Part II- Purity of Family

Part II- Purity of Family

“Moooooooooom,” fourteen-year-old Huan whined, walking into the vast gardens behind the Bei Fong family estate, “I’m starving.  Can’t we eat early tonight?”

Toph didn’t even turn her head.  Instead she lifted her hands, facing her palms to her body, then dropped them towards the ground.  The earth below Huan’s feet opened and he fell into the huge hole his mother had created- but only for a second.  Abruptly a pillar of rock lifted him out of the trap, the young teen posed in a full Earthbending stance until he was about six feet or so off the ground.  He flopped down, sitting on top of the pillar as though bored.

“You’re sloppy,” Toph told him.  “You should’ve been able to sense that coming and never even fallen.”

“Well, if you’d let me eat something, I’d be able to focus better!”

“You whine too much, Huan,” a rather disgusted female voice declared, moving from her spot across from the blind Earthbender, where they had been training.  Light cerulean eyes narrowed in sisterly annoyance.  “And why are you hungry again?  You were just in the kitchen, conning a turkey-chicken leg out of Cook.”

“Big mouth,” Huan hissed at his little sister.

“You’re just jealous because I’m a better bender than you.”

“Shui,” her mother warned.

“…Sorry, Mom.”

Another person entered the gardens, yawning and stretching hugely.  “When’s dinner?”  Sokka mumbled, smacking his lips.  “I’m starved.”

Shui sighed dramatically.  Toph had to grin.  The twelve-year-old girl had the same sense of the tragic that her father had.

“Fine,” she relented, moving her arm and causing the pillar of ground underneath Huan’s butt to quickly return to normal.  The teen yelped in surprise, barely managing to land on his feet.  “Where’s Ton?  I thought he was supposed to be practicing swords with you.”

Sokka scratched his head.  “Yeah, he said he wanted to go to town and get some things.  If you ask me, I think he’s sweet on the butcher’s daughter.”

“Nuo?”  Toph’s eyebrows lifted.  “She’s got a lightness to her step I haven’t felt since Twinkletoes.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she had Air Nomad blood in her ancestry.”

“Well, she’s got grey eyes,” Huan piped up, brushing dust and dirt from his brown pants.  “Maybe she’s an Airbender.”

“Just because someone has grey eyes doesn’t make them an Airbender,” Shui retorted.  “Aunt Ty Lee has grey eyes and she’s not an Airbender.”

“Have you seen the way she flips and fights and bounces around and stuff?  I’m telling you, she’s an Airbender pretending to be normal.”

“Enough,” Sokka said, using his “Dad” voice.  It sounded so much like Hakoda to him that he tried not to ever use it.  “I’ll go ask Cook to start on dinner while you three clean up.”

Toph scowled.  “Snoozles…”

“That includes you, Toph.  I know you like your element, but you agreed to keep it out of the house.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As Sokka watched his beautiful, tough, and amusingly short wife stomp off, their son and daughter in tow, he couldn’t help but smile.  He could still remember the look of absolute shock on her face sixteen years before when he’d given her the meteorite-rock betrothal necklace he’d tried to carve for her- and failed epically.  But as she pointed out, she didn’t care what it looked like.

“You really made this… for me?”

“Who else would I have made it for?  No one else would appreciate space rock like you do.”

“But… why?  Why me?  I thought you liked pretty girls, like Princess Moon and Fan-girl.”

He shook his head in wonder.  “Toph, you may be blind but I’m not.  You have grown into an absolutely stunning woman.  You’re strong, you’re loyal, you’re as stubborn as a rock-“

She smiled, wiping a tear from her eye.  “That is the best compliment you could’ve ever given me.”

Sokka chuckled.  “And you always keep me on my toes.  I love your wit.  I love your sass.  I even love your temper.  I loved you as a friend for years, but somewhere along the way… I realized I loved you as a man loves a woman.”

Her heart leapt.  She’d been in love with Sokka since she was twelve- and now, six years later, he was telling her he felt the same?  “You’re not lying,” she whispered, completely floored by the revelation.

“I know better than to try lying around you,” he replied.  “And I have no reason to.  I’m just a Water Tribe peasant and you’re Bei Fong nobility, but I hope you’ll still consider becoming my wife.”

“Peasant, my ass,” Toph said, wishing she could stop the pounding of her heart- surely that boomerang-flinging man could hear it with his wolf-bat-like hearing.  “Your father is the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.  Doesn’t that make you… I dunno… an Ice Prince or something?”

