Chapter Text
“I understand this is not the most ideal time to talk about this, it’s never an ideal time to talk about this.” Izumi looked down at her cup of tea and took a labored breath. She looked up across the table at Bolin and his grandmother. Neither of them looked like they had slept much in the last few days.
Bolin nodded. “Yeah, I’m still trying to process it all, first Mako and then Iroh. I’m can’t believe it.”
Izumi nodded sadly. “Yes, it is hard to believe recent events.” He tone lowered. “Especially, the way the press has been reporting it. My son would never take his own life.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “But that is not something I have power over nor what I want to talk about right now. I need to ask, have you made any arrangements regarding Mako’s body?”
Bolin shook his head. “Lin has offered to have a stone put in the police shrine but as for his actual body well, we don’t know maybe cremate him.”
Izumi nodded. “I see, well I was hoping that I might get your permission to take his body back with me and lay him to rest with Iroh in the royal crypt.”
“You want to take my brother all the way to the fire nation?” Bolin looked down. “That far?”
Izumi nodded. “Yes, to rest with Iroh. The Fire Nation has a rich culture involving death and the after life. I don’t want to give you a lecture on culture but there is a ceremony, the White Rose ceremony, I believe help us the family and Iroh and Mako’s souls rest easy.”
Bolin rested his head against his hands. “And what exactly is this ceremony?”
“In it’s most basic from, the White Rose, is a wedding for the dead. If two people who were engaged in life and die before the wedding, the families do the White Rose Ceremony during the funeral and unite the souls like they would have been if they had lived to the wedding. It was sadly very popular during the war, but I feel that doing it in this case would help us all gain some closure.” She was quiet for a moment. “Of course, I would make arrangements for your family and friends to be in attendance.”
For a few minutes the room was quiet before Yin stood up and walked over to Izumi and took her hand.
“While the decision is ultimately Bolin’s I give you my blessing.”
Bolin nodded. “I also give you my permission. I want my brother to rest easy and to let him rest with Iroh and do that ceremony you talked about, it sounds like the best solution. My brother is gone and while it will be hard to visit him in the Fire Nation, I think for all parties that’s where he can be undisturbed.”
Izumi nodded. “I will make the necessary arrangements.” She patted Yin’s hand. “And thank you, I am sorry we couldn’t meet in better conditions.”
“I’m sorry too.”
.o.
Day sat on a marble sarcophagus trying not to be board waiting for the last of the mourners to leave the crypt. She sighed. “They didn’t take this long when they buried me.” She muttered.
“They also didn’t marry you when they threw you down here so…I wouldn’t have mourner envy.” Night corrected sitting on a nearby stone casket.
Day crossed her arms. “Come on! They’re not getting any deader! Actually, the sooner you all ship your asses out of here the less dead these babies will be.”
Night shook his head. “You know yelling at them won’t make them move faster. I mean you might have had a chance of someone hearing you while the Avatar was here but she was one of the first to leave and go cry in the palace.”
“Eh, she’s not in the right headspace to deal with the likes of me.” Day looked over at Lord Zuko standing by the newest addition talking in a low voice. She sighed and walked over to him and gently patted his shoulder; Zuko did not react. “I know Zuzu, it’s a tragic event but I’ll take care of him. I promise.”
“Oh, wow you do have a heart.” Night smiled. “It’s a miracle.”
“Of course I have a heart.” Day rolled her eyes and pulled something from her kimono and handed it to him. “Why don’t you hold it for a minute.”
Night looked at the thing now in his hand. “Eeww, do you really have to be this morbid?”
“Yes, I’m a death goddess at a funeral, I have a need to fill. I must out morbid the funeral! It’s a competition and I must have the gold.”
Night shook his head. “You’re starting to scare me Day please stop and take your heart back.”
“Fine, buzz kill.” She took the heart back and sat back on her sarcophagus and waited.
.o.
Zuko felt a hand on his shoulder but he ignored it. All his attention was stone tomb draped in flowers. “Take care of each other, and if you ever need advice or just can’t get along fine your Great Grandfather Iroh the first, he’ll know exactly how to straighten things out.” He patted the cold marble surface. “And don’t listen to your Grandpa Sokka, at all. He has terrible advice.” Zuko suppressed a sob. “Oh my sweet Iroh I remember the first time I held you, you weren’t even an hour old. Never thought I’d be around to lay you down too.” He sighed. “I love you so much little one, and I’ll see you again. You better have my room ready when I get there too.”
He was the last one to leave the tomb and as was tradition left the torches burning. Outside he found his two granddaughters crying by the duck pond, he sat with them until they had cried themselves out and then went to get some tea.
.o.
Mako felt the bike and road skid under him, a brief moment of free fall and then the greatest pain he had ever experienced then black. The blackness seemed to last forever and for a moment then Mako smelled flowers. Was he in the hospital?
