Title: The Verisimilitude between Tangled Sheets
Summary: Zuko and Toph are friends. Sometimes lovers, but only when it's convenient. No questions asked, no strings attached—but of course, that was inevitable.
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is not mine. The characters are not mine. All I own so far is this plot…and this computer that I'm typing it with, but that's about it. It's a sad existence.
The Verisimilitude between Tangled Sheets
Chapter Five – Outstanding Obligations
Today had not been good to Zuko. In addition to waking up in the uncomfortable lump of soil Toph so fondly refers to as his tent in the rain, the cold, wet, and miserable Fire Lord recently had 'bullying victim' added to his repertoire.
One would think that he, major contributor of establishing world peace, would be treated with more respect. Or at least, fairness.
Sokka had proposed a sparring match between the four master-benders—a battle of the elements, so to speak, to celebrate their last full day at Nankuru island. He and Suki had opted to watch instead, not having any inkling that this they were about to have the most interactive meta-theatre experience of their lives. Katara and Aang suggested a pairs battle, but Toph had decided to amp up the ante. It was going to be three against one, who ever drew the shortest stick was the odd man out.
Not surprisingly, Zuko was that guy. A brief feeling of panic crossed his features as he saw the slightly sadistic smile on Toph's face.
And so the forces of the world crashed down upon Zuko as Suki and Sokka tried to evade the onslaught of ice, air, fire, and earth.
Shortly afterwards, not having any time to cleanse himself or treat his wounds, Zuko found himself sitting not on his throne, but on a tree stump with a drink between his hands, playing an inane game.
"Never have I ever," Sokka paused before breaking out into a large grin. Zuko was worried as Sokka looked directly at him with a vaguely maniacal glint in his eyes. "Worn a chastity belt." The blue-eyed warrior finished, satisfaction oozing from his voice.
Zuko could have ignored the question, it's not like it would be lying. There is a distinct difference between a chastity belt and a purity ring. But the way everyone was looking at him intently made it apparent they weren't going to let this one go so easily. Note to self, he thought as he brought the cup to his lips. Kill Sokka.
Stifled giggles morphed into full-blown laughter in world-record time. Zuko barely had time to register the twitching of his left eye as he lost his temper—another world record, at least, since his union with the Avatar. "It was a PURITY RING!" he roared. Birds screeched and fled their nests, and small forest rodents skittered away from the thundering echo.
"Really, Zuko?" Suki asked, one eyebrow raised. Oh, how Zuko would've loved to singe that one right off.
"Yes," he muttered through gritted teeth, clinging on to the dim hope that they would let the subject die.
Of course, he had no such luck. "When?"
"When I was younger, while I was with Mai," out of the corner of his good eye, he noticed Toph. He sent her a pleading look, knowing she could feel it but she seemed to be enjoying his torture just as much as everyone else.
"Ooh!" Katara's voice reached a high pitch. "You're not wearing it anymore! Does that mean what I think it means?"
"My sex life is none of your business!"
"Or lack thereof you mean," Ironically, Toph interjected with a snide smirk. To say the least, it was not exactly the kind of help Zuko was expecting. He weighed his options momentarily in his mind. Would he rather be known as the virgin, or as the one bedding the greatest—and, in his humble opinion, the sexiest—Earthbender in the world…and possibly get pummeled to death for revealing that fact.
Zuko would have preferred his second option, if it didn't come with such dire consequences. So for now, he took his chances with being known as the virgin.
-x-
The game carried on with more mundane, less controversial confessions ranging from Aang's vegetarian inclinations to Sokka's grooming habits.
Toph could still feel Zuko fuming over his vow of chastity. For once, she was glad Sokka had brought it up, because she really couldn't tease the temperamental king without divulging her sources.
"Never have I ever," Katara started. "Had a friend with benefits."
