Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reflections

Bang!

The Avatar. The Master Waterbender. Their three bundles of happiness- in which two were benders that passed down their parents' legacies and one was destined to show the world of his talent in his own way. Keeping these specialties in mind, one would expect to hear the household in Ba Sing Se to bustle about with every form of happiness possible to be seen and experienced. Yep, you read right. Experienced. Now that it was a very special person's birthday among the Avatar family, one would definitely expect giggles and even…flying pans apparently. Whether it's the clatters in the kitchen or the usual high-pitched squeals in the family room, there was always something in store for anyone walking in and running into them. And this is where the experience part comes in handy. Sokka was such a person, who on his own accord had rushed into the fancy household just in time to be smacked with something sharply crafted with metal. A tinge of pain jolted through his head before it went back to its constant swelling, earning an annoyed, but knowing groan from the warrior.

"Katara!"

As expected, his niece peeked out from the doorway, her face lighting up at the sight of her uncle. She blinked her eyes, perfect replicas of his sister's sparkling ocean hues, quite skillfully and innocently that they didn't fail to retrieve a small smile from him. Instantly, she broke into a large grin stretching from what could have been the entire distance between the Northern Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom.

"MOMMY! UNCLE SOKKA CAME!"

Oh joy. As much as his head throbbed, he seized a moment to chuckle away the moment before pouting again. His eyes instantly widened. Out rushed his brother-in-law and sister, both with goofy grins painted on their faces. Tenzin, as usual, was in his mother's arms, pulling at her hair and being covered with flour as well. Sokka actually had a hard time recognizing them apart from their blankets of flour and fluff, and the only way he knew it was them was because of that priceless emotion of embarrassment and joy lingering among the proud airbender's expression and by Tenzin's chubby cheeks. Katara's dark hair was now snow white with pouring powders of spices. Aang was too occupied as the mixtures of who knows what plummeted down from his tattooed head, leaving behind a long trail of cinnamon behind him.

"And here I thought you were finally that responsible Avatar I've seen in the meetings." Sokka sighed, shaking his head.

"Hi, Sokka." Aang smiled sheepishly, his grey eyes looking up to see the falling columns of salt hitting the floor from his bald head.

"Looks like I've interrupted your…whatever it is you were doing…" Sokka pointed out, gesturing to the mess and ruffling Tenzin's hair affectionately.

Aang grinned wider. "Actually, Katara was in the kitchen and I was helping her and-"

"I don't even want to know." He cut off his brother in law. Another thing to expect was how even simple, everyday tasks led his sister and her husband to engage in oogies, even more since they had been married.

"We kind of already guessed you would be here, though." Katara laughed. "You always arrive just in time to get whacked by another frying pan."

"Really now? Sheesh, Katara." Sokka murmured, groaning and continuing to rub his head. "How long has Bumi practiced throwing pans at people?"

"A-actually, it wasn't Bumi this time…" the master waterbender chuckled.

Kya flashed her uncle another one of her innocent smiles and hid behind her mother.

"Oh…I see…" The warrior said sarcastically. "Councilman of the United Republic Council being whacked in the head by his niece. It's gonna be in the periodicals." He grabbed Kya, both niece and uncle engaged in a war of tickles and giggles. It was always a merry atmosphere having the proud uncle around with the three kids, considering how easily he was able to send them into endless worlds of laughter.

"Speaking of which," Sokka spoke after letting her down. "Where is Bumi anyway? I kind of expected the building to be all rambunctious since his birthday is coming up tomorrow. The house has never been so quiet having that little chap around."

"He should be in the garden." Aang answered, the cheerfulness in his voice not quite reaching his eyes as his son was mentioned. It seemed to Sokka by his brother-in-law's worried face that something could have been wrong, but he shrugged the thought away.

"Most likely eating all the fruit that's left from that peach tree." Kya added.

"Woah." Sokka chuckled. "Then we better get a hold of him before he's raided by Momo's army of lemurs."

"I have to say I'm worried about him, though." Katara said, brushing the flour off of her dress. "He hasn't been himself lately."

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows in concern.

"He just seems to be by himself lately." The Avatar explained. "I mean, where are the pranks? The jokes? That's why Katara and I decided to do something special for his birthday this year. Maybe a few extra presents than last time, taking him out to eat, a whole bucketful of peaches…something like that."

"Don't tell me he's on the whole nonbender issue again." Sokka began.

