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The road had become familiar again.
Dusty paths beneath their feet, Appa's steady breathing during long stretches of travel, campfires under open skies, and the comfortable chaos that always seemed to follow the Gaang wherever they went. It felt almost like old times—except not quite.
There was something new. At first, nobody could quite put a finger on it.
It started small. Toph had always hated unnecessary closeness; or at least that was what she claimed. She cursed at people for crowding her, shoved Sokka away when he got too dramatic, and threatened to bury Aang waist-deep in dirt if he fussed over her one more time.
And yet lately, you kept finding Toph near you. Not casually or accidentally; close in a way that felt deliberate, planned. When you walked together, Toph somehow always drifted until her shoulder brushed your arm. When you sat down to eat, Toph dropped beside you with natural insistence, knees touching and sometimes her leg even resting atop yours. When Appa flew, Toph sat close enough that your bodies remained pressed together through most of the ride; she leaned her weight against you as if you were steadier than the saddle.
At first, you thought nothing of it, thought that maybe you were imagining it, even if it got your heart jumping into your mouth each time. Then, you felt Toph's fingers hook loosely into the fabric of your sleeve while you walked one afternoon. She held on for a while, until changing her grip to your wrist, and eventually, loosely tangling her fingers with yours.
You had nearly smiled yourself silly. That was no accident.
Toph, of course, acted like she had done nothing. She could sense the somersaults of your heartbeat while she held your hand, and a proud grin stretched her lips. “Got something to say, sweetness?” she asked, only for you to hear.
You shook your head softly, blaming the sunlight for the warmth on your cheeks. “Nope.”
Toph swung your joined hands back and forth. “Hmph.”
That should have been the end of it. Instead, it got worse. Or better. Depending on whom you ask.
Sokka, ever observant, was the first to notice.
Evening had settled on their camp for the night. The sky was painted in a mix of purples, blues, and oranges. Crickets could be heard on the surrounding grass, and during dinner, Sokka narrowed his eyes across the crackling fire.
Still munching on his food, he not-so-sneakily leaned over to his sister sitting just beside him. “Okay,” he said in a whisper, gesturing toward you and Toph across from him. “What's been going on with those two?”
Katara hummed curiously, and her eyes slowly followed where her brother had pointed. You sat on the dry dirt, leaning back on both your hands, and Toph had all but thrown herself onto you, her head leaning comfortably against your shoulder and one of her hands resting atop your raised knee as she talked, and you nodded along.
“What do you mean?” Katara teased, a small, knowing smile already on her lips.
Sokka threw her a comically wide-eyed look, “What do you mean what do I mean?” His voice rose in pitch; “Toph hasn't let go of her since we made camp.”
“I'm not holding onto anybody.” Toph's voice cut through the quiet, loud enough to be heard over the fire. When the eyes of everyone fell onto her, she had the largest smirk on her lips, chin raised proudly as she made no effort to move away from you. The hand she had resting on your knee squeezed once.
All you could muster was to focus your eyes down on the burning fire as you bit the inside of your cheek so hard it nearly drew blood. Toph was a solid, warm presence against your body, and it nearly got you dizzy. And acknowledging it out loud made you even more aware of it.
Sokka huffed, yet an amused smile broke the fake annoyance. He crossed his arms over his chest and wiggled his eyebrows even if Toph couldn't see it. “If you two have anything to share with the class, I'm all ears.”
Katara gently shoved her brother's shoulder, biting back a chuckle of her own; “Just leave them be, Sokka.”
Toph snorted. “You know I hate gossip.”
That was all anyone would get out of her. And somehow, Toph became even less subtle after that. As though once people started noticing, she had simply decided she didn't care. And maybe she didn't. Toph had never been good at pretending to be something she wasn't. If she wanted you close, she wanted you close. End of discussion.
That night, the camp settled into silence. The fire burned low, reduced to glowing embers and soft warmth against the chill. Appa snored nearby, with Momo sprawled on top of his fluffy fur. Someone—probably Sokka—mumbled incoherently in his sleep.
You were snuggled in blankets, half asleep, drifting in that soft place between dreaming and waking. Listening to the gentle lullaby of a night under the stars.
Then, you felt movement. Soft and careful. A familiar presence crossing the earth with feather-light steps only possible for someone who understood every vibration beneath her feet.
Before you could fully wake, warm fingers slipped beneath your blanket; you felt the touch on your waist first, bordering on tentative before it grew bolder. A warm hand sneaking beneath your shirt, feeling the shape of your waist, while your blankets ruffled and the weight of a familiar presence settled close beside you. Then came the kisses. Light, tender, sleepy little brushes of lips against your cheek. Those lips lingered there before moving to your jaw, and then lazily traced a path to the corner of your mouth.
Your eyes finally fluttered open. And Toph was already there, curled into your space. One arm wrapped tightly around your waist, skin to skin, pulling you close with startling possessiveness. Her body pressed firmly against yours like she had no intention of leaving even an inch between you two.
A sound escaped your lips, half a sleepy groan and half a lovesick chuckle. The faint light of the fire was enough for you to make out a vague image of Toph; the orange light softly highlighted the muscles of her bare arm, and her hair had been pulled completely free of her usual bun, now falling messily around her face and over your small pillow.