Anxiety flooded through both Sokka and Zuko, and Toph couldn't find a way to tune it out. She was convinced that her and Zuko's agreement to keep quiet about their pseudo-relationship was clear. Nonetheless, she remained still, hoping Zuko would get the point.
Sokka was a different story. His heart was palpitating at an accelerated rate.
So, Toph mused. Snoozles still hasn't told Suck-ee. It had been four days since Suki's arrival, Toph had assumed Sokka had confessed his infidelity during the times they've disappeared.
Toph suddenly found herself in a circle of truth that had been infiltrated by liars, herself included.
With an exaggerated yawn, Sokka stood up and declared himself tired. Suki followed him to their cabin, while Aang and Katara returned respectively to theirs.
And, like so many nights before, Toph found herself alone with Zuko.
"So." Zuko broke the silence. "Are we gonna pretend like we're heading off to our own sleeping areas now, or can we just skip that?"
"I actually don't feel like it tonight, Sparky." With that, Toph left.
Back in her cabin, Toph thought back to almost four years ago, when Zuko surrendered himself to their group. How he was shunned and rejected, how she sought him out, how he had hurt her. She thought back to how she extracted her revenge—how unaware she had been that the innocent piggyback rides and foot massages would someday lead to reverse cowgirls and full body rubs. She thought back to the first she showed him affection then—by punching him in the arm during the intermission in the play at Ember Island—and how affection is exchanged between them now.
She thought back to how determined she was to have a field trip with him. And what a pathetic excuse for an excursion it was.
With newfound resolve, Toph stood up and walked over to where Zuko lay.
Pfft, she snorted internally as he pretended to be fast asleep. She sat on top of his abdomen, effectively grasping his attention.
"Wha--?" Zuko looked around, confusion lacing his voice. "Right here, Toph? You serious?"
Toph rolled her eyes. "You owe me a field trip, Sparky," she stood up, extending a hand to him. "Let's go."
-x-
"Where exactly are we going?" Zuko asked as he walked alongside Toph, whose hands rested behind her head. They had been walking for hours now aimlessly, it seemed to him, and she was doing so at a leisurely place.
She shrugged.
Zuko scratched a chunk of caked-on mud from earlier off his skin. His head was starting to itch also so he scratched it and dust eagerly fell out. He groaned in distaste.
"How ya feelin'?" Toph's voice cut through his self-loathing episode.
"Dirty," he answered shortly. "And not in the good way."
It would appear as if Toph had ignored his attempt at an icebreaker and declared, "We're here."
Zuko found himself at the edge of steep hill, overlooking a small pool that glistened under the moonlight. "It's beautiful, Toph," he heard himself murmur. He saw his companion's left leg jut out slightly and sharply pulled it back, creating a staircase for them to descend upon safely.
"Describe it to me," said Toph, not in a demanding tone, but almost a pleading one. Zuko had to hand it to her; for a blind girl (not that she was ever a typical blind girl), the scene she had discovered was breathtaking.
"There's a small pool, surrounded by rocks," he was uncertain of how to begin. "The way the moon is hitting them makes their colors contrast sharply with the deep shadows. And the way the moonlight is reflecting off the water makes it seem as though it were midnight-blue ink. And…and…" Zuko faltered, he didn't know how to describe things without color. He knew of its futility when explaining to one who has never known color. He looked over where she sat on a maroon-tinted rock with her eyes closed, as if waiting for him to continue.
"And you're beautiful." His voice was barely above a whisper.
There was a stretch of silence between the two. Toph walked over to him slowly and deliberately, and unbuttoned his shirt an event in which Zuko made no protests. He watched mutely as she opened a pouch that hung limply around her waist and removed what appeared to be cotton balls treated with ointment.
A silent hiss escaped Zuko's lips as she pressed it against a cut on his back. Almost immediately after applying pressure against the wound, she would blow on it, her breath relieving the sting.
"I've never actually treated anyone before," there was an apologetic tone in her voice.
