THE REAL YOU

Hello again, friends and readers! Well, I managed to come up with another idea for another fanfic, and so here you have it. Knock yourselves out, kids.

Characters © Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

Opal burst through the front door and moved through the main hall as fast as she could. Baatar Jr., who was just coming from the kitchen after getting a drink, barely managed to avoid a collision with his sister.

"Whoa, hey!" he exclaimed, nearly losing his hold on his glass. "Where's the fire, Opal?"

She didn't answer, didn't even look her brother's way.

To his great surprise and worry, she was crying.

"Opal?" Though he called her name several times, she kept going as if she hadn't heard him at all. She brushed past her mother as well, who also called after her to no avail.

In a moment, Baatar flinched at the slam of her bedroom door.

Realizing that something was wrong (and having a pretty good idea of what that "something" was), the older boy set his glass on a low table, and then followed his mother to Opal's room without Su realizing he was there to begin with. He stood at a corner as Su tapped on the door and called gently, "Opal? Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Just leave me alone," Opal wailed from the other side.

Su reached for the handle, but then seemed to think better of it and drew her hand back. She stood still, gazing at the closed door for a long time, and finally she turned the other way, though she kept stealing troubled looks over her shoulder.

Baatar waited until his mother was well out of sight and earshot before he approached the door. As quietly as he could manage, he opened the door just enough for him to slip into the next room.

Sure enough, he found Opal sprawled on her bed, sobbing freely into her pillow. The sight and sounds went to his heart, and he was at her side in two seconds. He took a cautious seat on the bed's edge and waited a little more, his hands clasped between his open legs. When Opal didn't acknowledge him and continued to cry as if her heart lay in pieces, he tapped her shoulder lightly with his fingertips. The way her head jerked in response made him jump.

"I thought I said—" Opal's words died on her lips when her gaze met Baatar's. Now she relaxed a little, though tears continued to slide down her cheeks. "Oh. Hi, Baatar."

"Hey, little sis," he replied softly. "You all right?"

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Anyone with half a brain can see you're not." Sliding an inch or two closer, he asked, "What's up?"

"Nothing." At her brother's I-don't-buy-that-for-one-second expression, Opal admitted, "Well, nothing totally earth-shattering, anyway."

"Rough day at school, huh?" This came out more as a statement than a question.

Slowly, Opal pulled herself to a sitting position, drawing her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and resting her chin against them. In a voice almost too quiet for Baatar's ears, the girl murmured, "It's dumb."

Now Baatar put out his hand and ran it up and down the curve of Opal's back. "Come on, sis," he said with a partial smile. "You know you can talk to me about anything. I've got more intelligence than a pebble, and I swear to keep it just between us."

Opal sighed, but gave in.

"You're right, Baatar. School was rough today. Possibly the roughest day yet."

"What happened?"

"Oh, a bunch of kids just followed me around all day, making fun of me for…you know."

"For being a non-bender?"

She nodded dismally. "I tried to ignore them. I tried to tell them to leave me alone. I even told two teachers about it, but it did no good. All through the morning and afternoon, the kids cranked out mean jokes about me right and left. They posted nasty drawings of me on the walls. I couldn't even eat my lunch in peace. Worst of all, one of them invented an awful song that they all sang over and over; it went like this, 'No one wants Opal Beifong for a friend, because Opal Beifong can never bend!'"

It was just as Baatar had suspected, but he could still hardly believe his ears. He said nothing at first, caught in the middle of heart-twisting pity toward his sister and absolute disgust toward those kids. When he found his voice again, he could only say, "That was stupid of them. Stupid, juvenile, and completely pathetic. Who would treat you like that?"

Opal hung her head as her eyes filled up anew. "Who cares? They're right."

"Oh, no, Opal." Baatar now reached for her with both hands, pulling her all the way to him and wrapping her in a gentle hug. She never resisted. She just leaned her head against his chest and continued to sniffle.

Baatar rarely got emotional, and yet he found himself blinking back tears and struggling to swallow the fist-sized lump in his throat.

"No, they're not, Opal," he said when he was capable of doing so. "They don't know anything about you at all."

Drawing back just enough to face her brother properly once more, Opal protested, "But it's so unfair. How come I can't earth-bend the way Mom or Grandma Toph can? Even Huan, Wing and Wei can do it with flying colors. It just isn't fair, Baatar!"

"Of course, it isn't," he countered. "I can't bend either, remember?"

Her eyes widened and her face flushed scarlet. "Oh, Baatar, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean—"

He shushed her gently. "It's okay, Opal. Really, it's all right. I don't know why it has to be this way, but I understand perfectly how it feels, being a non-bending member of the Beifong clan." He shook his head and sighed. "I certainly recall the teasing and bullying in my school days."

Now it was Opal's turn to regard him with sympathy. "You had it pretty bad, too, didn't you?"

"Sure did." With one hand, Baatar lifted his glasses a little and gingerly kneaded his eyelids. "It's over now…but I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember asking Mom and Dad more than once if I could quit school altogether, or at least switch to home-schooling. That almost became reality, too."

A wry smile played on Opal's lips. "Maybe I should consider home-schooling from now on," she said.

