Roommates

Summary: An unlikely tale of two unlikely people being forced to live together under unlikely circumstances.

A/N: Consider this a profuse apology for being gone so long. I won't bore you with the details, but life has not been kind. However, expect an update this week. Cross my heart.

Inspiration: A cute little universe that my best friend has been ranting about for ages. She's been asking me to write about it for the longest, and I told her I wouldn't. And yet…here we are. Oh. Prompts are from 64 Damn Prompts on Livejournal. So if they look familiar…well, that's why. Enjoy!

Warnings: Modern AU, Toph can see, no bending, yadda yadda, you get the idea.

OOO

1. 2 a.m.

Toph grumbled into her pillow as she heard her Blackberry ringing on the floor next to her.

Digging deep down inside her for some much needed willpower, she lifted her head high enough to squint at the digital clock on her bedside table. Toph immediately rolled her eyes and whined loudly as she buried her head back under the covers once she saw the bright red numbers on her clock blinking in her face and telling her that it was two in the morning.

She was tempted to just let the phone ring. It was in the middle of the night, and she felt like she had no obligation to pick up the phone when it was this late. But then there was the possibility that the person on the other end would keep calling until she picked up. She already knew that would be ten times more annoying.

Keeping her head under her quilt, Toph felt around the floor by her bed until she dug her phone out of the pocket of her jeans that she took off yesterday. Silencing her Linkin Park ringtone, she pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, not bothering to look at who had been calling.

"What in the hell do you want this late at night, whoever you are?" she grumbled tiredly into the phone.

"Toph?"

The ebony haired girl blinked the sleep out of her eyes and furrowed her brow. "Mm…is that you, Katara?"

"Yeah, it is. How are you?"

Toph sat up in bed and flicked on the black lamp next to her bed. "Well, I was sleeping until you woke me up, genius," she muttered.

"Oh, right. Sorry about that. I just needed to ask you something important."

Toph tilted her head from side to side, stretching out the kinks in her neck and relaxing as she heard her stiff joints crack. "Well, whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?" She then yawned into the phone, further exaggerating how late in the night it was.

"I suppose. But I remember you saying that you needed a roommate to help you pay the rent."

Toph stopped mid-yawn and looked suspiciously into the phone. Finally, she sighed in defeat. "Alright, you have my attention. Now talk."

"What if I told you that I have a potential roommate for you?"

2. Metaphor

Toph sat stretched out on the couch, flipping through the channels on her television in order to keep herself occupied until her roommate's arrival. Katara hadn't told her much about him. He was a good friend of hers from college who was looking for a place to stay after he had gotten a job as an English teacher at the high school nearby. She said that he was nice, neat, and would gladly meet Toph half way as far as rent was concerned.

It didn't sound like too bad of an arrangement. She was tired of emptying the entirety of her pay check every week just so she could keep living here. If Katara actually found someone willing to bear the burden, well then Toph couldn't argue.

Plus, she supposed it wouldn't be too bad to have some company around here. It was a large place and she could easily spare her new guest one of the empty rooms that she didn't use. It would work out well.

The chime of her doorbell pulled Toph from her thoughts. Toph turned her head toward the door and heard three knocks come from the wooden door. She jumped over the side of the couch and ran barefooted to the front door.

Before she opened the door, she stopped and looked down at her wardrobe. After all, this was a guy coming to live with her. She tightened her bun and tucked in the strands that managed to escape from the updo, she straightened the straps of her tank top, and tugged on her jean shorts.

You know, just in case he was cute.

Toph undid the latch on the door, swung it open…

…and craned her neck upward.

Her first reaction to the man in her doorway was that he was tall. He probably had six or seven inches on her. He was dressed in loose jeans and a muscle shirt and was holding two rolling suitcases behind him. He was thin, but she could tell from the cut of his shirt that he was still muscular. She looked up higher and saw a head of dark brown hair that lay messily atop his head. She was about to introduce herself until she looked down from his hair to his…

…wow, now those were some eyes!

She wondered what color they were. They were storm clouds. No, maybe not storm clouds. Storm clouds were too intense for his eyes. More like smoke, or something. Or maybe steel. They sparkled like he had mirrors reflecting in his eyes. Maybe that was it? His eyes were a combination of smoke and mirrors. Or…

"Ahem. You're Toph Bei Fong, right?"

