Chapter Text
“Hold still, you big baby,” Kya said fondly. “You’re not doing yourself any favors.”
Mako grimaced and tried to hold still while she attempted to heal him, but his arm burned just as badly as when the lightening had backfired into him, continuously pulsing and zapping with electricity.
“I thought this was supposed to make it feel better, not worse,” he groaned.
“Spirit energy is tricky. It’s more complex to heal than other injuries,” Kya said gently. “It will take time. You have to be patient.”
“Patience isn’t one of his strong suits,” Wu laughed, waltzing into the room. He waved cheerfully. “Hey Mako! Man, this island is something, huh? I’ve been wandering around for almost an hour trying to find you.”
“And you didn’t think to ask for directions?” Kya asked with a wry smile.
“I was just taking it all in.”
“What are you doing here?” Mako asked as Kya re-wrapped his arm. “I thought you would be heading back to Ba Sing Se by now.”
“Well, I was, but then I thought, you know what would be great?” He paused for dramatic effect. Kya and Mako looked at him strangely. “Actually learning about other forms of government of course! I don't want to waltz in and change the whole infrastructure of my country to something else terrible and bad and evil. I realized I know like…nothing.”
“Wow. That must have been quite a shock,” Mako said dryly.
“It was! See, I knew you’d get me. So I’ve decided we should travel around to the other nations first, see what they got going on, so I can make a better decision. And since you’re stuck here anyway, I figured I’d start with the Air Nomads!”
“Did you talk with Tenzin already?” Kya asked.
“Yep! He was totally onboard. He was so excited his face turned red!”
Kya laughed softly and finished helping Mako get his sling back on. “I’d better go check on him. Take it easy, Mako.”
“So, how’s the arm?” Wu asked, for once seeming a bit more sincere.
“It’s slow going,” Mako sighed, getting to his feet. “Kya said it’s going to take some time to get back to normal again. You realize I can’t be your bodyguard with this injury, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s the other reason I figured the Air Nomads would be a good place to start. Always lots of good air benders around to give me some protection while you’re out of the game. So which way to the dining hall? I’m starving.”
“Alright, first lesson: there is nothing fancy here. It’s just the family dinner table. And if you ever can’t find it, just look around for Meelo.”
“Why? How does that help?”
“GUUUUUYYYYSSSS!!!” Meelo burst in on a ball of air, shouting excitedly. “Hurry UP, it’s time to EEAAATTT!!”
He burst out as quickly as he came, leaving a trail of leaves behind him.
“That’s how,” Mako said, laughing a little. “Meelo doesn’t like anyone to keep him from his food.”
“I like that kid!” Wu announced, leading the way.
…
Mako was not a big fan of meditating, but Kya had convinced him that it would help the negative spiritual energy that was trapped in his arm. It didn’t take long for him to realize it had been much easier before Wu decided to join in. He sat next to Mako, and for some reason smelled like apples. It was making him hungry.
“Am I doing it right?” Wu asked.
Tenzin inhaled deeply. “Like I said at the beginning, there is not much to it. Especially when you are first learning, most of what you should do is to sit still and be quiet.”
“Ok, sorry.”
It wasn’t all that hard. Even though Mako didn’t necessarily feel any connection with the spirits yet, it was still nice to sit outside. The weather was good, and although the stones weren’t the most comfortable in the world, the sun warmed them nicely.
“So how long do we do this for again?” Wu asked.
“One hour,” Tenzin sighed.
“Oh, ok.”
Alright, alright, Mako did understand a little bit. It was hard to keep your thoughts quiet and empty for an hour. At the moment he could barely keep it that way for 5 minutes. But it didn’t take much to just sit there and let your mind wander to other things. Like how apparently he had been conscripted for a trip around the world with Wu.
Something was squeaking against the rocks, creating a slight breeze. Mako cracked open one eye and saw Wu gently rocking his legs like butterfly yoga.
“Sit still, Wu,” Tenzin said through gritted teeth.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
Mako closed his eyes again and tried to focus. Unfortunately, all he could think about was this trip. Just how long did Wu expect to travel? And once he got back to Ba Sing Se, he wouldn’t need Mako anymore, right? There was a whole legion of guards ready to protect him. So at that point, hopefully, he could return to Republic City and become a detective again.
“Ommm…ommm…”
“You don’t need to do that to meditate,” Ikki said helpfully, sitting on the other side of Wu.
“You don’t?”
“Nobody else is.”
