A/N: I'm surprised at how short these chapters are. I'm not sure why they are either, but it could be that I'm feeling a little short on creative energy, especially after having finished writing Change of Heart. So, perhaps I'll take a break off of writing for a few days and start back up again in July with both of the new fics. Until then, here's a chapter to tide you over. Hope you enjoy it! Please remember to review.
The next morning, I woke up to the smell of something cooking. Mako was frying something in the kitchen, already dressed in his uniform. He glanced over and smiled after seeing that I was awake.
"Good morning. Care for some breakfast?" He asked, indicating the pan. I nodded and a moment later he handed me a plate. We ate in silence, and after a couple of minutes, he glanced up at me again.
"So tell me, how did you wind up on the streets?"
"Well, my parents died when I was young, but they left me what little money they had saved. I lived with my grandfather until about a half of a year ago. I ran out of the money that my parents had left me after a couple of months, and because I couldn't find work I wound up on the streets," I explained, focusing on my now empty plate.
"So this could all be averted if you could find work?" He inquired.
"…Yeah," I said after a moment.
"I'll see if I can find you something to do. My boss is always looking for assistants, you never know," He said, before standing up. "I'd better get going. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need. I have a spare key outside under the mat." And with that, before I could even thank him, he left.
"What on earth?" I asked myself after he had been gone for a couple of minutes. Why, why was he helping me? Not that I wasn't thankful for it – I hadn't felt this put-together in months. I just didn't understand what his motivation was. What did he get out of helping me?
I stayed sitting where I was for a few more minutes before I got up and looked around. His apartment had the signs of a person who lived alone usually, but who was hardly ever here to live in it. Everything had a place, although there were evidences that he hadn't been cleaning. So, I made that my task. I washed the few dishes that he had left sitting after breakfast and started cleaning the kitchen.
It was quick work. I took a towel I had found lying on the counter and used it to clear out the dust before doing the same thing through the living room and the bathroom. After this, I took another towel and damped it from the sink and used it to wipe down the newly dusted surfaces and counters. After finishing the bathroom, I headed for the hamper where my dirty clothes were still sitting, and dropped the towels into it before picking the hamper up and set off in search of the laundry room.
I had been under the assumption that the laundry would be in the back of the apartment next to the bathroom, but I was wrong. I opened the door and shouldered my way into it with the hamper and found myself in his bedroom. I couldn't help myself but to take a look around. It was normal – a nice bed, a dresser, a desk.
As I passed the desk, I couldn't help but let my eyes wonder over the papers that cluttered it. A few were bills, others looked like work papers, and a few looked like letters. On the corner of the desk was a picture frame that I picked up to look at properly. Inside were pictured Mako and someone who looked a lot like him standing alongside someone that looked like the Avatar and another woman I didn't know; they looked happy enough. The Avatar was pretty, and looked vaguely familiar to me for some reason, although it wasn't because I had seen her picture multiple times throughout the years. Shrugging, I sat the picture down and turned to the door, and found myself facing the other man who had been in the picture. He had his fists raised and looked angry.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my brother's apartment?" He asked.
I held my hands up, my eyes wide. "I'm sorry, my name is Ren Takashi. Mako is letting me stay here for a bit," I explained hastily.
He looked surprised, and for a moment, I thought he would believe me, but then his eyes narrowed. "My brother? Letting someone randomly live with him? I don't think so."
"Please, trust me! He'll tell you!" I said desperately. "I was just cleaning the apartment and was about to do laundry!"
"Hey Korra! Asami! Come in here," He called over his shoulder before turning to face me again. A moment later, the two women from the picture appeared, looking at me curiously. The man explained what he was seeing as me breaking in to Mako's house, and I hastened to explain that Mako was letting me live here.
"Bolin, he doesn't look like much of a fighter," the one named Korra, who looked like pictures I had seen of the Avatar said. "And his story seems to hold up. But since when has Mako just let someone live with him? I was under the impression that he enjoyed his silence."
"Exactly!" Bolin said.
"Well, obviously the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this is to talk to Mako," Asami said.
"Talk to me about what?" Mako's voice came from behind the others. A moment later he appeared, looking confused. "Ren? What are you doing in my bedroom?"
"Is this guy living with you?" Bolin asked, gesturing to me.
"Yeah, I brought him here last night…" He said, glancing at me and then back at his brother. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Looking for you," Korra said. "Tenzin sent us."
"For what?" Mako asked curiously.
"I'm not sure, he just said to bring everyone to Air Temple Island," She said, shrugging.
"Are you even a bender?" Bolin asked me. It was clear by his tone that he still didn't trust me, and I couldn't say that I blamed him. To walk into your brother's apartment and find someone there that you hadn't met before… I would be suspicious, too.
"I don't know," I answered. They looked confused as though I had told a bad joke that they didn't understand. "A couple of months ago I was in a tight spot and sort of… jumped… out of the area I was in. But it wasn't your normal jump because I was in an alley and the only way out was up, so…" I explained.
"You're probably an air bender. After the Harmonic Convergence a few years ago, they started popping up randomly. I thought we had found everyone in Republic City though," Korra said.
"How is that even possible?" I asked, thoroughly confused.
"It's a long story. Anyway, we need to get to Air Temple Island," Korra said, looking around at the others. "Since you aren't sure whether or not you could be an air bender, I suggest you come with us. It's the only way to figure it out once Tenzin gets a look at you."
"Are you sure?" Bolin asked, his eyes narrowing at me once more.
"Oh get over it, Bolin. He's fine," Mako sighed.
Bolin didn't say anything more, but as I followed Mako out of the room, his eyes, still narrowed, watched me the whole way. When we got outside I turned for Mako's Satomobile, but he chuckled and shook his head before steering me toward what I recognized as a flying bison.
"Wow," I said, amazed. Mako helped me get onto the bison, and I sat, uncomfortably, next to Mako and Asami.
"So any clue what Tenzin might want?" Mako asked as Korra climbed into the saddle with us.
"Nope, but he sent Jinora to find us and bring us to the island," She answered, indicating the girl dressed in Air Nomad clothing who was sitting at the bison's reigns. She turned and waved before introducing herself to me.
"I'm Jinora, Tenzin's daughter. I'm also a master air bender," She smiled warmly.
"I'm Ren," I answered.
"Speaking of being a master air bender," Korra said thoughtfully. "Jinora, do you think you could tell if Ren was an air bender? He could be someone we missed when we were rounding them up."
"I'll check when we get to Air Temple Island," She said, looking at me curiously before turning to her bison. Moments later, we were up in the air and racing toward the large statue of the previous Avatar, Aang. It had been damaged severely in the war against Kuvira, but the city had somehow managed to find the funds to restore it to its original form.
"Where is the island anyway?" I asked Mako.
"Just passed Avatar Aang's statue," He responded. I smiled happily as the wind whipped past me, and although my eyes stung mildly, I couldn't help but think that just maybe, things would be changing for me, for the better.