"Toph, there is someone on his way here. I think he wants to talk to you."
The earthbender gets up, pressing her feet firmly to the ground. She's cradling six-month-old Lin in one arm and holding one-and-a-half-year-old Tenzin's hand with her other. Katara rises behind Toph, giving up on her fruitless attempt to get a comb through Bumi's mangled hair.
"Who is it Aang?" Katara asks.
But the Island boat has just pulled in. The passengers get off. Toph feels it. The heavy footfalls, steady stance. It's an earthbender. Worse, it's her fucking earthbender.
"I'd rather not say..."
Toph hands her daughter to Katara and lets go of Tenzin.
"I'll take care of this. Katara, do not, under any extreme circumstances, let him touch her. Or see her for that matter."
Katara nods and Toph marches out the door, followed by Aang who is closely followed by young Bumi.
Out in the courtyard he stands, not really knowing what to do, but he's sure she will come.
"Hi," a tiny voice says.
He turns around, there's a little girl standing behind him, carrying a schoolbag.
"Are you looking for my Dad?" She asks.
The man cracks a brilliant smile and crouches down to her level.
"No, I'm actually looking for my wife. Have you seen her?"
She opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by a yell from across the courtyard.
"Kya, get away from there!"
The Man whirls around and sees her. Toph's standing a distance away, hands on her hips. She's a rather small woman, but as solid as a rock, just how he remembers. Toph urges Kya inside as Avatar Aang materializes behind the metalbender. The Man takes a step forward to get to her.
"Stop," she says. "Why are you here?"
He raises his eyebrows, not breaking his smile.
"I'm here for you, love," he tells her.
"Oh, cut the crap, asshole" she says. "Why are you really here?"
The man wipes the smile from his face. Outward appearances don't work on Toph anyways, he knows that. He goes to take another step closer but she holds up her hand to halt him. He's still at least twenty feet away but she likes it that way.
"Asshole, love? Is that really any way to treat your own husband?"
"I deem it pretty acceptable, given the situation," she replies with a shrug.
He sighs, wiping his hand down his face. He knew she would be like this, so challenging.
"Okay, can I see her then?" He asks.
"Who?" she questions.
"My daughter?"
"Oh, I didn't know you had one," she replies snarkily.
He laughs at the ground. She's really as unyielding as ever.
"I heard you named her Lin... I like it." He states. "Bet she looks just like you, Toph."
Her chest constricts when he says her name. It's another stab at her outer-shell, the one that conceals all of her deepest emotions. She doesn't want to feel anything but anger towards this man, for all he's done.
"I wouldn't know," she says, pointing to her frosty eyes. "Anyways, I'm not letting you see her. I'm not letting you into her life."
The Man starts walking and doesn't stop until he's a foot away from his wife, and looking down at her. All he can see is her bangs, since she keeps her head down, still standing her ground.
"Oh no, you can't do that to me, love. She's just as much mine as she is yours."
Toph laughs, placing a finger on his chest and inching him away from her.
"Oh I can't can I? Think again, bub," she tells him. "You made the decision as to whether or not she was yours when you left me."
"I didn't know you were pregnant!" he cries, exasperated.
"You didn't have to know! If you wanted to be a part of this family you would have stayed around to help build it!" She shouts at him.
Truthfully, the Man is shocked by her outburst. When he had left a year ago she seemed so unbiased, uncaring. It was as if she didn't give a damn whether he would stay or go. So he had left without a second thought. He inhales deeply and closes his eyes, counting to five in his head. He's learned to better control his anger since he left.
"Toph," He's surprised at the amount of hurt his voice reveals. "I just want to see my daughter."
"Okay, how about... stay away from us."
The man exhales violently, quicker than anything, he's got his wife by the shoulders, giving her a small shake. Well, small for him anyways. Her head flies back and he can see the mix of sheer emotions on her face.
Panic. Rage.
And the same time she earthbends him to the sky; he gets pushed back by a gust of wind... and knocked in the head by a tiny boomerang. Aang and his son have her back. Bumi is even standing boldly in front of his Aunt Toph, caught boomerang at the ready.
Her husband lands on the dock, holding the small bump forming on his forehead.
"She. Deserves. A. Father." He says between breaths.
"She does, but you don't deserve her." Toph replies. "Now, get out my seismic sight."
It has been three years. The Man moves in and out of Republic City as he pleases. He stays there more often than he doesn't, however, always hoping to get a glimpse of his wife, his kid.
Toph...
Lin...
The first time he ever sees his daughter is during a holiday. It is the anniversary of the day the Hundred Year War Ended. A celebration of peace, where families and friends get together to see a parade, watch fireworks, have large dinner parties. The Man decides to set out that day, just to watch the festivities.