On the next heartbeat, Toph tucked her face against your neck. Her breathing was warm, her lips brushing over your pulse point and placing a sloppy kiss there. Quiet. Needy.
You blinked, feeling a shiver go up and down your whole body when the sensation of her mouth on you got your breath running shallow. “Toph…?”
Toph only tightened her hold. As if waking you had been necessary solely so you could consciously hold her back. Both her arms snaked around your waist, holding you with the sort of strength only she could pull off.
Your expression softened immediately, a shaky sigh finding its way past your lips. You slowly slid both arms around Toph, careful not to rustle the blankets too much or wake the others. One of your hands found her hair, burying itself in between the dark strands as you selfishly leaned in; your lips brushed over her hairline, and you breathed her in.
Toph melted. Actually melted. Her entire body loosened the moment you embraced her, though she remained firmly attached, one leg slipping in between yours as if anchoring herself there.
You felt a smile tug further at your lips. You brushed Toph's hair back, fingertips gentle against her scalp as you reciprocated the gesture, pulling her tighter into your embrace. “What's gotten into you lately?” you whispered, nothing but a breath against her skin.
Toph didn't answer right away. She burrowed closer instead. Her nose brushed your neck, tracing a path from your pulse point to right under your ear. One hand clutched at the back of your shirt, bunching the fabric; the other pressed half moons into your skin.
For someone who projected so much iron and stone to the world, moments like this always felt almost shocking. Toph could be so soft. So desperate for closeness. So quietly vulnerable sometimes.
Finally, Toph mumbled into your skin, voice rough with sleep and something rawer beneath it. “I jus' wanna be with you.”
The words were so simple. So unguarded that your heart clenched in your chest. Toph rarely asked for anything directly. Need, especially, was something she usually buried under sarcasm, teasing, or stubborn silence.
But not tonight. Now she was here, wrapped around you like she needed the reassurance of warmth and touch and presence.
You brushed your fingers along the extent of her bare arm, until you found her neck, and then the corner of her jaw. You swiped your thumb over the skin there. “I'm right here,” you promised in a hush.
Toph exhaled shakily. Her mouth hanging open against your neck and her warm breathing fanning over your collarbone. Her fingers loosened against your back the slightest bit.
Your hand on her jaw gently guided her up until you could press a kiss between her eyebrows, then another over her eyelids, then one to her temple.
Toph tilted her face upward and grumbled softly, despite the smile tugging at her lips. “You're being mushy.”
Your nose bumped hers when you mimicked her smile. “And you woke me up for cuddles.”
A pause. Toph's breathing stumbled audibly with a soft gasp when she felt how close you were. Her fingers dug a little more insistently into your skin when her mouth parted with quiet yearning. “… Maybe.” The word fell clumsily past her lips.
The most formidable earthbender she may be, but she crumbled like sand under your touch.
At last, you caught her lips with yours, barely muffling the soft moan that escaped Toph. Both your hands held onto her jaw, tangling with her long hair as the feel of her skin beneath your palms and the softness of her lips moving against yours got you utterly intoxicated.
Toph, in turn, pulled you painfully close. Her strong arms around your body allowed not even air to come between you; her fingers pressed against your spine, leaving gentle marks there as telltales of her need. Her nose pressed into your cheek as she kissed you, trying to come as close as physically possible. She caught your lower lip between both of hers, softly brushing her teeth over it before soothing with her tongue.
The kiss deepened by instinct rather than intention, a careful surrender neither of you had exactly planned. It was not hungry in the sharp, obvious sense. It was fuller than that. Slower, a little sloppy as you learned each other's shapes for the first time. It held the pressure of all the almosts that had gathered between you for weeks; the shared silences, the sidelong glances, the touches that had grown bolder and bolder because neither could have enough of the other.
Toph kissed you as though she had been trying not to for too many days, and the restraint had finally broken in the most beautiful possible way.
In the darkness, with everyone else asleep and the world quiet around you, Toph allowed herself to simply cling to you. Allowed her hands to roam over your body unabashedly. No walls, no sharp words, no armor. Just her claiming what was hers.
Eventually, after what felt like too long and not long enough of unhurried kisses, you felt Toph's breathing slowly begin to deepen. She fought it, but sleep gradually pulled her under.
And even asleep, Toph refused to loosen her grip on you. A grin came to your lips, still sensitive, as you felt the ghost of Toph's kisses. You adjusted your arm under her, bringing her head to rest over your shoulder.
Toph groaned sleepily when you shifted; her arm instinctively tightened. Possessive, even unconscious. You suppressed a soft laugh, rubbing slow circles into Toph's back and bringing the blankets closer around your tangled bodies, until sleep began to claim you, too.
The last thing you felt before drifting off was Toph nuzzling faintly into your neck, seeking warmth even in dreams. As though her body knew only one thing with absolute certainty.
Here. With you. This was where she wanted to be.
The next morning, you and Toph were rudely woken up by a ridiculously loud shout of Sokka's voice: “I KNEW IT!”