A/N: Aaaaa, sorry for the late update. It's been a hectic morning over here. Here's a nice long chapter to make up for it.
Thanks so much to Sharpe, Tertius711, Guest, Black Dragon Master, StevenBodner, Lightbrightfury, Raider, devilfiredog18, and FireLordAziz for your consistent reviews!
57. Nothing's really gone; we bring the past along and love goes on
He knocks on the door with no small sense of trepidation.
Korra had offered to come with him — so had Iroh, if he'd been willing to wait till the prince returned to the city — but he knows this is something he has to do himself.
Zoya's expression when she opens the door is puzzled, to say the least. He starts talking before she can ask questions.
"Hey, Zoya. Sorry for showing up unannounced — I know this is sudden — but is your dad home?"
"You came to talk to my dad?" Zoya is even more confused. "What for?"
"It's…a bit hard to explain out here." He rubs the back of his neck. "It's about his birth parents?"
Zoya's eyes grow large and round. "His birth — how did you —"
He gestures towards the door. "Can I come in? I'll explain everything, I promise."
Still blinking in shock, Zoya steps to the side and allows him to enter.
"You remember where the living room is?" she asks.
"Yeah."
"Good. Go sit there; I'll get Dad and Mum."
She disappears up the stairs, leaving him to walk down the corridor and turn right into the cosy living room. It hasn't changed much from the last time he was here; but after a month in the Fire Nation, he can now better appreciate the decor. Most of the furniture is a blend of light stone and wood in medium brown tones, but there are accents of gold and red in the upholstery and coverings, and the curtains are a gauzy beige.
He doesn't have long to wait; Zoya reappears moments later with both her parents in tow. Misazi greets him with a graceful nod but otherwise says nothing. Haruko addresses him jovially, but with a note of reserve.
"Hello, Mako. I must say, I didn't think we would be seeing you again."
It's only then that it sinks in that he is in the house of his ex-girlfriend's parents…who — while they probably wouldn't be petty enough to hold their breakup against him (look, it was a mature breakup and he made it as painless as he possibly could) — nonetheless couldn't have been too happy when he broke their daughter's heart.
Yep, that would be another reason why he didn't come here with Korra.
Zoya slaps her father on the arm. "Dad," she admonishes.
Haruko's facade breaks and he cracks into a smile. "All right, all right." He winks at him. "It's good to see you, Mako."
"Ah…do you mean that, sir?" he asks tentatively. A quick glance at Misazi shows that her expression is inscrutable — he has no idea what she's thinking. Why, oh why, out of all the girls in Republic City he could've rescued from a fire, did it have to be the one girl descended from Sokka and Suki?
"I actually do," Haruko affirms. "Zoya tells me you were a perfect gentleman when you broke up with her, with valid reasons — so there are no hard feelings." A pause. "Anymore, that is."
"Dad."
Haruko laughs. "No, Mako, no hard feelings. Relationships don't always work out — that's just life. You were a good boyfriend to Zoya while it lasted and you ended things respectfully — I have no issues with that. We're all adults here, after all."
Misazi nods her assent, and the knot of tension in his stomach loosens a little.
"Well, it's all in the past anyhow." Haruko gestures for him to sit. "Though, if I have it right, the past is the reason you're here today, isn't it? Specifically, my past?" Though Haruko keeps his tone light, his eyes — very obvious blue eyes — give him away; he wants to know where he comes from.
"Yes, sir." He perches himself on the armchair diagonally across the couch where the family have settled. "This isn't easy to explain, though, so please be patient with me." He pauses to gather his thoughts, then begins. "I'm not sure if Zoya's mentioned this, but I'm friends with Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation."
"Zoya did say she bumped into you and your friends in Kirachu," Misazi remarks. There's something very significant about the glance she gives her daughter, but he doesn't have time to decipher it now.
"Yes, well — the night after that, we had a…gathering, of sorts…with Iroh's family. Including Lord Zuko."
"That's very impressive, but what does that have to do with my birth parents?" asks Haruko.
This is the hard part. "Ah, Lord Zuko told us some stories about Avatar Aang's companions…including one regarding Chief Sokka and Lady Suki. Are you aware that Sokka and Suki had a child?"
"No," Misazi says simply.
"Sokka and Suki were the most low-profile members of Aang's team," Zoya points out. "It's not that surprising that we don't know much about them."
"Again, what does this have to do with me?" Haruko questions.
He takes a breath, mentally preparing. "Sokka and Suki's son was two years old when he went missing in the Fire Nation." He looks meaningfully at Haruko. "Unfortunately, they never found him…but I think another couple did, and they adopted him and raised him in the Fire Nation."
Haruko's eyes widen as the pieces start to come together. "You can't mean…"
He nods solemnly while Zoya gasps. "Sokka and Suki named their son Haruko," he adds, sealing the realisation for them.
Haruko gapes. "My parents were Sokka and Suki?"
Misazi also looks shocked, but she places a steadying hand on her husband's arm.
"I know it's a lot," he says apologetically. "But I thought you should know."
"Yes, it's a lot." Haruko exhales slowly. His eyes are moist. "How did I…get lost?"
He explains about the Kemurikage Resurgence, and the efforts undertaken by Sokka, Suki, Zuko, and Mai to find two-year-old Haruko.
"Zuko distributed a poster with your picture all over the Fire Nation, but I guess your adoptive parents never saw it," he finishes.
"I suppose not."
He knows from experience that Zoya's father is normally expressive and exuberant, but he is uncharacteristically subdued now. He wonders if Haruko is thinking about what his life should have been: growing up with Sokka and Suki as his parents would have meant no shunning, no racial slurs, no constant underlying prejudice from the community making life difficult for him and his family. Haruko would have grown up in Republic City and the Southern Water Tribe; in both places he would have been revered as Sokka's son.
"It's not surprising," Misazi comments quietly. "Our village is small, and any posters sent to Kirachu Island would usually be put up in the city."
"Right, and no one would look twice at a poster about a missing Water Tribe boy in Kirachu." Zoya's tone is indignant.
"Now, Zoya," Haruko soothes.
"It could have been different," she insists. "You could have grown up happy."
"I was happy, sweet bun. Your grandparents never treated me any different because I was brown; it was the rest of the village that had problems. Except your mother, that is." Haruko smiles at Misazi.
"But —"
"Zoya." Haruko grasps her hand comfortingly. "It's the past. Don't get me wrong, it's a past I'm grateful to know about —" He gets an acknowledging glance. "— but it is still the past. We can't change it, so there's no use thinking about what could or should have been." Haruko pauses, and adds resolutely, "And even if I could change it, I wouldn't."
You wouldn't?
Zoya echoes his unspoken question, and Haruko smiles.
"No, I wouldn't. It is sad that I never knew Sokka and Suki, and it's sadder for them that they lost me, I'm sure. But if I hadn't gotten lost and been adopted by your grandparents, I wouldn't have met your mother. And I wouldn't have had you." Haruko gazes fondly at his wife and daughter. "You two girls are my pride and joy, and if I had to lose my birth parents to eventually gain you…I think that's a worthy trade."
Well, that's certainly food for thought. It's a lovely sentiment, and Zoya and Misazi clearly appreciate it. But Haruko is only looking at it from his perspective. He has a happy family; it's easy for him to say this was meant to be.
Sokka and Suki, however, lived with the emptiness of Haruko's loss for the rest of their lives — and that is something that should never have happened.
Just like Mom and Dad should never have died. He's been on Sokka and Suki's side of things; hell, he is on their side of things. He lives with the loss of his parents, and the consequences thereof, every single day. If he could change his past so that he'd grown up with them instead of in a life of hardship on the streets, he would say yes in a heartbeat.
Haruko meets his gaze sincerely. "Thank you, Mako."
"Yeah — I mean, you're welcome." He hesitates. "Um…you probably don't remember them, but there are a lot of people who would like to meet you."
Haruko cocks his head in inquiry. "Such as?"
"Well…Master Katara is your aunt." Though she doesn't know it yet. "Once she learns you're alive, I'm sure she'd want to see you. Fire Lord Izumi and Fire Consort Kairo used to babysit you when you were a toddler — Izumi was actually with you when you were kidnapped. They're going to be in Republic City in a couple of weeks, and they'd like to have lunch with you if you're up for it. Lord Zuko may or may not be coming along." Iroh's return to discuss his altered work schedule with President Zhol has proved to be the perfect excuse for the Fire royals to make the trip.
Zoya exhales in awe while Haruko blinks slowly.
"Well, damn," he says. "I didn't think of all that."
"You have relations in high places, Dad," Zoya notes.
Haruko's expression is wry. "Well, as my daughter, so do you, sweet bun."
This apparently had not occurred to Zoya, as she looks utterly floored. He empathises wholeheartedly; he's been exactly where she is — and he still doesn't think the truth of his noble heritage has fully sunk in yet.
"I can be the go-between," he offers. "I mean, I guess I already am. I know all of them, and I know you."
Haruko nods. "That would be very helpful, thank you."
"Again, you're welcome." He rises from the armchair. "I should probably get going now."
"I'll walk you out," Zoya volunteers, also standing.
He bids goodbye to Haruko and Misazi and takes a short, quiet walk back to the front door with Zoya beside him.
"How are you doing?" he asks in concern.
Zoya huffs. "I'm…okay, I guess. It's not like being related to these people fundamentally changes who I am. It's…a bit unbelievable, though." Her amber eyes are still a little wild. "I mean — Sokka, Suki, Katara? These people are living legends — out of all the people in the world who could've been Dad's parents, what are the odds that they would be heroes of the Hundred Year War?" She gasps suddenly, stopping just short of the door. "Holy crap, Mako — I'm related to Avatar Aang's family."
His mind blanks for a second as he processes this. He hadn't thought that far — he simply doesn't associate Tenzin's family with Katara much — but Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi are indeed Haruko's first cousins. Which makes Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan second cousins to Zoya…and his head is starting to spin.
He takes it back. His own previously unknown family relations aren't nearly as intimidating as Zoya's and Haruko's. He's merely connected to Fire Nation clan nobility; Zoya's extended family tree includes Republic City's first Council Chairman, a former leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, the master waterbender in the world, the current leader of the Air Nation, the youngest airbending master in history, and Avatar Aang as her great-uncle.
Not knowing what to say to such a revelation, he simply pats Zoya wordlessly on the shoulder. And then, because she still doesn't speak, he offers awkwardly, "My mother was Fire Nation nobility."
Someone else might have taken his statement to be an attempt to spin the subject back to himself, but Zoya has always read him well. "How'd you find that out?"
"Part of my reason for going to the Fire Nation was to see whether I could find any record of my mom," he explains. "Iroh helped. We found her in the census — she was the heir to one of the major clans before she got disowned for marrying an Earth Kingdom commoner."
"Ouch." Zoya's expression turns sympathetic. "Frustrating, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't know," he says honestly. "I didn't grow up in the Fire Nation, or visit it while I was growing up, like you did. And let's be honest — I look like a pure Fire National."
"Yeah, you do," she admits. "Kudos to your mom, though — that can't have been easy to do." Her tone softens. "It must have been quite a shock for you."
"It was. But it's easier to think about now. I met my aunt — Mom's sister — and my cousin too; they're good people."
"That's good. At least you don't have to worry about family drama."
He chuckles. "Believe me, I've had more than enough drama in my life already — and somehow I don't think it's done yet."
Zoya grins cheekily. "Mm, you do seem to attract all sorts of interesting people, don't you?"
"Not just people, Zoya." He sighs. "My past is…troubled, to say the least."
"I know." She peers at him for a moment. "But I think you've moved past most of it."
Again, he's struck by how keen Zoya's observation is. "Most?" he repeats.
"Your eyes are much lighter than they were while we were dating —" She's definitely not talking about colour here. "— so I think you've resolved most of your issues. But there's still something there that's bothering you. Maybe a very old something."
He can't help it; he gapes at her. "How can you see all that?" Even Korra is unaware of the one thing he's been struggling with for the past month — oh, she knows there's something — and she knows it's at least somewhat related to his heart-to-heart with Zuko — but he still hasn't told her what it is, and she hasn't pushed (she is getting concerned, though).
Zoya shrugs. "I don't know. I just do." She looks thoughtful. "I think your friends all have their own baggage too, so maybe they see it as normal for something to still be there — particularly when you've already made so much progress. I don't have baggage," she states matter-of-factly. "Maybe that makes it easier for me to see when other people do?"
"Maybe," he allows. Then he ventures to ask, "Zoya — are we friends?"
Zoya smiles. "Yeah, I think we are."
He smiles back, and then realises how long they've been lingering by the door. "Right, I really do have to go. Beifong will kill me if I'm late."
Zoya laughs as she pulls open the door. "You'd better get to it, then."
Feeling genuinely cheerful, he steps outside. "See you around, Zoya."
"See you, Mako."
He's almost at his bike before Zoya calls to him again. "Hey, Mako?"
"Yeah?"
Zoya hesitates for a second. "This is gonna sound weird, but…I'm glad we dated? Even though we didn't work out, it led to you meeting my dad, which led to us finally learning where he came from. I honestly don't think we'd have ever known otherwise — it's not like we have any connections to the Fire Royal Family or anyone who would've known what happened to Sokka and Suki's kid. So…I guess I wanna say…thanks for accepting my invitation out for coffee?"
Something warms within him as he has a split-second reflection on his journey with Zoya. Their relationship — short-lived as it was — taught him a lot, and she's absolutely right about how it's the only reason they were eventually able to make the connection between Haruko and Sokka and Suki's lost son.
"You're welcome. Thank you for asking me out."
She chuckles. "I guess everything happens for a reason, huh?"
Maybe. "Guess so."
With a final wave, he hops on his bike and motors away, his mind full of the past…and looking forward to the future.
A/N: Another song I was seriously considering was Swagata Biswas's 'Waves' (it's great listen if you wanna check it out) - but I decided in favour of 'Love Goes On' by Kelly Clarkson and Aloe Blacc because of the variety and nuance to the lyrics. I would love to get more into it, but I'm running short on time here, so I guess it's another one for the blog (maybe I'll do a whole series of chapter song analyses? Would y'all be interested in that?)
Speaking of the blog, I'm gonna need one more week to get it up and running. It's been a very busy week for me, and it took some heroic efforts to find time to even write this chapter (yeah, I don't have pre-written chapters anymore, just plot outlines and song lyrics - welp, my secret has been revealed). I figured y'all would rather have this update than the blog starting. So, next week it is!
Thoughts, theories, questions - all welcome in reviews!