As Toph sat on the floor in a corner of her kitchen, curled in a ball with her forehead pressed to her knees, she was reminded of the first couple of weeks with Lin. The incessant screaming. Not knowing her daughter's signals and moods. That irrational anger and utterly horrifying – if fleeting – urge to press a pillow over Lin's face to make it all stop.

She loved that noisy monster more than anything or anyone she had ever loved – including herself – but love and hate were forever entwined in her mind, and at this moment she hated Lin. Despised her. Loathed the sound of her grating voice. And for all of that, she hated herself. What kind of mother hated her own kid? Left them to cry alone in the middle of the night?

The distance between the kitchen and her bedroom couldn't drown out the noise. Several times, Toph had been tempted to escape downstairs where it was actually quiet, just for a few minutes of peace. Several times, she had stood at the door and nearly done it. But she knew what would happen. She would fall asleep, not waking until Sora arrived in the morning. Lin would be starving and soiled, and Toph would graduate from a shitty mother to a neglectful failure.

It had been a week since her fight with Sokka. For four of those days, Lin had barely slept, and neither had Toph. They'd had weeks of a good routine, good sleeping, and now the little shit had decided to act like a fucking fresh-out-of-the-oven newborn again. Actually, no – this was worse. At least then, Toph hadn't had anything else to do.

Four days. Four days of struggling through her stressful work, only to come home to a screaming child. Four days of pacing around the house with Lin in her arms, eventually getting her quiet, only for her to wake up and resume her wailing the second she was put down. Toph didn't know how many more sleepless nights she had left in her, and though she was beyond the point of contemplating packing a bag and leaving, the mounting despair was real and inescapable.

Sokka had sent a telegram to her office yesterday, asking how she was and if she needed anything. What a slap in the face that had been. Honestly, she was too exhausted to even be mad at him anymore, but the stubbornness remained. The absolute last thing she wanted was to admit to him that she actually couldn't do this alone, after all. So she had responded that everything was fine and he didn't need to worry. Lin would go back to normal eventually, right?

Toph let her cry for another twenty minutes or so, then picked her up and once again cycled through her limited knowledge of how to make a baby calm down: Lin's diaper was clean and dry, she staunchly refused to nurse, and neither sitting in the rocking chair nor walking around soothed her.

Maybe Sokka was right and I do need to get a gramophone, she thought as she hummed the music box melody. Its effectiveness had waned recently, but tonight Lin appeared to be responding well. She slowly quieted and seemed to be drifting off, so Toph sat on her bed and stretched out, back against the wall. Her head drooped down slowly, then she jerked back awake. The motion pulled Lin out of her drowsiness and the screaming resumed.

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

"Afternoon, ladies," Sokka said, approaching the reception desk. "Is Chief Beifong in her office?"

"I think so," Rinna said.

"I heard things have been a little tense around here lately…"

"You could say that."

"Are you hiding from her?" he asked with a sly smile.

Rinna pursed her lips. "Actually, I've been exiled."

"Oh, no. What happened?"

"I asked her if she wanted me to take over writing the reports because her handwriting has become illegible." The normally very mild-mannered woman looked more annoyed than he'd ever seen her.

"Alright. I'm going to get her out of here for the rest of the day. Unless you think anyone here would have any objections?"

"Hah. Good luck with that. We've tried. Riju suggested she take a couple days off to rest and she threatened to fire him."

"Ah, well, my secret power is that she cannot fire me."

"If you're brave enough to try," Lanfen said, "I'm certainly not going to try and stop you."

"Me neither," Rinna agreed. "But I suspect you'll have to drag her out kicking and screaming."

"Oh, I fully intend to try, if it comes to that."

They looked at him with raised eyebrows and he took a deep breath.

"Well, then. Off I go. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," they both said.

Sokka headed towards Toph's office with apprehension, once again wishing he'd paid more attention to her the last week. But it was all so complicated, and she was being so fucking stubborn. And he certainly wasn't looking forward to being yelled at again, which was inevitable. But something had to be done, Ludo's rules be damned.

