Title: Like Mother, Like Son

Author: xXxSora-chanxXx

Pairings: Linoochy

Word Count: 1,996

Chapter 1: The Same Words

Author's Note: Hi. This is a story that I made for my tumblr and decided to post on this site. :) This is the first chapter to "Like Mother, Like Son". It's Linoochy based. It's dedicated to my sister: lovelygirliroh


"Skoochy. What are you doing?" Lin was curious. Her adopted son had banished himself to his room. His sun-kissed complexion getting paler by the day-but not as pale as Lin's of course-and his impish eyes seemed too puffy and sore. So yes, Lin was definitely worried and a whole lot of paranoid.

"Nothing mom. I'm fine." Okay, so Lin kind of had to smile. She knew that Skoochy didn't feel comfortable calling her 'mom'- but in his defense, Lin didn't feel comfortable calling him 'son', out loud at least- so him calling her 'mom' brought out her mommy smile. At least, that's what Penma and Ursa called it. However, his answer did nothing to calm the paranoid nerves of Toph Bei Fong's only child. Skoochy's voice sounded hoarse and tired. The little impish tone wasn't there.

"Son", Lin was going to get personal, "you do not sound fine. You've been in your room for days." Lin was tempted to metalbend Skoochy's door out of the way. So tempted, but according to Penma that would be 'an invasion of his privacy'. Of course being Toph's child, there was never privacy-Toph being blind an using her feet to bounce of seismic waves allowed her to see all that was going on in her home, all of it-and Skoochy was living in her home that she paid for. So instead of metalbending the door out of her way, Lin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She loved the fact she could use seismic waves.

Skoochy's lanky body-he wasn't eating as much or he was hitting puberty, but Lin preferred the first option-was sitting at his low desk. His head was spread over the desk and his hat-the hat he insisted on wearing to sleep-was sprawled on the floor a few feet away from his body. Spirits, was he even conscious? Was he dead?

With this in mind, Lin grabbed a hold of the door and all but yanked it off its hinges just as Skoochy muttered, "Mom. Really I'm fine. No need to…worry?" Okay, so Skoochy hadn't seen that one coming. His adopted mother may have been the best metalbender alive, but she tended not to use it unless it was necessary. Apparently she thought Skoochy's well being was a necessity worth bestowing her metalbending powers upon-Skoochy would never admit it, but he found that touching.

There was Lin. There was Skoochy. They were awkwardly staring at each other-because this was the most affection that they had shown the other since Skoochy's adoption-and Skoochy was finally sitting up. Lin scowled when she realized her son looked worse then he sounded. His hair was sticking up in odd directions-more so than usual-and his eyes were completely dilated and red. And spirits, why was it so dark in his room?

Acting as if nothing had happened, Lin gracefully walked over to the curtains in the room and slid them open-she was hyperaware that Skoochy's eyes were following her.

"My eyes! Spirits, my eyes! Close the windows! Please mom!" Skoochy shielded his eyes-he hadn't seen the sun in days. Lin rolled her eyes at her over dramatic son, but seriously, he needed the light.

"Shut up kid. You need the light. You look worse than some of the jail inmates I've seen." Skoochy winced-and here he thought Lin and him were having a family moment. Yeesh, were mom's supposed to be as harsh as Lin? Probably not.

The awkward silence resumed over the room, or rather it never really left, leaving the two occupants fiddling with their legs. Skoochy kicked a piece of paper as Lin looked his way. Before he could react, she picked it up to see what was so intriguing about it-more like to give herself something to do.

On the piece of paper was horribly written characters. They looked as if they belonged to a child whom was first learning to write, except much worse. The strokes of the characters were wobbly-some were beyond unrecognizable. Whoever wrote these obviously did not know how to write. Not to mention, these were the simple characters. Ones parents thought to their four year old children who were learning how to write. Who had poorly written these characters? More important was why did Skoochy have this paper filled with deformed characters?

Lin lifted her gaze up to her son. Skoochy's face was painted red and his eyes wide. That's when Lin realized. Skoochy had written these characters. Skoochy didn't know how to write.

Skoochy was embarrassed. Beyond embarrassed. He didn't want anybody to know that he couldn't read or write. On the streets, no one except Shady Shin was literate. Now Skoochy lived with Lin and had very literate friends. He didn't feel as if he fit in when Lin asked him if he wanted the paper, or when he went to the library with Jinora. He felt like a fool. A moron. An illiterate. And his pride made sure that no one knew. Spirits, he just wanted to die now.

"Skoochy? You can't write?" Lin was surprised-even though she shouldn't. Skoochy had lived in two orphanages before he had turned eight. Shouldn't he have learned basic writing and reading skills? Oh goodness, if he couldn't write, then he couldn't read!

"You can't read either can you?" Lin couldn't mask she shock she felt. Her son couldn't read or write. He was an illiterate.

This is what Skoochy was afraid of. The disapproval of his newfound family and friends. They were all literates-even five year old Meelo-and he was not! They were smart, he was stupid. They could get somewhere in life, make a name for themselves. For the love of spirits, they had already made a name for themselves! He would never be able to. He would never be on the same level as them. After all, he was the illiterate street boy.

