Image Art: TaangAU by Ayki0

AN: written for Fruipit's prompt -Toph goes on a date only to have the guy not show up, which my brain took in a slightly different direction than intended... possibly because of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and every other spy show I've ever watched! ;)

Warning: This is Taang, but there's some Tokka, too. Also, there's a character death featured.

As she waited for him to appear, shame and embarrassment filled her with every passing second. Honestly, she couldn't think of it without grimacing. After all, he was someone she worked with, one of her best friends even. And, someone Toph would never have imagined she would fall for.

Looking out the large windows at the random passerby, she tugged on the ridiculously named infinity scarf he gave her for her most recent birthday. It was surprisingly comfy and warm and her favorite shade of green, but she felt a bit self-conscious wearing it. Leaving the scarf alone, Toph sipped her coffee. Not tea, no. Tea was meant to sit back and enjoy. She didn't want to be enjoying herself. She needed to be fully alert and ready to call the whole thing off. How could she not?

Bringing the coffee to her lips, Toph let the hot liquid burn down her throat. Contemplation dulled the sensation.

She had come to a painful realization in recent months: time worked in strange ways. It wouldn't move fast enough when needed and too fast when not wanted. She noticed that lately, the more time that passed, the more of Sokka she felt slipping away. Sometimes, in the solitude of her room, in the dead of night, Toph found herself unable to recall specific details about him. The sound of his voice, his smile, the way his blue eyes damn near sparkled when he told one of his favorite (though not very funny) jokes.

Worse, that debilitating twist in her gut was far less vicious now than it had been in the awful days immediately following Sokka's death. Time had made her grief subside. Time had morphed it into something manageable. Though it was the natural order of things - the others had constantly assured her of this - it felt like the worst kind of betrayal. She hated it, hated herself for letting it happen. Every night that passed, every morning she woke up, she was well aware Sokka had drifted a little more, further and further away from her. The thought made her flinch. The thought of what she had agreed to only the day before make her feel sick to her stomach. It had been fifteen months since Sokka died, only fifteen months. And, she had already moved on?

"So, you're saying yes?" he asked, not bothering to hide his elation. "You'll go out with me?! Out in public?"

Rolling her eyes to deflect, since she was as close to blushing as she got, Toph answered, "It's just a cup of coffee, Twinkletoes. Don't make me regret it."

To her surprise, he swooped her up in the middle of the hallway between the basement elevators and interrogation rooms, and spun her in a dizzying hug. He kissed her cheeks once and her lips twice, laughing all the while.

"We're gonna have a great time," he promised.

Toph made the mistake of believing him.

Against her better judgment, she even elicited the help of two of her closest friends. Those same friends couldn't agree on anything either. Thinking about getting ready for the date actually made her frown deepen.

"But the green dress will bring out her eyes!" Suki argued.

"Yes, but the ivory one is the perfect contrast with her dark hair!" Katara insisted.

The former was a weapons expert (she could kill you with anything she could get her hands on. Really, anything. Even a run-of-the-mill fan). The latter was a black ops specialist (along with her late brother, both trained by their father after their mother's unsolved murder). Not that anyone would ever believe any of it with the way these two otherwise deadly women were arguing over clothes!? Tired and bored of listening to them, Toph threw herself on the bed.

"Toph, no!" they cried in unison.

"You'll ruin your hair!" one added as the other cried, "Your makeup with get smudged!"

Neither Katara nor Suki had any younger siblings, therefore Toph filled the role perfectly. Usually, she didn't mind. At the moment, she was thanking God for being an only child.

"Ugh!" Toph groaned as she sat up. "Remind me why I asked you guys for help again!?"

"Because we're your friends," Katara said, with that motherly tone of hers.

"And because you couldn't line your eyes if your life depended on it," Suki teased with a wink.

In the end, Toph wore a white t-shirt and dark jeans, with a black leather jacket. Suki insisted on the scarf and that was that. Then, Toph went to the agreed upon location and there, she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Toph would not have waited for just anyone. The fact she was waiting for Aang meant something. Torn between wanting to show him she was serious, about him, about them, about possibly taking the next step, or using his tardiness as an excuse to end things, she ordered another coffee. Hers had grown cold.

Very much aware that she kept going back and forth - end things, don't end things - she grew increasingly frustrated with herself. It wasn't like her to be so indecisive.

The thing was, they had been seeing each other for only a few weeks, secretly, without anyone they worked with finding out. The desire for more had not been there when they first met, at least, not on her part. That changed over time.

