-Apologies-
Zuko knocked on the heavy door and waited for someone to open it. He'd been waiting for a while now and was sick of it. Zuko was always impatient. "Hey!" the voice who opened the door said to him.
He pulled her into a hug, "Hey Toph! How are you feeling?"
"Fine, fine," she said, ushering him inside.
"Where's Sokka?"
"At the store," she said, sitting down on the couch and sprawling out completely.
Zuko sat on the floor directly in front of the couch, his head resting on Toph's abdomen.
"He should be back soon, he left twenty minutes ago." Toph looked at Zuko, "What's wrong, Sparky?"
"Nothing," he lied.
"Is it Yori?" she asked.
He rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Sokka told me what happened at the bar. Damn it, I wish I had been there."
Laughter bubbled up inside him, but he bit his lip until it was gone. "We had lunch today."
"And?" she asked, playing with his hair.
"There's backstory that you need to understand first before it makes sense, which is why I came here to talk to Sokka."
Toph hit him in the head. "You're a jerk."
"The story would take twice as long."
"Just tell me!" she said hitting him again
"Fine, just wait until Sokka comes back so I don't have to tell it a million times." And at that exact moment, Sokka walked through the front door, holding about four plastic shopping bags. He closed the door with his foot and walked to the open kitchen, Toph and Sokka's apartment was almost identical to Yori's.
"What are you doing here?" Sokka greeted his best friend.
"I want to talk to you about Yori."
"What about her?" Sokka asked opening a large bag of chips and walking out to living room. He handed it to Toph.
Toph smiled and kissed him, "Thank you."
"Ew," Zuko said. He took the bag of chips from Toph and ate one.
"What do you want?" Sokka asked taking the bag back from him and handing it to Toph.
"So, Yori and I went to lunch today, and everything was going well. She was being nice and normal and she was speaking to the hot waitress in Korean and it was so fucking sexy-"
"You're getting quite off task," Toph said.
"Yeah. Anyway, eventing was so good, and then she ordered ramen with only noodles and seaweed, but I didn't think it was that weird, but then she would only eat the broth, and I thought that was weird so I asked her to eat some of it to give me piece of mind and she got so mad."
Sokka leaned back into the couch and put his arm around Toph's shoulder. "So you brought up what is most likely the worst time of her life, and you didn't except her to be mad about it?"
Zuko groaned, "When did you get so fucking sensible? I miss the old, sarcastic and stupid Sokka."
"Hey!" Toph shouted, slapping Zuko in the face in a very Toph like way (meaning, with brutish force), "Don't curse in front of my baby!"
"It's not even born yet, Agni who are you people and what have you done with my friends?"
Sokka decided to ignore that, "You don't feel at all like what you did was wrong?"
"No!"
"Well then you're an asshole."
"Wait wait wait wait wait," Toph said, "What the hell are you guys talking about?"
"When we were freshman, Yori had an eating disorder," Sokka told Toph, "She was bulimic-"
"How can you not like food-"
"Toph, I'm pretty sure it's not because she doesn't like food," Sokka said. "But anyway, she Cut hersel too and she got sent to rehab or a mental institute or where ever it is you're sent when you're bulimic and cut yourself."
"She's just like Demi Lovato!" Toph said.
Both boys looked at her. "What? I've been watching a lot more tv since I haven't been able to go to the dojo!"
Zuko rolled his eyes at Toph. "You know what? You guys kind of suck at making people feel better."
"Well if you're he one in the wrong," Sokka began.
"Which you clearly are," Toph added.
"Then we don't need to be making you feel better."
"You should go to her house. She lives close, doesn't she?"
Zuko nodded. Then Zuko groaned. "Fine. I'll go apologize. But I hate you guys. Just remember that."
Toph and Sokka nodded, "Yeah whatever."
Zuko stood up to go, but stopped after he put on his shoes. "Do you guys have any wine?"
"What?" Toph asked, standing up and going into he kitchen. She put on a kettle of water.
"Why?"
"Peace offering."
"I don't think so," Sokka said, walking into the kitchen after Toph. He checked a cabinet and pulled out a dark bottle. "It's cheap."
"Whatever," Zuko said, taking the bottle from him. "I'll buy you guys a new bottle next time I come over."
"No point, I can't drink and I'm not letting Sokka drink if I can't. Hey, take the whiskey Sokka hides in our room too."
"Leave it!" Sokka complained.
"Yeah let him have it-"
"It's Jack," Toph said, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a mug.
"Give it to me," Zuko said.
"I hate you," Sokka said, trudging off into his bedroom.
"Can you bring me a pair of socks when you come back?" Toph called to him.
Sokka just grumbled in response.
"Hey," Zuko asked now that it was just the two of them again. "Have you made a doctors appointment yet? Sokka says you haven't."
"Zuko-"
"Just do it Toph," he said, pulling down the container of green tea that was too high up for Toph to reach anyway. "I don't want my Agni-child coming out with two jeans because you never went to the doctor."
"Hey! What doctor would be able to fix that?" she asked as she watched him prepare her tea with expert abilities. And who they hell said you'd be the Agni-father. Shut up Zuko."
