#kaylabelle

"I didn't mean to lie to you, I just didn't want to cause anyone worry," The young man stood rigidly looking out towards the bay from his perch on the patio of his home. Air Temple Island was bathed in the moonlight, the wind whistling through the temples as it always did, taunting him to use a power he did not posess.

A figure loomed behind him, red and orange robes clinging tightly to his body but rustling as the evening wind hit him, the sounds of unusual silence in his house playing at his ear. His arms were crossed, but he brought one tattoed hand up to scratch the dark beard that ran along his chin, the moon catching the blue arrow giving it an unnatural glow in contrast with his pale skin. The older man's grey eyes were pensively staring at the teenage boy in front of him.

"If I had told you or mom where I was going, you would have stopped me, and I'm not one for being stopped," He gripped onto the wooden railing of the porch, comforted by the feel of the familiar wind threading its way through his untamed, dark mane of hair, "It's just something I had to do, something I had to consider."

The older man stepped forward at this, his foot falls as light as a feather, breathing calm, and face unreadable, "I wouldn't have tried to stop you," His voice held a sincerity that his son could not deny.

"But you would have told mom," Bumi smirked slightly running his rough, tan palms against the course wood, "And she is a force to be dealt with when she's mad."

"I don't think she would be as mad as she would be hurt," Avatar Aang sighed slightly, though finding truth in his son's statement about his wife, "She would of felt like the reason you decided to even consider this option is because you feel inferior, because you feel that because you are not a bender, you cannot be a great individual. We didn't raise you to think like that."

Bumi shook his head slightly, the smirk still on his face as he stared up at the moon, the light reflecting in his own stormy, grey eyes, "She would have been partly right," He flicked a splinter in the wood as it threatened to puncture his skin, "Partly only because I know I don't have to be a bender to be a great individual, but I do need something else."

His father took the remaining steps needed to reach the railing where the boy stood, gripping the wood just as his son did as he let out a defeated sigh, "Bumi, all you have to be is Bumi. Everyone already sees you as a great individual."

Bumi barked a bitter laugh as he looked up at his father, "Who thinks that? You and mom? Wow, that's such an honor, my parent's think I'm a great person as if they wouldn't if I had turned out any differently!" Bumi shook his head, smirking still as he narrowed his eyes at his father, "You may think that, but I know the world frowns on me. They have ever since I was young, and they probably will until the day I die."

Aang was becoming frusterated with his eldest son, his usually light grey eyes, darkening as he looked out onto the bay, trying to keep his voice even, "No one thinks that."

Bumi laughed again, leaning onto the railing to where he was resting on his forearms, "You were just mad at me for lying, and now you turn around and do it yourself."

"Bumi, what do you want me to say?"

His son quieted in that moment, his face returning serious as the mischevious glint left his eyes, his voice barely more than a whisper as he spoke, "I want you to give me permission to sign up, I want to make you and mom proud of me," Bumi sighed, looking towards the water that calmly push and pulled to a rythmn that he couldn't hear, "I want you two to get that look in your eyes that you got whenever Tenzin or Kya mastered a bending move, or like the day when Kya became a fully recognized waterbender, and then again when Tenzin received his tattoos. I want to earn that too."

He breathed deeply, his face taking on an almost dreamlike look, as if he was a million miles away, "I'm sixteen now, I'm old enough to join the United Forces, and I really want to. That's why I went to the recruiting. I may not be a bender, but I'm good with a sword and great at strategy," Bumi smiled a bit as he turned his head back to where he could see his father, "After all, I think like a mad genius."

In that moment, Aang wanted to say he couldn't be prouder of his eldest son than he was now, that he was so captivated by the way the boy wanted to help the world in anyway he could, that he wanted to gain the pride of his parent's and of other's, though he had it this whole time.

The Avatar let out a sigh as he smiled at his son, his eyes gleaming as they met the young boy's replica set, "I want you to know that every time you mastered a move with the sword, I was watching. You thought my attention was consumed with Tenzin's training when actually your mother and I frequently asked your teacher about your progress, and when he said you were absolutely incredible, your mother began to cry because of how proud she was of you."

The father gripped the muscular shoulder of his son, a proud smile lighting up his features, "That was the day that she made all of your favorites for dinner, the day you accused her of being up to something because of how out of character it was for her. She knew you didn't like being doted upon, and didn't want to embarass you with how impressed and proud she was of your training."

Bumi looked down at this, memorizing the edges of his brown boots with his blue pants tucked tightly in the top of them as he remembered that day. He had accused her of being up to no good, but he had noticed that familiar proud glint in her eyes that he assumed was for either his brother or sister.

