Disclaimer: I do not own LoK.
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Stay
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Mako shifted in his bed uncomfortably, kicking his thick blanket off a small portion of his lightly-clothed body, quickly regretting it afterwards as the cold, unforgiving air of the tundra nipped at his pale skin and filtered through the fabric of his clothing. He had been living in the South Pole for two months, and he still hadn't adjusted to the temperature of the place. At night, when the moon was high in the sky, he was usually at his coldest and so easily dressed in his thickest garments and retired to bed with his heavy blanket tucked around him. But as the night progressed into morning and the sun began to rise, his Firebending became more active and he heated up quickly, causing him to periodically dispose of different clothes each hour until he was left wearing virtually nothing, a sheet or something hanging loosely over his frame. But then he would wake in the morning and regret removing his clothes – because despite how overheated he was during dawn, it was still the South Pole, and it was still nippy all hours of the day, and so he always woke up cursing about the shivers that ran down his spine until he got up and dressed properly for the environment around him. He just couldn't adjust – he was still used to the humid, suffocating temperature of Republic City.
The Firebender lay for a little while longer in his bed, staring blankly with half-lidded eyes at the ceiling of his room. Mako felt... off. He couldn't pinpoint as to why he felt as though something was wrong, he just did. It was an instinct that had done him well when he had lived on the streets when he was younger – he learned to trust his gut feelings. And so he did – he was wary as he went about his day, scrutinizing his surroundings for things that were slightly abnormal.
And honestly, nothing seemed out of place until dinnertime. He watched discreetly as Korra was more distant than usual – ever since all three of them had moved to the South Pole, after she had defeated Amon, after her death, she had become uncharacteristically quieter and more pensive – and how she seemed to rush through eating her meal before hastily excusing herself from the table. That was it – that was the oddity Mako was looking for, had been waiting for.
He finished his own dinner quickly before exiting to go and find the Avatar. However, everywhere he looked – all of her usual thinking spots – were unoccupied, and it wasn't until he was making his way to her room that his snooping was halted.
"Mako."
The Firebender tensed, frightened by his name being said. But he quickly recognized the voice and relaxed, sighing as he turned and spotted the elder behind him. Master Katara. He was about to open his mouth to ask her where Korra was, but she beat him to the punch.
"If you're looking for Korra..." she looked at the ground sadly for a second, shaking her head. Her old eyes looked conflicted, as though she were about to divulge information to him that he wasn't supposed to know. "She should be at the outer ridge of town."
Mako blinked at the Waterbender, cocking an eyebrow. "Why is she out there?"
Katara simply shook her head at him again, turning around and leaving him all by his lonesome. The graveness of the Waterbending Master's expression sparked something in Mako – something urgent was happening, something that involved Korra.
Deciding he needed to speak with her as soon as possible, he found the closest exit of the large building he was in and began making his way to the Avatar's supposed whereabouts.
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Mako arrived at the outer edge of the Southern Water Tribe village just as the sky began to darken. He looked around the expanse – she could be anywhere within a three mile radius of either side! The outskirts of the village stretched a good distance, and Katara failed to be specific with the Firebender, so he was at a loss of which way to go to begin to search for the rogue Avatar.
He took his chances and walked for a little bit to his right before he remembered something – there was a little spot, a snow mound where Korra liked to sit and be alone sometimes. She had taken him there once and they had sat in silence, despite how much there was to say to each other. Upon remembering this, Mako began to take off in the direction he believed it was. He walked for what felt like forever, the wind of the tundra becoming harsher as he continued, whipping his scarf in his face violently. He shuddered as the cold began to seemingly penetrate through his parka and the snow became even deeper.
He was just about to turn back, convinced he had gotten mixed up somewhere along the way, when he heard a low bark and a hissing shushing noise. His expression darkened a bit – he found them. But why was Korra out in this weather, in such a virtually inaccessible place? What was the Avatar plotting?
