"I'm sorry, by the way."

She raised her brows and turned towards him. "What for?" she asked, setting aside her tea.

"For yelling at you," Aang responded with a sigh, "back in the desert."

The earthbender stifled a laugh. "Aang, you don't have to apologise for that."

"Yes, I do."

"It was a year ago, anyway." With a shrug, Toph added, "I got over it."

"I know, but—" He took a breath. "It's something I've been holding onto. I keep replaying that period in my mind. I remember the things I felt." Aang's voice was suddenly closer, and she knew he had turned to face her. "And the things I said. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. We wouldn't even be here now if it weren't for you."

"Aang, stop," she said, holding out her palm. "There was a lot of crap going on then. We all said and did things we regret. But I never blamed you for exploding like that. I didn't like it, but..." Toph paused as she pulled on her memories. She frowned as she let herself relive that moment—as she let herself relive the muscles that ached from holding up the sinking library and the heart that ached from feeling like she'd failed the Avatar. A part of Toph longed to tell Aang just how terrible she had already felt, and how much worse he had made her feel, but she resisted. Instead, she swallowed those words, and sighed. "But I know you were going through a lot, so I already forgave you."

He echoed her sigh, but his was deeper with relief. "Thanks, Toph. I was miserable. I mean, I—losing Appa was like losing myself. After what the Fire Nation did to my people..." Aang's voice started to crumble as he said, "Appa was all I had left in this world."

"But you still had Katara and Sokka—and me," she added in a shy voice. Toph hesitantly reached out and took his hand in hers. "And I'm always here for you." Butterflies filled her belly and heat filled her face when he unexpectedly placed his hand atop hers and squeezed.

"I know," Aang murmured.

Time seemed to stand still as Toph's mind went numb and her heart raced, and she was scarcely aware of anything but their joined hands. She could practically feel her heart beating in her throat, and she didn't know why she was so tense and anxious. After what seemed like an eternity, Toph managed to speak. "Aang..."

"Oh," the Avatar almost yelped, quickly pulling his hands from hers, leaving her feeling cold and empty. "Sorry."

Toph didn't know how to respond. She wasn't sure she would be able to say "it's okay" because that didn't seem entirely true. She didn't want Aang to feel sorry for having held her hand. In fact, the only thing she wanted right now was to have his hands again. Toph couldn't begin to make her mind work to untangle her thoughts and emotions. All she knew was that her hands felt naked without his.

"Anyway," Aang started, and Toph knew he could feel the awkwardness in the air. "Thanks."

"Oh, uh..." Toph finally snapped herself back to reality. She flung her hands to her sides and straightened her back. She willed her voice to be strong and nonchalant as she said, "Anytime, Twinkletoes."

Later that day, she set aside some time to replay that peculiar event. Toph tried to analyse it and make sense of what was going through her head, and she was as clueless as before. She practically lost her mind when Aang put his hand over hers, and she couldn't figure out why. It was just Aang, and they were just hands. They've held hands before without it meaning anything. Toph had never felt anything before. It was just that second, and all of a sudden...

...all of a sudden, it was like she couldn't live without Aang. It was like she could be content to hold his hand for the rest of their lives. Toph remembered how acutely aware she was of their closeness, and how it felt like it was still too much distance. She remembered how rapidly her heart was beating, but she didn't want it to stop. She was breathless, frightened, anxious in that moment, and she loved it...and she loved Aang.

No! she mentally screamed at herself. Stop thinking like that. He's got Katara, and they're your friends, and you can't... She couldn't finish her thought. She bit her lip as her eyes moistened with tears. You just can't, Toph.

The earthbender heaved a shuddering sigh. She uncurled her fingers, replaying that moment and imagining his hand in hers one last time. They were friends. Nothing less...and nothing more. Toph packed away the event and buried it far in the recesses of her mind, determined to let it rot like the butterflies in her heart.