Writer's Note: Written as an exchange with SaraJayeChan, who wanted a nice Toko-friendship fic. To my dismay, I have only written one or two! This is so wrong! And thus, I am grateful that she requested this, so that I can correct that.

Spoiler Warning: Occurs post-series and contains spoilers.

Pristine hills of blue-white sprawled before them, twinkling slightly like jewels under the noon sun. Beneath the ship, the waters were a deep blue - deeper than Zuko had ever remembered them being - and were occasionally dotted with random patches of ice. The faint burbling of the water and the occasional call of a native bird broke the silence.

Well, that, and the occasional sound of puking.

Zuko made a face, keeping his eyes firmly on the expanse before him, determined not to shiver out of his clothes. Really, a routine visit to the South Pole shouldn't of been this horrible, but it was the middle of winter and the chilled and cold air really seemed to snake under his skin, no matter how often he tried to stir his chi and keep his blood hot. He didn't remember the South being so crisply beautiful - and so unbearably cold.

"Ugh," a voice grunted at his side, breaking him out of his cold thoughts. "Are we there yet?"

He sighed. "I wish," he muttered, looking over at Toph, who stood piled in blankets beside him, looking more like a moving laundry basket rather than a fourteen-year-old girl. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was feeling the cold. "Are you so cold that you're sick?"

"No," Toph grumbled, leaning close to his side. She had been doing that a lot lately, and when he asked, she admitted that she was trying to steal his heat. "Your stupid crew don't know how to steer without making it a big deal."

"Ah," he said mildly. He had noticed that, but he had blamed it on the icy detritus littering the water. He didn't think that perhaps the new recruits in charge of the ship were just that - new. But who was he to complain? He didn't want to make a fuss on this trip, especially since he had put it off for this long. And for this very reason, he thought sourly, huddling deeper into his fur-lined robe.

Toph's addition to the trip was odd, but easily explained: she was in the area and she wanted to tag along. Ever since the war had ended, she had become even more of a nomad than Aang - and that was saying something. One never knew where she would turn up next, and Zuko always found himself surprised when she suddenly showed up in the Fire Nation.

He didn't mind, though. He was fond of Toph, despite her occasional penchant to whine. And when he offered to take her along, she had said, with a wide smile, "Finally, a real field trip with you!" It had made him feel charmed and touched.

"We should be coming to the village soon." he added gently. "Hopefully then we can spend some time thawing out."

"You said it. How do those crazy idiots put up with this?"

Zuko had to smile. "Like I know. I don't even get how Aang has put up with it."

"It's been, what," Toph paused to think. "Almost a year since he started living there with Katara and Sokka? That's crazy. He's crazy. They're all crazy."

"So are we, for going willingly."

"I should have stayed behind with Mai," Toph concluded.

Zuko thought about Mai, about how she was more than likely curled up some place warm before a fire within the Palace, and he had to admit that he was jealous.


When the ship finally docked, it was to a village that Zuko had never seen before - at least not like this. The run-down, thread-bare place of only a few tents and a crooked wall and watchtower were long gone, replaced by solid and tall walls and an intricate tower that even had a flag. Within the walls were dozens of little houses made of pristine ice, looking solid and homey. Some were draped with animal skins, and some were reinforced with long poles of what Zuko guessed to be bone, but he wasn't sure.

"Does this mean I have to wear shoes?" Toph said suddenly.

"That, or be ready to lose your feet." Zuko couldn't help but say it sternly.

"No, I don't think that would be fun," she replied easily. "Being blind in every way possible would suck."


Katara met them at the dock, all smiles and hugs. Zuko accepted her hug with some shyness, while Toph squirmed and tried to kick at her. "It's so good to see you!" she said, sounding actually glad. For the second time that week, Zuko once more felt that touched gratefulness. "It's been too long. You got lazy, Zuko."

He blushed, but Toph rescued him. "Oh, are you kidding, Snow Queen?" she blurted out, her gloved hands thrown out in exasperation. "This place is an icy pit of misery, one that I'm glad I can't see properly! How do you stand it?"

"Well," Katara said easily, "I was born in it."

"Your whole family is nuts," was Toph's reply. She stomped past them without saying another word, making her way into the village proper.