Trudging forward, he hid behind a mound of ice and snow and peered over it. He saw Korra a few yards in front of it, packing something onto Naga. He heard her sigh and mutter something, and she was just about to jump on the Polar Bear Dog's back to go to wherever when the Firebender stepped out from his hiding spot and yelled at her.
"Where are you going?"
The Avatar froze from her spot in front of him, before turning around slowly, her eyes wide, unblinking. Mako glared at her, his eyes hard. He walked a few paces closer to her, causing Korra's apprehension to grow. He repeated his question, his tone softer as his frustration faded – he was utterly exhausted with being angry at her, with being distant and cruel and blaming her for something she hadn't done. He had been so ever since their fight with Amon – ever since it happened – and it was getting old for him. "Where are you going, Korra?"
She answered back with a question of her own, defensively trying to keep her secret just that – a secret. "How did you find me?"
Mako was quiet, his golden gaze unwavering, unwilling to answer her until she did. She already knew – Katara had told him. His intense eyes and broken expression were holding hers, causing her resolve to break just a bit within her. Wanting to keep up her confident facade – so that maybe he would go away and leave her alone – she crossed her arms and forced a smirk. "Where does it look like I'm going?"
"Korra, don't play games with me," he whispered. He blinked at Naga, observing the supplies that Korra had packed. She had quite an extensive collection of things stored away, and this only hardened his need to discover her motives, though he already had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as to what they were.
Korra was silent for a few more moments before blurting out, "You know how there have been rumours that the Equalist movement is starting up again?"
All it took was those words to escape her mouth – it was what he suspected. Feeling his heart lurch violently at what had happened the last time he had left Korra to face the Equalists – and their leader – alone, he knew he couldn't let her go. Not without him, at least – not again. Forcing himself to keep calm, he nodded at her and allowed her to continue. He would get his turn to vent his frustrations and concern to her once she was finished.
"Well... I'm the Avatar. So, I'm going to Republic City again to try to quell them before they become more violent again," she explained. She kicked the snow at her ankles, whispering her next part, "I was kind of hoping I could get of here before anyone found me." She laughed forcedly. "Guess not, huh?"
Mako's mouth was set in a hard line as she spoke. "I won't let you do this. Not alone, Korra."
She laughed again, bitterly, and the noise hit Mako's ears and caused him to shiver unpleasantly. "You can't stop me from going," she challenged. "I need to do this by myself – I can't let anyone get hurt in case it gets out of control... I won't let this end like last time. I won't let anyone else die just because I can't do my job properly."
Mako bit his lip as her words forced him to relive the painful memory of losing his love, Asami Sato. He hated to think about the day at all – it had been a day of absolute heartbreak for him, while for most citizens of Republic City it had been the happy end of the bender-non-bender war. It had been the day he had thought he had lost both the women he loved – but instead, only one.
It happened three months beforehand and it was all still ingrained as perfectly as day in his memory. He remembered infiltrating Amon's headquarters with his girlfriend, his brother, and the Avatar by his side. They had a sure fire plan – and they were going to stick to it and win this thing. But it all went down the drain when the four had gotten ambushed and separated – Korra had been driven off towards Amon by Lieutenant, Bolin by a group of Equalists, and Asami and Mako by another. The Firebender only realized the urgency of the situation when he noticed Korra had disappeared, and upon reconnecting with Bolin, Asami and the Earthbender had urged him to go after the Avatar. He had done so without hesitation, but when he entered the scene was greeted with Amon and Lieutenant unfairly fighting Korra. He had joined her and just when things were looking up—he was taken down by Lieutenant, leaving Korra on her own once again. However, apparently, she had thought he was dead, because shortly afterwards, she had gone into the Avatar State. Mako didn't know what happened upon him waking up – all he knows is that she had killed Amon and she was lying motionlessly on the ground. Mako had felt paralyzing fear in that moment as he rushed to her. She was bruised and bloodied and intense anguish had filled him as he tried to get her to awaken, to prove to him that she was all right, that she wasn't dead—but all his shouts and cries had been in vain, for the Avatar did not move. It was in that moment three months ago that, in some futile attempt at getting her to just not be dead, he kissed her and told her he loved her continuously. In was in that moment that Mako realized that he could no longer deny himself his feelings any longer – ever since he had moved to Air Temple Island, while he had continued to fall for Asami, he had also fallen, hard and fast, in love with the Avatar, and there was no going back. He loved both women unconditionally.
