Mako walked into the half-filled ramen shop; his red scarf still around his neck. He walked through the shop, his senses noticing the atmosphere. The smell of ramen and sake filled the air, engulfing him but not overwhelming him. The sound of idle chatter and laughter which should have been annoying in a public place seemed right at home. The food smelt so good that Mako was actually able to taste it, his salivary glands prepared themselves. The looks of the smiles of the Republic City citizens warmed Mako's heart more than his firebending ever could. The pure energy in the room was electrifying; it caused his skin to tingle as he felt the warmth of the ramen shop hug him and pull him towards a table that was on the east side of the shop.
As he stepped towards the table, he observed the members of the family who were there. A man who was most likely the father had short hair and appeared to be telling a story along with a few unnecessary antics. A woman who was most likely the mother had short brunette hair which stopped by her shoulders. She was in the process of scolding the father while he just sat there with his back hunched—looking forlorn. Two children were laughing at the father as he was scolded. Unlike the parents whose backs were to Mako, they were facing him. A pair of twins—a boy and a girl—laughed away as Mako just chuckled.
A small orange-like blur darted from the table towards Mako. It grabbed onto his scarf after making an amazing leap, and then scurried up to his neck. The children looked up and yelled aloud in union, "Uncle Mako!" clearing the table before leaping into his open arms like larger versions of Pabu.
"Hey there Jordin! How's my little angel?" he asked the girl after the hug, looking into her soft amber brown eyes.
"I'm real good Uncle Mako!" she replied, showing off a thousand-watt smile. The curves of her smile left dimples in her caucasian cheeks. Her dark brown wavy hair framed her face, acting like the frame for an innocent picture.
"What 'bout you champ? Think you can bend fire better than your uncle?"
"Ha! Not just yet but just you wait uncle M! I, Jordan, shall be the greatest firebender who ever lived. Even those of the Fire Nation would tremble when they hear my name!" Jordan said aloud, winning the audience of a few customers who chuckled at his antics.
Mako had to laugh a little bit at the child. He was after all the son of Bolin so it made sense. The scary part was that the only difference in appearance between Jordan and Bolin was probably the slant of the eyes; also Jordan's hair was a tad bit lighter. What was even scarier was the fact that Jordan and Jordin were twins so Jordin did look a bit like Bolin. Fortunately for her she was just so cute that it made her look more like her mother than Bolin.
The woman stood up as Mako approached, and then gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Hello Mako. How are things? How are you doing? Where's Korra? Are you and Korra ever going to have children? Can I name it if you have a daughter?"
"Baby give the man some space!" Bolin shouted making himself bigger. Then he immediately made himself smaller after his wife gave him a death stare.
"Hahahaha! I am quite fine Yaoi." Mako replied after wiping a tear from his eye. "As for Korra we are not even married yet for reason I cannot say. Plus don't you remember she has that Summit meeting to hold."
"Oh my how can I forget that!" she stated right before an evil smirk appeared on her face. "Plus it would be very awkward with both Asami and Korra here right? Oh what an amazing love triangle. You can choose from either the Avatar or thee business owner of Republic City. But as a man you must want a sandwich? Am I right?"
Jordin cocker her head to the side. "Daddy what does mommy mean by uncle Mako 'wanting a sandwich'?"
Bolin flew to Jordin's side. "Well…ummm…honey…ummm…you see…" he stuttered, his eyes darting around the shop as if the patrons were going to jump to his aid. "Look what you did Yaoi! Now she's asking ques—"
"You raising your voice when addressing me?" Yaoi said in a voice which most definitely did not suit her face. Her voice was sweet and accepting whereas her face was probably what Death saw when his time was up.
Bolin retracted himself to the corner of the room. "No honey. I love you."
Jordin and Jordan laughed away with the entire shop at Bolin's misfortune.
Mako joined them for a meal. They laughed; they talked; they ate; they drank.
An hour later, extra sunlight entered into the store. Men turned to look but were forced by the females around them to avert their eyes. A woman with a super model figure stood there; here greyish green eyes were something you could not look away from once you looked into. Her hair was done in curls, coming down past her shoulders like several spiral staircases. Her close mouth smile was brighter than many an open mouthed smile.
"Mako, Bolin, it's time. We need to go." the woman asked.
"Sure thing Asami." Mako replied. "Let's go Bolin."
Bolin sprung up and shouted, "Aye Sir!"
Yaoi sprung up and shouted, "Don't do that ever again!" then added a kick to Bolin's backside for good measure.
The smooth hum of the car engine separated it from the others on the road that seemed loud.
"What do you think boys?" Asami asked. "This is our latest model. Got our engineers to tweak a few things so that the engines would be less noisy, you know. Some people were complaining about high noise levels so we are gonna be introducing these." She sounded more like a mother showing off her child than someone talking about a product.
Bolin replied first from the back seat, "It's pretty cool. But this design though, it seems familiar."
"That's because it's the same car we always used to travel in. All we did was replace the engine. It's to make it more available for the citizens rather than have them buy all new cars."
This time it was Mako who spoke up, "But how is this in such good condition? I mean I doubt that from ten years ago this remained in such good shape."
Asami replied as if she had been rehearsing to answer these questions in front of a mirror. "So maybe it isn't the same exact car but I kept the same design, because of—well—that feeling of nostalgia."
They rode in silence for a moment. The silence was not of awkward origin, and the smiles on their faces made it clear as they recalled the times shared in the car.
Bolin was the one who brought back the conversation, "So Asami, what did you want to talk 'bout?"
"Yeah, to be honest I've been wondering as well." Mako input.
"It's about Korra. I heard from someone high up that a sailor saw something that could cause some serious turmoil. The reason behind Korra inviting all those dignitaries from their respective nations was for consultation as what to do; most likely for a probable war."
"So this is pretty much about once more being Team Avatar on the front lines?" Mako asked.
"Yes."
"You sure Korra is gonna need us though Asami?" Bolin asked.
"I can assure you that she is going to."
"Do you want to give more detail Asami?" Mako asked.
"Yeah," Bolin spoke up before Asami could talk. "I mean Korra has the most powerful benders in the world behind her in an alliance."
Asami giggled. "That is precisely why she needs us." She replied, then quickly continued before she could be interrupted by the guys who housed confused looks. "All she has is an alliance, but up front, she is going to need friends."
Mako cracked a smile and Bolin chuckled. Mako spoke first, "Yeah I guess you're right."
"Yep, leave it to a woman to find out what a woman needs. Good thing Team Avatar has a woman, am I right Mako?"
"Quite right Bolin."
"You are both quite right, so shut up about it." Asami scolded them jokingly. "Don't go soft on me now. We already have three females on the team and I can assure that we don't need anymore."
"Huh?" the confusion in Bolin's voice was quite prominent.
"Yeah, three. Me, Korra and you Bolin; you know, now that you're married."
Mako laughed with Asami while Bolin carried on with his antics as they drove along the streets of Republic City, then beneath Republic City, until they resurfaced on Air Temple Island.