"I've moved on, Mako. I think it's time you do the same."
She turned around with an icy glare and confidently walked past him into the sunset, hair stroking her collar with every move.
Mako stood there stunned, mind turning a thousand miles per hour, still trying to comprehend what had just happened. His eyes wide, he looked over his shoulder, into the painted sky, only to see that Korra was gone.
Just like that.
Korra was gone. He lost her.
As he walked home, Mako felt dread fill his body with every step he took. He bumped into pedestrians a couple times (and even knocked a few over), uttering a simple apology each time. He stared blankly at the ground, hands in his pocket, clenching them every time he recalled what happened with her earlier that day.
He was so lost in thought he didn't even notice he was home until he almost tripped on a stair. Finally looking up, Mako walked up the stairs with a grim expression gripping on the railing as he hobbled up.
Reaching his door he found his keys and fumbled to grasp them and unlock his door. He dropped them a few times, picking them up each time. His eyes were beginning to sting and his throat was on fire. His nose was running (due to the cold, he wouldn't admit otherwise), and his eyebrows scrunched together. His whole body was numb, yet somehow he could still feel pain.
Once Mako accomplished the simple task, he walked in and removed his shoes, jacket and gloves, and walked in the dark, and silent room. He bit his lip and took a small step, stumbling a little. Not bothering to turn on the lights, he began to trudge over to his couch. Out of habit, he grabbed air, right where his scarf would have been. He looked at his hand and clenched it.
Taking one more step he fell to the ground on his knees, hands clenched as he balanced on the hardwood floor. His vision began to blur as he looked at the cherrywood patterns dancing across his mind. Soon, the pattern was interrupted with droplets of water, randomly splaying across the floor.
Mako used one hand to wipe his eyes, water staining his pale skin. A sob escaped his throat.
The floodgates broke.
The room was barren, except few pieces of furniture and one broken man in the middle of a dark and dreary room. Suddenly light eminated from the door, and a large sigh echoed.
Mako heard the noise and wiped his eyes, and held his breath, trying to hold the flood. As he began to pick himself off the floor a voice ensued.
"Hey bro! I'm home! Hey why are all the lights off?" Footsteps pounded on the hard floor. "Man, I had the best day today. You'll never believe what happened. Opal and I went to Narook's and she told me that she'll be staying in Republic City for 2 whole months! Isn't that great? She's staying with Lin. Hey, do you think I could visit you while you were working cause that would be-" Lights turned on, revealing a broken man.
"Mako?" Bolin said. "Are you alright?"
Mako, with his back turned to Bolin only nodded slightly trying to get up as Bolin continued.
"What happened? How did it go with Korra?"
Mako stumbled once her name was mentioned. He was close to completely breaking down again.
No, not in front of Bolin. He can't see me like this.
Bolin walked forward. "Did you hear me? How did it go with Korra?" Bolin asked. Mako leaned over to look at the ground again.
Korra.
Korra.
Korra.
"I've moved on, Mako. I think it's time you do the same."
"Bro?"
Mako opened his mouth, "I-" he began softly. "I... she..."
Then, silence.
As Bolin moved closer to his elder brother he could hear the rhythmic sound of soft pounds. Then he heard a sob.
Bolin rushed over to his brother and took a good look at him. Bolin looked in shock as he saw his brother. Tears streamed down his face and he looked pale.
His eyes were empty, yet full of sadness and anger. He looked... broken.
Just seeing his brother like this, almost broke his heart. Green eyes held small tears, but were determined not to let them fall.
"What happened, bro?"
Mako couldn't speak though. Bolin grabbed him in for a hug, and normally Mako would gently push him off, but this time he grabbed on with such force even he was surprised. He just needed... somebody.
Mako immediately felt guilty. He was supposed to be the strong one. He promised he'd never let his brother see him cry. Even after his parents died, he only cried when Bolin couldn't see him. He promised, yet, here he was being comforted by his brother, whom he was determined to never let see his tears.
It wasn't just that Korra told him off and rejected him, it was that he had lost her. It wasn't her. The Korra that he saw in front of him wasn't the Korra he knew. She wasn't the aggressive, bubbly, energetic girl. She looked angry, stressed, and determined. But it wasn't just that. She looked angrier than she had ever looked before. She looked like she wasn't happy. She looked empty. Like she wasn't even alive anymore, like she was just a shell. She looked... broken.
That's what hurt the most.
Bolin had left once Mako had calmed down a little. He finally sat Mako down on the couch and told him to rest. Then he left to get food from Narook's since he didn't know how to cook, and Mako wasn't in condition to make anything. Mako wanted to tell him that it was pointless. He didn't want to eat. He didn't want to do anything. He didn't want anything.
Except Korra.
But that was impossible.
"I've moved on, Mako. I think it's time you do the same."
Mako clenched his fists as he remembered the way her hair flew into the wind. The sharp angles of her bob, matching the slant of her eyes.
Her hair was shorter.
It was like her message to the world that things were different. That she was different. She wasn't tied to the past anymore. She left the past behind. She had moved on.
And that apparently included him.
"I've moved on, Mako. I think it's time you do the same."
He remembered all his memories consisting Korra, torturing himself with every single one of them, as he remembered how carefree and happy she used to be. Ever since her battle with Zaheer she had never been the same.
His heart clenched as one memory in particular bounced in his head.
"And I'll always love you."
He began to cry again as he recalled it over and over.
"And I'll always love you."
Then he stopped. His blood began to boil.
Didn't they exchange a promise that they would always love each other? And now she just acts like it never happened.
Liar!
Mako leapt from the couch and stomped to his door, putting on his shoes, jacket and gloves. He grabbed his keys and angrily shoved them in his pocket. Then he left the apartment.
He had an Avatar to lecture.