I don't own any characters or the war or anything Avatar related. Mike and Bryan do. So go praise them. Not me.

Feeling Death

Toph moaned, rolling onto her other side. She buried her face into one of her soft pillows, willing herself to fall asleep. She hadn't gotten sleep for three days, more specificly since they beat the fire nation.

She groaned, beating her pillow with her fists. She jumped when someone knocked on her door. She was so used to sleeping on the ground; she forgot she wouldn't be able to tell if someone was coming. She crawled out of bed, immediately recognizing it as Aang at the door. She pulled the door open. "What do you want?" She snapped. Loss of sleep had made her even more irritable than before, if that was even possible.

Aang sighed, not really surprised by her tone, she had been like that since the invasion. "Can I come in?" He asked. She didn't answer at first, as if contemplating weather she should or not, before nodding and plopping back on her bed. Aang walked in, sitting on the foot of her bed.

"Toph, what's been up with you lately? You haven't been yourself. I can understand that you would be tired… but you haven't earthbended in three days. That's a long time, especially for you. You seem so irritated at the silliest things. And you haven't even cracked a joke or laughed once. And it all started when the war ended. I know something's wrong, and you need to talk to someone."

She glared at him. He didn't budge though, he had seen that look so many times that it wasn't as threatening any more. And he knew if he did nothing she would crack eventually.

They stayed like that, her glaring harshly and him staring back calmly, for a good five minutes before she sighed. "You're not going to leave are you…?" She said quietly.

"Nope."

"Not even if I say please?"

"Nope."

"You're going to make me tell you what's wrong, aren't you."

"Yep."

She groaned, knowing that he wasn't going to leave. In all his months of training, he had grown almost as stubborn as she. She adjusted her position so that she was sitting up, legs crossed, and facing him. She could have sworn she felt a smile flick across his face, but she ignored it and started to speak.

"You know how it feels to watch someone die? Like actually standing and watching, knowing you can't do anything?" He nodded, his smile fading. "Now imagine you can actually feel them. Feel them cringe and lurch at the pain, and feel their heartbeats slow into nothing. Now imagine hundreds of them all around you. No matter what you do you can't get away from it. You can literally feel death." She paused for a moment, a tear threatening to spill down her cheek. "Now imagine how you would feel if you were the one who caused all of it." Her tears were now flowing freely, no matter how much she tried to hold them back. He squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head, not wanting Aang to see her cry. She didn't want him to see her when she was weak.

With tears brimming his eyes, he wrapped his arms around his friend, pulling her closer. She clenched onto his shirt, tears soaking his shoulder. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'm so sorry Toph. I never knew." She shook her head, which was buried in his shoulder. "I never expected you to know. Or to understand for that matter. And it's my fault; I was the one who never told you." She said in between sobs.

He cringed. He hated having to see his friend like this. Seeing her so emotional broke his heart. He wished he could make her feel better, but he knew he couldn't. The most he could do was hold her and watch as she continued to cry. She didn't deserve this.

No one did.

Three words. Not. My. Fault.

A rabid plot bunny attacked me and now I have rabies. D8 So sad.