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The sun shone brightly down upon air temple island, and a gentle breeze flowed through the trees. Katara sat atop a large woven blanket, her legs outstretched, while she attentively watched her infant son, Tenzin, toddle and crawl around her. She was just far enough away from her older children and husband, and their flailing legs. About three yards away from her, Aang and Bumi were tirelessly helping Kya learn how to do a cartwheel. They had been at it for a while now, but each time Kya attempted, she was growing closer and closer to a real cartwheel. Aang spotted her little body over, and over, while Bumi cheered her on. Although Bumi didn't have the advantage of airbending like his father, he was still quite the little gymnast. As a five year old Kya was struggling to do a single cartwheel, Bumi, at almost nine years old was flipping and jumping, all over the place. But like her mother, Kya was a determined girl, and she wanted nothing more than to be able to keep up with her older brother.
“Stop. Daddy, I want to do it by myself!” Kya told Aang sternly. He chuckled at her confidence, but ultimately backed away. He wanted his daughter to exercise her independence, so whenever something like this occurred, he usually obliged. She was close enough to the ground that a fall out of a cartwheel would only scare her a bit, not injure her in any way. She took a deep breath.
“Mommy, watch!” Kya shouted to her mother. Katara looked up, and gave Kya an encouraging smile and two thumbs up. Kya readied her stance, her legs apart, and her arms high in the air. She wasted no time prepping… as soon as her arms were in the air, she was in motion. Unfortunately, as much as she tried, she still was not getting the hang of the motion, and once her legs were off of the ground, she lost her center of balance, and she flopped over onto her bottom. Bumi and Aang ran over to her to ensure that she was okay. Physically she was fine, but she felt like a failure. When they got closer to her, they realized that she was crying. Aang scooped her up in his large arms. She wouldn't make eye contact with him. She was embarrassed. He used his thumb and wiped the tears from her round cheeks and planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Kya, it’s okay that you can’t do a cartwheel yet.” Aang insisted. She finally looked at him, tears still flowing from her big blue eyes. Bumi walked closer to his father and sister. He tapped Kya on her arm. She looked over to him, and he gave her a semi-toothless grin.
“Yeah, Ky! It took me a couple days to learn. But now that I know how, it’s so worth it!” He said encouragingly. Aang smiled at his eldest son. He had such a kind heart, and cared so greatly for his younger siblings.
“He’s right, Kya.” Aang said. “If you don’t work to learn something, you won’t appreciate it once you know how to do it. That’s what makes it that much more fun.” He pushed the hair that had fallen into Kya’s face behind her ears. She nuzzled her face into her father's robes, still feeling quite a lot of shame. They had walked all the way over to where Katara was sitting with Tenzin. Katara held her arms out and Aang gently handed her the still whimpering Kya. Katara held her on her lap and gave her kisses all over her forehead. She knew it would cheer Kya up, and she was right. Only three kisses in, Kya began to giggle and she quickly forgot how upset she was. Aang watched his beautiful wife and daughter for a moment, but Bumi urged him to head back into the yard and practice more acrobatic skills.
Aang chased Bumi back to where they practiced before. They had been working on integrating Aang’s airbending into Bumi’s acrobatics. Bumi would handspring into the air, and Aang would airbend a burst of air to vault him higher into the sky. Aang would ease him back down to the ground…. Most times… but Bumi didn’t mind a few bumps or scrapes. Katara hated when they did their routines like this. She trusted Aang, but still, seeing Bumi so high up in the air with no way to help himself back down worried her so much. The main reason she still let them do it was because of how much Bumi loved it. It helped him feel closer to his dad, without being able to bend himself.
Today, Bumi was trying to beat his record of front flips in the air. His record was two and a half, but today he boldly stated that he was going for a solid five. They had the bending and acrobatic routine down to a science, and Aang would call out the number of flips Bumi achieved while he was in the air. After only a few attempts, Bumi had already bumped his average number of flips to three, and had sloppily managed four flips a few times. Initially his goal seemed ambitious, and unachievable, but it was quickly becoming a more achievable goal.