He didn't wait for a response to his knock before opening the door. She was sitting at her desk, head propped up in her hands, clearly exhausted.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

Instead of answering, he went around the desk and picked up the report she'd been working on. Rinna was right: completely unreadable. "Come on. Up," he said, dropping the paper.

"What?"

He grabbed her arm and started to pull her to her feet.

"Wha– Sokka! What are you doing?!"

"You're coming with me," he said, calmly but firmly.

"No I am fucking not!" She tried, futilely, to pull out of his grasp while he edged towards the door. "Let go of me! I have so much work to do!"

"It can wait, T. You're no good to anyone like this. You're exhausted. You need a break."

"I don't have time to take a break!"

Despite her struggling, he made it through the door and into the hall. "Your work isn't going anywhere. The city won't erupt into chaos if you leave a few hours early one day."

"Stop fucking pushing me!" she yelled, smacking his arm with the strength of a child.

"If you don't want me to push you, then cooperate. I won't hesitate to throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here."

"You better fucking not!"

"Then walk."

"This is ridiculous!" She pushed his hand off her shoulder. "You're making a scene."

"No, you're making a scene."

"I can't just leave in the middle of the day!"

"No? Who's going to stop you?"

"I swear to ever-loving fuck, Sokka! If you push me one more time, I will fucking bury you!"

"We both know you would have already, if you had the energy. Besides, I thought there was no bending in the halls?"

"Who's going to fucking stop me?!" she mocked, throwing her hands in the air.

He stopped and faced her, putting his hands on her shoulders. They had nearly made it to the reception area and the hall had become suspiciously empty. If looks could kill, he'd be dead. How she gotten so good at that?

"Look, T. I've already spoken to Rinna and sorted everything out. Just come with me. Please?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm worried about you and you have everyone here shitting their pants."

She closed her eyes and she sagged a bit. "May I at least ask where I'm being abducted to?"

At this point, Sokka knew he had won, and let out a relieved breath. "I know of a really nice, quiet bar where we can sit down and have a drink. It's not far."

"Ugh. Fine."

He looked back as they headed for the door, giving Rinna and the receptionist a thumbs up. They were shaking their heads in amused disbelief.

"I saw that," Toph grumbled.

"You saw nothing. You're blind, remember?"

She sighed dramatically but didn't respond. A short, silent walk brought them to the bar, which was completely dead this early in the afternoon.

"Chief Beifong!" the owner said in a shocked voice, eyes wide. "Councilman Sokka. What can I do for you?" he asked nervously.

"Don't worry, we're here for pleasure, not business. Two sakes, please."

"Sokka. I cannot drink alcohol. You know this."

"Oh, right, sorry. One sake, and one...what do you want?"

"I don't fucking care."

"And one juice, please."

They sat in silence for a few moments, waiting for their drinks.

"I guess the whole city must be talking about how Chief Beifong has completely lost it," Toph said bitterly, "for you to come down and drag me out of my office."

Sokka clapped her on the back, regretting the harsh words that had apparently made her feel like she couldn't ask for help. What he really wanted to do was give her a proper hug so she'd know everything would be ok, but a friendly pat on the back was all he felt safe doing in such a public place.

"No one thinks you've lost it. But there has been some concern floating around that you're a little overwhelmed. People are just worried, alright?"

She sighed. It was more than fatigue; she looked depressed. "I don't think I can do this."

Hi eyebrows shot up. It was so unusual for her to talk like that, to sound so utterly defeated. "What? C'mon. It's just a rough patch. You'll be fine." He tried to keep his voice light, nodding to the bartender when he set their drinks in front of them, but deep down he was worried about her.

"She won't sleep anymore. She just cries and cries all night, anytime I'm not holding her – and sometimes even then! It's making me crazy. I know it's normal, but– I can't– I'm just...so tired. I'm terrified I'm going to doze off and drop her. Or worse, get so angry that I–" Her voice caught, bloodshot eyes full of unshed tears, and Sokka's heart broke for her.

"I wish you'd told me you were having such a hard time. I'm sorry about what I said before, ok? We want you to ask for help when you need it. No one expects you to do this by yourself."

Toph sighed again but stayed silent. He squeezed her shoulder.

