"T, have you talked to Satoru lately?" Sokka asked out of the blue over breakfast one morning, most of the family gathered around the table.

Toph was grateful that she was occupied with Su at that moment, her face turned away from him as she swallowed hard. "Not since the riot investigations last year," she managed, heart racing. "Why do you ask?"

"Little blurb here about him in the paper. Apparently, he and his wife just had a baby."

"Oh, really?" she said, making a huge effort to sound casual. Inside, her head was spinning. Spirits, no wonder he never confronted me about Su. He's probably blocked the whole incident out, lying to himself. It's just as well...

"Yeah. A boy named Jinto."

"He might end up going to school with Su in a few years," Katara said, "since they're only a couple months apart. I'm surprised Satoru didn't tell you they were expecting. I thought you two were friends?"

Toph shrugged, violently suppressing the turmoil in her mind. "Distant friends. Sometimes life gets in the way and we go awhile without seeing each other."

"Well, time to get going," Sokka announced, folding the paper up. "Everyone about ready?"

"I'm not finished," Lin said.

Toph tsked impatiently. "How are you not done? You've just been sitting there doing nothing for the last ten minutes."

"She and Tenzin have been making faces at each other," Kya piped up.

"Lin, finish your breakfast." Toph strengthened her resolve to move back to her house over the weekend. It was time. She desperately needed a chance to separate herself from the 'extended family' and establish a routine with just the three of them.

In the last two weeks, she'd offhandedly mentioned going home several times; each time, Sokka had convinced her to stay. 'Just a few more days,' he'd say in that pleading voice. Desperate. And she had relented. Having his and Katara's unwavering support was nice, of course; she couldn't deny that. Once home, every feeding, every diaper change, every midnight meltdown, would fall to her. Two kids, one parent. It made her...apprehensive.

But...it would be quieter at home. More peaceful, lacking the chaos of a big family. And Toph wouldn't have to ride that fucking ferry every goddamn day. Or worry that Katara was picking up on Sokka's attachment to Su. Or worry that Lin was getting jealous.

Yes, it was definitely time to go home.

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"Lin, you have got to get up! Now!"

Lin grumbled wordlessly the whole way to the floor and stomped her foot, using earthbending to push Su's bassinet out of her way. Unfortunately, she put a little too much force into the motion and knocked it over.

"Lin!" her mother yelled, coming into the room a few seconds later with Su fussing in her arms. "Why would you do that?! What if she'd been in there?!"

"I knew she wasn't! And it was an accident!"

Toph threw some clothes at her feet. "Get dressed. We're going to be late. You'll just have to eat a banana or something on the way."

Lin picked the clothes up and looked at each piece with dismay. "These don't even match!"

"So what?!"

"Everyone at school makes fun of me!" she shot back, eyes filling with angry tears.

Toph went quiet, an unfamiliar look on her face that Lin didn't understand and didn't have time to try and figure out because it quickly faded to a blank stare. "Then pick out your own clothes," she said calmly before leaving the room.

The front door opened a few minutes later while Lin was still rifling through the drawer reserved for school clothes, trying in vain to find something that wouldn't draw unwanted attention to her. There were limited options as the school had a strict dress code, but nothing she could find seemed to look nice.

"Good morning," Sora could be heard saying. "Do you want me to take Su?"

"Lin's not even dressed yet," Toph said, voice full of exasperation. "Maybe you'll have more luck than I did."

"Sure thing," Sora replied, coming into the room a few moments later. "Morning, Lin. Need some help?"

"I don't know how to match my clothes," she complained, starting to get emotional again. "I can't do it."

"Hm, let's see," Sora said, kneeling down. "You just have to try out different things and see if it looks good. Pay attention to the colors and how they look next to each other. But you can't go wrong with a neutral color, like brown or gray, paired with a brighter color like green. How about this?"

"Okay," Lin sniffed, wiping her face.

"Do you want me to help you get dressed?"

"No. I'm not a baby."

"Alright. But hurry up, it's time for you to go."

Lin dressed quickly and was soon chivvied out the door by her mother. She finished her banana while they were going to catch the streetcar and paused for a second, looking for a garbage can. Toph took a few more steps, then stopped and turned.

"What are you doing? We're already late."

"I need to throw the peel away," Lin said, still searching.

"Just throw it in the gutter."

"That's littering! My t–"

"It's a fucking banana peel!" Toph exclaimed, exasperated. "Who cares?!"

"I care!" Lin insisted, stubbornly stomping her foot and refusing to move.

