Disclaimer: I don't own atla or lok.

Katara would kill her for wandering around at night. For decades, Toph really wasn't threatened by the water bender and never was to begin with. No matter what the master healer said about her legs, the chief of police wouldn't have anyone holding her back. She held on to the sides of the hallway and walked towards the back where she could exit to the training grounds. With more sweat and effort, the cold breeze hit Toph's face. Her ears picked up on the conversation in front of her.

"But really, would you have treated me any different if I were blind?"

"Su, that is the stupidest question I've ever heard."

"Why?"

"Our mother is blind. Why would I act any different if you were too?"

The youngest Beifong shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe you'd be nicer to me. Probably feel bad and all that."

"Su, if there was one thing Mom taught us, it would be that she did not tolerate anyone giving her special treatment. If anything, she'd probably been harder on you if you stayed blind." Lin crossed her arms and looked out onto Yue Bay.

Suyin stared at her bandaged leg. "You think I had Mom's weird looking eyes?"

Toph fought the need to say something.

The oldest of the Beifong sisters shrugged. "Probably. You must have looked demonic as a baby the first time you opened your eyes."

Again, Toph restrained herself.

"They are sort of creepy." Suyin thought carefully. "She does that thing, I don't know how she does it, but she makes eye contact with you. The color of her eyes look so souless that it eats you inside. I hated it whenever I'd get in trouble."

"That's great to hear from my own daughters. I didn't just give birth to them or anything."

Lin and Su physically cringed and began scrambling. After several seconds, they remembered their mother was handicapped at the moment. Lin also realized her sister was in the same boat. Suyin had put her hurt leg on her lap at some point.

The youngest out of all of them smiled awkwardly. "Hi, Mom! I thought Aunt Katara said you're on bed rest?"

"So are you, genius. What time is it?" The chief of police slid down to the ground. She used her earthbending to slide herself towards her daughters. "It doesn't seem like day time."

Lin let her head rest in her hand. "Its about two o'clock in the morning."

"Couldn't sleep?"

The girls nodded and hummed in confirmation.

"Yeah, me neither."

It was about three days since the whole incident with Yun. After getting back to the island, Katara and Kya went into hyper drive and began healing everyone. The bullet wounds were cleaned and closed, bruises were gone, cuts were healed, burns seemed like they were never there, and broken bones were put back together. Lin was the only one with a bad head injury and had spent a large amount of healing away from everybody, for a lot of reasons. Tenzin was the only one that stayed with her for longer periods of time, anyone else that approached, she would use the excuse of a headache.

Toph had noticed that their first night back, Lin and Suyin would spend a couple of hours outside similar to right now. She refused to sleep until both of them were back in the house, explaining why the Beifongs were so drowsy during the day.

"What were you guys talking about?"

Lin rolled her eyes. "You know what we were talking about."

Toph frowned slightly. "Okay. Why were you guys talking about that?"

"Why did Yun want me, Mom?"

She should have seen the question coming, but her heart pounded nonetheless. Suyin was a smart girl, both Toph and Lin knew that. So it scared both of them that they didn't know if she was asking as a legit investigation or if she wanted to hear their mother tell her straight up. Toph didn't answer right away.

"When you were born, Katara didn't tell me that you were blind for two days." Toph chuckled lowly. "She was afraid that with the pregnancy hormones and my temper that I'd actually sink the island. I totally would have."

"Weren't you mad that she didn't tell you? I'd be."

"My anger was completely shadowed by the fact that I was worried."

Suyin leaned forward to listen properly. Lin eyed her sister from the side, but also waited for their mother to continue.

"I wouldn't have a problem if you stayed blind. I mean, that would make me a hypocrite. I was worried that you'd miss out on a lot of things. Things that Lin would be able to see."

Su didn't understand. "But you're blind, Mom. You seem pretty happy not being able to see."

Their mother sighed. "I was. Until you guys were born."

The sisters stayed quiet.

"Touching and feeling was never enough. It still isn't enough. I will never know what you guys look like. And I have nothing to compare descriptions to. Black hair. Green eyes. I don't know what any of that means."

"Appearances mean nothing. It doesn't tell you anything about a person." Lin scowled into the night air. "You aren't missing out."

Toph surprised her and pulled her backwards to lay her head on her lap. Lin fought the gesture at first, but she was pinched to stop. Afterwards, her mother began running her fingers across her face. "I am missing out on a lot, Lin. Your wavy hair, your green eyes, the shape of your nose, the color of your lips. Do people say you're beautiful?"

Lin's face contorted. "That's not important."

"And most of all, I'd like to see this famous scowl of yours. Suyin says it makes you look ugly."

