so, this is what i would call a filler chapter, but it does serve a purpose. i can't wait to share the next chapter with you all... kinda proud of it.
fyi, i fucked up with wing wei and opal's original ages... my bad. so, this is the first time jump. there will be another in roughly 10 or so chapters, i just wanna take my time and have some fun :D
Bolin -7
Kuvira - 10
Mako - 11
Baatar junior - 11
Huan -9
opal - 7
Wing and Wei 5
Chapter Text
Lin took a deep breath as she knocked on the steel door leading to her mother's room on the airship. When she didn't hear a protest, she ventured forth, closing the door behind her. "We'll be there in an hour."
"Great, thanks." Toph still hadn't turned to face her daughter, not that it was necessary.
"I thought, given the occasion, you may want to wear this." Lin stood in front of the older woman and held out the garment.
"My old uniform?"
"Yeah."
"I thought it got destroyed in that whole hullabaloo with those dips in Republic City."
"I had a lot of free time during my recovery."
Toph took the steel tunic from Lin and ran a hand over where the repairs were made. "It's not the best work, but it'll do."
Lin rolled her eyes. "A simple thank you would suffice."
"Hm."
"Here's the rest of it." Lin dumped a duffle bag containing boots, armguards, green undershirt, and black pants.
Toph stood and started to get dressed. "Shirt please."
Lin grabbed the green shirt and gave it to her mother. The casual setting and no screaming kids allowed Lin to finally take in her mother's appearance after having not seen her for five years. They were once the same height but now, Toph had shrunk to the point Lin could see right over head, she had more wrinkles than she could count, her hair was completely white, but the muscle, that was still there.
"Did your kids get a chance to meet Sokka?" Toph asked as she fixed her hair into its usual bun.
"Kuvira, obviously knew him a lot better but the boys only met him once or twice. Bolin was speechless when he met Sokka though."
"It's been nearly two weeks and that kid still hasn't said a word to me."
"He claims you're his hero."
"Please, I'm everyone's hero." Toph faced away from the steel tunic on the bed and with one solid movement, the armour wrapped itself around her body as though it were a second skin. "I miss this feeling."
Lin leaned against a wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you ever wish you didn't retire?"
"Sometimes, but then I think back to that small stint I did when you were hurt and the bureaucracies just pissed me off, not to mention your second in command. Sure, she's a good officer but in the office, I had never had such contempt for someone." Toph felt a shift in her daughter. "Why does it feel like you suddenly need to take a shit?"
"What?"
"Your body just tensed up."
"It's nothing, drop it."
"Wait, you didn't fuck her, did you?"
"Fuck who?" Su walked into the room and quickly closed the door in fear that a small child might be lurking around a corner.
"I didn't sleep with her."
"Who?" Su reiterated.
"Your sister slept with her second in command. So much for loyalty to Kya."
"I didn't have sex with her!" Lin felt herself becoming frustrated. "We got close but I said no."
"How close?" Su asked with a palm to her head.
"Zone three?"
"Zone three?" The younger Beifong repeated.
"What the fuck is zone three?" Toph practically screeched.
"As close to having sex without having sex." Lin managed to grind out, knowing that her family would never let it go unless she told them.
"Why?"
"It was a moment of weakness, and, it wasn't entirely my fault."
"Takes two to phoenix flight."
Lin allowed herself to be guided to the bed by Su's hands on her shoulders. "I hadn't been sleeping well, okay. I had sent the kids to Air Temple Island with Katara because I was busy at work putting the finishing touches on an operation and case files. The night it was finally executed, I had been awake for close to forty hours. Sayo invited me out to drinks with the squad. I wasn't ready to go home so I agreed.
"After the bar shut, Sayo invited me back to her place for drinks. I didn't think anything of it because we had done it in the past but when we got there, we were all over each other. I was so desperate for human contact that I let my defences down. Just as we were about to cross that point of no return, I had to stop it. Then I learned that everything that had happened was premeditated.
"She knew I was sleep deprived and open to suggestion. She was hoping that if she and I slept together, then I would leave Kya. She handed me her resignation after I stopped it and I demoted her then and there. She had destroyed my trust and tried to hurt my family."
"Lin, that's got to be some level of assault. Right mum?"
"It's a grey area." Toph thought for a moment. "If Lin consented, then the law wasn't broken, however it is a very dick move and you were definitely taken advantage of."
