Chapter 3

Toph

Toph awoke to find herself in a luxurious king sized bed. The blankets that were on the bed were a deep burgundy, with intricate black and gold embroidery patterned into it.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up stretching, her elbows cracking slightly as she stretched her arms above her head. She was feeling so much better,

"Glad to see you're finally awake M'lady," She heard Cho's voice come from across the room,

"How long have I been out?" Toph asked, yawning in mid-sentence,

"Quite a few hours M'lady, I didn't want to wake you up and nor did Firelord Zuko, so he had you carried from the palenkey to here," Cho responded, coming over to help Toph out of bed. Toph groaned at the fact that she had been carried to her room, she must've looked so attractive completely dead to the world, then she rolled her pale green, unseeing eyes,

"Cho, its Toph remember, just plain old normal Toph," She stated, giving her a warm smile as Cho apologised quietly. Toph sighed then hugged the petite framed, auburn haired girl, which caught her a little by surprise, since Toph really wasn't the type of person to just give out hugs.

"Now then," Toph said, stepping back,

"Oh, Firelord Zuko wishes to see you, he wanted me to tell you as soon as you woke up," Cho said, as she suddenly remembered. Toph just gave a small nod, a little distracted as she felt what she was wearing. A short light green nightie, with lace round the hem and the straps. Her back was exposed to the cool air, except for the few straps that criss-crossed, like the back of a corset.

"Cho…Why am I wearing this?" She asked, running her fingers over the lace on the straps. She had only worn this nightie once, as it had been a gift from Haru for one of her birthdays, and since he had been staying at her house that night instead of travelling back after the party she had had, he had insisted for her to try it on, so to be polite, she did, but she didn't really know why it had been packed for this trip.

"Sorry…Toph," She said a little unsurely,

"It was the first thing to hand when I was unpacking, and I didn't want you to wake up in the same things that you had been travelling in."

Toph nodded the shrugged. She didn't really care what she was wearing, but she wasn't all too fond of lace. She stretched again then decided to change the subject,

"So… Zuko wants to see me?" She asked just to make sure. Cho nodded, but replied with a 'yes' just in case Toph didn't catch her nod, but Toph did, and it only dawned upon her in that instant, that the entire room she was staying in was made of earth.

Zuko had specially requested that the room Toph would be staying in had a stone floor, with no rugs or carpet to cover it, and that the furniture in the room be made of either metal or earth as well. She noted that to the left side of the room was a small extension of flooring, so she guessed it must've been a balcony, which indeed it was, overlooking the courtyard below which was filled with blossom trees.

Toph smiled to herself then walked over to the set of metal drawers. She delicately traced her finger over the patterned detail, swirls twisting up the side, like ivy as it grew and twisted up and round a tree trunk. She then went back to the four poster bed she had been sleeping on, running her fingers over the small metal flowers that covered the posts and top of the footer of the bed, she assumed they also covered the top of the headboard as well.

"The Firelord had everything specially made just in time for your arrival, it's surprising how much they managed to get done in such a short space of time," Cho said as she watched Toph move from the bed and feel what other furniture was in the room. A small stone bench situated on the left side of the room, next to the entrance of the balcony, and a vanity with a chair settled in front of it, both made from metal and earth.

Zuko had had a set of Badger moles crafted into the vanity above the mirror, something he thought Toph might like to say he still remembered the good old times they spent together, and the stories about her past that she had told him.

Once her satisfied inspection of the room was complete, she turned to face Cho,

"So, am I seeing Zuko in this?" She asked, gesturing to her short nightie,

"Or have the rest of my clothes managed to make it out of the luggage yet?" She asked grinning. Cho was used to Toph's sarcasm, so she just rolled her eyes then made her way to the chair in front of the vanity, where she had neatly placed some folded clothes for Toph, for when she woke up. She delicately picked them up and bought them over to where Toph was,

"Do you want to wear the dress today, or would you like your sparring clothes?" She asked Toph, separating the two different items of clothing and holding them in each hand. Toph thought for a moment, tapping her finger against her rosy lips,

"Hmm…The dress…If Sparky wants to spar I'm all for it, I can beat him any day no matter what I'm wearing," She laughed. Cho just rolled her eyes again, muttering under her breath that it's be yet another dress she'd either have to replace or fix, before helping Toph change.

