on her palm. “What’s this? A toy?” She tried to feel it through her fingers.
“A whistle,” he corrected. “Happy Birthday, Toph.”
Toph had no idea what this was for. “So, it’s a toy?”
“It’s a whistle! I use a similar one all the time to call Appa.”
“Gee, thanks. Totally seen this one before.” Aang probably made a face, but with how she tightly held the simple gift, Toph implied that she liked it. “Are you giving me Appa?” She was excited. Maybe Appa could whisk her away to Zuko’s house or Uncle Iroh’s tea house.
“Temporarily,” he shifted to the other side, watching something from afar. “I might go to places to investigate. Secret missions. Going undercover. I have to know how the world has been after the war. There are problems I’ll only know if I see it for myself as a civilian than as the Avatar. Five years can't erase a century-old bloodshed. Besides, you can visit the Water Tribes whenever you want to while I’m gone.”
Toph sat on the ground, closing her eyes. “Is this a gift or a chore?”
“Is Appa a chore?”
“No, but you are.”
“Then that’s great! See, buddy, Toph said you can stay.” Aang grinned, patting Appa’s nose while the bison made a sound of agreement, nudging Toph softly on her seat. “Thanks, Sifu T. I knew I could count on you.”
Toph never said yes, but she figured there was no reason to say otherwise. “Does anyone else know your spy mission?” He had to bring her to a tower of rocks to say this.
“I just came from the North Pole to tell Sokka about it. I don’t mind if you tell Katara, though.” At least there was no longer a pause whenever he mentioned her name. He buried himself in his Avatar duties since he became single. “Zuko suggested it to me. He knows a thing or two about infiltrations, while Ursa advised me on how to take a different identity. I’m pretty much trained to be a new person.”
“Basically, the Fire Nation’s Imperial family knows everything?”
“Uncle Iroh included,” Aang nodded, “I stopped by his tea shop since I had to pass Ba Sing Se to get here.”
“Alright. The usual people then.” The information slowly sank in. “And what is Sokka doing in the North Pole?”
“Visiting Tui and La,” Aang answered, joining her on the ground. “He does that every year. Sometimes, he comes with Suki. She had to skip for now because of the party, though.” Suki didn’t mind. She had a big heart and was an excellent swimmer. Toph knew she was hella pretty, too. Sokka wouldn’t get a better catch than her.
She blew a raspberry. She wanted to see spirits at least once, even in their physical form. There was no fighting the impossible. “Alright. I get it. So, why did you bring me here?”
“Oh! I brought you here to play Airball with me,” he sounded ecstatic. “Well, a game similar to Airball at least. We can use rocks instead and call it Rockball. The terrain is perfect! We can bend a hoop on both sides, probably a hundred meters apart would do.” He explained the game and how he overwhelmingly beat Sokka back then. “None of the Acolytes can play Airball with me, so…”
Turning a historical site into a playground was a very Aang thing to do. Toph went all in. “Sure, let’s do it. You can say goodbye to your perfect record.” She stood up and stretched her limbs, giving him a warning. “If you use any other bending on me, I win by default.”
He shook, grinning. “You know I can’t cheat against you, Sifu T.”
“Shut up. You cheated with airbending in the arena when we first met.” Toph bent the ground, making a bridge to the other side to make her ring.
“That doesn’t count! I wasn’t even trying to fight you.”
“Save the whining when you lose, Twinkle Toes.” Toph went into position, raising a hand as she gestured to him to start the game. “Let’s start.”
Rock ball was interesting to play, per se. Toph got a better feel of fighting in a limited ground space yet vast air space. They had to establish the rules of the game every time since their ball kept destroying rock columns one after another. They might have distorted the place when they got into round ten.
“Last round and I win,” she stated, a smug smile on the comment.
“Last round and it’s a tie.”
And it did end in a tie, leaving a bitter taste in Toph’s mouth. Her clothes were partly dirty with all the earth bending and rock throwing—much to Katara’s dismay. Aang removed the rings with a sharp movement of his fist and then flew to where she was.
“That was fun! Let’s try it again when I return.”
Toph had the same sentiment. She didn’t want to leave things on a tie. “You’re going now?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, brushing away the sediments on her hair. It took him a few swishes before he made a small sound of surprise as if he remembered something at the last moment. “Wait here.” He ran back to Appa’s saddle, rummaging through his things.
Toph wasn’t used to being commanded to wait, but since she would get a free bison for a while, she had to. Soon, Aang dropped beside her, placing a headband on her hair. It felt similar to the one she usually wore, but there were tassels on each side instead of the fluffy round accessory she had, lightly tickling her ears.
