On the day of the funeral the sun gave off a harsh bright light, but failed to heat the chill in the air. No one staying in the palace felt like eating that morning, the lavish breakfast that was laid out for them went to waist. Everyone seemed to scatter to separate places in the palace as they waited for the funeral service to start. The only people how weren't alone were Sokka and Suki, who hid out in their room.

Aang had found himself out on the porch. He leaned against the wall of the palace under the balcony. As a tears fell from his eyes, he slid down the wall till he was sitting on the ground. His hands rested limply on his knees. He closed his eyes as he concentrated on his breathing. The world around him seemed to fall away.

This was how Toph found him. She expected him to notice her, say something as she walked over to him, but he didn't. She made it all the way to be sanding right in front of him, and he didn't even flicker his eyes. Taking one more step forward, invading his space completely, she stood with her feet between his. Letting out a deep breath, that she had been holding since she walked out onto the porch, she bent down till she was balancing on the balls on her feet. She was bale to stay perfectly balanced like this for over a minute. Her mouth almost opened a few times, but never did any sound come out, she didn't know what to say. When her balance started to waver she lowered her knees onto the ground.

That was what final alerted Aang to the precise of the blind earth bender so close to him. Toph's head moved forward as she lowered her knees onto the ground. That was what Aang saw when he opened his eyes, Toph's face less than an inch away from his. At first he thought her eyes were so large, because like him she was in shock at their current situation. Then he realised they had always been that large.

"Talk to Zuko." her head was now pulled back. A million thoughts went through his head, not one of them really answered what was going on. "Katara tried but he wouldn't talk. She asked my, but he wouldn't talk to me. So you have to talk to him."

Aang started to nod his head as she was speaking, once she stopped he realised that he still didn't understand what she was saying. "wait, what."

A look of frustration passed Toph's face as she placed a strand of her long hair behind her ear. "Zuko said that you wanted to make it up to me, for ditching us for so long. That I should let you, so I'm asking you to help him...he wont let me, I'm worried about him."

Again Aang found himself nodding to what she was saying, but this time he was listening to her. His head feel back resting on the wall. "Yeah, I'm worried about him too."

"Then go talk to him."

"I would if I could get up." Toph's upper body moved back a little, like she was just made aware of the closeness she had established between them when she had sat down. "And you say please."

Toph's lips curled into what could have been a snarl, as she moved back onto the balls of her feet. She was about to push herself to stand again, when Aang's right hand took hold of her wrist. "Sorry, I'll go talk to him."

instead on saying thank you, or even nodding, Toph lifted her right hand to whip away the single tear that had remained on Aang's left check with her thumb. Then she pulled herself onto her feet. Aang followed her example, using the wall to help pull himself up.

"How did you know I had been crying." as Toph stopped and turned to face him, he saw that her eyes weren't red or even blood shot, but he just knew that she had been crying too, or at least would have if she didn't stop herself.

"lucky guess."

"No really."

"Your voice."

Her voice like her eyes gave away nothing of what she was feeling. This Aang finally decided was the thing that annoyed him the most about her. How good she was at hiding things. When she reached the door he thought of another question that was bothering him. "How did you know what side of my face the tear, if any would be on."

At first he didn't see her face, her back was facing him. He did however see her shoulders moving a little. When he finally got a look at her face, he saw a very faint almost miss-able smile. "That was a lucky guess."

Zuko was sitting in his study behind his large desk covered with scrolls and maps. His chair was turned round to face the window behind the desk. When Aang entered the room he was faced with the back of the large chair. Zuko made no sign that he was aware of the other person in the room. For a few seconds Aang remained rooted to the spot, he was trying to think of the best thing to say. Words were always so useless at a time like this.

"You don't know what to say either huh." Zuko's voice seemed to be more distant than the other side of the chair.

Aang now found his feet would move, as he worked towards the large desk, resting his hands on it. "Glad I'm not the only one." Aang really wasn't sure how the other person that didn't know what to say was, he guessed Katara. "Katara and Toph are worried about you. You shouldn't lock yourself away like this."

a head now appeared over the top of the chair, as Zuko stood up. He still didn't turn to face the avatar, he kept walking towards the window. "Is that what they think I'm doing." Aang wasn't sure but he thought he heard a sort of laugh coming from the fire lord. "I was just trying to write what I'm going to say." it was in fact himself he was talking about, Aang realised. The other person who didn't know what to say. "Nothing seems right. I'm no good with words...not like him."

"It would have taken most people a while to understand what he was really trying to say though." Zuko's laughter, if that was what it had made Aang feel more comfortable, now he worried he had crossed the line. That he had been to familiar, not showing enough respect for the dead, especially someone he did respect as much as Iroh.