Zuko and Katara watched in silence for a moment, sharing a wince when she stumbled a bit over an empty firepit. "It really has been too long, Zuko," Katara said. "I would have thought that you would remember to visit us once and a while. Or is being Firelord too fancy for us commoners?"

He scowled. "What? Of course not! Do you have any idea how hectic this whole year has been?"

Katara stared at him pointedly. "Ye-es," she answered slowly, her eyes narrowed. "It's why you're here, isn't it?"

"You just love to get under my skin, don't you?"

"I may enjoy it a little," she replied, finally smiling again, which was a relief. "Come on - Dad and the others are waiting."

Together, they walked towards the centre of the village, Toph's uncertain figure staggering a bit before them. When she stumbled again and fell hard on her backside, uttering a curseword that would have made a sailor's ears burn, they shared a wince.


Within the tent, Toph once again burrowed close to Zuko. He decided to just accept it, no matter how weird it was.

Master Pakku Kanna, and Chief Hakoda sat together on one side of the fire, while Katara, Sokka, Aang, Zuko, and Toph sat on the other. While the tent was rather large and had a high-ceiling, it warmed up rather quickly with so many people sharing one space together.

Despite this, both Zuko and Toph were shivering, and under her breath, Toph grumbled once and a while.

"Now that you're here, Firelord Zuko," Pakku said, sounding rather formal, "we can finally address a concern we've had that's grown steadily over the years during wartime."

Zuko felt a shiver of apprehension, one that did nothing to help his cold. "What do you mean?"

Hakoda exchanged a look with Sokka, then one with Katara, before looking over at Pakku in a bemused sort of way. "Why do you make it sound so horrible?" he wondered, holding out a hand. "You've practically got him think we're planning a rebellion."

Pakku sniffed. "It is an important manner."

Kanna scowled at him, and he blanched a little, but didn't take it back.

Sokka broke in. "Look, Zuko," he said casually - something that Zuko was grateful for. "You know all of those ships you have, ones that I'm sure have been kind of useless lately?"

He blinked, and beside him, Toph perked up a little. "Of course," he admitted. "But they're not useless - we use them for traveling and..." He felt his cheeks burn. "And for returning war prisoners..."

"Well, of course," Sokka replied easily. "But I'm sure you have a bunch of extras, right?"

Katara tilted her head; apparently this was news to her as well. "What are you getting at, Sokka? Just spit it out."

Hakoda broke in, looking as if he were struggling to keep this a formal affair. "Sokka and I were discussing ways for the Southern Tribe to branch out, now that we have waterbenders back here as well as us men." He paused, and when Zuko nodded, he continued. "Traveling to and from a place can take days, sometimes months, on foot or by canoe, and if we want to continue to grow in strength, we need the means to do so."

Ah, Zuko thought mildly. So this was why the elders thought it was a delicate issue. If Zuko hadn't been informed first, anyone on the outside looking in would have suspected that the increase in numbers was a threat.

Zuko, however, wasn't of his father's generation, and saw it for what it was: a hope to grow and prosper, to not have to worry about dying out and losing their culture. And they wanted to do this without the fear of sending out the wrong message.

"So you want to use a few of our ships, see if you can find some places to settle, right?" he said, inwardly pleased by the idea. If the Fire Nation provided the means of settlement, then the Tribe's loyalty would never be questioned, nor would they be seen as a threat.

Hakoda sagged with relief, as did Pakku and Kanna. Sokka rolled his eyes, and Aang looked politely interested. "Yes, Firelord," Hakoda said with a smile. "That is absolutely what we would like."

"Wait," Toph broke in, sounding incredulous. "You want to explore more of this icy wasteland? You really are insane."

It really would be undiplomatic to say so, but Zuko had to admit he agreed. Now that the world was safe - well, safer - the Tribe was free to explore the world if they wanted to.

Aang seemed to understand what Zuko was thinking, and said softly, "It's more like, they want to get back to their roots, you know? Explore what's around them before anything else, especially now that they can without fear."

It made sense to Zuko, but Toph merely snorted.


