Chapter Text
Operation: Zutara — Introduction
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"Want to get in trouble with me, Carlos?"
― Simone Elkeles, Rules of Attraction
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It never made any sense to Toph how people could just beat around the bush so easily, as if it were normal. Discussing a problem without actually discussing the problem at hand and purposely evading a solution was not normal. It simply prolonged the situation and made things harder than they needed to be. There was nothing even remotely normal about beating around the bush, and even the phrase gave that away! Who the hell just went around beating so many bushes that a phrase had to be coined?
But the actual idea of beating around bushes, it just wasn't sound. Nothing about it even seemed sane. Nothing about it made any sense, not at all, and this bothered Toph. She approached every single one of her problems head-on and directly, because the longer one stalled, the longer the problem and situation would drag on—and who had the time for that? The most obvious solution would obviously be to not beat around the bush. Tackle that problem and move on with your life. Get shit done. And to see others actively avoiding such a simple solution with her own eyes...
Toph was absolutely disgusted.
But she couldn't look away for the life of her.
For the past two hours, she had been forced to watch the very act of 'beating around the bush.' Okay, fine. So she hadn't been forced (not technically, anyway), but she honestly couldn't look away because these two... They were good at it. Like, really good. It was almost like a train wreck. A really attractive one, topped with pretty hair. One would think that they had taken a class on beating around the bush with the way they were going at it—and it was making Toph's eyes burn with revulsion. The worst part of it all was that the two culprits were two of her closest friends, and they were making it blatantly obvious that they had a thing for each other.
And Toph was sitting right in the middle of it all. Literally. In the back of a freaking tea shop.
The only reason Toph had come to this tea shop in the first place was to meet up with Katara. The older woman offered to help her study for her anatomy test, and who wouldn't accept an offer like that from a nurse in training? Toph just didn't count on Zuko being there. Yes, this was his uncle's establishment, but the pretty boy was interfering with her study time.
Zuko raised a hand to comb his fingers through his hair, and the alarms immediately began to sound off inside of Toph's head. Nothing good would come from that subtle hair comb, because nothing good ever came from one of his stupid hair combings! All they brought were giggles and red faces and even more beating around the bush that Toph would no longer stand to watch!
"I'm going to get a drink," Toph mumbled underneath her breath as she scrambled to shut her textbook as quickly as she possibly could. Not that her two friends would notice, anyway. She tucked the book underneath her arm, stuck her pen right into the messy bun that sat on the nape of her neck, and slung her backpack over her shoulder as she stood to make her escape to the front counter. "Or something."
A low whistle sounded off behind her as she walked, prompting her to spin around to find the culprit. It was none other than Aang returning from making one of his table wiping rounds with a towel in hand. There was an impish smile on his face as he walked past her and through the double doors on the side of the counter, allowing him to resume his post as the barista.
He slung the towel over his shoulder before resting his elbows onto the counter. His smile grew. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to finally get up and leave those two."
"Twinkletoes!" she breathed out as she rushed for the counter. Relief immediately began to flood and overtake her senses, because this was a face that she needed to see: the best friend that she'd ever had ever since she had been three and he, four. "I've never been so happy to see you! I could just kiss you right now!"
Aang's face immediately brightened as he grinned. He blinked, then his smile fell as his brows knitted with disappointment. "I'm your best friend. How have you never been happy to see me?"
Toph snorted as she took a seat on a stool and set her textbook onto the counter. "Relax, baldy. I said that I've never been so happy to see you, not that I've never been happy to see you."
He crossed his arms. "That's not any better, you little brat."
"Hey, I'm not little, I'm—"
"Fun sized," they both said together before he continued. "I know. Everyone knows."
There was a pause.
"You're still a brat."
Toph rolled her eyes in annoyance, but a light chuckle did escape her. She couldn't stay mad at him for long; not seriously, anyway. "Hi, Twinkles."
His grin returned, the curving of his mouth as bright and warm as it always was. "Hey, T."
"I didn't know that you would be working today," she commented off-handedly.
"Yeah, well, there's a reason for that," he started with a sigh. He grabbed the towel from over his shoulder and began to wipe the counter down, most likely to give off the impression that he was working diligently. When he looked from side to side, this confirmed the suspicion. He met Toph's eyes. "Iroh has been complaining about you. He says that you're a distraction."
