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!”

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆･

Toph’s taglist is open, let me know if you’d like to be added. Or you can follow @talesofesther-library and turn notifications on to know when I’ve posted a new story/chapter.

Thank you for reading this story. Feedback and reblogs are literally what keeps me motivated to continue posting here, so I’d appreciate it if you could take some time to reblog and comment. <3

This drawing has been sitting in my files since last year sometime and it was always such a shame I left it there to collect dust. Like I swear to you guys I have not stopped thinking about it and so I finally managed to make myself finish this dang drawing on my weekend.

Took me maybe two hours to color it (which to be honest, was very limited)

But I finished it, and below are the only saved photos of my progress but only because I cleared my camera role out XD

She is alluring. Her mouth marks a path from the corner of your lips and down to your neck; her hands brush over your bare back without missing a spot as if she's committing each detail of you to memory; her chest presses intimately against yours, skin to skin; all you can possibly feel is her. And she is alluring.

Her body is pliant under your hands; her skin gives beneath your touch as though it were made only to be held by you. You kiss the edge of her mouth, and she rewards you with a sweet exhalation of your name. Your lips brush over her cheek, over the scars adorning her skin there, and Lin curls herself into you.

You couldn't tell where she ends, or where you begin. Body and soul too well tangled together.

Lin touches you like a starved thing, burying her nose into your skin and breathing you in. It leaves you wondering, for a moment, how long it had been since anyone held her like this; since anyone held her at all.

Too long, you guess. Because something damp falls against the skin of your shoulder, right beside where her lips are dutifully kissing you. The teardrop rolls down the path of your collarbone, between your breasts. And Lin's arms around you hold on a little tighter.

It's okay, you don't comment on it, even if your heart stumbles on its rhythm. Your hand tangles between her hair; you gently pull her up until your mouth finds hers again, and you catch her lower lip between yours. Your hand traces over the skin of her waist until your fingertips find her spine, and you feel her shiver beneath the touch, beneath the press of your bare skin onto hers.

Your lips move in tandem with Lin's. Hungry and decidedly eager. Her hand is on your jaw when she turns her head to come closer still, bumping her nose against your cheek. Desperate, as if you'll slip from her grasp if she doesn't hold tight enough.

You feel it. You feel the cracks and scars of her heart when her lip trembles as it brushes yours. You feel it when you taste the salt of tears on her mouth.

It's okay. You hold her tighter, too.

──•◎•──

You are the first to wake up on the next morning, with soft sunlight gently kissing over your eyelids.

You blink your eyes open, lazy and still half asleep, with your body feeling the pleasant strain of last night. The first thing you see is the thin white curtain flowing just above your head, as the morning breeze arrives through the open window. The smell of fresh rain still lingers in the air, as the water slowly starts to dry out in the streets. Sunlight spills inside your bedroom, shining across messy bedsheets and naked skin.

A low hum escapes your lips as you brush the sleep from your eyes. Butterflies flutter in your stomach when you think of last night; when you remember whose hands roamed your body, and whose lips kissed your breath away.

You turn, already missing the person who lies just beside you.

Lin is lying with her back to you; the soft waves of her hair spill messily over the pillow, a stripe of sunlight touches the muscles on her arm, and you can see her chest rising and falling deeply. She still sleeps. Her back is bare, and you notice the marks on her skin. Scars old and new, some bigger, others just a faint lighter line; all testimonies of something that touched her unkindly. And you find yourself wanting to press a kiss over each scar; wanting to soothe each memory of pain.

A wave of warmth floods into the space between your ribs and almost chokes the breath out of your lungs at the sight of her. You didn't think it was ever possible to love someone this much, to feel such affection that your heart hurts simply by looking at them. But Lin had always swept you off your feet, since the first time she met you, with a scowl on her face when Korra had dragged you into trouble.

Last night had been months in the making. Months of you and Lin sharing secret touches without a word spoken about it; months of lingering looks and what-ifs; months of you and Lin tiptoeing the edge of a blurred line yet never crossing it; months of you and Lin growing so inseparable that people became surprised when you had to say there was nothing more between you.

