Chapter 3

The first few days after the army left felt like decades. Azula spent all of her time, except for a few hours of sleep every day, flipping through book after book of Fire Nation history, firebending origins and masters' handbooks. Zari and Zuko aided her as much as they could, while Su helped by radioing libraries all over the world, asking about their knowledge on the subject. Still with all their effort, the firebending style displayed by their enemies appeared to be a completely new thing.

Zari was furious about the lack of results and proclaimed he needed a break from it all sometime around day three. Zuko tried to be helpful, but in reality he only wanted his wife to wake up. He realized he let the burden of getting their throne back fall completely onto his little sister, but he felt like there was nothing they could do from where they were. He hated feeling so powerless to help his nation and he hated feeling so powerless to help his wife.

Three days after the army left Mai finally opened her eyes and the first thing she saw after her vision cleared was Azula sitting at her bedside, reading.

"Iz-Izumi…" Mai was still a bit out of it.

"She's fine. Iroh and the Fire Lord too." Azula closed her book and brought Mai a glass of water. The fact that Mai could already sit up surprised both of them.

"I can call Zuzu over if you'd like." Azula started again, "Although, he finally decided to get some rest after days here next to you."

"Don't wake him, then." Mai sipped and then looked around, "We're at Air Temple Island, right? Does that mean we lost?"

"We're still fighting actually. But we have no idea who those people are or how they do what they do. How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Cold."

At that last word, Azula put out one of her hands, lighting a small flame and placing it close to her friend.

"What's wrong?" Azula asked seeing Mai frown.

"I can't move my hand." Mai looked to her right side, but her hand remained still.

"Katara said that could happen. I'm sure it will pass." Azula realized her words weren't coming through to her since she just remained fixated on her hand.

"Mom?" Izumi peeked through the door holding little Iroh, "Thank the Spirits!"

Azula stood up to take the baby off her niece's hands so she could hug her mother.

"I'm sorry about Rei, Izumi. I had no idea they could-" Mai used her healthy hand to stroke her daughter's hair.

"It's alright, Mom. I'm just glad you're back."

Mai looked into her daughter's eyes to find solace, to remind herself all was not lost, but seeing Izumi's tears had the opposite effect. Having spent a few whole days with Iroh and his constant, deafening crying made Izumi a bit on edge. She had to face the reality of sucking at being a mother.

"How's my grandson?"

"He's been a bit fussy since we've come here."

After Izumi said that they both looked over to Azula as they could hear Iroh laughing hysterically.

"What? Infants are easy enough to entertain." Azula smiled back at Iroh, "You know who's really been fussy lately? My baby."

oooooooooo

Even though Oogi was Tenzin's bison, what most didn't know was that his next favorite person in the world was Lin. Since she spent most of her time free from work with Tenzin, she was inadvertently spending a lot of it with Oogi too. And the animal grew to like her a lot. That's why Tenzin felt comfortable allowing Bumi and Lin fly to Ba Sing Se on his bison while he traveled with the United Forces.

The ride over the Earth Kingdom was a bit long for just one day, but the two of them stuck it out without stopping. Lin wasn't feeling particularly chatty and spent most of the trip lost in thought, but Bumi stepped in with a bunch of his crazy stories to fill the silence.

They arrived at the Earth Kingdom's capital sometime during the night and got an attendance with the Head of the Dai Li first thing in the morning. Lin hoped that her possible pregnancy might keep her mind occupied enough to not get all worked up about her dad. He was a douche, there should be no more to it. But as soon as she laid eyes on him in the distance, all those feelings from the time she first met him came rushing back.

"That him?" Bumi asked upon seeing Kanto strut towards them. Lin just nodded, remembering how her last encounter with her dad ended with a piece of metal in his face.

"If you want me to teach him a lesson, just give a signal, you copy?" Bumi added, cracking his knuckles.

"Lin, I was surprised when my agents told me you've returned to the city." Kanto started.

"I assure you this is not a social visit. This is a matter of international cooperation." Lin spoke before Bumi had a chance to start his usual sweet-talking. She already looked so irritated, Bumi didn't dare interrupt.

"Then we should establish some ground rules before we start this." Kanto said.

"Agreed."

"No hugs. No apologies."

"Wouldn't accept either." Lin pursed her lips, "No calling you Dad. No mentioning Mo… Toph."

"Reasonable. Let's just steer clear of the mushy stuff and discus war." Kanto turned to Bumi next and introduced himself. Then he led them both into an incredibly luxurious room where they began their negotiation. Kanto listened while Bumi and Lin took turns explaining the events at the Fire Nation and their plan to stop it from spreading to the Earth Kingdom. At the end of it all he agreed to pass this all to the King and insure he gives them the support they need. It was actually surprisingly easy.

