Very nice chapter and amazing story, congratulations! I am glad that Toph, although already intellectually mature, seems to be growing emotionally as well. Family though still disturbs him bad. I hope that he and Gary stay together in the forever he looks for after Steven. I was a bit uneasy of Gary at first, but now he seems to be what Toph needs, even if they have almost a 10 year difference (by the way, when is Gary's birthday?). He could always read him and help him since the beginning, but gave Toph the space he needed. I think he understood when they meet that he was falling in love with a scared boy, and waited until Toph grew into a young man. And actually, although Toph would probably prefer to date a middle class boy (that would definitely annoy his dear mother), dating a socially and financially "superior" than his own family, previously mother's boss, without any interference from his family, is the shield he needed to face his family. It is almost ironic, he did the "best mariage" without being a heartless snob