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I have a small treat for you guys this week. I was messing around on Procreate and ended up doodling Modern AU Toph.

keysmashjones/art/Modern-AU-Toph-835976346?ga_submit_new=10%3A1585710448

Furthermore, one of my awesome readers, Srebrenakrv, drew this really cool picture of Zuko, and you should check that out as well! (I meant to promote this on chapter 18, but life got super busy and I forgot! Sorry, Srebrenakrv!)

post/612436929236156416/zuzu-doing-politics-inspired-by-pure-gold-of-a-fic

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Dozens of brilliant lights flashed at her. She blinked through the holes in her vision to aim a half-smile at the sea of reporters and photographers threatening to break past the security guards and barricades. For the first time, she was on the other side of the barrier. She tried to not let her inexperience show through, and stared into the flashing lights with a smile plastered on her face.

They shouted at her in response.

"Katara, look over here! To your right!"

"Pose!"

"Hey! Fire Lord, give us a smile!"

She glanced over at Zuko, who was squinting against the bright lights and scowling slightly. She couldn't help but crack a smile at his discomfort. Cameras flashed, capturing her amusement. She was ready to go inside, and by the looks of Zuko, so was he.

He looked back at her and she gestured her head towards the door. He nodded and followed her down the red carpet to the grand entrance into Beifong Family Estate. Walking past the throngs of reporters, she could have sworn she saw another employee for EKPR. The one who took over her job for International Hour. She wondered what he was doing talking to Earth Kingdom superstar, Lady Geode, and what that had to do with international politics. Didn't matter. She directed her attention forward, and began climbing the stairs leading up to the Beifong household.

Upon reaching the top, they were greeted by a doorman, who invited them into the mansion with a polite wave. Entering the house, caterers descended upon the two of them, offering fizzing drinks carefully balanced on silver platters. Katara took two flutes of champagne and passed one to the fire lord beside her.

A velvet carpet guided them into a hallway. Statues lined the walls on each side of the two of them. The statues were elegantly positioned with their arms outstretched towards the end of the hallway that gave way to the main ballroom. Upon closer inspection of these figures, Katara realized they weren't statues at all, but performance artists. Their eyes all were closed, and faces painted over, but the intermittent twitch tipped her off. The Beifongs spared no expense.

The hallway opened up into the ballroom in all of its grandeur. The room was everything that Katara had expected it to be; the central chandelier, the gold and green ceiling and the painstaking detail put into every inch of the room lended it a rococo feel that was classically Earth Kingdom old money. It was a grotesque display of wealth that Katara couldn't help but be dazzled by.

She leaned over to Zuko and whispered, "And we thought the Fire Nation palace was stuck up."

Zuko snorted out his drink and Katara laughed good-naturedly.

She nudged him along and they made their way around the room. Katara took on her usual role of explaining who was who and Zuko, like clockwork, listened attentively.

"Fire Lord Zuko, what a surprise," Prime Minister Kuei called from behind them, "And Katara too. Hello."

Zuko clenched up next to her and turned to face Kuei, "No one said I was not allowed to attend."

"Oh, you don't have to worry. I'm not here to yell at you. This is a party, after all. I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts." he raised his drink up to his lips. Was he tipsy?

Zuko looked at Katara and then back at Kuei, "While it lasts?"

"I'm up for reelection this year. Didn't you know? If I don't swing public opinion back in my favor, then I'll be out and this will be my last invite to the Beifong party."

"Oh."

"Indeed. Which is why matters like two of the Earth Kingdom's biggest allies turning against each other are so important to lay to rest."

Zuko pursed his lips but stayed silent.

"Don't get me wrong- and this stays here, alright? Off the record," he leveled Katara with a firm stare, "I respect you standing your ground on the whole Southern Water Tribe thing. It takes some serious guts. You have the makings of a decent leader."

"Oh, well thank you," Zuko responded hesitantly.

Kuei nodded encouragingly, "And of course, with that being said, I'd appreciate it if you put an end to it."

"Er...no?"

Katara held back a laugh. Kuei cracked a smile. He patted Zuko on his shoulder. "Enjoy the party," he said and then drifted away from the pair.

Once Kuei was out of earshot, Katara commented, "That was odd."

Zuko nodded in agreement, looking a bit bewildered.

After they both recovered from their bizarre conversation with Kuei, they continued to make their way through the crowd of guests and waiters. They did a bit of mingling before a single violinist began playing over the cacophony of voices.

"I think that is supposed to signal that dinner is about to start."

A server appeared next to them and offered to escort them to their table. They moved around the full symphonic orchestra that had slowly joined in with the violinist. When the center of the room cleared as guests made their way to their seats, a group of ballroom dancers began to perform.

Katara looked down at the meal in front of them. A placard next to the dish explained the first course of salad, featuring among other ingredients, a polished truffle and thirty year old balsamic vinegar. Katara picked up her fork, but before she could dive in, the older woman next to her put a hand on her leg, "Oh sweetie, no one actually eats at these things. It's just for show," she winked, "I thought I would save you from a major faux pas."

