It was one of those evenings when all the friends were sitting together by the fire. It was dusk, and the sky was slowly beginning to spread a stellar firmament over their campsite. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko and Suki were telling different stories and there was a lot of laughter.

It was one of those evenings that could have been perfect.

It could have been, if only Toph didn't hate it so much.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy to be there with all of them. On the contrary, she had never felt so good in her life. After all, she had never really had friends, and had never traveled anywhere without her parents. Her dreams of an independent life full of adventures had finally come true and she knew it. She knew she should be glad right now and thankful to be here.

But she just couldn't be happy that evening.

She was sitting next to Sokka. His presence next to her usually cheered her up. Especially in difficult moments for her, when she found herself in a new, unknown place or when she had no contact with the ground. Then he was always ready to help her, even before she had time to ask for it, he was already offering her a helping hand or his arm to cling to. Toph had to admit that she was starting to like it more and more. She liked being so close to him. And she was glad he cared for her that way.

But now, when they were by the fire, and he was sitting right next to Suki, the closeness began to hurt her.

Suki must have said something funny because everyone started laughing and Sokka was laughing the loudest. He kissed her cheek. Toph felt her eyes becoming wet.

She didn't want anyone to see that she was crying. As a great tear ran down her cheek, she immediately got up, she couldn't take it anymore. She had gotten up maybe a bit too abruptly, but she couldn't stand to be here any longer. She was about to leave when suddenly:

"Toph, are you okay?" She heard Sokka's concerned voice.

This, of course, made her feel even worse. Does he have to be so caring? So good-natured? And so perceptive?

There was silence around the fire. Even though Toph was blind, she figured everyone was looking at her. She could almost feel their eyes on her.

Her cheeks began to burn.

"I'm fine, I'll be right back." She answered shortly, because she had no idea for any original excuses. She left without even thinking where she was going. Just as far as possible from here.

However, she didn't want to go too far. She walked far enough away that no one could hear her. At least she hoped so. She sat down on the ground. She needed contact with Earth. With her element. Instantly, she began to cry uncontrollably.

Toph was a powerful earthbender. She liked to think of herself as a tough guy. Despite adversities, she is strong and never gives up. And she wants others to think of her that way, too.

But now she felt as if her feelings were starting to take over.

She didn't like her delicate side. She had been told all her life that she was vulnerable - but for her parents it was the same as being weak. If she couldn't cope with her emotions because, for example, she was sad, it was interpreted as if she couldn't cope with her life. Any expression of sadness on her part was enough to make everyone treat her as the most disadvantaged person in the world.

It irritated her greatly that she had been deprived of her right to express her mood freely and that always, really always - it was somehow related to her blindness. Therefore, she did everything to be tough and not to be seen as weak. She didn't want to be vulnerable. She wanted to prove to everyone who ever doubted her - that she could take care of herself and that she didn't need to be constantly touched. She hated people who felt eternally sorry for her and couldn't talk to her about anything other than her blindness.

It wasn't until she joined the Avatar's team that she began to feel alive.

But the Earth can also be as fine as sand - not always hard as a rock, but sometimes made up of a million particles that fall apart easily in the palm of your hand - and that's how Toph was feeling right now. Like a million scattered grains from the crushed rock of her heart. And she wasn't very good at sandbending. Maybe that's why...

She had no hope of ever being with Sokka - and no one else had ever cared for her the way he did before. And probably nobody ever will... But in the end, could she compare with Suki, a great fighter, tall, slim, witty, with a nice voice? And also of course not blind. Suki was brave, too - once she saved Toph from drowning. And she was probably very pretty. There was basically no reason not to like her. And yet, lately, Toph has reluctantly admitted to herself that she had gotten a little cold with Suki. She wasn't proud of it.

She envied her so much, she wanted to be in her place. Because why didn't he choose her? What was she missing? They have so many wonderful memories together. They've been through so much together.

