Author's Note:
Team: Earth Kingdom
Prompt: Fire Nation Flag
Word Count: 649
Drabble
ATLA
Remembering
It was sunset, and a man stood alone against a tree that overlooked a vibrant orchard, shimmering gold in the light of the dimming sun. He heard the soft padding of gentle footsteps approaching from behind him.
"Honey, are you alright?" a gentle, sweet voice asked. The man turned away from his the trees and blinked at the woman. His wife was watching him with concern evident in her beautiful green eyes.
"Yes, dear. I was just… thinking." He turned to look pensively over the landscape again.
She looked down at his hands, frowning. Clutched between them was a crumpled maroon cloth. She sent him a questioning look, but he simply held out the piece to her. She unfolded it gently and stared at the familiar black emblem upon it.
"Why are you standing here brooding over an old Fire Nation flag?"
He shrugged. "I was just thinking maybe I should try to reach out to an old friend from the Fire Nation…" he trailed off, lost in thought for a moment, but suddenly burst into a very fast stream of words. "You know, it's been twenty years at least since I met the man, and it's not like we were close or anything. I mean, I barely knew him longer than two days, and then when my father left for the war and came back without my brother and everything, it just didn't seem important, but since today's the anniversary of the day my brother went missing, I got to thinking about that guy again and…" he trailed away again and sighed deeply. "I just wish I could apologize."
He turned to his wife, who was staring openmouthed at him. "You've never talked about this before," she started, still looking perplexed, "what do you want to apologize for?"
The man tried to avoid her eyes, but she wouldn't let him, moving to place her hands on either side of his face and allowing the cloth to drop between them. "Lee, you know this is going to nag at you all night unless you tell me."
He sighed. "This is going to nag at me? Or you're going to?" But she didn't smile. She waited patiently for him to speak.
"When I was little, a stranger came into town. He bailed me out of some childish prank on some thugs in the village, so I brought him home. He showed me some cool tricks with his swords and he gave me a knife and some really good advice. He left the next day, and I got into a fight with those thugs when I heard about Sensu. For some reason, that stranger came back. He saved me. And in return, I yelled at him and ran him out of town. I don't even remember what I said, but I know it was horrible."
She looked confused. "Why?"
Lee looked away. "He was a fire bender," he said, leaving out his true identity.
She said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"He probably doesn't even remember it, and I'm sure he's happy with… with life in the Fire Nation now, so it's useless worrying about it… but I can't help it."
She kissed his cheek sympathetically, seeming to understand. They stood silently as the sun vanished beneath the trees and a chilly wind greeted them. "Come inside, darling. It's getting cold and the baby will be waking up soon."
He nodded and turned to go with her, but paused at the sight of the torn fire nation flag on the ground. Gingerly, he scooped it up and carried it with him.
If you remember me, brave prince, I'm sorry. He sent the words silently into the air. And thank you.
Lee returned to the house, completely unaware that miles away, the Fire Lord was vividly remembering a mischievous, wild-haired Earth Kingdom boy with a small smile on his scarred face.