"Hey. You're gonna be fine, ok? You just need a good night's sleep."

"No, really?" she deadpanned. "I never would have guessed that."

"Why don't you spend the night on the Island? Katara and I can look after Lin while you sleep."

"You sure I won't be too much of a burden for her?"

The acidity in her voice made him wince.

"Can we just forget about that argument? Please? All I meant was that she's done a lot for you and the occasional 'thank you' would go a long way. I know she doesn't want you to cut her out of your life like this. And neither do I, for the record."

"What about Ludo? Isn't this against the rules? He might have spies out. The press will have a field day because two people who have known each other for twenty years dared to be seen in public together."

"I don't care. He can fire me if he really wants to. I'm not going to let you run yourself into the ground. Now finish your juice, then we'll go get Lin."

Lin's familiar, piercing cry jolted Toph from a deep sleep. Automatically, she began easing herself upright before her memory caught up: She was on the Island. Katara and Sokka were looking after Lin. She flopped back down, willing sleep to take her again.

The soft thrum of a rich, masculine voice seized her. Sokka's voice. He was...singing. It was a gentle sound, hushed and vulnerable. Lin's cries faded away and his voice dropped to a faint hum. A warm, fond feeling enveloped Toph, but after a moment it was replaced by harsh resentfulness. She had rarely been able to calm Lin that quickly, especially in the last week.

He really would be a great father, she knew, if given half a chance. But it was more complicated than just the rules that separated them. Even if they were free to be together, and even if she were emotionally available for that kind of relationship with him, there was something else that held her back: Lin was her daughter. The idea of another parent involved in the mix didn't sit well with her. The inevitable push and pull, compromising on important decisions. Just thinking about it stressed her out. It was one of the reasons she had made damn sure Kanto wasn't part of Lin's life.

With those drowsy thoughts, she drifted off, not waking again until the smells of breakfast wafted into her room. She sat up and stretched, yawning. Fuck, I feel like I could sleep for another twelve hours.

Kya plowed into her when she emerged. "Aunt Toph, did you sleep well? Did you hear Lin crying half the night? I barely slept at all! Is she like that all the time? Tenzin doesn't ever cry that much. Are you going to live here again? Can you–"

"Kya!" Katara said sternly. "Leave her alone! Sit down and eat your breakfast."

Toph trudged to the table and sat down, resting her head on crossed arms.

"Still tired?" Sokka asked, standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder, thumb idly rubbing sore muscles.

She sat up, shrugging his hand off. That kind of physical contact was dangerous. "I don't think I'll ever not be tired. But at least I slept. Er, thanks. Both of you."

"You're very welcome. Though, I pretty much did everything."

"You didn't get Tenzin back to sleep when Lin woke him up," Katara said dryly.

Toph blew the hair away from her face in frustration, irritated at her apparent uselessness. "Sorry," she muttered halfheartedly.

"I was talking to Sokka. You came here to get some sleep. I didn't expect you to get up."

"I know. I just hate being a problem."

"You're not a problem." She put a plate down in front of Toph. "Now eat. Are you going into work today, or will you actually take a day off?"

"I have too much to do to take a day off, especially after leaving early yesterday." She sighed deeply. "But I do feel better. Maybe... If it's alright, maybe I'll spend a couple nights a week here until Lin starts sleeping again."

"That's a great idea," Katara said gently. "Bumi and Kya both went through this same phase, you know. Went on for almost a month."

Toph groaned; that wasn't at all what she wanted to hear. "I regret every choice that led me to this moment," she complained, only half-serious.

"Don't be so dramatic, T. Lin's a great kid."

"You want her?"

"Toph!" Katara admonished.

"I know you don't mean that," Sokka said lightly, "so don't make promises you can't keep."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Of course I don't mean it. I'm not that far gone."

"Aunt Toph, why are you so grouchy?" Kya asked. "Is Uncle Sokka going to be Lin's dad now?"

"It doesn't look like it, Squirt," he said with a chuckle. "And it would probably be safer if you didn't ask too many questions. Aunt Toph just needs a few more nights of good sleep."

"Well, she'll never get it if Lin keeps crying all the time."

