(A/N: Apologies for the late chapter, yesterday was rough.)
You travel forward on Appa as Katara covers you in a cloud. "I think I see a cave below." Aang says, lowering towards the cave.
"Shh! Keep quiet!" Sokka exclaims. Katara clears the cloud and everyone jumps off. "Great job with the cloud camo, but next time, let's disguise as the type of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut."
"Yeah, wouldn't want a bird to hear us up there and turn us in." Toph replies sarcastically.
"Hey, we're in enemy territory. Those are enemy birds."
"How... how stupid are you?" You ask, dumbfounded. A bird jumps onto his head and squawks, prompting the other three to laugh. Everyone starts to walk past him and he somehow manages to leap over everyone and take lead. You bump past him. "It's clear." You say. Everyone follows you inside.
"Well, this is it. This is how we'll be living until the invasion. Hiding in cave after cave... after cave... after cave..."
"Hey Dimwit, you do know that motels and shit exists, right? Or abandoned houses? Or literally any place outside?"
"Y/N's right, we don't need to become cave people. What we need are some new clothes."
"Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out." Aang agrees. "If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."
"Plus, they have real food out there." Toph adds, "Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?" She punches the wall and hundreds come hopping out of it. Momo Takes one and eats it contently.
"Looks like we got outvoted, sport." Sokka sighs, "Let's get some new clothes."
"Aang, you're the expert on this, you lead the way." You say. Aang shrugs and takes the lead, as you strap your sword onto Appa. Eventually you spot a house after a good hour of searching and duck into cover. They are doing laundry, so swiping some should be easy. "Guys, over here!" You whisper-shout. "This looks like our best bet."
"He's right." Sokka agrees.
"I'm with him." Toph adds on.
"Guys, I don't know about this, these clothes belong to someone." Aang starts.
"I call the silk robe robe!" Katara cheers.
"Looks like you're outvoted, flyboy." You shrug, "And I just spotted a linen tunic that is crying out to me, gotta blast!" You quickly follow Katara's lead and the rest aren't far behind you. You pick out your covering and wrap it over your gray shirt, and snag a hair clip from the ground, pinning your hair out of your face. You meet back up with Aang and Sokka. Aang's in some kind of uniform and Sokka's in... a long shirt? (Will fix if someone tells me wtf he's wearing.)
Toph walks towards you, "Well, Graceless, how do I look?"
"You'd hit me for being too sappy." You say.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"How else could you take it?"
"You'd be amazed at a genius' mind, Y/N. Too much so to comprehend what I'm saying." Then she looks down. "I should probably wear shoes, huh?"
"Is that a problem?" you ask as she sits down.
"No... but I won't be able to see that well." She pops off the sole of the shoe she has on, "Sorry shoe!" you dodge the projectile as it flies through the air, nailing Sokka in the face. He doesn't look too happy. You look back at Toph and see her testing out the soleless shoes, "Finally, some stylish shoes for the blind earthbender."
Next is Katara who shows up in her silk dress. "How do I look?" Even you have to admit that she looks good. She's no Toph, but she pulls it off. You give her a thumbs up.
Aang's mouth is agape and his face is flushed red. "Close your mouth kid, you'll catch flies." You say, Toph and Sokka giggle.
Aang is about to tell her she's beautiful before he stops. "Your Mom's necklace..."
"Oh. Right." Katara sounds almost shameful as she takes it off, "I guess it's pretty obvious its water tribe isn't it?" She holds it in her hand as Aang places a hand on her shoulder with a comforting smile. She smiles back.
"Aang here will buy you another necklace in town." You say, sneakily sliding some coins in his pocket before walking forwards, And the piggy bank has run on empty. "If you want me to, I can hold onto that one, keep it safe." She hands you her mother's necklace and you put it away, before looking around. "There was a sign back there that said to follow the trail to get to town. It shouldn't be too far away."
"That's our only option." Aang decides.
Katara finds a red necklace she has a taste for and puts it on and Aang pays for it. Toph grabs a golden headband, similar to her old one, before putting some of her own coins on the table, and Sokka puts his hair into a similar clip and fashion to yours. Aang shoves Momo into his vest.
"I actually know this place." Aang says, "I used to visit my friend Kuzon here 100 years ago. So everyone follow my lead and stay cool." He tries to be charismatic, saying, "Or as they say in the Fire Nation, stay flamin'."
"I don't know how... modern that is?" you ask, scratching your beard before catching up to them.
"Greetings, my good hotman!" He cheers. You physically cringe and the guy he was talking to seems to be having an existential crisis of confusion. Sokka takes lead after a second and guides everyone towards an eat-in. "Oh, we're going to a meat place?"
