Sometimes, he thought it was his fault. Most of the time, actually, despite his friends telling him if he were there he would have died too. His friends told him that with Sozin's comet, a whole army of fire nation soldiers couldn't have been defeated, even with the avatar state. Despite that, something in his heart told him he could have done something.
But he had run away. He had left his home, his friends, behind, and they had paid the price. Would they still be alive, if the avatar wasn't an air nomad? If he wasn't an air nomad?
Toph found him sitting against the stone, his expression a far cry from his usual cheerfulness.
"What are you moping about now, Twinkletoes?" Toph asked.
"It's nothing," Aang replied.
"You do remember I can detect lies?"
"It's running away, okay?" Aang muttered,"I left my people to die!"
"So Aang, just a question here, how many elements did you know when you were living at the air temple?"
"Only air," Aang stated, not following Toph.
"And using only air, do you think you could defeat fifty firebending soldiers?"
"No," Aang replied, warily.
"And if they had Sozin's comet with them," Toph continued.
"Definitely not."
"And instead of fifty, there were five hundred?"
"This isn't really helping me..." Aang grumbled, "already know I would be no use, but the fact that I didn't even try is what bothers me."
"I think you had a reason for running away, and I think a lot of people would have done the same," Toph stated, "and, frankly, I think that whoever you didn't help before you were frozen, you're making up for it now."
"I'm helping them with problems from a war I wasn't there to prevent in the first place!" Aang shouted.
"It's not just that. War or not, Katara and Sokka would probably have spent their whole lives in the south pole. Katara would have been treated as less because she was a girl, and Sokka would live his whole life without meeting Suki or Yue."
"Katara would've found a way, and Sokka would love someone else, just as much!" Aang retorted.
"And Suki? She said she liked being able to help the world."
"She could have travelled the world without me, I'm sure."
"Zuko? Banished forever at sea?"
"I'm sure the cause of that had something to do with the war!"
"Fine. Then what about me?"
"What about you?" Aang asked, confused.
"I would still be the little blind girl living in Gaoling. My parents would probably find me a "good match", and I would be expected to stay home all day, for the rest of my life!"
"Oh."
"And before you find some way that I could have done that, I have something to show you."
Toph grabbed Aang's face and kissed him.
"I definitely couldn't have done that," she smirked.