"It should be illegal. Going out of your way to hurt someone like that."
"It doesn't matter. It was years ago and she isn't on the force anymore and today isn't about that, this is about Sokka." Lin stood and handed her mother a black sash that mirrored her own, adorned with medals and ribbons.
"You're right, sorry Lin."
"Whatever." A knock interrupted the conversation from going any further. "Who is it?"
"Mako, Chief."
"The kid still calls you Chief?" Su asked, rolling her eyes.
"In public, yes."
"This is family."
"And yet that's still too public for me." Lin flung a wrist at the door, causing it to unlock and swing open. "What's up kid?"
"I don't know what to wear. None of my clothes match."
Lin frowned. "What happened to the suit?"
"The pants are brown and the jacket is black."
"And?"
"They're belong to two different suits."
"You can borrow a pair of Junior's pants, come on, I'll help you." Su stood and lead Mako to her son's room. "We land soon, so get your butts ready, I doubt they will wait for us."
The family disembarked the gangplank but halted when they realised Toph had stopped. "Mum?" Su asked.
"I can't see shit." Her daughter's both held their arms out for their mother to take. "Damn snow. Why would any sane person want to live here?" She closed the bottoms of the steel boots, which were Lin's spare pair, given the originals were in Zaofu somewhere.
All the earthbenders in the family, agreed.
Mako walked past them and blew a small amount of fire into his hands and rubbed them together. "I like it."
The act had Lin and Su muttering expletives under their breaths. They walked along the shore to where a group of people were starting to find their seats.
"I see Zuko." Lin stated. The man wasn't hard to miss given his red robes amongst a sea of blues and blacks. "Spirits, it's like the whole South is here."
"No, just Sokka's tribe." Su supplied. "The Chiefs from the other tribes are here out of respect and so is the South's police force."
Lin's back stiffened and her eyes started to dart around. Where is she?
"Lin, you and I need to be on the podium." Toph felt uneasy as she felt people brush past them, the whole experience making her feel claustrophobic.
"We wanna go with grandma Toph!" Wing shouted from his father's arms.
"You two can't, you have to stay with us." Baatar Senior struggled to keep his hold on the squirming five-year-olds.
"Let them come with us." Toph grinned. "I'd rather have kids up there with me than the old windbags."
"Thanks mum, I appreciate it." Lin deadpanned. "It shouldn't be a problem. Everyone else has representatives up there, they can be Zaofu's."
"You're sure Lin?" Su looked to her youngest sons who had both taken hold of Toph's right hand.
"Consider it a trade. You watch mine and I'll watch yours."
Su glanced over to her niece and nephews to find Bolin stuffing his face with snow as he was cheered on by his siblings. "Why do I feel like I'm getting the worse end of that deal."
Soon, everyone had found their places. Toph had a grandson on each knee and was seated next to Zuko and his family, with Lin on her right. "I swear, if these guys go on for a second longer, you're going to find me in that damn boat with Sokka." Toph muttered under her breath.
"It's been over two hours, so much for short and sweet." Zuko whispered to her. Glancing at the boat that contained majority of Sokka's possessions, and then man himself in his wolf warrior uniform, the ex-Fire Lord couldn't help himself. "You wouldn't go hungry, that's for sure."
"Why?"
"It's full of meat."
"What?"
"I guess that's his most prized possession."
Toph let out a snort which made the man at the lectern lose his place. "This is going to be the tastiest cremation I've ever been too."
"Spirits, how old are you two?" Lin grumbled, displeased by her mother's and uncle's jokes.
"Get your knickers out of your ass Lin. If this were my funeral, you can bet Sokka would be making jokes too. Something like 'she didn't see that coming'"
"Oo, I have one, Toph walked into a bar. And a table. And a chair. And the counter."
"Given all this damn snow, that may actually happen."
Out of the corner of her eye, Lin saw Wei start to slump forward. Quickly catching him, she placed him on her lap. She had hoped no one saw but the crowd erupted into laughter, which was a nice break from the tears and wailing.
"I guess I have gone on long enough." The man at the lectern flushed red from embarrassment. "Sokka, you were a warrior, a chief, a councilman, an inventor, a brother, an uncle, a husband, a son of the South, you will be missed but your story will never die."
"We invite Sokka's family to the stage to send him off."