Maybe now, you'd be able to say there is something.

Ever so gently, you reach out a hand and touch Lin's back. Your fingertips are careful as you trace the outline of her scars. You wonder about the story of each one; you wonder which ones were painful, which ones still hurt. Lin stirs slightly at your touch, her shoulders going a little tense. You watch as goosebumps slowly raise on her skin; and it makes you smile, all adoring and warm, because her reaction to you has always been something that belongs only to you.

You shift closer to her; the covers draped over your lower body tangle loosely between your legs. Your arm moves over Lin's waist until your hand finds her abdomen, and you close your grip around her, pulling her into you.

All you hear from Lin is a soft sigh. Her hand slowly finds your own, and she's tentative when she intertwines your fingers together—a stark contrast to the hunger she touched you with last night. Still, she keeps you there, keeps your arm around her when she brings your joined hands to her lips so she can press a timid kiss onto your knuckles.

You answer her with a kiss of your own. Your lips find a twisted patch of skin near her shoulder; there's a bigger scar there, looks a little deeper than some of the others. You press your mouth firmly against Lin, closing your eyes and breathing her in. Wisps of her hair tickle your nose when you linger there, and you nuzzle against her neck, pressing your front to her back.

"Good morning," you mumble, voice half muffled against Lin.

She takes a few beats to answer you. There's hesitation in the way she grips your hand tighter. Lin's thumb is moving softly back and forth against your skin, and she brings your joined hands closer to her chest for a moment.

You don't push her; you don't insist. You merely wait, because you know her; you've held her hand in silence enough times to know that past all that armor she wears on the outside lives a bruised heart that's been forgotten and hurt more than enough.

Eventually, Lin releases her hold on your hand, only so she can turn on the bed. She shifts until she's facing you; both her hands come to rest in front of her chest, while those bright green eyes of hers blink slowly at you. Her hair rests on the pillow around her and over her shoulder, the usually kept waves now messy and all over the place. She is bewitching.

Your arm is still draped over her waist, and you can't help yourself when you press your hand against her back and pull her into you again. You peck her lips in a chaste kiss; you missed the softness of those lips, the warmth of them against yours.

When you pull back again, a visible flush paints Lin's cheeks, resting just above her scars and softening her sharp features.

She averts her gaze, yet a small smile curls at the corner of her mouth; "Good morning." Her voice is quiet, as though to preserve the fragile bubble of intimacy still wrapped around this moment, tucked away from the rest of the world.

Your heart swells inside your chest. Your hand on her bare waist shifts up and down lazily, from the start of her thigh to just below her ribs. "I don't feel like getting up just yet, but maybe we could think about grabbing breakfast somewhere nice?" You suggest just as quietly, "There's a cute bakery nearby I've been meaning to visit."

Lin glances up at you; there's something painfully vulnerable in the glint of her eyes. You feel like, for once, she's standing completely bare before you, in more ways than merely physically. She reaches out until her fingers brush your cheek, and her touch lingers there, the tip of her fingers tangling gently with a lock of your hair. She looks at you as if she's gazing at a dream, or a memory; as if she's longing for something just out of reach.

She smiles, and it's bittersweet and a little shaky. "That would be nice." Nothing about her sounds like the confident Chief Beifong most people know, and normally you adore this side of her that exists only with you; but now, the tightness of her voice sends a sharp twinge of pain to your chest.

Lin clears her throat, and suddenly she's curling her hand back against her chest and away from you. "But I should be leaving already; it's late." She tries to bring her usual composure back to herself, eyebrows pulling together slightly, but it doesn't quite work. Lin pushes herself up then, surprising you with how quickly she sits on the bed. She grabs a fistful of the covers and pulls it up to her chest, covering her breasts—as if you hadn't kissed each part of her last night, over and over.

You blink up at her with a deep frown. The hand you had around her waist mere seconds ago is now hovering in the air with nowhere to go. "What? What do you mean?" With a loud groan, you push yourself up to sit beside her, running a hand through your bedridden hair. "Lin, it's a Sunday. There's no such thing as late; come on."

