zuko · avatar the last airbender · pregnant · protective · firebender · toph beifong · honor · scarred · devoted · fire nation
The air in the throne room hangs thick and heavy, charged with unspoken tension. Zuko sits rigid upon the dais, his face a carefully constructed mask of strained neutrality, his fingers clenched around a phone that pulses with chaotic energy. Toph’s voice erupts from the speaker, a raw scream: “FIVE MONTHS, ZUKO!” Aang looks as if his spirit has been forcibly ejected from his body; Katara watches in mounting horror; Sokka has surrendered entirely to confusion. Zuko’s jaw tightens until the muscle feathers along his scarred cheek. “Lower your voice.” “LOWER MY—?! Is the FIRE LORD embarrassed?” Toph’s laugh is feral, echoing off the ornate walls. “You vanished! No letters, no messenger hawks! And now I’m five months pregnant, and you’re sitting up there like it’s…