But... the fact remained that she worked with Sokka's family... his father, his sister... They treated her like family. How could she tell them she found herself thinking of other things besides the funny, brave, meat-loving man? Besides his loss, besides the revenge she swore she would attain in his name at all costs?

How could she possibly tell them losing Sokka had become bearable?

Not only that, but how could Toph tell them she was falling (had fallen?) for someone else? Someone they recruited and trained? The very man Sokka had died saving.

There was no way Toph could do it. Which is why she sat, waiting for Aang, sipping the cup of coffee she'd forgotten was cold and nearly spit out.

In any case, it was settled. Toph was going to tell Aang it wasn't going to work. It couldn't. Not with Sokka always in the back of her mind. Not with the guilt she carried around.

This, however, the being stood up, was kinda aggravating. Sure it was always a possibility, but still. Toph wasn't upset so much as disappointed. Scratch that, she was pissed. But who could she be mad at? Not Aang, she had asked him to keep their relationship strictly between them. So it wasn't like he could simply send word he was going to be late. She couldn't be mad at whatever kept him. Not with their calls and texts monitored. In their line of work, the unexpected was always to be expected. After all, the job came first. So, Toph was stuck with a plethora of emotions and no way to let them out.

It was difficult not to wonder what could be taking him. Her mind wandered from work related incidents to other, quite uncomfortable scenarios. Something as simple as he got lost (not very likely) to his deciding he didn't want to pursue their relationship further after all (much more plausible). Did he find someone else? Was he currently with the imaginary person she made up in her mind and didn't exist up until a few seconds ago?

No, she was overreacting. Twinkletoes cared about her. He had said it many times. She enjoyed hearing him say it. And now, though she wanted to say it back, she was going to call the whole thing off. He was just a jerk who was late to his own break-up.

Ignoring the second coffee she ordered, Toph tugged on the green scarf, and continued to fume silently.

"He didn't show?"

Her head snapped up.

"I could have told you he wouldn't."

Paralyzingly fear crept into her heart and spread to every limb. She was in a random coffee house. One Aang had picked on anything but a whim, one of little interest to anyone who wasn't a student of the nearby college, and one the Head of the Dai Li - who never, ever left China - shouldn't currently be standing in.

Toph regained enough of her composure to reach for the phone in her pocket. If Long Feng was in the country without her team aware of it, something was terribly wrong. Before she reached her phone, a strong hand appeared out of nowhere to stop her.

"Don't do it, Beifong."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see him. Haru.

The fucking traitor.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you," he said, then had the audacity to lean in close and whisper in her ear. "But I will."

Pale green eyes scanned the coffee house. She had about ten seconds to do something before it was too late. The front door was compromised. The two men guarding it were dressed casually enough, but she could just make out the outline of a .357 Magnum and .38 Super through their jackets. Old School, she thought with appreciation.

Anyway, the place had to have at least two other exits besides the main one. It wouldn't have been chosen otherwise.

"I know what you're thinking," Long Feng said, in that bored, superior tone of his. "But, it would be a waste of both your time and mine."

She had to get the hell out of there. She had to warn the others. And she definitely had to figure out how they knew she would be there.

Haru sold them out. That much was clear. To Long Feng of all people. But that wasn't the worst of it. They knew about Aang. Knew enough of what was going on between them to interrupt their date.

The assholes even made her doubt herself and what she and Twinkletoes had. Fuckers.

Forget ten seconds, she wasn't going to simply run. Hakoda would sit her down and go over the proper escape protocols again, but none of that mattered. They took Aang.

The right corner of her mouth curled up. The amusement that danced across her features was genuine enough to make Long Feng's eyes narrow a fraction.

"What did he promise you?" Toph asked Haru while looking directly at Long Feng. "Because whatever it is, he won't deliver."

Haru's laughter made her skin crawl. Again the man she had once considered a teammate whispered in her ear. "He's getting my father out of prison." Poor, delusional Haru. "It's something A.V.A.T.A.R. was never able to do. And don't say 'it's not possible'. I can assure you, it is."

"Because he told you?" she snorted, never taking here eyes off Long Feng. "You always were a gullible one."

The smile Haru wore up to that point vanished, replaced by a snarl. "Aang didn't believe me either," he spat. "Do you want me to tell you how I convinced him? Better yet, I'll show you."

No.

No.

