Title: Before The Bell
Word Count: 1,252
Summary: [Korra is late for a match. Mako helps her out. | Mako. Korra. Fluff-ish.]
be-the-peaf · Prompt 029 – time
-.-
Mako leans against the rail of the player's box, listening to the roar and swell of the crowd. The arena is warm; even with the pool of water surrounding the ring it is stifling with heat from the chatter and hot, airy breaths of a thousand citizens and souls all waiting in quiet anticipation for the night's match to begin. Mako's skin sweats, his uniform sticking to his limbs and chest and he watches as the maintenance workers climb the edges of the dome to open some of the lower windows to regulate the rising heat that is choking the air.
He pulls his collar a few times, letting the sweltering air escape from beneath the padded layers of his uniform and brings his gaze to the box, checking the clock on the wall farthest from him. The match would be starting in a few minutes and the Fire Ferrets were first in line to face off against the Ember Island Eel Hounds; a seasoned team who were as slippery and vicious as their name implied. Their waterbender was known for being sneaky with slick torrents of water and the earth and firebender were heavy and unrelenting with bursts of rock and flame. The Ferrets would have to stay focused and on their toes if they wanted to survive all three rounds but with the time the three of them put in the gym over the last few weeks Mako was sure they had what it took to win.
Outside the ring, he thinks, was a different story.
Korra was currently "missing-in-action" and had failed to show up for match so far. Her uniform hung in the locker, having been placed there by him when he and Bolin came down a half-hour ago to go over the game plan for the night. The minutes ticked by and the crowd filled the stands; there was still no sign of her. Mako folds his arms over his chest as he eyes the door, waiting for their waterbender to show up – he hopes this won't be like what happened with Hasook-
-and the door swings open in a wave of cool air as she comes tumbling in, tripping over her own feet on arrival, panting and sweating from the rush to the box. She leans over herself, taking a few deep breaths before craning her neck to meet him across the room.
"I'm here!" she says, finally catching her breath and Mako is off the rail in an instant, marching over to her with a fury building behind his steps.
"Where have you been?!" he shouts, his voice snapping hard as his hands wave to the clock. "The match starts in five minutes!"
"I know, I know!" she says, raising a hand and slipping past him to get to the locker. "Look, I'm running a little late. I'll get dressed and we can head out when the bell rings."
Korra opens the locker, pulling out the red uniform and kicking her boots into the corner before Mako can say another word. He watches her for a second, slowly sitting back to rest on the table by the wall, turning his eyes toward the door as she removes the rest her clothes. He closes his eyes as he waits, still sweating and managing the heat. The air around them is cooling slowly and Mako focuses on the sounds outside the small open room, pushing the warmth and his anger from of his mind. He breathes through his nostrils and the chatter of the stands above fill his ears. Korra rustles her clothes beside him and Shinobi's voice calls out from the speakers in a low, muffled tone as he prepares the city for the match. Mako drums his fingers on the wood once, a light tap on the cool surface as Korra shakes and shifts her pants up and pulls the breast-coat on; the padded material sliding on the fabric of the undershirt and her fingers as she finds the sash in the locker it to tie it in place.
"Where's Bolin?" she asks, glancing at him and fastening the blue knot tight around her waist. Mako sniffs, rubbing his nose to rid an itch that had festered on his skin.
"He's stalling the ref." he says, tucking his hand beneath his elbow and scanning the tiled floor. He tilts his jaw toward her, fixing his eyes along the ground and a wave of heat flashes across his face. Korra crouches on the ground, tying the shin-pads to her leg. "We were waiting a while for you to show up, you know."
"It won't happen again."
Mako grunts in response, not in the mood to talk. His mind was boiling, simmering on the same problem again and again. It was bad enough this happened with Hasook once before; they couldn't have it start up again with her. He would have to set some rules later, but it wasn't the time for that. Mako blinks and breathes, looking to the clock for a third time that night.
Three minutes to go.
They should have been ready by now.
"Monkeyfeathers…" Korra mutters.
Mako glances to the side to see her fumbling around with the arm-brace, failing to get the strap on tight. She's rushing through this and the nerves are messing her up. Mako gets off the table and Korra's eyes shoot at him for a second before going back to the strap, attempting to slip it through the buckle before he can say anything against her.
"I'm going as fast as I-"
-he takes hold of her hand, pulling it aside and taking the strap between his fingers, weaving the thin harness through the buckle and tightening it onto her arm. Korra watches him in silence, waiting for some kind of explanation to come. His eyes slant up and they meet; her blue eyes intense, seeping into his and he holds the connection for a moment before bringing them down to go back to his work.
"You're too slow." He states, pointing to the other brace in the locker and she hands it to him, stretching her other arm out as he slips it over her hand, tying the straps in place with a few sharp movements.
"That should do it." He says, stepping away. "Now get the rest on."
Korra nods, pulling on the braces. "Righ-"
The door opens.
Mako turns, his eyes narrowing on the referee as he walks into the box. Bolin trails behind him, his face filled with worried as he leans down to talk with the older man.
"She'll be here, I promise!"
Mako clears his throat.
"Bolin. Ref."
The referee turns to him. "Captain, if you don't have all your players by the time-"
"Excuse me." Korra calls, getting the ref's attention as she peeks out from behind Mako's shoulder. The ref gets one look at Korra and his words are caught in his throat and he stammers, averting his eyes and looking back at Mako.
"Well," he coughs. "It looks like everything is in order here. Be ready when the bell rings."
"We will." Mako says, crossing his arms as the ref closes the door and Mako turns back around to Korra as she reaches into the locker for her helmet.
"You ready?" he asks, walking to the platform that would take them to the ring. Korra straps her helmet on, synching the clip to her chin.
"Yeah." She says. "Let's do it."
Mako nods, and looks to the crowd.
:Fin:
Tried a different approach to writing this one using more description and such, not sure if it's any good, but I like how this turn out. ;)