Author's Note:

That was far from the last night that Toph would join them for tea and cake, or even just to talk. It wasn't long before she was a regular guest at the Jasmine Dragon, but not until after the shop had been closed for at least an hour. To Iroh's pleasure, she and Zuko took to each other rather quickly. There was a lot that neither Iroh or Zuko felt comfortable speaking about, but the two young people understood each other quite well. Toph clearly knew that there were things being hidden from her, but she didn't seem to care. They never met during the day, but they interacted almost every night. Most nights Toph would arrive at their shop, but occasionally Zuko would, much to Iroh's displeasure, sneak into the Beifong estates so they could hang out there. Both of them seemed to enjoy the thrill that came from the slim chance of being caught. Then, of course, there were the nights where Toph participated in the Earth Rumble. Zuko started making his way over to watch her compete almost every time she had a match. Sometimes Iroh would go as well and sometimes he would stay at the shop and simply enjoy the quiet.

Iroh was very happy at how their interactions were going. Over the time they'd been interacting he'd seen Zuko slowly come out of his shell. He smiled more and seemed far more relaxed than he had been in a long time. He even laughed from time to time. It really didn't surprise Iroh when, after three weeks of interacting with Toph, Zuko asked if they could renovate the Jasmine Dragon some. They had the funds now and owned the shop, why not make it look more like their own place. The fact that the suggested renovations would exchange the wooden tables and chairs for nice ones made of stone was, of course, a complete coincidence. It had nothing to do with the fact that it would allow Toph to see better when she visited them. The combination of Toph's laugh and Zuko's grin when Toph first came into the renovated shop told Iroh that the money was well spent.

Things were going well, both men were starting to relax and enjoy their new lives. Toph's involvement seemed to have finally help Zuko feel at home in their new life. So, of course, that was when things had to go wrong.

Zuko was concerned. He'd gone to the Earth Rumble to watch Toph destroy the completion, again, but she hadn't shown up. The last time they'd talked she hadn't given him any indication that she didn't plan to attend. What could have kept her away? There wasn't much that kept Toph from doing what she wanted to do. Perhaps her parents had kept her longer than planned for some reason? There was probably some sort of logical reason, but Zuko had a bad feeling about the situation and he'd long ago learned to trust his instincts. So instead of heading back home, he chose a course for the Beifong Estate. Plenty of practice made it easy for him to sneak into the building. Strangely enough, it was buzzing with far more activity than normal, which didn't do anything to settle the unease in his chest. He kept to the shadows and the ceiling as he made his way through the building. There was no sign of Toph in the garden, or in her room, so he sought out her father. It was easy enough to find him, he and his wife were speaking with a group of guards in his main meeting room. Yelling at the guards might be more accurate. It didn't take long for Zuko to learn that Toph had been kidnapped. There was a ransom note, apparently, they wanted money and power from the Beifong family.

Zuko didn't particularly care what they wanted. They'd taken Toph and if they'd gotten the drop on her they must have been good. He stayed long enough to learn a bit about where she'd been taken and where the ransom was supposed to be dropped then he spirited out of the building again. No one would be allowed to take Toph away, not unless she wanted to go. He simply wouldn't allow it. So he made his way to the last place Toph had been seen, where she'd been taken from. He wasn't an expert tracker, but he had a decent amount of experience from tracking The Avatar.

He followed the clues he found and spoke to a couple of people here and there, cloak down and face covered with his Blue Spirit mask of course. He knew he had a recognizable face. It was just past sunrise when he managed to find them in an old cave a couple of miles outside of town. He had been out far later than he was supposed to. His father would be worried, he was certain, but he could explain when he got back. Toph's safety was more important than giving his father a little worry. He knew Iroh would understand.

Zuko was no fool, he knew that the fight coming up would not be an easy one. Especially as the sun rose, taking away his cover of shadows. So he took the time to observe the people he would be facing. There was a decent number of them, mercenaries for the most part. It was likely that they were simply hired for the job and had no connection to the actual ransom, not that Zuko particularly cared about that. They had taken Toph. And they had her strung up in a metal cage of sorts farther back in the cave. He had barely managed to catch a glimpse of her in his checking out the camp, but he could clearly hear her yelling insults at her captors. Zuko couldn't help but smirk as he listened, if her parents could hear what she was yelling at these men they would probably have a heart attack.

In the end, he took about an hour to observe them, gauging their strengths. There were only two earthbenders that he could gather, but there were still a decent number of fighters beyond that, and some could be earthbenders that simply hadn't shown their skill during his time watching. He would have to be cautious. And he would almost certainly have to use fire. There were too many of them not to, especially when he was going against them alone. He didn't want to leave and get his father and he didn't trust Toph's family to actually get her out of this mess. But he would need to be smart about this. He would need to wait for the best moment to strike.