Toph shook her head and brought her attention back to person in her doorway. He was looking down at her kindly enough and had a smile bright enough to blind her. She stared at him some more and figured that he looked nice enough. Plus, he wasn't acting rude or obnoxious despite her daydreaming. All in all, he didn't seem that bad.

She held out her hand and introduced herself. "Yeah, that's right. You can just call me Toph. And you are?"

The young man let go of one of his suitcases and shook her waiting hand.

"I'm Aang."

3. Sky

"God, you have a lot of stuff," Toph grumbled.

The young girl pushed the heavy cardboard box across the carpeted floor of Aang's new room and pushed it into the corner next to its equally-as-heavy twin. Toph swiped the sweat from her forehead and sat down on one of the boxes as she saw Aang pushing in a third cardboard box.

"It's not really stuff," he explained, situating the last box underneath the window. "They're all books."

"Really?" Toph asked. "How many do you have? It's like you have enough to fill an entire library."

Aang did nothing but shrug and smile. "They're special. I take them with me everywhere I go." He took a pocket knife and starting cutting open the tape that kept the boxes closed tight. He started piling the books next to him. "Thanks for the room, by the way. It's perfect."

Toph turned her head towards him as he unpacked the thick volumes from the box. "Oh, sure. It's no problem. It's not that great though. It's just a normal room, right?"

Aang shook his head and gestured over to the open window. "I like the view."

The girl leaned over to look out of the window. "What about it?" she asked.

"There are no buildings or trees in the way. It's just sky. I love it."

Toph watched as the young man in front of her kept smiling as he stared out of his new window. She did nothing but shake her head and laugh. Then, she hopped off of her seat, snatched his pocket knife, and helped him unpack the rest of his books.

4. Lost Scene

Aang didn't mean to ask the question as bluntly as he had. It was just a simple question to start conversation over dinner. He wanted to know more about her. He had only moved in a few days ago, and he figured it was a perfect opportunity to lay down friendly grounds. But he didn't expect her to stay silent for so long.

Toph didn't look up from her food as she answered his question. "I left because I wasn't wanted where I was before. At least here, I can do what I want and take care of myself."

Aang looked at her quizzically. "But, you'll be missing out by not being with your parents, won't you?"

Toph shrugged. "I guess. But it's not like they'd care anyway."

Aang attempted to say something else to soothe the awkward direction the conversation took. But he stayed silent and finished his meal instead.

5. Degrees

"Toph! Where's the thermostat?"

"It's in the living room!"

"Where in the living room?"

"Next to the couch!"

"I don't see it!"

"What do you mean you don't see it? It's right there, stupid!"

"Don't call me stupid! It isn't here!"

"It's on the wall in plain sight. How can you not see it?"

"Then you come over and find it!"

"I'm in the shower, dumbass!"

"It's boiling in here! I have to turn the heat off!"

"Well, then wait until I get out!"

"I'll burn to death by the time that happens! You take too long!"

"Oh, shut up!"

6. Seize the Day

Aang was already so used to this by now that the chore almost didn't bother him. He had been doing it already for two months and it was becoming almost amusing.

"Toph, it's seven thirty. You need to get to work."

Grumbles, mumbles, and whines left her mouth as she turned over onto her stomach and covered her head with the pillow.

Aang rolled his eyes and nudged her shoulder. "You're twenty-two. Shouldn't you have learned how to get up on your own a decade ago?"

That earned him a smack across the face with a pillow. "Go away! I'm tired!"

The young man huffed in impatience and looked down at his watch again. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to make on time to work either. Just as he was about to yell in her ear, an idea came into his head and caused a large boyish smile to creep up onto his features. Aang quickly took off his shoes, stood up on top of Toph's bed, and started jumping up and down, shaking the mattress.

"Carpe Diem, Toph! Rise and shine, up, up, up!" he shouted loudly in between jumps.

Toph was being jostled and jumped around so much that her blankets started falling off the bed. She screamed loudly for him to stop, but he just kept jumping faster, causing her to almost fall off the bed. Finally, so as to avoid her possibly falling ungracefully out of bed and hurting herself, Toph planted her feet on the floor and stood up from bed.

Aang stopped jumping and stepped down from the bed and saw Toph send a heated glare in his direction. Aang couldn't help but laugh as he held out her bath towel, almost as a sign of forgiveness.

Unlucky for him, Toph woke up in horrible moods. So she snatched the towel out of his hands, planted a firm punch on his forearm, and stormed into the bathroom.

7. Opposite

When one walked into their apartment, it was blatantly obvious that two completely different people lived there.

