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Chapter Eight:

Toph, Zuko, and Iroh were sitting together at a small table, with a pot of tea between them and cups of tea in their hands. Zuko took in a deep breath, reminding himself that all was well. Kanon was locked up, and it did not seem as if anyone else was scheming against him. Finally, he could rest.

Toph felt Zuko sitting nearby extremely consciously. His heart beat was not steady, but that was to be expected after all that had happened. Meanwhile, Zuko kept glancing at Toph. And Iroh noticed.

"I think I could use some fresh air. It's amazing how much you miss it after being locked up for such a long time." Iroh chuckled, getting to his feet. "You two stay here, I will be back in a bit."

The silence after Iroh left was awkward, until Zuko spoke up.

"Toph," Zuko asked slowly, "Why didn't you just tell me you were the Jade Dragon?"

She wrinkled her nose in response, "I didn't know that Kanon was trying to drive you crazy. It was kind of fun to be a secret bodyguard person."

"Why the Jade Dragon?" Zuko dropped something on the table, and Toph reached over to pick it up, her hand searching the table blindly until she found it. The necklace felt familiar.

"I was at a market with Katara and Aang, and I found this necklace. I don't care much about appearances, but I liked that there was a dragon, and Katara said I should get something pretty like that. So then, when we heard about somebody trying to assassinate you, I thought about coming to keep an eye on things." She sat up straight, refusing to be embarrassed by her words. "It seemed like a good idea to have an alias. I could scare off any killers and be pretty cool doing it. I thought it was a good plan. But Kanon ended up locking me up and telling you I was going to murder you."

"He didn't tell me anything. He said you had left."

"Good." Toph frowned, she wanted to be sure he knew she wouldn't hurt him, but after thinking it through, she knew it was a silly thought. Of course he knew.

Toph forced a laugh, "It's stupid, anyway. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done it when you came to the Earth Kingdom with me."

Zuko smiled, "You don't have to convince me. There's a reason Kanon didn't actually try to tell me that. He knew it was crazy."

Toph smiled, feeling relieved. "He told me you told him to execute me."

Zuko's smile vanished, and he stood up suddenly. "What?"

"Calm down."

"How can I be calm?" His voice was growing louder, and Toph could feel his heart pounding through the earth. "He was going to kill you? Did you think that I—"

"Your uncle and I both thought it was weird, Zuko. Kanon's a liar."

"I would never- Even if you had tried to kill me I couldn't-"

"Hey!" Toph stood up too, grabbing Zuko's arm. "No one is killing anyone. Everything is okay, now."

Zuko sighed and sat back down, his face sinking into his hands.

"All of those things were lies, and we are both still alive. Don't let Kanon have the satisfaction of making you any more upset."

Zuko looked up at her, and took a deep breath, calming down.

Iroh came back in and sat down at the table, Toph couldn't see it, but he looked back and forth between the two of them quite often, as if looking for information.

"Did you enjoy your fresh air, uncle?" Zuko asked, pleasantly. His voice was remarkably calm considering his outburst a moment before.

"It was very nice." Iroh answered, "I do hope you two have enjoyed your tea."

"No one can enjoy it as much as you." Toph remarked, finishing off the rest of her tea in one gulp. "But it's not bad."

"Well, everything is better with good company, is it not?" Iroh asked her, a smile forming on his face.

"So you think I'd like the tea better if I wasn't hanging out with Zuko?"

"Hey!" Zuko said, sounding offended.

"That." Toph said, smacking Zuko on the arm, "Was a joke."

She almost felt guilty, but then Zuko smiled to himself as he responded lightly.

"Right."

0000

The air was fresh and warm, and Zuko and Toph walked through the bustling market. Zuko kept his face as covered as possible and wore ordinary clothes, so he wasn't noticed by too many people. This time, the disguise was not out of fear, but out of convenience. He wanted to be able to spend the day with Toph, without having a lot of unnecessary attention from people.

"Something smells delicious." Toph said, stopping in her tracks.

Zuko laughed. "I'll make a deal with you."

"What?" She asked, her face holding an expression of amusement. She knew he was up to something.

"I'll get you some of that food, and I'll tell you now, it's delicious. Under one condition."

A small smile appeared on Toph's face. "And that is?"

