A/N: I really hope we find out more about the Bending Bros' parents. Also, this was sort of a Borra moment in my head even though it probably doesn't seem like it.
Rated: K
Day 2 - Haze
Korra asks if I remember my parents. I hate to tell her that I have only a handful of memories of them. But she nods in understanding and asks if I'd tell her one. My favorite one, she suggests. So I tell her my oldest memory. With a deep breath, I close my eyes and fall into the past.
I try my hardest, but it's impossible to make out their faces. It's been too long, and all I have is this hazy notion of parent-like figures with indistinguishable features. Maybe dad's eyes are the exact same brilliant green I see every time I look in a mirror. Maybe mom's nose matches mine. I can't remember.
I look to my left and there's Mako in the seat between mom and dad, swinging his feet excitedly, still too short to reach the ground. I'm four again, being bumped up and down on my father's knee as we anticipate the arrival of the teams. I startle when the arena suddenly goes black and seize my dad's muscled forearm. My heart thuds painfully in terror and I turn into him, hide my face against his solid chest. He rubs my back in slow, gentle circles that soothe me.
A voice booms in my ears, speaks words that kindle a hum of excitement among the stands. A glimmer of light catches my eye, and I dare to peek between chubby fingers. Spotlights dance all around, illuminating all the different slices of the audience before finding the figures on the platform below. The crowd explodes into a cacophony of sound as the entire arena alights with an eruption of fireworks.
Spectators in front of us obscure my view as they leap to their feet, whooping and hollering. Dad stands, hoists me up to his shoulders. We tower over nearly everybody and I find myself leaning over the top of his head to get a better look at the commotion down below. Three figures cast off their capes and rouse the audience, striking poses and pumping fists into the air. Cheers and boos can be heard all around. Mom and dad have joined in, funneling their hands around their mouths to add their cries to the chorus. I give a hoot of my own.
The game has me transfixed as I watch the players dodge and attack in a frenzy of earth, fire and water. I don't know which team I'm rooting for, and I don't care about the score. All I know is… I want that to be me up there one day.
Korra tells me how amazing my parents must have been, how lucky we were to get to do something like that as a family. She smiles, pulls me into a hug and thanks me for sharing my memory with her.
I can't bring myself to tell her that I'm not even sure it was real.