Chapter Text
She’s had a long, tedious day. From her morning of paperwork, to her lunch spent kissing politicians’ asses, to her afternoon herding up an escaped platypus bear through the streets and back to the circus it had been travelling with. And then, of course, an evening of paperwork about the platypus bear incident to cap it all off.
They were supposed to be having date night tonight. Thankfully, her girlfriend had been more than understanding about the situation, bringing date night to her and spending the evening writing a letter to her mom as Lin finishes off her paperwork.
They leave the office far too late long after the street lights have been lit on the summer evening, and Lin had thought she would be the only one left on the floor. And yet, as Lin walks through the office, she spots a lamp on. Mako’s squinting at his corkboard, his hair ruffled and he’s definitely in need of a shower. Lin’s nose scrunches.
She knows he’s been trying to take on more responsibility in the wake of Captain Ling’s accident, trying to prove he’s ready for that level of responsibility. Honestly, it reminds her of herself at that age, and it’s a little concerning. Especially after the stress and trauma of the last few years, he should be trying to enjoy his youth, and the time for worrying about career progression could come later.
She gestures to her girlfriend to wait outside, and Kya smirks, but acquiesces. Lin ducks into the kitchen and brews a strong coffee. She grimaces at the horrible sound of the groaning coffee machine. They really need to get a new one before this one craps out, or she might have a mutiny on her hands.
Lin stirs in a teaspoon of sugar and a generous amount of milk. She knows the kid thinks he likes to drink his coffee black, but she’s seen the amount of bakery wrappers around his desk and she’s willing to bet it’s just a front. When she returns to his desk, Mako is rubbing at his chin and frowning deeply. She clears her throat and the poor boy jumps nearly a foot in the air.
“If your awareness is that poor, you need to rest, kid,” she says gruffly, before gesturing to the coffee. He nods in a way that’s meant to be placating, but Lin knows he is absolutely planning on ignoring her. She knows a little bit about the case - a serial larceny ring that pops up every once in a while, unconnected to the triads. Ling has been chasing them for years, ever since he was a beat cop and has since inherited the project from his old captain. He was finally getting close when he ended up breaking his leg in a chase. The suspects got away.
“Yeah,” he says absently. “I’m just… I’m so close , Chief. I can feel it.”
Lin takes a moment to study the board with him, but it makes her head swim as she tries to track the strings he’s tacked down to the evidence board. His board skills leave a lot to be desired, still. She sighs, straightening up.
“At least take a break, kid. Go to the gym, let your mind have a rest. Grab a shower downstairs.”
He nods, once again lost in thought, and murmurs a quick ‘night, Chief,’ as she leaves the room.
He knows the Chief’s right. She’s bound to be speaking from experience, after all. He’s too tired to even consider going to the gym, but he downs his coffee, grateful for the sweetness against his tongue rather than the bitter taste he’s become accustomed to, and hits the showers.
They’re getting desperate, for some reason. Sloppy. There are fewer days in between each break in, and hitting up places with fewer valuable things to steal. They’re gathering assets and fast, but why? Ugh, he can’t think straight.
He shakes his head to try and clear his thoughts. Come on, Mako. Get it together. He takes another look at the board. Need to get a fresh angle. Sighing roughly, he slumps down into his chair. The desk is a mess, scattered with papers, wrappers and empty mugs. Mako wrinkles his nose at the sight, knowing that he wouldn’t get away with it if Ling were here. He grabs at the top sheet and squints at the writing. It’s the dates and locations of all the robberies. There’s something here, he knows it. Some kind of pattern that he’s not seeing.
“Ugh!” Mako groans to the empty office. He’s not going to figure this out by himself. Frustratedly, he gets to his feet, stuffing several sheets of paper into his bag and shrugging into his jacket. Maybe he should try to get some sleep.
But it bugs him the entire walk home. And suddenly, he’s outside the building he’s not supposed to know the Chief lives in. There’s a light on in her apartment, still. It’s a sign. It’s got to be a sign. Before he even gives himself a chance to think it through, he’s walking into the building purposefully. The night concierge gives him a nod as he goes through, seemingly remembering him from the once or twice Mako’s been here before. He climbs the stairs, suddenly too full of energy to stop and wait for the elevator, and he raps gently on the door before he can talk himself out of it.
He’s not expecting Kya, with her hair pulled back into a braid and cream under her eyes, wrapped in a worn-looking dressing gown. He blinks.
“Uh, hi,” Mako says stupidly. Kya raises an eyebrow.
“You get stuck?” she asks, looking somewhat sympathetic.
“You’re not gonna ask why I’m here this late?” he tilts his head. Kya rolls her eyes, a small smirk playing at her lips.
“Lin said she told you to go home. I had a feeling we might be seeing you,” she replies. Kya turns her head back into the apartment.
“Lin! Your son’s here, and he needs help with his homework!”
Mako splutters, his eyebrows rising and his cheeks darkening. “Master Kya-”
“Shoes off,” she says primly. “I’ll get the kettle on.”
Still trying to protest, he slides his shoes off and follows Kya through the apartment to a dining table in the corner of the living room. There’s a book on the table he knows Asami’s been raving about, as well as a newspaper with a pencil sticking out of it. A pair of glasses sit atop the paper, and he briefly wonders who they belong to. He pushes them to the edge of the table, careful not to knock over the glasses, and sets his paper on the table.
“Kid, it’s 2am,” Lin grunts from behind him. He turns to face the Chief, and is not prepared to see her in a pair of academy sweats and a tank top, with her hair pulled into a messy braid not unlike Kya’s.
