Genre: Humor/Romance
Pairings: ZukoxAang
Warnings: Yaoi. Don't like? Don't read.
Time: 100 ASC - Post War
Setting: Upper Ring - Ba Sing Se
Summary: After the war, the Gang stays in Ba Sing Se for a much needed vacation. But what happens when Toph decides that everything is getting much too monotonous and brews up trouble, taking them to a play that portrays Aang and Zuko as a gay couple? And what happens when, during convincing the whole of Ba Sing Se that they aren't gay, Aang and Zuko find that they are convincing themselves as well?

Part XXVI
The Observer

But even as he looked up at the boy, Zuko felt his breath hitch in his throat; from fear or arousal, he didn't know. Nor did he want to know.

"You should ease up on the wine a little. The night's still young." He said with a smirk and for some weird reason, Zuko felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

"Sorry to interrupt, hotshot, but it's evening. Now, if you'll excuse us." Toph said in a clipped voice.

As the earth bender's hand closed firmly around Zuko's own and she began to drag him away, the fire bender got the most insane urge to hug and thank her a few million times. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She angrily hissed as her grip tightened painfully around his hand. "It's barely been five minutes and you've successfully managed to disobey every single thing I told you! Honestly, how could you have let that stud get to you?" She whisper-shouted.

"I-" Zuko began but faltered as his breath hitched in his throat. "I know him." He managed to choke out.

"You know him? That's the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard." Toph hissed angrily.

"No, I mean...I know him." Zuko said as his cheeks flushed red.

There was a pause and then: "Oh shit!" She said flatly and the fire bender internally groaned as a group of people nearby shot them a degrading look.

"It's nothing. I'll handle him." Zuko said.

"It's not nothing. Here we are at the ball which is going to define, possibly, the rest of your reign and you're telling me we just ran into a guy who you've slept with?" She whispered.

"I- no. I didn't have sex with him. It was just...a fun night?" Zuko attempted helplessly.

"Does Twinkles know?" She demanded.

"Uh, yes. He saw me with him." Zuko said sheepishly.

There was an awkward pause and then, Toph, instead of replying, merely shook her head. "You are...unbelievable." She said and before Zuko could say anything else, a thin voice rang throughout the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen. May I have your attention please?" A woman standing at a raised platform said in a lilting voice. "Thank you." She said with a smile that made Zuko want to make a face. "Allow me to introduce the honored guests for tonight's evening." She continued and then went on to spout the names of several notable politicians and diplomats. In the very end, she introduced Aang and Team Avatar and had it not been for Toph's hand tugging lightly at his, Zuko would have missed it completely.

The fire bender quietly followed Toph onto the platform, plastering something that could pass as a smile on his face. His gaze darted uncontrollably towards the drinks table and the fire bender's skin crawled as his gaze found the boy who was still standing there. A quick survey of the crowd found him Miyako Suzuri beside whom, stood Kenji. Her red-painted lips curved into a smile and Zuko's jaw clenched as she teasingly raised her glass to him. He felt the sudden most insane urge to empty the contents on her head.

However, before he could continue to entertain his fairly violent train of thought, it was time to go and he willingly left the platform with Toph. "Stop shaking." She breathed quietly as they made their way onto the dance floor.

"I'm not shaking." Zuko snapped.

"Yes, you are." Toph said quietly.

"I am not-" Zuko began but then sighed tiredly. "This is all going wrong. He wasn't supposed to be here." He groaned.

There was a pause as they stepped onto the dance floor and Zuko merely watched as Toph smiled and then held out her hands. The fire bender, taking her hand in his, pulled her closer to his body just as the music began.

"If you choke now, trust me, I'll kill you before they do." Toph said.

"But-"

"No fucking buts. He's just another pawn in Suzuri's game." She murmured firmly.

"He is?" Zuko asked in bewilderment.

"Of course he is. Did you think he just popped out of nowhere? Miyako Suzuri knows him because I can feel the two of them talking right now." Toph murmured and gave his arm a hard yank as he made a move to crane his head to look at her.

"Where's Aang?" Zuko asked worriedly.

"He's fine. But he practically exploded when that hotshot touched you." She said with a snicker.

"It's not funny." Zuko snapped.

"On the contrary, Fire Lord Zuko, dramatic and ridiculously complicated love lives are incredibly hilarious and entertaining." Toph said.

"Whatever." Zuko grumbled. They danced for the rest of the song in relative silence before his eyes fell on a scene that did nothing to calm him. "What the hell is Katara doing dancing with Suzuri's butler?" Zuko asked in alarm.

"Oh, so that's who he is." Toph said with a grin.

"But she left Aang all alone." Zuko hissed through gritted teeth.

"He's holding up well. At least his heartbeat is stable." Toph said brightly.

"Stop doing that!" Zuko snapped.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You have to tell me what you're feeling." Zuko said angrily.

"If I do, you'll panic." Toph said quietly.

"No, I won't." Zuko snapped.

"Oh, really? So what would you do if I told you that Aang's currently being cornered by Miyako Suzuri?" Toph asked.

"What?" Zuko exclaimed in alarm.

"See. That's why I'm not telling you." Toph said quietly.

"But we have to do something." Zuko burst out.

"Firstly, keep your voice down, would you? And we can't just leave in the middle of the dance. Now concentrate, you're crushing my feet." Toph hissed.