When he first spots the little girl, she's riding on top of the crowd. Literally. Toph's got her daughter on her shoulders so the three-and-a-half-year-old can see everything that goes on. The parade makes a lot of noise and there were many people on the streets cheering and having a good time. So the Man feels it is safe to follow the girl and her mother as they walk through the square. He smiles when he sees that Lin does indeed look like Toph. He immediately falls in love with the little girl. Her smile, her beautiful dark curls. As much as Toph will never want him to, the Man will always feel like Lin's father.
So he starts doing things for Lin.
He leaves her presents.
Small mementos
Clever wood carvings, little mounds of interesting rock.
Things that Toph won't notice. Things that she'd think were from someone else, or picked up by Lin.
Reminders to the little one that someone is watching out for her. (very Boo Radley, might I add)
Three years go by.
One present is a small doll. An earthbender girl who looks just like Lin's mom. Hair and everything with a championship belt over her green and yellow smock. He made it himself.
Lin is inseparable from that doll.
At first, Toph just thinks the doll is a gift from one of her students or family members. Lin would receive presents from them all of the time. But when two more dolls show up, one of a little girl with dark curls and the other a strong male earthbender with a tattoo stitched into his shoulder, Toph begins to get suspicious.
She realizes that every Wednesday night, the night that she has midnight hours at work, Lin somehow gets new things. She always has something new and different that she wakes up to the next morning.
So one Wednesday, Toph takes off from work, and waits up until after her daughter has fallen asleep. Sure enough, she feels him sneak up to the mansion.
He opens Lin's window, the largest one in the house, and slides in.
Now that Lin is six, he knows that she has begun learning how to read small words. So tonight he has a picture for her, with a short caption. It's one of himself holding the little girl, while her smiling mother sits beside them. The caption reads "Family." He's about to tuck it securely under her pillow when he feels a hand on his shirt and is yanked away.
Out into the hallway, the house is pitch dark.
He can't see a thing, but knows he's about to get hit.
It doesn't matter to Toph who is about ready to kill the guy.
Thud.
The small earthbender shoves her husband roughly against the wall.
"Remind me why I shouldn't kill you..." she hisses at him.
"Love, you'd have to arrest yourself," he replies.
She laughs sarcastically under her breath and takes him by the shirt, out of the upstairs hallway, down to the front hall.
"Get out! I never want to find you near my daughter again," she says.
"Our daughter, love," he corrects her.
Smash.
She sends him through a closet door, pulling him back out by his collar.
Thud.
He's thrown to the hard floor, aching, ribs cracking, bones bruising. She leans over him.
"My daughter. She's my daughter, not yours, you idiot. She doesn't need you. What are you trying to do here anyways? Trying to brainwash her or something? What's on that piece of paper?"
"It's nothing important," he replies.
"You're damn right," she says taking it and crumpling it. "I never liked paper anyways."
Taking advantage of his time not being thrown around the Beifong mansion, he manages to find Toph's wrist in the dark. He tugs it closer to his chest in an effort to put it over his heart. She snatches it away.
"Don't. Touch. Me. Okay?" she hisses.
"Why not, love? You are my wife after all," he asks innocently. He moves to take her wrist again but she keeps it out of reach.
"You know damn well why-exactly-not. You are still so insufferable! Don't touch me!"
Her response is met by silence. He's just laying there, lungs splitting, trying to find her face in the dark.
He grabs her wrist again, pulling her down to him, taking her waist in his other hand. She struggles for a second but then stops. He thanks his lucky stars she hasn't decided to earthbend his ass yet. So he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight to his chest.
It's hard for Toph to think what to do. She wants to hurt him, badly. She thinks she should send him away for good. But she's crushed to his chest and he smells like the earth, enveloping her in an aroma that lulls her senses, makes her want to fall asleep in his arms. She hasn't felt that way in a long time, and it concerns her. They lie there for a few seconds just breathing. Then she has to ruin it.
"Are you finished now?" Toph asks.
"No," He replies honestly.
"Well, I am," she says, wriggling out of his grip. "Now, get out of my house."
"Toph!"
"I mean it. And the next time I find you close to Lin without my permission I will throw you in jail."
He sighs, moving to brush her bangs aside. He can see her glossy gray eyes vaguely through the dark. He works on biding himself some time.
"Why'd you marry me, Toph?"
"Stop stalling," she replies, being a troll. She stands, leading him towards the door and opening it.
Light from the street shines across the doorway, flooding into the hall.
"Goodbye," she says impatiently.
He takes a breath and looks at her, quickly grabbing her into a hug. He's so tall he lifts her off the ground. So she just hangs there uncomfortably while he inhales her.
Click. Light fills the house.
"Mommy?"
Lin is standing at the bottom of the stairs, clutching her doll.
The woman's head pops up, she struggles to escape her husband's grasp. He's so surprised he lets her go. She hits the ground and hurries over to her daughter.
"Lin, baby. What are you doing awake?"
The little girl rubs her eyes tiredly.