“What’s this?”
“Your real gift.”
“It better look good on me.” It was an empty threat. Toph appreciated how Aang chose a gift she could use. People would usually give her jewelry or clothes. As if she could ever appreciate them. She was content with anything comfy and easy to bend on. Besides, the only people she trusted with her clothes were Katara, Suki, and her mother.
“I don’t think you’ll look bad on anything, Toph.”
Jeez. Was he born a smooth-talker or what? Toph wondered if Aang was aware of his words or if he was genuinely trying to be nice.
She climbed on Appa by raising an earth column—guided by Aang to sit on the bison’s head with Momo sitting on her shoulder. The lemur was quite intelligent. It knew how to move Appa in a different direction if they were ever in danger.
“You’ll be safe. Appa knows where your house is from here and Momo will steer you away from danger. Isn’t that right, Momo?” Momo said something in lemur language, holding Appa’s reins. Aang hugged Appa, giving a gentle reminder. “Keep her safe, buddy.”
Toph was entrusting her life to a lemur and a bison. She had no qualms with that. “Guess I’ll see you in…?”
“You can’t see, Toph.”
“Only I can make the blind jokes. You know what I’m talking about.”
Aang stopped but his laughter told her he would never be tired of doing it. “It’s alright. You’ll meet me in a few months.”
“Is there a place I should know about?”
He shook, bidding his bison a farewell. “No, I’ll come to you instead.”
It sounded like a promise. Toph wasn’t good with promises.
Aang might’ve picked up on her discomfort. He bargained, “If I don’t return within two years, you’re getting Appa for good. Plus, Momo.”
“What? Really?!” She sounded too excited. Aang kinda regretted it.
“If,” he stressed.
Aang patted Appa’s forehead, mumbling a small yip-yip. Toph wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but when Appa’s tail pushed them up in the air, Aang’s feet stayed on land. She tried not to overthink it—that Aang stayed where he was until she disappeared.
However, sometimes, Toph wished that she could see him.
“Toph, my dear, there is a suitor outside. A nephew of a business partner from the Fire Nation. Should we let him in?” Lao Beifong asked of her within the rare times she was in Gaoling. Toph came here solely for the yearly family get-togethers. Getting married wasn’t on the table.
“You can send him off. Not interested.”
Her father had been considerate of her especially after they had reconciled and settled their differences two years after the war, slowly acknowledging her bending abilities when she saved them from an accident. However, the concern with her marrying age and list of suitors was bothersome. If Toph was going to have time for romance, it should be her choosing.
“I’m afraid I’m running out of alibis. You have been sick for the nth time in his eyes and I doubt it would be effective this time. You met him six months ago at the refinery.” It was their booming business allocated to each nation, the Earthen Fire Industries, serving each nation with equal resources of oil and crystals. It was one of their symbols of peace and equality. The largest one was in the Southern Water Tribe.
Aang lending Appa was a big help to their travels. If her father was in-charge with the bison, he would've made it an executive partner.
“His name is Satoru.”
Oh. She might know of him. He sounded cute talking about complicated stuff.
“Fine, but we won’t stay here. A walk around town is all I need.” Her feet would determine if he wasn’t a waste of her time.
Poppy Beifong joined them in the dining hall with a bowl of fresh Lychee nuts. “This is new. You’re not playing the sick card or scaring them off this time, honey?” She picked up a knife and sliced the fruit, serving it for her afterward.
“I never scare them off. Appa does!”
“Appa is too nice to scare people off. He’s friendly and endearing. He wouldn’t hesitate if I ask for a quick stroll on the borders of Gaoling and he loves the fruits in the garden.” Her mother liked Appa more than most animals in the world. She even separated a budget for the bison’s haystack. “How long before the Avatar comes to pick him up?”
Toph shrugged. It had been more than a year since Aang left for his secret mission. Although he might be taking a vacation by name, his incognito as a wandering hero sort of rose from the corners of the world. Helping an old lady. Helping stranded fishermen. Helping baby birds that fell from their nests. Toph wondered if he really was lying low. “Then he better not come for another year. He told me I can have Appa for real when that time comes.”
“Let’s not hope for the Avatar’s disappearance again, Toph. It hasn’t been a decade since the war ended.” Her father picked up a fruit, gesturing over to Momo by the windowsill. The lemur immediately flew to where he was, feet perched over his shoulder just like how it usually stayed on Toph.
