Chapter 25

As wonderful and crowded and chaotic as it had all been, it was with the deepest sense of relief that Zuko and Toph finally joined Katara, Bumi, and Aang atop Appa's back for the ride to their honeymoon.

"I thought we were taking a ship," Toph said in puzzlement as Appa lifted off the ground to soar above the Fire Nation capital.

"Ships are slow," Zuko replied easily, stretching his legs out in front of him. Bumi crawled back and forth over the obstacle they created.

"Don't we at least need luggage?" she asked.

"Everything we need is already there," Zuko answered with a grin.

"Are we going back to Tuzai?" Toph continued to press for information.

He considered trying to string her along, but she could read him like a book these days. "Where else? We've already started one honeymoon there. I see it as just stretched out over two visits," he replied with a smile.

This time Appa made best time to the island, settling them down on the beach just as night was beginning to fall in earnest. Yung and Su-lin along with a large number of villagers met them there, cheering and welcoming their return.

To the couple's surprise, no official reception of any kind was planned for them. "Here, you are just another couple of villagers," Yung explained. "With the exception that you do have the nicest house on the island."

Then he turned to Aang and Katara. "We regret that there isn't another house just as nice for the Avatar and his family, but we have found a very comfortable bungalow that we've decorated just for special visitors and dignitaries like you," he added. With a smile and a nod toward Zuko, he guided Aang and Katara away, all the while describing the many changes that had occurred on the island since their last short visit.

Zuko and Toph were left to walk to the beach house on their own, just like they wanted it. Zuko looked ahead to see that lamps were already lit inside the house, the gleam shining through the windows. He hoped that all the other changes had been completed as well.

The minute he opened the door, he knew that his instructions had been followed well. Toph's quick intake of breath was plenty of reward for the planning and labor.

"I can see things!" she cried, running into the room. "I can see furniture—really see it!" She ran around the room touching the sofas and tables, even the decorations on the walls. Then she looked back at him, her face shining with excitement.

"How did you do this?" she asked breathlessly.

"Do you like it?" he questioned in return.

"You know I like it," she answered as she ran her hands over the arm of the sofa. "How did you do it? How can I see all this stuff?"

"All the furniture is made of gan wood and all the decorations use earth pigments in the paints," he explained. "Nothing's very fancy, I'm afraid. We didn't give the craftsmen a lot of time to work." All the same, he thought they'd done a wonderful job of making the furniture simple, yet lovely. He also had no idea that earth pigments could produce such a wide range of color.

Toph looked up at him and to his surprise, began to cry. He quickly crossed the distance between them to take her in his arms. "What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked nervously. He absolutely hated to see her cry. It made him feel so useless.

"Nobody ever did anything like this for me before," she managed to say between sobs. "You're the only person who ever even thought--" Her voice failed her again. He just held her closer. Finally, she pulled it together and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You are the most wonderful, most loving, best husband in the entire world. And I am not exaggerating," she added with a sigh.

"I'm glad you appreciate me," he said, rubbing his thumb lightly over her cheek.

"I appreciate everything about you," she replied, reaching up to his hair. That topknot had to go. She pulled at the band holding it in place and ran her hands through his hair, delighting in the way it fell across his face.

"That's not fair," he protested. "You must have a thousand hairpins in yours."

"You'd better get busy then," she said, pulling him down to the sofa then sitting on the floor in front of him. He carefully began to pull out the pins, working tentatively at first. She just sighed and relaxed into the feel of his hands in her hair.

He felt so clumsy as he began pulling out the dainty pins, but quickly began to enjoy watching the little curls fall free of their bonds. At last, her dark hair fell free and heavy in his hands and he ran his fingers through it to untangle the long strands. She stretched and turned toward him. He looked down at her face, framed by her dark hair. She was so beautiful. He ran his fingertips down her cheek and she turned to rest her face in his hand. Then she moved into him, pulling his face close to hers.

"We've spent enough time on the sofa," she said in a whisper. "Let's go to bed."

The next few hours were alternately breathless, shy, passionate, tender, playful, and peaceful. At last they lay wrapped in each other's arms.

"Worth the wait?" Toph asked softly.

He brushed her cheek with his fingers. "You tell me," he answered.

"That's not an answer."

"Yes, definitely worth the wait. But I couldn't have stood another day."

"Are you going to be up with the dawn?"

"Probably."

"Why?"

"The sun calls to me."

Toph stifled a yawn. "It doesn't call to me."

"Then I'll have to call you."

She snuggled closer into his arms, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. "You do that," she sighed and they both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Zuko was indeed awakened by the sun. He lay there a moment to watch Toph sleep. He didn't know whether or not to wake her—she could be pretty grumpy in the mornings, he remembered. In the end, he decided to let her sleep and slipped out of bed to begin his morning meditations.

He went out onto the beach, throwing his head back and opening his arms to the heat of the sun. He could feel the fire coursing through him, challenging him. Each day, he had to battle the fire within him, to control it lest it control him. He began working through the first forms, only to have his concentration blown when Toph appeared on the veranda wrapped in his shirt. The fire inside him suddenly had a mind of its own.

He took a few deep breaths to try to recenter his attention on his bending, but it was no use. That was the problem with fire—it was life and passion and therefore had a tendency to burn wildly.

