Aang didn't even bother saying good night to his friends that night. He had a valid excuse. The play had been horrible, and the portrayal of him was incredibly sexist. Everyone's portrayals in the performance had been somewhat degrading. When he immediately went to his room after arriving at the beach house, no one batted an eye. Except for Katara, of course. She knew the real reason he was so bothered. She deeply regretted her actions on that balcony.

Though she was justified in leaving him there, it wasn't what she really wanted. The play had messed with their heads so much, and Aang even more so, that running away like that wasn't even a bad choice in that moment. She was sure Aang felt the same about how he had kissed her. The immediate regret in his eyes had been enough.

Watching him slip away from the group, almost unnoticed, pained her. The air of tension between them was thick and smothering, when all she wanted was to return to the carefree and easygoing relationship they had before. No obligations, no expectations. Just Aang and Katara. She had no idea when love had begun to complicate things. When she looked back, she could see that the connection she felt to her best friend had been building since the beginning. The idea he got from the play was completely out of order. How could she even look at Zuko in a romantic light, when it felt like Aang had always been around. She didn't even know where the playwright would get such a thought.

Though she figured she should get some sleep, the adrenaline pumping through her would not allow her to settle down. Some time alone, outside would fix that. As the others slowly filtered from the common area into their own chambers, Katara remained. She propped herself on the porch of the atrium, enjoying the cool night air of the Fire Nation and allowing her problems to drain away with the breeze. It was surprising how much the cool, fresh air of the night could calm someone. It was so much more tranquil than the busy atmosphere the daytime had.

She sat there for a while, probably well over an hour, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. She was also contend to just sit there the rest of the night, as any feelings of fatigue escaped her. She also thought that she would spend most of the night alone.

"Oh-" a hoarse voice croaked. "I didn't know there was still anyone up... I could go somewhere else" he pointed awkwardly to the door.

"No, don't be silly, Zuko" Katara replied. "Is there any reason you're awake?" Since they had reconciled, she had found Zuko to be a decent person, and a wholesome friend. Despite his mishap with the Southern Raiders, he was surprisingly good to come to for advice.

"Well, you know me. Or, well, I guess you don't" Zuko replied, stuttering. "I don't really keep a good sleep schedule."

"I suppose I should chastise you for that. It's not healthy."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Zuko joked. It felt good to be able to do that around her.

Katara smiled sinisterly. "Well, I could always freeze you to the roof. Maybe force you onto an iceberg and push you out to sea" Katara quipped.

Zuko laughed quietly. "Toph did say you were a motherly person" he said, and was met with an icy glare from the waterbender next to him. "Well, what I meant was that you actually came off more threatening..."

"So you think I'm threatening you?"

"No, not at all-!"

Katara couldn't maintain her straight face any longer, and burst out laughing. "Oh, spirits, Zuko. The royal family really aren't good with jokes, are they?"

"Heh, no I guess not" he replied, heart still racing from the shock she had given him. Now he knew why her threat back at the Western Air Temple had felt so real.

"But, enough with the joking. My question still stands. Why are you awake?" she pressed.

"Isn't it obvious? The way the play portrayed me was... insulting" the firebender admitted. "I know, to them I may be a traitor, but it just completely disrespects the way I turned around!" He raised his voice in frustration. "Sorry," he sighed. "I'll try to keep quiet."

"It's fine, I suppose" she told him. "It took me a while to accept your redemption arc, too. But now that we're past that..." she trailed off and paused for a minute. "I can see why it was important to you. When Aang told us about the vision's Avatar Roku gave him, we had no idea what it meant until you showed up."

"That I'm destined to redeem them."

"Exactly" Katara breathed. "I think the worst part had to be the... 'romance'" she forced out.

Zuko grimaced. "I know what you mean. It was so... fake and wrong. And it disrespected both of us." He couldn't even put into words how much the scenes that portrayed them together had bothered him. The bad guy gets the good girl trope was common in theatre, sure, but it didn't actually work out like that a lot. And it certainly wasn't now. "And it definitely doesn't work considering I probably have Mai."

"Probably?"

"She's still on the Boiling Rock" Zuko told her. Sighing, he continued, "she may have risked her life to get Sokka, your father and I as well as Chit Sang out of there. But I choose to believe she was merely imprisoned."

"I had no idea, Zuko" her eyes widened at his implication. To have a partner die was the main source of her 'confusion', and here Zuko probably had his girlfriend die. Maybe her decision to ask Aang to back off for now made sense.

"I broke up with her to come here and redeem myself." It just got worse and worse.

"She understood?"

"In the end."

It all made sense. They weren't even together and yet he still felt this burden by her supposed death. Love was not bound by formal relationships. It was enough to finally break her, to realise that she had made a mistake. She was wasting their time by pushing Aang away for such fears. She knew they were justified, but they were still wrong. She wouldn't grieve less because Aang was not her boyfriend. She would grieve more. There was so much unsaid, so much tension. How could she say either had them had died with no regrets if this was how they had left things off? She resolved to at least clear the air between them, to make sure that they were on good terms by the time Sozin's Comet rolled around. The tears poured freely.

