Mako, along with the rest of Team Avatar, was content almost to the point of bliss.

Two years had passed since Kuvira had fallen from power of the Earth Empire. The world was the most at peace as it had been for a while now, giving Team Avatar the opportunity to invest some time into their personal lives, back in Republic City. Asami continued to administer her company and make it grow even larger; Korra did her best maintaining balance between people and spirits, helping resolve any minor conflicts that came up; Bolin found a job as the new pro-bending announcer; and Mako, freed from his unwanted duty as Prince Wu's bodyguard, resumed his detective work. Mako was the only one in their group that wasn't in a relationship, but that didn't make him any unhappier: all he had wanted in the first place, after all, was time to focus on his job. Even when things were calm, there was always minor crime afoot, and Mako wanted to dedicate himself to apprehending any criminals and solving any mysteries that he possibly could. The thought of seeking out romance never even crossed his mind. Sure, it made his friends happy, but Mako felt that for the time being, the single life was appropriate for him.

It was on an uneventful day at the police station that Mako would suddenly have no choice but to think about being in a relationship.

With the phones quiet and the streets calm, there was nothing for Mako to do but complete and file reports at his desk. It was tedious work, but it needed to be done, and days like these were the best to do them on. "Hey, kid. You've got a visitor."

Mako looked up from his paperwork at the sound of Chief Bei Fong's voice. A visitor? How odd… The only people that ever visited him at work were Korra, Asami, and Bolin- which were all rare occurrences- and normally when they did visit, Lin would plainly tell him, "_ is here." So who on earth-?

Even if Mako had been expecting someone unexpected, it's likely that he still would have nearly fallen out of his chair when his "visitor" stepped into view.

"...Prince Wu?!"

"Oh, my god, it's SO good to see you, Mako! And by the way, just 'Wu' is fine, now. Stepped down from the throne, remember? But anyway, how are you?!"

Sure, Mako remembered; but he hadn't thought about it for months, now. It had taken a few weeks to get back into the swing of being a detective and not a bodyguard, and he would sometimes receive or overhear reports on how the Earth Kingdom was handling its conversion into a republic, but after that, Prince Wu and anything he had to do with Mako slowly slipped into the back of his memory. And the memory that he had of the prince was… different, from what he saw standing before him.

Wu's overall demeanor was calmer than Mako remembered. He wore a genuine friendly smile instead of a naive, cocky grin, along with simple clothes and minimal accessories. The broach he had clung so desperately to shortly after his coronation was nowhere to be seen on his person. He seemed almost…. humble.

"...wha… What are you doing here?!" Mako uttered, ignoring Wu's "how are you."

Wu's smile only grew. "I came to see you! You see-" He paused, tilting his head and rubbing his chin. "Well, do you have some time to talk? I've got quite a bit to say."

Mako didn't like the sound of that one bit. ...still, he was curious. He glanced at the papers on his desk and sighed; he could probably afford to put off filing them for a little while. "Sure, I've got a few minutes. Grab a chair." Wu didn't hesitate to abide his request.

"It's been two years, hasn't it, Mako? I feel like so much has happened… And that's what brings me here! Let me fill you in," he began, leaning his elbows on Mako's desk and resting his chin atop his hands. Mako leaned back in his own chair, raising his eyebrows tiredly and bracing himself for a long story. "Okie dokie, so you see... I've been dedicating myself to making sure that the kingdom I chose to walk away from was doing okay without me. Just because I didn't want to lead the Earth Kingdom doesn't mean I wanted to totally abandon it, you know!

Things started off a little rocky- no pun intended." He laughed to himself, while Mako stared at him unamused. Wu didn't seem to notice. "There were still some people loyal to the idea of a monarchy, and a lot of those that wanted independence didn't know what to do with it! So I used my gentle charisma to help get everybody on track, and stayed around until some decent leaders were elected. It took a while for this new Earth Kingdom to get on its feet, but now things are just about as smooth as a pebble. Now that pun was intended!" This time, he waited for a response from Mako; when he got none, he continued on. "So, with the empire functioning as a proper republic, there wasn't really any need for me anymore, and I finally had some time to just wind down and live a humble life."

That sparked a response from Mako. He couldn't mask the disbelief in his face, and when he realized that Wu noticed this change of expression, he let slip, "You? Live humbly? What a concept."

His eyes widened a bit as Wu suddenly appeared to be hurt by that comment. "It's true! I guess it may be a little hard to believe… I admit it: the Prince Wu you knew was kind of a spoiled brat."

"Yeah, 'kind of,'" Mako scoffed.

"But 'Prince Wu' is gone now!" Wu quickly insisted. "Now I'm simply, Wu. After I saw that the Earth Kingdom didn't need a prince anymore, I did a bit of soul-searching, I guess you could call it. Where should I go from there? Who exactly is 'just Wu'? So I looked back on my life and decided I should start fresh, as a better person. No more depending on people like a little kid, no more palaces and suites, no more fancy clothes… So, I sold off some of my nicest things, gave the money to some charities helping out the poorest parts of the empire, and settled down in a nice little apartment in Ba Sing Se. But I mean, I still have enough money to live comfortably- I wasn't ready to TOTALLY go from riches to rags, you know?" He grinned at Mako; Mako only stared back at him, stunned. Was the spoiled brat he had to babysit two years ago actually giving a legitimate attempt at becoming a good person…? He simply couldn't wrap his head around it. Two years really can make a difference, I guess… he thought to himself. But he still struggled to believe it.