Katara looked around the room and confirmed that, in fact, no one else was indulging in the meal set in front of them. No one, except for Toph Beifong. She sat at the table at the front of the ballroom, reserved for the Beifong elite. Katara watched as Toph washed down a large bite of the salad with a chug of champagne.

Katara looked back to the woman next to her, shrugged, and started eating anyway. Zuko followed suit. It tasted just as decadent as it looked. She settled into the table and enjoyed the different courses that the waiters put in front of her.

It was in the midst of her enjoying her dessert that she heard a loud crash from the front of the room. Katara looked up and saw Toph stumbling drunkenly near what used to be, she presumed, an ice sculpture. The room went quiet. Two of the Beifongs, who Katara recognized to be Toph's parents, got up from their table and made their way over to Toph. Poppy Beifong put her arm around Toph's shoulders and addressed the room, "My apologies, everyone. My poor daughter is blind and it isn't uncommon for her to run into things. By all means, let the festivities commence!"

The music started back up again, as did the chattering. Katara watched as Toph ripped herself out of her mother's grip and stormed off. Poppy laughed nervously and checked to see if anyone was watching before making her way back to her seat.

"Who was that?" Zuko leaned in to ask.

"Toph Beifong. I think I mentioned her before? She's a Beifong, but she doesn't really fit in with the rest of them. She's a big social media influencer. Wrestles too,"

Zuko gave her a confused look "Yet she is blind?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. She's much more capable than her parents make her out to be, apparently. She can use her bending to see."

"So when she knocked over the statue, that was—"

"Just because she's drunk."

Zuko nodded, "Families are hard."

Before they knew it, the tables were cleared. Everyone else at the table left. Zuko asked, "What are we supposed to do next?"

"Well… It looks like most people are joining in on the dancing. Everyone else seems to still be enjoying tantalizing conversation about how rich they are. So those are our options."

"I'd prefer that we talk about how rich we are," Zuko responded, a smile playing on his lips.

Just as she was about to quip back, a chair scraped loudly right next to them. Toph sat down. "Ya'll don't mind if I join you, do you? Good." She sat down.

She guessed that Zuko wouldn't know how to respond to that, so Katara spoke up, "um, sure. This is Fire Lord Zuko and I'm—"

"I know who you are, sugar tits. I haven't been living under a rock."

Katara laughed awkwardly, "Alright, well hello."

"Hey. You guys having as much fun as I am?" When the two of them didn't respond, Toph continued, "Of course you aren't. You're over here hiding from the rest of the party."

Zuko spoke up, "We did not mean to offend you. This is our first time here and I do not know most of the guests."

"Nah, I'm not critiquing you. This sucks," she picked up a random drink from the table and finished it off, "Are you guys coming to the party later?"

"Party… later? Is this not the party?" Zuko asked.

"Ugh, no. I always have a party at my place with people who don't actually suck after these things."

"I didn't know we were invited."

"Sure, you should come. Here," she handed Katara her phone, "find my home address in the GPS and text it to yourself."

Katara did and then handed the phone back to Toph. "Thanks for the invite."

"No probs. I'm heading out of here. I might die from boredom if I stay any longer. Deuces." And with that she got up and walked away.

Katara looked to Zuko. "Would you want to go?"

Zuko, surprisingly looked intrigued, and responded "I do not see why not."

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Toph's afterparty was a party in the truest sense. It was the kind of party that could be heard before it could be seen. The kind of party that beckoned its patrons to just join in, and let the dim lighting and pounding music do their thinking for them. It was the kind of party Zuko would never have been allowed near growing up. These kinds of parties epitomized the classlessness and promiscuity of the people of the Earth Kingdom, so he was told. And now he was at one.

He hesitated at the threshold.

"We don't have to stay. We can just say hi to Toph and then leave if you want," Katara assured him.

"If we can even find her," Zuko muttered.

They'd barely stepped inside when Toph found them.

"You made it!" She was loud, even for someone trying to talk over the ambient noise. She turned on Zuko. "Hey, you're not getting cold feet on me, are you? You know what? I have something for that."

Zuko didn't know how people like her always seemed to sniff out his self-doubt. It was bad enough to feel awkward at a party. It was even worse to have an extrovert breathing down your neck about it. Wait, she said she had something for that?

He gripped Katara by the forearm and urged, "What did she mean by that? She has something for me?"

Katara chuckled, "Zuko, I think she means that she—"

Toph reappeared, and shoved what felt like two ceramic beads into his palm.

"For you and your plus-one. Loosen up, buddy," she winked, and the effect was somewhat uncanny on her vacant, milky eyes.

Zuko frowned at the tiny pale discs in his hand.

"I will if you will," came Katara's voice from over his shoulder.

Seriously? They didn't even know what these were. Zuko didn't, at least. What if something bad happened?

"You don't have to!" She added quickly. "I'm just saying. It might be a nice break from real life, you know?"

When Zuko didn't reply, she piped up again.

"Toph's not gonna poison the fire lord at her own party, you know."

Maybe she was right. It wasn't like he had any experience to draw on. Heck, he'd never really even had fun before. Maybe it was time to stop saying 'no' to things.

