AN: As exciting as a whole month devoted to my otp is, I am so not ready for Taang Month! OTL

Having said that, this might be a thirty-part fic or a bunch of short one-shots or a combination of the two! We'll see, I guess. XD I do want to do something for each day, but this is the only thing I've written so far, so (here's where you come in! ;D) if there's something you'd like to see or you have any suggestions, pm me, leave it in a review, or over at my tumblr, please! =D

Alright, let's do this!

Day 1- Rejection

"Have you talked to him yet?"

...Great. After Aang, Zuko was the last person she wanted to see.

"Do you really wanna have this conversation with me again, Sparky?" The last time he tried to get involved, she got Katara involved, which would explain why his heartbeat stuttered like it did. Toph grinned as he fumbled through an explanation or an excuse, she would't quite tell. Still, she cut him off before he embarrassed himself any further. "Just because you look like your uncle doesn't mean you have to start sounding like him, too, you know?"

That did the trick. Just like she knew it would.

Zuko stood there, silent and smiling that rare smile few were privy to. Whenever someone compared him to his uncle, his chest puffed up because he knew he was doing something right. Most knew Iroh, not Ozai, was who the young Fire Lord aspired to be like. But all too quickly Zuko recalled who paid him the compliment (and she had no idea what he or his uncle looked like!) and the smile was gone.

He wasn't going to fall for her tactics this time. Folding his hand behind his back, his focus returned to the current topic.

"You have nothing to lose," he insisted.

Yeah, only my dignity and self-respect, Toph thought with a huff that sent her bangs flying away from her face. "Unlike you, some of us don't like rejection," she teased him, but that word left a sour taste in her mouth.

Frowning, Zuko snapped, "I don't like rejection!"

"That so? How many times did Sweetness turn you down again?"

Quickly losing his temper, he didn't bother repeating himself. Katara had not 'rejected' him. They simply agreed to take things slow...on her insistence. Anyway, this wasn't about him, it was about Toph.

"You care for him. He does for you as well. I don't understand the problem."

"'Course you don't," she mumbled. Things were never that easy. And with someone like Aang, she just couldn't be sure. "Look, I know he likes me, okay? But..." she sighed, "...he likes everyone. What if he doesn't feel the same way I do?"

If only his uncle were there, he would know exactly what to say...

Quiet for a moment, Zuko finally began, "You can't know unless you ask. Tell me, Toph, are you willing to risk your happiness because you're afraid of rejection?"

She turned her face up towards his and shrugged. "I'm already happy."

She was. She had her freedom, her friends, her school, her metalbenders. "Life is good," she added honestly.

"What if...it could be better?"

With those parting words he left her as he found her, sitting by herself under the tree overlooking the stables, and contemplating her next move.