"I still can't believe they moved me to the junior suite! This room doesn't even have a hot tub. How am I supposed to soothe my sore, overworked muscles now?"

"Well... There's always the bathtub."

"But the tub doesn't even have those bubble jets. The only thing that porcelain hunk of junk is good for is holding water!"

Mako resisted the urge to cover his own face with one hand. This prince was so spoiled rotten, it was a wonder he could even survive on his own... Which, when Mako thought about it, Wu surely couldn't. The Earth Prince needed his assistance with a great number of things.

That was sad, considering Mako was only employed as a bodyguard and not a servant. In theory.

"That is, in fact, what tubs are made for," Mako explained as if Wu were really a child.

Although Prince Wu wasn't much younger than he was, the difference in their maturity levels was severe. It felt like Mako was raising Bolin again—an arrogant, prissy version of Bolin—only this time they were sleeping in a fancy five-star hotel and not on the streets, and this jackass was stuffed to the gills with yuans. Mako still greatly preferred the company of his brother.

He led the prince into the suite's bathroom, attempting to prove it wasn't as bad as it seemed. "Look, they even have those nice little lavender-scented soaps," he said, grabbing an unused bar that was wrapped in a wax-coated paper sleeve. He held one out and said, "This smells good, doesn't it?"

Tentatively, Wu sniffed it. Then he recoiled and pushed the bar back toward Mako. "Oh, no, I'm not bathing with hotel soap! I only use Quartz No. 9. It's infused with aloe and oatmeal to keep my skin feeling baby-soft."

Mako set the soap back down.

There was a routine that Wu had every evening. If they did not go out, they would usually eat the dinner delivered to his room, then Wu would have an hour-long bubble bath. Then he would spend another hour grooming various parts of his body like his eyebrows or toes. Then he would sometimes make Mako patrol the hotel floor while he settled into bed. Only then, once Wu fell asleep, would Mako be able to take a quick shower and go to bed himself.

They had eaten dinner two hours ago. They were overdue for Wu's nightly bath, but the move to the junior suite had messed their schedule up a bit. Between that and Wu's failed coronation earlier that day, the prince was a little out of his head.

Or was he a king now? That bit was unclear—the ceremony had been completed, but Kuvira's grab for power minutes later made it uncertain whether Wu would be able to sit on the throne at all.

Regardless, Mako had to find some way to get Wu back to his normal self. The last thing he needed was for the guy to be depressed or something.

"Okay, use that Quartz stuff then," Mako said. "The tub isn't any smaller than the one in the presidential suite, see? Plenty of room to stretch your legs out. A warm bath will still feel nice."

Wu examined the tub, frowning. "I guess you're right..."

"So how about I run you a bath? I'll even make sure the water's nice and hot, like you prefer."

A smile spread across Wu's face. He slung an arm over Mako's shoulders, pulling him in close to say, "Aw, thanks, big guy. You're my favorite firebender in the world!"

Mako read the newspaper as the prince soaked in the tub. He would have preferred to listen to the radio, but Wu said before that the announcers' raised voices gave him a headache, so he didn't bother with it.

There was a newspaper article about an underground drug ring that had been exposed thanks to Chief Beifong and another detective. It made him miss his job working for the Republic City Police. Sure, his current day-to-day life consisted of drinking smoothies and going shopping with the heir to the Earth Kingdom, not exactly a difficult thing... He encountered occasional danger when overly-angry Kuvira supporters popped up, but it was nothing compared to the thrill of working for the police. His job as an officer was less important, but had been much, much more fulfilling than this.

He did feel a bit like a glorified butler in this role, as Bolin had said.

"Makooo," the prince whined through the door. "The water's cold now! Come heat it up!"

He sighed, throwing the paper on the coffee table. He moved to stand outside of the bathroom door. "Are you decent?"

"Um, no. I'm positively gorgeous."

Mako sighed again. Yes, Wu was indeed like his brother, only maybe a little worse.

He opened the door, cautiously, and poked his head inside. It relieved him to see that there were still bubbles on the surface of the water, mostly obscuring the submerged half of Wu's nude body.

The prince waved him in, leaning back against the tub with elbows propped up on either side. "I'm probably going to catch a cold," Prince Wu complained as Mako knelt beside him. "You'll care for me even when I'm sick and dying, right?"

