They say I had a beautiful smile.

When I was young, my mother claimed she had no trouble Seeing it, either, and I believed her.

Incredible how my little cries into this world had made her feel that way.

"How is she?" was all my mother had asked, between the painful breaths and spasms in her abdomen that had come from a restless night of birth.

My mother's blood and sweat had unceremoniously decorated the ice hut's floor by the end of it. Master Katara had been the first one to hold me, so she said, breathing calmly into that night after a delicate – almost fatal - delivery.

"She's…" the waterbender held her words as she cleaned my face, her breath frozen as she first noticed my eyes. My vivid, Earth-claimed, emerald green eyes.

"Toph…she's… looking at me."

"What?" my mother whispered through her pale, bloodless face.

Master Katara's voice cracked, overwhelmed, her own eyes welling up with tears. "She's s looking at me!" The joy had built so much, she could barely place me in my own mother's arms, then.

It was incredible, how my mother's once fearless disposition towards the world had changed when she held me.

They say that when I was born, she cried for the first time in a very long time, over happiness… over the fact that I did not share her blindness. It was like all the disappointment and personal heartbreak from the past year had faded into dust. Dust that she could Bend and twist and leave for a better day.

And when she learned that she could See me smile, hear my laugh, and feel my own love for her through the hugs I would bring to her every day, my mother said she that had stopped waiting for my father to come back.

That my beautiful smile was what kept her fighting so hard to protect this new Republic, to the day that a young revolutionary known as Amon mercilessly took her down.

When the injuries claimed her life, I promised my mother I would honorably defend this city in the way she and the Avatar Aang had defended it together.

I never smiled again, swearing never to do so until I saw this oppression cease to exist.

But of course… you had to look at me, in that way.

My mother had told me to be watchful of boys at a certain age, guarding me as a daughter who was bound to be guarded for the sake of something my mother could only explain through her tears. I saw them as she couldn't see them: an unimaginably-strong girl left alone with her heart in pieces, a child growing in her belly.

The only family my mother could ever trust me around with was yours.

Your parents loved me as the strong, silent type that could only be brought from the tough Earthbender they knew. They cared for me when she passed, cared for me unconditionally on the Island until the day I began training at the Bei Fong academy. Even then, they could see the vengeance in my Emerald green eyes, knowing full well that my ambition to be Security Chief of Republic City was all made to take down the man who killed my mother. And yet, they didn't hinder me. They knew they couldn't stop me.

Now that I think of it, your brother and sister never seemed to think much of me, either, keeping their shenanigans unto themselves, as if assuming me to be allergic to fun. Almost dangerous to it.

How was it… then… that you saw through that steel wall I had built for myself all those years?

Why did I choose to listen to your thoughts… your fears about my safety, your hopes for a better City without the need for so much violence?

…and why… when you brought your face close to mine that night under the Summer Solstice… did I not move away?

You became my best friend, you know.

I found a reason to be happy again, despite my mother's absence and the political Anti-Bending revolution taking hold of our parents' beloved city. You and I, we were a team. We were going to save this city together, and watch the next generation of Benders experience the peace that Avatar Aang had fought so hard to create.

Now… you ask me why I don't smile anymore.

Amon is still out there, we both know that. We know what he is capable of. We've both had to experience it, personally.

When I saw the way you looked… at her… I knew your heart belonged with her. I accepted it. In fact, I hated myself for the fraction of a second I desired to destroy all non-benders from this world, because I knew that had nothing to do with it. Not all of them want to destroy us, anyway, and she is the quintessential proof of that.

I am happy for you. I really am. Your children are beautiful, too.

To say I have lost my best friend would be a lie, because I know we'll always be there for each other.

But you ask me, still, why I don't smile anymore?

Maybe someday, I'll tell you.

Perhaps when Amon and his Cause are wiped from the map, when my mother's work is finally paid off, and your beautiful family and your hope for peace are no longer threatened… I will tell you.

Until then, I work quietly.

A/N: Guess who's back! ^^ For those of you following The Legend of Korra, woohoo! I too am curious about who Lin Bei Fong's father is, and while Bryke has kept that information hidden, I had to incorporate that anonymity in her character. Plus, the fact that Lin and Tenzin were once an item was a big WHOA moment for me! Love her! Love THEM! Great show, overall.