adult toph x firebender!reader
content: hurt/comfort, angst, fluff (a lot!! very fluffy i promise), prideful!toph, toph is bad with words, fem!reader, established relationship, miscommunication, reader is zuko’s little sister, some sibling fluff too because it’s so cute
summary: you and zuko are summoned to the fire kingdom, where you spend three whole years away from toph. at your return, you immediately look for her, excited to see the love of your life again, only to get a reaction you didn’t expect.
author’s note: this is a req ᢉ𐭩 i loved writing this :’)
a heavy silence filled the room after zuko finished reading the newly received scrolls to you. he rolled them back with a sigh, setting them down on his desk as he leaned back against his chair, both of you tiredly looking at each other.
you groaned, elbows resting on the hard-wood desk, clutching your head. “seriously? this shit again?”
he ran a hand over his disheveled waves, brushing them back as he nodded, just as exasperated as you. “we’re expected to leave tonight at most, there’s no time to waste.”
“this is ridiculous!” you threw your hands up in the air, frustrated. “this already happened last time. father keeps dumping all the work on us like it’s nothing. why the hell does he think we’re fine with such a big decision on terribly short notice??”
zuko only rubbed over his scar and exhaled, “i know, i know. and you know i agree with you. but the fire kingdom’s on the line, information’s too scarce to properly assess the situation over there, and we really don’t have the time to debate this with such a looming threat before us. i get father’s unbearable, but.. just this time, pretty please? come with me?”
you huffed, rolling your eyes. “you know i wouldn’t let you go alone, zu.”
you weren’t the only ones perturbed by this sudden summon. while zuko ensured an emergency ship was ready to go, you were in charge of explaining to your friends that you’d both be gone for an indefinite amount of time — a week, a year.. you had no idea. they all frowned, offering you sympathetic words of comfort and gentle pats on your shoulder; except for one, of course.
“again?” toph spat, crossing her arms.
you sighed, guiltily scratching your head, “i know.. i’m sorry, baby. this isn’t something i can help. you can blame my stupid father for that.”
“or you could just let zuko go alone.”
“you know i can’t do that, toph.”
“well if you cared enough, you would.”
you knew she meant none of her words, so they didn’t really affect you. she never seemed to take your leaving well, and she’d just end up talking to talk, even when you both knew her arguments held no ground.
“i’ll be back soon,” you tentatively reach to cup her face. you sense her tense under your touch, like she was considering pulling away to keep up her sulky act, but she decided against it.
after all, who knew how long it’d be before she felt this hand on her skin again.
“i love you,” you press a soft peck to her pouty lips, stroking her cheek, “i’ll write to you as much as i can.”
she huffed proudly, like she wasn’t needily leaning into the palm of your head. “you better.”
you smiled and kissed her once more; a slower, sweeter one to remember you by. you chuckled at her flustered blush, finally pulling away. you hugged the rest of your friends tightly, promising them a safe return.
aang gave you his biggest smile, hyping you up with two thumbs up’s, “you’ve got this! we’ll be here, missing you both dearly!”
“don’t worry,” katara added, pulling a disgruntled toph to her side, “we’ll take good care of your pissy girlfriend in your absence, and read her your letters.”
she whined, pushing katara’s grinning face away, “get off me!”
you laughed fondly, giving them a final wave as zuko called for you to get on the ship. “i’ll miss you all. especially you, my beautiful girl. wait for me.”
you walked away, but not before taking one last glance back, smiling at the adorable pink color that tinted her cheeks.
you made it aboard, waving at them again over the railing as the anchor got steadily heaved up.
you watched toph’s angry features melt into sadder resigned ones, her lips moving. too far for you to hear, but clear enough for you to read.
your heart squeezed at each word you made out.
“i. will. miss. you. too.”
three entire years you and zuko spent in the fire kingdom, the work seemingly endless as piles and piles of paperwork filled both your desks, solving crisis after crisis. many times you’d snap, throwing them all on the ground and angrily stomping on them, screaming about how badly you wanted to strangle the living daylights out of your father. when you and your brother arrived, the first thing you were greeted with was worried castle staff informing you about your dad’s departure.
that piece of shit. that was his goal all along; luring you with an ominous letter to keep you both trapped here with his duties until he decided to come back.
only zuko had kept you sane for this agonizingly long time, taking on most of the hectic work so you’d have more chances to rest, believing it was his responsibility for “asking you to come along.”