After some unidentifiable amount of time had passed, after Mako had cried himself into an exhausted mess, did Korra nearly give him a heart attack by suddenly regaining her consciousness. Mako had smothered her in this moment, holding her but saying nothing. It was a moment of unexplainable bliss for the Firebender – she was alive, she was alive, and that was all the mattered to him. He refrained from kissing her again, but just barely. Korra was tired and confused, but did not ignore his affections.
He remembered helping the Avatar stand and with one last look at Amon's body, did they leave the scene – the police could deal with him. They had gone to go find his brother and Asami, but were instead greeted with news that would once again send Mako over the edge. His brother stood hunched over something – he hadn't been able to tell because of the distance. But as the pair arrived, Asami nowhere in sight, he felt sick, and clutched Korra's hand. When they finally got to Bolin's side, Mako felt his heart shatter all over again – there, beside his brother, was Asami, purple eyelids shut, blood staining her jacket from some wound somewhere on her body. Instantly the Firebender left the Avatar's side and began to frantically voice his questions to his brother – Bolin explained that she had been stabbed by an Equalist shortly after he had left, and that she had been bleeding out since, despite his best efforts to save her.
Unlike Korra, Asami was dead.
The Firebender felt indescribable and excruciating pain when he recalled that moment. He had held Asami to him, murmuring how he loved her – something he had never told her when she had been alive. He hated himself for it, never telling her how powerfully he felt about her. Korra remembered the moment as one of utter heartbreak as she watched the man she loved in such pain, jealousy because he wasn't telling her those words, but also immense loss because she had lost one of her good friends.
With all of this flooding his system, Mako clenched his fists. He hated himself more for how he hated treated the situation afterwards – Asami's funeral was held a month later after her death, and a few hours afterwards, he had gotten into a vicious fight with Korra over how if she, in his opinion, wasn't so incompetent, if she could have actually done her job as the Avatar and if she hadn't needed his help, then maybe he could have stayed behind and protected the non-bender and that she still may have been there with them all – basically, he very loudly announced that he had thought Asami's death was Korra's doing. The Avatar had furiously retorted that she missed the non-bender, too, but that it wasn't true – he didn't have to come after her, that she could have handled Amon by herself. Both knew they were wrong in their accusations – Korra would have died without Mako, and it had been by his own accord that he had gone after her, not because he had to. He had done so because he cared.
The three of them had moved to South Pole because Korra began to get serious threats from some of Amon's loyal followers – they didn't care if their leader was dead, they would avenge his death by ending her. Though Korra was convinced she could handle them, Tenzin didn't want to take the dangerous risk of keeping her in Republic City during such a volatile time and so requested she be moved back to the South Pole for her safety. And despite Mako's bitterness towards her during that time, he wasn't about to be without her in his life – and so with much convincing, he and Bolin were sent with the Avatar.
For the first few weeks they had lived together, Korra and Mako avoided each other, still sensitive about their fight. When they did manage to interact, it was either explosive or extremely reserved and forced. It was only recently that Mako had realized how horrible he had been to her – how she hadn't deserved his angry venting. He had just been so pained over losing Asami and he just had to blame someone – so he blamed Korra. But he still loved the Avatar, despite his behaviour and appalling attitude. He didn't even know where to begin with apologizing to her...
