Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra.
Never, in a million years, will Toph ever like boat travel.
Toph sighed in irritation. When she first heard Aang's idea for building his own island for his family to live on, she thought it was a great idea. She knew he deserved his own secluded place after what had happened to his people. That, plus, it would take Katara to come and pester her on her way of mothering Lin. Toph knew that Katara means well, but because it was her, she was annoyed. And now, taking a boat ride every single day was just hell.
Thanks to Toph's constant need in the city, Lin always stayed on Air Temple Island. For six years, the little earthbending prodigy had been practically living her life with Tenzin, Kya and Bumi. Tenzin was her best friend and Kya and Bumi were practically siblings to her. She had experienced most of her first here on the island. First time she walked. First time she earthbended. Heck, this was where she was brought into the world. Toph knew that most of this was her fault. Wishing her job wasn't as dependent on her presence, she did that every day. Often, she would get to the island and Katara would tell her the things that Lin would do that day and inside, Toph would be terribly sad. It just wasn't fair.
The boat finally stopped and Toph stepped out of the boat. She walked down the dock. She could tell it was getting dark as the sun's heat wasn't cooking her within her metal uniform. Slowly, she made her way towards the side of the temple in which Aang and Katara resided in. As she got closer, the sound of talking and child voices filled her highly trained ears. She can tell there was excitement in the atmosphere. Toph entered the home and made her way through the maze of hallways and finally reached the "party."
"Sounds like you guys are having fun in here?" she announced.
"Momma!"
Toph felt a small body tackle into her legs and snake their arms around her waist. Toph knew instantly who it was. She grabbed the little figure and lifted her up so that she was resting on her hip.
"Hey there, kiddo." Lin only giggled.
"Hello, Toph. How was work?" Katara asked politely.
Toph smirked. "You would think you would get tired of beating people up, but I'm just not that kind of girl."
"Same as always." Katara smiled. "Sit down. I'll make you some tea."
Toph could feel Lin bouncing and excited so she set her down and the small girl ran away. Toph found the couch and sat down, feeling the largest sense of relief. She loved walking around with her bare feet but sometimes it was just too much for her. She sensed a small table to the left of where she was sitting and four children surrounding it. They were moving their arms across the table. She had no idea what they were doing.
"Here you go!"
Toph whipped her head to the sound of Katara's voice. She was too focused on what the children were doing to notice Katara approaching her with her cup of tea. She grabbed the cup and held it in her hand.
"Thanks." Toph sipped the tea and was comforted by the warmth moving down into her stomach. "This is pretty good."
"Zuko sent me some tea that was left from Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se. He says there is so much in the shop that it will probably last a couple years." the waterbender informed her friend. She took a sip herself.
"That old bag." Toph chuckled as she took another sip. "So where is Twinkle Toes?"
Katara slumped deeper into the couch. "He is working late in the city. Many issues and all. But he always comes home just in time to put the kids to bed."
"And I'm guessing Councilman Goatee is there as well?" Toph questioned playfully.
Katara laughed. "Yes he is. And why do you always have to tease him about his facial hair? It's fitting."
Toph tried to look hurt. "Sweetness, I can't believe you still don't know me after all these years!"
"Trust me. We've argued enough for me to know exactly who you are."
The two women laughed. Now that they were older, they appreciated each other more than they did back when they were kids. There were no more fights, no more arguing and less teasing. Just less. Toph was still Toph. Their laughter was interrupted by an approaching ten year old.
"Hey, mom, I think I'm getting better at this calligraphy thing." Kya presented her piece of paper to her mother.
Katara gave her a genuine smile. "Very impressive, Kya."
"Hey! What about me? My drawing is way better than calligraphy." Bumi ran up to his mother. And shoved the picture into her face. On the piece of paper was a picture of Bumi in a United Forces uniform. His muscles were overly exaggerated making Katara laugh.
"Is this what you want to be when you grow up Bumi?" Katara asked the nine year old.
Bumi pumped his fist into the air. "You bet! I'll become Commander!"
"Commanders actually do well in school you know?" Kya insulted.
Bumi scowled and turned towards Katara. "Mom!"
"Enough you two. You will make a fine commander someday Bumi."
Bumi smiled thankfully at his mother and took back his picture. Behind his two older siblings, Tenzin approached her mother shyly and held up his own picture.
"What about me Mommy?" the seven year old asked nervously.
Katara stared at the piece of paper. On the white sheet was a picture of Tenzin dressed in his traditional air nomad clothes. It seemed to be a portrait with one exception. On his hands and head were arrows rendering him as an airbending master. This was his dream.
