Author's Note: Since this is a songfic, you might want to give this great song by Motion City Soundtrack a listen before (or during) reading. Thanks!
watch?v=0iB8FPrauFw
Tell me that you're alright
Yeah everything is alright.
Oh please tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
Give me a reason to end this discussion,
To break with tradition, to fall and divide.
'Cause I hate the ocean, theme parks and airplanes,
Talking with strangers, waiting in line.
I'm through with these pills that make me sit still.
Are you feeling fine?
Yes, I feel just fine.
Tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
Oh please tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
I'm sick of the things I do when I'm nervous
Like cleaning the oven or checking my tires
Or counting the number of tiles in the ceiling.
Head for the hills, the kitchen's on fire!
I used to rely on self-medication.
I guess I still do that from time to time.
But I'm getting better at fighting the future.
Someday you'll be fine.
Yes, I'll be just fine.
Tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
Oh please tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
Give me a reason
(I don't believe a word)
To end this discussion
(Of anything I heard)
To break with tradition
(They tell me that it's not so hard)
To fall and divide
(It's not so hard)
So let's not get carried
(Away with everything)
Away with the process
(From Here to in-between)
Of elimination
(The long Goodbyes)
I don't want to waste your time.
Tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
Oh please tell me that you're alright.
Yeah everything is alright.
(Alright)
Tell me that you're alright.
(Hi, everything's great)
Yeah everything is alright.
(Hey, everything's fine)
Oh please tell me that you're alright.
(Hey, everything's great)
Yeah everything is alright.
Hey, everything's fine.
Then
"Careful. One wrong move and it'll go from soufflé to pudding." Pema warned Mako gently as he eased the porcelain dish out of the oven.
"Why'd I have to pick the most difficult thing to make?" Mako muttered to himself. Pema chuckled and, hearing her children rough-housing nearby, left the kitchen for him to continue slaving away alone. He knew why he was currently dripping sweat in concentration over a temperamental meal: he liked a challenge. How else could he have found himself dating the Avatar?
And here he was, on Valentine's Day, grilling steaks and baking potatoes and coaxing a soufflé into existence. Hoping she'd come home on time, which she seemed to do less and less lately. Or maybe she'd never done it, and he was just beginning to notice.
"MAKO MAKO MAKO" Meelo came whooshing into the room, "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!"
Mako winced as his pet project noticeably sank. "What's up, little guy?" He whispered, intending for Meelo to match his hushed volume, pointedly glancing at the soufflé. But a 5 year old rarely picks up on nuances.
He paused for dramatic effect, blew the biggest snot bubble Mako had ever seen, and began whirling it expertly around the room, laughing as he did so.
"Meelo!" Pema called sharply from the other room. "Mako's working in there!"
"Everything's alright!" Mako stuck his head out of the kitchen to let her know. He turned back to the soufflé and sighed. Pema had been right. Pudding. "Everything's alright." he said again, this time to himself, and turned his head upward to anxiously count the ceiling tiles. He had about an hour till Korra came home. He'd have time to make things right again.
Now
"Wow. The Spirit World?"
"Yeah."
"With… Asami?" He gulped.
"Yeah." Korra nodded and looked away. He couldn't translate her blush.
"Right now? I- well, good. I mean I'm happy for you, Korra." Mako laughed. They were both quiet for a moment, thinking of everything they'd just made it through. "You definitely do deserve a break."
"I don't know… Saving the world, again? Kind of old hat for me now."
"Nobody does it better than you, that's for sure. When are you planning on leaving?"
"A couple days, tops."
Mako and Korra sat side by side on Air Temple Island, watching the waves roll over the shore. Naga growled nearby, giving in to the teasing of a couple grazing flying bison. His thoughts shifted to what was surely a past life, to that Valentine's day when he'd been confident that they were limitless. Things were right between them now, if not in the way he'd hoped years ago. That nagging electricity when he was near her probably should have gone away, though. He felt her shoulders, almost touching his, could hear the soft sound of her measured breathing. It hadn't.
"Wow," he said again, and immediately felt stupid for saying it. "That's soon. I thought we'd have more time."
She took a long, hard look at him, almost imperceptibly raising her eyebrow at that "we."
"I mean, Bolin will probably be pretty disappointed." Mako added quickly.
"Yeah…" Korra laughed awkwardly. Her hand shot up to the back of her neck. "...I mayyyyyybe already told him?"
"Oh." Mako's face reddened.
"Sorry, Mako."
"So I'm the last to know, then."
"You're the hardest to tell." She said softly, putting her hand to his face. He drew away, not wanting her touch to sting him as he absorbed all the new information. He tried hard not to think about how dramatic a shift this was.
