Surprise [what...was that‽]
Feb. 14th, 2008 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gladdecease posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
glad_ficsTitle: Surprise
Challenge:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hekateselene's request for avatar_exchange: Aang/Toph, Katara/Zuko, or Sokka/Suki; fluff, drama, or horror
Notes: The Avatar Exchange was a Christmas fic/art/icon exchange which has been over for two months, but my gift was never posted at the community, though I sent it to the mod. I suspect because I was dreadfully late as it was. I'm gonna send my recipient a note, let her know this was her intended gift, and post it at last. And then I can get the fluffy aftertaste out of my mouth. Seriously, never again. I'm horrible at this kind of thing.
--
"Hey Toph!" Aang jumped out of a tree and landed in front of his friend with a loud THUMP. Toph blinked.
"...am I supposed to be surprised?"
Aang flopped dramatically to the ground in disappointment. "Oh, well."
"So I was supposed to be surprised, then?" Toph sighed. "Honestly, for a guy so light on your feet, you really aren't very subtle with sneaking around or planning surprises. Not that anyone else is," she buffed her nails against her shirt, and pretended to admire the shine. "I've never been surprised before."
"What, seriously?"
"Of course I'm serious. Everyone's too loud for me to not hear them."
"But--that's awful, Toph! Surprises are some of the most amazing things in the world--like roller coasters!"
"Aang, I hate roller coasters. And airplanes and boats and horses. You know that."
"No, no, I don't mean the high speed and lack of stability; I mean the shock, the lack of control--and enjoying it! The adrenaline rushes through you, and--" Aang caught himself, and looked at Toph unsurely. "Are you sure you've never been surprised before? Not even once?"
"Not even once, Aang."
With a firm nod of his head and some agreeing murmers to himself, Aang jumped to his feet and walked away. Toph wonder idly what she was getting in to, but put the matter aside. If it was anything important, she'd learn about it soon enough.
Still, you could never tell with Aang...once he got an idea in his head, no matter how crazy, he would be set on it. Almost as stubborn as she was, impressively.
-
The next few days were some of the strangest in Toph's life. In the five minutes between classes, he managed to hide behind her class's doors, under her desk, under her lunch table--even in her locker...somehow. She knew he was there every time--his breathing was always just a bit too heavy, or the door squeaked just a bit too loudly, or she heard him still hiding as he approached--but the effort was impressive. She told him as such, after the janitor finally pulled him out of her locker.
He refused the compliment. "It's not any good until I finally do it, Toph! If you aren't surprised, then I've failed." The pout she could hear in her voice made a smile spread across her face, and she muffled a chuckle behind her hand.
"I'm serious here!" Aang insisted. "I want to surprise you, but I just can't. I can't think of anything you aren't expecting." He slammed the back of his head against her locker, winced, and started to rub at the base of his skull. "It's so frustrating."
Aang was honestly serious, she realized. Toph had thought that this was just another one of Aang's insane ideas that he'd lose interest in after giving it a good try--but he really wanted to give her a surprise. It was...kind of sweet, actually. Trying to share something like that with her.
A rush of heat came to her face, and she turned away from Aang, embarrassed. What was she thinking? Aang, sweet? She was getting soft. She marched off down the hall, all but stomping to calm herself down.
"Toph?"
The end-of-day bell rang. Toph paused before the doors, still not facing Aang. In the moment before everyone rushed out of their classes, but when the doors were opening and excited shouts were echoing in the halls, she said, "I guess you'll just have to be more creative for your last try."
She was out of the building before he could manage a reply.
-
After a week of no inspiration, Aang came up with an idea he liked. Partly shocked by the idea that he had found an idea, he went over the plan multiple times, checking it and altering it. And, after a few hours of thorough planning, he was ready to put everything together. It took him some time to set up for the surprise, but hardly any time to find Toph. In fact, she was walking right where he wanted her to go. He cackled internally, rubbing his hands together as he waited. Everything was running smoothly.
Meanwhile, Toph walked around a street corner and paused. She had been on edge (and a bit confused) ever since the day Aang got stuck in her locker. He hadn't tried to surprise her since, and it left her quite a bit paranoid. She was hesitating where she would normally be confident, looking behind to see if anyone was following her--but it was like Aang had disappeared off the face of the earth. Toph didn't think he had given up; after how determined he was the last time, it didn't seem possible for him to stop trying. And if he hadn't done something yet, it had to be big...
So it was quite understandable that she was a bit wary of sudden movements.
Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, she continued walking down the street, passing by Aang's favorite climbing tree with only the slightest pause in her step. Aang had jumped at her from that tree more times than she could count, and she was so used to the idea that even now, at her most paranoid, Aang jumping out from that tree wouldn't do more than make her blink. It was too typical; too easy.