Katara led her family, the extended Beifong clan, Korra and her parents to the stage where they all huddled in a circle. "I'll miss you big brother."
In unison, they all said, "We love you."
Taking a stance, Katara instructed the water to carry the boat out to sea.
"Hey Mako."
Mako turned when he felt hands on his shoulders and his name being called. "Iroh?"
"Follow our lead."
Mako didn't know what was happening as the large family parted, to have Zuko, Izumi and Iroh stand in a line. Iroh positioned the young firebender so he was standing between his grandfather and mother.
Mako chanced a glance past Izumi to see Korra on the other side.
The two children were quick to follow the adult's lead as they took a deep breath to centre themselves. Their arms swung in opposite directions, then came back to the middle of their chests and were thrust outwards, causing a large stream of flames to the ship that was now a hundred meters away, setting it alright.
They watched in silence as it burned, that was until Toph spoke. "Well, I don't know about you lot, but I could go for barbeque."
Su was finally allowing herself to relax. Katara and Pema had decided to turn in early for the night and offered to take the five youngest children, Wing, Wei, Opal, Huan and Bolin back with them to bed, leaving the older kids to enjoy the festivities that had been organised in Sokka's honour.
"You know, I think we should try for baby number six."
Baatar Senior's eyes shot open. "Su, let's not."
Su placed her half empty glass down on a random surface so she could tug her husband down to her level. "Okay, no baby, but I'm sure we can find a quiet place to have sex."
He raised her slightly so she was sitting on the barrel they were leaning against. "I could get on board with that."
"It had better be where I can't hear it."
The couple split apart, with Su looking to the other side of the barrel to find her sister slumped against it. "What are you doing Lin?"
Lin raised a flask. "Getting reacquainted with mum's second-best gal Flaski." She raised her other hand. "Flasko couldn't go the distance."
"Alright, I think it's time for you to go t-"
Lin held up a finger, signalling for Su to wait, then proceeded to finish the contents of 'Flaski.'
"To bed." Su finished with an unimpressed stare.
Lin burped. "I'm happy sleeping right here."
"Oh no you don't." Su used her metalbending to pull her sister to her feet by her uniform.
"No, Su~"
"Don't 'no' me." Su positioned one of Lin's arms around her shoulders and used a hand around her waist to support her. "Honey, are you okay to watch the kids."
"Flameo I can!"
"Lin, she wasn't talking to you. You're drunk, shut up." Baatar grinned at seeing his wife raise an eyebrow at him in question. "What? She's drunk, we're surrounded by snow and it's not like she'll remember."
"Thanks sweetie, I'll be right back when I get this dunderhead to bed."
"You're the best dear."
"Damnit Lin, don't go limp."
"I don't wanna walk anymore."
"We're almost there, don't go limp, don't go limp, don't g- Damnit Lin!" Su grunted as they both landed face first in the snow. "This is the universe finally getting back at me, isn't it?"
"Leave me 'lone." Lin mumbled, her mouth filling with snow as she spoke.
"You know what, I'm going to make this easy on both of us." Using her metalbending for the second time that night, Su dragged Lin the last five meters through the snow and into one of the huts they had been provided with, then deposited her on the bed.
"Why'd he have to die?" Lin mumbled.
"Because it was his time." Su removed the boots and placed them next to the fire so they could dry out.
"No it wasn't. The universe never liked him."
"We can't blame everything on external forces Lin."
"The universe killed aunt Suki, the universe killed my kid's parents, the universe killed Sokka and the universe took Kya away from me."
Su removed the rest of the steel from her sister, then flopped on the bed next to her. "That wasn't the universe's doing."
"Then who's was it?"
"Well, I wasn't born when aunt Suki died but according to mum, she died protecting a town from bandits, so that one is on them. Kuvira's parents died from drug overdoses and personally, I think she's better off for it. As for Bolin and Mako's parents, you never told me what happened so I can't comment. Sokka died after living a life anyone would be proud of and Kya is trying to better herself. So I don't think we can blame any thing that has happened on the universe."
"What about our dads?"
Spirits, it's one of those nights.
"Mako, how much money do we have left?" Kuvira asked her older brother.
"I don't know. Mum threw her purse at me and told me to go nuts."
Kuvira took the purse and looked inside it to find forty yuans.
"We have a winner!"
