The meditation pavilion was serene, leaves shifting in the breeze, wind chimes tinkling distantly. Korra closed her eyes, and imagined her arms outspread, feathers tickling as the sky caressed them, and the gentle tug of gravity that she so wonderfully defied with a happy heart as she flew through the air. The clouds misted over body, drinking her in, and a smile snuck its way onto her lips as she-
Ikki's laughter rang sweetly down to the pavilion.
And Korra fell.
Her eyes opened and lifted up to the source of Ikki's laughter. A group of airbenders were completing some training drills under Ikki and Meelo's supervision. From the pavilion, Korra could see many pairs of white-knuckled hands gripping their gliders. They were nervous already, but Meelo was sending a few blasts of wind their way, sending the trainees off course and sending Ikki into fits of giggles.
She looked back down, unable to watch. Focus, focus, breathe.
Korra's wheelchair anchored her in place, shoulders hunched and eyes barely open, downcast on her hands. Her palms rested on her knees. They rested on her knees, and twitched with anticipation as she breathed deeply, clinging to the daydream.
A breath. Concentration. A rising hand. She stared at her fingertips and cast out a small puff of air, and the chimes sang so sadly.
It was not the same.
"Hey."
Korra craned her neck, failing to see him standing behind her, but she knew his voice.
"...Hi, Mako."
It surprised her, honestly, for he hadn't spent much time with her since that day, and he definitely had not spent any time alone with her. He stepped into her vision and sat down on the pavilion floor next to her.
"So, uh... how are you?"
She looked up. The airbenders flew up high. "I've been better."
He tried to hide his cringe, but he had never been all that great at concealing his emotions. He sighed. "I know Asami is usually the one helping out, but I guess... is there anything I can do?"
They whirled above, oranges and yellows flashing in the sunlight.
"Just take me away from here." And as soon as the words had left her mouth she knew that's what she needed. She knew that's what she wanted. It was crazy. It was crazy because they had not been alone together in such a long time.
He paused, and Korra looked down again at him. She felt his awkwardness before the words left his mouth. "Korra, kidnapping is illegal."
She couldn't help but roll her eyes, wishing Asami was there to share the moment.
"You're not kidnapping me, Officer Mako."
"Korra, I don't know..."
"I'm being serious. I just want to leave the island. That's all."
Mako looked at her. He hesitated. "Someone else should take you... Asami... or Bolin or Pema." There was a hesitation there, and she knew she had him. Her eyes lit up, if only a little.
"I want you to take me."
He sighed again. "Where do you want to go?"
Korra first glanced back up at the airbenders, and then down at her hands that were still so weak. Even with the strength exercises she had been doing, she felt like she wasn't improving. She was stuck.
"Anywhere but here."
He grabbed hold of her anchor and wheeled her back. She did not look up at the airbenders again as she reversed out of the pavilion.
Korra kept her hands in her lap and her eyes on her hands as Mako gently pushed her towards the ferry. He easily wheeled her up the ramp and positioned her facing the water.
"Okay?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yes."
Mako stood next to her, hands on the rail, and he watched the skyline as the vine-soaked city approached. Korra watched him.
She thought of how they met in the arena. She thought of the way her stomach clenched when she broke up with him. She thought of the way his kisses tasted smoky, of the way his eyes set themselves when he was thinking, of the way he held her then, and held her now. She thought of how he looked uncomfortable around her now, and she thought of how sad that was. She thought of yelling at him and laughing at him and laughing with him. She thought of the word "amazing" and how it sounded coming from his lips.
She thought of possibilities. She pushed them down.
The waters lapping between the side of the ferry and the city dock were loud. Mako hadn't said anything the whole ride. He stood behind her again and gripped the handles of her wheelchair, reversing and going forward. Mako thanked the acolytes staffing the ferry that day, and Korra gave them a weak smile.
Their eyes were full of pity.
She looked up at the sky again, at the inviting clouds that called her. Korra hated that look. It's what everyone gave her. Even those that were so helpful and so kind and tried their best to keep Korra's mind off her recovery... they let it slip too, unaware that Korra could feel their pity on the back of her neck.
She didn't feel it now though. She glanced back, and he was looking up too. Mako didn't look at her that way.
She looked ahead. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere but there." He nodded towards the island.
"Ha. Ha. Ha," she said drily. He smiled. The streets were familiar, though some of the foliage and some of the spirits were not. "The police station...? I know I said anywhere, but watching you fill out paperwork is not really my idea of an adventure."
He wheeled her past the main entrance, towards the garage.
"Well, how about this for an adventure?"
He locked the wheelchair in place, and walked over to...
"No way," Korra breathed just as Mako dramatically ripped away the cover from his motorcycle. "I've... I've always wanted to!" The garage was dark but her eyes still sparkled with excitement, and there was a rush inside of her.
Mako tried not to smile as he picked up the helmet from the seat and handed it to her. "I know."
"I can't believe it! Really? You're really gonna take me?"
"Really."
