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"I'm divorcing you."
Slippered feet skittered to a halt. Every heartbeat within listening range stammered nearly in unison, and Toph might have been impressed if not for the man across from her. Zuko didn't waver or hack in mid-sip, nor did his hand falter when setting his cup down on the saucer balanced on his palm. He was painfully, terribly unbothered by her declaration and the sweltering heat.
Toph wasn't sure which annoyed her more.
"On what grounds?" Zuko asked, and Toph's brows pinched at the smile in his voice. "I thought we were doing rather well with all things considered. You seem happy."
"And hot," Toph grumbled. "Sleeping next to you during the summer feels like I'm in a kiln."
Consideration deepened the sound of Zuko's hum before he suggested, "Then should we sleep separately?"
Toph curled her fist, and the stones in the nearby garden trembled. A squeak from somewhere off to her left turned her head slightly. Her scowl intensified, and a few heartbeats thumped faster. "Everyone out," she ordered, and the harried scurry of feet only barely concealed a soft chuckle from Zuko or Toph's own quivering heartbeat.
A few brave souls remained, prepared to defend their sovereign should his life be threatened, but Zuko waved a hand to dismiss them as well. Toph filed away the sounds of their footsteps, their breathing, and their hearts. It was rare to find someone with enough backbone to stand up to her. Double that they were also loyal to Zuko.
Once the pavillion was emptied of every soul but the twittering summerlarks roosted on the rafters, cicada beetles singing in the trees, and the koi fish in the nearby pond, Toph reared her fist back and swung. Her breath hitched when a warm palm encompassed her fingers, wrapping from nail bed to knuckle before turning to caress her hand gently. She moved to wrench her hand away, determined to at least get one swing in before their mock battle began - but something felt odd.
His hand wasn't normally this hot. Sweat gathered between her fingers begun to itch, but the overwhelming humidity lessened. Toph thought on it for a moment, and felt the flow of heat gathered in her body begin to move up and out. It felt less like she'd been trapped inside of a boiling pot, and more like an open air bath. Zuko's breathing had changed too. His inhales were slow, long, and even, while his exhales were measured but relatively shorter.
"Are you bending the heat?" Toph asked, voice lightened incredulously.
Zuko snorted, and the light clatter of his tea cup against the steps preluded his clasp on her hand. "What kind of firebender - let alone husband - would I be if I didn't know how to keep my wife cool?"
Toph snorted. "I'd be cooler if we were back in Yu Dao," she said, almost breathless from the sudden coolness to her body. Zuko's hold on her loosened but she curled her fingers around his palm tightly. What bitter irritation stirred inside of her mellowed with the fading heat. From the slight twitch of his fingers, and the way his bones relaxed in her grasp, he must've felt grateful for that.
"It's just until the end of summer, Toph," Zuko promised, as he had been saying for the last month and a half since the "sun wave" descended on Caldera. "Then I swear to you, we can go wherever you like."
Toph smirked. "Careful Sparky, it almost sounds like you're begging."
"I thought you liked when I beg."
A beat passed. Toph's mouth parted, and she could feel the sincerity as well as a hint of smugness in Zuko's touch. He dragged a finger along the center of her palm, nail scratching against the lines as if he were trying to draw his name there. Their hands raised, a whisper of plush warmth against her skin, puckered at rest. Shivers rushed down her spine, and heat curled in her stomach. A tingle fanned further down as her fingertips traced his jawline, thumb pressed to one side while the others splayed against his cheek.
Then her hold tightened, and Zuko grunted when Toph pulled him closer. Puffs of steam pooled in the small space left between them as Toph mapped her way to Zuko's mouth by drawing her thumb closer to his bottom lip. She grinned, tilting her head slightly at the way his heartbeat quickened. The unsteady, growing desperation in his breathing.
"Heat getting to you?" Toph snickered, giving his chin another squeeze when his breath caught. "If you think that was gonna change my mind, Hot Shot, think again."
She released him with a push, delighted in the way the heat of him smoldered.
"It was worth a try," Zuko grumbled in his palm, a lilt to his voice, amusement and thought laced together. "How about this then?"
Toph arched a brow when he shifted around, and moved one of his hands as if signaling for something. Familiar boots approached them from behind. A small smile curled on Toph's lips as she tilted her head up, chin raised.
"Enjoyed the show, Suki?"
"A little," Suki chuckled with the knowing of someone accustomed to her antics, and wholly unbothered by them. Zuko was lucky, if she ever did decide to go through with divorce, Suki would definitely be who she'd fight for in the split. Toph blinked when something cool hovered close to her cheek. It smelled sweet, and faintly like the berries she used to pick in the mountains of Gaoling.
"What's this?" Toph asked, raising her hand. A wooden stick was pressed to her palm, and somewhere hovering above radiated coolness.
"An incentive to stay married," Zuko said. "The merchant who visited yesterday wanted you to try it - it's called a raspberry popsicle."
"Hmph," Toph turned the stick one way then the other before giving the treat a testing lick. Her eyebrows raised appreciatively.
"Well, guess I'll stick around after all, Sparky."