Pieces - Prompt #5 Avatar: The Last Airbender General Series
Title: Pieces
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Toph and Sokka (friendship) and the Bei Fongs
Prompt: #5 - Anxiety
Word Count: 1,196
Rating: G
Summary: Toph had no idea what to expect.
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.
Table of Prompts: Qwi_Xux's Avatar Prompts
Prompt #5: Anxiety
"You don't have to come with me." Toph slung her pack over her shoulder and turned her head in the direction where she felt Sokka hopping up and down on one foot, dumping a rock out of his shoe.
"Yeah, yeah, I know you can take care of yourself." Sokka put a hand on her back and nudged her toward the ship. "But I already said goodbye to Suki and she's going to be busy training like a crazy rat-monkey the next couple of weeks anyway."
"Gee, Sokka, it's so nice to know that you're coming with me because your girlfriend doesn't have time for you." Toph smirked as she crossed the ramp and jumped onto the ship, knowing her words would get an indignant reaction from Sokka.
"That's not what I meant!" Sokka exclaimed, his footsteps thunking loudly as he followed her. "And Suki always has time for me!" When he spoke next, it was in a more serious voice. "You shouldn't have to do this alone." He nudged her with his elbow. "So let's hurry up and get this boat going. Captain!" His voice and footsteps faded as he headed deeper into the ship to find the captain and tell him they were ready to go.
Toph walked up to the railing and turned her face against the wind. There was part of her that had been reluctant to have Sokka come along to her parents' house with her, part of her that wanted to face them alone and show them who she was now. She really didn't know if they would listen. The first time she had showed them who she was, she had scared them and they had wanted to stifle her more, but she didn't know if that would have changed in the months that she had been gone. Could it have changed? Would they welcome her as she was, or would they shun her?
Were they proud of her? Could they be proud of her?
Sighing, Toph turned away from the railing and tried to put her anxiety out of mind, without much success. She wouldn't know until she faced them.
:--:--:
"Toph. It's gonna be okay."
A bag was pressed into her hands--her bag, from the feel of it. She slung it over her shoulder and walked with Sokka over the familiar ground of the outskirts of Gaoling. It hadn't even been a year since she had left, and everything felt so different. She was different.
Toph opened her mouth to give Sokka a smart-aleck response, but her retort turned into more of a muffled, "Yeah." She dug her toe into the earth, feeling it ripple with the nudge she gave it. She had walked this ground before. She had walked under this exact spot before, actually, on her way to and from the Earth Rumble tournaments.
"Look, if they can't accept who you are after all this time and everything you've done--" Sokka began.
"They're stubborn people." Toph shook her head. "My dad's stubborn. Where do you think I got it from? He's as hard-headed as I am."
"And you've been gone a long time."
"Exactly. Look, can we just stop talking about it? I don't need one of your therapy sessions. Save those for Aang." Toph's stomach was an absolute knot of now. The worst scenarios were running through her mind. Maybe the guards wouldn't even let her on the estate. Maybe her father would refuse to see her.
Every step took her closer to the place that had once been her home. Well, maybe not a home so much as a house. It had been stifling and frustrating, but she had never doubted her parents' love for her. Still, as much as people like Katara could spout ideal talk of unconditional love and hope and happily-ever-afters, but Toph was more practical than optimistic. And in a practical world, she was more of a stranger to her family than ever.
Sokka was rambling and Toph was only half listening as they approached the gates of the Bei Fong estate. She immediately recognized the approaching footsteps of Hun Li, a guard who had known her most of her life.
"Toph?" His voice was surprised and his footsteps came to a halt. "Toph! By the spirits, you came back!"
Toph remained stiff; she was afraid if she moved too much, all the roiling anxiety in her stomach would cause her to spew her lunch all over the ground. She felt ridiculous. She was a strong person; she had faced firebenders and falling off airships and imprisonment. Yet this close to her parents, she was reduced to feeling like the smothered, misunderstood girl she had been.
She felt pressure from Sokka's hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged it off, trying to assure him she was fine and could walk into her parents' (if Hun Li let her) without looking weak.
And she thought Sokka would understand. He was her best friend; he understood a lot of things about her without her ever speaking. Clearing her throat, Toph announced, "I've come to see my parents."
"Of course. Come with me. Your parents are in the gardens." As Hun Li led the way through the gate and onto the grounds, Toph heard and felt the other guards as they passed. "You're quite a legend around here," Hun Li said as they approached the gardens. "Everyone around here has heard the stories of how you taught the Avatar earthbending and helped him defeat the Firelord."
"I bet my father was thrilled about that," Toph muttered under her breath.
"Your father--" But Hun Li stopped, and Toph knew why. She would know the feel of her father's feet on the ground anywhere. He was standing in what had always been Toph's favorite part of the gardens, and there was her mother, seated on a bench with her slippers just brushing against the earth.
Toph turned her face in the direction she felt them and knew she had been spotted when her father said, "Toph."
She didn't know what he was feeling--anger or hurt or sadness or anything; his tone was blank.
"Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom." Toph took a deep breath and plunged into words that she had been going over and over in her head for a long time. "I know you're probably mad at me. I know I hurt you when I left, and you might not want me here, but I--"
She was cut off abruptly when her father's strong arms enfolded her and her face was pressed against him. "Toph," he repeated, and this time she could hear the relief in his voice. Then her mother was there, hugging her and crying.
Toph had no idea what would come next, but right now, the next few minutes didn't seem as important. For at least this brief moment, the distance between her and her parents had closed. Maybe there would be admonishments and arguments and maybe the gap between them would widen again, but all that mattered was that her parents were welcoming her instead of banishing her.