His arms were strong, and she felt the muscles tighten as he scooped her up out of her wheelchair, positioning her at the back of the motorcycle. In a sort of daze, she watched as he folded up the cover and set it in the seat of her wheelchair, pushing it aside so it wouldn't get hit.
Her heart was pounding, and it felt so strange watching him. It was almost as if she were hyperaware of his every movement. She leaned back as he stretched his leg over in front of her, adjusting his position until he was comfortable. He paused, holding his body still for just a moment, and then he started the engine.
"Hold on!" he yelled, voice fighting the echoes of the garage.
So she did.
Mako started out slowly. The motorcycle rumbled as he turned out of the garage, and it shook beneath her as they moved down the street. He picked up the speed ever so slightly, and she was reminded of Naga.
The city was a wreck, but tiny spirits danced around, fluttering and whizzing and shooting past them. They seemed happy, contrasting the dark feeling of the buildings that they passed. Humans had abandoned the part of town, but the spirits were flourishing. Vines were draped over concrete, through windows, down posts. Flowers blossomed in pinks and in blues and in an indescribably iridescent hue.
Mako slowed to a stop, and the motorcycle buzzed with anticipation and Korra's heart beat, beat, beat.
He looked back at her. "You ready?"
Her body felt tired. But she glanced up at the sky, and she nodded.
Mako kicked it, tires slipping on the pavement before catching and rocketing them forward in a blur. Tiny leaf spirits squealed as they shot past, and Korra clutched onto him, pressing her face against his back, watching the buildings and the lights and the unfamiliar eyes whiz by.
Mako was tense, but she knew this tension. She knew this tension just like she knew his hair between her fingers and his lips pursing when he was mad at her. She knew.
They zipped through the streets, Mako weaving through old cars and upturned streetlamps like an obstacle course. She leaned back to watch ahead, and she smiled widely.
The motorcycle roared as Mako picked up speed and aimed for a fallen chunk of building. He sent the motorcycle up into the air and her body felt so sore but the sunset shone through the buildings; she laughed once, real.
They landed with a bump, Korra pressing up against her for just a moment as she regained her balance. Mako glanced back at her and caught her eyes with that glint she could never have forgotten (though she had forgotten how it made her heart feel), and he smiled and she laughed again, the sound erupting from her, something that she hadn't heard in weeks.
He steers towards a huge vine, curling its end in the street, and following up the roof of a building. She gripped onto him as they rolled onto it, and Mako reached one hand back and shot out a burst of flame. The vine sizzled and they went higher, over the building, and he bent again, sending them into a flip.
She knew she was weak, but as everything swirled and laughter bubbled and warmth pressed against her, she wouldn't have been able to say how it happened. Her grip failed, and she was weightless. But she was not scared.
The sky opened up its arms, and she was flying again.
She was whole and alive and flying.
Free.
And in the split-second it took for Korra to fall, Mako reached back, grabbed her side, and managed to pull her back onto the motorcycle. They skid to a stop, Mako leapt off, and Korra shook with residual exhilaration.
She had never felt better.
"Are you okay?" he asked loudly, his golden eyes huge, worry stretched across his face.
Her smile faltered. "Are you?"
He was quiet. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, are you?"
"No."
"Mako, come on."
"That was my answer. No." He started pacing, and Korra sank back down, pulled back to earth because she should have known that this was a stupid idea, that she should have stayed on the island, because he was so uncomfortable being around her still and they hadn't been alone in so, so long, and she felt him tense up, and she didn't want him to feel like-
"I can't tell you how hard it is to see you now." The reasonings came to her lips, but he continued before she could say anything. "It's hard for everyone." She looked at him now, and he didn't look away this time. "But at least everyone else knows how to help. Asami is going to be so mad when she finds out what happened."
"Mako..."
"Oh, and Beifong, don't even get me started on Beifong."
Korra grabbed his wrist, but he shook her off. "Mako, stop."
"You could have gotten hurt. I shouldn't have done that."
"No, that's why I wanted you to take me."
"I could have hurt you, though."
"Like you've never done that before." His eyes flashed; he did not appreciate her joke. "But Mako... that's why I wanted it to be you." He stopped pacing. "You didn't ask me if I could hold on, you just assumed. You didn't ask me if I wanted to go faster, you just knew."
He was quiet, hand on his hip as he stared at the pavement. And she felt a strength from within, burning, burning.
"I know... I know I'm not the same." It hurt coming out of her, but it hurt worse watching his wince. "I know that. But you don't look at me like everybody else. You don't look at me like I'm this fragile thing."
"But-"
She felt it rising up. Smoky kisses, crushing embraces, the sky holding her like a child. A tingling of a smile, her wings outstretched. "You believed in me. You always have."
He glanced at her as she turned. And he looked at her as she pressed her feet on the ground. And he stared at her as she stood.
"Korra!"
Her legs shook and she stumbled forward, but he caught her. Her face pressed into his chest and he held her. He held her close. The city was dark, and she knew that everyone would be worried, but she let him hold her up. She breathed him in and tightened their embrace as much as she could.
"Thank you," she mumbled.
"For what?"
"For letting me fly."