"Uh, Katara?" she heard Zuko ask her. "Are you good?" He placed a concerned hand on her shoulder.

"No!" she yelled. "Why the fuck would I be okay?"

"Well... you seemed alright a minute ago."

"Until you you mentioned your maybe-dead girlfriend" she spat, immediately regretting the hostility in her statement.

The comforting hand on her shoulder removed itself, and Zuko let a few of his own tears shine through his closed eyelids. He sighed. "What does that have to do with you?" he asked her with a flat tone.

She forced his name out of her mouth, hands gripping her head stressfully. "Aang."

Though the firebender had known of the feelings between the two best friends for months, her statement still confused her. She had last seen the airbender just a couple hours ago. He was asleep in his room mere meters from where they sat. She was not in limbo like he was, and not to mention that they weren't even in a relationship. "Um... but he's alive?"

"And, as you said yourself, he has to face your father, who is considered to be the most powerful firebender in existence" Katara replied icily.

Zuko felt sheepish. It was so obvious what was holding them back. "Well, dwelling on it only wastes-"

"I know, I know!" she interrupted him loudly. "Don't you think I've figured that out already?"

No matter how much she attempted to explain to him, he still ended up more confused. 'What the hell is even holding them back?' "Then what's wrong?!" he asked, frustrated. "Why don't you do something about it?" he continued, softer this time.

Katara sighed. Her face was now completely buried in her arms. "He has" she admitted, voice muffled and unclear.

"What?"

"I said, he has!" she said, lifting her head from cover.

"So... are you two... boning?"

"What?!" she reeled, "Zuko, he's thirteen. I'm fourteen. And no, we aren't."

"Well, Mai and I were thirteen when-"

"I don't even wanna know" she cut him off. "This is different. We haven't even known each other that long, but I feel like there's just no living without him."

"So, he confessed and... did you reject him or something?" Zuko wondered.

"No! I didn't reject him" she grimaced. "I, uh, told him I was confused."

Zuko's face hardens, trying to decide whether or not she was joking. "You're serious."

Katara's eyes furrowed. "Yeah."

"Katara" he deadpanned. "Saying that to a guy after he confesses to you is like telling them to fuck off, and leave me alone." It was a line Mai had used on him more than once, and it baffled him to no end, the games she was playing with him.

"But it wasn't a rejection!" she pleaded.

"To you" he corrected. "To him, it definitely felt like one. Katara, don't take this the wrong way or anything... but you're an idiot."

"You're pushing the line there, prince."

"I know, but-"

"I know what you mean" the waterbender sighed. "You're... right, I suppose."

"You should get some sleep. You can fix all of this shit tomorrow."

"Who's the mom now?" she muttered. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Zuko."

"Good night."

Though the conversation she had with Zuko had been anything but comforting, and had actually raised more concerns and questions than closure, she did see the path to clearing the situation. If she hadn't spoken to Zuko, there was no way of knowing how Aang actually felt upon hearing her say she was confused. It was a cold truth, but a necessary one, one that hopefully led to a better future between them.

When she lay back in her bed for the first time since the night before, she felt relieved, despite the day's issue's and Aang's transgressions. Sleep came easier than it should've as all of the built up fatigue she had refused to acknowledge suddenly crashed down upon her.

Though Aang was normally a morning person, he usually found himself forcing his aching body out of bed every day at dawn. Today was a little different. He awoke a little before sunrise after an insomnia riddled sleep cycle, unable to return to his slumber. Rising from his position, he groaned, remembering the events that had transpired last night. Nothing he was proud of. He cursed himself for doing that to Katara.

'Well, no point in meditation today' Aang thought. He would only end up hyperfocussing on the one thing currently bothering him the most.

He trudged his way out of the room, wearing only his pants as cover. His eyes sported black bags underneath them, telltale of his trouble sleeping the night previous. Alone in the main hangout, he prepared himself a small breakfast to settle his anxious stomach and airbent himself onto the roof to watch the orange tinges of sunrise grow, feeling his firebending grow stronger by the minute. Normally he watched such events with a contented smile painted across his face, but as he observed the light growing stronger, he could only frown. The new day would only bring challenges for him, mental as well as his usual physical training. He felt like a shitty person.

"Morning, twinkletoes" a groggy voice called to him from beneath.

Aang smiled a little. "What, no good today?" he yelled back at her.

She used to earth underneath her to launch herself onto the roof, next to the Avatar. "Is there anything good about today to you?"

Aang frowned again. "I suppose not."

"I was woken up by you" the girl clarified. "Loudly. Since when are you so heavy on the foot? I called you the fancy dancer for a reason. What are you doing out here?"

Aang thought for a second. It never escaped him that the girl next to him was blind, but he decided to have some fun with it. "Watching the sunset" he explained plainly. "It's really calming, you know?"