Toph bent down and grabbed her arm roughly. "What is the matter with you today? This is not that big a deal!"

"I'm still hungry! A banana isn't breakfast! You're my mom, you're supposed to give me real food!"

Taking Lin's hand tightly in hers, Toph straightened and began stalking off; Lin had to trot to keep up. "You had your chance. I told you to get up four times but you kept ignoring me."

"I was tired! I never get any sleep because of stupid Su! I hate her! I hate having a sister!" She knew she shouldn't say it but she couldn't help it. In this moment of grouchiness, it was the truth. Her life had been turned upside down and there was no going back.

But Toph didn't stop or react in any way, just kept dragging her along until they got on a streetcar.

"Lin," she said finally. "I know you don't want to sleep alone, but you are so crabby with Su waking you up at night. You'll sleep better in your own room, and I think you should."

"No!" Lin cried, unable to stop herself from breaking down into tears. Was this her punishment for saying she hated Su? The only guaranteed quality time she had with her mother was being taken away, and it was all Su's fault. Again. "I don't wanna! It's not fair! Su gets to sleep with you!"

"No, she sleeps in her bassinet. You know, most kids don't sleep in the bed with their parents at all. In most families, the kids sleep in their own beds, in their own rooms. Just like Tenzin and Kya and Bumi do."

Lin knew that, of course, but she figured it was just because Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang were married. It was why she hadn't wanted her mom to get married to anyone, because then they'd want the bed to themselves. But now it sounded like she wasn't even wanted there at all.

So that night, she went to her own bed, eyes once again full of tears. Toph seemed a little surprised by this turn of events but didn't say anything about it. Lin waited until she was alone to cry herself to sleep on the stiff, unfamiliar-smelling sheets, waking before dawn to the quieter but still annoying sound of Su crying. She did feel calmer than she had in a while, but also horribly lonely.

As soon as Su was quiet, Lin got up and crawled into her mother's bed, curling up in a ball at her side.

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The short walk home was somber and silent, aside from the pitiful noises Su was making. She had so far proven to be a pretty easy-going baby—at least, compared to how Lin had been—but having to endure that long ceremony, surrounded by a restless crowd, had apparently been too much for her.

By contrast, Lin was uncharacteristically quiet. According to Sokka, she appeared to be in a bad mood, but so far she hadn't said anything to that effect. Not eager to get into a fight, Toph kept her mouth shut. Silent stewing was preferable to Lin's attitude whenever she was grouchy and forced to talk about it.

Still, the mood was bringing Toph down a little. This was supposed to be her day and part of her resented that Lin was sucking the fun out of it. It was the one day every ten years that she actually felt appreciated for her sacrificial service to this city. People cheered and clapped; it was a nice change from the usual criticism and complaints.

This anniversary had been a stark contrast to the previous one, when she had been alone and childless, and the memory served only to dredge up the difficult problem of priorities. How was she supposed to make any significant progress with her attention so divided? In ten years' time, would she even have any notable accomplishments to be praised for? Would the city just implode while she helplessly floundered to keep her family from falling apart? Or be torn apart by her enemies?

Stop it, Toph. You're supposed to be happy. It was a good day.

Su had just drifted off by the time they got home, then Lin stalked to her room and slammed the door, waking her up.

"Damn it, Lin! You can't do that shit when she's sleeping!" There was no answer and Toph shut herself in her own room to get Su to sleep again, her good mood ruined.

Sitting there in the quiet, she debated calling Sokka to see if he could come over—discreetly, of course. The dismal truth was that he was much more likely to get Lin to talk about what was bothering her, but that train of thought made her toss out the idea of asking him. She was going to the Island in the morning, anyway, so he could get his 'Beifong fix', as he called it. For now, Toph wanted to handle this herself, even if it was out of sheer stubbornness. I'm the parent, not him.

When Su was asleep, she got up and went into Lin's room, finding her curled up on her bed. "What's on your mind, Buttercup?" she asked, sitting.

"Nothing. Go away."

"Don't talk to me like that," Toph replied sharply, annoyed and a little hurt. Lin stayed silent, though there was a faint sound of loose snot; she'd been crying. "Did something happen at the ceremony?"

"No."

"What then?"

Silence.

"C'mon, kid. You gotta talk to me. I can't read your mind."

After another long pause, Lin whispered, "I'm third."

"...Huh? What does that mean?"

"Your job, Su, then me. Third."

