Zuko surveyed the room once again, still seeing no sign of the old group. He'd invited them to the party in hopes of having someone to talk to, but so far, no such luck.

Until, of course, he felt a sharp punch land on his arm.

"'Sup Sparky?" Toph asked.

"You know you could show the fire lord some respect," he sighed, getting a good look at her. She was so adorable, even when she acted tough.

"I could," she said, plopping down in his throne. The whole room went silent, but Zuko couldn't help but chuckle.

Toph's face burned bright pink, "What? Why did everything get quiet all of a sudden?"

"You're… in… my… throne!" Zuko laughed, struggling to stand up at this point. People were pointing and muttering.

Toph jumped up and stormed out, down a hallway. As soon as the party was alive again, he followed.

He found her on a balcony, her face in her hands. Katara was sitting next to her, whispering something in her ear.

"Someone's coming," Toph flinched as he approached. Katara patted her back to calm her down.

"It's just Zuko," she said, looking back. Toph furiously wiped her face.

"Oh," she said.

Katara stood up, and on her way out whispered in Zuko's ear, "Be gentle." She was gone before he could ask what it meant.

She looked up at him, and even though he knew she couldn't see, his heart still skipped a beat as her gaze seemed to burn a hole straight through him.

"What do you want?" she spat. Zuko came and sat next to her.

"To talk to you," he said, trying to gather his thoughts. The sight of her in a dress was almost too much for him to handle.

"About?" she prompted, leaning back against the wall and gazing out to sea. Well, that's what it looked like she was doing anyway.

"Are you okay? You seemed upset," he sat down next to her.

"I should ask you the same question. Are you having a heart attack?" she said, turning her head towards him.

"What? No, I…" he trailed off, remembering that she could sense his heart beating erratically. He cursed under his breath, running his hand over the bench. Wood. It was made of wood.

With a smirk, he picked up his feet.

Toph's eyes grew wide, "Hey, no fair!" she said.

"When has fair ever mattered to me?" he smirked, standing up on the bench. He carefully made his way over to the banister, which was also made of wood.

"Gotcha!" Toph said, jumping at the seat next to her, her hair falling in front of her face. She tried to blow on it, to no avail.

She stood up and stuck her arms out like a zombie, feeling along the banister. Zuko was moving sideways, so she didn't find him there either.

"Getting warmer," he smirked. It may be dishonorable for a fire lord to act this way, but right now he didn't care.

"Been taking lessons from Twinkletoes?" she asked, feeling along the banister as he walked.

"I'm the one who gave the lessons, remember? get your facts straight." At this point they'd gone all the way around, so he jumped onto the wooden bench on the opposite side of the doorway as the one he'd started on. Which, unfortunately, made a noise.

"Aha!" Toph yelled, grabbing his sleeve and pulling. She was surprisingly strong for her size, and he toppled down on top of her.

"Found you," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yea," he winced, his knees injured in the fall. Once the pain wore off, they realized the position they were in.

"Uhh…" Toph muttered, feeling Zuko's hot breath on her face, "sorry."

"For what?" he smirked, now willing to use this situation to his full advantage.

"For sitting on your throne, and for hurting you," she muttered, somehow keeping eye contact.

"For sitting on my throne, I forgive you. However, for hurting me I demand compensation," he said, that evil hint on his voice.

"What did you-" Toph started, but she was cut off by a long, passionate kiss.