"No, I don't know!" Toph raised her voice, angry while Aang snickered. "Shut up" she breathed, withholding her own laugh. "Why are you really awake so early, twinkletoes? And don't lie to me, or I'll punch you off this building."

"Guess last night's play bothered me" he evaded.

Toph hummed quizzically. "I can tell there's more to the truth than that, Avatar" she called him out. "But I know what you mean."

"You do?" he squeeked.

"Woah, easy on the ears please" she complained. Aang grimaced at his own youthfulness. "You think I liked being played by a guy in that shitshow?"

"Well," Aang chose his next words carefully, "it may have seemed that way- ow!" Toph had punched his shoulder.

"I thought you were good at reading people."

"You literally told us you loved- can you not?!" Toph chuckled beside him.

"No escaping the fist, kid, sorry." Aang grumbled. "But seriously. You think it was cool having my gender changed to a man simply to be portrayed as stronger?"

Aang was shocked. "I hadn't thought about that, I suppose."

"Course not" she deadpanned. "I'm strong, independent, the greatest earthbender in the world and I'm a girl all the same." She paused. "I could beat multiple guys in a fight with minimal bending."

"I don't doubt that..." he said. He had been on the receiving end of said beatings before. "But I see what you mean. You should've said something to us yesterday.

Toph sighed. "I... I didn't even see what was wrong with it then. I thought it was cool, like I was upgraded to a super buff guy. But when I went home that night, I realised just how fucked up it was for me to be played by a man to be seen as stronger; and for you to be played by a woman to be portrayed as weaker. And now it annoys the hell out of me."

"You're great just the way you are, Toph" Aang told her truthfully. He admired for a lot of things.

"I know. But the rest of the world doesn't seem to think so" she complained.

"Well, I believe it" he consoled.

"Aang" she said, using his real name this time. "Why are you really up here?" she asked him seriously.

"You don't wanna know" he told her.

"I'm asking because I do, twinkletoes. Stop avoiding it."

He sighed. "It was... the intermission."

Toph raised her eyebrows. "When you disappeared and everyone was looking for you?"

"... Yeah."

"Katara found you, didn't she?"

"Yep."

"It has something to do with the romance in the play, doesn't it?" she asked, voice drooping.

"Yeah" he sighed. "It... didn't end well between us that night."

"You know I can feel heartbeats... I always thought the two of you had something going" Toph admitted. It had often grown annoying, too. When she tried to focus or sleep whenever they were around each other, and their heartbeats would just skyrocket and intensify for seemingly no reason. "Her, too."

"Well, I think it's safe to say that, either you're wrong or she just doesn't care enough."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" she admonished incredulously.

"What does it matter?!" Aang raised his voice. "Whether she does or doesn't, she still rejected me and it's better if I just move on and respect her wishes. I acted pretty shitty to her last night, and I don't want to repeat that."

"Well, at least you're not avoiding it and pining after her. I always thought you would forever."

Aang tried not to be insulted. "No, it would be wrong to" he breathed. "But whether I do or not, it doesn't matter. I'll move on eventually."

"I can respect that" Toph said. "I'd be a hypocrite otherwise."

"Huh?"

"I'm telling you this in complete confidence, so if you spread this I will throw you in a hole somewhere and we'll go on a hunt for the next Avatar, got it?" Toph threatened.

"Right, got it" he replied quickly. A threat from Toph should always go heeded.

"I may have had a little fling with Sokka" she finally admitted after a long hesitation.

"Wait" Aang deadpanned. "You and Sokka-"

"Did not get together. He was always after Suki."

"So it was just a crush."

"Basically."

"I guess we understood each other better than we thought" Aang mused.

"I understand all, with these feet" Toph joked.

"Right. It's no replacement for the eyes, though" Aang confessed, earning another punch to the shoulder as he watched the sun begin to show it's edge over the horizon. "Or maybe, the feet are cool too."

"Damn right. Come on. You're earthbending clearly needs work if you think so heinously."

"Zuko and I usually train in the morning, when our energy increases over time" Aang explained.

"Do I give a shit? You need to work on your earthbending. And... spending time with you is fun" Toph admitted with a blush.

Aang laughed a little, "Doing what is fun?"

"Don't make me say it, kid."

"Aw, Toph. I appreciate it" he told her truthfully. "But I'm older than you, kid."

"Whatever. Just come on already, no point in stalling."

They mostly spent their time on the beach sparring, and practicing sandbending. It was a good excuse for Aang to vent his pent up emotions from the night before, and he sure showed it. And Toph oddly... liked it. In their little session, she got to see the side of Aang often hidden from her, either for her own protection or because Katara insisted on being the one to be there for him. And it was certainly fun to be around. As well as challenging himself, he was challenging her, a rare feat by any bender they encountered. And he was only using earthbending.

As it turned out, Aang was not all soft and emotions, but he had a fun side that Toph could get behind, one that was rough and did well in a good fight. It was the side she could get used to spending more time with.