1. Chapter 1

A Doubles Match

This was going to go in my Toph and Aang one shot collection but it turned into its own story. Will be light on romance in till around the last chapter (3rd or 4th).

Katara and Zuko are together in the fire nation still in contact with the group. That's a different story.

Sokka left to wander on his own/find himself for a time. That's also a different story.

I picture Aang and Toph being about 16 in this shot.

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"An earth bending contest? Like the one you where in when we met?"

"That's right **Fancy dancer**, I haven't been in a good fight in quite some time."

"But we spar nearly every day."

"That's not the same it's not a real challenge when you know its just practice."

"Well it shouldn't be a problem. I'll come to cheer you on." Aang said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Actually I need your help, it's a doubles match and I need a partner."

"I would love to help, but I **am** the Avatar, so we would have an unfair advantage."

"Not if you only use earth bending, it would even be a small handicap to our team."

"Hey I've gotten a lot better at earth bending."

"Ya but you still think too much like an air bender. As I was saying, all we need to do is cover up that arrow on your head and nobody will know that you're the Avatar."

"I don't know."

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The next day Aang entered the arena in earth Kingdome garb with cover up hiding his tattoos. The man at the sign in desk told them that it was a single elimination match over a three day period. The two best teams would fight four rounds total.

Toph and Aang watched the other fifteen teams do stretches and other warm-ups around the elevated ring.

"Wow this is just like the stadium we met in."

"Yep, pretty standard setup really. We're scheduled for the sixth fight of today's eight matches, so we might as well find some good seats and enjoy the show."

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The first two watches where boring for Toph and dull for Aang. Just four earth benders clashing in an arena. The crowd seemed to love it especially when one guy hit his own team mate on accident.

The third battle though, that was something to get the unexcited Aang and Toph's attention. The firs team was like the ones before them, two brawlers teamed up for this one match. But the other team, a man and woman announced as team Ourea, when they moved, they moved as one animal, two parts of one deadly tiger-dillo.

When the match began team average launched a hail of rocks at Team Ourea but the man deftly stopped every thing they threw, as the woman quickly made her way to one of the other team's members. She pulled a slab of earth to hit her victim in the back of the knees causing him to fall, seeing his partner in trouble the other man launched his attacks at her, but they all where stopped short. An earth wave finished the man on the ground throwing him out of the ring.

Then Team Ourea wordlessly switched tasks, the woman blocked the rocks being thrown and the man caught the remaining enemy off guard with an angled earth spike throwing him out of the ring and ending the match.

"Maybe we should be warming up?"

"Ya, lets do that."

_Aang and Toph get to fight next chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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It was finally their mach and Aang and Toph where lead to the door they would enter through. They could just make out an announcers voice through the stone gate.

"_Give it up for a local favorite the duo of dirt Kinok and Tinok_." The crowd could be heard cheering.

"_And the challenging team the complementary outlaws the Blind Bandit and the Bald Brigand_."

"What? Bald Brigand?"

"I needed a fighting name for you and it went so well with mine. I could have used Fancy Dancer or Twinkle Toes. No time to argue lets go."

Walking in to the ring they where assaulted by half cheering and half heckling. "Bite me" was the Blind Bandit's response to the later. The outlaws could now see their opponents. At first Aang was worried at the sight of the two muscley men in matching sleeveless robes. Then they stepped forward and took their stances, they where not one in the way team Ourea was.

"_Begin_"

Rocks flew and the ground heaved. For the first minutes of the fight both teams where testing each other, figuring out the limits of the other team. The dust cleared from the firs exchange, no real injuries where taken and Aang decided they would be the firs team to step up the pace.

"Just like we talked about."

Toph needed no other explanation, taking a stance next to Aang and started bending medium sized rocks into the air in front of him; he in tern launched them toward their foe in what looked like a constant stream. This caught the opponent off guard, but when they split he could only follow one with the attack. Then he felt the ground turn to water beneath his feet. Toph had felt the attack coming and thwarted it for herself, but Aang didn't have sonar feet, so the rocks she continued to bend landed in the bleachers where nobody sat for fear of just such a mishap.

Seeing an opening the duo of dirt attacked with their own team move. The rock they flung must have been four tons and was propelled by not one but two earth benders. Aang barely recovered in time to do anything.