"I don't think it's that." Katara said. "It's probably something else. Aang and I tried talking to him about it. We even bought him handfuls of his favorite candy. He's just not coming out of that trance. He's focusing himself on what he calls 'training.'"

"That's a good sign." Sokka smiled.

"Bumi needs to understand that we all love him for who he is and that we're proud of him." Aang sighed. "We're all worried for him. It's even his birthday tomorrow."

"Did you try-"

"Yes Sokka, we even tried running into the cabbage merchant at the market the other day but it didn't work."

"It's good you came sooner." Aang added. "We were just about to send for you. Maybe spending time with his favorite uncle will lift his spirits."

"Leave it to me, then. I'll have him crazy in no time." Sokka said, stepping inside. "Now if you excuse me, dear sister and Avatar, I think Bumi and I are gonna to have some quality uncle-nephew bonding time.

"Hopefully you'll convince him by tonight. I have an early surprise planned for him." Aang called out.

"Sure. By the way, Aang, you might want to have a talk with that general again. I don't think he's intent on letting you have a day off tomorrow."

"Which general?" he asked, groaning and airbending himself clean of the flour and spices.

"I don't know, General Lee maybe?" the warrior said. "There's a million Lees."

…..

"Hyyyyaaa! Huh! Hyuh!"

The present scene opens up to a huge garden of nothingness but paradise. Clear blue skies hung over the vast garden, the peach trees lining up the edge of the greenhouse. Off to one side were the cherry blossom trees, Lady Katara's favorites. Winds greeted the million species of beautiful flowers surrounding the verandah. Not that they will remain there for long judging by the rate of Bumi's hollers and slices of his duel swords. Harsh grunts escaped not so far from the wide-eyed nonbender, who spent the entire day before his birthday kicking his eager feet into the air- an unusual sight for someone who should have been well indulged in squeezing his baby brother's chubby cheeks. Peach juice trickled from the sides of his lips and painted an orange fruity moustache right under the bridge of his nose. A not-so-rambunctious but enthusiastic gleam shone with unique brilliance within his piercing blue eyes, causing him to send another round of kicks and thrusts into the air.

"I expected my nephew to be here. Snacking on peaches and stuff."

The wild nonbender's eyes widened as he stumbled. He leaped up and whirled himself around, hiding his swords behind his back and flashing his uncle a toothless grin. "Uncle Sokka!"

"Happy early birthday, sport." Sokka smiled, his arms outstretched for a hug as he stood in the distance.

Dropping the swords ever cautiously behind him, Bumi ran up to his uncle and tackled him into the grass. Something he always loved to do despite his awkward poise towards receiving hugs. However, it's become the signature greeting for the two nonbenders. Bumi laughed as he noticed his uncle's expression.

"Never gets old." Sokka said, shaking his head. "So whatcha doin'?"

Bumi halted in his spot. He knew if his overprotective uncle found out about his self-training with real swords, everything would be over. The secret discovery he was stubbornly willing to take- shattered in pieces if his uncle knew. His determined eyes tried to maintain their cool. "N-nothing."

Uncle Sokka frowned. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Hmm…That's a crazy answer coming from my crazy nephew." He said, suspicious." You're doing nothing?"

Bumi shrugged. "Yeah. Why?"

"What happened to all those dangerous stunts I've always seen you do? I was kind of expecting to see your parents a teensy bit more aggravated than usual. Things going okay with you, kid?"

"Well-"

"No they're not." Sokka cut him off. "Now, tell me what's up."

"Nothing, Uncle Sokka. I'm okay. See?" the robust seven year old flashed the warrior a toothless grin. One that did not seem so convincing but was manageable in pulling off.

"Nope. Still not satisfied, kiddo."

Bumi frowned, turning his attention to the grass that tickled his bare feet and murmuring something to himself.

"I never knew you found grass to be so entertaining." His uncle teased him further. It was normal for Sokka to taunt his nephew in such cases. And this one seemed a little more serious than usual.

"N-no… It's just that…Well I guess it's not that bad."

Oh dear. Sokka held the boy by the shoulders. "Okay…this is definitely not the Bumi I'm used to seeing."

The sunlight shone brightly upon the two, eventually finding its way over to the pair of duel swords lying not far away where the boy had previously left them. The blaring light caught Sokka's attention. The warrior spotted the intensity of the sudden flare, letting go of Bumi.

"What's that?" he wondered as he suspiciously got up and advanced over to the spot where it was coming from.