In the end, Zuko and Hakoda agreed upon a small number of small steel rigs - three - in order to see how they would fare in the cold and wet before asking for more. The Tribe wanted to start small, and Zuko was more than happy to make it happen for them.

Later, when the elders had left and the younger generation was left alone, he asked Sokka, "But who will you send?"

Sokka thought about it. "I don't know. Honestly, I was surprised when Dad even brought it up. We just got everyone back here, and were just getting used to things, and now this. It's weird."

Katara sighed. "It's not weird. It's because of me."

All eyes were on her now, and she blushed, looking irritated. "I mentioned that we were running out of room here, especially with the captured waterbenders back. When I mentioned it, he got this weird kind of faraway look in his eyes, and then he vanished. Not an hour later, he, Bato and Sokka huddled together, and when I asked to join, Sokka shooed me away."

Both Katara and Aang shared a scowl at Sokka, who sighed. "Hey, don't blame me! I was just doing what I was told."

"Nobody asked you to get rid of me."

"You would have ruined it somehow."

Zuko rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and Toph snickered into her gloves.

"How? By adding an opinion, like how maybe exploring this close to the midnight sun is a bad idea?"

"Yes, like that."

"Uh, guys?" Aang broke in tentatively. "How about just seeing it for what it is?"

Both siblings stopped. "What do you mean?" Sokka asked.

Zuko met Aang's gaze, and the younger boy smiled. Surprised, Zuko raised his eyebrow; he would have never thought that the complexity of the situation would have been obvious to Aang. But then, I've underestimated him way too many times. I really have to stop that.

"Duh," Toph said, sounding bored. "Your dad and Zuko just guaranteed peace between your people. Why are you too stupid to see that?"

Katara and Sokka shared a look of bemusement, looking very much like their father in that one moment.

"By making this deal with the South," she went on, her eyes closed and her words muffled by her scarf, "Zuko and your dad are making sure that everyone behaves. Give, get, and glory. Duh."

Aang nodded sagely, and Zuko had to admit that it was a rather appropriate - if blunt - way of wording it.

"Wow, Zuko," Katara said finally. "Who knew you were actually good at this?"

"Hey," Zuko made a face, "I've been in politics my whole life!"

"Yeah, but you weren't very good at it, were you?" Sokka replied.

Zuko glared at him. "Don't try to make me feel bad just because you missed the point."

"Nobody is trying to make anyone else feel bad," Aang cut in hastily. "This is a good thing, really."

A small silence fell over the group, each lost in their own thoughts about this. Zuko shivered, wishing the fire was bigger and the tent was smaller. Toph snuggled closer, her grumbles intensifying. It was weird, but it was nice to know that he wasn't crazy in feeling this affected by the cold. With Toph equally miserable, at least he knew he wasn't crazy or being difficult about it.

"So who will go?" Sokka wondered suddenly.

"Not me," Toph snapped. "This place is cold enough for anyone who isn't insane. Going further south would be suicide."

Zuko nodded before he realised he was doing so. When the others looked at him, he blushed. "What? This place is cold."

"Wimp," Katara teased with a smile.


A few days later, the negotiations were finished, a contract was written and signed, and Zuko was on his way back to the capitol. Despite the initial wariness and confusion, Zuko and Hakoda fell to writing up the contract easily, both wanting things to be fair without being too generous on either side. Both were careful in wording the contract, and Zuko made sure there would be no loopholes in any way - for both sides. While the question of who would lead the expedition was left unanswered, Zuko had heard Sokka mention Suki and her Warriors - which oddly seemed to fit.

As Zuko leaned over the railing, his eyes were stuck on the shrinking image of the village he was leaving behind. Despite the cold that seemed stuck in his blood, he really did have a good time there. He had missed everyone, missed his friends, missed being able to just be himself for a while.

"So," Toph said suddenly, appearing at his side. It surprised him - she had been hiding below deck as soon as they left. "Same time next year?"

He gawked at her, tiny in her pile of blankets and robes. "You were miserable the whole time!" he accused.

"True," she admitted before smiling. "But it was handy having a firebender around, and it was pretty fun anyway. So, same time next year?"

"Sure," he replied, trying to sound annoyed. He knew he failed; his smile was wide on his face. "But no puking."