"Speaking of the little terror," Toph said, "why is she so quiet? Is she actually asleep?"

"Mhmm," Sokka confirmed, sounding pleased with himself. "For the last hour."

"Great. I guess it's just me she doesn't sleep for."

"I think it's nighttime, actually. Soon as it started to get light out, she passed out."

"Well, no wonder Sora hasn't quit yet."

"Where has Bumi run off to?" Katara muttered. "Toph, do you want Aang to drop you and Lin off when he takes the kids to school?"

"Yeah," she said, shoveling in her food. "Thanks, Mom."

When she got to work, there was one important order of business to take care of straight away.

"You wanted to see me?" Riju said stiffly after being summoned.

"You feel like making a little extra cash on the weekends?"

"Huh?"

"You previously expressed some interest in helping out with Lin. I thought maybe you could come over on the weekends for half a day so I can get a few hours of sleep. I'll pay you."

"And here I was, actually thinking you'd called me in here to apologize. You know I don't need money."

Toph pursed her lips and took a deep breath, swallowing her pride – and annoyance – with some difficulty. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"And threatened to fire me."

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and threatened to fire you. Happy? I've just had a really shitty week, ok?"

"I offered to help."

"I know. And now I'm taking you up on that offer. Do you want to do it or not?"

"Yeah, I'll do it."

As Sokka fully expected, there was some fallout from his actions the previous day.

"We had an agreement," Ludo said. "Going out for drinks with Chief Beifong is not a good look for either of you."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but she needed me."

"You're not the only person she can turn to for support."

"She wasn't going to turn to anyone for help. She was going to run herself into the ground until someone stopped her, and no one else was willing to try. And besides, I had already promised to help her, long before I was offered this position."

"So you never meant to follow these rules at all, then, did you?"

"I've been trying to. I really have. And looked what happened. You really think this city is better off when the Chief of Police is so overwhelmed that she can't do her job properly?"

"You still agreed to our terms. And again, you are not her only friend in the whole world."

"I'm trying to tell you. She felt completely betrayed by me pulling back, withdrawing that promised support. It affected her to the point that she put all her walls up and shut everyone out. And anyway, it's completely ridiculous that you would expect me to toss aside a twenty-year-old friendship."

"You agreed to distance yourself!" Ludo blustered, his face red. "You wanted this position! I didn't bully you into it!"

"I agreed to be discreet," Sokka said firmly. "I know going out to a bar crossed a line, but it seemed like best option I had at the time. Fire me if you must, but I can't turn my back on her."

"You have put us in an impossible situation! Mauja is gone, and it would make us look bad to choose another Councilmember right after choosing you, even if we had a suitable candidate."

"Look, I regret that it happened like this. I really wanted to be able to hold up my end of the bargain, but I didn't fully realize how much of a sacrifice I would be making. Is there any way we can compromise on this? I really do want to keep this position."

"Well," Ludo said stiffly. "It seems like we have little choice. But what you did yesterday was unacceptable. The two of you cannot be seen cavorting around the city together, going to bars. And you certainly can't be seen going into her home. That is wildly inappropriate. If you must spend time around each other, do it at the Avatar's home, away from prying eyes. But you cannot discuss the details of your jobs with each other!"

Sokka took a moment to consider those terms. With Toph spending two nights a week on the Island, it would give them a chance to catch up, and he'd get to see Lin. But that wasn't going to be a permanent arrangement. Eventually, Toph would go back to her normal routine.

But the fact was that, the longer he held this position, the harder it would be for them to oust him. And that's if he even wanted to stay. For all he knew, he'd be sick of it in a few years. "Alright. I can agree to that." For now.

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

Sora knocked on the door lightly, not wanting to risk waking Lin if she was napping.

"Hello?" a quiet voice said behind her.

She whipped around, startled, to find a young man standing in the doorway between the foyer and the landing, holding a sleeping Lin. He must have been in the training room and followed her up the stairs.

"Oh! Hello!" Sora whispered. "I'm sorry, I was just coming by because I think I left my notebook here yesterday."

"Ah, you must be Sora," he said with a smile.

