Zuko sat by the pond, staring blankly into the night. He had seen so much in this palace: his father's power plays, his sister's madness, Mai's long-held but late-uncovered infatuation... But Ozai and Azula were imprisoned now, and Mai had, after much tumult, left him. So it wasn't quite with nostalgia that he remembered his life there. If anything, it was with longing for a happier past that had never been, and could never be.
He tried to concentrate on the times when he had been happiest, or at least most contented: feeling safe in his mother's embrace; running through the grounds with a young, more carefree Azula; making love with Mai for the first time. But the more he thought of those times, the more he realized how rare they had been. He was glad of the opportunity he had now to write a new history for his life in this home.
His reverie was abruptly halted when he felt a soft punch on his arm. "Ow!" he cried softly. He rubbed his arm instinctively, though the punch hadn't really hurt.
"Thinking about me, Princess?" Toph teased, apparently unapologetic for her sneak attack.
"In a way," he murmured. "Just remembering everything that's happened here?"
Toph slid to the ground next to him. "Mai?" she asked. It was still surprising to him how well she knew him. At times, it was almost as if she could read his mind. She tried to hide the slight discomfort in her voice, as she always did when the subject of his former girlfriend came up, but he knew her well enough to hear it, even in only one word.
"Among others," he admitted as he leaned against her. "You, for one."
Toph blushed slightly. "I haven't been here that long," she muttered.
"Long enough," Zuko replied. He reached over to gently run his hand through her hair. It was as long as it had ever been, reaching just past her shoulders. "And tomorrow you'll be the Fire Lady," he murmured.
Toph pressed against him a bit more firmly. "Are you ready?" she asked.
He shook his head, for his benefit rather than hers. "No," he admitted. "I'll never be completely ready for something like this. But it's the right time." He turned to study her face, worried that he'd hurt her. Instead, a small smile formed on her face.
"I know how you feel," she reassured him. He watched her lips as they carefully formed the syllables. Then, unable (and unwilling) to restrain himself, he met them with his, lightly wrapping his hand around the back of her head. She grasped the back of his neck, just as gently. They held their positions for what seemed both like an instant and an eternity until Toph pulled back, ending the kiss.
It was far from their first, but Zuko thought it ranked among their best. "That's how I show affection," he whispered, remembering her words to him the first time he'd been on the receiving end of one of her punches.
Toph grinned as she got to her feet. "Yeah? Well, this is how I do," she replied as she delivered another.
This time, for the first time, he returned it.