"Seal off all nine blocks!" Toph barked to the officers assembled before her. "Broad Street, to Ching Avenue, to Leech Street, to Gaiwan Road! Yachi, you're in charge of evacuations! Do not let anyone touch anything even remotely suspicious!"

"Yes, Chief!"

"Luon! Where the fuck is Aang?!"

"He should be on his way."

Toph continued to pace through the streets, the exposed soles of her feet nearly frozen. Goddamn fucking winter. With every step, pounding her feet into the ground, she searched, trying to reach into every corner of the buildings around her.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Sokka assured her. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help clear the area and seal it off."

"Ok." He seemed on the point of leaving, then pulled her into a quick kiss. "Be careful."

"Yeah. You too, Meathead."

Five minutes later, she heard Appa's distinctive roar, and soon Aang and Katara were leaping off his back. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Bomb threat. We're evacuating a nine-block area." Half of her attention was still focused on trying to locate said bomb.

"What can we do?" Katara asked.

"Help with the evacuation. Katara, you should probably stay at the evacuation site and help out there, in case the damn thing goes off and there are injuries. Aang, I know your seismic sense isn't as sensitive as mine, but try to be aware and keep a lookout for anything bomb-like."

With the added peace of mind that her friends were there and ready to assist should the worst happen, Toph was able to give her full attention to searching. Well, most of her full attention; there was always a little bit directed at Sokka. The problem was that she didn't even really know what to look for. Would she even recognize a bomb if her senses stumbled across one? And what if there were more than one?

Just breathe, Toph. Focus on looking. Ignore everything else. It wasn't easy. With the evacuation underway, people were beginning to panic. Hundreds of nearby hearts pounded frantically, mixing and blending with each other to create a deep thrum that drowned out everything else. Focus.

The minutes ticked by slowly.

And then...a most strange vibration, instantly followed by a surge of catastrophic energy. Without thought, she reached through the ground and wrapped herself around it.

Pressure. Pain. A deafening, carnal roar.

Toph could feel everything. Every piece of stone, trying to explode outwards. She had swallowed the burst with earthbending – or tried to – causing a ripple effect through the rest of the building. The energy had to go somewhere. Everything breaking, shattering into millions of pieces. There were still people in there. She couldn't let go. Had to hold it all together.

Rock and stone shifting, shaking. Walls, ceiling, floors – all eight stories trying to crumble under the weight of the ones on top and the pounding of fleeing feet. It was the hardest thing she had ever done. Harder than holding up Wan Shi Tong's library. The memory of that flooded in. A scared little girl, trying to save her new friends, putting every ounce of her strength into it, only to lose Appa.

Tears leaked from her eyes. Can't let go All the people trying to escape had turned into Sokka and Aang and Katara. Don't let them die. Hold on.

Sokka could feel the explosion. A dull whump and then...nothing. Where was Toph? What was happening? Running towards the source, towards the panicked screams, he caught sight of her. She was standing in the street, arms thrust against a nearby building. It suddenly...shifted. Wobbled. Cracks of sunlight filtered through. It was the strangest thing he had ever seen, and it took several long seconds of open-mouthed confusion for him to realize what he was looking at.

She's… She's holding it together. He was too far away to see her clearly. Every bit of him wanted to rush over to her. But to what end? Distracting her would be the worst possible thing he could do right now. Otherwise, the building might topple right onto both of them. It was maddening. What do I do? What do I do?!

BOOOOM

It happened in an instant, the ground rippling underneath him. The ear-splitting sound continued on for far too long. One moment he was zeroed in on Toph's position, and the next...there was no street, no buildings, no Toph. Just stone and dust and noise.

"TOPH!" He ran, climbing over rubble, trying in vain to get through. Choking on the dust. "TOPH! TOPH WHERE ARE YOU?!" No. No no no no. This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

A sudden blast of air nearly knocked him over. The dust cleared, showing the devastation around him. He fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes as he scrabbled futilely through the ruined buildings, though he knew he was too far from where she had been standing.

