The Feeling of Fire

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/26169235.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/F
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Relationship: Toph Beifong/mute!fem!firebender!reader
Character: Aang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Sokka (Avatar), Toph
Beifong
Additional Tags: Fluff, BAMF Toph, BAMF Reader, POV Third Person, Alternate
Universe - Canon Divergence, Minor Sokka/Suki
Stats: Published: 2020-08-29 Completed: 2021-06-17 Chapters: 8/8 Words:
9497

The Feeling of Fire

by Snekki_Boi

Summary

(Y/N) was dismissed of her assassination duties in the Fire Nation. After Prince Zuko left
his father, the Firelord grew more and more irritable. He would eliminate all his forefront
soldiers and replace them. So (Y/N) escaped and traveled away from the heart of the nation,
uncertain of what to do. That is, until she met someone to help her find her own path.

Note: Everything fits the timeline except all the characters are older.

Notes

Here ya go, Shadow. Made special just for you, my good friend! Happy reading!
 Chapter 1

The sun was beginning to set. (Y/N) had been walking for hours now without stop for food or
water. She was used to this from all her intensive training to be the best weapon for the Fire
Nation. But now she wandered aimlessly with no home and no family to return to. Firelord Ozai
was careless in his supervision. (Y/N) took pride in herself for slipping away. The rest of the
assassins that worked alongside her were not so lucky. She stayed away from paths to avoid
detection, steps as sure and silent as the shadows that fell over her frame. The only thing that
stopped her was someone yelling in the distance. Startled, (Y/N) followed the sound, her hearing
much better than most. When she got close to the sound, she finally registered that the yelling
wasn't from a girl in distress. It was actually cusses and annoyed commentary. (Y/N) dropped to
the ground, hidden behind the thicket of brush to observe.

"COME ON, YOU SMELLY OLD SOCKS! YOU CALL YOURSELF SOLDIERS?" the girl in
the middle shouted tauntingly with a smile. Her eyes were glazed over, though she stood with the
pride of a hundred Fire Nation troops. She must've been no older than seventeen, around my age.

Three of the ten soldiers advanced on her, arms ready to send out waves of all-consuming fire. But
the girl remained where she was, composure not anymore changed than if a bug flew past her. Just
as the firebenders raised their hands, the girl slid her foot out, displacing the earth and sending the
soldiers flying with rocks jutting out the ground. In one smooth succession, the girl pulled rocks off
the ground and smashed them into the rest of the soldiers, crushing them with a thick cloud in their
wake.

"That's what I thought! Losers!" She rested her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out, though
it wasn't exactly in the direction of the crushed men.

Intrigued, (Y/N) jumped out from her hiding place. The moment her foot hit the ground, a rock was
sent flying at her. She ducked, dodging it narrowly. It whizzed past her hair and smashed into the
ground behind her.

"More of you? Really?" She crossed her arms, clearly ready to destroy her.

(Y/N) shook her head, though that was useless because the girl couldn't see, obviously. (Y/N)
looked around quickly to see what she could use to communicate, but there was only the forest and
nothing else.

"Alright, let's get this over with!" She raised a fist, bringing a heavy boulder up from the earth.

(Y/N) panicked, making useless puffs of air with her throat. She hissed in frustration and sat on the
ground, plopping in a defeated position.

The girl made a bewildered expression. "What the--? What's wrong with you? Did you die out of
fear?" She dropped her boulder, making the earth tremble a little.

Out of the corner of her eye, (Y/N) saw a soldier getting up. He brandished a sword from his belt.
(Y/N) jumped to her feet and spewed fire at him, singeing his hair and burning away his uniform.
He screamed in fright and pain, stumbling away and running.

"Hey!" the girl cried, pointing at a rock that she thought was her. "You just bent fire! You're a
soldier! Why did you help me?!"

(Y/N) tried to tell her that she couldn't speak, but her throat only yielded to more puffs of air.
"Why do you keep blowing air at me!" she said, turning towards her.

"TOPH! TOPH!" a voice shouted with its owner running towards the girl from the distance, along
with a few others.

(Y/N) startled, running off. But the earth swallowed her feet. She hissed more air out through her
teeth, trying to beat the rocks open with her fists. The group stopped when they got close enough to
see her. She tilted her head up, surprised to see Prince Zuko and the Avatar.

"A Fire Nation soldier!" the man who called out the girls name cried, pulling out a boomerang.

(Y/N) struggled against the rocks holding her feet down, but they were sealed firmly shut. She was
trapped and helpless.

"Not just any Fire Nation soldier," Prince Zuko said, examining her tattered uniform. "She's an
elite assassin."

"Then why would she attack her own allies?" Toph asked. "She burned one of them. I heard it. And
smelled it. The soldier ran off."

"Did you see which way he went?" the boomerang guy asked.

"Yeah, over there!" Toph said enthusiastically, pointing upwards.

"That's not possible."

"Well, to me, it would have been entirely possible because I can't see!" She waved her hand
frantically in front of her own face. "I can't tell, Sokka!"

"Alright," the one other girl said, putting her hands up in a disarming motion. "He's sorry, Toph.
Now let's try not to get into anymore arguments. We're wasting time."

"What are you doing here?" Prince Zuko asked me, skeptical.

(Y/N) shook her head, tapping at her throat. She opened her mouth and let out useless huffs of air.

"Right. You're mute. Just like the rest of the assassins."

"All your assassins are mute?" the Avatar asked, circling her curiously.

"Not all of them. Just the elite. They're trained under harsh conditions. My father made sure they
couldn't speak when they're done, to ensure that if one of them got captured, the enemy wouldn't
know anything." Zuko's eyes shone with pity for a second, then he seemed to brush it away,
leaning away from me. "But they're still deadly. The most lethal of all ranking soldiers. Even I've
only really heard stories of them, of how they're heartless weapons, commanded directly by Father
himself."

(Y/N) shook her head frantically in protest, scowling.

Zuko looked surprised by that. "Well, I guess they could've also just been stories to scare kids."

Toph approached me, touching my face. I froze, letting her hands map out what I looked like. She
felt along my hair, making me blush. I wasn't exactly in the best conditions, considering I had been
wandering around the middle of nowhere for weeks, living off of hunted animals and weeds. She
stepped back away from me and shrugged.
"Seems alright, I guess," she said.

