Longshot stole books from the library. He returned them later, because the hideout was crowded enough without a bunch of books laying around. Toph was sure the librarians noticed- she could hear their heartbeats quicken a bit when Longshot pulled a book from the shelf- but they didn't do anything. Maybe they knew, by now, that the books always came back, and that the kids that came here couldn't get library cards in the first place.
Toph didn't care about the books in the library much, but she liked the smell of the place. It was clean. Not like the hideout. (She loves the hideout, but the smell could be better) She liked that it was a safe place- the gangs didn't come here, much.
She liked the running water in the bathroom, too, because she was sick of the sugary pop that the others keep bringing back to the base and clean water was hard to find when you were squatting in an abandoned building.
And as far as she could tell, getting books made Longshot happy, which made Smellerbee happy. And when their band of freedom fighters was happy, Jet was sort of happy, and he didn't try to do impossible things that might get them all killed.
Once, a couple of months after Toph had first joined the gang, the head librarian tried to talk to her. This was before Toph had realized that the librarians didn't mind Longshot taking the books, and she'd tensed up to fight-
“You're new,” the librarian had said gently.
“Yeah,” Toph said.
“Do you have somewhere else to go? Family I could call?”
“I have family,” Toph said, eyes narrowing. “They're right over there.”
She pointed towards where she could feel Longshot standing.
And the librarian had murmured apologies and backed off, and Toph had systematically ripped up her clothes that night.
“What are you doing?” Smellerbee said.
“The clothes are too nice. I don't want to look like I'm a rich kid. I stand out too much.”
And that was the last time the librarians ever talked to any of them.
Sometimes, when they got back to the hideout, Smellerbee would read the books out loud, and Toph would pretend she wasn't listening.
“And then the monk saw that the beautiful woman had a tail- she wasn't a woman at all. She was a kitsune, come to trick him...”
Smellerbee's voice was toneless as she read, and she didn't even try to give the characters different voices, but Toph didn't really care.
She'd never had anyone read stories to her before. Not at home.
She shook her head. No- that place hadn't been home.
Curled up under a couple of dirty blankets, in an abandoned building with no heat, with Smellerbee reading stories to Longshot but really to her- this was what home felt like.
Longshot steals books from the library
Toph didn't care about the books in the library much, but she liked the smell of the place. It was clean. Not like the hideout. (She loves the hideout, but the smell could be better) She liked that it was a safe place- the gangs didn't come here, much.
She liked the running water in the bathroom, too, because she was sick of the sugary pop that the others keep bringing back to the base and clean water was hard to find when you were squatting in an abandoned building.
And as far as she could tell, getting books made Longshot happy, which made Smellerbee happy. And when their band of freedom fighters was happy, Jet was sort of happy, and he didn't try to do impossible things that might get them all killed.
Once, a couple of months after Toph had first joined the gang, the head librarian tried to talk to her. This was before Toph had realized that the librarians didn't mind Longshot taking the books, and she'd tensed up to fight-
“You're new,” the librarian had said gently.
“Yeah,” Toph said.
“Do you have somewhere else to go? Family I could call?”
“I have family,” Toph said, eyes narrowing. “They're right over there.”
She pointed towards where she could feel Longshot standing.
And the librarian had murmured apologies and backed off, and Toph had systematically ripped up her clothes that night.
“What are you doing?” Smellerbee said.
“The clothes are too nice. I don't want to look like I'm a rich kid. I stand out too much.”
And that was the last time the librarians ever talked to any of them.
Sometimes, when they got back to the hideout, Smellerbee would read the books out loud, and Toph would pretend she wasn't listening.
“And then the monk saw that the beautiful woman had a tail- she wasn't a woman at all. She was a kitsune, come to trick him...”
Smellerbee's voice was toneless as she read, and she didn't even try to give the characters different voices, but Toph didn't really care.
She'd never had anyone read stories to her before. Not at home.
She shook her head. No- that place hadn't been home.
Curled up under a couple of dirty blankets, in an abandoned building with no heat, with Smellerbee reading stories to Longshot but really to her- this was what home felt like.