Back on the blanket, Katara braided Kya’s long dark hair, while Kya played with her little brother. It was early spring, and there were bugs, petals, and pollen floating through the air. Tenzin halted his playtime with Kya temporarily, and the expression on his face grew twisted and strange. All of a sudden, he sneezed, and the little baby’s body flew about five feet into the air, similar to the way Aang did, fresh out of the iceberg when he first met Katara when they were children. Thankfully, Katara’s reflexes were fast enough to spring to action, and she caught her son mid air. As soon as she had him in her arms, he began to sob, as he was frightened by the little journey through the sky he had taken. Katara tried to calm him, but she was no match for his fit. She looked up, and saw Aang standing motionless. He happened to see the whole thing.
“Daddy? What’s wrong?” Bumi asked as he tugged on his father’s robes. He hadn’t seen the feat his little brother had just achieved. Aang didn’t answer Bumi, but instead ran over to his wife and their crying child. When he got close enough to Katara, she realized that not only was Tenzin crying, but Aang was too. He kissed Katara on the lips. When he pulled away, there were not only tears streaming down his face, but a smile stretched across it too. He took Tenzin from his wife’s arms. His cries were persistent, but not as loud as they were when they began. Aang held the squirming baby up in the air, and he began to laugh through his tears of joy.
“Katara, he’s an airbender.” Aang said, still crying. She smiled, and began to tear up herself when she saw her husband's joy. She wiped the tears from his face. They shared another kiss. “He’s going to have to get over his fear of heights.” Aang joked, and they laughed. All of a sudden, from behind Aang, Bumi spoke, his voice shaky.
“I- I’m not afraid of heights.” Bumi began to sob, and he ran off, towards the direction of the temple.
“Bumi!” Aang yelled after him. Katara touched his arm.
“Let me try to find him. You stay here with Tenzin and Kya.” She told Aang. He reluctantly sat on the blanket with the children, and he sat and tended to them but he couldn’t help but worry for his eldest.
Katara tried to find Bumi for a while, but he wasn’t in any of his usually hiding places. She swiftly swept through the courtyards and dining rooms that comprised the little temple that they called home. She asked around all of the air acolytes, but they all gave contrasting information for all of the locations he could have ended up. She wandered all of the halls and checked all of the nooks and crannies where Bumi could be hiding. She finally found him, after almost an hour of looking. He was down by the shore, far from the temple itself. She watched him from afar for a second. First he threw his arms up into the air, then he kicked the water that came into shore, and then immediately plopped down in the sand. He rested his head on his knees. She could tell, even from where she was standing that his shoulders were shaking. He was still crying almost an hour later. She walked up to him, and sat next to him on the shore. He didn’t look up at her though. She scooted closer to him, and nudged him with her shoulder.
“Dad is disappointed in me.” He said finally. He looked up at Katara, his face was red and puffy, and stained with tears. She let out a heartbroken sigh. Her heart hurt for her son. She knew that his father would never be disappointed in him, but she fully understood why Bumi would feel that way.
“Your dad would never be disappointed in you, Bumi.” She insisted, but Bumi remained silent. She wrapped her arms around her son and scooped him into her lap. He was still rather small for his age, so she could hold him easily.
“Bumi, your dad loves you so much, you are so special to him. You made him a dad, Bumi!” She said to him. She gently rubbed the boy’s back. “He couldn’t be any prouder of you, Bum.” She kissed his forehead.
“But I can’t bend, mom. Why can’t I bend? It’s not fair! Kya can bend, and now Tenzin!!! Why not me?” He started crying again.
“Bumi. You are so special without bending, you don’t need it to make you who you are. You are kind, and smart, and so so funny, Bumi. You can be Bumi without being a bender, and that is special.” Katara said.
“B-but, dad was so happy when Tenzin started airbending earlier. I want to make him happy like that.” Bumi wiped his tears away, but more tears quickly replaced them.
“You have no idea how happy you make your dad, Bumi. Everyday, he is so happy to be with you. When you guys practice your gymnastics… or when you all play with your brother and sister…. Or when he teaches you a new game or how to play a new instrument.” Bumi gave a small, forced smile, but Katara could tell that deep down, he was still upset. “Will you at least come back home with me? Please?” She coaxed. He stood up from her lap, and stretched his arms. Then, he hesitantly nodded, and grabbed Katara’s hand, and pulled her off of the ground as she stood up. They walked hand and hand back up the hill, while Katara told him stories of when he was a baby.
