By the time Mako and Akari come back from shopping for Akari's new clothes, the sun was barely out of the sky, creating a fade of orange and light pink across Republic City. The city's new glow meant that Korra was home or she was on her way home. Either way, they had to get back before she noticed Mako's absence. He wanted Akari to get a chance to settle in, and go to bed before Korra came home. That way, Mako could have a chance to talk to Korra about his plan in private.
Mako holds in his breath as he opens the unlocked door to his and Korra's apartment. When he sees Bolin feeding Min her nightly bottle on the couch, he breathes out a sigh of relief.
"Hey bro," Bolin greets Mako, putting the empty bottle down on the dark wooden coffee table. "I was starting to worry… wait, what's going on?" He wonders when he sees Akari standing in the doorway, not knowing what to do.
"Akari's mom is sick and needs time to heal in the hospital, so in the mean time, she'll be staying with us." Mako replies nonchalantly. "I'll be right back." He exits the living room and into the barely lit hallway, towards his and Korra's bedroom to change his dirty clothes.
"Okay, Akari, let me give you a tour around." Mako offers just as he comes out of the hallway and into the living room, where Akari was still standing at the edge of the room near the door. She must have felt awkward, being in a room with people she hardly knew and missing her mother. Mako felt bad but he didn't know what he could do to make her feel more comfortable.
Mako walks past her and into the kitchen, "So, this is the kitchen. Before I head off to work tomorrow, I can show you how the stove top works. I don't think you'll be using it too much since Korra will be here most of the time." He sighs. "Actually, I take that back; you should definitely know how it works." Akari giggles softly, making Mako a little more relieved.
"There's the pantry," Mako points out as he walks past; towards the hallway, past the living room. He points to the first door down the fairly long hallway. "Korra and I's bedroom." The door to the left of their room was Min's play room, where all of her toys and some of her clothes were stored. Mako shows Akari the rest of the rooms; the bathrooms and Min's bedroom. The last room was the guest bedroom. "Here it is, your room." But Akari makes no move, she only stares into the darkness of the room. "Go in," Mako gently encourages her. "Take a look around."
Akari looks up to Mako and smiles warmly before walking in slowly and cautiously towards the light switch. With a soft click, the lights quietly come on and illuminate the beige colored room, making it easier to navigate through the fairly large sized bedroom. Bolin would sometimes stay with Mako and Korra if he was too tired to go across the City to Asami's mansion. Korra's parents, Tonraq and Senna, also stayed in the guest room but they didn't visit as frequently as Bolin did. But with Akari staying there, it wasn't going to be a big deal.
"I'll let you get settled in, make yourself at home. If you need me, I'll be in the living room." Mako offers before making his way back to the living room. When he comes to a halt at the end of the hallway, he sees that Min is still in Bolin's arms, dozing off to sleep. Quietly, Mako makes his way over and takes a seat beside Bolin, "How was she?" He asks in a whisper.
Bolin glances down at Min before replying to Mako in a murmur. "She was good. At first she was screaming and crying because you weren't here but after an hour she calmed down. She may like me now though."
Mako returns the smile. "Of course she likes you, she always has; in fact, she loves you. You're the best uncle ever."
"That's because I'm her only uncle. So she's stuck with me." He grins. Bolin says jokingly with a smile tugging at his lips.
Gazing down at his daughter, he apologizes to Bolin in a serious matter. "I'm sorry I left you two alone for so long. I didn't expect it to take as long as it did. I guess we'll have to have quality time some other day. Hopefully, I'll be able to take another day off, depending on how busy it will be at the station and depending on Korra's schedule."
"Well, you know I'll be available late nights and mornings. You can visit after your shift is over or something."
"I know, I could always do that but that's only a small amount of time. It just would be nice if we could have a day to hang out. Like old times, I know you miss the broody and serious me." Mako jokes.
His younger brother laughs and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, when did I become the mature one here?"
Mako chuckles. "I don't know but it's sure scary."