It hit Toph like a punch to the gut, realizing what Lin was saying. She reached out to put a hand on her back but was shrugged off. Another blow. Where had her clingy, affectionate child gone? She had wanted so badly for Lin to toughen up and be more independent. Guess I got my wish. It wasn't exactly what she'd expected, though. There was so much anger in Lin now. Just like me…

Having Lin sleep in her own room had helped with the tantrums and outbursts but it had created more sullenness and resentment. She was obviously jealous of Su, even though logically it made no sense. And Toph had no idea what she was supposed to do about it.

"Lin...it's not that simple," she said finally. "My life is hectic and complicated. It's not a matter of choosing certain parts of it over others. I have to find a balance, and it's not easy."

"You could quit."

"You're too young to understand why I can't quit. But you're not too young to understand why Su has to get a little more attention. How many times have we talked about this? I'm starting to feel like a broken record. She is a baby. Spirits, you act like you're the first person in the history of the world to have a sibling. I can't take every minute of my day and parcel out a fair share to everyone. It just doesn't work like that." I'm doing the best I can...

Lin stayed silent and Toph wondered if she even grasped what she was saying. She was smart, but she was still just a little kid. But if there was one thing Toph had learned in her thirty-eight years, it was that words were overrated and could only do so much. That was doubly true for Beifongs.

"Why don't we go downstairs and do some training?" she suggested. "I think Su will probably sleep for a couple of hours."

"...Okay."

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"Fuck me…" Toph muttered, falling heavily onto the couch, completely exhausted. After working through most of the weekend, she'd arrived on the Island to find both of her kids upset. Lin had gotten into an argument with Tenzin and was currently sulking somewhere; meanwhile, Su was just getting over a cold and it had taken almost two hours to get her fed and down for a nap.

"Careful what you wish for," Sokka teased. "You never know when an acolyte might be walking by and take you up on the offer."

Katara made a disgusted noise while Toph just rolled her eyes.

"That's the furthest thing from my mind," she retorted. "Now shut up, I want to take a nap."

Her friends complied and the three of them enjoyed a brief silence. Toph was just drifting off when Su's cries jolted her awake. She buried her face in the back of the couch and let out a forceful but muffled groan.

"Don't worry, I'll get her," Sokka said.

"Give it a sec," Toph insisted, yawning. "She usually falls back asleep on her own after a minute or so." But he ignored her and left the room. "Who the fuck does he think he is..." she grumbled, struggling to her feet to follow. He had already picked Su up when she went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"I said to just let her go back to sleep on her own," she growled in a low voice, not wanting Katara to overhear what was sure to be an argument.

"Why? What difference does it make?"

"Because she'll never be able to sleep soundly through the night otherwise! I'm her mother, Sokka. I've already done this once. It worked just fine with Lin. She needs to learn to calm herself down."

"You must be joking. She's only six months old! And she's sick–"

"She has a slightly stuffy nose!" she scoffed, but he ignored her.

"And I'm not going to let her suffer alone and miserable. And if you'll recall, Lin was extremely clingy until recently, so obviously, it didn't work that well."

Toph clenched her fists, stalking up to him indignantly. "You know her issues have nothing to do with that!" she hissed. "Fuck, Sokka. Go ahead and tell me I'm a shit mother if you want, but don't fucking blame me for things out of my control."

"I'm not, and you're not a shit mother," he said in a more placating voice, though his tone was still firm. "I just don't see how holding her when she's not feeling well is going to ruin her."

"That's not the point! I told you to leave it alone, and you ignored me. In front of Katara!"

"Would it really be that big a deal if she realized the truth? You know she–"

"You cannot be serious!" Toph was beginning to find it difficult to keep her voice down, indignant fury reaching a peak. "We're not telling her anything. And I don't know where you get off thinking you have the right to do something like that!"

"If you don't calm down, you'll be the one to tell her, not me. And I never said I was going to, so get a grip. I just meant that she'd never say anything to anyone, if she did find out. Su is her family, too."

"You don't know that!" she seethed in a harsh whisper. "It's just wishful thinking. I know you've made up your mind, but it doesn't change reality. And you don't get to just ignore me when I say not to do something regarding her!"

"This is the compromise, T. Letting me have a say. You got everything else you wanted, keeping me at arm's length–"

"I never–"

"I'm lucky if I get to see her one day out of the week," Sokka continued, cutting her off. "We agreed. We agreed to assume she's mine–"

She scoffed in disbelief that he had the nerve to say that. "I didn't agree to that! You just decided it yourself!"

"That's not how I remember our conversation going."

Toph was at a loss for words. He was being impossible. It was like talking to a wall. Su was still crying, probably upset by the tone of their voices, and probably wouldn't stop until the argument was over.