"Um, sure. Whatever."

The firebender rolled one of his jacket's sleeves up, then dipped one hand into the soapy water near Wu's feet. He focused his chi into that palm, heating the liquid around it.

Mako wanted to say something smart, like 'this is what happens when you take a bath for an hour,' but realized that he rather liked being devoid of Wu for a full hour every day. Even though he enjoyed making quips at Wu's expense, it was better if he didn't say anything that could disrupt their routine further.

Wu took a handful of bubbles and smoothed it over his own skin, letting the bubbles pop and leave a soapy trail over the flat planes of his chest. Wu was naturally thin and bony, with very little muscle to him at all. If he were a girl, Mako would've considered him cutely petite and delicate; since he was not, Mako just considered him scrawny and short.

"Could you wash my back?" Wu asked once Mako was done reheating the water. "There's this spot I can't reach. Since they moved all my stuff around, I don't have my back scrubber on hand."

"No."

"Why not? You do know poor hygiene is the leading cause of death—"

"No."

A couple hours later, after Wu had been tucked into bed, Mako had his shower. He was able to clean up in just a few minutes unlike some people.

The door had been opened to let the steam pour out of the bathroom, so he could see himself in the mirror. He was dressed in an undershirt and boxers, shaving stubble from the contours of his jaw with a razor when Prince Wu asked something.

"You're twenty-three, right? Does that mean you can grow a full beard?"

Mako paused, then lowered the blade. He glanced into the adjoining darkened bedroom and saw Wu, awake and sitting upright on the mattress with bedsheets pooled around his waist. Wu's silk pajamas were rumpled but his coiffed hair was not, as if he hadn't slept a wink yet.

"Maybe," Mako said, shaking the soapy razor in a sink full of water to clean it. "I've never tried growing out my facial hair."

"Oh. I'm not sure if you could get any more handsome, but I think you'd look nice with a little scruff. Maybe a goatee."

This guy sure did like throwing compliments at him.

Mako continued shaving. "I'm a royal bodyguard, Wu. Being clean-shaven is more professional."

"It's not mandatory. Many of the royal guards have mustaches or long sideburns, you know... But it's okay, I don't care what you look like. As long as you're happy."

His hand stilled again.

Wu exhaled loudly and Mako heard a thump, as if Wu had fallen back onto his massive pile of pillows. "I can't grow a beard to save my life. My great-aunt had more whiskers than me, before she... you know." He made a choking noise.

"Yeah," Mako said slowly, remembering the last Earth Queen and how her face matched her personality in charm.

This arrangement could have been worse, it seemed. Mako could have played the role of Secretariat Gun to Wu's Earth Queen.

Mako finished shaving, wiped his face off with a towel and cleaned out the sink. He always placed his razor in it's own specific, small box to prevent Wu from accidentally cutting himself with it.

When Mako exited the bathroom and made to leave the bedroom as well, Wu asked, "Where are you going?"

"The couch. To sleep," Mako explained. "There's only one bed." Belatedly, Mako noticed Wu was holding his pillow captive in one fist. "Can I, uh, have my pillow?"

"Sleep with me," Wu offered, twisting around so he lay sprawled across the mattress. "There's plenty of room. I promise not to take up more than two-thirds."

"No."

"Come on, Mako." A pout formed on the prince's mouth. "I don't know if we'll have this opportunity in the future! I might have to go back to Ba Sing Se without you. Who knows? If I can't be king, President Raiko might not want you to remain my bodyguard, and then we'll have to— oh, we'll have to break up! You're my best buddy..."

He made it sound as if they were in a relationship or something. Irritated, Mako sighed and palmed his face. "Bodyguards don't sleep with— sleep beside the person they're guarding. You'll be safer if I guard the entrance."

"I'll be safest if you guard me right here." Wu patted the space beside him for emphasis. "No one will be closer than you."

"No."

"Please?"

"... Wu, please don't."

"Mako, please do."

Somehow, Wu had convinced him.

"I hate you," Mako mumbled into his pillow, trying to ignore the feel of another male pressed against his back. He refused to sleep facing the other man, lest his dignity be destroyed any further.

"I love you," Wu replied contentedly.