i wanted to write something on how Lin and Toph settled arguments. m mother and i have screaming matches filled with tears and ends in hugs. i think toph and Lin wouldn't be open to that idea. please r&r.

Lin let out a hiss as the needle pierced the flesh on her back, trying to close the wound on her right shoulder blade, when a knock sounded on the bathroom door. "Lin! I need to brush my hair. Open up!"

Lin hastened her movements with the use of her metalbending. She looked her work over in the mirror. Not as clean as the other wounds she had stitched up in the past but it would have to do for now. She slipped on her light green tunic, just as Su managed to unlock the door with metalbending. She looked her sister up and down. "What are you doing?"

"I was brushing my teeth."

Su took a step closer, standing on her toes she took in a whiff of air. "You might want to brush again. Your breath smells."

Lin playfully nudged her sister. "You're one to talk."

Su was about to retort when their mother's voice came from down the hall. "Girls, hurry up! Sokka and I aren't getting any younger." They heard giggling from both adults and instantly shuddered at what they could be doing.

The two girls ran down the stairs to see their mother and Sokka kissing. Lin clasped a hand around Su's eyes. "You two are really disgusting."

Toph broke away from Sokka, her signature smirk playing on her lips. "Well if you two spent less time in the bathroom, you wouldn't have to Sokka and I kissing. Now lets go before Sugar Queen gets her undies in a bunch."

"Hello Lin."

She leaned up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Hey Tez."

"How was your day?"

"It was good. Saved a kid from getting beaten to death by five triad members. Poor kid was just trying to protect his little sister."

Tenzin opened the door for her and the rest of the Beifong family. "Are they both okay?"

"Yeah. I found an orphanage for them on the outskirts of the city, away from the triads."

They both took a seat at the dining table, adults sitting on one side, children on the other. "I'm just happy you're safe."

"What did you do today?"

"Showed the new acolytes around the island. The women keep hitting on me though."

Lin smirked as she brought her glass to her mouth. "You're lying."

A blush found its way onto his cheeks. "There may have been a male among the women that has a thing for me."

Lin let out a giggle. "Do you like him back?"

"You are not funny." He brought an arm around her waist, drawing her close. "You should know I only have eyes for you."

"That is ridiculously corny."

Katara entered the dining room with various foods in hand. "I made sea prunes, turtle duck and salad." Majority of the people at the table cringed at the mention of sea prunes, only Sokka and Kya perked up when hearing the dish.

They all digged into their meals, talking in between mouthfuls of food. Half an hour passed before Katara brought in small plates of moon peach pie. When she came to place Lin's desert in front of her, something caught her eye on the back of the young girls shirt. "Lin, you're bleeding."

Lin turned around to look her aunt in the eye. "What?"

"You're bleeding on your back. Let me heal it for you."

Lin was about to protest when her mother stood up, speaking through gritted teeth. "Lets go." The three women walked into the healing room. "Shirt and bindings off Lin"

Lin whirled around to look at her mother in disbelief. "What!?"

Toph glared at her the best she could. "Now."

Lin did as she was told, making sure her back was facing the two women. A gasp came from Katara when she saw jagged deep scars on the young girls back, all appearing as though they had been stitched with the use of metalbending. Her mother stepped forward placing a firm hand on her daughter's back, feeling each scar as though she could read the history behind each one. "It's not as bad as it feels or looks."

Toph pushed Lin towards the bed, forcing her to lie down on the bed. "Katara, if you'd be so kind to heal this idiots wounds, that would be great."

"Umm- this is going to sting a little."

Toph came to stand next to her friend. "It's just a cut, why would it hurt?"

"It would appear that Lin had stitched it herself not that long ago, so I'm going to have to tug at it to remove the stitching."

Lin let out a sigh. "Can we just get this over and done with already?"

"Don't sass me Sergeant. You are in no position to demand anything at this point. You're lucky I'm not suspending you without pay."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because I'm your mother."

Lin's face contorted into a scowl. "And a terrible one at that."

Katara looked up from Lin's back to face her. "Lin that is really unfa-"

Lin ignored her. "You left me to look after Su when she was born. I had to take care of myself, make my own meals and yours, along with taking care of the house. You were just someone who donated your genes to me."

Toph didn't know how to respond, as she knew her daughter was telling the truth. "You're right, I was never a great mother, I wasn't even a good mother. But that doesn't stop me from being a great Chief, your Chief. And I take care of my officers. So shut up and let Katara heal you."

Lin chose to stand up, putting her clothes back on. "We're done here." She went to exit the room, only to have her mother grasp her arm in a firm hold. "Let go of me, now."

"Make me." Lin swung her around, allowing Toph to be slammed into the wall next to the door, causing her mother to release her hold on her.

"Stay down." Toph ignored her, deciding to tackle Lin through the walls to outside, both landing on the ground in a heap.

The two began to engage in hand-to-hand combat as their family members came out to watch. "You are a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

"Just some of those genes you passed down to me." Lin tripped Toph, causing her to fall on her back, bringing Lin down with her. They began rolling around on the ground, trying to get the best of each other, until Toph leaned down and kissed Lin on the cheek, surprising her so she was able to pin Lin on the ground. Toph rolled off of her, collapsing onto the earth. "I win."

"You cheated."

"I just used my opponents weakness against them. I remember when you were a little kid and we used to do this whenever one of us was angry with the other. You even won a few."

Lin gave her mother a sideways glance. "I had forgotten about that. I'm sorry what I said earlier, about you being a terrible mother."

"Yeah and I'm sorry for not giving you and Su enough of my time. Maybe it will change now that you two are older… much older. But promise me no more stitching yourself up. We have enough medical staff to do that for us. And besi-" Toph was silenced when water was poured over hers and Lin's bodies. "What the heck Sugar Queen!"

"You two destroyed two walls! I want them fixed before you go home!"

Toph 'looked' at Lin "kill joy." This caused Lin to laugh. "We good?"

"Yeah we're good."