She knew what this was all about, knew it the moment she saw Long Feng take the seat reserved for Twinkletoes. The Head of the Dai Li was there to retrieve the Beifong heiress and return her to her parents. Why else would he leave the safety of her home country?

Knowing she only had one card to play, she played it.

"You made a mistake," Toph told the man who watched her with an unwavering gaze.

"Let me guess, I should not have taken your - what shall we call him? - new partner?"

Internally, she withered. Externally, Toph scoffed, a smile playing on her lips.

"I'm not worried about Aang," she lied through her teeth. "He can handle himself." He could, that part was true. It's what had attracted her in the first place. He was an ace pilot who was as graceful in the air as he was on land. "No, I meant this whole situation." Long Feng cocked his head to the side, looking utterly disinterested. However, behind her Haru shuffled in place. At least she was getting to one of them. "You know me," Toph continued, taking another sip of her coffee. "Do you think anyone would know who I was if I didn't want them too?"

Long Feng's eyes flickered to Haru, then back to Toph.

"You've been played," she assured him.

Haru shook his head. "She's lying!"

"How else was I gonna get you outta China?" she smirked, coming up with the perfect lies on the spot.

Only a few weeks back, on the anniversary of Sokka's death, the team had come together to drink to the man they had all known and loved in one way or another. That one drink turned to many until everyone, except Hakoda who left early to mourn in private, were having trouble standing. Drunk and incredibly sad, Toph had confided in the team and told them who she really was. Prior to the revelation, Zuko (who already knew) and Sokka (who she told after they were together) had been the only ones privy to such information. They had all been pretty surprised, but supportive and nonjudgmental. Never did she imagine placing her trust in any of them would come back and bite her.

Haru took a step forward toward Long Feng.

"I gave you everything you asked for in exchange for my father's release." Long Feng did not look convinced. "I got you the codes, didn't I? The list of undercover agents? We had a deal, man! Don't listen to her, she's trying to mess with you!"

Toph knew Haru wouldn't be alive come morning. Sucked to be him. At least now she had an idea of what he gave up. It was enough for the moment because the longer she stayed there, the longer Aang- she didn't want to contemplate those possibilities. She simply had to get to him.

Her vision tunneled and she did what came naturally, she fought. Because no one was going to corner her in.

Reaching up, she grabbed as much of Haru's long hair as possible and slammed his face into the table. In the blink of an eye she was over the counter, dodging bullets while heading towards the kitchen and what she expected was a back exit.

As Toph made it out into the empty alleyway, the first thing she did was call Teo.

After the initial shock that came along with discovering your teammate had given you up to one of the most dangerous men in the world, Teo sprung into action. With his unrivaled hacking skills, he had a satellite feed tracking Long Feng's car from the moment it drove away from the coffee shop. The team closest to the location, Katara and Zuko, were sent after him; Suki and Ty Lee were attempting to find as much information from Haru's hard-drive as humanly possible; and Hakoda issued a warning to all the undercover agents overseas that their identities might have been compromised.

Expecting she was being followed, Toph took to the tunnels beneath the city to reach a safe house a few blocks away. She could have returned back to base as well, but if Aang was anywhere near by, she wanted to be the first one to get him.

"Toph?"

Teo's voice in her ear was an odd comfort. Usually, she complained, insisting she didn't need the backup.

"You find Twinkletoes yet?"

"I'm looking, Toph. You okay? Police scanners say shots were fired."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied automatically. "Teo...you gotta find him."

Silence.

On the other end, Teo froze momentarily. Toph never called him by his name. She never called anyone by their names. And the pleading tone with which she spoke unnerved him.

The last time he heard her sound so rattled was a day he much rather forget. Too much was lost. In their own way they were all still recovering from Sokka's death. None more affected by it than Toph. Besides his immediate family, of course. Teo didn't think the team could handle losing anyone else.

"Yo, tech guy!" she growled.

Yeah, that sounded more like her.

"Right. On it."

Only the sound of typing came over the ear piece she shoved in her ear the minute she was out of the coffee house. As Toph made her way back to the surface streets, the thoughts swirling through her head weren't the best to have at such a time.

Why had she agreed to coffee in the first place? She was an agent of A.V.A.T.A.R. There were far more important things going on. She was well aware of this. In fact, Toph might have not even agreed if not for her friends insistence. Of course, they had no idea who she was going on a date with, only that there was a date.

"You can't mourn forever," Suki told her.