Poppy considered another possibility to get Appa to stay with them on a larger basis. “My dear, you seem quite closer to Aang compared to your other friends. Are the two of you—”
“No, Mother.” The reply was instantaneous. “If I was with him, why would I be seeing Saturo today?”
“It’s Satoru, dear,” her mother corrected. “Who knows? Maybe Appa was clearing any rivals while he’s gone.”
Alright. That was her cue to leave. Toph pushed the chair against the table and excused herself from breakfast. Momo immediately left her Father’s shoulder and switched to hers. They didn’t need to know of that stupid, mindless promise she had with him when they were sixteen. Aang might’ve forgotten about it too.
She, however, didn’t.
For the remainder of the day, Toph took her rounds on Gaoling with Satoru and a bouquet of fragrant petals. It was a sweet gesture, sure, but she couldn’t appreciate how beautiful these roses were against her colors. Flowers were meant for display and that was one of the many things that would never work on her. It wasn’t the first time she received one.
Still, she tried to put in effort. She learned he was a nonbender yet strived to establish equal grounds with benders in their workplace. He was a nice man with nice dreams. He was passionate about what he did for a living and he knew hard work. He didn’t seem like he was lying. Toph could tell if someone was lying unless you were a complete master in the field like Azula.
Somehow, this situation reminded her of Aang. Satoru might be Aang if the latter was a nonbender.
Then, Toph paused, scratching that thought and crumpling it back into her mental trash bin. Aang being a nonbender was impossible in her head. He was the best one out of there. If she was special times seven, then Aang was special times ten.
“Toph…? Is everything okay?” Satoru asked. She was standing still in the middle of the road.
She blinked, recollecting herself. “Ah, yeah it is. I just remembered an annoying person.” She didn’t know why she was comparing Aang to Satoru when there was only a scarce similarity.
They continued walking, passing by an Air Acolyte selling Air Nomad Fruit Pies. Toph inwardly groaned. Why was she remembering Aang against her will today out of all days?
“Two pies, please.” The man next to her requested. Toph barely felt his presence until he was a few feet close to her. Light steps and no ounce of turmoil in his heartbeat. Only one man could get under her radar.
Immediately, Toph slid her leg on the ground, moving the floor this man was standing on until he was swept to the alley. He gasped in surprise yet let himself get pushed. She sharply turned to Satoru, sputtering an excuse. “Well, this has been a great walk. I’m kinda tired so I’ll be going on ahead. Thanks for the flowers! I’ll see you around.”
The vendor turned, handing over an order. “Here are your fruit pies—”
Toph took it and shoved it to Satoru. She flipped a gold coin to the vendor. “Here, have some pies. My sorry and thanks for today.” Then, she ran to the corner, seeing the man lying against the wall.
“You’re here!” He exclaimed—mostly in glee even against a rock. Momo immediately flew to his side, evidently missing him.
“No, you’re here.” She stated—mostly in shock. This man was taller and had a deeper voice. He didn’t seem like Aang—physically, but it was really him. The nature stayed the same. He was the only guy who had such a peaceful rhythm of vibrations in his heart. Hurriedly, she planted both of her hands on his cheek like the piece of bread on her knuckle sandwich. He was no longer bald. “You grew your hair? Is this a wig?”
“Part of the great plan, Sifu T.” Unlike before, he wasn’t ashamed of his lack of baldness. He slowly dropped her hand from his face. He was still smiling. It felt like it. “What happened to my pie? I was going to bring it to your house.”
“I gave it to Satoru.”
“Sato-who?”
“Sa-tu-ro. My suitor.”
His smile morphed into disbelief. “Those were the last pies in stock! How can you give it to him?” Something told her he wasn’t really upset because of the pies. “And you were on a date?” He looked down at the bundle of flowers that fell on the ground.
“I paid for it so it was technically mine to give.” She moved back, picking up the sullen flowers. “And yeah, I was until you showed up.”
Aang was still looking at the flowers. “How often?”
Toph whipped her face back at him, a little confused. “What?”
He sighed as if he was annoyed with turning the phrase into a whole thought. Aang was never annoyed—at least whenever she wasn’t around. “How often do you go on dates?”
“Not that much. It’s just the usual walk and meals together.” She had no idea what was getting him this riled up. “They were nice and all but it’s nothing serious. It never gets out of town.” Repeating the same narrative of her life and how she managed to save the world with the Avatar was getting tiresome. “Sorry about the pies. Let's get another tomorrow.”
Tension withered away from his shoulders, like a fishbone taken out of his spine. Aang clenched and unclenched his fists like a mantra as if he was preparing for something. His heartbeat was louder than it ever was.
