Prompt #28: Free, "Rich, Poor, Royal, Peasant"; amanda91 (K)
Title: Rich, Poor, Royal, Peasant
Author: amanda91
Rating: K
Words: 500
Genre: Gen, Humor, Family
Char/Pair: Toph's parents, Toph/Haru, Everyone (canon pairings mentioned)
Summary: The Bei Fongs wanted their daughter's wedding to be the talk of the province. They got their wish.
Note: Several years post-series. Also, despite the pairing, this is more of a "class-clash exploration" than an actual shippy fic.
The Bei Fongs had been planning their daughter's wedding since the day she was born. The groom would be from one of the other old Earth Kingdom families-the Pangs, maybe-along with the rest of the guests. Everything would be very traditional but very lavish. It would be the talk of the province for years to come.
Of course, with Toph, nothing had ever gone according to plan. Lao and Poppy should not have been surprised when she wandered into their home one day, coated in dirt and sporting a prizefighting championship belt, and announced that she was getting married.
“Oh... that's wonderful, dear,” Poppy managed to say while her husband choked on his tea. “Your fiance... do we know his family?”
“Probably not,” Toph said. She let out a belch and put her feet up on the table. “His name's Haru.”
Upon Toph's first visit after the war ended, her parents had been prepared for a great many things. It was difficult, but they eventually learned to accept the fact that she was her own person, with her own friends and interests. They were willing to be open-minded, to an extent. But even years later, they were not prepared for the news that their only child was marrying the son of a coal miner.
“I hope you're at least planning on inviting guests of our social circle,” Lao said once he had composed himself.
“Sure, Dad. Don't worry about it.”
His relief was short-lived, however: the only old-blood guests she invited were the Dragon of the West, the Firelord, and his Lady. The Avatar was a better choice, as was his girlfriend and her brother, who were as close to nobility as anything the Southern Water Tribe had. The Kyoshi Warriors lent an exotic flair to the guest list, but that was as good as it got-the rest of the guests were costumed, perpetually in-character earthbenders, peasants in what passed for finery, forest-dwelling runaways, and some swamp-men who seemed to eschew clothing altogether.
One of the Firelord's wedding gifts was enough fine Fire Nation sake to fill Lake Laogai. Lao Bei Fong's patriotism was not enough to keep him from imbibing heavily in order to dull the pain of how far his daughter had fallen and his disgust at seeing her kiss that mustachioed, stupidly-grinning bumpkin.
Sometime during the night, as all the dancing and fireworks swirled around him, he struck up an inebriated conversation with a Warrior. Or maybe it was an earthbender. Or the Firelady. Or Haru's father. He couldn't really tell. Really quite a quality person, though.
The next morning, as he nursed his hangover and accepted a cup of tea from the Dragon of the West, he couldn't quite understand why he felt so... content.
The wedding was indeed the talk of the province for a long time, but not for the reasons he had imagined.
However, he couldn't find it in himself to care.