The sound of bells and whistles got their attention. "What about that one, Kuvira?" Baatar Junior asked.
They walked over to the stall and a man greeted them with a large grin. "One yuan for three throws kids. Knock down the bottles and win a prize, knock the bottles down three times in a row and win a big prize."
They looked to the prizes on offer and their eyes lit up. "I want to win the sabretooth moose lion. It was Uncle Sokka's favourite animal." Kuvira declared, determination on her face. Handing the man a yuan, he gave her the three balls and on each throw, she only manage to knock the top bottle on the pyramid off. "Damnit."
"Let me try." Korra handed over a yuan. On her first throw, she knocked down all three pins. "Ha!"
"Do you want a small prize or try for the big prize?" The man asked with a knowing smirk.
"Big prize sir." After waiting for the pins to be set up, Korra threw the ball and it hit on target.
"Wow, one more strike and that big prize is all yours." Just as he picked up one of the bottles, he reached into his jacket while his back was to them and placed a weight inside. "Last chance."
Korra, riding on a high, let her arm rip. Two of the bottles flew off the podium but the remaining bottle wobbled then settled on its base. "That's rigged!" She shouted, ready to climb over the stand and attack the man if Kuvira hadn't held her back.
"Sorry little lady, you can try it again for another yuan."
"I'll play." Mako stepped forward and rolled his shoulders.
"Mako, don't waste your money." Baatar Junior pointed to another game stand. "Let's try the ring toss."
"No, I'll play." Giving the man the money, he managed to knock down the pyramid twice. After the man set them up for the third time, Mako, threw the ball, a trail of fire followed, giving it pace that not even the man in the stall was quick enough to catch, successfully knocking all three pins down. "That's how it's done. Sabretooth moose lion please."
The man was left to scratch his head as he handed over the large plush toy to the firebender, which Mako then gave to Kuvira. "Thanks Mako."
"What are big brothers for? Besides, it was obvious he was cheating."
"I saw that." The four children jumped at the voice, thinking it belonged to an officer, but when they turned Iroh was smiling down at them. "Nice work pupil Mako."
"Thanks?"
"Have any of you seen Lin? My mother was hoping to catch up with her."
"I saw her and S- aunt Su going that way." Mako pointed in the direction of a few huts on a hill overlooking the town.
"Thank you. Stay out of trouble."
Suyin gave herself a little fist pump when Lin finally shut up and fell asleep, allowing her to go back and join the festivities. Pulling back the curtain, she felt a wave of anger course through her. "Sayo." She glanced to the bottle of wine and two glasses in her hands.
It was clear the officer was not expecting her. "Hello S-"
A fist flew out, silencing Sayo from talking. "What you did to her was despicable."
Sayo spat a small amount of blood onto the snow and rubbed her jaw. "I deserve that."
"You think this is funny?"
Sayo righted herself. "Am I laughing?"
"You're making jokes." Su stalked closer, making the woman back up. "She told us what you did. Are you here to try again?"
"I wanted to come and apologise to her and say sorry for her loss."
"If that were true, you would have done it at the funeral. I bet you didn't see Kya and thought that she would finally have you." Su's voice was starting to grow in volume. "I told you years ago to bark up another tree but you had to try and fuck with my family."
"Su," Sayo found herself becoming defensive, "this has nothing to do with you."
"She's my sister, it has everything to do with me. Leave now or I'll report you to your commander and I'll tell him what you did in Republic City to my sister. Taking advantage of your sleep deprived and drunk co-worker, you shouldn't be allowed to work in law enforcement."
"Well, I do. If you want me to leave, I'll leave." She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Can you give this to her please, it's an apology letter."
"You don't deserve forgiveness."
"And you did?"
Suyin felt the adrenaline build up in her body. "Shut up."
"What? She can forget about what I did, she has to think about what you did every time she sees her reflection." Sayo stepped closer, keeping her voice low. "I felt them, her scars. I had my tongue in her mouth, spirits, even thinking about it now, it was so good. I could feel the scars on the inside too. Did you know you caused that much damage? You even managed to chip one of her teeth."
Su felt herself stiffen at the new information presented to her.
"She blames you for the scars on her back too. If you and Toph went to help her instead of waiting for those terrorists to come to you, she wouldn't have had to go through all that trauma."
"That's not true."
