Liang zhi laohu,
Liang zhi laohu
Pao de kuai
Pao de kuai
Yi zhi meiyou yanjing
Yi zhi meiyou weiba
Zhen qiguai
Zhen qiguai
"Lin, why are even singing that god-awful rhyme? Kya giggled. "The babies can't even understand it yet."
"They like it when I'm singing," Lin replied. "Don't you, Lian? Don't you adore it when mommy sings to you? Awww, look at those dimples! You're so pretty, darling! Who's the prettiest girl in the Earth Kingdom? You are!'
"Look at her, Su! Look at your sister!" Kya said, trying to suppress a laugh. Lin's displays of motherly affection always struck her family as rather weird – after all, her public image was that of a no-nonsense, tough-as-nails crimefighter. Kya can't help but find it hilarious whenever Lin plays with her children.
Lin looked at Kya intently, and then raised an eyebrow. "Oh – so you would rather have me sing 'Secret Tunnel', then?"
"I happen to think it's a wonderful song," Kya retorted.
"If you're a badgermole¸ then yes!" Lin teased.
"Haha – that's so funny, Captain Mom – hey Su, is Baatar coming over for the party?" she asked, quickly turning the flow of the conversation to her cousin.
Suyin looked up from her reading (giggling when she heard Lin saying, "Kya's changing the topic, what a loser). "He'll be in Ba Sing Se for two weeks, but he did tell me he'd try to make it, so I took that as a yes. Sort of."
"Secret tunnel…"
"LIN!"
"Look, baby! Aunt Kya's mad. Boo-hoo," she teased. "How's it going between you and Baatar, Su?"
"Oh, just the usual. We go to dinner, he watches me perform onstage – that stuff," Suyin replied with a smile.
"Are you guys like, exclusively dating?" Kya asked.
"If by exclusive you mean our worlds revolve around each other, I guess yeah – we're pretty exlusive," Suyin announced delightfully.
Lin rolled her eyes. "Young love," she muttered dreamily. "Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't. Be careful, sis."
"Someone's bitter," Kya jested.
'I'm just saying the truth, alright? True love is elusive. It's easy to say 'I love you'; it's even easier to think he loves you too – but there's no assurance that he's the one, you get me?" Lin explained.
Suyin pondered on her sister's words for a while. "We're not getting serious yet, Lin."
"Please don't think I'm putting Baatar down, Su. Just – take good care of your heart, okay? It's the one thing in this world that could truly make you happy. Don't let anyone mess with it. Trust your heart because it does not lie."
Kya looked at Lin mischievously. "Are you crying?"
"I most certainly am not!"
"Yes you are! Look, your eyes are red!" she insisted.
Lin flung bits of earth from a potted plant toward her friend, laughing. "Eat dust, Kya!"
"Oh, sis. Don't worry – Baatar's a nice man," Su assured.
"Tenzin was nice, too," she napped. "Look at us now – ugh – why are we even talking about this?"
Kya took the baby from Lin. "Beats me – but, come to think of it, what're you gonna do if Tenzin decides to come?"
"I'll cross the bridge when I get there," she dismissed. She had been waiting – praying so hard for Tenzin to come back to her, but now that it seemed likely to happen, Lin had no idea why all of a sudden she felt scared.
Kya was making funny faces at Lian. "You know, honey – I think I know what your mom's thinking."
"What?" Lin asked.
"You're thinking that if Tenzin decides to come back, it's because he doesn't want the kids to grow up fatherless," she replied.
"I don't want him to come back because – because he pities me, Kya – or because he feels like it's his obligation. I want him to come back because he still loves me."
"You still haven't told us what the letter said, though," Suyin said from her corner. "And why did you suddenly go all mushy after reading it? What did it say?"
Lin smiled.
"Oh this is gonna be good! Spill it Captain!" Kya beamed. "Let the baby hear what daddy had to say."
One day I'll be back in your life and I will do everything it takes just to have you back. I will never lose hope that eventually, we'll have our second chance. No matter how long, no matter what it takes I will never lose hope.
Did she really want to tell Kya and Su? Both women were hopeless romantics, and Lin was afraid that if she mentioned anything about a possible reconciliation, Kya and her sister would spread the word like wildfire. Instead, she settled for a cruder version of Tenzin's letter. "He was apologizing for being such a jerk."
A deep furrow appeared on Su's forehead. "That's it?"
"Yeah – come here, Lian darling. It's time for your meal," she replied nonchalantly as Kya handed her daughter back.
"It sure doesn't seem like it, because after you read the letter you were all blushing and smiling," Suyin pressed on.
Lin steered the conversation to a different topic. "Kya, what kind of food should I eat to enhance lactation?"
