Hey guys! Here's the Toph and Lin chapter, because I couldn't not have a Toph chapter (or two, or three). =) Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!

Life Sucks When You Grow Up

Part 2 – A Rocky Relationship

Lin wasn't a firebender, but on that cool Saturday morning she woke with the sun. Her mom didn't have too many days off, but when she did, it was better to prepare. Lin knew that Police Chief Beifong would not go easy on her own daughter.

As quietly as she could, the ten-year-old earthbender got dressed and climbed out her window. Her mom was blind, but she could see better than most parents. Luckily for Lin, Toph Beifong liked to sleep in on vacations and weekends. Lin knew her mother's schedule by now; she would wake in a few minutes, and come looking for her daughter.

Slowly, quietly, Lin tiptoed across the huge garden of the Beifong house in Republic City. Because of her mother's bending "eyesight", she had never been able to hide from her. Today, though, Lin had a new plan; she had thought of a place where the Chief would never find her.

She was far enough from the house now that she could make some noise; quickly, Lin Beifong jumped into the garden fountain, clothes and all. Earthbending senses were useless in water, and Lin planned to float there until her mother gave up.

It wasn't that she didn't like bending; in fact, Lin was pretty good at it. But her mother had some extreme teaching methods, like locking her daughter in a metal box to get her to metalbend. Try as she might, Lin could not bend earth in its purified form, not yet. Besides, it was hard to concentrate while locked in that tiny metal box. Just thinking about The Box was enough to make Lin nervous.

Her mother didn't understand. Toph was teaching in the only way she knew how, directly and forcefully, like a true earthbender. She had learned to bend metal while trapped in a box, so she didn't see what the problem was.

Firm footsteps echoed through the enclosed garden as Toph Beifong came out, wearing loose cotton clothes rather than her metal armor.

"Lin! Time for your lesson!" she yelled.

Slowly, the inventor of metalbending made her way across the garden, using her earthbending to search for her daughter. She frowned in concentration; she really could not see her daughter anywhere on the property. Toph doubted her daughter would run away, though.

"Lin! Quit hiding like a wimp and get out here!" Toph cried, getting impatient. "I'm not wasting my only day off playing hide-and-seek with you!"

The tiny woman approached the fountain, and Lin did her best to slow her breathing. Inside, she was proud of herself. It had worked! Her mom couldn't see her!

Toph's feet touched the tiled edge of the fountain, and she smirked. The tiles were wet; Lin's jump had created a shallow puddle around the northern edge of the fountain.

"Fine, hide like an airbender!" said the Chief. "I guess I'll go to the Roku District by myself, and get some tea cakes from the Jasmine Dragon..."

Well, crap.

Lin loved the Jasmine Dragon. It was a chain out of Ba Sing Se, founded by the retired General Iroh, and it had the best cakes in the United Republic (and possibly the world). Toph didn't take her too often; the Roku District was on the outskirts of town, and a little too clean-cut and posh for her taste.

The girl had almost decided to announce her presence, but Toph beat her to it. She raised the rock bottom of the fountain just enough to push Lin out and flip her over. Her knees hit the tiles with a painful thud, and Toph crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised as she waited for her daughter's excuse.

"I'm sorry," said Lin in a small voice. "I just couldn't handle The Box today."

"Well, you should have told me!" Toph rebuked. "I ought to ground you for a week, but since you almost found a way to trick me, I'm impressed enough to let you slide. Don't do it again."

Lin bit her lip to hide a smile, even though her mother couldn't see it. It was just like Mom to forgive rule-breaking...as long as it was creative rule-breaking.

"Okay, Mom." There was a slight pause, then, "Were you really going to the Jasmine Dragon?"

Toph smiled. "Change your clothes and we'll go. Maybe later we'll try bending the iron cables instead of the box."

Lin ran off to her room, yelling "Thanks, Mom!" as she went.

Hours later, when the two Beifongs were back home, Lin wondered how her mother had found her. She asked, but Toph refused to share her secret. It wasn't until Jinora was born—almost forty years later!—that she found out; she caught the end of a long conversation between Toph and Tenzin, about the crazy things kids did to annoy their parents.

As if it wasn't bad enough that her mother was telling Lin's most embarrassing stories to her ex, she also caught her eavesdropping—and called her on it.

Mothers!

So, how was it? I'm having a really tough time reconciling the rule-breaking, rebellious Toph from Avatar, and the metalbending police chief. I hope this is a good mix of the two Tophs for you.

Again, reviews/concrit/suggestions very much appreciated.