A/N: Thank you everyone for waiting and to DeepAzulaEyes for being my beta when she's soooo busy. Here's what most of you have been waiting for, so read, enjoy, and don't forget to review! Thanks again for being so patient with me!
Chapter 13
He readjusted the red tie once more, not quite sure it looked good as he looked at himself in the mirror. The black suit was simple and fit him perfectly. He thought it was odd at how the only thing of value his father had given him was the suit he now wore, but it had been his uncle's before it became Ozai's. And Zuko preferred to think of it as Iroh's old suit instead of his father's. He glanced in the mirror again and smiled at how clean he looked. He had pulled his hair back, as he had for the party, but instead of using the family relic, he just pulled his hair into a simple topknot. A couple strands of hair again fell loosely over his scar.
"You look very handsome," Iroh said from the door. Zuko turned to smile at his uncle, and Iroh moved towards him, straightening and tightening the tie. "Several of my friends are chaperoning the dance, so you will be fine tonight. As soon as you're ready to leave, call me. Unfortunately, you won't be able to walk to school any more, but I'm sure you were already aware of that fact."
Zuko nodded and glanced out his window at the darkening sky. A few storm clouds had moved in while he got ready, as they had on several afternoons throughout the week. Most nights it didn't rain, with one exception since the previous Friday. It had rained and thunder and lightning had clashed. Toph had told him it was her least favorite time of year. Because of the change in weather, thunderstorms were common in the afternoon and lasted for a couple of weeks before winter, or as much winter as there could be in the beach town, moved in.
"You'll be fine, Nephew," Iroh said calmly. "Come, it's time to go."
Zuko nodded and moved to the front room. He picked up the corsage for Toph, and followed his uncle to the garage. Zuko smiled as he nearly tripped over a box Iroh had moved in making room for the car. He decided he would help clean the garage up more the next day so that they could move around in it easier. Once they were in the car, Iroh pulled out and Zuko glanced around. Seeing no one but a neighbor, he relaxed slightly and waited as patiently as he could during the drive. They picked up Aang and Zuko nodded to the cheerful sophomore when Aang got in, looking a little uncomfortable in a suit and dark orange tie. They quickly pulled up to Sokka and Katara's house and all got out, hurrying to the front door as the wind picked up. Sokka was there, looking nervous and he introduced everyone to his dad, Hakoda.
"It's nice to meet you, Zuko," Hakoda said as he shook Zuko's hand. "Sokka and Katara have told me a lot about you and how you protected Toph. Thank you. She's like another daughter to me."
"Yeah, but Toph got mad that Zuko beat Hahn up before she could," Aang said with a smile.
Hakoda nodded before picking up a few tools. "I'm going to say goodbye to the girls, but I have to go to work. With a storm like this coming in, I'll be working for a while."
"You're a lineman, sir?" Iroh asked him.
"Yep, just remind Katara to get a lot of pictures for me, and I'll see you boys later. It was nice to meet you, Iroh, Zuko. Aang, keep an eye on my daughter, all right?" Hakoda said and Aang nodded humbly before Hakoda started heading upstairs.
Zuko saw Sokka roll his eyes and gesture towards the family room. Iroh stayed in the hall, reading the book he had brought with him as the teens moved to the couch.
"You guys ok?" Sokka asked. "You look nervous."
"Your dad is nice, just a littleā¦intimidating," Aang said before he took a deep breath and smiled.
"Yeah, but don't worry about him, he knows you and he's glad Katara's going with you and not Jet or Hahn. Zuko, you ok?"
"Yeah," Zuko muttered, taking a deep breath to calm down. He wanted to tell Toph about his dad possibly showing up, but not with everyone around. They waited for probably another twenty minutes, Aang and Sokka talking about the dance until they heard giggling coming down the stairs. All three guys instantly were up and hurried to the hall to stop and stare at the girls coming down. Suki was in the lead in a gorgeous cream dress. She had her short hair curled and done up slightly and she blushed when she spotted Sokka in his suit and blue tie. Katara was right behind Suki in a sparkling blue halter-top dress and half of her hair done up into a bun while ringlets fell down around her shoulders and back. But Zuko's breath caught as Toph came into view behind the two taller girls. She was in a deep green dress that hugged every curve of her body, the neckline dipping just enough to hint at things. Zuko thought it was a twenties-style dress and she had an emerald drop hanging from a silver chain around her neck. Her black hair was done up similar to Katara's but more of it was curled and hanging around her shoulders.
