The skin on his wrists had been rubbed raw. He'd fought against the restraints viciously; the adrenaline suffocating the searing pain that had consequently formed in the welts. Despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to tear himself away from the rebels.
He'd refused their demands. Both the Avatar and his mother had made their pointless endeavors to pry information out of him. After three years away, he now felt immune to the manipulation of Suyin Beifong. Despite her sloppily constructed apology, despite her distrustfully sorrowful eyes, Baatar had resisted. Korra wasn't willing to torture him, and even if she had been, he would've endured that too. He'd vowed that the moment he realized his escape was impossible. He would've endured beatings, torture, anything for Kuvira. They wouldn't get nothing out of him. His allegiance was to the only woman who'd ever seen him past his shadow.
That changed when Korra had levied her newest threat: should Kuvira fail to surrender the city, the Avatar would abandon the city with Bataar in tow. She'd run to the ends of the earth, taking the engineer with her. Wherever she went, she'd take him with her. He'd spend the rest of his life without the velvet green hue of Kuvira's eyes.
"Kuvira, it's Baatar." He loathed the sound of his voice as it clumsily fell out of his mouth. "I've been captured. My airship was ambushed, and I was taken by force. Korra refuses to release me unless we back down and leave the city."
He ignored the steely eyes of the Avatar knelt beside him. The humiliation of the situation: of his mother, of his siblings, of everyone of any importance in Republic City glowering down at him was almost too much to bear. If it hadn't been for Kuvira, he wouldn't beg. If he could stand to leave her, he would've sooner died. It wasn't concern for his own life that urged the words out of his mouth; rather, it was the fear of a hollow life deprived of her. Kuvira, his sun, which he couldn't help but admire and revolve around. A vicious heat with captivating beauty. A source of life, of a reason to exist outside of necessity.
"Are you injured?"
He could hear the fear that was so easily concealed behind the steel of her voice. It filled his lungs with smoke, suffocating him. He resented her anxiety more than he ever could her anger. It was a repulsive, bitter thing that drove him to create any means possible of preventing it. Mech suits, weaponry, all of it was made to alleviate any trepidation she might ever experience.
"I'm fine," he replied immediately, seeking to quell the hidden fear in her voice.
"Is the Avatar there with you now?" she followed. The slow kindle of her anger was creeping back into her tone.
"Yes, everyone is here," he said. All of their enemies. He knew her. She would be trying to locate the radio signal as they spoke. She'd try and find a way to him. She'd tear apart the city looking for him. The kidnapping was the most ghastly of insults; one that she would seek to mend with fire.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice ushered into the radio. "If you try to take Republic City, the Avatar will never let me see you again…" The previous ferocity of his voice had softened into a hushed beg. He could feel the burning eyes of his mother. A part of him wished that Kuvira would turn the beam to their window and fire. It would be better to die than humiliate the two of them like this. Perhaps he could signal for her to do it somehow. To end this… but the thought of the wedding hung in his mind like a stubborn weight. It would be in Ba Sing Se, with champagne and dancers and peace. The chaos would trickle to a stop, and he could spend the rest of his life with her. There would be children, and laughter, and nights spent underneath the stars. It was too precious to abandon. He grit his teeth. "And I refuse to live that way. Forget the United Republic, we have our empire. We have each other. Let's go back home and get married. The only thing that matters is that we're together for the rest of our lives."
A hollow tension in the air captured the air in his lungs. He could only breathe again when she spoke. "You're right," Kuvira replied, the static of the radio carrying her message over. "This city isn't worth sacrificing our life together. I love you, Baatar."
It wasn't too often that Kuvira expressed her love for him. She was much quicker to reservation than outward expressions of affection. The last three years had been composed of fleeting moments of tenderness that had made it tolerable. Sleepless nights, daunting battles, and perpetual unknowns had almost crippled any chance of genuine connection; had it not been for both of their dedication, the relationship would've slipped through the cracks of wartime stress.
Korra pulled the radio away before he could return the sentiment. "At 6pm, I'll meet you outside of the city walls to discuss terms, Kuvira. Don't try anything funny," she said, glaring out of the window towards the shadow of Baatar's finest work. It felt like a mockery now. His greatest engineering feat, now a symbol for his interference in her dream. Their dream.
"I'll see you there," Kuvira said. Her words were now dripping with poisonous loathing. The radio crackled to silence, and Korra tossed it aside.
She took Baatar and helped him up, her hands quickly undoing the knotted rope. She was so confident in her plot that she'd undone his restraints. It was more insulting than anything else. "As soon as we work out terms with Kuvira, we'll let you out of here," she said.