Lin keeps her gaze ahead, on the strips of sunlight bathing the room in golden light. Her knuckles are white with how tightly she's holding onto the covers. "There is to me."

Sometimes, you wish you could figure her out just a little easier. Still, you take her in; her hair seems a little longer than usual when it falls over her shoulders like this; her lips are redder, no doubt from how much you'd kissed them last night. But there's also a tremble to her hands, and you can't ignore the start of tears that are already clinging to her eyelashes, even if she refuses to look at you.

"Okay," you breathe. And you shuffle closer until your knee is resting above hers. Tenderly, you take hold of both of Lin's cheeks, turning her head until you can find her eyes with yours. "Lin, what's wrong?"

She holds the silence still, trying to look down despite your hands on her face, which squishes her cheeks endearingly.

You push aside rogue strands of her hair, allowing your thumb to trace the outline of her eyebrow with a tender touch. "Hey, don't shut me out." You're kind when you speak to her, as if calming a skittish cat; she's had enough roughness in her life that all you want to offer is the opposite.

Lin tries to gulp back something that's pushing against the back of her throat, until her chin starts to wobble. Carefully, Lin's hands close around both your wrists, and she pulls your touch away from her even if it looks like it physically hurts her to do so. "I never… I never asked if this was a one-time thing for you…" The words stumble out of Lin's lips in a choked mess, and you figure you're nothing but a blur of dark hair and sunlight in her vision, given the amount of tears in the bottom lid of her eyes, just a blink away from spilling, "I should have asked."

In truth, Lin doesn't know what to do with her own heart. She had tried to ignore how much it called your name. She had tried to dismiss her growing feelings for friendship; because spirits, you could do better. You could find someone younger, easier, lighter; like you. Yet each time you came back to her, each time you took her hand or stole a hurried kiss behind a closed door, Lin held onto you as if you were air and she were underwater.

And last night happened on a whim, after shared laughs and a bottle of red wine. And for Lin, it had meant everything. When she'd carved her heart straight out of her chest and held it out for you last night, it had meant everything. But she'd forgotten to ask; what did it mean to you?

Lin blinks when you stay silent in front of her; your wrists still held in place by her hands and your mouth hanging open as you only stare at her. And she feels the first tear rolling down her cheek; sunlight glints off of it, and she turns her head away so quickly it hurts.

She can feel the haphazardly stitched cracks on her heart ripping open anew. Lin takes a deep, shaky breath. She lets go of your wrists to roughly dry off her cheeks; her touch is brash and unkind, as if she wants to punish herself for something. "I understand if this was just a night of pleasure for you, but I can't-" Lin purses her lips; if she thinks hard enough, she can still feel the ghost of your kiss. But she knows, you couldn't possibly choose her for anything more than one night.

"I should leave," it falls as nothing but a breath past her lips.

Your hand finds her cheek again before Lin moves another inch. The pad of your thumb catches a tear that's fallen there, "Lin, step out of that fog inside your mind." Your worry escapes you unabashedly; there's something desperate hanging on the edge of each word, "Please, just look at me."

Lin is so aware of how close you are right now that she almost forgets how to breathe. She doesn't know what to do with kindness, especially not when it comes wrapped around your fingers. The warmth of your body rivals that of the sunlight seeping through the windows; the palm of your hand resting so securely against her cheek threatens to unravel Lin's fragile composure. Her eyes are slow as they find a path to yours; her gaze shifts carefully over the skin of your stomach, your chest, the curve between your neck and shoulder that Lin had so dutifully kissed last night, until her gaze meets yours. And Lin feels strangely small, vulnerable; it's a foreign feeling. But it's with you; it doesn't scare her.

Lin bites back a gasp when she catches tears brimming in the corner of your eyes, too. There's relief in how your expression softens for her, and you pull her closer until your forehead rests gently against hers.