Before he had time to reconsider, he tipped the pill back and swallowed it. He felt some satisfaction at Katara's astonished face. Hopefully he wouldn't regret it.

"Yeah. Alright then. Let's jump right in," she exclaimed, and then followed suit. Together they pushed through the jungle of people.

After they had wandered some, Katara caught his attention and shouted over the music.

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

Of course he hadn't. When would he have? Being disgraced at age thirteen ensured that he would never have the opportunity. They didn't have music like this in the Caldera either, not that he had ever heard. The heavy bass rattled the walls and floor, reverberating through his bones. It was more feeling than it was sound.

He found Katara looking at him expectantly and realized he hadn't answered her. He had only rehearsed doing it in his mind.

"Uh, no. Never. You?" He had to get right upon her to be heard. His face was half buried in her neck.

"Not really," she boomed, even though he could only just make out what she was saying. "I wasn't really the party type in college. Are you having fun?"

He realized that he kind of was. The party was such an overwhelming experience, assaulting every one of his senses with its thundering music and multicolored lights, and so he was surprised to find that there was a strange privacy in it. Nobody wanted anything from him. They were here for the same reason he was, to take comfort in the anonymity of the chaos.

He never replied to Katara's question, and she appeared to have forgotten about it.

Toph strode toward them, or rather, it looked like she was teleporting in small bursts. With each flash of the strobe lights she was several feet closer than she'd been before, but stood seemingly stationary.

"Everything good?" She yelled, except her voice didn't emanate from her mouth. It came from all around him, or perhaps from inside his head.

He and Katara must've made affirmative gestures, because she went on to say, "you guys should dance!"

Oh no. Zuko didn't dance. He told them so, even though it was a lie, sort of. He was a very good dancer actually. He could waltz, quickstep, even tango.

Zuko watched the cluster of bodies on the dance floor. Their movements were fluid and seductive. They only needed instinct and the beat of the drums. Zuko was graceful enough, but only when he had rules to adhere to. His kind of dancing was a matter of counting and thinking. And he wasn't about to embarrass himself by bringing that sort of pastime into a place like this.

"What do you mean you don't dance? Just move your hips!"

His trepidation aside, he honestly wasn't sure that he could. His muscles felt like they were dripping.

He became aware of Katara yanking on his wrist, guiding him gently in the direction of the dance floor.

"Just one song, okay?" She coaxed, "to appease Toph." Was she blushing, or were the changing lights distorting her face?

Zuko was impressed that she could discern where the songs ended and began. To him it was just the never-ending electronic heartbeat of the party.

He let himself be led into the crowd. Katara started to dance, and Zuko started to do some approximation of what everyone else was doing. He couldn't have been that far off; he didn't feel anyone staring at him.

It was actually kind of fun. It was like fading into the background and being the center of attention at the same time. He melted into the undulating mass with other dancers. He forgot to worry about how stupid he probably looked.

They danced for more than one song, at least, Zuko thought that they must have. He still couldn't tell one from the other, but he found it hard to believe that a single track would go on for this long.

All of the sudden his energy depleted and he felt suffocated by the density of people around him.

"Do you want to go breathe some air?" He suggested. He had a suspicion that wasn't quite how the phrase was supposed to go, but he didn't care.

"Yeah!" Katara grinned at him with a flushed face. "Air sounds nice."

Toph's backyard was as overstated as the rest of her house. Actually, to call it a yard at all felt grossly misleading. There was a covered patio, a hot tub, a pool, and a handsomely groomed geometric garden. There was also a bar, but Zuko had to assume that had been brought out especially for the party, and wasn't a regular feature. Probably. With Toph, who really knew?

They took a seat near the pool. Katara slipped off her heels and let her bare feet dangle in the shallow end. The pool's blue light illuminated her cheekbones from below, giving her an otherworldly countenance. She looked like she was underwater, even though she was perfectly dry from the ankles up.

She kicked her feet around in an elliptical motion, and eventually Zuko was tempted enough to set aside his socks and shoes and join her. He probably didn't look very dignified with his slacks rolled up to his knees, but that didn't matter. The water felt too nice.

"I'm glad I met you," he blurted, unsure why he said it. The thought just bubbled to the surface of his mind too fast for him to stop it.

She smiled at him, slowly, like she had to journey back from the end of a long train of thought to address him properly.

"I'm glad I met you too."

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"I'm glad I met you too," she replied. She didn't have to think too much about it, because it was just true. She was glad she met Zuko. Where would she be right now without him? She'd be fine, obviously, but her life would be more or less the same it had been a year ago, or even two or three years ago. The Burning Questions changed her life in so many unexpected ways.

She never imagined she'd care about him.

She leaned toward him, and if she wasn't mistaken, he was leaning toward her as well.

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Someone, Toph couldn't remember who, suggested they play possum chicken in the pool. Water wasn't within Toph's comfort zone, but she agreed to go outside with them anyway.

"Look!" She heard someone else in her posse gasp when they made their way to the patio. "Is that...?"

Toph couldn't look, of course, but she could see it with her feet. The fire lord and the journalist were kissing by the poolside