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There was something familiar about the smell that filled his senses upon entering his childhood home - chestnut with a hint of cinnamon, perhaps. Either way, it was bound to give him deja vu. The inexplicable circumstance that his mother would be so gracious as to allow him the opportunity of serving out his sentence as a war criminal within the comfort of his own home and not behind bars, surrounded by the people he once called family, was too baffling to even bother wrapping his head around.
At least he had a bed. His ex-fiancé did not have such a luxury at the current moment. No sir - she was sitting cross-legged on the floor in a maximum security cell surrounded by twenty White Lotus newbies who, more often than not, wondered why they even bothered volunteering to join such an organization in the first place. The most boring job on the planet; yet, it was the most important. They were doing their part by keeping a supposed “deranged” and “complicated” woman locked away from the rest of the society that she scarred in the wake of establishing her glorious empire. Yes, it was this same empire that Baatar was guilty of helping build from the bottom-up that led him to his ultimate downfall. He was now the shame of the Beifong family and the entire Earth Kingdom. A perpetual disgrace. His own father couldn’t even look at him anymore, turning to the side once he caught sight of the prodigal son.
It pained Baatar to look him in the eyes too. “Father...” He tries to croak out before Baatar Sr. decides to put up a hand and walk off in the opposite direction. His siblings didn’t bother showing up to the foyer to greet their eldest brother and welcome him back into their lives either. After all, how could they trust him when he locked them up in cages like animals? All he ever wanted was their approval - to not be overlooked for once - and be acknowledged for something he’d done. He was never really the favorite child, just another tool in his father’s workspace. Ever since the twins were born, there’s never really been that much room in Suyin’s heart for him.
“You’ll have to stay in one of the guest rooms,” she tells him once they reached it, pulling out a pair of keys from her pocket and to unlock the handcuffs from his wrists. “Meals are the same times as usual - I’m sure you remember - and I want you in the dining room with us. We just want to keep an eye on you, that’s all. You’re family.” Yeah, family. A family member being treated like a prisoner. I guess I had it coming to me anyway. He contemplated the idea of bargaining his way out of house arrest, or possibly lowering his sentence. Sweet-talking Su sometimes did the trick. He’d have to get her on her good side first though, after she’s had a Chardonnay or four.
You’ll have to stay in one of the guest rooms. Is she serious? Was this what he had been reduced to - a guest? In the home he’s only ever known? To be degraded at such a level was a bit astonishing. One would think that she’d offer him his old bed as a truce - maybe even a bit of a consolation, especially after how Kuvira had betrayed him. Su seemed to be a bit skeptical of his behavior still. Anyone could see that. He could tell by the way she addressed him upon picking him up from the Republic City Police Station that morning before boarding an air blimp to Zaofu later on. After all those tears she shed in the warehouse in an attempt to win his heart back, he had now assumed, it was all for show.
“What do I have to do to gain your trust back?” Baatar says straightforwardly as he massages his wrists once the handcuffs were removed.
Su raised an eyebrow and replies rather nonchalantly, “That’s up to you to decide. You’re a grown man. You can figure it out for yourself,” before turning her heel and retreating to her study, leaving her son dumbfounded. He didn’t know the first thing about redemption. As a matter of fact, he never had to prove himself to anyone in his immediate family before. I could go and work for my father again....but even he doesn’t want to see me. I helped invent nuclear power. Why should I stoop down to his level?! Sucking up his pride was going to be blatantly difficult. Engineers like him - at least the ones he knew - were rather full of themselves than most would think. It was hard to overcome their faults, especially since they thought they were so right all the time. Raava knew their vice.
Maybe Father would accept me into this life again...a new start...for the both of us. As soon as he entered his room, he showered and changed his clothes, then headed over to Baatar Sr.’s lab, where he found the older man sitting at his desk tracing blueprints of maglevs. Clearly something was on his mind. He only did nonsense like this when he was feeling troubled on the inside, and frustrated in a way. Tracing blueprints from almost fifteen years ago...what a geezer. Had he no other outlets for his pain? I get that he’s upset at me but.....*sigh* whatever....
Approaching his father now, Baatar places a hand on his shoulder and says, “Dad, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” Baatar Sr. looks up at him indifferently, trying to conjure up the exact words to say to his twenty-three year old son. Baatar Jr. waited for an answer - maybe a sign - that his father would at least have the capability to forgive.
Unfortunately, the answer he got was not what he was expecting. “I....I...I don’t know....” His father replies, stuttering, and still unable to make eye contact with him. A man of such genius and creativity, who was world-renowned for his style of architecture, couldn’t and didn’t know what to say for probably the second time in his life (the first being Suyin proposing to him). Had I really reached rock-bottom? Usually, Baatar would get commanded to grab a hammer and a wrench and some scrap metal to start putting a project together. Then again, Baatar Sr. was a different person now. He had created a mad scientist of sorts; and in such, he felt guilty of all charges. This was his legacy - an engineer and nuclear scientist turned war criminal. At this point, he wasn’t sure of any way he could recover from this life experience. It was all too much, and made him feel as if he was on the verge of a heart attack.
His son shook his head in shame. “Look,’ he began, “I don’t know if you’ll be able to fully forgive me for what I did, but I want you to know one thing....I always looked up to you Dad....even in times of times of doubt. Besides Varrick, you’re probably one of the smartest men I know. I never stopped thinking about you and Mother, and all of those things you both taught me growing up. Eventhough I felt like I was doing right by the world, joining Kuvira and creating a unified and equal Earth Empire, I still felt an obligation to question my moral actions - if I was doing the right thing or not by creating that weapon, and building that army. Through it all, I was still devoted to Kuvira because I loved her so much, but I still wasn’t entirely sure of myself, if this was what I truly wanted. I knew my actions would have consequences to go along with it, but if I could turn back time, I don’t think I would’ve gone down that path. I was just so frustrated of you turning down my designs and inventions all the time, saying that they weren’t needed. All I ever wanted was our love and approval - yours and mother’s. I truly do think things would’ve been different if that were the case.”
As soon as he said his piece, Baatar Sr. stood up from the comfort of his chair and embraced his son with open arms. Baatar couldn’t see it, but he felt a couple of wet tears fall onto his shoulder upon feeling his father’s touch. “I love you son. I was so angry and afraid of the man you’d become that I‘ve lost sight of the fact that you were still my blood. I never looked at you the same again once you left Zaofu, and I’m sorry that things had to be this way. I would love for you to come back and work with me again, like father and son. If you want to create something, do it. I’ll stand by you every step of the way,” he declares with water falling down his cheeks. Baatar hesitated to hug his father back, but felt soothed in his warm embrace. His father had never done anything like this before, as far as he was concerned, but it felt nice for a change, knowing that someone truly cared.
“I’ll work every day, seven days a week, just to prove myself to you. I promise. I don’t ever want there to be a rift between us again, Dad. I’ll be a better man from now on. I swear.”