Bumi's eyes widened as he jolted up and stepped in front of his uncle. "It's probably just a…a trick of the light. It's been really hot today for some reason."

The councilman raised an eyebrow. "A trick of the light, you say?"

"Could be." The boy shrugged, hurriedly trying to drag his uncle away.

"Looks like you inherited my ability of being a horrible liar, kiddo."

And with that, the warrior headed towards the piercing slice of light, happening to catch a glimpse of the pair of duel swords. He bent forward and picked them up, examining them. "Ah… duel swords."

He eyed his nephew knowingly. "Wonder how they got here."

The flustered boy dared himself to open one eye just in time to catch his uncle's smirk. He sighed, crossing his arms and frowning as he wiped the peach juice hastily from his lips. He watched as the councilman twirled the blades in synchronization, going through a few basics and motioning them in a circular fashion. Bumi's frown transformed to a huge grin of satisfaction and admiration, watching interestedly with a keen desire to feel the swords in his hands again. Sokka smiled smugly, brimmed with memories as he held them outwards.

"That was awesome, Uncle Sokka!" Bumi exclaimed. "You should show me a few moves! Please, please, please can you show me? Pleeeeaaaaasseeeee?!"

Sokka chuckled and reunited the two blades as if they were one. "If you think this is great, you should see Uncle Zuko handle them. He's a prodigy, and he taught himself. But seriously."

His expression turned solemn, keeping the swords out of reach and flashing the boy a cautious look. "Look, if your Mom finds out you've been playing around with these, there's no doubt the world's gonna end from her wrath of anger. Your dad is gonna go all "Avatar State" on everybody. And I'll be the first victim."

"But Uncle Sokka-"

"No buts. Leave your mom's anger aside. What if something really happened to you? Do you know how serious it would be if you hurt yourself?"

"I'm sorry." Bumi answered. "I kind of never thought of all that."

Sokka knelt down to meet eye-level with Bumi. "You don't know how disappointed I would be with myself for letting it happen."

Bumi mumbled something under his breath, not facing his uncle.

"What was that?"

"I just can't find my thing!" he burst out.

Silence.

"Your what?" Sokka asked finally.

"You know…my thing." Bumi repeated. "Mom, Dad, Kya, Aunt Toph, Lin, and Uncle Zuko have their epic bending powers. Tenzin is already starting to sneeze away the whole house, and he's not even two yet. You have your sword. Even Aunt Mai has her thing- knives. But I don't have anything."

For a moment, Bumi stared at the ground and expected his uncle to go on rambling about how it was okay to not be able to bend. That the world wasn't going to end if he was a nonbender and how much everybody he knew loved him equally, perhaps more.

"I know it's okay to be a nonbender. It's so good that it's even great. But I need something for my identity. I don't want to be known as 'Bumi the Nonbender.' I need a signature weapon or something-"

He stopped in horror and caught the not-so-amused glare on his uncle's face when he mentioned the word weapon. "No no no, not a weapon weapon," the boy corrected himself, "but something cool. Unique. Something designed for me."

Sokka looked at his nephew for a good long moment. "Bumi, you know you don't have to have a 'thing' to be a hero."

"But I want to be so much more than just Bumi. I want to be known for something." He sighed and looked at his uncle in the eyes. "I want to be like you."

Bumi's words actually stunned Sokka for a split second. It seemed to the councilman that he was looking not at his nephew, but at himself when he was little. The same desire of being more than Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, the same stubborn determination he possessed when he was a kid, and the same helplessness he felt the day before he finally found his master. Of course, Bumi seemed a little too young for a master right at the moment, but it wasn't the case. In fact, what really won him over was not the mere fact that he was his sister's son, but more so the pleading of his blue eyes- orbs that seemed to stare back at their reflections because of their identical appearance to those of his.

"Why didn't you tell your parents about this? They were so worried."

"I really wanted to." Bumi admitted. "But I don't know why I didn't. I guess I thought it was better to keep it to myself. You know, not to cause too much of a drama."

"This isn't drama. It's something you care about. Like I once did."

"Did you tell Grandpa about it?"

"Well …" Sokka trailed off. "Anyway, that's not the point. Like I said, you shouldn't have ignored this from the start."

"That's probably why I told you about it." He admitted. "I thought you would understand it more."

Sokka placed a comforting hand on Bumi's shoulder. "Well thanks for the appreciation, kiddo. No worries. We'll find you something. In fact, I'll get it for you myself."

