Hotel Camellia

Summary: After Amon's defeat and returning from the South Pole, there was some cleaning up to do in Republic City. At random, Korra picks a suspect Equalist hideout to investigate. The location was one Mako and Bolin were already familiar with.

Pairings: Hints of Makorra. Bosami if wish to look at it that way.

Rating: K

Written to the accompaniment of the instrumental song 'Hotel Camellia' from the official soundtrack of the movie Taken (2008). Listen as you read for complete feels :]

Hotel Camellia. The large, bold red letters of the sign used to be lit up by angled lamps, drawing in the attention of customers from near and far. Now it was faded, the paint chipped in more places than others, and poorly aged like the rest of the building.

"This is the place?" Korra inquired, glancing around the street as the car came to a stop. Asami nodded from the driver's seat before her.

"This is the address you said: building 427, two streets after driving through the Dragon Flats borough." The Sato heiress replied, killing the engine and looking up. "I've never been to this part of town before...Tenzin didn't tell you what kind of place it was?"

Korra snorted, "Please. Tenzin never tells me any information he thinks can land me into trouble...he doesn't tell me a lot of things, now that I think about it. I took it upon myself to pick a spot and investigate. Chief Beifong's team says this might be a place Equalists were using to train and hide equipment." Korra hoisted herself out of the car, Asami stepping out much more gracefully, and smacked the back of the vehicle as the two girls made their way up the abandoned hotel's steps. "C'mon, you two!"

Bolin took in the appearance of the old hotel. The windows and main entrance were boarded up haphazardly. The streetlights that lined up the front were broken, the lamps shattered. The rich red awnings that hung over the windows and doorway were weathered, ripped, and faded to an ugly rust color. Propaganda posters were plastered on the dull walls and graffiti stained the sand-colored brick. Litter was scattered on the sidewalk. This part of town had seen better days as a whole, but the hotel seemed to have drawn the short stick.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"To pick up your mother from her new job. She can't walk home alone now, can she?"

"Can we come?"

"Why don't you stay here with your big brother and watch the house until we come back?"

"No, I want to go too! Bo and I will walk you and Mama home!"

Bolin turned to look at Mako in the backseat, unmoving like he was. The firebender was quiet, drinking in the hotel and, like himself, having trouble swallowing the fact that of all places they wound up doing a search raid here. When their names were called again by Asami-Korra was busy kicking the door open- Mako forced himself out of the car. Bolin snapped out of his daze and did the same.

Walking into the hotel was a surreal experience. The brothers' minds reeled back. Years of dust had the teens in a coughing fit until Korra airbended most of it out the door. The four walked further into the main lobby, huddled relatively close and wary of any enemy that could be hiding in the shadows.

"Wow..." Asami breathed, her voice echoing in the grand room. "This place is beautiful." She stopped by a sitting area, her delicate fingers running over a stained-glass lamp as she admired its details.

Korra stared up at the vaulted ceilings. Classic patterns, while small, were drawn at the center where a large crystal chandelier hung. Where the ceiling melted into the pillars that lined the left and right sides of the room, flowers and vines stippled the gold trimmings that made up the border design of the walls. "Yeah. It must've been something special back in the day. Wonder why it closed..."

Mako found his feet taking him to the main desk. He brushed the dust off the mahogany desk, a perfect imprint of his hand there and the glossy finish of the wood revealed. It was as if he was seeing double. He physically touched, visibly saw, smelt, and choked on the aging of the building he was in. His mind's eye, however, saw the room lit up by the crystal chandelier that glittered like the midday sun reflected in Yue Bay; smelt the scent of new leather and shoe polish. There were no holes in the walls or chipped paint peeling here and there. The marble floors were like mirrors because of how clean and pristine they were. The burgundy Persian rugs were dust-free, plush under his feet.

He remembered the check-in attendant behind the big brown desk, meticulous about hanging the keys to the hotel rooms so that they lay identically against the tacked board beside the mail slots. The keys were still there, all lined in a row, the teeth facing the right.

"Es'cuse me Mr., we came to get our Mama."

