Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or Legend of Korra
Suyin messed with the small flower pins stuck in her hair. Lin smacked her hand away.
"Ow! Mom, Lin hit me!"
"Oh suck it up. You threw a boulder at me the other day."
"That's different. We were training. Besides, you bent the doorknob at me. That's not fair!"
"Learn how to metalbend then."
Toph rubbed her temples. She listened on as her eleven year old daughter fought with her nine year old sister. This would probably be the eighth fight that the two girls had gotten into since the beginning of the trip. The chief of police resisted the urge to wrap her metal cables hidden under her dress around the girls.
Lin sneered. "You're just jealous that you can't metalbend yet."
"I am not. So what if you can bend metal. The entire police force can. Don't think you're special."
"Why do you have to be such a brat?"
"Why are you such a sour puss?"
Toph yelled so loud that the driver responsible for getting the three of them to Gaoling in one piece hit the brakes. He apologized and continued driving. "Will you two quit? If not I will gladly drop you off here and you can walk."
"Depends. Can I walk back home?" Suyin asked teasingly.
"Watch the attitude. I promise you your grandfather won't be happy if you spoke to him like that."
Lin laughed at her sister being scolded.
"You too." Toph glanced in Lin's general direction. "You can be just as bad."
Suyin smirked.
"Now then, I don't think I need to tell you guys how to behave at the estate. You can't act like you do at home. As much as I hate how my parents run things, I still love them for some unexplained reason that is beyond me. They drive me up the wall sometimes."
"They should come live with us. We have much more fun!" Suyin suggested.
Toph scoffed. "I don't think Mom and Dad would like seeing the house destroyed at least three times a week. Which reminds me, how did you guys break the wall in the living room?"
"It was Lin."
"It was Su."
The chief of police put her hands up. "You know what, forget I asked."
Suyin leaned into her mother. "Why do we have to wear these dresses, Mom. I can barely move in them."
"Mom likes it when we clean up. Its one of the things I'm willing to do. One of the only things."
Lin smoothed her dress down. "That's why you shouldn't mess with your hair, Su. It took forever to braid it."
"I could have done it myself."
"No you couldn't."
Suyin glared at her sister.
"That's another thing. You two need to stop fighting. At least while we are in Gaoling. Not much for my parents, but for the mercy of my head. It aches the moment I hear your voices rise."
"Well I never start it."
Suyin opened her mouth, but Toph silenced her by brushing her hair down. Lin only stared with jealousy.
"Come here, badgermole." Toph pulled Lin into her embrace. She had both her girls under her arms. "Just give me a break while we are over here? I want us to have somewhat of a pleasant time. It took Mom and Dad a lot to reconsider our...situation."
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Suyin looked at her confused.
Lin nuzzled into her mother. It was obvious that she understood what her mother was speaking of and Suyin's confusion. She gave Suyin a look that she didn't usually use: Lin was smiling gently at her sister. "Let's just not destroy the estate, alright?"
The youngest Bei Fong didn't ask questions after that.
It took another two hours before the three of them reached the elegant Bei Fong estate. It had not changed much from when Toph was younger. They exited the car and gracefully made their way into the grand room. Toph had one of her girls holding each of her hands. The guards opened the double wooden doors and the three of them entered.
"Toph, honey! You made it!" Poppy Bei Fong exclaimed from her seat. She made her way to embrace her only daughter. "I'm glad you made it here safely."
"Hi Mom." The chief of police hugged back.
"How are you doing today girls?"
Lin and Suyin flinched at their grandfathers demanding voice.
"Just a little tired from the trip. But other than that, we are doing fine, Grandfather." Lin bowed. Suyin watched her sister and quickly followed, making sure it did not look like an unnatural gesture.
"You will be able to rest soon. First, let's enjoy a meal."
The Bei Fong family situated themselves in the dining room. They were served by the private chef and conversation was ordinary.
Suyin almost grabbed the food with her hands when Lin nudged her in the leg and directed her to use chopsticks. The young girl frowned but complied.
"So," Lao Bei Fong started. "How is the police force?"
"Great. We recently caught one of the biggest crime bosses in the city. He is going to go on trial in a few months." Toph fed herself food after she finished speaking.
"Are you talking about Yakone, Mom?" Su asked.
"Yes." Toph answered.
Poppy raised an eyebrow. "I find it odd that Suyin has knowledge of such dangerous criminals. She shouldn't be exposed to that kind of information."
Toph rolled her eyes. "Her mother is the chief of police. Its difficult to keep domestic life and a career like that separate."
"Still. Suyin shouldn't be reading your police reports."
"Of course she doesn't read the police reports. That's what Lin is for. Su just listens."
"Young girls such as Suyin and Lin should not be helping with work such as yours. They should be socializing with friends and be occupied with various hobbies." Lao instructed her daughter.
Toph wiped her mouth. "The girls can do whatever they want. Whether it be reading my police reports or doing those things that you just said. They decide for themselves."
"That's another thing, Toph." Lao put down his utensils. "The girls have no sense of direction. How do you expect them to get along if you aren't around enough to guide them?"
"They can guide themselves along any path they choose. I am there enough to provide support."
Lin and Suyin gave each other a look obviously agreeing that the time their mother gives both of them unacceptable.
"Are you sure about that?" Lao challenged.
