i needed mummy Toph so i wrote this for beifong week day 5: rain. read, review and enjoy

Su Beifong was sleeping peacefully in her little bed, when a clap of thunder sounded outside her bedroom window. Bolting upright in bed, the four year old took her stuffed badgermole into her arms and hugged it tightly with all her might. Just as she began to relax, a flash of thunder lit up her bedroom. Getting off her bed, the little girl ran down the hall and into her sister's bedroom, diving into the bed without a second thought.

Lin was forcibly woken up due to the rush of cold swarming to her feet. "Su! You're letting the cold in." When her sister didn't retort like she usually would, Lin rolled over and looked under her blanket to see her little sister, with her faced buried into the stuffed badgermole. "Su? Are you okay?" She received a mumble from the young earthbender. "I'm going to take that as a no." Another clap of thunder was heard, causing Su to clutch at Lin's shirt. "It's just a storm Su. It can't hurt you."

"Don't care. It's scary."

"Well clearly you're not going to sleep, which means I'm not going to sleep. I could turn on the radio."

"I want a story."

Lin let out a sigh, if there was one thing she didn't do, it was tell bedtime stories. "Sorry kid, I don't tell bedtime stories."

"What if I tell you one?"

"Fine, but can we not talk under the blanket?"

Su took hold of Lin's hand before she could move away, keeping her in place. "No! It's more fun this way. Once upon a time, there was a queen, and this queen could control the earth. She was also blind but it d-"

"Is it mum?"

"shhhhhhhhh, I'm telling it! She was blind but it didn't matter because she could see using the earth. One day, she was in the castle's grounds playing with her pet badgermoles, when she felt a man coming towards her. She threw a rock at him but he was really fast and ducked. He told her to stop attacking because he wanted to talk to her.

"They both talked and soon fell in love and then they had a baby! And her name was Bin."

Lin growled, knowing that her sister chose the name on purpose just to irritate her.

"But a few months after the baby was born, the man became sick and died. The queen was really upset and wouldn't let anyone near her. Though one person decided to ignore her. He was a warrior. A really really really strong and handsome warrior. He picked her flowers everyday and soon she fell in love with him. They got married and had an awesome and beautiful daughter called Luyin. And they lived happily ever after."

A minute of silence passed as Lin tried to process the story. It's such a stupid story. Come on Beifong, let her have this one. "That was a great story. But what happened t-"

Lin was interrupted by a weight coming down on top of them, causing the two girls to scream in fear. "When did I start raising lily livered earthbenders like you two?"

"Mum?" Lin relaxed at her mother's voice, one of the most comforting things in the world. "Get off! You're heavy!"

"Am I?" Toph allowed her body to become heavier, making Lin and Su groan in discomfort. "Had enough?"

"Yes! Please get off."

Toph knelt back on her knees, waiting for them to come out from under the covers before quickly leaning in to kiss both girls on the cheeks. Which caused Su to giggle in delight and Lin to try and get away. Toph wrapped an arm around Lin's stomach and pulled her back into the bed. "Where do you think you're going badgermole?"

"Away from you. Kisses are disgusting."

"Su, are my kisses disgusting?" The little girl began to laugh again when her mother peppered her face with kisses. "Su doesn't mind them."

"Whatever."

Toph placed a light kiss on the top of her eldest daughter's head before getting off the bed. "I'm going to get dressed because I'm soaking wet, then we can make this a sleep over with scary stories."

Lin let out a groan as she recalled the last 'sleepover' they had. "Please, no more Melon Lords."

"No promises badgermole."

Su jumped off the bed and ran up to her mother, stuffed animal still in hand. "Can we use your bed? Lin's is too small."

"Sure. Why not?"

Lin and Su followed Toph into her bedroom, getting under the covers while they waited for their mother to get dressed. She emerged a minute later wearing light, long sleeved, green pyjamas and got in the bed with her daughter's on each side of her. "Alright, there was once a Lord, a Melon Lord."

"And he shouted MW-" Toph was silenced by a hand covering her mouth.

"Don't. You'll wake Su."

The earthbender placed a hand on her youngest daughter's back, to feel that her heart rate was steady. Reaching for the blankets, Toph pulled them up to cover Su's small body that was tucked into her side. "I guess she isn't old enough to stay up this late."

"Yeah. Umm, mum, can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything."

"Is my, uh, is my dad, dead?"

A frown formed on Toph's face, the father's of her children wasn't something she liked to think about and Lin was old enough to understand, that this was an upsetting topic for her mother. So if she was asking, it must have meant a lot. "No he's not dead. He just- he has some things he needed to do." Lin processed the information before turning away from her mother, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Come on Lin, there's no reason to cry."

"I'm not crying." Toph may have believed her if it weren't for Lin's little hiccup at the end.

"It's all right to cry. I cry too when I think about him. But in the end, if you love someone, you have to let them go."

"Why did you have to let him go? I could have had a dad."

"Well, if I didn't, we wouldn't have Su and I know you love her, even if you try to hide it. Now come here." Toph pulled Lin into her chest and gave her a firm one-handed hug. "All you have to remember is that there are a lot of people that love you."

"Mum?"

"Mm."

"Your kisses aren't disgusting."

"Thanks badgermole."

The rain continued to pour as the three Beifongs slept peacefully.