Notes: okay, so my head canon age for Mako is eighteen until further notice. NO QUESTIONS ASKED :D
Clouds
Five
"That one looks like a giant platypus-bear!" Mako proclaimed loudly, pointing at the enormous fluffy cloud in the sky. His father looked up from the shingles he was hammering; craning his neck up to try and figure out what exactly it was that Mako was looking at. He cocked his head to the side and grinned as the cloud continued to look like nothing more than a white puff to him.
"I don't know, son," He said fondly, turning back to the roofing "How do you know what a platypus bear looks like?"
Mako pouted, all of a sudden getting defensive.
"I know plenty," he whined, digging at a shingle with his toe. He got a warning glance from his father and immediately stopped, knowing he could very easily end up with his mother down at the power plant if he misbehaved at all. And the power plant was hot and stuffy and no fun at all.
His little brother, seated as close to the edge of the high roof as his father would let him (which was pretty far back) pointed up to the sky as well, his eyes settling on a cloud closer to the horizon.
"And that one looks like a fire ferret!"
Mako looked over. All he saw was a long, thin wisp of a cloud.
"Ya, sure Bo. I see the ferret."
Seven
Mako's mother was patient with him when she first tried to teach him about firebending
"Like this, sweetie" she said after his fifth attempt at firebending and nothing produced. He crossed his arms and frowned at her as she fell into a solid, wide-footed stance, breathed in deeply, and struck forward. Curls of brilliant flame burst from her fist, very nearly singing a nearby park tree. A couple that was lounging under it cried out in complaint, and Mako's mother yelled out an apology. They left in an outraged huff.
When his mother turned to him expectantly, Mako did his best to copy her stance, and she came over to adjust him where she saw mistakes. When she gave him the good-to-go, he took a deep breath and punched.
A measly cloud of smoke came from his knuckles.
His mother had laughed, assuring him that the smoke was a good sign, and that he'd be an even better firebender then her one day. As they had headed home for dinner, she promised they'd try again in the morning.
Bolin and his father had had better luck with their bending, it seemed, as they were both covered in a thick layer of dirt and grinning broadly by the time the firebenders arrived home.
Eight
As the wisps and clouds of smoke rose from their bodies, Mako knew they weren't ever coming back.
Ten
Mako and Bolin crouched, peaking out of the alleyway and into the bustling crowd of people that churned like boiling water through the market that Sunday. A mouth-watering scent drifted towards them from a nearby stand selling meat-on-a-stick, and Bolin groaned, clutching his stomach painfully as he stared at the warm food.
Mako, on the other hand, was looking at the stall next to the meat stand, which held giant sacks of colourful spices.
He turned to his little brother.
"How's your earthbending?"
A minute later there was a loud crash as something made the spice stall buck and the sacks of colourful powders crash to the ground, heavy clouds of it exploding up into the air. People cried out in alarm as it engulfed several stands, one even screamed as he got some ground chili pepper in his eyes, and in all the panic no one even noticed the two boys running from the scene with cloth over their faces and huge armfuls of meat-on-a-stick, the sticky sauce covered in a colourful layer of spice.
Twelve
When one morning Mako woke to find Bolin shivering violently, his eyes clouded over with fever, he panicked and tried to run for help. Ironically, the only one to answer him was a bunch of criminals, some Triple Triads. But he'd owe them afterwards.
Mako didn't care. As long as Bolin didn't die, he was willing to do anything.
Fourteen
"Hey Mako, how much does a cloud weigh?"
Mako didn't even open his eyes to look at Bolin. He was enjoying the feeling of the sun on the back of his eyelids too much. He'd been working days and nights for the Triads recently, and Lightning Bolt Zolt had given him the day off today, provided that he was willing to work until dawn that night. Mako had been looking forward to catching up on some sleep, but it seemed that Bolin didn't understand his need for rest.
"I don't know. Not a lot, I guess. They have to float, after all." Mako answered tiredly
Bolin looked back up at the sky, still curious.