Toph put her utensils down on the table rather loudly. "Can we not talk about my parenting? I thought we agreed that was off limits while we were visiting?"
"We are just trying to help, Toph." Poppy replied gently.
Toph went back to eating. "Well when I ask for it, I won't hold you guys back."
The dining table went silent. Everyone continued to eat. Dessert came along and Suyin's eyes widened at the sight of green tea ice cream. Lin had to remind her again to use a spoon. The small girl scowled and ate her ice cream. During one particular scoop, Su's spoon got stuck in the frozen dessert. She tried hard to remove her spoon. When it finally came out, so did a large chunk of ice cream flying towards Lin. The icy dessert hit the eleven year old on her forehead.
Suyin watched as her sister seethe.
"Su!" Lin yelled.
The little girl's giggling only upset her sister more.
"You little brat!"
"You look a little green, Sis." Suyin chuckled out.
Lin wiped herself off as best she can. "You aren't funny!"
Suyin stuck her tongue out. "How would you know?"
"Brat!"
"Sour puss!"
"That's enough!"
Lin and Su froze at their mother's booming voice. Lao watched with indifference while Poppy looked on with concern.
"I told you guys to stop fighting before we got here!" Toph turned towards her daughters. "Su go to the room."
Suyin gaped at her mother. "But I'm not done yet!"
"I don't care. You obviously can't sit at the table properly so you don't really deserve that ice cream now do you?" Toph scolded.
"But Mom-"
"To the room. Now."
Su looked at her sister. "Lin was fighting back though!"
Her mother beat her before Lin could retort. "Because of you. Why can't you behave like her?"
Suyin frowned at her mother. Lin knew exactly why. Suyin always hated being compared to her older sister. At other times, Lin would feel superior at this moment, her mother taking her side. But Su's face looked different than her usual scowl when fighting her mother. Su looked genuinely upset.
"I hate you."
Toph's breath hitched. The action was barely noticeable, but Lin caught it.
The chief of police turned away from Su and closed her eyes. "Go to the room."
The youngest Bei Fong got off her seat and exited the dining area. Lin let her shoe slip off and she placed her foot on the ground. Surprising her was the fact that Su was actually heading to the room. She was sure she would run off somewhere. Her mother didn't give her any signs that she was aware of Suyin's small act of obedience.
"Do you see what we mean now?" Lao asked her daughter. The tone of his voice had an i-told-you-so ring to it.
Toph got up. "I'm going to walk around the gardens. Excuse me."
The chief of police left the room. Lin was left to finish her dessert in the company of her grandparents.
Lin wasn't surprised to find Suyin gone by the time dinner was officially over. The nine year old was currently in another part of the large gardens either dancing or bending. Lin couldn't tell. Nonetheless, the older Bei Fong sister changed into pajamas and headed for where Suyin was. She found her in her pajamas as well and sweating profusely. Her body was huddled over, her hands holding something black and shiny.
Lin smirked when she figured out it was metal.
"Let me guess," Lin started. "Trying to channel your anger so you can bend the metal?"
Su looked up with a fierce look. "Shut up, Lin. Just go back inside."
"You know, you won't be able to bend it being so distracted."
"I'm not distracted. That is until you came here." Suyin scoffed.
"Really?" Lin put a finger on her chin. "How come you didn't notice me walk over here then? You would have been gone the moment you felt my heart beat."
"Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Nah. Mom is off somewhere and our grandparents are driving me up the wall with all the questions."
Suyin teased her angrily. "They love to spend time with their favorite grandchild."
"Although that does seem true, it's not. They love us both equally."
"Why are they so hard on us then?" Su put down the metal. "It's annoying."
"Because they want us to live a proper life." Lin crossed her arms. "Considering our situation."
The younger girl groaned. "What are you guys even talking about?"
"The fact that we don't have the same dad."
Suyin's body shot up and stiffened. Her nine year old mind tried to process the information carefully. She had never considered Lin and herself having different fathers. She had always assumed their dad ran off, too scared to take care of two children. This changed Su's perspective drastically.
"I was just as shocked as you when I found out."
Suyin looked at her sister, her half sister, in the eyes. "What happened to your dad? What about mine?"
Lin frowned. " I don't know. I never asked Mom."
Su wasn't considering asking her mother either.
"But that doesn't matter." The older Bei Fong stated. "We are doing fine without them. Even though I can't stand you most of the time."
"Of course. It's because you're the perfect one."
"Perfect? Far from it. As much as I hate to admit it, people at school even call me a sour puss."
"Because you are one."
"I'm trying really hard to be nice to you right now."
"Whatever." Suyin laughed. "You just need to learn how to have a little fun."
Lin approached her sister and bent the metal upon the floor. "How about you show me how to have fun when we get back home. For now, try not to upset Mom, Grandmother, or Grandfather again?"
"I didn't mean it you know. I don't hate Mom." Suyin looked to the ground guiltily.
The older Bei Fong rolled her eyes. "Apologize later." She bent it into the shape of a melon with a face and held it up. "Right now you have the Melon Lord to worry about!"
The two girls ran around the gardens screaming and yelling.
Sorry for the late update. I had a bit of writer's block. But I got it now! Reviews are like texts from a crush. Makes me get butterflies in my stomach. (That may be a bit creepy.)