"And very good planning ahead with the troops posted on the road to our capital, those usurpers won't even dare challenge the Earth Kingdom when they realize we're ready for them." Kanto aimed his compliment at Bumi.

"Oh, no, this whole thing in its entirety is your daughter's idea." Bumi said before realizing they were steering clear from the family drama. A decision he didn't really understand because Lin specifically asked to be put on this mission because of her connection to Kanto.

"If we're done here, we would like to be on our way home as soon as possible." Lin stood up to leave, but Kanto gestured her to wait.

"Look Lin, I'd like to break a rule. I know we said no mushy stuff, but I'd hate myself if I didn't say how glad I am to see you again. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you."

Lin froze in place since those four words were all she ever wanted to hear growing up. Seeing that he won't get a response right away, Kanto continued.

"You're clearly a smart, capable, well-adjusted young woman. I obviously did something right."

"What?" Lin was snapped out of her trance back into reality.

"I mean… You're a brilliant bender, you're important enough to be sent to represent the United Republic and as I've read you're dating the Avatar's son." he gestured at Bumi, "Me leaving has clearly made you strong."

"I'm not the Avatar's son she's dating." Bumi explained.

"And you didn't do anything!" Lin tried walking away one more time, but Kanto stood up to grab her hand and hold her back. As soon as she felt him touch her, she threw him against the opposite wall by bending his special earthy gloves. Then she moved one of them all the way to his neck and squeezed.

"Lin." Bumi objected, but wisely stayed back. It was obvious Kanto tried to use his bending to get out of this situation, but his attempts proved useless against Lin. Guess, Toph was right after all. She really was at her peak bending age.

"With all due respect, which is none, you had zilch to do with how I've turned out! For that you can look to my mother and the man who treated me like I was his own child! Only thing you gave me was a whole lot of disappointment and hours upon hours of wondering what was wrong with me!" Lin eased up the grip of the glove letting Kanto breath normally again. Seeing she'd maybe gone a bit too far she abruptly left the room, leaving Kanto alone with Bumi.

"Listen up," Bumi got close to Kanto's face, "You were a useless father up until this point, but now you are presented with a chance to prove that you are not completely selfish and honor the deal you and your daughter made."

"What makes you think I'd allow you to just leave after attacking me during a peaceful negotiation?" Kanto asked.

"You'll do it if you know what's good for you."

After being done with Kanto, Bumi went to the stables to prepare Oogi for the journey home. There he also found Lin sulking, sitting on the floor. If he only knew all the things she had on her mind at that moment.

"Was that the signal?" Bumi joked and Lin chuckled to make him feel like he was helping. In reality, the only thing that could possibly put her mind at ease would be stopping by a doctor while they were in Ba Sing Se. Unlucky for her, Bumi had not left her side since they arrived and he didn't seem to be planning on doing it anytime soon.

oooooooooo

Suyin was lying on her bed, spinning a red flower Zari gave her around in her hand when she heard a knock. She jerked up immediately and replaced the flower in her hand with a thick book.

"Su?" Lin peeked in through the crack opened door. She wasn't really sure why, but as soon as she got back to Air Temple Island her sister was the first person she wanted to see. In the absence of Kya who could actually provide her with some answers, Su seemed like the next most comforting option.

"You're back?" Su casually lifted her glance from the book to her sister, like she'd been reading for hours.

"Yeah, we reached an agreement."

"Now we just wait for Mom and the others to come back."

Yeah, now we wait… Lin felt an unbelievable surge of anxiety as soon as her feet touched the ground at Air Temple Island. She hoped it would evaporate with a bit of time, but it was only getting worse, as she begun pondering the possibility of her moving here in a couple of months. Surely, the Avatar would want his grandchild to be raised here. Lin never thought she'd miss their little apartment so much.

"You need anything?" Su asked.

"I just…" Lin sat down on the bed next to her, "Feel a bit sick."

She really did feel unwell, but that could be for a million different reasons. She had a building dropped on her just a few days prior. That was enough to throw a person off balance. It could also be one of the early signs of pregnancy. Agh…

Lin lied back next to Su, since she couldn't get her mind over the idea that her life was over. Her career, everything she worked for, her independence, gone, just like that.

"What are you up to, Su? Making any progress?" Lin asked.

"Um, I… No, we didn't find anything. And I know way too much about firebending now…" Su closed the book, "But this one is kind of cool. It's about this female master's life experiences. But it could be read like a romance if you squint. But the general message is that a firebender should always go for what they want no matter how hard."