"Toph, listen," he said before she could form a response. "These things are going to come up. A lot. But you have most of the week to do things your way. Please, just let me pick her up when she cries. I won't ruin her, I promise. Don't you trust me?"

She never could resist him when he talked like that—a certain quality to his voice that was at once soothing and stubborn. It was…oddly charming, in the strangest way possible. She was far from being affected on a carnal level by this point, but it did soften her a little.

"Of course I trust you," she said with a frustrated sigh, calmer now. "You just... You infuriate me, sometimes. You know it's not easy for me to..."

"To what?" he asked, a hint of irony in his voice.

"I don't know." She rolled her eyes. "Just forget it."

There was a brief pause, Su finally quieting, though Sokka made no move to put her down. Toph found she had nothing else to say and started to leave, though she stopped at the door with an errant thought. "You should go find Lin, since you want to be a dad so badly. Maybe she'll actually talk to you."

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"C'mon, Lin. Focus."

"I'm trying! Su, be quiet!"

"Just ignore her." Toph stood there with her arms crossed, most of her attention on the yuan that sat atop the bamboo shaft in front of Lin. A small part of her focus was on Su, who was currently contained in an earthbent pen at the edge of the training room and making a lot of noise.

Lin was straining. Her heart rate was elevated, breathing ragged, stance slipping. Toph walked over and corrected it, then picked up the coin and pressed it against Lin's forehead.

"Forget about everything else. This coin is the only thing that exists. Feel it."

"I can't! I can't do this!"

"I don't want to hear that," Toph said sharply, putting the coin back on the pole. "You're my kid, that means you're a metalbender, and we're gonna stay down here until you get it."

"You always say that," Lin huffed. "And I never do and we give up."

"It's not giving up! It's taking a break because I'm obligated to make sure you eat, sleep, shit, and go to school." Spirits give me patience with this kid!

It was so frustrating, watching her fail again and again. Even Riju had learned to metalbend at age seven. The daughter of the greatest earthbender in the world should've been doing it at five! I'm spending too much time hunting Yakone and not enough time training her. But what choice do I have?

"Mama!" Su shrieked. "Hungry!"

"Oh, and there's that needy creature over there that I have to take care of, too," Toph added, pointing over her shoulder.

"It's your own fault," Lin grumbled under her breath.

"I heard that!" Toph said as she went to get Su. She flattened the playpen and started to reach down but Su took off on her own. "Keep trying!" she called to Lin as she left, following Su while she scuttled up the stairs. Near the top, she said, "You're a menace, you know that? You are far too clever with doors and one day you're going to escape and break your damn neck."

Su giggled in response, as she did any time Toph swore. It was unclear how she'd learned to recognize those words as something to be amused by; maybe from Katara's reaction to them.

Toph snagged the wayward toddler before she could scurry behind the couch and managed to secure her in the high chair. "Alright," she said, grabbing two jars of baby food and holding them out. "Which one?" Su smacked her left hand. "Good choice." Toph twisted the cap off and took a whiff. "Ugh, cabbage sprouts again? I take it back. Terrible choice. Blech."

While she fed Su, she kept some of her attention downstairs on Lin, who had apparently decided to vent her frustration through earthbending. Fuck, that girl definitely got my temper, Toph thought to herself for the millionth time. She heeled the floor, sending a tremor through the building to Lin's feet as a reminder to focus on the coin.

"I can't believe you like this stuff so much. Has Uncle Aang been rubbing off on you?" But the telephone ringing in the living room interrupted her long before the jar was empty. "Sit tight, Cabbage Sprout. I'll be back." Please don't be work. Please don't be work. "Chief Beifong."

"Chief, it's Nato."

"Uggghhhhhh."

"What?"

"Nothing. What do you want?"

"Don't worry, there's no crisis. I just wanted to get your thoughts on something."

"Okay, but make it quick, because–" Su started screeching before Toph could even get the words out of her mouth. "Hold on." She pulled the high chair over to her with earthbending, which caused a fit of giggles, then wedged the receiver between her ear and shoulder to free up one of her hands to continue feeding Su. "Alright, go ahead."

"Detective Chan had an interesting encounter today. He's been working the Hachi case–"

"Yes, I know. I just spend the last two days slogging through his poorly written novel detailing every last boring stakeout where the most exciting thing was which restaurant he decided to get takeout from each night."

"Right... Anyway… He thinks Hachi might have some connection to Peitra."