Her favorite memory is when he gave her a gift – part of a meteorite, which he used to create his sword during his training with Master Piandao. Even when he trained with him in the way of sword, he thought about her. She still carried this with her.

Now she took it out of her pocket.

It was cool to the touch and very porous. Toph could feel a lot of grains of different sizes inside it. It was very malleable and easily changed shape under the influence of her will.

Too bad people aren't like that. She thought. You can't mold them. You can't change how they think. What they do. Or who they fall in love with. She sighed.

I can barely stand being around Sokka. But I won't leave my friends. I will help Aang prepare for the battle with Ozai. But then... I may have to leave. To find my own path. And no longer look back.

-xxx-

"Aang, Toph hasn't come back yet, and she's not in her tent. I'm starting to worry about her." Sokka was very concerned.

"We should look for her." He added after a moment.

Aang thought about it.

"Wait a minute, I'll try to locate her with earthbending. I'll sense her if she hasn't gone too far."

The Avatar closed his eyes in concentration. He stood in the correct posture and hit the ground with his right foot. In an instant, he sensed the position of all the creatures in the area, including one short person huddled and trembling in the middle of the forest a bit from the camp.

"Got her." He said pleased to Sokka.

"She's not far. A few minutes from here. I'll go get her."

"Are you sure I don't need to go with you?" Sokka asked tiredly.

"No need, stay here. She's really close. You won't even notice and we'll be back." He said happily to the friend who was already seriously yawning.

"Alright, I'll go to bed then. But let me know when you two get back."

"Sure!"

-xxx-

Toph sensed that someone nearby was using earthbending and that he was approaching her. She even knew who it was.

Twinkle Toes in the flesh.

"Toph... What are you doing here? Oh… What happened?" Aang asked worried when he found his friend lying on the ground and heard her cry.

The girl wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers.

"I'm fine." She said reluctantly.

Aang crouched down beside her.

"But I can see that..."

"I SAID I'M FINE!" The girl shouted, to whom all remarks about seeing worked very badly. Especially at this moment.

Aang jumped in surprise. He hadn't expected such a reaction from his earthbending teacher.

He had never seen her like this before.

"Toph..."

"Leave me alone!"

Aang froze for a moment. His face was covered with consternation and disbelief. He didn't know what to do.

"I won't leave you alone in this forest!" He finally replied helplessly.

At these words, Toph sat down, facing more or less in his direction. Fury began to seize her.

"Do you think that I will not be able to handle myself in this forest? That I can't take care of myself and I have to be looked after? Go away! Go... Away..."

Her voice cracked. It infuriated her. She wanted to remain tough and strong. She didn't want to be a crybaby.

To Aang, her 'go away' sounded more like a desperate 'help me'. So he began to speak to her, choosing his words slowly and thoughtfully.

"Toph... I didn't mean it. I know you can handle it by yourself. I know you're tough. I am just worrying about you. We're all worried. Because you're our friend. You would also worry about me if I wanted to sit alone in the woods all night, right?"

The girl finally nodded. Aang was relieved she wasn't yelling at him anymore.

"I wish I could help you somehow, but for that you have to tell me what's going on. And if you don't want to, at least let's go back to the camp together. It's getting cold..."

"No." Toph replied firmly. "I'm not going."

Aang's eyes widened with surprise.

"You're not going? Why are you not going?"

"I can't go back there."

With each sentence the girl said, Aang grew more and more surprised, even though he felt that he couldn't be more. After his friend's behavior, he began to understand that the matter was much more serious than he had first suspected. Toph was very nervous - she was already shaking. Probably a little from the cold, but mostly from stress.

So there are things she is afraid of, too. Thought Aang. If he wants to help her somehow and persuade her to come back, he must be careful. He knew her explosive nature well. Toph has already left the team once after an argument with him and Katara, and he wouldn't want that situation to happen again. He would do whatever he could to get his friend back to the camp with him.

He took a deep breath and asked:

"Okay... Tell me please, why can't you go back there?"

Toph was silent. She wondered. Aang took it at face value.