The fresh wounds Bumi felt weren’t all healed over when they returned to the temple. Bumi took one look at Tenzin in his father’s arms, and the waterworks started again. He ran off to his room, slamming the door behind him.
“I’m sorry, Aang. We talked for a long time. He seemed better, but I think he probably just wants to be alone right now.” Katara said. Aang sighed. He wanted to talk to Bumi, but he ultimately listened to Katara’s advice.
Bumi heard a knock at his door. He sat on the window sill, staring out across the water that led to the ever-growing skyline that made up Republic City.
“I’m not hungry… I don’t want dinner tonight.” He said. Still the door creaked open, and he finally broke his gaze from the window. He turned his head to see his Uncle
Sokka standing a few steps into his room. His hands rested on his hips and he furrowed his brow at Bumi.
“Well, that’s your first mistake, little man,” He said in his booming voice. Bumi looked at him with a perplexed look. “Never turn down a meal.” Sokka clarified and winked at his nephew. Bumi smiled, but only for a moment. Sokka sat on the edge of Bumi’s bed, near enough to reach out to him. He placed his large hand on Bumi’s knee and gave him a few reassuring pats.
“I heard you had a bad day.” Sokka said. Bumi didn’t answer, but instead, just lowered his head. “Hey… you know the best part of not being able to bend is?” Bumi looked up at Sokka, with big eyes. “It makes it that much cooler when you smack some bad guy heads together. You didn’t need air, or water to do it. Or anything. Maybe a cool sword or something, but really you just need these.” Sokka held up his large hands, balled them up into fists and pantomimed a few quick punches at his nephew. Bumi let a small smile creep across his face. “Now your mom and dad would never tell you this, but they never would have defeated the Fire Lord without me.” Sokka sat back and crossed his arms. This piqued Bumi’s interest. “I basically did it all myself,” Sokka fibbed. Bumi laughed. He was too familiar with the story to know that Sokka wasn’t telling the whole truth.
“I’ve got a present for you.” Sokka said. He walked into the hallway, and Bumi’s eyes attentively followed him out of the room. He re-entered the room. In his hands, he held his boomerang, with a big, red, poorly tied ribbon on it. Bumi’s eyes lit up and he sprang up off of the window sill.
“Your boomerang?!” He exclaimed. “Is this the one that you carried on your adventures?” He asked, as he took it from his uncle’s hands. Bumi ripped the bow off and began to pretend to aim it at things around the room.
“Sure is.” Sokka said proudly. “Knocked out Combustion man with that very same boomerang.” Bumi’s favorite stories about his parents' adventures were the ones about the encounters with Combustion man. “Go ahead,” Sokka urged. “Throw it.”
He greatly underestimated Bumi’s strength however, and as the boy launched the boomerang, he realized the error in his ways. They both cringed as the boomerang bounced off of the wall, and then recoiled right into the glass window pane, and shattered it. Bumi looked back at his uncle, expecting him to be furious, but when they made eye contact, they both just burst into laughter.
“Sokka!!?” Katara’s voice boomed from the hallway. “What are you two doing in there, is everyone alright?” The boys looked at each other with wide eyes, but quickly broke back into the uncontrollable laughter.
Bumi sat next to Sokka at the dinner table that night. He had basically been leading a bachelor’s life since Suki’s passing, so he stopped in on the Avatar’s family rather regularly to grab a hot meal and share some unwarranted uncle wisdom. That night however, they were joined by some more guests. Toph arrived with Lin in hand. Literally… she was carrying the child like a tote bag… Lin didn’t seem to mind though. She was only about a year older than Tenzin, but the two and a half year old had already adopted her mother’s rigid attitude and realistic outlook on life. The other children were scared of her. Fire Lord Zuko and Mai didn’t usually join them on nights like these, but they were in Republic city for the day, so the couple and their daughter Izumi, who was around Kya’s age also joined the Gaang for dinner. They shared a hearty meal, and boisterous conversation over the dinner table. These times that they shared were extremely reminiscent. They really felt like they were all teenagers, back on the road, exploring the world again. Conversations rose and fell, along with shared laughter throughout the group. Bumi sat practically silent however, prodding the food on his plate with his fork. As the conversations shifted, Katara turned to Tenzin in his high chair, and wiped the food from his face. She blew softly on the baby’s forehead, to move his dark hair, and he promptly mimicked her. However, Tenzin’s breath was much less gentle, and as he blew, Katara and her chair scooted back almost two feet. The dinner party fell silent, and all eyes landed on Katara, Aang, and Tenzin. Aang let out a sheepish smile.