“If it makes you feel better about accepting, then I’ll say I’m the Snow King himself,” Sokka answered.  He took her hands in his, folding the necklace inside her hands.  “So will you?  I’m a selfish man- I want you all to myself, and if I don’t convince you to marry me, some other lout is going to come along and sweep you off your feet.”

“That’s no good- I wouldn’t be able to see.”

“Toph…”

She pulled her hands from his and slowly, carefully, placed the necklace back in his hands.  His heart fell, certain she had just rejected him.  The black-haired beauty turned around, offering him her back.

“…Will you put it on me?”

Instead of complying, he spun her around, pulling her off her feet and into his arms, kissing her heatedly.  “Is that a yes?”

She tried to breathe, but the silly man had completely taken her breath away with that kiss.  Instead she nodded.

His mouth found hers again, and it was quite some time later before he remembered to put the necklace around her neck.

Following his family back into the house, he smiled.  He didn’t know what he had done to deserve such happiness.  His smile faded as he thought about his baby sister… and how she had wanted a family just like this.  Why did he deserve to live and have a family… while she had died and missed out on the wonderful man her son was becoming?

Oh, he knew she was watching over Ton.  He knew every time the young man smiled his sister’s smile, every time he stopped to help one of the elderly residents carry their groceries.  That compassion, that gentle, helpful manner- and that temper when he got angry- were all Katara.

Sometimes… it broke his heart.

_-_-_-_-_-_

Ton tried not to fidget as he waited near the butcher’s shop, peering inside every so often to see if the customer had finished and were getting ready to leave.  They’d been in there for probably ten minutes already.

The old man waved cheerfully at the young woman behind the counter.  “Many thanks, Miss Nuo.  I will see you again next week.”  He turned to leave and accidentally bumped into Ton, dropping the basket he carried.  “Oh, my deepest apologies, young man,” the grey-haired elder said.  “I didn’t see you there.” He looked up at the taller male and blinked, shock registering on his weathered face.

Ton bent over and picked up the old man’s basket, brushing off the dust and making sure the wrapped meat and fresh vegetables were unharmed.  “No worries,” the young man said, smiling at him.  “I keep telling my father that I’m so tall no one sees me, but he never seems to believe me.”

The old man blinked again before laughing aloud, hearty and full-bellied.  “That’s a good one, my boy.”  His eyes sparkled as he looked the teen over.  “What is your name?  I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Ton Bei Fong,” he said, bowing respectfully.  “But my family calls me Ton.  You are welcome to do the same.”

Recognition flickered in the old man’s eyes.  “Bei Fong, you say?  Do you know of Master Toph?”

Ton grinned.  “I would hope so.  She’s my mother.”

“And… your father?”

“Sokka Bei Fong, although he’s not really a Bei Fong.  He took my mother’s name when they married, as he didn’t have a last name.  He’s Water Tribe.”

The old man smiled.  He didn’t think the boy was lying, but he could tell just by looking at him that he was in no way either the blind Earthbender or the Water Tribe Warrior’s child.  “You have your father’s eyes, then,” he said instead.

The blue eyes in question shone with delight.  “Yeah.”  His expression grew sad, almost wistful, and the old man went on minor alert.  “But I also have his lack of bending ability.”  He glanced at him.  “Do you know my parents?”

“I knew them a long time ago, when they were still children,” he said.  “I was not aware that they had married and had a child.”

Ton grinned again.  “I’m the eldest of three.  My brother Huan is fourteen, my sister Shui is twelve.”  Again the wistful look entered his eyes.  “Huan’s an Earthbender and Shui’s a Waterbender.”

The old man looked surprised.  “Sokka has no bending abilities,” he murmured.  “How is it that his daughter does?”

Ton scratched his unruly black hair.  “My late aunt was a Master Waterbender,” he said.  “I don’t know if you ever met her.  Katara?”

Pain appeared on the old man’s face and the teen immediately had him sit down on a nearby bench.  “Are you okay?”

The elder nodded.  “Just… my old age,” he replied.  “You say Katara… is dead?”

“Yeah.  She died right around the time I was born, Dad said.  I never got to meet her.  He doesn’t like talking about her much, and I can tell when Shui practices her bending he’s thinking about her.”

“What do you know of your… aunt?”

Ton thought about that for a minute.  “Well, Mom told me once that I am a lot like her, actually.  Said she was caring and loyal, not to mention stubborn.”  He laughed.  “I don’t know if I should take all of that as a compliment.”

“How old are you, my boy?”