"You're doing fine," he reassured her, steering them over to a raised, flat rock. She worked silently, and this unnerved him. Toph was never this quiet.
After tending to the major cuts in his arms, torso, and back, Toph took out some bandages and bottle of goo. "Uh…" he hesitated, not wanting to seem rude after she had just nursed his wounds. "What's that for?"
"It's for waterproof bandages." Toph answered, carefully administering them. "We need to let them air dry for a bit, though." For the life of him, Zuko couldn't fathom why he needed waterproof bandages. The fact that they were right next to a gleaming pool evaded his mind.
"Tell me what's it like to have siblings," said Toph, leaning crossed-legged against a bluish-greenish rock.
A bitter laugh came from Zuko's throat. He didn't exactly have the best relations with his sister and he told her so. "Just ask Sokka and Katara," he added.
"But I'm asking you."
"It was…" he paused, searching for the right words. "Unpleasant. Awful. Emasculating."
He looked up. There was no change in Toph's expression.
"Whenever Azula would come around, I would always be filled with this sense of dread. Not because I feared her, but because she made me feel so…inferior. She was kind of like you in a way." Zuko chuckled when Toph's eyebrows arched.
"Not the crazy sadist part. The part where you've both so adapted to your elements so naturally," he could practically taste the bitter jealousy in his voice. Even after all this time, he hasn't quite gotten over it. "Dad loved her for it, calling her his protégé. She never once hesitated to rub that part in my face. There were times when he would sneer at me, like he hoped she were his first-born."
He stopped and looked over at Toph. She had edged closer to him.
Zuko forced a cheery voice. "But we're not here to listen to my sob stories! The point of the field trips are for me to listen to you and change your life, remember?"
Toph only shrugged. "I don't have any sob stories."
"You don't?"
"I was twelve—almost thirteen—when I joined the Avatar, remember? There wasn't any of that teenage angst I had to deal with." She swung her legs at the edge of their makeshift chair. "I had a lavish home, and I had servants who attended to my every whim—well, almost. And I had loving parents."
"But you used to always say you hated them," Zuko pointed out.
"I was an angry adolescent," another careless shrug. "I guess I was too annoyed to notice that their overprotective fussiness was their way of looking out for me. They did have my best interests at heart—they just weren't my interests. They wanted to keep their one and only little girl safe, and well, I was sick of it. So I ran away, joined the Avatar, met you, battled the Fire Nation, and now here I am."
"Here you are."
"The point is," Toph straightened her back and seemed to look directly at him with her sheer eyes. It was almost like she saw right through him. "They overcompensated. Just like your father did with your sister."
Zuko was at a loss. How did their stories tie together again?
"Your father was a second child, was he not?" Her tone held the slight hint of exasperation. "He felt as though his father—Sozin, was that his name?"
"Azulon." Zuko corrected. He thought everyone knew of his bloodline, especially since the Fire Nation basically forced itself upon all the others for the past century.
"So Ozai felt Azulon favored Uncle Iroh, the older child, more. As the younger brother, he felt he was shunned and neglected, and he made sure Azula, your younger sister, never felt that way."
She was speaking slowly, as if to a child. Zuko only nodded without thoroughly understanding her.
"He overcompensated for the years of damage unknowingly inflicted upon him as the younger sibling. By making sure Azula was praised and you were overlooked, that was his way of getting back at Azulon for overlooking him always in favor of Uncle Iroh."
It struck Zuko interesting as she mentioned the names of his relatives without the titles that were normally attached to them. Except of course, for his Uncle whom they both respect.
"She used his praises as her ammunition to taunt me and get under my skin wherever she can. Sometimes, I can still hear her voice, laughing at me, taunting me as she struck me with lightning." It was painful for him to recall the final battle, both mentally and physically. It's been three years since.
"Some people call that schizophrenia."