Bumi's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, really-" And before he knew it, he was again tackled with another one of Bumi's irresistible tackles.

"Thanks, Uncle Sokka!"

"Some things never change." He said with a small smile. "Now will you return to your abnormally crazy, wild self? It's creepy watching you be so calm."

Bumi laughed. "Sure."

And with that, the two nonbenders started to head back inside. It wasn't until Sokka started another light-hearted conversation that Bumi's mind clicked of a possibility regarding his new 'thing.'

"So what do you want for your new signature thing? I'll get it for you tomorrow. It is your birthday."

Bumi suddenly caught the sight of his uncle's boomerang strapped tightly to his belt. He remained silent for a long moment, eyeing the boomerang closely. "A-actually, Uncle Sokka…I think I'll get it myself."

"Are you sure? We just agreed that I'll get it for you."

"Yeah, but I kind of want to do it on my own, now."

Sokka smirked. "Mkay, then. But how about something a little less dangerous than duel swords?"

….

The vast household was bustling with activity. Of course, there were lots of expectations regarding the birthday of Bumi, the first son and second child of Aang and Katara. So many citizens flocked to the royal Ba Sing Se home, entering into a world of feasts and birthday presents along with decorated paper lanterns. Foods of all varieties and sweet pastries were everywhere. The feasting tables seemed so endless in length that it seemed as if everyone in Ba Sing Se could find a seat. However beautiful the royal hall looked, it wasn't enough when the birthday boy was not in sight.

Among the guests were Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai, accompanied by their small daughter who immediately ran off to join Lin Bei Fong and her band of friends. Meanwhile, Aang and Katara spent most of their time trying to spot the mischievous birthday boy, leaving baby Tenzin in Kya's arms. They started inquiring everyone they saw and stopped to greet their guests on the way before running into Zuko and Mai in the process. It wasn't long before the Fire Lord's family joined in the search for Bumi as well.

Sokka, however, was on his own solo efforts to find his nephew, peeking in each room of the vast, temporary mansion home. Every few seconds, Bumi's name escaped his lips as he tried not to disturb the festivities and continued to look for the boy. In and out of the house he went, dashing here to there. It wasn't long before he decided to check his own room just to make sure. Taking big, rapid steps, he finally reached the corridor that led to his room, pushing open the door. He was surprised to see Bumi gasping as he saw him walking in, his arms immediately flying behind his back and his body leaning against the wall.

"What are you doing here, kiddo? Everybody's waiting for you." Sokka said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Bumi gulped, managing a small smile. "Just standing here."

"Everyone's waiting for you." Sokka said, gesturing to the party down the corridor. "Your mom, dad, Uncle Zuko and family."

"Well-"

"Uncle Zuko and Aunt Mai brought you fire flakes. You sure wouldn't want to miss those, would you?"

"I-I'm coming, Uncle Sokka."

"Well you better hurry before-" Sokka paused and caught Bumi trying to hide something. With a frown, he walked up to him. "What's that behind your back?"

Bumi knew very well that he was caught, but he still didn't give up in trying to pull it off. "I-I stole a cookie from one of the feast tables."

Sokka flashed him a stern look before the boy gave up, taking out a boomerang and placing it back in its owner's rightful hands. Not just any boomerang, but The Boomerang. The Boomerang that he had told him so much about. How it was obviously one of the most prized possessions Sokka had ever obtained in his entire lifetime.

"What are you doing with my boomerang?" Sokka inquired.

Bumi sighed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Sokka. I just… I wanted to see it but…it was so shiny and…and sparkly and blue. I wanted to hold it."

Sokka stared at his boomerang for a while and looked back at the rambling Bumi. Again he was filled with memories. He remembered the happiness he felt when his own father gave him that faithful boomerang. He reminisced for a brief second how it always came back to him no matter what. He then carefully studied his nephew's distressed expression and how he was trying to explain himself. He could see how much Bumi loved it. This wasn't necessarily the first time Bumi had seen his boomerang, but it certainly wasn't going to be the last time, either.

After an awkward silence between the two, Sokka's thoughts were soon interrupted. He snapped out of his musings and nudged Bumi playfully on the shoulder. "You know what? I think we finally found your little specialty."

Bumi looked back at him innocently. "W-what?"

Sokka thrust his boomerang confidently into Bumi's palms. "I think this boomerang is in safer hands when it's with you."

