"Not your Typical Bumi II fic"
An ATLA/LOK crossover fic by J.W. Appel
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Avatar. All things belong to Nickelodeon and Bryke.
AN: Another crossover by me. This one is a mother/son piece between Katara/ Bumi II with a dash of Aang/ Bumi II for good measure. Please note that this will subvert pretty much everything you usually see in a fic about Bumi II and will contain Katara acting in a way that some may consider OOC but with good reason behind it. More on this at the end,enjoy!
Katara loved being a mother. When Kya was born,she was ecstatic and only grew more so when Kya was revealed as a water bender. Finally, someone to pass on her hard earned skills to. It soon turned out however that while Kya was skilled, combat wasn't her forte' and she was much better at using water bending to heal. She didn't even want to learn traditional water bending. The fact that Kya had inherited her bad temper and was rather confrontational made this a bit ironic.
Katara was fine with this of course. She loved a good spar and she was always ready to fight if needed but she preferred peace most of all. Still, she had worked long and hard to master water bending and wished to pass on what she knew to her kids and not just Aang. That's why she hoped that Bumi would be a water bender. She wasn't one to favor gender stereotypes but maybe her son would be more interested in learning how to fight from her. Things took an unexpected twist when it turned out Bumi couldn't bend at all.
But things took a turn for the better when both she and Aang ended up becoming incredibly close with their second born. They had sworn to love their children equally but they had thought at first that a non-bending child would feel awkward around an immediate family full of benders and they wouldn't know how to spend time with him at all. As it turned out, though Bumi could bend neither water or air, he took after both of them in so many other ways. He was fun loving and optimistic, caring and compassonite, strong and brave, stubborn when he believed in something and sarcastic when annoyed. He was their boy through and through and he had a wild and creative mind to rival his namesake.
Aang and Bumi spent their days playing pranks on the stuffier Air Acolytes, playing Pai Shao and going gliding when the weather permitted it. The Avatar was always there when Bumi needed a friend or mentor. But as special as Aang and Bumi's bond was, Katara liked think that her bond with Bumi was every bit as special, if not more so.
Whenever Bumi needed to talk and Aang was busy, she was there with advice, comfort, hugs, and kisses. When Kya would bully and prank him, Katara was his defender and would even help him get her back if she felt Kya needed a lesson. She taught Bumi how to surf and was always ready to entertain with a water bending display for his amusement.
But Bumi helped her as well. He helped her show her often forgotten {mostly by Toph and Sokka} fun and silly side. You had to be extra silly and open minded when playing with a mad genius. She would often find herself in tickle wars, wrestling matches, mud fights when it rained, making faces, cheering just as loudly as him when Typhoon Toza and the Republic City Dragons won a Pro Bending Match, and even seeing who could burp the loudest after drinking lychee juice Katara got a special enjoyment from the later but chose to keep this a secret.
Bumi even helped her improve her jokes, convincing her to put as much effort into them as she would her sarcasm just to make him laugh. The fact that Bumi already thought her jokes were hilarious only made her feel all the better when she made him grin that wild grin she adored, the same grin his father often wore. Theirs was as happy a bond there could be between mother & son and she would proudly proclaim that Bumi was her "little wild child."
When Tenzin was born, Katara's joy grew. Bumi had dedicated himself to being the best big brother he could, better than Kya was to him. Even though Tenzin was a bit more serious than his big brother, he loved Bumi very much and was always with him. Katara adored her family and never wanted anything to divide them. That's why she came to regret the day that Tenzin sneezed.
It was Bumi's tenth birthday and his family treated him like a king. Katara had whipped up all of his favorite foods and his dad had made him a special Air Nomad birthday cake while every member of Team Avatar and their families came bearing gifts galore. This included the latest book in the "Adventures of the Blue Spirit" novel series he loved from Uncle Zuko,, his own glider from dad, and his personal favorite, an Autographed photo of Typhoon Toza from good ol' mom. He also got some cool weapons like authentic Kyoshi fans from his favorite Aunt Suki, a set of throwing knives from Aunt Mai, and even a mini set of metal bender armor from his second favorite Aunt Toph. There was also, to Bumi's secret chargin, a boomerang from Uncle Sokka. He loved his uncle and all but he was kind of a goof most of the time and wasn't as cool as Aunt Suki or most of the other non-benders his nephew admired.