What was she, like, sixteen, now? Since when did sixteen year olds analyze underlying patriarchal and familiar issues that ran through generations? Since when did sixteen year olds so ruthless with their tongues when their supposed friend is spilling their guts? Oh, right. He was talking to Toph.
"I used to have nightmares about that day," he confessed.
They both knew what he was talking about. The day of the final battle against his father. The day he had risked his life to save Katara from his sister's lightning.
He saw her stiffen and her lips formed a thin straight line. Was it something he said?
"I'm sorry, Toph," green eyes flickered over to his general direction. He hung his head. "I know this isn't exactly turning out into your dream life-changing-field trip."
Yet another shrug and a click of her tongue was the only response he was awarded. Zuko sighed.
He thought back to the day Aang had disappeared. He remembered how she had launched herself at him when Katara suggested everyone split up. Zuko knew how much the field trip meant to her, she was willing to open up to him with the hopes that he'd help her. Instead, he had dismissed her rudely.
Zuko edged closer to her and rested a hand on her knee. "I'm sorry I snapped at you that day."
She flashed him a careless smile and punched him on his arm. Toph stood up and walked over to the edge of the pool. "It's cold."
Zuko brushed a ginger hand over his arm and walked over to her, kneeling down on one knee and putting two fists in the water. He closed his eyes, controlled his breathing and focused, and eventually he felt the temperature rise.
"How do you tell the difference between the rocks?" Zuko had always been curious about the extent of her courtesy-of-Earthbending-sight.
"Different rocks have different compositions, different densities. Stalactites, stalagmites, diamonds, rubies, pebbles, pumice…they all have different properties in them that make them different from everything else."
"So you can 'see' the different rocks in this place by dissecting their natural composition?" The sound of rustling fabric caught his piqued his interest, but he remained still.
"When I 'saw' the variety of the rocks here, I wanted to take someone, so they can describe it to me."
Zuko smiled, even though she couldn't see it.
He opened his eyes only to be greeted by the sight of Toph's bare back wading into the water.
He saw her sigh in contentment.
Who was he to know that the little girl that had latched himself onto his arm would turn into such an attractive young woman?
Zuko undressed as quickly as he can without applying needless strain on his wounds. He was greeted with a smirk when he joined her.
"You said you used to have nightmares."
"Mhmm." Zuko didn't really want to talk about that anymore.
"When did they stop?"
Zuko tried to think back to approximate the time his nightmares ceased. He hadn't really paid any mind, he was just relieved they were gone. "About a month ago," he finally supplied.
A large grin broke into her face as Zuko felt his own heat up. Leave it to Toph to ruin a perfectly good emotional-connection moment.
"If it's any consolation, you were pretty good for you first time."
Zuko narrowed his amber eyes. Pretty good? That's it? Pfft, that's certainly not how it seemed like when he was on top of her. With a playfully vengeful smirk of his own, he took a stab in the dark, "You weren't so bad yourself."
He saw her eyes widen slightly, and that proved his theory. "That's right, I knew I was your first all along," Zuko bluffed, careful to stay afloat so she wouldn't be able to detect his lie. Truthfully, she seemed experienced, and it embarrassed him slightly that someone almost four years his junior had more experience than him. He had gotten his first kiss at sixteen!
"So? You guys have it easier anyway. All you have to do is insert your thing into the hole." The smug grin was wiped off his face. She made a hole in one hand, making the tips of her index finger and thumb touch, and inserted two fingers in between them. It was, he assumed, supposed to be a very crude phallic reference.
"Well all you had to do was lay there!" Zuko's very core, the alpha-male pride he carried, was severely damaged.
"You know for a fact that I did not just lay there." She shot back, eyes narrowed.
"And you know for a fact that I was more than just 'pretty good'!" His ego needed tending to. Immediately.