"He was my brother," Katara had said with tears in her eyes, "But I know he would have wanted you to be happy."

"Would you have wished Sokka remain alone and miserable forever if things had been the other way around?" Zuko asked her.

"If you have a second chance to be happy, take it," Teo insisted. "Not many people get that."

Well, she had listened and look how that turned out.

...

It took Teo 27 minutes to work his magic and find Aang's location. If he had known the young agent had been missing sooner, the long and tedious process might have been cut in half.

Using every type of security footage he could tap into, Teo was able to narrow down their search to a seemingly abandoned, two-story building in downtown's garment district. Toph had the front entrance, Smellerbee the back, and The Duke was covering them from across the street.

After Teo hacked into the surveillance system, it took Toph 11 minutes to get from the front door of the warehouse down to the subbasement third floor, taking out armed thugs left and right. The four men guarding Aang didn't stand a chance against Toph's rage and fury. She wasn't simply rescuing Twinkletoes, she was doing everything she had not been able to do for Sokka as well.

As she waited for Teo to crack the electronic lock, she knew. Even though the man on the other side of the concrete door was her polar opposite, she knew.

Aang was a friendly optimist, who loved life despite it's ugliness and still had faith in people despite theirs. Toph was a sarcastic realist who shut people out because all people ever did was use you and hurt you in the process. And if they actually cared for you, they died. Yeah, she and Aang were fundamentally different. They rarely saw eye to eye. And yet, in that moment Toph knew without a doubt, it would be impossible to walk away from him. While she prayed to a god she had long ago stopped believing in, the door clicked open.

She was through the doorway and inside the room in the blink of an eye. However, she was not prepared for the onslaught of emotion that hit her like a tidal wave at the scene before her.

Aang was alive. Bloodied and bruised, one eye nearly shut swollen, half his blue-dyed mohawk had turned purple with his own blood. Though he was secured by heavy, metal chains around his wrists and ankles, he was alive. Tears sprung from her eyes as she ran to him.

A week chuckle broke forth from his busted lip as she wrapped her arms around him. Her reaction surprised him. Toph was a master of keeping her emotions hidden, usually she got annoyed when people were overly sentimental. To weep openly, to hug him and bury her face in his neck as she whispered, "You're alive, Twinkles," he realized she was as relieved to see him as he was to see her.

"Sorry I missed our date," Aang said, trying to lighten the mood despite everything.

Smiling, she raised her face to his.

"You should be," she snapped, trying to sound pissed and failing. "I got all dolled up for nothing."

"You look great," he said, noticing the green scarf he gave her around her neck.

After a moment of self-collection where she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, Toph started removing the chains. "Next time I'm not waiting more than five minutes."

"Next time...?" Aang asked carefully, the hope clear in his voice. Despite his naivete, he wasn't stupid. He knew Toph wasn't completely over Sokka yet. Sokka had been her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first everything. You didn't erase that kind of emotional attachment with some laughs, the occasional late night talk, and a few stolen kisses. But, Aang cared about Toph deeply and he really believed he could make her happy, if only she was willing to let him try.

That she blamed herself for Sokka's death, everyone knew. She had even attributed some of the blame towards Aang early on. What the others weren't aware of was that the more Toph went over that particular mission, the more she came to the harrowing conclusion that there was nothing she could've done differently to save the man she had loved. That hurt far more than taking on the blame ever did.

Knowing she was in mourning, Aang never meant to fall for her. But, he did. What happened to Sokka inadvertently brought them closer together. The others all reminded Toph of their late teammate. They all had shared experiences, shared stories she didn't want to think about. The inevitable conclusion: the less time she spent with them, the more time she was with Aang.

"We should go," Toph said once he was free of all restraints. "The rest of Long Feng's men might show up any minute."

"Hey," Aang stopped her. His eyes searched hers. "I'm glad you came for me-"

"Thank me later," she cut him off, grinning.

"-but," he continued solemnly, "You shouldn't have come alone."

Her grin grew to that irritatingly smug, slightly infuriating, and extremely adorable toothy smile she favored when she one-upped anyone.

"I didn't," she answered. "Teo's stalling the cops - scrambling their feed, most likely - Duke's watching the front door from across the roof, and Smellerbee's covering the back."

Aang smiled, incredibly pleased. Happy, even. Toph had turned to their team, accepted the offer of help they always extended but she never took, to come up with a plan. She didn't simply rush in recklessly as she had in the past when she and Aang were first partnered up. His smile grew because that meant...that meant there was hope for her yet. Which meant, there was hope for them too.