“Oh. Well it was helping me.”
“Just do it quietly,” Tenzin groaned.
Not that Mako really minded getting a break from being on the force. Fighting spirits and crazy generals had given him enough action for the time being. A break would be nice. And it would be cool to see more of the world. The idea was starting to grow on him. Although it didn't sound like he had much of a choice.
“I can’t do this,” Wu sighed dramatically. “Can’t I skip this part, Tenzin? It doesn’t exactly have to do with leadership.”
“Everything is connected,” Tenzin said almost automatically. “This is an important part of air nomad culture. Didn’t you say you always wanted to be an air nomad when you were younger?”
“Well we never did anything like it in the earth kingdom. I hate sitting still.”
“So you’re saying that you don’t like being forced into something you’re not used to?” Tenzin asked slowly.
“Exactly! See, you get me.”
“Meditate on this then: this is how some of your subjects will feel if they are forced into something they are not ready for, whether that is a demand from the monarchy, an upheaval of their government system, or corruption under another form of leadership.”
Wu opened and closed his mouth several times before falling into stillness. Mako’s mouth twitched with a barely contained smile. Tenzin had made a very serious and excellent point, but it was kinda funny to see Wu speechless for once. Hopefully he would think on that for a nice long while before…
“What are you thinking about?” Wu whispered softly in his ear.
Mako jerked his eyes open and fell over in alarm. Wu looked down at him quizzically while Ikki and Meelo laughed.
“Alright, that’s enough for this morning,” Tenzin said, getting to his feet. “Air benders, off to your exercises. Wu, give me…fifteen minutes, then meet me in my office for the history lesson.”
“You got it, chief!” Wu said, grinning.
Tenzin groaned and hurriedly left the meditation courtyard.
“Did I do something wrong?” Wu asked as the other air benders quietly grumbled and flew off.
“I know meditating takes some getting used to,” Opal said kindly. “But most of us really enjoy starting the day with some peace and quiet.”
“Oh,” Wu said, looking deflated. “I guess I kinda ruined that.”
“You’ll get better,” Jinora encouraged. “Even Meelo did. Just ask Korra, she can tell you what it was like when she first started meditating with us.”
“Where is Korra?” Wu asked. “That’s actually not such a bad idea.”
“She’s still on vacation in the spirit world,” Mako said.
“Riiiiiiight, with Asami,” Wu said.
“Why do you say it like that?”
“Nothing, just a hunch I have. We’ll see if it pans out.”
“What kind of hunch?” Jinora asked.
“I’ve said too much already,” he said, face falling into seriousness. "I’m not a gossip.”
“That’s literally half of what you do,” Mako said.
“What the old me would do,” Wu said. “I’m a new man, remember?”
“Right,” Mako sighed. Kya waved to him from the other side of the courtyard. “Time for another healing session. I’ll catch up with you at lunch.”
“Good luck!” Wu said cheerfully.
“How was your meditation?” Kya asked.
“Not as relaxing as I had hoped,” Mako sighed, looking back at Wu. “But I guess I did manage to make peace with something that was stressing me out.”
“Always a good start,” Kya smiled.
…
2 weeks later…
“Mmm! Delicious as always, Pema,” Wu said, swallowing dumplings faster than a cat-owl.
“Thanks,” Pema said with a bemused smile. “I’m glad you enjoy them. It’s nice to know I can hold a candle to your royal chefs.”
“You’ve missed your calling.”
Mako shook his head as he ate his dumplings with a bit more restraint, but he couldn’t help but smile. Wu may have struggled in the first week, but he had fit in quicker than expected, including wearing the traditional air nomad robes. Even Tenzin seemed to be softening a bit by his charms and willingness to learn.
“Aww, Pema! You didn’t have to make your special dumplings just for our return,” Korra said, surprising them all.
“KORRA!!!” Ikki and Meelo yelled, rushing over to greet her.
“Welcome back from the spirit world,” Tenzin said warmly. “How was your vacation?”
“It was…really good for us,” Korra said, exchanging glances with Asami.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mako saw Wu smile almost imperceptibly, the tiny one that he hadn’t figured out the meaning yet.
“Asami,” Wu said theatrically, rising to meet her and bowing dramatically. “You’re looking even more refreshed than usual! How is my favorite lady doing?”
“Right, I’m going to stop you right there,” Asami said, pulling her hand away as he tried to kiss it. “You’ve done a lot of good for the city, I’ll admit. So while I can tolerate you, I’m taken, so I’m not interested in dating you.”