"Lin, I've been putting them in your meals every single day. Stop changing the topic, woman!" Kya replied. "Do you still love Tenzin!"
Lin freed her bosom from the binding, allowing Lian to latch onto her and feed. Feeding her children was always a comforting experience for Lin, because it gave her time for introspection and allowed her to be intimate with the babies.
"Hello - I was talking to you, Captain Mom."
"You know the answer, Kya."
"But will you give him a second chance?" Suyin asked.
"I –"
Toph burst into the room, carrying a crying Lei in her arms. Obviously, her mother had been showing off the child to anyone who was interested again. "Hey pup – Lei's hungry."
What's interesting about Toph Beifong is that aside from her being the uncontested best earthbender in the world is that she actually recognized her grandkids' needs by the way they cried. Lin had no idea how her mother could do it, but each time, without fail, Toph would tell her to feed a hungry Lei, or change Lian's soiled nappy, and it would prove to be just the thing the children needed. "Can you hold on to him for a little longer, Mom? Lian's still at it."
"I suppose you won't mind if I let the guests hold him for a while, right?" Toph asked playfully.
Suyin's curiosity was piqued. "Guests? Whoa – what's up, Mom?"
"There's a bald airbender and a lady outside," Toph announced. She retreated to the doorway and screamed. "You guys can come in now!"
Aang and Katar soon entered the room, arm in arm.
"Mom! Dad!" Kya ran to her parents, embracing each of them. "Wow – you're early!"
"We thought we might help around," Aang replied. "I heard it's going to be a big celebration!"
"Sweetie! Close your eyes!" Katara exclaimed, putting a hand over Aang's eyes.
"Hey!"
"Lin's feeding the baby," she replied.
"Oh – Aunt Katara, it's okay – Lian's done," Lin assured while rearranging her clothing. She held out the baby for Katara to see. "D-do you want to hold her?"
Without any hesitation, Katara welcomes her granddaughter into her arms. LIan, who was quite unaccustomed to Katara's touch, began squirming in her arms. "Oh, you poor dear! I must've surprised you! There, there – gran-gran's here," she said, trying to soothe the baby. "How pretty you are! You look just like your mother – and those eyes! Sweetie, come and have a look!"
"Hello, baby girl! Oh – she's smiling at me? Did you see that?" Aang laughed. He was obviously smitten by Lian, despite only having been with her for a few minutes. "I'm Grandpa Aang!"
"How are the boys?" Kya asked.
"Bumi's furlough is almost over, but he filed for an extended leave so he could celebrate with us – you know how he loves parties," Katara replied, still looking adoringly at the babe in her arms. "Oh – and you'll be happy to know that Tenzin's being considered for a seat in the Council!"
Kya clapped her hands in delight. "Really? Wow, that's great!"
As Kya and her parents caught up with each other, Toph pulled he elder daughter, who was now feeding Lei, to the corner. "Lin, are you okay with Aang and Katara being here?"
Lin had her back to the guests, her blouse arranged in such a manner as to preserve modesty. "Of course, Mom! Why do you ask?"
"I thought you'd go weepy, is all," Toph replied.
"It's perfectly okay, Mom. Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang deserve to see the twins – and besides, I don't have issues with them, it's Tenzin who has to answer to me. Aunt Katara is like a second mother to me, and I know that you know how much Uncle Aang means to me," she explained.
Toph gave Lin's shoulder a squeeze. "That's my girl."
"Uncle Aang? Is everything okay?" Suyin asked.
Kya approached her father. He was still holding Lian, but at the same time he was sobbing uncontrollably. Gently, she took the baby away from her father's shaky arms. "Dad, are you okay?"
Aang wiped his eyes and managed to smile. "It's just that I'm so… happy! I – I never thought the day would come when I could hold my grandkids in my arms, and I have Lin to thank for that!"
"Wow – you're worse than me," Toph quipped. "When Lin gave birth I didn't even cry. I was just happy."
"We show happiness in different ways, Toph," Katara said. "Lin, how can we ever thank you? We know that this wasn't part of your plans, darling. We know how much you have sacrificed for the children. How can we ever thank you?"
Lin just sat on the couch, smiling to herself and quietly feeding Lei.
Aang burst into another bout of joyful sobbing, saying "They're so cute! I want to hug them!" again and again.
Toph, who found Aang's emotional displays rather weird and unsettling for "a man of his stature and reputation", promptly bopped her old friend's head. "Now that is a valid reason for you to tear up!"
A/N:
This chapter made me really happy because of Aang. Haha. He got so emotional. As usual, next update would be on Sunday night! I hope you guys like this chapter! Happy reading!
P.S.: To CombustionNation, I'm happy to announce that the Kya backstory that got you so pumped up is in the works! Hooray!