But hanging upside down from the lowest branch meant that Toph couldn't see him unless she walked right into him, and that was how Aang managed to get close enough to her to attempt his plan.
First, he threw a rock into the street, making a clacking sound that drew Toph's attention. While she was distracted, he moved further along the branch and his weight pulled him lower to the ground. And finally, when she continued walking, and she was walking just underneath him, he shouted, "Hey Toph!" She got a shock, and he made sure she knew what a surprise felt like.
Well, ideally.
What actually happened was that he slid too far down the branch, and realized just too late that their heads would bump, ruining his plan. He panicked, and tried to use his legs to crawl back along the branch, but the jerky motions only brought him lower and closer to Toph. He closed his eyes, braced for the impact, and hoped that Toph would understand that he hadn't meant to give them both concussions--
--and opened his eyes as the branch swung back up to a safe height. He flipped over to sit properly, and marveled that he hadn't been hurt worse than a pair of stinging lips. Had he just brushed past Toph, in a stroke of luck leaving him uninjured and her unaware?
"Who's there?"
No, it seemed, not entirely. Well, if he could just keep quiet, he could pretend that he wasn't there. She might not notice, and he'd be able to try again another day.
"Aang, is that you?" Don't respond, Aang...you can still try again if she doesn't know you already have... "It is you, isn't it, Aang? Aang, did you--did you just kiss me?" The question (and the very girlish, shy tone) was so unexpected from Toph that Aang forgot about trying to hide in his shock.
"What?" He fell out of the tree, cracked his head against the pavement loudly, and groaned. Aang sat up slowly, rubbing his head, and turned to look at Toph, standing behind him. "I didn't kiss you--did I?" His voice cracked at the word kiss, and he winced, blushing red in embarrassment.
Toph wouldn't face him. "I dunno, why do you think I was asking you? I thought I heard someone on the branch, and then there was something against my--ah, what does it matter?" Aang stood up and walked around Toph, but she turned away again so he couldn't see her face. "I mean, you obviously don't think you kissed me, so I must just be imagining things, right? And if that's your idea of a surprise, I think you still need some work--"
And then she was cut off by Aang kissing her properly.
When he pulled back, they were both blushing deeply.
After a moment's silence, Aang smiled and whispered, "Surprise."
--
Challenge:
hekateselene's request for avatar_exchange: Aang/Toph, Katara/Zuko, or Sokka/Suki; fluff, drama, or horrorNotes: The Avatar Exchange was a Christmas fic/art/icon exchange which has been over for two months, but my gift was never posted at the community, though I sent it to the mod. I suspect because I was dreadfully late as it was. I'm gonna send my recipient a note, let her know this was her intended gift, and post it at last. And then I can get the fluffy aftertaste out of my mouth. Seriously, never again. I'm horrible at this kind of thing.
--
"Hey Toph!" Aang jumped out of a tree and landed in front of his friend with a loud THUMP. Toph blinked.
"...am I supposed to be surprised?"
Aang flopped dramatically to the ground in disappointment. "Oh, well."
"So I was supposed to be surprised, then?" Toph sighed. "Honestly, for a guy so light on your feet, you really aren't very subtle with sneaking around or planning surprises. Not that anyone else is," she buffed her nails against her shirt, and pretended to admire the shine. "I've never been surprised before."
"What, seriously?"
"Of course I'm serious. Everyone's too loud for me to not hear them."
"But--that's awful, Toph! Surprises are some of the most amazing things in the world--like roller coasters!"
"Aang, I hate roller coasters. And airplanes and boats and horses. You know that."
"No, no, I don't mean the high speed and lack of stability; I mean the shock, the lack of control--and enjoying it! The adrenaline rushes through you, and--" Aang caught himself, and looked at Toph unsurely. "Are you sure you've never been surprised before? Not even once?"
"Not even once, Aang."
With a firm nod of his head and some agreeing murmers to himself, Aang jumped to his feet and walked away. Toph wonder idly what she was getting in to, but put the matter aside. If it was anything important, she'd learn about it soon enough.
Still, you could never tell with Aang...once he got an idea in his head, no matter how crazy, he would be set on it. Almost as stubborn as she was, impressively.
-
The next few days were some of the strangest in Toph's life. In the five minutes between classes, he managed to hide behind her class's doors, under her desk, under her lunch table--even in her locker...somehow. She knew he was there every time--his breathing was always just a bit too heavy, or the door squeaked just a bit too loudly, or she heard him still hiding as he approached--but the effort was impressive. She told him as such, after the janitor finally pulled him out of her locker.