"Come on Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat!" He points at a cow-hippo as it eats a pile of steaks.
Aang looks uncomfortable, "You guys go ahead, I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage."
"Well... try not to draw attention." You reply, clapping him on the shoulder and walking into the eat-in.
Eventually dusk comes with no signs of Aang. "This is getting ridiculous, we need to find him!"
"Y/N, come on. We need to wait." Katara sighs.
"I've been waiting for three hours, Kay, I'm about fucking done."
"Y/N, no." Toph commands with furious intensity.
"Fine." you decide after a period of silence. You sit down next to her, "I'll wait thirty more minutes."
"That won't be necessary." Toph replies. Suddenly you hear a sliding sound and watch as Aang lands at the mouth of the cave. "I know those little footsteps anywhere."
"Where have you been?" Katara demands, "We've been worried sick."
"I got invited to play with some kids after school."
"After what?!" You and Sokka shout at the same time.
"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school. I'm going back tomorrow."
Again, you and Sokka share the same reaction, "Enrolled in what?!" Sokka faints and you wear a look of genuine confusion. You all sit around the campfire before long, you sitting between Toph and Aang. Sokka speaks up first. "Look, I'm trying to be mature here and not immediately shoot down your idea but it sounds... really terrible."
"Yeah!" Toph agrees, "We got our outfits, what do you need to go to school for?"
"Every minute I'm inside that classroom, I'm learning new things about the fire nation nation! I already have a picture of Firelord Ozai." He shows it to everyone. "And here's one that I made out of noodles."
"That's actually not bad." You note.
Sokka nods, "I'll admit, that is impressive, but I still think it's too dangerous."
"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river then, it goes right to the Firelord's palace."
"How secret could a river be? They're teaching about it in a public school."
"We don't know about it, though." Toph shrugs.
"We're supposed to be learning about it in class tomorrow."
"I am a fan of secret rivers... Fine. We'll stay a few more days." Sokka decides.
"Flamey-o hotman!" Aang cheers, running into the cave.
"Flamey-o?" Sokka asks.
You and Katara shrug. Sokka begins to indulge in a conversation with Katara and you follow Toph out of the cave and to the shore. "It's been a while since we've had time to ourselves." You say, sitting down on the dirt out of reach of the water. She sits next to you. I miss being so close to you without the awkward looks."
"We just spent time together yesterday."
"Yeah, but Sokka ruined it." You hug her close to you. "I hope that kid knows what he's doing."
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's dumb, not stupid." Toph says, comfortably leaning into your embrace. "Sometimes I forget what it's like to be held like this." she whispers. "I wish I could see your face right now."
"I know." You kiss her softly, "I know." She pushes her lips onto yours as the sun whispers its final lights before disappearing on the horizon and letting the moon have its turn to rule the sky.
"You're turning me into a sap." she lazily accuses.
"They say that as time goes on, you become more and more like the person you love the most in the world." You place your chin on top of her head and hum a song as you cuddle with her, taking off her headband, putting it in your bag and running your fingers through her hair. "God, I love you." You whisper.
"Why are you telling Him?"
"He needs love too, Darling." She punches you and you laugh. "We should get inside."
"I'll protect you from the cave spiders." Toph jokes. You bite your lip. "I can't wait till this is over, we can do this all the time."
"Me either, darling."
Suddenly Aang storms into the cave with alarming speed, you and Sokka are discussing strategy and Katara and Toph are discussing... something. "The school said that I need to bring my parents!"
"What did you do?" You ask.
"I was talking to a girl and her boyfriend attacked me!"
"You... you do realise that Fire Nation men are the most territorial creatures on Earth, right?"
"That isn't the point, I'll be punished if my parents don't come."
"Alright, me and Toph-"
"No!" Sokka cuts in, "You're a member of a family famous for fighting the Fire Nation, they'll recognize you in an instant. Toph is a Beifong."
"Sokka's right." Toph sighs, "We have easily identifiable faces."
"Right, so it's up to you guys." Aang decides, looking at Katara and Sokka. They look at each other and cringe. "We need to do this, or Fire Nation Guards could get involved."
"I guess you're right." Katara decides, "But we'll need some disguises."
"Well I could pitch in." You declare.
"That settles it, no more school for you, young man!" Sokka exclaims, stroking his fake beard.
"I'm not ready to leave, I'm having fun for once." Aang replies, "Just being a normal kid. You don't know what it's like, Sokka, you get to be normal all the time."
"Ha ha." Toph interjects sarcastically, receiving a scowl from Sokka.
"Well, what about Y/N?"
"I'm a liberator with a long past and an even longer body count, nothing's normal about me."
"Listen, those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we wanna change this place for the better, we need to show them a little taste of freedom."