Bolin is about to respond when his niece stretches her tiny body as she yawns. Min opens her tired, bright gold eyes; stirring from her sleepy state. When her eyes focus on Mako, a warm, barely toothless smile appears across her face. Her father returns the smile and holds his hands out, waiting for Bolin to hand her over to him. When he does, Mako holds his daughter close before giving her a quick kiss on her head. "You miss me?"She nods in response.
Surprisingly, Mako hears Min say, "Daddy." The smile on Mako's face becomes wider when he hears her sweet voice.
"Very good Min. Can you say Uncle Bolin?"
"Uncle Bowin." She points her tiny index finger to Bolin.
"Close enough, right Bo?"
"Hey, if she is able to call me anything, it's good enough for me." Bolin looks up at the clock above the kitchen counter. With a sigh he adds, "I should probably get home, I have to get up early for training. You know how it is with the rookies."
Mako chuckles, remembering when they were the rookies and back when Korra was first on the team. Things were so different now. "Yeah, I know. It can be hardwork. If you want, I can stop by tomorrow and help you out a bit."
"Nah, it's fine. They're getting better so it won't be too bad... I hope." Bolin lifts himself off of the couch. "Well, I'm off. Goodnight my favorite niece in the whole wide world!" Bolin takes Min out of Mako's arms and kisses her button nose. "I'll try to come by tomorrow and see if we can have another day like this sometime. See ya tomorrow big bro!" Bolin says, handing Min back to him and steps out of the apartment." But before he closes the door behind him, he adds, "Tell Korra I said hi!"
Mako decides he should check up on Akari before she fell asleep. Mako opens the door, leaving just enough room to pop his head in. When his eyes settle on Akari, he sees that she's sitting on the bed watching her twirl her thumbs. "Hey, so, do you like your room?" Mako walks in with Min still in his arms and takes a seat next to Akari on the edge of the bed.
Akari smiles softly to him, "It's really nice, sir. Thank you."
"You can call me Mako, I get called sir enough at the station." He says jokingly.
"Sorry." She replies sadly.
Mako frowns, concerned and confused. "There's no need to be sorry, you did nothing wrong. What's bothering you?" She doesn't reply at first so he adds, "Is it your mom? You're worried about her aren't you?"
She smiles sadly, nodding her head 'yes'. "I've never left her for so long, I miss her."
"She'll be alright and out of the hospital soon. She just needs time to heal, that's all. It shouldn't take too long, plus, I'll go take you to see her every day if you want." He pauses. "I guess I kinda know how you feel. It's weird not being around my brother all the time like I used to."
"But you still have him and can see him anytime," Akari says gently, trying to help Mako as he helped her. "But I would like that, if you took me to see my mom. Are you sure it would be alright?"
"Of course it's alright, it's no trouble at all. I promise you that." Mako sighs, "You're right though, but with my crazy schedule, it's a little more difficult." He looks down at his daughter, who was now playing with his scarf. "Especially with this little rascal." Mako tosses her up in the air and catches her, both surprising Min and exciting her. Her giggles don't stop until she starts hiccuping.
Both Mako and Min laugh at her hiccuping, finding the sound humorous. He places Min on his knee and bounces her, hoping it would help with her hiccups. When it doesn't, Mako tells her to hold her breath; also holding his own to demonstrate. After awhile, her hiccups end and she lets out the air she had been holding in. "See?"
Mako clears his throat, "I should probably go out to the living room and wait for Korra." With Min in his arms, he lifts himself off of the bed and walks towards the already open door. "I still need to talk to her about all of this, but, I'm sure she won't mind." 'I hope' he adds in his mind. "Well, goodnight. I hope you rest well."
He's about to shut the door when Akari small voice stops him. "Wait."
Mako opens the door slightly to poke his head in. "Do you need anything?"
"No thanks. But I just wanted to say thank you for doing this, you're so nice." Akari says shyly.
"You're welcome, I'm glad I can help in anyway." Mako pauses. "If there's anything you need, just come in my room and wake me up. Don't worry about waking Korra up, she's a heavy sleeper. I'll talk to you in the morning, to go over a few things and to hopefully go visit the hospital." He sighs, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," he hears Akari quietly call back.
