A/N: Thank you all so much for staying and reading this story, everyone! It means so much that so many people have read my work! I didn't intend for this to be more than one chapter, and I never had any idea where I was going with this rambling beast, so I appreciate your patience. :)
I intend to put up a sequel to Fall that focuses on their honeymoon in disguise, but not for a few weeks. In the meantime, I'm still working on Rise (a modern Toko AU) and a fairy tale Toko AU that is currently unnamed and not posted yet, so stay tuned!
Thanks again!
(Edit: Special thanks to Queeneofhearts for correcting a cultural misunderstanding on my part! The ring now has eight layers.)
It was pretty hard to sneak out when her room was full of people with war-sharpened waking instincts. Still, Toph had always been a little more alert than them, even Katara; and though she preferred to make a ruckus wherever she went, she'd trained with Aang long enough to pick up a few of his Twinkletoe tricks and step lightly, landing with grace after vaulting through the open window of her sitting room into the walkway beyond.
She pulled her tunic hood over her hair as she ducked from the open corridor into the interior garden of the palace. It was too quiet to earthbend without waking everyone, but that was fine. They'd planned meeting up last night, and she didn't need to do any earthbending at all to find their spot in the garden.
Zuko was already there on the stone bench, restlessly jiggling one leg.
"There you are." Toph grinned, sliding onto the bench beside him.
"You made it." She could tell Zuko was smiling from the sound of his voice.
"Of course I made it." For once, she wasn't teasing him; she was completely serious. She raised her hand to cup his face, her thumb running over the lower edge of his scar. "You better not be having second thoughts."
"No," he said quickly; panicked, even. "I was just looking at your eyes. They're so beautiful. They almost seem to have a light of their own."
She smiled.
"I know you love me," he went on, "but I also know you won't love being royalty."
"Maybe," Toph said. "Sure, I hate formality, but also I love bossing people around."
He smiled a little against her hand, but only a little. "I just hope you never hate this life so much that you don't want to be with me anymore."
She raised her other hand to his face, forcing him to look at her, she hoped. "That will never happen," she promised. "I'm with you for good. I can't promise I won't try to convince you to abdicate," she went on, with an unruly grin, "but I won't leave."
He was silent for a long moment, but she could feel his face relaxing and knew that he was relieved. "Do I even need to say that I'm yours forever?" he whispered.
She shook her head, laughing softly. "I can tell, Sparky. If anything, I kind of want you to feel a little more pissy towards me sometimes."
"So we can fight?"
She laughed again. "Yeah."
"After we're married, I'll fight you whenever you want. In fact," he went on, "do you remember our, um, our first date, I guess? When you came over and we had tea–"
"And I said I was cold so that you'd hold me, but you used fucking firebendinginstead?"
He blinked. "Wait…really? That's why you said that?"
Toph sighed. "Obviously. It's the oldest trick in the book."
"What book?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Forget it, Sparky, just go on. What about that night?"
"…oh, remember how I was supposed to go to Yu Dao on an official trip? It got postponed because of the earthquake and the wedding, but I wanted to know if you'd like to go after we're married. It'd kind of be like a honeymoon."
"A diplomatic trip as a honeymoon?" Toph asked, making a face.
"That's the clever part. The first week will be a diplomatic trip, and then the ship will set sail for home. But we'll still be there, only we'll be in disguise."
"How will we be in disguise?" she asked, laughing again.
"It'll be easier than you think," he assured her. "A lot of people have scars, and if you wear shoes and a dress, no one will know you. I don't even know you when you do that. They've got some new bending sports cropping up, you know, since it's the first time earthbenders, firebenders, and waterbenders have all been living in the same city. We can pick some fights."
"I've got to hand it to you, Sparky. You actually came up with a fun idea." She grinned. She felt his balance shift as if he was leaning in for a kiss, and felt the warmth of his breath on her skin, but for some reason he didn't close that last little distance. She was left hanging, her face upturned, her lips parted…and maybe she was a tiny bit out of breath with anticipation. Maybe.
"We'll stay there a while," he whispered. "Uncle Iroh will be here."
"He agreed to that? How'd you drag him away from the Jasmine Dragon for so long?"
"He…well." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. "He said he was willing to do anything necessary if it means he gets grand-nieces or -nephews sooner."
"Are you blushing?" Toph grinned, her hands still on his face. "After all those things you shouted at my parents, so loud they could hear you in Ba Sing Se?"
"Shut up," he grouched, but he was smiling. "It's nearly dawn, anyway. We should get back to our rooms."