His body felt weird, like his blood was suddenly extremely thick and moving slowly through his veins. Now that he thought about his whole body felt thick and stiff and so did his clothes. What kind of hospital gown was this? The smell flowers were overwhelming and all he wanted to do was breath fresh air. In what he guessed was a battle against heavy drugs, Mako opened his eyes to see a stone ceiling. Mako tilted his head with some difficulty. Who has a stone ceiling in a hospital? The next thing he noticed was the flowers they surrounded him, all he could see in his peripheral vision was flowers. He was even holding some of the pungent weeds in his left hand, his right was holding what felt like a hand shaped ice cube.
Sitting up, Mako looked to his right to figure out just what he was holding. “Oh, it’s just Iroh…as a ice demon thing dressed in full princely regalia and half awake. What the hell kind of drugs am I on?” He looked around the room and did a slow blink. “Ah, seems to be I am not in a hospital but in a crypt.” He looked down at himself. “Dressed for one hell of a party.” He scratched the back of his head and felt a think gel in his hair. “What the actual hell?” he looked at his hand coated with gel and noticed two golden bands on his left hand. “Shit! I can’t remember my own wedding, I can’t remember the last few months.”
Iroh sat up and groaned a little. “Ow my head, why am I covered in fire lilies?” He blinked his now almost luminous blue eyes and looked at Mako. “Mako? How are you sitting up like that and talking?”
“Uh is that an accomplishment? What’s wrong with your eyes? They’re blue.”
Iroh blinked. “This has to be some weird fever dream, you’re dead. I saw your cold dead body in the morgue.”
“What?” Suddenly all the pieces fell into place in Mako’s mind and the only thing he wanted was to get out of his own coffin. With remarkable dexterity for a corps Mako leapt out of the coffin and started to pace. “Oh spirits I’m really dead! I died. I’ve passed on! I am no more! I have ceased to be! I’m expired and gone to meet my maker! A stiff! Bereft of life, I rest in peace! I’m pushing up the daisies! My metabolic processes are now history! I’m off the twig! Kicked the bucket, Shuffled off my mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! I AM AN EX-PERSON!!”
“On the bright side you have lovely plumage.” Iroh commented while he leaned over the side of the coffin like a claw foot bathtub.
“I have plumage!” Mako hurriedly checked his person for feathers.
Iroh chuckled. “I’m teasing you, you got that whole routine from that comedy sketch we saw a month ago.”
Mako frowned. “I don’t see what’s so funny about this situation. I’m dead and you’re a very unhelpful…hallucination? Ice demon? What are you? Are you even my Iroh?”
“I think so, last thing I remember was being wet and cold and I just…” He trailed off. “I don’t know the last twenty four hours are a murky blur.” He looked right into Mako’s eyes. “Even since that night in the morgue I haven’t been in the right head space.”
“What night in the morgue? I don’t remember any night you would have been in there.” Mako placed a hand on Iroh’s cheek and felt the cold seep into him. “Oh spirits, you were there because of me. You had to…spirits.”
Iroh took Mako’s hand and kissed it. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re together.” He looked around. “In the Royal crypt. That’s weird didn’t like the land of the dead looked like this.”
“It doesn’t.” Day walked in to the flickering light of a dying torch. “But lucky for you, you’re not quiet dead yet.”
“Shit! It’s really you!” Iroh practically scurried back. “You’re not just a fairy tale.”
Day shook her head. “Nope, kind of surprise you of all people know about me but it also makes sense.”
“My father told me stories about your and Night. They gave me nightmares.” Iroh shuttered. “Sirens, Banshees, and Zombies, not exactly the kind of tales meant to send kids off to dreamland.”
Day shrugged. “Your sisters never seemed to mind his stories about your grandfather’s escapades.”
Iroh crossed his arms. “Well I am not my sisters and I don’t want to get caught up in all this stuff. Just let me rest in peace with Mako.”
Day moved and patted Iroh’s shoulder. “You know it’s that kind of attitude that has people thinking you kicked your own bucket. Combine that with the fact everyone thinks your dearly departed husband died in a simple accident and you’ll never have justice and never really have that peace you want.”
“My father told me how manipulative you were. You’re not going to get me to work with you, just by lying to me.”
“I’m not lying. Someone switched the tiers on Mako’s bike and someone dumped you into that icy water. Don’t you want them to face justice?” She patted his head. “I can give you the tools to bring them to justice.”
“You always want something in return. What?”
“She needs your help to stop a mad man.” Night said materializing and causing Mako to jump. “There’s a guy combining all sorts bad juju together and she wants you to stop him.”
“Along with finding out who shuffled you off the mortal coil.” Day added.
Mako shook his head. “I’m sorry I’m confused. Who are you…people?”
Day leaned back and her mask smiled. “Who are we? We’re the choir invisible, my dear boy.”