They're beautiful. [ Wu sighs, leaning on a hand. He's on the floor of Mako's room, draped over Naga. She's good company, but not much for conversation. ] Mako! I feel like you're the torture for me, telling me to stay here. Clothes? Nice rooms? Probably room service?! And you're telling me to stay here.
You should try that jacket on. The one with the flowers. I think it'd suit you.
Wu, one of them is just pants, how is that not weird?
[ Mako lifts the one with large black pants and apparently no matching top except for some metallic draping to show Wu, his hand curling into the stiff fabric. ]
You're the one who turned on the video. This is your fault.
[ He lets it drop, then flips the video back around to show his face, his eyebrow raised. ]
I didn't buy them. They just showed up in my basket one day.
[ He does feel bad that Wu is there without him, though, and very bored. With a sigh, Mako pulls the jacket out and goes to prop the Fluid up on his desk. ] I don't know what the hotel is playing at, but at least the room is nice enough.
[ Of course, now that the Fluid is propped up and Mako is stepping back to try on the jacket, in the frame is a poster of Firelord Zuko, tacked up on the far wall. He's younger, in the middle of what looks like a complicated firebending move. Mako sort of forgot it was there. ]
[ Mako realizes, all at once, as soon as the jacket is on, stiff and strange as it is, what Wu is looking at, and hurries over to the Fluid to pick it up and hide the poster, his cheeks burning. ]
It's not thing! You have a poster of Lord Zuko on your wall! There's a story there. [ Wu laughs, and again, he's annoyed that he isn't there. Then he could just look at it. ] The jacket looks good.
It was there when I got here, I didn't put it up myself.
[ This time. He definitely put it up when he was a child, when he'd begged his mother for any kind of thing related to Firelord Zuko, who she talked about with a strange kind of reverence. There weren't a lot of positive depictions of firebenders at that age, and he'd always been told to keep it out of public sight if he could help it.
Mako definitely didn't expect to see it again. He pulls the Fluid further out from himself, though, hesitating. ] You think?
It must be there for a reason. [ Wu grins, leaning in a little. ] Do you have a little crush on Firelord Zuko? I can't blame you. He was very handsome. A bit wrinkly, now.
I do! I told you it'd look good on you. You look good in color.
[ Mako heaves a very deep sigh. ] It's there because it was on my wall when I was a kid, probably. This place is creepy like that. No idea how it got here.
[ Is he, uh, turning a bit to show off the jacket? He'll never say. ]
Why are you so interested in this? It's more like a combination of our first apartment and the suite, anyway. Just with some things from when I was a kid. I haven't thought about them in years.
[ Mako huffs, his cheeks flushed, and picks up the Fluid again anyway, flipping it around so the jacket and him are out of view. ] It's stiff, and I don't know what it thinks I'm going to wear it for, but.
Okay, see? That's a picture of my family. The only one. My grandmother should have it or it should be in the room you're in, but it's here.
Because I'm bored. Everyone is gone! I'm here all alone and all the animals are asleep. Show me your fancy hotel room, Mako.
[ That's as close to an order as Wu's given him since he's been here.
His eyes light up ] Maybe there's a party! Mako, if there's a party, I have to be there.
Ah, you mean this picture? [ Wu shifts up off of Naga, pointing the Fluid to the same picture that's still on Mako's nightstand. ] You were a very cute child, Mako.
If there is a party, I've been informed that we shouldn't trust any party this town throws. It'll probably ruin parties for you.
[ Please, Wu. For the sake of Mako's own sanity. Stay put. He is begging you, even as he begrudgingly pans the Fluid around the room for Wu to see.
In addition to the poster of Firelord Zuko looking fancy, there are a few pro-bending posters up. Some teams that don't exist anymore and haven't for a while, and one of the Fire Ferrets in their first season with Korra. A few photos of Korra and Asami and Bolin, clearly from the last few months, and one at the wedding with the four of them together.
There's even a picture from the wedding with Wu in it, one they'd all had taken together where Wu is pressed up against his good shoulder, and Mako is looking sideways at him with a quiet smile on his face. He was so glad to see Wu alive and well after the chaos of everything, proud of how far he'd come and everything he'd heard. ]
Are you happy now?
I was probably 7 or something in that picture. They died not long after it was taken.
[ Wu groans, and drops down onto Mako's bed. ] This town wants to ruin everything I love.
[ He smiles at the photos. All the parts of Mako's life he's only heard about. It's strange, that Mako is so important to him, but they've only know each other for just over two years. They were two very strange, important years. He flushes happily, to see that picture of them. He hadn't seen it before. ]
Yes, I'm happy. That must be nice, to be surrounded by those things.
Oh. I, it makes sense, why you would treasure that picture, then.
[ His voice is soft, suddenly, the picture mostly in frame on his end, too. ] My father must have sent it to our grandmother, in Ba Sing Se. We had no idea. That any of them existed.
[ A small, soft silence, before Mako coughs and shows Wu the massive bed. ]
But yeah, that's what this town does. It ruins things. Trust me, you're better off where you are.
I... I don't know. I'm glad you did find them. Eventually. [ And... he doesn't really know how that came about, but it doesn't feel like the moment to ask.
He squints at it, reading over the text with a frown. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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You should try that jacket on. The one with the flowers. I think it'd suit you.