"Little boy, there is no running in the lobby of this hotel."

"Didn't you hear what my little brother said? We came to get our Mama, go get her!"

"...I told you two not to run! Mako, don't be rude; my apologies, sir. We're here to pick up my wife, do you know where I might find her? She's a hostess, just started this week."

"It's alright. It's good to see children who appreciate their parents every once in a while. Not enough of them stay at this hotel. Let me get my assistant, she'll go get her for you. You can take a seat while you wait."

Mako shook his head, willing the memories out of his mind to no avail. A hand touched the small of his back and startled him, and he turned around to see Korra looking at him peculiarly. "You alright?" She asked, her head tilted ever so slightly, an unsure frown knitting her brows together. He nodded, wiping the dust off his hand on his leg and rubbing his nose.

"Yeah, fine. It's just really dusty in here; my allergies might start acting up." He sniffed. He could tell she wasn't buying it-Korra's known him for half a year now, she wasn't dense-but she let it go.

"Asami and I are gonna take a look around upstairs. You and Bolin can sweep the main level and we'll meet you back here in twenty minutes. Okay?" She told him. Behind her, Mako saw that the Sato vixen had already started walking up the carpeted marble staircase. The lit pit-pat of her steps were muffled by the rug, but it was so quiet in the building that it still echoed.

"Alright. Be careful." He heeded. Korra gave him a cocky smirk with a glint of mischief in her eye, as if to say 'when do you ever need to worry about me' and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before running after Asami. Mako was left alone with his thoughts, finally, and let out a heavy sigh. He spun around to look at the entire room.

He remembered dozens of people moving about a long time ago. Butlers carried luggage, hosts guided guests to their rooms, and buffet carts crossed the lobby from the dining room to the guest rooms. He remembered the assortment of different people that attended the hotel. Most of them were wealthy, wearing thick fur coats, silk suits, and hats of every shape and size.

"Daddy, what is that?"

"That's a poodle-pony, Bolin."

"No , that, on the lady's neck.. What is it? It looks like a baby rabaroo!"

"Shh, not so loud, son. Haha, that's not a rabaroo, it's just a really thick scarf."

"Oh."

"It's ugly."

"Mako, pipe down!"

"Look at me: I'm a fat old lady wearing a hat with pig-chicken feathers and a big, smelly scarf! It's the latest style! Am I pretty?"

"Hahahahaha...!"

"Boys, settle down! Haha, Mako, please, you're going to get us in trouble...!"

A bittersweet grin twitched at Mako's lips when his eyes landed on a couch in the far left corner of the room. He remembered sitting there beside his father and Bolin people-watching and naively speaking their young minds. He remembered how he took his father's scarf and wrapped it around his neck like the old lady with the ugly scarf, mimicking her posture and walk for Bolin's entertainment. His father was also too amused to effectively reprimand him.

The sound of cracking glass whisked Mako back to reality. He silently tip-toed into the next big room on the left past the couch to where the noise came from. It was a lounging/library style room, with sparse bookshelves that used to be filled with literature for the hotel guests to read and relax. Now most of the shelves were bare or had a few boxes on them. The firebender spotted his brother by one of these bookshelves that sat between a set of tall windows. The windows were broken and some of the wood boards torn down, a tell-tale sign that at some point someone broke into the hotel. At the sound of footsteps, Bolin looked back.

"Oh, hey. Haven't found anything yet...well, except that." He pointed to the broken window, "If Equalists used this place, they probably broke in there. The windows aren't too high off the ground from the side street."

"Yeah, probably."

Silence followed. It seemed to be smothering them.

"Mako...do you remember the lady with the cookies?"

Another faint grin itched at Mako's lip as he slowly walked over to where the earthbender was by the window, careful not to step in large shards of glass. His hand ghosted over furniture and objects as he went, his mind replaying much more vivid scenes of the run-down room he was in.

"Mama! There she is!"

"Mama!"

"Bolin, Mako, wait-!"