She couldn't help but notice that he was kind of handsome. "Yeah."

"You can go in, but try not to make any noise. Toph is sleeping, and she's a pretty light sleeper. So is Lin, for that matter, but I'm sure you already knew that."

Who was this guy? Surely... Surely, this wasn't Lin's father? Right? He clearly knew Toph well, but didn't look any older than twenty-five, at most.

"I'm Riju, by the way," he whispered while she searched the living room. "Full-time police officer, part-time nanny. Or, should I say, 'manny'."

Sora put her hand over her mouth to suppress a laugh. Riju grinned back and there was a brief moment of awkward tension where they were just looking at each other.

"How did she wrangle you into that?" she asked, trying to slide past it.

"I've known her since I was a kid. She and Lin are like family to me. I'm happy to help out."

The longer Sora worked for Toph Beifong, the more interesting tidbits about her life she learned. This particular one was fascinating and she was sure there was a great story behind it, but it was clear that this wasn't the best time to have a conversation, with two light sleepers in danger of being woken. As soon as she found her notebook fallen between the couch cushions, she turned toward the door.

"Well, I guess I should probably go. It was nice meeting you."

"Hey, you like Sport Bending?"

"Uh...sure, I've been a few times."

"You should come tonight. I'm going to try to convince Toph to come along, too. She needs a little fun in her life."

Was he asking her out? It seemed like a fairly casual invitation, but still… "Er, well, I'll have to make sure I don't have anything else going on, but I might stop by," she said, unable to keep her face from heating a little. Did she want to do this? He did kind of seem interested in her, but was it wise to get involved with someone that knew her boss so well? Especially if said boss was actually going to be there...

"Great," he said with a smile. "Hope to see you there."

Lin's cries pulled Toph from a very strange dream about Sokka and Katara learning earthbending from tiny badgermoles. She checked the time, shocked to find that it was almost three. She'd gotten a solid four hours of sleep.

There was a soft knock on her door. "Are you awake?" Riju asked from the other side. "I think she's hungry."

"Yeah," Toph said, emerging from her room to take Lin. "I'm surprised she went this long. How did it go?"

"Not bad. She actually slept most of the time."

"Mm, but did she sleep when she was put down?" she asked dryly.

"No, I had to hold her. I can see why you're so tired all the time."

Toph just grunted in amusement, sitting on the couch with her feet up.

"Did you have a good nap?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually. This was a great idea. Good job, me."

"Feeling good enough to go out and do something fun?"

"Fun?" The word felt strange on her lips. "What is that?"

Riju laughed. "You haven't been to a match in a long time. Why don't you come? I bet Lin would like it."

"Well...I was going to spend the evening catching up on some paperwork..."

"Do it tomorrow. C'mon. Live a little."

Toph sighed and pulled Lin's knee out of her ribs. Fun did sound nice… "Oh...alright. I guess I can come for an hour or so."

"Great! Oh, I should probably tell you, I invited Sora, too."

"Wh–? Huh?"

"She stopped by earlier to get something she left yesterday."

"And you...asked her out on a date?" Toph said, cocking an eyebrow. She didn't quite know how she felt about that.

"It's not a date. I was just trying to be friendly."

She dropped one of her feet to the floor, suspicious. Yep – his heart rate was a little elevated. "You better not fuck this up for me. I do not want to have to find another nanny."

"It's not a date," he insisted. "I mean, you're going to be there, after all. It's just hanging out. Making her feel welcome."

"Mhmm. Sure." Spirits, I should've seen this coming a mile away. They're about the same age. "Thought you had a girlfriend, anyway?"

"What? Sheina and I broke up months ago. Where have you been?"

"Are you kidding me?" she said, gesturing at Lin. "I've been a little busy. And we don't exactly see a lot of each other outside of work."

"Not since you got knocked up and had to stop competing," he said, snickering. "You think you'll come back, once Lin is sleeping better?"

"I dunno," Toph said with a sigh. She wanted to, but she was still badly out of shape and out of practice. "Lin has wrecked me. I'll need to do a lot of training to get to where I was before. But right now, getting enough sleep to function at work is the priority."

