The only sound in the cemetery was the sound of Avatar Kyo's voice.
Sitting in front of the grave stone, his shirt nearly the same shade of green as the faded grass below him, he reached the end of his story.
"Can you believe that, Gramps?" he asked, a big grin on his square face. "I nearly laughed in the councilman's face. Had to channel my inner Uncle Mako to keep a straight face. He was trying to compliment me, after all."
Mako smiled. All he had to do was close his eyes and he could see another figure sitting crossed-legged against the headstone. A generation stood between them, but both had same solid build and infectious smile. Mako could tell Kyo came here often. It didn't surprise him.
Kyo got up, brushing off his clothes and smoothing his dark hair away from his face. It obeyed for a moment before a single curl sprang out, landing on the Avatar's wide forehead.
"Gotta go. I promised the boys I'd take them to Miyuki's probending match tonight as long as the world wasn't ending," Kyo held his hands out, looking to the right and then the left. "And as you can see, the world isn't currently ending."
He sounded so much like Korra, Mako laughed out loud. How many times had she used a similar line? Mako had lost count over a long, long life of how many times they had to adjust for some emergency.
Kyo stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked down the row of graves, whistling a jaunty tune. As he passed the next two graves, he nodded once to each of them. The last time Mako saw Kyo, he was fifteen. Now he was a grown man, with kids and wife who was probending champion.
As Kyo disappeared over a hill, Mako walked over to the grave.
"Who'd have guessed, bro?" he asked, placing his hand on the headstone.
Bolin's headstone still looked new, though Mako guessed that with so many earthbenders in the family helped, he shouldn't be surprised. To the right was Opal's grave. To the left, the two graves that Kyo had acknowledged. One of them was his. The other was Korra's.
It was strange, standing so close to his own grave. The last time he'd been here, there was only the one headstone. Now they were all here. He could stand in front of them and see the fifteen year gap set in stone. The longest years of his life, though he couldn't say they'd been miserable. Hard years, but full years.
No one had expected it to be Kyo. Least of all Mako. When he'd opened the door one evening to find Bolin waiting outside that was not the first thought to cross his mind. Bolin's tight smile had him running through the names of all their friends. They were at that age and Bolin looked like he was about to deliver someone's death sentence.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Can I come inside?" Bolin replied. "You're going to want to sit down for this one."
And Mako knew.
"They found her," he said. "The next Avatar."
Mako had no trouble accepting that. What he couldn't quite get his head around was why Bolin was the one at his door. San would have made far more sense. Why wasn't San telling him? Or Ikki? They still worked for the White Lotus. Hell, Mako might be retired, but after all the years he'd put in (not to mention being the Avatar's widow), he should get a call from the head of the White Lotus himself. So why would his brother know before him?
Bolin took his arm, pulling him inside. He studied Mako, the lines across his forehead deepening. For the first time it hit Mako that his brother was growing older too. Sure, his hair had more white that black now and his face was wrinkled by many, many smiles, but Mako had never seen Bolin as old. Mostly, because Bolin still acted like a young man most of the time.
"Him," Bolin said. "We found him." Wearily, he rubbed his eyes. "It's Kyo."
"What? Are you sure?" Kyo? His brother's goofy, trouble-making grandson?
"Absolutely sure," Bolin said. "Opal and I were watching him today. We were practicing his earthbending and out of nowhere he starts playing with fire."
Mako hadn't known why he was so shocked.
It made perfect sense. Kyo was six. Korra had been gone for six years. There literally just hours between her death and the birth of Mako's grandnephew. Why hadn't he thought of that? As soon as that thought surfaced, Mako knew it was ridiculous. He knew why he hadn't thought of it. The next Avatar had been the furthest thing from his mind at the time.
"Kyo, our Kyo, is the new Avatar?"
Bolin nodded.
Mako had started laughing so hard, he had to sit down. First, his brother looked at him like he was going crazy. Then Bolin, started hovering over him like he was afraid Mako might have a heart attack. Mako collected himself before he gave his brother a stroke.
"Sorry," Mako said, catching his breath. "I just—can't you see Korra arguing with Raava to keep the Avatar in the family?" He could see it, hands on her hips, those blue eyes of hers flashing as she refused to back down.