Boomerang aside, Bumi felt like he was on top of the world. Kya was even being nice to him for a change. He was about to ask Princess Ursa, his long time crush, on an official date over cake, when everyone heard a loud noise. "Ah-choooooooooo!"
Six year old Tenzin had been playing with Lin, the orphan earth bender girl that Toph had adopted, when he sneezed and shot a foot in the air. Everyone was speechless for several minutes until Aang's face stretched into a broad grin. "TENZIN JUST BENT AIR! HE'S AN AIR BENDER!"
At the Avatar's overjoyed outburst, everyone rushed over to admire Tenzin. The birth of another air bender was something that both Aang and the entire world had wanted for years. After finding a colony of surviving sky bison after the war, the Avatar had believed that some Air Nomads had survived but had found no others like him since. From there, he attempted to use his energy bending to give air bending to the Acolytes but had no effect so children were his last hope.
The world needed air benders restored to maintain balance amongst the now five nations and make sure that Aang's successor and all future Avatars could master air bending. Katara knew this more than anyone and while she wanted to join Aang in celebration, she couldn't help but notice the hurt look on Bumi's face. She tried to go comfort him but her oldest son was already gone.
Weeks passed and Aang threw himself into training Tenzin. The little air bender became even more serious and stuffy, even taking to calling his father "Aang" at all times. He was also however a diligent student and made everyone, even Kya proud. Katara would have joined them if she wasn't so worried about Bumi.
Her little Wild Child had been acting very odd lately. He barely smiled or laughed anymore and there was always something akin to fear or anger in his eyes when he looked at her. Katara wanted to speak to him but something strange always came over her when she tried. It was like she blacked out or something and when she came to, she couldn't remember what she had been doing in the first place. Whenever she tried to speak to Aang about it, the Avatar was too busy with Tenzin to talk.
One day, Aang decided to take Tenzin to the Air Temples to learn more about his heritage. The whole trip would take about a month and with Kya visiting relatives at the South Pole, it would just be Katara, the acolytes, and Bumi. She planned to spend some real quality time with her son then and help him out of his funk. Katara already knew what the problem was but getting Bumi to open up about it might take time.
She saw Aang and Tenzin off on Appa at the crack of dawn and then went to wake Bumi. A nice breakfast would do them both good. She opened the door to his room and was shocked and what she saw; Bumi's room was in shambles. His furniture was ripped apart, his toys broken, his Blue Spirit books ruined, and every single one of his birthday gifts utterly destroyed beyond repair except for the boomerang his uncle had given him. But what truly horrified Katara was Bumi, who looked like he had been badly beaten and was sobbing on his ravaged bed.
Katara ran to her son's side in an instant . "Bumi, Are you alright!? Who did this!" She placed a hand on her son's shoulder only to have it slapped as he turned to her with a glare reminiscent of her own.
"What are you doing back here!? Thrashing my room wasn't enough so you had to come back and brag about it!?" Katara was shocked. "Bumi, you-you think I did this!?" "Don't deny it!" Bumi sneered "you've been treating me like this for weeks! It was bad enough that dad abandoned me but to know that you of all people would do it too is just too much.
Katara actually gasped. "B-Bumi, how can you say that!?" Bumi laughed but it was cold and humorless, not like the warm and infectous laugh that Katara loved to hear. "How could you say what you said to me? How could you say you were just waiting for another bender to come along so you could kick me out? How could you destroy all my stuff and leave me with a stupid boomerang!?"
