Skylar had been watching the two of them and was surprised to see just how serious Serena had been and how she was able to keep herself from doing anything too bad to her son. Serena had adjusted the two of them so he was sitting on her lap as she read each word to her son that was on the note that was taped to the book that she had shown her son.

|Dear Useless dumbass,

I am writing to you to let you know that your elder, successful cousin has gotten into the military and has gotten married to a beautiful young woman who I have accepted into the family. Unlike you, I do not see you as family. You remind me too much of your spineless father and I don't want anyone to know that we are even remotely related to one another. When it comes to the time of your parents funeral I expect the keys to the house and the lease.

My daughter in law deserves that place more than you do, you are useless, weak and everything I hate. I don't know why my brother didn't put you up for adoption or worse, have you aborted when he knew that his wife was pregnant. You are a spitting image of your father and I hate you and him. I don't care what happens to you after the funeral-that house will be mine.|

Kenneth looked at Serena confused. "That's a lot of big words I don't understand."

She sighed out with her eyes shut. "Basically, your grandma wanted me to give this place to her cause my parents died. She wanted you and your mom to live here making it so I was homeless without a place to go. She didn't care what happened to me cause at the time she was a big meanie to me." Serena said before she opened her eyes. "But when it came to the funeral I didn't come with the lease or the keys-She couldn't take the house from me. What she wanted to do was against the law and a big no-no."

"Oh...okay.I have a few questions."

"Sure what's on your mind kiddo?"

"Why does your hand shake a lot?"

"Um...how to answer that in a way you'd understand. My brain doesn't work right after I hit my head really bad when I was a bit older than you. I didn't know what was going on with my brain till a while ago. My hand shakes because my mind internally goes into panic mode when I'm around new people or in a new environment. It also happens if I get upset and I can't show it."

"Oh...So you're broken?" Kenneth asked

Serena gave him a weak smile. "Y-Yeah...you can say that. That's one way to look at it. Think of me like a lego toy. I am all together but there are a few pieces that are missing from the store."

"Oh...that makes a lot more sense."

Skylar tilted her head to the side a bit. "Serena, have you ever thought about taking care of kids when you're older?"

Serena blinked her eyes a few times. "U-Uhm...uh...n-no. W-Why would you ask me t-that?"

"You're doing really well to explain things to my son, I have a hard time explaining simple things to him. I never have it easy like you are with him." Skylar said as she came into the room and she went to sit by the two of them.

"Mommy, is she always gonna be broken?" Kenneth asked

"No, she'll find her missing pieces to make her whole as she goes on in life. Just you gotta be nice to her until then. Think you can be my good smart big boy and do that for me?"Skylar asked

Kenneth nodded his head. "Mhm, I can do that!"

"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Now why don't you go and play with your little sister alright?"

"Okay!"

Once he went to play with his sister Skylar looked at Serena seriously. "Girl please tell me that what I heard at that dinner table was right. You literally had no childhood?"

She shook her head. "No presents, no celebrating anything. Anything I did in class I literally just threw away in class cause my parents would bitch if I came home with it. Sure my teachers asked me about why I would do what I had-and I'd have to say 'my parents don't celebrate the holiday and I can't bring it into the house'. Which would be bull shit they are just assholes and wanted to make my ass suffer through hell because they could. Their way of 'parenting' me was bull shit. I wish I could go back in time and beat the shit out of my parents for how they had treated me. No child should have to miss out on trick or treating or hell Christmas for fuck sakes, let alone not ever doing anything for their own birthday. That's just fucking criminal. But my parents were assholes and even though they were assholes to me they didn't do anything else wrong with me. So I can't complain that much. I learnt a lot of things from them."

"Damn girl, I feel so bad for you. You know what-you're turning eighteen soon right?"

She nodded her head. "Mhm."

"I'mma see if I can get Iroh and a few other people to do something for you. You deserve to celebrate your eighteenth."

Serena shook her head no. "Don't waste your money on me, I'm fine."

"Bitch, no person who says 'I'm fine' is fine. Let me tell you I hide a lot of shit from Iroh's mother-when I heard that you have Anxiety and freaking severe depression, I swore I was looking at a cuter teenage version of myself. Girl, I know the struggle."

Serena blinked her eyes a few times. "Y-You do?"

Skyla frowned a bit as she lifted her black jacket and showed deep indents on her arm. "Iroh had stopped me from getting too far deep when he came back from being on duty. But having to deal with Kenneth on my own and worrying about his ass on the front lines and dealing with being pregnant with Amber...I just couldn't do it anymore."

Serena looked at her sadly. "Wow...holy shit."

At that time Iroh knocked on the door only to see that Skylar was talking with Serena. "Hey..is everything alright babe?"

Skylar grinned at her husband. "Mhm, just dandy. I'm just having bonding time with your lovely cousin." She said before she hugged Serena who whined out as she felt herself being smothered.

Iroh laughed out and smiled. "I'm glad you two are bonding, I was afraid that you two wouldn't get along with one another."

