Chapter Text
Unlike the thrill of their first day, the trio’s second day in Gaoling passed by rather uneventfully. Toph introduced Zuko to the badgermole colony that had taught her earthbending, which had been rather intimidating. They had also explored the market district, Zuko picking out a few trinkets to take back to the Fire Nation with him.
But, as with many things, their trip was drawing to an end. Thankfully, the trio had packed light enough that re-packing the things they had brought didn’t take very long. Though packing Iroh’s ‘deals’ was a bit more complicated. Zuko and Toph had needed to return to the market district to buy some extra bags. Iroh had offered to do the task himself, to a very quick “NO” from the younger two.
Thankfully, once they returned with two new bags in tow, they were able to get everything packed up and on the road. They were once again walking to the small port town where the waterbender ship would pick them up. Also once again, Iroh had chosen to walk behind them, thankfully happy to carry his supplies so his nephew didn’t ‘accidentally’ drop the bag of junk. Not that Zuko actually would have, but the threat had been made.
Movement beside him drew Zuko’s attention, and he turned towards Toph. The earthbender was untying her hair ribbon and Zuko quickly glanced away, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. Hair culture was…very different, between the four nations. Aang tended to keep his head shaved, and according to the scrolls Air Nomad women would also shave parts of their hair to show their Mastery tattoos. In the Water Tribes, there seemed to be a lot of beads and decorations to show rank or feats; ironically, they were the closest to the Fire Nation in terms of hair culture. The Earth Kingdom, despite their stylistic similarities, didn’t have the same tie between hair style and a person’s social status as the Fire Nation did. Hair was important. The style of topknot could distinguish royalty and nobility, working class and military. Phoenix Tails or other styles of partial shaving signified a loss of honor. Taking down one’s hair was usually reserved for family and family alone.
Of course, Zuko had spent almost a year with his hair down as he had traveled with his uncle and then the avatar. At first it had been part of his disguise. Then, as his hair lengthened, he still hadn’t had enough to tie into a proper topknot, and once he had well…it was hard to make himself tie his hair up when he was standing against everything his nation was doing. It had been a form of quiet rebellion, even if nobody outside of the fire nation would have recognized it.
But now, after having spent just over four years as the Fire Lord, even wearing his topknot just slightly different in order to disguise himself as they journeyed felt odd. Though Zuko couldn’t deny that not being recognized had been…nice. He found himself almost wishing they could have had longer.
Glancing at Toph through the corner of his eyes, Zuko quickly flicked his gaze away again as he saw the earthbender was re-tying her bun. It was…not odd, seeing Toph with her hair down. He had certainly seen her adjusting her hair several times while they were traveling together during the war. But…there was something different about seeing it now. Especially after they had spent the last few days in such close proximity after all the time they’d spent apart. And after seeing her easily take down each and every one of her competitors during Earth Rumble, witnessing something so…private, brought warmth to Zuko’s face.
“We’re almost back to Eel Bay,” Zuko said, trying to keep his mind distracted. “Do you think we’ll have beat the ship?”
“The way they sail, we could have flown on Appa and they’d still have beaten us.” Toph said with a snort.
Zuko chuckled, “I suppose that’s true.” He sighed, glancing up at the sky. “I do wonder how things have turned out with the Poles.” They hadn’t received any letters during their short adventure, despite the subtle aspect of their journey, enough people at the palace had known where they were going to ensure that any urgent letters could be redirected properly. Correspondence from the Avatar would surely have qualified as urgent, even if it had been something as mundane as Aang informing them that he’d adopted another flying lemur.
“I’m sure they can handle it.” Toph said with confidence. “I mean, it’s not like anyone’s going to want to start another war, so they’re probably just all talk.”
Zuko’s lips twitched with a smile. “That’s true, I remember when everything was still calming down and we were making negotiations for reparations, both the Water Chiefs and the Earth King kept talking a big game. Aang and my Uncle were able to calm them down enough to see reason.”
“I’m sure you had your part in that too,” Toph said. “I meant what I said the other day, not just anyone could be as good a Fire Lord as you.”
Zuko felt what little flush he’d managed to will away from his cheeks return twofold. He wasn’t sure why her words had been having such an impact on him the last few days, but it seemed every time she complimented him, he found himself flustered, unable to respond.
“I…don’t think I asked,” he said quickly, trying to change the subject. “What are you planning on doing with the belt?”
