Chapter Two: LOVE. Set after Sokka's Master but before the Runaway.

Love. Love. Love love love love. Love. And then some more love.

Toph had always heard a lot about love. From panda lilies to the Cave of Two Lovers, the original members of the small group travelling with the Avatar had shared with her the tales of some of their adventures before she had met them. She noticed a lot of them had to do with love.

But what was love, exactly? Toph wasn't sure she knew. She knew her parents loved her and that's why they had protected her. She loved her parents, even though she had been frustrated with them continually thinking she was helpless. But that wasn't romantic love… the kind of love that came with lovers. Nevertheless, Toph decided she loved a lot of people in a lot of different ways.

"Do you remember Chong?" Katara's laughter echoed around their camp, mixed in with the crackling sounds of the fire that they were all gathered around.

Aang's laughter, light and cheery, joined in with hers. "I know Sokka does!"

She tuned them out as she dove further into her thoughts. Her head tilted towards Katara as she mentioned someone named Jeong Jeong. She decided she loved Katara, too. Not in a romantic way, oh no. Only Aang loved her that way – Toph could tell he did just because of how his heart rate changed around her. She loved Katara in a big sister or mother way. She looked after Toph and made sure she wasn't screwing up her life too much.

Aang. Hmm. She loved Aang, too. It was impossible to not love Aang. His enthusiasm for life was infectious. His joy was everyone's joy. His sorrow was everyone's sorrow. She remembered the look he had given her as he accused her of not trying to save Appa. That had hurt. But she understood it was only because he loved Appa so much…

There was a lot of love in the world.

"What about you, Toph?" Aang's voice reached her through her thoughts and she rubbed her nose.

"What?"

Sokka spoke, clearing his throat. "We were talking about places we've been and people we've met. What place has been your favorite place?"

She spoke without thinking. She wanted to stop talking and return to her epiphany on love. "That town with Piandao."

They were all quiet for a moment, thinking. Katara was the one who spoke first. "Why? It was really boring without Sokka."

Toph leaned back into the dirt, picking her nose and flicking it towards a tree. "It made you appreciate him more." Of course she didn't say, 'It made me appreciate him more.' She couldn't say that.

Katara almost seemed offended. "It made me appreciate him more? What are you – "

"Okay, okay," Aang said, acting as peacemaker between Toph and Katara. He pulled his legs up to his chest. "New question."

"Who have you been most happy to have met?" It was Sokka who spoke now, his voice curious. But behind the curiosity there seemed to be some other emotion that Toph couldn't identify.

"You." She spoke without thinking again and felt her cheeks start to heat up. "Guys. You guys. Without you guys, I'd be stuck back in Gaoling being a pampered rich girl by day and the Blind Bandit by night."

"The tournament wasn't held at night," Aang pointed out.

She coughed, shaking her head. "That's – "

"Not the point. The point is that without us, she'd still be unhappy." Sokka finished her sentence for her and she had to hold back a smile.

She decided she loved Sokka, too.