"I can't believe Azula has you reading other people's diaries." Lin took the book, inspected it and then put it next to the bed, "Remember when I used to read to you every night because Mom couldn't?"

OK, that settled it. Lin was acting weird. More than her usual weird. Su might not spend so much time with her sister, but sitting on her bed? Being pleasant? Talking about the good old days? What had gotten into her?

"I remember." Su didn't want to say it or anything, but those were some of her best memories with Lin. The two of them, lying together on a bed like this, "You did the voices."

"And you were obsessed with the one about Oma and Shu, but they were both badgermoles, I think… What was that ridiculous thing called?"

"Love Is Blind"

"Right. I just… I wanted to say I loved doing that with you."

"Lin, are you dying?" Su's tone didn't really seem all that joking.

"What?"

"Seriously? What is going on with you? You hated that you had to read to me. You were bored out of your mind. You only did it cause it was the only way I'd go to sleep."

Was she that obvious? Even Su could pick up on the fact that Lin was driving herself mad by overthinking everything.

"I'm fine," Lin lied, "I just… Saw my father again. And it didn't go so well."

"Oh." Su was honestly relieved.

"It doesn't matter. He's not worth discussing…"

Maybe she should tell her about the baby. The possibility of a baby… Yeah, Su would love that! Not being the screw-up one anymore… She's probably laugh if Lin told her. Some aunt she'd make.

Some mom I'd make…

"Lin, you don't look so good."

"I told you, I'm fine."

No, telling Su would just feel too real right now. Lin couldn't handle that.

Kya couldn't get here fast enough.

oooooooooo

Izumi was at the end of her patience with Iroh, since she spent the entire morning rocking him to no end. That child was fed, changed, warm and played with constantly, there was absolutely nothing to cause his constant crying. Yet the entire house had the pleasure of enjoying his concert since before dawn.

"You need to be quiet…" she spoke to Iroh, "My mother needs her rest. Azula needs to work. Come on, settle down!"

"You make a good point, mommy." Bumi mimicked a childish voice behind her.

She turned around and shot him a deadly glare.

"Go away."

"Why don't you let me have him for a little while?" Bumi flashed his signature smirk and let himself into the room, "You could rest, or eat, or check on your mom."

"I'm doing just fine, thank you." she shifted Iroh from her left to her right shoulder causing him to increase his volume considerably.

"Izumi, you can't possibly be expected to do this alone."

"I thought I was clear when I said I don't want to speak to you ever again! You and I are nothing!"

"Please just-"

"No! I'm not listening to your apologies, excuses or pleas. It's too late. I moved on with Rei." she placed the still crying baby in his crib.

"Yeah, the husband… You seem very broken up about that." Bumi said sarcastically.

"I am!"

"You and I both know you didn't give a flameo about that guy. You're relieved he's not here. You're relieved you don't have to play house with him anymore."

"Shut up and get out!" she shoved him.

"That was not a denial! I don't know if you still love me, but I know you went as far as marrying a stranger to make yourself unavailable." he said and left.

Izumi tried to calm Iroh by talking to him some more, but it was ineffective. She was beginning to think something was wrong with that child. She could have Katara look at him when she comes back. Maybe the poor baby was in pain this whole time.

She left him in his crib briefly to go look for one of his favorite toys, which was a wooden dragon. While in the other room she suddenly couldn't hear him crying anymore. She immediately bolted back to find him calm in Bumi's arms.

Izumi wanted to scream at him, but stopped herself since she didn't want to upset Iroh again.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't want my help," Bumi started, "But I'm just next door and I couldn't fall asleep to this little guy being so unhappy."

Izumi wanted to say something, actually, she wanted to say quite a lot of things, but she just kept her mouth shut and exhaled quickly through her nose, creating a little fire stream. Bumi actually missed seeing her do that when she was pissed at him. He thought it was kind of hot.

She walked over to give Iroh his toy, which the little guy immediately took and put in his mouth. Then he babbled the specifically set of syllables she came to associate with that toy. He seemed alright now, nothing like he was screaming his lungs out no more than a few minutes ago. It was hard not to take to heart the fact Bumi calmed him down so quickly.

"I also wanted to come to say how sorry I am for the things I said," Bumi said, "I got caught up in the moment, but you're right. We're not together and we haven't been for years. I'll back off while you're here."

"You were incredibly disrespectful, but you were also right." Bumi's eyes lit up when she said that, "I never loved him. I never loved anyone the… The way I love you."

The fact that she used present tense surprised both of them. The tension was too much for Izumi so she moved away and sat down on the bed, putting her head in her hands.

"Be a big boy and play alone for a while, OK?" Bumi gently lowered the little boy in his crib and kneeled on the floor next to the Princess.