“i came by my own will, zu. this isn’t your fault in any way,” you’d reason, feeling guilty for how overworked he was.
he’d shake his head, writing report after report, “i can handle all of this. i just asked you to come because i like it when you’re with me. your presence makes it all feel less impossible.”
you’d smile, ruffling his hair. “what a sappy older brother i have.”
he’d just shrug, not lifting his gaze from his work, “it’s all true.”
with only that pitiful excuse of a dad for family, you and zuko had grown up incredibly close, shielding yourselves from the world, constantly holding onto each other no matter what mundane tasks you were engaged in.
even now, much more grown in your late twenties, you might not be the little clingy kids you were anymore, living in separate houses with your respective partners, but your bond hadn’t budged one bit. he really was your rock, keeping you grounded, especially in times like these awful three years cooped up in the kingdom you clearly fled for a reason.
there you were now, finally arriving at your destination, as you looked for your favourite rock. the beautiful, moody rock you missed with every fiber of your being.
who would probably earthbend actual rocks to smash your head in for how long you were gone for.
zuko helped you off the ship, and you two made your way to where the gaang would most likely be at this time of day (crashing at aang and katara’s place). since you left as suddenly as you were summoned, you didn’t find time to tell them about your return in advance, so you decided to surprise them instead.
“ta-da!” you barged in, arms open wide in a show of victory despite your exhaustion, interrupting their dinner (in a rather chaotic manner). sokka got so startled he snorted his noodles out of his nose, aang screamed and jumped out of his place, knocking katara down with him as he tripped over his seat.
then you heard a bowl shattering against the floor, shards of it scattering everywhere.
toph’s eyes were blown wide, staring at you almost like she could see you, her bottom lip quivering, her shaky hands still held up in the position she had her bowl in.
you smiled wearily, walking over to her. your safe haven.
you had waited for so, so cruelly long to be cradled in those warm, lovely arms of hers again. the thought of coming back to her, the girl you loved most in the whole wide world, was what kept you going all this time.
you knelt next to where she was seated, leaning in for a hug — only for your girlfriend to quickly crawl away, her hand pressing over a sharp piece of glass in the process, cutting through her palm, but that did not seem to dull her shock in the slightest. she stared at you, so bewildered and hurt, and you felt a confusing dread pool in your stomach.
“i thought you were dead!” the sudden rise of her voice made you violently flinch back. you didn’t know what you expected to leave her mouth, but it was definitely not this.
“huh?” was the only word you managed to stupidly utter, completely taken aback.
toph scoffed, clenching her fists which in turn made the cut on her hand bleed more profusely. “what? you abruptly stop writing to me for an entire year, not even updating me once; what the hell did you expect me to think?”
there was so much, so much you wanted to say, but your tongue felt so heavy, a huge weight settling on your chest. so many excuses wanted to slip out of your trembling mouth, “i was too busy”, “the fire kingdom was in a dire situation and i couldn’t find a minute for myself”, “i was exhausted”..
but you also had no effort left for this. the trip left you entirely drained, the only moment you looked forward to was this very one: when you’d come back and fall into your girlfriend’s open arms, as she held you on her lap, gently stroking your hair and kissing your worries away.
this wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
“i-i’m sorry,” you pathetically stammered. all your excuses felt so flimsy under her furious gaze, you could only find it in yourself to apologize. “forgive me.”
you’d somehow hoped that would butter her up, tug at her heartstrings enough to feel pity for you; poor little you who had just spent three whole years alone with only her brother for company, as she relentlessly worked day and night because of her irresponsible father..
but she only huffed defensively, rolling her eyes. “oh, you’re sorry! how sweet. yes, let me ignore my girlfriend for over a year and then act like a kicked puppy for the reaction i get.”