"What? You just touched her face! Don't tell me you have a hidden, mystical, rare bending for the
moral compass!" Sokka shouted.

"She did attack a Fire Nation soldier," Toph said, releasing my feet. "I think she's alright! Besides,
at least I won't be the only one now."

"But how would you communicate?" the girl asked.

(Y/N) smiled and made a tapping gesture on her own arm.

"I've been told they have their own way of communicating with each other," Zuko said. "I think it
was two taps on the arm for disagreement and one tap for agreement. Right?"

(Y/N)'s grin grew wider and she tapped once on Zuko's arm, just above his elbow, while nodding.

"Cool," the Avatar said. "Anything else?"

"Alright, wait," the other girl said, pulling the Avatar back a bit. "How do we know we can trust
her? What if the Firelord sent her to find us and kill Aang?"

That was a very valid concern, (Y/N) thought. She deflated, unable to know how to answer in a
way that would get them to trust her. She spent weeks out on her own with no purpose. She didn't
want to wander aimlessly in the woods for an eternity. Her frown deepened at the thought.

"Why are you here?" Prince Zuko asked, pooling everyone's attention back onto (Y/N).

"How's she going to answer that one, genius?" Toph asked sarcastically.

"Could she write it out?" Aang suggested with a shrug.

(Y/N) nodded, gesturing her hands for ink and paper. Aang scratched his head, looking sheepish.

"We don't have any," Sokka said.

(Y/N) frowned, hopeless.

 Chapter 2
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Under agreement that (Y/N) remained bound in rope, she was allowed to stay with the Gaang.
Sokka and Aang separated from the group to look for food around the forest while Prince Zuko and
the girls stayed at their temporary camp to set things up. It was just a small opening, no bigger than
a glade, in the middle of the forest. The sun created a crescent of spring heat, drawing out the
smells of the surrounding flora. A few flowers dared to cluster around the area, waving their
colorful petals in greeting to whoever and whatever.

(Y/N) sat aside the camp to be kept out of trouble, ropes coiled around her torso and looped over
her wrists and ankles. She shuffled a finger through the dirt to draw out random snippets of
memory that she collected through her work over time. They were messy. To others, they made no
sense. But to (Y/N), it was the make-up of her life, a number-less clock that dated back decades in
her timeline.

"What're you scribbling?" Toph asked suddenly, crouching beside the crowded drawings. Her
clothes were still dusty and singed from her fight. "Is it a thing you like?"

(Y/N) considered that question hard before tapping Toph's arm thrice.

"What does that mean? You're not sure?"

She tapped her arm once: yes.

Toph smiled in victory. "So you don't know if you like this drawing? Why draw it then? Is it
important to you?"

One tap: yes.

"What is it? Family?"

Two taps: no.

"Am I close, at least?"

One tap: yes.

"Toph," Katara called, approaching stiffly. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be helping
set the tents up. It's going to rain soon."

"Relax, princess. I'm just checking up on our new friend," Toph replied, standing up straight on her
feet again. "She's an artist!"

Katara stared down at the ground with furrowed brows, clearly unimpressed. "Sure. If you enjoy
nonsensical, squiggly lines."

(Y/N) glared at her. Toph patted her shoulder, which calmed her down.

"Don't worry about her," Toph said. "She's just upset that she's not getting enough attention now
that you're here."
Katara growled and stormed off, muttering curses under her breath. A stream of water lashed out
over Toph's back, effectively shoving her to fall face-first into the ground. (Y/N) rolled over and
softened Toph's fall with her own body before she could fall fully, grunting slightly at her weight.
Toph made a noise of frustration while pushing herself up, helping (Y/N) back up too.

"Thanks," she said genuinely before quickly walking off to take her revenge on Katara.

(Y/N) silently wished her luck.

...

Nightfall. After dinner with nuts and berries and a fish that Sokka managed to catch, everyone
settled down to go to bed. Sokka's snores filled the air. Appa's breaths rumbled the trees. (Y/N)
awoke from her meditative position and carefully unknotted the ropes around her, slipping away
towards the sound of a river. The snaking waters glimmered beneath the dim moonlight, reflecting
the stars. A few calls of nightly creatures sang with the gushing ripples. It was peace at its finest in
the wild.

(Y/N) took a knee and scooped up a handful of water, drinking it down greedily. Droplets of water
clung to the ends of her hair and followed gravity down to her chin. A few ways off, she heard
footsteps approaching her. She took another sip of water before disappearing up a tree, hiding in
the shadows of the taller branches. The leaves would fan out like the wings of a bird mid-flight,
sending breezes dancing through the sky.

"I know you're here. I saw you jump. I felt it."

(Y/N) peaked out from the shadows when she realized it was Toph's voice. Her posture relaxed
immediately and she jumped down, kneeling to show that she meant no harm.

"It's fine," she said, smiling at the river. "I wouldn't wanna be tied up either."

(Y/N) went up to her carefully and took her hand, coaxing her to crouch. She wrote into the dirt
with Toph's finger.

"Why," she read out loud. "Are. You. So. Kind. To. Me."

(Y/N) tapped her arm once in joy. Yes.

Toph shrugged. "Dunno. There's just something about you that seems... believable. Maybe it's
because I like how steady your heartbeat is. It's a little scary. Even when you were angry, your
heart was calm. That either makes you the biggest liar in the world or the calmest person to ever
exist. I mean, bets on the first thing, but I don't know. You seem pretty cool, I guess. Plus, you did
help me with that Fire Nation soldier."

(Y/N) took her hand again, but Toph resisted.

"Just write," the earthbender said. "I'll read it with my feet."

So she did, scrawling messy words into the dirt. "We were disbanded. The Firelord would have
killed me, if I hadn't left. But me being alive is treason. He'll be looking for me."
 "You still living is illegal?" Toph laughed. "I mean, that's kinda cool. You're like a natural rebel."

(Y/N) stopped to consider her next words carefully. She wrote, "I never knew my family. I was
sold to the Firelord at such a young age that I don't remember faces. They called it training, but we
weren't really trained. We were broken. Most of us don't even make it through to the end. We either
die off from the stress or go insane and get killed off. They never allowed us to make friends
during that time, knowing that we would come to hate the training if any relations were to have
died."

