Authors Note: This was supposed to be another Rin chapter, but decided it didn't really add much and so skipped it.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar world, that is all owned by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.

Chapter 24

A Beifong Family Dinner

Yulan Beifong sighed as she finished the last of her supply count for Bo. Looking over the various checked box after box, she stashed the clipboard away for later. The engineer sat on a heavy crate that overlooked the storage cave, thinking of the future. Things were really ramping up with the monumental progress they were making against the Dai Li. There was even talk they could end everything in a few months. It was surreal how fast it was going after years upon years of blood, sweat and tears.

Of loss… after loss…

Yulan shook her head free of that negativity. There was still so much work to do around the base. Jumping off the crate, she began making her way back to the workshop. The Beifong girl allowed the minutes to tick by as she busied herself with gears and nuts. Took extra care in triple checking every mechanism. Polished all her tools and wiped her goggles. Twice over saw every little detail of the workshop. Finally Yulan reached the point where there was nothing else to do. She was seriously procrastinating.

The members of the Beifong family that worked with the Resistance liked to keep a small yearly tradition. An annual dinner where they just talked and pretended that there was no fighting. That there was no Dai Li or a Resistance. Just the three of them, Bara, Yulan, and Bo.

Of course, this year would be different. There would be four of them at dinner. Bara, Yulan, Bo, and… and B-B-Wikilow. The duty of inviting the stone-faced Beifong was left to her. Which was something Yulan was struggling to do. It wasn't that she didn't like her… cousin. Or still thought of him as Benji Beifong. Yet she didn't completely accept him as family either. She was stuck in an in between.

Yulan didn't know what to think about Wikilow Beifong.

She bit her lip, leaning against her workbench. Yulan knew that the Avatar was a good person. Heck, he even talked to Hark with her… which she still needed to thank him for.

"Why is this so hard?" Yulan inwardly groaned, rubbing her eyes. But time was wasting, she had to get going. With a loud huff Yulan wandered back into the tunnels after closing her station down. "He's either with his friends or patrolling… friends first…" Yulan decided, moving to the main cave area. She continued to ponder the matter all the way there, tapping her goggles incessantly. When Yulan arrived, she couldn't find the Avatar, but found Elsi who was helping move supplies.

"Hey, Elsi!" Yulan shouted, jogging toward the startled air bender.

"Oh, Hi Yulan. How have you been?" Elsi greeted with a soft smile. The Beifong girl got along with Elsi just fine. There was something endearing about the shy girl who had erupted that first day. She would even call them friends.

"Good… good…" Yulan droned, not being completely honest. "I'm looking for Wikilow, do you know where he is?" The engineer asked, muttering a quick "please don't be patrolling," under her breath.

"You just missed him. He and Arlo left to deliver their counts." Elsi informed, pointing to the tunnel they left in. "Shouldn't take too long to catch up with them." She added.

"Thanks." Yulan replied, though her voice was distant.

"…Are… are you alright?" Elsi prodded, picking up on her behaviour.

"Uh…" The Beifong girl trailed off.

"You seem a little out of it is all, if you don't mind me asking." Elsi continued, hands folded behind her back.

"I'm fine like I said… just got a lot on my mind…" Yulan sighed, crossing her arms and leaning against a large wooden beam. "You know… big plans coming up and all… stuff…" The engineer explained, though mentally cursed her obvious vagueness.

"…Yeah I get it, pretty stressful…. is that all?" The air bender suspiciously questioned.

"Err…" Yulan mumbled. She wanted to just make a quick excuse and get the deed done with. But that wouldn't make her feel any better in the long run. An idea then began to come into fruition. "Hey… out of you and Weird Hair, you knew Wikilow longer right?" The Beifong girl asked. Elsi tilted her head at her question, before unsurely nodding.

"It wasn't that long, but I did meet him first." Elsi answered, an unspoken 'why' fluttering above.

"How… how do I say this without sounding weird? How do you talk to him?" Yulan asked.

"…We just talk, there's nothing else to it." The air bender said while tilting her head.

"Just talk?" The engineer doubted, furrowing her brow.

"Well yeah… though, I would say we're both more listeners then talkers, heh…" Elsi added, softly chuckling at her memories. That didn't help Yulan much, eyes darting to the ground. "…I'm really sorry if you find this rude… but could you tell me what this is about, Yulan?" Elsi requested. The engineer hesitated, before relenting.

"We're having a good old Beifong family dinner. It's a tradition, you know? And we want to ask Wikilow to come to this one… you know?" Yulan explained, tapping her goggles.

"Oh… it's about Wikilow then…" Elsi surmised, receiving a subtle nod in turn.

"I know I'm being ridiculous… Dad and Bo have apparently already moved on… but it just doesn't feel right!" Yulan raved while Elsi listened. "And I don't know why it's not right!" She bemoaned. "Before you ask about-about Benji, it's not about him! It's not!" The engineer defended at Elsi's doubtful stare. However, the air bender did not appear convinced of that.

"…Okay, so it's about his personality?" Elsi guessed.

"It's not that. Believe me he ain't the first quiet boy I've met. It's also not his whole Dai Li thing, I'm pretty sure mostly everyone's over that. I just can't talk to him." Yulan expressed.

"…I'm sorry… but are you sure it's not about Benji?" The air bender apologetically pushed. Confident that if Wikilow did not have a Beifong after his name things would differ.

