Author's Note:

It only took Iroh about ten minutes to get things settled in his shop enough that he could head upstairs to check on his son. He had been worried sick when Zuko didn't return before morning but forced himself to open the shop as if nothing was wrong. He'd planned on closing the shop at lunch if Zuko didn't return by then, but thankfully he had. Zuko looked tired but otherwise looked safe and healthy, much to Iroh's relief. Because of this, he let himself take the time to make a pot of Jasmine tea to take up with him. It was a little sweeter than Iroh generally liked for himself, but it was one of the few teas that his son had seemed to take an actual liking to. Once the tea was done, he made his way up the stairs and to their living quarters. He could hear Zuko in the washroom, cleaning up by the sound of it, so he settled down at their table and began pouring two cups of tea. Thankfully it wasn't long after he finished that Zuko made his way into the room, hair damp from his quick bath. As was fairly common Zuko rolled his eyes slightly at the sight of the tea but also gave a small, fond smile before sitting next to him at the table.

"I'm sorry I was out so late," Zuko spoke up immediately, not waiting for Iroh to ask where he had been "Toph got kidnapped by a group of mercenaries working for some noble that wanted to ransom her to her family. I went to get her out." It was short, concise, and to the point, but it was more than enough to spike Iroh's concern. He caught Zuko's indulgent look even as he scanned the boy for injuries.

"Are you both alright?" Iroh asked, concern lacing his tone. Zuko didn't look hurt, but still. It was a father's job to worry. Thankfully Zuko didn't seem to mind.

"I'm fine Father," his voice was clearly meant to be reassuring, as was the hand that came up to pat Iroh's shoulder "They didn't hit me. And once I got Toph down from her cage she made short work of the rest of them. She wasn't hurt either, they just managed to catch her off guard and put her in a metal cage. Her pride was the only part of her that got hurt." Iroh wanted to relax then, but he could tell by Zuko's posture that there was more to the story, so he fixed his son with a flat look. Zuko fidgeted under his gaze for a moment before his shoulders drooped. "Though, she may know I'm a firebender now." The admission caused Iroh's breath to catch in his chest and he spun to look at his boy more fully.

"She what?!" It was a serious effort to keep his voice from rising in volume, but Zuko still winced.

"She knows I'm a firebender," Zuko repeated, ducking his head "I couldn't take all of them down without it. And the mask doesn't do anything to keep her from recognizing me. But," he hurried on, clearly trying to reassure Iroh as he looked up to meet his eyes again "She seemed fine with it. She said it didn't matter to her. And I don't think she'd have any reason to lie. If she wanted to turn me in she could have done so easily enough." Iroh paused for a moment to take that in, raising slightly shaky hands to bring his tea up to his mouth and take a drink. He really didn't want to relocate if they didn't have to. They had settled in well and Toph's presence had helped Zuko more than Iroh could fully express. He didn't want his son to lose that friendship if he didn't have to. And Zuko was right in the fact that if Toph had wanted to turn them in she wouldn't have any reason to lie about it. She could easily have taken Zuko out, especially since he knew his son would be hesitant to fight her. Eventually, he nodded.

"Alright, I trust your judgment," he smiled at the grateful expression that crossed Zuko's face at that "I assume you will be speaking to her about the matter again soon?" Zuko nodded.

"I'm going to go by her place tonight," he explained, "She won't be able to leave for a couple of nights at least, not with how high strung her parents will be after her kidnapping." Iroh gave an understanding hum, though he didn't really like the idea of Zuko going off on his own again.

"Very well, what exactly should we share with her? We should probably plan that before you speak with her again." Zuko paused and seemed to think on that.

"Probably not our names or where we're actually from," Zuko said after a moment, though he didn't look entirely happy about it "Firebenders is one thing, that's something entirely different." Iroh nodded thoughtfully.

