His face crinkled in anger, his eyes glowed as if they were windows to the temper raging like an inferno in this mind. He pointed a short finger and shouted, "You have betrayed me! You will never regain your honour! You. Are. Nothing." Iroh turned away from him, moving out of view into the hazy blackness.

"No! Uncle, wait, please!" Zuko screamed after him, his scream came out in a haze of purple in front of him, then splitting into two figures. His hateful father and demented sister, they cackled as their own laughs formed another figure. His mother shook her head sadly and begun to turn away from him, "You are just like your father..." she sighed. Azula creeped closer to him, holding his hand she smiled with the teeth of a feline and tongue of a snake, "You finally have his love, Zuzu. Isn't that all you wanted? All you need?"

She raised her free hand to five figures in the blackness, as lightening was fired from her fingertips towards the figures. The lightening illuminating their faces as it struck them down, a young girl screamed over the clash, "No, Sparky!" that voice… He knew who the silhouettes belonged to as they were struck down, the smoke faded away, leaving one figure standing.

Aang looked at his fallen friends then to Zuko, "You are better than this, better than them-" lightning struck again, taking the Avatar's life before he could continue.

Azula's eyes turned to him, as Firelord Ozai smiled wickedly, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth. He murmured softy, "Take it, my dear. His life has no importance to me."

Azula turned and brought her fingers down with a bolt.

Zuko shot up with a strangled shout, his throat was dry, and prevented much noise from escaping. He looked around himself anxiously, Toph was closest as they had fallen asleep beside each other, he scrambled to her and put his head over her. There was a small rising and falling of her chest, he sighed, hanging his head and dropped his hands on the cool floor, his lotus necklace swung back and forth like a pendulum. Focusing all his energy on keeping his tears and emotions in check, he stood and walked out of the house and towards the beach, out of hearing range. He sunk into the sand and lay on his back, maybe ten minutes had passed before:

"Sparky?! Sparky, where are you?" Toph whispered loudly from the base of the stone stairs, it carried to the beach. He stayed quiet, he really didn't want her to be near him when he was like this. Weak. "If you don't reply, I will wake someone and we will search together!" she continued to whisper, her threat was probably just that, a threat. She must know he was on the sand, otherwise see would be able to feel him clearly. But the last thing he wanted was the nurturing, overly motherly Katara or the happy-go-lucky Aang finding him like this.

"Over here." He sighed, loud enough to carry to the stairs, he heard her approaching, he concentrated all his efforts on keeping it together. She sat beside him on the sand and tried to sense him, she could tell that the wrong move would result in losing whatever comradery that had recently, fully developed between them.

"You woke me up with all your scurrying about." She said in an annoyed tone, rubbing her pale eyes. He said nothing, he just took a deep breath, silence between them stretched.

"Zuko?" she smiled timidly, hearing his name, whispered so softly contrasted violently with his nightmare and he broke his resolve. His head fell heavily into his hands as he sobbed, Toph was shocked. She didn't know what she could do. She pulled his hands away to try and free his face, trying to think of a way to comfort him, get him to speak. As he lifted his head, he saw the young girl before him, pale eyes and alabaster skin, specked with dirt. His need for contact overcame him as he grabbed her and pulled her in, his lips crushing down onto hers.

She didn't struggle at first, shocked and concerned, she definitely did not want to offend him. But this was not a kiss that she wanted to remember as her first. She squirmed out of his grasp and held him at arm's length. "Zuko! I swear, I will earthbend you to the other side of the world if you do not stop this!" she didn't say it rudely, more sternly.

He looked at her and begun to sob again, softer this time. He simply leant his head against her small chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. This is going to be a long night, Toph thought with concern, pursing her lips.

…

"Please, Sparky? Tell meeeee." Toph begged, it had been almost an hour and he had calmed down considerably. The odd hiccup would surface, but she just stroked his thick hair. They had changed their positions, Toph sat with her legs apart, and Zuko lay in between, with his shoulders and head resting on her lap. He would gaze up at the stars, or at her, or would turn his head slightly to see the ocean.

"I am sor-sorry, Toph." He hiccupped again. "I do not know what-what came over me." Zuko tried to calm himself, this wasn't doing him any favours, weak. He sniffed again.

"You know exactly what did, you just aren't telling me." She didn't want to sound mean, but he was being even more stubborn then she usually is. "Don't you think that telling someone will help? Like was it a dream? Or stress? Or the play? Like, seriously, open up." She sounded older then twelve, of course there was times when she acted her age, but there was also times when she spoke with an attitude beyond her years.

"It was a-a dream. Actually, a nightm-mare. You all died at the-the hands of Azul-la. Iroh turned away from me. My father said I didn't matter." He murmured, the hiccupping disrupted his speech.

Toph now understood why he got upset, she smiled "Yeah, losing me would suck, who would keep you in line and beat you, well, all the time! Eh, Sparky?! Ha ha." She tried to make him lighten up, it kind of worked, he half smiled and sighed.

"I think we should go back inside. Back to bed." Zuko mumbled, after a while longer. Toph nodded in agreement, he stood up and stretched. He grabbed the young girl's arms and pulled her to her feet, she stood for a moment then collapsed on the sand laughing.

"My feet! My feeeeet! They are asleep! Tingling!" she squealed with laughter. Zuko stared in shock, Toph squealed. He had never heard her do that, he chuckled with her, but her laughter was intoxicating, he tried to get her up again but she pulled him down on top of her.

They lay in the sand and laughed, his body pushing gently on hers, holding his full weight off her. She put her hands on the tops of his shoulders. As their laughing died down, she smiled up at him, as he beamed down at her. Forgetting about his nightmare. His smile softened, he gazed at her for a moment longer, then whispered gently. "Toph, can I kiss you?" he bit his lip, waiting for his reply. He had no right to ask her for it, he had already taken one forcefully, but he wanted one very badly. "One that is worthy of a first kiss." He added, blushing.

Toph smiled, not a sweet smile, a cunning smile, "Only if you admit… That I, Toph Beifong, are the greatest bender, in the world. The whole world."

He sighed. How bad do I want a kiss? "You, Toph Beifong, are-" he bent down and pressed his lips to hers quickly, then jumped back as sand shot towards him, "-are the never going to make me admit it… Willingly."