Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, don't own the setting, don't own nothing.
AN: OK this is my first ATLA fan fic. I've got a bit of an idea for a full fic completely different to this but I'm gonna start with a one-shot of Toko. So here it goes.
BTW! It's Toko, TophxZuko,Zoph. Don't like it don't read it.
The Five Year Ball
Fire Lord Zuko knew he'd have to go through this the moment Mai had broken up with him.
He knew that six months wouldn't be enough time to get over her, find someone else and get into a serious relationship before the Five Year Ball. The Five Year Ball was a ball that was held in the Fire Nation to celebrate the first five years of a new Fire Lords' reign.
It was also the ball where he was supposed to propose. If the current Fire Lord was in a relationship than he didn't have to worry about hundreds of gold-digging women coming onto him.
Zuko wasn't in a relationship.
Which meant that he had to propose to one of these horrible women tonight. It was required and expected of him. It was how his father and his mother had gotten married. She'd been forced to go by her friend, though, and none of the women here looked like they'd been forced to come.
Not that his mother and father ended well.
There was an unspoken agreement throughout the world that most women know: if you're single and you go to a Five Year Ball than you want to marry the Fire Lord.
Zuko had just managed to escape another crowd of flirting women when he spotted one of his friends.
Toph was standing on the balcony. Zuko grinned, he knew that they'd come. For if Toph was here, the others would be as well. Zuko made his way out to the balcony, standing behind his blind friend, hoping that she was too deep in her thoughts to notice him; he loved to scare her.
"Hey, Queeny, how ya doin'?" Zuko smiled at the expected outcome of his sneaking.
"Is that a new insult for me Mudhead?"
"You know it Your Royal Lily. Now answer my question."
Zuko sighed. "I hate women." He grumbled. Toph laughed.
"I should be taking offence to that."
"Then why aren't you?"
"Because I'm in a good mood. Though if you really want me to bury you up to your neck than all you have to do is ask."
It was Zuko's turn to laugh. Though it was half hearted, he was too busy noticing how good his seventeen-year-old friend looked in a strapless dress. She'd always worn clothes to hide her shape but now she wasn't... Zuko noticed that it was quite a shape. The Fire Lord shook his head to clear himself of such thoughts. This was Toph.
"So, have you met your Fire Lady yet, Sparky?" Zuko scowled at this and turned away from her. Not that she cared. "What's the matter? I bet there are some pretty ladies out there for you to propose to. Or are they all ugly hags. I can't tell."
Zuko ignored her, changing the subject none too subtly he said, "Where are the others?"
"No idea. They ditched me. I am so going to get them back for that—mind you I'm pretty glad they did, I'm sure Sokka and Suki went off to smooch somewhere and Aang and Katara have probably found some place to swim."
Zuko groaned. "Damn, now I can't even hang out with you."
Toph looked offended. "Why not?" She demanded. Her pale green eyes glaring at his nose. Zuko fought the urge to laugh.
"Because you're single and of marrying age. I can't hang out with you alone here or people will assume that we're together."
"What's so bad about that?" She asked, still sounding offended. Zuko stared at her, unable to say anything. Did she just say-?
Seeming to understand what she'd just implied, Toph blushed. "I meant what's so bad about people thinking that you're gonna propose to me? It'll stop your dreaded women from attacking you as they were before." She sniggered at that last part.
"But I have to actually propose to someone tonight."
"I know that. But you have until dawn don't you?"
"Yes."
And how far away is dawn?"
"About twelve hours."
"Well then, you can spend six hours fooling around where the real party is"-she gestured to the carnival-like city that was filled with music-"with me. And hang around with the bore's where your expected to be for the last six. Agreed?"
Zuko looked down to the mass of lights and noise that the city had become over the past two days and couldn't help but grinning. Toph was right, he had all night.
Three of Zuko's six hours with Toph were over when the pair ran into Aang and Katara, who were—you guessed it—swimming in the only dark spot in the city.
The couple hadn't noticed them yet so Zuko decided to leave before they interrupted anything. He grabbed Toph and pulled her away. Much to his surprise, the blind girl went willingly. Zuko had started to relax far away from the pool when Toph slammed him against the nearest wall.
"What the hell was that?" She asked, her tone calm, not fitting her angry words. Zuko moaned slightly at the pain in his back before answering.
"We almost interrupted Katara and Aang. They were swimming."
Toph grinned and let go of him, her mood changing quicker than a flash of lighting. "I knew it! Twinkle toes and sugar queen always sneak off to go swimming! I mean, what is with that? Swimming is about the least romantic thing possible."
"You're just saying that 'cause you can't swim. Swimming can be very romantic."
Toph laughed at this. They'd started walking again, weaving through the mass of people. They'd taken to holding hands so they wouldn't be separated.
"Hah! I'll tell you what's romantic. These sounds! This crowd! The games we play at the stalls. The shock you describe to me on the people's faces when an innocent blind girl wins at them! What we're doing now"-She squeezed Zuko's hand-" that's romantic! Why don't real couple's do this sort of thing?"
