AN: If all goes according to plan there's just two more chapters after this one!
Once they stepped outside Haru's bar, Toph turned to Aang.
"So...hungry, Twinkletoes?" His stomach growled right on cue, making them both laugh. "Got any cash on you?" she asked as she searched her own pockets knowing they were empty, but double checking just in case.
Aang shook his head. There were a few places he would have wanted to take her, but he didn't have his wallet either. "We can go upstairs, I'll make us something?" he offered at the same time she exclaimed, "Ooh, I got it! I know the perfect spot!"
Since she had no money, there was only one place she could go.
...
A few blocks from their apartment building there was a tiny shopping center. Toph and Aang crossed the parking lot and stood outside a small tea house. It was situated between a fortune teller and what looked like an antiques and/or weapons shop.
"Maybe we can stop by for a sword after?" he joked.
"We could," Toph grinned. Piandao's swords were supposed to be world famous. In fact, her father owned two: one for his study at home and the other was in his office on the top floor of the Beifong Towers in Hong Kong. "Or you can have your fortune read by Aunt Wu...?"
Aang declined with a polite, "No thank you."
"Well, here it is," she said, proudly.
"The Jasmine Dragon?"
"I know it looks old and tiny - well, most of these shops look that way - but don't let it fool you. You're about to have the best tea ever!" Toph insisted as she held the door open for him.
As he stepped inside, it was like being transported to another world. The smells and decor, the plates and cups used, and the dishes served all spoke of a different time and place.
The Jasmine Dragon was not very large, but every table was taken. There wasn't an empty seat in the house.
"Is it always this busy?" Aang whispered, surprised so many people, young and old alike, were packed into the small establishment drinking tea on a Friday night.
"Yup," she nodded. "Back in high school, me and Zuko used to work here during our summer vacation and it was always like this."
He made a face. "You and Zuko?"
"Yeah, before he graduated. C'mon, this way."
As they approached the counter, the older gentleman behind it was about to greet them when his hazel eyes landed on Toph.
"Ah, she finally returns!" he chuckled, rounding the counter to make his way towards them.
Toph laughed out loud and ran the small distance to hug him.
"Pops! How you been?"
"Better now that you are here, my girl," he replied with a warm smile. "Why haven't you returned any of my calls? Don't tell me your phone is dead?"
"Nah, dunno where it is."
"Toph Beifong lost another phone!?" he mock gasped.
"Ha ha," she droned, not at all amused.
Beifong. The name sounded very familiar, but Aang couldn't quite put his finger on why. Instead of interrupting Toph's reunion, he decided not to comment on it.
After a moment, Toph's friend glanced his way. "And who is this young man?"
"This is Aang," Toph answered, her cheeks flushing a very light pink. "...My friend."
"Just your friend?" the man asked, taking in her expression and smiling like he was in on their secret.
Toph went from pink to red. So did Aang.
"Actually, no. If you must know, he's the old ball and chain."
The old man turned serious and raised a white eyebrow.
"He's my husband," Toph continued. Grey eyes went wide. Aang looked for any hint of teasing in her countenance, but found none. "We got drunk last night," she emphasized. "Then, we got hitched. Had a Best Man and everything."
Aang eyed the quickest pathway to the door just in case he needed to grab Toph and run.
"Ah, of course," the old man replied casually. "Welcome, Mr. ?"
"Beifong. He's taking my last name," Toph answered.
Though she laughed, he did not join her. Aang looked between the old man and Toph glaring at each other and wondered if they would actually start fighting in a crowded tea shop. For a second he pictured them on the tables and chairs, throwing round house kicks and flipping over the counter. Not that any customers would even notice, they were all too busy with their tea.
Suddenly, both started busting up. Toph threw her head back and howled with laughter. The old man joined her, slapping his knee as he did so. Confused, Aang chuckled along somewhat awkwardly.
"Aang, this is Iroh."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Aang. Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon. Please, have a seat," Iroh began, then turned to Toph. "By the way, was Zuko Maid of Honor?" he asked. That got Toph going again.
When she finally calmed down she explained it was an inside joke.
"Back here," Toph added, taking his hand. Iroh did not fail to notice the small though telling gesture as they passed the counter.
"Make yourselves at home," Iroh called after them. "I will be with you in a minute."
"You need a hand out here, Pops?" she asked, stopping so suddenly Aang bumped into her.
"Not at the moment."