The debris ahead shifted and shuddered, then lifted into the air. Through his tears, Sokka could just barely make out Aang. A slab of rock lifted slowly from the crater he had created, bearing a prone form that reflected the ruddy light of the setting sun.

Toph... No...Spirits, please. You can't do this to me again. By the time he made it to the other side, Katara and several other waterbenders had arrived and were clumped together in a circle. All Sokka could see of the woman he loved were blood-covered bare feet. "Toph!" He ran toward her, but Aang intercepted him.

"Don't distract them," he said soberly, face wet with tears.

"But–!"

"It won't help for you to get in the way."

"Aang– I–" His breathing was ragged, sobs trying to escape but getting stuck.

"I know. I know," Aang whispered, his voice breaking. "There's nothing you can do."

Sokka fell to his knees, letting it all out. He didn't care who saw or heard him. He wasn't even fully aware of what he was doing. All he could see was her face in his mind, smiling at him.

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

"But what am I supposed to do now?" the girl asked, sobbing. "I've lost everyone and everything I care about. I'm all alone."

"You're not alone. I'm right here."

"No you're not. You left."

"I'm always here, Lin."

"Mom… Don't leave me."

Awareness returned to Toph in a vague haze, the old but familiar dream creating an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. With an effort, she pushed it all away, trying to focus on waking up properly. Where was she? This didn't feel like her bed or smell like her room. Everything was wrong, and she was so weak even opening her mouth to speak required focused effort.

"Sok-" she croaked out, unable to make her voice work right. Her throat was so dry.

And then his warm hand appeared on hers. "I'm here."

The pain in his voice was shocking. Suddenly it all started coming back, like the memory of a nightmare. A whole building, trying to break apart, then an explosion of energy, knocking her off her feet. Unbearable pressure and pain. Earthbending frantically, trying to keep from being crushed. Suffocated.

"Hey, hey," he murmured, gently gripping her shoulders. "Just breathe. You're ok. It's over."

His words made her aware that she'd started hyperventilating. She tried to take a few slow breaths. "Water..." she managed, hoping to distract herself.

"Here you go."

His hand slid behind her head and lifted it up, then a cup appeared on her lips. The cold water hitting her stomach had a reviving effect, but it felt weird; she could only take a few sips.

"Where– Where am I?"

"The hospital. You've been here for ten days."

Memories of the experience were pouring in from all sides now. "Did– Did everyone get out?" The long silence was an answer in itself, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"Almost," Sokka said finally. "You saved a lot of people."

"But not everyone."

"T…" he whispered, hand sliding up to cup her cheek. "Don't– Just...don't. Don't do that do yourself. You almost died trying to save everyone." He choked up at the end, his face pressing into her chest.

I thought you were supposed to be comforting me, Toph mused to herself, putting every ounce of her strength into reaching up to touch his wolf tail. "I'm fine, Sokka. I'm right here." Her words made that dream try to wiggle its way back into her awareness and she forcefully shoved it away.

"It's always going to be like this, isn't it?" he said, lifting his head.

"Like what?"

"You...constantly putting yourself in danger."

"I've been doing this for eight years," Toph said, baffled. "Longer, if you count all the stuff before I became Chief. And all that time we spent fighting in an actual war. We both almost died plenty of times."

"I stood there and watched a fucking building fall on you, T. I can't–" He drew in a sharp breath. "And then you were– I couldn't– couldn't do anything."

"It's not like this sort of thing happens all the time. Usually, the biggest danger I face is a damn papercut."

"This isn't funny. You have no idea what–" He picked up her hand and kissed it; she could feel him trembling. "I can't go through that again. I want to leave. I want to take you away from this horrible place and never come back."

"What? What are you talking about? I can't leave."