"Wow." Toph sat down, feet scuffing a patch of grass. "That sounds awful."

"I don't want anyone else to go through what I did." (Y/N) suddenly realized that there were tears
slipping out from beneath her lashes. It was strange to her, because it was a rarity for her to cry.
She had been trained to show no emotions.

"Hey," Toph said, reaching out to touch her face. "Wet? You're crying."

(Y/N) sniffed and drew back, wiping her tears away aggressively. It wouldn't do to have someone
see her in that vulnerable state. She had to be impassive, emotionless, unaffected.

"I ran away from home," Toph said, catching her attention again. "It was scary, not really knowing
what's out there. But it got really fun. I think you'll be okay."

"What on earth are you two doing?"

Toph and (Y/N) jumped, too caught up in the moment of a genuine exchange that they didn't hear
Katara approaching. Her hands were firmly on her hips and a strict, skeptical expression covered
her face.

"Talking, kind of," Toph said, standing up to her full height. "She was just thirsty, so I took her to
get a drink of water."

"Nice try." Katara shot (Y/N) a glare. "But I saw her escaping the ropes and sneaking out! What if
she had hurt us? Or worse, killed the Avatar?!"

"But she didn't," Toph retaliated, stepping closer to Katara as a challenge. "She was thirsty and
went to drink some water!" She stamped a foot down, cracking the earth beneath it in frustration.
"So go back to sleep, water tribe princess!"

"What's wrong with you?!" Katara glanced between her and (Y/N), baffled. "Why do you keep
defending her?"

"Because she's my only chance of having someone around here who understands me!" The earth
beneath her cracked even more, displacing rocks and dirt and even jostling the river somewhat.
Toph huffed, walking off. "Whatever."

A slew of emotions ran through (Y/N) at once, overwhelming her. She had never felt so many
emotions so strongly at once. She loved it. She hated it. Putting it aside to process later, (Y/N) ran
after Toph, disappearing up the trees to catch up fast. Katara was left behind with a bit of guilt that
hollowed out her chest. Only the night winds seemed to notice and whistled their consolidation.

Chapter End Notes

Okay, for all y’all that caught onto the fact that Toph does not know how to read,
hush! I forgot that very important tidbit cuz I’m an idiot so we’re just gonna say that
she, at some point in her life in this AU, learned the strokes of the characters and knew
to sense it when (Y/N) was writing. I know I’m a complete dunce for forgetting that,
but I’m sorry; we’re just gonna have to roll with it. Otherwise, happy reading!
 Chapter 3

(Y/N) jumped in front of Toph, stopping her in her tracks. The earthbender curled her fists,
demanding that she moved out of her way.

Two taps: no.

Toph took a fighting stance and snarled once more, “Move! Last warning!”

Still, (Y/N) tapped her arm twice: no. Toph jerked her head aside, sliding (Y/N) out of her path in
the same direction. She continued to walk, but (Y/N) didn’t give up. The firebender rushed to
block Toph again, but her feet were caught by strong earth.

“Leave me alone!” Toph shouted, starting to run.

(Y/N), in a desperate last attempt, crouched and gripped the rocks around her feet tight, palms
blazing white hot flames. Her ankles stung and her feet burned as the rocks melted. She hissed
painful air through her teeth and took off into a run, disregarding the pain shooting up her legs.
Eventually, she found Toph huddled behind a fallen tree, moving pebbles around with a waving
finger.

“You just don’t give up, do you?”

(Y/N) tapped her shoulder twice: no. She smiled and concealed a wince as she got closer to Toph,
sitting before her. Toph sniffed, frowning.

“Did you burn your feet? To get free?”

(Y/N), reluctantly, tapped her arm once: yes. The warmth of her skin made (Y/N)’s fingertips
tingle.

“Sorry.” Toph frowned deeply, making her face look older with worry and guilt.

“It doesn’t hurt as much as it looks,” (Y/N) wrote by Toph’s feet.

“I hope so,” she muttered, not any less upset. “I’ll trust your judgement, I guess. Although I have
my doubts still, we’ll leave it at that.”

A moment of silence passed. (Y/N) gave Toph the moment to reflect and think over things. Then
she wrote into the ground again, flicking up dust as she did so.

“How did I learn to read?” Toph read aloud, smiling a small smile at the change in subject. “I
asked Zuko to teach me what the strokes feel like so that I might try to write. I still can’t write,
obviously. But at least I learned, mostly, what most of the strokes feel like. But I’m still not
familiar with all of them. It’s a bit hard so I have to guess what you’re trying to say. Seems like I
haven’t been wrong yet.”

(Y/N) nodded, tapping her arm once. Yes.

“We could add to your tapping system,” Toph suggested.

Eagerly, (Y/N) tapped on her shoulder again once. Yes.

“Alright! Let’s start with the most common phrases and words. ‘Sorry’. ‘Thank you’. And ‘there’s
trouble’. What do you want to do for ‘sorry’?”

(Y/N) thought it over before settling with sliding one finger over Toph’s arm.

“Starting off simple. Awesome. What’s next?”

...

Dawn broke with the first early rays of pale gold. The clouds softened with the stretch of light.
(Y/N) dozed every few minutes while Toph fell asleep for hours. She kept careful note of every
sound, identifying them for their safety and making sure no footsteps got too near. Once the edge
of the sun rose, (Y/N) carefully picked Toph up and carried her back to camp, knowing that the rest
of the Gaang would be worried about her.

“The hell’s happening?” Toph mumbled groggily, squinting at (Y/N).

She drew an invisible circle into Toph’s arm. Don’t worry.

Toph mumbled something under her breath and fell back asleep. (Y/N) softened at the sight as she
grew closer to the camp, a narrow stream of campfire smoke marking their location. When she
entered the clearing, Sokka was hanging out of his sleeping bag, foot stuck out of his tent. Katara
was already awake, stoking the embers. Zuko was already packing up his tent. He stopped when he
noticed Toph in (Y/N)’s arms.

“Where did you guys go?” he asked, frowning.

Katara couldn’t meet (Y/N)’s gaze. The firebender kicked up a sleeping bag and set Toph over it.
She gestured a hand to herself and Toph and pointed into the forest.

“Right. All night long. Well, I’m glad you’re not lost or anything then.” Zuko looked over her.
“What happened to your feet?”

