"I wish you'd stop pretending they aren't ugly," says Mako tartly, flinching under Wu's touch.
Wu's fingertips pause in their tracing of Mako's scars. He sighs. He loves his boyfriend very much, but he can always rely on Mako and his self-deprecating comments to put a damper on the mood.
"And I wish you'd stop pretending they are," he replies.
The two are lounging lazily on the couch in their apartment. Mako's finally reading the book that Wu had been nagging him to read for years, and Wu is content in just watching him.
So his fingertips go back to tracing. They trace the series of interconnected scars that dance up his hand and traper off a few inches above his elbow. If Mako was not wearing the form-fitting white shirt he has on presently, Wu imagines that his fingertips would move up so that they would trace the angry, red scar on the left plane of his chest — where the lightning had struck him.
Wu frowns as he remembers how Mako received the scar.
Mako had been prepared to sacrifice his life when he shot lightning at those vines, something that Wu had a very hard time forgiving him about.
Wu had been worried sick Mako for days after finding out what had happened to him. At that time, everyone had their doubts about whether Mako would even survive for longer than a few days. And even if he did, the doctors had doubts about the quality of his life returning to normal. He had already been exposed to a lot of radiation, not to mention that the lightning bolt was very close to striking his heart.
After the news got out about what had happened, Wu spent most of his time in the hospital waiting room, nervously waiting for the doctors to allow visitors. While he was waiting, Wu had realized two things.
The first one being that he was a little bit angry with Mako as well. He knew he was being selfish and immature, but he just couldn't handle the thought that Mako would just be willing to die and leave everyone he cared about (which Wu had hoped included him) heartbroken. The first twenty-four hours of Mako's recovery had been incredibly stressful. It was a literal hell for Wu, Bolin, and the rest of Mako's insanely large family. Mako was alive, but just barely.
The doctors later said that if Bolin hadn't found him time... well, Wu shuddered every time he thought about it.
The second one being that, well, he had feelings for Mako. Despite his faults — despite his poor decision making and well-known past of being a not-so-ideal boyfriend to the Avatar and the Satomobile Heiress — Wu cared for him perhaps more than he had ever cared for anyone else in his life. The very thought of Mako being seriously debilitated or worse was enough to make Wu tear up.
Wu had already lost his entire family, so Mako was the only person left that Wu loved.
After the first twenty-four hours, however, things were starting to look up for Mako. He was finally stable, and the doctors had even allowed visitation from family only. Wu had been sorely disappointed when he learned he'd have to wait even longer, but he remained to wait patiently in the hospital waiting room.
Finally, when Wu was allowed to see Mako, he had braced himself for what would be behind that door. But it still hadn't been enough to prepare him for what he saw behind the door. Mako, his Mako, bruised and battered and swollen. One of his arms was bandaged up tightly, but Wu could still see the bright red flesh of his fingers. His family had said that they'd give him some time alone with Mako, so Wu had been the only one in the room.
Mako had managed a small smile and a wave with his unbandaged hand. Wu had watched as Mako's darted over him, his eyes taking in the disheveled appearance
At the sight of Mako, the Earth Prince had let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and rushed forward.
"Mako!" he cried before lunging forward to the hospital bed. Wrapping his arms around Mako's neck, Wu had buried his face into his shoulder. He thought that maybe, if held on to him tight enough, maybe Mako wouldn't get hurt again.
"I... I almost lost you," Wu choked out into the fabric of Mako's hospital shirt. Clutching him tighter, Wu continued. Right there and then, he spilled out all of his budding anger and worry that he had been bottling up over the past few days.
"You're so stupid," Wu had said, tears slipping down his face. "And-I-hate-you-so-much! You can't just go off and be a hero like that — what am I supposed to do without you — you selfish, reckless insufferable dolt? I can't believe you'd go and do something so awful. What if you died—" he paused as a hiccuping sob escaped his lips "—what was I supposed then, huh? You're the only one I've got left; you can't just go, looking to get yourself killed! Don't you ever scare me like that again, okay?"
