Concept: Veils are more widely worn in the ATLA universe for a variety of reasons
Zuko and Toph enjoy travelling together and their favourite disguise in the earth kingdom is: Strong earthbending noble escorting her shy, reclusive older brother.
People thought the Bei Fongs had one (1) daughter who was tiny, blind and fragile - until suddenly she was the avatar's earth bending master, so the public have accept that they know nothing about the Bei Fongs. Who's the say they DIDNT have another child that they carefully hid away? Especially considering THIS child is dressed in neutral browns and muted golds with a veil obscuring his face. And sometimes people catch a glimpse of gold eyes or scar tissue through the gauzy fabric. It makes sense that the Bei Fongs would hide away a child born of an affair with a firebender.
Toph loves playing the part of escort. She gets to boss him about, and drag him all around the best restaurants, and order an outrageous amount of food for him. It's nice having people default to speaking to HER as the authority figure, after spending so much time in the presence of the Avatar and the Fire Lord.
And Zuko gets to be anonymous. He's not the Fire Lord when he puts that veil on, he's a reclusive and fragile noble who no one looks to to make decisions. He gets to switch his brain off and let Toph drag him around and speak for him. It's freeing.
Also: please imagine the look on the Bei Fongs faces when they hear that everyone thinks they have a secret hidden firebending son who's galavanting around with their run away daughter. They'd be HORRIFIED. Toph knows this and RELISHES in it.
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> be zuko
> try desperately to ingratiate yourself within the avatar’s friend group (to no avail, of course, because you have terrible social skills, and previously tried to kill them, also)
> try to fight off the human wmd you previously hired to blow them all up
> fail miserably, because he is indestructible
> watch as sokka effortlessly kills him with a very precise boomerang throw to the brain
> suddenly recall every single time you got hit in the head by his boomerang
> feel immense gratitude for what you had previously dismissed as uncle’s obnoxiously stringent and paranoid over-emphasis on the importance of helmet safety
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