Hello, people! I have returned to bless you all with another Taangy one-shot! Don't cha just love me? Or at least like me? Huh? Anybody? Oh well…This is got to be the fastest I've ever gotten a story up. I thought of it, wrote it, and uploaded it all in two days! It usually takes me more like two weeks...and I swear, there is no blood or death or sickness or anything in this one! Just pure, cute, fluffy Taang! So all you people who don't like tragedies, enjoy the romance!
Author's Note: The war is over, and Aang and Toph are fourteen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. If I did, there would be Taang! So much Taang…
Aang's POV
"What a night…" I grumbled, as I pushed through some bushes, trying to find my way back to the forest's path. And I spoke the truth. Toph and I left Ba Sing Se several days ago to train with earthbending for a while. Just like in the old days, Toph's been working me nearly to death, and I've been exhausted every single night. Though Toph doesn't really seem to care, seeing as she gets me up at the crack of dawn every morning anyway. But on this particular night, I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. I was tired as hell, but I just couldn't sleep. Simply put, it sucks to be me.
Then I had the bright idea to take a little midnight stroll to wear myself out even more, if that was even possible. That was when the Saber-tooth Moose-lion attacked. I put one little foot into his territory, and he chases me halfway through the whole damn forest. God, I wish those things would just stay small and cute…but anyway, the point is: now I'm lost. I'm just about as lost as you can get. And I'm tired. So, so tired…
End Aang's POV
Aang trudged on tiredly; head leaning forward and arms and shoulders drooping. He felt like a zombie, walking like he was dead. But he just wanted to get back to camp and get some sleep. After all, if he fell asleep in the forest and didn't return until the next day, Toph would surely make the rest of his training retreat a living hell. Aang suddenly perked up a little. He could hear something…a muffled voice, coming from his right. He broke into a silent run towards it, and as he got closer, he realized it was a girl's voice, singing. He slowed down once the voice was clear and close, and he peered around a tree. Then, he felt his jaw drop. He was at the edge of the forest, where the trees stopped, and then the land sloped down smoothly to the edge of a pond. The stars and crescent moon shone down on the water, making the whole place look like a beautiful scene from a fairytale. But the view wasn't what had Aang in awe. It was the girl in the water. There, her clothes laid at the edge of the pool, singing and dancing brilliantly in the knee-deep water, was Toph. Aang had never heard Toph sing before, or seen her dance, so it was natural that he was shocked at her lovely voice, and elegant movements. She turned and spun effortlessly, splashing water all around and making the whole sight even more stunning. And her voice, like an angel's, made Aang smile despite his bad mood. He closed his eyes and listened to the melody she sung.
Leaves from the vine,
Falling so slow,
Like fragile, tiny shells,
Drifting in the foam.
Little soldier boy,
Come marching home.
Brave soldier boy,
Comes Marching home.
Aang frowned.
I've heard that song before…but where…? Didn't Iroh sing that once? Or twice? Yeah…Iroh sung it…
Aang meditated over the familiar words. Then he looked down at Toph again. He must have wandered close to the camp, because Toph wouldn't go too far away for some alone time. He decided it would be better if he just headed back to camp and pretended that he had never been there. Toph was down on the sandy beach, so she wouldn't be able to feel any vibrations from him if he stepped lightly. He slowly turned and tiptoed away, but he hadn't taken more than two steps when a twig snapped loudly under his feet. Aang cringed; the sound broke the silence of the night, and seemed to echo down towards Toph so much louder than it really did. There was no way Toph's keen hearing would miss something like that. And it didn't.
Toph's head whirled around so fast, her neck cracked. She splashed forward hastily and planted her feet firmly on the solid ground. A swift motion in an earth bending stance, and Aang felt the ground he was standing on lurch back, sending him tumbling down the hill.
"Ow…" he mumbled when he reached the bottom. Toph's eyebrows shot up.
"Twinkletoes!?" she breathed incredulously. "What the hell are you doing!?"
Aang cowered in fear of his earthbending sifu as she loomed above him angrily. Then she suddenly seemed to remember that she was standing in her underwear. Her face turned bright red and her hands flew up to cover herself. She scampered back into the water and tried to conceal herself in the water. But it was to shallow, and she couldn't swim, so she gave up and stood waist-deep in the pond.
"PERVERT!" She yelled at him from the water. Aang quickly pushed himself up and held his hands out in front of him.
"N-n-no! Th-that's not what I was doing! I-I-I just…you see, I-I was walking and th-then there was a Saber-tooth Moose-lion! And…I, um…" Aang stuttered nervously, realizing that he sounded like a babbling idiot. Toph continued to glare at him from the water. Aang took a deep breath and tried again.
"Okay. I couldn't sleep, so I went and took a walk. But then I disturbed a Saber-tooth Moose-lion, and he chased me for a very, very long time. I was so damn lost and tired when he finally gave up trying to kill me, but I wanted to get back to camp. So I walked around forever looking for it, but I couldn't find it. Then I heard a voice singing, and it was so beautiful… So I went to see where it was coming from, and then I saw you, a-and you were just so pretty. So I, um, I kinda watched you for a little while, but not because you weren't wearing any clothes! It was just because, well, you were just so beautiful…I mean you were dancing so well, and your voice is just amazing…so, um, I'm sorry, okay?" Aang bowed his head apologetically. But there was no reply from Toph.
Aang glanced up anxiously. Toph was no longer fuming at him. In fact, much to his surprise, she was blushing and looking down. Well, not really looking, but her face was tilted downwards. She looked up slowly, and smiled at him timidly.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked softly. Aang blinked.
"Mean what?" he asked, confused.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked shyly.
"Oh, that…" Aang mumbled, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Well…yeah. Yeah, I do. You' really are beautiful, Toph." He replied gently. Something inside of him was screaming, "What are you doing!?" but a much bigger part of him knew he was telling the truth. That was really how he felt. He looked up. Toph was slowly moving through the water towards him. Aang's feet seemed to move towards her on their own. When they met each other, the water was up to just below Toph's knees, lower on Aang. They stood there, their faces mere inches apart, for what seemed like an eternity. But Aang gradually began looking away.
"Well…um…I guess I'm going to go to sleep now…" he mumbled, turning away from Toph. But he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he was quickly spun back around. Before he could say or do anything, He felt Toph's lips press against his. His eyes widened in shock at first, but he slowly closed them and kissed her back. After another eternity, she pulled away from him, but not very far away. They were both breathing heavily and blushing gently.
"You know the man is supposed to make the first move, don't you?" she whispered firmly. "But I guess your not much of a man now, are you, Twinkletoes?" Aang raised an eyebrow and Toph smirked at him.
"Well, goodnight…Aang…" she hummed, splashing away. She grabbed her clothes off the shore, and left Aang standing in the water alone. He reached up and tenderly touched his lips.
"Maybe it wasn't such a bad night after all…" he murmured to himself.
Heheh…man, I love Taang. Love it love it love it! Does anyone think listening to different music while you write affects what you write? Cuz I think it does (I was listening to The Beatles the whole time I was writing this)
Plea-ea-ea-ease Review!
(Sing it like "Love Me Do" if you know it)