Wandering Prince

Avatar the Last Airbender, Zuko SI

21

"Toph… what is this?"

"And who are… your guests?"

Her parents sounded confused—not that she blamed them, when she had walked into the living room just as they were taking lunch, bringing Yue and Zuko with her, along with scrolls, books full of notes, and even loose papers from the printer that her friends assured her had what they wanted on it. They had been very busy for the last several days and it showed in the small mountain of legal paperwork.

Friends, the thought crossed her mind briefly, and she smiled. The first friends she'd ever had. Su was nice, but as much as she liked the maid, she was a servant and had maintained a professional distance that it took having real friends to see the difference.

"These are Zuko and Yue. I've hired them to be my new bodyguards," Toph explained. It even had the benefit of being true. Officially they were both on Toph's personal payroll, not the Beifong payroll. At least, for now.

Until they leave, she was again reminded of the pair's stated goals for their trip around the world. Which just reminded her that lately, she had caught herself daydreaming of just… walking up, throwing her bags into their boat, and telling them she was coming with.

Shaking off the intrusive thought, she gestured to Zuko, who moved forward and placed the collected bundle of papers on the table, after clearing a spot for them. As he began unrolling scrolls and turning to specific pages, Toph continued. "And this is all of the paperwork for my new business."

"Your what?" her father asked, reaching out and picking up one of the fliers. "'Professional Bending Arena?' What?"

"Yeah, so you remember the Earth Rumble?" she asked, and her parents both nodded. From their heart rates picking up, she could tell they didn't exactly remember it fondly, given they now knew she had been competing in it for years. "I own it now. The stadium. The business. The whole gimmick. All thanks to some… creative investments with a little seed money. Over the last few days, we've finalized the paperwork to turn it all over to me. I'll be leaving the day to day operations to the current manager and I've got one of our family accountants to make sure no one's doing anything funny with the money. We've invested in an advertising campaign and are looking to recruit new talent for a rebrand. Gaoling is going to be home to the world's first bending tournament. Benders of all disciplines welcome. We're going to try to make it a weekly thing, let it go on for a year, then have a bigger tournament with a big prize to draw in people from all over—then just make that a yearly thing."

Turning her head towards Zuko, she said, "Show them the projected earnings report."

Zuko handed over a scroll and her father and mother leaned in to look at it. Toph grinned. "As you can see, by itself it'll make as much as one of our average trade deals. So, what do you think?"

Her parents were silent for a time, before her mother spoke up. "Well, this is, it's all so sudden."

"I find myself torn," her father sighed. "On the one hand, this deal is amazing. Brilliant, even. I want to be proud of you for it."

Toph frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I hear a 'but' coming."

"But," he nodded. "We didn't want this for you. You shouldn't… You were never expected to take over the Beifong business, Toph."

"Honey," her mother's tone was hesitant. "Why do you think we were trying to hard to find a good match to marry you off to? We weren't trying to tie you down, get rid of you, or keep you locked away for your own good, even though… even though we very much wanted to, when we learned what you've been doing."

"Then why…?"

"We were looking for someone to take on those duties," her father answered. "Someone to take over the running of the company, until our grandchildren came of age."

Toph blinked, her mouth falling open—along with a pit in her stomach. "Wait. You mean you weren't even considering having me run it? I'm not just some dumb muscle brain who can only punch things and bend good! I can take care of myself!" Gesturing at the table, she added, "You've seen what I can do!"

"Well, no, honey. We see that now. It's just… You're…"

"Blind," her father sighed. "It would be inevitable that you would miss things. That someone would try to hide things from you. This is not something you can overcome by relying on friends and hired help alone. Money changes people, and enough money can tempt even a monk into a best thing would be to have your husband run the company while your mother and I take on an advisory role and have our people keep us appraised of things, to make sure nothing untoward happens under his stewardship, until we can pass it along to your children."

For just a moment, the ground rumbled beneath them, making the plates and cups on the table clink. It stopped and Toph took a deep breath in through her nose. "I understand."

Standing, she dusted her robe off and turned away, stone sandals clacking on the floor as she walked—not stomped—out. Yue followed immediately, while Zuko stayed behind for a moment. She was out the front door when he spoke. At the same time, Yue asked, "Are you okay?"