"Alright. Holler if you change your mind. We'll be in the back."
...
The back room, as Toph called it, was like another restaurant. There might have been fewer tables and chairs, but since it was empty it looked about the same size as the front.
"Pick a table, Twinkletoes," Toph said. "I'll go find us some food!" she added with a mischievous grin and disappeared through the swinging doors back to the kitchen.
Large windows lined the back wall and Aang was going to sit at the table by an open one when an antique dresser off to the side caught his eye. Picture frames in all sizes decorated the top of the dresser. There were more pictures hanging up on the wall as well. A few were of a very young Iroh. At least Aang thought it was him. It could have also been a close relative because the similarities were uncanny.
"That is my son," Iroh explained, surprising Aang.
"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean-"
"Please, the pictures are there to be seen," Iroh told him, a small smile curving his lips. "Lu Ten. Handsome, isn't he?" Iroh chuckled as he nudged Aang's arm. "His mother was beautiful, but Lu Ten got his looks from me," he finished proudly, picking up the frame with a picture of Lu Ten in a military uniform. After dusting it off, he returned it to the same spot and picked up another.
Feeling like he was intruding, Aang took a step back, but Iroh stopped him. "Do you recognize anyone in this photograph?" he asked, watching the younger man closely.
It was a family Aang had never seen before: a father, a mother, and a child who obviously didn't want to be there. They all looked very elegant in an expensive suit and fancy dress. Even the tiny little girl in a poofy green dress with pigtails and thick glasses looked like she stepped out of a catalog. The look in her green eyes though, miserable, like she was pleading with whoever was taking the picture to hurry it up.
That same little girl was in the next photograph Iroh showed Aang. There was another kid there, too. A boy in a black suit with a bowl hair cut had an annoyed expression on his face, but despite it carried the girl in the green dress on piggyback. Her huge smile made Aang smile too and that was when he realized just who it was.
"Is this..." Aang took a closer look. "Is this Toph?"
Iroh chuckled. "Yes. Except for any with her parents, Toph has never been one for taking pictures too seriously. See?" he laughed, handing Aang a more recent one. Toph, all in black (black jeans, black long sleeve shirt, black boots) and what looked like green streaks in her hair was holding someone wearing a blue cap and gown in a headlock.
"Whose graduation is it?" Aang asked unable to help the chuckle that escaped him.
"That is Zuko."
Zuko? What was he doing there? Aang returned to the picture of the two children again.
"Is this one Zuko, too?" Aang asked pointing at the little boy in a bowl hair cut.
"It is. Do you know my nephew as well?"
"Your nephew?" Aang sputtered. "You're Zuko's uncle?"
"I am. Does that surprise you?"
"I guess. I just assumed you were Toph's relative."
Iroh nodded in understanding. "Though we are not related, we are family," he explained. "I have known her since she was six years old. Since that day in fact," he added, motioning between the pictures of a serious little Toph with her parents and a laughing one with Zuko. It was like two completely different people.
Watching Aang smile at a six-year-old Toph, Iroh's expression softened. "She has never brought anyone around before."
The implications of his words were fairly clear, even to Aang who was known to be oblivious from time to time. Looking up, he swallowed. "You mean like-"
"I mean like no friends, no boyfriends..." The old man's eyes twinkled and Aang swallowed again. He could feel the blush begin to creep up to his face.
"Oh."
"I'm glad she has chosen to bring you," Iroh said sincerely.
Still blushing, Aang smiled in return. "Thank you, sir."
"Please, call me Iroh."
There was a kindness in his demeanor that reminded Aang of Gyatso.
"Ugh, not those pictures again!?" Toph cried from the door. She walked in carrying a tray loaded with bowls and cups and delicious looking pastries. "Why hasn't someone burned them already?"
"Because they are mine, young lady," Iroh replied. "So don't even think about it." If not for Zuko and Toph, those pictures would be all he had left of his loved ones and he cherished them as such. He shook off the nostalgia and helped Toph unload the tray. "Besides, 'your friend' should be warned about what it is he is getting into," Iroh teased in a low whisper.
Toph shot daggers at him.
"Maybe we should take this to go," she muttered, ignoring Iroh's laughter.
...
"That was really good," Aang said, feeling full and satisfied. "The tea was amazing!"
"Told you." The light at the crosswalk turned green and they stepped off the sidewalk to make their way across the street. "But, all you ate was the steamed rice and veggies!" Toph argued. "How is that filling?"
