A/n: Well since the last time I have written for the family, the sibling order has been reversed and some not so great things have been revealed about Aang's parenting. So here's my attempt at something new. God bless!
Disclaimer: I don't own "The Legend of Korra."
Bumi had always known that he wasn't exactly what his parents expected when they had their first child. He was immature, wild, rambunctious, even a bit naïve at times, all the traits the eldest son should not possess. He couldn't help but be hopeful that maybe one day he could make up for his less than ideal personality through the gift of bending.
If he ended up being an airbender, no one would care how he acted. He could do whatever he wanted without anyone questioning his actions. Bumi needed airbending, just as the world did.
But unfortunately, no puff of air was ever produced from the deep contours of his tanned palms. To top it all off, no water could be controlled by those hands either.
He had been pronounced a nonbender at the age of 7. Then a few short ten months later, his little sister had been born. At such a young, tender age, he hadn't been able to see the irony in the timing of her birth, but at the age of 11, he now saw that Kya wasn't just a baby born by chance. Her birth was planned and well calculated.
Two years later, Kya threw a tantrum and sloshed the water out of the flowerpot by the front door. Her tiny hands curled and uncurled, swinging wildly as she cried for her father. When the Avatar arrived home that night, his wife had relayed the "good news" to him with a bittersweet expression upon her gentle features. Aang held Kya tightly to himself, but Bumi could not un-see the look of disappointment on his father's face that appeared when the young girl wasn't looking.
Another ten months later, Tenzin was born. That was about the time Bumi began to recognize the pattern. Though his parents seemed to genuinely enjoy their children, and always welcomed another one with open arms, the young nonbender knew that the real driving force behind their eagerness to reproduce was not a product of their desire to have a large family.
It was because they needed an airbender.
Though Bumi had always realized that there were some voids he and his sister could not fill, it still caused him great pain to have the words actually said aloud. It was a warm summer night on Air Temple Island when the weight of that realization, finally came crashing down.
"Avatar Aang," The Fire Nation Representative spoke loud and clear within the Avatar's study, his shoes falling heavily upon the floor, "You understand the importance of this task, correct?"
Though the door was thick, Bumi could hear his father sigh loudly in response, muttering something under his breath that the young boy could not understand. With a careful movement, he pressed his ear against the cool wood. Getting caught would mean facing his mother's wrath, but Bumi could never deny his natural curiosity. Besides, he had just been coming to tell his father goodnight. It wasn't his' fault that the Avatar was currently occupied. He would just have to wait until the conversation was over to enter the room.
It had become so quiet that Bumi wasn't sure the question was ever going to receive an answer, but soon he heard a feminine voice whisper out a response for her husband. He hadn't realized his mother was in the room until that moment, causing his dark brow to raise in a bout of confusion. His mother never usually sat in on the meetings his father conducted on the island, usually saying that the political conversation bored her coming from the mouths of men who were so narrow-minded.
But he knew for sure that was his mother's voice. Realizing then he didn't have much chance of getting caught, the boy shifted his weight and pressed himself against the door, listening for even the slightest sound of movement.
The movement that he heard next, wasn't coming from inside the room though.
"Bumi?"
The young man internally groaned, shutting his silver eyes tightly in frustration. He wasn't exactly caught, but he might as well had been.
Kya stood at the end of the hall, her brunette curls braided into identical pigtails on both sides of her round face. Bright blue eyes searched his expression carefully as a hand by her side gently held on to the little stuffed lemur their father had made her.
Turning away from the door, Bumi gestured for the small girl to come closer. Her quiet footfalls barely made a sound upon the fresh wood of their home, her arms reaching up for him to hold her as she approached the Avatar's study.
The young boy took his sister into his arms, her silken blue nightdress matching his flannel pajamas perfectly as he squeezed her to his chest.
"What are we listening for?"
Bumi raised a hand to signal for her to be quiet. Nodding in understanding, Kya also pressed her ear against the door, eyes looking directly into her older brother's, always eager to be a part of his games.
Finally, the Fire Nation Representative spoke again, his tone scathing, "The clock is ticking, and the rumors have began to form. Not having one on your first try was just a misfortune of fate, but to also fail with the second is a completely different story.
"Enough," Avatar Aang warned the man sharply, his voice being clearly heard by his two children standing outside the door.
"Bum, what are they talking about?"
"Sh!"
Kya's small, pink lips curled into a pout for a moment after being shut down by her brother. But she spoke no other words.
"I mean no disrespect," The Representative clarified, though his tone of voice stated otherwise, "I am simply pointing out the problem. This next one had better be the airbender. If he is not, who knows what will happen to this world in the future? With no master to teach the next Avatar, everything will be completely thrown out of balance."
"We can't put that amount of pressure on our kids," Katara spoke up, her words laced with anger from his implications, "We want to be a family. Our role isn't just to repopulate a nation."
"For awhile it seemed like that was all you were trying to do and it should be," The man wittingly replied, his voice raising an octave, "It may not be your responsibility but it is his."
"Don't speak to my wife with that tone, Representative Chang," The Avatar warned, his temper rising with every word, "It was both of our decision to stop having children after Tenzin. You are overstepping your boundaries."
"And you are neglecting your duty."
Bumi could hear the man's footsteps coming closer to the door. Holding his sister tightly within his arms, the young boy flattened himself against the wall just in time to miss being hit by the door. The Fire Nation Representative didn't even see the children as he stormed down the hall to the front where he slammed the door loudly on its hinges.
Staying hidden, Bumi and Kya continued to listen in, though a stifling silence seemed to consume the house.
"Don't worry, Aang," Katara comforted her husband, her cerulean robes swishing as she walked over to the man's desk, wrapping her long tan arms around his neck, "Tenzin's going to be an airbender. Even you said you could feel it."
The Avatar didn't respond right away, his silver gaze staring at the wall as if he had been transported to a different time. The moment broke soon though, his eyes looking up into his wife's.
"Do you really think I'm neglecting my duty?"
The waterbender shook her head, her soft pink lips finding his cheek and pressing a kiss gently against the stubble, "No, sweetie. We are all trying the best we can to ensure the world remains balanced. There is nothing more that you could do."
"I miss them, Katara," Although Bumi was not in the room and there was no indication of who the word "them" was referring to, he had enough brain power to realize that it wasn't him and Kya that his father was aching for. It was his people. Someone that was just like him.
"Daddy sounds sad," Kya whispered in her brother's ear, her voice full of concern, "Maybe we should go fix him."
That was the point though, they didn't have the ability to fix him. He could feel the tears welling within his eyes, but he refused to allow his younger sister to see them fall. It hurt him to say his next words, but she needed to know the truth.
"I don't think that's something we can do."