"I have an idea, you crack that thing and leave the rest to me."

And she did. The bolder split but rocky shrapnel flew forward. Aang launched himself into the deadly shards bending them towards the ones who had originally launched them. The sudden wave of rock and dust through Kinok and Tinok off the ring.

"_The winners are Blind Bandit and the Bald Brigand!_" this time there where only cheers.

"That wasn't so hard was it Twinkle Toes." She said smiling broadly at him.

He just chuckled and smiled back, feeling more alive than he had been in a while.

Their next two matches would be tomorrow so they did not linger after the last two matches of the day. Though they did learn in that time that the team they defeated was one of the top three ranked to win.

That night Toph slept more soundly than usual and Aang slept more restlessly.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally I sat down and typed the next chapter.

I've also got too many ideas going on in my head for other fics

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Today the schedule was for four more fights, followed by the two semifinals matches, for a total of six matches. Toph and Aang would be fighting in the third and sixth matches.

Team Ourea again annihilated there competition. It was commonly concluded that they would be in the final match. The first team that Aang and Toph fought was actually easier than the one from the day before. But that could not be said about there next match.

"_First we have a pair of new comers who have that they are not to be taken lightly: the Blind Bandit and the Bald Brigand._" Aang sighed at his fighting name but didn't say anything. Toph entered the ring arms held high to the cheering crowd, Aang followed more gracefully.

"_And battling them for a chance at the final match all the way from the Si Wong Desert are the Waste Land Doppelgangers_"

Two men in loose fitting tan robes stepped out. They where identical twins and it seemed as though they shared one mind, for when they moved they mirrored each other perfectly.

"Aang something's weird."

"You mean how they're twins? Its not that uncommon."

"Twins…they look blurry, overlapping, but now I know what it is."

"Hun? Wel-"

"_Begin_."

The twins where quick; dashing forward, and angling to get Toph from the side. A pillar or rock rose up in front of them and exploded but nobody seemed to be there.

Then in a sand spout the two rose up in front of the blind earth bender. Aang threw up a quick wall and dove pulling Toph to the ground with him. The wall burst inward with a hail of rocks.

"Toph, they're changing the ground to sand and traveling threw that."

She felt the ground vibrations and sure enough fuzzy arias snaked around the arena floor.

"Aang keep them busy I have a plan." He nodded just as some rocks flew out of, seemingly, nowhere. These where easily dodged, but kept them unbalanced. Toph felt the fuzzy aria changed and pointed to it. Aang taking the signal sent an earth rift to that point. In return four rocks where launched at him. Aang blocked two of them with his own rocks and dodged the other two. But the ones he blocked disintegrated in a shower of sand blinding him. The doppelgangers came up behind Aang to finish him off but Toph was waiting.

As they came up Toph turned the sand back to stone with just their shoulders out of the ground. Panicking the twins began to change the rock to sand as fast as possible. Toph used her earth bending to make a tunnel out to the trough around the ring and pushed the pug of sand with its passengers down it, and out of the ring.

"_And with that original show of earth bending the Bandit and Brigand win!_" Aang was getting the sand out of his eyes and Toph was enjoying her victory as the crowd cheered. She gave him an enthusiastic hug around his back witch kind of surprised him. She had already gone back to basking in the applause when Aang turned to her. He could see her smiling, and while he didn't find as much enjoyment in battle as Toph, seeing her in high spirits made him just as cheerful as she was.

They retired to there room at a local inn early that evening their hardest fight would be tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

This is the last fight. The next and final chapter will be up soon and almost entirely waff and fluff. Hope to have it up soon.

Thank you for reviewing.

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Toph and Aang where up with the sun to warm up for the final match. It was scheduled to start at 12:00. They arrived at the arena at 11:30 to get ready. The stadium seats where beginning to fill with the diehard fans having been there for hours already. Team Ourea was already there preparing.

They saw Toph and Aang and walked over to them. The woman was the first to speek.

"Hello it's the Blond Bandit and Bald Brigand right? We are looking forward to this match, it promises to be exciting."

"Team Ourea you are skilled earthbenders." Aang responded "I also look forward to our match." He lied; he didn't like fighting at all.

"We need to practice some moves Brigand" Toph sounded slightly more irritated than normal.