His brother seemed a little shocked to hear Mako say Korra's name so casually.
"Look, not many people know," Bolin said. "Just us and his parents. Let me tell you, shocked Shu's socks off when we told him." He sat next Mako, the serious one for once. "Shu and Yuri aren't sure they want anyone to know yet. You know—well, I guess I don't have to tell you how the White Lotus can get." He made a helpless gesture with his hands. He put his hand on Mako's shoulder. "We're keeping it quiet for now, but I wanted you to hear it from me."
Mako nodded. "I understand," he said. "We both know how Korra was about the whole next Avatar thing. Tell Shu that whatever they decide, they have my support. And San's."
There were many subjects on which Mako would not have spoken for his son, but this one, well, there was a reason San was so determined to find the next Avatar. The only person better acquainted with Korra's wishes regarding the next Avatar was Mako himself.
She had wanted them to make sure the next Avatar got as normal a life as possible. Got to stay with his or her family as long as possible.
"The White Lotus can fight us on this, but they won't win," he told Bolin. "There's nothing they can offer right now that we can't. Not with you to teach him earthbending. And Katara and I will help with firebending."
Bolin scratched at his chin, the idea turning over in his eyes. "We have Opal for airbending."
"And San to teach waterbending," Mako finished. "Kyo can stay with his family for however long he wants." He smiled, that would have made Korra happy, knowing that the next Avatar would grow in the embrace of his own family. Promise kept, Sweetie, he thought.
Of course, it hadn't gone exactly like that. There was more to being the Avatar than learning to bend all four elements. Kyo had traveled the world when he reached his teens, spending a few months every year immersed in one of the four cultures. But that was his choice, not the White Lotus' and he was allowed the life with his parents and friends that Korra had been denied.
Mako held on long enough to help him master firebending. Though he had to rely on his daughter for some of the hands on training. Not that Katara had needed Mako's help. She'd surpassed her father's skills at an early age, having the advantage of both natural talent and access to the best training. Korra would have like the idea of him training Kyo, however, so he had taken part as best as his aging body could handle. No easy task when you were past ninety.
Had he really made it to ninety-five? That's what the headstone said. The idea might still cause him to shake his head, but he couldn't deny cold, hard facts. Especially not when they were written in weathered stone.
Feeling rather daring, Mako walked over his own grave and sat near the headstone to wait. Even though he knew they would pass right through him, he avoided the fresh fire lilies sitting at the head of the grave. One bouquet at his and one at Korra's. Mako wondered whether it had been Katara or San who left those flowers. Probably both. He was glad his children had kept up his habit. It was always good to remember the dead, it kept them with you.
"We lived," he said. "Once upon a time."
There was a laugh behind him. "More than once," she said, weaving between the two headstones to stand over him. Grinning, she held out her hand. Mako took it and let her pull him to his feet. Arms twining around his neck, she pulled him down for a kiss. Such a Korra thing to do. Making out with him while they were literally standing on their own graves.
"Did you see everything you wanted to see?" she asked, breaking away.
"Yeah," he said.
Maybe it was silly to have been curious about the people he'd left behind, but Korra hadn't laughed when he asked her about them. All she said was, "Why don't we go see?" He wondered what questions she'd sought the answers for.
"Thank you," she said now, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I never thought to say that before, but thank you for everything you did for Kyo. I couldn't have asked for better teachers this time around. I knew I could count on you."
Mako smiled and kissed her again. "Always."
"Always," she replied. "Speaking of which, are you ready to get back to eternity?"
Eternity. He still loved that sound of that word. Fifteen years seemed like such a short time to him now, compared to what they had ahead of them. Someday, he knew, their echoes would find each other again. This hadn't been the first time. It wouldn't be last.
But for this version of them, the endless adventures of the Spirit World beckoned.
He took her hand. "Lead the way, Korra."
Wrote this in response to a prompt I received on tumblr.
Well, now you know everyone of my headcanons regarded what happens with the brothers and Korra and all that Avatar stuff after the series is over.
I know it maybe weird, but for some reason I am absolutely in love with the idea of them having a daughter and naming Korra's old master and then her being a firebender. The idea of a firebender named Katara just cracks me up.
And since the next one in the cycle will be an earthbender...