Toph Love

Toph doesn't knock. Doors open for her.

"Katara!" she yelled as the suite's double doors jumped apart.

"What the—?" The Waterbender shot up from her seat where she'd been reading. "Toph? What are you doing here?"

"Listen up," she said, ignoring the pleasantries. "I have a message to deliver, and I want to get it over with because I've got other things to do, other people to see…and by see I mean feel up. Zing!" She grinned.

"Nice to see you, too." Katara straightened her mussed-up appearance, regardless of what the Earthbender could and couldn't see.

Toph stomped her foot and produced a marble stool upon which she perched her pert little bottom.

Wincing, Katara suddenly remembered how hard the palace staff had to work whenever the master Earthbender visited. She made furniture everywhere she went out of whatever metal, earth or stone was around. One time, servants had spent nearly a week chipping away at a living room set she'd erected in her quarters and forgotten to sink back into the marble floor from whence it'd come.

The palace architects and engineers especially hated Toph with the passion of a million suns. Such was her disregard for the palace's structural integrity that an ill-placed ottoman was in danger of collapsing a whole wing. It was only because she was a revered hero of the land that they abstained from putting down hardwood flooring.

That, and the whole Firebending thing…

Well, at least she wasn't Bumi. The royal liked to make random and distastefully suggestive knobs protrude from the walls from which he could hang his outlandish outerwear.

"Okay, here goes." Toph took a deep breath and started counting off on her fingers.

"One: Zuko's unhappy. He wants a kid. And he says you're not putting out."

Katara's jaw swung open in outrage. "What! That little—"

Toph cut her off. "Let's not start a name-calling war before we look at this thing head-on." She folded her arms across her chest. "Look, we all know Zuko's not the brightest flame in the fountain. Otherwise he'd have talked to you about all this baby business by now.

"The thing is, he doesn't know how to talk to you about it. He always goes rushing into things without really thinking them through, you know that."

"Rushing is a good word to use," Katara said bitterly.

"He's going crazy without you," Toph said sincerely. "He misses being with you."

The Waterbender huffed, "Well, he hasn't exactly demonstrated it."

"And how is he supposed to do that when you won't even see him?"

Katara shifted from foot to foot uneasily, eyes averted.

"He's been seeking advice from all four corners of the world. Hell, he was even talking to Haru, and you know the boy ain't right. I should know." She flexed her hands, knuckles popping. "Zuko wants your marriage to work. And he wants you to have his babies. He wants a family, Katara. Have you even talked about it together?"

The Waterbending master hugged herself and mumbled, "A few times."

"Good. That's a start." Toph checked that important point off and went on to the next. "Okay, two: You have to stop being a child and hiding out in your room when things get huffy between you and hubby."

Katara protested, "Now that's not fair—"

"Sister, life's not fair. You're the Fire Lady. Start acting like one." Toph ungraciously picked her nose and flicked her dug up treasure away. "And I don't mean put on airs and graces and all that phony crap. Remember how you used to be the sugar queen? Remember how you wanted to talk out every little thing because you were trying to be understanding, trying to get it all out in the open, trying to deal with it?"

"Well…yeah…but—"

"Where is she? Where's that Katara I used to know?" Toph jumped to her feet and stomped up to her. "You used to be tough as nails." She poked her in the chest. "You used to fight for the things you wanted. What happened?"

Katara bit her lip. "Toph, you don't understand…"

"I do understand. Katara, You know, I spent my most of my life cloistered and hidden away by my parents. I was given every privilege money could afford except for the one thing I wanted most: freedom. And here you are, the frickin' queen of the world, with the world at your fingertips and every means by which to reach out and take it. And all you're doing is sitting in your room and sulking. You've made a prison all on your own!"

Toph's anger was like a boulder rolling down a steep cliff—you'd get flattened if you tried to stand in its path.

She went on, "I might be blind, but you know what I see? I see a scared little girl who won't face her feelings or her fears. I see my friend who got married and a year later, she's so afraid of her husband and her new life she won't even come out to play."

The Water Tribe woman—for she was a true woman now—looked away, ashamed. Softly she said, "Toph, it's hard here. It's hard being the Fire Lady, even in this time of peace and prosperity. I have all kinds of friends and family—Aang visits a lot, Sokka's here. I've even made friends with Ty Lee."

Toph made a sour face and muttered, "Ugh. Pinky."

