Hot Sands and Hard Rocks

The Lake

I wake up slowly this morning.

Toph is mere inches away from my body, hers facing mine. Her arms are extended over the top of me, and she's still sound asleep.

Ok ok ok ok ok ok, what do I do, what do I do??

My face is burning through the pillow at this point. It's sort of weird to see Toph so vulnerable and caring..

Now I either have to wake her up, try to move her, or just leave her how it is.

I mean, I don't mind it... It's kind of nice to feel the closure. But, I don't want her to think I did anything, either..

Toph stirs slightly, shifting her posture. Now, the rest of her body is against mine, and her head is curled into my shoulder.

There's no moving now... But, she is really cute...

                               •••

I wake up quickly, the cause being a sharp pain in my gut.

Good morning to you too, Toph.

I open my eyes, and sure enough, Toph is getting off of the bed. She's clearly flustered.

No doubt about it. She woke up holding me.

I get up as well, preparing my stuff for the day. It's gonna be a big day...

I follow her out of the door a few minutes after her, and see the rest of the team, including Jet and his two friends.

"Great timing, we were just about to wake you two up." Sokka tells us.

"Well, here we are." I say, stretching and yawning.

"Off to Lake Laogai!" Aang leads.

He's really energetic, but I know it would be hard for him to sleep with how important today is.

We leave the house, setting out for the secret cavern.

"Hey, before everyone else woke up, I went to check on you on your room." Sokka starts. He offers me a fist bump. "Nice job man." He smirks.

"Whatever." I laugh and accept the gesture.

                               •••

We finally arrive at the lake. It's quite large, but doesn't seem that special or important. But, I guess that makes it even better to hide.

"So where's this secret headquarters?" Sokka asks Jet.

"Under the water, I think." He responds.

"There's a tunnel right there, by the shore." Toph speaks up, pointing.

She uses her bending to reveal the entrance, and opens it.

Momo flies off, and I can't blame him, what with how ominous this place is already. We all take the ladder down into the Earth.

We start walking down a long hallway, making sure to walk quickly but quietly.

"It's all starting to come back to me.." Jet says.

We walk past a room where we can hear multiple people talking, but we don't stop long enough to listen.

"I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa up ahead." Jet tells us.

We continue walking and reach a door.

"Through here." The rebel continues.

The room is huge, but absent of anything.

The door closes behind us, and it's apparent that it's a trap when the room lights up. We all look up, and see many Dai Li agents all around the room, and Long Feng is standing in front of us.