"You are probably correct," he agreed "Perhaps simply explain that we are deserters from the Fire Nation. She seems to accept that there are things we aren't comfortable with explaining, perhaps she still will. If she insists on being told more than that tell her that if she wants to know further details that she will have to wait until she comes here to speak with both of us." He didn't say that he wanted them to be together if they had to defend themselves from the formidable young earthbender, but he knew his son would understand the unspoken message. Perhaps it was paranoia, but paranoia helped keep them alive. Zuko nodded his understanding before finishing his tea and putting down his cup.

"That sounds like a plan to me," he agreed before yawning "Is it alright if I take a nap? I didn't get any sleep last night and I want to be alert tonight." Iroh nodded and reached over to clasp a warm hand on his son's shoulder.

"You get some rest Son," he agreed fondly "I'll go back down and man the shop. Rest well." Zuko flashed him a grateful smile and Iroh treasured it just as much as he did all the smiles he'd received since they'd abandoned their chase of The Avatar. Zuko had once been a bright and happy child, but he had lost that after Ozai burned him. It was good to see the boy smiling again, even if those smiles were less frequent and more reserved than they had been when he was younger. Iroh wasn't going to take such things for granted ever again. And since Toph seemed to help draw some of those smiles out, Iroh truly hoped that they wouldn't lose her either.

Zuko spent the next several hours resting before he got up and went down to help out around the shop. It was his day off, but he wasn't very good about doing nothing. And he knew it would help calm both his and his father's nerves to stay where they could see each other for a while. Once the shop was closed down for the night and the other workers were gone, he retreated back to the apartment and changed into his Blue Spirit outfit. His father met him upstairs shortly after he finished getting ready.

"I know Toph is your friend, but please stay on guard," Iroh told him, moving over to put his hands on Zuko's shoulders "Stay safe." Zuko nodded and reached up to pat his father's hand.

"I'll be fine Father," he replied, a promise in his tone "I'll be back before sunrise this time." Iroh visibly forced himself to relax and nod before releasing Zuko's shoulders.

"I will see you then." Zuko gave the man another nod before slipping out the window of their building and up onto the roof. In no time at all he was making his way through the city towards the Beifong Estates, slipping through the shadows with practiced ease. It didn't take him long to reach Toph's home and slip past the guards patrolling the building. There were more than normal still, but no one ever remembered to look up so he made his way to Toph's room with no real issue. Arriving at her window he slid it open and dropped inside. She never locked it and had even set it up to open more quietly once she realized it was the easiest way for him to get into her room. As was fairly normal, the room was empty aside from Toph herself. Zuko knew there were more guards in the garden and the hall, but they usually avoided keeping guards in the room with her.

Toph's head was pointing his direction even before he landed on the flood and he knew that she had probably felt it the moment that he entered the estate.

"Hey Sparky," she grinned, using the new nickname she had apparently settled on. "Took you long enough. I was starting to wonder if you were going to chicken out on me." Zuko rolled his eyes.

"Hardly," he drawled back "I just had to avoid a couple more idiots than normal. Your parents have more guards out in the city as well as here." Toph just shrugged.

"Yeah, they're kind of freaked out after everything," she said dismissively. It was hardly unusual for them.

"I wonder why," Zuko drawled sarcastically, causing Toph to snort in amusement before she shifted to sit on one of the chairs in her room, one of the few small enough that her feet still touched the ground.

"So," Toph drawled, tilting her head and getting straight to the heart of things "Firebending huh?" Zuko huffed.

"Yeah. Well. You already knew that there was plenty we weren't comfortable talking about." Toph nodded easily.

"Yeah, like your fake names," she agreed, causing Zuko to wince "I can see why you would keep it quiet though, firebenders aren't exactly popular around here." Zuko let out a slightly bitter laugh at that.

"That's one way to put it," he agreed "There's plenty of people in the Earth Kingdom that would happily kill us, or at least crush our hands, just because we're firebenders." Toph shrugged, not arguing the point.

"You're probably right," she agreed, leaning back in her chair "But I'm not one of them, so chill out. You're firebenders, probably even Fire Nation, but it's not like I care. You're welcome to your secrets, I've got plenty I keep from most people, obviously." She gestured vaguely around the room. Zuko snorted quietly at that.

