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I.
“What is that supposed to be? It just looks like a blob,” Bolin said.
“It’s clearly an arctic fox, dummy. Look, you can see its tail and everything,” Mako replied.
The two were camped out on an old, dusty roof that overlooked Yue Bay. It was only a couple of years after the accident, and these moments were few and far between. Finding somewhere to sleep for the night without being disturbed or chased off by police officers was almost impossible.
Thankfully, Mako had found this abandoned Future Industries warehouse a few weeks ago. The entrances were locked but the two managed to climb up onto the roof and build a makeshift shelter. It was fine for now, the sticky air of summer keeping them warm. Mako decided to just take this break and worry about where they would stay when the weather changed later.
“If it’s so bad, why don’t you try, then?” Mako held a little flame in his palm so Bolin could make shadow puppets onto a wall behind them. They took their entertainment wherever they could get it.
Bolin was in the middle of making a rather impressive catgator when a noise came from across the roof. Mako extinguished the fire in his hand and they both went quiet, trying to make out what the sound was. Mako could hear the sound of heavy boots and low voices.
“I think there might be some guys coming up here,” Mako relayed to his brother. Bolin nodded. “If we just stay quiet, they might miss us.”
Bolin nodded. In an attempt to crouch behind Mako, though, he knocked over one of the boxes that was functioning as their shelter. Bolin looked to Mako in apology, eyes wide with fear.
“It’s fine, just stay still,” Mako whispered.
“Hey, who’s up here?” One of the men yelled. “This is private property, whoever you are, you need to leave now!”
The footsteps were coming towards them now. Mako panicked, his mind racing while trying to decide what to do next. He and Bolin had come up with a handful of plans for what to do in a situation like this. It was just a matter of which would work best.
“Okay, Bolin,” Mako turned to his brother. “Remember Plan E? We’re going to do that, on my count. Meet me at the front of the building and we’ll find somewhere else to stay tonight.”
Bolin nodded, but Mako could tell he was scared. He pulled Bolin into a tight hug before peeking above where they were hiding to get a better look at the situation. Just as he thought, there were two police officers across the roof from them.
Mako waited until the pair came closer. Hopefully, they wouldn’t notice the evidence that he and Bolin had been staying there and would be on their way. One of them found their small stash of supplies and rifled through it, leading them closer to where Mako and Bolin were hiding. Mako could feel Bolin grab his hand. He squeezed it back, hoping it would make Bolin feel better.
The other officer was shining a light around the roof. Mako could feel his heartbeat picking up as he got closer and closer to them. Finally, he was only a few feet away. Mako knew it was only a matter of seconds before he found them. Time for Plan E.
He locked eyes with Bolin and nodded. Counting down from three, Mako took a deep breath. On one, he mustered all of the energy he could into his hand and shot a ball of fire into the boxes in front of them. They caught quickly, creating a distraction so Bolin could escape.
“Go, go!” Mako shouted at him. Bolin ran to the closest side of the roof and made a ladder in the side of the building so he could get to the ground.
Mako was left to deal with the two policemen. He took another breath and managed a small wall of fire that separated himself from the officers. Mako quickly gathered all of their supplies that he could find and sprinted to the ladder that Bolin made.
He found Bolin at the bottom of it and they ran from the building. Mako led them down an alley, made a few turns, and they ended up at a busy night market. He leaned against a nearby wall and let himself sit against it, out of breath.
“Hey,” Bolin sat down next to him. “That was kind of awesome.”
Mako laughed despite himself. “You know what? You’re right. We make a pretty great team.”
II.
“Mako, dude! Come over here, I wanna show you this move I learned the other day,”
Bolin shouted from where he was practicing a few feet away. It was a rare day when Shady Shin didn’t have them running errands or scams, so the two of them had decided to relax in one of Republic City’s nicer parks.
Mako cracked an eye open to look at Bolin. He was only a year younger, having just turned eleven, but he still seemed so small. Mako knew that Bolin would have to learn to fight eventually, but it didn’t mean that he had to like it. At least he could try to train Bolin himself instead of one of Shady Shin’s thugs.
“Ok, fine,” Mako stood up and stretched his arms above his head, cracking his knuckles. He took a fighting stance a few feet from his brother balled his hands into fists. “Show me what you got.”