"You try one of our Fire Nation delicacies. It's only fair. Then, I'll get you some fried meat."

"You're on."

There was a lot of food that the Fire Nation was famous for that was good. Toph knew this, because she had visited often enough to be served a lot of Fire Nation food. In the past though, Zuko had only really served her the good stuff. Now, he approached a stand nearby and purchased a small meal, he then immediately passed it on to Toph.

"Wait." He told her, then walked a good distance away from the stand. He knew Toph wouldn't be shy about her feelings on the food, and he'd rather the cook not hear it. "Now try it."

Toph took a big bite, and Zuko watched her face carefully, but it remained expressionless.

"Well?" He asked, his voice impatient.

Toph swallowed, and then spoke slowly. "That was delicious."

"Really?" Zuko blinked, surprised.

"Are you kidding me? That was the worst thing I have ever tasted!" Toph said, dumping the rest of the plate too feed the bird-monkeys that sat nearby. She then hit Zuko sound on the arm. "I need fried food now."

Zuko grinned, and soon they were seated together with food that Toph enjoyed much more.

The sun warmed Zuko's face and the world felt much brighter than it had in a long time. He smiled to himself, and looked over at Toph. She looked comfortable, and Zuko didn't want to look away from her.

Zuko was sure she noticed, despite her blindness, but she didn't say anything about it.

Finally, Zuko said, with his voice quiet, "Thank you for finding my uncle."

"No problem, just try not to misplace him again, would ya?"

"I'll do my best."

"You know, Zuko, I can stay a little longer but… I'm going to have to go before long."

Zuko frowned, "I know."

He felt sad, there was so much he wanted to say to her before she left. But he didn't feel hopeless this time. The world felt brighter than it had before, even though Toph was going to leave again.

"You can hold onto this while I'm gone." Toph said, holding out the jade dragon pendant. She placed it in Zuko's hand with a tenderness that gave him hope. "And try to remember, that not everyone is out to get you."

Zuko didn't answer, and looked down at the hand still resting on his. The moment didn't last, and Toph drew her hand away suddenly, leaving Zuko staring down at the pendant.

"I'll be okay." He said firmly, and he meant it. "But… I like it when you're here."

"Well, I can't just be here all the time Zuko. I'm not your pet." She didn't sound angry, just matter of fact.

"I know." He answered, with surprising calmness.

Toph finished her food, and Zuko shook his head, his mood a little sadder, but not miserable. "Let's go."

They got up and began the walk back to the palace. But Zuko stopped, frowning. "Wait."

Toph stopped, "What?"

"I want you to know that… You are really important to me… And you know that you are my best friend… And I love you."

Toph swallowed, misunderstanding him, but noting his words nonetheless. "Thanks, Aang. That's really mushy talk there, but your friendship is important to me too." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you sound like Twinkletoes."

Zuko frowned, "What?"

"'Toph, I'm so glad we're friends. Seriously, I love you. You've always been like a sister to me.'" Toph said, in a voice mocking Aang's, "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice. It's just mushy. But I guess I love you too, friend."

Toph had to make fun, because the words had been so close to what she wanted to hear, that it was painful to do anything but mock them.

Zuko shook his head, his voice uncomfortable. "I… don't think you understand what I meant."

"What then?" She said, her voice short. She didn't allow herself to hope, because that would only make it worse.

He was shaking slightly, and he spoke as if the words cost him every ounce of strength he had, "I meant… I love you. I love you more than I can even explain because I can't… I can't explain it. And I know you don't care about me like that, but I-"

Toph stood still, not moving, she felt vulnerable. "You love me? Like…"

"Like… If I thought you would say yes I would marry you." He blurted out, and then immediately felt like an idiot and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

Toph wanted to kiss him, but she couldn't kiss him and tell him, so she through her arms around his neck in an uncharacteristically enthusiastic hug, "I love you."

She kissed his cheek, right on the scar, and when she didn't even flinch, Zuko smiled and hugged her tightly.

"Would you say yes?" He asked uncertainly.

She felt her eyes stinging with embarrassing tears, "Since I'm in a good mood," she teased, trying to maintain her pride a little.

She kissed him then, and smiled.

Disclaimer: Hope you guys liked it! Is the end of it OOC? I don't know. I am hoping to have a final short chapter after this!