Day 7- Realization

"What is your problem?"

The irritation was clear in her voice and he replied in kind.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Obviously skeptical, she crossed her arms over her chest. The disbelief in her expression was palpable.

"I don't need to see any vibrations to know you're lying, Aang."

He flinched slightly at her harsh tone. Mainly because he was lying, but also because he didn't think he was being that obvious. He was sitting on a fallen tree trunk, his feet off the ground just so she wouldn't be able to tell.

"It's just...Avatar stuff," he stated simply.

"Avatar stuff?"

The worry overtaking the anger she spoke with earlier made him feel guilty. It might have been easy to lie again, but he couldn't. Not to her.

"It's just..."

"Just...?" Toph moved to sit on the log he was on. "Having to hide who we are got old fast, didn't it?"

Whenever they had gone into town for the festival or to get supplies, he and Toph had worn disguises. The Avatar was very popular wherever he went and the Greatest Earthbender in the World always drew a crowd as well.

"No, it's not that."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "It's not the Freedom Fighters, is it?"

Yes. One in particular.

"Who?" she demanded to know as she stood, cracking her knuckles in the process.

Aang didn't answer. How could he when it was one of their friends?

The Duke.

The thing was, the boy wasn't doing anything. Not really. Nothing that should have bothered Aang, in any case.

All he had done was ask the Avatar a question that both surprised and confused the monk tremendously. It should have been easy enough to answer, but the airbender found himself...quite unsure.

"Hey, Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"You mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not, Duke. What is it?"

"It's The Duke," the younger boy found himself insisting for the umpteenth time.

Confused, Aang made a face. "But Toph calls you Duke..."

The youngest Freedom Fighter suddenly looked nervous and Aang didn't know what that fidgeting was about.

"She's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about."

Smiling as encouragingly as possible, the Avatar waited patiently, while at the same time trying not to jump to any conclusions. Still, he couldn't help wonder if perhaps someone in town had recognized her. Maybe someone bothered her because of it. Lately, more people than usual (men, especially) had been attempting to gain her attention everywhere they went. At first Aang had believed being a war hero was the cause, but he was starting to second guess that.

"I don't want this to come across as offensive or weird in any way, but...are you and Toph involved?"

Blinking a few times, Aang found himself unable to reply.

"Involved?" he repeated, barely able to move his mouth enough to form the word.

"Yeah, you know, like a couple?"

The Duke looked incredibly embarrassed. Aang was certain he did too. They both stared down at the ground between them avoiding the other's gaze. Finally, the airbendered answered.

"...No."

It was the truth. He and Toph were just friends. They weren't romantically involved in any way, shape, or form. But for some reason, as he uttered that one word, it felt like he wasn't being completely honest.

The Duke seemed to be experiencing an altogether opposite emotion. Just as Aang could feel himself withering, the other boy's entire face lit up. He looked as though the Avatar had just given him the best present ever.

"That's... I was worried you were," he admitted, looking sheepish first and then visibly relieved. "You hear things, you know?"

"What things?"

The Duke laughed and this deep sound filled the space around them. For the first time, Aang seemed to notice he wasn't that eight year old boy anymore. At only thirteen, he was nearly as tall as Aang and his voice was much deeper than his own.

That was when Aang cleared his throat, squared his shoulders, and asked a question in return.

"Are you... Do you like Toph?"

The boy blushed, his cheeks and ears bright red like the apples they bought only the day before at the market. As he ran his hand through his scruffy hair, brown eyes locked into grey. The boy stood up straight and nodded with a certainty that made Aang's stomach drop. The Avatar felt like he was going to be sick.

"Oh," the monk managed to say. A foreign feeling began to creep inside him, small at first, then growing and coiling like a prickle snake, hissing with anger and...and something like envy. But that couldn't be right...

"Yeah and I wanted to tell her." The Duke got this faraway look in his eye. "Jet always said girls like confidence. And they like when you're honest, too."

A long silence followed.