"Shh." Toph held up a hand, making the other girl fall silent as she realized Toph was listening.

"She can do more than you think she can."

Her father sighed, nodding minutely. "I believe Toph can do anything she sets her mind to. Our little girl is… stubborn like that. But willfulness will never make up for a lack of sight."

"Hm. She might just surprise you."

"And who are you to speak to us in this manner?" Her mother demanded. "You speak out of turn. Beyond your station."

Toph scoffed quietly. If you only knew…

Zuko chuckled, shaking his head and turning to follow Toph and Yue. "Yeah, what do I know? I'm just a bodyguard."

A moment later, he was out of the house. "So, now what, boss?"

Toph could hear the amused smirk in his tone. Something about it gave her conflicted feelings. On the one hand, it made her want to strangle him. On the other, that strangling might be done with her on top of him… and they might or might not be naked when she did it. Assuming Yue didn't kick her ass for the attempt.

"I want to go punch something."

"Sounds good," Zuko nodded. "Yue, you in?"

The other woman hummed for a moment as she considered them. Her head turned towards Zuko and they had one of those silent conversations with faces that Toph didn't really get. After a moment, a defeated sigh escaped his lips and Yue giggled happily. She turned back to Toph, bouncing up and grabbing her by the arm. It wasn't the type of grabbing of her hand and leading her places that Toph hated. The gesture was… friendly. Intimate even, as Yue pressed herself into Toph's side and they started walking towards the exit to the property, Zuko moving up to Toph's other side, but not taking her other arm.

"I'll come with. There are some things we should talk about. After, though," Yue nodded.

"You realize we're turning this into a three way. You're not getting out of sparring practice," Zuko chuckled, turning to look at Yue over Toph's head. Yue turned and made the sound Toph associated with sticking out her tongue. "Careful princess, it'll get stuck like that."

"That wouldn't be so bad, would it? I can think of some uses for someone with their tongue permanently stuck out," Toph leered. Turning, she tilted her head up specifically so Zuko could see her face. "You still owe me the rest of that foot massage."

"Oh?" Yue asked, interest in her tone. "If you're giving them out, I want one too."

"After sparring," Zuko shook his head.

"Ooh~ we could do it in the bath," Yue suggested. "What do you say, Toph? All three of us. Hot water. We can take turns rubbing each other… really work out those sore muscles."

Toph tried and failed to fight down her blush as Yue somehow spoke one of her favorite nighttime fantasies she used to entertain herself aloud. "Uh, sure. Sounds, sounds good." Yue giggled and she tilted her head down, hiding her face. "Shut up."

"Don't tease her too much, Yue. She might finally come to her senses and run away," Zuko chuckled.

"Psh. Not happening."

"Ugh. My everything hurts," Toph groaned quietly as she slumped on the ground.

Nearby, Yue giggled as she began gathering water to fill the new tub Toph had made. They weren't in their usual practice ground this afternoon. Instead, they had gone out further—much further. And now that their sparring practice was over, Zuko had gone out for a bit to hunt them something to eat.

Still, it kind of bothered Toph. She couldn't stop thinking about it. They had stopped at the hotel where Zuko and Yue were staying and the couple had gathered their things, including the chest of gold they had contributed to Toph's wager. It could be that they were just taking those things back to their boat. There was another option, however…

On the walk over, that had been the most pressing thing on Toph's mind. Not that her family still saw her as an invalid and couldn't see past her blindness. Not that they were planning to keep her from her rightful inheritance, to keep other people from taking advantage of her blindness and harming the company. But the fact that her friends had packed up and looked to be preparing to leave, even if they hadn't actually said it or discussed it where Toph could hear.

That Yue had convinced Toph to leave with her while Zuko stayed behind for a while, only to come running to catch up to them… she kind of suspected he had used that time to heal that girl's leg and they were now running to put distance between themselves and Gaoling. It was with a sinking feeling that she realized the truth. I don't want them to leave. I don't want this to be over. It's been… fun. The most fun I've ever had.

And then Yue went and said something that froze Toph's thoughts in their tracks. "It's cute, how you wanted to show off to Zuko."

