#I cannot think of a clever title for the life of me I'm sorry lol

[stitch1830]

@gemgirl28 You begged me to write it, and I have a hard time saying no, so here's some word vomit about this headcanon LOL. Hope this is kind of what you were hoping/looking for... Thanks for letting me take a whack at it :)

......

Aang took a deep breath, knelt down, and cradled Appa’s face with his hands. “Alright, buddy. It’s time to meet her. Now, I know this isn’t what either of us wanted, but this is the way it’s gotta be. We still have some time together because we gotta make sure you two are compatible, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, I love you and you are the greatest friend any man can have.”

Appa just licked his snout and panted in excitement like always. Aang smiled at his training companion and stood up.

“What do you say to a little jog to the front, huh, buddy?”

His furry friend barked in agreement and Aang tightened his grip on Appa’s leash. “Alright buddy, let’s go!” Aang began to run and eventually skipped alongside Appa. With each skipped step, Aang yelled out “Yip! Yip!” Which only enticed the Labrador Retriever to run faster down the hall than he was probably allowed to.

Luckily, Aang was right there, and not many of his coworkers had the heart to ever really say no to the man.

When they reached the entrance of the training center, Aang halted abruptly, causing Appa to slide to a halt as well. Sitting by the glass doors was a young woman, a pretty woman. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was slumped in her seat, as if she’d rather be anywhere else than where she currently was. And yet, Aang couldn’t take his eyes off her.

Maybe it was the way her jet black hair shined from the glass door’s reflection. Or the way her lips pursed in annoyance. Or the way her eyebrows would raise at random times as if she was thinking about something that made her skeptical. Or maybe it was simply because she looked like she had so much to share with the world, but refused to entertain them.

Whatever it was, Aang wanted to speak with her for as long as possible.

One tiny problem, though. He just needed to confirm a day and time for their training sessions with Appa and that was it.

But, Aang was quick on his feet. He could muster up a few quick conversations with—Aang glanced down at his form—Toph. He could chat with Toph for a while. How hard could it be?

The young man and his furry companion approached the young woman sitting down by the receptionist desk. Before Aang could say anything, though, the woman—Toph—spoke first.

“Did you just skip over here? Please tell me your name is Twinkletoes or something, because that’s the only reason I’d allow for you to be fucking skipping around like a first grader.”

“Uh, no… My name’s Aang, though, and you must be Toph!”

Toph let out a small huff. “Twinkletoes suits you better.”

“Okay... I’ll keep that in mind,” he stuttered, hoping to keep the conversation lively and somewhat engaging. “Well anyways, this is Appa, and here at the center we paired you up with him. We just want to, um, make sure that you two will be compatible.”

Toph waved a hand at Aang. “Yeah, yeah, Twinkletoes. Just tell me when you need me here every week.”

“Well, actually, I do have a few questions to ask you right now. Appa is a very special dog to me, and I, um. I just want to make sure you guys are good together!”

“Didn’t you just say that was what the weekly sessions are for?” She pointed an accusatory finger at him with deadly precision.

“Um, yeah…” he began, rubbing the back of his neck to calm his nerves. “But I need to do my own assessment!”

“Your own assessment?”

“Yes! You see—“

“—Can’t do that, Twinkletoes.” Toph waved her hand across her eyes, and Aang internally groaned at his density.

“I—uh—oh. Sorry. Poor choice of words,” he replied sheepishly.

She laughed, and it made Aang’s heart flutter. He needed to hear that laugh again. “Relax, Twinkles. I was making a joke. Blind people can do that too, you know.”

“Right… I guess you can say it fell on… deaf ears?” He nearly slapped his face then and there. Deaf ears???

But much to his relief, she let out another giggle. “Dear God, Aang. You have such bad jokes. Let’s go back to you explaining your interrogation before the interrogation/training session.”

Aang gave a weak chuckle in reply, then said, “It’s just that, with every guide dog that I train, I like to make sure that prior to our training sessions that you two will mesh well!”

It was bullshit, but he liked talking with her.

Toph seemed to see (figuratively) through the bullshit. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at Aang, then asked, “Are you fucking with me? Because it sure as hell sounds like you are.”

“No! Never, Toph. I really do want to get to know you a little bit beforehand.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine! What do you want to know?”

“Well, where are you from!”

“Here in the city.”

“Right… Uh, same, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Okay… well, what do you like to do for fun?”

“What does this have to do with me getting a guide dog?” she demanded

“Um… I’m just wondering if you two have any shared interests!”

Toph groaned and rubbed her hand over her face. “Listen, Twinkles. I like most things you can do outdoors. I’m sure Fluffy and I will get along swimmingly.”

“Well, that’s great! Anything in particular you like to do?”

“There’s a martial arts class in the park, and if I have a friend to guide me, I’ll jog. Are we done here?”

“Just one more—”

“—For crying out loud, Twinkletoes!” she whined. Toph stood up and approached Aang, giving his shoulder a firm poke after she grabbed it for reference. “I’ve got shit to do today. Now can we please just set up this time so that I can go on with my day?”

Aang couldn’t help but smile at Toph, even if it went unnoticed by her. “Absolutely, but I have one more question. Why do you want Appa to guide you?”

The question made Toph hesitate for a moment, and her tough exterior fell ever so slightly. The tension in her shoulder relaxed when she answered sincerely, “I’m a very independent woman. My cane has done well for me so far, but I just thought that maybe having a companion would help me gain more independence. Like going for a run without asking if a friend is available. Stairs have been an issue in the past too, could use some help knowing where those are... Stuff like that.

“Think Fluffy can help me with that?”

Again, Aang grinned from ear to ear. In his totally unbiased, objective opinion, Appa was the perfect companion for Toph. “Absolutely! We can start training tomorrow at 8AM if that’s okay. I’m happy to do daily sessions instead of weekly if you want to!”

“Easy there, Twinkles. Let’s just take it one session at a time.”

“That works, too! See you tomorrow, Toph!”

Toph waved a hand at him as she turned on her heel and made her way to the door. “See you never, Twinkletoes. You better not be skipping at fucking 8 in the morning…”

Aang let out a loving sigh as he watched Toph leave and round the corner out of his sight. He stood there for a moment, completely lost in his thoughts, when Appa nudged his leg. Aang looked down at Appa and smiled at him. “What do you think, buddy? She’s something isn’t she?”

“Who’s something?”

Aang turned to look at his coworker Sokka, who was cradling a puppy and smelled suspiciously like urine. “Oh, this woman named Toph. She’s Appa’s potential owner!”

“Oh yeah?” Sokka asked. He scanned his friend up and down to assess his current mood and put two and two together... “You like her, don’t you?”

“I think I’m in love with her.”

Sokka sighed. “Of course you are.”