Lin was finally pulled out of her shock when Skoochy swiftly got up. His brown hair was covering his face. His balled fist on the table, clutching-clutching as if they needed something. Lin started to realize that maybe her tone had hurt Skoochy's feelings. And when Skoochy looked up-when her broken son looked up at her with his dark brown eyes-she knew. Lin knew.

"Yes mom. I'm an illiterate. I'm an illiterate fool who can't read or write. See, I'm so stupid that I just gave the definition of illiterate to you." Skoochy's voice dripped with sarcasm. Lin knew that this was the only way he knew how to say he was hurt. Toph-her own mother-had been the same way. Lin was the same way. Like mother, like daughter. Like mother, like son.

"Skoochy, that's not what I meant. You aren't a fool." Lin so desperately tried to make her voice reflect the genuineness of her words. Spirits, her son was not a fool and no one was going to tell him otherwise.

"Don't make me laugh mom", Skoochy started-the way he said mom hurt Lin, it honestly did-"I can't even write my own name. I couldn't even read it if someone showed it to me! I'm a fool. Simple words that four year olds can read and write, I can't. You know what's even funnier? Meelo is smarter than me. Meelo, is smarter than I'll ever be." And this is when Lin had heard enough. She took the steps required to reach her son-her bright, determined son-and engulfed him in her arms. She held him tight.

Spirits, now she knew. She knew why he didn't ever want to read the newspaper, despite the fact he liked to know what was going on. She knew why he dreaded going to the library with Jinora. She knew why he locked himself up in this room. He wanted to be like the people he was surrounded by. They knew how to read and write, and he did not. Lin knew and she felt horrible. She was supposed to be his mother.

"Skoochy. Son. You are not an illiterate fool. You are bright, determined, clever, and an imp, but you are no fool. No one cares if you can't read or write. I don't care. I'm not going to judge you. No one is and if they are, they're going to have a metal ball stuck in their throat forever." Skoochy had tears in his eyes. No one had cared about his well beings as much as Lin had. No one had cared that he was fed, had clothes, and was out of danger. No one had been strict on him, just to protect him. No one had ever loved Skoochy as much as his mom did.

There was Skoochy. There was Lin. Embraced in a family hug. The silence that filled the air was thick with all the words that the two earthbenders would be too prideful to say. But, still both knew what the other was thinking and appreciated the fact they were just as stubborn as they were.

"I'm sorry mom for yelling at you." Lin was really liking being called mom-much to her surprise. A tiny grin pulled at her face as she stared at her son. Her son.

"It's fine, but do it again and you won't live another day." Skoochy smiled then. He knew that his mom never made empty threats. Never.

They stayed in each other's grip for a while longer. They hadn't had a hug with their families in years. Spirits, it felt so awkward, yet at the same felt comforting. It was nice to know that they weren't alone, that someone was always going to love them for who they were. Lin had missed this feeling. Skoochy liked the feeling.

"I'm sorry." That's all Lin said. Skoochy knew what she meant. She was sorry for hurting his feelings. For not being a better mother.

Skoochy squeezed Lin tighter and said, "It's fine mom. Just please don't tell anyone." Skoochy could get over the fact that his mom knew he was an illiterate, but that didn't mean the rest of world was allowed to know. This was going to be their secret. A family secret. It kind of made Skoochy smile.

"Don't worry. I won't." The two finally pulled away. Smiley smirks on their faces as they stared at each other. They just had a moment.

"Did you really mean what you said when you said I was bright and determined?" Skoochy looked at the floor to hide his blush. He wasn't used to compliments-he was used to insults. And he knew that Lin did not throw out compliments to just anyone.

Despite the flush of her cheeks at Skoochy's statement, Lin replied with a sturdy, "Yes. I did son."

Skoochy looked up at Lin and gave her a bright smile. "Thanks mom!" The excitement in his eyes and the pure joy at her lame compliment had obviously made his day. Something in Lin broke, and a smile engulfed her face. She really liked Skoochy. A lot.

"Would you like me to help you with your reading and writing?" Lin knew Skoochy was stubborn. Skoochy knew Lin knew that he was stubborn. Skoochy also knew that Lin did not just offer help to anyone, so he sucked up his pride-which is the hardest thing for an earthbender to do-and accepted her offer.

The mother and son sat down at the table with pieces of paper filled with simple characters. Skoochy quickly realized that Lin taught him the same way she taught him how to metalbend-harsh, uncompromising, strict, and with little patience. Yet, he wouldn't have it any other way. Lin soon realized that Skoochy wasn't just bright in earthbending and metalbending, but he was also bright when learning how to read and write-he was determined, focused, and responded well to constructive criticism. She was glad he did.

Throughout the whole session, the two had small smiles on their faces. It was nice to finally have a family. To finally feel loved.


Author's Note: Hope you liked it :) I have the second chapter done, but I won't post it for about a week or two, depending on how much time and reviews I get. Anyways, bye. :)