Zuko strode over the sand back to the veranda, and the intensity of his gaze unnerved her a little. He stopped right in front of her, so close she could feel waves of heat coming off him. He just stood there looking down at her, breathing deeply, heart pounding.

Suddenly she realized what was on his mind and with a coy grin reached out to run her finger down the center of his chest. Toph wasn't really expecting to be physically carried back into the house, but quickly got used to the idea.

Much, much later, when Zuko was able to actually speak again, he cautioned her against being too available first thing in the morning. "Unless you want to be," he added hopefully.

"I've watched your morning workout before," she protested, giving him a kiss on his bare shoulder.

"That was before. Now you are a much bigger distraction," he replied. "It is such a good thing we waited. I'd have never made it through a single morning meeting without needing a cold shower."

"I can't believe I do this to you," she laughed. "Am I that irresistible?"

He wrapped her tightly in his arms and kissed her hair. "Oh, yes," he sighed.

Zuko did finally finish his morning meditations while Toph searched the kitchen for something to eat. She watched him from the window, overwhelmed by the realization that he was hers. After last night they belonged to each other on a deeper level than she had expected. Did all married couples feel this way? she wondered.

A soft knock at the door interrupted her train of thought. She opened it to see Katara there. "I saw Zuko outside so I figured it would be safe to come by," she said with a grin.

Toph laughed. "It's safe for now at least," she answered.

"Aang and I plan to leave tomorrow," Katara began. "This place is really beautiful and I'd love to stay, but we want you guys to have time on your own."

They spent a few minutes discussing Aang's upcoming visit to Ba Sing Se to meet with the Earth King on the latest developments in negotiations as well as to report on the great success of the wedding.

"We'll have to get everybody back here for a nice family getaway sometime this year though," Toph said thoughtfully. "It was great seeing everybody at the wedding, but it just wasn't enough time and there was too much going on."

They chatted for a few more minutes until Zuko entered the house, mopping sweat from his forehead. Katara told him of their departure plans, then asked if they'd like to have lunch with them.

Zuko and Toph quickly agreed and a time was set.

The couple passed the rest of the morning walking hand in hand on the beach and talking about plans for the new suite they would occupy once they returned to the capital. "We'll have a wing of our own," Zuko explained. "For the past few years I've been living down the hall from Uncle Iroh, but I think we'll be happier with more space."

"If it's going to be any bigger than the rooms I've been staying in, I'll probably get lost in it," Toph replied with a laugh.

"You'll have plenty of landmarks to guide you back out again," Zuko responded. "If you like the idea, I want to refurnish it with gan wood pieces."

"You are so sweet," she exclaimed, surprise evident in her voice.

"Don't sound so shocked," he said playfully, giving her a sidelong hug as they walked back to the house. "You know what a pushover I am."

"You are many things," she replied, turning to face him fully, "but you have never been a pushover." Then she pulled him to her for a kiss before continuing, "It's lunchtime." She could tell from his response to her touch that if they didn't go to visit Aang and Katara right then, they wouldn't go at all and this was their last chance to see them for months.

They passed a very pleasant hour visiting with their friends over a light lunch. Aang and Zuko talked politics while Toph described for Katara their plans for redecorating the suite. Katara was suitably impressed by Zuko's thoughtfulness in making the beach house's furnishings out of earth materials. "I never would have dreamed that the 'angry jerk' could be such a softie," Katara added quietly with a smile.

Katara had just put Bumi down for his afternoon nap when Yung came to the door, a rolled message in his hands.

"Avatar Aang," he began, "we need your help."

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked.

"Prince Zuko," Yung bowed respectfully, "I didn't mean to disturb you with this."

"No disturbance at all," Zuko answered. "What's wrong?"

Yung explained to the group that a wildfire had broken out on one of the neighboring islands. "We think it was sparked by a small lava flow, but it's threatening our biggest stands of gan trees and at least two small fishing villages that have just been settled," he said nervously. "This is the dry season and we've got no way to fight it. We could just let it go, but the loss would be difficult to overcome. I was hoping Avatar Aang could go check it out and see if anything could be done to control the blaze."

"Of course, I will," Aang replied. "Maybe I can earthbend some fire breaks to protect the villages at least."

"If you're going to be doing large scale earthbending, I should probably come along to help," Toph added. "It would save time."

"We could also add some ice patches to that," Katara said thoughtfully. "They'll melt of course, but it could slow down the spread of the fire."

"In that case, it looks like we're all headed out, Yung," said Zuko. "Can Su-lin come stay with Bumi until we get back?"

"I'm sure she can," Yung answered, then after bowing again, left to get Su-lin.

"Do you know anything about this island?" Aang asked Zuko. "Layout, anything?"

"No, we'll have to do a flyover and see if we can get an idea of what we're dealing with," Zuko answered grimly. "Meet you back here in five minutes," he added as he rose to his feet. Then he turned to Toph. "Looks like it's time to break out the adventuring clothes again," he said with a sigh.

"That's okay, baby," she replied. "I like a good adventure. I've never fought a wildfire before. Sounds like a challenge."

Zuko followed her to the door. "I hope not too much of a challenge," he responded seriously as they exited.