The room was quiet except for the faint scrape of your movement as you pointed something out, full of confidence.

“Wait—Toph, look at this,” you said, gesturing toward the far side of the room like it was obvious she’d appreciate it.

A beat of silence.

Then Toph Beifong slowly turned her head toward you, expression flat.

“…Look at it,” she repeated.

You nodded. “Yeah, look—just over there.”

Another pause.

Then she leaned back on her hands, completely unbothered, and let out a loud, amused snort.

“Ohhh,” she said slowly. “Yeah, totally. Let me just—real quick—use my eyes.”

You froze.

Toph tilted her head with that smug little smile already forming. “Wow. That’s crazy. I never thought of just looking at things before. You’re a genius.”

“I—okay, that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh? Really?” she shot back immediately. “Because it sounded a lot like you just told the blind girl to ‘look at something.’ Which, fun fact, I physically cannot do.”

You opened your mouth again, but she was already on a roll.

“I mean honestly,” she continued, pointing vaguely in your direction, “what’s next? ‘Hey Toph, read this tiny writing for me,’ or ‘hey can you just stare harder at the sky’? I’m impressed, really. Your creativity is endless.”

You sighed. “I just meant—”

“I know what you meant,” she cut in, grinning now. “And it was dumb.”

Then she finally stood up, brushing her hands off like she’d just finished a very important lecture.

“Next time,” she said, walking past you, shoulder bumping yours lightly, “try words that don’t require eyeballs. It’ll save you from looking like an idiot.”

A pause.

Then, over her shoulder:

“…Which, to be fair, you’re already halfway to most days.”