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Mako pulled the bike into an abandoned town. The houses around him were abandoned, anyone who dared to live in the outback already vanished from here. He drove the bike to a building with a broken motel sign at the front. It was probably ransacked for bedding and parts long ago, but it would do for now.
He watched as Jamison hopped off the bike with a cheery grin on his face.
“Found us a motel? Good job, hoggie!” he announced, already skittering off to figure out which room was the most decent to sleep for the night.
As Jamison bounded off, Mako kept an eye on him while surveying the town. There were a few broken restaurants, a couple of houses, and even a grocery store, insight. He doubted any of them had food, so he grabbed them a few cans of beans, packaged ramen, and the contraption that Jamison had made to boil water.
He was just about to follow after Jamison with their stuff when there was a shrill “MAKO” from one of the top floor rooms. Panicking, he rushed up the stairs to see what the hell his boyfriend was shrieking at. Was someone trying to kill him? Did he step in a trap? Was there a mutant animal after him? He couldn’t lose him too… oh god, please don’t let him lose him too.
Upon arriving at the room Jamison was in, Mako had to do a double-take. Across from Jamison was a small kid, no older than eight. She was skin and bones, ripped clothes and matted dark-brown hair. Her little eyes were huge, darting between both of them as she tried scrambling backwards until her back hit the wall.
And somehow… she looked familiar. So very familiar, but he couldn’t place where.
A hand reached down, resting on Jamison’s shoulder.
“You’re scaring her. Keep looking for rooms,” he stated calmly, moving into the room and crouching down to sit against the opposite wall as the girl.
Jamison stood still for a moment, mouth open to protest before he huffed in defeat and went to complete his task.
Mako stayed there, their belongings on the floor next to him as he dug around for some crackers. The girl watched curiously as he slowly rustled through the bag and pulled out a small package of soup crackers.
He didn’t say anything, simply reached forward and slid the crackers across the room still packaged. The girl jumped at that, catching the crackers rapidly. She tore them open scarfing them down like they were the last food on Earth.
“Woah, slow down there. You’re gonna make yourself sick,” Mako urged. She was skin and bones, he didn’t want her to hurt herself. He didn’t know the last time she ate, eating too much, too fast, could make her sick.
She gave him a look only describable as a kicked puppy, but, did slow down, taking smaller bites from the crackers. Satisfied, Mako nodded with approval.
After a few moments, she was done the package of crackers. She still watched Mako with a cautious eye, but it was much more relaxed, almost trusting. Mako adjusted his sitting position, crossing his legs together.
“The names Mako, the man you saw before is Jamison. What’s yours?” he grunted, trying to coax her into relaxing. Honestly, he was appalled by a kid in this state. Where are her parents? Why is she living in a shitty motel? Who feeds her?
“H-Hope,” she stuttered out, coming off more of a squeak than an actual word. Mako nodded slowly, showing that he heard her.
That name… it was familiar too. Like an old memory that he’d come home too. For a moment, there was a selfish hope in the pit of his stomach.
“Nice name. Where are your parents?”
Hope’s expression dropped and she pulled her knees to her chest. Now she refused to even look at Mako, mumbling to the floor.
“They’re dead… at least, my mama is…”
Mako’s breath caught in his throat for a moment as he stared down at the little girl in front of him. He wasn’t expecting that answer. The impending clarity of who this might be was hanging on him like a dead weight. He was supposed to never see her again. She’d left years ago.
Reaching up, he undid the clips to his mask, setting it down next to himself.
“Come here,” he grunted, opening his arms and gesturing her over.
A part of him hoped that she wouldn’t remember him. A part of him hoped that she wasn’t who he thought she was. But, as she looked up, tears staining her cheeks. All he could wish for was that it was her.
Her eyes darted across his face, and for a moment Mako was scared she’d run from him. Scared she’d be gone again. That he’d scare her away…
Instead, she surprised him, scampering across the room and curling up in his lap. He closed his arms, stroking her hair softly and allowing her to cry against him. He hummed. It was an old song, a lullaby from his past. One that he’d learnt for his daughter long ago.
But, perhaps the most overwhelming action was the battle in his own mind. To not crush her in a hug, to not sob into her small frame, to stay strong, at least for now.
Then four small words drifted from her shaking lips, muffled by his thick skin:
“I missed you, dad.”
And Mako broke. He couldn’t stop the tears rolling down his cheeks as he curled in, holding her tighter as she made no move to escape.
“I missed you too, my little songbird,” he mumbled, fumbling the words out from his shaking lips.
Mako couldn’t tell you how long he stayed like that. Neither of them could. Neither of them wanted to ever leave that moment, a father and his daughter finally reunited after years apart.
He’d wanted to go after her when he’d gotten the message. His own wife taking their child simply because he was fighting for their freedom. Their relationship had been rocky, with both of them only together for Hope. But he couldn’t go back when she left, couldn’t stop her. He was fighting, on his way to liberate his country, when he learnt he’d never see his daughter again.
Now here she was, in his arms. He was never going to let her go again. No matter what happened.
The two of them were interrupted by Jamison returning.
“Hey, babe, I found us a good room!” he exclaimed proudly before even entering the room. Mako had heard him coming, the tittering and small mutters of how he’d be praised following him.
Jamison froze when he stepped into the room. Mako only took his mask off near him, after years of knowing each other. Why was his mask off now?
He stayed frozen as Mako stood up, Hope balanced in one arm and their stuff in the other. Both of them looked as if they’d been crying.
“You good, mate?” Jamison asked, diving for Mako’s mask and some of their stuff. He couldn’t carry as much as Mako but he could help.
“Better than ever. Jamie, this is my daughter, Hope,” Mako explained as Hope hid against Mako’s shoulder, peaking out at Jamison.
“Really mate?! You found ‘er!” - Mako nodded - “That’s great!! Welcome to the family!” Jamison was beaming ear to ear. He’d heard about Mako’s daughter, the long stories that Mako would tell when the sun died down for the night and they shared a bottle of old booze. He knew about Mako wishing that she was alive, adding in his two cents about bringing her on the crew when he could.
Mako was smiling now, and Jamison revelled in it. He loved seeing Mako smile, how it cracked across his face, smushing scars and crinkling his eyes. Hope was smiling too, and Jamison decided in that moment, that he wanted to see her smile more as well.
“H-hi,” she whispered, hiccuping through the aftermath of her sobs.
Jamison took up a conversation with her as they made their way to the room he’d found. It was the best one in the whole motel, big enough for all three of them. He was very proud of himself.
His reward was Mako pressing a kiss to his forehead gently, causing him to turn the exact shade of a tomato as he bounced and tittered happily while Mako made dinner.
Hope sat on the bed, watching the two men interact as they bickered over what to have for dinner. There was a wild smile on her lips as Mako handed her a cooked piece of some sort of animal. It was delicious to her, making her mouth water as she scarfed it down. Mako told her to slow down, so she did. Only a little though.
Jamison leaned down against the bed frame next to her. His head was up near her knees as he showed her all of his cool inventions. Mako busied himself with making her a suitable outfit from one of his old shirts and some of the curtains. It wasn’t the greatest, but, it would have to do until they could find her something proper.
She didn’t care though. She’d found her dad. She was no longer alone in this world. So she sat there, talking happily with Jamison as he explained how he created his gun. She held Mako’s mask in her hands, with a new addition to it; a pink band-aid on the snout.