“Alright, alright, point made,” Wu laughed, holding up his hands in surrender and sitting down again.
“Wait, you’re dating?” Jinora asked. “Who is it? Do we know them?”
Wu took a long sip of tea, putting on his “I look like I don’t care but I’m actually paying very close attention” face. Mako looked at him curiously. What did he know?
“Well,” Asami said, looking over at Korra, who took her hand encouragingly. “Actually, I think you already know her pretty well.”
For the first time that evening, Mako felt his attention pull away from Wu and onto his two ex-girlfriends. Who were dating. Apparently. Because that was now a thing.
“Oh, congratulations!” Pema cried, clapping her hands in delight.
“But…Korra’s a girl,” Meelo said, frowning slightly.
“Romantic relationships don’t have to be between men and women, Meelo,” Wu said, casually cutting his vegetables and smiling calmly. “Men can love men and women can love women. And as part of the Air Nomads, you’re actually part of the most progressive and open-minded people groups’ to accept same-sex relationships.” The rest of the table stared at him in surprise. “What? You didn’t think I was paying attention in class, did you?”
“No,” Tenzin admitted. “No I did not. Although I thought Meelo was. I thought he was very attentive that day.”
“Was that the day that there was a bug crawling on the wall behind you? Or the day when I was trying to count how many of your nose hairs I could see from where I was sitting?” Meelo asked.
Tenzin sighed deeply. “What am I going to do with you, son?”
“You’re not surprised by this, are you?” Korra asked, sitting down across from Wu and Mako.
“Not really,” Wu shrugged. “I saw it coming.”
“So why were you flirting with me?” Asami asked.
“I wanted to see how you would react. If you two were already dating, I knew you’d shut me down pretty firmly and all but admit it.”
“What if we weren’t ready to tell you?”
“I didn’t ask who you were dating. Jinora did that. I was going to leave it alone.”
“That’s…actually a pretty good strategy,” Korra said.
“Thanks! I think I could be a pretty good spy. I’m pretty good at getting the information I want to know.”
“Not so good at keeping quiet during meditations though,” Jinora laughed.
"Hey! I’m working on it!”
“He has improved a lot in the last week,” Mako admitted. “I think he made it nearly 30 minutes this morning before he had to talk.”
“Ok, to be fair, I had a legitimate question about the air nomads. I got excited about it!”
“Restraint means holding onto that question until our history lesson,” Tenzin reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You mentioned that a lot today. Anyway, congratulations girls. We should go out for drinks to celebrate!”
“As long as they’re not alcoholic drinks,” Tenzin said.
“What? I’m old enough to drink. I turned 21 last year.”
Mako raised his eyebrows. He vaguely remembered being briefed about the prince’s age before he took the bodyguard position, and it made sense given the coronation, but he often forgot that they were only a year apart.
“Wait, really?” Jinora asked. “I thought you were younger.”
“I know, I know, my wisdom makes me appear much older. But I have a fantastic skin care routine!”
“I…knew that,” Tenzin said, trying not to show how surprised he was at Wu’s true age. "My point is that air nomads typically don’t consume alcohol. And as long as you stay with us, we ask that our guests do the same.”
“Alright, alright. Guess we’ll have to postpone the celebration till later. We’re stuck here until Mako’s arm is better.”
“How is your arm?” Korra asked.
“Better,” Mako said, ignoring the fact that his exes were DATING. “The pain’s not constant any more. Kya thinks I can take off the sling in another week or so.”
“That’s great!” Asami said.
“Tell us about your adventures in the spirit world!” Ikki cried, scooting close to Korra.
Mako didn’t listen too closely. He was too distracted by the bombshell news, and there was something about Wu’s reaction that nagged at him. He just couldn’t figure out what.
…
“Hey, slow down! I’m still taking notes.”
Jinora simply smiled and turned the spirit book back a page while Wu frantically scribbled in his yellow leather notebook. Mako waited patiently in the door way until Jinora finally noticed and waved him in.
“Oh, hey!” Wu said, glancing up for a split second. “Look what Jinora’s doing!! This is like the coolest thing I think I’ve ever seen.”
“It is an incredible skill,” Mako agreed, nodding to the young air bender’s astral projection.
“If Tenzin sent you to get me, tell him I’m almost finished with this book. I’ll come as soon as I’m finished. You can turn the page now, Jinora.”
