It took a few more weeks, but Republic City was beginning to return back to normal. Most of the citizens had moved back into the city and there was less construction and settling that needed to be going on. To celebrate the fact Asami (She and Korra had returned from their vacation a few days before, though they were talking about going back sometime soon.) invited the old team back to her place for the night to catch up properly, which they really hadn't done for a few years.
It had been really nice to catch up again, but it really wasn't exactly like old times. After all, Mako and Bolin's family, as well as Wu, were still living at Asami's place, and none of those guys knew how to stay out of someone else's business. The night ended up differently than Mako had wanted, but he was surprisingly okay with it. He still enjoyed himself.
Mako though had misunderstood Asami. When she invited them to spend the night at her place, he had assumed that she meant that they should all hang out in the evening and return to their own homes for the night. But no, apparently when Asami said they should spend the night, she meant that they should spend the entire night.
Mako really hadn't felt so sure about the idea and would have left, even if he was the only one to do so, but literally everybody else practically forced him to stay. They were the only reason that Mako agreed to stay behind...well, that and by the time he had decided to leave it was storming really badly outside. It definitely wasn't weather that he wanted to go walking around in. He knew what it was like to be out in a storm, and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.
Of course, when he heard what the sleeping arrangements were he was tempted to walk out into the pouring rain anyways, despite the weather. Even though Asami's house was huge, Mako's family was as well. With that many people even a house as large as Asami's could seem crowded at times. Mako, Bolin, and Korra would all have to share a room with at least one other person.
Asami quickly invited Korra to room with her. Tu and Bolin had agreed to share a room without even having to talk about it (Mako had a strong feeling that the two of them would stay up all night, fighting over who was the better earthbender...Bolin was.) Before Mako could suggest that he just sleep on a couch or something Wu came forward and insisted, absolutely insisted that Mako be his roommate for the night.
Mako wanted to refuse, but Wu had already clung to his arm and he was not going to let go. Mako frowned at Wu's tight grip because it felt like it was more than just him being possessive. Wu was clinging to him in such a desperate way that Mako could tell that he was genuinely scared about something. Wu may be a coward, but there was a difference between his 'Wu down' fear and his genuine fear, and Mako had come to recognize which was which. This was definitely in the later category. It just took a minute for Mako to remember why.
"You still not a fan of storms?" Mako asked with a whisper. Wu shook his head and let out a sound that was something like a whimper when a particularly loud roll of thunder shook the room. Wu was clinging so tightly to Mako's arm by that time that he was sure that it would bruise later. Mako sighed. "Come on, let's get you back to the room. You can sleep through the storm." Wu nodded and Mako didn't hesitate to lead him back to his room.
"You know, Bolin used to be afraid of storms too." Mako said as they walked. "He got over it though when I told him to imagine that the storm, with the rain, wind, thunder and lightning, was just a couple of master benders training." Mako was trying to be helpful, but somehow his words made Wu even more tense than before.
"I already do." Wu said in a quiet shaky voice. "That's the problem."
Mako stopped in his tracks. "Wait, you're saying whenever there's a storm it makes you think of benders?" And yet he was still scared? It worked with Bolin. "Why does that scare you?"
"Because they're close, and powerful, and dangerous and want to hurt me." Wu cried out. Mako frowned.
"You know, I'm not going to let anybody hurt you." Mako said.
"I know, but you're not always around." Wu frowned. "You weren't when Kuvira's people kidnapped me."
"I know, and I'm sorry." Mako said for what felt like the hundredth time, and he still felt horrible about it. Mako took Wu's face and forced him to look him in the eyes. "But I'm not going anywhere tonight. You're safe with me, okay." He wasn't going to let anybody hurt Wu, and he almost felt sorry for any idiot who dared to even try.
Mako and Wu continued on to their room and Wu immediately collapsed onto the bed in a very ungraceful and un-princely way. Mako couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it all. When he was Wu's bodyguard he often stayed in his room with him, and no matter how dignified Wu tried to act he always jumped onto his bed in the same way. It was just what he did.