you frowned at her mocking, “that’s not what i—”
“ahem,” zuko gingerly cleared his throat, the others not daring to even breathe as they awkwardly witnessed the couple fight.
he looked down at toph, “it really wasn’t her fault, i promise. it’s mostly because last year, we unfortunately had this huge incident with the neighboring—”
“i don’t care!” she interrupted, angrily standing up over the same shattered glass with her bare feet, her steely features unmoving as it dug into her soles. “i did not ask for a sob story.”
and with that, she turned on her injured heel and left, leaving you no time to process what happened or why it happened or how it happened.
your heart felt just like that bowl: smashed to jagged bits, trampled on without the slightest wince.
a lump formed in your throat, your hands clutching the fabric of your robes. this was what you had been so eagerly waiting for?
katara’s arm looped around your shoulders, gently pulling you to rest against her, and that was the final straw. you gave in, immediately breaking down into tired sobs, burying your face into the crook of her neck as she comfortingly rubbed your back.
you knew you weren’t blameless, that you shouldn’t have written so little to her, and that this was all just a manifestation of her worry for you.. but it still stung. did you not deserve the smallest of breaks? it’s not like you were away on a tropical summer trip, surfing on gorgeous beaches and deliberately ignoring her.
even with zuko’s immense help, you still sometimes needed many sleepless nights to catch up with all the kingdom’s demands.
and when you were finally done with your daily tasks, the thought of sitting at your desk again, writing more during your tiny bit of free sleeping time, did seem like a hassle, and you promised yourself you’d write tomorrow.
your eyes welled up again; you felt so guilty, so hurt, so exhausted.
you wanted to apologize, but you also wanted to yell at her. maybe you were in the wrong, but so was she! after all, you did come back. shouldn’t she be grateful that you didn’t die?
shouldn’t she have missed you?
it was unfair! she didn’t know how your conditions there were, or why you couldn’t write, so why was she so quick to dismiss your feelings and get upset with you before even hearing you out?
“you can stay over if you want,” katara suggested after your crying subsided, her hand still gently threading through your hair.
what an embarrassment. spending your first night back from an exhausting trip at your friend’s rather than your girlfriend’s.
you rubbed your eyes, offering her a small smile, “thank you, katara. but it’s okay, i still have to unpack at my house anyway, and..”
you looked down at your lap, fingers curling around the silk of your robes, “.. we’ll have to talk eventually. might as well do it tonight.”
she sighed and nodded understandingly, “you’re right. i’m really sorry about her outburst today. but don’t take it seriously, she’s just really hurt. you know, while you were gone, she’d come over and intensely knock at my door — even at 3am — whenever she got a letter from you, waking me up to read it for her. she hasn’t been herself since they stopped coming. i swear, she terribly missed you.”
and deep down, you knew. you knew she did miss you, maybe just as much as you missed her. you also knew that you did earn her wrath in a way; you had left her worried with no updates for the past months.
she had every right to be upset. you just wished she could have seen past that, understood your struggle, and celebrated your return.
you shook the thoughts off, finally sliding off katara’s grasp. dwelling on this any further would do neither of you any good. the sooner you talked, the faster this would be over.
“thank you, ‘tara.” you squeezed her hands in appreciation, to which she smiled back.
“you’re welcome anytime, darling.”
you unlocked the door quietly, stepping into your home. you inhaled deeply, hoping to undo the tight dreadful knot forming in your abdomen.
you silently tip-toed up the stairs so she wouldn’t hear you; you didn’t even think of what to say when you’d actually see her. should you apologize again? should you sit down in front of her and wait for her to seek your forgiveness instead?
overthinking the numerous possibilities would only make you stop in your tracks and avoid this confrontation forever, so you decided to just show up and see where the wind takes you.
you stopped in front of your bedroom, about to walk in when muffled whimpers reached your ears.
you blinked, confused, pressing your ear up against the door.
you felt your heart sink to the deepest levels of the ocean you’d just sailed.
she was crying. toph beifong was crying in your room.
you wanted to break the door down, get on your knees, grovel and apologize desperately until your throat was sore, kiss her tears away — but that was only a recipe for disaster when you were dating the toph beifong, she’d only consider it a blow to her ego.