That certainly got Toph's attention; Peitra was the code name for Zhu, Yakone's closest confidante. "Interesting. But based on– Su, stop– Get your fingers out of the jar. Based on what evidence?"

"Well, he managed to overhear a conversation that went something like, 'We've got four loads of casks ready to ship out, but she's slowing everything down by checking on them because her boss is a neurotic freak about the quality of his exports.' And of course, with what we know about what happens on Rupo Street..."

What happens on Rupo Street was their code phrase for anything involving Yakone. He was talking about a powerful paralytic poison that Yakone had recently become obsessed with, according to an undercover source. But Toph completely lost track of whatever he said next because the jar of baby food suddenly shattered on the floor.

"Goddamnit, Su!" Before she could do anything about it, Lin burst through the door, slammed it shut, stomped into her room, and slammed that door shut, too. Su herself seemed to find the whole situation hilarious.

"Is this a bad time? You seem like you've got a lot going on," Nato said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, no shit. I have to go. I'll call you back." She hung up with an annoyed huff, then planted her hands on her hips. "You girls just love making my life harder, don't you? You were such a calm baby, I actually thought I'd gotten off easy for once. Ding dong, I was wrong."

"Milk!" Su demanded.

Toph took her out of the high chair and made a new prison for her on the floor. "That'll have to wait, Sprout. I should make you lick up what you spilled off the floor. I would, if it weren't full of glass."

Su screamed when Toph left to get something to clean up the mess. It wasn't crying—just a wordless, high-pitched shriek. She always hated being ignored, even if just for a few minutes.

"I gotta deal with your sister first. There's only one of me, so you'll have to wait." Under her breath, she muttered, "Just think, Toph— If only you'd kept it in your pants, you'd probably be training for the pro-bending tournament right now. Instead, you're cleaning up this liquefied insult to vegetables. Ugh, this stuff reeks."

Once that unpleasant task was finished, she moved on to a possibly more unpleasant one.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Lin asked from her bed, sounding far more like a teenager than a seven-year-old.

"What am I going to see inside the door that I can't already see outside of it?" Lin didn't answer so Toph went a little further into the room and crossed her arms. "You're supposed to be training."

"Why? I'm never gonna get it."

"Of course you will. What makes you think you don't have it in you?"

"'Cause I've been trying for years and I still can't feel it like you keep saying. I'm not you. I'm not a metalbender."

"Yes, you are. You just have to keep trying."

"Even if I am, I'll never be as good as you."

It made Toph's chest ache to hear her say that. How could someone so young feel that way? Inadequacy. Defeat. It wasn't right, and Toph knew it was at least partly her fault.

"You wanna know why I'm the best?" she said, gently but firmly. "Because ever since I was young, I said it every day—in my head and out loud. You'll never reach your full potential if you keep telling yourself you're not good enough. Now get up. I want you to keep training until dinner."

"Ugh. What's the point if I'm just doing it by myself?"

"You really need me to stand there and tell you what to do? 'Move the coin.' That's literally it."

Lin didn't answer right away, but when she did her voice had lost that stubborn edge and grown fainter. "What if I do it? And you're up here? With Su."

Toph couldn't help but soften a little at that. That's it, isn't it? She doesn't want me to miss it. "Practice some of your earthbending exercises while you wait for me, if you'd rather. I'll be back down in a little while."

Of course, as soon as Lin was gone, Toph remembered that she needed to call Nato back. And before that could happen, she had to finish feeding Su and get her down for a nap. By the time the lengthy phone call was over, it was time to start figuring out dinner. Lin froze her out through the entire meal then wordlessly got up to take a bath.

"Lin, you've been in there for an hour and I've got to pee. You have five minutes, then I'm coming in whether you're done or not." Toph walked away without waiting for an answer, grumbling, "Bet she wouldn't soak like that if we didn't have hot water. Kid doesn't know how good she's got it."

Underneath the annoyance, though, she felt a nagging guilt. It was far from the first time she'd made promises she couldn't keep and she knew it wouldn't be the last, but it was just a small thing, wasn't it? A training session. No big deal. They did that almost every day.

And despite the turbulent afternoon, once Su was down for the night, the two older Beifongs assumed their usual position on either side of the couch, legs stretched out, and listened to Nightstorm Riders on the radio. It was a weekend tradition they'd had for almost two years, often missing it due to Toph's work or from spending the night on the Island, but they always listened together whenever they were home for it.

They did their usual bit where they'd add in their own voices during quiet parts, cracking each other up with dumb jokes. Lin seemed to have forgiven her—for now, at least. They didn't talk about what had happened earlier in the day, letting it fade into the background to enjoy this moment.