“I ran into him in the courtyard. He said to take all the time you need. I was actually looking for Jinora.”
“What can I do for you?” she smiled sweetly.
“I…I was hoping that there might be something in the spirit library that might help Kya understand more about spirit wounds.”
“Is your arm still not getting better?” Wu asked, looking up in concern. “It’s been almost a month.”
“It’s taking longer than she thought,” Mako answered, looking away. “We should have seen more progress by now.”
“I’ll take a look around,” Jinora promised. “There’s bound to be something.”
“Well you can get started,” Wu said, getting to his feet. “I think I have everything I need. Man, if all my history reports could be done on books from the spirit world, I would have written a whole library by now! Waayyyy more interesting than the stuff my tutors had me do. Good luck Mako!”
“You’re very patient with him,” Mako remarked as Wu ran across the courtyard to meet with Tenzin.
“He’s young, but he’s excited to learn,” she smiled. “I enjoy helping him actually. Now, about your arm. How have your meditations been? Are you able to relax at all?”
“I’ve been getting better. But it’s hard not to get distracted.”
“Especially with Wu around,” she grinned.
“Hmm?” Mako felt a stab of panic. He had realized that morning that Wu did tend to dominate most of his thoughts. She couldn’t possibly know what he was thinking about, right? Unless there was some secret power when you finally got into a meditative state with everyone…
“Don't worry, it’s hard on all of us. But he's getting better at being quiet.”
Right. The physical distractions of Wu himself. Not the fact that he had been invading his mind. But hey, it made sense. He did work for the guy, and they spent most of their time together because of that.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jinora said gently. “You’ll get there. Let me see if I can find something that will help.”
“Right, thank you,” he said, jolting back to reality.
Jinora’s projection disappeared as she returned to the spirit world, and Mako glanced out over the courtyard, where Wu was animatedly asking more questions while Tenzin tried to read his report.
“Ok, so I’ve done a LOT of reading, but did any of the air nomads ever like, disagree with the council of elders? What happened then?”
“The elders were on the council because they had been air nomads for their entire lives,” Tenzin explained, squinting at the messy scribbles. “They were in-tune with the air nomad values and way of life. The people respected their wisdom and decisions, and on the rare occasions they did not, the elders respected the people’s wishes. They were all equals.”
“Interesting, interesting,” Wu said, writing more in his journal.
“You seem to be on a good track,” Tenzin sighed, handing over the scroll. “But half of this is illegible. Write it again, and use some restraint, please.”
“I was going with the flow. You know, like an air bender!”
“That’s not…never mind. Just write it again, and make sure it’s clear.”
“What are you smiling at?”
Mako turned and realized Jinora was back, this time in her own body.
“I was smiling?”
“Yeah…”
“I don’t know. Must have been lost in my own thoughts. Probably nothing. Did you find anything?”
“I have a few ideas. Come on, let’s go find aunt Kya.”
…
“Let your eyes rise slowly, with the moon,” Jinora instructed, sitting cross-legged in front of him.
It was full tonight, bright and shining as it rose from the sea. Mako focused on it intently, silently counting the craters. They didn’t usually do meditations at night, but Kya was insistent they try every one of the tips Jinora had found.
“Let the air guide your breathing.”
Ikki stood just behind her sister, moving her arms to send a gentle breeze towards him, and then back to her. Mako breathed deeply.
“Match your heartbeat to the drums.”
On each side of the courtyard, Bumi and Tenzin beat the drums rhythmically. He could feel the sound waves pulsing through the ground and tried to match it. It shook through his arm, which he could barely hold in the meditation position.
“Listen to the chanting. Let it envelop you.”
All around the courtyard, all the available air benders recited the ancient chants of the first monks. They had been practicing all day, and it had already gotten stuck in his head, although supposedly that was the point. Wu was the only one with his eyes open, watching everything with interest.
“Relax. Let go of your tension. Let go of your pain.” Jinora pointed at Meelo, directing him to gently run his stick through the chimes.
“Alright, Yue,” Kya said softly from behind him, lifting a ball of water from the fountain. “Help me out here.”
“Clear your mind,” Jinora reminded him. “Let it become empty.”
Closing his eyes, Mako inhaled deeply as Ikki pulled the air back towards her. Kya separated the water into 7 smaller balls, which she placed on each of his chakra points. As she began the healing process, he exhaled, and Ikki’s breeze pushed against him.