"I heard a loud noise and I thought it was my Daddy." She looks to see her father standing in the open doorway.
"It was!" she says excitedly.
Toph takes her daughter's hand.
"Honey, why did you think it was your father of all people?"
Lin hugs her doll closer and steps near her mother, playing with the long hair in front of Toph's eyes.
"Because my Daddy gave me presents!"
Her Father smiles, showing perfect white teeth.
"Did you like them, love?"
Toph stutters.
"No, do not talk to her... Baby, we're going back to bed okay?"
Lin yawns.
"Is Daddy going back to bed too, Mommy?"
"No, baby," Toph says picking her daughter up. "He's leaving."
As she ascends the stairs with Lin, she flicks her fist in his direction. He can feel the earth pushing him outside the house, down to the front steps. But he counters it and stands back in the doorway.
Lin is watching him sleepily over her mother's shoulder.
"Where will he go, Mommy?" she asks.
"Wherever, Baby. I'm sure he has somewhere else to go. He normally does," she replies.
He touches his chest in mock hurt. She feels it.
Ouch, love.
"Can't he tuck me in then?" she asks, nuzzling her face into her Mom's neck.
"I don't think so—"
Her father dashes to the bottom of the stairs and begins ascending after them, skipping three at a time.
"Of course I can!" he exclaims.
Lin looks at her father and grins, reaching out her arms for him. Toph protests but he's already taken the little girl and is carrying her to her room.
It's the first time he has ever touched Lin. Held her.
His daughter.
And she is just so perfect. Her little black curls fan out around her face when she looks down at the ground, checking out the drastic distance from her perch. She squeals, tightening her arms around her father's neck.
"Don't let me fall, Daddy!"
"I won't. I promise."
In Lin's room, her father sets her down. She's perfectly awake now. She dashes around the room, pulling items out of drawers, showing him things.
"And Daddy, this is my favorite rock."
"It's beautiful, love."
It really is. Even at six, Lin is an earthbending prodigy. She's bent this rock into a three-dimensional model of a sky bison.
"This is Oogie. He's going to be Tenzin's sky bison someday. Mommy won't let me ride him though... OH and here's another one I made..."
"Okay, Lin. That's enough, baby," Toph interrupts. "You've gotta go to sleep now, remember?"
Lin sighs.
"Okay. But can I show Daddy my rocks tomorrow?"
Toph picks her daughter up and sets her in bed, tucking the covers up around her.
"Baby, I'm sorry but Daddy's not going to be here tomorrow," she says.
"Why not, Daddy?" Lin asks, looking to her father.
He sighs, brushing a curl out of his daughter's face. Toph grabs his elbow warningly.
"Well, I'm not allowed to, love," he says. "It's just the rules."
"What rules, Daddy?"
Her father looks at his little daughter, and her questioning face. He looks to his wife, who is sitting next to him, chin down, hands in her lap. She's thinking that I'm going to rat her out. I'm going to make Lin hate her and want to be with me more. In truth, he is seriously considering it. But in the end he just picks up Lin's doll, which had been placed very carefully at the end of her bed, and gives it to her. Securing the covers around the both of them, he sets her with an explanation.
"Just the rules of being your Daddy... Goodnight, love," he breathes.
"Goodnight Daddy, Goodnight Mommy. I love you," Lin says yawning.
"Goodnight, Lin," Toph whispers.
Lin's already asleep, breathing softly.
Out in the hallway, Toph closes Lin's door lightly.
"Wow, out like a light, huh?" He says incredulously.
"She was already pretty tired when she went to sleep earlier. It's our fault we woke her up anyways," Toph says.
They stand there awkwardly in the hallway for a second. He looks her over, he hadn't noticed her pajamas were in shambles. He looks down at his own outfit, rumpled and torn, and chuckles to himself.
Just like old times.
"Well," he says. "I guess this is goodbye then, love."
They walk to the stairs, she waits at the top for him to go down the staircase.
"Bye," she replies.
He gets to the end of the stairs and turns up to his wife.
"By the way, you've got a really great kid there."
"I know."
He starts for the door. She thinks that he's finally going. Finally leaving forever.
Does she even want that? Does she want forever? To Toph, there are two forevers; forever here and forever gone. So yes, she wants forever, and she's getting forever. But she doesn't want forever to start, not just yet.
"Hey wait," she calls softly.
"Yes?"
She thinks to the remark she made to Lin about where he went when he left...
"Do you... do you have any place to go?" she asks.
He thinks back to the empty apartment he's rented.
"Kind of."
She sighs, hugging her stomach.
"Do—do you want to stay here for the night? With me?"
With me
With me
With me
With me
With me
With me
With me
With me?
Her husband almost faints.
"Yes," he replies. It's the most sincere "yes" he's ever given.
"You have to be gone before she wakes up..."
"Okay," he says. He wouldn't ask for anything more.