At his startled look, Lin rolls her eyes. “What, you thought I slept in my uniform?”
Mako blinks, blushing again. “Ah, no, of course not,” he says, before rushing into his explanation. She nods along thoughtfully, reaching for the glasses and sliding them on her face before picking up some of the papers he’s pulled out of his bag. Mako shoots her a questioning look, but quickly turns away in the face of her challenging scowl. She sits at the table as Kya brings over a steaming tea pot, and two cups of tea. From the smell of it, the tea is magnolia, and Mako is oddly touched. Kya sets down the tray and presses a kiss to the Chief’s hairline.
“Come to bed soon,” she murmurs softly, before raising her voice. “I’ll leave some towels and a toothbrush in the guest room.”
It feels like a thinly veiled threat (and he’s not entirely sure it isn’t). “Thanks for the tea, Master Kya.”
The waterbender rolls her eyes and ruffles his hair. “You’re in my home at 2am, I think we’re past formalities. G’night.”
Mako frowns and runs his hands through his hair, scowling as Lin smirks at him before standing. “I’m going to get a map.”
He’s not expecting her to literally wheel a map out to meet him. She bends out the metal pins that are already in the map, before gesturing to the papers on the table. “Alright, kid. Tell me the locations of the most recent thefts.”
He does as he’s told, and she puts pins in all the locations, pulling a ball of yarn from her pocket and fastening it around the points. She steps back and appraises the board, her hand on her chin as they observe.
“Those dates,” she murmurs. “They’re about a week apart, right?”
They’re what? Mako blinks down at the paper and realises she’s right. How had he missed that? “Uhh, yeah,” he confirms. “Which would mean… tomorrow-”
“They’ll strike again tomorrow,” Lin agrees, rubbing at her chin. “But there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern as to their targets. That’ll be intentional.”
“Yeah, but this last spate of robberies haven’t been up to their usual standards. In the past, they’ve planned meticulously, but these have all been haphazard; rushed. There’s a pattern here, I know it.”
Lin nods along, reaching a finger out to trace between each of the pins. Mako comes to stand next to her, tilting his head, and observing the board.
“Each hit has been a different district,” he notes.
“They’re trying to make it seem like they’re not connected,” Lin murmurs absently, her finger stopping over a district that doesn’t yet have a pin in it. “Here,” she says. “They’re going to strike Downtown tomorrow.”
Mako rubs at his eyes and blinks, realising she’s right. A yawn involuntarily rips through his body, and Lin turns to look at him. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say the Chief looks concerned.
“Okay, that’s enough for tonight. We’ve narrowed down their location enough, we can look again in the morning. You need some rest, kid.”
Her tone brokers no arguments and she leaves him no time to respond, wheeling the map out of the room again. He hurries to tidy his papers away, taking the time to have a sip of his tea. It’s warm and soothing, and he feels sleep beginning to pull at his temples (although that could just be the headache he’s had since yesterday morning).
Lin stands at the doorway to the living room. “Spare room’s second on the left, bathroom is first,” she jerks a thumb to the corridor behind her. “If you don’t stay for breakfast, Kya will come to the station and lecture us both. Please spare me.”
Mako huffs a laugh through his nose and nods. “Will do, Chief. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, kid.”
He finishes up his tea and heads to the guest room. The aforementioned towel and toothbrush lay at the foot of the bed, he notices as he dumps his bag in the corner. Alongside a white tank top and a pair of slightly worn-looking Academy-issued sweats. Mako smiles, shaking his head at Kya’s sense of humour.
He wakes again in six hours to the smell of home cooking and the sound of humming and laughter. It feels warm. Homely in a way he’s not felt since his childhood. It’s kind of nice. There’s a sharp rap on his door.
“Breakfast’s in five,” the Chief’s voice is muffled through the door, and slightly huskier than he’s used to. He rolls out of bed, pulling on the clean vest he hadn’t worn last night before. As soon as he reaches the dining table, Kya bursts out laughing. Mako frowns, looking to the Chief to see if she has any idea, when he realises that they’re matching. They both blush, looking away from each other.
“Morning,” the Chief grumbles, holding out a mug of coffee without looking at him. Mako takes it gratefully.
“Thanks, Chief, but, uh… I take my coffee black.”
Lin snorts at him. “No you don’t.”
Mako blinks, affronted, but drinks the coffee anyway, holding back the appreciative noise threatening to rise from his throat. Judging by the smirk on Lin’s face, she’s not buying it.
Kya calls them through to the kitchen, and Mako is pleasantly surprised to see a plate of zongzi waiting for him. His stomach grumbles loudly, and he blushes. Kya simply laughs.
“Been a while since I had a home cooked meal,” he explains sheepishly. Kya tuts at him. “Lin, you should invite your son round more often. Goodness knows he’s not feeding himself properly, look at him. All skin and bones!”
Again, Mako’s face heats, and he hurriedly stuffs a dumpling in his mouth and leaves the kitchen. The sounds of Kya’s laughter and Lin’s exasperation follow him.
He goes to gather his things again, slipping on his work pants and jackets, and meets Lin at the door. She’s holding out a bag as he puts his shoes on. Bemusedly, Mako takes the bag and looks inside.
“Kya made me lunch?” he asks, feeling warmth bloom in his chest. Lin frowns.
“No,” she sounds affronted. “I did.”
“Oh,” Mako blinks. He didn’t know the Chief could cook. “Thanks, Chief.”
Lin grunts. “Don’t mention it. Now come on, we’ve got some criminals to catch.”
Mako follows her out of the door, feeling refreshed and taken care of in a way he hasn’t felt in several years.