Zuko noticed all of the guys had stopped breathing and the girls were smiling and blushing at the reactions they were getting. Toph walked up to him and smiled as she placed her hands on his chest, feeling the suit around his shoulders and chest before her hands moved up to his head and she smiled as she lightly touched his head and felt his hair up except for the few strands he left loose over his scar.
"You feel like you look good," Toph said with a wry smile.
"Yeah, nowhere near how good you look," Zuko said with a smile before he took her hand and slipped the corsage onto her wrist. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand softly. "You're beautiful," he told her.
Toph blushed and tried to hide her face behind her bangs, but they had been pulled to the side and refused to fall. Zuko glanced around and saw Katara and Aang blushing as Aang gave Katara a corsage of a red rose and that Suki and Sokka were kissing while Suki wore a corsage similar to Katara's.
Iroh coughed discreetly and all the teens blushed and turned towards him. Iroh just smiled. "Since there are so many, and the ladies are so elegantly dressed, I suggest Aang go with Sokka and his lovely date while I take the rest. The ladies can sit in the back."
They all nodded and Sokka, Suki, and Aang all hurried to Sokka's camaro while Zuko led Toph to his uncle's car, followed by Katara. Zuko held the door open for Toph before getting in the front as Iroh helped Katara into back on the driver side.
Zuko waited as patiently as he could during the drive to the school as the girls talked behind him, but he wanted to tell Toph about the information he had. He made himself relax for the rest of the drive to school, though he kept glancing out the windows, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. He didn't see anything, and in the midst of a bunch of other people getting out of cars and taking pictures, he opened the door for Toph and hurried them inside with a simple goodbye to his uncle. Katara got held up outside talking with a few people and Zuko found himself alone with Toph for a moment.
You ok?" Toph asked him once they were alone. "You seem more nervous than normal, but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Snoozles and Sweetness."
"Yes and no," Zuko said and glanced around, waiting as a few people hurried by the, before they were left alone in the hallway again. Zuko turned to Toph and saw her looking worried, and he smiled at how beautiful she was. "My ex-girlfriend showed up outside of school," he told Toph and saw her starting to scowl.
"If she thinks she can get you backā¦" Toph started to growl, but Zuko merely chuckled at Toph's reaction to Mai and shook his head before he turned serious again.
"No, she visited my sister earlier this week, and my sister told her that she knew where I was. Mai came to warn me. My dad is probably getting close."
Toph looked shocked and Zuko thought he saw fear in her eyes before she grabbed his hand, stepping closer to him. "What are you going to do?" Toph asked him, worry in her tone.
Zuko looked at her and knew she would support his decision either way, and he smiled.
"I'm not going to let him ruin my life anymore," Zuko told Toph confidently, though he heard apprehension in his own voice.
Toph smiled and squeezed his hand. "Good, and thanks, for telling me. Are you going to be ok, though?"
"Yeah, I just want to enjoy tonight. And then we can worry about him tomorrow."
Toph smiled and hugged him quickly before they heard Katara, Aang, Sokka and Suki coming their way. Katara stopped them once they were in the hallways and had people take pictures of the group and each couple before they headed to the gym. Zuko was surprised at how nice it looked and how much it had changed since Wednesday. Green and white ribbons, the school colors, hung everywhere and there were balloons. A stage was set up on the far side of the gym and all the mats and punching bags had been removed since the martial arts club had met.