"I believe in you two my little airbender." Katara encouraged.
Tenzin's eyes lit up with joy. "You really think I can do it? Thanks mommy!"
The entire time the children were showing their mother of their creations, Toph was sitting there awkwardly. Throughout her life, she had tried her best to not be left out because of her blindness, but sometimes there was just no way of avoiding it. And this was one of those times. Fretfully, she anticipated Lin to do the same as the other children.
"I finished!" said a small girl's voice from the child sized table.
Oh Spirits.
Toph began to sweat. Once Lin was able to understand the concept, Toph had told Lin of her blindness and how she didn't let it get to her. Being the smart child that she was, Lin understood completely of her mother's condition. It actually caused Lin to admire her mom even more. The woman couldn't see yet was the greatest earthbender in the world. Toph was a super hero to Lin.
The chief of police could sense Lin walking over to the group situated near the couch and her heartbeat raced. What was she going to say? What was she going to do? The chief was completely dumbfounded.
Lin made it so that she was standing right in front the two women holding a sheet of paper in her hand. She first looked towards her Aunt Katara and found her with a forced smile. Next she turned towards her mother and was in slight shock. She was nervous. Nervous wasn't something Lin was used to. But she knew why. And she had that problem covered.
Toph faced her head towards the ground anticipating her daughter's words. Look at this Momma! She cursed at her blindness at the moment. Finally, Lin spoke.
"Aunt Katara! Look at my picture!" the six year old exclaimed.
Toph let out the air she was holding. Her heart beat slowly went back to normal and she took a quick sip of tea. Thank the spirits.
Lin hopped onto Katara's lap and gave her the picture. Katara looked over to Toph who had been twitching with nervousness. She knew that if Lin were to ask her to look at her picture, she would be in quite the situation. It even made herself nervous. Suddenly, Lin grabbed Katara's head and brought her down so that she could whisper something into her ear.
"Don't tell my Momma what's on the picture. I have a plan." the small girl said quietly.
Katara looked over to Lin and found that same devious smile that appeared on Toph whenever she was planning something. Katara could only smile at the similarities between the mother and daughter. She mouthed an "Okay."
"Wow, Lin! This is very good! Who knew you were quite the artist?" she praised.
Lin smiled wide. "Thanks! I could be the greatest artist in the world!"
Toph sighed. Moments like these was what convinced her that she wasn't a good mom to Lin. Normal children, such as Katara and her kids, would draw and then run up to show their mother what they had made. The mother would then pick up her child and they would look at the picture together. She would compliment her child on the artistic detail that her child put effort into and then the two would hug lovingly. Although she wasn't the one to be emotional and sensitive, Lin was the exception. She wanted to be the best mother that she could be. Toph wanted Lin to have a normal childhood. But the fact that she couldn't compliment her daughter's art was just breaking her heart.
"Well, it seems to be getting late. The children still need to go to bed. Don't you think Toph?"
Toph answered quickly. "Uh, yeah. It is still going to take awhile to get this munchkin into bed." She grabbed Lin and started to tickle her sides. The little girl only giggled.
Katara spoke up. "Alright, time to say goodbye."
Toph released Lin. The four kids started to say goodbye to each other. It all seemed heartfelt, yet the four were going to see each other the next day. After their hugging and punching, Kya, Bumi and Tenzin started to trudge off to their bedrooms when suddenly Lin exclaimed frantically.
"Wait! I forgot something outside. Tenzin come with me!"
Lin grabbed Tenzin's arm harshly and pulled him towards the door. She grabbed her picture and her bag that contained her spare clothing and toys. They were out of sight in just a minute.
"I wonder what she forgot." Katara wondered.
Toph stood up, crossed her arms and shrugged. "No idea."
"Sweetie I'm home!"
The two women turned their heads towards the hallway. Not even a minute later, Aang walked in, a goofy smile plastered on his face. He walked up to Katara and pecked her on the cheek. Although they were married for almost twenty years, Katara still blushed.
"Oh hey Toph! Picking up little Linny I'm guessing?"
"Wow Twinkle Toes. You are really smart." Toph answered sarcastically. It only caused Aang to scowl at her.
"You could have just answered normally." he said.
Toph gave him her signature smirk. "Yeah there are a lot of things that I could do normally yet I don't do them normally."
"LIN!"
The adult's conversation was interrupted by a the child duo walking into the house again, anger fumed.
"Why did you punch me!" Tenzin asked furiously.