However, Wu still wasn't finished. "Yet I felt… out of place," he continued without waiting for a comment from Mako. "I guess this is the spoiled part of me taking over, but I felt as though if I wasn't on the throne or in a mansion, I didn't belong back in Ba Sing Se. So I decided I should completely start anew, in Republic City, where I know I have some friends, I can find a decent place to live in, and I probably won't run into people that want me dead. And now…. Here I am!" Wu sat up and threw out his arms, grandly concluding his story.

Mako was speechless. He still hadn't recovered from the shock of suddenly being in the presence of the obnoxious brat he'd waited so desperately to get rid of, let alone comprehend that said brat had fully dropped his title of "prince," was actively attempting to change himself, and had apparently moved to Republic City, the city in which Mako himself lived. It was all just too much.

"...well…. Welcome back, I guess," he eventually forced out, accompanied by an awkward cough.

"It's good to be back!" Without any warning, Wu stood from his seat and closed the gap between them with an affectionate hug that made Mako cringe. Apparently Wu's lack of respect personal boundaries was one thing that still hadn't changed. "So really, how have you been, Mako? What have you been up to these past two years?"

Mako had to peel the former prince off of him, forcing him back into his own chair. "...I've been fine. The world's pretty balanced right now, so, I've just been doing detective work like I used to. It's been kind of uneventful, I guess."

"Well, no news means good news, am I right?" Wu responded cheerfully.

"...yeah." Mako's mind buzzed, and he could feel a headache coming on. There was no way he could casually accept Wu's return… Now that Wu had shared his story, he just wanted to be alone, to either distract himself from the news or take the time to wrap his head around it. Sighing, he turned back toward his deck and reached for his stack of papers. "Look, I should probably get back to work, so-"

"Wait! I actually have one last thing to say," Wu exclaimed quickly, noticing that Mako was trying to divert his attention away from him. The look that Mako gave him in response showed a lack of interest; still, Wu gulped, sat up straighter, adjusted his shirt collar, and spoke. "I have one more reason for coming to Republic City. One big reason. The biggest reason I have, actually-"

"Can you get to the point?" Mako groaned. Part of him felt guilty for being so inconsiderate when Wu seemed to be so genuine and happy to see him. But Wu didn't really look hurt by his interjection; just a little embarrassed.

"Right, right, sorry! I'll try to speed it up a little.

So like I said, I like it here 'cause I know I've got friends here. I was excited to see Korra, and Asami, and you again… ….but mostly you, Mako. Because…" Wu cleared his throat, closing his eyes tightly as if preparing himself for what he was about to say. When he opened his eyes, they had a determined gleam in them. "I decided I would only be happy in this new life, if I had you in it."

Mako was already overly baffled, but that did it. Now he was utterly dumbfounded, frustrated, and honestly a bit disgusted. He was certain he didn't want to hear any more of this. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not your bodyguard anymore, Wu. And I sure as hell do not want to be, no matter how much 'better' of a person you've become," he snapped, shuffling his papers agitatedly.

"No! No, no, no, you've got it wrong! I'm not asking you to be my bodyguard!" Wu insisted, waving his hands frantically with widened eyes. Seeing this only made Mako's guilt louder, so he sighed again and loosened up just a bit.

"So, what, you want us to be buddies?" His confusion reached an all-time high when Wu blushed in response to the simple question.

"...well… Sort of like that." Wu withdrew upon himself like a lion turtle, staring nervously down at his lap with red cheeks. "You see, Mako… I'm in love with you."

Mako was about a millisecond away from setting his reports aflame. Instead, he dropped them out of his hands, too shocked to care that they scattered all over his desk and the floor. This was a dream; he must have fallen asleep at his desk and was stuck in some crazy dream…. First Prince Wu waltzed into his office after having not seen him for two entire years. Then he told him he was starting over as a better, humbler Wu. And now, he was confessing his LOVE to Mako?! Impossible….

"Now I know it sounds crazy, but just hear me out!" Mako pinched his leg under his desk, hoping the stimulation would wake him up; it didn't. This was real. He suddenly felt faint. "Just hear me out…" Wu repeated. Mako felt as if he had no choice but to listen. "Not a single day went by back in the Earth Kingdom that I didn't think about you. No matter how busy or exhausted I was, I always managed to think of you at least once a day! It was really weird... At first I thought I was just adjusting to living without a bodyguard, but then it started interfering with my love life. The one thing I just couldn't leave behind in this new-and-improved life of mine was my love for the ladies. I flirted around as usual, tried to ask some lovely dames out on dates…. ...but every time, I would picture you, and lose my nerve. I just couldn't explain why on earth this was happening! I mean, I thought you were great and all, but why could I not get you off my mind? So during my soul-searching, I made sure to give that a lot of thought, too, and I came to the conclusion that I must be in love with you."

"...let me get this straight… You're telling me… that you love me. Romantically. And that's mostly why you came here from Ba Sing Se," Mako confirmed, slowly, after a moment of silence.

"Exactly right! I'm absolutely smitten with ya, Mako." Wu grinned; but Mako only wore an expression of dread. Wu quickly swallowed his smile and coughed into his fist. "Look, I completely understand if you need some time to process this. And you probably don't feel the same way… But I'll tell you this: you will! Mark my words, Mako: one day, I'm going to become a man worthy of your affections," he proclaimed. Eyes twinkling, he stood and collected the papers that had fallen onto the floor while Mako watched him blankly.

"I'll let you get back to work, now… Just wanted to let you know all of this." He set the papers in a neat stack on the desk, and gave Mako a wink: not the conceited, disgustingly flirty wink Mako had seen him give so many times in the past; but a wink that gave the impression of a lighthearted promise. "I'll see you later, Mako."

Mako didn't know how to respond.