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Izumi had a problem.
The problem took the shape of her best friend, Bumi and the fact that the twelve year old couldn't stop blushing around the boy.
Bumi's jokes weren't as funny as he thought they were but recently Izumi had been laughing at them anyway, more interested in the fact that they were together than anything he said in particular.
This hadn’t been much of a problem until now as his family was coming for a visit for the first time since the crush developed. Izumi refused to look foolish again. She needed a plan, one to either break her slowly developing crush or to catch Bumi up in it with her.
She wasn't sure what to do to achieve that, but she did know exactly who she could ask about it.
"Mom," Izumi said, slipping into her parents’ room. Her mom was sitting at her vanity table, but turned to look as Izumi kneeled on the floor beside her.
"Did you need something, Izumi?" Her mom asked. Her monotone voice settled Izumi's nerves. Her dad would likely overreact to the news but she knew her mom would be levelheaded as always.
"Mom, I have a crush on a boy," she said, straightforward. "How do I get him to notice me?"
Her mom paused, putting down her eyeliner.
"Can I ask who it is?" Her mom asked.
Izumi pursed her lips. "Bumi," she said.
Her mom sighed. "Can't it be anyone else?" She asked. "He's so - loud."
"I think he's funny," Izumi said, in her friend’s defense. "Besides, dad's loud too when he yells at people."
Her mom tilted her head towards her. "You make a fair point," she said. "What exactly do you want to know? Bumi already knows you rather well."
"How can I get him to like me back?" Izumi asked.
"Well, you need to make clear your intentions," her mom said. "Just make sure you have his complete attention when you do. I used to play with your dad when we were kids. It always got his attention when I started a mud fight. I could usually get about ten minutes of his undivided attention that way. Of course, sometimes when he's being stubborn the best thing to do is pin him down with a knife until he yields."
Izumi nodded thoughtfully. Her mother had given her a lot to think about.
"Okay," she said, hopping up from the floor. "Thank you!"
Izumi ran from her parents’ room pausing to bow in apology as she nearly knocked her dad over.
"What's the rush, Zooms?" Her dad asked.
"Nothing!" Izumi called behind her.
She had planning to do.
Izumi waited impatiently for Appa to land. The elderly sky bison seemed content to take his time and the whole while, Izumi stood bouncing slightly next to her parents.
She could just make out what might be Bumi's head when her mom's hand rested on her shoulder to settle her.
"Izumi, calm down," she said.
"She's just excited," her dad said. "She hasn't seen her best friend in months."
Izumi didn't correct her dad as Appa had finally landed and Izumi took off.
She slammed full speed into Bumi who had immediately jumped from the bison's back. He leaned back slightly, lifting Izumi from the ground. She tried to stop the giggle that followed, but failed.
Bumi's lopsided grin had her looking away to hide her blush.
Izumi could do this. She had a plan and a backup plan.
"Let's go," Izumi said, grabbing Bumi's hand and dragging him to the garden. It hadn't rained in a while, so Izumi had made due with the sprinkler system.
Bumi moved to climb the turtleduck pond waterfall to get to their usual hiding spot, but Izumi stopped him.
"Wait," Izumi said. "I have something I want to talk to you about."
Bumi tilted his head. "Ask away oh fair princess," Bumi said, bowing ridiculously.
Izumi nodded before pushing Bumi backwards.
He landed in the puddle Izumi had made earlier and stared up at her in confusion before looking down at his mud covered clothes.
"What was that for?" Bumi asked.
"I needed your attention," Izumi said. "I wanted to tell you-"
"You pushed me into a mud puddle!" Bumi said. "Mom's going to kill me!"
Izumi huffed. "It washes out," she said. "Listen!"
Bumi wasn't listening though. Instead he was trying to get the mud off his pants. When that failed he growled slightly and chucked a fist full of mud at Izumi.
Izumi narrowed her eyes and tackled him.
The two fell into the puddle screaming as Izumi tried to hold Bumi's head down.
"Just listen," Izumi said.
"You're crazy!" Bumi said. "Get off, Izumi! Mom! Mom! Izumi's trying to kill me!"
