The light inside of the house was dim. Needless to say the decor was minimalistic. After all, why would a blind girl need decoration? Zuko examined the structure. Columns lined the doorways, and at the place where the wall met the ceiling, there was a careful carving. He always took a moment to admire it.
"Who made this house?" Zuko asked. Though he came here often and admired the carvings every time, he never asked about the architect.
"I did," said Toph, with pride. "Since none of you visit me except for the third Wednesday of the month, I had to get some kind of hobby."
"Wow," Zuko breathed. "I still have that drawing you made, back from when the war ended. Your skills have certainly improved."
"You do?" Toph asked.
"I- yes, of course," the Firelord stammered. He had kept Toph's drawing in a drawer beneath his large royal bed. Of course he hadn't thrown it away.
"Weird," she said blandly. His eyes quickly darted over to Katara and Aang, who had suspiciously blank expressions.
"Yes, so, onto the game," Zuko said, changing the subject. "What are we playing tonight? Uncle has taught me new moves in Pai Sho."
"No way," Sokka said suddenly. "We're not playing that boring game again. We're playing truth or dare."
Zuko shut his eyes tight. He had always hated this game. He played it with Azula as a child, and the outcomes were either something embarrassing or something overly personal. But these were the people he considered to be friends. What's the worst that could happen among the small group of five?
The Gaang sat on the ground in a circle. Clockwise, the order went Toph, Sokka, Aang, Zuko, Katara. Aang held up his hand to hush the idle chatter. "I'm going to use an ancient Airbending technique to pick who will go first." He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling slowly and letting the breath out through his mouth. Tranquilly, he raised his arm and pointed at each person individually.
"Eenie, meenie, minie, mo," he said in a serious tone. The group exchanged smiles, but allowed the boy to do his 'ancient' technique. Katara was chosen to go first. She hesitated for a moment before confidently asking Aang the obvious question.
To which he replied, "Truth."
"Why do you love me?"
"Because you're the most beautiful, perfect girl I've ever met," he said honestly. A gagging sound came from across the room as Toph clutched at her throat and feigned convulsions. Sokka laughed, but Zuko found himself uneasy.
"Okay," Katara said, blushing slightly. "Toph, you're next."
She stared at the wall. Her eyes, a mixture of grey and green fog, betrayed no inclination of what would happen next. "Katara," Toph said, "you want truth or dare?"
"Dare," she said, refusing to be intimidated by the smaller girl.
"Go into the kitchen and get the jar of spicy peppers and eat one without drinking anything," she said. Katara was one of those people who can't handle spicy food in any quantity. The Waterbender scowled and left the room to rummage around for the peppers. She came back a few minutes later holding the smallest pepper she could find. Grimacing, she dropped it into her mouth. Her face went from a stoic resolution to pure regret. Katara quickly swallowed the dare and sat back down, mouth open to try to cool the fire that was burning in her mouth.
Sokka had a strange look on his face. He turned to the Firelord. "Truth or dare," he asked, his voice like silk. Zuko paused and thought for a moment. Neither option was preferable. He really did hate this game. In the end, he decided that a dare would be a momentary embarrassment while truth could come back to haunt him.
"I dare you to kiss Toph," Sokka said.