Mako was sitting on the edge of his son's bed, his arms resting on his thighs as he listened to his poor son regale him with what had happened today. He listened intently, nodding and making the occasional sound to make sure his son knew he was still paying attention.
"They all saw!" Siku cried, his voice wavering and cracking at the emotion he felt. "They all saw dad."
Mako looked at his fourteen year old son, his bright blue eyes so much like his mother's filled with worry and upset. This was a rare look on his son's face, one he always wished to mend as quickly as he could. Today though was a bit of a tougher situation, one that would take a fair amount of thought put into it to make sure Siku didn't curl up into a ball of shame forever. He had no idea how to do this talk properly, his father had never had a chance to give it to him, and he'd masterfully avoided talking about it with Bolin. His son needed him though. Oooh boy. Why did they have to grow so fast? He missed his son giving him scrawled pictures to put up on the fridge.
"Y-you're not saying anything dad." Siku said, his brows drawing together with growing worry as fussy hands ran through his loose brown hair.
"Siku. Sit." Mako began, hoping he'd find the right words to say once he opened his big mouth. "What happened today… it's normal."
The thousand mile stare of horror made Mako wince.
"It's going to happen again?!" Siku cried. He opened his mouth to continue talking but paused when his dad's hand landed on his shoulder.
"Siku. It's embarrassing, but it's natural. It happens to all boys your age."
"I've never seen it happen before." Siku mumbled.
"I can tell you that it happens. It happened to me when I was around your age." Thankfully he wasn't in front of all his class mates when his body decided to betray him in such a way.
"People saw?" Siku asked, staring into his dad's face.
Lie, or don't lie? "No…" Mako began slowly, squeezing his sons shoulder so he'd continue listening and not argue right away. "Not the first time. I know it's embarrassing, and when people laugh at you it really hurts. I can't tell you how to stop it, but I can tell you what to do if you notice before anyone else."
"Yeah?" Siku asked with hope in his voice.
"Sitting down helps a lot." He said. "If you can find a way to stay sitting until it goes away, because it will, it'll help you out. Or if you have something you're carrying, hold it in front of you."
"What if they do notice?"
"Then walk away if you can. Or go to the teacher if it happens at school. I know you really won't want to but they can help give you some privacy."
Siku looked skeptical but managed a nod. His parents always told him to try something before he dismissed it. So he'd have to keep this little bit of advice in mind for if- when it happened again. "Okay."
Mako smiled and drew his boy in for a big hug. "Good." He ruffled his son's hair, making him laugh.
"No dad stop it!" Siku laughed before his dad began to tickle him.
"Oh no! You're being attacked by the TICKLE BENDER!'"
Out in the hallway Korra heard her son cry out that he was too old for Tickle Bending before he descended into laughter with Mako. She leaned her back against the wall across from the door and smiled warmly as she listened. Thankful that the talk had gone as well as it clearly had. Poor Siku hadn't even been able to look at her when he'd come home, asking immediately where Mako was. She supposed the look she got at the news that he was working was the same as what Mako would get from their daughter if she asked him specifically for her and she was told that she wasn't around.
Still, Korra wished she could have made things better for him before Mako had returned. Thankfully Mako had come home not long after her son had so whatever misery he was going through didn't have to be too drawn out.
Fortunately their daughter was very easy to talk to for both her and Mako, whereas Siku seemed to have latched onto only his father for advice. Then again there were times when Mako wished that their daughter wasn't quite so 'open' to asking him questions he would rather not think about. Especially when it came to his daughter and anything biological. Korra was sure that her daughter's openness and ease came directly from her.
"Hey Mom?"
Korra was startled out of her thoughts. "Yes Agi?"
Agni allowed her mother to call her by her pet name. If only so she could try to butter her up a bit so she could go out. "Ah… I wanted to know if I could maybe, not eat dinner with you, Siku and papa?"
"Oh?" Korra asked as she noticed her daughter beckon her a bit farther down the hallway. "Why would you skip dinner?"
Agni saw the playful glint in her mother's eyes. She knew her mother knew why!
Korra couldn't hold off the huge grin as her daughter huffed at her. "Are you going out with a boy?" She asked conspiratorially.
Agni grinned widely and nodded, her mother's teasing having already flown from her memory. "The Earth Nation boy I was telling you about."
"The one with the cute hair cut?"
Another grin and nod from her daughter.
"Well… I don't see why not." Korra said. "Just make sure you're home by 10."
Agni straightened up and nodded seriously. "Yes ma'am!" After a moment she laughed and hugged her mother. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You're the best!"