"What?!" Blind eyes flew wide open as she sat up, followed by a furious blush rushing across her cheeks. "You're delusional! Like I'd ever do that! Especially for someone like Zuko!"

"Someone like Zuko, huh?" Yue teased.

"He's a jerk!"

"Sometimes!" Yue giggled, nodding. "But he grows on you." She hummed, her tone turning teasing again. "Are you sure though? What about that time Zuko told me about, where you threw around your family name in front of some poor bookie to kickstart our journey?"

"I— That— I wasn't doing it for him or anything!" Toph denied, hands clenching in her lap as Yue laughed. Then, she blinked as what Yue had said registered. "Wait. What do you mean?"

"Hm? I thought you knew?"

"Know what?!"

The other girl sighed, shaking her head. Leaving the tub, she moved over and sat down in front of Toph. Reaching out, she took Toph's hands in her own, and Toph again marveled at just how soft and warm Yue's hands were. "Of course he didn't tell you. He was probably just going to do something dumb, like waiting for you to get on and then take off, and claim we kidnapped you," Yue grumbled. "He'd think it was funny."

"…Okay, that would be kinda funny, yeah," Toph chuckled.

"Well! I guess this gives us an opportunity to have that conversation I wanted to have," Yue let out something halfway between a laugh and a sigh. "I know you don't like beating around the bush, so I'll just ask. We're leaving. Zuko has been getting antsy."

"I heard him say you had stayed too long," Toph murmured.

Yue blew out a frustrated breath. "He calls it the 'Kino Rule,' after a story about a girl who became a traveler, and nearly died because of a volcano. He doesn't want to stay in one place longer than a month, at most." Shaking her head, Yue squeezed Toph's hands. "Come with us."

"You, you really want me to go with you?" Toph asked, and for just a moment, her defenses were completely down. She felt more vulnerable than if she had been naked.

"Mhmm! We want you to come with us. Will you?"

Toph turned her head away as her eyes watered, a smile so wide it hurt on her lips. "Well, I guess I could."

"Thank you, Toph," Yue said, then pulled the shorter girl into her lap, wrapping Toph in a tight hug. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't make me regret it," Toph protested, struggling to get out of Yue's grasp, but not actually fighting too hard to get away. Being hugged was nice, and Yue was soft. Especially in the chest and thigh areas. Eventually, she settled down to just enjoy the sensation. Tilting her head back until it rested on Yue's shoulder, she asked, "So, you gonna tell me the big secret now?"

Yue giggled. "Hm? Which one?"

"About who you two really are," Toph specified. She figured there were others, but that was the one that had gotten her curious from the very first day.

"I guess I can," the other girl teased, and Toph made an annoyed sound at having her words turned back on her. "It's not going to change how you treat us, is it?"

"What? No," Toph shook her head.

Yue hummed, then nodded. "Very well, then. I am Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, daughter to Arnook, chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe."

Toph blinked. "Huh," she murmured. "You know, I can't say I'm actually all that surprised. Walks like a turtle-duck, talks like a turtle-duck, probably a turtle-duck."

Giggling, Yue squeezed Toph a bit harder, before reaching down and grabbing Toph's thigh with her hand in a bill shape. "Quack."

"So, when I joked about Zuko kidnapping a princess…"

"You were closer to the truth than you knew," Yue confirmed.

"So whats Zuko? I figured he was some kind of Fire Nation noble, but he doesn't really act like one most of the time. It's… weird. He doesn't act like one, or talk to people like one, but sometimes there's this… I don't know. Expectation? It's hard to explain. Like with my parents."

"Heh. I know what you mean," the princess holding her confirmed. "You wouldn't think he acts like a prince, but I think he does a better job of it than I do as a princess. I still have trouble accepting that I'm the one who sets my own standards. He just does whatever he wants—"

"Wait. Hold on. Prince? Zuko?!" Toph turned where she was seated in Yue's lap, so the other woman could see her face. "Bullshit."

Yue covered her mouth and fought down a snort. "I'll be sure to tell him you said that. It'll make him happy."

"No, no, no," Toph shook her head. "There is no way that guy is, is prince of the Fire Nation! Just, no way."