Katara couldn't believe her ears. "But sweetie, I didn't do this! I would never hurt you like this!" Bumi scoffed. "I believed that for the first few weeks until I saw how good you treated Kya lately. I guess you just decided to stop pretending to care!" If anyone else had spoken to her like this, Katara's famous temper would have emerged and she would have bit back hard but this was her Buimi and she adored him far too much. This was why his next words destroyed her. " You know, as much as I loved dad, you were always the one I looked up to. You were my hero and now I…I..I hate you!"
Katara's heart shattered. "You can't mean that" she said in a voice flooded with sorrow. Bumi didn't answer. His back was turned to her but she could still hear sobbing. the heartbroken heroine left the room with her own tears starting to fall, wondering exactly what just happened.
That night, Katara was plagued by nightmares. She saw Bumi with a strange woman dressed in a black and gray kimono and the top of her hair in a bun with a ponytail sticking out. Her skin was ghastly pale, her lips were blood red, and her eyes resembled flaming coals. When she smiled, it seemed as though she were some sort of predator.
"There there little Bumi, no need to cry" the mystery woman said in an icy voice despite the comforting words she used "that dreadful Katara won't hurt you anymore. I'll be your new mother and you'll get all the love that you deserve."
Bumi sniffed and looked at the woman with sad eyes. "But what about dad and Tenzin? I can't just leave them!" "Bah! Those two don't care for you and all" the woman spat "your father abandoned you the minute your brat brother sneezed. All benders love no one except their own kind, your parents and your sister certainly proved that, didn't they?"
Bumi looked hesitant at first but then nodded. "Yeah, especially Katara" he hissed bitterly "I can't believe I ever looked up to her or Aang! I guess all benders really are evil inside." The woman's smile grew wider. "Exactly my little one but don't fret, you can stop them once and for all with my help. Even the Avatar will stand no chance against you. Then it will be just you and me, mother and son playing and having fun together forever. I'll be tons more fun than your old mother and I even got you a present."
The mystery woman produced a white mask with a red dot on it's forehead and held it out to Bumi. The boy reached a tan hand out for it and Katara bolted awake in a cold sweat . What was that?
The heroine walked to the sink and splashed her face. As she was drying off, she peered into the mirror and gasped. Her reflection had changed into an elderly man with a long beard and Fire Nation robes. The man smiled kindly at her and said "Hello Katara, it is good to see you again."
Katara blinked in confusion for a moment. "Avatar Roku,is that you?" She had only seen her husband's predecessor once when battling the Fire Sages years ago but he was impossible to forget. The Fire Nation Avatar nodded and said "I've come to warn you of a looming threat that only you can stop, one than concerns the welfare of your son."
This caught Katara's attention immediately. "Is it Bumi? What's wrong with him!? Today, he accused me of-" "I know" Roku interrupted gently "but he is currently under the influence of another. A dark spirit has influenced his mind and made him see illusions for weeks. Let me show you what happened two weeks after Bumi's birthday." The image in the mirror changed to show a battered looking Bumi and what seemed to be Katara but she was sneering at her eldest son. "Someone beat you up at school? Mirror-Katara spat venomously "jeez Bumi, it's bad enough you let your sister pound on you but now you can't handle a kid who's what, like half your size? Why are you such a little wimp?" Mirror-Katara acted like she was thinking and then laughed cruelly as she said "oh wait, that's right, you're a stupid non-bender! Here's an idea, why don't you at least learn to throw a stupid boomerang and quit being an embarassment to our family!"
Bumi was shocked. "B-b-but mom, I-" Mirror-Katara slapped the boy hard across the face. "Quiet! Now if you'll excuse me, my daughter needs me. At least my other two children can do something right." Mirror- Katara stomped off ,leaving a very hurt Bumi behind and the actual Katara looking horrified and angry. Roku reappeared for a brief second to say "it only got worse from there I'm afraid" and indeed it did.
