If it hadn't of been for Naga, Mako was pretty sure he'd never have convinced Korra to take the yacht. She thought an air bison would be faster. He pointed out that Naga could not travel on an air bison and she hated being left behind. A tad bit reluctantly, Korra had ceded the point. It had been a good call on his part. The bathroom breaks alone would have doubled their travel time.
"Here, let me help you," Mako said, jumping down from the polar bear dog before Korra could dismount.
"I can do it. I'm not even that big yet."
"Practice then," Mako replied, winking at her.
Korra rolled her eyes, but let him help her down anyways.
"Ugh, that ride feels like it's twice as long," she complained, rubbing her butt and twisting to stretch her back. She opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped, looking over Naga's back at her parent's home. "Would you—would you mind if I told them on my own?"
Mako blinked. "Um, I guess not…"
She sighed. "It's just, I feel like this is something I need to do on my own."
"You're worried your dad is going to kill me on the spot, aren't you?"
"He'd have to get through me first," she said, smiling at him. She tilted her face up, asking for a kiss, which Mako willingly gave.
"Korra!"
Korra turned at the sound of her mother's voice, her smile lighting up her whole face.
"I'll get the bags," Mako said. "Take your time."
"Wish me luck." With that, Korra took off, running to her parent's open arms.
He was leading Naga back towards the stable when Senna called out to him, "Mako, don't just stand there. Come inside."
"Someone has to take care of Naga," he said. "You guys catch up; I'll be in in just a minute."
Korra took her mother by the shoulders, pulling her inside, talking and laughing the whole time. Something tightened in Mako's chest, he was pretty sure it was his lungs and he had a feeling it wasn't because of the cold air. Korra loved Republic City, he knew that, but there was something about the South Pole that made her seem lighter here.
Naga followed him, snuffling for a treat, which Mako gladly gave her once the saddle was off and she settled in.
How long it would take Korra to explain everything? Should he wait a few more minutes? Was Tonraq already on his way to take Mako's head off? No, Korra wouldn't let that happen. He knew where she got her hardheadedness from. That much was clear in his few interactions with the Water Tribe chief.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Mako trudged through the snow and let himself in the house.
No yelling. That was a good sign, right?
He could hear Senna's soft voice at the back of the house, talking. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. Tonraq.
The way he sized up Mako was nerve-wracking. Far too calm for his tastes. Nothing that hinted at what the older man was thinking. Then Tonraq smiled and crossed to Mako, his hand extended.
"Welcome to the family," he said, taking Mako's hand and shaking it vigorously. When he let go, Mako nearly checked to see if the shoulder was dislocated.
"Uh, thank you, sir."
"Just Tonraq, Mako. Family means no titles." His grin widened as he took in Mako's still dubious expression. "Don't worry, my daughter is a grown adult. She's made her own choices for years. Some of them aren't easy to accept, but I've learned that I must." The look on Tonraq's face clearly showed that he was talking not of the baby, but of other darker things. Mako had a pretty good idea what haunted Tonraq's thoughts.
The waterbender glanced over his shoulder. "They started talking about…girl stuff, so I thought it might be best if I excused myself. No daughter wants her dad around for that.
Tonraq gestured to a chair, settling onto the couch as he did so. Mako obliged, his butt on the very edge of the seat. Not wanting to seem too uncomfortable, he leaned his elbows against his knees, clasping his hands together. All that time with Wu had taught him a few useful habits when it came to faking confidence.
"Did Korra tell you we're having a girl?" Mako asked.
Tonraq nodded. "She did mention it." His eyes crinkled as he smiled. Korra might look like her mom, Mako realized, but she had her dad's smile. "I'm sure you'll do fine. That brother of yours didn't turn out too badly."
Mako swallowed. He hoped Tonraq was right. Raising Bolin had been an ordeal even without the circumstances they'd grown-up in. Knowing that his daughter wouldn't have to worry about where she slept or what she would eat, or who would look after her if anything ever happened to him and Korra should have put him at ease.
He still felt nervous.
"Children are scary things. Even when they don't turn out to be the Avatar," Tonraq said, eyes scanning Mako's face. "You'll never be able to do everything right. You just have to do the best you can." His face clouded over. His expression growing harder than the walls of Ba Sing Se. Sighing, he said, "We fought to keep her with us, you know."
It took a minute for Mako to figure out what Tonraq was talking about.
"The White Lotus, as soon as they found out she was the Avatar, they wanted to whisk her away and start her training. She was four," he said. "We refused and thankfully, Katara backed us. We were waterbenders. We were more than adequate teachers. The last thing we wanted was to see her locked up in that compound." He grinned again. "You should have seen Senna fight for Korra. She gets her stubbornness and her temper from me, but that gleam—that complete confidence when she has something to fight for? That's all Senna.
"Then the Red Lotus came," he said. Tonraq leaned forward, mirroring Mako. "After that, all we wanted was to know she would grow up. Even if it wasn't with us." He sighed again, passing a hand over his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever be sure that was the right decision. There will always be the thought chance that she could have stayed with us without further incident, but for Senna and I, as much as we wanted her to have a normal childhood—well, she is the Avatar. There is nothing about her that's normal."
Mako nodded. Though, he didn't think anything about Korra would have been normal, even if she wasn't the Avatar.
"Don't worry if you don't have all the answers," Tonraq said. "Being a parent, that's something you have to figure out as you go. And I am here, if you ever want to ask for advice."
"Thank you, si—Tonraq," Mako said, reaching for the man's hand. "You don't know how much that means to me."
The waterbender nodded, then stood as both their wives entered the room.
Really. Really wanted this moment with Tonraq. I can see this version of Mako being super nervous about whether or not he'll be a good dad, because he never really had a dad. So, there you go.
One chapter left and then the epilogue. I'm hoping to get them up today and tomorrow, since this is one of my NaNo projects. Enjoy! =D
