Note: Ages: Aang- 5, Toph- 5, Katara- 7, Sokka-8, Nanny Margaret- last time I asked I was slapped.

The sun was out and beating down on the plastic play-structure Katara sat on. Normally she, Aang, and Sokka would be rushing around in the nearby grass, chasing each other up slides, or at least joking around (like making faces at Sokka, or slipping worms into his candy) but today the sun had zapped everyone of their energy.

Katara sat atop a red tunnel, having climbed up when they first arrived and not having the guts to say she couldn't get back down. Aang was currently resting inside the tunnel, hiding his fair skin from the unforgiving rays of sunlight, and Sokka was sprawled out next to them rolling himself in the sandbox (much like a pig and mud, Katara thought absently).

Truth be told, the three of them had escaped to the park in hopes of adventure. Their summer days had been drawn out long and boring, and searching for a little excitement the trio decided they should go to the park.

Alone.

Well, not exactly alone. They had each other, after all, and Sokka was already eight years old. Katara and Sokka said they were going to Aang's house, while Aang told Gyatso he was off to the sibling's.

They met up on the sidewalk, and then dashed off toward the park.

Now, their parents didn't necessarily mind it when the group ran around the neighborhood, it was safe enough, and everyone was friendly. Why, if they wanted to go to the park down the street all they had to do was ask, and they would be gladly let out by themselves.

And they knew this all too well, which is why that hot summer's day Aang, Katara, and Sokka did something no child had ever done before. They crossed the big street, and snuck into the rich neighborhood's park.

And oh joy, what excitement that turned out to be.

Katara could feel her shirt sticking to her, and she uncomfortably shifted on the tunnel. Wanting nothing more than a distraction, she eagerly gave Sokka her undivided attention when he called her name.

"Kataraaaa" he whined, turning himself over a few times in the sand.

"Yes, Sokka?" she asked, desperately hoping one of his brilliant plans had gripped him.

"It's hoooot."

Katara's face fell and she glared angrily at her brother. "Yeah, Sokka. How about that?"

Another moment of lazy silence educed before Katara tapped a couple times on the tunnel, rousing Aang from his work.

"Hey Aang, you okay? You haven't said anything for a while."

"Urm… I'm fine, Katara, why would you ask? I mean, I'm not doing anything wrong, if that's what you're thinking."

"No… that wasn't what I was thinking." She replied carefully, then she swung her head down over the edge of the tunnel so she could peer in the entrance. "But since you're acting so weird, maybe I should reconsider!" she yelled, grabbing his leg and tugging playfully.

Aang, who was obviously not expecting Katara's head to appear, let alone her grab him, let out a girlish scream before kicking on impulse. His foot collided with her forehead, knocking her off balance and sending her sliding off the tunnel and toppling onto the stretched out Sokka, who had been lounging underneath it moments before.

"Ooof!" Sokka exclaimed as Katara landed on his stomach, then he rudely shoved her off and made a few more strange noises while trying to get the breath to re-enter his body.

"Oh my gosh!" Aang yelled as he scrambled out of the tunnel and rushed over to the pair. "Katara, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Sokka, who was finally recovering from the recent incident, sat up only to be knocked back down by Aang as he rushed to Katara's aid.

"Why you little…" Sokka mumbled under his breath as he climbed to his feet. Brushing the sand of hit butt and shirt he looked over to where Aang was tenderly helping Katara to her feet.

"It's okay, guys. I'm fine. Yeah, don't worry about me." Sokka was already angered by the lack of attention the other two were giving him, so he started making his way to the empty red tunnel.

Aang spun around to see Sokka headed toward the tunnel, and gave a surprised shout as he dropped Katara's hands and she tumbled to the ground. "WAIT, SOKKA DON'T GO IN THERE!"

Sokka half-turned his head to mutter something smart like 'It's not like you'll even notice I left", but was abruptly cut off when Aang sprinted for him and jumped on his back.

Man, was this kid strong!

"Acck- Aang what are you –wheeze- doing?!"

Katara watched from her spot in the sand, to stunned to say anything. She was watching her best friend, sweet little Aang, proceed to wrap his arms around Sokka's neck and try to bring him down. She didn't know whether to scream or laugh.

