Chapter One: In the Beginning
Author's Note: This chapter is sort of a prologue, examining Zuko and Toph's relationship. This is my first fic, so please no flames!!! Praise and/or constructive criticism are best.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender
When he first laid eyes on her, he didn't pay the little blind girl much attention. She was just another friend of the Avatar, another opponent of himself. Later on he noticed what a skilled fighter she was and she earned his respect. When he met them at the Western Air temple she was the one who trusted him, who came looking forhim. After the Avatar accepted him into his group, she and he talked for hours about everything: their bending, their families, each other.
That summer they defeated Fire Lord Ozai. He became the new ruler of the nation, but he still found time to see his friends. He watched her blossom from a little girl into a beautiful young woman. As she grew, so did his love for her.
One night, after Sokka and Suki's wedding on Kyoshi Island, everyone partied and drank deeply. It was very late when he stumbled into his room in the inn. She silently came in after him. He knew it was no drunken mistake when she began kissing him passionately.
One month after that magical night, she announced that she was pregnant. He did the honorable thing to do: He asked her to marry him. The moment he saw his ring slip onto her slender finger was perhaps the happiest moment of his life. They returned to the Fire Nation together for the wedding ceremony and to await the birth of their child …