Baatar didn't say anything. The burning humiliation would soon be over.
"Baatar-" Suyin mustered, stepping towards him. "Please, Baatar. Please think about what you're doing. Who you're siding with." She didn't have a specific request, just an empty droll. A demand that he return to obedience.
"You're lucky if you ever meet your grandchildren," he spat, looking at her face only to revel in her reaction.
Her face melted from desperation to horror. "Baatar…" she trailed off. He stepped away from her, his face turning downcast. This was almost over.
…
When he saw Kuvira's face, he wished that Korra had taken pity upon him and resorted to torture instead. She was usually better able to control her emotions, but anyone at all could see the vitriolic hatred that welled in her eyes. Even from a couple hundred feet away, Baatar could feel her rage.
"We have a set of terms!" Korra called out, holding up a packet of paper that had been drafted and agreed upon by all of the oligarchs of Republic City. A desperate, rushed agreement that Baatar didn't yet know the details of. "If you agree to them, I'll return Baatar to you, and this will all be over."
"Show them to me!" Kuvira bellowed. Her anger was a controlled, poisonous thing. She wasn't privy to emotional breakdowns; rather, she'd funnel her discontentment into calculated action. He wished he knew what she was thinking. She wasn't looking at him, now. She'd examined him when he was first led out, but now her eyes were focused squarely on Korra.
Around them were only about a dozen people. His family, Tenzin, his aunt, and a few others he wasn't familiar with. They stood in stark contrast to the vast strength of the Earth Empire army lined up in precise columns behind Kuvira. She could rip apart Republic City stone by stone if she wanted. He was the only thing standing in her way.
The Avatar moved to leave the group, the papers in her hand.
"Let me!" Opal interrupted, stepping forward. "If you leave him, they might try something. Stay here, and I'll go." She refused to so much as glance in his direction. Although he'd convinced himself he didn't care about Suyin's opinion of him, it did burn to see the distaste of Opal. They'd always gotten along well; in a perfect world, she'd be standing alongside Kuvira. Perhaps one day.
His sister set off towards Kuvira, clasping the papers. She crossed the dreary no-man's-land swiftly. She held out the pages to Kuvira, who took it with mechanic like movements.
The air grew heavy as Baatar's fiancée looked over the paper with steely indignation. No one spoke as she read through the three pages.
She looked up with embers fizzling in her eyes. The soft valley hue had burned into a poisonous green.
"I reject the fourth and fifth clause in its entirety," she bellowed, holding up the papers. "I agreed to your baseline principle, but I won't agree to these other additions. Release your hostage!"
Hostage. The word made him feel embittered, wronged. Kuvira had a good way with words; he wasn't a petty bargaining chip. He was a hostage kidnapped by rebels.
The bureaucrats of Republic City turned to another, murmuring between the group. Baatar stood still, staring ahead, but not at Kuvira. He couldn't even bear to look at their soldiers. They'd think him weak, now. He should've died for the cause. He shouldn't have succumbed to the Avatar's manipulation.
"We'll release him under the condition that you announce your surrender to your army and the citizens of Republic City!" Korra called out after a few minutes of deliberation. She gestured to a small podium with a microphone that they had brought out.
"It isn't a surrender!" Kuvira's voice snapped through the air like a whip. "I just won't allow you to spill innocent Earth Empire blood! I'll announce my agreement in liberating your hostage!"
"As long as you make it clear that you're swearing to leave Republic City and the rest of the United Republic alone!" Korra was clearly thrown off by the accusation, but remained relatively steadfast. "Forever!"
"Fine!" Kuvira returned. She began to walk forward, determination and frustration married in her eyes.
Baatar could feel a tension develop among the Republic City citizens as his fiancée crossed over to them. They reacted with the same trepidation owed to an entire army.
Baatar held his eyes level, as not to appear downcast or fearful, but he refrained from catching her gaze. In all honesty, he was too scared to. He loathed himself too much too. He'd done this all for them- a them that might not exist after this. He didn't deserve her hand. He hadn't ever, but certainly not anymore.
"If you try anything, we'll cut the line," Korra warned as Kuvira approached their groupm "Just… Say that you're leaving, and you can have Baatar, Zaofu, and the rest of your Empire. We're being more than fair."
"You kidnapped my fiancée in order to keep your stolen land," Kuvira returned, her eyes narrowed and heavy. "Don't act as if you're doing me any kind of favor, Avatar." She stepped up to the podium. "Turn it on."
