Teo’s got a fat-ass crush on you.
Why would Toph have said something like that?! It didn’t matter that it was true. What mattered was the obvious fact that Aang did not and would never reciprocate his feelings, hence why Teo had planned to take them to his grave. And now—now Aang knew, he knew, Teo would never be able to show his face around him again.
Fuck, Teo thought, shortly followed by, I wish I’d equipped my wheelchair with rocket boosters. Maybe then he’d be able to forever escape from Aang’s pursuit. Start a new life in another country, where he wouldn’t have to worry about loud-mouthed so-called ‘friends’ spilling his deepest, darkest secrets to the entire world!
Of course, Aang wasn’t the entire world. Not by a long shot.
But he was Teo’s world. And therein lay the problem.
To keep running, or not to keep running—that was the question. The brick wall at the end of the hall soon made Teo’s decision for him. Dammit, how had he missed that he’d turned down a dead end?
“Wow,” Aang panted, hands dropping to his knees as he came to a stop beside Teo. “You were practically flying there!”
Teo knew he needed to make a joke, laugh, drop a wry comment, anything but let an awkward silence fall, but words refused to come. Maybe it was because his mouth was dry, his tongue lead, or maybe he was simply too afraid to speak for fear of how Aang might respond.
“Hey, Teo,” Aang said, and Teo flinched, averting his gaze. If he had to make conversation, then he simply wouldn’t look at Aang. Problem solved.
“Yeah?” The stammer that shook the single word shut down Teo’s desperate attempt at nonchalance before he could even kick it into gear.
“Is it true?” Aang said after a pause. He made no move to encourage Teo to look at him, but Teo was bewitched by Aang’s words all the same, glancing up at Aang with wide eyes.
“Is… what true?” he said, playing dumb. Too dumb, based on Aang’s barely suppressed eye roll, though a small smile tugged at the corners of his friend’s lips.
“What Toph said. About you. And me.”
Shit, Teo’s face was burning hotter than the midday sun. This was precisely the situation he’d wanted to avoid! For the rest of his life! Ooh, he was so getting back at Toph Beifong if it was the last thing he ever did—
“Because if it is true, I have some good news,” Aang continued. He crouched beside Teo’s wheelchair, settling just below Teo’s eye level. Teo could only stare at him, terror and excitement and adoration all swirling like a whirlpool in the pit of his stomach.
“You do?” he whispered, and Aang nodded.
“Yeah,” he said, leaning toward Teo. Teo didn’t pull away. “I’ve got a fat-ass crush on you, too.”
And when Teo threw caution to the wind, pulling Aang into the first of many fervent kisses, he decided maybe, just maybe, Toph had known what she was doing after all.
Written for Day 2 of Aang Rarepair Week: Classic Tropes, hosted by @aangtheestallion. Teo/Aang.
