"Where the hell did you go?" Korra laughed as the two fabulous bending brothers sprinted towards the airship.
"There's something you need to know about the airbenders!" Mako panted as he skidded to a stop just short of plowing the avatar over. "We got some info on what's going on." Mako looked over his shoulder in a nervous fit. "Let's get inside. I don't want anyone to hear this," he said as he began shoving Korra in the direction of the airship's ramp.
Korra gave some resistance. "Hold on there, officer. What's going on? What'd you two-" her voice trailed off as she noticed the firebender's bare neck.
"Hold up," Korra said grabbing Mako's shoulders and shoving him into place. Mako flushed and twitched nervously under Korra's grasp. Korra took her finger and ran it along his neckline.
"Where's your scarf?" she quizzed.
Mako stopped dead in his tracks. As time dragged on he felt a tightness in his chest. He tried to swallow and keep his emotions hidden. Korra watched as her beloved firebender turned pale.
"Mako..." Korra said softly, "did something happen to your scarf? Did... did you lose it?"
"No," Mako replied hoarsely. He tried his best but Korra could tell he was struggling. "Look, we'd better head back into the airship," he repeated as he tried once more to shove Korra into the airship. The only difference was this time Mako hardly had the strength to even move himself.
Concerned, Korra softly rubbed Mako's shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. Mako felt himself blush out of control.
"Please tell me what happened," she begged.
"We went to the lower quarters of Ba Sing Se... We didn't mean to but Kai tricked us... and we got stuck on the train… and we couldn't get back 'cause Kai robbed us… and we spent the night… we were just walking around and stuff..." Mako tried.
"And..." Korra beckoned.
Mako turned his head and held his gaze with the avatar's. What was it about those big blue eyes? After all this time and all the crap they'd been through, they still sparkled with life and love. Mako couldn't fight it as he began to relax and his shoulder's slumped.
"I met... I met... my family," he finally replied softly.
Korra's eyes widened. "What? But, I thought you lost..."
"I thought I did too," Mako sighed. "Somehow we ran into my cousin at a fruit stand and then my uncle showed up and actually recognized us. Next thing you know I'm meeting my grandmother and my whole family that I didn't know I had."
"Oh Mako, that's gotta feel so great after all these years!" Korra smiled trying to sound cheerful.
"But they... they didn't know..." Mako felt a tear roll down his cheek as he looked away.
"About your parents?" Korra replied sadly.
"Yeah. You should've seen the look on my grandmother's face. She actually cried."
Korra slumped back and lowered her head. "I'm so sorry, Mako. I can't imagine how hard that was for you."
"Well we had some good times. They fed us, swapped stories about my father and such..." he shrugged as he looked away. "But then my grandmother took Bolin and I into a room and showed us a picture of our family." Mako chuckled softly, "I barely remember taking that picture. Come to think of it, all I remember is my mother's frustration over Bolin not looking at the camera."
He turned back to Korra. "I don't really know what came over me in that moment but I just... I took off my scarf... and I gave it to her. I told her my father would've wanted her to have it." Mako looked down as he shoved his hands back in his pockets. "I know it's all I had left of my father but really... it's not." A soft smile appeared on the brooding firebender's face. "I have a whole family. My dad's family. And seeing them, seeing people who looked like me and welcomed me and loved me... I just didn't feel so alone anymore."
He looked up again with a smile as another tear rolled quietly down his cheek. "In that moment, Korra... it felt like my dad was still there."
Korra's eyes widened with emotion. "Mako..."
Mako threw his hands up and gave a short laugh, "I don't need my scarf anymore. I always clung to it because it was all I had left. But it's not all I have left anymore and I traded it in for something greater. Something I thought I had lost forever the day I watched my parents die."
Mako let the last of his resistance fall away as more tears streamed down his face. "Korra…" he whispered, "I have a family."
Tears flowed down the young avatar's face as she threw herself into an embrace with the firebender she loved so deeply. The two held their embrace for what felt like forever. Finally Korra pulled away.
"Mako," Korra said hoarsely as she tried wiping away the tears, "I really hope I can meet your family someday."
A huge smile came over Mako's face as his eyes softened. "I'd love to have you meet them."