Korra hesitated, her eyes tracing Kuvira carefully. "Okay," she said finally, before manipulating a metal button on the side of it.
A hazy static croaked out of the microphone. Kuvira adjusted it, before beginning to speak. "Good evening, Republic City. This is Kuvira, leader of the Earth Empire. Earlier today, I made an arrangement with President Raiko regarding your beautiful city. Unfortunately, amidst negotiations, an Earth Empire citizen was taken hostage by the Avatar and other rebel forces within Republic City."
The microphone squealed with static as it was shut off. "Kuvira!" Korra interrupted, her hand having flickered off the metal mechanism controlling it. "What do you think you're doing? We had a deal!"
"I was getting to it," Kuvira replied, deadpan. "Do you deny having taken him hostage?"
"No, but- just- enough of your propaganda. Just say what we agreed on," Korra insisted. Baatar noticed some visible hesitancy in the Avatar.
"Okay," Kuvira returned, her eyes subtly narrowed. She flicked her hand, and the microphone came to life again. "There was a technical difficulty, my apologies. As I was saying, a hostage was taken this early afternoon: my fiancée, Baatar. In order to prevent the spilling of innocent Earth Empire blood, I have negotiated a treaty with your representatives. The Earth Empire is henceforth recognized as an independent, unified nation by Republic City, the Avatar, and President Raiko. A nation free to build its own destiny; one which uplifts the poor, satiates the righteous, and will serve as a beacon of hope to the entire world!" She paused, and an eruption of applause echoed from across the entirety of her army.
Baatar could hear the sputtering of the Republic City representatives as they debated cutting off her announcement. He, however, was entranced in watching her. He always envied her way with words. She could command a room with her direct, silk coated orders. She demanded respect without threat or force.
"...As it is, I have had to make a difficult decision regarding the current crisis. The United Republic of Nations was founded on land stolen from the Earth Kingdom; however, in order to prevent unnecessary loss of life, including that of the hostage, I have decided to allow Republic City and the remainder of the United Republic to remain under the control of its current representatives. The Earth Empire is and will thrive without the inclusion of our abandoned sister nation. You will henceforth remain under the control of the bureaucratic governance that turned to the unthinkable today to remain in power. Thank you, and I wish all of the citizens of the United Republic a bright future." Kuvira finished her speech with a simple flick of the microphone control. A somber mood hugged the air around them, replacing the previous victorious hollers of her army. She stepped down off the platform.
"...Now all of your army will know that you're a liar if you break our agreement," Korra said, staring at Kuvira intensely. She was attempting to identify a victory where there wasn't one. Kuvira's speech was more so a proclamation than a surrender; something they clearly hadn't anticipated.
"Release your hostage," Kuvira disregarded the commentary with apparent ease.
Baatar began to loathe the title. He hadn't been addressed once in this entire altercation, he realized. He was merely the pawn being traded back from the rebels. A figment of manipulation on the behalf of his mother and the Avatar. He couldn't even stand to look at the woman he was forcing through all of this.
Korra reluctantly approached him. He would've backed away from her, had it not prolonged this humiliation. She took his wrists and cut through the rope with a thin slice of fire formed in her palm.
"You're free to go, as promised," she said. The Avatar held onto some semblance of civility as he shook his wrists free. Thick welts looked like reddened bracelets where the ropes had been retied.
"You're always welcome home, Baatar Jr.," Suyin's voice tugged his gaze back towards her. His eyes narrowed. "Always."
"This was never my home," he replied coolly. He stepped away from the group.
When he turned around, Kuvira had already started back towards the ranks. Her steps were calm and calculated, but he caught sight of her metal shoulder pads that were twitching ever so slightly.
He followed after her, as he had been for the past 3 years. He held a strict composure, trying desperately to cling to any semblance of dignity as he approached the ranks. The mech suits hid the expression on the soldier's faces. He didn't know what they were thinking, but he tried his best to denounce any perception of weakness by broadening his shoulders and setting his face to a scowl. They'd survive this. They always had. Republic City would stay in the hands of the rebels; but, there would come a day when they'd beg at the doorstep of the empire. The Avatar, Tenzin, his mother, all of them. The sun always took its throne above the hills.
-
Author's note:
This is a fanfiction I have on AO3 that I'm hoping to get on here as well. It's still a work in progress as of 10.20.2024, but I update regularly.
Please note that this story follows *most* of the canon, but some things might be minorly changed for the sake of the narrative. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!