The youngest of them chuckled, earning her a squeeze in her injured leg. Su yelped and begged. "Shit, Lin!"

"If Katara were here, she would clean your mouth with sea prunes."

Su gagged. "No thank you. So you want to know what we look like?"

"Everyday."

"That must have been the nicest thing that you have said to us in...I don't even know."

Lin just avoided eye contact with either of them. She remained laying on her mother's lap. A few drops of rain began coming down, but the three didn't make a single movement.

"You didn't answer my question, Mom." The youngest Beifong pressed on. "Why did Yun want me?"

The chief of police sighed several times. Lin watched as her mother struggled to open her mouth and speak. After everything that had happened, she would think that Toph would finally tell her own children the truth. If it were her, she would have blurted it out already, the guilt eating at her from the start. This is why she couldn't understand what her mother was protecting Su from. The oldest of the Beifong sisters could only assume that her mother, Republic City's chief of police, was capable of feelings and fear like the average human being.

So she saved her mother again. "She wanted me first. But Satoru convinced her otherwise. She was going to shape us into her protoge."

Her sister stared at her confused. "Why?"

"To get back at Mom and everyone for banishing her from the city."

"Why not Bumi, Kya, or Tenzin?"

"We're the strongest."

"Ohhhhhh."

There was a small tinge of worry at the back of Lin's mind concerning how easy it was to convince her. But she put it aside and thanked the spirits for how well it worked this time. "At least she left you with a parting gift. Without her, you wouldn't be able to see."

Toph felt her youngest daughter lay her head on her lap as well. Su's head touched Lin's and surprisingly the two girls didn't fight. The chief of police relished moments like this. "Should I be happy, Mom?"

Her hands combed through their hair as she answered. "Do you like your sight?"

"I don't know. I can't really compare it to anything."

"How about I blindfold you for a week and then you can answer your own question."

Suyin nodded her head.

The rain was pouring now. Their hair stuck to their faces and they had to occasionally spit out rain water. The Beifongs didn't move. Katara would really let them have it if she saw them right now. The conversation didn't continue for about a half hour. Both Toph and Lin had felt Su's heart slow, indicating she had fallen asleep.

"When was the last time she slept?"

Lin coughed gently and replied. "Hasn't since we came back. Says she relives the gunshot over and over."

"I don't get it."

"What?"

Her mother laid back, her head resting on her hands. "Yun wanted her so badly. But she still shot her. That lady is fucked up in the head."

"She wanted a family. Apparently you stole it."

She felt her mother flinch slightly. "I didn't steal anything from her. She's the one that messed things up with, Sokka. He doesn't want her and I don't blame him to be honest."

For some reason, Lin was feeling very brave that night. "Is that when you swept in and took your chance?"

Toph shot up and scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not stupid, Mom." The oldest Beifong sister remained stoic. "And I don't blame you either. Uncle Sokka's been a great dad."

The chief of police released her built up anxiety and anger in a large sigh. She really didn't want to have the conversation, but she was glad it was with Lin. "We've been friends for a long time. He's my best friend and he didn't hesitate to help out with you two. I'm grateful for that. Would I ever say that to him? Of course not."

Again, Lin pushed the conversation further. "Then what's wrong with telling him the truth? Him and Su for that matter?"

"Because it wasn't supposed to happen." Toph checked if Su was still asleep by her heart beat before continuing. "I didn't want any obligations from him. It was selfish, but I'm capable of feelings too."

"Well, he wasn't obligated to take care of Su and I. He did it anyways."

"And I know that now. I remind myself everyday. But it's too late now. Su is already growing up, almost an adult. Sokka would never talk to me again if he found out I let him miss growing up properly with her. If you didn't know by now, Lin, your mom is a very selfish person."

"You could have at least let one of us have a dad " Lin turned s that she was staring at Suyin's forehead. As much as she had a reason to hate her, she couldn't. Su was her sister. If she turned out to be her mother's favorite, be able to be in presence of her father, and was free from responsibilities, Lin would live with that. As long as Su didn't mess things up, the way their family was right now, she would live with that. The dynamic wasn't perfect, but Lin knew that it worked. It worked for them. Lin remembered what she had said and added to it. "Even if it was Satoru, he would have loved both Su and I."

Toph swallowed hard. "You don't know that for sure."

"Yes I do."

"How?"

"He told me."

Once again, her mother sat up, but this time a little more slowly. There was less urgency, but Lin could feel the same anxiety run through her mother's heartbeat. "You talked to him? Like...after the explosion?"

