Disclaimer: I have never written Mako or Korra before. I hope they are more in-character than out; I did my best for a first-timer.
Summary: Book 3, post-episode three. Mako gets lost in the giant airship (again) after they leave Ba Sing Se. He and Korra literally run into each other.
This giant airship had too many rooms. He had come to this conclusion when, for the sixth time, he had gotten lost while trying to find the bathroom. He'd eventually ran into Bumi, though, and the sixty-something-year-old airbender-in-training had guided him the right direction. When he'd finished and cleaned up, though, Bumi was nowhere in sight, and to his own dismay, he realized he hadn't paid any attention to the turns they'd made just to reach the closest mens' toilets.
Mako leaned back against the wall in the hallway and, grumbling, slid down to settle on the floor, pulling his knees up towards his chest.
"At the very least, you got the most urgent order of business out of the way!" he said in his best mocking-Bolin impersonation. He blew out a puff of air, wishing his little brother were here right now. But he wasn't, and that made the prospect of trying to find his way back to the main area of the airship much less of an adventure, and more of dreaded journey through more and more of the same.
He needed to tell Asami sometime when she wasn't with Korra (as if that would ever happen; they always seemed to be glued to each other's sides now) that some decorating needed to get done around the place, so at least he'd have some place markers to go by in the halls. Maybe that way, he wouldn't lose his way so easily.
That was a conversation for the future, like so many others he had stockpiled in his head recently. Presently, he resigned himself to wandering the halls until he knew he'd eventually get back to where he'd started. It was in these aimless wanderings, though, that he wound up daydreaming, staring idly in the direction of the geometrical patterns of the carpeting... and was either ran into by the Avatar, or vice-versa.
He let out a yelp of surprise and sharp pain as he fell onto his backside, head spinning while his vision righted itself. He heard a distinctive, familiar voice that made his heart jump and then falter, then quicken its rate to a steady pace, just a degree higher than normal.
Korra.
Her face swam clearly into view once he blinked several more times, all while trying to right himself. He saw her stick a hand out, but he shook his head, muttering, "I got it, I got it..."
"All right there, Cool Guy?" she asked as he got up to his feet, still leaning on the wall for some support. He rubbed at his lower backside and took his first good, clear look at her.
She was beautiful, and he wished he hadn't. Taken a look at her, that is. He cleared his throat a bit too loudly and nodded, glancing away from her for a moment, "Y-yeah, doing all right. I mean, my, uh, back hurts... some. But I've been dealt worse." He looked back at her grinned, but he knew it was at least halfway pained.
He couldn't disguise his feelings for anything, and it was in this moment that he was truly envious of Bolin. Even if his acting had been the half-assed and over-the-top "Nuktuk" as well as his stint with the mustache while trying to recruit new airbenders, it was better than Mako's complete lack of acting prowess.
Not to his surprise, Korra wasn't buying this. She pursed her lips and said, "Sure, sure. I know you've been dealt worse, Tough Guy. But you know, I'm sorry, and I..." she paused and bent some water out of a pouch she had strapped to the side of her waist, "I am a waterbender. I'm not nearly as good as Kya with healing, but she's not here, so I'm all you got. I can try and lessen the pain."
Mako had to suppress a wry laugh. Lessen the pain? She was the cau - no. He was the cause of his own pain... minus the physical damage Korra had just accidentally inflicted on him. Korra wasn't doing anything to him but trying to talk and get along like friends. He just didn't know how to handle his own damn feelings. He knew this, yet he still couldn't fess up to it and then try and get a grip on them.
"Spirits, I'm such a mess," he mistakenly said out loud, wishing he could stuff the words back down his throat and choke himself with them the moment he realized Korra had heard. But she wasn't looking at him oddly; she was just frowning a bit.
"I'm sorry. I was the one who ran into you, so I really should at least try to undo some of that mess your back's in now." She looked up at him in wordless questioning; she wants permission, he realized. He swallowed and winced at another sharp stab of pain from his back. It had dulled somewhat by now, but he knew...
"Yeah, I guess... yeah. You can work on it some if you want. Where should we go?"
Korra smiled and jabbed a thumb back somewhere behind her. "I passed a healing room on my way to find Tenzin in his quarters. We can go there; saw a bed there, too!" She looked him over again, though, and her smile partially faded. "You need some help getting there?"
"I'm not that weak, Korra." But he noticed he was still leaned up against the wall by his side, and made to move away from it; but, spirits, had the Avatar run headlong into him, and she was packed with muscle compared to him. He groaned as he pushed himself away from the wall; his legs mostly feeling fine, but...
"Whoa, steady there now," he heard Korra say, and suddenly felt her around him, supporting him, side-by-side. He felt his cheeks coloring, the warmth more present on them due to being a firebender.
"You pack... quite a punch, Avatar," he said, but his use of her formal title was said in good jest this time around. She really was amazing, putting aside whatever business she had with Tenzin to take care of him. He gave her a small smile and let her guide him into the healing room where she helped him settle on his stomach on one of the beds.
She cleared her throat and said, "Er, I'm gonna need to lift the back hem of your shirt up to start the healing process." Mako shut his eyes for a moment, wishing there was no awkwardness to this... but, what could he - what could they do about it? Maybe it was for the best. Maybe... but he couldn't let himself be hopeful. Not right now. Not when Korra's life was at stake, yet again. Beifong wouldn't be here if it wasn't this serious of a threat.
He set aside his own conflicted emotions and lazily waved his hand in the air, "Go ahead." It was to their advantage that they couldn't meet each other's eyes, with Mako having to stuff his face into a pillow while Korra went at his back with her two healing hands. And those hands were pretty damn great at what they were doing. Within maybe five minutes tops, she told him he could turn on his side.
"Any better?" she said, her eyes searching his for the truth.
He gave her a small chuckle and smile. "You're not too shabby at this healing hands thing, Korra," and then, softer, "Thank you."