Ton’s bright smile grew brighter.  “I just turned sixteen this past solstice.  Dad says I’m a man now.”  He blushed, glancing at the butcher’s shop.  “If only I could convince Nuo of that, though.”

The old man chuckled knowingly.  “Ah, the lovely Nuo has caught your eye.  You have excellent taste.  If I were half a century younger, I might give you a run for your money.”

“I’d probably lose,” Ton observed with a laugh.

A lone figure approached, causing the two males to look up.  “Pops,” Toph breathed, recognizing his vibrations even after nearly two decades of not seeing him.

“It’s been a while, Master Toph.”

She nodded slowly.  “Yeah.  I’d say it has.”

Ton stood up awkwardly, towering over his much, much shorter mother.  “Sorry, Mom,” he apologized.  “I was… getting some meat for dinner, and I accidentally ran over this nice gentleman.  He says he knew you and Dad when you were kids, as well as Aunt Katara.”

Toph’s entire body stiffened.  “He did, all right.”  

Ton looked back and forth between the two.  “Is… something wrong?  Is it because I mentioned Aunt Katara?  Dad doesn’t like it when I talk about her…”

Sighing, she shook her head.  “I think you’d best come to our house for dinner, Pops.  I’m sure you’ve got questions.”

“That is most generous of you, Lady Bei Fong.”  Ton smiled again, reassured, and offered to carry the old man’s basket for him.  As the young man led the way through the crowd, the elder leaned down and spoke so that only the Earthbender could hear him.

“The first and foremost question is: why does your son look exactly like my nephew?”

_-_-_-_-_-_

Sokka, Toph, and their children gazed with various reactions to the old, gold-eyed man now patting his full belly.  “Your cook is a poet, creating art in the form of tantalizing food,” he praised.

Sokka glanced at his wife, who hadn’t eaten much at all- which wasn’t like her.  “He gets enough practice,” Toph replied.  “Between Huan and Snoozles, he’s constantly making food.”

“Huan,” Sokka said, clearing his throat, “why don’t you and Shui practice your bending against Ton’s sword.  He needs some work.”

The two benders exchanged a quick look before turning towards their nonbending brother.  They groaned.  “Dad, he’ll kick our asses,” Huan protested.

Toph flicked her finger and the meteorite bracelet Sokka had given her when she was twelve shot off her wrist, thunked her son in the head, and returned to its place on her arm.  “Watch your mouth,” was all she said.

“Sorry, Mom.”

The three adolescents left the dining room and the adults, the younger two grumbling under their breath.

Silence loomed for a handful of heartbeats.  Finally Sokka let out a pent up breath.

“What brings you here, Iroh?”

“Your lovely wife.  She offered me dinner and I couldn’t refuse such a beautiful lady.”

The Water Tribe Warrior growled, slamming his fist onto the table with such force the dishes shook with a loud clatter.  “That’s not what I meant.  Quit playing games.  Are you here from Zuko?”

Iroh gazed at him neutrally over his teacup.  “Actually, I am not.  I have not heard from my nephew in a very, very long time.”

“How is that possible?  You’re his uncle.  Surely you go visit him in his fancy palace all the time!”

“Sokka,” Toph murmured, placing a hand on his arm, “relax.  He’s telling the truth.”  Turning her head slightly, she spoke a little louder.  “If you’re not here because of Sparky, then why are you here?”

Iroh sighed.  “I sold the Jasmine Dragon and have been traveling all over the Earth Kingdom.  See the sights before I retire to the Spirit World, I suppose.”  He gazed at Sokka.  “Your son happened to be waiting outside the butcher shop today and I inadvertently ran into him.  Literally.”  He smiled.  “He was very courteous and helpful.  You should be very proud.”

Sokka frowned. “We are.”

“So you can imagine my immense surprise when I looked up at him and saw an unscarred version of my nephew with blue eyes,” Iroh continued, sipping his tea slowly.  “Care to explain?”

Sokka shifted as if ready to growl something at the old man.  Toph stopped him with a kick of her leg.  “We gotta tell him, Snoozles,” she told him under her breath.  “He may be old, but he’s still as sharp as an axe.”

He grunted in reply.

“You guessed it, Pops,” she confessed, somewhat relieved to be able to tell the truth.  “Ton is Zuko and Katara's son.  His birth name is Katon, but we decided to change a little.”

“And you have him because…?”

Sokka sighed.  “Ty Lee brought him to us when he was still a newborn.  Apparently after my sister… died… someone kidnapped Ton and tried to kill him, obviously trying to erase every trace of Water Tribe blood from Zuko’s life.  She saved him but knew he might not get a second chance, especially with the Fire Lord so immersed in misery from… Katara’s death.  Ty Lee said Zuko couldn’t even look at Ton.”