"Why not? Remember what we joked about in our letters? A giant sandcastle on the beach? A quiet, simple life."

"They were just that – jokes. You know I could never be happy like that. I'd be bored out of my mind."

"Marry me," he said abruptly. "If I have to stay here and watch you put yourself in danger, at least give me that."

"What?" Toph blurted, shocked. She tried to pull her hand away but didn't have the strength to.

"It's been three years…" he muttered, a wounded note in his voice.

"We talked about this. You said you wouldn't pressure me, that you weren't in any hurry, that you didn't even want to think about until you were thirty."

"I know, but you don't have to act so repulsed by the idea. I thought you said you were going to keep an open mind? This conversation isn't that premature. My birthday is next month."

"Conversation? It's not a conversation! You just fucking sprung it on me without warning while I'm bedridden in a hospital! Minutes after waking up from a near-death experience!"

"I– I'm sorry. It was impulsive. It just popped out. But...aren't things good, though? Aren't we happy? Being married wouldn't really be any different, you know. Is it such a horrible thing to consider?"

Pushing forward with a vengeance, that fucking dream throttled her. A sobbing, broken child. She couldn't remember the rest of it, from the last time she was in this hospital over a decade ago, but she knew it was bad. It was a future Toph wanted nothing to do with, even if it was just a dream.

"I can't– Sokka–" She swallowed thickly, knowing what she was about to do. "I can't give you what you want. I have thought about it, and I don't want that life. That burden. I don't want to be a mother. Ever."

Silence.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm fucking selfish!" she spat. "It's my life, and I want it to myself. I don't want that responsibility, especially while trying to do this job!" And I don't want the chance to fuck it up, she added to herself.

He was silent for even longer this time. So long that she thought he might just get up and walk away. "Ok," he said finally.

"Ok? What does that mean?"

"I love you, Toph." He took her hand again, holding it firmly between both of his. She could easily feel his pulse. "The rest...doesn't matter."

But she knew it was a lie. "Yes. It does."

"I'm telling you. It doesn't."

Toph took a deep breath. She didn't want to say it, but it had to be said. "You're lying. You might want to believe it, but you don't."

"That's not fair–"

"No, what's not fair is for me to keep letting you believe I'll change. Or for you to keep expecting me to. But I'm not. I'm not going to change. This is who I am, and–" Her voice began to shake, but she pushed through stubbornly, in too deep to stop now. "And I won't wait around for you to inevitably resent me for wasting your life." She couldn't bring herself to say the rest: That she was afraid of what might eventually happen if they kept going. What had already almost happened twice. It was a fear she was no longer able to suppress, thanks to that goddamn motherfucking dream.

"What– What are you saying?"

"I'm saying our time is up." And the calm facade crumbled, her face contorting, though it took some time for the tears to work their way out.

"T… Don't– Please don't do this," he begged, voice breaking. "I love you."

But she turned her head away from him, wishing she had the strength to curl up on her side and bury her face in her hands. Eventually, his weight disappeared from the edge of the bed. Soft footsteps retreated, and a door opened then clicked shut.

A week passed in a painful haze. Toph refused entry to all but Katara, who brought her meals and performed regular healing sessions. Though her broken bones had knit, and the soft tissues repaired, she was still extremely weak. Many tried to visit, but she wouldn't see anyone. The only person who didn't try to visit was Sokka.

She knew the truth now: Whatever Iroh believed, a broken heart definitely hurt more. The memories of her previous happiness were no comfort, but rather a knife stabbing into her every time she thought of them. And how could she not? They were so fresh, and she wanted them back.

It would be so easy to give in. Beg him to come back. Surrender to the inevitable. But every time those thoughts pushed themselves forward, fear drove them away. It wasn't fair to either of them, each wanting a life the other didn't want. One of them would end up miserable.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk?" Katara asked after a healing session, for probably the hundredth time. As she had every time before, Toph remained silent, untrusting of her own voice. She had barely spoken a word to her friend the whole time. With a sigh, Katara stood. "Just...try to eat something, please. You need to get your strength back if you ever want to get out of here."

