Disclaimer: I do not, will not, and could not own Avatar: The Last Airbender (If I could I would and while Zutara fans would hate me, Kaatang and Toko/Zoph fans would rejoice.)
When it happened, she had been numb. Perhaps she didn't believe it, it couldn't have happened, or maybe it hadn't hit her just then. Whatever the reason, when it happened, Toph did not cry. She had made no sound and did nothing but simply stood there. She had stood there and listen to the slowing beats of his heart before they faded out completely.
It had been only a week since then and she still hadn't cried. Even now, as she laid on the ground in the darkness of night that would cover her and hide those tears if she decided to cry, she did not let the tears fall. Rather, her head was being held up by her hand as she leaned on her elbow, her other hand rolling something between two fingers.
"I want you to have this," he told her pushing it against her palm.
It was a ring, it had a large smooth stone in the middle with two smaller stones on the side. He had told her the stones were ruby and the rest gold. She didn't know what a ruby looked like, or gold, but she had accepted nonetheless and couldn't help the warmness that spread across her cheeks and throughout her body.
"Toph..."
The way he had said her name had made her feel things she didn't even know about. It was much more than when Sokka used to call her name. It was something deeper with more meaning, something that seemed as though it was long lasting and meant to be. This type of thinking proved she was still just a child even though she was almost 18. Toph's hand clenched around the ring tightly, her fist slightly shaking though the rest of her body didn't. Nothing was forever.
Damn that bitch, Azula. When the had defeated the Fire Lord Ozai, they believed Azula would fall as well. She didn't however, rather she went into hiding waiting for the right time to attack the new crowned Fire Lord,Zuko, and she had found the chance. What was meant to be a meaningful walk in the garden between them turned into a battle, and Toph had been too late to prevent anything. She had heard the sound of lighting crackling, then the gasp of a male, and a body hitting the ground. Everything seemed to move in slow motion after that.
The ground had rumbled loudly, surely waking everyone who was still in the palace, and sharp pieces came up from everywhere, there was no escape for Azula from Toph's wrath. It was Toph's most deadly attack and had impaled Azula serverely. When it was all over. She had did nothing, there was nothing to do. She knew before everyone else what his fate was.
She didn't cry when they asked her to speak at his funeral.
She didn't cry when he was cremated.
She didn't cry when someone pressed a letter in her hands.
She didn't cry when Katara read the letter to her, a letter of his plans for a future that would never happen between them.
She didn't cry, because he would be disappointed if she did. That was not the Toph he knew. The Toph he knew was brave, brash, strong, and sarcastic. So she would be that Toph he knew her as and besides, just because she didn't cry, didn't mean she didn't care. This was shown by the way she placed the ring on a necklace and slipped it around her neck, hiding it under her shirt so that it would be close to her heart.
Zuko would have liked that, she thinks.
Yes I killed him. Review!