So he waited and watched until a moment came. The mercenaries settled down to eat, weapons were put off to the side and they relaxed, hands filling with food. That was when Zuko struck. He kept to his blades at first, breaking through the first couple of men who were actually standing guard with ease. The panic set in then as the mercenaries scrambled for their weapons, but Zuko was quick. A good number went down before they could even grip their blades. But that was when things became more difficult, the earthbenders collected themselves and launched their own offense. Zuko ducked and dodged, lashing away whatever stones he could. Fire came to him then, brought to bear against these men and the others who tried to corral around him. There were cries of surprise at the flames and they were enough to take a couple down, but Zuko could tell he was still outnumbered. So he took a new gamble. Using one of the men as a springboard he leaped up to catch land on the cage holding Toph, causing it to swing dangerously.

"Hey!" Toph squawked angrily as she was knocked off her feet "Watch it!" Zuko grit his teeth slightly, knowing that talking would break his cover, but it would be blown the moment her feet touched the ground anyways. Somewhat bitter, he lashed out at the lock on the cage, breaking it off with a crash of metal on metal. He yanked the door open and reached into the cage, grabbing onto her arm. He did his best not to be too rough, but he had to move quickly as he yanked her out and jumped away from the cage just before a rock passed through where he had been. He ignored the second angry yell from Toph as his feet hit the ground. Then he placed her down, bare feet against the ground for what was likely the first time since her capture. Her stance shifted abruptly, taking in the situation. Zuko didn't give her much time to process before he jumped forward, slashing out with one blade and sending out a wave of fire to push back a couple of the non-bender fighters. Barely a moment later a large rock shot out of the ground just to his left, stopping a larger stone from hitting him. He couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief before he threw himself back into the fight. With Toph involved it didn't take more than another five minutes before the mercenaries were all down for the count. They both stood silently for nearly a minute after the last enemy fell, Zuko watching her with uncertain wariness. This could go bad in so many different ways.

"The Blue Spirit huh?" she finally said, using the name that one of the mercenaries had called him. He shrugged slightly, despite the fact she couldn't see it.

"I didn't choose it, it's a name I've picked up along the way," he admitted. He knew that the mask did nothing to hide who he was from her and everyone else around was unconscious "It's based on the mask I wear when I...do things I don't want to recognize me on. Like this." Or breaking The Avatar out of a high-security Fire Nation base. She was silent for a moment longer, tilting her head and thinking. Her sightless gaze was pointed almost at him, somewhat over his right shoulder really. Eventually, she spoke again.

"Huh. I wouldn't have pegged you for the vigilant type," she mused before shaking her head "We should get out of here before any of these idiots wake up." She jerked her head at the mercenaries. "We can talk more later tonight." She paused before adding "You might have to come to my place, I doubt Mom and Dad are going to let the guards relax enough for me able to get out for any period of time at least for the next couple of days." She must have been able to tell how tense he was at her suggestion so she shifted to punch him on the arm, much like she'd done many times before "Relax Sparky. I'm not going to turn you in. So you're a firebender. It's not like I care. You're my friend." She hit him again, harder "Not that I'm going soft or anything." Zuko couldn't help but laugh as he rubbed his arm.

"As if you could," he told her, relaxing for the first time since he'd realized she hadn't shown at the Earth Rumble. Nothing more was said as they made their way back to town and they split up at the edge of town. Zuko stayed nearby in the shadows as he watched her being taken in by a concerned city guard intent on returning her to her parents. He followed them all the way to her family estates and didn't turn to head home himself until he saw her parents coming out of the building to greet her. He didn't know what story she was spinning about being free, but he could ask about that later. Part of him wondered why he was so certain in the fact he could trust her word when she said she wouldn't turn him in. She could so easily say that just to lull him into a false sense of security. Then again, Toph wasn't one for lies. She was much more likely to trap him in the ground and call a guard if she wanted to turn him in. So he felt fairly secure in her honesty.

Shortly before reaching the shop, Zuko made sure to find somewhere to change out of his Blue Spirit outfit and stow it away in his bag before walking the last part of the path home on the main road. The Jasmine Dragon was bustling as normal, but most of the guests barely paid him any mind as he made his way inside. But the obvious relief in his father's gaze when they met eyes did make him feel a little guilty. Flashing a small smile in hopes of calming the older man down he tilted his head towards the stairs. He was going to head up to their apartment. He was dirty and tired, not in any shape to be serving tea. And it was his day off anyways. He took the small nod he got in return as acceptance for his plan and quickly turned to make his way up the stairs. He knew his father would join him soon enough.