"Iroh served me seconds, remember? And I had two egg custard tarts for dessert!"
Those were the best egg custard tarts ever! Ever, ever! Aang could have probably had a third.
"You're thinking about those gross little egg things aren't you?"
Laughing Aang shook his head. "Have you ever tried one?"
"Nope. And I'm not gonna either. Egg has no business being in any dessert!"
Aang stopped abruptly to look at her.
"Cake. Pie. That mean anything to you?" he asked with a smile on his face.
"Yup. They're both delicious!"
"They're both made with eggs."
Her green eyes narrowed. "You lie!" she accused through clenched teeth.
Maybe she was messing around, maybe she wasn't. Honestly, he couldn't tell.
"Don't ruin cakes and pies for me, Twinkletoes," she warned, pointing a finger at him.
"I won't," he promised, jogging to catch up with her, dropping the subject all together. They walked side by side in silence for a while. Aang slipped his hands into his pockets, gaze falling to the sidewalk. Fewer people filled the streets until there was almost no one around. Then, Aang asked what happened to Lu Ten and Toph told him.
He died only weeks before she met Iroh, nearly fifteen years ago. Friendly fire, they said. But friendly or not, Iroh was devastated. He resigned as CEO of his family's company and it wasn't until he opened The Jasmine Dragon a few years later that he finally seemed like his old self again. According to Sparky, anyway. From Toph's perspective, Iroh had been deep in mourning when she met him, but not until the time he took Zuko in - after he became an emancipated minor - did he finally begin to look happy again.
Toph could still remember how sad the man with the beard had been at that party where she met him and Sparky. It was only when Iroh saw Zuko giving her a piggyback ride that she saw him smile for the first time. He even took a picture of them.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Toph replied automatically, still deep in thought. It had always been Iroh and Zuko together and Toph kinda imposed herself on them. They could have fought her on it and made her feel unwelcome, but never did. Actually, they made room in their little family just for her. And, after she ran away from home, they even invited her to live with them. She stuck around for two years. Without Iroh and Zuko, who knows what would have happened to her. She owed them both so much.
The feel of Aang's hand around hers broke Toph out of her reverie.
"You sure you okay?"
Though she nodded, something seemed to be on her mind. Aang didn't press her. Instead, he asked about what he had been going over in his head since they left the tea shop. It might distract her for a bit if nothing else.
"Hey, uh, Iroh said you've never taken anyone to The Jasmine Dragon..."
"That old man has a big mouth," Toph muttered under her breath, mostly kidding.
"Is...is it true?"
Her eyes snapped up to his. "Does it matter?" she countered, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. No one was around to bump into them, so Aang stopped, too.
"It does to me," he answered with a smile that made one corner of her mouth curl up.
Slowly, Aang moved towards her, closing all but a small distance between them. His breath mingled with hers as they gazed into each other's eyes. If Toph could see herself she would have pointed and laughed, and possibly yelled, "Get a room!" It's what she did when she saw couples big on PDA or simply being all gooey and gross. It was different, however, being one of those couples, where nothing else mattered in that moment but the other person.
The way they moved, as if agreed upon before, surprised her. While she went up on her toes, he dipped his head, so their lips were perfectly aligned.
It was a long, lazy kiss that warmed every inch of her. His hands were lost in her hair and his body was pressed flush against hers. As Toph slipped her arms around his waist, a car driving by honked its horn and someone shouted, "Get a room!"
The irony was not lost on her.
"We should get outta here," she said, heart racing, insides fluttering wildly. "We can go back to my place..?"
Toph had never taken a guy home with her, but she was asking this one because her long suppressed hormones were raging out of control. Plus, she really liked him. That part she was less willing to admit though. Besides, the things she wanted to do to Aang couldn't be done out in public, not without running the risk of being arrested.
"Your place?" he repeated, grey eyes searching green. Aang gulped before a small smile broke out across his face. "Lead the way," he said, lacing his hand with her much small one.
They hadn't taken two steps when a shiny, black sedan with tinted windows pulled up next to them. The front passenger window rolled down and they both expected a lost tourist asking for directions. What they got instead was a voice that ordered them to, "Get in."
"Excuse me?" Aang countered at the same time Toph started backing away when she realized who the person in the front seat was. The back doors opened up and out stepped two very large men in suits. That was when Toph screamed for Aang to run.