"True enough," he agreed before hesitating "So...you don't want to know?" Toph shrugged.

"Of course I want to know," she replied "But I figure you'll tell me what you can. And I probably know more about you two than anyone else in town so I really can't complain. I'm already beating everyone else in this situation." Zuko blinked in surprise before smiling. He should have guessed she'd find some way to 'win' in this situation.

"You're not wrong about that. No one else here knows more about us than you do." He paused for a moment before moving to sit cross-legged on the ground "My father and I aren't really comfortable talking about our names, but I'll tell you a couple of things." He wasn't surprised to see her attention fix on him at that. She may be fine with not knowing, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious. "We are from the Fire Nation, like you guessed, though we haven't actually been on Fire Nation soil for almost three years. We were...part of the navy, kind of, for the last two and a half years. I can't really explain the how or why of that, but we were on a boat for most of that time. We're technically deserters now, we ran." Toph was still for a short while before she nodded.

"I can see that. You guys do move like fighters. I am curious as to why you deserted though?" Zuko fell quiet for a long moment, not certain how to answer that honestly. Thankfully Toph could be as quiet and patient as the rocks she bent when she wanted to. She didn't interrupt his thoughts even when it took him over two minutes to reply.

"It was...kind of a mix of things actually," he admitted slowly "Part of it had to do with the fact we were tired. We hadn't been home, or even really on land, for over two years. And we weren't going to be allowed to return for a long time, if at all. On top of that, some of the commanding officers were...difficult to deal with, to say the least. A man named Zhao was made admiral and he led an attack on the Northern Water Tribe that almost got a lot of people killed. More than were killed I mean. It was a huge mess. And Zhao didn't care about his soldiers at all." Zuko paused and grimaced. When he continued his tone was bitter "A lot of higher-ups in the Fire Nation, especially the Fire Nation military, don't care about who gets hurt in their quest for power. Enemies or our own soldiers." Toph tilted her head, her sightless gaze directed slightly over his right shoulder. Her expression was thoughtful. Zuko wasn't sure what she thought of what he told her, let alone about what she felt from him through the ground and she didn't seem to be in the mood to explain her thoughts. Instead, she nodded.

"That makes sense. So you and your dad left and settled down here?" Zuko nodded and tapped his fingers against the ground in the affirmative fashion that they'd designed together.

"Yeah, it's a small enough city that we felt it was safe but big enough that we could get lost in the bustle." She hummed and nodded, tilting her head again. Then she grinned and the mischief on her face made Zuko more than a little nervous.

"Tell you what," Toph began, still grining "I won't ask any more questions or try and trick you into sharing any of your secrets. In return, I want to spar with you. I'm sure we can find somewhere far enough away that we can spar without anyone seeing us. And I'll be able to tell if someone is coming. I've never sparred against a firebender before." Zuko faltered at that.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," he told her worriedly "Fire can be destructive. Even if I'm not trying to hurt you I could burn you." Toph was silent for several long minutes before she spoke again, her smile dying.

"I get where you're coming from, but if the Fire Nation ever does come here I need to know what firebending looks like to my feet. From what you've said me being blind won't keep them from harassing me." Zuko grimaced at that, she wasn't wrong. A moment later her grin was that "Besides, I'm sure I can handle it. I am the greatest earthbender in the world after all. Zuko couldn't help it, he laughed, which, by the triumphant glint in Toph's eyes, may have been her plan.

"Alright," he conceded with a helpless smile "I need to talk to my father first, but it should be fine. Once you're able to get away from home for the night again we'll work something out. You probably should get some experience with seeing firebending. Just to be safe." She grinned at him at that.

"Good," she said firmly, relaxing back into her chair "How is your old man anyways. I imagine he freaked out with you running late last night." Zuko relaxed as well as they fell back into more typical conversation topics. He was glad that he hadn't lost his first, and only, friend.