Katara was subjected to more and more images of her double abusing Bumi both verbally and physically while spoiling Kya and praising Tenzin. It ended when Mirror-Katara trashed Bumi's room and left him in tears. When Roku appeared again, Katara asked "what happened? What kind of spirit would want to hurt my sweet little boy?"
"As I said, it is a dark spirit called a Fallen One. No one knows much about them but they have great power and seek to destroy the Avatar line at all costs. They have recently reached into Bumi's mind and brought out his hidden fears that you love him less for not being a bender and have been trapping him in an illusion every few days where the things you saw occur happened. Whenever you black out, that's their way of keeping you occupied while he resides there and the more Bumi believes these things are real, the more they spill over into reality, which is why his room actually was trashed today."
Katara was still confused. "But what about Aang? Why are they trying to ruin MY relationship with Bumi and not his? Why do they want Bumi anyway?" Roku smiled just slightly as Katara asked this.
"Aang's bond with Bumi is strong and to be sure but your relationship with him is such that destroying it will guarantee the success of their plans. They have been influencing him however by making him literally blind to anything but Tenzin and making sure he can't stop them. As for their motive, Bumi's future has two possible outcomes that I'll show you now."
Roku first showed Katara a bright and happy future where Bumi became a brave and noble commander in the United Forces, aiding Aang's successor, Avatar Korra in defending the United Republic. He was greatly loved by Tenzin's four children and happily married to a beautiful water tribe woman named Luka with his own child on the way. He was also a master of tai chi, the water bending martial art taught to him by a mother he adored, ba gua, the air bending martial art taught to him by his beloved father, and skilled in armed combat. In the second future, Bumi has assumed the identity of a masked revolutionary called Amon and used these same skills to wipe out all benders, including his own family. When Avatar Korra stood against him, she failed.
The images faded and Katara said "that mask! I've seen it before in my dreams." Roku nodded. "The Fallen One has appeared to Bumi in his dreams to fully convert him to their side. You're the only one who can stop them." "How?" Katara asked "I'm not an Avatar. I can't enter the Spirit World like Aang can."
"You won't be in the Spirit World but your son's mind. Your bending will function and you'll have some level of influence but Bumi's the one who will really be in charge. As for how you'll get there, all it will take is a bit of my spiritual energy to help you along. Good luck."
Roku extended a hand through the mirror to touch Katara's forehead and her eyes glowed in a way similar to the Avatar State. A moment or so later, she found herself in Bumi's dream where he was just about to take Amon's mask. "Bumi,don't! It's a trick!"
Bumi and the Fallen One turned towards the new arrival. "What do you want?" Bumi snapped in a hostile tone "jealous of my new mom?" "she's not your mom Bumi, I am!" Katara insisted "you know I love you more than anything and would never have done those things you saw me do. It's her that hurt you,not me!"
"Don't believe her Bumi" the Fallen One insisted "she's just mad that we're giving you more power than she has. Don't forget what she's done!" Images just like Katara had been shown formed in the sky above but the heroine surprised the spirit by making them vanish. "Yeah Bumi, don't forget the fun we've had together" Katara said as new scenes began to form. One was of five year old Bumi on a family vacation to the South Pole. He was alone and crying in a tent until Katara came over to comfort him. "What's wrong Bumi-Snuffles?" Katara cooed her son's old nickname and started huggng him as he sniffed. "I-I-wanted to go Pengwin-Swedding with Daddy and Kya but she said I was too wittle and weft without me." Bumi sobbed even more into his mom's shirt as she hugged him tighter and kissed the top of his head. "Don't worry sweetie, mommy will take you penguin-sledding, how does that sound?
Bumi sniffed again. "But I'm too widdle to catch a pengwen so how can I wide?" Katara just smirked and the next scene showed her penguin sledding down a large hill with a laughing Bumi riding piggy-back style. The Bumi of the present took in the scene and some of the anger faded, but not completely.