"Just for a little bit." She hadn't noticed, but there were tears building up in her eyes. Lin thanked the rain for disguising her sorrow.

Toph flipped her bangs away from her face. "Did that idiot have stupid last words?"

Lin shut her eyes. "Yeah. He told me that he didn't deserve you."

"How cheesy." The chief of police shut her eyes while the rain dripped down her face.

"Yup. Then he left."

Toph just closed her eyes tighter. "W-What?"

Right as Lin was going to respond, she felt a drop of rain hit the side of her mouth. Her tongue involuntarily licked at it and her heart's steady rhythm broke at how salty the droplet tasted. That was it. Her lie was broken. She was sure her mother detected the change.

"He's gone again?" Toph sniffles.

Lin was shocked. "You believe me?" She cleared her throat and gained control. "I mean, because it just seems so unreasonable."

"He would, wouldn't he? He would do this."

"Yup, he just got up and left."

Then her mother let her temper flare. "What a son of a bitch!"

Suyin jolted up at once and began to hyperventilate. "Ah! Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me!"

Her older sister grabbed her and spoke quiet words. "Su, she isn't here. She's dead. No one is going to hurt you. You're safe."

The youngest of them all still had her eyes darting everywhere.

Toph engulfed the two of them. "Hey, we're fine. Everything is alright. No one is going to hurt us."

Lin felt their mother's words reverberate differently.

The three of them stayed that way and this time, when an hour passed, both Lin and Suyin had fallen asleep in their mother's arms. Their heads rested against Toph's stomach. At five in the morning, the chief of police was no where near sleep.

The conversation continued with one participant.

"Satoru, you are one mother fucker, you know that?"

The rain hadn't let up. Toph wiped her nose.

"You think that you could just comeback after pretending to be dead and think we can be friends again? These past years must have dumbed you down really bad."

She rid her face of any moisture from her eyes.

"I'm just glad Lin didn't inherit your degenerative intelligence. Then I would have been more pissed. Actually, that's a lie. I am more pissed."

Su twitched for a second.

"I can't believe you thought I didn't love you. How fucking rude. You had no one to compete with. The only thing that competed with you was myself. I was wrong to ignore my responsibilities as your wife, I get that. But faking death is cruel even by that standard."

Lin shifted closer to Su.

"When I found out you didn't die, I destroyed the station, you know that? Lin was only one year old and I was telling her the great man that you were. Then you started sending me letters, again a stupid idea. You never came back to apologize in person. Not once. You better believe how much I trash talked you standing by Lin's crib after that."

Her bangs were once again covering her face.

"But I moved on. And ironically, Sokka was there for me. So don't even think you could scold me now if you were here. He took care of what was supposed to be your family. Even added to it. He went above and beyond, something I thought you could do for me. The only thing you did for me was make me scared. All those times you accused me of cheating, I finally believed that Sokka would never love me like that. It was your voice, Sat. Your annoying voice."

It was still fairly dark.

"But I kept going. I went on to raise my girls. Things may not be perfect, but I couldn't ask for anything better. And sixteen years later, you decide to show up? Really? And not only that, but you bring that Yun shit back with you? Yes, I know in reality it was coincidence, but I'm just going to blame everything on you, asshole."

Her long hair was soaked.

"I'm not gonna lie, I liked having you back. Bouncing the insults back and forth. Your nerd talk. The way you cared. I was almost convinced that you wanted to make things right. And then you said you loved me. On the brink of death, I know you had that stupid grin on your face and you said you loved me. If you weren't holding a gun in your hand, I would have smacked you across the face."

The rain fused with the tears now coming down her face.

"You are such an idiot. You don't say that when you're about to die. You don't leave people hanging like that, stupid. I was all speechless and scared and you know I hate being like that, so why did you put me in that position? I just really want to punch you in the face."

She may have heard thunder, she wasn't paying a lot of attention to the weather.

"Everything was hazy for me after that. But you told Lin you would have loved Su too. Are you fucking kidding me, Sat? How much more do you honestly think I can take?"

Toph was shivering now.

"Badgermoles. You would have been good to them. You always were the nicest one between the two of us. You like to do that thing where you spare people's feelings, to avoid them from being sad."

Her hands covered her face.

"Which is why I am so unbelievably pissed at you right now. You and Lin were always good liars."

A sob caught in her throat.

"But not good enough."

The chief of police eventually fell asleep. When Katara, Aang, and Sokka found them the next morning, Toph was slumped over her girls.

Closer inspection revealed not only one tear stained face, but two others as well.

Ladies and gentlemen that is the end of this arc. I don't even have an explanation for this chapter. Thanks for reading! Tell me how I did!