Chapter Text
It starts during a quiet moment at the Western Air Temple. Toph feels Zuko seating himself near her, heart nearly jumping out of his chest, like it does much too often. She knows that one of the others, probably Katara, had most likely said something to him. He generally surreptitiously seeks shelter with the earthbender, when he gets anxious. Not that he would ever admit to it, but that’s fine, because it’s not exactly Toph wants to voice out loud either.
She has no idea why he’s chosen to trust her of all people, but she’s not going to call him out on it. Despite what some people think, she’s not cruel. “Hey, Sparky,” she says quietly.
He flinches a little at her voice, but rasps out, “Hi, Toph.”
He sounds worse than usual and Toph’s not sure what that means. Instead of picking at it, she quietly voices a question that’s been bothering her lately, “Zuko? What’s red?”
”It’s a color,” the firebender says blankly and Toph almost laughs.
Punching his arm gently, she clarifies, “I know that dumbass. I mean, what is it like?”
Zuko’s quiet for a long moment, before he asks, “Has nobody ever explained colors to you before?”
”No,” Toph replies honestly, “Not really. My parents tried. Once. They, uh, didn’t exactly explain it well,” frustration bleeds into her voice, as she continues, “They’d just give me a flower or some shit like that and say, ‘that’s yellow’, or ‘that’s red’, which is all well and good, if you’ve ever actually seen colors before.”
She feels Zuko nod thoughtfully, “I-I kind of get what you mean. After, uh,” he hesitates, “after I got the scar, I lost my sight in that eye. It was... difficult... to be taught how to fight one eyed, by people who’ve never gone without full sight a day in their lives.”
Toph nods and, after a moment, asks again, “So, what is red? I always hear that it’s the color of the Fire Nation, but I don’t know what that means.”
”Red’s a lot of different things, but I think, most importantly, it’s passion. It’s- it’s anger and rage, but it’s also love and warmth. It’s like fire, a bit. The last few Fire Lords have twisted it’s meaning, into something scary and cruel, but, it’s so much more than that too,” Zuko sighs, as he trails off into a murmur.
Toph mulls this over for a silent moment, before she leans over to nudge Zuko with her elbow, “Thanks, Sparky.”
”Anytime,” he says, a smile in his voice. Toph privately thinks that she just might take him up on that offer.
—————
The secondtime it happens, Zuko and Sokka have returned from the Boiling Rock, with a few new people in tow. Toph can tell immediately that something’s up with her heater. He’s even more skittish than usual and he flinches nearly every time Hakoda speaks.
After spending nearly an hour, feeling Sparky’s heartbeat hammer like a spooked ostrich-horse, Toph’s thoroughly sick of it. “Hey, Sparky!” She calls and frowns when he flinches again, “I’m bored and you still owe me piggy back rides for my feet, so give me one.”
Zuko laughs a little at her imperious command, heart slowing a bit for the first time since he had returned. “Okay,” he agrees easily, getting to his feet.
”Are you sure you want to go off with him, Toph?” Katara asks and, dammit, there goes Zuko’s heart again.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Toph growls, leaving no room for argument. Katara merely humphs and turns back to where she had been talking to her father. Zuko lets her onto his back and, though he grumbles, she can tell that he’s enjoying it as much as she is.
When she has him set her down, they’re well out of earshot of the others and his heart is finally slowing some. “What’s green, Sparkles?” Toph asks, for lack of anything else to say.
To her surprise, Zuko doesn’t seem startled by the seemingly odd question at all. “Green is... well, green is the color of the Earth Kingdom. I think green is life and energy. It’s vitality and youthfulness. It seems like a very light-hearted color, if- if that, uh, makes sense,” Zuko trails off awkwardly, seeming somewhat embarrassed.
Toph, on the other hand, feels, frankly, delighted. “That sounds fucking awesome,” she smiles at Zuko, “Thanks, Fire Fingers!” On a whim, she throws an arm around him and briefly squeezes him, in a one armed hug.
He freezes and, for a moment, Toph thinks she’s made a mistake. But, then, Zuko relaxes and lets himself wrap an arm around her and cautiously squeeze her back. His heart is slower than it has been all day and Toph can’t help but grin.
—————
The next time it happens, they have just arrived at Ember Island and Zuko feels distant, in a way. He barely seems to notice the rest of the group and he avoids one of the rooms like the plague. He even goes so far, as to make Sokka switch rooms, when the Water Tribe boy chooses it for his own. The others don’t seem to understand, but Toph thinks she does.
She waits, until she knows that everybody else is busy, to call, “I’m going to go down to the beach and practice my sandbending a bit. Anyone wanna come?”
The others give her negative answers, except for Zuko, who, almost too eagerly, says, “I’ll come with you!”
Toph agrees easily and, soon enough, they’re walking along the beach, listening, or, in Zuko’s case, watching, the ocean lap at the shore. “It sounds nice,” Toph comments.
”Yeah, it’s-it’s beautiful,” Zuko agrees, “It’s a really nice shade of blue today.”
”Today? The ocean changes color?” Toph questions, bewildered.
”It depends on how the light hits it,” Zuko explains, “It can look blue, or green, or even gray sometimes.”
“Oh,” Toph responds intelligently, “What’s blue like?”
"Blue is... blue is peace and serenity, but it's also- it's also fury. The kind of fury that feels like ice," Zuko pauses and, though the sand makes everything shaky, Toph thinks she feels Zuko shudder.
He clears his throat and continues, "The ocean is blue and I think they're very alike. The ocean is peaceful, until it's angered, but, when it is, its rage is terrifying." Zuko's voice drops into a murmur, before he falls silent.
Toph doesn't break the silence. Zuko seems to have been venting a little and Toph understands. She's heard that Azula's fire is blue.
Shifting closer to Zuko, she presses her arm into his. He returns the pressure and they both turn to face the waves. They stand there together, side by side, simply allowing themselves to breath for one, precious moment. It's one that Toph never forgets.
It's the last true moment of peace either of them gets, before Sozin's Comet hits and everything changes.