Set...sometime between seasons, probably S2 and S3. It's not terribly important to the story. Minor, minor spoilers for Season 3, but nothing huge; just some subtext. Posted a while ago on my AO3 account. Enjoy!

Allegiances

Lin picked up a piece of fruit and turned it in her hand, examining it for anything wrong. Frowning, she tossed the pear back into the bin with all the others she had refused to put in her basket. "This one is covered in bruises, too. What, do you have catowls do your harvesting for you?"

"They surely taste just fine," the vendor tried to appease, fishing around under his table for another carton of fruit that might be better to her standards.

"Three of them were half rotten! I would hardly call that just fine." Her eyes roamed over the other fruits and vegetables on his stand. She could tell that the nice pieces were on top, but many of the ones under those were looking rather worse for the wear. It was clear he was attempting to fool any potential customers into purchase with the good produce before possibly passing off the bad food to them while they were busy paying. "How long have you been selling at this market?"

He looked up at her warily. Though she was plainly dressed for her shopping, something about her tone made him nervous. "Two weeks."

Using a fair bit of restraint, Lin nodded and took a step back from his table, her leather boots silent on the dusty paving stones. "You might want to consider rethinking your business practices," she told him pointedly, all while making a mental note to send an officer out here when she returned to the station the next day. Selling bad fruit was low on her list of crimes, but it still made her angry.

She had taken a few more steps away when she heard a young, familiar voice at the stall she had just left.

"I need…hmm, what does this say? Three cabbages, two bunches of carrots, a bag of apples, four onions, and five bananas, please!"

Pausing for one moment to turn her head to the bright sky above and take a deep breath, Lin stopped to peer over her shoulder. Ikki was handing her shopping list to the same vendor Lin had nearly arrested, an innocent grin on her face and an empty satchel on the ground beside her. She was alone. Alone and definitely about to be taken advantage of. Pushing the thought that this wasn't her problem away, she made her way to the stand once more.

The vendor glanced over at her, his delight at having Ikki there turning to apprehension once it became clear she really was back. "Can, er, can I help you again, ma'am?"

"Ikki," Lin said quietly, ignoring the man and bringing the young Airbender's attention to her instead. Her whole expression lit up upon seeing her there and, before she could greet the chief by name, she continued with, "let's go finish your shopping elsewhere, shall we?"

"Look, lady!" the vendor suddenly exploded, dropping the vegetables he'd been holding so they rolled across the table. "I've had enough of your – your unfounded accusations, and now you're stealing a prized new customer! If you don't leave me and this little girl alone, I'm going to call the police!"

Lin just reached down for Ikki's empty bag and took her hand, starting to lead her away. "You just try that," she muttered at him, leaving the conversation there.

"What was that fruit man talking about?" Ikki asked, glancing up at the woman beside her with unabashed curiosity.

"He was going to sell you rotten food," Lin told her plainly. "There's a better stand up the way you can buy from. What are you doing here without a parent, anyway?"

The girl shrugged haplessly, pulling her hand from Lin's without really noticing. "Mom and Dad are too busy. The new baby needs so much attention, is what Mom says. I guess that's true. But Dad isn't around much, either. Council stuff." She crossed her arms around her thin torso as though she were cold, even with the warm autumn air blowing around them. "Mom asked me to come to the market for her today. She told Jinora to come, too, but…we had a fight. Jinora doesn't want to spend any time with me. She makes me so mad sometimes!"

"Oh," was all Lin could think to say. She'd had midnight dinners with Tenzin twice in the last week after he finished working late into the night – same as she had – and suddenly she felt rather guilty for it, walking beside his daughter as she talked about how lonely she was.

"She's a better Airbender than me, everyone thinks so."

"What?" That statement had come so out of nowhere, the words so aching, Lin stopped walking and looked down at the girl who said them. "Whatever makes you say that?"

"It's just so obvious!" Ikki replied sadly, everything clearly laid out in a bitter picture in her mind she figured everyone else could see as well. "Dad dotes all over her, she learns faster, she knows more than I do. She can't do anything wrong. Even when she and I argue, Mom and Dad always side with her so I get in trouble."

Lin didn't have the faintest idea of what to say. Memories of her own childhood, of competing with Suyin for their mother's affections and always, always failing clenched her chest forcefully and suddenly, frighteningly, she wanted to tug Ikki into her arms and hold her tightly because her parents were failing to do so themselves. The girl stared up at her, searching for some guidance Lin couldn't find to give her.

After a long few seconds, the woman knelt down and touched her shoulder. "It's a while before dinner and we have time before the market closes. Would you like to get a snack? There's a bakery nearby that makes a great spice cake and some nice iced cocoa. My treat."

"I would like that very much." Ikki nodded politely before her lips parted in an undeniably happy smile, her mood brightening. "Thanks."

"No problem, kid."