Bumi couldn't believe it at first. He glanced at his uncle dumbfoundedly. "Wait…I can have this?"

Sokka nodded, amused by the amazement the boy had in his squeaky voice.

"You sure about this, Uncle Sokka?"

"Why would I not be?" came the reply.

"But Grandpa gave it to you."

Sokka sighed. "It's been with me for over three decades. I've had my share of happiness with it. It's your turn now."

"B-but-"

"Shush." Sokka stopped him. "It's yours now."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?"

That priceless grin took over Bumi's face as he gazed in awe at the boomerang. "Did I ever tell you that you're the best, Uncle Sokka?"

"Only about a million times." he smiled as he held Bumi's hand and led him out of his room. "Now come on, you're making your cake wait for you longer."

The celebrations had soon dawned over both uncle and nephew, and kisses rained down upon the birthday boy as Aang and Katara pampered him with all the love they held in their hearts and all the desserts they could shower him with. Kya had to leave her teasing aside and also joined in with the pampering. Even baby Tenzin couldn't resist crawling up to his brother and placing a kiss on his cheek.

Bumi also had his fair share in showing off his "best birthday present ever." Another bucketful of peaches had been thoroughly and satisfactorily consumed by the Gaang's eager children. Opening presents and raiding the feast tables were also entertaining sights. The best part- pranking on the cabbage merchant and his cabbages. Last but not least was Appa's legendary 'Lick of Love' as they all called it.

It had been quite a while before the guests have all departed and the last ones in the house were Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the kids. A sleepy Bumi was mumbling against Sokka's shoulder, his fingers still tightly grasping the boomerang. Sokka's face was covered with patches of cake icing, some of it sticking to his eyelashes as the other melted half dripped across his cheeks. The chaos had been terribly exhausting, but intoxicatingly fun at the same time.

"And then I got a metal teddy bear from Aunt Toph and an ice sculpture of me from Mom-"

"Mmhmm."

"And Daddy gave me the biggest fruit pie he ever made. All for me. Even Kya didn't get to touch it because it was all for me…"

"Sounds awesome, kiddo." Sokka chuckled before running into his sister and brother in law again at the doorway.

"And here we thought you were finally going to keep yourself from getting hijacked by Bumi's sticky fingers." They said simultaneously.

Within minutes Bumi was lying on his bed next to his sister, surrounded by the three adults. Moonlight from the nearby window welcomed Bumi into a world of droopy eyelids and ineffable sleepiness, lulling him to close his eyes. His grin had not been erased, however, as he saw his entire family by his bedside.

"Good night, sweetie." Katara leaned forward and gave her son a kiss on the forehead. "Happy Birthday."

"Sweet dreams." Aang followed cheerfully.

Bumi yawned and clutched the boomerang closer to himself, tossing and turning until he faced his parents and uncle. "Can you guys stay with me tonight? I feel lonely."

"But I'm right next to you." Kya mumbled in her sleep, nudging him and causing the trio to laugh.

"We'll be right here." Aang assured, lying Tenzin right next to him.

And before long, soft snores of the three children escaped the moonlit night.

"It's okay if boomerang doesn't come back to me this time." Sokka said.

Aang and Katara flashed him proud smiles of their own. "Really?" the airbender asked.

"Yeah." Sokka paused for a moment. "Whenever I see Bumi," he whispered, breaking the stillness again, "I see myself."

"You know, Sokka." Katara murmured, handing her brother a towel as she just now remembered to tend to his cake-filled face. "Bumi resembles you in so many ways that I get confused in telling the difference between him and you as a kid."

"Yeah." Sokka agreed, stroking Kya's arm affectionately. "I never thought I would find myself to be happiest around my nephews and niece. You guys are so lucky."

"Don't exclude yourself." Aang smiled. "You're their uncle."

"But still." Came Sokka's reply. "Now I know why you guys are always goofy whenever I walk in. Why I see that confidence in Aang rejuvenate whenever he comes home from those dreadful meetings."

"What can we say? Their sarcasm and charm can't resist anyone." Katara shrugged knowingly.

And with that, the proud warrior smiled smugly. "They get that from their uncle."

A/N: My first real attempt at a family fanfic involving Bumi and Sokka...without Sokka's point of view this time. The idea of Sokka and Bumi II being incredibly close was always a cute headcanon for me, and the idea of Sokka passing down his boomerang to his nephew always intrigued me. Thus, this story was born. Hope you all enjoyed the story! :D