"We'd have to see what Mom and Dad would say about that." Taking his sister gently but firmly by both shoulders, looking her dead in the eye, Baatar told her in his most serious tone, "But no matter what happens, Opal Beifong, no matter how other people may view you, no matter how you may view yourself, never underestimate the real you. Never forget how smart, pretty, wonderful, and extraordinary you truly are—with or without bending. Do you hear me?"

"Clear as crystal." Opal smiled genuinely through her tears, and this time she initiated the hug. "Thanks, Baatar. Thanks so much. You can always cheer me up."

He squeezed her back, placing a brotherly kiss atop her head as he did. "You're welcome. You know I'm always here when you need me, little sis."

The two siblings stayed like that for a good while, until Baatar said, "Well, I better get back to Dad before he gets after me. I told him I was only going for a drink, and he's probably wondering how long one drink could possibly take."

Opal laughed at that last part. Though Baatar knew what she must be thinking, this new sound was music to his ears.

YEARS LATER…

Baatar Jr. sat alone under the pavilion at the edge of his family's sweeping courtyard. At least, he assumed he was alone, until a voice from behind said, "Hey, Baatar."

He gave a slight start, but relaxed when he looked over his shoulder. "Oh, hi, Opal."

"I thought I would find you here," said Opal as she stood over him.

"Well, here I am."

"Can I sit with you for a while?"

"If you feel the need."

Opal settled beside her brother on the wide step. She had two tall glasses with her, both filled to the brim, one of which she passed in his direction. "I brought you some kale nutsco," she said. "I figured you could use it on a day like today."

Baatar accepted the cold glass with a small smile. "Thanks, Opal." Kale nutsco would be a treat anytime, but he found it especially refreshing this time.

After a few swigs, he found himself asking, "So, am I back on speaking terms with you?"

"I guess so," Opal said as she played with her glass. "Since you're living here again, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for none of us to be speaking at all."

He bowed his head to his chest. "I know you don't believe me," he murmured, "but I've missed you."

She nodded amiably. "I believe you. And I missed you, too, much as I wouldn't admit it at first. Having you back here feels like old times."

"I'm sorry, Opal," Baatar whispered, stealing a rueful sidelong glance. "Sorry for everything."

"I know you are. It's okay, Baatar—"

He cut her off. "No, it's not okay. You know that as well as anyone, Opal. I ruined everything for you, for everyone. I screwed up in just about the worst way imaginable. I don't see how I could have done any worse." With a deep sigh, he put his glass aside and put his head into his hands. "Even now," he murmured, "I'm surprised that Mom and Dad have taken me back, that they still consider me part of the Beifong family."

"But that's what you are," said Opal, placing her free hand on his forearm. "The blood ties will always be there, no matter what any of us do."

Lifting his head somewhat, Baatar gave his sister a look that was almost amused. "You know what I mean," he told her. "Even though everybody else has forgiven me—or told me they do, anyway—I'm still not able to fully forgive myself. I still can't believe I did what I did, that I ever possessed the gall to do it."

"Why did you do it?" Opal honestly could not restrain the question. "I know Kuvira was very persuasive. I know you were in love with her. But you had to have had your own reasons for joining her conquest, even if she hadn't breathed a word to you."

Baatar sighed again, but answered readily enough. "You're right. I could fill a book, possibly a library's worth of books, with every reason I had." With his gaze on his empty hands, he went on softly, "I guess, when all is said and done, I did it to prove I was worth something, even as a non-bender. Though I acted happy for you when you acquired airbending, it felt like the worst injustice in the world to me. I know plenty of non-benders have done great things, of course. Still, when you became gifted, a part of me couldn't stop wondering, 'What's the matter with me? Why am I stuck as the only non-bending Beifong?'"

Opal regarded her brother with solemn compassion. "Guess I can't fault you for that," she said, placing her own cup to the side. "I'd have likely acted in the same way if that had been me."

"There you were, with your airbending," said Baatar with a wave of one hand and a wave of the other. "There were the boys, taking after Mother and Grandmother Toph in pretty much every way. And there I was, a mere lab assistant, lost in Dad's shadow. Not that the work didn't have its rewards, but still…" He trailed off, as if unable or unwilling to say the rest.

Either way, Opal got his message.

After a long, weighty pause, she said as softly as ever, "Remember when you stuck up for me when we were kids, Baatar? Whenever someone knocked me down, you lifted me up again—sometimes literally."

"Of course," Baatar said without hesitation. "I was hardly the fighting type, but no one demeaned my little sister and got away with it."

She smiled and slid a bit closer. "And you took care to remind me how special I was, the way I was." She looped one arm with her brother's and rested her head against his broad shoulder. "Now it's time I returned the favor."

"Returned the favor?"

She looked him square in the eye as she informed him, "No matter what happens, Baatar Beifong, Jr., no matter how other people may view you, no matter how you may view yourself, never underestimate the real you. Never forget how bright, clever, wonderful, and extraordinary you truly are, with or without bending. Do you hear?"

Baatar's heart just about leaped into his throat, and his sight became quite blurry even with his glasses in place.

"Clear as crystal," was all he could say.

She hugged him, and trying to keep it together as he returned the embrace proved as futile as trying to stop a breach in a dam with a toothpick.

Even after the siblings had settled down and eased their grip some time later, Baatar could only smile at his dear sister and tell her, "Thanks, Opal. You can always cheer me up."