"If you leave right now, I promise you'll be taking my heart with you." Your quiet voice burns with a sudden rawness. Both your hands shift over to Lin's jaw, thumbs tracing the outlines of her features as if you want to commit each detail to memory. Your heart bleeds when you wonder how much Lin has been hurt already, for it to be so easy for her to doubt what you have is real; to the point of thinking that last night had been just a fling for you. When you pull back, it's only so you can look at her as you speak, so she's able to catch the sincerity of each word. "After last night, I… I don't think I could ever spend another night without you." Both your hands trace a path down her bare arms until you can loosely tangle your fingers together. You shrug sheepishly after the confession, feeling heat creeping up your neck.

"Please don't say things like that if you don't-" Lin hesitates; a groan escapes her as her face momentarily twists into something almost annoyed—it's a bittersweet pair to the tears slowly painting a path down her cheeks. Lin presses her eyes closed before finishing; "If you don't mean them." And she speaks in a hushed tone, like her admissions can't be uttered above a certain decibel level. It almost appears as though it's easier for her to be vulnerable with you if she doesn't have to look at you.

Her sudden fragility surprises you. In the same heartbeat, you answer. "But I do. Lin, I've had feelings for you for such a long time now," you tighten your grip on her hands, "After all we've been through, you must know that."

Hooded eyes meet your own once more; the familiar green swallowed up by dark, blown pupils; "You could have any man or woman you want, why would you choose me?"

A soft chuckle falls past your lips, and you shake your head slightly. And it's almost endearing, how innocent and young Lin looks right now. "Oh, Lin." You let go of her hands, and both your arms go around Lin's shoulders instead. You're quick enough to catch her off guard and steal a small welp of surprise from her. You hold her tight when you throw yourself back down on the bed, bringing Lin down with you until you're once again a mess of tangled limbs and sheets.

Lin's hands go around your waist out of instinct, and she has no time to do or say anything before you're peppering her face with kisses. Your lips find her cheeks, the curve of her brows, the dried tear tracks on the side of her mouth, her eyelids, and her nose.

You don't stop loving on her until you get your prize; a small yet genuine laugh out of Lin. She buries her face into your neck, and you can sense your heart flutter in your chest when you feel the shape of Lin's smile against your skin. You tighten your grip on her, holding her closer; only because you can.

There's something enchanting in how Lin eventually holds herself up on her elbows to look down at you as half of her body lies on top of you. Her legs tangle with yours, her bare chest is pressed warmly against yours, and her hair frames her face dreamily as it falls in waves beside her cheeks.

"Because, Lin," You start, gazing up into her eyes as if she holds the sun in her hands. And maybe for you, she does, because the golden light coming from the window shines like a halo behind her, and there's no one else in this world you adore more. "It's you my heart beats for." You reach for one of Lin's hands, placing it right above your chest, right above your racing heart that beats in the rhythm of her name. Hardly daring to breathe, you whisper, "I think I'd choose you in all my lifetimes."

It's quiet, the way Lin basks in the love you've finally put on full display. But one last tear falls from the corner of her eye; it traces a path beside the bridge of her nose, following how she gazes down at you; it eventually falls against your cheek, and continues its path on you, until disappearing against the pillow. At last, Lin slowly leans down. There's a newfound timidness in how her nose brushes yours, right before her lips press into the corner of your mouth. She lingers there; it's a promise and confession wrapped in one.

Your hand shifts on her waist; you lay your palm more firmly against her naked back, pulling her decidedly against you. Lin fits with you like a puzzle piece finding its place, and you feel the reassuring beat of her heart resting so close to yours.

"I'd choose you, too." You feel the shape of Lin's words more than you hear them.

You turn your head, closing your eyes when her lips find yours as though pulled by gravity. Lin smiles against your lips; "It's always been you."

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆･

Lin’s taglist is open, let me know if you’d like to be added. Or you can follow @talesofesther-library and turn notifications on to know when I’ve posted a new story/chapter.

