Iroh had imagined many scenarios when thinking of his long-awaited reunion with his nephew.
Half of them involved his nephew stewing in anger and grief, hoping to catch the avatar.
A little less than half had him concluding that they would never go back, after all, even his stubborn nephew had to give up at some point.
A very small handful of them had his nephew introducing his pretty girlfriend to him and telling him he wished to settle down. These were his favorite and most wished-for.
He never expected to see his nephew would be being taken care of by a young Earthbender, who seemed to love and care for him.
He would also admit he didn't expect to see him going through a spiritual change, one that Iroh had hoped he would go through for years.
If he's going through a spiritual metamorphosis then it means he has done something contradictory to his previous image of himself. He had to have done something drastic. Simply giving up on returning home would not have been enough. He would have had to do something that directly goes against the ideals of the Fire Nation. The ideals of his father. The ideals that he has spent his entire life trying to live up to.
He took another look at the young Earthbender that was sitting protectively in front of his nephew. After he had seen his nephew's condition he immediately began to undress him and start working to lower his fever. He had almost fainted when he saw the bruises lining his body, but refrained from asking the young girl about them in favor of dressing all his wounds.
When the young girl asked him if there was anything she could do, he directed her to change the wet towel on his forehead every hour or so. She had not missed a single change since and had not left his nephew's side.
He had been focused on making sure his nephew's condition was stable so he hadn't had the time to talk to her yet.
But now that his nephew was stable he wished to know more about her, after all, if what she said was true then she was his new niece and he wanted to make a good impression.
"I believe I should reintroduce myself. I am Iroh, Zuko is my nephew and I have been looking for him for a long time. I can not thank you enough for looking out for him, he usually likes to believe he must do everything for himself, so knowing he had your company has relieved me immensely."
Toph looked at Sparky's uncle. She didn't know what to feel about him. She knew Sparky loved him, and from what she had felt as he cleaned Sparky, his Uncle loved him too.
She didn't want to admit that she was a little nervous about how he would react. From what she knew about his life, this was the one other person besides her that loved Sparky. She wouldn't say she was looking for his approval or anything, because she was Sparky's sister regardless of what he said, but she would be lying if she said she didn't want it.
She looked over to Sparky and thought about what he would tell her to do.
He would tell me to be myself. He loves the real me. That's enough. If his Uncle doesn't like it then that's his problem, not mine.
"Don't worry about it Gramps, I wanted to look out for him. It's the least I can do for all he's done for me."
Iroh was slightly surprised by the nickname, after all, he wasn't a grandpa yet, although he wished for it one day. He was more surprised by the fact that the young Earthbender had been taken care of by his nephew. His nephew who had left him in a cloud of rage and despair had looked after the little girl in front of him, and it seems like she did the same for him as well.
It seems my nephew has met a wonderful person. It will be strange to have a niece that does not want to kill me but I will learn.
"I see, if I may ask, would it be possible to know your name? It was rude of me to not ask that first, I am sorry. You may call me Uncle if you wish."
Toph was pleasantly surprised by the offer, even though she wasn't going to use it, "Sure thing Gramps, my name's Toph. It's nice to meet you."
Iroh was a little taken aback, before chuckling, she already seems as stubborn as my nephew is at least.
He looked at her and realized she had still not cleaned or dressed her hands. She had been handling water for a while so she would have felt the sting on them each time she switched the towels. He frowned a little.
It looks like she is willfully ignorant of her health as well.
"Well Toph, would you let me look at your hands? I would like to treat them before they get infected."
Toph thought about it, she didn't want to seem rude but she didn't like being babied by anyone. Even if it was Sparky's Uncle she wasn't going to let him wash her hands for her.
Toph huffed, "It's fine. I can take care of myself. I'll just wash them after Sparky's better."
Iroh blinked in surprise, She is just like him. It's like looking at a younger, less grumpy version of him.
If Iroh had any doubts about her claim of being his nephew's sister then they were erased. He trusted his nephew to return the love and care Toph has given him, especially when he has seen how similar they are.
My nephew has grown while I was away. I couldn't be happier. It would be dishonorable of me to let my niece hurt any longer. My nephew would be disappointed in me if he found out.
Iroh spoke gently, "I know you can take care of yourself. I am not trying to imply that you can't. I just wish to look at them because you are hurt and I wish to help you. No other reason."
Toph tilted her head at this, He's not lying.
He saw her mull it over and decided to push a little more, "You know, you remind me of my nephew. He has always believed that he had to do everything without support."
She flinched at this, He's not wrong. Sparky never likes asking for help or admitting that he needs it. I don't think I'm that bad though, I just don't want to be babied.