As she often did, Lin started yawning about halfway through and was passed out by the end. Toph switched the radio off and carried her to bed. It had been her hope that the three of them would peacefully share hers once Su started (mostly) sleeping through the night, but Lin seemed to prefer her own bed these days. It had been a necessary change when Su was a newborn but Toph still regretted it.

She relished every rare night that she got to spend with both her girls curled up next to her. She would lie there awake for a couple of hours, listening to their slow breaths, running her fingers through their thick, wavy hair, so much like her own. No yelling, no fighting. No bitterness or resentment. For just a little while, they were all on the same side, three Beifongs vs. the world.

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"I can't believe you'll be gone for three whole weeks," Lin said.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Tenzin asked, idly picking at the grass.

"What?"

"I'm…a little scared."

"Scared?" she said, surprised. "But your dad's the Avatar."

"I'm not scared, like, of getting hurt. I've just… I've never been away from home for so long. Away from my mom…"

Lin thought about it for a second, peering through the trees at the sparkling bay and city beyond. She was used to her own mother's absence, but even so, it was never for more than a couple of days. She tried to picture one of her uncles taking her on a trip away from the city for three weeks. "Well, look on the bright side: You won't have Kya picking on you. I'd love to get a break from my sister."

"Kya's so mad at me," Tenzin said with a sigh. "She's been throwing a fit to come with us. But...she wouldn't have any fun. She hates learning about air nomad history and all that stuff. Says it's boring. And we're just going to be visiting temples and talking to monks and meditating and practicing airbending. Why would she even want to come?"

"Maybe she's just mad that your dad is busy all the time, like my mom. She's always working. And when she's not, it's always Baby Su this, Baby Su that. Just want her to stop being a baby so she can take care of herself. And I won't have to smell her gross, stinky diapers anymore."

"Well, she's almost not a baby anymore. Hopefully, your mom won't have another one," Tenzin joked.

"No way! She told me she won't, not ever."

"She's not even married, like my parents. I don't really get how she had you and Su."

Lin laughed and rolled over onto her back to stare up at the sky. "I get it. She told me."

"What? How?"

"Not telling!" The truth was, she was way too grossed out by it to want to have to explain, especially to a boy—even if it was Tenzin. Besides that, it was fun to be able to lord it over him that she knew something he didn't.

"Why not?"

"How 'bout...we spar, and if you can beat me, then I'll tell you!" she challenged, blatantly lying.

"But you always win!"

She jumped up and squared off anyway, Tenzin following with a reluctant sigh. Lin always waited and watched; that had been one of the first lessons her mother had taught her. He was cautious, too, but less patient when it came to sparring. He attacked brazenly and would have succeeded if the air stream had been a little stronger. Lin saw that his stance was a little unsteady and raised up a pillar under one of his feet. His arms windmilled, but he jumped into the air and spun, coming down lightly several feet away.

Quickly, the fight devolved into Lin chasing him, occasionally throwing rocks, while he defended and avoided. It was how their unsupervised sparring matches always ended up.

"When are you going to fight me for real, Tenzin?! Stop running away!"

Then he crashed right into Toph as she came out of the house.

"Hey, watch it, Junior!"

"Sorry!" he called, running off.

"Lin, I've got to go into work. You and Su are gonna stay the night."

"What?" Lin said, dismayed, forgetting all about attacking Tenzin. "But it's a school night."

"I'm aware. I'll see you tomorrow after school."

"Did something happen?" Her mom's dangerous job always made her worry, but even more so when there was an emergency or crisis over the weekend. It was her greatest fear that, one day, Toph wouldn't come home. Whenever Lin stayed on the Island, her heart would pound furiously every time the telephone rang.

"There's always something happening," Toph said briskly, ruffling Lin's hair and giving her head a quick kiss.

Lin scowled and fixed her hair, cringing away from the contact. "I'm not a baby, Mom."

"Well, fine then, Miss Mature. See you tomorrow. Look after your sister."

Hmph, Lin grunted, rolling her eyes, right before Tenzin knocked her right onto her butt. "Hey, no fair! That doesn't count!"

Toph hurried down the hill towards the ferry, listening to the sounds of Tenzin and Lin continuing their sparring match. The optimism that the telephone call had given her was a little dampened by her daughters' reactions to her leaving.