Chuck, Song, Smellerbee and Longshot waved to them when their group entered and Zuko and Toph made their way over to them as the rest of their group got caught up with other people that Zuko didn't really know. Zuko nodded to the guys and commented on Song and Smellerbee's dresses to which both girls blushed. Longshot was in a dark green Chinese shirt with black pants and Smellerbee looked feminine in a light green dress. Song was in a pink dress while Pipsqueak was in a black suit.
"Thanks," Smellerbee said when Zuko said she looked pretty. "I don't ever wear a dress, but my mom made me."
"That's ok, I don't either," Toph said with a smile. "Sweetness found this one and I decided to give it a try."
"You look really pretty, Toph," Song said shyly and Toph blushed and smiled.
"I'd return the compliment, but can't," Toph replied to which Chuck and Smellerbee laughed and Song laughed lightly as well. Zuko and Longshot just smiled. "But I'll have to go on Sunshine's word. If he says you're pretty, you are."
Song blushed more and smiled at Zuko. Soon, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Suki had joined them and they talked as more people arrived and a small band struck up some music. They found out Jet had refused to come since he didn't have a date and Hahn had as well since no one would go out with him. Everyone slowly made their way out onto the dance floor, and when Toph left with Katara to use the restroom, Zuko moved to the band and requested a swing song.
After two more songs, Toph smiled at him when the swing song started and Zuko pulled her out onto the dance floor. A lot of people stood back from them, either having seen them or heard about their dancing at the party and Zuko smiled as he led her through the fast song. He loved dancing with her. She was perfect and graceful in his arms, and a better dancer than he would ever be. When the song ended, he dipped her and everyone applauded. The band seemed to love the song and dancing so much, they played another swing song, though it was a little slower and other people and several teachers who knew swing joined in.
"When did you learn?" Toph asked him as he led her through a swing-out.
"When I was five, until I was nine," Zuko told her, holding her close through a simple routine. "My mom insisted and I'm glad she did now. You're the best I've ever seen. When did you learn?"
Toph blushed. "From when I was four till I was eleven. I never let my parents know how much I loved it. They wanted me to learn something feminine, and had originally started me in ballet and waltz, but I always snuck into the swing class and loved every minute of it. Eventually my mom let me stay there, but it started interfering with school. So I had to stop."
Zuko nodded and spun her through a few more turns as the song wound down. The band started a slow song and Zuko drew Toph off of the dance floor as most of the people in the gym moved onto it. He nodded to Chuck, Sokka and Aang when they waved at him as they led their dates onto the floor. Zuko had a plan and took Toph to the greenhouse next door to the gym. He had wanted to kiss her since he had seen her in a dress, but not in front of everyone. Mr. Jeong had shown him the greenhouse after they had played basketball during gym earlier that week, and Zuko had thought it would be the perfect spot to have a romantic moment with Toph.
"That was a lot of fun," Toph said when they reached the small greenhouse. "Where are we? I smell roses and hear rain."
"In the greenhouse next to the gym," Zuko told her. He looked around and saw the many flowering bushes kept there and saw the rain falling onto the glass roof and pouring down the windows. It was darker than he thought it would be, but he saw Toph smiling up at him as he ran a finger down her cheek and then her arm to which she shivered slightly.
"This feels so right," he told her in a low voice. "Being here with you. I like you, a lot."
"I know, I like you too," Toph said and turned her face up towards him, leaning into him. Zuko leaned towards her and met her in a passionate kiss. He grabbed onto her, holding her close to him as she ran her hands over his back and shoulders before one moved up to his head, entangling in his hair. He had never felt like this before, wanting to be as close to Toph as he could and yet couldn't get there, even with their bodies pressed against each other. He got one hand caught in her hair and smiled at her when she pulled away, smiling and taking a deep breath.
"Well, well, so this is where you are," a deep, menacing voice said from the shadows. "And with such a delectable little lady, too."
Zuko growled and pushed Toph behind him as he faced the voice. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
"You don't recognize me?" the voice asked. Zuko made out a large figure in the shadows and stared in shock as the man came closer to him. Zuko narrowed his eyes as he recognized the man.
"You don't recognize your own father?" Ozai asked with a cruel smile.
