[July 17th] [Avatar: The Last Airbender] [Unrequited]

[echoinautumn.livejournal.com]

Title: Unrequited
Challenge: "Fall from grace."
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters/Pairings: Aang, Toph (One-sided Aang/Katara and Sokka/Toph, Sokka/Suki)
Warnings: Spoilers for episode 316 "The Southern Raiders"
Note: This really isn't supposed to come across as Aang/Toph, but it kind of does because of the nature of the story. It's really just friendship as I envision the two of them sharing.

“Fall from grace.”

“Hey, Sokka!”

The frantic shuffle of untangling limbs didn’t escape Toph’s notice, though Aang missed it entirely, flopping down onto the ground next to Sokka, who looked thoroughly embarassed at what Aang had almost seen: he and Suki tangled together in compromising passion. Aang was silently glaring out across the moonlit waters. Sokka and Sukki sat awkwardly to his left, barely brushing fingers.

Toph stood to the side, uncomfortable with the silence which had settled over the small group in the wake of Katara and Zuko’s departure the night previous. Aang had been stunned nearly silent at Katara’s fury, even after he had conceded to her selfish fury. He had isolated himself from the remaining three, likely doing some sort of introspection of the deeply-rooted beliefs Zuko had carelessly mocked, and the heart-wrenching losses Katara had grossly underestimated.

Finally, Suki seemed incapable of taking more of the silence, and excused herself to go play with Momo. Toph could feel the pulsing blush that covered her body, one which matched Sokka’s, who excused himself a moment later. She sat in silence with Aang, able to feel the soundwaves of Sokka’s words to Suki rippling through the ground, wishing she could turn off her bending long enough to nurse her bruised feelings for Sokka without the constant reminder of his… thing with Suki.

Finally, she raised her head so that she too faced the water. “Want to talk about it?” She asked, voice devoid of the brazen tones she typically used.

She felt Aang start to shake his head, but he seemed to change his mind, because he whispered a quiet affirmative.

“It’s about what Katara said, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” He admitted softly, clenching his fists around this makeshift tunic. He closed his eyes and repressed the urge to cry which rose with the hard knot in his throat. “It doesn’t… get easier, Toph. I haven’t given myself a chance to really think about things because of this ‘whole saving the world’ thing.” The breath he released was shaky. “I’ve sacrificed the idea of mourning my people, my family, so I could save this world.” His tone turned bitter. “And I’ve done it because of Katara, more than anyone else.” He cast her an apologetic look she couldn’t see. “Because she was so heartbroken about her mother, years after it happened, and so upset about her world being torn apart by this war… I did it all for her, and never once let her see that… that…” He trailed off, unable to finish.

Toph understood. “I know.” Aang was trying to keep his bleeding heart inside him, to keep the lovers over by Sokka’s tent from seeing that Katara’s words had stung more than Zuko’s careless mockery of the culture and beliefs he held tightly to him as a constant reminder of the people who had died similarly horrific deaths as Katara’s mother. “I can’t say that I know exactly what you’re going through, but… I respect that much. And, for what it’s worth, I think what you tried to tell Katara was really wise, whether she sees it that way or not.”

Aang hung his head. “She’ll figure it out eventually, I guess.” He didn’t sound altogether convinced, but he did seem as though talking with Toph was alleviating some of his need for isolation.

The blind girl shifted uncomfortably, painfully aware of the rapid disintegration of Sokka’s quiet conversation with Suki. She didn’t really have tragic tales to share with Aang, who had the misfortune of finding the remains of his people at every temple he visited. She had caught him backing suddenly out of rooms in the Western Air Temple where she could feel the piles of broken and blackened bones strewn across the floor more often than he cared to admit to anyone. All she had was an unrequited crush on a certain Water Tribe warrior who was presently tangled around Suki again. She tried to rearrange herself in such a way that she didn’t have to focus on the vibrations which seemed to gravitate toward her.

Finally, she let out a growl of frustration and moved to sit on the sandy bar in front of Aang, who followed her in puzzlement.

“Toph? Are you alright?”

“It’s just… they can’t stay off one another.”

“Who?” Aang obviously had no idea about the couple, nor about her feelings for Sokka.

“Er, Sokka. And… Suki.” She fidgeted, finally able to ignore the muted vibrations which didn’t quite make it to her through the sand. “You haven’t… noticed?”

“Ah,” Aang started, poking in the sand. “Yeah, kind of. Haven’t… really been paying them much attention.” He glanced up at her. “I didn’t see anything.”

She grunted in response. “Haven’t got much of a choice.” She managed, digging her feet deeper into the sand. She knew, having gotten a much clearer picture of Suki in her head, that she didn’t compare. She picked her toes, didn’t brush her hair most of the time, and considered a thin coating of earth as close as she got to makeup. Suki took a bath every morning when they were at the Air Temple and took meticulous care of her appearance when she thought no one was paying attention. Toph paid attention, though, as the girl snuck glances at her hair in the fountains and tried to suppress a rapidly beating heart every time Sokka spoke to her.

“Oh, yeah.” The monk managed, crossing his legs and picking at the sole of his boot. “You… don’t have a… Er, any feelings for Sokka, do you?” He inspected her face carefully.

Toph tried to fight the visible blush that spread across her face and didn’t trust herself enough to try and lie, or even answer at all.

He looked back down at the sand. “Oh.”

Toph swallowed. “Please don’t tell him.” She managed quietly. She hadn’t confided in anyone, and with Suki around, hadn’t planned on letting anyone know.

Aang shook his head. “I wouldn’t.” He sounded distant and pained again.

“Have you talked to Katara yet?”

“No.” A sigh. “I… don’t think she wants to talk about it, otherwise… she might have said something to me by now.”

“Rejection’s not very glamorous, is it?” Toph tried a wry smile, but lost her will halfway through and it disintegrated into a twisted grimace. “I guess even the Avatar has to take that fall from grace.”

“And the world’s greatest earthbender.” He leaned back onto his palms, staring up at the setting sun.

She tried the smile again, but let it go finally. “None of us are really blessed with grace right now, are we? It’s hard to like Katara right now, I can’t imagine trying to love her.”

The final rays of sunlight glinted off of Aang’s head as he tried to shake off the twist in his heart. “About as hard as trying to love someone when they’re… whatever Sokka’s doing with Suki.” The retort died lamely with his weakening voice.

Toph didn’t respond, too afraid to think about what Sokka might be doing.

“I’m sorry, Toph.” Aang finally managed.

She shook her head and shivered in the twilight shadow left in the wake of the sun. “Don’t be, Aang.” She smiled for him and stood, her balance teetering in the soft sand, before offering him her hand.

“We’ll be fine.”

End