It was hard to force food down, but Toph knew she was right. She wanted to leave this horrible, cursed place that gave her bad dreams. Wanted to go back to her life and her work, let it consume her so she could forget, at least for a little while.

On the day that Katara declared her fully healed and ready to leave, Sokka finally came to see her. "I've thought a lot about what you said," he began, sitting on the bed by Toph's feet. "And there was some truth in it, I think." His words cut her to the bone, despite the fact that she'd said them first. "I'm due to go to the Fire Nation tonight, but I didn't want to leave things the way we did."

"Will we be ok one day?" Toph asked softly, calm despite the pain that pulsed through her chest. The long silence only made it worse.

"I– I think so. I hope so." It wasn't until the words were out of his mouth that she realized how badly she needed to hear them. Then his lips brushed her cheek. "Goodbye, T."

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

With one last deep breath, Toph raised her hand and knocked, the hollow sound echoing yet providing few useful vibrations.

"Come in."

She pushed her way into the familiar space, previously occupied by her father. But the large desk had a new owner, and had for years now.

"Toph!" Satoru exclaimed, getting to his feet. "What a nice surprise! How– How are you?" He came to meet her but stopped a few steps away.

"I'm fine. Clean bill of health from Katara."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear it. I, uh, I came to visit you, in the hospital. She said you weren't feeling up to it."

"Yeah. Sorry..."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm just glad you're ok. I was really worried."

She forced a smile for his benefit. "Thanks. How have you been? I know I haven't been by much in a while."

"I've been really good. I, uh…" He laughed sheepishly. "Actually, I've kinda been seeing someone for a few months now."

"Oh, yeah?" Great. Everyone gets to be happy but me. Super.

"Yeah. Her name is Liu. It's...not super serious at this point, but she's really great. She has a six-year-old son. Her husband passed away when he was a baby."

Toph was beginning to regret coming here. It had only been a few days since she left the hospital, and her emotions were far from stable yet. This wasn't a conversation she knew how to have. "I have a favor to ask you," she said bluntly, eager to get this over with. "Kind of a big favor."

"What is it?"

She held up her bare wrist. "My watch got crushed in the accident." It was hard not to think of how symbolic it felt; Satoru may have physically made it, but it had been a gift from Sokka. Right after she had accepted that she loved him. And now it was gone. "I'd like to commission a new one, if you're willing."

"Of course I'll make you a new one. As a gift."

"Satoru–"

"Please. You earned it. I know what you did."

"It's my job."

"I think everyone would agree that you went above and beyond. I hear they're giving you a medal of valor. You deserve it."

Toph just shrugged. For once, his enthusiastic praise and admiration didn't make her feel any better. "Well, thanks for doing this. Really. But, anyway... I should probably get back to Headquarters. My paperwork piled up while I was in the hospital."

"Sure. I'll send you a telegram when it's ready."

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

"You can go first, if you want," Sokka offered. Ty Lee just stood there silently, wringing her hands. "Or do you want me to?"

"No…" she said faintly. "I'll go."

He nodded, content to hang back for a little longer. Ten long years, full of both happiness and pain. But right now, there was so much pain it was hard to remember the happiness. As Ty Lee approached the gravesite, he wished he could give her more privacy, but he'd promised Zuko not to let her out of his sight on this trip. It was a responsibility he took seriously, and it was impossible to not watch as she knelt down and let her grief out. At least her words, if there were any, were her own.

Sokka was making a gargantuan effort to not think about Toph, to not mingle his grief concerning her with that of older losses. It wasn't easy. The former was much fresher. Just focus on Ty Lee. Focus on the grass and the trees. The distant sound of the ocean. The salty smell in the air.

"Sokka?"

