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[ Until them, Mako puts together. Until Wu was sure of what they were, until he had ground under his feet and someone in his corner.

Mako flicks the little stove to life, idly stirring the chocolate. It's just bumping the sides of the little pot right now.

He knows what it's like to watch your life collapse, how hard it is to feel like you know what you're doing after that. How long did it take him to feel like he and Bolin weren't on the verge of death? How long until he stopped wishing for his parents in secret, knowing it wouldn't get him anywhere, hoping anyway in the way that children do?

He hasn't felt like that, at least. Not again.

Mako turns his face into Wu's head, lets himself rest close while he melts the bar. ]

We are. The Raccoon Room suits you. I'm... glad you have your feet under you.

Me too.

[ He says it softly, feeling the feelings coming off of Mako. He gets flickers of that childhood, of the hope, dashed and dashed again. At least he was an adult when it happened, not that people treated him like one. Mako really was his babysitter, taking care of him because no one else would. ]

I'm glad that we didn't stay back home.

[ It's kind of scary to say, because he has no idea if Mako feels the same ]

[ Mako lets out a little huffing breath at the words, pushing a bit more heat into the pot to get the chocolate to melt quicker. ]

Yeah? You don't think it would've been worth it?

It... probably would have been. But even if it was worth it, it was going to be years of my life before I would be free to do what I want. If I didn't have a choice, if I was home, of course I would do it! I would stick it out and help guide the Earth Kingdom into democracies. But-- I'm also pretty relieved that I don't have to.

[ He glances at Mako, then away, not really wanting to know his reaction to that. Will be think that Wu isn't trying hard enough? That he isn't dedicated enough? That he's shirking his duty to his nation?

He doesn't really want to know, but also he really has to know. ]

[ Mako can't really blame him.

It isn't like Wu asked for the throne, or the stress of abdication, or any of it. Mako had been impressed by the way he stepped up after protesting for so long, and more impressed still at his idea to abdicate in the first place, but...

Wu had looked so tired even before everything with Gaoling. He never talks about wanting to go home, or wanting to go back to the Earth Kingdom, in anything but tones of relief.

Maybe Mako's the weird one for missing it so much. ]

Hand me that bottle?

[ He's guessing it has some kind of liquid in it, which is good because the chocolate in here is nearly melted. The worry is practically rolling off Wu, though, so as soon as Mako uncaps the little thing he continues. ]

I'm glad. That you don't actually have to do that. Seriously, Wu, I'm not—none of this is regretting being here. Getting to do all this and...

[ He hesitates, his cheeks flushing that odd pale blue. His face doesn't feel hot when he gets embarrassed anymore. The opposite, in fact: it seems to get colder. Another strange new thing. ]

...building this life, with you, is... really good.

[ Wu watches him work, trying to read his feelings. He shouldn't. He should let Mako's feelings be his own, but he wants to know. He doesn't want to be left in the dark again, to have his fears actually coalesce. He doesn't want to be blindsided by Mako regretting being here, being with him.

It doesn't feel like he does. It feels like he means it, like he has a tangle of feelings of homesickness and that he likes their current life.

Wu slips a hand onto his shoulder, squeezing gently ]

It is really good. This is sure something we couldn't have back home! Can you imagine? Trying to date as the Earth King would sure be a doozy.

[ Say nothing about the fact that he would never be allowed to marry, let alone date, a man. At least not until he changed the law ]

It's okay, to feel both. You miss home! I miss Republic City, too. It's a real special place. It's where we met, after all.

[ But it's so much more than that to Mako. It's his whole life, where he lived with his parents, where he lost them, where he survived, where he flourished. Where he met Korra and his whole life changed.

He shifts forward and wraps his arms around Mako's shoulders now, chest against Mako's back, and presses a kiss to his cheek ]

It might help to talk about it. What do you miss the most?

[ Mako snorts quietly at the reminder, leaning into Wu's lips for a second before he goes back to stirring. ]

I don't know, Wu, don't you think it's... kind of pointless? To miss it? Ange showed me a copy of the city and that should've been enough, but I can't stop thinking about... I'm just tired of being different. I'm tired of... things tasting different and the way shoes are shaped, and... animals. And none of that matters! We have important things to focus on.

I don't think it's pointless. I miss that, too. Knowing how things work, not being taken by surprise every month. At least I knew when it would snow, back home! Now I have no idea if it's going to rain water or blood.

[ It's sort of a joke, and sort of a real complaint. ]

I miss knowing how stuff works, what people know, where people are from. I knew what "I'm from the Fire Nation" meant. Here, if someone tells me where they're from, even if it's Earth, it could mean six different things!

What I'm saying is that we can figure it out, together. Even if it's uncomfortable! Because we have each other. And you're pretty familiar to me, Mako. I mean, I've known you longer than anyone else here.

[ Even if that's not true for Mako. He at least has his brother and his friends from home ]

[ Mako just sort of nods helplessly through Wu's list, because—yeah. Yeah. He also misses knowing places and people. He misses a general shared understanding of the way the world works. He's tired of people looking at him like he's sprouted another head when he brings up a normal animal or a normal dish. He's tired of food not tasting the way it should and not having shared reference points, but....

Wu's right. At least they have each other. At least Korra and Asami and Bolin know about normal animals and normal plants.

He pulls the pan off the little stove and reaches for one of the cups hanging behind it. This is a nice tent—where do the people here even get things like this? Generous, to just give away chocolate to anyone when it's so hard to find. Maybe it's not real chocolate. It does have kind of an earthy smell to it; it's very likely it could just be roasted mushrooms or something.

Mako isn't going to think about it too hard. He fills two cups for them and finally shifts away from the stove with a quiet sigh, turning to press Wu's into his hands. ]

Don't know what I'd do without you here.

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