Mako should have known from the suspicious gleam in Bolin’s eye that this was not going to end well for him. He watched helplessly as, in about two seconds flat, Bolin punched a chunk of earth from the ground and kicked it towards Mako. Most of it hit him in the stomach, not doing much other than punching the wind out of him, but a good-sized piece broke off and hit Mako square in the face. He fell backwards onto the grass, not really sure of what just happened.
Bolin’s suprised face appeared above him. Mako could make out his lips moving, despite his slightly blurred vision, but couldn’t hear what he was saying. Bolin waved his hand in front of Mako’s face and snapped a few times before Mako regained his senses.
“Mako! Oh god, I’m so sorry!” Mako’s vision started to return to normal as Bolin looked down at his hands in awe. “I don’t even know my own strength; I didn’t mean to kill you Mako!”
A few big tears ran down Bolin’s face. Mako managed to sit up and touch Bolin’s arm.
“Dude, I’m literally fine.”
“Mako!” Bolin wrapped his arms around Mako into a tight hug. When he pulled back, though, he gasped. “Your nose is bleeding!”
Mako carefully poked at his own nose. Definitely bleeding, but not broken. Bolin reached into their nearby bag for a strip of cloth and handed it to him.
“I can’t lie though,” Mako said through his hands. “That was a pretty cool move.”
Bolin’s face lit up with a smile. “Really?”
“Yeah. Come on,” Mako got to his feet and discarded the cloth. “I’ll show you how a real pro does it.”
III.
Mako wiped a few beads of sweat off of his forehead with a towel before throwing it back over his shoulder. It was Sunday, which meant farmer’s market day, which meant making his and Bolin’s food for the week. It was easier to make in big chunks rather than every day; he would make everything from the buckets of rice they always ate to surprise pastries for his brother. It was something of a ritual to Mako.
They had been living in the attic above the gym for a little over a year. No more Shady Shin, no more street scams, no more worrying about where they would be sleeping at night. Sure, money was tight, and training under Toza was grueling, but it was worth it.
Just as Mako began to take out ingredients for the next dish, the trap door squeaked open behind him. Weird, he thought. Bolin had been pretty cryptic about what he was doing that night, but Mako didn’t think he would be back for another few hours at the least.
Maybe Mako had just gotten caught up in what he was doing. The large clock on their wall and weary streaks of pink and purple in the sky quickly proved that thought wrong. Bolin had only been out for an hour or two, at most.
He glanced over his shoulder as Bolin shut the trapdoor softly. The lines of Bolin’s back sagged and a deep line creased between his eyebrows. Something was off - Bolin usually had a habit of making his presence known.
“Hey, buddy,” Mako greeted, “You’re back early. I haven’t even finished dinner.”
“That’s okay, I already ate,” Bolin replied flatly. He let out a deep sigh before collapsing on their couch, refusing to meet Mako’s confused gaze. Pabu scrambled out of wherever he had been hiding to crawl up on Bolin’s chest. He chirped at Bolin until he caved and scratched his head.
“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Mako asked. He was trying to be serious but couldn’t help smiling at his own joke, just a little bit. Apparently, Bolin couldn’t either, if the way his face smoothed slightly meant anything.
“You got me,” Bolin threw his hands up jokingly, “I’m actually a spirit and I’ve taken over your brother’s body.”
“Knew it,” Mako said. He decided to turn back to what he was making. Bolin was fifteen now (something Mako made a point to not think about) and if he didn’t want to talk about whatever was going on, Mako wouldn’t pry. He would open up about it when he was ready.
In the meantime, though, it couldn’t hurt to make Bolin something to cheer him up. Mako turned up the dial on their radio and set to measuring out some ingredients.
Behind him, Mako heard a quiet snore. And then another. He turned around to see Bolin with his eyes closed and Pabu curled into his neck, also snoozing. Whatever Bolin was up to earlier must have really taken it out of him.
It was fine, though, more time for Mako to finish cooking. He decided to make ash banana buns – a simple enough recipe, and one of Bolin’s favorites from their childhood. Their dad used to make them every Sunday morning. Mako could remember waking up to the scent of ash banana and fresh-baked bread permeating every corner of their small house, and Bolin running to the kitchen to get the first one. It was one of his favorite memories from that time.