you swallowed, guilt and dread pooling in your gut, lifting your hand to knock softly.
an abrupt silence immediately followed, all her sounds coming to a stop. you weren’t even sure if she was still breathing.
you awkwardly stood there for a good minute, before the door finally opened, revealing a puffy-eyed toph.
her lips were pursed tightly, like she was holding herself back from yelling at you again.
you wished she would. it wouldn’t compare to the current painful throb in your chest.
you blankly stared at each other, the words leaving your mouths simultaneously. you expected her to seize that chance and double down on you, saying something along the lines of “yes you are. you better be.”
but she only chewed nervously at her bottom lip, her sightless gaze downcast.
“i’m sorry,” she repeated, your eyes widening. “i missed you.”
you let out a shaky exhale, trying to reign in all the emotion flooding your body, “i’m sorry too, toph. i missed you too.”
“i-i didn’t mean..” she started, trailing off, her fingers anxiously curling around her pants.
“i know,” you took hold of her tense hands, pulling her closer to you, noses almost touching. your voice lowered down to a gentle murmur, “i know you didn’t.”
her breath hitched audibly, the warm exhale hitting your cheek, and her hands immediately ditched yours to grab handfuls of your hips, smushing her mouth against yours.
her tongue darted out to prod at the small gap between your quivering lips, and you acquiesced, letting the pink muscle in to lick the neat rows of your teeth.
so many unspoken apologies in the soft squeezes of your hips, her needy whimpers on your mouth.
neither of you wanted to fully pull away yet; you’d only stop for a few seconds to catch your breath, chests heaving, before melting back into your sloppy, wet kiss. you were perfectly satisfied with this kiss as your conversation.
“i missed you so much,” she breathlessly panted against your lips between kisses, “i was so scared.”
you cupped her face, just as breathless, pausing your dazed making out for a moment. “i’m so sorry. you were right, i should have still made time to write to you.”
she only shook her head, her eyes uncharacteristically glistening with raw remorse, “it’s not your fault, you were too busy. i was just really surprised when you showed up so suddenly.. so i reacted badly, like i always do.”
“and i forgive you,” you stole another brief kiss, “like i always do.”
“i’m really sorry, tophie.” you apologized as she rubbed the shampoo into your roots, “i should have been more considerate of your feelings.”
you were laying in the bathtub, toph sitting on the edge of it behind you, still clothed as she massaged your scalp. “yes you should have, dummy. i was really worried.”
“i’m sorry..” you blew bubbles into the warm water, relaxing, her hands working out every tangle.
“hm? aahh! tophhh!” you squealed as she washed out your shampoo, some of it getting into your eyes.
“idiot, i told you to close them!” she yelled back, rubbing frantically at your eye area with her clean hands.
“you gave me no time to do that!”
a short silence followed, then you both burst out laughing, as she leaned down to press a kiss to your soapy lips. “you never listen to me. see, this is what it gets you. shampoo eyes.”
she huffed out a breathy laugh, lightly flicking your nose, “you’re not.”
“so cheeky,” she cupped your face, peppering a few more kisses over your dripping face, then resumed her pampering.
you smiled, all warm and fuzzy inside, enjoying the feel of her firm but gentle hands on your hair, soothing your nerves. you let your eyes flutter shut, leaning your head on her knee.
she rolled her eyes and nudged you with it, “hey, get off, you’re getting my clothes wet. plus, i can’t wash your hair properly like this.”
you sighed, lifting a submerged hand off the bath water to grab her leg, “don’t be so mean to your moist girlfriend.”
“hey!” she whined, trying to free her leg from your grasp, “stop that, you moist girl!”
“if you can’t love me like this, how would you love me if i was a snail?”
“and why the hell would you be a snail?”
you shrugged, patting her thigh, leaving your wet handprint on her shorts, “you never know.”
she sighed, giving up on stopping you. “that’s a problem for future me, then.”
* i love toph beifong so much guys i love toph i love toph i love i’m in love i ugh
more in toph masterlist ! ᢉ𐭩