The woman was of a portly figure and the brothers remembered making the comments of how she looked like a Nana to them-the nice kind. Bolin remembered reaching his mother first, running straight into her arms and being scooped up into her embrace. The lithe woman was tackled at the legs by little Mako next ad she nearly fell over. They remembered the surprised look on her face, her beautiful smile, happy and flattered that her entire family came to pick her up after her first day on the job. She talked to this older woman for only a few moments longer- work details that Mako, much less Bolin, ever bothered paying attention to.

"And who are there two handsome fellas?"

"My two little men: this is Bolin and this is Mako."

"Well, aren't you boys adorable?"

"We're not adorable. We're big boys. Big boys are gentlemen."

"Hahaha, of course, my mistake! You're right, you two are two very handsome little gentlemen. I guess that means I can't give you any cookies. Gentlemen are too old for cookies, right?"

"No!"

"Yum, cookies!"

Opening a nearby box, Mako peered inside to see if he'd find any Equalist weapons. There was only some porcelain decorations from the old hotel buried in heaps of shredded newspaper. He reached Bolin and saw that his brother was holding something. He presumed it to be evidence, but the small object twisted around the earthbender's fingers caused a stabbing ache in his heart. The silk handkerchief was old: white with gold trim and the camellia flower of the hotel printed on one of the corners in scarlet red.

"Thank you, you didn't have to give them any. What do you boys say?"

"Thank you!"

"Here, wrap those in Mama's handkerchief. You can eat them when we get home, OK? Now where'd you boys leave your father?"

Bolin didn't flinch when Mako rested his hand on his shoulder. He didn't even turn back. He gazed steadily out the broken window at the cobblestone street outside. It may have been bathed in the golden rays of the fleeting sunset, but Bolin didn't see that. He saw the four of them walking down that street, heading home. He held hands with mom. Mako held hands with dad. The brothers held hands with each other in the middle. One big happy family.

"We'd better hurry up. It looks like it could rain any minute now."

One big happy family with a time-bomb stuck to the bottom of their shoes.

"Do you...do you ever wonder if we didn't run to get back faster...or if we'd taken the trolley...?" Bolin started asking, but he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. His grip on the handkerchief tightened. Tears stung in his eyes. He felt his throat constrict.

No, none of that would've mattered. The thugs believe that were a wealthy family and guests staying at the hotel. They thought they were from out of town: naive tourists that decided to see the city at night and take the backstreets to get to their destination sooner. The thugs wanted money the family didn't possess and thought them to be liars when they explained they were middle-class citizens of Republic City returning home from work. He remembered it all too clearly, too well. Weren't memories supposed to fade with time? Why did these ones linger?

The Triad muggers crept up on them from all four sides like reaping shadows. He remembered ducking behind his mother and clutching her skirt while Mako did the same with their father. He recalled his father trying to be civil and talk with the muggers but they wouldn't listen. He remembered how his mothers asked the brave earthbender to back down, how she was willing to give her first day's pay to the gang members if that meant they could walk away unharmed. No matter what they tried, the muggers didn't care. They were cruel and heartless. When the memory of their faces flashed in Bolin's mind- when he saw the twisted pleasure they got from threatening them- his stomach churned.

It was the thugs that launched the first attack. A blaze of fire catapulted towards them, and his mother quickly manipulated the flames into a wall that stopped before it came too close. With unspoken coordination, the woman dispelled the flames and his father jumped forward with a mighty stomp to the ground. The earth beneath the attacker's feet shot up and sent the made flying a good twenty yards away from them. It was at that moment the thugs realized they'd provoked two very capable benders and joined the flurry. Mom tried to keep the flames under control. Dad tried to keep the benders at bay so they could run away. They were outnumbered.

"Mako, I want you to take your brother and run back to the hotel as soon as you get the chance!"

"But dad-!"

"This isn't a yes or no question Mako, just do it!"

"No! I won't leave you here, I can help!"

"Mako, listen to me you have to go! You'll be helping us by keeping you and your brother safe! Once you get back to the hotel, tell someone what's happening. They'll come help us."

