There was no denying that Wakko was going around with a considerable spring in his step these days, and the sight had never been more welcome to Yakko. He knew his brother had been in a pretty dark place that week after learning the truth about himself and Salazar's invasion, and someone as boundlessly optimistic as Wakko didn't belong there.

A grin came to Yakko's face as the middle sibling's enthusiastic chatter drifted from behind his closed door. When he pulled it open, he hesitated in the doorway. Wakko was sitting across from Dot on the bed, his sister's face lit with interest. He had stopped talking and was holding out a hand, eyes narrowed in concentration. It was still unusual to see him focusing so hard on something that wasn't official business. As Yakko watched, Wakko waved his hand in a twirling motion. A sudden gust swirled around Dot, and she giggled as it ruffled her fur. Still grinning, Yakko walked over to his siblings. They both looked up as he approached and grinned in return.

"Yakko, did you see that?" Wakko asked, his expression eager. The eldest Warner's grin widened as he nodded.

"Yep… pretty cool!"

Reaching out, he ruffled his brother's cap and hair.

"You're doing great, sib," he said with a proud smile. Wakko batted at his hand with a good natured groan, but he was smiling just as wide. It was good to see him finally taking pride in something; despite his optimism, the middle sibling had always been humble… overly humble, in Yakko's opinion.

"It's not that hard," he said, still smiling. "Once you know what to do."

He rested his arms on his knees, a look of curiosity now on his face.

"The meeting go okay?"

Yakko nodded, giving his siblings an apologetic smile. People seemed to assume that since he was the oldest, it qualified him to do more. His siblings were just as qualified, as he always said, but it at least it gave them more time to just be the kids they were just as much as co-rulers.

"Can we come next time?" Dot asked, looking eager. The fact that they were still kids made them no less determined to do their job, and personally Yakko thought they were doing pretty great. They could be remarkably mature for their ages, when they wanted to be. He placed a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"I'll make sure ya do." He gave her a wink. "They have to do what we say, after all."

Dot giggled again and Wakko's grin widened, his tongue hanging out.

"That reminds me," Yakko said, his grin lessening as he looked at his brother. "Sorry, bud, but I don't know if you can meet with Jayna tomorrow. Those guys from Anvilania are coming, and it's looking like it's gonna be a long, boring day."

Wakko's face immediately fell with disappointment, and Yakko gave him an apologetic look. He knew Wakko would never blow off something this important, but he was still hoping there would be time for bending lessons. As much as repairing the damage Salazar did mattered to him, so did bending.

Wakko had never mentioned it since, but Yakko remembered what he had said that bad week, that if he could do something good with this ability, it could make up for what had happened to their parents. The eldest brother still had a nagging suspicion that Wakko's determination was still stemming from that underlying issue. The middle sibling seemed so happy now, so Yakko hadn't brought up his concern for fear of ruining it, but it also felt wrong to simply ignore it. He knew they'd have to address it sooner or later… preferably before Wakko did something reckless in his determination to prove himself.

But the middle sibling made no protest, just shrugged with a slight smile.

"I get it… business comes first." A sly grin spread across his face. "As long as we can mess with that stuffy envoy who called you an inexperienced child."

Yakko's grin returned at that.

"That's the spirit!" He patted his brother's head. "Sure thing… and you can decide what we do."

Wakko's face lit up again, much to Yakko's relief. The memory of how down he had been before still stuck with him; he never wanted to see his goofy brother like that again.

"So how's the rest of that bending stuff going?" he asked. Dot perked up with interest, leaning forward and placing her chin in her hands.

"Yeah, what else are you guys talking about? Is that lady still so serious?"

A thoughtful expression came to Wakko's face.

"Yeah… I think something bad happened to her, but she doesn't really talk about herself."

A slight smirk came to Dot's face.

"Well, you can always annoy it out of her."

Wakko's thoughtful expression never wavered.

"I dunno… I don't really wanna upset her."

Yakko's brow lifted, but he didn't feel too surprised. He and his siblings were always up for mischief, but for some reason he just didn't feel right doing it with Jayna. She was doing something good for Wakko, after all. And he had a feeling not much would faze her anyway.

"Well, ya never know," he said with a teasing grin. "Maybe your charm'll win her over."

Dot snorted.

"If by 'charm', you mean drooling over her like you do with every attractive woman."

All three laughed at that, then Wakko shrugged.

"Well, I have to focus on what we're doing, so there's not much time for that. It's going good though… I'm getting better at doing it longer and hearing through the ground."

"I still don't really get how that works," Dot said with a frown.

"All Jayna said is that it's about feeling vibrations," Wakko replied. "She said it took her a while to get good enough, but when ya do you can hear over a really big area. I still can't do it that good, but she said I'm getting there."

Yakko grinned at the smile on his brother's face.

"Sure ya are," he said, patting Wakko's shoulder. "If there's one thing we know, it's that you can do anything."

The middle sibling's smile grew somewhat shy, but there was some pride there too. He would always be modest, that was just who he was, but he was starting to learn that it was okay to be proud of your accomplishments. And he certainly had a lot to be proud of, in Yakko's opinion.

The eldest sibling considered what he wanted to say next; the last thing he wanted was to dampen Wakko's good mood, but there was something that was nagging at him. Finally he mentally crossed his fingers and spoke.

"Y' know, I've been wondering… why do you wanna do this? I'm not saying it's a bad idea," he said quickly. "I'm just curious."

Dot leaned forward and placed her chin on her hands, indicating that she was interested in hearing the answer too. Thankfully their brother didn't look offended or put off. He shifted on his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face, then looked up.

"It's just… if there's something good I can do with this, I wanna know how."

It was a familiar answer, the same one he had given Dot when she asked a similar question. Yakko couldn't explain why, but it made him a little uneasy. Was Wakko still holding on to the idea that he needed to make up for something?

Then a thought came that made him even more uneasy… was he willing to take risks to do it? But that was a question Yakko knew he wouldn't appreciate, so he resisted the urge to ask.

"Well, ya know…" he said, grinning. "You've already done a lot of good stuff, even before you knew you had this."

Wakko gave him a grin in return.

"Yeah, but… I just feel like it's something I gotta do." His grin grew a little more solemn. "And I… I think it's what Mum and Dad would've wanted."

All three siblings went quiet for a while, Yakko and Dot's faces growing more solemn too. Then Yakko spoke again.

"They would've wanted you to do what makes ya happy. And if this does, then yeah, they would've wanted it."

Wakko looked up at him again, his smile back.

"It does," he said. "It really does."

Yakko grinned back at him, reaching out to ruffle his cap again.

"Then so do we."

Author's Note: I just want readers to be aware… when we finally get a release date for the second season of the reboot, I plan to republish this story in anticipation of this fanfiction archive getting increased activity. So if the story is taken down, don't panic… it'll be reposted.