"But there are just so many expectations. So many people watching me. Everything I do…I'm afraid I'll do it wrong. It's not like when we were trying to save the world, you know? That was a secret mission compared to all this." She gestured all around her, her arm sweeping around to encompass the Fire Lady's opulent suite, the decadent capitol city, and the lush Fire Nation landscape spread out beyond the royal balcony.

"Uh, blind?" Toph piped up, waving a hand in front of her face. "If you're pointing at something…?"

"I meant all of this luxury, this place, the people, the power…" She expelled a breath. "All I ever wanted to be was a master Waterbender. I mean, I always knew I wanted to be a mom, too, the best mom ever…but the pressure…" She grimaced, then sighed. "Toph, we tried. We really did. But the expectation…the stress…my body just won't…" Tears filled her eyes, but didn't fall.

"Oh." Toph's brow softened. "Oh. Gee. Um…" The Earthbender rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly remembering the issue of Fadmon she'd been carrying around. She herself had been surreptitiously peeping in on her friends' lives through a sheet of paper, inadvertently adding to Katara's stress. "I came down kinda hard on you then, didn't I?"

"A little."

"Oh." She reddened. "Well. Don't I feel dumb." She coughed. "And here I was trying to be funny. You know, in the 'oh, gods, that hurts' kinda way."

Katara smiled wryly. "You were still that."

Toph smiled lopsidedly, accepting her friend's forgiveness. "Cool."

They stood together awkwardly.

"You still need to talk about it with Zuko, though."

"Can I tell you something?" Katara said suddenly. "I mean, you have to promise not to tell anyone else."

"C'mon, sugar queen, you know that's not going to happen. I lock up my secrets in a wood box. By which I mean coffin. Zing!"

Still wondering who this Zing person was, Katara took Toph's hands and sat her friend down. "Zuko's…well…" She hesitated, searching for a word.

"Terrible in bed? Smells funny? Kisses like a donkey-bat?" Toph supplied.

"Hot." Katara fanned herself, her eyes going hazy. "No, seriously, hot. As in, when he gets near, I burn up."

"Eew!" Toph recoiled.

"But that's more than half the problem," Katara explained. "I mean, in addition to the stress. With all that heat, I can't…that is, my, um…it won't…get…" She shrugged, eyes darting downward, trying to coax the meaning out of Toph, who again frowned.

"Hello? Blind? Can't see!"

"Down there," Katara whispered, then hid her face in mortification.

"Oh, gross!" Toph stood, throwing her hands up. "Really, I mean, I can talk to Azula about this stuff because she's au natural about it, but you…you're so…so pure."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to talk to, and Azula…she's so frank. And this is about her brother."

The Earthbender let out a long sigh. "Look, sex is a natural thing. It's a process. We're all here because our parents had sex. It's a fact of life. Period. You don't need to treat it like it's terrible and immoral. Geez, why is it always about sex with you?"

"You just called me 'pure' and shunned me for talking about my so-called 'natural' bodily functions."

"That's becauseyou're being squeamish." She made a noise of frustration. "Okay, look. You and Zuko, your husband, who knows you intimately, should be able to talk this out together. I know it sounds crazy, but give it a shot, okay?"

"But that's the problem. We can't talk about it. It's too embarrassing for both of us because…because…"

"You're both too proud to admit something's wrong between you." Toph shook her head, rubbing her face tiredly.

Katara crossed her arms mulishly. "You're not married. You don't understand."

"And they call Earthbending bitter work? Pfft. Please." She stalked about the room. "No one said marriage is easy, sugar queen. Mastering bending's a snap compared to keeping up a lifelong relationship. You can't just click your heels together and expect everything to go your way and be all happily ever after. I mean, what fun would life be otherwise?"

Her shoulders slumped. "I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right." Toph walked toward her. "Just…talk to him, okay? Promise me you'll do that right away."

"Yeah. Okay. I will."

She started to leave, then paused in the doorway. "Prep a nice bubble bath for two by candlelight this evening. Feed each other fruit and chocolate. That should help with your…other problems...down…there… Ick." She stuck her tongue out. "Sorry, I can't help it. It might be natural, but I can't think of you and Zuko without thinking about water stains and burn marks on the sheets."

Katara stared at the girl, barely sixteen years of age. "Uh, Toph? Do I want to know how you know about all this…?"

"Like I said," Toph grinned again, "ask Azula. She's not just a perfectionist when it comes to Firebending."

And with that, the greatest Earthbender went to seek out her friend.