"I should warn you. Zihao's been making some changes. Lot of the rules have changed. Everyone wears protective gear now, and he's moving towards a more structured league with set teams. But that's a little ways off, and he still wants to keep things open for casual participation."

"Yay. More rules," she muttered. "My favorite."

"Says the Chief of Police."

"Er, hello," Sora said a little awkwardly after Riju invited her to sit with them, both of their hearts jumping around nervously. Lin got very excited and started squirming, reaching her arms out and squealing.

"Oh, I see how it is," Toph said. "She's your favorite now, huh? Never mind that I have been a very consistent source of food and comfort, among other things."

"I don't mind holding her," Sora said cheerfully. "I know you don't get a lot of opportunities to relax."

"It's fine." Toph was honestly kind of annoyed that Lin clearly preferred her nanny. "You're not here to work."

"Shh," Riju said. "They're starting."

"It's not the theater. Talking isn't going to ruin it."

"I want you to pay attention so you can learn all the new rules."

"I see he's upgraded the ring." She idly tapped her foot to get a clearer picture. "Are those some kind of sensors between the zones?"

"Yeah, to tell when someone crosses. Pretty cool, huh?"

"You must come here a lot," Sora said with a laugh. "I barely know the rules, myself."

"He didn't tell you?" Toph asked, amused.

"Tell me what? The rules?"

You better thank me for this later, Riju, she mused, deciding to step in as his wingwoman. And if this crashes and burns and I lose my nanny, you're quitting the force to look after Lin yourself. "He created Sport Bending."

"Really?! I had no idea! I thought you started Sport Bending."

"It was her idea," Riju admitted, though Toph thought he seemed pleased.

"Actually, it was Sokka's idea."

"Really? You never told me that."

Because I was still fucking heartbroken and didn't want to talk about him. "Eh? Didn't come up."

"Well, anyway," Riju continued. "She funded it and came up with a lot of the original framework. It was a team effort."

"You must've been pretty young at the time," Sora said. "It's been around for, what? Five or six years now, hasn't it? I was still in school."

"Yeah, I was fifteen. She thought I needed something to do to keep me busy."

"You weren't in school?"

"We did try," Toph said dryly. "He kept running off. Katara eventually gave up and just taught him herself, or had the acolytes do it. Even that was a struggle."

"It's true," Riju laughed. "I hated school."

After that, they pretty much forgot Toph was even there. Sora seemed fascinated by his admittedly unusual upbringing, and he was clearly enjoying telling her about it. Lin had fortunately stopped trying to squirm out of Toph's arms, though was still doing her usual kicking and thrashing. At least she was in a good mood.

Toph tuned them out and instead focused on the match. There seemed to be a lot more stopping and starting than she remembered. It wasn't quite as chaotic, which was a little disappointing. She loved chaos. In another ten years, the sport would probably be unrecognizable. But hopefully it would remain popular. That extra income was vital, with what she was paying Sora and the cost of formula, not to mention all the other crap she was constantly having to buy for Lin.

You're a money pit, kid. You see those people fighting out there? And all these people watching? They are funding your existence.

Riju suddenly poked her arm. "Hey. You not listening?"

"I was paying attention to the match. You know, like you told me to do in the first place."

"Wasn't I the youngest person ever to learn metalbending?"

"You were. Though for all I know, someone could have dethroned you by now. There's a metalbending academy in Ba Sing Se, too. And probably other places."

"You better watch out for Lin," Sora said. "I bet she'll be metalbending by the time she's three or four."

"That's the goal," Toph agreed.

"Don't be too hard on her if she's not," Riju said.

"Are you subtly trying to imply that I was too hard on you?"

"Nah. But Lin's your kid, so I feel like you'll have much higher expectations."

Well, he wasn't wrong. Toph was confident that Lin would be an earthbender, and it stood to reason that she would have inherited at least some of her mother's natural ability.

"Ooh, yeah! Knockout!" Riju exclaimed, rising a little off the stone bench. "That was great! Did you see that waterbending move? You should try it some time."

"That's a little too advanced for me just yet," Sora said. "Anyway, I'm not much of a fighter. I'm more interested in learning healing."