Author's Note: Hee hee. I thought that would've been a pleasant way to end the chapter. You guys can work your imaginations to figure out what Zuko does to assert his prowess. Anyway, this update is uber late, I know. I apologize! That's why this chapter is like SEVENTEEN PAGES LONG...is that enough bribery? I had just gotten this new 24" monitor and it is effin' amazing! I've been spending the last couple days doing TOKO fanart…and some of the scenes I draw pertain to the story. So the newer ones I don't post on DA because…well, I want you guys to be surprised!
I love art, you guys. So if you guys want to draw out some scenes from this story, please do so and let me know! I'd be so excited to see them. I actually feel kind of lame making fanarts for my own stories. But I digress.
Review Replies
Luv2readavatar: Man, I wish my mom were as cool as you! I want my mommy to watch cartoons with meee TTTT I'm the same age as your step-daughter, would you adopt me and have long wonderful discussions about Avatar? Haha, just kidding. :D
Shirozero: But…but that means you'll only be around until chapter six. I promise you things are gonna get exciting with Toph's world adventures and Zuko's palatial trysts. ;D Oh, and I just watched The Ember Island Players episode, and your yip yip reminded me of the woman who played Aang.
Blz1990: Well here's the newest installment, I hope you've enjoyed it!
Kouu Hissori: Tee hee. I hate how there's no space for prologues, it just goes straight to chapters. I'm glad you enjoyed those scenes, though, on chapter four…which is technically chapter three. And I cut the scene last chapter because, well, I didn't want this fic to turn out like into one of those fics where all it is is about the couple getting it on like wild rabbits in heat. This story is more of their transition from that to…well, we'll see, I guess!
Party in the Afterlife: Haha, sorry. I guess the super quick update last week makes up for this late update? Yes? And of course Toph would tease Zuko, she'd be a fool not to. And she got her chance this chapter. And she bruised his ego.
Lazyguy90: "Keep up the awesome" I was so thrilled when I read that. Because I say it a lot. Anyway, thanks, and I will try, and I hope you keep getting entertained by Zuko and Toph's sorta relationship.
LaCristina: I'd love to hear your thoughts about the story as it progresses. As for their pseudo-relationships, I could imagine it to be kind of fun, however, I don't think I'll ever find myself in one. Yup, I'm one of those people who needs deep emotions for someone before going there. And besides, before engaging in such an act, I'd kindly ask them to get tested first, and I don't think I can impose that on someone who's not emotionally invested with me. But thank you for offering your help, one of these days I just might need it!
Frosted Cupcake: The scene was originally like that, them just sleeping. But that would've been way too fast for my liking, and I am determined to make them suffer in their ignorance for as long as I can, mwahahaha.
Anti Zutara: Oh, Toph's a hottie. She won't have a problem getting someone new. ;)
Liooness: I find romance so hard to write because…it's so different for so many people! I mean, there are similarities, and that's what clichés are from, but I try to stay away from those. Besides, it's not like I've had the most romantic men in my life to base Zuko's courtship on. But the lack of it has made my imagination pretty wild. You and your hubby's relationship, from what I've gathered, is really cute, by the way.
Animefreak03: Haha, yeah, I had to move it here, or else it would be violating the guidelines. Xd
Avatargirl92: There is nothing wrong with nerds! If someone tells you otherwise, shove a boulder into their face! And if you can't earthbend, well, I'm sure you can find other ways!
Mlkcoolc86: As you can see from this chapter, the two did not get caught. Wonder how long they'd be able to keep the charade up?
YumKiwiDelicious: Glad you think so. And I updated as quickly as my lethargic self allowed me, haha.
Forever: Che, a relationship like theirs is bound for trouble, and the possibilities are endless!
shikaruTo: I was just playing that Naruto Wii game tonight, and I used Shikamaru maybe once or twice. He needs better jutsus. Or I just need to play him better. Anyway, I realize that your name might have absolutely nothing to do with Naruto, but it was the first thing that came to my sleep deprived mind. It's almost 3am here.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!
Stay tuned for more, a couple more chapters, and things will get really interesting…!
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Thank youuuu!