"But Shin says that the rain's in the clouds. And it seems like a lot of it comes down during storms and stuff. Isn't water heavy? I bet that cloud weighs more than all the water in the turtle duck pond at the park!"
Mako cracked an eye open and looked at his brother, who was still staring at the largest cloud in the sky in wonder. Bolin was fairly innocent and naïve, something that Mako worked hard to maintain, but he was still a pretty smart kid. Really, it was a shame he couldn't go to school. Mako imagined that Bolin would have been able to go far in life.
But still…
"Don't talk to Shady Shin too much, Bo." He said, closing his eye again, "I don't want you getting too tangled up in this Triad stuff."
Bolin pouted at his brother, then again looked up at the clouds.
Fifteen
The teenagers didn't harass them long. All it took was a few blasts of fire and a few bricks shot in their direction and they were running, a cloud of dust kicking up behind their heels.
But the man that was impressed by their fighting stuck around a bit longer. His name was Toza.
Seventeen
"MORE POWER!" Toza yelled, the tendons in his neck straining and spittle flying from his mouth, "YOU THINK YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HIT ANYONE OFF A RING WITH THAT WEAK HIT!"
Bolin shot a terrified look towards Mako before trying again to please the terrifying former probending player. His power was definitely better; that much could be seen as soon as he punched forward, but in his hurry his aim was completely off. The disk missed the net altogether and exploded into a cloud of clay dust on the wall behind it. Bolin and Mako both winced when Toza got started on how Bolin wouldn't get anywhere in life if he couldn't hit a target that big and that was freaking RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.
Mako bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. Life was finally starting to look up for them.
Eighteen
The explosion was exactly what he'd needed. The steam burst from the pipes in burning hot clouds, and people began to scream and scramble, trying to get away from what they probably perceived as an attack. As the clouds curved and flooded the stage in an unnatural pattern, the panic doubled. A small part of Mako knew that this wouldn't make any of these people hate benders less, but he wasn't concerned about that. He was more concerned for his brother.
He sprinted strait into the steam, becoming soaked in a second as it clung to his hair and clothing. He blinked the moisture from his eyes, not looking away from where he'd seen Bolin a moment before. He had to get there before any Equalists. He had to.
When he cut through the clouds of steam enough to catch sight of his brother, there was already an Equalist on him. He barely paused as he grabbed the masked man's wrist and flung him away from them, the body disappearing back into the steam. Mako barely heard Bolin half-shouting his relief to see him before grabbing his hand and sprinting for the back door.
They were going to be okay.
…
Mako hated the fact that his eyes were clouding with tears in front of Korra. A breath of pain hissed through his teeth as she slid her ice-covered hand over the burn, running it up his bicep and over his shoulder. The sting made his eyes prickle without his consent
"I'm sorry!" Korra immediately said, jerking her hand away from his injury, "I told you, I'm a terrible healer!"
Mako shook his head, not opening his eyes.
"It doesn't matter. Even you're help is better than leaving it alone."
"Then why don't you just come with me back to the island and let them—"
"NO!" Mako snapped immediately, opening his eyes to glare at her, "I'm not taking any services from them that I can't repay! I already told you that." Korra glared at him, gently placing her iced hand over the burn again. He pressed his lips together to keep from yelling out.
"The Air Acolytes are monks, Mako. Charity without repayment is kind of what they do," she looked as if she were about to continue her argument, but something made her stop short. Korra leaned in closer to his face, staring in shock, "Wait… are those tears? Are you crying Mako?"
Mako immediately wiped at his face with his good arm.
"Of course not!" he argued. She pulled his arm away with a chilly hand and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay, that's it; I'm dragging your ass to Air Temple Island right now."
…
There were so many reasons he shouldn't be doing it. His brother liked Korra, this would complicate their performance in the probending arena, Asami. It wasn't fair for anyone.
And yet when she slammed her lips into his, as straightforward as she always was, his mind clouded and he couldn't find it in his heart to care.