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storypaint) wrote2015-01-27 12:17 pm
storypaint) wrote2015-01-27 12:17 pm
Entry tags:
[Avatar: The Last Airbender] all the broken hearts in the world still beat (Zuko & Toph gen)
Title: all the broken hearts in the world still beat
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Length: 520 words
Prompt: This was meant for a Christmas card for Veda and Katie two Christmases ago. Oops.
Pairing: Zuko and Toph gen
Other: AU in which Toph and Zuko are trapped in the crystal cavern instead of Katara and Zuko.
Excerpt: The crystals cast an eerie glow on Toph's face. She scowled at the wall, reaching around carefully in the dirt with her feet. Zuko had never seen someone at once so determined and angry. Excepting himself, he supposed. He scuffed his foot, wishing he felt more useful.
The crystals cast an eerie glow on Toph's face. She scowled at the wall, reaching around carefully in the dirt with her feet. Zuko had never seen someone at once so determined and angry. Excepting himself, he supposed. He scuffed his foot, wishing he felt more useful.
"You met my uncle when?" he asked, to break the silence.
"Shut up," Toph said, "I'm trying to figure out where everyone is right now and the stupid crystals are not helpful. What are they even made of?"
"I don't think you find it outside Ba Sing Se," Zuko said.
"That clears that up," Toph answered sarcastically. There was a small rumble as her foot twitched. Zuko thought about the heavy caverns above them and hoped that Toph really was as good an earthbender as she claimed.
"Why are you ever here?" he asked, his temper getting the better of him.
"I told you, I owe your uncle a favor. And you're going to owe us a favor," she said. She slid across the floor without a moment of grace in her body, pushing up the world around her. Zuko had seen plenty of earthbenders work during his time in the city. There were a number of different styles, but none of them had been like Toph. There was a strange kind of beauty in it, he thought, and then immediately chastised himself for the thought. He should be keeping her here right now instead of allowing her to escape, but he couldn't bring himself to try. It didn't seem right, even knowing that the little blind girl could give him probably one of the hardest fights of his life. So he waited in his agony of indecision, accomplishing nothing. Ever since he got here, he found himself unable to figure out what moving forward meant.
"Come on," Toph said impatiently, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet. He ran after her, her grip tight on his fingers, not allowing him to stumble. They ran down further and further into the caverns until Zuko was sure they'd never emerge. The light crystals were long gone. He could see nothing, feel nothing but the ground beneath his feet and Toph's hand in his. He heard the occasional rumble but he wasn't sure if it was real or an auditory hallucination. Toph didn't talk unless she needed to give him directions. Her feet were sure.
When they finally emerged from the caves Zuko was momentarily blinded by the sun rising over the horizon. He stumbled and finally Toph let go and let him stop moving.
"You kept up," she said with a sort of begrudging admiration. "We can only stop for a minute, we have to meet Aang. I closed the tunnels behind us but that's not going to fool the Dai Li for long."
Zuko hesitated. Toph growled. "Be conflicted later, there's no time. I'm going to trust that you're the person your uncle said you were. If he turns out to be wrong, well... My feet said he wasn't lying."
This time, Zuko reached out to her, and she let him.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Length: 520 words
Prompt: This was meant for a Christmas card for Veda and Katie two Christmases ago. Oops.
Pairing: Zuko and Toph gen
Other: AU in which Toph and Zuko are trapped in the crystal cavern instead of Katara and Zuko.
Excerpt: The crystals cast an eerie glow on Toph's face. She scowled at the wall, reaching around carefully in the dirt with her feet. Zuko had never seen someone at once so determined and angry. Excepting himself, he supposed. He scuffed his foot, wishing he felt more useful.
The crystals cast an eerie glow on Toph's face. She scowled at the wall, reaching around carefully in the dirt with her feet. Zuko had never seen someone at once so determined and angry. Excepting himself, he supposed. He scuffed his foot, wishing he felt more useful.
"You met my uncle when?" he asked, to break the silence.
"Shut up," Toph said, "I'm trying to figure out where everyone is right now and the stupid crystals are not helpful. What are they even made of?"
"I don't think you find it outside Ba Sing Se," Zuko said.
"That clears that up," Toph answered sarcastically. There was a small rumble as her foot twitched. Zuko thought about the heavy caverns above them and hoped that Toph really was as good an earthbender as she claimed.
"Why are you ever here?" he asked, his temper getting the better of him.
"I told you, I owe your uncle a favor. And you're going to owe us a favor," she said. She slid across the floor without a moment of grace in her body, pushing up the world around her. Zuko had seen plenty of earthbenders work during his time in the city. There were a number of different styles, but none of them had been like Toph. There was a strange kind of beauty in it, he thought, and then immediately chastised himself for the thought. He should be keeping her here right now instead of allowing her to escape, but he couldn't bring himself to try. It didn't seem right, even knowing that the little blind girl could give him probably one of the hardest fights of his life. So he waited in his agony of indecision, accomplishing nothing. Ever since he got here, he found himself unable to figure out what moving forward meant.
"Come on," Toph said impatiently, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet. He ran after her, her grip tight on his fingers, not allowing him to stumble. They ran down further and further into the caverns until Zuko was sure they'd never emerge. The light crystals were long gone. He could see nothing, feel nothing but the ground beneath his feet and Toph's hand in his. He heard the occasional rumble but he wasn't sure if it was real or an auditory hallucination. Toph didn't talk unless she needed to give him directions. Her feet were sure.
When they finally emerged from the caves Zuko was momentarily blinded by the sun rising over the horizon. He stumbled and finally Toph let go and let him stop moving.
"You kept up," she said with a sort of begrudging admiration. "We can only stop for a minute, we have to meet Aang. I closed the tunnels behind us but that's not going to fool the Dai Li for long."
Zuko hesitated. Toph growled. "Be conflicted later, there's no time. I'm going to trust that you're the person your uncle said you were. If he turns out to be wrong, well... My feet said he wasn't lying."
This time, Zuko reached out to her, and she let him.