Zuko

Zuko was sat in the dining room, holding a cup of steaming hot lotus flower tea, his hand shaking ever so slightly. He always got nervous on this day, when the people of the Fire nation held a festival in remembrance of Zuko's coronation and the end of the 100 year long war. Not that he didn't enjoy the festival, in truth he loved it, but he just hated making speeches, especially in front of thousands of people. It relaxed him a little, knowing that Toph was going to be there with him. His heart skipped a beat when he thought of her. After seeing her yesterday, after the amount of time that they had been apart and hadn't seen each other, all the letters that they had sent to keep in touch, his feelings towards her had changed. He had always liked her, not long after he had joined the group all those years ago. She was the first one to give him a chance; someone that he could open up to whenever he was down and things were bad. She would listen to him, give him advice when the others were too busy, and she didn't really care about him having a status, to her he was just Zuko.

He liked how she was different to the others; she didn't care what she looked like, or what anyone else thought about her, although he did have to get used to her stubborn and bluntness, but once he had, he found it quite funny and refreshing, as opposed to Katara's constant motherliness, and the others sometimes childlike behaviour.

He hadn't really thought of her as anything other than a good friend, considering back then he had Mai as a girlfriend, until he couldn't take anymore of her, but after yesterday and the way his heart stuttered after seeing her, he was beginning to rethink things. He was too deep in thought that he hadn't realised that Toph had come into the room, and was stood right behind him, that was of course until Toph flicked him in the back of the head with a loud 'Mornin' Sparky!'

He jumped, the tea that he was holding spilling a little and burning his hand, before putting the cup down. He then turned, rubbing the back of his head where she had flicked him, to see Toph grinning down at him.

"Good morning Toph, you're looking much better," He said, noting the colour in her cheeks, and the bags that had been under her eyes having completely disappeared,

"I'm actually surprised to see that you're up this early in the morning, I didn't expect to see you until about mid-day, that is unless you let Cho drag you out of bed of course," He said to he jokily remembering that that's how she was in the good old days, earning him a frown in response. He grinned then frowned as messed up his hair,

"Hey, that took me half an hour to do this morning," He sighed trying to fix it again,

"Aww, don't worry, I think you look great just how you are," She smiled at him and he was about to thank her before he stopped himself, realising the sarcasm. Toph just laughed then moved to the side so she could sit on the side of the table by him, since he was sat at the head of it.

Zuko noted what she was wearing. A pale green dress, which complimented the colour of her sightless eyes, with deep green embroidery around the décolletage and cuffs of the sleeves. Her hair was tied back in another complicated style with a few small white flowers to hold pieces in place.

"Speaking of which, may I say that you look lovely this morning Lady Toph," He said with a smile as she sat down. She narrowed her eyes in his direction,

"What's with all the 'Lady' Stuff? Do I need to tell you as well, it's just Toph, I mean c'mon sparky you of all people should know that," She stated a little sourly, her lips pouting a bit. She really just wanted to be Toph.

She had detected Zuko's heart stammer a little again when he had gone quiet just before he spoke before, much like it had done the day before when he had been carrying her, and she found the way that he had been acting around her since she had arrived, wasn't like him at all.

"I'm sorry," He apologised

"It's just being Firelord, I've gotten used to addressing and having to call people by their status, such as yourself being a Lady, it's been that way for as long as I can remember," He told her, picking up his tea again and sipping it,

"Well just call me Toph, if anyone has a problem with it, then they'll have me to deal with," She stated bluntly. Zuko just smiled putting his tea down, before proceeding to pour a cup for Toph and setting it down on the table in front of her. The table and floor beneath Toph's feet were metal, so was the chair that she was sat on, apart from the soft cushion, so it wasn't that uncomfortable to sit on, so she could feel everything that was going on.

She thanked him, picking up the cup of tea and blowing on it before delicately sipping it, Zuko watched for a bit smiling,

"I see that your manners have improved a lot in these past years," He grinned, laughing at the somewhat expression he received from Toph, before he went back to trying to sort his hair out. He wasn't really good at that sort of thing in the first place, which is why it had taken him so long to get it looking decent, with the traditional Top Knot and Firelords hairpin, in the first place. He sighed when he couldn't get it right and decided to leave it.