Korra stood up to sit on the other side of him, searching his face for- what? A plea to stay? Or a blessing for going? Her hand hovered anxiously above him, wanting to touch him, but also knowing better than to transgress that physical boundary again.
"Please tell me that you're alright."
Then
"Yes, I feel just fine."
Korra came home a little after 9pm. Mako had counted a total of 94 tiles on the kitchen ceiling. Several times. The candles on the table had burned low, the steaks were cold.
"You look a little tired. Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Korra quietly closed the front door, took off her boots and flopped onto Naga, eyeing him askance as she did so.
"I had a long day." Mako said quietly. He wondered if she could see the steam rising from his body. He felt like a bomb waiting to go off, but he was powerless to just be straightforward with Korra. That was always the game they seemed to be playing- one was always the bomb, the other always had the detonator.
"Me too," she said, trying to make amiable conversation with the komodo dragon of a boyfriend. "Those council meetings… God, every minute I am thrilled with each twist and turn."
When Korra paused to give Mako a chance to joke back, he only laughed halfheartedly.
"So why was it a long day for you, city boy?"
Mako saw Korra pat the patch of floor next to her where he too could lean against Naga, but he pretended not to have noticed. In better moods, he loved when she did that. Invited him into her personal space, with the warmth of Naga at his back and the heat of Korra at his side. It felt like an honor and like he belonged there all at once. But right now, it was an insult.
"I was cooking," he replied, tersely.
"Maybe I should start calling you housewife!" She laughed, abruptly throwing her head back onto Naga who woke up with a snort.
This time he didn't respond at all, and retreated into the kitchen. The detonator had been activated.
"Hey, I was only kidding. You sure you're alright?"
"Everything's great." Mako made no effort to stem the venomous sarcasm.
Korra held her hands up. She meant it defensively, but Korra always looked like a fighter. She wasn't exactly capable of admitting defeat. "Woah. What's wrong? I just got home, and you're mad at me already?"
"Do you even remember what day it is?"
She'd been glaring at Mako, but now she took a moment to look around the room and absorb the scene: the burned-out candles, the shrunken soufflé, the cold steaks and potatoes.
"Oh, shit."
"Yeah." He'd been waiting all day for this. It felt good to be angry. And he knew the Avatar would not disappoint him. Korra, supposed to bring balance? Yeah, right.
"Valentine's Day." Shaking her head, she took a step forward. Mako took one step back to match, knowing full well the scene probably looked like a ridiculous angry tango. "I'm sorry. I've been so busy these days with everything going on in Republic City-"
"That you forgot your boyfriend. Totally understandable."
"You're serious? We're doing this right now?" She did look tired. But Mako was hard and not exactly accustomed to mercy.
"I guess we are." He pulled a dish towel off the counter and began scrubbing at the pots and pans in the sink. "I see you so rarely anymore, I don't know the next time we'll get a chance."
"That's not fair, and you know it. Do you think I like this, going off to these stupid meetings?" Korra grabbed another towel, not to be outdone, and began furiously drying the dishes Mako washed, slamming them on the counter afterward. "Doing the whole Avatar thing is-"
"Oh, LORD, please not that again."
"Excuse me?"
"You love it. You love complaining about your Avatar 'saving the world' responsibilities and if I have to hear you gripe one more time-"
"So just because you feel useless I have to sit at home and mope around with you?"
Mako threw his towel behind him, not caring where it landed. "I wouldn't mope if you were here, Korra. Why is that so difficult for you to understand? I made this dinner for you. I was excited to celebrate Valentine's Day with you, because it's our first one and-"
"Mako-"
"-and because you're important to me-"
"Mako."
"LET ME FINISH! But I don't feel like you care about me at all. Do you know how awful that is?"
"Mako, I'm sorry, but-"
"NO. You always have an excuse or an explanation. Not this time. I-" Mako paused for a moment. Korra was watching him with a pained expression on her face. He wondered if a firebender could spontaneously combust if he were angry enough, because he smelled something burning…
"Mako, GET OUT OF THE WAY!"
He whirled around in time to see that he'd thrown the dish towel directly onto the stove, which he'd of course forgotten to turn off. The cloth towel was burning merrily, and the flame had jumped to the curtain hanging above it.
Out of the corner of his vision, Mako saw Korra fling a long strand of water toward the oven. Suddenly, he was soaked.
Even more abruptly, he was pulled into strong arms. He could smell her, that earthy, not-quite-floral scent about her. He breathed it in deeply, and as he did the heat of his anger changed its temperature. This time Mako wasn't imagining the steam coming off his skin.
"I'm sorry, Mako." Korra murmured in his ear, still holding him so tightly that it was becoming a problem to think rationally. "You deserve better. I'll be better. I can heat up the dinner you made and we can still eat it if you want. I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow."
