It was a shame he'd been so busy. Had Jin Ho known he had a story to hear about, he might've made more time to come have dinner with Hoshi — but then again, maybe not. This business with Amon and the Equalists was keeping him up at night, especially with Sweeper gone. He was working extra and felt very Serious all the time, constantly worrying about the safety of the city. It wasn't good for him and his already-nervous nature.

Jin Ho arrived promptly for dinner, still in uniform and coming straight from the station. He looked a little worn out, but he still smiled as he came through the door. "Hi," he said, carefully taking off his boots. "Sorry if I'm late — I came straight here, I didn't get a chance to look at the time..." Hopefully he wasn't.

Truthfully, hearing that Mizu and Hoshi had already met and no one had had the courtesy to mention it to him had hurt Jin Ho's feelings. They were very important people in his life! Didn't they know that? How could they not tell him something so monumental? Surely they hadn't met on purpose? Fidgeting with his braid, the young man came to sit down at the table, where food was already waiting.

He hugged her before he sat, of course. Obviously.

"So," said Jin Ho, looking at his oldest friend with almost-faux suspicion. "I think you have some explaining to do, don't you?"

Jin Ho sighed and picked up his cup of tea, wrapping his fingers around it. The meat smelled delicious as it sizzled in between them, and he found himself gazing at it instead of his friend.

"Sweetheart, he came in drunk. It wasn't fated to be a good meeting, in any case, from that alone."

Jin Ho tilted his head a little. "We've talked about his problem," he said softly. "I already know about it. Nobody's perfect, are they?" He certainly had his own problems. What kind of man would want to date someone like him, who'd keep them up at night with dreams and screaming? He couldn't use vehicles! Jin Ho knew very well that he had no business judging anyone for their problems when he had so many of his own. He rubbed the back of his neck as Hoshi continued talking.

"He was so ... surly and ill-tempered that I wouldn't have guessed he was your ... your Mizu."

The policeman smiled a little, finding her pause funny. "I don't know what we are, either," he said. He gingerly ate some of the grilled meat as she went on, talking about what an awful impression Mizu had made on her. It wasn't surprising, really. Anyone who came in drunk automatically got on Hoshi's bad side, normally, and she did have a bit of a temper. She'd always been like that. It was almost — almost — amusing to the young policeman when he thought about it.

Almost. When she said that she'd told Mizu that he was messing up when it came to Jin Ho, the young man opened his mouth to say something but held back when she raised her hand.

"I want nothing more than your happiness, you know that. But I saw that he was hurting you, and that it was not going well. I told him to show his love, without you having to ask him to do."

Jin Ho ground his teeth together. While he appreciated that she cared so much about his happiness, it wasn't really her place to go talking to a man he wasn't even officially dating about how to do right by him. His green eyes were bright and a little angry. "That wasn't your place to say," Jin Ho said. He stabbed a piece of meat with his own brand of viciousness, now unsure of how angry he ought to be with her. Hoshi had really overstepped her bounds this time. He was surprised, but he wasn't sure what was more surprising — the fact that Hoshi so obviously hated Mizu or the fact that he was surprised that things had turned out this way. If he'd thought about it for more than a moment, it should have been obvious that she'd hate him.

"I did not think he had listened to me... When you told me that you had a nightmare when Sweeper left us and that he did nothing, I was so angry, and so hurt for you."

Pulling his braid a little, the metalbender sighed. "I was hurt for myself," he said. "I can tell people for myself when I feel that way." He knew that she didn't believe him, and likely she thought he'd never stand up for himself when it counted. But Jin Ho had discussed that with Mizu, hadn't he? Sure, that night hadn't been just wonderful, but it wasn't the worse thing that had ever happened to him either, right? Focusing on his food, Jin Ho fell silent.

"You were just trying to help," Jin Ho repeated, eyes on the table. "Because why, Hoshi? You don't trust me?" She got up and left the table and he immediately regretted those words, knowing that she was going to go cry in the bathroom. Even though she didn't want him to see it, he knew what was happening. He'd known her for too long and too intimately to think anything else could be going on. He hadn't meant to make her cry. Even if what she did was wrong, he still felt unable to stay angry with her.

"I only acted out of worry for you, acted so that you could be happy. How could I stand by and let you be hurt?"

Jin Ho wrapped his hands around the cup of tea and looked at her, silently for a moment. When he finally spoke, his words were soft. "Hurting," he said, "is a part of human relationships. No one is perfect. Mizu hasn't always done right by me, and I'm sure that I haven't always done right by him, either. Isn't that normal? Give and take is healthy in a relationship." Nothing was good one hundred percent of the time. Didn't Hoshi remember how often her own parents had fought? And their marriage had been as solid as bedrock. Jin Ho's parents weren't always perfect, but they were happy. He thought if he could achieve relationships like those he'd seen growing up, well... he'd be doing quite well.

"I did not mean to hurt you, I was only trying to look out for you."

Jin Ho reached out, ruffling her hair and smiling gently. "I'm a grown man, Hoshi," he reminded her. "I can look out for myself. Let me handle my relationship with Mizu. But I appreciate your caring." He brushed his thumb tenderly across her cheek. "Come on. Let's eat. It smells delicious and I'm starving. I forgive you, so don't give me that sad little camelephant face." Pulling his hand back he focused on the food, taking lettuce and onion and extra kimchi to eat with the meat. Jin Ho tended to use a lot of spicy pepper paste with his samgyeopsal, and tonight was no exception. Popping a crispy piece of the meat into his mouth with a sliver of garlic and some onion, he closed his eyes. It was delicious. "Mmmm," he said, after he'd swallowed. "You always know what to make."

After pulling extra shifts and the worry over Amon, homecooked food like that he'd grown up with was a perfect comfort. Hoshi's flat in general was a comforting place — the smell of it was familiar and sweet, almost like coming home to his own place. He'd spent such wonderful times there. He remembered when she moved in, bringing over food and having a veritable feast of soju and ddeokbokki and roasted corn and mandu. They'd built a blanket fort and celebrated her 'moving on with her life'. The young man smiled fondly remembering it as he ate in her dining room, quiet stretching between them.