A. N. : Last week had me with both writer-block and personal issues, and I can't promise this won't happen again... But anyway, I am back, Zuko is back, and Toph is here, so enjoy !

Zuko is now officially a traitor.

Going against Azula was already pretty treacherous, but offering to teach the Avatar ? Giving the Avatar power that he will ultimately use against – father – the Fire Lord ?

He feels sick.

This is all for Lin, so she will be safe, and maybe if he tells himself that enough times he'll be able to forget the guilt – he never wanted that, never wanted to do anything but serve his country, and yet for a split second there he felt an irrational joy at the idea of fighting father, what is wrong with him –

They're walking into the camp – the Water Tribe boy had the sense of not landing in the middle of it – and he can feel everyone staring at him. They won't attack him, the Chief promised that, but Zuko would almost rather they did – at least then he'd be able to do something about it.

But all he can do is keep walking and shoulder the animosity and wrath and hatred – Jet's stare is the worst out of them all, and he never stops looking, never lets his gaze waver, and Zuko feels that is he so much as sneezes, Jet will behead him with his bare hands and bathe in his blood –

Lin wriggles against his chest as if to tell him that right now he is the one who's losing it. Right.

Breathe. In – and out.

They've taken the Avatar to a tent, probably to continue the healing. The Chief, the Water Tribe boy – who appears to be his son – and another warrior seem to be in a heated discussion – the warrior points to the sea, then to Zuko, and the boy answers by shrugging and shaking his head and showing the sky with an exaggerated gesture.

Zuko wonders what they're talking about.

The Earth King is sitting on the side, petting his… bear ? He notices Zuko watching and waves friendlily. Strange man.

Something bumps into Zuko.

It's the blind girl. Her smile takes half of her face and she says she's sorry, she can't see well with all that sand – it's all fuzzy – and she grabs his arm like they're old friends and none of this is making any sense – can't see well ? She's blind, right ?

Her name is Toph, by the way.

The Water Tribe boy shouts from where he is that she shouldn't get all friendly with – Prince-jerkface ? Really ?

But all Toph does is laugh and say to the boy – Snoozles, seriously what is wrong with these people – that she can kick Zuko's butt whenever she wants – and judging by her feats in Ba Sing Se, he is tempted to agree.

Plus – she says that quieter – Zuko doesn't feel like a bad guy.

He looks at her like she just said she saw a pink platypus-bear, before remembering she can't actually see his face and voicing his astonishment.

Her smile turns soft – she met Uncle in the desert and he kept speaking well of Zuko and sounding so proud –

The desert. The desert where he found Lin, where he followed Azula's trail until he realized he couldn't fight with a baby in his arms. Where he hesitated so long before leaving her in the shade with the ostrich-horse – just for a moment, just for a few minutes, she was safe – so long that all he was able to do once he got there was watch Uncle fall, watch him fall because he was too late, get hurt because of him, like in Ba Sing Se, like always –

Toph points out that is pulse is all over the place – she has apparently renamed him Sparky – and she assures him that Uncle will be fine – he's tougher than he looks, Zuko should know.

Zuko nods. She doesn't react and he is an idiot – he slaps his forehead. Thanks her. She elbows him with a big smile.

What was that for ?

Toph laughs and Zuko thinks she'd get along swimmingly with Smellerbee, what with their shared violent ways.

They stand side by side in silence.

She seems to think for a moment, and then asks if she can touch the baby – Lin, Zuko corrects, and she likes that name, Uncle has good taste – and she says that before, her parents never let her get close to her baby cousins, because, well – she waves a hand in front of her face.

Zuko frowns – it's not his place to judge other people's parenting choices, but this sounds like a stupid thing to do. So he lets her.

And she is so hesitant and delicate, so unlike how she was a second ago, and she reaches out, touches Lin's nose, caresses the cheek, smiles when Lin grabs her fingers – laughs, she's trapped – and she looks confused for a short moment, before making a disgusted noise once she realizes Lin decided to chew on her hand.

Zuko laughs.