Toph grinned, one hand moving to feel the ornate belt she was currently wearing. “I think I’ll mount it in one of the training rooms. My students already know how awesome I am when they enroll, but this will help them remember every time they train.”
“You are very awesome.”
Toph faltered slightly, and Zuko realized he must have said that aloud. “I-”
“You too Sparky.” Toph said quietly, in a softer tone than Zuko had ever heard from her. “You too.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Making it to the small port town, the trio discovered that the ship taking them back to the Fire Nation had indeed beaten them there, as several of the crew were milling about the market district. Convincing Iroh that he didn’t need to stay with the crew and that Zuko and Toph would love to walk with him back to the ship had taken a bit, but soon enough they were able to store their bags in the hold and prepare for another two days at sea.
Toph stood on the shore, taking in the world around her until the ship departed, which gave Zuko the perfect chance to pull his uncle back below deck. A part of him had wanted to wait until after they arrived back home, but with how busy his schedule tended to be, he wasn’t sure when he would next get the chance to speak with the man. He hadn’t even been sure he’d get a chance during their voyage, knowing he would want to spend much of it at Toph’s side.
It had taken…some time for him to realize what sort of emotions were raging through him. He’d felt them before, mostly when he was younger and trying to impress Mei. But as time had passed, that relationship had changed, and he’d forgotten what it felt like. But now, here he was. A fully grown Fire Lord, blushing over someone he’d thought he only saw as a friend. But now he wasn’t sure. Because of the way she so easily placed her trust in his hands; because of the way she made him forget, if only for a few hours, about the pressures of the Fire Nation while she fought.
And Zuko…he didn’t know what to do.
He had grown up with Mei. There had been a quiet expectation that they would have become something more. With Toph, he had burnt her feet the first time he met her, they’d met in the middle of a war torn world, and had been forced to right the wrongs of his own family. He’d spent a year struggling over his sense of right and wrong, and she’d developed an entirely new bending style.
They had traveled together, as the Avatar’s bending teachers then later as his companions. But now, Zuko was the Fire Lord of a healing nation and Toph was thriving as a teacher. She didn’t need to be burdened with the weight of his people’s struggles; of his country’s attempts to heal.
But at the same time, now that he had realized his feelings, he had absolutely no idea what to do about them. Which meant there was only one thing he could do.
Ask his uncle for advice, without actually telling him what he wanted advice for.
This, of course, was the perfectly natural path to trod in Zuko’s mind. He was afraid to even think the word, much less say it aloud. Maybe he could try his hand at asking his uncle through a metaphor?
Unfortunately for him, Iroh had always been far too good at reading his nephew’s expressions, and after four long days of watching Zuko and Toph practically dance around each other, Zuko hadn’t even needed to say anything more than “Uncle, could I speak with you for a moment?” before the elder firebender was smiling with shining eyes.
“You know nephew,” Iroh said, glancing from his nephew to the staircase that led back to the deck of the ship. “I recently read a scroll about past Avatars. While it was most common for an Avatar to take a spouse from the same nation they were born into, there have been a number, including your young friend, who found companionship with those outside of their country.”
“Uncle?” Zuko said hesitantly.
Iroh chuckled “Though, it is said of the Avatars that married, almost all of them married for love. Perhaps it is because they were the Avatar, that no one complained about where they found their heart. The Avatar is of every nation, and no nation. There is less societal pressure to keep one’s heart within their country.”
Zuko paused, watching his Uncle with a careful eye. He knew- both of them knew how inter-nation marriages had been treated for the last hundred years, if not longer. A member of the Earth Kingdom or a Water Tribesman marrying into the Fire Nation was practically exiled from their homeland. And a member of the Fire Nation marrying outside of other Fire Nationals was akin to treason under Ozai’s rule. It was still highly taboo, even with the nations closer than they’d been since the time of Avatar Roku.
Zuko had known, when he’d realized, that his country would take issue with the fact that Toph, for all her family’s station in the Earth Kingdom, was still far from the nobility they’d expected him to marry. He had forgotten that they might take stronger issue with the fact that she was an earthbender.
“I remember, your mother did not have a choice about her marriage. Neither did my uncle. I myself nearly didn’t, had I not met my beloved when I did.”
Zuko’s eyes widened slightly. His uncle rarely spoke of his wife, the woman having died when Lu Ten was young- younger than Zuko had been when Lu Ten left for war. He remained silent, unsure how to respond as Iroh sighed wistfully.