One bedroom contained bookshelves filled with novels and dictionaries, a perfectly made bed, and an immaculate closet. The other bedroom had rock posters covering the walls, a bed that on principle was never made, and clothes that were scattered about in various locations in the room.

One half of the fridge contained her dinner left overs from last night: a delicious pasta dish complete with chicken breasts. On the other half were his dinner left overs: a simple vinaigrette salad that he was forced to eat since she forgot that he was a vegetarian when she made dinner.

Her calendar notes were scrawled in a messy script with a green pen. His notes were written in neat print with an orange sharpie.

One bathroom had make-up and hairbrushes all over the sink. Another bathroom still had a shaving kit left out from this morning.

Yet despite all of that, they still managed to make it work somehow.

8. Passions Run

Toph always wondered in the back of her mind if Aang ever realized how her heart started to speed up and how heat started to pool in her lower stomach when Aang walked through the living room with his hair wet from a shower and with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

Aang always wondered if Toph ever caught onto the fact that his breath would hitch in his throat whenever Toph came back from working out in the gym with her tight tank tops and short-shorts on and sweat dripping down her neck.

9. Connection

Aang smiled at his LCD screen when he saw the name 'Toph' flash across the screen. Despite what the dark haired girl said afterwards, he knew she always felt the need to talk to him on the phone at least twice a day. And Aang couldn't argue against that.

10. Lull and Storm

The two twenty-two year olds always had somewhat of a bipolar relationship.

You could say that they enjoyed the simple conversations they had with each other when they were at home watching a movie or even when they were texting each other during their work breaks. There was a quiet hum in their demeanor and they both enjoyed the friendly company of the other during those times.

However, there were always those days when a large fight broke out between them over something completely stupid. Today, it happened to be over who left the door unlocked before they left for work.

11. Animal

"Hey, Toph."

"Yeah?"

"Would you say that your size is small and trim?"

"Um…I guess so."

Click.

"Are you extremely strong willed and competitive?"

"That sounds about right."

Scroll. Click.

"What about your gregariousness?"

"My what?"

"Are you sociable?"

"Meh…I like my circle of friends. That's it."

Scroll. Tap. Click.

"What about attractiv—"

"What did you say?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Scroll down to 'Very Attractive.' Click.

"Hmm…says here that your ideal animal is a badger."

"Were all of those questions from a personality quiz online?"

"….maybe."

"Idiot."

12. Children

"How can you teach kids all day, huh?"

Aang shot Toph a strange glance as he undid his tie. "What do you mean?"

"How do you teachers do it? I mean trying to teach a bunch of little kids their one two three's all day would drive me nuts," she explained as she propped her feet up on the coffee table and continued to watch her program.

"First off, they're high school students. Second of all, I teach English, not Math."

"Meh, same thing," she muttered, waving off the comment.

Aang sighed, smiled, and shook his head. He wondered if she would say that she hated kids once she found the perfect guy…the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

13. We All Float On

At first, the sight of Aang crying had shocked her.

Her normally cheerful and exuberant friend was now slumped into a ball on the window sill with his knees tucked into his chest. There were tears threatening to fall over his eye lids.

Toph placed a hand on his shoulder and caused him to look in her direction. He looked broken, sitting there with nothing but the stormy, rainy backdrop behind him. She quickly counted the days in her head and realization struck her immediately.

Toph sat down and let Aang lean his head on her shoulder. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and started to rock side to side as sobs started to escape his lips.

They sat there all night at that window and managed to get through the troubled night together.

It was the anniversary of his parents' deaths.

14. Chess

"Checkmate."

"Damn," Toph grumbled as she glared at her black pieces.

"You were close this time though," Aang said helpfully as he started resetting the pieces. "Best thirteen out of twenty five?"

"I don't think I want to play anymore."

15. Duty

"Hey, Toph!"

The green eyed girl turned around and found her roommate leaning over the diner counter with a big smile on his face. The girl rolled her eyes and leaned her elbows on the counter right in front of him.

"What is it, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang looked towards the clock. "Remember that movie you've been wanting to see that came out yesterday?"

Toph gave him a suspicious look. "Yes…"

Aang happily held up two, white movie tickets and waved them in her face. "Show starts in ten minutes."

Toph rolled her eyes and looked around the diner. There weren't that many tables occupied and no one else would be coming in for a while. Toph weighed her options as she tapped her green pen against her notebook that she used to take orders.

"I'm on duty though. I can't just leave."