"She's like no one I've ever met," The Duke gushed, kicking at the dirt. "Tough and strong and funny. Plus, she's just...she's so pretty."

"Yeah, so?" Aang replied. It was as though someone just said the grass was green or the sky was blue. Toph was beautiful, it was a simple fact. She was the Greatest Earthbender in the World, of course she was tough and strong. He'd never given it more thought than that. "But she's older than you."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Still, The Duke shrugged as if that was only a minor inconvenience.

"True. I'm thirteen and she's seventeen, but I don't think it'll matter much when I'm twenty and she's twenty-four."

Aang wanted to argue with him, crush this newfound hope bursting from the boy. The Avatar wanted to tell The Duke he was wrong, that Toph wasn't the right one for him. Because...because...she just wasn't!

"Has she said she feels the same way?" the airbender asked, finding that each word was harder to say than the previous one.

"Well, not exactly." The hissing snake in his stomach quieted for the moment. "But we get along great," the boy quickly amended. "And, honestly..." he looked around the forest to make sure they were alone. "I think...she might like me, too."

The snake grew to the size of a komodo rhino. It pushed against his rib cage, stomping and growling, making his hands turn to fists. Aang was furious, getting angrier by the second, not realizing why he was getting so upset only that he could hardly control his emotions when he thought of Toph and The Duke. Together. It shouldn't be that way. It shouldn't. It should be Toph and...and then, he froze.

Spirits...

How could it be? How could he have not realized it before? Shaking his head, he wondered how he could have been so blind?

Toph...she...he...he liked Toph?

Aang paced the near empty campsite. With every step he took, the breeze around them grew stronger. The Duke watched with a curious expression on his face.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the monk lied, pausing and forcing a small smile to his face. How could he not have seen it sooner?

"So, can I ask you a favor, Aang?"

"Sure," he replied absently, his thoughts on the girl he hadn't been aware of he had feelings for.

"You mind not coming along today?" Grey eyes snapped up. "See, I wanted to talk to Toph alone and I know we all agreed to go to the festival together since it's the last day it's in town, but-"

Deflating even further, Aang cut him off, muttering a sullen, "Yeah, sure. No problem." What other choice did he have?

...

Toph and The Duke did go to the festival, leaving Aang behind to wallow in the strange new feelings that had suddenly emerged full force. That's how she had found him, sitting on a log, sulking.

"So...you gonna talk, Twinketoes? Or am I gonna have to beat it outta you?"

"It's nothing."

"Don't gimme that! You just admitted one of the Freedom Fighters has been bothering you. Which one?"

"Honestly, Toph..." Not looking at her because then he'd see how happy she was because she'd been with The Duke and he really couldn't take that at the moment. "It's nothing important."

And with that, he got up with the intention of finding a hole and crawling into it. The young monk had lost too much not to have taken into account the many ways he could lose her.

The Air Nomad wasn't trying to be morbid, but part of his job as Avatar was learning to let go and he had made peace with the fact he would lose all his friends - his family, really - eventually. But of all the ways he envisioned parting with Toph, none involved another man. They would grow old traveling the world together. They would go down fighting, saving a town, saving lives. Someone like The Duke, swooping in to try and sweep Toph off her dirty, bare feet never even crossed Aang's mind.

He paused, the komodo rhino in the pit of his stomach grew cold and angry. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take Toph far away from the person that threatened their friendship, that threatened them. Except, there was no them. Not in the way he never knew he wanted until a few hours ago.

Now he understood why since the moment they arrived, the young Freedom Fighter had been monopolizing all of Toph's time. At the festival, The Duke took her to the best food stands, showed her the different games, and tried to get her to go on a few of the rides.

Aang hadn't given it much thought aside from not being too happy about it. He wanted to be the one to eat with Toph and play the fun games, but he knew not to ask her to get on any of the rides because she couldn't see while on them. As nice a guy as The Duke was, he didn't know Toph like Aang did. And that's what bothered him the most, how could he not have seen it before!?