Sokka staggered to keep standing as Aang cut off his air. His arms alternated from trying to pry this five-year-old off of him to groping for something –anything- to steady him.

"Let go of me you crazy little bald –gah- Aang you're choking me!"

"Oh, sorry!" Aang apologized, letting go of Sokka's neck, but grabbing hard onto the top of the older boy's head when Sokka tried ripping him off.

"AHH! WATCH THE HAIR!"

"SOKKA LOOK OUT!"

"I CAN'T, HE'S COVERING MY EYES!"

And a smack was heard as Sokka ran face first into the tunnel, then fell to the ground, Aang still attached to his back.

"Sokka get off, get off you'll squish him!" Katara screamed as ran over to the boys, rolling a disgruntled Sokka off Aang. "Oh, Aang, are you alright?"

Sokka looked at his sister, mouth hanging wide open. "ALRIGHT!? KATARA, HE TRIED TO KILL ME!"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. Aang was not trying to kill you. Besides, you should know better than to wrestle with him, you're a lot bigger!"

"WRESTLE?! Is that what you think we were doing? 'Cause if we were, then I want a re-match!" Sokka lunged angrily at Aang, and Katara grabbed Aang by the waist and tried to pull him away. Aang, who was sitting one moment and being dragged from his armpits by Katara the next, still wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

Sokka grabbed onto Aang's feet and began to pull, as Aang kicked crazily and Katara yanked on Aang's arms. There were grunts and screams all around as the siblings played tug-o-war with their less than amused friend. Everyone was so busied with the task at hand, they didn't notice when a small girl marched up to them.

"SHUT UP!"

The trio froze and looked toward the voice, a black-haired girl about Aang's age all done up from her ribbon-adorned bun right down to her freshly polished shoes. Suddenly Katara felt very plain in her power puff girl's shirt and blue skirt.

"If you three dumbos keep yelling like this then a bunch on people are gonna come over to see what's going on, and if they do then they'll find me! And NO ONE is going to be finding me, got it?"

The group nodded, unaware that the child couldn't see. "You all aren't from around here, huh?"

"Is it that obvious?" Sokka asked, dropping Aang but giving him a stern this isn't over look.

"Yup" The girl responded. "I'm Toph, by the way."

Aang giggled a little before saying "Toph is a funny name."

Sokka shot him a glare before muttering "Yeah, well you're bald"

"Sokka!"

He looked over at his sister, clearly annoyed. "What, so Aang is allowed to tease someone but I'm not!?"

"Aang wasn't teasing her, at least not on purpose."

"Well, when I said Aang was bald it was an accident. So there." Sokka's slimy tongue stuck out at Katara, causing Aang to step on his toe.

"Aang" Katara said evenly, "I love your baldness. It makes it a lot easier to see your face… and, um… the top of your head. And Toph," she continued, turning to their new acquaintance "I think you have a very pretty name, and it works well because you're a very pretty girl."

Sokka rolled his eyes and Aang stared up at Katara in wonder as she smiled sweetly.

Toph faked a smile at Katara before mimicking her voice. "A very pretty girl- Gosh, is she always this annoying?"

Katara's mouth fell open in shock and Sokka started laughing, before adding "Yeah, pretty much."

Apparently Katara being teased by this girl they just met was too much for peaceful Aang, because he shoved Sokka to the ground; the latter so stunned by the sudden change in his friend that he immediately stopped laughing on impact.

Then Aang rounded on Toph (having more than enough sense in his five-year old brain not to push a girl, no matter how mad he was). "Katara's not annoying! She's just being nice; you should try it some time!"

"Ooo, the kid's got guts. Standing up for your Sugar Queen, huh? Hope I didn't make 'ya too mad."

Sokka stood and grabbed Aang around the shoulders, pulling him back from doing something he would regret. "Aw, c'mon Aang, we were just joking. See, Katara's not mad."

With that the two boys turned to see a red-in-the-face Katara, hand clenched into fists in teeth gritted. "Not mad? NOT MAD!? WELL OF COURSE I'M-" Katara cut off, looking at the hopeful Aang, and she knew that if she didn't compose herself he would only get more upset. "… not mad. Heh, heh… see Aang, no reason to be angry. They were only having a little fun."