"Then we shall see you in the ring." The man said and they walked to the other side of the trough that surrounded the ring.

As the announcer began the match the roar of the crowd was louder than Aang thought possible. People where standing in the isles to see the final round, security was doubled, and the venders had given up selling there wares.

"_Let the final match begin_"

The battle began slowly with rocks thrown and deflected, earth rifts launched and bent away, a show of basic earthbending expertly manipulated and then expertly countered. Toph had made a cloud of dust and got the upper hand but it wasn't enough, team Ourea countered the dust storm and took back the initiative. This back and forth went on for around ten minutes. Then team Ourea started to move in a pattern that neither Aang nor Toph could identify.

"They're up to some thing." Aang needlessly informed.

"I know it." was Toph's response.

There opponents had identified Toph as the better earth bender and planed to eliminate her first. They came at her, and she launched an especially large bolder at them. The man launched his partner toward the missile and she kicked the bolder with both feet, using bending to splinter the rock and shower Toph with smaller rocks. Then when the woman hit the ground she hit the still stunned Toph with an earth pillar throwing her out of the ring.

Aang could do nothing but watch as the moves happened too fast for anything else. His anger was evident when he launched two earth pillars, one at each opponent. The woman dodged her pillar and the man turned his aside with bending, but then the pillars changed direction striking from above downward. The woman avoided it again but the man was caught off guard and thrown to the ground by the hit.

Aang charged the woman and they exchanged punches and kicks enhanced with earthbending. She was just as angry as Aang by this point, and the aggression of their moves was more familiar to firebending than earthbending. As they circled each other there moves quickly became less fearsome and more precise. Then a rock hit Aang frome the side.

The woman had him pinned to the ground with an earthen knife to his throat. The man was standing to the side in Aang's peripheral vision. Aang's body went limp it was over and he knew it.

"_Team Ourea has won, they are the champions._"

As the ceremonies to christen the champions began Aang made his way to the arena's stairs. At the bottom Toph was waiting on an earth bench.

"That was impressive, until you let him blindside you like that."

"Not everybody has your all knowing feet." Then he saw the red splotch on her green top. "You're bleeding!"

"It's **nothing**, I'll take care of it at he inn."

Aang would have argued but Toph was gone and he knew he would have lost if he had argued.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally finished this chapter it just didn't want to flow out like the others.

Looks like I'll be adding one more chapter to rap up the story.

Enjoy!

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Toph sat on the edge of her bed and cringed in pain as she removed her top. There was a nasty cut on her left arm and bruises over her shoulders and probably under her breast bindings.

Aang came in with a pitcher of water and set it on the night stand and sat next to Toph.

"Well, Twinkle Tows lets get this over with."

Nodding Aang bent the water from the pitcher and brought it to Toph's wound, the water glowed and the cut began to close. A small sliver of rock was suspended in the, now red, water. He moved the bloodied water to a separate basin and pulled more water from the pitcher and began to heal the bruises, this took longer because the damage was over a larger aria. When Aang had finished Toph laid her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, it doesn't hurt so much now."

"You should rest now so your body can finish healing."

"Okay." Toph said as she pulled Aang and moved her head to his chest.

That's when Aang's own fatigue caught up with him. He had taken hits and pushed his body to its max. He put an arm around Toph and fell asleep.

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Toph Woke first and soon realized that the only thing covering her chest where the tight cloth strips of her breast bindings, causing her to blush furiously. They had been traveling together for more than four years and had been in close quarters before but there was always a reason, staying warm, a cramped hiding space, but this time there was no reason. Toph then had the thought that it was kina nice, which made her bush more.

Toph had been lying on Aang, half sleeping, for a while when he woke. He stretched his arms and yawned. Aang looked down to see Toph's cloudy eyes pointed at him, and he wondered to him self how in the past four years he hadn't noticed how beautiful she was. Then perfectly on cue Toph kissed him, lip to lip, but chaste.

Stunned all Aang could say was "What was that for?"

"No reason really. I'm going to take a bath, could you heat the water, oh great and powerful avatar Aang."

"The avatar, reduced to a bath attendant, though I do it gladly for Toph Bei Fong."

They laughed at each other and wet to there new task.

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That evening Toph climbed in bed with Aang with out saying a word and not knowing what to do Aang did nothing. Except put his arm around her.


End file.