Toph simply scoffed. "That old man loves me. And besides, if anyone's a distraction, it's his nephew, Princess Glitter-Butt."
Aang laughed, doubling over a bit as he did so. "A new nickname, huh? What did Zuko do this time?"
"What didn't he do this time?" she declared as she slammed her hands onto the counter with a groan. "The only reason I'm here and not tucked into my bed, taking a well deserved nap, is because I need to study. Katara volunteered to help me study for this anatomy test coming up this week, but then Princess Fire-Brains showed up and threw all of her concentration off! I mean, how hard is it to tell someone that you like them? 'Hi, I'm Katara. Hey, I'm Zuko. Wanna bang?' They're old, they should already know how to do this!"
The two friends turned their attention onto Zuko and Katara.
Zuko combed his fingers through his hair.
Katara said something that an onlooker could only guess was funny with the way that Zuko just laughed.
They both turned red.
Toph sneered. "Dis—gusting."
"Huh," Aang spoke with an air of admiration. "Zuko's skin tone is already naturally on the reddish side. It's pretty impressive how she can get him a little redder than normal. I wonder if Iroh will say that Katara's a distraction."
Toph met his eyes with a laugh. "Twinkletoes, I'm distressed here. Don't make me laugh."
He shrugged as that impish quirk touched his lips again as he slowed his wiping down just a bit. "I can't help that I'm a natural born comedian. But you can't really blame those two for skirting around their feelings like this. They've known each other for such a long time, and that probably makes it all feel so new to them—"
"Yawn."
"—and not everyone is as reckless as Toph Beifong—"
"Everyone should be as reckless as Toph Bei—"
"—besides, what are you going to do?" he continued with a dismissive laugh. "Play Cupid?"
Toph arched a brow, mouth open and all.
The smile on Aang's face slowly began to fade away and the counter wiping came to an immediate halt. He swallowed and looked around before bracing his hands onto the counter and leaning into her space. He shook his head a bit desperately. "T. Please."
She ignored that. Playing Cupid? That had to be the best idea Aang had ever come up with in the sixteen years she had known him. Matchmaking had never been her area of expertise, but it wasn't like pairing those two idiots together would be hard. They were already paired up, so all the hard work was done and over with. All she had to do was give them a little push and get them to finally admit their feelings for each other.
"Like Cupid."
Aang's head fell forward as he looked to the ground. "Toph. I am begging you. Zuko is twenty-four and Katara is twenty-two. They are old enough and more than capable of taking care of something like this by themselves."
Toph grinned at the top of his head as the motors in her brain began to churn. There was no turning back now that he had put the idea into her head, and she was sure that he knew it. "Twinkles, Princess Sparkly-Pants is twenty-four and Katara is twenty-two, and they still can't get their act together. We have every right to get into their business and play Cupid."
Aang immediately looked up to meet her eyes. "You can't use my words against me like that."
She snorted. "Says who?"
"Says me!"
"You're the one who gave me this idea!"
"I didn't think that you'd go this far with it!"
"Oh, what did you expect?!"
Aang watched her carefully, his fingers gripping and ungripping the edge of the counter. He released a slow sigh through his nostrils. "I can see those wheels turning inside that pretty little head of yours. You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?"
Toph grinned. That was what he always said before giving in. "I'm a girl. It's my job."
He bit the inside of his cheek, and it became quite clear that he was fighting a smile off. As much as he liked to chastise his best friend for being so reckless and troublesome, they both knew that he could be just as bad whenever he wanted to be. His eyes observed the area around them before he released his grip on the counter and stood up straight. He tapped the tip of her nose and pointed at her textbook.
"I'll help you study once I clock out."
"Which is?"
"Ten minutes."
"And then, Operation: Zutara is a go?"
His face scrunched up in disbelief. "You already came up with a name? For both the couple and this? And it's an operation? T., we're not the CIA!"
"You're right. We're better."
"Toph!"
She laughed at his dismay. Honestly, he made messing with him so much fun. "Come on, you're my best friend. If you're not my partner in crime, who else would be able to take your spot? And live?"
They watched each other, the sounds of the tea shop fueling their staring match before Aang finally conceded with a sigh.
"Then, Operation: Zutara is a go."
"You're the best."
"You're trouble."
Toph simply laughed as Aang continued to fight the smiles away.