"Well, okay" Aang said; Sokka's grip around him loosening. He walked over to Katara and took her hand in his. "If you say so."

"It's alright. But thank you for standing up for me, that was really sweet." She replied, swaying slightly from side to side.

"Oh" Aang replied, face getting warm and hand getting clammy. "Y-yeah, no problem."

"Well, if you two are done, then why don't you butt-heads make yourselves useful and help me find a place to hide." Toph said, breaking up the moment and causing Aang and Katara to drop hands like they were burned.

"Why should we help you?" Sokka retorted, partly from curiosity and partly because he didn't like being called a butt-head.

"S'matter, are you too lazy to help? Would you rather be at home having nap-nap time, Snoozels?"

"I- wait a second, did you just call me SNOOZELS?!"

"Remember, Sokka" Katara informed him, nodding to Aang who stood innocently next to her. "No reason to get angry."

"Besides" Toph said, smirking "You have to help me, I'm blind."

There was a moment of silence when everything started coming together; why her eyes looked funny, why she never looked at them when she spoke, why she was so mean. Katara could actually feel some sympathy for this girl bubbling up –the poor thing was blind. She knew this was a delicate situation, and opened her mouth to say something comforting, but Sokka beat her to it.

"Blind, huh? That must suck."

"Sokka!"

"Sheesh, Katara, would you stop nagging me all the time?!"

And Aang was off again. "Katara doesn't nag; she's only trying to help! She-"

"Thanks Aang" Katara cut him off sweetly "But I got this one. I DON'T NAG; I'M ONLY TRYING TO HELP! AND MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE TO CORRECT YOU SO MUCH IF YOU DIDN'T GO OFF SAYING STUPID THIGS IN THE FIRST PLACE-"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT-UP?! Yeah, I'm blind, and yeah, it does suck when you're trying to find and good hiding spot 'cause you just ran away AND NO BODY WILL HELP YOU!"

"Fine" Sokka said, raising his hands up in defeat. "We'll help you." Sending a strange glace Katara's way he added, "Um, Katara… tell Aang he can come out now."

Katara looked behind her to find Aang crouched on his knees, staring at the floor with both hands over his ears. Kneeling down beside him she softly tapped his shoulder, and he looked up reluctantly. Moving one hand down from his ear Katara thought about saying something, but settled on giving him a weird stare.

And Aang looked up at her with those big grey eyes, wide and a little scared. "I don't like it when people yell."

"Oh, Aang" Katara whispered sorrowfully, and felt her heart melt at his words. Without saying anything else she pulled him into a hug which he gladly returned.

After a few moments Sokka turned to Toph. "They do that a lot. After a while you get used to it." She nodded.

"Really now" Toph stated louder than needed. "I'm feeling the love, but I'm also feeling like I need to find someplace to hide before Nanny Margaret comes looking for me."

"Who's Nanny Margaret?"

"Well, hopefully you won't have to find out."

"Hmm…" Sokka mused, looking around the playground. "I have just the place! But…"

"Nope" Toph said, walking over to where Sokka had last spoken and grabbing his arm. "The only butts allowed around here are you guys; now take me to the hiding spot."

"Okay" Sokka said, leading Toph closer and closer to the red tunnel, the entire time glancing warily at Aang. "You can hide in… in the tunnel."

With this Katara and Sokka both turned to look at Aang, who was very confused. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

"No reason" Katara quickly responded, ignoring the voice in her head telling her had just lied to Aang.

Sokka turned to help Toph in, and as soon as he had set her on the edge of the opening heads jerked at the sound of Aang's voice.

"Wait- the tunnel! NO, DON'T GO IN THERE!" he shrieked while dashing toward Sokka for the second time that day.

"Hey, I thought you didn't like yelling, remember? So don't- ooof!"

Sokka fell victim to Aang's tackle, and the two boys landed at Toph's feet.

"Wow, pretty fast on your feet there, huh Twinkle Toes?" But the boys were too preoccupied to pay Toph any attention.

"What is your deal, Aang?!"