Iroh nodded in complete understanding.  “I, too, felt that way after the passing of Lu Ten’s mother,” he said quietly.  “And I know how very much my nephew loved Lady Katara.  As I am sure he loved his son.  He should have been returned to him long ago.”

Toph didn’t really know how to react.  Part of her agreed, but part of her loved the young man who had been her adoptive son for the past sixteen years.  “He can’t bend,” she finally said.  “Why should he go back there?  Those old farts of the Fire Council would never let a nonbender become Fire Lord.”

“Are you certain he’s not a bender?  Certainly he would not be an Earthbender, and you would both be aware if he were a Waterbender, as your daughter is, but have you not considered he might be a Firebender?”

Sokka stood up abruptly.  “He is not a Firebender,” he hissed at the old man.  “There’s no way.”

“He is Zuko’s son.  The blood of Agni runs through his veins.  He most certainly could be a Firebender.”

“He’s sixteen years old,” Sokka yelled.  “Bending shows up when kids are six, seven.  If he were a bender, we’d know it by now!”

“Fire is different,” Iroh explained calmly.  “We carry it inside ourselves.  It lives in our veins, our very being.  Unless we are taught how to release it, it can remain dormant- or worse, consume us.”  He lifted his faded gold eyes to Sokka’s blue ones.  “Perhaps you’d like me to check for you?”

“How?  By breathing fire on him?”

“Certainly not.  I may be old, but I’m no fool.  If I questioned him about Firebending, don’t you think he’d wonder as to his parentage?  And if it turns out he is unable to bend fire, then it would be an issue raised unnecessarily.”  He leaned back in his chair.  “I will volunteer to help him with his sword training.  You have your other two children spar with him so that he learns to battle all elements, correct?  Well, I will simply provide the fire element.  Then I will be able to tell if he has the spark.”

Sokka’s blue eyes bore into the old man.  “…All right.  But I swear, if you burn one hair off his head…!”

“I promise you I would no sooner harm the boy than my own nephew,” he replied honestly.  “After all… he is family.”

_-_-_-_-_-_

Ton looked up as his parents and the old man entered the garden.  Dropping his stance, he straightened, watching curiously as they approached him.

“We were not properly introduced before,” the old man said, bowing in a strange way- one hand opened with the palm flat and the other balled into a fist and pressed just below the open palm of the other hand.  “My name is Iroh.  I used to live in the Fire Nation, ages ago.  Your parents were telling me that you are training to use your sword against benders.  Have you ever faced a Firebender before?”

The teen regarded him.  “Can’t say as I have.  Are you a Firebender?”

Iroh smiled.  “I was known as the Dragon of the West back in the day.  Indeed, I am a Firebender.  I am certain my skills have probably faded with age, but if you are willing, I would like to train you against the fire element.”

Ton’s blue eyes flickered to his father, who was scowling but nodded once.  “I’d appreciate that, Sifu Iroh.”  He bowed back.

Toph snorted.  “By the earth, you sound like an Airbender I used to hang out with.”

Iroh took up a stance a fair distance from Ton and the rest of the house, evidently concerned about something catching fire.  He breathed in and out in a controlled, regular manner, and soon smoke trickled from his nostrils.  His gold eyes opened and he punched a fist at Ton, shooting a simple fireball at the teen.

Ton watched the old man’s movements and his whole body seemed to come alive.  He dodged the ball and rolled forward, bringing his sword up in an arc.  Iroh moved out of the way with the gracefulness of a Waterbender and kicked out his leg, tripping Ton and disarming him.

The younger man caught himself neatly and flipped over, his stance still one of readiness despite not having his sword in hand.  Iroh shifted his stance again and an arc of flame came directly towards him.  He had no way to dodge- and Sokka took a step forward.

Mimicking the old man’s moves, Ton swept his arms around and the flames dispersed just in front of his body.  Iroh stopped attacking and Ton’s family held their breaths.

Zuko’s son threw a punch at the old man, who ducked- and gazed in utter shock as his fist caught fire.  He staggered away from Iroh a couple of steps, shaking the flames away.  He stared at his hand, wondering why there weren’t any burn marks- and his hand wasn’t hot at all.

His breath came in pants- and smoke wisped out.

His whole body quaking, his face a mask of confusion and horror, he turned to his parents, who bore sorrowful expressions.

“Dammit,” Sokka swore.  Huan and Shui moved cautiously to their mother’s side, eyeing their elder brother like they had never seen him before.

