If Only He Saw

Toph hated the song now broadcasting over the message pipes so much, that when Zuko marched in to the little dojo-room whistling that rather silly 'Little Temptress' song from earlier, it was almost a relief. Granted, the Fire Lord's whistling definitely needed some practice, but his choice at least couldn't possibly apply to Toph (although imaginging the ways it could was a fun if discomforting exercise). The twelve-year-old Earthbender was just positively sick of hearing a Kyoshi Warrior with a mournful voice lament the man whose gaze never turned to her, because it was ever drawn to a horizon that she could never compete with, giving the singer cause to wonder if the man even knew she was alive. It didn't completely apply to Toph, and the Kyoshi girl likely wasn't actually singing from the heart, but the lyrics were still driving Toph up a wall.

As rare as a good mood was for Zuko, especially since they met up again aboard The White Dragon, Toph smirked and decided that her own happiness had priority. "Katara's bath was that much fun, huh?"

Zuko stopped his whistling abruptly. "That reminds me, I owe you some payback for that announcement you made about her request for help."

Toph shrugged. "Go ahead and shoot fire at me. I could use the exercise, especially with no Earth to bend up here. It's good to keep my metal-munching skills in practice, but even my fingers need a break every now and then."

"You don't mind dodging?"

"Just keep it slow. I can practice my footwork."

"Fair enough." Zuko took a stance with one fist held forward like a weapon, and the other held ready above his head. "Just give me the word."

Toph crouched and brought her hands up in her signature fighting style. "Go for it, Sparky." A jet of flame exploded from Zuko's fist, and Toph felt heat wash over her as she neatly sidestepped the fireball. They continued that way for a while, neither one feeling the need to bother with taunts or conversation. Toph enjoyed the opportunity to focus, senses extended as intensely as the metal environment would allow, moving efficiently and with purpose. Zuko was perhaps making it a bit too easy for her, but she understood his caution, and to tell the truth, Toph already had too much of experience fighting for her life against Firebenders.

She would probably be doing it again all too soon.

The peril of simplicity, though, is that it fails to fully engage the mind. After a while, Toph actually found her thoughts wandering, which could be a great danger in and of itself. Even worse, her movements had unconsciously fallen into step of that song, which was still playing over the pipes. As the lyrics to 'If Only He Saw' moved on to a new verse, Toph lamented allowing Iroh not only to proceed with his annoying little morale-booster, but not stopping him when he decided to have each singer recite their song three times for maximum impact. The Earthbender dodged the next fireball, and called out. "Hold! I need a break."

Zuko immediately backed down. "Really? You seem like the least tired of everyone on the ship."

"Yeah, well, I was getting distracted. Babysitting you pansies takes a lot of mental effort."

"Yeah, you have seemed a little off," the Fire Lord offered innocently. "Seeing Sokka so messed up must have been tough for you."

What exactly did he mean by that? "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Um? Nothing? We all... oh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

Toph felt a grimace twist her face. Was she that obvious, or had the stupid music given him ideas? "My question stands, He With His Foot in His Mouth, and you should apply it to what you just said, too. Just like I'm going to apply my elbow to your face if you don't answer."

Zuko actually raised a hand to scratch his hair self-consciously. "I didn't realize. I mean, I knew you liked Sokka, but I didn't put together until now that you... well, I've been there, and I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you."

Toph sighed. "You know you're the only one for me, Hot Stuff. Even if Katara is more forward about it."

Zuko, of course, couldn't be counted on to get the joke. "Katara didn't mean it that way! At least she didn't grab me and drag me along on a therapy session!"

"Yeah? Well, you could have a little nicer about it! Argh, what is with you oblivious guys? Are you all just made this way, or did you all just catch it from Katara?"

To Toph surprise, Zuko actually laughed. The guy who was maimed by his father, exiled from his home, hunted by his sister, and chose to betray everything he once believed in to side with the forces of good and save the world, and had now had discovered his wife was kidnapped (she got better) and his kingdom had possibly been stolen by that same evil father... was laughing like a kid at a crude joke. When he caught his breath, he said, "She was pretty oblivious for a while, huh?"

Toph couldn't help but grin. "You saw it? Man, it must have been obvious."

"Hey," he sputtered, "I'm not that oblivious. I kind of knew Mai had a little crush on me, eventually, and you were so obvious that you had me blushing. And I never blush. Oh... are you still... with me?"

"Nah, I think that was a 'new older guy' thing." Toph sighed and decided to plunge ahead. It could hardly get any worse, at this point. "Sokka... turned out to be more permanent. He was before you, you know."

"I didn't know you back then, so no, I never picked up on it. But Aang and Katara," Zuko laughed, "were so obvious that I picked up on it when I was chasing them. I actually thought they were together, for a while, like they are now."

Toph turned to face Zuko, for the first time during the conversation. "So... you actually picked up a lot about crushes, huh?"

"...what?"

"Well, you and Mai shared one, and now you're getting married." Toph felt Zuko smile at that. Dork. "And you saw Aang and Katara's ups and downs, and you had to deal with me and my need for attention. And I hope you have a few more girls in your past, or that would just be sad of you. So, you've seen quite a bit of this, for a hopeless dork."

"Honestly," Zuko ran his hand through his hair again, "I wouldn't say I'm an expert or anything. I mean, even now, Mai can make me feel like... well, a hopeless dork, and she was the one to... initiate things. I just... go with what I feel."

"Oh. Well, that's all right, I didn't figure you'd be too smart anyway. My situation is kind of different from what you've seen."

"Toph." The Fire Lord crouched down and put a hand awkwardly on her shoulder. "I know, maybe now more than ever, that life is full of ups and downs. No matter what, we all fail at a lot of what we try to do. Uncle says we all have a destiny, but I've never been able to see it, even when I've been on the right path. All I can do is follow my inner fire... my heart... and walk the path with Honor. Maybe things won't work out for you, maybe they will, but in ways you won't necessarily like at first, and maybe a happy landing will fall in your lap. You're strong, and no matter how much you hurt, you'll always survive to reach a better time and place. You get it?"

Before Toph could answer, the singing stopped. "Yeah, I get it. You know, I don't know why Sokka calls you a dummy, you can kind of be pretty wise at times."

"Thanks." He smiled. Then he frowned. "...wait..."

Toph pushed his hand off her shoulder. "At least that stupid song is done."

"What song? I wasn't really listening."

"Typical. Time to dodge, Sparky, I feel the need to bend some Metal coming on!"

To Be Continued...