Authors Note: Chapter 10, yay! :D As a kind of 'anniversary' for the story, I've added a little something into it that will leave you all yelling at me... I assume ;3 Don't worry, there's plenty of fluff too, I couldn't go to long without a little of that X3 Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope you all actually read it despite my horrid previous chapter ;p Love you guys!

When Zuko entered the room where he had left Aang earlier, an air of almost anger surrounded him. "Are you really cheating on Toph with Katara?" he demanded, eyes narrowing minimally.

Aang blinked in surprise as the man entered his room, not sure how to respond out of pure shock. I mean, what else were you supposed to say when someone accused you of that? "What the heck are you talking about?" he asked instead, words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Zuko frowned, "Exactly what I said. Are you seeing Katara again?" he asked once again, his tone betraying his forced look of patience.

Aang coughed on nothing, a look of complete disbelief taking over, "Me? Where did you hear that from? I'm with Toph, Katara and I split a while ago. Why would we be seeing each other?"

With a sigh, Zuko decided it was best to tell him, "Toph told me she could sense you in Katara's room, hugging her or whatnot just the other day… I haven't doubted Toph's ability before, so why should I now?"

Aang was completely floored when he heard this, and he felt like blocks of stone had come crashing down on him. This was actually pretty ironic, if you thought about it. Looking up at Zuko with a panicked expression, he quickly moved to explain this, "It's not what you think. I went to ask Katara about some questions concerning The Ashes, and then we sort of made it official that we weren't together anymore… We hugged afterwards, but that was it, I swear."

Zuko listened to this quietly, understanding what he was saying. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of relief, and he quickly tried to hide it. It was his wife's funeral; after all, he couldn't be having these thoughts. "Ok… Now you've just got to tell Toph… Perhaps I can lure her outside for a bit of 'training', and that's where you'll be waiting." He offered, formulating the plan as he would normally form battle strategy in his war meetings. Despite the time of peace, threats were still ever present.

Aang nodded in determination, mouth set in a hard line. "She probably won't listen to me still… But we can give it a shot."

*Toph POV*

Toph was sitting in a side room alone, sniffling quietly as the disgusting tears rolled down her cheeks as she furiously tried to wipe them away. Why did Aang have this effect on her? Why couldn't she be strong in this part of her life, like she was in all of the other areas? I mean, Toph and tears just don't go together at all.

So preoccupied with her own thoughts, Toph barely felt Zuko approach before he was practically right next to her. "Hey, Toph, want to go train? I'm getting a little rusty." He said with a kind smile, nothing in his words betraying his true intention. He was a politician after all.

Toph quickly wiped away the last of her tears, trying to appear nonchalant as she shrugged, "Sure, why not?" she replied, standing up. She didn't even bother to ask how he had found her, servants were perhaps the nosiest people ever. As they walked outside, Toph hoped you-know-who hadn't decided to ambush her with an air scooter, since that was indeed the only way she wouldn't be able to see him.

Zuko, of course, had no trouble seeing Aang balancing upon the bubble of air, giving him a nod before starting to walk away. "Zuko…?" Toph questioned in confusion, wondering what he was doing. That was when she felt those unmistakable footsteps reach her through the ground, and she silently cursed every holy thing she knew of. Whatever divine was out there, it probably despised her. Before she could respond by walking away, Aang had grabbed her arm to stop her progress, keeping her there.

"Toph, please listen to me…" he pleaded, his tone implying that he was relatively close to getting on his knees and begging. Which, if Toph was honest, would actually make her feel a little better.

"What?" she asked instead, tone harsh as she continued to face in the opposite direction.

"I'm not cheating on you." Aang blurted out, wincing as he realized he could have been a lot gentler with that news. "I mean, there's nothing going on between Katara and I. Zuko came and spoke with me about what you told him, and I want you to know that it isn't true. I love you Toph, more than anything. Sure, I used to have feelings for Katara. But we understand that we've moved on with our lives, and the feelings I felt for her are nothing compared to what I feel for you." He practically rambled, words spilling out before he could quite control them.

Toph blinked away the wetness that entered her eyes, and she slowly turned to face him. "Aang… I- I didn't know…" she trailed off, giving up her tough act to throw her arms around his neck as she cried into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry…" she sobbed, and he held her tenderly, softly reassuring her as his heart began to swell in his chest.

"It's fine Toph, you didn't know. All that matters is you, right now. You have no idea how much I've missed you." He said, voice thick as he hugged her tightly.

Now, most would think that this was perhaps the perfect scene, the perfect ending to the day. And it would've been, had that next event not occurred just at this point.

An explosion from somewhere else in the castle shook the floor as Aang and Toph were unbalanced, forced to erect pillars of stone to keep themselves planted. "What was-" Before Aang could finish his sentence, Zuko burst out into the garden area, the gang behind him.

"We're being attacked! It's The Ashes!" he explained quickly, looking around at the panicking people wildly. "Is Appa nearby? We need to evacuate now." He added, looking directly at Aang.

Taking Toph's hand in his own, he nodded stonily, "Yes, come with me." He ordered everyone, another explosion going off to their right that he and Toph were only able to block it with a wall of stone a few moments afterwards, still being knocked off of their feet by the force. "Run!" Aang ordered as he scrambled to his feet, helping Toph up before leading her to where Appa had alighted.

Everyone scrambled onto the bison's back, settling into the saddle only seconds before Appa leapt into the air, explosions continuing to sound off behind them. The gang was solemn as they sat their silently, most of them watching the destruction with mourning. It seemed that today would only be the beginning of their struggles, and it seemed it was going to be very different from their battles when they were only kids.