"You're gonna pay for messing up my hair y'know," He said as he looked at Toph. She raised an eyebrow taking another sip of her tea, before placing her cup back down on the table gently,

"Is that so?" She questioned, a grin appearing on her lips,

"It's been a while since we sparred with each other matches, it'll be interesting to see how much you've slipped," She added, her grin widening. Zuko placed his hands in front of him on the table, leaning in a little closer towards Toph,

"So, you think that the Firelord won't be able to beat you, the great Blind Bandit, in a sparring match?" He asked intrigued, his liquid golden eyes glinting. Toph chuckled a little at having been called the Blind Bandit, she hadn't been called that in a very long time, then her grin turned into an innocent smile,

"That's exactly what I think, I could beat you with my hands tied behind my back in exactly what I'm wearing right now," She emphasised her point with a small twist of her foot, sending a metal snake from the floor beneath Zuko's feet, to curl around his right ankle, preventing him from moving it. Another small twist caused it to tighten.

"I must say that does sound interesting … D'you want to test that theory?" He asked, giving a mischievous smirk as he reached his hand down to the base of the snake, grasping it between his thumb and forefinger. In less than 5 seconds he had melted the metal, separating the part round his ankle from its base.

"Impressive sparky, but you're gonna have to do better then that if you have any intention of beating me." Zuko grinned then stood,

"Well, if we're going to spar, may I suggest that we do it outside, I'm not sure my servants would be best pleased with me if we sparred inside and messed the place up." Toph nodded in agreement as she stood.

She followed Zuko out into the courtyard he trained in. she had been here once before on a previous visit, but at that time it had been under construction, waiting to be finished. She stretched her senses in the ground throughout the entire courtyard, picking up each and every detail, how many blossom tree's that there were, the six stone benches situated in various places around the courtyard, and the small pond that was located by one of the walls of the palace, and also Zuko, as he stood by one of the benches, taking off his boots and top robe, leaving him clad in his black pants and loose white shirt, then he looked at her,

"Like it?" He asked, moving to stand beside her, she nodded then grinned,

"I'll try not to damage it too much whilst I'm kicking your ass, but I can't make any promises." She heard Zuko laugh, then was taken by surprise as he quickly but gently took her wrists in his hands, before moving them behind her back and binding them there. He made sure that he had gotten robe and not metal cuffs, so that she wouldn't be able to bend herself free,

"What the … ?" She exclaimed a little shocked as Zuko lead her into he middle of the earthen courtyard,

"Well unless I'm mistaken, I do recall you saying that you could beat me, and I quote; "With my hands tied behind my back, in exactly what I'm wearing right now," Unless that is you were just saying that, and you really can't," He grinned taking a few steps away from her as she smirked and blew the bangs from her face,

"Don't get so cocky, of course I can beat you, to be fair, I don't think I've ever not beaten you once in the spar's that we've had together," A delicate smirk graced her primrose lips as Zuko got into his stance grinning,

"Well, there's always a first time isn't there." Toph just huffed in response and got into her own stance. Zuko took one step towards her, sensing his movements through the vibrations he let off, she lifted her right heel off the ground, slid her foot back towards her, before stomping her heel into the earth, just as Zuko put his foot down, encasing both of his feet in earth. He lost his balance, falling forwards onto one of his hands, which Toph immediately encased in earth like his feet.

"Aww, it is over already?" She asked sarcastically,

"I thought you'd do better and put up more of a fight, that wasn't even like one of my morning workouts Sparky," She added grinning, standing from her stance. She walked towards him smiling sweetly, yet Zuko could tell that it was a little sarcastic. He watched her as she came closer until she was stood right in front of him.

"Well, I guess you were right. The blind bandit can indeed beat the Firelord…." Zuko said shrugging his shoulders a little,

"That is of course if the Firelord decided to quit now," He smirked at Toph's confused expression,

"What in the world can you possibly do like that?" She asked,

"This!" He replied almost immediately, as Toph finished her sentence, and at that instant the rock encasing his feet and hands blew off them, scattering small shards of earth across the courtyard, then before she even had time to make another move, Zuko stood, wrapped his left arm around Toph's slender waist, pulled her back so that if he let go she would fall flat on her back, and held a ball of flames by her face in the palm of his right hand.

"Now then blind bandit, I suggest no sudden movements or you might have the unfortunate accident of getting burnt," Zuko grinned. Toph only smiled as he made the flames a little bigger to emphasise his point.

