Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke and Nickelodeon, not me.
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"Zuko," Toph whined. "Stop being so boring."
"I'm not boring," he said absently. "You just have too much energy."
"No, I don't," she argued.
She jumped on the back of his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Case in point," he grunted, plucking at her wrists. "Go bother Sokka."
She let go and slunk to the floor. "He's with Suki," she said.
"And you don't like Suki," Zuko finished, rifling through his stack of notes.
"I like Suki," she protested.
"You just don't like her with Sokka," he pointed out.
She crossed her arms. "Shut up."
"You shut up first," he said. "I have work to do."
"I'll help," she offered, jumping up and plunking down on his desk.
The papers drifted the floor. Zuko closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Toph…" he said.
"Sorry," she sighed. "I'm just bored."
"Go find something to do that's not in my study, then," he said. "Earthbend. Drink tea. Read a book."
"Can't, jerkface," she said, scowling. "Remember? That whole blind thing? Kind of a total inconvenience."
Zuko sighed and rubbed his temples. "Fine," he said. "Whatever. Just go play or something."
"Go play?" she scoffed. "What am I, ten?"
"Go!" he said, pointing to the door.
"I think you're pointing," she said. "Where are you pointing to?"
Zuko turned Toph towards the door and thumped her lightly on the back of the head. "Go there," he said.
She stomped away. Zuko sighed and reorganized his papers. "Now, maybe I can get some work done," he mumbled under his breath.
Ten minutes of peace and quiet passed. Then the door behind him creaked. Zuko paused and sat up. "Somebody there?" he said.
No one answered. Zuko shrugged and went back to work.
The door creaked a little more. He dropped his brush and turned around. "What do you want?" he said.
Toph peeked around the door. "Zuko?" she ventured.
"What do you want now?" he sighed. "I know. Hide and seek. You'll be it. I'll hide. The game can last for hours. It'll be fantastic."
She stepped into the doorway, twisting her fingers. "I have a question," she said.
He turned all the way around. "What's wrong?" he said.
Toph bit her lip. "Can you teach me how to read?" she said.
Zuko leaned back in his chair. "Where'd that come from?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said, throwing her hands against her sides. "I just…I'm tired of people assuming I'm stupid just because I can't read."
"People don't assume you're stupid," he said.
"Yes, they do," she said. Toph sighed. "I guess it was a dumb question. Never mind."
Zuko leaped up from his chair and took her by the wrist. "It wasn't dumb," he said gently. "I'd be happy to teach you."
"Are you sure?" she said.
"Positive," he said. He checked through his shelves and pulled out a scroll that he vaguely remembered. "This'll work."
Zuko sat down and tugged Toph towards him. "Sit," he ordered. She sat on his lap; he unrolled the scroll. The ink was thick and raised off the page, making a perfect outline for her to touch. He took her small hand and traced her fingers along the character.
"What does it mean?" she asked.
"This one means 'fight'," he said quietly.
She stared straight ahead, but she smiled.
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Author's Notes:
Short, drabbly, and fun. This one didn't need much in the way of elaboration. I like it.
This was inspired by two things. One was the song "ABC" by the Pipettes, one of my all-time favorite bands. I was also inspired by a sketch by OrePookPook on Deviantart of Toph sitting on Zuko's lap and him showing her various characters. Sadly, the artist deleted the picture...but I loved it.
I hope you enjoyed this!
(Also, I totally want to write a story about the gAang playing hide and seek, with Toph as it. I think it would be hilarious...)