Toph had forgotten how much being at home sucked.

She'd only been home for two days, but she was already missing the Duke a lot. During the five years that had passed since the end of the war, she'd forgotten how great it was to spend all hours of the day with friends, traveling and joking. She really liked that, and missed that.

Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option right now.

She and her parents had come to an agreement, and it was the only option really. Unfortunately, it was a rather drastic one. It was simply that, Toph could still compete in Earth Rumble tournaments (that her parents would not go to watch; it just was not dignified), and she could do generally as she pleased during the day so long that she was home in time for dinner (except on days with Earth Rumble matches), and behaved like a lady around her parents. And, she had to remain living at home (just like a lady) until she was married.

And her parents were really starting to push the marriage thing.

Toph was certain that her parents thought that if she was married, she'd 'calm down' or something. Like marriage would suddenly tame her. Psh; yeah right. Toph just wasn't like her parents were; she didn't care about high society rules and what have you. She tried to reason with them, argued with them, but nothing worked.

Basically, it was follow their rules, or be disowned. And considering that they were giving her a substantial amount of freedom, Toph wasn't really in the position to complain. At least, not yet.

She didn't really want to be disowned. They were her parents, and she did love them, and they loved her. They just simply did not see eye to eye on anything.

Which was why she was started to miss the Duke. She needed someone around who got her, understood her. When she had been part of the Aang Gang, she'd needed each of them, for different reasons. They each understood her in different ways and took on a different role around her that was just so perfect.

But, what was awesome about the Duke was that she never really felt the urge to leave him and hang out with someone else while they were traveling to Gaoling. Sure, that could had been because he was the only one there, but that didn't really mean anything. He still could have gotten on her nerves.

He hadn't though, and she missed him.

She was sitting in town, eating a papaya she'd bought, and generally ignoring the hushed whispers around her. Just because she was blind did not mean her ears didn't work as well; no, Toph had excellent hearing, and she was currently listening to a small gaggle of young boys urging each other on to ask for the Blind Bandit's autograph. It was funny that she still had that stage name for her fights; it had just stuck. But, she was certainly known world wide by now, as Toph Bei Fong, the earth bender who had helped save the world; Toph Bei Fong, the only metal bender the world had; Toph Bei Fong, the best earth bender in the world.

All were true, and all were equally welcomed by Toph. She liked the praise.

She hated being asked for her autograph.

Toph had no idea what that meant, really. They wanted her to put her name on a piece of paper, but Toph didn't know what her name looked like, what any character looked like. And the worst part was that she was still known as the Blind Bandit. You'd think that would imply that she couldn't write!

Apparently not, because at least once a week she was asked for an autograph.

And, here was coming this week's attempt to get it, in the form of a young boy. Before the kid got within five feet of her, Toph faced the boy, and said flatly, "I can't write. I can't see; I can't give you an autograph."

The boy stopped dead in his tracks. "O-oh, right…." He remained standing there for a few seconds before turning around, and leaving.

Figures. Toph went back to eating her papaya.

"Wow, way to break that kid's heart."

Toph nearly jumped out of her skin at that; the voice was right next to her and she'd been so focused on the kid that she had completely turned out everything else around her. But, within a second, she knew who it was.

"The Duke!" she cried, and then punched him hard, right in the shin. "What are you doing here? I thought you left."

The Duke didn't answer right away. He was busy rubbing his shin, which made Toph feel a little better about him scaring her. He'd learn his lesson now. "Who said I left? I just said I'd see you later." He sat down next to her, and said, "So how on earth did I scare you?"

"You didn't; you just surprised me," Toph said, frowning. She was not going to admit that she'd been scared. "Besides, I wasn't paying attention to everything. I can only focus on so many vibrations at once, especially out in the middle of town like this."

"So, the key to sneaking up on you is in a crowd," the Duke said thoughtfully, and then snickered. "Good to know."

"If you sneak up on me again, I will rockalanche you straight into the closest wall," Toph said warningly.

The Duke laughed. "Okay, okay! There will be no sneaking up on you in future. Freedom Fighter's honor." He stretched his legs out in front of him, leaning against the wall of a building. "So what are you doing out here, eating fruit on the street?"

"Beats being at home," Toph said simply. "So what happened the other day? You got really shifty when we reached my house."

"Oh." The Duke scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really…like going to people's homes. It's a weird tick, I guess. But going in homes, and meeting parents…. It's all really weird. I can't remember the last time I was in someone's house."

"It's really been that long?" Toph couldn't help but to find that hard to believe.

"Yep. I sleep outside, in tents, in tree houses, caves. But, homes…." The Duke trailed off, and Toph could tell this was subject that he wouldn't get further into. Just like his name and his past. They were all tied tightly together, and it was some stupid secret thing. Even if he had shared his name, but he hadn't sound okay with it that time.

Fine. If he didn't want to say more, she wouldn't push it.

"There's an Earth Rumble match tonight," Toph said, spitting out a papaya seed. "Want to come watch?"

The Duke nodded. "Sure, why not? That could be kind of exciting."

"That was so awesome!"

Toph grinned as she walked back to her home with the Duke. It was well into the evening now, and the match had ended. Since it was a well known fact that Toph was, well, awesome, the stakes had been raised. Very rarely did Toph ever go into a match against one person. It was usually two on one or three on one, and she beat them every time.

"The way you rocketed that one guy out of the ring, and- oh man, they never stood a chance against you!"

The Duke had been geeking out over her victory for the past ten minutes or so; it was clear he'd never, ever seen a tournament before.

"Yeah, I am pretty badass," Toph said with a grin. "Think you'll come see another?"

"Definitely! That was awesome!" the Duke said excitedly. "I've never seen anyone fly through the air like that! Really, Toph, you are on a whole different level with earth bending. Kind of makes me wish I could earth bend, just so you could teach me."

Toph snickered a little. "Since you aren't a big old softie like Aang, I'd be all for it. It was brutal, trying to get him started."

"Really? The Avatar had trouble?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Toph said, shaking her head.

"Weird. I always thought the Avatar would have it easy," the Duke said, and then stopped talking and walking. They'd come to Toph's front gate.

She sighed. "You aren't going to get all weird again, are you?" she asked. "It's just a house; it's not going to eat you."

"I won't get 'all weird' as long as you don't make me go inside," the Duke replied, and there was a slight sharp tone to his voice.

"Fine, fine, but I do have to go inside," Toph pointed out, to which the Duke shrugged.

"That's fine." He paused. "So…I'll catch you later then?"

"You got it."

"Toph dear?"

Toph was in her room, putting on her wrist cuffs. It was always the last thing she put on before going out, which meant that her mother chose the worst time to try and talk to her; Toph was attempting go out.

"Yes mom?" Toph replied, and the door to her room slid open further. It took a lot of practice to get used to saying that, instead of just 'yeah.'

"Do you mind if we talk a little?"

Absolutely. "Not at all," Toph said, and her mother came into her bedroom, taking a seat on her bed.

"I haven't seen you much since you came home from the wedding," Poppy said. "We haven't had the chance to really talk, except at dinner. I was hoping to spend some time with you today."

Ouch. Her mother really did try to understand her; she just did things…in a not very Toph way. Sitting and talking politely wasn't exactly Toph's idea of fun. Plus, she was supposed to find the Duke in the town today. It had turned into a game, since he'd initially surprised her. He would simply wait for her to find him in a crowd. It was fun, especially if it was really crowded.

"I'm actually meeting someone in a little bit," Toph said, adjusting the cuffs on her wrist. She was eager to get going, but she couldn't really escape politely right now.

"Is it that boy?"

Now that surprised Toph? "What boy?" she instinctively said, having learned to hide most things from her parents.

Her mother sighed. "I've been curious about where you've gone, Toph, and spoke to the guards. They said whenever you come home at night, you're with a boy." And then, slowly, Toph could feel a smile in her voice. "Is it someone you're interested in?"

Oh man. Toph should have known this would happen. Her mother had been very interested in suitors for Toph, which Toph hated the idea of. So, her spending time with a boy would of course get her excited.

"No." Toph said that perhaps a bit more forcefully than was necessary. But, she needed to make that clear. "He's a friend from when I traveled with the Avatar."

"I see." Poppy was quiet a moment. "What's his family like?"

Toph nearly slammed her head against the wall. His mother wasn't asking to see if they were nice people, but to see what sort of connections they had. "He's an orphan, and he's thirteen. We are just friends, Mom."

'Orphan' was all that Poppy needed to hear. "Oh, I see," she said, and then stood up. "Make sure you're home for dinner, Toph, and please, be careful."

Toph sighed. "I will, Mom…."

"Hey Toph."

"Yeah?"

She and the Duke were outside of the town, leaning against a tree where it was quiet. Neither had been in the mood to deal with the town today, and had opted for some quiet peacefulness on a hill overlooking the town.

"I think I'm going to leave Gaoling tomorrow."

"What?" Toph sat up straight, rolling over to face the Duke. "Why?"

"I've been here for two weeks," the Duke said simply.

"So? What does that mean?" Toph asked, not liking this. The Duke couldn't leave. He wasn't allowed to leave.

"That's the longest I've been anywhere at one time since the war ended," he explained. "I'm not used to staying still like this."

"You're thirteen, not an air bender," Toph said crossly.

The Duke laughed. "What do the two have to do with each other?"

"Everything," she said, and slumped back against the tree, folding her arms over her chest. This was just perfect, absolutely peachy. Whatever; she didn't need to depend on anyone else for amusement, anyway. This was just convenient, that was all.

"Don't get so upset-"

"Why would you say I'm upset?" Toph retorted quickly. "I'm not upset. I'm fine."

The Duke shifted to see her better. "Well, you're mad at me."

"Whatever."

He sighed. "I can't stay any longer."

"Why the hell not?"

The Duke seemed to be struggling to explain, the way he did about homes and the past and things. Toph was both curious and annoyed by this. "If I stay longer, where I'm at starts to feel like…home."

"…That's why you're leaving?"

There was another heavy sigh. "Yep."

"That's really dumb."

The Duke fell silent after that, and Toph was just getting more annoyed. Finally, after a moment, she stood up, and started down the hill.

"Where are you going?" the Duke called after her.

"Home," Toph said, and bitterly called back to him, "and don't bother following me, since it clearly makes you uncomfortable."

It kind of bothered her that the Duke said nothing in response. And, hours later, it bothered her that he hadn't come looking for her. She hadn't gone inside the gate, but remained just outside of it. It was weird and stupid, and she couldn't explain why she'd done it, but she wasn't about to analyze everything she did.

And the next day, she didn't find him anywhere.

Or the day after.

He'd really gone.

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