With practiced hands, the buns didn’t take long to make. After about an hour of mixing, kneading, and proofing, he carefully placed the buns into their steamer and set a timer. The smell of baking bread almost immediately began to drift out of it. Bolin, despite still being asleep, seemed to notice it, too; he stirred and curled tighter in on himself.
Mako crossed the room and pulled a ratty quilt over his brother, before joining him on the other end of their couch. He watched the last rays of sun dip below the horizon as he considered what tomorrow would hold, Bolin, and any other passing thought came across his mind.
Without realizing it Mako must have fallen asleep, because in the blink of an eye the timer was waking him.
“Is that what I think it is?” Bolin asked, timer waking him as well.
“Maybe,” Mako replied, quickly taking a bun out of the steamer. Bolin jumped up and snatched the bun out of his hand, scarfing half of it down before Mako could even bring it over to him. “Without raisins, since you have bad taste and don’t like them. I wasn’t planning on making them, but you seemed upset, so . . .”
Bolin swallowed thickly. “How could you tell?”
“You aren’t exactly subtle,” Mako sat back against the couch as they ate in comfortable silence together. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Well. It’s not that big of a deal, I just,” Bolin paused and chewed at his lips. “I was supposed to have this date with this girl and it just went so bad! She didn’t laugh at any of my jokes, and she didn’t like the restaurant I took her to, and she was so, so smart and I’m not, and – “
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Mako interrupted. Bolin looked like he could burst into tears at any second and if that happened, Mako probably would too and it would just be a huge mess. “First of all, you are smart. Anyone who makes you feel otherwise isn’t worth your time.”
“But – “
“No buts. I’m really sorry you didn’t have a good date. That’s never a good feeling. But, think of it this way: you’re one person closer to meeting your dream girl?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Bolin smiled, despite himself.
“Where did you guys even meet? You’re, like, nine years old,” Mako laughed. The comment earned him a swift kick to the shin. Worth it.
“Hey! That’s not true, I’m super mature. I can almost drive a Satomobile on my own now.”
Mako raised his eyes at that. “I think Old Man Yang would disagree. You remember, the guy who you almost ran down last week?”
Bolin ignored Mako’s comment this time, instead making his way to the tofu Mako had prepared for dinner. The two ate quietly as more and more stars appeared in the sky above them. Mako could start to make out a few constellations: a platypus bear, a knowledge-seeker, a sun warrior.
“Hey,” Bolin said quietly, “thanks. For the food, and the advice.”
A warm feeling spread inside Mako’s chest. “Anytime.”
IV.
“Come on, Mako! You know that Ms. Huang’s dumplings are the best in the city, why wouldn’t we go there?”
“Because, Bolin,” Mako shot a look towards the passenger seat. “The place Tahno’s concert is at is way closer to that noodle house we like. Ms. Huang’s is all the way across the city from the venue.”
“Whatever. You only like that place because they make their noodles way too spicy,” Bolin crossed his arms. They were stuck in rush hour traffic with Korra and Asami in the back seat. Apparently, Tahno was in a jazz band now. And, somehow, Asami was friendly enough with him to get free tickets to their show. Mako decided it was best to not think too hard about it and just go enjoy the live music. Something he was starting to regret, considering the fact that it’s what got him into this situation. “We should’ve taken the train.”
“Why should any of us have to deal with public transportation if we all have Satomobiles?” Mako said.
“I don’t know, maybe so we don’t get stuck in traffic? So, it’s faster?” Bolin gestured. “Or, maybe, the environment? Ever think of that, Mako?”
Mako’s hands gripped the leather steering wheel as he realized Bolin was right. Arguing with Bolin was always terrible because he was either A), too sad when he lost the argument, which in turn would make Mako sad, or B), the worst sore winner in the world.
“Bolin does have a point,” Korra added, from the backseat. She didn’t seem to be paying that much attention to their conversation, instead resting an arm around Asami’s shoulders and pointing to different things outside the car, so Mako knew she was just trying to get under his skin. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t successful, though.
“Soon enough I’ll figure out how to fix that,” Asami added. She, too, seemed much more focused on impressing her girlfriend than contributing to Mako and Bolin’s conversation. Mako saw her snicker into Korra’s shoulder from the rearview mirror and his twinge of annoyance dissipated.
