Hey, everyone! This chapter is going to be very different. It features a huge role from a certain blind girl whom I tend to neglect a lot, so I hope you enjoy it.

I don't even think I NEED a disclaimer at this point.


"You ready to get your butt whooped, Twinkletoes?"

Aang looked up from the letter he was writing. "Um…no, not particularly," the boy replied to his smugly grinning blind friend. "What did I do?"

Toph snorted. "Nothing. I'm bored."

"I'm kinda busy," the Avatar responded. "These stupid letters don't write themselves."

Another snort from the Earthbending girl. "You're just a kid. Why even bother with that stuffy political junk, anyway?"

"I wish I could act like a kid, but I don't have much of a choice." Frowning, Aang looked back at the unfinished letter, and then over to Toph again. "Besides, I still have bruises from last time you 'trained' me."

"Oh, no, the baby's got a booboo?" Toph taunted. "Maybe Katara can kiss it and make it all better."

"Real mature." He rolled his eyes. "Leave me alone. I said I was busy."

"Hmm…compelling offer," she mused, "but I think I'll pass. Everyone else is out of the house, and I need something to do."

Aang growled in exasperation. "That's not my problem. Please, just go away."

"Ooh, someone's testy today. What crawled down your pants?" Toph pressed.

"You did," he snapped. "Now leave me be, or I'll make you."

Whoa. That wasn't like Aang at all! "Oh, you think so? Go ahead, Twinkletoes, show me what you've got!" Immediately she flinched, hoping he wouldn't accept the challenge. The Avatar was certainly a formidable adversary.

He stood up, ready to slam his bedroom door in her face, but he quickly realized that was a bad idea. Sighing, he dropped the 'tough guy' act and sat back down at his desk. "No," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" Toph asked, genuinely concerned for her friend.

"What do you care?" Aang questioned, more out of curiosity than anger.

"You're obviously upset," she replied. "No one talks to me like that, unless they have a good doctor."

Aang stood up again, pondering whether or not he should tell Toph about his predicament. It was really personal and embarrassing. "…I-I don't want to talk about it."

Toph narrowed her unseeing eyes. "The hell you don't. You're in this deep already, so you might as well spill before I spill some of your blood on the floor."

"Okay, okay!" the boy relented, well aware of the bruisings Toph was capable of giving—and that was in a controlled environment. "But it's a secret. Please, Toph, promise me you won't tell anyone."

That was unlike Aang, too. In the year that Toph knew him, he never appeared so…vulnerable in front of her. She wasn't just concerned for him anymore, now she was worried. "Okay, I promise. You're starting to scare me."

Taking a deep breath, he began. "I…I got a letter this morning from the Order of the White Lotus." He grabbed it off his desk before remembering that Toph couldn't read it, so he put it back down and continued. "Um…it had some stuff in it about the Avatar Cycle, and the importance of keeping the cycle going in order to maintain balance in the world." He paused, making sure his friend understood.

She did. "Right," she said, prompting him to continue.

"…Well, then it said how I was the last Airbender alive and everything, and that in order for the Avatar Cycle to continue after the next Fire Nation Avatar, there would need to be more Air Nomads, obviously. So…" He was sure Toph knew what he was getting at by now, but he had to say this anyway. "They want me to start thinking about repopulating the Air Nomads." He winced, bracing for laughter.

But it never came. Instead, Toph asked, "Uhh, they do know you're only thirteen, don't they?"

Aang didn't answer; he just sighed and shook his head in disgust.

And then came the embarrassment, albeit unintentional. Toph began to ask another, more personal, question. "Are you even able to, you know…?" Immediately she knew she'd said something she shouldn't have, even if it was completely innocent in nature. She could feel poor Aang practically having a heart attack. "You know what, I don't wanna know. Sorry."

"Th-that's okay," he replied, sitting down on his bed and clutching his rapidly beating heart as he felt his face practically burn off from the heat it was emitting.

Hoping he had calmed down a little, she decided to ask him another question. "So why are you so angry about this? I mean…can't you just write them back and say you'd rather wait a few years?"

He gulped. "Well, that's not the problem. The problem is that they know I'm involved with a Waterbender."

"So?"

"So…there's a chance that any children she and I may have someday could turn out to be Waterbenders."

"But there's just as much chance that they're Airbenders or non-benders, so I still don't understand what—"

"They want me to marry a non-bender, Toph!" Aang yelled, putting his face in his hands.

"O-oh." Toph stiffened. Now it made sense. She silently cursed the Order of the White Lotus for its demands. This boy just worked his butt off saving the world, and all he wanted was to have his girl. Maybe she should give the Old Masters a good talking to and—

W-wait, was Aang crying?

Half of Toph wanted to leave and give the poor kid some space…let Katara deal with it later. But the other half was telling her to do something for her friend. Anything. Help him.

"I-I'm sorry, Toph," the young Airbender said quietly through his tears. "You p-probably think this is stupid, a-and I'm acting…w-weak—"

With that, the girl's mind was made up. "No. Don't talk like that. You are not weak." She walked up to his bed and sat down next to him. "I-I wish I could tell you what to do, Aang, but…the way you feel about Katara…I've never felt that before. I really don't know what you're going through…I'm sorry."

Sniffling, he looked up at her. "I-it's okay. Just b-being here and listening to m-me…helps a lot."

"You'll figure this out. I know you will," she told him with a small smile. But it quickly faded, and she swallowed, unsure of what to do. Her actions were completely going against her personality. She was strong, hard, tough…she couldn't care less about other people's problems. But seeing one of her best friends crying his eyes out over a problem no one should ever have…made her realize something. Something she should have realized long ago.

She cared. She may not have fully understood what Aang was feeling, but she knew from his sobs that it hurt, a lot. She may have been tough, but she was still a human being, and she still loved her friend. She most certainly cared.

Tentatively, the blind Earthbender put a sympathetic hand on the boy's shoulder, feeling an uncharacteristic surge of empathy for him. And before she knew what she was doing, her other hand had found his other shoulder, pulling him into an embrace. Then, she had another realization. Had she ever actually hugged Aang before? Sure, maybe in a group hug, but…had she ever really hugged him? He was warm…it would have felt much nicer if he weren't sobbing into her shoulder and wetting her shirt (which wouldn't have mattered if her shirt hadn't soaked through and her bare shoulder weren't getting wet).

After a couple minutes, Aang began to calm down, trying to get his breathing back to normal. It was only then that he noticed Toph's arms encircling him.

Hearing his sobs calm, the girl offered a piece of advice. "Aang, if you really love Katara…then I don't think there's anything a bunch of old guys can do to separate you two. And…you are an Air Nomad, so no matter what, there's a chance, right?"

Mildly surprised, he allowed a hopeful smile to grace his face. "I guess you're right, Toph. So…what do I do about the letter?"

She sighed. "Well, that's up to you. You are the Avatar, after all. Don't take crap from anyone!" She paused, rethinking her last sentiment. "Well, except me."

For the first time, Aang laughed, and it sounded like music to Toph's ears. "Thank you, Toph…so much. I really feel a lot better now."

"Don't thank me," she replied. "I figured I owe you, after all those bruises I've given you."

Giggling, Aang let go of Toph and shook his head. "Well, then I guess we're even." Then, in a more serious tone, he said, "I know this whole 'comforting' thing isn't exactly easy for you, but I want you to know…you're a really good friend."

She smiled. "Well…I'm glad I could help."

"So…Earthbending practice?" Aang offered.

Toph laughed. "Wait a minute. After all that, you're asking me to beat you up?"

Shaking his head again, the Avatar chuckled and said, "In your dreams! You want to go?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "You're on."