“Uhm… We have some news?” Aang said. The suddenly silenced dinner party promptly erupted into laughter and congratulations. All attention was moved to Tenzin and his proud parents. The adults present at dinner were in awe at the child’s newfound abilities, and the children were just as impressed. Everyone there understood the longevity of Tenzin being a bender. Bumi especially understood the circumstances, and while everyone was celebrating Tenzin’s bending, he quietly stood up, and walked away from the table. Sokka started after him, but Aang beat him to the doorway, and insisted that he get a chance to speak with his son.
Bumi was already back in the same position Sokka had found him in earlier. This time though, he couldn’t make out the skyline of Republic City, as his vision was blurred with fresh tears. He figured he wouldn't have any tears left to cry today, but alas, these fresh streams proved otherwise. Aang knocked at the door, but when silence followed, he entered anyway. Bumi wasn’t angry with his father, at least he didn’t think so. His emotions were so turbulent today that he couldn’t make out what he was feeling, or to whom the feelings were directed. Aang sat on the edge of Bumi’s bed, exactly where Sokka sat when he consoled him earlier. Bumi couldn't bring himself to look at his dad though. He was beginning to feel embarrassed for all the times these outbursts had happened today. Aang adjusted himself on the bed, and began to speak.
“Do you know why I love springtime so much, Bumi?” He asked. He wasn’t expecting an answer. Bumi softly shook his head. Aang smiled kindly. “I love springtime, because it reminds me of when I met you for the first time. You were born on the most beautiful spring day. It was the best day of my life.” Aang said. The memories were relatively fresh in his mind, and they made his heart soar to think about. “Every time I see a flower bloom, or a baby sparrokeet, or baby turtleduck, I think of you, Bumi.” Aang reached out to his son, but Bumi had scooted further away from his father. Finally, Bumi spoke up.
“I want you to be proud of me.” He said through sniffles. He used the back of his hand to wipe the tears from his face.
“Oh, Bumi.” Aang said. He scooped his child out of the windowsill and held him in his lap. Bumi began to sob and he clutched onto his father's robes. Aang rocked him back and forth, the same way he had done when he was first born, that beautiful spring almost nine years ago.
“Bumi, I have never been more proud of anything in my life than I am of you.” He pulled the boy away from him a bit so that he could make eye contact with him. Bumi had a lot of his mother in him, but he did look a lot like his father. Aang felt sometimes when he looked at him that he was looking into a mirror. “You are incredible, Bumi.” Aang insisted. He was getting choked up himself, not knowing if he could ease the pain Bumi was feeling. “Everything about you is so perfect, Bum. You don’t have to bend to be who you are.” Aang told him. “I would never be disappointed in you over things you can’t do. I am so proud of the things you can do.”
Bumi looked up. “L-like what?” He asked.
Aang chuckled. “Well, you are the best gymnast in all of Republic City, I just know it.” Bumi wanted him to keep going. “I have never seen someone learn faster than you do when we play the soongi horn or the flute or anything!” A small smile was creeping across Bumi’s face. “You are SO smart Bumi! Smarter than me I think,” Aang fibbed. “And so kind, and caring. You are so supportive and playful with Kya, and so calm and gentle with Tenzin.” Bumi smiled at his dad. It was a genuine smile that Aang was so happy to see.
“I’m sorry I got so upset Dad. I’ll try to be better next time.” Bumi said, sounding rather defeated. Aang frowned.
“There is no need for you to ‘be better,’ Bumi. You are allowed to feel the way you do.” Aang tousled his hair. “I love you so much Bumi.”
“I love you too, Dad.” Bumi said.
“Hey. I’ve got an idea.” Aang started, and Bumi grew interested.
“How about we go show everyone your new routine? I bet with an audience you’ll be able to flip better.” Aang suggested. Bumi eagerly nodded his head. The two high fived and headed back downstairs. They sped down the stairs, ready to share their air/acro routine with their family. Bumi wasn’t excited to perform so as to prove himself, he just wanted to share what he was good at… because that’s what made him special.