There was a pause and then, with a dejected sigh, Zuko concentrated on keeping his feet away from Toph's. He hadn't been paying much attention during the earlier stages of the dance, but now, he was beginning to notice the grace with which the earth bender moved. For some reason, it alarmed him. "You look odd." He said with a grin.

Toph tilted her head to the side and her lips curved into a smile as her sightless eyes looked at a random point of his chest. "I feel odd." She said.

"Why? You're a really good dancer." Zuko said as he narrowly avoided another couple.

"Sparky, I'm an earth bender. We're not meant to be light on our feet. That's Twinkle Toes." She reminded.

"Still, it doesn't hurt that you are light on your feet." Zuko replied shortly and sighed in relief as the song came to an end.

"He's by the drinks table. Go, fast." Toph said as she nudged him forward.

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked, feeling slightly apprehensive at the urgency in her voice. However, before Toph could reply, Zuko spotted a head of blonde hair in his peripheral vision and his jaw at once, tightened with irritation.

"Many would think it an honor to have a chance to dance with the great Lady Bei Fong." He said smoothly to Toph, his green eyes fixating on Zuko. "May I have this dance?" He asked.

"Hm, who's asking?" Toph asked and despite the fact that the words were so carelessly spoken, the earth bender managed to make them sound refined and formal.

"Lord Kazuhiro." He replied suavely, his gaze never leaving Zuko's face.

"I don't see why not." Toph said with a smile so suggestive that it made Zuko's eyebrows rise comically.

The fire bender hastily cleared his throat and with a curt nod at Kazuhiro, turned around, only to find himself face to face with Miyako Suzuri.

"It's been a long time, Fire Lord Zuko. We've missed you and the Avatar." She said with a smirk.

"Pity. We haven't missed you." Zuko said bitingly.

Her lips curved into an amused smile and Zuko didn't need more than a second to realize that she wasn't about to let him go. So, with an internal groan, he held out his hand.

"Good boy." She said with a wink that made Zuko want to hurl. She placed her hand in his and Zuko begrudgingly began to lead her onto the dance floor just as a new song began.

The pathetically minute optimistic part of his mind told him that it would improve his image to be seen dancing with someone as physically appealing as Miyako Suzuri. After all, with her smoky eye make-up and form-fitting dress, she did look oddly dramatic.

"Zuko, Zuko, Zuko." She murmured into his ear as he pulled her close.

The fire bender gritted his teeth and took a childish pleasure in noticing that she was shorter than him.

"You might think that your secrets are hidden safely within that little apartment above your Uncle's teashop. But I know everything." She said with a lilting chuckle.

Zuko's breath hitched in his throat and for a second, panic threatened to overwhelm him. Until, the logical part of his mind reminded him that she hadn't said anything about him and Aang.

"Really? What do you know?" Zuko wondered.

"I know that you were at that gay bar five nights ago and that Kazuhiro and you had a fun night." She said with an almost feral grin on her lips.

"That's sadly little. I would have expected the great Miyako Suzuri to have scavenged more in these five days. But then, I guess we all miscalculate." Zuko said, the words spilling out of his mouth before he'd even realized it.

The fire bender saw annoyance flash across her face but a second later, her aristocratic features were arranged in an expression of aloofness. "I also know that you were admitted into the hospital early the next morning, very badly beaten up. A broken rib, broken nose, internal bleeding, I hear." She breathed into his ear. "At first I suspected that it was a non-bender but after seeing the Avatar worrying himself sick over you in the waiting area, I guessed it was him." She said with a grin.

The fire bender was stumped for just a second, a part of his mind wondering just how well-connected she was to have gotten her hands on his medical reports. A knot began to form in his stomach and had it not been for the sound of her laughter in his ear, he would have continued his train of thought.

"So, you've been stalking us?" Zuko said.

"You could call it that. I can tell that my people have managed to evade your attention until now." She said with an almost feral grin on her lips.

"What makes you say that?" Zuko asked in what he hoped was an aloof manner.

"You're apprehensive. Your heart is beating fast. And you're surprised." Miyako said.

"Am I?"

"Yep." She said cheerily. "This little line between your eyebrows..." She said and the fire bender cringed as her fingers lightly grazed the bridge of his nose. "It gives you away." She murmured.

"Do you know what gives you away?" Zuko asked with a smirk.

"What's that?" She wondered.

"You're here dancing with me." He said. "Which means that you don't know the whole story. You know there's one little thing that's missing and that's why you cornered Aang. You thought that he'd break but he didn't so now, you're here talking to me. Later, I'm guessing your little boy toy will ask to talk to me in private when I'm in front of someone else. That way refusing him won't be an option. I'll go with him and he'll try to seduce me." Zuko said and then pulled away to look into her eyes. "How am I doing?" He asked.

"Pretty good." She said with an amused grin. "But you forgot to tell me what you'll do when Kazuhiro tries to seduce you."

For several seconds, Zuko did not reply and as the music crescendoed, he momentarily allowed himself to get into it. Just as he felt Miyako's impatience growing, he spoke: "Stay close and you'll see." Zuko said and then, pulled away without waiting for the dance to come to an end. He bowed once before turning on his heel and making his way off the dance floor.

Lol, Miyako and Zuko battling to see whose observation skills are better :P
This chapter is dedicated to cabingirls :P HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY! XD *hands you a box of gift-cookies* :PBtw, I don't know where you live but its midnight here [GMT +3] ^^

Also, thank you so much for the reviews you guys! Even though their numbers were cut in half hmph..So, you better review, else my muse will magically disappear :P

So enjoy and don't forget to review!

-Jade258