"I'm sorry, Korra," he whispered after a moment, evading eye contact with her. The phrase applied to so many different things, and though it didn't cover as much as he wanted – it would have to do for now. "I can't let you leave, because I'm not willing to lose another person I love."
Korra blinked at him at this, her heart rate spiking because of his indirect confession. Despite the emotional turmoil the pair had been through in the year they had known each other, she had always felt something there, for the boy in front of her. When Asami had come into the picture, she had been jealous at first, but had learned to let her envy go and let the couple be together. Even though she got over her jealousy, though, Korra's feelings for Mako had continued to grow and she had fallen irrevocably in love with him. So to hear those words roll of his lips – they made her hear soar, but crushed it at the same time.
She walked closer to him and cupping his cheek, told him, "You're not. I'm just going to calm the anti-bender sentiment until it's at a safer level. Nothing dangerous, Mako."
"Please, Korra," he murmured. "Just don't go. Not yet. Give it a little while longer." He looked up at her, and his amber eyes were wide and pleading. "Give us a little while longer." His tone of voice made her throat constrict agonizingly, her heart beat skip out of how desperate he sounded.
The Avatar blinked at him, a plan formulating in her head, putting out the need to make his worry disappear, her own uncertainty dissipating. Her idea would halt her plans by a few hours, but it would get him out of the way for a short bit... it would give her just enough time, while at the same time momentarily comforting both herself and the Firebender.
Leaning forward, Korra's lips brushed his and she hugged him hard. "Okay," she lied and he smiled slightly, taking her hand and squeezing it. He removed his scarf after hugging her again and placed it around her neck, and the gesture almost changed the Avatar's mind completely – he was just placing so much trust in her – but not quite. She hated that she was deceiving him, but it had to be done. Calling Naga, she allowed Mako to lead her back to the compound, her heart clenching the entire way.
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Mako fell asleep that night with Korra by his side, and for the first time in the few months he had been living in the South Pole, he didn't feel biting cold fill his system as the sun rose slowly. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her closely, breathing in her scent. All of it reminded him just of how much he missed her in those weeks that they had been distant – something he had caused. He just hoped now that he could redeem himself and prove to her how much he loved her. He wasn't going to mess up this time.
Korra had a few hours of bliss with the Firebender before she felt her stomach drop – it was almost time for her to sneak out and to leave without a trace, just like the first time she had left for Republic City. When the moment came, she expertly manoeuvred around his arms and with a brief kiss, left him sleeping there, once again becoming filled with freezing abandonment.
The Firebender woke up a few hours later, and when he tightened his arms, expecting Korra to be there, he was surprised – and hurt – to find that she wasn't. Sitting up, he smiled sadly to himself as he realized that she had tricked him, went against her promise to him and gone to Republic City. That was the Avatar for you – she always chose the selfless path, never chose her emotions. It was something he loved about her, but that more often than not caused him a stab of pain.
Sighing, he went to his dresser. Looking around for the red material of his scarf, he remembered that he had given it to her the night before, and he felt his heart lighten a bit. But despite this slight reassurance, it didn't stop him from finding a bag and packing it with a few things, deciding that if she was going to go, he was, too. She couldn't stop him from loving her, and he wasn't going to stop her from loving him back.
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Author's Notes: All I had to do was go back and look at the season two panels that Bryan put out on tumblr – and I was flooded with all these Makorra feels and so I did this. It's rather messy and I don't like it much... I strayed from my original plans in the middle and just kind of rambled, but I haven't posted any Makorra in a bit (or so it feels) and I honestly just need some more Makorra feels in my life right now what with how much Masami happened in the last episode and how there is a glaring lack of Makorra thus far, at least, according to me – and so I posted it. But I trust Bryke (to an extent, because I know they can destroy my precious shipper heart with just a single episode) and believe that there will be a good dose of Makorra in the next episode! :D I can't wait for it – I mean, they're all living under the same roof now, they are bound to interact!