"It's true," Yue countered, amusement in her voice. "He doesn't like to flaunt it. I think a big part of this journey is that he knows that when it's over, he isn't going to have much time for travel, or anything else really once he takes over his official duties."

Frowning, Toph considered what she knew for a moment before asking, "So, when he said his dad tried to kill him…"

"He told you that?" Yue asked, and Toph nodded. "He meant the Fire Lord, yes."

"And you're gonna marry him—mf?" Toph fell silent as Yue pressed a finger against her lips.

"That's another conversation for another day," Yue said, and the tone told Toph that that wasn't a request and it wasn't Yue saying it as a woman, but as the princess. "It's a complicated issue and I'd like to ask for your help with it, eventually. Not today. Zuko has done everything he could from the very beginning to avoid turning this into a political marriage and I'd like to do what I can to help with that, but there are a few elements we can't avoid. But we can put them off for now. Okay?"

"'kay," Toph agreed, and Yue removed her finger. Toph's tongue flicked out to lick her lips reflexively, warm and a bit tingly from where Yue's finger had been. "So, I guess that's why he doesn't want to stick around too long in one place, or show that he's a firebender. Well, other than the whole thing with stupid people thinking all firebenders are evil."

"Partly. The other part is his healing. He's worried it'll attract the wrong sort of attention."

Toph frowned, tilting her head in confusion. "I don't get it. So he can regrow limbs. That's pretty cool, but not exactly world-shattering."

"Heh," Yue let out a quiet laugh, before pulling Toph closer and sighing into her hair. "It's our fault. The Northern Water Tribe. Zuko came to the north just after he learned how to use green fire to heal. He wasn't sure it was safe, so he wanted to check with a healer, and we have the best. My master, Yagoda, confirmed that it was safe, but this led to more testing and…" Yue sighed again, shaking her head. "He says I am naive and too kind, but he's the one who repaid my master by restoring her youth. We sat together and I watched as she went from a frail woman of over eighty years to a strong, healthy, fit, beautiful young woman my own age over the course of a day."

"Holy shit," Toph whispered. "That uh, yeah. That's big. All the old fuckers would definitely want that. Like, lock him in a room, throw away the key, and only bring him out to keep them healthy."

"Which is almost what happened. Were anyone other than my father the chieftain, it would have happened. Well, that, and Zuko making the argument that he could out-stubborn them and just outlive all of them and their descendants, and escape in a century when they forgot why he was locked up in the first place. That led to our initial betrothal and things progressed from there."

Nodding, Toph's mind spun. So, he's a way stronger healer than I thought. He can regrow limbs, de-age people. What else can he do? Can he…? Then why wouldn't he offer, if he could?

"What's wrong?" Yue asked, pulling Toph from her thoughts.

"Nothing."

"It's not 'nothing.' You're tense and you're frowning. Tell me."

Toph shook her head. "I'll ask Zuko when he gets back. Anything else I need to know?"

"Hmm…" Yue hummed, but left it alone. Instead, she shook her head. "Not immediately, no." Then, she paused and giggled. "Well, there is one thing. The boat only has one large bed and doesn't really have room for more. The floor also isn't really made for putting in a sleeping bag. So… I hope you don't mind sharing!"

Toph snorted out a quiet laugh. "As long as I'm getting away from this place, I'll manage. I don't think I have anything to worry about." Then, turning her head so Yue could see her face again, she grinned. "Just try to keep the hanky-panky to when I'm out of the boat. If you start fooling around right beside me, don't be surprised if I decide to join in."

Yue's heart thumped at that, her pulse picking up to Toph's senses as the other woman grew warm against her. Yue moved closer, her lips brushing Toph's ear and drawing a shiver from the shorter girl. "I don't have a problem with that~."

Nope! Dangerous! Can't tease Yue or she'll take it as an invitation! Toph realized, feeling her own body growing warm. But would that be so bad?

Before she could decide one way or another, she felt Zuko's footsteps approaching through the earth below her feet. He felt heavier and a brief pulse told her he was carrying some kind of animal over his back. He joined them a few moments later and dropped the carcass in question on the ground near their fire. "Found a pack of wild pigs, so I've got supper. Yue?"

"Right!" the waterbender let go of Toph and stood, moving over and drawing water from the stream.