"Of course I'd be the Agni-father. Who else would be?"
Sokka returned with the whiskey and the Toph's socks and handed them over with a miserable look on his face. "Go away Zuko."
Zuko smirked and patted his friend on the back. "Thanks Sokka. And Toph, just do it, okay?"
She gave him the finger and then be left their apartment, not feeling better about his situation, bur feeling better in general.
He walked the few blocks to Yori's apartment and the the million steps to her door.
"Hello?" she asked after he knocked.
"Yori, it's me."
"Me who?"she asked.
"Zuko, open the door," he commanded.
Yori waked over to the door and opened it for him. "Hi."
Yori looked frazzled and was wearing the same clothes since they had lunch and still had on her scarf and heels. She was holding her coat. "Are you going somewhere?" Zuko asked.
She hung her coat on the hanger by the door. "No, I just got back," she said. She kicked off her shoes. "What are you doing here?"
He held out the bottle of wine to her.
"We already had ramen today," she said, pulling off her shirt and throwing it onto the couch.
Zuko almost blushed. Almost. "I came to apologize."
"Apology accepted."
"Are you really that tired?" he asked finally following her inside and taking off his shoes.
"What are you taking off your shoes?" she asked, "You can't stay her I'm going to sleep. It's eleven thirty and I've been working all day."
"Well then just have one glass."
"No," she said, now taking off her skirt too. "I'm about to go to sleep."
"Then can I stay over?" he asked.
"Zuko," she whined.
"Come on, you said it yourself, it's late."
"Fine," she growled, gathering her clothes and stomping into her bedroom.
Zuko grinned behind her and placed the two bottles on her kitchen counter.
When he got into her room, he began to shed his clothes as well. Suits were not comfortable.
"Do you have work tomorrow?" he asked.
"No," she said, getting under the covers and turning off the lamp by her bed.
"Is your heater still broken?"
"My heater is always broken. It can't be fixed."
"Oh," he said. He was at the awkward stage of undressing where be didn't know whether to stop getting dress and get into bed or take off him under shirt as well."
"What should I sleep in?" he asked Yori.
"I don't care!" she shouted. "I'm going to fucking bed, stop talking to me."
He almost left his shirt on, but then the heater let out a gust of very hot steam, when he decided to take it off and get into bed with her. She had her back to him and he tried to spoon with her, but she shook his advances off. He actually scoffed and turned to sleep with their backs together.
In the middle of the night, somewhere around three or four (so then it would be in the early, early morning) Zuko woke up and Yori wasn't there. He blinked a few times and wondered if it was worth it for him to get up, but when the heater blew hot air into the already stuffy room, he got out of bed. He opened the door and walked into the living room where he saw Yori sitting on the counter. There was a knife in the sink next to her and she was sleepily eating a box of crackers.
And oh Agni, Zuko's irrational brain thought the worst immediately.
"What are you doing?" he asked, standing in front of the sink.
"Eating," she said through a mouthful of cracker and a bewildered expression on her face.
"Why?"
She swallowed and then snorted, "Because food is fuel. I didn't eat dinner because I went to bed when I got home."
"But why about the knife?" he asked, pointing at the offending piece of silverware in the sink.
"You mean the butter knife I used to cut a peach?" she asked, picking up a bare peach pit. "Are you done being an asshole so I can finish my crackers and watch tv?"
He took a deep breath.
"And usually, Zuko, when I cut myself I try to find the dullest knives possible. It's the sawing motion that drives me wild." She jumped off the counter and pushed past him to get to her bedroom.
"Yori," Zuko called out to her, "Look, I'm sorry, I-"
"Zuko, you really need to calm the fuck down. I am not trying to kill myself. Nor am I starving myself. And I am not nor did I ever do any questionable behavior that was related to you. Except, like, sex things when we were fourteen. That was very questionable behavior."
"Yori-" he said, following her.
"Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shut your fucking mouth and if I hear you talking about me cutting or vomiting, I will hurt you. And not just emotionally. I will seriously hurt you."
She walked into her room and picked up her laptop from her desk. She walked over to her bed and turned it on, plugging he headphones from her nightstand into it.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Leave me alone," she said, not looking up at him. Her purple hair glowed in he computer light, making her look terrifying. "You should be happy I'm not kicking you out, but it's like, two in the morning, so just fuck off. Thanks."
Zuko sat on the floor and though of ways to redeem himself. He picked up he pants that he had tossed onto the floor earlier and pulled out his phone. He went into his contacts and began to text Yori.
-I'm sorry.
Yori reached onto her nightstand as her phone buzzed loudly and threatened to fall from the table.
She read the message and glared at Zuko, who was typing again.
-I'm not just saying that either. I know your better, but the first thing I remember when I think about you is when you weren't okay.
She looked at him again, less angrily.
-I can't help but to assume the worst when I'm with you, because I haven't seen you in eight years, so it's weird to see you from being so sick, to now being perfectly fine. I keep on thinking of when we were kids and I know I shouldn't because those wasn't exactly the best time for us.
-Maybe we should make some memories that you can remember instead.
He looked up from his phone. Her hair looked way less menacing.
-When should we start?