He refused the compliment. "It's not any good until I finally do it, Toph! If you aren't surprised, then I've failed." The pout she could hear in her voice made a smile spread across her face, and she muffled a chuckle behind her hand.
"I'm serious here!" Aang insisted. "I want to surprise you, but I just can't. I can't think of anything you aren't expecting." He slammed the back of his head against her locker, winced, and started to rub at the base of his skull. "It's so frustrating."
Aang was honestly serious, she realized. Toph had thought that this was just another one of Aang's insane ideas that he'd lose interest in after giving it a good try--but he really wanted to give her a surprise. It was...kind of sweet, actually. Trying to share something like that with her.
A rush of heat came to her face, and she turned away from Aang, embarrassed. What was she thinking? Aang, sweet? She was getting soft. She marched off down the hall, all but stomping to calm herself down.
"Toph?"
The end-of-day bell rang. Toph paused before the doors, still not facing Aang. In the moment before everyone rushed out of their classes, but when the doors were opening and excited shouts were echoing in the halls, she said, "I guess you'll just have to be more creative for your last try."
She was out of the building before he could manage a reply.
-
After a week of no inspiration, Aang came up with an idea he liked. Partly shocked by the idea that he had found an idea, he went over the plan multiple times, checking it and altering it. And, after a few hours of thorough planning, he was ready to put everything together. It took him some time to set up for the surprise, but hardly any time to find Toph. In fact, she was walking right where he wanted her to go. He cackled internally, rubbing his hands together as he waited. Everything was running smoothly.
Meanwhile, Toph walked around a street corner and paused. She had been on edge (and a bit confused) ever since the day Aang got stuck in her locker. He hadn't tried to surprise her since, and it left her quite a bit paranoid. She was hesitating where she would normally be confident, looking behind to see if anyone was following her--but it was like Aang had disappeared off the face of the earth. Toph didn't think he had given up; after how determined he was the last time, it didn't seem possible for him to stop trying. And if he hadn't done something yet, it had to be big...
So it was quite understandable that she was a bit wary of sudden movements.
Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, she continued walking down the street, passing by Aang's favorite climbing tree with only the slightest pause in her step. Aang had jumped at her from that tree more times than she could count, and she was so used to the idea that even now, at her most paranoid, Aang jumping out from that tree wouldn't do more than make her blink. It was too typical; too easy.
But hanging upside down from the lowest branch meant that Toph couldn't see him unless she walked right into him, and that was how Aang managed to get close enough to her to attempt his plan.
First, he threw a rock into the street, making a clacking sound that drew Toph's attention. While she was distracted, he moved further along the branch and his weight pulled him lower to the ground. And finally, when she continued walking, and she was walking just underneath him, he shouted, "Hey Toph!" She got a shock, and he made sure she knew what a surprise felt like.
Well, ideally.
What actually happened was that he slid too far down the branch, and realized just too late that their heads would bump, ruining his plan. He panicked, and tried to use his legs to crawl back along the branch, but the jerky motions only brought him lower and closer to Toph. He closed his eyes, braced for the impact, and hoped that Toph would understand that he hadn't meant to give them both concussions--
--and opened his eyes as the branch swung back up to a safe height. He flipped over to sit properly, and marveled that he hadn't been hurt worse than a pair of stinging lips. Had he just brushed past Toph, in a stroke of luck leaving him uninjured and her unaware?
"Who's there?"
No, it seemed, not entirely. Well, if he could just keep quiet, he could pretend that he wasn't there. She might not notice, and he'd be able to try again another day.
"Aang, is that you?" Don't respond, Aang...you can still try again if she doesn't know you already have... "It is you, isn't it, Aang? Aang, did you--did you just kiss me?" The question (and the very girlish, shy tone) was so unexpected from Toph that Aang forgot about trying to hide in his shock.
"What?" He fell out of the tree, cracked his head against the pavement loudly, and groaned. Aang sat up slowly, rubbing his head, and turned to look at Toph, standing behind him. "I didn't kiss you--did I?" His voice cracked at the word kiss, and he winced, blushing red in embarrassment.
Toph wouldn't face him. "I dunno, why do you think I was asking you? I thought I heard someone on the branch, and then there was something against my--ah, what does it matter?" Aang stood up and walked around Toph, but she turned away again so he couldn't see her face. "I mean, you obviously don't think you kissed me, so I must just be imagining things, right? And if that's your idea of a surprise, I think you still need some work--"
And then she was cut off by Aang kissing her properly.
When he pulled back, they were both blushing deeply.
After a moment's silence, Aang smiled and whispered, "Surprise."
--
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Thanks
Date: 2008-02-15 04:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 04:40 pm (UTC)