Lin yelled back. "Cause you are a big scaredy cat! How can you be scared of the dark?"
"Lin…"
"That's enough you two. Time for bed. Tenzin go to your room. Your father will tuck you in." Katara scolded.
"C'mon, squirt!" Aang grabbed his son and carried him out of the room with a fit of giggles.
Lin approached her mother and grabbed her hand. "Ready to go!"
"Great! Thanks for watching Lin, Sweetness!" Toph yelled as they made their way towards the door.
"No problem, Toph!"
And with that, the earthbending duo was out the door and heading back to their residence.
The door clicked and flew open. Toph and Lin walked into their small home. Lin quickly removed her shoes and ran towards her room, confusing her mother.
"Is she actually going to go to sleep fast?" she spoke to herself. Toph could only hope. She closed the door behind her and walked towards her room. Once there, she removed her uniform quickly and felt the tank top and tight bottoms she had under it stick to her skin. She was disgusted. Toph pondered to herself. Should I take a bath? She ran her hands over her body. Sweaty. As she did, her arms ached from moving too much. There is always tomorrow. Yeah. Tommorow. Toph changed into her pajamas. They were warm and loose, very comforting to her aching muscles.
After changing, Toph walked back out into the hallway. "You better be in your pajamas by the time I get to your room and let me tell you that isn't a lot of time!"
From the ground below her feet, she could feel the vibrations of frantic footsteps moving around in Lin's room. She smirked. That girl.
Toph finally reached Lin's room and opened the door.
Thud.
Toph raised an eyebrow. From the ground, Lin hurriedly pulled her bottoms on and stood up from where she had fallen. The six year old stood still and obedient.
"Consider yourself lucky kid." Toph smiled.
The chief of police could feel her daughter bouncing with excitement for the second time today.
"Momma! Sit on my bed! I have a surprise for you!" Lin grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her towards her bed set to one of the sides of the room. Toph sat down and put her hands on her knees. The smaller girl ran towards the other end of the room where her bag was. Carefully, she pulled out a slab of earth that was the same size as a piece of paper. She clumsily brought it back towards her mother and placed it on her hard calloused hands.
Toph sat there for a few minutes trying to figure out what her daughter meant with her gesture. She gave up quickly and asked, "Um, Lin. What is this?"
"Look at it Momma." Lin answered.
Toph's heart broke a little. Here she was again, dealing with her blindness. She had to let Lin know. "Lin, come here."
Lin followed and sat right next to her mother, legs touching. Her small body still contained the same excitement and anticipation. Toph only felt worse.
"Listen, you remember how I told you that I can't see like regular people?"
Lin turned her head to her mother. Confused as to where she was going with this, Lin replied. "Yes, Momma. You're blind. You're eyes are broken."
"Exactly. My eyes don't work." Toph sighed. "So, when you tell me to look at this, I can't. You understand right?"
Lin placed her hands on one of Toph's arms. She was very warm and her heartbeat pulsed up her aching arms. "Momma, of course I understand. That's why I made it out of earth. So you can see it. Touch it."
Just by holding it, Toph knew that there was something carved within the stone. Hesitantly, she grazed her hands over the face of the stone slab. Her fingers dipped into ridges within the stone. They traced the carvings and she could feel various lines going all over the surface. It was strange. She didn't know what the carvings were.
"What are these carvings Lin?" Toph asked curiously.
Lin placed one of her small hands on top of her mother's. She guided her hand along the ridges and commentated.
"This is your hair. You're hair is shaped like a circle." Their hands moved in a small circle.
Next, they went down into another circle that contained three other circles within them. "Now this is your face. Your eyes. Your mouth and nose. You're smiling."
Their hands moved down into a much carved out area. Many squares and diagonals. "Now this is your body. All the lines are your metal uniform. Here is your arm. And down here are your legs."
Lin lifted their hands and moved them to another part of the rock slab.
Their hands ran along wavy lines. "Now this is my hair. It's wavy."
Their hands moved down to a circle. "Then there is my face. I'm smiling too!"
"Then there is my body. I have short arms and legs. But don't worry. I'm going to grow big just like you, Momma!"
Lin then guided her fingers to one end of a line. She let go of her mother's hand and placed her finger on another line. "Now, move down the line with your finger."
Toph did as she was told and slowly she ran her finger down the carved line. She could feel Lin doing the same on the other side. Their fingers moved down the lines until they met in one specific spot.
"Momma, this is where we are connected. We moved down our arms until we met. This place is where we are holding hands." She gave a small giggle of happiness.