"Are you sure? Weren't you the one who said Lin confides in me? No one else on the force knew about the scars you gave her except me. You think that's the only thing she told me?"
"You're drunk."
Sayo stumbled back from the accusation. "I'm not drunk. Would a drunk person be able to do this?" She ignited a flame in the palm of her hand, knowing that Su didn't have her element to protect her.
"Don't do anything you'll regret." The voice didn't come from Su. Iroh strolled between them and narrowed his eyes at the officer. "Go home sergeant."
"Aw Su, how sweet, you've got a guard dog. Does it know any tricks? I can show him a few of my own."
"I'm not above hitting a woman that threatens innocent people." Iroh thrust an open palm into the centre of her chest, knocking her back a few steps. "I suggest you leave."
"That's what I was doing." Picking up the bottle and two glasses, Sayo walked off back to the town.
"Thanks Iroh." Su felt her body relax.
"Not a problem." The man plopped down on the deck then laid down to stare at the sky. "I know a loose cannon when I see one."
Su joined him. "How much did you hear?"
"Just that you gave Lin the scars on her face."
"Oh."
"It's true?"
"It was a stupid thing I did as a kid. Lin and I put it behind us a long time ago." Su sighed and reclined to lay beside him. "Don't spread it around though."
"I won't, though no one wins our prize pool."
"What?"
"The fellas in the Forces. When we were helping in the city, we were all wondering how she got them. Majority claimed animal attack or escaped convict. No one wins. Are you alright Su?"
"Yeah, she just said some things that rattled me. I know they're not true but words cut, you know?"
"I have a little sister. We would say anything to get a reaction, even if they were lies." Iroh chuckled to himself. "I remember telling the servants and other kids my sister had a penis. She was not happy. They called her the Penis Lord for a year."
"That is so cruel!" But Su found herself laughing. "That was a nice thing you did having Korra and Mako help you with Sokka."
"They're family, it only seems right."
"Lin was telling me you're teaching Mako how to firebend."
"Yeah, the kid has some serious skill. I only get a chance to train him a few months a year but Lin tells me he is always practicing and replicating what he sees at Pro Bending matches. She's a good mum."
"Yeah, she really is. Do you see yourself settling down anytime soon?"
"I could have anyone I want through an arranged marriage, but I think I'm waiting for a girl that's different. I don't really know what I want."
"What about kids?"
Iroh shrugged. "Whenever I dock in the city, I spend time with Lin's kids, they're like little siblings and at the moment, that's enough for me. I'm content."
"I'm happy for you Iroh."
"Thanks Su."
Kya was seated outside a tea house, soaking up the morning summer sun and enjoying civilisation for the first time in months after spending time flitting from one small town to another.
"Would you like a newspaper miss?" The waitress asked, with her order in one hand and the paper in the other.
"Sure." Kya didn't think much of it, having not stayed up to date with world events for the last couple of years but she thought that it might be smart to see if the rest of the world was still standing. Taking a sip of her tea and a bite of her sandwich, Kya unfolded the paper and immediately regretted the decision. War hero's funeral, a family affair. Her whole family plus a few she had never met stood on a podium while a boat was floating out to sea alight. She held her breath as she scanned the image, hoping to see his goofy grin somewhere in the crowd.
Not seeing his face, she chanced a glance at the words hoping his name wouldn't be there, but there it was, third word in.
War Hero Sokka died a week and a half ago, today, and was finally laid to rest.
Kya threw the paper onto the table across from her, unable to stomach anymore. He had died and she was unaware. She was too late for the funeral and there was nothing she could do.
Not finishing her breakfast, Kya threw a few yuans onto the table and left for the train station.
"As soon as we get inside, I want you all dressed and in bed. It may be the weekend but you need to get a sleeping pattern back before school next week."
"Mum! You left the lights on." Kuvira exclaimed, picking up one of the bags the cab driver had left on the curb.
Lin turned to the house after paying the driver and scowled at seeing a shadow move inside. "Kids, stay behind me." Fucker doesn't know who they're dealing with. Lin reached for the doorknob to find it unlocked. Could have sworn I locked it. Yasuko? Pushing open the door, smells wafted from the kitchen and humming could be heard. It can't be. Dropping her hands, Lin rushed further inside to find a woman, in her old cadet gear, standing in front of the stove, quietly singing to herself.
"Kya?"