The Art Of Finding Each Other (Zutara)

With A Little Help From My Friends

The title of this chapter was chosen after the song with the same name, courtesy of The Beatles. It's an amazing song! It always lightens up my mood. Highly recommend going to listen to it as soon as you can ;)
Alright, now I'll let you get right into it!
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Toph was the first to arrive, about four days after all the letters had been sent.

She had delivered a message informing of her immediate return to the Fire Nation. It didn't come out exactly as a shock, given the way the earthbender had spoken about going back to Gaoling already weeks ago. It would be great to have her back on the team and Zuko was more than excited to see his friend again. Though a part of him still couldn't believe he had dared to tell everyone the truth in the first place.

It hadn't been easy. Not even by a long shot. He had poured his heart out in those letters, going crazy whilst searching for the right thing to say. Something that could make them understand how he felt and why he kept the whole thing a secret right off the bat. The words had stumbled down onto the paper and he wasn't sure how many times he repeated that no one was obligated to come running to help. Those letters hadn't been perfect but real. They showed him more vulnerable than he would've preferred. But the response from his friends had been overwhelmingly positive.

The ship in which Toph traveled with was docked at the port by midday. Alongside Katara and Iroh, he took the liberty of waiting for her right there. Her arrival marked a new chapter on their quest. Hopefully, a short and sweet one.

"Sparky? Sugar Queen?" Toph's voice resonated all over the place as soon as she stepped foot on firm land. "Iroh? You've all come to welcome me here? I'm almost touched."

"Hey Toph," Zuko greeted her with a pad on the back. "Good trip then?"

"Good you say?" She let out a scandalous laugh. "Oh man, how I was dying to get here already! Honestly, when my parents read me your letter I had to restrain myself from doing a little dance of joy."

Katara didn't take long to wrap the girl in a warm hug. "I take it you weren't exactly looking forward to staying with them for all eternity," she said as she squeezed her tightly.

"You bet. For now let's just say that I love them and all but I'm much better doing my own kinda thing," Toph shrugged as she let go. Then, she approached Uncle. " Iroh, it's so nice to see you again! Haven't these two driven you crazy already?"

The old man gifted her with a tender smile. "Not quite, Toph, not quite. Though I'm glad to have you here."

"Alright, alright," Zuko grimaced. "Should we continue this in the Palace? Lunch should be ready soon enough."

Needless to say, Toph was instantly on board with that plan. The whole way back home was spent exchanging anecdotes. Though the focus was clearly on the earthbender and her adventures at Gaoling. Zuko had already told her everything relevant about his and Katara's ordeals. And he preferred to leave some of the most sentimental details to himself unless asked to.

Surprise, surprise, he ended up being asked about it. As if Toph would relent a chance to put him on the spot.

"So... Sparky, why don't you share with me what all those racing hearts all about?" His friend asked the minute they were left alone together. "Because we both know something's more than going on here."

"Um, yeah. Well, you see," Zuko mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't even know how we got here."

"You don't even know how you two ended up spending every minute of the past month together?" She chuckled, taking a seat on one of the dining chairs. "Come on, you can communicate better than that."