oOoOo

She found his face with her hands and pulled him forward with fistfuls of beard, bending down to press her lips against his. Her aim was off, and she kissed more mustache than mouth, their noses bumping awkwardly. Her eyes were open, unfocused and half-lidded. When she pulled away, she said, "We should get married."

She leaned in again but his hands found her shoulders and held her back, keeping her at a safe distance. "What's this about?" he asked gently. "Did Mai put you up to it?"

Toph let go of his beard and slid her arms around his neck, one hand holding the back of his head. She pressed him against her chest as she stared at a point somewhere behind him. "I'm almost sixteen," she said. "That's how old you were when you got married, I checked."

He tried again to push her away, but her earthbender's body was unyielding. "I'd make a great wife," she said in a rush. "I could play Pai Sho with you, I've learned how to tell the tiles apart by touch. I could manage the house, and take care of you when you're old --"

"I'm already old," he said, his laugh hollow. "Which is why you-"

"I could give you children! You could have a family again-"

"Stop this," he rumbled, the laughter gone entirely. "You and Zuko are all the family I need, just as you are."

"Is it that I'm not pretty enough? I could start wearing makeup, find nicer clothes!" She dug her fingers into the cloth of his tunic. "I'm still, you know...no one's had me before, if that's what-"

He wedged his arms between them to break her hold then took a long step back, breathing hard as his fingernails cut into his palms. "Toph Bei Fong, you will stop this right now."

"Don't call me that!" she barked suddenly. "I'm not a Bei Fong anymore!"

His fists unclenched as he frowned up at her. She had changed so much since that first afternoon on the mountainside. Her hair was cropped short and stuck out at odd angles, half-covering her clouded eyes. Her body had stretched and broadened, muscled arms bare except for the fine white lines of old scars. She wore the brocade tunic he had given her for Zuko's coronation, and she'd cleaned the dirt from under her nails.

"What did they do?" he asked quietly.

"There was a letter for Zuko this morning," she said. "For the Fire Lord. They want him to ship me home again."

"He won't send you anywhere you don't want to go," he said. "You're family."

"My parents aren't giving him a choice. He needs their good favor in the Earth Kingdom, and he knows it." She lifted her hand and lay her palm against his chest. "But...if I married into royalty..."

"I'll adopt you," he said. "Something I should have done years ago."

"You know they'll never accept that," she said. "Look...you don't have to...you know...if you don't want to. Just go through the motions, please...just do this thing for me. I know I'm ugly and and covered in dirt all the time, but even if you don't want me that way at least pretend that you do long enough to get through a ceremony."

"You're not ugly," said Iroh, covering her hand with both of his. "Don't ever say such things about yourself."

A tear landed on his forehead and ran down his temple. Toph sniffed and angrily wiped her eyes. "I don't want to go back," she said. "I can't live like that again."

"Then you won't."

oOoOo