He couldn’t find it in himself to stay mad at either of them. Besides, Bolin was the true source of the headache that he could feel coming on. He loved Bolin, that goes without saying, but he could just be so aggravating sometimes.
Mako resolved to turn the radio volume up and tune out the car’s extra passengers. He would have been successful, too, if it weren’t for the standstill traffic and constant car horns.
“You know what,” Bolin started, Mako already feeling the spike in his blood pressure. “I think if we just ditched Mako and the car here, we would get there faster.”
“Have fun trying to find it, you’re terrible at navigating,” Mako shot back.
“Yeah? Well, you’re terrible at math!”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Don’t change the subject, admit that simple arithmetic scares you.”
“At least I don’t leave my dirty underwear lying around everywhere.”
“At least I never cry to those trashy radio soap operas!”
Mako gasped at that. “You promised not to tell anyone! I told you that in confidence, man, whatever happened to bro code?”
The two broke out into a full-out yelling match at this point, throwing insults and accusations. Bolin, despite usually being able to keep a level head, looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel at any second. Mako wasn’t even sure what he was saying but there was no way he was letting Bolin win this one now.
“Guys,” Korra said, trying to get their attention. Mako elected to ignore it. She repeated herself, this time with more force: “Guys!”
“What?” They said at the same time, both swiveling around to see what Korra wanted.
“You two are ridiculous! Mako, keep your eyes on the road, we’re going to wreck if you don’t – “
Just as Korra was about to finish her sentence, a car from the opposite lane swerved out in front of them to make a U-turn. Mako honked and managed to get out of the way just in time, but not before the driver yelled a few obscenities their way.
“What did he just call you?” Bolin already had a good-sized piece of road in his hand, ready to launch. “Mako, get closer to him.”
“What are you gonna do, mess up his car? Bolin, put the rock down.”
The two of them shared a serious look before Bolin grumbled something under his breath and threw the rock away. An awkward silence fell across the car.
“Well,” Korra said finally. “Personally, I think Bolin should go mess up his car.”
“Korra,” Asami said, as a warning. It didn’t have much heat behind it, though, as Mako could see Asami holding back a grin.
“Guys, we can’t just go around destroying people’s cars,” Mako sighed.
“Why not?” Bolin said. “He could’ve killed us! And he called you a very not nice name. I’m the only one who’s allowed to say mean things to you.”
Mako rolled his eyes. “Can we all just be quiet until we get to the concert, please?”
V.
Mako turned the box over in his hands again as he paced around the apartment. It was too much, right? It was too expensive, too serious, too soon. But Wu liked nice things! There was no way he would turn down the gift. He could turn me down, Mako thought. Okay, no, pushing that away. They had been together for a year. It wasn’t like a little piece of jewelry would ruin the entire thing they have.
The idea behind it, though, that’s what had Mako worried. It wasn’t a proposal, not yet anyways, but it was a promise on Mako’s part. He wanted to show Wu that he was in this thing for the long run. He wanted to show Wu how much he meant to him and how much he cared and –
“Dude, what is going on? I could hear you pacing from a block away,” Bolin’s head popped up through the trapdoor.
“Nothing! It’s fine, everything’s fine.”
Bolin pulled an unimpressed face. “Wanna try that again?”
“No,” Mako sighed and flopped down on the floor, sprawling against the hardwood. “Just. Leave me here to die, please.”
Bolin rolled his eyes and sat down next to him. He clicked his tongue twice and Pabu came running, bumping his head against Bolin’s knee. He pointed at Mako and nodded, and Pabu immediately crawled up on Mako’s chest to lie down.
“Come on, what’s going on? Pabu and I are here to listen,” Bolin nodded sagely.
“It’s just,” Mako scratched Pabu’s chin, taking a second to compose his thoughts. “It’s me and Wu’s first anniversary.”
“I know, you’ve been talking about it for literally forever. You bring it up at every opportunity.”
Mako squinted his eyes at Bolin, “What happened to you being here to listen?”
“Right, right, my bad. Continue,” Bolin flourished his hands.
“Anyways,” Mako said, “It’s our one-year anniversary and I’m a wreck. I got him this gift, but what if he doesn’t like it? Or what if he thinks it’s too serious? Or, if he’s planning on breaking up with me? I don’t think that would happen, but what if?”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down, man. I think you may be overthinking this a tiny bit. And by tiny, I mean a lot,” Bolin replied. “What did you get him?”