Thank you for reading this story. Feedback and reblogs are literally what keeps me motivated to continue posting here, so I’d appreciate it if you could take some time to reblog and comment. <3

And then there was you. You wore an elegant Water Tribe dress that hugged your body like moonlit water; layers of pale blue and white fabric embroidered with delicate silver patterns shimmered whenever you moved. Your dark hair had been pinned back with carved ornaments, leaving a few soft strands framing your face.

Toph didn't need her sight to know every person in the room had noticed you.

She could feel it. Tiny shifts in weight, hesitations in footsteps, conversations faltering for half a heartbeat whenever you passed nearby.

This much attention directed at you irritated her far more than she wanted to admit.

The evening itself was pleasant. You shared gossip with Katara while admiring the palace gardens visible through the enormous windows. You listened patiently as Aang excitedly explained a restoration project he wanted to begin near one of the old Air Temples. You even sparred verbally with Mai for several minutes before somehow earning the older girl's faintest hint of a smile.

Toph hovered nearby through most of it. Not too close to become obvious; she'd never admit she was following you around the reception hall. Yet keeping close to you had become something of a habit over the past several months. A dangerous one.

Because somewhere between quiet conversations during travels, shared campfires beneath unfamiliar stars, and lingering touches that lasted a second too long, the lines between you and her had started to blur together in something so messy neither of you knew what it was anymore.

It had always happened in secret. Always somewhere no one could catch or interrupt; hidden balconies, empty hallways, quiet corners after everyone else had fallen asleep.

The first kiss had been impulsive. It had happened because of an argument, something about Toph throwing herself face-first into danger with no regard for consequences. She had teased you then, asking with a smirk on her lips if you'd cry if she were to die a glorious death in battle. But there had been no hint of joy in your words when you'd all but whimpered that yes, you very much would. To this day, you didn't know if it was the raw emotion of your words, or if maybe Toph sensed something in your body that even you hadn't known was there. But on that same heartbeat, you'd felt both of Toph's steady hands press against your jaw and pull you into her. The kiss was a little messy and a little too rushed, but it had successfully shut both of you up.

The second had been confusing. You had just saved a small village from local bandits, light work, and yet the residents felt the need to show their gratitude in numbers. A banquet had been organized, with enough wine to quench a small town. The night had stretched into hours deep enough that neither of you could know if you were closer to morning or midnight. And you and Toph had been the only ones remaining under the stars, sitting close together beside a small dying fire. Toph had a bottle in her hand, even if her words were already slurred enough, and your laughter followed hers with the same kind of ease. And it had happened without either of you quite allowing it to. Toph had leaned over you, her body pressing firmly into yours until your back was flush with the cold dirt of the ground. Her strong arms had settled around your head, and her mouth found yours under the haze of wine and the smell of fire smoke. But she had tasted sweet and addictive, enough for your hands to find her waist and bury under her shirt and keep her there with you for another hour or two.

Everything after that had simply become impossible to stop.

And on many occasions, you had tried to bring it up, to talk with her about what exactly the two of you had become. You had tried to understand what all those shared moments behind closed doors meant for you both now. And each time, Toph would dodge the conversation. She'd joke, or she'd change the subject.

Or she'd just lean in and steal another kiss until neither of you remembered what you had been discussing in the first place.

The truth of it, however, ran deeper. You beautifully scared Toph. Each time she walked into rooms hoping to find you, each time she pressed her feet more firmly against the ground only to find the steady pulse of your heartbeat, she was faced with the fact that her own heart had begun beating to the rhythm of your name.

And if she ever allowed you to become truly hers, she would be allowing herself to love you, to admit that she wanted to.

Because by loving her, you held a dagger to her heart. And in loving you back, she would be telling you exactly where to cut.

And that felt much more frightening than pretending nothing had changed.

──∘◎∘──

The feeling started as a vibration. Not on the floor, but in her chest.

Toph tilted her head, hair falling over her pale eyes as she focused her senses. There was something out of place, something that didn't belong next to you.

Across the ballroom, you were speaking with Zuko. Nothing unusual, you had become good friends over the years. But then you laughed, and Zuko laughed too. He leaned closer to hear you over the music, and you lightly touched his arm while making another joke.