“I wonder, many times, what might have happened, if your father had married for love.” Iroh sighed. He looked up at Zuko, smiling, though there was a glimmer of unshed tears in his gaze. “I wonder, nephew, what might happen if more people were to marry for love, wherever they happen to find it.”
“Uncle…I-”
“You don’t need to say anything nephew, I am glad to see your heart has found someone in whom to call home. I only ask…” Iroh paused, closing his eyes for a moment as he rested his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “I only ask you let your heart guide you, and not worry too much about what others might think.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Zuko had been acting odd- like he was preoccupied by something.
Is what Toph might have noticed, if she herself was not preoccupied with something of her own. She couldn’t explain it, not in words. But it was like- like something had wormed its way into her. Not to control her, but just pushing her, guiding her thoughts.
On this stupid wooden boat, she couldn’t see. Her vision was completely restricted to herself, and anything made of rock that she happened to bump into. Not that she bumped into much of anything, with Zuko around carefully guiding her as they paced the deck, talking about their time in Gaoling, their past adventures, and the things they hadn’t managed to catch up on over the last week and a half.
And that was the source of her whole problem.
Zuko.
It was like- ever since she’d gotten to the Fire Nation in the first place, something had shifted. When Sokka and Suki had needed to leave, she’d been a bit annoyed, but mostly at the Water Tribe, not them. When Aang and Katara had offered to leave with them though- then she had just been mad. Sure she knew that it was probably the right thing for him to do, as the Avatar, the whole mediator of the world and whatnot, but Sokka and Suki could have also handled the situation on their own. Probably. The letter they’d sent suggested it was probably a good thing Aang had gone along, but it wasn’t like Toph had known that in the moment.
Then, those few days while it was just her and Zuko, she’d found herself realizing just how much she had missed him in the years he’d been busy working as the Fire Lord. And the proof of his hard work was hard to ignore, the way the servants of the palace didn’t seem to flinch or hide themselves away from Zuko; the way the people in the Caldera port had welcomed them, Zuko’s friends. The way the stuck up people at his dinner had wanted to get into his good graces- not because they feared him, but because they feared that what he did might reflect poorly on them.
Then, when they’d sparred, Toph could tell that he was finally, truly relaxing. And she’d been delighted, because it meant that he trusted her not to actually hurt him. And sure she’d knocked him (very lightly, especially by her standards) into a wall to win their battle, but he had just congratulated her and led her to a room with maps in it so they could plan their trip, no anger or jealousy that she’d beaten him at all.
Toph suspected that was when things really started to change. When her heart had started beating just a little bit faster around him. When she’d found herself wanting to spend more time with him. Her original plan had been to smuggle him into the seating area and then go break into the Earth Rumble brackets alone. But- but she’d wanted those few extra moments with him.
And then after the fight, when he’d congratulated her on her skill, and talked about some of the fights- he’d watched her. Truly paid attention to her, in a way her family never had.
And that meant something. Something Toph didn’t have the words for. But her heart had pounded, and the only reason she hadn’t done something stupid like kiss him had been because half the Earth Rumble audience and competitors were right there.
She’d introduced him to her real family the next day. Not her mother, who, according to the gossip she’d overheard, was still living in the Beifong Manor. No, Toph had introduced him to the badgermoles. The cete that had taught her earthbending, had taught her how to see the world without her eyes. They were the closest thing she had to a family, and she wanted them to know Zuko- wanted them to approve of him, the way they’d loved her.
So yeah, there were…a lot of feelings happening. And for someone who had once prided herself on not letting others dictate her life, Toph had started to find herself wanting to spend more time with Zuko. She’d been…almost glad, when they’d boarded the ship again, and she’d had an excuse to keep him close to her. She had been worried he might reject refuse her, leaving her to stumble blindly like so many had when she was young, but the firebender had taken her trust in him as her sight and given her so much more than a steady hand. He’d truly become her eyes, painting a vision of the sea so beautiful she wondered if he hadn’t given her a way to see it.
And now…now the end of their adventure was almost here. And she had no idea what to do.
But she did know…there was someone else on board with them. Someone who had been close enough to watch them, and wise enough to probably have an idea as to what was going on with herself. So, one morning, while Zuko was meditating- the one part of the morning they didn’t spend together, Zuko carefully inched across the ship to find Iroh.
