Ah, the classic "Aang and Toph at a formal banquet." The epitome of the cliché Taang story. And yet, I've never written one before this. Read plenty...but written? This is my first. And, to tell the truth, I really like how it turned out. It didn't take me very long, but I managed to get it all down before I lost interest. An astounding feat indeed...
Disclaimer: I do not now, nor shall I ever, own Avatar.
My, my, my…these parties are so dull…
Toph Bei Fong was slouched back in her fancy little chair, arms crossed and frowning deeply. She didn't care that her long, elegant dress was bunched up and wrinkled, that her makeup was smudged, that her hair was falling out of it's stylish bun, or that so many of the people walking by her table were giving her such scornful looks. And she certainly didn't care about the group of overdressed and disgustingly perky girls crowded around a certain airbending monk a few tables away. Or at least, that's what she told herself.
---
No matter where I go, this always seems to happen…
Avatar Aang was smiling nervously at the swarm of wide-eyed young women beaming hugely at him. Much to their annoyance, he kept standing on tiptoe to look over their shoulders at the sulking woman sitting by herself a few tables down, hunched over her food. But that certainly didn't stop them from bombarding him with questions. He kept trying to get out some excuse to leave, but he was repeatedly interrupted with increasingly intrusive questions. And, in the rare occasion that he did finish his sentence, they just laughed it off.
"Oh, don't be silly!" they would giggle.
---
Those pathetic little sluts…they make me sick…
Toph glared at the untouched food on her plate, pushing it around irritably with her chopsticks. She narrowed her eyes even more as a familiar voice floated across the room to her ears, with a tone of fake aloofness.
"Oh, well I guess I could show you a little…" it said. Toph stabbed her rice violently with a chopstick. A woman sitting across the table from her shot her a disdainful look before getting up and leaving with a snooty, "Hmph!" Toph scowled at her.
Suddenly, she felt a fierce gust of wind tear across the table, knocking the ornament keeping her hair up to the floor and spilling her food all over the front of her dress. She jumped to her feet with a yelp, but found herself falling backwards over her chair. She hit the ground with a heavy thud.
Silence ensued.
---
Oh no…what have I done?
Aang stared, along with the rest of the room, at the woman sitting on the floor, covered in various expensive hors d'oeuvres and other food, with her long ebony hair falling to the floor. The attractive ornament that had been holding it up lay shattered on the ground, its pieces strewn everywhere. Time seemed to have frozen momentarily. The woman herself had an expression of utter disbelief on her face, but that didn't last long. Her blind eyes turned towards him, slowly and furiously.
He gulped apprehensively.
---
Oh, I'm going to kill him…
Toph was practically shaking in anger. She clenched her fists all too tightly, easily snapping her dainty chopsticks. She couldn't see the man who had caused all the commotion, but he could feel him trembling from across the room. And for good reason.
She pushed herself to her feet and threw the broken chopsticks to the ground heatedly.
---
This is a dream. PLEASE let this be a horrible, twisted nightmare!
Aang wanted to move. He wanted to run. He wanted to say something. He wanted to scream. But all he could do was stand there like a deer caught in the headlights. The arms and hands that were all over him quickly slid away as the crowd of girls fled, leaving him alone as the woman he had successfully infuriated once again stomped towards him with tightly gritted teeth and eyes narrowed into slits.
---
Nothing to say to me…bastard…
Toph stopped in front of the terrified Avatar and thrust her face forward, stopping inches away from his. He tried to back away, but she grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him down to her own eye level.
"You know what, Twinkletoes?" she spat angrily. No reply.
"I'm really going to kill you this time." She finished, with a malicious tone in her voice. A tiny squeak came from the Avatar.
---
Well, this is it. It's now or never.
Aang looked into the pale eyes of the enraged woman for a few moments of terror. Then he gripped her shoulders firmly and took a deep breath.
"Wha-" was all she could get out before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, drowning out her voice and her thoughts. A resounding sigh came from the mob of girls, still watching intently.
---
Is this…? Did he just…? Are we…? What's going on…?
Toph was completely still, with every muscle in her body tensed. Fireworks were exploding in her head, and she couldn't hear anything over the furious pounding of her heart. After what seemed like an eternity, he ended the kiss and brought his head back slowly.
Toph stared forward silently, with eyes as wide as saucers before bringing a hand slowly to her face. Her rough fingers brushed gently across her soft lips.
---
I can't believe I just did that…
Aang bit his lip and allowed his eyes to wander around the room. Everyone was still staring, only now they were staring at him instead of her. The pack of girls all seemed to be extremely disappointed; a few of them actually looked to be on the verge of tears. He grinned sheepishly at them and rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly, a small hand seized his shoulder and yanked him forward once again.
---
Oh wow…what am I supposed to say after that?
Toph smirked at the uncomfortable Avatar, trying to regain her composure.
"Well Twinkletoes?" she said impatiently. He jolted at the sternness in her voice.
"Huh?" he mumbled confusedly.
"Nothing to say for yourself?" she snapped back.
"Um…I…uh…" he stammered, trying to find the words.
---
Ah! What do I do? What do I SAY?
Aang opened and closed his mouth several times, but nothing came up. He stopped, feeling foolish, and hung his head in shame. A sharp pain shot through his cheek as her tiny hand hit his face with a loud smack. He brought a hand up to it and stared at the woman who was constantly terrorizing him. She smiled wickedly.
"You're going to buy me a new dress, you know." She said confidently. Aang nodded awkwardly. She let go of his shirt and put her hands on her hips.
"You're a pretty good kisser, Aang." She declared with a wink. Then she turned with a swoosh of her dress.
Aang crossed his arms and grinned broadly. He watched her as she shoved people out of her way none-too-gently and headed out the door without looking back.
What a woman…
And it's over! I kinda like how I switched between Aang and Toph's thoughts, but stayed in the third person. Very nice...
...R...E...V...I...E...W...
It makes me feel special.