(Y/N) shook her head, leaving it up to him to interpret what that meant. She didn’t want to explain,
picking up the coiled rope and tying herself with it. Zuko looked puzzled and Katara finally raised
her head from the dying embers. The sun inched higher in the sky, carrying a warm breeze with it.
(Y/N) ignored the confused looks she got and rolled over, falling asleep on the dirt. Eventually,
she'd have to wake up and join the Gaang up in the air with their flying bison. Eventually, she'd
have to wake up to enter the nearest town under disguise with the Gaang. But at that moment,
(Y/N) needed only to doze off long enough for a kiss with the darkness.

...

"This motel is the only place we could stay without drawing attention. Just until we can get enough
food to head out again," Sokka said with a map opened in his hands. He was so focused on it that
he walked right into the wall. "Ouch!"

Katara, Aang, and Toph laughed. Zuko only cracked a smile.

"Okay, haha, laugh at my suffering," Sokka said bitterly, stuffing the map into his bag. "Anyway,
this is it. The motel. Someone get us a room while I go into town and get some food."

"I'll go with you," Zuko said, pulling a hat on. "I know my way around the people. Mostly."

"Sure," Sokka said, turning to head into town.

"Wait!" Katara pulled a folded outfit from Appa's saddle. "You can't waltz into the town looking
like a member of the water tribe."

Sokka accepted the outfit and went behind the building to change.

"Well, we technically can't go in the motel looking like we do anyway," Aang said. "Besides, I
need to cover up my arrows. We still have our old outfits that we took?"

"Yep." Katara took them out. She eyed (Y/N) with the ropes untied from around her. It was too
suspicious to have her walking around while tied up. "Maybe you should change too. Tattered
clothes don't really fit well into the crowd."

(Y/N) nodded her head and waved, disappearing into the outskirts and following the shadows into
town. There was the humble bustle of people on their way to work. She found a decent dress and
pin for her hair. Along the way back, (Y/N) snuck into a rich-looking household to steal the bath.
She was fast and quiet, only doing what's necessary to clean up without any extra time to relax.
Once she reached the semi-remote motel for travelers, (Y/N) changed behind the building before
walking in, ignoring the lady behind the desk. She followed Toph's voice to one of the rooms,
slipping in silently.

Toph grinned. "Hey there, outlaw. I thought you'd never come back!"

(Y/N) tapped her arm twice. No. She took a seat beside her, combing her wet hair back.

"Uh, when did you have time to take a shower?" Aang asked, staring at her. "You look...
different."

"Yeah," Katara mumbled in agreement.

"She looks the same to me," Toph said dryly.

I drew a circle on her arm with a line through its center.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Toph replied, stretching out onto her back and relaxing. "Sokka and Zuko
should be back soon with some food."

Aang looked between us. "You guys know how to talk to each other? With hand signals?" He
grinned wide, excited. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, we haven't figured it all out yet. I stayed up late learning it all. (Y/N) learned it real fast. I
get mixed up between 'sorry' and 'look out'."

"What's 'sorry' and 'look out'?" Aang asked.

(Y/N) ran a finger down his arm, looking apologetic. Then she traced her finger diagonally,
looking alarmed.

"Cool!" Aang said, bandana rippling behind his head.

"Food's here!" Sokka announced as he stepped through the door. He did a double take and nearly
tripped through the threshold. "Who--? Wha--?" He stared at (Y/N), repeatedly looking at her as if
she had grown another arm. "When did you--? How--? You look like that on a good day?!"

(Y/N) flushed red, shaking her head.

"Marry her, why don't you?" Katara deadpanned.

"No! I wouldn't do that to Suki. But--" Sokka kept staring. "What the heck? She's like a completely
different person!"

Zuko put down his bag filled with fruits and a paper bag full of fireflakes on the little table in the
center of the room. "You look great. Here, Aang. Fruits for you. Sokka has the buns and meat
skewers."

"Thanks, Zuko." Aang took an apple and dug in.

Zuko sat down on (Y/N)'s other side, digging around his bag. "I also got some paper and ink." He
pulled them out and handed it to (Y/N). "Now you can write your name."

(Y/N) took the paper and pen in ink. Everyone looked at her intently--except for Toph--as she
wrote her name down, one careful stroke at a time. Her penmanship was horrible, but it was
legible. She put it onto the table, letting everyone see.

"What's her name?" Toph asked.

"(Y/N)," Zuko said aloud. He smiled politely. "I like it."

"(Y/N)," Toph repeated, tasting the name and testing it out on her tongue. She mumbled it under
her breath, as if asking for its secret. "Yeah, it's alright."

She smiled, accepting a meat skewer from Sokka. Everyone tested saying her name before falling
back into casual conversation and their meal. (Y/N) was fine with that. She let the worries of
seeing the Firelord, of always looking over her shoulder, of the consequences of her double treason
melt away for the moment. For now, it seemed fine, because Toph and Zuko were there and so was
the Avatar, and maybe there was a chance (Y/N) would find a peaceful living. It was just the issue
of saving the world from Ozai first.
 Chapter 4

The little motel room wasn't that big. They had to share the small space. While the Gaang slept
through the night, (Y/N) woke up from her dozing and wandered through the building silently. She
mapped out the rooms and the windows and all entry and exit points. She habitually made notes in
her mind where to go and how to get from here to there or there to here should a certain scenario or
other play out into reality. She considered what each person in the Gaang would do, who would
react first, who would react last, and how her capabilities fit into the environment with the least
collateral damage possible. Firebending inside was out of the question. She went through scenario
after scenario, and when she's exhausted her creative mind, she replayed the possibilities and
outcomes until her mind was cluttered with strategies and anxiety.

"Need water again?" Toph asked, finding (Y/N) sitting on the sill of an open window.

She tapped Toph's arm twice. No.

"Do you not need sleep or something?" Toph yawned.

Again, two taps: no. (Y/N) slid off the sill to face Toph properly. She drew an X on her arm.

"Bad?" Toph questioned.

(Y/N) took Toph's hand--appreciating the warmth--and put it on top of her head. She drew an X on
her arm again.

"Bad headache?"

Two taps: no.

"Bad dreams?"

One tap: yes.

"Oh." Toph lowered her hand to feel (Y/N)'s face, mapping it out again.