Instantly, pain shot up his arm, sending him crashing to the ground, crying out in agony. A vortex of pink and green blocked out everything, illuminated by violent flashes of lightening. Disembodied voices swirled around him, so distorted he couldn’t tell who was who.
“Is that supposed to happen?”
“No!”
“Right, everybody leave. Let Kya work.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The voices were fading, overcome by the lightening and thunder of whatever spirit vortex held him captive. The lightening seemed to grow brighter even as the darkness expanded. His arm was screaming. Or maybe that was him. All he could feel was pain.
“C’mon, stay with me buddy!”
“He’s going to be ok right? Kya, please tell me he’s going to be ok…”
“We’re doing everything we can.”
“Don’t do this to me, bro. We’ve made it this far.”
It came in waves, darkness mixed with light, blinding cold followed by burning heat, pain mixed with relief, fear mixed with nothing. Every time the voices became clearer, he tried to follow them, but the pain kept pushing him back. It was easier to stay in the darkness of the void, empty and nothing. Time meant nothing, no day or night to mark its passage. Just an endless throbbing that seemed to last forever, drowning out his own heartbeat.
“Listen to me: you’re strong. You can make it out of this alive, but you have to fight for it. You have a life worth living. People who love you. I can only do so much. You need to help me out. Find something to hold on to.”
“If he doesn’t wake up by tomorrow…”
“Please don’t go. You’re the only good thing I have left. I…I need you.”
“You have to fight this. You have to come back to me, please.”
Mako needed something to hold onto.
…
For the first time, Wu thought he might be able to get into the whole meditative state thing. If only they had this set up every morning, then it wouldn’t be a problem. At the moment though, it was still too new and fascinating, so he kept his eyes open and watched earnestly. He could tell it was helping Mako. His bright eyes, illuminated by the light of the moon, grew more relaxed, and a glaze washed over them. With the air nomad uniform he had borrowed, he looked almost like a real monk.
Then he was on the ground screaming.
“Mako!” Wu leapt to his feet and rushed over.
“Is that supposed to happen?” Bumi asked, abruptly stopping the drumbeats.
“No!! I don’t know what’s going on!” Jinora cried. “I’m so sorry!”
The other air benders started to gather around, but Tenzin brushed them away. “Right, everybody leave! Let Kya work. Opal, go find Bolin.”
He glanced down at Wu, but the king stared back at him defiantly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Tenzin decided not to waste time fighting him. Kya focused all the water on Mako’s arm, but to their dismay the burn marks were slowly growing.
“Something’s happening,” she said through gritted teeth. “I can’t stop it, we need to get to mom.”
Tenzin took charge immediately. “Jinora, get a message to your grandmother, tell her we’re on our way and need access to the spirit pool immediately. Ikki, get all the coats and blankets from the house and bring them back here. Meelo, come with me to the stables.”
Wu watched helplessly as Mako’s screams fell into a deathly silence. He tried to give Kya space to work but it was agonizing. He reached forward and grabbed his other hand. It felt like hours before Tenzin returned with Oogi, lifting all three of them up in the air and into the saddle. Ikki and Pema came rushing out at the same time, throwing a mountain of blankets after them. They were in the air before Wu knew what was happening, Tenzin pushing Oogi to go towards the spirit portal as fast as he could.
“Wu! Sort through that pile and see if you can find us some coats. It’s going to be cold.”
The pile of blankets and coats was a tangled mess thanks to the rush, but Wu managed to find water tribe parkas for Kya, and Tenzin, helping them so they didn’t have to break focus on their tasks. Mako was more difficult, but he managed to carefully cover him in multiple layers of blankets, leaving only his arm exposed.
“C’mon, stay with me, buddy,” he pleaded.
“Don’t forget about yourself,” Kya reminded him.
Wu turned back to the pile and realized they were about to leave the spirit world. He didn’t remember entering it. He only barely managed to squirm into a parka before they were hit with a chilling blast and forceful winds of the South Pole.
“Gah!” Kya yelled, hunkering over. “The water is already freezing!”
Wu looked around and in a sudden burst of inspiration grabbed one of the bigger, thicker blankets and threw it over her shoulders, securing the ends of the blanket to the edge of the saddle. Then he grabbed the rest of it and drew it over to the other edge, turning the saddle into a makeshift tent.
“Good thinking kid,” Kya said. “This should hold out until we get home.”
“How much longer will it be?” Wu asked worriedly.
“A good twenty minutes,” she grimaced.