"Come on," Aang pleaded. "The place is empty. You could spare a couple of hours to be with your best friend." He even pouted a little bit for good measure.

Despite knowing him for half a year, Toph couldn't say no to him when he was trying his best to look adorable. Toph looked over her shoulder at her coworker, Katara, who was still making coffee in the back. Katara smiled and waved Toph forward, mouthing that she would cover her shift for her.

Toph smiled, mouthed a thank you, threw off her apron, and disappeared through the diner doors with Aang following close behind.

16. Rip

When Toph's jacket had caught onto the edge of a fence and got a hole ripped into the arm, Aang didn't hesitate to drape his jacket over her shoulders. After all, he was willing to be a little chilly just to keep her warm.

17. Missing Time

There were times when Aang walked into the kitchen, only to find Toph sitting there before him. Seeing as how they both couldn't fall asleep that night, they would start up simple little conversations that would last long into the night. The best part was that the time seemed to fly by so fast that they didn't even seem to notice.

18. Crest

Whenever Aang accidently brushed against her or whenever Aang sat too close to her, Toph didn't think that the tension between them could get any higher.

19. Itch

Aang wasn't sure what made him do it. It was an itching feeling at the back of his head that was telling him to appreciate the opportunity presented to him and to just take it.

After making her skip work, after wrapping her up in his jacket, and after receiving jolts of electricity every time their hands brushed against each other, Aang could suppress his feelings anymore. The tension, the desire…it was all too much to suppress and it was bothering him to no end.

So it was at that point that Aang decided to initiate their first kiss.

20. Explode

That night, the two-some managed to find themselves sprawled against the living room couch in a heated make out session. The passion was running over them so furiously that they both thought they were going to explode.

21. Rise

Aang wasn't sure what had happened. Maybe it was because they were actually a couple now, or maybe it was because she was actually in a good mood this morning. Either way, when Aang went into Toph's room to wake her up, she listened. She got up, gave him a peck on the cheek, and hummed her way to the bathroom.

22. Crumble

"So…?"

"So, what?"

"You guys are a couple, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Katara."

"Oh, come on. Don't give me that. Your evil, mean, sarcastic wall is starting to crumble. That means you're in love."

"You're senile."

"Whatever. But this is the only explanation I have for you humming to yourself today. Humming! You don't hum."

"Oh, will you shut up? You have orders piling up."

23. Range

Aang was sitting in front of his class and reading passages out of their newly assigned book. After working his way through high school and college and managing to graduate significantly earlier than everyone else in his class, he rather appreciated his substitute teaching job he had been given. Most schools would have turned him down seeing as how he was so young, but he was grateful for the position.

He was good about keeping his concentration and kept his eyes focused on the reading he was reciting to the class. He congratulated himself on his ability to remain on task in front of his class and managed to get through the lesson without averting his gaze not even once.

But of course, when he sent the class to write responses to what they heard independently, Aang found it impossible not to stare outside of the classroom window.

Waiting by the school gates was Toph in her waitress uniform, probably waiting for the bell to ring so that she could go home with Aang after he was done with his class. He smiled, appreciating that he could keep his girlfriend in perfect view while his class finished their assignment.

24. Fight / Flight

Toph and Aang often found themselves getting into very stupid fights that often led into intense shouting matches, doors slamming, and feet stomping. It seemed as though the two of them didn't know how to shy away from confrontation and just retreat.

25. Acid

"Come on, you can do it."

Aang held up the small glass and eyed it warily. "This goes against everything I stand for."

Toph rolled her eyes and started up at him prettily and deviously. "Oh come on, it's just a shot. Live a little!"

"Why now?" Aang questioned helplessly. "It's not like it's necessary."

"It is necessary. Look, I'll go vegetarian for a week if you drink one. Just do it."

Aang looked at his girlfriend carefully, unsure if he even wanted to submit to her demands. She always had a habit of forcing him to do extremely stupid things against his will. Like that time they went downtown to gamble. Or that other time when she dragged him into a club and started this huge fight that got the cops involved. He supposed this wasn't as bad as the other two occasions, but he still couldn't help but muse on the fact that Toph often got him into doing stupid things.

He shrugged. He supposed it was worth it, anyway. So, he lifted the shot up in the air, gulped it down, and winced as it burned like acid against his throat.

26. Color

Aang was on his back on the couch while he had Toph's small form laid out over his chest. She was so small and light that the weight felt like nothing. They were settled into a comfortable silence as they stared at the television they were watching and the movie credits started rolling along across the screen. Toph started to yawn and shifted slightly.