"Wow Sparky, I can feel the heat off that one, but I didn't think that twinkle toes had been giving you dancing lessons," She laughed. Zuko was a little confused, but then realised that the way he was holding her could be mistaken for a dancing move, (Minus the fire and the rope binding Toph's wrists).

"As a matter of fact, I'm a rather good dancer, since my uncle insisted on hiring me a dancing teacher, saying that all Firelords need to know how to dance," Toph laughed as Zuko grimaced, remembering all of those painful lessons,

"I didn't realise you've gone soft, the Zuko I know would never dance, you were always such a wall fly at social occasions, Ah well guess this just means I'm gonna have to toughen you back up, back to the old Zuko again." She stomped her foot sending a pillar of earth between her and Zuko to separate them, then jumped backwards to create a bit of distance.

Once the dust had settled they spent the next fifteen minutes in a fast paced spar, evading each others attacks, Toph being too stubborn to use her earth bending to cut the ropes binding her wrists together, in order to help with her bending.

By the end of the fifteen minutes the both of them were covered in dirt, the bottom of Toph's dress had been ripped off, leaving it to come just below her knees. Zuko had discarded his ripped shirt, and they were both breathing heavily, and both covered in sweat. Toph had Zuko's legs encased in vines of earth that snaked up to his waist, with small spikes on the inside of them, threatening to penetrate his legs, whilst Zuko had one of his arms around Toph's waist again, her back pressed right against his chest so that she couldn't bend a pillar or earth between them again, and his other hand by her face, a flame shaped dagger by her neck, coming from two of his fingers.

The elaborate way in which Cho had tied Toph's hair up, had become lose, and stray strands fell into her face,

"Well…I gotta admit Sparky….I'm impressed," She panted, catching her breath. Zuko chuckled in her ear,

"Well…. I am the Firelord after all," He replied, just as out of breath as she was,

"Shall we call this a draw?" He asked her softly,

"We seemed to have gathered quite an audience," He added, darting his eyes around the courtyard to see some of the servants that had come to watch,

"You only just noticed?" she asked with a grin, since she had sensed them arrive a while ago, he just smirked,

"Yep, cause unlike you, my eyes are in my head and not in my feet," He replied. Toph just laughed, then blew the stray strands of lose hair from her face.

"Well Sparky, I'm sure you've got lots to do before the festival tonight, that includes having a bath, so, a draw it is, but, next time I won't take it so easy on you," She stated, pausing in parts to create more emphasis into what she was saying, all with a smirk gracing her lips. She retracted the vines of earth from Zuko, ending them back into the ground beneath them, creating a small amount of dust to swirl around their feet.

Although Toph had been quite comfortable with the way that they had been standing, enjoying the warmth that radiated from Zuko, for reasons unbeknown to her, she didn't want people watching to get the wrong idea about them. Zuko though, hesitated to remove his arms from around Toph, although he did let the dagger shaped flame die away. Toph felt his heart rate steadily increasing, both through the vibrations he was letting off, and because she could feel his heart beating against her back, since it was pressed right against his chest.

"You can let go now Sparky," Toph said. Zuko blinked a couple of times before reluctantly moving his arms from around her,

"S-sorry," He stuttered,

"Something wrong?" She asked turning to face him,

"Your heart rate's been all over the place for these past couple of days, just like it is now." Zuko felt his cheeks flush a deep shade of red, he had forgotten all about how Toph could sense heart rates with her 'Abilities',

"Oh, yeah…No, I'm…Great, nothings wrong, guess I'm just nervous about tonight, anyway, Wow! Look at the time, lots to do, things to prepare, y'know, see you," Zuko stammered, before quickly exiting the courtyard to go to his chambers, leaving a very dumbstruck Toph to wonder what the hell was wrong with him.

Hey Readers ^^ Gah I'm getting really bad with my updates, especially with my other story, but i'm not quite sure where to go with that anymore D:, And the fact that I don't have windows, so i have to upload it from a different computer doesn't really help, Plus with all my work i find it rally difficult to get the time to write nowadays v.v But i'm trying to be as quick as i can, even if it takes ages -.- Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, and i apologise in advance for the probably really late update, also with my other story, not sure when the next chapter of that will be updated, sorry again D: