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Mako sat at his desk, a stack of paperwork spread out over the mahogany surface.
Lin let him take it slow on reports while his dominate hand healed up after taking down Kuvira. She thought it might help—but it mostly increased the number of times she overheard officers call him “Beifong’s pet.”
Prince Wu had talked to her before he returned to Ba Sing Se. “I just—think he wants to stay here,” he’d said. “I can find someone else. I can’t take Mako from his home.”
Lin hadn’t been a Wu fan, but she was proud of the impression Mako had made on him.
Today was the first day Mako didn’t have bandages on his arm. He’d been without a sling for a week, but hand still wrapped up in white gauze. No more gauze, just puckered pink skin.
She watched carefully over the shoulder of another officer as he talked about the details of a press conference. Mako sat with his arm rested on the table. He had taken his jacket off and rolled up one sleeve. A pen sat in his hand but he didn’t make any moves to write. When the officer was done and she dismissed him, she wandered over to the desk.
“You okay?”
Mako jumped, the pen bouncing out of his hand. “I’m—just taking a little break. Hand cramp.” He held up his scarred hand and folded and unfolded it in a fist. The third time, he cringed and muttered, “Ow.”
“No more bandages?” she asked.
He nodded. “I know it still looks bad—but Korra’s been helping me and she said it’s fine now. It was fine a couple days ago—I just. The fingernails still looked bad. I should’ve—because all this paperwork. They were pretty gross, I promise.”
Lin glanced around the room, finding only a handful of officers and most were focused on their work. “Come with me for a minute.”
Mako started to roll down his sleeve as he stood. “I’m sorry. The fabric still—”
Lin tapped her right cheek. “I know about scars, kid.”
“Right.”
Lin walked Mako to a staircase near the records room. She unlocked the door with her bending and led him up.
“I—um—where are we going?” Mako asked.
“The roof,” she said.
At the top, Lin pushed the door open and let the rush of Republic City winter air wash over them. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.
“No,” Lin said. “That burn is going to scar, isn’t it? Beyond what Korra can fix for you?”
Mako nodded. He rolled up the sleeve as far as he could to show the jagged edge near his elbow between the pink and pale skin.
“Katara couldn’t do much for me, either,” she said. “That healing power is pretty useless on busted skin.”
“It was just too bad a burn,” he said. “Hurt like hell.”
“Look,” Lin said. “When I realized this was permanent, I took down the mirrors in the house. Not like my mom noticed.”
Mako kind of smiled. “Can I ask what happened?”
She sighed. “My cable got sliced and the frayed end came back and hit me. I felt like an idiot.”
“Wow—I’m sorry.”
“The point is,” she said. “You’re not an idiot. You risked your life. But that constant reminder doesn’t help, does it?”
“I thought I was going to die,” he said. “When things started—not going well. I thought I messed up and that the vines would explode and I would die and take Bolin with me. And I have to see that moment every time I write something.”
Lin folded her arms in the cold wind. “I know you won’t believe me, but one day you’ll wake up and look at your hand and that’s all you’ll see,” she said.
“Until then?”
“I won’t make you write reports,” she said.
“You don’t have to—I mean, I can handle it.”
“If you can handle it, go ahead. But if you can’t, I won’t make you,” she said. “How does that sound?”
“Thanks, Chief.”
“And don’t let that get sunburned either,” she said.
“Why?”
“You don’t want to find out.”
Lin led him back downstairs and locked the door behind them. “I’ll let Saikhan know about our deal, okay kid?”
“You don't have to,” he said. “I’ll work it out. I mean—I already get teased enough.”
“Saikhan won’t tease you,” she said. She tapped his shoulder with a loose fist. “You’re not the first ‘pet’ of mine.”
He smiled. “Okay.”
“Although if you put the sling back on they might not tease you so much,” she said.