AN: This is my first attempt at writing Toko, so feel free to tell me if I did a poor job. :B

The Ten Tales of Toko are going to be exactly what the name implies. Ten tales of Toko. It will consist of ten oneshots showing the progression of Toph and Zuko's relationship, starting with friendship. It will get more fluffy as the oneshots go on, so be sure to keep with it. You'll get what you're looking for in the end. Hints of Kataang and Sukka.

I obviously don't own ATLA... Bryke does, and they do a much better job at owning it than I ever would.

Reviews are wonderful educational tools, by the way. :3

Tale One: The Nobility Boat

The sun shone brightly within the Fire Nation as the beginnings of peace began to take root throughout the world. The war was over, and the nations were able to coexist without fear of siege and conquest.

Within the courtyard of the palace, residing in the Fire Nation's capital city, seven teenagers milled about outside. Five of these said teens were sitting comfortably in the shade, watching as two of their female companions shouted directly into each other's faces.

"Toph, you have to talk to them at some point. You're barely thirteen; you're not old enough to be out on your own!"

"I don't have to do anything with them! They felt the need to lock me up for my entire life so far, what makes you think they won't do it again?"

Toph and Katara were arguing yet again, but this time the topic was focused around one of the young earthbender's most personal spots – her parents. The waterbender thought it would be best if Toph went home and tried to speak with her parents and show them what she had accomplished. She was a war hero, the earthending master to the Avatar; surely they would be able to accept their only daughter's achievements, but Toph was convinced otherwise.

"Toph, they're your parents… they'll understand. My dad did," pleaded Katara. She was getting tired of arguing with the other girl, and she was sure Aang was waiting patiently beneath the shade of the tree until they could go out into the city and spend some time together. Ever since she and Aang had finally gotten together, they were finding it difficult to find time to themselves. Her brother didn't help in the situation either.

The others watched in lazy interest as they lounged beneath the widespread branches. Suki was leaning against Sokka's chest, and Zuko and Mai sat side-by-side, causally holding each other's hand. Only Aang kept himself slightly separated from the two couples as he sat cross-legged on the grass.

Out of all of them, Zuko was taking the most interest. He knew that Toph had issues with her parents, same as him, but he had failed to learn what said problems were. He knew she had tried to tell him during their 'life-changing field trip,' but he sadly admitted that he hadn't paid a bit of attention to her. It had bothered him that he had cast her aside so easily, so he had slowly and silently been paying more attention to the earthbender, trying to make up for his rudeness.

"I forget," he muttered to the water tribe warrior beside him. "What exactly is Toph's problem with her parents?"

"They used to keep her locked up inside their house and hide her from everyone because she's blind. They didn't want the world to know about her," Sokka replied, almost instantly. "They tried to keep her from earthbending or ever leaving the house, but when we came along she ran away with us."

"Ah," the young Fire Lord concluded.

The two returned to silence as the bickering continued.

"My parents are not the same as your dad, Sugar Queen," Toph reasoned. " You know that. They'll just spend as much money as they can to rebuild the house out of wood, and keep me locked in my room all the time. They'll probably force me into a pair of shoes, too. I'm not going through that."

Satisfied with that being the conclusion of their chat, the blind earthbender turned and began to make her way into the palace, but Katara obviously wasn't through.

"Don't you walk away from me, Toph Bei Fong!" she shouted, her stern motherly side appearing before them. Zuko's eyes widened in surprise. The name was familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where it was from. He'd never learned Toph's surname; he hadn't even known she had one. Racking his brain, he tried to remember where he had heard the name before.

Toph, however, had frozen where she stood and had slowly turned to face the waterbender. In a deep, threatening growl, Toph simply replied with, "You are not my mother," and went on her way.

Aang was next to Katara in a second after Toph spoke her menacing words. The waterbender felt awful and heartbroken, and tears started to form in her eyes. "I never meant to hurt her," she explained to the Avatar, and he simply nodded in knowing reply.

It was then that Zuko's brain decided to remember where he'd heard the name Bei Fong, and his eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened in mild shock.

Toph was the daughter of the richest family in the entire Earth Kingdom, and he hadn't known. He hadn't had a single clue, and now he felt like crap. She was from noble birth, and the whole time he had assumed she was just another peasant, trying to find an end to the war and her difficult life. He had been horribly wrong.

It was almost as if everything he knew about her was shone in a different light. No longer was she just another earth bender who had amazing skill, she was nobility who had amazing skill. Being raised within the royal family, he had been raised to treat all nobility with respect, and the thought of treating Toph any differently than he did now just seemed odd.

Aang and Katara continued to stand together where Toph had left the waterbender, and now Sokka and Suki had joined them as well. Even Mai had let go of his hand and was in the process of getting up to join the others. To Zuko, this was all wrong. Toph had been hurt in the situation as well, and no one bothered to go see how she was doing. He decided to take this role upon himself.

Easily rising from the ground, the Fire Lord past by his group of friends and followed the direction Toph had gone, hoping that finding her wouldn't be too difficult. He wound his way through the labyrinth of hallways till he saw a small green ball curled up against a wall, shaking slightly as soft sobs reached his ears. She was crying.

"Wow," he spoke, not even startling the girl. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd cry, Toph."

She lifted her head and sightlessly glared in the direction of his voice. "Ya know, Sparky. I'm human too. I'm capable of normal feelings."

"I know," he replied as he made his way to sit next to her. "But it's nice to be reminded every once and a while."

They sat in silence as he studied her, tear stains evident on her cheeks. The gaping hole of silence became more and more awkward as they sat, so he decided to break the air. "I had no idea you were a Bei Fong."

Smirking, Toph couldn't help but laugh a bit. "That means I've been doing something right. I hate going somewhere and have people gawk at me just because my parents are rich."

"Oh, I know the feeling. Having everyone look at you and gasp every time your eyes happen to meet theirs… just because of who you are, that sucks."

"Sparky, you're the Fire Lord. That came with the job. I, however, was born into this."

"Hey, it's not like I had much of a choice either. I was born into the royal family, my dad being one of the two princes of the Fire Nation. I was born with everyone knowing I might have this job one day. You're not the only one stuck on the nobility boat."

The silence crept upon them once more, but this time more content. It was almost as if the air had been cleared, and they now sat together in the hallway, side-by-side. Toph looked at Zuko for a moment before smiling and punching him in the shoulder. He had heard Sokka talk about a never ending bruise he had, and he was beginning to realize just how real the phenomena was.

"Thanks, Sparky."

"For what?"

"For reminding me I'm not the only one on the boat."