Su couldn't be distracted from the wooden puzzle Sokka was helping her with and Lin had squirmed away from a hug. And yet, she still got upset when Toph had to go in to work unexpectedly. It didn't make sense. Lin didn't want her to leave—and often guilt-tripped her for it—but then acted cold and uncaring when it was actually time to say goodbye.

Toph just shook her head, accepting that she would never understand, and tried to focus on the news Yachi had given her. If this panned out... No, I better not get my hopes up. Not yet.

As soon as she arrived at Headquarters, her feet told her there was only one interrogation room being used and she made no detours.

"Good timing," Yachi said in the observation room. "She's started with the foot-tapping. Primed and ready to go for you."

"Excellent." Toph pushed into the adjoining room and sat down, shuffling her feet to take stock of the woman across the table: tall, thin, and poised. She certainly fit the profile. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Zhu." Heart rate even. No sign of nervousness besides the idle foot-tapping, which could just as easily be boredom.

"Why are you here?"

"As I told your subordinate, I have information on Yakone that I think will interest you." Her voice was like cold steel, firm and unyielding. Not that that was ever a problem for Toph. And yet, this woman reminded her of someone. She couldn't quite put her finger on who or why.

"And what exactly do you want in return for this information?"

"Protection."

"Mm…" Toph hummed in thought, drumming her fingers on the table. "Why should we listen to anything you have to say rather than just charge you with something and throw you in jail? We've got a whole file on you. I'm sure we can find something."

Zhu leaned forward, the metal cuffs jangling against the table. "You don't understand what I'm offering you. I can destroy him."

"Perhaps," Toph said, unconvinced, "but why?"

"Because that son of a bitch bloodbent me."

A chill rippled through Toph. Zhu was telling the truth. Yakone was, without any doubt, the bloodbender.

‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›‹¤›

"Lin's asleep already?" Toph asked as she took her armor off, disappointed.

"Yeah," Sora replied. "She was a little extra tired today. Spent the whole afternoon training by herself."

"That's good, I guess."

"Well, have a good night," Sora said, gathering her things. "And, uh, happy birthday."

Toph gave her a weak, crooked smile. "Happy? Debatable."

Once Sora was gone, she plopped down onto the couch, wishing she'd gotten home sooner. She couldn't see much of her girls where they lay on soft mattresses but was still aware of their sleeping shapes. The quiet was nice—relaxing—but lonely, too.

"Toph!"

She frowned, unsure if she had really heard her name or if it was just her imagination. A few seconds later, it happened again. The voice was distant and muffled. Male, she was sure.

"If you can hear me, I'm in the tunnel!"

"Sokka?" she muttered aloud, heading downstairs to let him in. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Are you kidding? It's your birthday!"

"Yeah? So what? I said I had to work late, and I'm going to the Island tomorrow." Still, she was happy he'd come. His presence always warmed her, filling the cold void in the corner of her mind that she reserved for him. These infrequent moments they spent alone together were bittersweet, to be sure, but she was grateful for them anyway.

"C'mon, let's go upstairs," he insisted.

"Alright, just be quiet. They're both asleep." She realized as they walked that he was carrying something bottle-shaped. "What have you got, there?"

"Well, I thought for such a big milestone, you should celebrate properly. Get ready for Cactus Juice: Part Four!"

Toph stopped dead, her foot hovering above the last step. "You cannot be serious."

"I'm not," Sokka laughed. "But your face was priceless. It's just sake. Really, really expensive sake."

"You didn't have to do that," she said with a long-suffering sigh.

"Well, I wanted to."

Toph sat down while he went to the kitchen to pour them each a glass, joining her on the couch afterward.

"I know we're not supposed to talk about this, so I won't ask you anything specific, but how's the case going, in general?"

"Good, I guess. Today was a little frustrating." She took a sip and her eyebrows shot up. "Wow, you weren't kidding. This is good stuff."

"Cheers," he said, clinking her glass. "Happy fortieth, T. You don't look a day over thirty."

"Please." She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

But he picked up her hand and put it flat against his chest. His heart beat steadily, a little faster than usual but with sincerity. "I really mean it. You've aged gracefully. Much more gracefully than me."

"Well…" She smirked, pulling her hand away. She was used to that kind of physical contact with him but knew better than to prolong it. Although they had both mastered the art of self-control around each other, their bodies had yet to get the memo. "I can't see your wrinkles and gray hairs, so that doesn't mean much to me. You're still lean and fit—for an old man, anyway."

"I have to be, to have any chance of keeping up with the tornado that is Su."

"Yeah, try living with her." But she instantly regretted her words when he let out a soft sigh.