Two overlapping circles: see. (Y/N) gently stamped her foot on the floor twice: ground. She
brought one of Toph's hands to her chest: me.

"Yeah," Toph admitted after a short stretch of awkward silence. "Yeah, I can technically see you
through the ground. But it's... different." She pulled back away from her. "I'll stop."

(Y/N) brought Toph's hand back to her face, tapping her wrist twice. No.

"Oh," Toph said again, though this time, with a smile. "Thanks."

Three spread fingers tapped on her arm. You're welcome.

A shuffling noise alarmed (Y/N). Toph seemed to have heard or felt it too because she stiffened.
They turned to look down the end of the hallway, seeing the light of a lantern cast a distorted
shadow. Toph took a defensive stance. (Y/N) melted back into the corner, where the light couldn't
reach the shadows.

"Who's there?!" Toph called, listening intently through the ground. "Come out, you coward!"
Cowards, (Y/N) thought with growing fear. There were more than one of them.

A metal-tipped arrow whizzed past (Y/N). It would have hit her if she wasn’t trained to anticipate
and avoid it seconds before it happened. The old puncture wound scars dotting her shoulders and
sides were a testimony to that. Toph got half a distressed noise out before the soldiers trampled in,
boots heavy on the wooden floor. Their armor was official.

“Stay back, you metal hunks of idiots!” Toph said, backing away. There wasn’t any earth for her to
bend on the second floor.

(Y/N) followed along the wall and rounded on the soldiers, slicing her hand through the back of
their armored torsos, melting it just enough to sting for hours. They skidded to a halt, colliding
clumsily into each other, howling in pain.

“Remind me not to wear armor around you,” Toph said, approaching the soldiers quickly and
bending the metal of their armor to incapacitate them. “Don’t mess with us again. Or else.”

They didn’t have the strength to retort. (Y/N)’s nerves told her to end them then and there, to finish
what they started, to ensure that what happened stayed quiet.

“We better get back and tell the others that this place isn’t safe anymore.”

(Y/N) grabbed Toph’s arm, alarmed.

“What?”

A thumb to her elbow: question. The back of a hand tapping once on her arm: leave. A deliberate
brush over each of her knuckles: them.

“Yeah, we’re leaving them. What else would you suggest?”

(Y/N) hesitated. She slide a finger across Toph’s neck.

“No! Aang would kill us! Metaphorically.”

She drew an X onto her arm and circled it: danger.

“We’ll be fine,” Toph promised, pulling her along. “Now c’mon! We need to tell everyone else that
we should leave.”

...

Groggy and grumpy, the Gaang hopped onto Appa and took off with their things. They made it
halfway into the forest before Appa went down to rest.

“Goodbye, comfort,” Sokka mumbled, unrolling his sleeping bag.

(Y/N) drew two overlapping circles onto Toph’s arm: see.

“You see something?” she asked with a yawn.

Two taps: no.

“You... wanna keep watch?” she guessed.

One tap: yes.

“Okay.” Toph yawned again, absently making an earth tent. “See you in the morning, outlaw.”

(Y/N) climbed up a tree and sat on a sturdy branch, looking over the camp with focused eyes.
Eventually, she saw Aang getting up and walking off. She followed him, keeping to the shadows of
night. They walked a few ways away before Aang decided to stop. (Y/N) was curious.

“AH!”

She jumped back from Aang’s startled cry.

“Oh, (Y/N). It’s just you.” He sighed a breath of relief, clutching his chest. “You scared me.”

(Y/N) took out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and got the pen out to write on it. “Why are
you awake?”

He gave a sheepish smile. “Well... uh, you know... Sozin’s Comet is right around the corner. And...
all I have to do is... defeat the Firelord. No big deal, right?” Aang gave out a nervous laughter.

“You’re terrified,” she wrote. “It’s understandable. It won’t be easy, I imagine.”

“Yeah.” Aang’s gaze looked faraway for a moment, like he was remembering something private
and personal. “I just keep getting nightmares about it.”

“I know the feeling.”

“You do?”

“It’s a small reason as to why I always doze a few minutes at a time and never really sleep.”

Aang gave a dry grin. “You think I could do that?”

“No. I was raised to do it. You wouldn’t be able to function with it. Not if you start now.”

“Right.”

(Y/N) let a moment of silent scribbling to pass as she wrote out what she wanted to say. “You’ll be
fine, Aang. You have your friends with you. You have me with you. We can do this together.”

“Thanks, (Y/N),” Aang said with a more cheerful grin. “It’s getting late. Maybe I should try
sleeping again.”

(Y/N) nodded in agreement, ushering him back to camp. As he settled back into his sleeping bag,
(Y/N) perched herself back on the tree, watching and listening intently for any sudden movements
at all. The night was cool and calm with its breeze, as opposed to (Y/N)’s personal worries that
burned in the back of her mind. She did her best to ignore it, but the silence was far too quiet and
empty. It had to be filled with something. So (Y/N) began to fill the night with thoughts. She went
over scenarios and possibilities again, around and around in circles like a dog with its tail.
 Chapter 5

They took another two nights to relocate, getting closer to the day of Sozin's Comet. Aang was
restless, to say the least. (Y/N) noticed the signs. It was common, she remembered, in the children
who first arrived into the isolating camp. They would cry and tremble terribly at night. Then when
they were older and were expected to be sent out for their first kill, more often than not, they'd be
restless like Aang was. (Y/N) was just the same in her first mission. It was commitment or death.
And just like Aang, she had no choice.

(Y/N) sat beneath a tree, trying to rest. But her mind buzzed with concern for Aang, for Toph. She
was fully prepared to die for them. The mentality was drilled into her from her training. She was
just a pawn. Her life was only useful as a lick of flame to fuel the greater fires. If she snuffed out, it
wouldn't matter. (Y/N) sighed at the reminder her brain dug up. She stared up at the thousand-
diamond sky and dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, her lick of flame could be spared and
would go on to start her own wildfires. Her eyes flickered to Toph's earth tent, making her smile. If
this blind Earthbender could make it out on her own with her own strengths, then surely (Y/N)
could too. Toph was her greatest hope.

With that thought, (Y/N) let herself relax just enough to sleep. And, for once, her dreams were
promising instead of the usual red stains and guilt.

...