"I can't tell you." He heard finally.

"Why not?"

"Because it's… too personal." She said briefly, as if she wanted to cut off the discussion.

Aang scratched his head. He no longer had any arguments for that. If she doesn't want to tell him, he only has one thing left.

Resigned, he replied:

"Would you prefer to talk to someone else? I can bring Sokka here or Ka..."

"No no!" Toph cried out in panic. Aang raised one eyebrow.

"Alright." Toph finally gave up. "Just don't tell anyone."

"I won't. I promise."

Toph took a deep breath.

"Have you ever felt as if the ground was sliding out from under your feet?" She finally said hesitantly.

Aang's eyes widened. Words like that did not suit her.

"This is how I feel with Sokka."

Now Aang seemed to be walled up.

"What? Why? Did you argue?" He wondered nervously. He had not noticed any conflicts between them before...

"What? No, of course not. No... It's enough... It's enough that he's with Suki."

Toph immediately cringed into herself. A scarlet blush spread across her cheeks.

"Oh..." Aang understood. While it was a shocking confession to him, it made the most sense of everything so far.

"Now I understand what you mean." He said, remembering how he felt when Katara was with Jet.

Jet...

How did he feel every time he saw them together...

As if another small part of him had been lost forever.

"He can't find out." Toph said, interrupting his dark thoughts abruptly.

Aang looked at her with compassion.

"I think he needs to find out about it." He said glumly. "He's really worried about you, Toph. I know that. And sooner or later he'll ask you if you're alright. He cares about you."

"And that's the problem." Toph said in despair.

Aang became sad. She was right. It was a problem.

"And you, what would you do in my place?" Toph asked him suddenly. "Would you tell Katara how you feel about her if she was with someone else?"

"What?" Aang was suddenly surprised.

"Oh, come on, Twinkle Toes. It's so obvious how much she means to you. "

"Seriously?" Aang blushed. "Well, I think... I think she knows. But I don't think too much about it... "

"Oh, of course not." Toph said ironically.

Well, she was right. Aang thought about it practically every day. Every day he wondered how to do it, how and when to tell her, and new ideas and scenarios were constantly arising in his head, what would happen if he did it.

Suddenly he had an idea.

"I will do it." He said decisively. "I'll tell him."

"Are you crazy?" Toph was indignant.

"Relax, listen." Aang replied. "I will only tell him that he and Suki should behave differently around the fire, because it irritates us all a bit. Okay?"

"Would you really do that?" Toph asked doubtfully.

"Really." Aang smiled.

"Okay." Toph said finally, and a slight smile finally spread across her face. "Let's get out of here, it's getting cold."

Now it was Aang who grinned.

"I will be honored if you will return to the camp with me, oh the most powerful earthbender in history."

Toph chuckled.

"The most powerful earthbender in history? I like this."

Laughing, they returned to the camp together in good spirits.

The next day, at the next meal by the fire, it was already much better.

"Toph, are you okay? You've been a bit sad lately…" Sokka asked her at breakfast. Suki was busy talking to Katara.

"Yeah sure, I'm fine." Toph replied, trying to smile.

"Cool! But if something happened, you can always tell me." He said and walked away.

"Sure!" Toph said. "I'm fine…"

At least for now.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello Dear Readers,

Thank you so much for reading this oneshot.

Before you ask me this question about the next part of Uncertainty - I'm working on it, but I'm really busy right now what I didn't expect at all. Life goes first. Always. If you stay by that story I will be very happy, if not, I understand. But I'm not leaving that project.

In the meanwhile I've managed to at least finish this story, what I have started already some time ago. So at least you have something small to read. I actually think that this oneshot stayed somehow in the 'Uncertainty' vibe, I don't know if it's just my writing style or an accident xD

The next thing is that the FanFiction page is crushing again, I don't really know what's going on here, I hope that this oneshot is visible at all.

carl607, thank you so much for proofreading.

Greetings,

your Storybender