"One more thing." Lin once again grabbed her mother's hand and placed it just above where their fingers met. Toph felt another line and followed it until she formed a shape.
"And what's this?" she asked her daughter.
This time, Lin placed both hands on top of her mother's. "This is heart. It means that we love each other. I love you. Do you love me Momma?"
Toph let the rock slab rest in her lap. She pulled Lin closer, kissed her on the head and rested hers on top of Lin.
"I love you more than my earthbending my little badgermole."
Lin suddenly sprang up. "More than your earthbending? Are you sure?"
Toph smiled. "Of course."
Lin tackled her mother into a hug. Knowing that her mother loved her more than her earthbending, the thing that defined her, she felt so happy. Her mother was always tough on her, but Lin knew that she cared. She would do anything for her and Lin vowed that she would do anything for her as well.
"So did you carve this with your earthbending?" Toph asked.
Lin answered quickly. "Yes. We were drawing all day at Aunt Katara's and Kya, Bumi and Tenzin would show their Momma drawings. I wanted to do that too. But then I remembered you can't see unless you are touching earth. So I went outside with Tenzin so that I could carve it. I didn't forget anything. I lied. Are you mad at me?"
"Of course not! Especially since you made this for me. Want to know a secret?"
Lin's eyes widened. "What?"
"I was actually kinda sad that I wasn't able to look at your pictures that you drew." Toph answered.
Lin pondered this a moment. Her mother sad? That was a rare sight to see. Lin knew what she had to do. "Don't worry, Momma. Now that I can carve the pictures on the earth, you can see my pictures now! Then you can be happy!"
Toph could feel tears welling up in her eyes. It had always been that way. Lin was the only one who she would show full emotion to without hesitating. And it was always going to be that way. She pulled Lin into another hug and kissed her on the forehead. Lin snuggled into her mother's pajamas.
"Thank you." Toph said sincerely.
"I love you Momma."
"I love you, Lin."
The two stayed embraced for quite some time. It seemed as if they never wanted to let go. After about two minutes they finally released. Toph stood up.
"Alright. Time for bed."
She heard a groan. "Do I have to Momma?
"Yes squirt."
Lin stood up on her bed and hugged on to one of her mother's arms. "Can I sleep with you? Please!" She started to rub her cheek on her mother's arm. There was no possible way she could say no.
"Fine."
"YAY!" Lin jumped into her mother's arms. Toph could only laugh. She carried her daughter to the other room and set her on the large bed.
"Now, I'm going to go drink some tea before I head off to bed. You better be asleep by the time I come back in here." Toph told the smaller girl strictly.
"You got it, Momma!"
Toph tucked Lin in and made sure she was comfortable. Lin's eyes were already started to fall and by the time Toph exited the room, she was out cold.
Toph walked through the halls. She made a stop by Lin's room once more to pick up the earth slab. Afterwards, she made her way towards the kitchen. As she approached, a familiar heartbeat shot up through her feet. Fragrant tea filled the air.
"There better be some for me."
"I know your nightly ritual. The cup is already filled and on the table."
Toph pulled the chair out and sat down. "Well aren't you a gentleman." She took a sip of the tea and instantly felt the same warming sensation she had felt earlier that night.
"I always am."
"You know what would actually make you a better gentleman? Mowing the grass on your face."
"I happen to like my goatee very much. So do other people. So why can't my wife like it?"
"Because it was already a miracle liking you, Sokka."
She could feel Sokka shaking his head in laughter from the sarcastic comment. He quickly recovered. "Like? You know you love me."
Toph sighed in defeat. "I sure do." She smiled at him. "By the way, Lin is sleeping with us tonight."
"Good. I need someone to snuggle with since somebody hates it."
"I do not hate it! You just never try being scared I'll smack you in all. That hurts Sokka. It really does."
"It would be nice if you told me. I'll snuggle with you tonight then."
"Too late. I've found someone better to snuggle with and its best I don't keep her waiting."
"Well I have to admit. Lin is better at snuggling." They both laughed.
Sokka took her hand that was resting on the table. Something else caught his eye as well.
"And who made this lovely piece of art?"
"Our lovely daughter."
"She is very talented."Sokka studied the slab of earth. It depicted his two favorite girls in the entire world and he absolutely loved it.
"My bad. Did you want me to explain the picture to you since, well you know."
"No."
Sokka gave a confused look. "Are you sure? How do you know what's on it?"
Toph grazed her hands over the picture once more and smiled.
"I can see it just fine."
I just love Toph and Lin's relationship. Review Please! (: