A/N: I've been so excited to share this one with you all.
Many thanks to Sharpe, Black Dragon Master, AsahixMe, Tertius711, Master Kriebel, IrishDreamer4, CrazyPhenom, devilfiredog18, Aquamirra, and Guest for reviewing!
Time check: Late autumn, 175 AG (approximately 16 months post-Book 4 finale)
27. Life is a flower so precious in your hand
He follows Kai down the street.
"Why are we going to a flower shop?"
"It's mine and Jinora's anniversary tomorrow, and I wanna get her flowers." Kai isn't the slightest bit shy about it.
"Okay…so why am I here?"
"I need a second opinion. Opal's in Zaofu, Ikki would spill the beans, and I don't quite trust Bolin's taste — so you're basically my only option."
"I'm touched," he responds sarcastically.
"Good, you should be," says the irrepressible Kai.
He punches the younger man's shoulder in response. "What makes you think I'll be any better than Bolin? I'm not exactly the person to ask when it comes to romance." If anything, Bolin's the one Kai should be emulating. Barring their bumpy patch towards the end of Bolin's association with Kuvira, his brother and Opal have been going steady for well over three years now. If memory serves, Kai and Jinora only officially started going out around two years ago, just after Jinora turned thirteen.
Kai laughs. "Bolin's a sweet guy and all, and he and Opal are perfect for each other — but he is also the same dude who thought it was a good idea to pretend he broke both his legs to get back together with his pissed off girlfriend."
"He did what?"
"Yep. Opal told me he sent Pabu with a note saying that, just so she'd come running to a picnic he'd prepared to try and get back in her good graces."
"And he thought that would work?" Bro, what kind of logic is that?
Kai shrugs. "Apparently he did. And obviously it didn't. And now you see why, much as I love the guy, I'd rather not take his advice about what my girlfriend would like. Jinora's not the type to enjoy Bolin's goofy humour."
"Yeah, probably not," he concedes, reflecting how studious and dignified Tenzin's eldest is. Jinora did not get to be the youngest airbender ever to earn her tattoos by goofing off.
The flower shop Kai has chosen is small and colourful, and utterly unmistakeable as anything else. Bright yellow sunflowers greet visitors from their pots out front, while perky azaleas and cheery daisies wave from the windows. When they enter, flowers of every imaginable shade, size, and species display their glory from various shelves, stands, and tables. It's really very impressive, considering how late in the year it is.
"Hi, welcome to All Season Flowers! How can I help you?"
With a start, he recognises the girl behind the counter. It's the young woman he saved from the fire at that other flower shop.
Small world. He wonders if she'll realise who he is. He isn't working today, so he's not in uniform.
Kai explains what he's here for, and the florist merrily leads them around the shop, pointing to various floral arrangements and explaining the meaning behind each (who knew there was a whole language of flowers?).
"What's her favourite flower?" she asks Kai.
"She doesn't really have one. She thinks they're all pretty."
"You said your girl's the bookish type?" Kai nods. "She'll probably like a bouquet that expresses a whole message."
"Oh, that's a great idea!" Kai lights up. "Mako, what do you think?"
"Um…" He notices the florist's eyes slide towards him, and tries to think of something that won't sound dumb. "Are you asking me about the idea or the actual message?" he checks.
"The message. The idea is perfect — Jinora will love decoding the bouquet, but I'm not quite sure what I should say." Kai rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose 'I love you' would work?" he suggests.
"Nah, too boring. Something more meaningful."
There are more meaningful sentiments than I love you?
"What do you love about her?" The florist has turned her attention back to Kai.
Kai's eyes soften and his face takes on a slightly dreamy expression. "She's an amazing airbender. She's really wise and really kind. She might seem quiet and unassuming, but deep down she's full of courage and determination, and she'll always do what's right." He sobers a little. "She doesn't judge me for where I came from, and she didn't expect me to change for her."
He stares at Kai, comprehension hitting him like a train. Jinora is Tenzin's daughter, Avatar Aang's granddaughter, and the youngest airbending master in history. Moreover, she's practically Air Nation royalty at this point (even though the airbenders don't embrace that concept). Kai, however, is a lowly orphan and former thief from the streets of a tiny Earth Kingdom town, who — despite his innate airbending talent — isn't even close to earning his tattoos.
He wonders how he's never considered Kai and Jinora in this way before — because he'd be lying if he said hasn't had similar thoughts about himself and Korra (Avatar, basically the princess of the Southern Water Tribe — and has he mentioned she's the Avatar?). He briefly ponders whether Bolin has ever thought the same about Opal (daughter of Zaofu's matriarch, Earth Kingdom nobility, Toph Beifong's granddaughter).
And yet, none of the women — not Korra, not Jinora, not Opal — have ever judged any of them for their pasts or backgrounds. Hell, not even Asami did. Instead, he, Kai, and Bolin have been accepted, treated as equals, genuinely cared for, and led to a better life.
He suddenly realises that Kai is right — there are definitely more meaningful things one can say than I love you.
The florist tosses him a side glance as if she knows what he is thinking, while her fingers pick out specific flowers to arrange.
"Let's see…iris for wisdom and valour, blue hyacinth for constancy, hydrangea for understanding…some thyme for courage and strength…and a red rose for love." She shows Kai the impromptu bouquet. "Does that look good?"
Kai inspects the flowers and beams. "That's perfect!"
Even he has to admit, little as he knows about flowers, that her arrangement is artful. The single red rose provides a lovely focal point amidst the blues and purples of the other flowers, and the thyme sprigs fill out the bouquet nicely.
"You're…really good at this," he notes.
The florist smiles, pleased; her amber eyes sparkle at the compliment. "Thank you! I try."
She takes the flowers to the counter and proceeds to wrap the bouquet. "So, your name is Kai —" She gestures at the airbender, then turns to him. "— and you're Mako?"
"Yes," he affirms.
The florist suddenly looks a little bashful. "This might sound weird, but…by any chance, are you…a detective?" she inquires tentatively.
So she does recognise me. "Sergeant, actually."
"Oh." She drops her eyes to the bow she's tying around Jinora's flowers.
"But I was a detective until last week," he clarifies.
The florist looks back up, brightening. "Oh! So you are the one — I mean, you probably don't remember me…"
"I do," he says. With some humour, he adds, "As I recall, the last flower shop we were in literally went up in flames."
She laughs, bright and merry.
"I'm Zoya," she introduces herself. "It's good to see you again, Detective — I mean, Sergeant Mako."
"Just Mako is fine."
She smiles and nods in acknowledgment. "Well, Mako, I'm glad I've met you properly now."
"Uh…yeah." He's not sure where this is going. He clears his throat. "It's, uh, good to see that you found another flower shop to work in."
"Yeah, isn't it great? My old boss wasn't interested in opening another shop, so I found this place. Lucky they had an opening."
She applies the final touches on the bouquet before handing the finished product to Kai. Kai, who's been watching their entire exchange with keen interest, pays for the flowers wordlessly, clearly preferring to allow this conversation to play out without interference.
As Zoya counts out Kai's change, she addresses him again. "Mako, forgive me for being forward, but — would you like to have a coffee with me sometime?"
He flounders. "Uh…"
"He'd love to," Kai pipes up, blithely ignoring his immediate glare.
Zoya, however, notices his reluctance. "Only if you want to. There's no pressure, of course — I just…well, first and foremost, I'd like to say thank you, again, for saving my life — but I'd also like to get to know you a bit better, if I may."
"Well, um…"
"Say yes," Kai mutters under his breath.
He frowns at Kai, but he does think about it. His love life has been nonexistent since Korra, and Zoya is perfectly nice. He likes what he's seen of her so far — and he is in a stable place mentally where he feels ready to try dating again.
I suppose there isn't any harm in going out one time…just to see how it goes.
"Okay," he agrees — and he doesn't fail to notice how Zoya's radiant smile makes her entire face shine.
"Great!" she enthuses. "I'll pay, of course — I owe you, after all. What do you say to Elemental Coffee? It's just down the street from the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Centre."
"I know the place." He mentally runs through his work schedule for the next few days. "I'm free after four on Thursday?" he suggests.
"Works for me," she says cheerfully. "It's a date, then!"
Before he's had time to digest that proclamation, Kai has politely said goodbye and is steering him out of the shop with the hand that isn't holding Jinora's flowers.
"Well, that was interesting," Kai comments.
"I'm sure," he remarks dryly. "Why were you in such a hurry to leave?"
Kai looks sheepish. "I didn't want you to have time to reconsider after she said it was a date."
He narrows his eyes. "Why are you so keen that I go out with her?"
"Come on, Mako, you've been single for as long as I've known you. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"I've had two, thank you very much." He deliberately does not elaborate whom those two were. He's surprised Kai hasn't already found out (especially living in the same place as motormouth Ikki), but he supposes it just hasn't come up — and he's not about to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth.
"Really?" Kai says with interest. "I'd never have thought. You're always so awkward around girls your age who aren't Korra or Asami."
Oh, the irony. "I am not."
"If you say so. But I am glad you agreed to go out with Zoya. It's about time you started dating — well, dating again, I guess." Kai shifts his gaze to the bouquet he holds, admiring the flowers with delight. "Jinora's gonna love this. Hey, thanks for coming with me today."
"You're welcome." He wasn't actually much help at all, but if Kai's happy, he's not going to complain.
And, after all, he did get a date out of this flower shop visit.
It's an uplifting thought — and despite the uncertainty of venturing into romance again, he finds that he's rather looking forward to Thursday.
Maybe he'll even bring flowers.
A/N: Lyrics from 'Life is a Flower' by Ace of Base.
I had a few people wondering why I had Mako rescuing a random civilian. Now you know ;) She's not so random after all.
Also, the parallels in the class differences between Makorra, Kainora, and Bopal (and Masami for that matter) are interesting, aren't they? These street urchins really seem to have a thing for uptown girls.