He turned toward the vaguely familiar voice and tried to put a name to the face. The Kyoshi Warrior was in casual dress at the moment, so it was less of a challenge than it could have been. "...Ming?"

Her gaze drifted past him to where Ty Lee was. "I had a feeling you might show up. I wasn't expecting her, though…"

Did she know what had happened? He wasn't sure. Kyoshi Island was pretty far removed from the world. The last he'd seen of Ming and the other Kyoshi Warriors had been the day of the funeral. She had not been among the group that stayed in Republic City with Ty Lee.

"How have you been?" he asked.

"Oh...you know. Retired. Got married. Had a couple of kids. You?"

"I'm an ambassador for the United Republic," he replied dully.

"Oh, yeah? Sounds important."

"I guess."

"Are the rumors true?" Ming asked suddenly, directing her attention to Ty Lee again. "Did she really…?"

"Yeah."

"Spirits."

They were both silent for a minute or so, watching Ty Lee. It felt so horrible and intrusive.

"Well," Ming said finally. "I guess I'll give you some privacy. But you should come into the village before you go. I'm sure the others would like to say hi."

"Sure."

A little while later, Ty Lee stood and walked back over. Though her eyes were red and bloodshot, her face was calm. Serene, even.

"I guess it's my turn," Sokka said, a little reluctantly. Almost without agency, he found himself walking toward the grave, pulled by some invisible force. He looked back to see Ty Lee sitting cross-legged in the grass, idly fiddling with her braid but facing away from him. A kind gesture. "Hi Suki," he said after orienting himself to keep an eye on his charge. "It's been a while, huh?" That was all he could manage for the moment, as tight as his throat had become. Unshed tears burned his eyes, that unrestrained abandon he allowed on his usual yearly grieving sessions out of reach. This place felt too public, despite the fact that there wasn't a soul in sight other than Ty Lee.

With some effort, he continued. "I told myself I didn't want to think about any of this, but now that I'm here, it's something I desperately want to talk to you about, even if you can't answer." He had to take a deep breath. "Ah. Fuck. This is so hard. I miss her so much. As much as I've ever missed you. I can't help but wonder – if you had lived, would I still have fallen for her? I'd like to think I'm a better person than that, that I would've only had eyes for you. But I see now that I've always loved her, just in different ways. It probably would've become an issue eventually. But I would never have been unfaithful to you, regardless. I want you to know that."

Taking a moment to direct his attention at Ty Lee, he tried to shift his thoughts a little. "I can't believe I'm thirty years old. Ten years ago, I never could have imagined this is where I would be. If you'd lived, we'd probably have our own little family by now. It's not something Toph ever wanted, but you probably could have guessed that. I guess we were kind of doomed from the start. I just tried to convince myself otherwise. Not that I don't still love her. Just like I still love you. Guess I'm just not supposed to be happy." At that point, the bitter self-pity finally broke the dam. He let out everything he never let Toph or anyone else see.

Once it had passed, he decided he was all out of words and just sat there for a while, thinking. Remembering. It was starting to become hard to picture her face after so long. The image in his mind was mainly that of a Kyoshi Warrior – the costume, the facepaint. It was a generic picture, but it was how he remembered her. It was who she was. "I miss you, Suki," he mumbled. "I miss the life we never got to have."

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Sokka said once they were back on the airship, course set for the Fire Nation, "but I didn't know how to bring it up..."

"You want to know about Azula," Ty Lee said with a wry expression.

"Do you still visit her?"

"Yeah."

"I gotta say, it still doesn't sit right with me. She doesn't deserve your kindness. Or Zuko's. Or Ursa's."

"I benefitted from kindness I didn't deserve."

Sokka pursed his lips; this was an old argument, from the last time he had seen her over a year ago. "How many different ways can I say that you and her are not the same? She's sick and twisted."