Quietly, Mako shuts the door and makes his way to the living room. He sits with Min on his lap for a minute before realizing what time it really was. "Alright Min, ready to go night-night?"
She shakes her head, her small chocolate brown curls bouncing with each movement. "No, Daddy."
Mako fakes a gasp, "No? What do you mean no?"
"I'm not sleepy," Min smiles, revealing the fact that she was lying.
"Well, you were falling asleep with Uncle Bolin earlier, weren't you? So you must be tired." He says to Min kindly before adding, "You know what will happen if you don't sleep?" Min shakes her head. "The tickle monster will come after you." Before the words sink in to Min, Mako quickly moves his hands to Min's sides and tickles them; his fingers moving fast along her rib cage. Her laughter immediately fills the room, and the sound made Mako grin. Soon, Mako laughs along with Min and stops tickling when he hears the front door open.
"Mommy!" Min exclaims, squirming to get down from the couch. Mako moves to help her but her feet touch the floor, and she immediately runs toward Korra.
Korra lifts their daughter up into her embrace and kisses her chubby cheek. "Hi, sweetie. Did you have fun today?"She nods. "Well, what did you like about spending the day with Daddy and Uncle Bo today?"
Min grins and bounces up and down in her mother's arms when she says, "Park." Mako stiffens ever so slightly, he knew how Korra felt about taking Min out in public and boy, he could tell he was going to be in trouble for this one.
"Park?" Korra frowns in confusion but once it clicks, her gaze is on Mako, scowling.
But before Korra had a chance to yell at him, he quickly suggests, "Uh, I think it's time for Min to go to bed. It's been a long day."
With a huff, Korra takes Min into her room to get ready for bed. Mako was about to follow but he stops himself, for fear that he would make Korra angrier. He decided to give her a moment alone with Min before he went to tuck her in. Mako taps his foot lightly on the wooden floor, waiting for the right time. After a couple minutes, he finally walks into Min's room and sees Korra placing her favorite blanket onto her. He remembered when his mother-in-law gave them the blue and white blanket that she worked so hard on for months. She finished it just in time because Min was born a few days later. Ever since the night she was born, Min had always slept with it; she refused to sleep without it.
Quietly, Mako makes his way over to his two girls, smiling proudly as he takes his place next to Korra. Without a word, they tuck Min's blanket in between the mat of her crib and her, making sure that she would be warm on the fairly cold night in Republic City.
When Korra sees that she's tucked in properly, she leans over the crib and kisses the top of Min's head. "Goodnight, my little Min. I love you," Korra coos softly just before Mako does the same. Min smiles up at her parents and reaches for her mother, wanting to be lifted up.
"No sweetie," Korra says gently. "It's time to sleep, mommy's tired. I will be able to spend time with you all day tomorrow, promise."
Not liking the answer, Min begins to cry and tears begin to streak her cheeks. Korra lets out a sigh before lifting Min from out of her crib. She bounces Min in her arms ever so slightly, trying to soothe her and calm her down. After a few minutes, Min is still wailing and is showing no signs of stopping. Korra gives Min over to Mako in hopes that he'll be able to stop the crying. To her surprise, he isn't able to stop it either.
"Try giving her the pacifier... where is it?" Korra suggests.
"Uh, it should be the living room on the couch." Mako informs her before she rushes out of the room to go retrieve it. Surprisingly, she's back in a matter of seconds with the binky in hand. Korra quickly puts it into Min's mouth, and it works. She sucks on the rubber mouth piece for a few minutes before her eyes begin to become heavy with sleep.
Korra and Mako smile at the sight, relieved that she was finally calm and at peace. She looked more like Mako everyday, and the way she slept, mimicked her father. She was silent and her posture was fairly straightened, the opposite of her mother who usually snored and sprawled out over her shared bed with her husband. Mako was used to it now and sometimes, whenever Korra was out late due to a meeting or other Avatar duties, he would find himself unable to sleep without the sound of Korra's rumbling snores echoing through their bedroom.