"She looks more like you every day," he mused. "I had hoped…"

Toph put her elbow on the back of the couch and propped her head up in her hand. "I thought we were supposed to be celebrating?" she said when he didn't finish his thought.

"Right. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself. I am grateful that you bring them to the Island as much as you do. I know Katara drives you crazy sometimes."

"I swear, she's going through menopause or something."

"I wouldn't know. But try and give her a break, okay? Aang's off traveling the world with Tenzin and she's left at home with a teenage daughter who feels left out. I'm sure Bumi does too, but I think he's accepted his lot in life. I hate saying it out loud, and I know Aang loves him and did the best he could, but he really just wasn't dealt a great hand."

"And I thought my family was screwed up."

"Nah," Sokka chuckled. "Every family has drama."

"I know. I just…"

"What?"

It wasn't easy for her to admit. "I have a really hard time understanding Lin sometimes. She's changed so much since Su was born."

"Kids grow up and change," he said gently. "It's normal. It's just life."

"She's more distant. More serious. I mean, she's still pretty well-behaved—usually—and loves school. Always does her homework. So that's good, I guess..." She was really just musing to herself, by that point, not even sure what point she was trying to make.

"She thrives on rules and structure."

Toph laughed ruefully. "Where did she get that from?"

"Well, I have a theory."

She rolled her eyes at his snarky tone. "Hm. Why don't we just say 'Sora' and leave it at that?"

"You got it, Chief."

Voices in the living room pulled Lin out of her restless sleep. A few seconds of listening told her it was her mom and Uncle Sokka, which was strange. He hardly ever came over.

Curious, she got up and crept to her door, silently cracking it open the tiniest bit. The first thing she looked for was her mother's feet; they were tucked underneath her on the couch. She wouldn't know she was being spied on.

"...loves school. Always does her homework. So that's good, I guess..."

Is she talking about me?

"She thrives on rules and structure," Sokka said, which made Toph laugh.

"Where did she get that from?"

"Well, I have a theory." He had a strange, mischievous look on his face. Lin held her breath, wondering if her uncle was about to mention the mysterious father that was absent from her life.

"Hm. Why don't we just say 'Sora' and leave it at that?"

"You got it, Chief."

"Meanwhile, Su is–"

"Just exactly like you were as a kid," Sokka interrupted.

"Hah. Well. Maybe exactly like I wanted to be, if I'd been given an ounce of freedom."

"Please," Sokka said with a disbelieving smirk. "You were a little firecracker."

"Well, yeah, eventually."

"When was the first time you ran away? How old were you?"

"Um…I wanna say four?"

Lin's jaw fell open. Her mother had run away from home when she was four?

"Hopefully Lin and Su won't follow in my footsteps," Toph continued. "In that regard, at least."

"Why would they? You had to go find the badgermoles. They've got their own badgermole right here."

Toph laughed again, a gentle, easy sound. Lin recognized it, as well as the relaxed smile. Her mother was usually only like that around Uncle Sokka, and even then, only sometimes.

It made her think of the rumor she'd heard at school a couple of times, the one that suggested he was Su's dad. She had actually asked her mother about it, who had laughed and waved it off as a joke, saying Sokka was like her brother. And it was true that they did banter and argue like siblings. Anyway, the last thing Lin wanted was for those stupid rumors to be true. There was no reason to believe them and it was pointless to listen to them.

The smile faded from Toph's lips and she suddenly looked very serious. "You don't think–"

"What?" Sokka prompted when she cut off.

"Lin doesn't...really hate Su, does she? I just– I think about me, how my own silent thoughts and emotions transfer to my face, and people can sometimes tell what I'm thinking even when I don't say anything. You know I don't often dwell on what I can't see, but this is one thing that keeps me up at night. I don't know what her face is doing when she clams up, which is often, these days."

Lin was frozen. There was something uncomfortably familiar about this conversation. She wanted to run back to her bed and stop listening, but couldn't tear herself away. At the same time, she was terrified her mother's foot would slide to the floor and catch her eavesdropping.

"She doesn't hate Su," Sokka said gently. "They're sisters. They're gonna fight. It's normal."

"I know. Just…promise me something."

"Anything."

"Tell me if I'm ever missing anything really dire."

Full of complicated emotions, Lin held her breath and slowly walked back to her bed. She didn't want to hear anymore. It was unnerving, listening to her mother talk that way. Instead of thinking about it, she filled her mind with other things. Times tables. Dates and facts from history class. She pushed away the overheard words and how they had made her feel, keeping her thoughts busy until sleep took her.