Wu looked down at Mako, who had gone a deathly pale. Carefully he stuck his hand out to his chest, trying to find a heartbeat.
“Kya…”
“It might be faint. You’ll have to listen for it.”
Carefully he pulled back the blankets just a bit and lay his head on Mako’s chest. Between the howling wind and his own pounding heart, it was difficult to hear anything. But after what felt like ages, he finally felt something.
“It’s slow,” he said. Kya nodded briskly. “He’s gonna be ok, right?” She didn’t answer. “Kya, please tell me he’s going to be ok…”
The waver in his voice made her look up for a brief moment. Wu felt tears spring to his eyes and he struggled to keep it together. She kept looking at him, and for a moment he thought he had shown too much, but in her face he found only understanding.
“We’ll do everything we can,” she promised softly.
He nodded and tried not to panic. Katara could still help. They hadn’t lost all hope yet. He realized with a start that he had somehow grabbed Mako’s hand again, and let go sheepishly.
“Don’t,” Kya said. “You’ll have no judgement from me. Besides, a connection to the physical world goes a long way.”
Wu didn’t need any more encouragement, and grasped Mako’s hand tighter than before.
Oogi landed roughly a few minutes later, the last straw for the poor blanket, letting the wind carry it away. Tenzin jumped into the back and scooped Mako into his arms, flying into the low hut that protected the spirit pool. Kya and Wu followed him worriedly. Katara was waiting for them next to the glowing waters. Together they untangled the blankets, stripping Mako down to just the tank top and shorts he had been wearing under the air nomad robes. They gently lowered him into the pool, letting his head rest on the edge. The moment he was submerged he finally, finally groaned softly.
“Thank heavens,” Kya sighed. “He hasn’t made a sound in ages.”
Katara remained serious, moving her hands through the water around his arm. “Tenzin stay with me. I need to know everything that happened. You two should get some rest. You’ll need your strength for the next shift.”
“But…” Wu started to protest.
Kya gently but firmly placed a hand on his shoulder, and led him out of the room.
“He’s not going to wake up right away,” she said quietly. “Bolin will be here soon and it’s already late.”
“I…I don’t even have a place to stay.”
“With me.”
He realized with a start that they had reached a small quiet little house, not too far away. Kya unlocked the doors and led him upstairs to a small room with big bay windows facing the healing hut.
“I always keep spare clothes for when the kids come to stay,” Kya said, pointing to the closet. “You should be able to find something your size.”
“You have kids? I didn’t even know you were married.”
“I’m not. I just tend to adopt them and think of them as my own.”
Wu had stopped listening, watching as Bolin and Opal arrived another bison and Bolin tore off into the healing hut, yelling for Mako. Everything hit him all at once: the meditation, the screaming, the burn, and the eerie silence. Mako's very life hung in the balance now, and there was absolutely nothing Wu could do about it. He clasped a hand to his mouth in a vain effort to stop the sobs from breaking through, embarrassed to be crying in front of a woman he barely knew. But Kya just held him as he broke, comforting him.
“My mother is the best healer in the world,” she whispered. “If anyone can save him, she can.”
“He has to be ok,” Wu cried. “He can’t…”
“Don’t let yourself go there. Not yet. The best thing you can do now is get some rest. When mom gets too tired I’ll take over for her, but I need a 2nd person for when I need her to come back.”
“How can I sleep when…” He was unable to finish.
“Wu, look at me.” Kya took a step back and gently raised his chin so she could look him the eye. “Believe it or not, I know how you feel. One of my first girlfriends got in a sledding accident when I was 17.”
“Your...girlfriend?”
She nodded. “I was worried sick. I wanted to help heal her but I wasn’t strong enough yet. I didn’t know how. So there was nothing I could do. It’s the worst feeling in the world, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
“We’re not…I mean, I haven’t said anything,” Wu tried to explain.
“It’s ok. You’ll know when the time is right. But we have a knack for finding each other, and when we do, we look out for each other. That’s how I ended up with so many kids,” she smiled.
“How many do you have?”
“I just counted for Asami…she was #12 so you’re my lucky 13.”
Kya’s words flowed over him like honey, warm and soothing, washing away 10 years of tension and heartache. Wu couldn’t have stopped himself from hugging her again if he tried. There were far too many emotions tonight, but at least one of them was good.
“Now get to bed young man,” she commanded.
“Promise you’ll get me if he wakes up.”
“Promise.”