Mako gently sets Min's head onto her pillow. He removes his hands and makes sure she's still asleep before pulling up the blanket up to her shoulders. He bends over the cribs railings and kisses the top of her brown haired head. "I love you, Min, goodnight." Mako whispers just before stepping back to let Korra have a chance to wish Min goodnight.
He watches Korra from the doorway. Mako loved seeing Korra's expression soften whenever her eyes laid upon Min. She loved their daughter so much, and it warmed Mako's heart to see that Min could make Korra happy even though she was upset with him. It was a comfort to know that he and Korra would always have Min.
Mako's posture straightens when he notices Korra's figure coming towards him. She doesn't even acknowledge him, Korra just simply heads towards their bedroom with silence. She slides the door closed once Mako steps onto the hard wooden floor.
"Korra, I-" Mako's words were cut short when she smacks him in the arm. "Ow!"
"Mako! You know how polluted the city can be! Why on Earth would you take Min out in that? Especially in the park?! Who knows what's been there?!" She sighs, "Not to mention the fact that the park is near the bad part of the city. Didn't you think about that? Besides, I don't want Min exposed to the press yet either, did you not think of that either? For a cop, you sure are irresponsible!"
"Aren't you forgetting that I'm the Chief of Police? I know the city like the back of my hand, and the park Bo and I took her to was the nicest one in the city. It wasn't near the gang area at all." He sighs, "Korra, do you really think I would take Min out if I knew it wasn't safe?" Mako became angry and sad at the fact that Korra didn't trust him with their daughter. She was acting like he didn't know anything about the city and Min.
"...No, I suppose not." Korra agrees quietly.
Mako shakes his head. "Unbelievable. Do you not trust me with Min, is that it? You know you could hire a babysitter if that is the case."
"No, Mako. I trust you with Min, it's just that..." Korra drifts off, with a sad expression upon her beautiful face.
"It's what, Korra?" Mako retorts a little too harshly.
Her eyes dart away from Mako's aggravated look, and she hides her face with her cupped hands. Korra's sobs fill the room in an instant. 'Well, I wasn't expecting that.' Mako thought. He immediately felt terrible for being a little too harsh to Korra, she was only concerned for Min after all. Mako takes hold of Korra and leads her to their bed, to sit, "I'm sorry Korra, I didn't mean to take my frustration out on you but-"
"I'm not crying because you were raising your voice at me." Korra sniffles. "I'm crying because I'm sad."
Mako's brow furrows, concerned for his wife. "Sad about what?"
"I missed out on Min's first outing." Korra admits, barely audible. Her soft hands cover her face again, "It may seem like a stupid reason for crying but it's the truth."
Mako slapped his palm to his forehead. How could he have been so stupid and inconsiderate? At the time, he was only thinking about spending quality time with his brother and daughter. Mako didn't even think about it that way. Boy, he really messed up this time and he only had himself to blame. "It's not a stupid reason to cry." He sighs and rubs circles in her back, soothingly. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking; I shouldn't have taken Min out when you were away. I'm sorry."
Mako honestly felt horrible for not including Korra. They were a family; and they should be experiencing Min's first's together as one.
"It's fine Mako, honestly. Besides, I should let you at least have a few firsts with Min. You don't get to see her as often as I do." It was true, Mako was always working and missed out on Min's first word and her first time crawling. Luckily, he was there to see Min walk for the first time; it was something he would never forget.
He shook his head. "No, you should be able to experience them with me. We're a family after all." Mako intertwined his fingers with Korra's and smiled gently.
Korra returns the smile and leans forward to kiss his cheek. "You're right." She sighs, wanting to change the subject and to forget about their small argument. "How was it?"
"At first it wasn't so great, she wouldn't stop crying. But then we took her to the park and she calmed down a lot." He pauses, talking about the park made Mako think about their encounter with Akari. He needed to talk to Korra about the little girl who was now sleeping two rooms over. "Speaking of, there's something I need to ask you."