Bolin remembered the tears in Mako's eyes and the whirlwind of emotion spinning in the bright amber color. It made him shake with fear and the urge to cry as well. Mako was always the big brother that looked out for him. He was serious, but at the same time he did everything in his power to make Bolin laugh and smile. To see his idol so broken and confused, completely vexed with agony and terror...it was the scariest moment in his young life.

"Daddy, I don't want to leave you here!"

"It won't be long, I promise! I need you to be a big, brave boy Mako! Get Bolin out of here; go get help!"

Everything happened in a blur after that. An earth wall rose before the family, shielding them from a stream of fire. Their mother bent down and kissed them both on the forehead before shooing them back in the direction of the hotel. The brothers ran. Never in his life did Bolin run so fast like he did that night. And Mako was even faster, pulling him along with a vice grip on his little wrist that hurt. His desperation willed his feet to move faster. Bolin remembered how at this point it was raining, but he never noticed when it started. The downpour saturated the streets and made the cobblestone street slick to run on. The blaze of the fire-fight behind them reflected off everything. He remembered multiple footsteps chasing after them. There were screams that ordered the sibling be captured as well as screams of protest from their parents.

That quickly changed. In the blink of an eye, his parents weren't shouting in their defense anymore. They were screaming in pain. Blood-curling, horrifying screams that tortured his ear and a blinding flash of orange just as they turned the street corner. Bolin was ahead of Mako now and he saw it. The hotel was there, just up the street. They were going to make it.

When Mako screamed, the little jade-eyed boy came to a halt.

"DAAAAD!"

He was crying. Mako was crying.

"MOM!"

Bolin was crying too. He turned to look over his shoulder, found Mako petrified at the street corner staring back in the direction they just came from. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Mako-?"

"There's the runts!"

"Bolin, run!"

The street wasn't very steep, but it felt like a hill to Bolin that night. He was caught from behind, hoisted roughly by the back of his little jacket and gagged with the man's elbow pressing against his trachea. He heard Mako's struggles with the other mugger behind him, and before he knew it he was out of his captor's grip and fallen on the ground. Mako scrambled to pull him closer to the hotel. He didn't care that his little brother hadn't found his balance and footing. Bolin didn't care either. He stumbled after Mako as fast as his little feet could manage. Unfortunately for both boys, one of the muggers was quick to recover. He caught up to the boys and tried to yank Bolin away from Mako. He almost got away with it too.

Almost.

For the first time in his life, Mako finally pulled off a simple firebending attack just as his mother had been teaching him for the past year, all in the panic to save his brother. It was bittersweet. The man fell back and rolled around in attempts to extinguish the flames on his clothes. It was the perfect distraction for them to get away. They made it back to the hotel. They cried to everyone in sight for help. The man at the front desk called the police and gathered a group of employees to head outside to help. The old lady brought the two distraught toddlers into the reading room for hot tea to relax their nerves and wrapped the soaking boys in towels. They were kept there while they await their parents.

In the very room they stood in now.

"I..." Mako choked behind him, snapping Bolin out of his reverie. He turned around to face his brother. The firebender was staring at the floor, his amber eyes brimming with tears, lost in the same memory. "I don't know." He whispered with a tight voice.

Bolin tackled Mako in a hug with an unyielding grip, hiding his face in Mako's scarf. In dad's scarf. Mako hugged him back in the same instant, resting his chin on top of his head. The jade-eyed teen felt tears soak through his hair and onto his scalp as his older brother's torso quivered with silent sobs. The floodgates opened, and he cried into Mako's embrace.

"I miss them." He wept. Mako's arms tightened around him. A silent 'me too'.

Korra ran around the entire main floor, stopping in the lobby and hunching over her knees as she caught her breath. Asami same jogging from upstairs.

"I can't find them anywhere!" The water tribe native huffed, motioning, "I ran through the entire place four times!"

"I just saw them out the window. They're sitting on the front steps outside." Asami explained, also a little short of breath. Korra's blue eyes lit up and she ran for the door. Asami slid down the marble banister and ran after her. Outside, just as the heiress said, the brothers were sitting on the steps. Bolin was leaning on Mako's shoulder and Mako was leaning on one of the metal stands for the awning.