"What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?" Sokka asks.
"I'm gonna throw them a secret dance party." He does a dance, and everyone stares at him with agape mouths.
"I take it back, I know why Sokka's the idea guy."
"Go to your room!" Sokka orders.
Over the next hour as Aang sends invitations, you, Katara and Toph set up the room and Sokka mopes. "I can't believe that we're actually going through with this." You mutter.
"Hey, it could be worse. Swallow your pride." Katara says.
"Yeah, if you be good, I might treat you to a dance." Toph says.
"I hate being a third wheel." Sokka whines.
"I think they're cute." Katara interjects.
"I legitimately think they're psychopaths."
"You aren't wrong." You reply, smugly, as you light a candle.
"I'm blind, not deaf." A pillar of rock knocks you into the ceiling Aang has shown up giving you a questioning look while you lay crumpled on the ground. Toph then stomps on the ground and a stage forms.
"I seriously can't believe we're doing this." Sokka complains, "It seems so... silly."
"Don't think of it as a dance party, think of it as a cultural event celebrating the art of fancy footwork." He does another dance.
"Okay, Graceless, that's a little melodramatic don't you think? Get up." Toph says, holding back a grin.
"Maybe you could give me a hand?"
"I'm not falling for that again."
"Aw, you're no fun." You push yourself to a seated position. "When are the lackeys coming?"
"Right now!" Toph calls, "Everyone stop bending!" Aang puts away Appa as you brush yourself off. "Not gonna complain about your shirt?"
"It all got caught on the tunic."
"You're wearing a tunic?!" Toph blushes deeply.
"Over my other clothes, yes."
"Oh, right. Yeah." She laughs nervously as the Fire Nation kids show up and set up their instruments before playing a weird hymnal. And more shuffle into the cave. "We're gonna get busted."
"Well, you do hate authority."
"That is true." she shrugs before pecking your lips. "Let's have fun tonight."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the flamey-o's!" Aang calls. Nobody moves and Aang gets confused.
"Now what do we do?" a kid asks.
"This is when you start dancing."
"I don't think my parents want me dancing in a cave." Another says.
"Yeah, what if we're found out?" A third agrees.
"Oh boy. Listen guys, dancing isn't something you think about. It's a form of self-expression that no one can ever take away from you."
The first kids walks forward, "Maybe it was different in the colonies, Kuzon, but we don't do that here."
"Sure you do, you have for generations! It just so happens that I know several classic fire nation dances." He starts performing. "A hundred years ago, this was known as the Phoenix Flight." He starts a second, "and this was the Chamelephant Strut." You chuckle and sit at the table with Toph and Katara.
"Who knew Twinkletoes could dance?" Toph laughs.
Katara watches him and smiles, "I don't know how anyone could dance to this kind of music." You shrug.
"It isn't so bad." Katara argues.
"You'd think so. I like slower, melodic music. This sounds like a swarm of angry bees."
"Oh come on. There's worse." Toph says. "You're a complainer."
"Well as long as you like it."
"And this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se!" Aang cheers, showing a girl a simplistic dance. You look at Toph and she nods. You both stand.
"That may be how they've done it in the past, but I have more recent tastes." Cue dance off. You and Toph enjoy a fairly simple swing. When you finish, everyone cheers and claps. "But his is better for beginners." You say, wiping sweat off your face. As he continues, Toph leads you back to the table.
"Where'd you learn to dance?"
"Right here." You both laugh.
"I love you." she says, shaking her head and pushing her forehead against yours.
"I love you too." Before long, everyone's in on Aang's dance and he pulls Katara away for a dance with him. "You guys have fun. I'll keep an eye on the Dimwit for ya!" They engage in a classic fire nation swing and everyone cheers and claps. Even you join in on the clapping. "They look good together." You laugh.
"Eh, if you like that sort of thing." Sokka replies, stroking his beard. Suddenly the party dies and you see a group of adults at the mouth of the cave.
"I don't think they're lost." You mutter.
"He's the one we want! The one with the headband." Aang pushes through the crowd and everyone moves under cover towards the back exit. You make sure that Toph is unseen. Aang follows right behind you and Toph as you dart out of the exit and Toph closes off the cave. You all climb onto Appa and fly into the night.
"We're safe Sokka, you can take off the mustache now." Katara says.
"Oh no I can't. It's permanently glued to my skin."
Toph says to Aang: "Way to go dancy pants, that's the most fun I've had in a while." She grabs your hand. "And I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free."
"I don't know, it was just a dance party, that's all."
"Well that was some dance party, Aang." Katara says before she kisses him on the cheek.
Sokka claps for his friend, "Flamey-o, sir. Flamey-o."