"Oh, that..."

"Yes son, that," Aang shook his shoulder a bit, causing the young man to look up at his father, "We have always been proud of you, we just know your personality and know that though you always act like you want to be showered with unnecessary praise," he chuckled a bit at this before continuing, "You actually don't care much for it. You usually only care about what you think, not others."

Bumi shrugged, looking hopefully up at his dad, "So will you do it, will you give me permission to join the United Forces?"

Aang stood for a second, half way proud of his son for wanting to take on such a noble occupation, but the other half of him so unsure of letting his child be constantly put at the doorstep of danger. But with one look into Bumi's eyes, he knew he couldn't say no because even if he did, his son would do it anyway.

"You have my permission,"

Bumi stood shocked for a second, not expecting his father to so readily agree, he had already started lining up different ways of persuasion in his head such as begging on his hands and knees, crying senselessly, and ofcourse the usual black mail, but to have his father give him permission without so much as a tear, it kind of winded him, that was until he regained his voice.

"WAHOOOOOOOOOO!" The young man screamed punching his fist in the air victoriously,

"Now Bumi..."

His son was too excited to even register that his father had just addressed him, "Oh thanks Pops, you're the best!" The boy grabbed the Avatar in a tight hug. Aang smiled down at the boy as he gently patted his back.

After his son had let go though, his father grasped his shoulders tightly once again, "There is one condition though."

Bumi's smile deflated as he scrunched his face up instantly in distaste, "You're gonna make me tell mom aren't you?"

Aang laughed a bit at the expression on his son's face as he nodded, patting the boy on the head, "Look at that, you are a mad genius."

Bumi laughed slightly, then looked up at his father, grey eyes gleaming for once with something in them besides their usual dose of mischeviousness, their was now gratitude in them as well.

"Thanks, Pops,"

The Avatar nodded as his son turned towards the door, already muttering about how he was going to have to turn his paperwork in on time, and how he was going to make a good first impression. He was so lost in his own thoughts, that he didn't notice the dark haired woman standing in the shadow of the doorway, tears trickling down her face as she smiled at her passing son. Bumi was still too excited to even notice the table in front of him which he promptly ran into, stopping him in his muttering for only a second so that he could let out a small yelp, before continuing on his way as if nothing had happened.

The woman turned back towards the open doorway, as she smiled at the slightly slouched form of her husband. He had appeared as if his conversation with Bumi didn't upset him, but she knew it had.

"You did the right thing."

It was merely a whisper, but the Avatar heard her. He turned to face his wife as she walked out onto the patio, the wind rustling her brunette waves, and causing her blue robes to float unnaturally around her. The look on her face was one of pride, but he frowned slightly at the tears that still lay on her face.

"So you were spying on us? And you wonder where Bumi got his sneakiness from," Her husband joked lightly as he met her halfway, wrapping his strong arms around her comfortingly, "You, Master Katara, are one mad genius yourself."

She laughed at her husband's comments, but returned to her serious demeanor quickly, another tear escaping her clear, blue eye, "I can't believe my baby wants to fight."

Aang looked down at her gently, a pale hand caressing the damp skin of her cheek, as he whiped the offensive tear away, "You know that's not the reason he's joining. I think he knows were proud of him now, but I also believe he wants to give himself reason to be proud of who he is too."

Katara continued to cry though as she wrapped her thin arms around her husband's torso, nuzzling her face in the warm fabric of his airbending robes, "I never meant for him to not think we were proud of him in the first place, I just thought how we approached him was right. I'm a terrible mother."

Aang pulled back from her sharply, grasping her shoulders with his hands and gazing into her eyes, "Never say that again, you are the absolute best mother that those children could have ever had. I think Bumi really did know we were proud of him, but wanted to blame his need to join the United Forces on something else beside himself."

Katara nodded slightly but tears still fell onto her cheeks, to which her husband quickly made them nonexsistent with the tips of his fingers, "I just, I feel bad."

Aang nodded, "I know, I do too. But he will go on to do great things, I can sense it."

Katara smirked a bit, as she grabbed her husband's hand that was on her shoulder and gently held onto it, "Relying on instincts are we?"

The Avatar laughed at his wife as he remembered the days they used to laugh at Sokka for relying on what he labeled as his instincts, "As long as you don't ask them to carry anything, their pretty reliable."

The couple shared a chuckle, but quieted as they heard a conversation taking place upstairs with all their children, a female voice warmly congratulating her brother, a male voice giving his congratulations as well, and one voice just yelling "WAHOOOOOOO" about every three words.

"I'm proud of all of them," Katara whispered, laying her head on her husband's chest, as his arm's once again found their way around her.