Aang looked down at the top of Toph's head. "You tired?"

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, you're comfortable."

"Oh really?" Aang laughed. "This morning I thought I was a scrawny, annoying excuse for a man."

Toph rolled her eyes and snuggled further into Aang's chest. "Well, that was because you pissed me off this morning."

The young man did nothing but chuckle and roll his eyes. He started threading his fingers through her hair without noticing and hugged her closer to him. "I didn't do anything, you know."

Toph snorted. "Ha! That's a lie. You woke me up an hour earlier than you were supposed to."

"That's because you had an early shift today. What was I supposed to do?"

"Let me sleep."

Aang shook his head and closed his eyes, still brushing Toph's hair. "Fine. Whatever you say."

A comfortable silence settled over the two of them as they sat there in the dark with nothing but the lights flashing from the television as commercials started to flash across the screen. Toph's eyes started to droop slightly from exhaustion. Her muscles felt sore from being on her feet and moving all day, and nothing seemed better than relaxing with Aang for the night.

As Toph was ready to fall asleep, she stole a look at Aang.

She smirked and couldn't hide the small laugh that bubbled up from her throat when she saw him fast asleep with a light snore passing through his lips. The bright colors from the television were splayed across his face and made his already pale skin glow. She couldn't help but stare at how peaceful he looked asleep there against the couch. She was tempted to wake him up and tell him that they should probably head off to bed, but she didn't feel like waking him. Instead, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, and fell asleep on top of him.

27. Give

Toph had gradually situated herself out of her room and into Aang's room. Pretty soon, her room became nothing more than a place where she stored all of her stuff, and occasionally where she slept when a fight got particularly bad. But other than that, she slept in Aang's room where he was close by. It gave her comfort knowing that he was right there next to her as she slept.

Perhaps it was because she had been by herself and single for a long time, but she didn't understand how she lived so long without this wonderful feeling that he gave her whenever he was nearby.

28. Needle

"You can't be serious."

"What? I thought it was a good idea."

"A tattoo? Why in the hell would you do something like that?"

"Because I thought it would look cool."

"It's a blue arrow. That's such a dumb tattoo you shouldn't have even bothered."

"You're just saying that because you're scared of needles."

"I am not. I just think it's gross to ink your skin like that. That can't be natural."

"Oh, admit it. It looks cool. I bet you want one too."

"Oh, god no."

"You know you want one. How about this? I'll take you tomorrow. Okay?"

"I am not stepping foot near those buzzing needles. You can forget that."

29. Locks

Aang's lips were connected to Toph's as they collided into their front door in a state of impatience and insistence.

Aang struggled to get the keys out of his pocket and unlock the door, while at the same time trying his hardest not to disconnect his eager lips from Toph's. His hands were shaking from the flood of hormones surging through his body and the excitement that was clouding all other good judgment and basic human function. Toph wrapped her arms around his neck as he managed to force the key into the lock and twist it open. The door was wrenched open and the couple collapsed into the house and wound up colliding with the nearest wall.

The door was pushed closed and the couple continued their assault. Toph laughed and disconnected herself from Aang for only a moment. She pointed to the door and nudged Aang towards it.

"You forgot to lock the door," she reminded him, her words coming out in between heavy pants and breaths.

The man did nothing but shake his head and shrug off her comment.

"We can lock it later."

30. Slope

Aang had always heard of instances when a relationship tended to get rather boring. It was as if everything started off on a high point, but then it gradually sloped down until it reached rock bottom.

He had often thought about whether his relationship with Toph would ever slope down until it hit the nothingness at the bottom. Whether, in the future, they would be the perfectly mismatched set that they were right now or if they wouldn't be able to live with the other anymore.

But days with Toph were never boring. Each day was filled with excitement and life. Whether they were going out doing something stupid, enjoying a romantic evening, fighting about something trivial that would soon boil over in a few minutes, or if they were spending the day wrapped up in each other's arms…there was never a dull moment for them.

Aang concluded that their relationship would never slope downwards. It was nothing but up for the two of them. He was sure of it.

31. Correspondence

Toph checked in her bag and cursed under her breath. She sifted through her belongings again and noticed that her house keys were missing. She would be getting home earlier than Aang today, and thus would have no way to get into the house now. She pulled out her Blackberry and checked her BBM to see if Aang was online. She quickly sent typed in a text using the small keyboard in her phone.

do u have my keys?