"Thank you," he said with sincere gratitude.

Toph smirked, her eyes full with mischief.

"Like I said, you can thank me later."

The way she looked at him made Aang swallow and his ears turned pink. The idea of showering her with kisses sprung to mind and his ears went from pink to red.

With one arm around her shoulder for support, Aang and Toph made their way out.

...

Long Feng managed to elude Zuko and Katara, but Hakoda wasn't too worried. His greater concern was for his injured agents; Aang had suffered two fractured ribs and Toph had a bullet stuck in her shoulder which she foolishly concealed until she and her partner had returned to base safely.

Since neither was cleared for duty, and wouldn't be for a minimum of four weeks, Hakoda ordered both agents to take a couple of days off before returning. With the entire team gathered in the meeting room, he informed them of his decision. Hakoda had expected Toph to fight him on it. He was not disappointed when she didn't.

"No problem, boss," Toph said, saluting with the hand not secured in an arm sling. "I'll make sure Twinkletoes gets lots and lots of rest." She lowered her voice so that only her friends standing very close heard her add, "I'm not letting him outta that bed for at least a week."

Those not embarrassed by the not-so-subtle innuendo, we're laughing at the way Aang's mostly bald head had suddenly turned bright, bright red.

"What's so funny? What did she say?" The Duke asked from somewhere in the back of the meeting room.

Smellerbee shook her head. "Trust me, kid, you don't wanna know," she laughed.

"Listen up," June stepped forward as soon as Hakoda walked out, "Everyone who doesn't have broken bones or bullet holes, get back to work!"

The room emptied quickly until only Aang and Toph remained in there with June.

"Get home, heal," she looked pointedly at Toph, "then get back, got it?"

"Aye, aye!"

"Don't get cute with me, Beifong." Glaring at her one last time, June walked out as well.

"So...a whole week, huh?"

Heat rising to her cheeks, Toph shrugged as nonchalantly as was possible under the circumstances.

"Sweetness and Fangirl had it coming," she replied without looking at him.

No further explanation was needed. The moment Aang was finished with his physical, both Katara and Suki bombarded him with questions about his relationship with Toph. Knowing Toph wouldn't have told them anything, he figured they must've put two and two together. Instead of coming up with any sort of plausible deniability, he ran away from them and their questions as fast as his injured ribs would allow.

"Guess they figured out about our date?"

"Yup. And I had to shut 'em up, so."

"Ah."

They left the meeting room and walked out together. In the elevator ride up, both kept their gaze averted. Each did open their mouths to say something, only to have second thoughts and stay quiet.

When they reached the lobby of the tiny B&B, The White Lotus Inn, that served as their base's cover, Aang finally spoke.

"Still up for that cup of coffee?" he asked, fully expecting her to accept. Especially after that rare show of emotion during his rescue.

"Nah, don't feel like coffee."

"Oh," he answered, visibly deflated. "I, uh, understand..."

"How do you feel about tea?"

His face did a one-eighty.

"Fair warning though," Toph added quickly, before he could get too excited. "This," she motioned between them, trying to find the right way to explain. Instead, she simply said, "This is gonna go slow. Slow, slow. If that's not your thing, I get it. No hard feelings-"

Aang stilled her with a hand to her cheek. He looked into her eyes for a long moment, then leaned in to brush his lips against hers. It was a kiss so soft, so tender...

"That slow enough for you?" he whispered against her mouth.

Toph was reeling in the best way possible.

"Because I can go slower," he promised, nipping at her bottom lip gently. "I just..." Aang pressed his forehead to hers. "You know what you mean to me, Toph."

Her eyes suddenly stung.

Sokka had been able to envision a life beyond A.V.A.T.A.R., a life they could share after every last mission was over. Because that was one of the most amazing things about him, he could see the end. But when he died, he took those few precious dreams with him.

Since then, Toph never really thought about the future. Living in the here and now, freely, nothing tying her down, holding her back, except the next mission. That was the life. That was her life. Until...the moment when sweet relief permeated every cell in her body and she looked into those kind grey eyes, blood shot and in pain, but looking back with the same affection. The world was suddenly wide and new and the future was full of possibilities.

Maybe it could work, she thought.

The prospect was an appealing one and she pulled away to watch his face. When Toph looked up at Aang, his smile matched her own. She knew then, everything was going to work out.