"I know. Trust me, I know. Probably better than anyone." Her words had a haunted quality that made him wonder just what the two of them had talked about. "I guess she's just a curiosity. A distraction. I look at her, and see that maybe I'm not such a monster after all."

"Well. That's fair, I guess."

"But...at the same time, it's hard not to pity her."

"Ugh… Here we go."

"I don't think you fully comprehend the abuse she suffered as a child. Between talking to her and Ursa, I've learned a lot."

"Abuse? Please. She was the golden child. If anyone was abused, it was Zuko, and he turned out just fine. Eventually."

Ty Lee shook her head slowly. "Zuko suffered, yes. I don't deny that. But his father's treatment of him only made him stronger, and he had his mother's love to fall back on."

"You're telling me Ursa loved him more than her? I don't believe that."

"It's not that simple. Ozai...groomed her. Manipulated her. Of course Ursa loved her, but Ozai made her believe otherwise, that Zuko was her favorite. He always meant for her to succeed him, from the very beginning."

"I still don't see how that equates to abuse," Sokka said stubbornly.

"Imagine you're a small child. Imagine that you believe your mother loves your sibling more than you, and thinks you're a monster, because the most important, powerful person in your world tells you she does. He tells you how to act, how to think, how to feel about everything. He praises your mistakes to the point that you no longer see them as mistakes, and punishes anything resembling kindness or decency. How do you think you would turn out? How would you know right from wrong?"

It wasn't a perspective he wanted to have. Sympathizing with Azula. It felt wrong. Dirty. "Yeah, ok, I get your point. Anyone growing up in that environment would turn out to be a horrible person. But...the things she did, Ty Lee. The way she killed those people..."

Ty Lee shook her head slowly. "Something obviously happened to her, after all the business with the Kemikurage. I don't know what, but she got those scars somewhere. I think whatever happened made her lose what little was left of her sanity. Please, don't think I'm excusing her actions, because I'm not. She has yet to show an ounce of regret or remorse. I'm not sure she's capable of it, at this point."

"Well, on that, I can agree with you."

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

Spring came and went, and Toph found that time healed far better than booze. While it wasn't the first time she'd lost Sokka, there was a sense of finality to this breakup that made it hurt much worse. He had been around, she knew, though only briefly. When he was here, his time was spent between City Hall and Air Temple Island. As such, Toph avoided both places and so far had managed to not run into him.

One morning, a telegram arrived from Satoru: her new watch was ready. Feeling an unfamiliar but welcome surge of excitement, she headed over to the refinery.

"Ok, so this one should be a lot more durable," he explained, fitting it to her wrist. "I mean, you wouldn't want to drop any buildings on it, but it should hold up against a moderate beating. And you can even wear it in the rain."

"I don't anticipate having any more buildings fall on me," Toph said with a light laugh.

"Glad to hear it. How does it feel?"

"Good. Even lighter than the first one. I–" Her voice caught a little. "I can't thank you enough. Are you sure you don't want anything for it?"

"No, really. To be honest, the power plant has brought in so much money, this hardly made a dent in the refinery's funds. I've already secured a patent to have another design manufactured for commercial use."

"Oh, well, in that case..." She smirked. "I'm happy to have you spend my father's money."

"I figured you might feel that way." He suddenly gave a little awkward cough. "But, um...I have to tell you something. This gift does have a price, you could say, besides money."

"What?" Toph said apprehensively.

"Liu is feeling a little...uh...insecure about the whole situation. She knows we have a long-standing history, and all the time I've spent on this project hasn't sat well with her."

"Oh."

"She, uh… She doesn't really want you coming around anymore."

"I– No, it's ok. I get it."

"I'm really sorry, Toph. I feel terrible. Especially since..." He trailed off, which she was grateful for. Obviously, he had heard the news. The Big Breakup had probably made the front page.

"Thank you for finishing it. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

She started to leave. "I hope things work out for you. I'll try not to break this one."