"Shhh!" Izumi said. "I just wanted to tell you something."
Bumi wrestled himself free and took off through the palace.
Izumi growled herself and stood. "Plan B," she said, pulling her tenth birthday knife from her pocket.
Bumi yelled even louder when he realized Izumi was chasing him.
"Mom!" He shouted, running out into the courtyard their parents were having tea in.
"Bumi?" She heard Katara say.
"Izumi is trying to kill me," Bumi yelled, trying to hide behind his parents.
"Izumi what do you have?" Her dad asked.
"A knife," Izumi said, holding it up as she kept running after Bumi.
"Oh, okay then," her dad said.
"Okay?" Katara said. "She's threatening my son with a knife."
"She's just flirting," her mom said.
Izumi could feel herself catching up to Bumi. Bumi stopped short unexpectedly and Izumi slammed into his back.
There was a huge splash as the two fell into the fountain.
They both came up coughing and sputtering.
Bumi stood and sloshed his way out of the fountain.
"Girls are so weird!" Bumi yelled. "Mom?"
He pouted pitifully up at Katara until she pulled the water from his clothes before taking him to their quarters to get cleaned.
Izumi watched him go and tried to fight her tears. Her lower lip trembled as she rubbed her eyes.
"Come on, turtleduck," her dad said, helping her from the fountain. She was too old to be carried but he did so anyway.
When she was cleaned up and dried off she sat on her bed and frowned down at the sheets.
Her mom's hand brushed through her hair.
"I thought you said that would work," Izumi said.
Her mom had a guilty look on her face. "Baby, you didn't need to go through all that trouble. Your dad and I didn't know each other well when we were little. Bumi practically hangs off your words. All you had to do was tell him you liked him," her mom said.
"Well now he hates me," Izumi said, her voice weak.
"No," her mom said smiling. "He doesn't."
"He called me weird," Izumi said. "Twice!"
"Your dad said much the same when we were your age," her mom assured. "Look, just go talk to him. I'm sure everything will work out just fine."
Izumi bit her lip but listened. At least she tried. Bumi seemed determined to avoid her and it wasn't until the last day of his visit that she got the chance.
"Can I talk to you?" Izumi said, weakly.
"I've heard that one before," Bumi said, frowning. His mom pushed him forward and he sighed, following Izumi as his parents and siblings boarded Appa.
"I'm sorry," Izumi said. "I just wanted your attention to tell you something."
Bumi pouted. "You had it until you pushed me into a mud puddle," he said.
Izumi grimaced. "I know," she said. "Bumi, I really like you. Like, I like-like you."
"Oh," Bumi said, his closed off body language disappearing.
He didn't say anything else but Izumi watched as various expressions crossed his face.
"I like-like you too," he finally said, kissing her cheek. They both blushed brightly.
Neither seemed to know what to do.
Finally, Bumi turned and took off running. "Appa, yipyip!" He yelled, startling everyone as the bison took off abruptly, with him barely seated.
Izumi hid a smile as he went as her hand came up to her cheek.
"What was that?" Her dad asked.
"Nothing to concern yourself with," her mom said, winking at Izumi.
It was a rather miserable and dreary day when her husband and son returned from Republic City. It had been raining for the past week but oddly stopped for the arrival of the two men, which she was grateful for.
Izumi held out her arms as her son approached her. He slipped easily into a hug, as he always did and Izumi held on fiercely to her baby boy. General of the United Forces he may be now, but he would always be her little baby.
She squeezed tightly around his middle before letting him go.
"Where's your dad?" She asked. "I thought he was coming with you."
Iroh smiled cheekily at her as he turned to hug his sister. Izumi squinted at him suspiciously, which was the only reason Bumi got the jump on her.
The two fell backwards, off the courtyard stone and into a giant mud puddle.
"Bumi!" She yelled.
"What?" He asked. "I just wanted your attention to tell you something."
Izumi sighed as her children laughed at them.
"What did you need to tell me?" She asked.
Bumi smiled softly down at her.
"I love you."