Chapter Text
Mako placed the last of their plates in the kitchen cabinets before deflating as more boxes seemed to magically appear behind him. Looking back Mako realized he had only emptied three of the boxes labeled kitchen and he had to wonder how he and Iroh had collected so much kitchenware.
The only room with more boxes than the kitchen was their office. Though it held a collection of random boxes they didn"t even know the contents of in addition to their normal office supplies. Mako hadn’t realized how much of their stuff was hidden away because their apartment didn’t have the space for it until they started packing.
Though he regretted the way he"d spoken to Iroh about it, Mako hadn"t been kidding when he said moving was an absolute pain. Even Mako hadn"t realized it would be this bad.
The move-in day had been the worst as everything that could go wrong did. Korra and Asami ended up unable to come until after lunch which left only Bolin and Opal to help load all their stuff up. Though Bolin wasn’t much help due to his still limited lifting capacity from his injury a few months before.
Mako spent half of his time that day chasing his brother down to get him to stop lifting things above his weight limit. Bolin didn’t seem to see the problem but Mako knew what chronic pain felt like and didn’t want his little brother suffering from it because he was impatient.
Mako wasn’t sure what Iroh had said to him, but after the two disappeared into one of the new house’s bathrooms, Bolin had suddenly stopped lifting boxes and instead helped direct people to the correct rooms.
Mako hadn’t asked but he had pulled Iroh aside to steal a kiss.
“Thank you,” Mako said.
“For what?” Iroh asked.
Mako shook his head and kissed him again. “You know what,” he said, before walking off.
It had been a nice little break before they rejoined the others for lunch and then even more unloading, this time with Korra and Asami’s help as well.
In the end, the unloading had been the easy part. It was the unboxing that was getting to them. Both Mako and Iroh had taken the week off to get moved and even with Bolin coming by every afternoon to help unbox things, it felt like they weren"t getting anywhere.
Though admittedly they had lost a whole day painting their bedroom a pale yellow that Iroh had insisted on. Mako had stopped arguing when Iroh had excitedly explained that it was the first time he had ever been allowed to paint his room. Apparently, the Fire Nation palace had stone walls Iroh’s mother wanted preserved and their old apartment had a no painting policy.
It was very clear when looking at the walls that neither of them knew how to paint but it had made Iroh happy. Mako could deal with a few badly painted walls in exchange.
Mako had started trying to peel the tape off the next box when Iroh walked into the room, something held behind his back.
"Right," Iroh said, pulling his surprise out and waving it in Mako"s face. "I got a boxcutter so that should make things easier and I found your chair."
Mako kissed Iroh softly as his husband handed him the boxcutter. "My hero," Mako joked. "I thought I was never getting this box open."
That was the worst part of all the boxes. They had packed everything away and couldn"t find any of the things needed to unpack quicker, like their boxcutter or knives.
"I also ordered takeout," Iroh said, staring accusingly at the boxes in the corner. "I figured it would be better than trying to cook without, you know, cooking utensils and something to cook in and well something to actually cook in the first place."
"I get it," Mako said, jumping up on the counter. "All our stuff is missing, except for the plates. I found those."
Mako dragged Iroh closer.
"Wanna see if we can clean up these last few boxes tonight?" Iroh asked, gesturing at the five boxes taunting them. "Then we can tackle our bedroom and bathroom tomorrow. Hopefully we can gain some semblance of normal before going back to work."
Mako groaned as he leaned his head against Iroh"s shoulder. Iroh rubbed softly up and down his back.
"We"ll get it fixed," Iroh said. "It"ll be home in no time."
"Already is," Mako muttered into his husband"s neck. "You"re here."
Iroh snorted slightly. "Is that in your book of one-liners or did you come up with that on the spot?" Iroh joked.
Mako jabbed him in the ribs in retaliation causing Iroh to laugh.
Mako watched as his husband threw his head back slightly. His laugh shook against him where his chest pressed to Mako"s stomach.
“I’ll take that as in the book,” Iroh said, through his laughter.
The corners of his eyes crinkled and Mako couldn"t help but pull him into a kiss.
Iroh slipped his arms around him and pulled him closer. When Mako pulled back from the kiss he found his head resting on Iroh"s chest.
"I love you," Iroh said, kissing the crown of Mako"s head. "As much of a headache as this is, I"m glad I get to do it all with you. I"m glad I get to spend the rest of my life with you."
Mako turned into Iroh"s neck and placed a kiss on that sweet spot under Iroh"s ear. Mako whispered across the spot, making Iroh shiver.
"I love you too," Mako said. "Even when you make me unbox things."
Iroh huffed but grabbed onto Mako tighter. Mako wrapped his legs around Iroh"s hip and just sat there, soaking in Iroh"s warmth.
The two stayed like that until a knock sounded on the door.
"That"s the take out," Iroh said, though he didn"t seem like he wanted to move. He still did, to Mako"s discontent.
"Forget the take out," Mako replied, clinging tighter as Iroh tried to pull away. "Stay here."
"We need food, Mako." Iroh said. He finally untangled himself from Mako and left to get the food. Mako pouted slightly but cheered up when he saw the bag from his favorite seafood place.
"So, dinner, unboxing and maybe some cuddling, or more, if there"s time," Iroh said, placing the food on the counter.
"I like the way you think," Mako said, pulling out the only two pairs of chopsticks the two had found so far.
Iroh kissed his temple before the two finally dug into their food. They"d deal with the rest later, for now they were more interested in the food and their company.