Aang was missing. This was a horrible time for Aang to be missing, but he was gone. (Y/N) rushed
everywhere around the coast to find him, having woken up first. His footprints led to nowhere, as
if he simply vanished into the sea. She let out a sizzling breath into the ocean, bursting the rippling
waves into steam, as though she were demanding the great seas to be intimidated by her flames and
spit Aang back out. Zuko and Toph found (Y/N) first. Then Katara and Sokka, worried out of their
wits, came running after.

"What did you do with him?!" Katara cried, pointing an accusing finger at (Y/N). "You were last to
speak with him!"

"She can't speak," Toph said.

(Y/N) shook her head frantically. But Katara was right. It was her fault that Aang was missing. She
slept when she should have been alert. If only she were awake that night, Aang wouldn't have gone
missing. What a rookie mistake to let her guard down.

"Hey," Toph said firmly, catching (Y/N)'s attention. "Don't you start believing that princess! I felt
you asleep the entire night. The only time you woke up was when you were panicking over Aang. I
heard you."

(Y/N) gave a grateful smile to Toph, signing her appreciation against Toph's skin.

"We still need to find him," Zuko said, holding up his staff. "He wouldn't leave without this."

"What are we gonna do?!" Sokka asked, panicking. "Sozin's Comet is right around the corner!"
"I've got an idea," Zuko said, looking at Aang's staff. "I know a person who could help us track
Aang down."

"I mean, that was your whole shtick, wasn't it?" Toph said with a devious smile.

Zuko rolled his eyes, hiding a sheepish look behind them. "Let's just get going. We don't really
have much time to argue."

...

June's help wasn't too helpful. So the Gaang--minus Aang--set out to find Iroh, the great Dragon of
the West. Sokka's girlfriend got involved. (Y/N)'s heard many stories about the ex-general. He was
a favorite topic among soldiers and assassins alike. She had never met him, though. (Y/N)
imagined Iroh to be very similar to Ozai. A tall, rough man with a slightly more haggard
appearance and perhaps a gold pin or two to express his infamous status. His hair might have had a
few grey streaks to it, adding to his ferocious appearance.

What (Y/N) wasn't expecting was a stubby man in comfy robes and an all-too-cheery expression.
He wasn't ferocious-looking in the least. In fact, he looked more like a cute old man who might
own a tea shop. (Y/N) was too stunned to react. She almost thought it was some sort of joke and
the real Iroh would pop out from somewhere and spew lightning over them for looking for him.
But no. Zuko was his nephew, so it was very improbable that this was the "wrong" Iroh. (Y/N) was
kind of glad that she didn't have to deal with an uptight, overly ambitious general-type character.

"It would not be right," Iroh told the Gaang-minus-Aang over tea and food.

(Y/N) kept glancing around at the members of the Order of the White Lotus. She could sense their
experience and power and the camp was just bustling with their invisible energy in the air. Some of
them returned her gaze with caution. Others--mostly King Bumi--waved back at her
enthusiastically. Toph stuck close to (Y/N).

"We need to take out their airships," Sokka said with a determined expression.

Iroh nodded, satisfied and almost proud of them. "Go on then. Leave Ba Sing Se to the old people.
Good luck, and be careful."

Zuko and Katara took Appa. Sokka and Suki were going over strategy. Meanwhile, Toph was
going over the hand signals to communicate with (Y/N).

"Don't worry so much, outlaw. We'll be okay." Toph grinned confidently. "We got me on the
team!"

(Y/N) tapped her arm once: yes.

Suki glanced at them and smiled. A knowing smile that no one else caught onto. "They seem
close."

"Yeah, they're practically best friends," Sokka said absently, marking things down on his map.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "No, Sokka."
He paused, as though his thoughts got interrupted. He turned to Suki with a raised brow. "What do
you mean 'no'?"

"I mean..." Suki looked away from (Y/N) and Toph, turning Sokka's attention back onto the map.
"Never mind. What was that about sabotage?"
 Chapter 6

This was it. The final stand. (Y/N) stared down the the pathway through the Fire Nation airship
with Toph dashing through to take out as many people as she could. She bent metal into armor and
was not holding back any punches. (Y/N) followed close behind while Sokka and Suki gave moral
support from the back, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. One of the soldiers thought it was
smart to shoot at Toph from a distance. (Y/N) caught the blast of fire in her fist and made it hotter
in her grasp before she threw it back with a vengeance, melting the soldier's armor upon impact.
Toph shoved him out the window with a metal chunk, sending him screaming down.

"Watch out!" Suki cried.

(Y/N) jumped over Toph and slammed her foot down into the soldier's skull, knocking him out.
She followed her kick with a chain of attacks, sweeping the air with fire and collapsing the soldiers'
armor with the heat. Even she was starting to sweat.

"Hey, outlaw!" Toph called, bringing up more ripped chunks of metal.

(Y/N) understood immediately and huffed fire out her throat, taking in a deep breath to fuel the
heat and blowing out flames over the metal pieces until they were glowing hot. When she was out
of breath, Toph threw the chunks forward, melding it into the rest of the soldiers' armor and
trapping them all to the ground. It took a moment to cool. The soldiers all grunted and cried out in
annoyance and discomfort. In the distance, blasts of earth took down Ozai's ship. He was a blip of
fire, crashing down. We all watched, half-somber and half-gleeful.

"Aang's back in the game," Sokka said, peering out the side window. "Let's focus on stopping the
rest of the fleet then."

"It's your turn, Sokka," Toph said, holding onto (Y/N)'s shoulder as reassurance.

"Thanks. Remind me to never mess with you guys," Sokka said, running to the control panels.

"You okay?" Toph asked, unwinding her metal armor from around her body.

(Y/N) tapped her arm once: yes. She drew a circle: Don't worry. She put a thumb to Toph's elbow
and tapped on Toph's shoulder. You?

"You told me not to worry, so why are you worrying? Do I look not okay?" Toph challenged with
hands to her hips.

(Y/N) huffed out air to laugh, tapping her arm twice. No. Something caught her eye and her
reflexes kicked in. She sent a ball of fire shooting out the broken window, nailing a soldier
climbing on the wing. She drew an X and circled it on Toph's arm. Danger.

"We've got trouble!" Suki said, following (Y/N)'s shot of fire.

"Just tell me where," Toph said, folding up more metal.