"Did something happen to Min at the park?" Korra asks, her voice filled with concern.
"No, nothing happened to Min at the park. Although, she did meet a new friend there. And that's who I wanted to talk to you about." Although Korra was confused, her frown clearly showing it, she remained silent and still listened, waiting for Mako to continue. "We met a homeless little girl at the park named Akari, and her mom is really ill. I took her to the hospital but the thing is, she needs to be there for a couple weeks to heal. So I figured, Akari could stay with us in the mean time. Once her mother is out of the hospital, I would pay for an apartment while Jia is working at the police station. And when she has enough money, she'll pay us back."
Korra's lips form into a gentle, soft smile. "Mako, I love you for helping out someone in need but... I'm not entirely sure about welcoming a stranger into our home. Now, the whole apartment thing is fine with me because we have money to spare but as for Akari staying here... I don't think now is a good time for that. "
"I can assure you she's not a criminal or anything like that. She's just an innocent child forced into poverty. It's not like she will be here alone with Min. You'll be here. Trust me on this, Kor."
"I trust you, Mako. It sounds like it'll be alright but like I said, now isn't a good time for all of this."
Mako didn't want to keep badgering his wife but also he didn't want to give up on Akari just yet. He wanted to convince Korra that this all would be okay."But, why wouldn't it be a good time?"
She lets out a sigh. "Okay, remember I left around early afternoon?" Mako nods in response, confused as to where this was going. "Well, I left earlier than I was supposed to; I went somewhere else before the meeting started." Korra remained quiet while watching her thumbs twirl, looking nervous to tell Mako whatever it was that she needed to say.
"You know you can tell me anything, Korra." Mako informs her reassuringly. He holds her hands, lightly squeezing them to encourage and comfort her.
Korra smiles before she says, "I went to a healer today."
'That wasn't bad,' Mako thought to himself. 'Why would she be so afraid to tell me that? Unless... something was really wrong.' Now, he was worried; more so than he was before. "Are you alright? Please tell me that everything is okay."
Korra chuckles lightly. "I'm fine... and so is the baby."
'Wait... what did she just say?' His mind took him awhile to process the news, but when it did, a big goofy grin appeared on his face. "So you really are-?"
She giggles, "Yep, I'm really pregnant. And-"
Before she could tell him how far along she was, he wraps his arms around her waist and spins while hugging her. Mako places her feet back onto the floor, and while still in their embrace, kisses the top of her head tenderly. "I can't believe we're going to have another baby." Mako says excitedly. Korra and Mako pull away from each other at the same time. "So, why were you so afraid to tell me before?"
"I don't know... I thought that with your job and Min, that you wouldn't want to have another baby so soon. And when you were telling me about Akari, I figured that telling you I was pregnant would have put more stress on you. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Mako gently tilts Korra's chin up with his thumb and index finger. "I love you."
Korra smiles, lightly blushing. "I love you too." With those words said, their lips finally meet.
Mako was happier now than he was before. Not only did he have a chance to save Akari and Jia's lives, put away some gang members, and reconnect with his younger brother again; but now he was having another daughter or son with the woman that he loved the most. He looked forward to Min spending time with her new friend, and Min being a big sister sometime in the near future. In fact, he looked forward to everything life had to offer him now. Mako never took things for granted, he was grateful for the things he was able to have even though life didn't treat him kind in the beginning. But now, he knew that he would be able to be helpful to those who couldn't help themselves. Maybe that was his purpose in life, it was too early to tell; but with his brother, his children, and with his wife in the picture, Mako knew life would be great and worthwhile. And Mako wouldn't have it any other way, he couldn't have asked for more.
I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind reviews and you guys sticking around for so long with this fic. I enjoyed writing this, and I hope that you guys liked it. The delay was super long and I'm so sorry for that. Really, it means a lot to me that you guys stuck around and gave me such good feed back. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this. And if you have a suggestion for another fic I should do, just comment :) Again, thank you so much and I hope you enjoyed this!