"Wait, Toph- stop, don't go in there!!"

"Too late, Baldy" Toph responded, crawling her way into the tunnel. Aang scrambled off Sokka to try to stop her, but Sokka flipped him and pinned him to the ground. "Just where do you think you're going, huh?"

The boys continued their tussle, now joined by Katara. "Sokka, don't hurt him, Sokka, don't hurt him!"

"This tunnel must be made out of plastic, it's so smooth…" came Toph's muffled voice. "Wait a second…what's this?"

Aang immediately stopped struggling and his eyes turned wide as saucers. Katara and Sokka stopped, too, and followed Aang's line of vision to the tunnel.

"Hey, Sokka, can you read?"

Sokka pushed out his chest and sat up. "Well of course I can read!"

"I think someone scratched something into the tunnel, I can feel it."

Sokka entered the tunnel and crawled over to where Toph was sitting, running her fingers over the letters.

This whole time Aang was stock still, and it was beginning to worry Katara. "Aang" she prodded, "Aang, are you alright? C'mon Aang." She helped him sit up, but his eyes still stayed glued to the tunnel, and he wouldn't speak when she talked to him.

"Hey, Aang. Hey! Look at me!" She grabbed his chin and gently pulled his face away from the tunnel. "Are you okay?" she asked, this time desperately.

"I don't know yet."

Just as she was about to ask Aang 'what?' Sokka began to laugh loudly from inside the tunnel, rocking back and forth and making the plastic shake. "Katara, you had better come take a look t this!" he howled.

Katara raised an eyebrow, but crawled into the crowded tunnel none the less, only to emerge red-faced and unable to quiet her brother down. Finally, Sokka stepped out of the tunnel, a smug look on his face and as he past Aang, whispering "A&K, huh? Fastest way to a lady's heart."

Aang felt his cheeks burning with embarrassment and shame, and he could've cried right then and there if it weren't for Katara.

"Don't you tease him, Sokka! Sure he shouldn't have carved our initials into the side of the tunnel, but it's a lot sweeter than anything you could think of doing for that Suki girl you're always babbling about!"

Katara then turned to Aang and sat down next to him. "He didn't hurt your feelings, did he?"

Aang shook his head 'no', even though it was a lie. Then he looked shyly up at Katara, struggling to meet her gaze. "You… you think what I did was sweet?"

"Sweetest thing I ever heard of." She said, right before she leaned down and pecked him on the cheek.

Aang looked up at her with those wide grey eyes again, the rest of his face covered in a blush. Then he smiled again, but he couldn't look her right in the eye when he did. He was so happy and warm inside that he wanted to give some to Katara, so he hugged her real tight.

And by the way she hugged him back, Aang thought she felt it too.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The group continued to visit the park, and a lot of memorable things happened there (though none as memorable as meeting me, Toph reminds them).

Aang was ten years old and sitting on that swing next to the old oak tree the night Katara came up to him ("What are you doing here? It's really late, Katara, you should go home") and told him she loved him for the first time.

Four years after that Katara and Aang shared their first 'real' kiss in that red tunnel, Katara's head laying right next to the A&K that the neighborhood cleanup department never could get out.

Two years later they sat on top of the red tunnel, saying their final good-byes as they prepared to leave for separate colleges in the morning.

That very summer Aang found Katara sitting in the tunnel and tracing A&K over and over again as she cried. ("Surprise!" Hey Katara, looks like we picked the same place for vacation.") They met there every summer after.

In five more years collage was over, and Aang had took Katara to the park and sat her on that swing next to the old oak tree and told her he loved her, right before he got down on one knee and showed her the ring.

And many years later when their children were born they would take them to that very same park, and they smiled that time little Yumiko climbed on top of the red tunnel and couldn't get down.

Note: And so the minni gaang meets Toph!

I know this was supposed to be Tophier, but I've been depriving you loyal readers of Kataang for so long, it just built up in my system and I had to get it out.

This took forever. But I like it. I might even make all those little sentence things at the end into their own one-shots, if you think it's a good idea and you'd want to read them. I could call it tunnel of love snort

Review if you please! A special prize to anyone who can figure out what song the names of these chapters are from!