Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeeeeeep. Beep. Beep.
Her heart would stop every time he let go of her hand. Every time he thought she was ok, he would try to let her go, but every time he did, she seemed to be dead. And now the case was literal.
You're such a fucking idiot Mako. You knew better.
He was beating himself up over everything. It was all his fault he thought.
"Hey cool guy!", she said cheerfully coming into the room of their apartment.
She was greeted by a hey from Bolin, and a kiss on the cheek from her fire bending boyfriend.
"So what's the special celebration for today?", she asked him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Well, I dunno about you two, but I'm going to go out and celebrate my first day off in weeks! See ya!", Bolin said as he headed out the door.
"Uhh….bye?", Korra said awkwardly.
Mako could only chuckle at her reaction.
"We're celebrating Bolin's day off?", she asked him.
"Heh, nope. We're celebrating something far more special.", he said as he wrapped his hands around her waist.
"Oh really?"m she asked as she raised her eyebrow.
A smirk grew on his face as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck and kissed her ear lobe. "Happy anniversary.", he whispered.
A grin grew on her face. She ran her hand through his pure black hair. "You dork. You got us the day alone together?", she asked.
"Yeah, and I have a whole bunch of plans for us. Only the best for the Avatar.", he said smiling at her.
"Really? Cause now I have my own plans for you Mr. Hat Trick.", she said mischievously as a seductive smirk grew on her face.
"Haven't you heard of save the best for last?", he asked.
"Have you ever known me to be patient?", she said as she pressed her lips to his throat.
"Can you just trust me this time? Believe me, you might rethink what's better after today.", he said as he played with her wolf tails.
Well that was odd. Normally whenever Korra played that card, Mako would go right along with it.
"Oh…alright. Where you taking me captain expedition?", she asked.
"I tried to find a place that was as beautiful as you."
"Shut up you big dork."
"Well, I found something close."
He squeezed her hand tighter. He forgot how long he was waiting for her to open her blue eyes. He hated seeing her like this. Battered, bruised, vulnerable, broken. This wasn't Korra. He wanted Korra back.
"Ok, you've taken me to a fancy dinner, you danced with me on the pier, and you showed me a carving of our initials in a tree. Not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that this last thing better top what I have planned-no pun intended.", she said as he drove through the city.
The lights of buildings and street lamps lit up the road as he drove the small sato mobile Asami had given Korra for her 20th birthday. Asami thought she could have done better, but by the gleam on Korra's face when she first saw it, she knew it was more than enough.
"I promise, this is the last thing, and then I'm all yours.", he said with a chuckle.
"You've always been mine.", she said.
He placed his hand on her knee. "I know.", he said.
The cool summer air hit the both of their faces. The car hood was down most of the time because Korra just loved to look up at the stars. And sometimes, Mako would just pull over and let her stare all she wanted to.
But he was determined to get where he needed to be tonight. The pro bending arena. Where he first met her. Yes, it was stupid and corny, but he wanted her to remember the place for something just as wonderful.
She noticed the speed of the car pick up when they turned a corner. Her eyes went from his hand still on her knee, to his feet at the pedals. Then, something else caught her eye.
She saw a dash of blue on his pants, and looked to it. Falling out of his pocket, was a blue choker, and something was engraved on it. She could barely make out the words. But when she squinted, she saw what the blue stone read:
I'll always love you Korra.
Her heart skipped a beat. She knew what that was. She knew why he had treated her to everything tonight. She knew where he was going, and what he was going to do.
"Yes.", she said breathlessly.
"Yes what?", he turned to her with a confused look.
"I'll marry you."
His eyes grew wide. How did she find out. He looked down at his seat. Damn it, the necklace was peeking out, and she wasn't an idiot. Honestly, he thought she might have figured it out sooner.
But his thought was soon distracted, by the sound of her screaming his name, and the pressure of the car hitting the lamp post.
You fucking idiot. You always kept saying eyes on the road to her, and yet when you don't….
Tears poured down his face as he looked at her. He can still remember waking up, finding her in the street, scratches everywhere, him covering her wounds and blood with his scarf, and he remembers seeing the blue choker right next to her hand.
He reached for it from his pocket, and tied it around her neck, quickly, so he could go back to her hand.
"I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I hate having to say that to you so many times. I keep hurting you. And I thought I could make up for it. I thought I could fill you up with so much happiness that not even Vaatu could do anything to you.", he said.
He kissed her knuckles as he wept softly.
"I never thought I would have the chance to meet you. Let alone fall in love with you. When I was kid, I used to see news articles about you when my dad read the paper in the morning. I remember when they announced they discovered you. I thought you were….really pretty in your photo. My dad made fun of me for it, and told me I'd find a gal. It was my parents anniversary that day."
He noticed they didn't even bother to let her hair down. He pulled out her wolf tails, and let her brown hair flow to her shoulders. She was so beautiful, even when she was like this.
"I remember when Bolin asked me if you were my girlfriend when he saw the way I looked at your photo. I stuck my tongue out at him. He had it coming. I hated it when he did that. Well…now I'm proud of it. I'm glad to have you with me. More than glad."
"I've actually wanted to marry you for a long time. But I had to wait til the time was right. I guess I screwed up there too huh?"
He laughed at himself. But even laughter couldn't bring up his mood.
"You said you didn't like the water tribe traditions, but you didn't want a ring because you thought it might melt with your fire bending. The only reason I found out was because Asami told me. I'm surprised she didn't tell you about all this."
"Look, I just…I think you're the most incredible person in this world. I wouldn't trade you for anything. You're worth far more than any house or food I could have asked for when I was on the streets. And I've almost lost you too many times before. Please just…."
He couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears poured out of his eyes like rain from the dark skys outside. His hand gripped hers tighter, as his face fell into her lap.
"Please don't be gone this time. I love you so so so much. I can't even explain it. Please…please come back to me Kor.", he said as he wept.
She tried to open her eyes, but the pain soon filled her nerves, and she scrunched them tight. She soon felt something though, that wasn't pain. Her hand, was being squeezed, and she felt something wet through her sheets. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw someone in her lap. His black hair, and red scarf gave him away. But why was he sad? Was he crying? Why?
Confused by his emotions, she loosened her hand from his gripped. Once it was free, she saw him tense. Then, her hand went to brush through his black hair, rubbing his scalp.
Without a second to spare, he grabbed her hand again, and lifted his head. He looked straight at her with his amber eyes, now red from his tears.
She was about to say something, but was cut off by Mako's mouth as it crashed into her's. He had to taste every part of her mouth, he had to know she was alive. As his tongue explored her, her arms entertained around his neck, and his hands went from her face, to pulling her close around her waste.
After being breathless, he pulled away. But something struck her. His mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. She brought her hand to his mouth, then to hers, then to her ears.
"What's wrong?", he asked nervously.
"I…I-I can't hear you."
His jaw dropped, but then closed. This was his punishment for all he did to her. This wasn't meant for her, it was for him. Because now she wouldn't have to hear his apologies anymore.