"Fine," she agreed. "Until tonight, then."
"We'll be together all day at the wedding."
"Yeah, but we won't be able to talk or anything," she pointed out.
He sighed. "That's true. Okay, until tonight. I love you, Toph."
"I love you, too. Princess."
—-
Zuko had taken a shower the previous night, and the traditional Firelord wedding clothes had been put on him by a team of four servants after breakfast with his family. Even then, he knew it was far simpler than what Toph would wear. Royalty was usually wedded young, like Iroh had said, and the Firelord was usually not crowned until at least forty years of age. The Fire Nation hadn't seen the wedding of an actively reigning Firelord in hundreds of years, and the celebrations were absolutely ridiculous. His steward had been working with Iroh to make all of the wedding plans for weeks.
The wedding itself didn't start until high noon; so once he was fully dressed, there was nothing left for Zuko to do but worry. He realized this in front of the mirror, where he had been making sure he looked presentable. Instead, all he could see was how much he looked like his father. His face, which had been angular enough as a teen, had only grown more so, his cheekbones sharp and his chin pointy and a little long. The only thing that saved him from looking entirely like another Ozai was his scar. He closed his eyes and touched it, so that he could see it the same way Toph did. If anything, it was uglier this way: dry and dead, so deformed that it didn't feel like human skin at all.
Yet her gentle fingers always lingered on it. He opened his eyes and smiled. Who was he kidding? Her fingers weren't gentle. She was harsh and demanding, and she loved his scar for some reason he couldn't understand. He hadn't smiled at a mirror in years, and his father had never really smiled at him, either, so he had no idea what it looked like. It was strange on this severe face.
Outside, the sun was still climbing towards its zenith. There were candles and pyres everywhere, red banners flapping in the wind and lanterns swaying on their strings. People hurried to and fro with tables, food, and even more candles. In front of the palace steps, Zuko saw Aang's distinctive silhouette, talking to a few people he didn't recognize; beyond Aang was the growing crowd filling the atrium. Very few people were allowed on or beyond the steps, but everyone was invited to mill around the courtyard and partake of food and joy. Toph was nowhere to be seen yet, but that was normal. According to tradition, she would be brought out when it was actually noon.
The royal jeweler was underneath the oculus on the landing halfway down the palace steps, holding a small box. "Have you finished?" Zuko asked him, hands clasped behind his back.
"Yes, Firelord." The old man bowed low, flicking the lid open with a fluid, practiced gesture. Inside, resting on black velvet, were the items Zuko had commissioned. The first and second were a golden headbands, modeled to match Toph's favorites in shape and size; one was a simple band had the insignia of the Fire Nation in the center, small and elegant. The other was more complex: the insignia of the Fire Nation overlaid on the square and circle of the Earth Kingdom. The main body of the headband was styled as two wings that would wrap around her head, a reference to the Beifong crest. The third item, and the smallest, was a wedding ring. It was a flat, thick thing, striped with metallic shades ranging from inky dark gray to pinkish copper.
"How many did you find?" Zuko asked, picking up the ring and turning it over in his hands. It was smooth to the touch.
"They are the eight rarest known metals in the world, Firelord."
He struggled not to smile, an unusual sensation for him. "Very good." Placing the ring in a specially-made pouch on his belt, he shut the lid of the box and nodded to the jeweler. "You've outdone yourself, Chin, as usual. Take these to my wife's chambers." He didn't expect her to use her own room much, but that would be where she stored her clothing, regardless of where she spent her nights.
The jeweler smiled broadly, bowed, and left, but Zuko wasn't alone for long. Iroh and Ursa had arranged themselves more formally on the landing as the groom's nearest family. Lee and Druk were behind them, the little dragon tilting his head to study Zuko's formal attire. Azula was content not to be the center of attention, which she loathed after her recovery, and Ozai…Ozai. Zuko had tortured himself over whether or not his father should be included, but it hardly seemed conducive to world peace, let alone the familial kind. He was not invited.
Zuko accordingly stood in the center rear, facing the crowd. Aang was bounding up the stairs in the most dignified way he could manage, wearing his ceremonial robes of yellow, orange, red, and deep purple with a string of fragrant wooden beads around his neck.
"It's almost time," Aang beamed, glancing at the light focused by the oculus. It almost matched up with the center of the mosaic calendar on the landing. "Are you excited?"
"Of course I am," Zuko said.
"Just asking, your Fieryness. Look, there she is!"