Korra hugged her daughter and rubbed her back. "I know I am." She had to rock up onto her toes so she could kiss her daughter on the forehead. "Go have fun."
She watched her daughter rush down the hall and turn to take the stares, disappearing from sight.
"Korra?" Mako asked as he peeked out of Siku's room.
"Hm?"
"I thought I heard Agni. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine." Korra said as she clasped her hands behind her back and began to walk away. "I was just telling Agni that she could go out on a date."
"Wh-WHAT?!" Mako sputtered as he walked out into the hall fully, closing Siku's door behind him. "But she's too little! She's just a baby Korra!"
"Mako. She's sixteen, nearly seventeen. After what we did at her age I can't deny her this."
Mako's eyes widened with horror. He knew what he'd done when he was that age! "Who is he?"
Korra stepped over to her husband and put her arms over his shoulders. "Mako, it's just a date. She'll be home right at 10."
Mako didn't look convinced but slumped. Hnnnn! His baby girl!
Korra hugged him and stroked the back of his head, her fingers running through his hair. It still surprised her at times that he could be SUCH a worrier. She looked up his concerned face, studying it for a moment before she kissed him.
Mako wasn't responsive at first but quickly the kiss melted his worries away and he pulled his wife to him. He kissed back heatedly, the way her fingers toyed with his hair only encouraging him.
Korra licked his bottom lip before she had to pull away. "Save that. We have to make dinner for the child we still have in the house with us."
"Bo can take him."
Korra laughed as she stepped back, whacking him on the chest lightly. "No. Come on. Get Siku, we can all make dinner together."
With that Korra walked away. Mako's eyes remained locked on her, and as if she somehow knew, Korra swayed a little extra. The blue pants she wore more hugging than the ones she wore when they were young. He had to take a deep steadying breath. Oh… He cleared his throat, having to look down so he'd stop boring a hole into his wife's back. His eyes caught sight of the front of his pants and he sighed.
Stupid everything.
XXX
"You don't have to stand right at the door Mako. She's going to be back."
"She has one minute." He argued as he stared at the door, waiting for it to open and for his About-To-Be-Late-Daughter to walk in.
"Mako come and sit."
"Korra. What if something happened to her?"
Korra put her hands on her hips seriously. "Mako. NOTHING has happened to her."
"It's ten." Mako said seriously as he went back to looking at the door, the sounds of the clock's chime filling the air.
Korra tried to coax him to sit down sighing defeatedly when he just would not move from his place at the door. She decided to stand staring at him, her hands having gone back to her hips. "This face I'm making, this disapproving one, is for when she walks in and you realize you're ridiculous."
Mako held his ground, staring at the door as if his gaze could see through it and focus right on his daughter. He kept staring. Waiting.
Korra looked at the time. It wasn't that late, only a minute over. "She probably hit foot traffic, or their meal ran a little long. She DID go out for dinner after all."
Mako began to look at the clock in a paranoid way and as soon as it hit two minutes after ten he strode over to the phone.
"What are you doing?" Korra asked as she quickly closed the space between them.
"Something's happened Korra! She's lost! Or Hurt! AND she's with some strange guy!"
"Hiro is NOT a 'strange guy'."
He turned to her. "Hiro? The boy whose father is the criminal?" he reached for the phone even faster now dialing the number he needed!
"He is NOT a criminal, at least not in the way that you seem to be think-" She stared at him, her head clicking to what he'd said. "You looked into Hiro's parents?!"
"I'm glad I did! What if he's stolen our baby?!" Mako would have continued but someone picked up at the other end. "Hello, this is Officer Mako! I need EVERYONE! I have a missing per-" He looked back when he heard the door open.
Hiro stumbled a little bit as he carefully walked in, carrying Agni on his back. The tall girl loomed unhappily over him.
"Oh Agni. Here you can set her on the couch. What happened? " Korra fretted as she went about fussing over her poor unhappy looking daughter.
"I slipped on an ice cube when I got up to go to the bathroom at the restaurant." Agni said to her mom, trying to not cry at the embarrassment she felt.
"She hurt her ankle so…" Hiro began before he shuffled his feet a bit, his posture shrinking under Mako's stare.
"So you carried her all the way back home?" Korra asked as she looked at Mako who was now mumbling something into the phone and hanging up. "That's so wonderful of you Hiro. Isn't it Mako?"
And this was the Sprits rubbing it in. Clearly. "Yes. It is. Thank you Hiro." Ugh.