She thought about maybe telling him this when she saw him look at her and smile, "It is not a bad thing to let those who love you, take care of you Toph. Although I may not know enough about you yet to love you, I believe you when you say that you are my nephew's sister in everything but blood. That means you are my niece as well, and I wish to take care of my niece, not because you are weak but because you are family."
Toph was very shocked by what he said.
He wasn't lying about anything. He sees me as family. He said he doesn't love me yet but that means he'll love me in the future. I don't mind that. I like it a lot more than if he tried to lie to me and say he loved me just because Sparky does.
Toph decided to trust the old man when he said he wasn't going to baby or pity her.
After all, Sparky trusts him and I trust Sparky.
Iroh was a little worried he had pushed a little too far when heard her say, "Alright."
He smiled at this, happy he had convinced his niece to let him help her. He was expecting that to take a lot longer if he was being honest.
He cleaned and wrapped her hands before making a new batch of tea for them while they waited. He was very glad to get to know his new niece but he felt he had to address where she and his nephew got their injuries or he would combust.
"Well Toph, as much as I'd love to sit and drink tea with you, I must ask you how you and my nephew got your injuries. They look recent and I would be lying if I was not a little worried."
Toph paled, she was still affected by what happened in Tsu Zin. Between being trapped in that cage and watching Sparky get pelted by a mob it was not an experience she wanted to relive.
Iroh watched his niece's reaction and started to worry. It was obvious by the way she was clenching her teacup that the experience must have affected her. He didn't mean to pressure her, he simply was worried, after all, no one that young should have to go through those things.
"If it pains you to talk about it, we don't have to. I will still ask my nephew how he got them but I will give him the same choice I am giving you. I will not force you to tell me how you got them if you do not want to, as long as you can promise you are safe now that will be enough."
Toph relaxed, thankful that she wouldn't have to explain everything. She knew Tsu Zin would haunt her, but she wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet.
"Thanks, Gramps, I promise we're safe now. I... I don't want to talk about what happened but I can say it happened yesterday, that's why the wounds are recent. We would've dressed them ourselves but we were too exhausted and ended up falling asleep instead."
Iroh hummed, it was a little sad to know he had missed being able to protect them by only a day. He knew there was nothing he could do about it but he still wished there was.
"That is good to know. I was curious as to why he hadn't treated his injuries. I know he likes to hide them but usually, he still treats them on his own. He's gotten very good at that, unfortunately."
Toph snorted, "Yeah no kidding. When we were first traveling he hid an injured shoulder from me for about a week. That idiot said, 'he got used to the pain' and was running his injury into the ground."
Iroh chuckled, "that sounds exactly like something his nephew would do."
Toph huffed, "Yeah he's a big idiot about his health. I was so pissed when I found out. He even dared to be surprised when his wound healed after a week of rest."
She huffed and blew her bangs out of her face.
Seriously how hard was it for Sparky to see that he shouldn't do shit when he's injured. He had a fever and he still tried to play it off as nothing. The fact that he's alive is astounding.
Iroh meanwhile was having a crisis, A week? Did she say my nephew rested? For an entire week. The most I could get him to agree to was a day and that was his mother's birthday. She must've made a mistake.
Iroh cleared his throat, "I'm sorry Toph, but did you say that my nephew rested? For a week?"
Toph smiled, "Sure did Gramps, even slept in once too. He tried to sneak away to train, but I put a stop to that the first day he tried it."
She chuckled thinking of how he reacted once it was healed, "You should've seen him when he was healed. He was looking at his shoulder like he couldn't believe it was real. Kept muttering something about 'this usually takes a lot longer' and poking it like it was gonna disappear."
Iroh was stunned, He did it. He rested. Not just for a day either but for a week. I never thought I'd see the day.
He thanked the heavens for granting him such a wonderful niece that seemed to have broken through to his stubborn nephew.
"Thank you, Toph. I can't express how much it means to me that you were able to convince him to rest. He has never been the best at taking care of himself so it means the world to me that you convinced him to do so."
Toph smiled, "No problem Gramps. He's helped me out a lot since we started traveling together so there's no way I could just let him ignore his injuries like that."
Iroh chuckled, "Yes, well I am grateful regardless."
He truly was. There was a time when he thought his nephew would never move on from the pain his father inflicted on him. Where he would never see past his obsession to return home, his obsession with a past that would never come again.
But sitting here talking to his niece it is obvious to see that his nephew had changed drastically in the nearly two months he hadn't seen him.
I am curious as to how this change has come about, but I should wait until Zuko wakes up. I do not wish to interrogate my niece after all. I wonder if she knows how to play paisho. If she is willing I will have to work on creating a special board for her so we can play.
He was just about to ask her if she was interested when he heard his nephew groan from the cot, "Uncle?"