Red chiffon was drawn over the four sides of the palanquin that surely carried the bride, hiding all but her silhouette from view. They carried her across the courtyard and up the stairs before they pulled aside the cloth. Katara, in the full formal regalia of a Southern waterbender, and Suki, in her Kyoshi armor, flanked Toph as she stepped out of the litter, resplendent in white and green and red and gold. With her eyes demurely lowered, her manner and movement the perfect mimic of a Ba Sing Se courtier, Zuko felt a moment of apprehension. Was it really Toph? She stood in front of him, but she didn't look up, and her hair and face were draped with a sheer white cloth that obscured her features. It had to be her, right?
"Today," said Aang, his voice ringing out over the crowd, "we–"
Then she raised her face and flashed him a quick grin, and his doubts fled. He smiled back, and didn't hear a word of what Aang said until he was nudged towards various rituals: washing the hands, bowing to each other and the crowd, reciting a list of every Firelord and spouse, sharing a drink from the same cup, repeating fragments of traditional poetry, and lighting the ceremonial candle and pyre when mid-afternoon was finally, mercifully, nearing. Druk decided to help with the Pyre, letting out a baby squeal and breathing a stream of fire onto it, and a lighthearted laugh rippled through the crowd, though Toph's laugh was the one that was etched on his heart.
Finally, they exchanged rings, and Zuko was delighted by the look on her face when he slid hers on, knowing she'd be able to feel each of the fourteen layers as its own substance.
Then they had to feast again until sunset, but separately, according to tradition. Toph's side of the great hall, where the women ate, was hung in green and white, Zuko's in black and red and men. The decorators had done a good job of mirroring the colors, but admiring it didn't make the afternoon pass any more quickly. It was a blur of polite nods, empty thanks and half-promises, everything that made diplomacy so boring; even his friends didn't get a chance to tease him again, because they were all being hounded, too.
When the sun began to set, it sent rays of deep gold light through the banquet hall from a low angle, illuminating every speck of dust in the air and making them all dance. As if following suit, the guests decided it was time to dance, testing the new cultural freedom of Zuko's reign. Aang easily talked the musicians into playing a lively tune.
Zuko's ring tightened on his finger. For a moment he thought he was imagining it; and then, tugging at it, that his finger had swollen. Then he met Toph's eyes across the hall and realized he was being reminded, or maybe summoned.
Everyone seemed to turn a blind eye when he snuck out of the hall with her in the early dusk; but then, that was a tradition, too.
—-
He pushed her against the wall of his bedroom, sucking the skin of her neck against his teeth until she shivered, her nails raking down his back.
"I didn't know you were this eager," she gasped. "I thought it was just me." He'd stripped to the waist as soon as they got into his bedroom, and now his hands slipped beneath her robe, callused and long-fingered and not hesitating before they traveled everywhere. Tugging her broad silken belt loose, he slipped the robe and under-wrap off her shoulders and down to her waist, leaving her chest bare.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you after you left," he groaned against her hair, his right hand cupping her left breast, hefting it in his hand and rubbing his thumb over the nipple. "Toph," he breathed. "I want you so bad."
She grinned, putting both hands on his hips and pulling him close to her. "Then take–" Her eyes widened at the erect length that pressed against her abdomen, already hard as stone. "–me," she finished, in an entirely different tone.
"Yeah," he said, laughing softly.
"Let me see it, my way," she whispered. "Please? I want to feel it with my hands before anything."
He let out a shuddering breath. "Yes. Whatever you want."
She untied the drawstring of his pants and pushed them down, hearing the quiet slap of skin on skin as he sprang free.
Her fingertips brushed against the base of his shaft first, smooth skin against the silky contours of him, veins and ridges and bumps. She worked her way down, first, to the loose, goosebumpy flesh of his sac, and then up, up, up, running over the bulbous head, touching a drop of moisture at the tip.
Zuko made a desperate sound low in his throat, and his hand slipped down her abdomen, pushing the remainder of her clothing away from her body.
She pretended to ignore him, but in reality those gasps and groans and heavy breaths of pleasure made her want him more than ever. She used two hands to wrap around him, learning the shape of the head, how it swept up to a point on the underside. She gently stroked his prominent veins with one finger at a time.
His fingers parted her skillfully, one finding and circling her clit while the other probed her gently. "Tell me if this hurts," he murmured, slipping one finger, wet with her own juices, into her.
There was a little soreness, but it wasn't very noticeable. She was so ready.
"Toph," he whispered, strained. "You're so fucking tight."
"I'm a little concerned about that," she admitted, whispering back.