"Hey Toph, think you can make a smoking rack?"

Frowning, Toph decided to hold off on her question for the moment. She was hungry and food sounded good. Besides, if she was going to be joining them, then she wanted to prove she could pull more than her own weight. "Sure. Describe it for me?"

Zuko moved over and crouched in front of her, picking up a stick to draw in the dirt. "Can you feel this?"

"Yeah," Toph nodded.

With that, he began drawing. "Tall rectangle with a square base. It'll be walled on three sides initially. Space in the bottom for wood. Racks starting three feet up, every one foot, with gaps between them like this…"

Toph watched as he drew out what he wanted. After a few moments, she gestured towards the ground and began pulling up rock, making a small version first. "Like this?"

"That's good. Oh, almost forgot. Put a hole in the top about the size of your fist, and when you close up the front, put a rectangular hole on the bottom, for airflow and so we can feed it," Zuko instructed.

Toph pushed herself to her feet and moved over to where Zuko indicated the smoker should go. A bit of bending later had it set up, and then Yue carried over the meat and began filling the smoker while Zuko left to gather more wood. He came back a few minutes later and they finished setting up the boar, with Zuko digging in his bag and adding some spices and what smelled like fruit before he lit the fire and Toph closed it up.

Yue and Zuko washed their hands in the stream, then the three of them sat around the camp fire, where Toph could sense a spit set up and a chunk of something—probably meat—above the fire. She could smell the seasoning and a hint of citrus juice. He and Yue shared one of those silent conversations for a moment before Zuko turned towards her. "So, Yue tell you we're leaving—"

"Can you heal my eyes?" Toph blurted, and the campsite fell silent, save for the sound of the coals crackling and their breathing.

After a moment, Zuko shrugged. "Maybe? I'm not sure. I haven't done eyes before."

Toph's entire body clenched for a moment. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Her heart was racing in her chest. The muscles in her lower back were especially tight and left her trembling minutely. It felt hard to breathe, but she forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. "Why haven't you offered, if you thought you might be able to?"

"A few reasons." His voice was steady, as was his heartbeat. Somehow, he was calm about this—as though he'd been expecting it. "Do you want to hear them or do you want to be angry?"

"I can do both," Toph hissed, picking up a clod of dirt and flinging it in his general direction.

To her surprise, he didn't move and let it smack him in the chest. "Okay. I'll give you three. Firstly, if I'd offered when we first met, you'd have thought I was some kind of scam artist or snake oil salesman. You wouldn't have trusted me and I don't blame you for it. As far as you knew, it just wasn't possible."

Toph turned her head away, then nodded jerkily. He was right, the jerk. She would have laughed in his face and fucked off, if he made the offer before she got to know the both of them. She motioned for him to continue.

"Secondly, I didn't want to get your hopes up, then maybe fail. We searched the city for someone else to test it on."

The earthbender frowned. "Wait, I heard you arguing. You didn't want to even use your healing at all, until you were ready to run away."

"Yeah," Zuko nodded. "And if I had found someone with your condition or something similar, I'd have done it anyway and damn the risk."

Letting out a quiet sigh, Toph picked up another clump of earth and flung it at Zuko's head. This time, he actually dodged. "Fine. I get it. But I've had my hopes crushed enough that it wouldn't have bothered me that much."

"You say that, but I think we both know that's not how you really feel." At his quiet words, she let out a sigh. She didn't answer one way or another, which was an answer in and of itself. "As for the third reason… I didn't want you to feel like you were being manipulated. Like being healed was contingent upon being our friend, or that we were trying to use you, or anything along those lines. And you can't say the thought wouldn't have crossed your mind."

Picking up another dirt clod, she flung it at his chest and felt her lips quirk up a bit at the nice thump it made when it landed. "Yeah. You're right. You're still a jerk though."

"I know," Zuko nodded. "So, do you want to try?"

Toph blinked. "Do I want to try to be able to see? With my eyeballs? The thing all the normal people can do? Oh, I don't know, let me think about it—yes I want you to try! What are you, brain dead?!" Turning her head towards Yue, she asked, "What do you see in this idiot? Is the sex that good?!"

