Perhaps there were many euphoric moments like this in life. Toph wouldn't know, since her life up to that point had been very short (but far from uneventful). At twelve years old, she was arguably the world's most accomplished earthbender. She helped take down an entire Fire Nation Air Fleet. She invented an entirely new sub-division of her element. She taught the avatar how to bend earth. And she did this while blind, flying around on a smelly bison that didn't know how to fly straight.
Sparky was crowned—good for him—and Aang and Katara had finally confessed to one another. Iroh opened his tea shop in Ba Sing Se. Families were reunited, friends were found once again. But even in that euphoric state full of her friends, both old and new, Toph found herself standing alone.
"Toph?" Zuko asked, stepping near and carrying a tray of cups. Toph turned to him, grateful that Iroh had chosen marble floors in his tea shop instead of the cedar wood he'd been eyeing. She could see him clearly. "Do you want a cup of tea?"
"Sure," she reached out, accepting the small cup as graciously as possible. As she brought it up to her lips, she froze.
Green fabric, soft as the sea foam. Bright pink lipstick. Gold cutlery and pristine china. Purple flowers, seeped in boiling water.
"What tea is this?" She found herself asking. "It's not jasmine, right?"
"No, Uncle asked me to pour a new pot," Zuko answered, setting the tray down on a nearby table and taking a cup of his own. "This is a flower Uncle and I came across on our travels. It's lavender."
Of course it was. She always drank lavender tea, and forced the rest of the family to drink it, too. Toph despised the taste, strictly because of her.
Despite this, she forced herself to take a sip. The smell was nowhere near as overbearing as she made it. The taste was softer and more pleasant, and had a small hint of honey and sugar cane.
As she took a sip, Zuko began to speak. "Lavender is a purple flower. It's properties include calming and it's a remedy for—"
"Insomnia," Toph cut in, already knowing the answer. "The plant is a bush that enjoys nutritious, well-drained soil and lots of sun. I know. My mother drank lavender tea every night. She had horrible nightmares and thought the tea would somehow help her. It never did."
Zuko looked down to his cup, and Toph felt his heart beat faster. "Oh."
"I haven't been home in nearly four months. I wonder if she still drinks lavender tea."
"Why don't you find out?"
"Are you kidding me?" She snapped, furrowing her eyebrows. "My parents probably hate me. I abandoned them; their only heir and daughter, gone to help some strangers."
"At least they love you."
"How would you know. They were so afraid of me getting lost or something."
"At least they cared about you."
Toph sighed. "Oh, Zuko..."
"Toph, trust me when I say this. Your parents care about you. They were so afraid of losing you, they locked you up in a cage that you metalbended your way out of."
At this, Toph couldn't resist a snicker. "Since when did you spout wisdom like Uncle Iroh?"
"I spent two years with him, I'd hope I at least learned something."
Toph took another sip of her lavender tea, breathing in the calming scent. The scent that reminded her of the rich matcha cake served after dinner time, and mothers.
Toph Beingfong was a widely-known face in Gaoling. Even before she had helped the Avatar learn earthbending and gone off to save the world, her name alone meant she deserved power. Her money made her a princess of her city.
Toph wanted to sneak into the city discreetly. She wore her everyday robes, didn't do anything special with her hair or makeup, and yet, townspeople stopped walking just to greet her. Merchants offered her gifts from their stores. Little children looked up to her in awe. But it wasn't the same as before. Before, they called her Lady Beifong or Lady Toph. Now, they called her Master Toph. Now, she was known for her bending prowress and not her status.
Zuko and Suki were at her sides. It wasn't really their decision: Aang, Katara, And Sokka were nearly forced to go as well but they had pressing water tribe business to attend to. Zuko offered a ship to take Toph there, and Suki was interested in going to Gaoling, because they were Kyoshi Island's biggest trading partner yet they had never met in person.
Toph paused right outside the gates of her family's property. She had never actually been in this situation. The few times she had been out of the house was inside a carriage. Now that she was here, she had no idea what to to.
Zuko took the initiative. Although he was in the normal commoner fire nation robes, he still had a small battalion of fire nation troops backing him. He gestured for one of his soldiers to knock on the door.
They opened shortly afterwards.
Much to her surprise, Toph's father was the very first person they saw.
"Fire Lord Zuko, Lady Suki. I welcome you into my household! Please, we were just having a cup of tea with our lunch. Care to join us?"
Toph should have expected it. Her father was so ashamed of her that he just pretended she didn't exist. Instead of causing a scene, she dipped her chin and followed behind Zuko and Suki silently.
The walk to the dining room was exactly how Toph remembered it. The floors were the same polished granite, the walls featured the same artwork. The hallway still smelled of incense and whatever meaty dish the kitchens were cooking up. And once they cleared the corner to enter the large dining hall, Toph wanted to burst into tears.
"Welcome!" Her mother crowed, spreading her arms.
The group was seated at the table, servants placing silverware and china on the table in front of them.
There was silence at the table for a good few moments as they waited for the food to be served.
"Toph?" Her father called out, gently, hesitantly.
"Yes father?" She replied a bit too eagerly.
"Would you like some tea?"
"Sure."
Toph expected a servant to come rushing in the room, carting in a tray of tea and the cups with gold leaf on them. Instead, Toph froze as her father stood up himself, reached over his plate of roasted duck, picked up his wife's personal pot of tea, and stood up to pour it for Toph.
As the liquid was carefully tilted into Toph's cup, a strong lavender scent washed over the young earthbender. She breathed it in greedily, desperate for the only scent of home she remembered.
"My daughter," her father said gently, setting the teapot down on the table in front of her. "Welcome home."
As Toph reached forward to pick up the cup, she faltered. The lavender scent would have been nauseating with how it permeated the air. But Toph felt nothing but comfort. With a shuddering breath, she shot up and ambraced her father tightly.
"I've missed you so much, Dad."