"It'll be fine," he promised. "It–ah, fuck. D-do that. Up all the way, then down all the way." With his free hand, he guided her along his shaft, groaning against her hair. With his other hand, he joined a second finger to the first.
She inhaled sharply, wincing against the sensation, and stroked him harder.
"Did it hurt?"
"No, it just–it's intense," She breathed. "Almost–feels too good."
"No such thing." He seemed to search her inner walls for something, gliding along the uneven surface–and then he found it, and she nearly collapsed against him.
"Yes," he groaned against her ear as he rubbed his finger against her from the inside, pressing hard. He tightened her grip around his shaft and guided her to stroke him faster. "Just like that, yes, yes," he hissed as she began to tremble. "Say my name, Toph. My real name."
"Z-Zuko!" she cried out. Her body felt like it was trying to shake itself apart as she crested the wave of pleasure.
It couldn't have been more than half a second before he shouted wordlessly against her neck, thrusting his hips forward into her hands. She felt his cock tense and relax in her grip as a spurt of his warm seed hit her breasts, and then another, and another.
Still panting, he covered her mouth with his, cradling her face in his hands. He lifted her smaller body in his arms, and then they were on the bed, his hair curtaining them both from the draft from the window overlooking the garden. It must have been left open while they…oops. Well, no one was supposed to be out there right now, anyway.
He reached over her, getting something from the bedside table.
"Oil," he murmured, "from a plant that grows here. To make things a little easier." She heard him unstopper the bottle, then one long, luxurious, slick sound as he rubbed a small measure of it over himself. His fingers were gentler when they spread some of the lubricant on her, lingering to circle and flick her clit for a long time.
She wasn't an idiot; by now, she'd figured out what really got him going. "Zuko," she murmured, arching her back.
Hearing his name called out in pleasure, not "Sparky" or "candy ass" or any of the other names she used to tease him, fueled him like nothing else. He lifted her into a sitting position, and pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. She lowered herself slowly with his guidance, until she felt the pressure of him against her entry.
And then he pushed a little harder, and she felt her body stretch to fit the first fingers' breadth of him. She inhaled sharply.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
"No," she answered honestly, surprised, catching her breath. "It feels so, so good to finally be with you."
He took a shaky breath. "Don't say things like that. They make me want to…" He shook his head and trailed off, pushing just a little further into her, and then pulling a little ways out.
Toph whimpered.
"Fuck," he groaned, plunging in a little deeper.
It took a while for him to be anywhere near fully sheathed within her. She could feel herself stretching around him, barely accommodating his size and shape, and then he throbbed inside her and she made an involuntary, helpless sound at the sensation. Slowly, with his hands on her hips, he began to rock her against him, and she took the cue, letting him slide in and out as she pushed her hips forward and back. His fingers dug into her skin, and his lips ravaged every part of her body they could reach; her lips, her face, her ears, the outer curve of her breast, her stiffening nipples, her shoulders, her neck.
Then, when she'd grown accustomed to him, he flipped them over and began to thrust into her, as gently as he could manage when it was obvious to both of them that he wanted to fuck her hard and fast and deep.
"Let's try something else," he murmured after a moment.
"This is fun," she grinned, breathless, "but okay."
He pulled out, guiding her towards the edge of the bed and letting her bend down over it, her elbows on the sheets, presenting herself to him. He ran his hands over the curve of her ass with an appreciative sigh, and then he pushed gently into her again, hard against her inner walls from a completely different angle.
Almost immediately, she felt as she had when he stroked her with his fingers; he rubbed against that spot inside her that sent waves of pleasure rolling across her body, and she dug her fingers into the sheets, moaning.
He leaned over her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Is that better?" he whispered, his lips against her ear
Muffled acquiescence was the only answer she could manage, her eyes fluttering closed. When she climaxed, her body bore down on his, squeezing hard, and he couldn't hold back any longer, either; he growled, resting his hands on her ass as he pushed into her hard and deep, filling her with a sensation of warmth.
Exhausted, they curled up next to each other on the bed. Zuko drew the covers over both of them and pulled Toph close, his chin resting on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her, just beneath the breasts. She guessed that he had a pretty good view of cleavage at that angle, and thought he was being sneaky about it; she smirked.
"It will get better each time," he promised.
"It was pretty fucking great that time," she said, lightly smacking his arm. "Don't sell yourself short."
"It'll be even better."
"What are you worried about?" she teased. "You don't have to perform." She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers, hoping he could see her ring glinting in the candlelight. "We're married, jerk. You've got job security."