CHAPTER 1: First Impressions

She talks to herself.

It's not a particularly annoying quality, he thinks. It's kind of endearing. In fact, it's been fairly useful. Like most men, he can't quite figure out how women's minds work. This quirk of hers could really help him out.

"This is so awkward, this is just so awkward..." she mutters to herself, and he pretends not to hear her. Internally, he agrees.

He absolutely hates being set up. But Toph had insisted- "Come on, Sparky, it's not like you have anything better to do!"- and although he does not want to admit it, he lets Toph get away with pretty much anything.

So here he is on a blind date.

Heh, he smirks to himself, blind date. Even when he tried to argue that his scar would just scare off Toph's friend, she'd put her foot down and said it was going to go well. As if she could see how horrible his scar really was.

"So, um..." He realizes she isn't talking to herself anymore. She looks at him uncertainly, one hand fidgeting at the necklace around her throat. "How do you know Toph?"

"She's my roommate," he said, fiddling with his cutlery. Their orders are taking so long. "Well, she's technically my landlord. Since she owns the apartment."

She lets out a little laugh. "That can't be fun."

He raises an eyebrow at this. Her eyes widen, and she holds up her hands defensively.

"I-I just mean- we went to high school together, we didn't really get along well at first, because she was... um... what's the word..."

"A brat?" he offers, smirking.

She shakes her head disapprovingly, but she is smiling. "I was gonna say 'stubborn', but yeah, let's go with your word."

Another awkward silence settles over them. He observes the other patrons of the restaurant, most of whom are cheerfully chatting away. He huffs. Why did they choose such a crowded place. Crowded places make him irritable.

"Oh god, I don't know what to talk about..."

She's talking to herself again. He decides to help her out.

"Toph tells me you teach preschool," he says.

Her blue eyes brighten, sitting up in her chair as she nods enthusiastically. "Yeah. It's not really what I planned on doing, and it doesn't pay very well, but I'm really glad I ended up there."

"If it doesn't pay very well, then why not quit? Look for a better job?"

She blinks a few times before answering incredulously. "Because I love teaching and I'm shaping young minds and I know money isn't the most important thing in the world?"

Shaping young minds? He couldn't even remember the name of his preschool teacher. He tries to hide his snort. She narrows her eyes at him.

"What do you do, then?"

He shrugs. He hopes his attempt at nonchalance hid his shame. "I'm in between jobs at the moment."

It's her turn to snort. "So you question why I stay at my low-paying job when you don't even have one in the first place?"

"It's complicated," he mutters. He could feel heat creeping up around his ears.

She starts to reply but thinks better of it. She is toying with her necklace again. He guesses it's another quirk of hers. She whispers something to herself that he couldn't quite catch.

He wants to ask what she said but thinks better of it. Their orders have just arrived, and yet all he wants to do is pay the check and run out of the cramped restaurant.

A/N: Please be kind! I apologize for my short chapters. It's been years since I wrote a fanfic. I'm new to the ATLA fandom, and this is my first attempt at writing a long-ish story. Let me know what you think!