So, I was talking with a friend on tumblr about Lin Beifong, and she had this great idea about how maybe Toph actually found Lin on the streets when Lin was young. Then we were talking about her telling Iroh about this, and I had this idea for this little one-shot. So, the idea for this is about 80% hers, with some tweaking from me. I just put it into writing. ^_^

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, then we would've gotten the release date ages ago, rather than just today. April 14th, you guys! Anywho, A:TLA and LoK belong to the great and magnificent Bryke, not me.

Sunset had long passed in Ba Sing Se. Twinkling stars and a full moon illuminated the bustling nightlife. The inner ring of the city, though, had already mostly quieted down for the night. The residential area of the inner ring was quiet, no more candles illuminating the windows as they had earlier that night, and the business area was following suit.

The popular tea shop that sat on the edge of the inner ring, overlooking the next ring of the city, had just finished cleaning up after the evening crowd had cleared out. Ye, the young man who worked there, was just about to finish closing up when a young woman came practically stomping into the shop.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we were just-" Ye started, turning to face the woman, but stopping mid-sentence when he recognized who it was.

"Oh, Miss Beifong, I apologize. I didn't realize it was-"

"Where's Iroh?" She interrupted, ignoring his apologies as she looked around the shop, hoping to see who she was asking for.

"I believe he's in the back, Miss Beifong," He replied, furrowing his eyebrows as he got a look at her. As opposed to her usual confident demeanor when she had visited before, her face held a worried, almost nervous look, and Ye could've sworn she was slightly shaking.

"Miss Beifong, are you alright?" He questioned, but received no answer as she quickly brushed past him towards the door leading to the backroom of the shop.

"Thanks, Ye," She muttered as she pushed the door open, disappearing from view.

The back room of the tea shop was very different from the front. While the seating area was comfy and fairly spacious, the back room was barely a room at all, just a small office with a desk, a chair, and a few boxes of various supplies.

Sat at the desk was an older man, quite a bit older by some peoples' terms, a pair of reading glasses sat perched on the end of his nose, a somewhat official looking letter in his hand.

Though Iroh had grown used to the way his old friend tended to show up at random intervals, this did nothing to lessen his surprise as she practically slammed his door open, storming into the room.

"Ah, Toph, how good to see you," He smiled, removing his glasses as he turned to greet her. "I had almost started to grow worried. You have not come to visit in quite a few days. You are here now, though, and I have very good news. I was just reading this letter that Zuko sent, and...Toph, my friend, are you alright?" He questioned, noticing the look on her face and the way she couldn't seem to sit still, moving from sitting on one of the crates, to pacing back and forth, then back to sitting.

"Iroh, I...I don't know what I'm doing," She said, wringing her hands as she stood up again, standing right in front of Iroh.

"Now, Toph, I know I'm apparently good at giving advice, but I need a little more to go off of."

She swallowed, running a hand through her long hair as she contemplated what to say.

"I've...I've adopted a child. That's why I haven't come to see you recently. But I don't know what I was thinking, Iroh."

Iroh's eyes widened as Toph said this, then he stood up, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I will make tea, and we can sit down and talk about this. Tea is always helpful in situations where a clear head is needed."

After telling a somewhat confused Ye that he could leave, and taking his time to brew a pot of tea, Iroh sat down with Toph at the table she had been waiting for him at.

"Now," He began, pouring them each a cup of tea. "Tell me what this is about you adopting a child."

"Well, I...I had been taking a walk through one of the lower rings. It had gotten to be sort of late, so I was heading back to my house when I heard crying. It was coming from an alley nearby, so I decided to check it out. See if there was anything I could do, I don't really know what I thought I could do. I was just kind of drawn to that alley. But...I found this little girl, huddled up next to a garbage can. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me...she told me she was really hungry, that she hadn't eaten in days. I don't know what I was thinking, but I told her she could come back home with me, that I'd get her some food. I couldn't just let her starve!" Toph exclaimed, more to herself then to Iroh. She paused to take a sip, calming her breathing.

"Anyway...I took her back to my house, and I got her some food, and I started asking her questions. She told me that her parents died when she was very young, and that she's been living on the streets ever since. She's an earthbender, but she says she's never bent anything more than a few pebbles. She's so small, Iroh. I don't know what I'm going to do. I told her she could stay with me, but...I'm not a mother. I'm the Blind Bandit, I'm the greatest earthbender in the world, but I...I don't know anything about being someone's mother," She said, her voice progressively getting smaller as a few tears made their way down her face.

This entire time, Iroh sat and listened, sipping his tea, something he had grown accustomed to doing over the years. He sighed as he finished his cup, wishing he had made more tea. As he sat his cup down, he reached his hand across the table, taking Toph's much smaller one in his.

"Toph, listen to me. Are you listening?" He asked, and she nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"When somebody becomes a parent for the first time, do you think they know anything about raising a child? No, of course not, because they've never had one. You are the Blind Bandit, and you are the greatest earthbender, but that does not mean you cannot learn to be a mother as well. You were not born knowing how to earthbend, just as no one is born knowing how to be a parent. You are going to make a wonderful mother, Toph. You are going to teach this girl everything you know. She is going to grow into a fine young woman, just like you, and I can only hope I live long enough to see this."

Toph, having started crying again as Iroh spoke, looked up at him as he finished.

"You really think so, Iroh? You're not just saying that to calm me down?" She questioned, her voice soft, but with a "please don't lie to me" bite behind it.

"I know so, Toph," He smiled, removing his hand from hers with a pat to the top of her hand as he stood up.

"Now, how about some more tea?"

Thoughts? Reviews are always welcome. Like, Snape always.

-Batgirl67