Mako went to settle himself down in the chair on the other side of the room (it was actually a really big room) but Wu grabbed his arm before he could.
"Mako, you said you weren't going to leave me." Wu whined. His eyes filled up with tears. Mako frowned and easily pulled out of Wu's grasp.
"And I won't, but I'm not going to be sleeping in the bed with you." Mako narrowed his eyes at Wu, because he knew that that was ultimately what the younger man was after. Wu liked to snuggle in his sleep, especially when he was upset or scared, and Mako really wasn't in the mood for being his stuffed teddy platypus bear. He was never really in the mood for it.
Of course, there had been a handful of times when Wu had somehow convinced Mako to stay in the bed with him, sans cuddling. After seeing Wu's wide, desperate and nearly terrified eyes Mako knew that this was going to end up being one of those nights, and there really wasn't any point in him fighting it.
Mako sighed and sat down on the bed next to Wu. "Fine, I'll stay with you." He pointed a warning finger at his friend. "But you had better stay on your side of the bed. And no cuddling!"
"You got it, Mako." Wu agreed cheerfully. He was obviously relieved about the compromise.
...And that was how, two hours later, Mako found himself wide awake with Wu clinging to his arm in his sleep as he lounged on the bed, practically sleeping on top of Mako. He tried multiple times to pull his arm away from Wu or shake him away enough to get him to move, but it wasn't working. When Wu felt safe he slept like a rock.
Mako had a much harder time falling asleep. It wasn't because Wu sleeping right up against him made him uncomfortable (although that was part of the reason too) but because of the storm. Unlike Bolin and Wu, Mako really liked storms. Even when he was a child he could stay awake all night and listen to the weather.
Mako didn't fall asleep, but he definitely felt calmer listening to the storm outside. He closed his eyes and just let the familiar sound lull him into a sense of security. He didn't know how long he was laying there for, he might have started dozing off at one point though. A sudden noise from outside shocked him awake. It had been a quiet sound, but it stood out so much against the storm that Mako couldn't help but take notice of it.
Mako sat up and looked towards the window, concentrating as hard as he could. At first Mako heard nothing that didn't belong. He was just beginning to think that maybe he had imagined the noise when he heard it again, slightly louder this time.
Mako frowned when he heard the sound again, because it was something that he recognized, and he knew that this particular sound didn't belong in a storm. It was the shifting of the earth, like a bender was outside, and nearby too. If it wasn't storming horribly outside Mako would think that it was Bolin or Tu out there, or even some other earthbender, training or something, but nobody would be crazy enough to be out there during a storm.
...unless they were specifically using the natural noise of the weather to block out their own noise.
It was a crazy idea, and definitely a leap in logic, but it was what came to Mako's mind. Those paranoid thoughts made Mako feel on edge, and when he got nervous he got protective and productive. Mako moved off the bed, slowly so as to not wake up Wu, and lit a small flame in his hands. He had promised Wu, and himself, that he wasn't going to let anything happen to him, and Mako was going to make sure that he kept that promise.
Barely a minute after Mako lit his flame a fairly large rock was thrown harshly into the window, shattering it. The noise woke Wu up, which Mako was not happy about. If something was wrong (no, forget if, something bad was definitely about to happen) then the last thing that Mako needed was for Wu to get scared and clingy.
"Mako? What's going on?" Wu's voice was shaky, tired, dazed and confused. He somehow knew that he was in danger, but he was still half asleep and probably had no idea why he even felt like he was in danger in the first place.
"Get down and be quiet." Mako snapped harsher than was probably necessary, but he needed Wu to stay out of the way. Just seconds after Wu had crouched down at the side of the bed Mako saw a shadowy figure in the window. He reacted instinctively. Mako charged forward and sent a kick towards the intruder, sending a trail of fire from his foot.
The intruder dodged the flames with such agility and precision that Mako knew he was dealing with a professional, not just some bum off the streets. The guy's talent was further shown by how he naturally transitioned from defensive to offensive. As he was in the middle of the dodge the guy earthbent a large and heavy slab of rock from outside and sent it hurtling towards Mako.
