Chapter Text
The war was over, but the Gaang remained gathered in the courtyard of the Fire Nation Palace, waiting out the quiet days before everyone scattered to their respective homes. Night had fallen, drawing a cool shadow across the stone flagstones, and a low campfire flickered in the center of their circle, casting dancing orange light over their faces.
Sokka was lying with his head lazily resting on Suki’s lap, hands dramatically gesturing to the stars as he pontificated about how Suki was the most brilliant, elegant, and terrifyingly perfect warrior in all four nations. Suki smiled down at him, fond and relaxed in her casual tunic, lightly running her fingers through his hair. Across the flames, Aang sat cross-legged with Katara, their fingers warmly intertwined in a tight, affectionate lock. Aang giggled softly as Katara teased Sokka from across the fire about his over-the-top poetry. A few paces back, Zuko leaned against a carved pillar, brooding productively over a stack of diplomatic scrolls, his palms radiating a quiet, ambient heat against the chill of the evening. It was a rare, cozy circle of coupled bliss—which naturally left only one target in the line of fire.
Sokka sat up abruptly, brushing dust from his elbows as he grinned across the flames. "Alright, Toph. What about you? What’s the ultimate checklist for the guy who’s going to have to survive dating the Blind Bandit?"
Toph snorted, leaning back on her hands and using her bare heel to toss a stray pebble into the air. "Oh, please. Like I’m looking."
"Come on," Katara chimed in with a bright laugh, leaning her head against Aang's shoulder. "Hypothetically!"
Toph rolled her eyes, but a wicked smirk played on her lips. "Fine. If I had to build a guy from scratch?"
She knocked her fist lightly against the courtyard floor, sending a tiny ripple through the earth beneath them. "First, he’s gotta be strong and direct. I’m not dealing with someone who wilts when things get tough. Say what you mean, hit hard, and don't tiptoe around me."
"I knew it!" Sokka dramatically pointed an accusing finger at her across the fire. "I knew she’d make 'being able to take a boulder straight to the face' an actual dating requirement!"
"Second, he has to be 100% honest." Toph's voice dropped its sarcastic edge for a split second, settling into a rare, solemn quiet. "I hear every heartbeat, every skipped pulse, every tiny hesitation when people lie to me. It’s exhausting. I need someone who is so painfully, brutally honest that I never have to waste my energy second-guessing him."
Katara’s grip on Aang's hand tightened unconsciously, her expression turning earnest and thoughtful as she gazed into the embers. "Honesty really is the most important thing. No one can truly endure being lied to or betrayed."
"Third..." Toph paused, a flick of rare, soft warmth touching her features before she quickly buried it beneath a nonchalant shrug. "He’s gotta be funny. Not like, 'performing on a stage' funny. But someone who can make me smirk when I'm trying to be tough. Someone whose stupid humor just... makes me feel relaxed without even trying."
Aang offered a soft, radiant smile, looking warmly at Katara before turning toward Toph. "Monk Gyatso used to tell me that finding a companion who can bring you genuine laughter and ease is one of the greatest gifts—and promises—you can have in this life."
Toph snorted, though the corner of her mouth twitched into a small, fond smirk. "You're being soft again, Twinkletoes," she said, before nodding reluctantly. "But okay, that's gold. I'll give you that."
She cleared her throat, eager to derail the sudden wave of sentimentality before it got any mushier.
"—And lastly," she abruptly erupted into a boisterous, unrestrained laugh, slapping her knee so hard the sound echoed off the palace walls,
"if he’s richer than me, that would be surreal! Good luck finding that!"
The entire courtyard exploded into exaggerated, roaring laughter.
"Yeah, right!" Sokka wheezed, clutching his stomach as Katara nearly spilled her tea from laughing so hard. "The Beifongs own half the Earth Kingdom! Good luck finding a guy richer than your family! You're going to be single forever!"
While the whole courtyard was filled with roaring laughter, across the circle, Suki froze.
She discreetly covered her hand over her mouth, which was slightly open in surprise. Her eyes slowly shifted, tracking the checklist item by item through her mind.
Strong and direct? Absolutely.
Painfully, pathologically honest? The young man sitting by the pillar couldn't lie if his life depended on it; his heartbeat was a completely open book.
Makes her smirk and feel relaxed? Suki had spent the last hour watching Toph toss small pebbles at Zuko’s boots just to hear him groan, drop his rigid royal stoicism, and grumble a dry, stressed-out comeback that made Toph cover her mouth to hide an effortless, genuine smile.
And richer than a Beifong...?
Suki’s gaze drifted past the campfire to the young man sitting under the carved archway. The newly crowned Fire Lord. The absolute ruler of an entire empire, sitting on a century’s worth of imperial treasury, royal estates, and global wealth.
Suki’s breath hitched faintly in her chest. It wasn't just a general vibe. Toph had accurately described Zuko down to the last impossible detail without having the slightest clue.
She looked back at Toph, who was still chuckling at her own joke about the money, completely oblivious to the fact that her impossible fantasy guy was JUST sitting five feet away, subtly shifting his angle so the night breeze wouldn't blow smoke in her direction.
Rather than making a scene or nudging Sokka, Suki stayed quiet. She smoothed down the front of her simple tunic and let her gaze sweep slowly across everyone in the courtyard with deliberate, quiet intensity. Resting her chin in her hand, she took a slow, knowing sip of tea and quietly locked the moment away.