The scene changed again to a now six year old Bumi playing with Katara on the beach. He was waving a little wooden sword at her while she used the octopus form to play a sea monster and growled for effect. She eventually used her water tentacles to tickle him into submission. Next it showed Katara and him surfing together, having a sea prune eating contest and other scenes of mother & son just laughing and having fun. With each one, Bumi's anger began to lessen as did the spirit's hold over him.
Katara topped it off with one of her favorites, one that happened just a week before Bumi's birthday. The then nine year old was flinging fruit pies at the Air Acolytes with his dad when Katara approached. She was making an effort to look stern but couldn't hide the smirk on her face. "What are you boys doing now? You know the Acolytes have meditation for the next hour."
"Just a little fun to liven up the place sweetie" Aang said a little too innocently "Bumi helped me whip up a little treat and as usual, I made too much." "Right" Katara said as she raised a skeptic eyebrow "and now you're giving the Air Acolytes what we don't eat via air mail" Aang's impish grin grew. "Yep, and it was all Bumi's idea. Smart kid, isn't he?"
Katara shook her head but the smirk didn't fade as Bumi tossed another. Seemingly just noticing his mother, Bumi grinned and asked "want to give it a try mom? It's so much fun." The boy held out a pie for his mom but Katara declined.
"No thanks Bumi, this isn't my idea of fun and you really shouldn't be doing it either." Bumi pouted. "But dad said that him and Gradpa Gyatso did it all the time when he was a kid and I just wanted to share in a family tradition with you. Can't you do it just once…for me?"
Aang chuckled ,knowing that his wife would soon give in. She always had a hard time saying "no" to Bumi. He could also see a secret desire to do so in her eyes. "Okay Bumi-snuffles…for you."
Katara gave Bumi a quick peck on the forehead as she took the pie and asked "what's my target?" Bumi gazed down at the still recovering Air Acolytes and began searching for a fresh target for his mom. "How about that one, Quin,I think his name is, In the back?" Aang looked the target over himself and said "I don't know son, that's a pretty long ways and your mom's not the expert pie thrower that you and I are."
It wasn't meant as a tease but Katara took it as one. "Is that so, mr. high and mighty Avatar? Well, watch and learn." Forming a water whip, the water bender used it to launch the pie a great distance…only to miss her target by several feet and have it land on an approaching Kya.
Katara was mortified, Aang was trying not to laugh, and Bumi was ecstatic. "Go mom! You just nailed Kya! Bonus points." Bumi laughed loudly as the vision faded and the Bumi of the present was laughing right along him Katara smiled when she saw that the Fallen One's hold was now completely gone.
"Ah man, Kya's face was priceless! It was almost as funny as the way you pretended to ground me for it." Katara snickered "yeah, even I have to admit it was funny and I did make it worth your while for playing along, didn't I? Bumi snorted. "Yeah, extra dessert for two weeks, which turned out to mean making me eat all the left over pies. Pretty sneaky if you ask me."
"Like mother, like son" Katara replied with a sly grin and both laughed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? CAN"T YOU SEE SHE"S TRYING TO TRICK YOU?" Bumi turned to the angry Fallen One and scowled. "NO! Mom's right, she would never do any of that stuff to me so it must have been you all along!
Bumi slapped the Amon mask away and ran towards his mom, who scooped him into a huge hug. "I'm sorry for what I said mom, can you ever forgive me?" "Of course, my little Bumi-snuffles" Katara cooed and kissed him all over. The Fallen One was not finished yet however.
"This wasn't supposed to happen! I won't allow our plans to be disrupted because of silly childhood antics! You'll pay for this!" The dark spirit conjured up illusions of Suki, Jun, Mai, Ty-lee, Longshot, Pandao, and the Blue Spirit, every non-bender that Bumi knew and admired. Katara took a fighting stance and moved in front of her son protectively before saying "Bumi, give me water."
"What?" "We're in your mind sweetheart, you make the rules here. Give me water so we can beat these guys up." Bumi was even more confused. "Uh…okay?"