"There's too many. Sokka, hurry it up!" Suki shouted, taking out her fans.

"I'm trying! But all the melting metal really jammed up the system!" Sokka replied, frantically
punching buttons.
"Oops," Toph said, although she didn't sound all that apologetic.

"Forget it. We need to change plans," Suki said.

(Y/N) looked over and saw a ship traversing its path and the airship they were on was on a
collision course. She rushed to Sokka, pulling at his arm.

"Not now, (Y/N)! This thing is really--"

(Y/N) smacked his back, grabbing his head and angling it forward.

"Oh, crap! Uhhh, guys?! We're going to crash!" He punched even more frantically at the buttons.
"Stupid controls! WORK, YOU PIECE OF--"

Suki kicked a soldier out the window, slicing through a blast of fire with her fan. She was working
up a sweat. "We need to go. That's too close. Come on, Sokka!"

"UGH!" Sokka gave the control panel one last kick before rushing to Suki.

The airship tilted dangerously, tripping everyone off their feet. (Y/N) grabbed onto Toph, jumping
out the window and landing up top. She kept a tight hold on Toph as she ran to the edge of the ship,
dodging and blasting fire at the few soldiers that decided to drop onto the ship for a fight. Once
(Y/N) reached he edge, she took the biggest breath she could and spewed fire down the ship, lifting
it up with the hot air. Her throat felt tight and she felt like she was suffocating, but she didn't stop
until the ship was just over the other airships. She nearly collapsed when she took a breath.

Toph sent a stray piece of metal flying into a soldier, knocking him off the ship. "I don't know
what you did, but good going!"

The mobile weapons activated below the balloon of the ship, sending bolts of fire into the other
airships. (Y/N) held onto Toph and carefully made way back towards the control room. But the
ship jarred and (Y/N) lost balance, losing grip over Toph. She slid sideways, leaving Toph
scrambling to grab ahold of (Y/N). Toph shouted her name in fear. (Y/N) had no way of telling her
that she was sliding off the airship, weakened fingers barely holding on as she slid.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!"

(Y/N) huffed air, only managing to produce weak sparks of ember and smoke. She cursed silently
to herself, losing grip by the second.

"Where are you, outlaw?! Come on!"

She couldn't die like this. It's too pathetic. At one point, this would've been the end for her and she
would be okay with it because she was trained to sacrifice all that she was for the Firelord. She
believed she was worthless her entire life, just another expendable pawn. But she could not leave
Toph. Especially not after everything they've been through.
 Chapter 7

The airship tilted again, hit in the wing by another ship. (Y/N) strained and tucked her legs up,
kicking off the balloon. The pressure of the air choked her chest. She couldn't breathe, but that was
fine. In mid-air, (Y/N) forced all her firebending into her hands and out of her palms, slowing her
descent long enough for her to catch her breath. (Y/N) sucked in a breath and concentrated hard to
spew another jet of fire, shooting her back onto the airship. She nearly missed, hitting the balloon
on her side. She winced, rolling over the pain and crawling quickly towards Toph.

"Hey!" Toph cried, shooting her last metal chunk at (Y/N).

She turned over to dodge it and slammed her palm into the balloon, flaring fire around Toph. She
did that several times and continued crawling towards her, tapping her arm when she reached her.

"Geez!" Toph cried out, crouching. "You scared me, outlaw!"

(Y/N) slid a finger over her arm. Sorry.

"We better head back. We avoided collision but this ship's unstable!"

A tug on the wrist. Let's go. (Y/N) picked her up again and half-skidded, half-rushed back, careful
with their weight while the airship was still unstable. She hesitated when she saw Sokka and Suki
standing on the wing of the airship, fighting off several soldiers at once. (Y/N)'s reflexes told her to
duck, so she did so, narrowly missing a boomerang. It whizzed past and knocked a soldier off, to
(Y/N)'s astonishment.

"Jump to the next airship! Sokka rigged this to blow! It'll trigger a chain reaction across all the
other ships!" Suki shouted, slicing off a soldier's armor.

"I like your style, Boomerang Guy," Toph said, grinning.

(Y/N) followed the balloon down, skidding in a controlled manner to the wing. A cough wracked
out her throat, telling her that she wasn't spitting anymore fire anytime soon. She outdid her breaths
in the last few feats she performed. (Y/N) followed the curve of the wing up to its tip, holding onto
Toph by her waist. The earthbender wasn't very happy being pulled around, but there was no other
way she could move without risk of walking off the ship and falling to her death. Sokka took out
another soldier and Suki got his back.

"We can make it to the next ship's wing and on the last one in the row, we'll ride down," Sokka
said, running off the edge and landing unsteadily on the wing of the next ship. Suki followed him
with more grace, making the land easily. (Y/N) was more careful, aware that if she had failed, she
wouldn't be the only one dead from the fall.

The four made their way as quickly as they could over the lined up fleet, fighting when needed.
But the ships crashing into each other lessened the soldiers they met along the way. It was a slow
domino effect of explosions. (Y/N) was lagging behind with Toph's weight. She watched Sokka
and Suki jump to the last ship in the line, cutting a slit into the blimp balloon to slowly release the
air. (Y/N) made to jump when a soldier yanked her back.

"(Y/N)!" Toph shouted, being thrown away from (Y/N)'s hold. She felt along the balloon
tentatively in an attempt to see, barely keeping from the edge. "Stupid balloon! I can't see anything
but the metal linings."
"TOPH!" Sokka cried, pinching the balloon to try to lessen the outflow of air. "(Y/N)!"

"If I go down, you're going down with me!" the soldier snarled.

(Y/N) thrashed against the soldier and melted the metal around his armor. He moved over her and
let it drip over her arms, melding them together. (Y/N) let out a strained noise of pain, struggling to
get away.

"Outlaw, you better hurry up," Toph said, feeling along the metal.

(Y/N) silently screamed for Toph to run because the ship they were on was going to explode soon
from collision. If she hurried, Toph might have a chance to make it to the next ship with Sokka and
Suki. Desperately, (Y/N) made eye contact with Suki and tried to beg with a look, nodding
solemnly in silent agreement. Suki, thankfully, understood and nodded back.

"Toph! (Y/N) has a plan! But there's no time! You have to follow my voice and jump!" Suki
shouted, moving to the edge as far as she could. They were descending too fast for her to make it
back up to Toph and (Y/N).