"Have you guys been sitting out here this whole time?" The waterbender scowled, hand on her hips as she walked down the stairs. "Why didn't you say anything? We've been running around the place like crazy looking for you guys! What gives?" She complained. All her anger vanished when she got a good look at her teammates. Bolin had a far-off look in his eyes as he stared at the ground. Mako's eyes were closed. Both shared the tell-tale signs that they were crying: reddened skin around the eyes, tip of the nose, and cheeks; wet lashes; frowns; the tear-stains on their clothes.

"Mako, Bolin, what happened?" The black-haired girl asked, worry and concern evident in her voice. The earthbender of the group seemed to finally realize the girls had joined them.

"Did you guys find anything?"

"No, nothing, just a lot of old hotel stuff." Asami answered, ready to ask again, but the teen unintentionally cut her off.

"Can we go back to the Air Temple now?" Bolin was almost pleading- it broke the girls' hearts. They shared a worried, confused look. Asami nodded, fishing the keys out of her pocket. Bolin tapped Mako's knee and hauled up to his feet, wordlessly heading to the car and taking a seat in the back. Asami went as well and got the car started. Mako slowly stood up, and Korra saw a hurt in his eyes the likes of which she'd never seen before. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he started towards the car too.

The Avatar joined him at his side, gently squeezing his forearm. "Mako..."

"Not now, Korra." The firebender whispered. The vulnerability in his voice caught her off guard. "Maybe later or tomorrow...OK?" Korra was a little miffed that she had no answers, but that feeling was both fleeting and miniscule in comparison to her worry. She took a seat with Asami in the front for the quiet ride back home. Both girls watched the brothers carefully in the back. They leaned on each other for the support in the same way they'd been sitting on the steps, eyes downcast until they fell asleep.

It wasn't until the following weekend that the brother found it in themselves to share the tragedy in their lives that happened at Hotel Camellia. By the end of their story Asami and Bolin became each other's shoulder to cry on, for the story struck a very personal nerve with the heiress. Korra wallowed in guilt. It was thanks to her bullheadedness that she brought the boys there. Mako told her she had nothing to apologize for. After all, she didn't know any better. He refused to let her apologize for it. She stubbornly hugged him and kissed away his tears that threatened to fall anyway.

The brothers slept more easily that night, and the following morning found in themselves the resolve to make a trip they hadn't done in years. They left before dawn, leaving a note that said they'd be back for lunch, and headed for the back hills in the east side of Republic City.

The cemetery was certainly much more...full...then they last remembered it. Then again, they barely remembered anything except their parents' tombstones. The enclose area easily doubled in size, stretching back into the hills. The grounds had a rather picturesque view of the city. Fitting for the deceased that rested there. When the brothers finally found the graves, they lay down the flowers they brought for their parents and sat there for hours, both of them quiet.

"...We're athletes now. Pro-benders." Bolin glanced up from petting Pabu behind the ears, brows furrowed in confusion. "I know you never really liked it because you thought it was dangerous, but we're really good at it." The jade-eyed teen smiled at his older brother. Mom would have their heads if she were still alive. Dad would put up a show for her, but secretly approve.

Bolin chuckled, joining in, " Yeah, you should see us in the ring. We may be the rookie underdogs, but we kick some major butt out there. And you'll never guess who our teammate is..." It was Mako's turn to grin at his little brother. If dad were around to see that his boys had befriended the prestiged Avatar, he'd lose his voice in shock. Mom would have a cow-hippo.

And just like that, Mako and Bolin wound up staying at the graves until late afternoon, telling their parents everything that happened since they left.

Prompts are welcome :] They can hint pairings and feature other characters, but they still have to remain ferret-brother-centric.

Too many Korra feels. Too many Korra feels for these siblings. I have a thing/soft-spot for sibling relationships.

Spirits I hope we get a back-story for them. Until then, I'll dump all my ideas here.