To everyone else, it looked perfectly innocent.

To Toph, every tiny movement echoed through the polished stone beneath her feet. She sensed exactly how you gripped Zuko's arm, leaning closer to him until your forehead nearly touched his shoulder. Toph felt your footsteps angle toward him. Felt Zuko mirror your stance and step a little closer. Felt you standing close enough to him that your heartbeats nearly aligned in Toph's perception.

Her own heart twisted painfully. Something hot and ugly settled heavily in her stomach, and she nearly shattered the wine glass she held between her fingers.

Toph didn't like this. Not one bit.

Before she realized what she was doing, she was already walking. Her footsteps quick and purposeful, pushing her way past the crowd without a care when people grumbled about her lack of politeness.

She reached your side, caught you gently but firmly by the wrist, and without a word, pulled you away.

A small gasp of surprise escaped you when you were suddenly snatched away from the conversation. Nearly tripping over your own feet, you struggled to keep up with Toph's fast pace. "Toph?" You called as she guided you between guests. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

There was no answer. All you could do was watch Toph's raven-dark hair bounce over her shoulders as she walked; loose for once, maybe because you had once told her how much you loved it when she allowed those long dark strands to frame her face.

Toph guided you through one of the quieter corridors, branching away from the party. She tucked you both away in a shadowed corner, just shy of the prying eyes of the other guests.

Toph pushed against your chest with a calculated shove. You stumbled backwards and had to suppress what would have been an embarrassing yelp when your back suddenly hit the wall with a muffled thud, instead settling for grasping onto Toph's waist tightly, the fabric of her suit jacket twisting in your hands. Her muscular arms caged you there in an instant, her hands settled against the wall on either side of you, instinctively creating a small world that belonged only to the two of you.

"Toph?" You asked in a breathless hush, watching the outline of her features under the dim light spilling from the party just a few steps around the corner.

The hallway was empty. The music became distant. The moment you were alone, Toph pressed her whole body against yours, solid and warm, one leg between both of yours as her arms kept your face in place.

Your lips met in a kiss that carried every ounce of emotion she'd been trying to bury for months. It wasn't careful. It wasn't hesitant. It was the kiss of someone desperate to reassure herself that the person in front of her was still there.

Toph's hands moved to settle against your jaw, her thumbs pressing into your cheeks and pulling you painfully close. She caught your lower lip between both of hers, lightly tugging on it with her teeth before she slowly soothed it with her tongue.

And your head was spinning as breathing wasn't your brain's priority. Your fingers sneaked under the hem of Toph's shirt, finding the defined curve of her waist and running your nails over the skin there; it gave beneath your touch, pliant under your hands as if she'd been made for your touch alone.

The feeling of Toph pressed so closely against you was near dizzying. Her presence was all-consuming; it felt like white noise and being submerged underwater all the same time—it was the feeling of her soft, insistent lips on yours, and the way you could feel her pulling in a deep breath before a raspy groan came from the back of her throat and she was leaning forward again. Whatever it was that kept you tied to her, you embraced it.

Toph kissed you sweet, warm and tasting like expensive wine; inebriating in the way she pulled you impossibly close to her as if feeling the beat of your heart flush against her own was the only thing keeping her afloat.

When she finally pulled back for a moment, as her lungs ached for air, a fresh wave of heat rushed through you at the sight of Toph; the woman's cheeks unmistakably flushed, her lips swollen with a faint smear of your dark lipstick decorating them prettily. Small cracks in the usually so confident and unbreakable earthbending master.

Your chest heaved as it caught up with the lack of air, and you blinked several times to focus back on reality. "W-What…" Your voice stumbled, hands still buried deep under Toph's shirt. "Toph, what the hell was that about?"

She hesitated, gasping for air just as much as you. She angled her head away from you, running her tongue over her bottom lip and still tasting you there. "You and Sparky." Was all she grumbled.

A scoff escaped you before you could bite it back. "Zuko?!"

"You were all…" Toph gestured vaguely before settling her hands against the wall again, as if she wasn't willing to let you go just yet. "…cozy together."