"I-It's not!" The engineer wanted to insist, but she would be lying to herself. "Fine, you got me. Maybe it is-kind of that." Yulan admitted. "Benji 'died' when I was a little kid. I sort of never really believed he was gone. So when he appeared here I just felt so damn happy. I really thought my cousin was back. Then, Benji wasn't, and he's here instead…" Yulan expressed, a shake in her voice. The Beifong girl had never said her feelings aloud. But now that she had, it was dawning on her why she struggled with Wikilow.

"For Kyoshi's sake! Dammit!" Yulan cursed, sliding to the ground. "I'm blaming him for not being Benji!" The engineer despaired. "I'm horrible aren't I?"

"You're not horrible." Elsi soothed, sitting down next to Yulan. "Things have been moving so fast. Don't feel like you have to rush this, rush accepting him, Yulan." The air bender quietly but warmly reassured.

"But tonight-" The engineer tried to say.

"Maybe you could ask your Dad, or Bo to invite him." Elsi suggested.

"I'll still have to talk to him at the actual dinner." Yulan retorted.

"I…I'm so sorry, Yulan… but I really don't know what I can say to help you-help you just stop feeling like this…" Elsi apologized, looking away.

"Nah, it's alright… thanks anyways, Elsi. I'll see you around." Yulan waved off, forcing a grin to her face. Quickly, the engineer stood and sped walked away from the concerned air bender.

Yulan somehow found her way into an empty tunnel. Sighing, she felt a crinkle in her coat's pocket. Hesitantly, she removed an old, faded picture. It showed an old family photo they took before Benji and his parents died. A younger Yulan happily posed with her equally excited cousin, hands wildly waving in the air. A small chuckle, the smallest of small chuckles escaped her lips.

She brought the photo closer.

"I never really grieved for you, cousin." Yulan whispered, running her fingers over Benji's frozen face. Tears leaked from her eyes, wetting her hands. "But… but you're really g-gone… huh?" The engineer cried, something she hadn't let herself do in front of Elsi. Yulan pushed the photo against her chest, sobbing.

And Yulan grieved…

And Yulan let Benji sleep…

Hours later, Elsi's mind remained on the matter at hand. She pondered on any more advice that could help her friends ease the situation. However, it appeared she wouldn't need to when a hand landed on her shoulder. Turning, she found Wikilow next to her.

"Elsi." He greeted.

"Hey, Wikilow." She cheerfully replied.

"What are satisfactory topics for inefficient leisure?" Wikilow asked, cutting to the chase. Apparently Yulan had been able to invite Wikilow herself. Though she wore her goggles over her eyes for some reason. Elsi let a small smile spread across her face at that. However…

"Yulan stated that the event's discussion would not feature the Resistance or Dai Li. I do not want to disappoint the Beifongs' event by being unable to contribute. "Wikilow explained.

"Oh…" Elsi sighed. "You could talk about bending, or things we did on the run with Arlo." She suggested.

"Understood." The Avatar nodded.

"…Just be yourself." Elsi told him.

"There is not much to discuss about myself." Wikilow turned down.

"That's not true." The air bender rebutted. "Don't overthink it. I'm sure they're not expecting you to be anything else but you" She encouraged. Wikilow tilted his head, before nodding once more.

"Understood." He stated.

"Hope you have a good time." Elsi softly said as they parted ways.

"I will try." Wikilow ended with.

Wikilow patiently stood by the entrance of one of the smaller caves. The Beifong dinner would take place there, where a simple wooden table had been set up for the evening. He had been the first to arrive, and was waiting for the others to show up. The Avatar heard footsteps, and saw Yulan appear from the right. She hesitated upon seeing him, before standing next to him.

"Evening… Wikilow." Yulan greeted.

"Yulan." He responded with,

"Looking forward to tonight? I know I am." The engineer asked with a laugh.

"I have prepared for the event to the best of my ability." Wikilow stated, blinking. She was silent, taking a deep breath in and out before speaking again. It was awfully quiet.

"By the way, I'm sorry." Yulan quickly apologized, looking away.

"I do not know what you are apologizing for." The Avatar replied, tilting his head.

"Ah, right. I sort of, made things a bit weird between us I guess. Well, that is to say, well-I-I-" She stammered but got her point across well enough. Which Wikilow was able to discern.

"I see." He stated, posture tight.

"Benji's gone, I know that." Yulan expressed, keeping her voice straight. "So, don't feel like you have to act different for our sake, okay? I…we want to get to know Wikilow Beifong." She stubbornly explained.

"Understood." Wikilow replied with a single nod. There was shouting from their left. Bara and Bo approached the two, carrying a single basket with small delicacies. They didn't appear as the most efficient use of food to Wikilow. Being more on the unhealthy side of things. But, the family certainly seemed to value them.

Bara clapped Wikilow on the shoulder, before entering the cave with Bo. Before he and Yulan followed suit, Wikilow spoke. "I apologize in advance if my etiquette is unsatisfactory." He said to her confusion. "My contributions to discussion will likely be minimal." The Avatar clarified.

"Eh? That… it doesn't matter. It… it means a lot that you're just here right now, because… because you're family." Yulan expressed. "Let's make some memories as one, cousin." She stated, genuine. Wikilow tilted his head at her response. However, he nodded and together they entered the cave for dinner.

He had a good time.

Authors Note: Oof, what a mess.