"You should train with Katara!"

"I have gotten into a couple of her classes."

"I know you probably don't have much free time, pulling twelve-hour days more than likely, if I know my workaholic boss–"

"Hey," Toph protested mildly. "Not every day..."

"It's ok," Sora said with a soft laugh. "I knew what I was signing up for."

"Well, anyway," Riju continued. "What I was going to say is I've got pull with Katara. You wanna train with her, I can hook you up."

Toph couldn't help but smile. He was really laying it on thick, wasn't he? And he had managed to stumble upon what was probably the surest way to impress her.

"Oh…well, I wouldn't want to take someone else's spot," Sora said.

"Nah, Katara's not like that. She wouldn't bump anyone, she's too nice. But I bet she can be convinced to give you some of her time."

For a moment, Toph was tempted to bring attention to his obvious flirting, just to tease him. The only problem was that it would inevitably embarrass Sora. Best not to jeopardize the comfortable rapport they had. She had learned her lesson with Ying.

The bell dinged, signaling the end of the match, and Riju stood up. "I'm going to get a snack. You two want anything?"

"Yeah, get me some fire flakes."

"Alright. Sora?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Ok. Be right back."

Toph turned to Sora with a sardonic smile after he left. "Having fun?"

"Sure. To be honest, though, I'm kind of a homebody. I've only been here a couple of times when dragged out by friends. But being able to hear the story of how it all started has made it a lot more interesting."

"Just so you know, I may be blind, but I can still see what's happening here." Her pointed words sent Sora's heart into a panicked flutter and she almost snorted. "And it's fine, I guess, as long as it doesn't interfere with your work. I'd rather not have to go through the process of finding another nanny. Again."

"Heh. Don't worry. I'm not– erm... I'm a very...cautious person." She gave a little weak laugh, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Just wanted to throw that out there," Toph said with a shrug before turning her attention to her daughter. "How are you liking Sport Bending, Milk Breath?" Lin was propped up against her chest, chunky legs stretched out across her thighs. She kicked them furiously in response to the attention, letting loose an excited squeal.

"She probably likes all the noise and movement. It's a lot of stimulation."

"Hopefully it'll tire her out and she'll actually sleep tonight. I am so over this not-sleeping phase. And don't say 'it'll get easier', because I've heard Katara say that way too many times."

"It's more accurate to say 'some days will be easier, and others will be harder'. Babies aren't ever 'easy', in my experience."

It occurred to Toph that, if this thing between Sora and Riju actually went somewhere, they could theoretically get married and have their own kid in a few years. It wasn't a thought that cheered her. Pondering the dismal idea of having to find a new nanny before Lin even started school, she fell silent until Riju came back.

"One order of fire flakes," he said, handing her a small container. "And I got some pork dumplings for us to share, if you want any. Unless you're a vegetarian. I guess I should have asked first."

"I'm not," Sora said. "Thanks."

Lin very nearly knocked the fire flakes out of Toph's hand. "Calm down, Milk Breath. These are for me. You just had your dinner an hour ago." But Lin squealed and almost wriggled her way out of Toph's grasp. "Oh, alright. Fine. You wanna try it? Here." She broke off a tiny piece and put her finger in Lin's mouth. "What do you think of that, huh?"

"I think she likes it!" Riju said, laughing. "Look at that, she wants more."

"Might have to start calling you Dragon Breath, soon," Toph said, giving her a little more. "I don't even know if this is a good idea. Is she too young for this?"

"It's ok," Sora said. "As long as the pieces aren't big enough for her to choke on. I'm surprised she likes it, though. I find even fire flakes to be unbearably hot."

Having her childless twenty-two-year-old nanny advise her on parenting knowledge was a swift kick to Toph's ego, but well...she had asked, after all. It had been too long since she'd had a chat with Katara about the do's and don't's of baby care. Lin was growing fast, doing new things every day – most of which Toph missed and had to hear about from Sora.

Quit complaining, she berated herself. If you really wanted to be a full-time parent, you could quit your job and marry Sokka or move to Air Temple Island. But you'd be absolutely fucking miserable, and you know it. Can't have it both ways.