I own nothing.
Idea from Fiyeraba 'Drabbles' by Ultimate Queen of Cliffies.
"Jinora? What are you doing up so late?" Tenzin asked his oldest daughter when he saw her sitting in the kitchen.
"I couldn't sleep. This assignment has got me really stressed out." Jinora said, gesturing to the paper in front of her.
"Really now? What do you have to do?" Tenzin asked, going to sit beside her at the table.
"My teacher said to write about a regret that we have, something that we would do differently if given the chance. I've been roaming all over this house trying to think of something all day long, since I got home this afternoon, but I just can't think of anything." Jinora said gesturing to the window, showing the dark blue night sky.
"Well, it looks like you really have been working at this sweetheart. I'll tell you what, why don't I make you some tea and then you go to bed. That always helps me when I get stuck on something." Tenzin offered to her with a smile. Looking up at him, Jinora smiled and nodded. Tenzin had gotten up and started the tea when she spoke again.
"Do you have any?"
"Any what Jinora?" He asked her, turning to look at her.
"Any regrets. Acolyte Dinga said everyone has at least one, if you don't then you're lying. So what's your biggest regret Dad?" Jinora asked.
The master airbender stood and thought for a moment. Any regrets? Anything that could have been done differently? A few minuscule, adolescent mistakes came to mind; accidentally causing his brother to slightly burn his hand, putting himself and his friends in danger when they decided to take Oogi on a lat night ride in a storm, but they weren't strong enough to be associated with the kind his daughter was asking about.
"Not like the ones you need to write. Come on, here. Finish your tea and get to bed. You've had a long day." Tenzin told her as he handed the tea to her. When she finished, Jinora stood up and kissed her father on the cheek.
"Thank you, I needed that. Hey, what about your nickname? Don't you regret letting that go on for so long?" Jinora asked.
"Nickname? What are you talking about?" Tenzin asked her, confused.
"Twinkletoes Jr., Aunt Lin was telling us about your's and Grandpa Aang's nickname, I thought it was pretty funny. Then during my lesson I got to wondering if you or Grandpa regret letting Toph and Aunt Lin keep calling you those names for so long, even now. So do you?" Jinora asked her father.
"Oh, um, no. I don't regret that at all. It's an old joke between Lin and I, well mostly for her I guess. She's always called me that, I guess I have gotten used to it over the years. It's one of those things that stuck. I may not particularly love the name, but I would never regret it, it made us closer as best friends. There are much worse things to regret in life sweetheart. Now go to bed, you need the rest." Tenzin told her and sent her off to her room.
Tenzin sat in the kitchen with his own cup of tea resting in his hands. Taking a sip of it, he found himself thinking about regrets in his life. He always regretted not sneaking out like Kya and Bumi because he always thought he would get caught. He regretted never doing anything when some boy said anything about his sister, always letting Bumi take care of that. He regretted everytime he had yelled at anyone, more specifically, any time he had yelled at Lin. It was on rare occasions when he did so, and he always felt horrible afterwards. Often times, they would get into little tiffs with easy solutions but there were times when they would get loud.
He always hated himself for it, feeling his heart break when he saw the slightest inkling of tears and fear in her eyes. Shaking his head at the memories, he took a sip of tea again and looked at the wood of the table. Jinora has left her paper there, along with her pencil and almost immediately, he seized them and placed them in front of him. He suddenly felt the urge to write a few of his own regrets down on this paper, picking up the pencil he held it in his hand and thought again.
"My biggest regret? Biggest mistake? Hmm..." He thought. Then like a ton of rocks being thrown at him, he remembered. It wasn't a day he particularly liked to remember. After all, who liked to remember a day when the most precious thing was ripped from you for the greater good? He took a deep breath and wrote.
If there was one thing I could do differently in life, it would be the day I had to leave her. I had no choice in the matter of if I had to, but I did have a choice as to how I did it...and I chose disastrously. I didn't want to make her feel like everything we ever had was all a lie. I never wanted her to hate me, ever. I figured that the faster I did it, the easier and less painful it would be, but I was wrong. As soon as I saw the tears stream out of her eyes and her beautiful face turn into a stone cold, angry expression, I regretted my way of handling the finally hit me that if I had just taken a few moments to talk to her about it, maybe we could have come to a solution. Maybe we could have stated friends. Maybe we could have stayed together if we talked it through. The way I ended it with her will be the biggest regret of my life, I thank all the spirits that we have become friends again. I will never let her go again.
Looking down at the paper he took a deep breath. He felt strangely better than before. He took the paper and folded it in fours and put it in his pocket. Walking into his bedroom, he placed it into a box in his closet containing things of Lin's. He took a deep breath and picked up and old picture of the two of them in their teens. Smiling slightly, he put the picture back into the box underneath the piece of paper. Climbing into bed, he fell asleep easily, thinking about his relationship with Lin. Past and present, they always found a way back to each other everytime. And this time he wouldn't let her go.