Toph pressed send and waited for Aang to reply. She kept staring at the screen until she saw that Aang had read the message. She looked up from her phone and looked back towards the kitchen to see if the new couple's order had been completed. Sure enough, one of the waitresses came out with two piping hot mugs of coffee and handed them to Toph.

Toph pocketed her phone in her apron, walked around the counter, and over to the small table next to the windows of the diner. She set the coffee down on the table in front of the two guests and left their ticket on the table in front of them. As she walked away and thanked them for their purchase, she felt her pocket vibrate. Toph quickly pulled out her phone and checked the new text that had arrived.

yup. grabbed them after u left. do u need them?

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she texted back another response.

duh. can u drop them off, plz?

Her fingernails tapped against the plastic casing of her phone as she waited patiently for another text to arrive. She leaned back against the counter and lifted her feet on top of one of the stools near the front. She laid her phone down on the counter and started stretching her limbs. She was starting to get exhausted, but would have to work for a few more hours before she could go home. The sound of vibration caused Toph to look back at her phone.

no prob. love you.

Toph did a double take as she looked at the message he sent her. The last two words sent shivers of electricity shooting up and down her spine. She didn't know why it made her smile so much. They had never formally said those words to each other out in the open before. They were certainly implied seeing as how both of them were more in the habit of showing rather than saying. She didn't know what made him type the words and send them. But whatever made him do it, she was grateful for it. She sent him one last message before she went back to work.

love you too.

32. Linger

"You're text today was cute by the way," Toph told him. "Then again, you are a softie, Twinkle Toes."

Aang looked up from the book he was reading across the couch and smiled. "When did that nick name start again?"

Toph shrugged as she put down her iPod and pulled out her ear buds. "Your steps are as delicate as a ballerina's. The name sort of came about on its own."

He couldn't help but smile at her explanation. He placed his book down next to him on the coffee table and opened his arms for her. She crawled over on the other side of the couch and settled herself in his arms as she kept mindlessly scrolling through the songs on her player. Aang tucked his chin on the top of her head and leaned back into the couch again.

"Did you mean it?" she asked suddenly.

"Did I mean what?" he asked her.

Toph bit her lip slightly as she kept her eyes down at her music, trying her hardest to avert her gaze from him and to keep her face hidden behind her bangs. She wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of seeing her blush like this in front of him. She simply wouldn't allow it. She breathed in deeply and repeated the question.

"Did you mean what you said in that text?"

Confusion crossed Aang's features for only a moment before his eyes widened in realization and he nodded. "Oh, you mean the whole 'I love you' thing?"

Toph didn't say anything. She simply nodded and waited for a response.

Aang looked down at her curiously and tried to get a peek at her face. However, she firmly kept her head down and hid her face with her bangs. Aang smiled. It was a rare occasion that Toph ever got nervous or flustered around her. However, whenever she did manage to turn beet red in front of him, he couldn't suppress the smirk that crossed on his features. The act clearly embarrassed her, and reiterating the event made it even worse.

"Well, why wouldn't I mean it?" he asked her.

Toph shrugged and brought her head up. She turned to face him but kept her eyes cast downwards. "I don't know. I guess I really didn't expect it."

Aang shook his head and laughed. He pulled Toph closer to him and stared down into her eyes that were permanently fixated on the wall.

"Will you look at me, please?"

Toph rolled her eyes slightly and shifted her gaze up to him. Memories of the first day she saw him flooded back as she looked into his eyes again. Another barrage of metaphors started to attack her brain as she tried to find a decent comparison to award his grey eyes. She couldn't rip her gaze away from his as he looked down at her with warm, inviting eyes.

"I meant it, okay? I'm not one to pour things out like that out of the blue. I really do love you. I'm positive of it."

Toph suddenly became very aware of the strong arms that were wrapped around her and the prickling sensations that seemed to linger on her skin wherever he was touching her. It was as if her chest suddenly expanded tenfold and her cheeks were growing hotter. Something about him saying it in person made her feel better than the text did. Perhaps it was because his eyes seemed to leak absolute sincerity as he said it. But it made her heart swell up and she couldn't help but smirk at him.

"Love you too, Twinkle Toes."

And she didn't pour out the words carelessly either. Just like him, she was sure that she meant it, too.

OOO

A/N: May possibly be continued if people like it enough. Drop a review and tell me what you think. Hope you all enjoyed.