"Yeah your probably right." Zuko finally turned to face his friend. To Aang's surprise there was a very faint smile on his face, and no sign that he had been crying. Though if he looked more closely he would have seen the grief that was just hidden under the surface, waiting to be let out when he could no longer hold it back. "I guess I should just stop trying to plan it, and let it come at the time."

Aang had moved to stand next to Zuko at the window. The window looked out onto a small part of the gardens of the palace, that was kept separate from the rest of the grounds. It had been Ta Min's long ago when she and Roku came to the fire nation capital she had taken care of it. After that it had become Ursa's who had since her return to the palace brought it back to its former glory. Aang placed a hand on the fire lords shoulder as he finally thought he had the right thing to saw. "He would be proud of you no matter what you say. I have never seen someone be so proud of someone before."

there was nothing for Zuko to say to that and nothing more for Aang to say. He patted Zuko on the shoulder before he turned to leave. He knew that he had said all that he could really say and yet he felt that he hadn't really done anything. As he left the room he worried Toph was going to was going to appear in front of him, having heard his conversation with Zuko and yell at him. Tell him to go back and talk to him again, but she didn't.

In truth Toph would have liked to have done that, but she had made a promise to herself that she would respect Zuko's wishes and not try and help him now. So she stayed in her room,waiting for Katara to come and see her, with the excuse of helping her getting ready, but really just wanting to know if she had been able to get Aang to talk to Zuko. She didn't have to wait long before she felt the familiar vibrations coming towards her room. "I thought you might need a hand with your hair. You have let it get so long."

a faint smile for a spilt second crossed the earthbenders face, as the waterbender crossed the Room towards her. Toph hand been standing in front of the window gazing out. If she could see, she would have seen the mounties that came up at the back of the palace where the palace grounds ended. Katara gentle took hold of Toph's arm and guided her to the desk and chair next to the window. She ran her fingers through the long black hair of the younger benders, letting it fall over her shoulders. "It is going to get even hared for you to take care of if you let it get any longer."

"You can just ask me what you want you know."

Katara had picked up the brush from the desk, and brushed Toph's hair through, trying to avoid what had just been said. "Aang is going to talk to him. He'll know what to say."

the brush was now placed back on the desk, as Katara now picked up a red ribbon. It was one that she must have worn when she was staying here last, when she and Zuko had been engaged. She was now plating Toph's long hair in a tight braid. "He is a guy after all, a wimpy one, but a guy never the less. He will know what to say to a guy in a situation like this."

frustration had been building up in Katara as she was braiding the black hair. She realised once she was done that she had done Toph's hair the way she had used to ware it. It wasn't right for Toph. She pulled it out, with more force than she planed. "It's not right...it has nothing to with being a guy, he just wouldn't open up to any one, that is how he is. He only ever talked to Iroh and you...I was meant to..." Toph spun round in the chair facing Katara. She placed her hand on the hand Katara was clutching the back on the chair with.

"It has nothing to do with you. He isn't choosing Aang over you or anything. He dose trust you..."

"Then why would he talk to me." it was a surprise to both girls how desperate the weaterbenders voice was being.

Toph gave Katara's hand a gentle squeeze. "He cares about you. He doesn't want to be a burden to you. He wants you to see him as being strong and..."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

"Yeah, I guess it dose, that's why I know that he cares about you, and will be fine. Just be there for him when he needs you, that's all you can do know."

"That's not all I can do, I can do something with your hair." forcing Toph to turn back around so she could redo her hair, Katara gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze to say thank you. She braid Toph's hair again, but this time much looser, leaving her bangs out to fall over her face. The braid was also placed over her right shoulder. Pulling all of Toph's hair off her face, never worked well, it was to like the way her parents had, had it done when she was younger.

A sinking feeling came over them both once Katara was done with Toph's hair. It was time for them to leave. The events that were about to take place, and the importance and impact of them hit them full force, like a boulder to the stomach. A pain they both knew well. Katara understanding that she was the oldest, and Toph was closer to Iroh, took the younger girls hand, and lead her out of the room.

When they reached the main hall, everyone with the exception of Zuko was already waiting there. Sokka gave his sister a hug as the reached the bottom of the stairs. Suki gave Toph a quick hug, she was still a little worried about making contact with Toph. She worried she would bit her head off or something. No one was saying anything, there really weren't any was about to push past Ursa to be able to give Toph a hug, do what he promised Zuko and Iroh he would do take care of her, when Zuko appeared at the top of the stairs. Like everyone else he didn't say anything, he just descended the stairs in silence.

They left the palace with Zuko and Ursa leading the way, her arm was wrapped tightly around her sons shoulder. Toph was next, Aang moved in front of Sokka to walk by her side, not wanting her to feel on her own. With one arm around his wife's shoulder and the other being gently held by his little sister, Sokka lead the reaming three from the palace.