“It’s okay. That pie was meant for your parents anyway.”
“They don't need a thank you present for taking care of Appa and Momo. My parents like them plenty enough to build their own stables.”
Aang chose silence for a good minute. His breathing was heavier than before. “Are your parents still telling you to get married?”
Toph folded her arms across her chest. “Not that much compared to before. They help me with my excuses, telling those dipsticks I'm sick only for them to find out I was kicking a random rebel from the Fire nation in the newspaper.”
Why Aang seemed adamant about her suitors was beyond her. He was the one asking all the questions when she should be badgering him about this top-secret undercover mission he had to do for a whole year. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“You’re gonna meet them? What for?” She asked.
His feet shuffled on the floor. He had this habit whenever he was trying to make up a good excuse. “Like you said, to thank them for taking care of Appa.”
“I took care of Appa.”
“You have a part in that pie, too! At least that's what I intended.” The last words were a grumble in his cheek. Toph tried to read his heartbeat. It only spiked when she asked him the question.
He wasn't lying, but something felt odd.
She wrinkled her nose. She didn't like this one bit.
But fine. Guess whatever secret he had was going to die with him. She blew the fringes in her face and turned around, heading back to the main street.
“You’re wearing it,” he noticed. He said it in a soft—kind of endearing—way. It made her feel weird. This Aang was different from the Aang last year. “The headband,” he clarified.
She guessed it grew on her. Toph hadn't parted with her headband since Aang gifted her one last year. Sure, it might've gotten looks from Suki and Katara when she returned with the ten-ton bison in her garden, but they didn't ask. Appa and Momo’s presence was enough of an answer about where it came from.
“Yeah, it's comfy. It holds my hair well.” She felt him walking with his ever light steps. It was as if Aang barely weighed. Then, he stopped shortly behind her, tucking in the stray strands that loosened from all of her movements. “You an expert on hairs now that you got yours?”
“Just the basics. I’ll shave my head tomorrow.”
Both of his hands were on her shoulder, twisting her to face him.
“It’s great to be back home, Sifu T.” Aang’s loose usage of the word home gathered more questions in her mind. Did he mean Appa? Momo? His numerous visits to her metalbending school?
Toph didn't ask any of those. It was unnecessary.
“Great to have you back, Twinkle Toes. Let’s get you something other than pie. We need it for all the stories you’ll tell me.” They returned to the busy streets of Gaoling’s marketplace, buzzing marketgoers recognizing the Avatar and Toph Beifong walking side by side as Aang pointed at various stalls. He was ecstatic to see different vendors from different nations freely doing trade.
Toph grew taller, a few centimeters off to Aang’s shoulder. Six years ago, they had the same height, fussing over the Fire Nation streets’ gambling scams and fraudulent business. Now, he was significantly taller than her.
“It was amazing, Sifu T!” He finished his experience of seeing a herd of bison and some sages keeping the endangered race safe from extinction. “Appa’s not the only one left! The island’s a top-secret place, though. The tribe predates the first Avatar and has the strongest spiritual connection, ever.”
“Stronger than that glowy place in the Northern Water Tribe?”
“Mhm! I visited the Spirit World again. There were houses. Houses! With a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. It doesn’t make sense since spirits don’t take a bath but it’s pretty interesting.” Even if Toph couldn't see things, she could feel things. It never stopped Aang from describing the world to her. “I wonder if it’s the same for the afterlife.”
“You think you’ll have a house in the afterlife?”
“I can make one if there’s none,” he said while skimming over what smelled like cabbages. “Visit me sometimes.”
He still kept at it. The whole visitation thing. Again, Toph didn’t have the heart to say no.
“It would suck if we can’t bend there.”
He shook. “But we can have tea. Uncle Iroh taught me this new recipe before I left—” There was a streak of mirth in his voice. This baldy might've learned a thing or two in his solo secret missions. She couldn't help but enjoy herself getting lost in his stories.
Toph knew it was unfair to compare her walks with Aang from Satoru. A friend and then a suitor. It wasn't because Aang had crazy adventures all the time, but there was no strain in the exchange. No dull moments and forced conversations. The degree of comfort had a gap comparable to an ocean—big and endless just like how Sokka complained about it to be. But she couldn't help it, there wasn't a competition to begin with.
And if she was going to decide on her happy ever after, it should be the kind of walks she would have with Aang.
Later that night, she asked her mom to send a letter, expressing her apologies as she closed off another door in her life while she kept Aang’s.