Lost and Found

He had only looked away for a moment... where was Toph?

He had only looked away for a moment – barely a heartbeat – and he'd lost her in the teeming chaos their organized battle had become. The Fire Nation soldiers had to have known they were beaten, surely. They were fighting for their lives now, a cause they held infinitely dearer than their own country.

But where was Toph…

"Watch her, Zuko," Katara had whispered against his ear when she'd hugged him for the last time (much to the young Avatar's annoyance). "She's at a disadvantage with all these firebenders, and I won't be able to keep an eye on her if I go with Aang. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to –"

"I'll watch her," Zuko had replied roughly, shoving Katara away like a small child escaping an affectionate mother. She'd been getting emotional, and the last thing he'd wanted was a young woman leaking on his shoulder.

So he'd watched the blind earthbender - though 'watched' was a very loose term. Toph seemed to be doing all right; more than all right, really. She was taking down more soldiers than the other earthbenders – the ones who had been studying for years before her father had ever married her mother.

He had never really seen her fight; he had been beside her in numerous confrontations, but he had never paid attention to exactly how well she did. Her abilities were almost frightening, bordering on supernatural.

So he'd looked away for a heartbeat and he'd lost her in the flow of bodies and earth and fire.

And when the battle was over, and the soldiers defeated - though Ozai's fate was still unknown – he still couldn't find her.

Zuko searched now, desperately, turning over bodies, wading through wreckage, looking for any trace of the tiny girl-child with whose care and keeping he had been charged. He had not seen her in almost an hour.

He didn't even dare think of what would happen if Toph was dead when he found her – because he was going to find her, no matter how long he had to search. His uncle would probably never speak to him again; Toph had a soft spot for Iroh, and he absolutely adored her in return. Sokka and Katara would save him the trouble of feeling guilty by ending his life in what was sure to be a very swift and violent manner. Even the all-knowing, all-forgiving Avatar would probably curse his existence.

He would find her.

There were so many bodies. The city was painted red and green with their uniforms: Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation alike lay dead where they had fallen. The smell of charred flesh and burning hair clung to the dust in the air and worked its way into the back of Zuko's nose, until he couldn't remember ever smelling anything else. Eventually he had to cover his nose to keep from gagging.

He nudged over another dead firebender, and his heart began to race when he saw what was caught between the man's stiff, grasping fingers. It was a hair band, yellow and green, with two round, puffy little animal tails right above where the ears would be. He'd always thought Toph had looked rather like a mouse with her headband on.

He wrenched the band from the dead man's hold, shoved it in his pocket, and began his search with renewed vigor. She was close.

He found her half-pinned beneath the body of an Earth Kingdom soldier, who had obviously taken a killing blow meant for the young girl. As Zuko knelt and rolled the man away he made a mental note of face and rank so that he could ensure the man received a proper burial for his deed.

Toph was lying on her side, one arm pinned awkwardly under her body. He rolled her onto her back with gentle hands, letting out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding when she began to mumble.

A quick glance told him enough about her injuries to know she was well enough to be moved. There was a thin, snaking burn climbing across her left shoulder and up onto her right cheek. The arm that had been pinned beneath her body had been knocked out of place at the shoulder, but it wasn't broken and for that he was grateful. Both of her palms were dirty, bloody messes of scrapes and burns.

She opened her eyes when he picked her up, and all of her long, black hair tumbled free, falling over his arm as he held her.

"Did we win?" she asked blearily, barely able to stay conscious at this point.

"Yeah, little sister," Zuko answered, surprising both of them with the affection in his voice, the fondness in the pet name. "Yeah. We won. It's over."

Even concussed as she was, Toph was able to give him a triumphant, fleeting smirk before closing her eyes and turning her face into his shoulder.

"Wake me up when you find Aang and Katara," she muttered, breath warm against his chest.

He didn't reply, because she was already asleep, and began to pick his way back through the destruction and carnage that stood between him and his new life, for better or for worse: the palace, the Avatar, and his father's fate.

At least this small piece of it was safe. He held her tighter, and sent up a small prayer of thanks to whoever had been watching her when he had turned away.

AN: No one laugh, as I am very proud of this. Let me explain my mind. In MY version of the final battle, only Aang will actually make it to the throne room where Ozai awaits. Katara and Sokka will be left outside in the hallway to stop any gaurds that might come by. Toph will stay outside the palace gates, where there is still Earth for her to bend. Zuko will stay with her, becuase he has no wish to see his father win OR lose. They take the city with a huge army of amassed Water Tribesmen and Earth Kingdom soldiers, a la Mordor at Helm's Deep... except they don't get beaten back. So there it is, for anyone who's ever wondered how I see it. ALL my post-war fanfics are written on this theory of events. Anywho. Not really romantic, but cute I think. I dunno how IC it is, but I suppose the reviews will tell me...