He wanted her to make it up to him tonight. Right now. What had they been fighting about again?
"I'm not hungry anymore," he said.
He kissed her neck, because his mouth was right there against her anyway, testing the waters. The waters were good. She exhaled sharply as he worked his way up to her jawline.
Korra's hands slid decidedly downward. "That's a shame. I'd hate for all that food to go to waste when you worked so hard."
"Oh, shit." He sucked in air and tried to press his lips to hers, but she pulled her head back and grinned, taunting him.
"If only there was some way we could work up your appetite…"
Mako wasn't sure who carried who to the bedroom.
Now
When Mako awoke, it wasn't to the warm rays of daylight, or the smell of pancakes wafting, or the pleasant, distant laughter of Tenzin's children. Mako awoke to the sensation of something hot, wet, and sandpapery rolling up his cheek. It was a very jarring sensation, considering the dream he'd been having.
"... Naga?"
"Sorry about that, city boy." He could see Korra's dark blue eyes smirk as the candle she brought flickered. "Didn't want to wake you just yet."
"So, you were watching me sleep."
"You looked like you were having a pretty good dream."
He glanced down at the covers, holding a newfound appreciation for their considerable fluff.
"I was." Thick blankets or no, he still colored in embarrassment.
"What about?"
Mako glanced at her sharply, but she was too preoccupied for teasing. Her body language was tense, apprehensive. She was only making conversation to more easily segue into why she'd come, and in the middle of the night no less.
"Soufflé," he offered with a shrug and sat up.
Korra sat down on the bed, the lines of her profile sharpened in the dim light. "I wasn't sure if I was going to wake you up. I thought I might not. But then Naga here had to give me away." She ruffled the polar bear dog's fur affectionately. Naga whined and rolled over, so Korra scratched her belly with her feet.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hm? No, no." She absently continued rubbing Naga. "We're leaving, Asami and I. In the morning. Early."
"Oh." He'd have to get used to that, the way Korra said their names together in a sentence. On second thought, no he wouldn't. Korra was leaving. That's what he would have to get used to.
"I didn't want to leave without…" She shrugged her shoulders, then laughed softly. "I don't know."
"Saying goodbye?" He offered.
He watched her fidgeting, and thought about running his hand down her back to calm her like he used to do, then thought better of it.
"I don't know if you ever think about us, back in the day. I do," Korra said.
Mako, not wanting to give himself away, didn't reply.
"We were kids, right?" She continued, as if she hadn't wanted an answer, "All I ever did back then was fight the future. And now… I don't do that anymore. Now it's something I feel ready for."
"You mean, with Asami." Mako was ready to pull away. A little bitterness crept into his voice.
"I just mean with myself." She said evenly, looking at him. Then a shadow of what he wanted to interpret as regret crossed her face. "I didn't want to leave things how we did earlier. I'm sorry. I don't want to waste your time."
"Korra, I could accuse you of a lot of things." He took her hand. "Wasting my time has never been one of them."
She turned to face him, scooted a little closer on the bed. He still held onto her hand. "I guess we don't have any more time to waste now, huh?" She tried to smile. Mako maybe caught a glint of a tear in the corner of her eye, but it was too dark to tell.
"Everything's alright," he said, having no idea why he said it. Maybe it was to comfort her, or it might have been to convince himself.
"Thanks, Mako." She squeezed his hand and looked away again. "Are Avatars even allowed vacations, do you think?"
"I think so. But it's not 'The Avatar' I'm gonna miss."
Korra laughed. The two of them hadn't been this at ease in a while. She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it, her mouth lingering a little longer than appropriate. Then she stood.
Mako told his heart it wasn't allowed to do that, but the electricity ripped through and cracked it anyway.
"Look, I know when I leave this room I won't be able to go to sleep again. I'm guessing you won't, either. But if I don't say goodbye now…" Her voice trailed off, and the silence that lingered in its place was so sad and hopeful all at once.
"I know."
"It's not goodbye, anyway. It's more like, see you later." She said, voice wavering a little when she spoke.
He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't. "Yeah."
"So… See ya later, old Mako old pal." Korra waved her goofy wave.
He'd watched her grow up from stubborn girl to resilient woman, and she'd seen him transform from the boy with a moody temper to a man who was passionate about what mattered most to him- saving his friends, and when it was required of him, the world with those friends. It was why he couldn't get the thought out of his mind: that maybe he wasn't okay with just a kiss on the hand and a hurried goodbye before dawn.
"See you round, Korra."
He'd watched her grow up. Now, he'd watch her walk away.
Her silhouette was gone. The candle faded down the hallway, but not out of his mind.
Everything was great.
Everything was alright.
Someday, he'd be just fine.
fin