Iroh stepped forward.  “He needs to know the truth,” he said gently.  “And he needs to return to his rightful place.  The Fire Nation has been doing rather poorly these last sixteen years, and I fear for my nephew’s state of mind.”

Ton whirled on the old man.  “Fire Nation?  What are you talking about?  What just happened?  Why did my fist catch fire like that?  Why aren’t I burned?”

Toph took a step forward, speaking where she knew her husband wouldn’t be able to.  “It’s time you knew,” she said seriously.  “Although I had hoped this day would never come.  We honestly thought you weren’t a bender.”

“But I’m not!  I can’t bend earth or water like Huan and Shui can!”

Toph shook her head sadly.  “No, you can’t.  But you can bend fire.”

Ton moved away from her.  “A Firebender?  You think I’m a Firebender?”  He laughed nervously.  “How is that even possible?  There’s no Firebenders in our family.”

“Your father… is a Firebender,” Toph said, sighing.

Ton looked at Sokka, who wouldn’t look at him.  He saw his father’s hands clenched into tight fists.  “Dad is not a bender,” he protested.  “And even if he was, how did Shui end up as a Waterbender?  It doesn’t make sense!”

“That’s because Sokka… isn’t your father,” the dainty Earthbender admitted.  “And I am not your real mother.”

The Bei Fong children let out gasps of grief and horror.  “Mom, what are you saying?” Huan asked nervously.  “Of course he’s our brother.  He’s the reason you and Dad had to get married, right?”

Toph shook her head.  “In a way, yes.  We married because of Ton, but not because we conceived him out of wedlock.  We married to protect him and provide a safe home for him.”

Ton stalked over to Sokka and glared at the older man.  “If you’re not my father, then who is?” he demanded, his voice breaking.  “Where are my real parents?!”

Sokka finally looked at the teen, tears in his eyes.  “Your mother is dead,” he replied, his voice gravelly.  “She died giving birth to you.”

Pain wrenched Ton’s heart.  “What about my father?  You said he ‘is’ a Firebender.  That means he’s still alive, right?  Do you know who he is?  Why did he give me up?”

“Your father is my nephew,” Iroh answered, speaking as gently as he could.  “…Fire Lord Zuko.”

Ton knew that name.  Had heard his… heard Sokka cursing the Fire Lord over and over again when he’d got to thinking too much about his dead sister.  Dead… sister…

He whirled on Sokka.  “Your sister… Aunt Katara… she was my mother, wasn’t she.”

Wearily, Sokka nodded.  “I’m… actually your uncle.  Huan and Shui are you cousins.”  He jerked his head at Iroh.  “He’s your great-uncle, your father’s paternal uncle.”

Ton stared at Sokka.  Turned and stared at Iroh, who smiled warmly.  “Did… did my f-father not want me?” he asked, his blue eyes pleading with the old Firebender.  “Why… why did he give me away?”

“I do not believe he knows you are still alive, my boy,” Iroh explained.  “An attempt was made on your life shortly after you were born, and you were brought here in order to protect you.  But now that you have become a fine young man, strong and honorable, it is time for you to begin your training in the arts of your ancestors- and to return home to your father.  I have a feeling that he needs you.”

Ton ran a shaky hand through his black hair.  “What if he doesn’t want me there?” he whispered.  “What if he hates me and that’s why he never looked for me?”

Iroh placed a comforting hand on the taller man’s shoulder.  “You are the son of his soulmate, his beloved Katara, his Lady.  He could never hate you.  I know he will be overjoyed to see that you are alive and well, and that you have become such a good person.”  His gold eyes shone.  “You remind me so much of your mother.  Even your temper.”

Toph snorted through the tears slipping down her cheeks.  “Amen to that,” she whispered.

Huan looked at his “brother.”  “I guess that explains why you don’t look like any of us,” he observed.

Shui slapped him upside the head.  “Idiot!  What a dumb thing to say!  Couldn’t you be a little nicer?”

“What?  I’m just saying…”

Ton glanced at Iroh.  “It’s true.  You are the spitting image of Zuko, had his face not been scarred by my late brother.  Your eyes are all Katara, though.”

The eyes in question turned as hard as ice.  “If I go with you… to the Fire Nation… I will meet my real father?”

“That is the plan, yes.”

Ton nodded.  “All right then.  I’m going.”

Toph and Sokka weren’t able to come up with a reasonable excuse for him to stay- their adopted son had become a man, and this was his journey to learn his past… and hopefully build a better future.