And that was a good start.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Toph and Sokka (friendship) and the Bei Fongs
Prompt: #5 - Anxiety
Word Count: 1,196
Rating: G
Summary: Toph had no idea what to expect.
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.
Table of Prompts: Qwi_Xux's Avatar Prompts
Prompt #5: Anxiety
"You don't have to come with me." Toph slung her pack over her shoulder and turned her head in the direction where she felt Sokka hopping up and down on one foot, dumping a rock out of his shoe.
"Yeah, yeah, I know you can take care of yourself." Sokka put a hand on her back and nudged her toward the ship. "But I already said goodbye to Suki and she's going to be busy training like a crazy rat-monkey the next couple of weeks anyway."
"Gee, Sokka, it's so nice to know that you're coming with me because your girlfriend doesn't have time for you." Toph smirked as she crossed the ramp and jumped onto the ship, knowing her words would get an indignant reaction from Sokka.
"That's not what I meant!" Sokka exclaimed, his footsteps thunking loudly as he followed her. "And Suki always has time for me!" When he spoke next, it was in a more serious voice. "You shouldn't have to do this alone." He nudged her with his elbow. "So let's hurry up and get this boat going. Captain!" His voice and footsteps faded as he headed deeper into the ship to find the captain and tell him they were ready to go.
Toph walked up to the railing and turned her face against the wind. There was part of her that had been reluctant to have Sokka come along to her parents' house with her, part of her that wanted to face them alone and show them who she was now. She really didn't know if they would listen. The first time she had showed them who she was, she had scared them and they had wanted to stifle her more, but she didn't know if that would have changed in the months that she had been gone. Could it have changed? Would they welcome her as she was, or would they shun her?
Were they proud of her? Could they be proud of her?
Sighing, Toph turned away from the railing and tried to put her anxiety out of mind, without much success. She wouldn't know until she faced them.
:--:--:
"Toph. It's gonna be okay."
A bag was pressed into her hands--her bag, from the feel of it. She slung it over her shoulder and walked with Sokka over the familiar ground of the outskirts of Gaoling. It hadn't even been a year since she had left, and everything felt so different. She was different.
Toph opened her mouth to give Sokka a smart-aleck response, but her retort turned into more of a muffled, "Yeah." She dug her toe into the earth, feeling it ripple with the nudge she gave it. She had walked this ground before. She had walked under this exact spot before, actually, on her way to and from the Earth Rumble tournaments.
"Look, if they can't accept who you are after all this time and everything you've done--" Sokka began.
"They're stubborn people." Toph shook her head. "My dad's stubborn. Where do you think I got it from? He's as hard-headed as I am."
"And you've been gone a long time."
"Exactly. Look, can we just stop talking about it? I don't need one of your therapy sessions. Save those for Aang." Toph's stomach was an absolute knot of now. The worst scenarios were running through her mind. Maybe the guards wouldn't even let her on the estate. Maybe her father would refuse to see her.
Every step took her closer to the place that had once been her home. Well, maybe not a home so much as a house. It had been stifling and frustrating, but she had never doubted her parents' love for her. Still, as much as people like Katara could spout ideal talk of unconditional love and hope and happily-ever-afters, but Toph was more practical than optimistic. And in a practical world, she was more of a stranger to her family than ever.
Sokka was rambling and Toph was only half listening as they approached the gates of the Bei Fong estate. She immediately recognized the approaching footsteps of Hun Li, a guard who had known her most of her life.
"Toph?" His voice was surprised and his footsteps came to a halt. "Toph! By the spirits, you came back!"
Toph remained stiff; she was afraid if she moved too much, all the roiling anxiety in her stomach would cause her to spew her lunch all over the ground. She felt ridiculous. She was a strong person; she had faced firebenders and falling off airships and imprisonment. Yet this close to her parents, she was reduced to feeling like the smothered, misunderstood girl she had been.
She felt pressure from Sokka's hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged it off, trying to assure him she was fine and could walk into her parents' (if Hun Li let her) without looking weak.
And she thought Sokka would understand. He was her best friend; he understood a lot of things about her without her ever speaking. Clearing her throat, Toph announced, "I've come to see my parents."
"Of course. Come with me. Your parents are in the gardens." As Hun Li led the way through the gate and onto the grounds, Toph heard and felt the other guards as they passed. "You're quite a legend around here," Hun Li said as they approached the gardens. "Everyone around here has heard the stories of how you taught the Avatar earthbending and helped him defeat the Firelord."
"I bet my father was thrilled about that," Toph muttered under her breath.
"Your father--" But Hun Li stopped, and Toph knew why. She would know the feel of her father's feet on the ground anywhere. He was standing in what had always been Toph's favorite part of the gardens, and there was her mother, seated on a bench with her slippers just brushing against the earth.
Toph turned her face in the direction she felt them and knew she had been spotted when her father said, "Toph."
She didn't know what he was feeling--anger or hurt or sadness or anything; his tone was blank.
"Hi, Dad. Hi, Mom." Toph took a deep breath and plunged into words that she had been going over and over in her head for a long time. "I know you're probably mad at me. I know I hurt you when I left, and you might not want me here, but I--"
She was cut off abruptly when her father's strong arms enfolded her and her face was pressed against him. "Toph," he repeated, and this time she could hear the relief in his voice. Then her mother was there, hugging her and crying.
Toph had no idea what would come next, but right now, the next few minutes didn't seem as important. For at least this brief moment, the distance between her and her parents had closed. Maybe there would be admonishments and arguments and maybe the gap between them would widen again, but all that mattered was that her parents were welcoming her instead of banishing her.
And that was a good start.