A few days later, Katara and Bumi paid her a visit. It was a habit her friend had started up after the first month of Toph avoiding the Island. She would come over and cook dinner while Bumi regaled Toph with stories from school.

"And then Luca threw all the paper in the air and said 'Look, I'm a paper bender!' So I took my shirt off and threw it at him and said I was a shirt bender." Bumi started giggling at that point, the rest of his story almost unintelligible until the end. "And Ms. Shiko made us both sit in the corner during recess."

"You're a weird kid, Bumi," Toph said.

"You're a weird aunt," he retorted.

"Am I?"

"Yep. All my friends say their aunts just have husbands or regular jobs, but none of them are the police. You're the only one."

"I think that makes me the coolest one."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. Everybody knows you."

"Of course they do. I'm the greatest earthbender in the world."

"Dinner's ready," Katara announced.

"Come on, Gremlin," Toph said, pushing to her feet. "Since Mom doesn't let us eat on the couch."

"How many times do we have to go through this?" Katara said with exasperation. "You have a table to eat at. Why wouldn't you use it?"

"Because the couch is more comfortable."

"It's also covered in crumbs and food stains."

"Well?" Toph said, sitting at the table. "I'm blind. I don't always notice when I drop stuff. And I can't see the stains anyway, so who cares?"

"Mom never lets me eat on the couch at home, either," Bumi said.

"I guess I'm just a horrible, mean person," Katara said. "How dare I come over and cook a nice meal." But her tone was light-hearted. In fact, she seemed to be in a better mood than usual.

"Thanks, Mom," Toph said with crooked smile.

"You're welcome."

"Why do you call her that?" Bumi giggled. "She's my mom, not yours."

"Trust me, kid. She's been my mom a lot longer than she's been yours."

"Huh? Really?"

"Don't listen to her, Bumi," Katara said with a long-suffering sigh. "She's just teasing me. I'm not her mother. We're the same age."

"So where's your real mom?" Bumi asked.

"She lives in Gaoling."

"Far away?"

"Yep."

"Does she visit?"

"Bumi, remember what we talked about?" Katara admonished. "About personal questions?"

"She visited a few years ago," Toph replied stoically. "But it's really far. Usually, we just write letters to each other."

Katara quickly changed the subject to Bumi's schooling, which he seemed more than happy to go on and on about. After dinner, she pulled Toph into the kitchen while he was momentarily distracted with a toy he had brought along. "So, uh, I wanted to ask you something."

Toph grimaced, bracing herself for an interrogation.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not what you think. This is about me, actually. I, well..." She laughed softly. "I need a medical consultation."

"A medical consultation?" Toph said disbelievingly. "From me?"

"I feel really bad asking you for this, all things considered..." She trailed off awkwardly. "But I can't stand it. I really need to know. I need you to... listen. It would be early – maybe too early for you to tell – but I thought…maybe if you really focused…"

"Oh," Toph said, finally getting it. She sighed and put her palm flat against her friend's abdomen. A few seconds later she felt it, very faint but definitely there, too fast to be anything else. "Congrats."

"Really?! You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you!" Katara said, hugging her.

"Why are you thanking me? I didn't put it there."

"I was thanking you for checking," she laughed. "I kind of feel bad asking."

"Why?"

"Well… Sokka told me why you broke up."

Toph wasn't sure what her face did, but Katara apparently read something into it.

"He's my brother, Toph. We do talk about stuff. It's his life, too."

"I know. I'm not– I'm not mad." What was she feeling? She wasn't entirely sure. Pain had been such a constant companion that actual, precise emotions were like gnats flitting around her awareness – annoying but too small to bother with. "I don't really want to talk about it, ok? And by the way, you having another kid doesn't upset me in the slightest. I'm not sure why you think it would."

"I just figured the whole 'kids' thing might be a sensitive subject."

"It's not. You can pop out as many little gremlins as you want, doesn't bother me. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long."