Mako reached into his coat pocket to retrieve a small, velvet box. Its weight had been burning a hole in his pocket all day and the absence of it felt strange. He tossed it to Bolin, who caught it easily with one hand.
“Oh, wow,” Bolin’s eyes went wide as he opened the lid. Sitting in a bed of red velvet was a golden ring; it had a thick, square band with an engraving of a dragon in the center. A few jewels were inlaid as its eyes and scales. Bolin carefully shut the lid and handed it back to his brother. “Mako, this is like, really nice.”
“Yeah, I’ve been saving up for it,” he added.
“Then what are you worried about?”
“I don’t know,” Mako sighed. He turned the box over in his fingers for possibly the thousandth time that day. “What if it’s too much?”
“You know he’s literally royalty, right? I don’t think he knows what ‘too much’ means,” Bolin said. Mako shrugged instead of answering, once again turning the box over in his hands. A look of understanding crossed Bolin’s face. “You don’t mean the ring, do you?”
“It’s stupid,” Mako sighed. “We’ve been together for so long, and we trust each other, and I know he loves me, but . . . I don’t know. It’s just hard to push that feeling away sometimes, y’know?”
“Well, first of all, it isn’t stupid. You’re allowed to feel however you feel. You know who taught me that?” Bolin raised his eyebrows, but Mako didn’t say anything. “It was you.”
“That’s nice. I’m glad you listened to me at least once.”
“Shut up, I’m trying to make you feel better,” Bolin said. “Secondly, if you are nervous or worried about whatever, you should tell Wu about it. It’s like you said, you trust and love each other and all that gross stuff. He’s completely head over heels for you, anyways, so I’m sure he would understand.”
Mako contemplated that for a second. It was surprisingly good, simple advice. Just talk to Wu about it. Huh.
“You’re right,” Mako said, finally. “Thanks.”
“And you are welcome. Now, c’mon, you have a date to get ready for.”
VI.
Mako dipped his hands in a sink filled with water in front of him, splashing some of it on his face before looking in the mirror. He couldn’t help but do a quick once-over before he left the bathroom – the new suit Wu had tailored for him looked good. The whole ensemble was a deep burgundy, with white and gold accents in all the right places.
Even though he was older now, Mako couldn’t help but feel out of place in a suit like this. Wu had been slowly changing that. Not that he was complaining, of course, it was just still all a little overwhelming
As Mako finished washing up, the door behind him creaked open softly. Wu appeared in the mirror behind him. He was just as dressed up as Mako but looked right at home amongst his fancy jewelry and brightly colored suit.
“Hey, handsome,” Wu smiled, walking right up to Mako and wrapped an arm around his waist. Wu had to stand on his toes to place a kiss on Mako’s shoulder. “Ready for your big moment?”
Mako turned to face Wu. Up close, he looked even more gorgeous. If that was even possible, Mako thought to himself. He had on layers of gold jewelry to match Mako’s and a subtle sheen of color across his eyes. Mako wiped a rogue piece of glitter off of Wu’s cheek with the pad of his thumb, letting his hand come to rest on his neck.
“You know what? I think I am, for once.”
“Of course, you are. Never could have done it without me,” Wu smirked.
“You aren’t wrong. C’mon,” Mako leaned in for a quick kiss before taking Wu by the arm. “Wouldn’t wanna miss my big moment with my best guy.”
Wu took Mako by the hand and the walked out of the bathroom and onto the balcony overlooking the training gym they had just bought. It was washed in golden light and decorated for their grand opening, with too many banners and snack tables to count. Turns out that Asami and Bolin made an impeccable design team.
Mako could see the two running around making sure that everything was perfect before the guests were let in. Well, Asami at least. She seemed to be checking off items on a clipboard while Bolin made sure the food was up to code.
A few more people were scattered around the building; Korra and Opal were arranging some training equipment that was on display, Tenzin was making sure that his kids weren’t about to destroy said equipment, even Lin and Suyin were there, adding finishing touches to some metal sculptures.
The sight of all of his friends and family together was . . . a lot. Mako never imagined that he would have so many people in his life that cared enough to support him, let alone actively help him. Suddenly his throat felt tight and he could feel his eyes start to water.
“Hey,” Wu noticed, of course. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing at all. I’m just,” Mako took a deep breath. “I’m really happy.”
