I don't own any creative rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. I do, however, own this story.

Epilogue: Trying Not to Cry

The sun had barely begun its daily descent, and yet Sokka could already feel the warmth flowing into his body as he tossed his gear nonchalantly into Appa's saddle, not really caring when he heard the bag spill open as his weapons scattered every which way atop the sky bison's back. A few days' rest had done the warrior a world of good, and he felt like a new person, rejuvenated and looking forward to the future with an open heart. With a gentle sigh, he sat down against Appa's rudder-like tail and leaned back, taking in the smooth, warm breeze that passed through, completing the scene.

"Sokka?" Katara frowned. "Aren't you going to help us load up?"

Sokka didn't hear this, however, as he saw Toph walk quietly over to his side, taking a seat next to him. For a moment the warrior wondered what Appa thought about all the added weight on his backside, but the gentle beast didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Spirits, everything seemed to be going right. Sokka thought back to his final thoughts in the subterranean cavern, a blush creeping to his face as he turned to the taciturn Earthbender who sat beside him. Zuko had reclaimed the Zhuren and had promised to destroy it as soon as he reached the palace. Jun-Mei had provided them with a generous amount of food and money and had sent them off as friends, welcoming them to return at any time. And now, it looked like it was shaping up to be a beautiful sunset, with Toph by his side. So then…

"Toph, what's wrong?" Sokka said gently, noticing the girl's shaky breathing. With a hint of apprehension, he put his arm slowly around the girl's shoulders. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away, but in fact seemed to lean into him a little bit.

Her verbal response took a bit longer, however. Finally, she said, "I don't want to cry."

Sokka almost laughed; her response was so Toph-like. In a way, it reassured him. "Well, why not? Everyone cries sometimes. Even big, manly men like myself!" He grinned, and was reassured when he heard her giggle softly. "But why do you feel like crying? And why don't you want to?"

"Because I'm selfish," Toph said dejectedly.

Sokka was puzzled. It had always taken a lot for the girl to show any compassion for anything other than herself, and this statement had caught him off guard. "What do you mean, Toph?"

"Everything worked out," she stated. "We're all alive, I still have you… I still have you guys, I still have my soul, for Spirits' sake!"

"Yes…?"

"But all I can seem to think about," Toph went on, "is that sunset. I'll never see anything like it again." As she finished, a single tear escaped from her cloudy eyes.

Immediately, Sokka's heart went out to the girl, and without really thinking about what he was doing, he pulled her small frame into a tight embrace. "Oh Toph," he said, a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Once you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. Besides…" the warrior broke into a smile and continued, "…there are far more important things in life than that." All rational thought out the window now, Sokka leaned down and quickly kissed the top of her head, as though to accentuate his point. And then he pulled away, intending to leave the girl to her thoughts.

He didn't get too far. A pair of arms wrapped around his midsection, and for a second Sokka thought that the girl was pulling him back so that she might throttle him. But instead, she just held him to her, a soft smile upon her face.

"It's beautiful, you know," she finally said.

"What is?"

"The sunset, stupid."

Sokka stared at this new revelation. "It is?" Of course it was; it just shocked him to hear the girl say such a thing.

Smiling even wider, Toph leaned up and shyly pecked Sokka on the cheek. "Of course it is, silly." She pointed off into the fiery horizon. "Just look at it."

The End.

**

Well, that's it. Thanks to all of you who stuck it out with me for this long; it's been a hell of a ride. And a hell of a lot of fun, too.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story overall… what you liked, what went wrong, and anything in between. So feel free to drop me a review! You know you want to. ;)

Thanks, as always, for reading.