"You done moping around? It's like you're channeling Sparky or something."

"I want to be alone right now, Toph."

"And I want another one of those fluffy cakes but the festival packed up and left already, so..." she grinned up at him. "We don't always get what we want, Twinkles."

Didn't he know it. The words hurt to hear, but he let them sink in. He'd been careless, taking her for granted, expecting her to stay with him like she had no other choice. But a girl like Toph would always have options. Not because she was beautiful and from a noble family. Not because she was truly the Greatest Earthbender in the World, but because she was smart and brave and a born fighter. She was loyal to a fault and the most stubborn person he knew. Spirits, if the choice wasn't offered, she'd find a way to take it anyway. That's the kind of person she was.

"Well, since you're not talking, you can sit and listen to me."

Without looking up at her, he sat down once more. This time on the ground, his back against the tree trunk. He had an idea what the conversation was going to be about, but they were friends before anything else and he would listen if she needed him to.

"Duke asked me to stay." She waited for his reaction, but there was none. "Here. In the forest. With him and the other Freedom Fighters," she added, sitting across from him on the other side of the fire.

The stars were bright up in the sky and he counted thirty of them before he felt he was able to speak. With a sigh, Aang finally looked at her. She was only a few steps away, but she'd never been farther.

"Yeah, I know," he replied, his breath catching as he watched the way the flames danced across her sightless eyes.

"You know?"

"He asked me not to go with you guys." Aang cleared his throat and looked away. "Said he wanted to talk to you alone."

Scowling, Toph hit the ground with the bottom of her foot, instantly sending the Avatar yelping up into the air.

"Thanks for the warning!"

He would have fallen with a painful thud, but his instincts kicked in. A gust of wind materialized to soften his landing.

Sitting back on her heels, the earthbender waited for him to explain. But he only stood there, watching her, not knowing what to say. Brows furrowed, she pulled her knees up to her chest, her expression filled with something like disappointment.

They sat in a heavy, awkward silence. He couldn't recall that ever happening before. As he rubbed the back of his bald head, Aang's gaze returned to Toph. They never had a problem striking up a conversation. Things like that were usually easy for them.

Not liking the strange distance he felt growing between them, he sought to end it. So, he walked around the fire to her side. When he sat down, she turned her face up to his. Aang spoke first.

"Did he tell you that he liked-?"

"Yep."

Her expression didn't change from the neutral mask she wore. Closing his eyes, he used his seismic sense to get a better read on her, but she gave nothing away.

"And what did you say to him?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper. Unconsciously, he held his breath as he waited for her answer.

Resting the side of her head against her knees, she drew random patterns on the ground between them with the tip of her finger.

"I wasn't mean, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not," he admitting, swallowing past the lump in his throat.

Matching knots formed in their stomachs.

"I told him I wasn't done traveling the world." And just like that, Aang could breathe again. "I'm not tired of it yet," she added, grabbing a handful of dirt.

To her surprise, he shuffled closer. His knee bumped the outside of her thigh and even in the dim firelight he could see the color that stained her cheeks when it happened.

"You think you will? Ever get tired of it, I mean."

So many thoughts entered his mind, a jumbled mess of possibilities and scenarios. He chided himself for not having realized sooner and wondered if she could possibly...? It was a possibility, right?

"Dunno," she answered honestly, shrugging one shoulder and letting the dirt fall to the ground. "All I know is that right now I'm not ready to stay in one place."

Sweet relief coursed through him. Aang couldn't help himself, he wrapped an arm around Toph, and tugged her close. It was obvious she wasn't expecting that by the grunting protest that escaped her, but she didn't pull away.

"Well, until you are, we can keep travelling together," he suggested and offered her his most sincere smile.

"Why not?" she grinned, resting her head on his shoulder. "Guess that wouldn't be so bad."

Aang had to agree, it wouldn't be bad at all.

AN: I'm kinda sad that Taang Week's over, but it was fun coming up with fic for all the different themes. Hope you all enjoyed it, too! =D