Wu smiled and hooked his elbow in Mako’s, leading him down some stairs to the main room where everyone was busy getting ready. Mako excused himself to find Bolin – they were supposed to give a big speech, after all.
“Hey, leave some of those for the press, will you?” Mako said to Bolin, who was caught red handed stuffing a few bean curd puffs into his pocket.
“Eh, this whole thing is kinda for us anyways,” Bolin replied. “They’re about to open the doors. You ready?”
“Yeah. You?” Mako said. Bolin flashed him a huge smile that made him feel a little less nervous. Even if he did mess up a speech in front of a bunch of people, Bolin would have his back, as always.
“Absolutely. Let’s do this thing.”
Once the gym’s doors were opened, crowds of people flooded in. It was more than Mako expected; some were obviously press, some were people Mako recognized, others he didn’t.
After a quick introduction from Korra (because, who could give a better testimonial than the Avatar herself), Mako walked up to the makeshift stage, Bolin following closely behind. After centering themselves above everyone, Mako was thankful for the bright lights that were pointed at them. It made it much easier to just pretend they weren’t there.
“Wow,” Bolin said, into a microphone. “I did not think there would be this many people here!” A small laugh echoed through the building. “Anyways. I would like to thank you all for coming. Everyone who’s donated and knows us have a good idea of what we want to do here, but I’m going to let Mako tell you all about it.”
"Thanks,” Mako swallowed. He was never a fan of public speaking, but he had been practicing this speech about a million times and there was no way he was going to let himself mess it up. “As a few of you know, Bolin and I have been living on our own for some time now. Our parents died when we were very young and, when we didn’t have anywhere else to go, we did whatever we had to do to survive.”
Mako took another deep breath and glanced at Bolin, who gave him a reassuring nod. “Basically, I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of. I even joined Beifong’s police force a few years ago, thinking it would somehow erase all of my guilt, or give me good karma, or something. But, and I mean no disrespect to the Chief, it just didn’t do it for me. I wasn’t making the impact that I thought I would be when I signed on. So, Bolin and I decided it was time for both of us to do something different.”
“Well said,” Bolin interjected. “When I was little, Mako was always there to protect me. We had each other’s backs through a lot of hard times. We wanted to make a place that would not only be a safe house for kids that are going through similar things, but somewhere they could really thrive,” Bolin paused. Mako was positive it was for the dramatic effect.
“This place is going to be open to anyone without a home, anyone who wants to train with us, or just anyone who needs help. We have all the facilities set up and the numbers crunched to house as many people as we possibly can. There’s a training gym, as you can see, and even a center to help find jobs in the city. So, with that all said . . . “
Mako leaned back into the microphone. “Welcome to the grand opening of San and Naoki’s! Please, stay and enjoy the party, ask us questions, feel free to donate,” Another laugh passed through the crowd. “And, again, thank you all for coming.”
After a barrage of questions, Mako and Bolin broke away to find their friends. Korra managed to spot them quickly and ran up to pull them both into a tight hug. Asami joined in too, not far behind Korra.
“I am so, so proud of you guys,” Korra said, pulling back. “You’ve worked so hard to get this place up and running and it shows. I hope you’re happy with everything you’ve done so far!”
“Yeah, what you’ve done so far is so impressive. And, you know I’m here for anything you might need,” Asami added.
“Thanks. That really means a lot. I’m just glad you guys could be here!” Bolin replied, with Mako nodded in agreement. His attention shifted, though, as Opal appeared behind Korra. Mako couldn’t help but smile at the way his brother’s face lit up as he swept her off her feet and spun her around, laughing the whole time.
Mako felt something warm and familiar press against the small of his back and he turned to see Wu standing there, a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hands. Mako took them reverently before pulling Wu into a tight hug.
“I knew you’d do great!” Wu said into Mako’s chest. They parted just for Wu to pull him back into a soft kiss. “Congratulations, to both of you.”
“Alright, alright,” Bolin smiled back at Wu. “This is our party, so I’m officially decreeing that no one is allowed to cry until we’ve all had at least three rounds of drinks. Maybe more.”
(Bolin broke his own rule after two glasses of champagne. After an overwhelming awareness of how much he loved the people surrounding him, and how much he and Bolin had accomplished together, so did Mako.)