Your mouth fell agape as confusion slowly painted your features. You removed one hand from under Toph's shirt in order to push strands of hair away from her pale eyes. Your fingers traced the edge of her eyebrow as you did so, until you reached behind her ear and softly tangled your touch between the silky strands of her dark hair. Toph timidly leaned into your hand.

"I was just talking with him," you reasoned eventually.

There was a huff, and suddenly she was pulling away as if your hand had burned her. "You touched him." Toph spat the words, "More than once."

You stared at her for long seconds before understanding finally settled across your features. "Toph…"

"I didn't like it." She snapped, sharper than she'd meant it to be.

Silence stretched between you. Your brows scrunched with indignation, and you took hold of both her wrists, decidedly pushing her arms down and holding her there.

And Toph let you, partly frustrated with how easily you disarmed her.

"You don't get to be jealous." Your voice was even; a quiet, bittersweet finality wrapped around it sent a rush of cold dread to Toph's stomach.

A humorless chuckle fell past Toph's lips. "What?"

"You heard me." Though your voice didn't hold half the conviction it needed for what you were trying to establish, you still pressed on. "You… don't get to act like I'm yours whenever someone else gets close." The words hurt you as much as they did her; they rolled off your tongue like sharp razors because you wished you didn't have to say them at all.

Toph opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She shook one hand free of your grasp, trying to reach for your cheek. Unable to find the right words, she leaned forward, hoping another kiss might somehow communicate everything she couldn't say aloud.

You pushed her hand away.

"I've wanted us to be together for months," you continued quietly, shaking your head and looking away from her lest your words tangle in themselves. "I've waited because I know this vulnerability scares you."

Toph's shoulders stiffened, and she took a step back as if to brace herself for a blow. "Stop it." Her heart was too loud in her ears, and her hands grew clammy; it felt as if sand had swallowed her feet because Toph's senses were all jumbled up.

"But every time I try to talk about us…" You whispered, and then paused as your thumb, which was still pressed against Toph's wrist, caught on the rapid beating of her pulse. You inhaled sharply, trying to push away the what-ifs. "…you avoid it."

Another silence stretched, hovering like a dark cloud.

"You only kiss me when nobody can see." Despite your voice almost being carried away by the distant music coming from the party, each quiet word landed heavier than the last. "It started making me wonder if you were embarrassed or… or ashamed of me."

Toph's face did something complicated, and she slipped back behind her defenses, crossing her arms over her chest like a barrier between you. "That's nonsense." She shrugged halfheartedly, blowing away a long strand of her hair that had fallen over her nose. It didn't go very far, the end of it catching on the corner of her mouth. "It couldn't be further from the truth."

You pursed your lips, still sensitive from the kiss of mere minutes ago. She was stubborn like that, you knew well, even when you could see her fingers tapping her arm rhythmically, as if she needed the motion to keep her busy and from doing something a little reckless.

"Then prove it." You tugged your messy hair free from its updo, allowing it to fall over your bare shoulders and hopefully hide the pink flush of your cheeks. "Just… tell me this means something for you, at least."

Toph seemed to sense the motion, her head angled back toward you. And her lips parted momentarily, as if she were ready to curse her lack of sight for keeping her from seeing you properly. Her fingers tightened their grip on her own arm, breath running shallow.

She said nothing.

A beat passed, then two. You closed your eyes, feeling something cold settle on your chest.

You nodded slowly, "I'm going back to the party."

And then you were gone. And Toph felt the absence like her heart had just been carved out of her chest.

──∘◎∘──

The palace gardens were quiet; moonlight spilled across smooth stone paths and sleeping flowers.

Toph sat alone on the edge of a fountain, her bare feet dipping into the water and causing ripples that reflected the moon's hazy glow. She gripped the stone of the border; it crackled under her frustration.

For the first time in what felt like forever, everything was too quiet. She remembered your lips, the warmth she'd always leaned toward without thinking. The softness of your laugh. The steady rhythm of your heartbeat whenever you stood close together—a rhythm Toph knew better than anyone else.