"You're not the only one," Katara said wryly. "Bumi may have been a surprise, but this one is long-awaited. Actually, I think I'm going to head home so I can tell Aang. Don't be a stranger, alright? Sokka's supposed to be up north for a couple weeks so you won't have to worry about running into him. I know Bumi really misses having you around. And Riju needs another good kick in the pants to do some training. He's gotten so lazy and you're the only person he consistently listens to."

"Maybe I'll stop by next time I leave work at a reasonable time."

As it turned out, Toph didn't need to worry about running into Sokka on Air Temple Island. Before the week was out, he showed up on her doorstep.

"What– What are you doing here?" she said weakly, a little breathless from the sudden ache in her chest. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. It's fine. I'm sorry to drop in on you like this. Maybe I shouldn't have..."

Hearing his voice after months was... Well, it was something. Painful but soothing, hitting opposite ends of the emotional spectrum.

"N–no. It's ok," she stammered. "Come in."

"Thanks." There was a moment of awkward silence. "How have you been?"

"You know. Busy."

"Right. Right..."

After another silence, Toph sighed wearily. "Why are you here, Sokka?"

"The Council asked me to come for that meeting about the bombing. I didn't want to risk you being blindsided when I showed up there. Thought it might be easier if we cleared the air a little beforehand."

"Yeah. Probably."

"Hey, you got a new watch!" he said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah. I asked Satoru to make another one."

"That was nice of him."

Without any warning, Toph was brutally assaulted by a wave of emotion. Though it was obviously pointless and futile, she turned away in an attempt to hide her contorting features.

Predictably, Sokka reacted in the best and worst possible way: he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her back around, pulling her into a tight hug. What was left of her composure evaporated and she just...gave up. It was too late, anyway. What could she do? Tell him to leave? What good would that do, besides ruin any chance of friendship between them?

As she stood there, trying to regain control of herself, she became aware of how calm he was. And it...really annoyed her. Yes. Anger. Anger was much preferred. She pushed him away. "It's not fair!" she said fiercely.

"What's not fair?"

"You– You're just standing there, comforting me. Perfectly calm and composed, just like the last time we spoke. And here I am, half a year later, an absolute fucking wreck. And you're just...ok?"

"You think I'm ok?" he asked with an affronted scoff, his voice cracking a little. "You really think that?"

"What else am I supposed to think? You haven't given me any indication otherwise."

"T... I don't even have words to express how not ok I've been."

It was enough for her anger to dissipate and she just nodded slowly, a little disappointed. Anger had been a relief. A distraction. "Look at us. Two broken people who can't stop making each other miserable."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"Our record says otherwise."

"I'd like to think we're both a little more mature, now. I mean, I am thirty, after all."

"How are your knees, old man? Ready for a cane yet?"

The pathetic attempt at a joke earned her a light chuckle from him, but she was unable to summon more than a crooked half-hearted smile. Then he stepped forward as if to hug her again, but she put her hand out to halt him.

"Please...don't."

"Sorry..." he said slowly. "Just a reflex, I guess."

"We've got some old habits to break."

"I promise I'll keep my distance, if that's what you want. I don't want you to feel like you have to avoid me."

"One more thing..." She had to take a deep, steadying breath before continuing. "I know you're going to move on eventually, considering why we broke up. I'm not ready to watch that happen."

"Toph–"

"I'm not asking you not to. I'd just...rather not know about it." Asking for that had been much more difficult than she'd thought it would be. It was humiliating.

"We've already established that this whole thing has been just as hard for me, even if you can't see it. I'm not going to be moving on with someone else anytime soon."

Not trusting herself to speak, Toph just nodded.

"Well. Anyway," he continued. "I've got some stuff to do, so I'll see you later."

"Yeah. See ya."

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

A/N: Yeah, I know this chapter was brutal. I still cry every time I read it. But don't worry - Tokka will never truly die. Not even Bryke could convince me of that, at this point.