Katara suddenly had two water skims on and proceeded to tear into her foes with it. Bumi watched in admiration until the Fallen One conjured up more foes in the form of the Yuyan archers, Jet and the Freedom Fighters, Bumi's Grandpa Hakoda, the majority of the Rough Rhinos, some other Kyoshi Warriors, even an armed Teo and the group as the Northern Air Temple. Wanting to help in some way, Bumi thought and thought…which turned out to be exactly what he needed to do.
The boy found himself changed from ten years old to the adult United Forces Commander he would one day become. Unsheathing his new sword, Bumi charged into the fray with a wild grin on his face. "WA-HOO! " Hearing this familiar cry, Katara smiled . 'That's my boy' she thought as both she and her son beat back their foes.
Eventually, everyone was beaten and mother and son high-fived each other. "Do you feel like we didn't see someone we should have?" Katara asked her son suddenly just as they heard "SNEAK ATTACK!" Bumi cocked his fist and caused Sokka to run into it,knocking him unconscious. "Nope" Bumi said without turning around.
Their foes vanished then and they turned towards the Fallen One. "Now it's your turn" Katara growled like a Polar Bear-Dog "no one uses my son!" Rather than stay and fight, the dark spirit scowled and said "this isn't over! Amon will rise, one way or another" before vanishing.
"That was awesome!" Bumi cheered and flexed his muscles "I love being grown up!" Katara smiled warmly and said "but never forget that no matter how big you get, you'll always be my little Bumi-snuffles." She pulled him into a platypus-bear hug and watched him change back into a ten year old before all went white.
The next thing Katara knew, they were back in Bumi's room, which was completely restored. Bumi was sleeping peacefully as if the whole thing had been a sweet dream. "Well done Katara, you have proven yourself an incredible mother and an excellent wife" Roku said as he appeared before them "Aang couldn't have chosen better."
Katara looked over at Bumi and smiled sweetly. "I almost can't believe I was able to convince him so fast. With how Aang and I ignored him for real the first couple of weeks, it's easy to see how this happened in the first place." "Even the very best parents make mistakes sometimes" Roku advised "and you and Aang are the best I have ever seen. Bumi never truly doubted your love, he just needed a reminder. I must go now but please tell Aang that I am very proud of him." With that, the Fire Nation Avatar vanished and Bumi began to stir.
"Hey sweetie, glad you're up." "M…mom? What time is it?" "Dawn" Katara answered cheerfully "I came to wake you early so we could talk." "About what?"
Katara sighed. She somehow knew Bumi didn't remember what happened and that the feelings that caused the incident still remained. It was time for what she had planned from the beginning.
"Look Bumi, I know you've been feeling neglected lately. Your dad hasn't been around much and neither have I and I'm sorry for that. It's just that well…the world need air benders and your dad wanted to have one for so long, I guess he just got caught up in finally having one and so did I. But please don't think we suddenly stopped loving you because you couldn't bend. You're our favorite little guy and we'd never do that to you. I especially think playing with you is the best part of my day and you're one of the select few people I'd ever even think about having a burp contest with." Bumi giggled a bit at that but then he frowned.
"I was pretty mad with you guys at first. You didn't have time for me and everyone kept talking about how great Tenzin was just because he sneezed. For a while, I thought the only way to get you to notice me was to fart or something." Katara bit back a chuckle at that and motioned for her son to continue.
"But then, it got worse when everyone started saying exactly why Tenzin was so great. They said that dad had finally gotten the kid he had always and the world didn't have to wait anymore for new air benders. Then Kya told me that you wanted me to be a water bender…and a girl but that's besides the point. That was the first time I felt…out of place I guess. I'd always know you guys could bend and I couldn't but it never really bothered me until someone told me that I wasn't anything the world desperately needed and that you and dad had wanted something more than me."