"I'm a terrible mother…" she finally said the words. The words that had been going through her mind for months. The words she felt were driving her insane.

"Well, that's just ridiculous-"

"I am!" Izumi screamed and all the candle flames in the room doubled in size at the same time. Bumi grabbed hold of her hands.

"My son hates me! He's perfectly fine being held by anyone, but me! And I'm relieved when I don't have to see him. Just as I was relieved I'm no longer married to a man that I felt nothing but indifference for. I'm terrible because when he died in front of me, protecting our family, I felt nothing and I'm terrible because of what I'm thinking about doing with you…" tears started forming in her eyes.

Bumi didn't answer, but put one of his hands on her cheek, finally making direct eye contact. Without a second thought he slowly closed the space between them, kissing her tenderly.

"How dare you?" she asked softly, her cheeks streaked with tears.

"I..." he was cut off when she kissed him, this time with a lot more passion and urgency, tears still running down her face.

"I never stopped thinking about you…" Bumi added in between kisses, "Never stopped loving you."

oooooooooo

"It's done. Azula said she'd look after Iroh." Bumi stormed into the room and swiftly closed the door behind him. Izumi just nodded.

They exchanged a few more looks before Bumi dashed from the door to take her into his arms and lift her from the ground. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. They continued their hungry kisses with Izumi's back to the wall.

"Are you sure you wanna… You know…" Bumi said, barely able to catch his breath.

"Yes, I am."

"And I want to apologize to you. For the way things ended between us…"

"I don't want to think about that right now." she started kissing his neck. The last thing she wanted to remember was how he cheated on her.

"Well, for what it's worth I am sorry. For what I did to us." he put her down to her feet.

"You might have hurt our relationship, but I'm the one who killed it," she felt like crying again, "I was hurt and I married myself off to a complete stranger just to keep myself from going back to you."

"Yes, things die. But things are also reborn." he took her palms, "Maybe it had to be burned down first, so we'd build another one from the ashes."

She had forgotten what a sweet-talker he was. Not that she needed a big push to restart that spark. Four days had passed since she was no longer a married woman and already she found herself in Bumi's arms again. Her lips on his, her back against the wall, her fingers in his hair, just like she remembered.

oooooooooo

"Why can't you just be serious and answer me?" Zuko carried Iroh through the hall talking to his sister.

"Because you're dramatizing." Azula said.

"Does that mean you didn't have any nightmares? Anything out of the norm?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, are you? Hearing voices again?" Zuko stopped her from walking forward.

"We're at war again, Zuzu. I had a few nightmares, all under control."

"See, that's exactly why I don't think you should go see him. He'll only make it worse, trust me. He's-"

"What? Manipulative, conniving, unscrupulous?"

"Yes! Yes, all of that."

"Good thing that I am too." she smirked, "Zuzu, listen to me, I don't want to visit our dear, old dad any more than you do, but we've exhausted almost all other options."

"Alright," he sighed, "Be careful, please."

"I can handle him."

They both stared at each other in silence for a few moments, before they heard yelling coming from down the hall. Recognizing her son's voice immediately, Azula ran to the source first.

"You should mind your own business, buddy." Bumi was putting on his Unite Forces jacket back on.

"You're the one that should stay away from our family!" Zari raised his voice. He felt like he was the only one who remembered how Bumi broke Izumi's heart just a few years ago. And now finding them together again… Something just snapped inside him.

"Zari, this is really just between Bumi and I." Izumi tried to defuse the situation.

"Do you think you're doing her good with this?" Zari continued getting into Bumi's face.

"I think that you're a bit over-excited, maybe you should go back to your books. Or even better, take a nap with Iroh." Bumi smirked so confidently, Zari couldn't take it anymore. He jumped at Bumi and shoved him into a wall.

"Zari!" Azula ran to separate them before Bumi could retaliate.

"What has gotten into you two?" Zuko scolded them, before looking to his daughter, "Into all of you?"

"Zari, I expect better than this from you. No matter how you feel about him, Bumi's your ally." Azula started talking, making her son realize this was going to make him look like a complete child.

"I know, mother."

"And do we attack and ridicule our allies?"

"No, we do not." he said reluctantly.

"And why?"

"Because we save that for our enemies."

"Exactly." she concluded, "So both of you, save it for our enemies."

oooooooooo

OK, so…

- I really ship Bumizumi. You could have known it'd be back.

- And I know I excluded a lot of characters from this one, but don't worry, they'll be back soon

- I gave Kanto a little cameo because if you're going to tangle with Lin's emotional issues, why not just go for the whole package.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's sticking with this story :)