Mako and Kuvira are stuck in the past, their bodies of little children and traveling along team Avatar.
Special: The unforgotten
"What are you doing?" Mako asks Aang in that soft voice he has, so unlike the fierce bossy one of Kuvira.
It's night and everyone but them are sleeping. Aang leaning on Appa and Mako standing, the Avatar has to look up to see his friend face.
"Kuvira said someone had to watch, it's my turn, and in two more hours Zuko's" Aang answers.
"I can't sleep, I can take over" Mako says as he sits near Aang, one of his hands playing with Appa fur. Sometimes Aang believes Mako and Kuvira are old souls, acting as responsible adults almost at every hour of the day and keeping things in complete order. Other times he looks at Mako cracking at Sokka jokes or Kuvira forcing him to sing and they could become their age.
And in a lot of senses he feels protective about them, as the Avatar, as the friend, as their elder.
"Why couldn't you sleep?"
"Dunno" Mako shrugs, Aang wonders what to say next but there is nothing that he could ask without feeling as he overstepped.
"Why" his friend asks without forming, only a whistle of the wind wanting to torn Aang apart.
" Why" Aang echoes, tears streaming his face. Why were they gone, he wants to asks. Why is he alone and unable to save them. He holds the desire of touching them again, to run along them and dance in the wind in silent melody.
But he wants, above everything, to die among them. The fire captures him fulfilling his wishes and turning them, him, all, in ashes.
Aang wakes up. He can feel the remain hot of a flame, his fingertips have a ghost of a burn. It's then that the young boy realizes he had firebend. Shame flows him as a cascade and he knows he is crying, maybe he was already doing it before waking up.
Someone tugs him into a hug. It's familiar, warm, and most important safe.
"Shh! All is fine" Mako soothes with a practiced easiness.
"Thanks Mako"
Aang composes himself after a little, and finally forces his eyes to look at his hands. The hands of someone that was unable to save his friends. Hands that can make fire and burn the world.
"I was firebending!" He says beteween gritted teeth.
In any other circumstances Aang would have keep his rage out of his voice, he would have acknowledge that his friend can firebend and spating the words the way he did was at best umpolite. But Aang doesn't notice anything is wrong until he sees Mako forced smile.
"I didn't mean it like that -he apologizes -It's just, firebending took away..
Aang decides he should just shut up, he still can see the remains of his deseaced friends, or how he imagines they looked. He values his friendship with Mako and maybe that's lost too.
"It took my parents too, I understand " the young firebender says, an emphatic smile and sad eyes to fit his words, and Aang hears much more in that. Shame, pain and guilty. He knows those three feelings too well.
"I was dreaming of them. The Air Nomads. I just.." He is chocking before he can finish his sentence, it's too much to bear alone.
Mako clasps his shoulders and Aang fails in his embrace. For the first time in what looked as years, he mourns his people in long sobs, the jailed pain taking over his body and making him a whimpering child. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!I'm SORRY!"
Monk Gyatso puts his hand on Aang head, as fatherly and kindly as a hundred of years ago "It's fine Aang. I love you"
Aang opens his eyes after hearing those words. Mako is hugging him with his little arms, and there is not trace of Gyatso on the firebender, just perhaps a warm love that goes beyond time.
He lets first a small smile form on his lips before offering Mako a wide smile, even then, the tears didn't stop, but this time, he feels happy.
Need space on my doc manager...And for some reason I had this.
Thanks for reading.