He tried to dodge out of the way, but for such a large rock it came at him so quickly. It was also a lot bigger, sturdier and heavier than the rocks he was used to, the kind they used in pro bending, so when it hit him in the head it hit him hard.
The hit didn't knock him out (thank Raava for that. Mako didn't even want to think about what would have happened if it had) but it left him pretty dazed. His vision went white at the first contact that the rock made with his head and it took awhile for his vision to even begin to clear up. When he could see again, even if it was in double, the intruder was moving in on Wu, who had scurried away from the bed and was standing, cowering in the corner at the other end of the room.
Mako tried to stumble forward to help him, but the slightest movement caused his head to explode in pain. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the intruder, who was moving swiftly, from getting to Wu, who had absolutely nobody to protect him right then.
Mako never would have been able to guess that Wu would be able to protect himself, even just a little bit.
As the intruder reached out towards Wu the ex-prince reacted instinctively. Wu let out a terrified yelp, shut his eyes tight, and moved his hands quicker than Mako had ever seen them go before. Jab. Jab. Jab. And suddenly the intruder's right side, his arm, his hand, even his leg a little bit, became lax. Mako's eyes widened at the sight.
Where had Wu learned how to chi block?
The intruder wasn't nearly as surprised as Mako was. He had been chi blocked before, and in Mako's opinion one of the worst parts of it was the surprise of dealing with the change of energy. This guy though still seemed completely in control. This set off warning bells in Mako's head. This guy was definitely somebody who knew what they were doing. They seemed just way too professional to him.
Mako needed to get that guy away from Wu. Now!
Despite how sore he felt and how much his head felt like lead, Mako mustered his strength and punched out a blast of fire. The intruder dodged away from the fire once again, but it didn't work as well this time around. Mako thought he might have even heard a grunt of pain when the flame almost directly hit hit left arm, burning it pretty badly. With his left arm injured and his right side unusable at the moment, there wasn't much he could do now, and the intruder knew it.
As suddenly as he had come in, the intruder was gone. Without warning or reason he just jumped back out the window and was gone into the night. Even with the stranger gone Mako couldn't bring himself to relax. He felt extremely paranoid that the guy would come back, or someone else would have the same idea. It felt silly to feel paranoid about this kind of thing, except not really because his paranoia had been completely within reason last time.
"Mako?" Wu's voice was quiet, which definitely wasn't like him, and he sounded completely terrified.
"Wu!" Despite the pain in his head Mako staggered over to where Wu was. The ex-prince had, once again, collapsed to the ground (Mako swore that the young man's legs turned to jelly when he was scared). Mako wanted to ask where he had learned how to chi block, or if he had any idea who was behind this attack. Mako's personal theory was that it was a Dai Li agent who was desperate for the monarchy to be back in control so that the Earth Kingdom's secret police could be back on top, but if Wu didn't already believe that then he didn't want to say anything. There wasn't any point in worrying Wu needlessly.
In the end though Mako could only ask one of the questions that was plaguing his mind. "Are you okay?" Mako asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Wu shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. Mako was taken aback when Wu suddenly let out a rather loud sob that sounded more like a wail. The young man bounded forward and buried his head in Mako's chest. Wu did this kind of thing fairly often, and Mako usually shied away from this kind of contact, but he embraced it this time. Literally.
Mako put his arms protectively around Wu and just held him tightly. He barely even noticed that Wu was getting his shirt covered in snot and tears, and he definitely wasn't paying attention to his babbling.
Mako was just glad that Wu was safe.
Still, he wasn't going to take any more chances with this. Mako wasn't going to let his guard down this time. If anybody else came around for Wu, Mako would be ready for them. He wasn't even concerned about dozing off in the middle of the night. He didn't think he could sleep even if he wanted to...and as long as Wu was in danger, he didn't.
Mako ended up not sleeping a wink that night...and from that point on neither did Wu.