The man was, as he often could be found doing, making tea. Carefully boiling the water with his own flame and releasing the soft scent of ginseng that had always reminded her of playing with the badgermoles as a child.
“I wondered when I might see you.” Iroh said, his voice light with amusement but still as gentle as it always was. “I was just preparing some tea, may I make you a cup as well?”
“Sure.” Toph said with a smile, carefully reaching out for the bench and sitting down on it. Iroh hummed, and she heard him take a second cup, filling it with water from…somewhere within reach.
“You know, while there are many teas that taste quite delicious on their own, some tea can only truly be enjoyed by blending it with another flavor.” Iroh said, gently taking Toph’s hand to guide her to a warm cup.
“That right?” Toph asked, bringing the cup closer to her face. It smelt like ginseng, and she smiled slightly, remembering the first time she’d had tea with Iroh, back in the woods. Not that either of them had known who the other was. But it was still a fond memory for her.
“Certainly. Although I don’t have all of my supplies with me, take this ginseng for example.”
The smell of a spice cut through the air as Iroh spoke, blending with the earthy smell of the tea.
“On its own, ginseng is a strong and powerful tea. But paired with a bit of cinnamon, and it becomes even better. The cinnamon does not overpower it, or destroy it, but builds it into a stronger tea. One I think you would quite enjoy, if you allowed yourself.”
Toph hummed, carefully tasting the blend. It was good…but something told her he wasn’t just talking about tea. “What if- what if the ginseng doesn’t know how to mix with the cinnamon?”
Iroh chuckled “Ah, that can be a concern for many. One that might keep them from mixing their own tea. But…I have found it to be well worth the risk.”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Standing on the dock at Caldera, two benders found themselves looking quietly at the city. One with his eyes, the other with her tremorsight.
On the one hand, it was a relief to be back in the city. But…on the other…
Zuko glanced at Toph, the earthbender having been unusually quiet the last few hours of their trip. Once one of the crew had announced that the island was within sight…well, both of them had wilted slightly.
“Thank you, for this.” Zuko said softly. Toph’s head twitched toward him, and her brows furrowed.
“What do you mean?”
“For taking me to Gaoling. And…for staying. I’ve enjoyed your company.”
Toph grinned, though she still seemed somewhat subdued.
“I…suppose you’ll need to be heading back to Yu Dao soon?”
Toph sighed. “Yeah…I suppose I do.”
The two stood in silence for a few moments, the dock bustling around them as they stood, still disguised, just two people about to go their separate ways.
“I…wouldn’t mind seeing you again soon,” Zuko said slowly, carefully watching Toph’s reaction. “Before two more years pass, I mean.”
Toph’s head tilted towards him, a smile on her face “Yeah?”
“Y..yeah”
“I wouldn’t mind that.”
“Maybe-” Zuko faltered, feeling his cheeks burn as he quietly added “Maybe we could…get dinner together sometime?”
“I do know a place with some good Komodo Chicken.” Toph said, her smile widening. “Though…it is in Yu Dao, so we’d be stuck together for another trip.”
“I wouldn’t mind that.” Zuko replied, parroting back her words from just a moment before. “Maybe after that I could take you to Sun Island, I’ve been meaning to visit the dragons again.”
“Well I did show you to my badgermoles, so it’s really only fair.” Toph said cheekily.
“And after that well…we could just…see what happens?”
Toph’s smile softened. The expression slightly unusual on her face but…Zuko found himself wondering what he could do to see it more. Her arm reached out, and Zuko, expecting a punch, was caught off guard when she took hold of his sleeve and tugged him closer, pressing her lips against his cheek.
“I think,” Toph said, ignoring the way Zuko’s heart pounded as he raised a hand to his cheek. “That sounds like a very good plan, Sparky.”
Zuko stared at Toph, heart pounding. “Y-yeah?” he asked. “So…does that mean you also- I mean- is it- are you-”
Toph’s eyes, unseeing as they were, sparkled as she replied “I don’t know. But…I think I want to try. And…I think you do too.”
“I- yes.” Zuko said, raising his hand to carefully cup the earthbender’s cheek. “I’d like that very much.”
“Then shut up and kiss me properly.” Toph said, leaning lightly into his palm. Zuko, with nothing else to say, did exactly that.
And if the two spent several moments more kissing on the dock as the workers moved around them (and a very proud elderly firebender kept watch for anyone who might recognize the Fire Lord, still in his Earth Kingdom clothing) well, that was between them and the earth.