Yue squeaked and Toph could practically hear the blush. "We uh, we haven't…"

Turning back towards Zuko, she rolled her eyes. "So you are brain dead."

"Shut up," Zuko laughed, and to her surprise, he flung one of the clods she'd hit him with back, smacking her in the arm. Standing up, he brushed himself off and moved over to sit in front of Toph. Yue followed, sitting down beside him. Zuko raised his hands towards Toph's face—

"Wait!" Toph called, and Zuko paused. Rubbing her hands off on her robe to clean the dirt off, she lifted them towards his face. "Can I?"

"Sure."

Closing the remaining distance, Toph cupped the man's face. His skin was smooth and warm beneath her fingers, bare of hair aside from the trace of stubble where he had shaved. She traced along his jaw, nose, lips, eyes, forehead, ears—making a mental image of what his face 'looked' like, eventually moving on to his hair, before pulling away.

Turning her head towards Yue, she didn't even have to ask before the other woman took her hands and brought them up to her own face. Yue's skin was much smoother and warmer than Zuko, and she giggled under Toph's touch as the earthbender explored.

Eventually, Toph pulled her hands back. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Close your eyes," Zuko instructed, and Toph did so. He brought his hands up and she felt him touch her, his fingers resting on her temples and over her closed eyes. Then, she felt warmth on her face—like a warm breeze.

Slowly, she felt her eyes begin to tingle. Then itch. Toph forced herself to sit still, to not squirm or flinch away as the sensation grew, then eventually faded… and everything changed. Something hurt her eyes and she flinched away, her head turning to the side. It felt strange. First, there was nothing. Then, there was something that felt like heat, and a feeling like a cramp in her eyes. When she pulled away, the whatever it was went away and everything changed again. It wasn't the nothing she was used to, but it was… cool? Soothing? It didn't hurt.

"What was that?" Toph asked, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes. The sensation felt strangely amazing, and jolts of something appeared before her eyes, sort of moving with the motion of her fingers.

"Come here, let me check," Yue instructed, and this time she felt Yue's warm fingers on her closed eyes and temples, then cool water. "Hm."

"Well?" Toph demanded.

"It feels normal."

Toph let out a frustrated sound. "Normal for me, or normal for you?!"

Yue giggled. "Normal for me. They feel whole and healthy. Unscarred."

"So… can I open them?" Toph asked, and felt Yue nod and pull away.

"Go ahead," the princess instructed, excitement in her tone.

"Slowly," Zuko urged. "It's dark out, so I'm hoping that'll help you adjust. But as far as you're concerned, you might as well be a—" Toph's eyes flew open wide, taking in everything at once. "—newborn."

Toph tuned out as Zuko sighed, trying to look at everything at once. She had no frame of reference for most of the things she was seeing, while the rest she kind of just associated with things her senses told her. Ground, grass, trees, leaves, fire, rock, people—these things she could identify, but it was… overwhelming. Way too much.

Her eyes watered and hurt, and she had to shut them again. After a few moments, the pain faded and she opened them again. This time, she looked directly ahead, focusing on the two people in front of her. Taking in their bodies, clothes, faces, hair. She had nothing, no one to compare them to, but it didn't matter.

They're… beautiful. The best thing I've ever seen.

"Are you… crying?" Zuko asked, a hint of teasing in his tone. His… lips? Were those lips? Toph reached out and touched his face, putting everything together with what she had felt before. They were lips and he was smiling.

"No! I'm not crying. You're crying," Toph glared.

"You shouldn't tease her," Yue giggled and Toph turned to see the other woman reach up and brush a strand of hair behind her ear. "You have such pretty green eyes."

"I," Toph's throat felt thick and she swallowed. "I have no idea what that is."

The pair shared one of those looks and this time, Toph watched, studying their faces. Yue smiled, her eyes flicking to Toph and back to Zuko as she raised an… eyebrow? Yes, an eyebrow. Zuko's eyes shifted up—rolled! He smiled, but it wasn't the same kind she had seen from him before, or like the one Yue wore. He shook his head, then turned back to Toph. Reaching up, he took her hands and pulled them away from his face.

"Well, sounds like we've got a lot to teach you, then. You ready to start?"

Toph grinned. "I've never been more ready for anything in my entire life."