They'd pulled up outside a fortune telling tent. Zuko asked Toph if she wanted to go in. After getting her positive response, he gave her his own one. "Some people don't like crowds and noise and finding humour at other people's expense. I guess it is romantic but only to people like us." Zuko went though the tent flaps, his blind friend behind him. Now that they were out of the crowd they let go of each others' hands and Zuko described the tent as best he could to her.
The tent was filled with perfumed smoke from incense, forming a mysterious atmosphere. There was purple everywhere. But most of it was meaningless material. In the centre was an old woman, smiling at them. She wore all purple in different shades, and she sat on a dark wooden chair with a purple cushion. In front of her were three chairs the same as hers.
"Hello, dears, I am Madam, how may I help you?"
Zuko smiled faintly. "It says on the tent that you tell fortunes..."
"Of course! Would you and the pretty lady please sit down?" The pair moved to the centre of the tent, they each sat down in a chair as instructed.
"How much-?" Zuko inquired. Madam laughed, cutting him off.
"I'll not take anything from my Fire Lord and his pretty friend!"
Zuko frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. Now who'll be first?"
"Sparky!" Toph announced.
The woman smiled at Zuko and handed him a deck of cards. "Shuffle them until you fell the time is right to stop." She ordered.
Zuko looked down at the cards and did so.
"Now ask a question in your head as you split the deck."
The prince looked down at the cards for a moment before deciding on the obvious question.
Will I be happy with my decision tonight?
Zuko split the deck and handed it to Madam, she then proceeded to take three cards from both sides. She laid them out and studied them carefully.
"What are you doing?" Toph asked.
"I am reading his cards."
There was a pause. "Oh." She stayed silent after that, very uncharacteristic of her.
Finally Madam spoke. "I have finished with your cards. Here is what they told me:
"I see the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune attending it. But don't fear your emotions. Tonight if you are clear to your feelings and impulsive then you will never regret it.
"There will be good fortune. And no error in your judgement tonight.
"The situation is shifting, and Yang is gaining ground.
"I see a female who is bold and strong. It will be good to marry such a female.
"And that is all I see."
The last three hours passed too quickly for Zuko. He enjoyed himself too much in Toph's presence. Finally, half an hour before Zuko had to go back and find his future wife, the pair found their friends. They were hanging around the palace steps, laughing at something. Aang was the first to notice them.
"Toph! Zuko! What are you doing out here? We thought you were inside."
"In fact, you really should be inside Zuko." Katara spoke in her 'disapproving' voice, "You've only got six hours to choose a wife!"
Zuko groaned. "Don't remind me. Can't I just go unmarried for a year or two?"
"You have Zuko. You've got a big responsibility to your people to produce an heir as soon as possible! Isn't that the point of the whole thing?"
"I know Katara, just leave me alone about it. I'll probably just find some random girl at the last moment." The whole gang stared at him in horror (well except for Toph).
"You can't do that!" Suki cried. "That's-that's-horrid! You wouldn't even know her!"
"The only single girl in this whole thing that I even remotely know well enough to marry is Toph! So I might as well be random and hope for the best!" At this he stormed off. The gang was left staring after him (again except for Toph).
"He is so stupid." Katara fumed.
"Absolutely idiotic." Suki agreed. The boys just nodded in consent.
"Well I think he's right." Everyone turned to Toph. "His only options are some stranger or me, and I don't think Zuko and I are about to get married."
I can't do it. Zuko had spent the last five minutes arguing with himself and had finally come to that conclusion. He couldn't marry some random stranger. He just couldn't. It was five minutes to dawn and when the sun broke the horizon the entire Fire Nation would cry for his head, for betraying the ancient tradition that had secured the royal family for hundreds of years. There would be more assassination attempts, more conspiracies to overthrow him; civil war would break out, possibly the other nations would take sides. Another world war would break out mere years after the end of the devastating last one.
"So who's the lucky gal?" A voice came from behind him. He spun and found himself face-to-face with Toph. They were standing on the same balcony as before.
Zuko took a deep breath. "No one."
"Face it, Sparks, you have to marry someone. Just go up to the closest girl and propose."
"I-I-" Zuko broke off and stared at the blind girl in front of him. For not the first time that night he noticed how beautiful she was, how incomparable she was in every way. She wasn't the only girl he could force himself to marry. She was the only girl he wanted to marry. Period.
And she was the closest girl. On an impulse he said, "Okay," and took three steps toward her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped his face to her upturned one, his forehead and nose touching hers.
"Toph, will you marry me?" He asked before stealing her first kiss. He barely noticed the crowd that had gathered, staring at the couple, he only knew Toph, and her little nod that was small enough not to break the kiss.
A/N: I might do a small chapter set a year or two from now so if u want add this to story alert.
~BB