Mother's Day
It's a cool day in Republic City, but the skies are filled with small grey clouds. Crowds of families don't care though, as they walk to and from destinations, treating that lovely woman that took care of the family year-round. Their destination may be the park, or a fancy restaurant, or anywhere else that would satisfy said lovely woman. You guessed it. It's Mother's Day.
There are two young men in the crowd. One is a tall, lean, handsome, young man with a red scarf. He wears a hard expression, no one really sure if he's angry or not. The other is a younger looking man, shorter, but more built and handsome as well. He wears a child-like expression on his face, a big contrast to the other man beside him. Side-by-side, you can tell the two men are brothers. They both walk in the sea of families, each holding their own bouquet of flowers.
"Hey, Mako? You okay?" the younger man asks his brother, Mako.
"Yea, Bolin. There are just too many people out today," he grunts when a woman's purse jabs his ribs, "Why are there so many people in one place?" Mako finally says, slightly losing his cool.
"We should've asked Korra if we could've borrowed Naga, huh? It would've made this trip a lot easier." Bolin joked, but Mako didn't say anything back. Bolin sighed, not wanting to anger his brother even more. The two walked in silence, avoiding running into people, and heading to Republic City Cemetery.
Republic City Cemetery certainly wasn't abandoned on this day. Many families are seen, wearing solemn expressions on their faces, visiting deceased mothers, sisters, grandmothers, and the like. The grey clouds above cover the skies more, giving the cemetery its own haunting atmosphere. Mako and Bolin walk on the pavement, looking for something that seems to be very important to them. Their eyes, now filled with sadness, spot their destination, and walk to it.
The brothers finally reach their destination. Mako crouches down, places his flowers on the ground, and wipes away dirt on a weathered stone. Bolin moves to his brother's side, and places his flowers on the ground as well. He helps Mako clean up a headstone, all the while, tracing the lettering and dates on it. After a couple minutes of cleaning, they stand up. Mako and Bolin are now silent, only the wind is heard; piercing gold and deep green eyes stare at the headstone that marks their mother's final resting place.
"You know, mom wouldn't like that you're always so broody on this day," Bolin mumbles to Mako, hoping his brother wouldn't blow up on him.
When Mako didn't react, Bolin continued, "She would want you to enjoy today. She would want you to remember all the good things that happened before she passed. She would—," Bolin was cut short by Mako. "She would want me to enjoy that the element that killed her and dad is the element I bend?"
Bolin's eyebrows shot up, "What? Bro? Are you really blaming our parents death on you? You're filled with guilt?"
"You're not the one that witnessed both mom and dad's death. The guy killed both of them with fire, and you know what I did? I just stood there and watched." Mako snapped. "If mom were alive, she would be terrified of me…" Mako whispers while readjusting his scarf to cover his face.
Bolin's eyes now fill with sympathy. "Mako, mom wouldn't be terrified…" he starts out slowly, "Mom would never blame you just because you're a fire bender, she fell in love with a firebender, and you were eight when the guy attacked. No one expects you to save anyone at that age," Mako takes in his words, pulls his scarf down slightly, and nods, "I think mom would be proud that you stayed strong for both of us... and that you raised a stud like me on your own," Bolin ends, with a teasing tone. Mako cracks a smile, the first time that day, and punches Bolin lightly.
"Mom would think I raised you wrong," Mako teases back.
"Hey! I turned out perfectly fine! Thank you very much!" Bolin retorts sarcastically.
Silence once consumes the two brothers again, but this time both brothers are at ease. Bolin once again breaks the silence, "Hey, bro… happy mother's day."
Mako looks quizzically at his younger sibling, thinking of it as another joke, and replies, "Bolin, stop fooling around -," Bolin interrupts, turning his head so Mako can see his serious expression.
"I'm not fooling around. I'm genuinely saying 'Happy Mother's Day' to you. Listen, after I mention that you raised me, it got me thinking. You filled both mom and dad's rolls at freaking eight years old. You protected me, got me food, worked hard for me to be happy, like a real mom would. I know it's weird, since you're my brother and all, but still..." Bolin ends lamely, but with a sincere smile.
Mako is touched by what his younger brother said. Mako doesn't care about his "manliness" or "stoic personality" anymore. When he hugged Bolin so tight, Bolin thought his lungs would collapse.
"Bro…. need….air….Mako…!" Bolin wheezes out.
Mako loosens his death grip on Bolin, but doesn't let go. "Bolin, thanks…just…thank you." Mako mutters as he finally releases Bolin, Bolin mutters a quiet, "No problem, just don't hug me like that again," while catching his breath.
The two regain their composures, all the while laughing at what happened, and set their sights on the headstone once again. The grey clouds are now darker, signaling that rain is coming soon, but the brothers don't notice.
"I miss her. A lot." Mako mumbles.
"I do too, man. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if mom lived, heck, dad too!" Bolin adds.
"Well… I don't think we would've gotten into Pro-Bending," Mako suggests, not wanted to say, "We wouldn't have to live on the streets."
He hears Bolin gasps and utter a terrified tone, "If we never got into Pro-Bending, we would never have met Korra! Mako, mom would've loved Korra, don't ya think?" Mako chuckles at Bolin's enthusiasm, and replies with a smile, "Mom would've loved anyone we were friends with," Bolin smiles at this.
"She would've cooked our friends their favorite meal, tend their wounds, treat them as if they were her kids-," His happy statement is cut short when the grey clouds above cracked with thunder, as the rain finally dropped lightly to the ground.
Bolin and Mako shared a look, not wanting to leave the cemetery so soon, but decided that they can always return when the weather was better again. Mako and Bolin stared at the headstone that marked their mother's existence once more, and thought of their good-byes. Bolin arranged the two bouquets differently to make sure the rain wouldn't harm them too much. They then ran out, covering their heads from the rain, with the final thoughts of:
"Happy Mother's Day, mom. We miss you so much. We will always love you."