Guilt washed over Katara for a brief second. She HAD hoped for a water bending son at one point. "Well sweetheart, I'm not gonna lie. I already said how important air benders were to the world and your dad was hoping for one even before Kya was born but that didn't stop him from loving her with everything he had and it was the same with you. And yeah, I was sort of hoping you would be a water bender so I could teach you all the cool moves I know but I forgot all about that when I first held you in my arms. We love you for you and that's never gonna change."
Katara paused for a moment and then said "and believe it or not, I know how you feel when you say you're out of place. Did you know that I used to be the only bender in not only my family but my entire tribe?" Bumi's eyes widened in shock. "Get outta here!"
Katara shook her head. "It's true kiddo and I wasn't praised for it either. Your uncle thought I was weird and a freak while Gran-gran discouraged me from practicing because the Fire Nation would've attacked if they knew. I even felt ashamed of what I could do sometimes because it was the reason I lost MY mom. It wasn't until I met your dad that I learned to be proud of my individuality and my gifts. He felt the same way you and I did when he found out he was the new Avatar and in helping him, I helped myself. That's how I became your super awesome butt kicking mom who helped save the world!"
Bumi laughed fully as his mom struck her best "hero pose" and flexed her muscles but he was still a bit sad. "I know I shouldn't have been jealous but dad's the best and you're the coolest, funnest,most awesome mom in the whole world and I didn't wanna loose you guys…or Tenzin." The last part caught Katara's attention. "What do you mean honey?"
Bumi sighed. "Come on mom, you know Tenzin doesn't even like me anymore." "What in the world makes you think that sweetie?" "We used to be best friends but now that he's an air bender, he thinks I'm just a big dumb goofball who can't ever be serious about anything." Katara frowned. "Has he said something rude to you?"
Bumi shook his head. "No, but he's quick to blow me off when I ask him to play or hang out. He says he doesn't have time for games anymore. I guess that means me too."
Katara sat down on the bed and pulled Bumi into a hug. "It's not you hon, it's just Tenzin. You know how serious he can be and he takes mastering air bending as his duty to your dad and the world. He'll be the one teaching the next Avatar and making sure air bending will still be around for every future Avatar to learn as well." Bumi sniffed and fresh tears started to form as he asked "yeah, but does that mean I have to lose my brother?"
"No" Katara whispered gently "you'll never lose him. All brothers and sisters have their ups and downs. Your Uncle Sokka was a pain in my butt and he still is but when I really need him, he's there and it will be the same way with you and Tenzin, I promise." Bumi smiled. "Thanks mom."
"You're welcome my little Bumi-snuffles" Katara said as she kissed her son's forehead "all better now?" Bumi nodded. "Good, now it's just you and me for the rest of the month and if I remember right, I owe you a lot of play-time, don't I?" Bumi nodded again as Katara scooped him up and placed him on her shoulders. "Well then, let's get started!
For the next month, Katara and Bumi did all the things Bumi wanted to do. They took in the Pro Bending Championship, played every manner of game and prank they could imagine, had their usual burp contests, and even threw fruit pies at the Acolytes one more time with Katara nailing every single target. Bumi also learned tai chi, or "waterless water bending" as he called it, from his mom. Cool moves were still cool moves, after all.
By the end of the month, Aang and Tenzin returned home. The Avatar apoligised to Bumi for his recent neglect and agreed to take him on a test run of his new glider that afternoon. As father & son walked off discussing both this and the possibility of learning "airless air bending" , Katara couldn't but smile. He was their boy, through and through.
An: Well,that's that! Just something to subvert most Bumi-centric stories I've read. More often than not, Bumi gets the short end of the stick despite his popularity. Most fics portray him as someone who is jealous of his siblings and gets taken under Sokka's wing because Aang and Katara are helpless when it comes to a non-bending child. They either are the least proud of him because he's a trouble making prankster who gives them headaches or favor his siblings unintentionally. I decided to go the opposite direction. I apoligise to any Sokka fans I may have offended but in all honesty,he's not the best example of a competent non-bender IMO. The Fallen Ones are special OC villains that will pop up in the future so look out.