Mako could only hug him and pat his back with his free hand, telling him that he was okay, and that he was sorry for scaring him. Finally, when his sobs had silenced and his frame stopped quivering, Mako gave the prince a cheeky smile.
"Missed you too," had been his only reply. Then, he had tilted his head and pressed his lips to Wu's cheek.
Had it been under any other circumstance, Wu might have blushed. Instead, he could only mutter, "Don't think you kissing me is going to make me forgive you."
Mako had laughed a weak-sounding laugh and then dipped his head once more so that his lips were near Wu's ear, and he whispered, "You sure? I hear my lips can be quite convincing."
That time, Wu did flush. He had quickly detangled himself from Mako, careful not to touch his chest or left arm so as to not hurt him.
"You're half-dead in a hospital room with your family outside in the waiting room, and you're still a flirt," Wu had murmured, frowning.
And now, as Wu's remembering the slow first few days of Mako's initial recovery, he can't help but frown once more.
Mako looks down at Wu, who was still caressing his scarred arm. "I'm serious, Wu," he says firmly, closing his book shut, "You don't have to pretend to like them for my sake. I already know how horrible they look."
The frown deepens on Wu's face. "Mako, I know you hate your scars and think they make you ugly, but you have no idea what they mean to me."
"Well, do you know what they mean to me?" Mako asks, his tone betraying his annoyance, "Every time I look in the mirror, I see and I remember the time I wasn't strong enough to defend myself. I see and I remember the time I nearly died. The time Bolin had to come back and rescue me. And that's what any normal person would think about these scars, as well."
"Well, then, I suppose I'm not a normal person," Wu shoots back, unintentionally insulting himself.
His comment makes Mako smile despite himself. "We all know that to be true," he muses, more to himself than anyone else. He turns his head to face him, "So, what do these scars 'mean to you.'"
"You think they show how weak you are. But I know that these scars," his fingers trace up his scarred arm, "show how strong you are. Mako, don't be a dolt for once in your life. You shot lightning at a bunch of ridiculously powerful and dangerous spirit vines, and you managed to survive. How can you sit there and tell me that you're weak? Or that these scars make you ugly?"
He lifts Mako's hand and gently kisses the back of it.
"Every time I see your scars," he continues softly, "I remember how lucky I am — and how strong you are — for me to still be able to have you with me and alive. I'd much rather have a scarred, but alive Mako than his blemishless corpse."
They hold gazes for a while, green meeting amber; earth meeting fire. Then, Mako snorts.
"You're so corny," Mako finally says, grinning.
Wu grins back and snuggles back at Mako's side while his boyfriend reaches for the book he had closed. "I suppose that's just a matter of opinion," he says, feigning haughtiness. "And speaking of which," Wu continues, his eyes moving from Mako down to the book he was reading, "I told you that was a good book."
"It is," Mako agrees. A few minutes pass, spent by Mako reading the book that he had once sworn he'd never read and Wu going back to tracing Mako's arm, and then Mako leans down to rest his head against Wu's.
"Love you," Mako whispers.
The words cause butterflies to erupt in Wu's stomach, despite the fact that he's heard them before. "Love you too."
A/N: SQUEAL! I literally love this pairing so much. Like, it's one of my favorite ships of TLOK. Also, can I just say that I do not understand all the hate Mako gets as a character? Sure, he wasn't the best boyfriend to Korra or Asami, but he had so many good qualities that it kind of outweighed the fact that he wasn't the best lover. And I know that there's a lot of people saying that Mako should've died in the finale. I simply disagree. It'd be sad, yes, but I've always felt like finales should end on a happy note. How happy can it be if one of the main characters sacrifices himself to die a painful, gruesome death? His death would feel rushed, not to mention it would literally break my heart in two.
Eh, that's just my two cents on Mako. And, yes, there will be some TLOK one-shots on here as well. Regardless, some of the dialogue in this oneshot is based off of the Twitter user, "DippityDip" and their fanart of Wu and Mako.
As always, any criticism/feedback/suggestion is always welcomed. Up next will be a Boulder-centric oneshot!