"Why cause of the shit your mother said? Babe, you should know me better than that. This poor little girl needs love and attention of the family kind. She's been hugged and love starved for too damn long." Skylar said as she smothered Serena's face with hers.

"Skylar….Skylar! C'mon please stop smothering the fuck out of my face!" Serena whined out before she looked at Iroh pleadingly. "Get your wife offa me please!"

Iroh went up to his wife and pulled her off of Serena before throwing her over his shoulder, Serena thanked him before she bolted out of her room. Iroh followed after her into the living room where Bolin was talking with Zuko about what he could remember about the times that Serena had been around the duo. Mako would add in things that he didn't remember or had no idea what had happened.

Once Serena came into the room she sat beside Mako shaking her head. "Is everything alright Serena?" Mako asked concerned

"Mhm, just dandy. Skylar is just a wee bit too touchy and I don't like it. She kept smothering the hell out of my face." Serena whined out as she placed her head against his arm

When Izumi heard this she sighed out. "Skylar does that to people she really likes, she must have taken a big liking to you."

Iroh soon placed his wife down and she wanted to go back to smothering Serena but he held her back. "No Sky, think about how she feels about it before you do it."

Skylar frowned. "But...she's touch-"

"Does she look like she wants you to do that right now? Look at how she is right now? Does that look like a person who wants someone who they just met to be all over them?" Iroh asked his wife

Skylar saw that Serena was hiding behind her boyfriend curled up between Bolin and Mako on the couch. Skylar pouted a bit. "But I want to smother her."

Mako shook his head. "Serena doesn't like people touching her face, that's the worst thing to do to her. Hugs are fine but anything else is a no-no to her."

Serena nodded her head as she heard Mako speak she then hid herself behind Mako with a frown on her face.

"Wait what? That's some shit. Why though?"

Mako looked behind him to Serena. "Can I tell them?"

She nodded her head. "Just be sure to explain it well okay?"

"Yeah I can do that." He said before he looked at Skylar once more. "Ever since we were in kindergarten when she had gotten bullied by a male both of us knew in school she hated people touching her face. What he did to bully her was when she had gotten sick and her parents wouldn't get her-she had to stay away from everyone else and sleep for most of the day. While we had art the guy went up to her with the paint and woke her up by touching her face with the paint-not realizing that the paint had something in it that she was very allergic to. Her face swelled up into hives and was taken to the hospital after that." Mako explained

Skylar blinked her eyes a few times. "Holy shit that would traumatize me if that happened, isn't school paint supposed to be 'safe' though?"

"From what I gathered after getting out of the hospital it wasn't the usual crayola paint that is supposed to be in classrooms but some really expensive shit that was supposed to be for canvases or something from what I gathered from my mom who was peeved I even got paint on my face that was 'not for children who didn't know how to use paint properly'." Serena said as she rolled her eyes as she mocked her dead mother

Mako and Bolin both had to cover their mouths as they heard just how good she was at mocking her own mother. Izumi was surprised at how good she was at mocking her mother. "What did your father say about that?"

Serena raised an eyebrow at her aunt. "My father bitched at me for sleeping and 'faking being sick for attention' because to him 'no child of mine gets sick, I didn't raise no weakling'. Like he hadn't been bed ridden for two weeks prior to that cause he got damn sick and I was forced to deal with his dumb ass that entire time cause my mother was 'too busy painting a master piece' when it was just bull shit on a canvas." Serena said as she mocked both of her parents.

Mako and Bolin were gone laughing which amused Serena as she hugged Mako. "Mako dear, it wasn't that funny."

"Y-Yes it was...holy crap Serena. You do that too well." Mako said smiling at her

Izumi couldn't help but smile seeing just how Serena saw her parents now grown up and understanding just how bad they had treated her. Izumi looked at her curiously. "Serena, what would you say to us going out on the day of your birthday?"

"As much as I'd love to be able to spend time with you Auntie-my birthday isn't that important. Honestly, you don't need to worry about me."

Mako pinched her cheeks making her whine out. "Serena, stop thinking like that, your parents aren't controlling you anymore, it's okay for people to do things for your birthday women." He said seriously to her

She whacked his hands off of her face as she pouted. "You didn't need to do that meanie."

"You just don't like that I'm right."

She just huffed out for a bit before she hung her head and looked at her Aunt. "Yeah...sure I guess. Just keep in mind my shit father and mother have brain washed my ass so damn well that 'celebrating' my birthday isn't something that I've ever done."

"That'll change-I promise. I'll be sure of that." Izumi said seriously with a hand on her heart

"Alright-if you say so. I'm a stubborn bitch."

"Well so am I."

Both girls laughed before Serena slouched against Mako. "So I have a rather interesting question for the older adults in the room right now. Why now ya'll start talking to me? I've been alone for years. None of you checked up on me, hell two of you were 'worried' about me but never thought to come here to see if I was alive or okay."