She had memorized it without realizing. She could probably pick out your heartbeat from hundreds of people. And she did. Each time you fought side by side, half of her senses were tuned to your pulse all the time. When you lie down to sleep under the stars, Toph counted your heartbeats until sleep took her over. Even when she had her mouth on yours, leaving you breathless and causing that same beat to quicken under her hands, she followed it; she let it guide her, she allowed your heart to tell her where to touch, where to press her mouth a little firmer to get the reaction she wanted.

The realization struck Toph all at once and almost had her slipping deeper into the fountain. She didn't simply enjoy being around you. She had built pieces of herself around you.

Around your voice, your kindness, your terrible jokes, your stubborn optimism, your heartbeat that guided her own.

And the thought of losing that… it hollowed something inside her so completely that she nearly felt nauseous.

No, she wasn't afraid of loving you. She was afraid of admitting just how completely she already did. And that fear had nearly cost her everything.

Toph stood, leaving damp footprints behind her as she rushed back inside the palace.

For once in her life, she knew exactly what she wanted.

──∘◎∘──

Conversation filled the ballroom once more as Toph returned. Picking up a thousand different shapes and voices and vibrations with her senses so suddenly almost made her dizzy.

With a quiet groan past her lips, Toph forced herself to focus. She eased her breathing, frowning slightly as she travelled the entire room in a single moment. And she immediately sensed that her friends all stood together near the center of the hall.

You were there, too, laughing at something Sokka had said while Katara halfheartedly pushed at her brother's shoulder, balancing a drink in her other hand.

Without hesitation, Toph walked straight toward them with newfound confidence, once again pushing her way through the crowd. She didn't bother with words; they were never her strong suit anyway. Toph simply found your hand, interlacing your fingers together, and gently pulled you closer to her.

The room seemed to hold its breath alongside you. Aang stopped mid-sentence, Sokka's eyebrows shot upward, Katara nearly dropped her drink, and even Zuko seemed pleasantly surprised.

Your breath hitched with a poorly hidden gasp when Toph's free hand settled decidedly on your waist, pulling your body more completely against hers. "T-Toph," her name stumbled past your lips as you felt heat creeping up your neck when the stares of everyone around you turned in your direction, "I just said-"

Toph didn't care; she shut you up the moment her mouth collided with yours. The hand resting on your waist shifted up, tracing a path over the fabric of your dress and holding you more firmly against her. The kiss was not hidden behind closed doors. Not stolen in secret. Not something to be denied tomorrow morning. It was a real thing, out in the open and under the eyes of hundreds of people. One that said everything she'd been too frightened to speak, now displayed louder than a scream.

Toph's hair tickled your cheek when she leaned into you, letting go of your hand so she could bring her palm to your jaw as if she were trying to see the shape of you in every conceivable way.

When you finally parted, Toph remained close enough that her nose still brushed yours. And her thumb reached to trace the outline of your lower lip, as if to make sure you weren't just a daydream. When Toph spoke, you felt the shape of her words against your lips; "You're mine," she whispered, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "And I want everyone to know that."

Air left your lungs all over again. Your hands clutched at the lapel of Toph's suit jacket, holding onto her because you weren't sure your knees could keep you standing right now. "I… I think you made it pretty clear to everyone here." A chuckle escaped you, feeling faint with the way she loved on you.

Toph bit at the edge of her lips as if it took every ounce of her strength to hold herself back from claiming your mouth with hers again and again. Instead, she settled for leaning in and giving a peck to the corner of your lips, before pushing further until her voice was close to your ear, "Good."

A few steps beside you, Sokka had a large grin on his face as he elbowed Zuko and extended his palm, wiggling his fingers. "I told you it would work. Hand it over."

With a huff, Zuko dropped a few gold pieces into Sokka's hand and gave his friend an unamused side-eye. "You'll be the one emptying your pockets when I get the day of their wedding right."

Toph ignored every reaction in the room. The only heartbeat she cared about was the one standing right in front of her.

And now, she had no intention of ever pretending otherwise.

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆･

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