"What're you talking about?" Sokka said in a panic. "(Y/N)'s--"

Suki nudged Sokka to shut him up, giving him a tightlipped look which seemed to clue him in. Her
eyes were already full of grief as she looked back at Toph. "Follow my voice, Toph! You need to
jump!"

"But what about--"

"(Y/N) will be fine! But you have to jump!" Suki took a breath to keep her voice calm. "Walk
forward, Toph. Trust me. Just walk really quick and jump! Now, Toph!"

The soldier laughed, about to make a comment. (Y/N) hissed and slammed her head into his,
making him moan in pain and drag her down with the weight of their melded arms. He struggled to
keep her still. Through the smoke of the ship, (Y/N) saw Toph running and jumping, landing onto
the ship where Suki was prepared to catch her at any angle in case anything went wrong. (Y/N)
didn't even get the chance to sigh in relief when the airship exploded, shattering smoke and fire
and metal through the sky. (Y/N) felt her whole body fly into the sky from the blast, air
compressing her chest and heat scorching through her skin. It broke her free from the metal armor
of the soldier. (Y/N) blinked between consciousness as she fell in a free fall, seeing the ground at a
distance coming nearer. It was then that she realized just how incredibly exhausted she was. The
fighting, the running and jumping, the burdens of everything she's ever seen and endured, the
restless nights and paranoid mornings. She had accepted her fate long since. The only difference
now was that she had a single regret. She wished she could have said goodbye to Toph. She wished
that she had her voice back, even if for just a second, to say goodbye and thank you and-
 Chapter 8
Chapter Notes

Hi. I'm sorry this update has taken an eternity; a lot happened and I finally found the
time now to continue it. I didn't plan on a hiatus, so again, I'm very sorry for the wait.
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

There was the faintest gurgling of water and the smell of smoke. That was what (Y/N) noticed first
when she came to. The next thing she noticed was the red-washed sky covering her entire line of
view. Is this what the afterlife looked like? She sat up, wincing when all her blood rushed to her
head, making her dizzy and grunting.

"She's awake!" Sokka's voice.

"Outlaw! I knew you would wake soon," Toph said, sounding relieved despite her efforts to seem
unaffected.

That was a surprise. How was (Y/N) even alive? She had expected her death upon impact to the
ground. Her surprise must've shown on her face because Aang began to explain. "You were falling
off the airship with another soldier. I caught you in the nick of time with some wind."

"And he took out Ozai!" Sokka added proudly, clapping Aang on the back. "I call that a huge
victory."

Aang chuckled nervously. "I didn't take him out. Just took his bending away."

"Same difference. Still a victory!"

(Y/N) nodded in agreement, gesturing her gratitude to Aang and drawing her relief against Toph's
skin.

"We're just glad to have you back with us, Outlaw," Toph said with a grin.

...

The people, fighters and civilians alike, gathered in the Fire Nation for Zuko's coronation. While
the crowd cheered and united with Zuko's speech, (Y/N) watched from the shadows, lingering by
the sideline pillars. It was valiant and the biggest cause for celebration under a new day, a new era.
(Y/N) sighed, seeing Aang get congratulated and honored. Her eyes lingered over Toph, who was
near the front rows with Katara, Sokka, and Suki. They looked very happy, and most importantly,
they looked at peace for the first time. (Y/N) felt along the seams of her robes, worn by time and
battles. A few blades were hidden at the waistline. She feared, if a new era of peace began, that her
presence would only be a reminder of war and violence. She didn't want that for them. She didn't
want that for Toph. Silently, (Y/N) slipped away towards the docks, heart clenching at the thought
of leaving. But if it was for the best...

"Where are you going?"

(Y/N) startled at the voice, whirling around in a defensive stance. At the sight of Toph, she relaxed,
tapping and swiping onto her skin: sorry.

"Were you going to leave us?"

Reluctantly, (Y/N) tapped once: yes.

"Why?"

Toph's hand to (Y/N)'s chest. Then an X on Toph's arm and a point at her chest: Me. Bad for you.

"You think you're bad for me?" Toph said, laughing incredulously. "Seriously?"

One tap: yes.

"That's silly. Really, really silly." Toph pulled at (Y/N)'s arm. "Come on. You belong here with
me. You can't just leave me! Especially not after..." Toph hesitated, smile faltering. "Not after I
almost lost you."

(Y/N) stood in silence, not knowing how to respond and not even able to respond if she knew how.
Dear Toph, she thought. I am so sorry I hurt you so. She tapped out an apology into her skin.

"No, don't be sorry," Toph said, wiping at tears that she hadn't realize were falling. "I just... I don't
want to lose you again. Okay? It's no fun without you."

(Y/N) took Toph's hands in hers and squeezed. She turned them over and drew one word
repeatedly into the palms, shaky strokes like confessions burning from her fingertips.

"What are you saying?" Toph's brows furrowed as she tried to feel what word the strokes formed.
"I... I can't understand what you're saying! (Y/N)--"

Frustrated, (Y/N) cradled Toph's face and pressed their lips together, pooling all her feelings and
affections into the kiss. Toph made a startled noise, hands coming out to (Y/N)'s waist. That was
the word she tried to spell into her palms. Love. The kiss seemed to last an eternity but in reality,
only lasted a few seconds. When they drew back from each other, (Y/N) pressed both their hands to
her chest, where her heart was beating wilder than it ever had before. Toph didn't need an
explanation to know what that meant.

"I love you too," Toph mumbled, somewhat embarrassed as her cheeks flushed red. "We should
probably head back now. They'll be worried and wondering where we are."

(Y/N) agreed. They walked hand in hand back towards coronation area. For once, (Y/N) felt
something warm settling into her very soul. Perhaps now, with this one goodness, life wouldn't be
so hard to live anymore. She wouldn't have to be so lonely or fearful of the world. As long as Toph
was by her side, (Y/N) felt safe and right where she belonged. Toph couldn't agree more. And
nobody was really surprised to see them return together, holding hands and smiling like idiots.
Neither did they say anything about it, letting the two be at peace and in love with each other, as
they deserved.
Chapter End Notes

Wow, that was a rollercoaster. Thanks for sticking through to the end! I really
appreciate you reading. Have a wonderful day!

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!