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[ Mako lifts the one with large black pants and apparently no matching top except for some metallic draping to show Wu, his hand curling into the stiff fabric. ]
You're the one who turned on the video. This is your fault.
[ He lets it drop, then flips the video back around to show his face, his eyebrow raised. ]
I'm not trying on the flower jacket.
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Why not? It's very pretty, and it has to be the least objectionable of the ones you showed me.
I like that one. The pants look very comfortable.
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[ Mako's having a very hard time keeping his face straight, keeping away the little teasing smile tugging at his mouth. ]
This should be great for you.
And it's weird. And overly-formal. Why do I need a fancy jacket?
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Why not! Maybe there's a dress code at the hotel. Maybe Sodder is telling you you should dress better.
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[ He pauses, and then scowls. ]
What's wrong with the way I dress?
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It's... bland. Although, I do like the changes you've made here. The sweaters are nice.
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[ He does feel bad that Wu is there without him, though, and very bored. With a sigh, Mako pulls the jacket out and goes to prop the Fluid up on his desk. ] I don't know what the hotel is playing at, but at least the room is nice enough.
[ Of course, now that the Fluid is propped up and Mako is stepping back to try on the jacket, in the frame is a poster of Firelord Zuko, tacked up on the far wall. He's younger, in the middle of what looks like a complicated firebending move. Mako sort of forgot it was there. ]
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[ Wu laughs, shaking his head. He wishes he was there, right now. That's much more fun than critiquing Mako's outfits through a tiny screen.
He gives Mako his "privacy" by looking around the room Mako's in, then he looks closer at the poster and he gasps. ] Is that Lord Zuko?!
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Oh.
[ Mako realizes, all at once, as soon as the jacket is on, stiff and strange as it is, what Wu is looking at, and hurries over to the Fluid to pick it up and hide the poster, his cheeks burning. ]
That's nothing.
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[ This time. He definitely put it up when he was a child, when he'd begged his mother for any kind of thing related to Firelord Zuko, who she talked about with a strange kind of reverence. There weren't a lot of positive depictions of firebenders at that age, and he'd always been told to keep it out of public sight if he could help it.
Mako definitely didn't expect to see it again. He pulls the Fluid further out from himself, though, hesitating. ] You think?
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I do! I told you it'd look good on you. You look good in color.
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[ Is he, uh, turning a bit to show off the jacket? He'll never say. ]
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[ He bites his lip against a smile. ] Very fine. It shows off your shoulders.
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[ Mako huffs, his cheeks flushed, and picks up the Fluid again anyway, flipping it around so the jacket and him are out of view. ] It's stiff, and I don't know what it thinks I'm going to wear it for, but.
Okay, see? That's a picture of my family. The only one. My grandmother should have it or it should be in the room you're in, but it's here.
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[ That's as close to an order as Wu's given him since he's been here.
His eyes light up ] Maybe there's a party! Mako, if there's a party, I have to be there.
Ah, you mean this picture? [ Wu shifts up off of Naga, pointing the Fluid to the same picture that's still on Mako's nightstand. ] You were a very cute child, Mako.
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[ Please, Wu. For the sake of Mako's own sanity. Stay put. He is begging you, even as he begrudgingly pans the Fluid around the room for Wu to see.
In addition to the poster of Firelord Zuko looking fancy, there are a few pro-bending posters up. Some teams that don't exist anymore and haven't for a while, and one of the Fire Ferrets in their first season with Korra. A few photos of Korra and Asami and Bolin, clearly from the last few months, and one at the wedding with the four of them together.
There's even a picture from the wedding with Wu in it, one they'd all had taken together where Wu is pressed up against his good shoulder, and Mako is looking sideways at him with a quiet smile on his face. He was so glad to see Wu alive and well after the chaos of everything, proud of how far he'd come and everything he'd heard. ]
Are you happy now?
I was probably 7 or something in that picture. They died not long after it was taken.
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[ He smiles at the photos. All the parts of Mako's life he's only heard about. It's strange, that Mako is so important to him, but they've only know each other for just over two years. They were two very strange, important years. He flushes happily, to see that picture of them. He hadn't seen it before. ]
Yes, I'm happy. That must be nice, to be surrounded by those things.
Oh. I, it makes sense, why you would treasure that picture, then.
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[ His voice is soft, suddenly, the picture mostly in frame on his end, too. ] My father must have sent it to our grandmother, in Ba Sing Se. We had no idea. That any of them existed.
[ A small, soft silence, before Mako coughs and shows Wu the massive bed. ]
But yeah, that's what this town does. It ruins things. Trust me, you're better off where you are.
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Then, another jealous groan ]
Mako. Please. It feels like I'm being, being gaslighted! You show me this grandeur and tell me I can't have any of it for my own safety!
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[ It's a sad thing to talk about, but Mako just snorts, flipping the camera back around to show his face again. ]
I'm so sorry that you're not also trapped here in the death hotel. Look. I found this, too.
[ He holds up Wu's own funeral program. ]
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He squints at it, reading over the text with a frown. ]
That is... not very kind.
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[ Mako drops it again, focusing back on his face. ] Which is all the more reason not to trust it. I don't think she has the right idea even now.
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I'll be careful, especially on the 22nd. Hopefully... hopefully nothing terrible will happen.
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