Mako counts out the money. Three thousand yuans, all that's left of his job at the power plant. Not so much when he was trying to scrape together enough for the entry fee, but enough to make at least one dream come true. He stares at the apartment building across the street. It's nothing special: plain red brick and narrow windows, but it's clean on the inside with running water and heat. Tenzin and Korra have offered him their home, and he's grateful, but he doesn't need charity anymore. As soon as he gets back from helping Asami move, he's going to put down his first month's rent. He imagines washing off the stink of the gutter in the shower. But first, Asami.
The mansion is a graveyard of immaculate lawns and grand staircases waiting for occupants who will never return. Mako drifts ever closer to Asami's room and imagines he hears voices: Hiroshi telling him what a fine young man he is, servants calling him "master" and handing him towels, Asami fussing over him. He allowed himself to fantasize that this would be his life. Now, it isn't even Asami's. Hiroshi has to be stopped for all sorts of good fate-of-the-city reasons, but Mako really hopes he gets a chance to punch him in the face when it's over.
"In here, sweetie," Asami calls.
Mako has only been in her room once before. It's all contradictions, like Asami herself. A bed big enough to sleep Tenzin's whole family, a sketchbook open to what looks like some kind of metal bird-thing, posters of racers and pro-bending stars, a wall covered in bookshelves that stretch floor-to-ceiling. Asami stands in the middle of the room, surrounded by more luggage than Mako has ever seen in his life. His eyes widen. Is she planning to take the whole house with her?
Asami's smile is small and sad. "You didn't have to come."
He smiles back, but it feels false and tense. "I wanted to." A dull knife twists in his chest. They've never been much for long, deep conversations, but he wishes he could find the right words for her, wishes he could do more than put his arms around her and squeeze. There ought to be a limit in how much one person should have to endure. Doesn't she deserve one good thing? Her own father…
The seconds tick by as the silence stretches into uncomfortableness. Mako marches over to the bookshelf and examines the books for want of anything better to do. They're as eclectic as everything else here: romance novels and engineering texts and—
He stops. One shelf is nothing but travel guides. A Visitor's Guide to Ba Sing Se. Hidden Secrets of the Fire Nation Capital. How to Do Zaofu on One Hundred Yuans a Day. Mako remembers leafing through these books as he huddled in a bookstore on the coldest day of the year. He was nine years old and had never seen anything so lovely in his life. The pictures were bright and vivid, domed cities and lavish gardens that were a world away from the tenement's dirty streets. He'd dreamed of them at night, dreamed of being anywhere but where he was.
He feels Asami's gaze on him and realizes he's staring. A blush creeps over his cheeks. "I didn't know you liked travel books," he says at last.
"Ever since I was a little girl. All those far-off places where you could see almost anything. It sounded so exciting. I was going to travel the world." She shakes her head. "Never quite worked out that way."
Mako nods. It hasn't quite worked out for him either. Trying to scrape together enough to eat left little energy for anything else. One by one, the memory of those photographs faded until they were only a painful if only. "I used to want to go to Zaofu. See the sculptures—"
"—how they do everything without Satomobiles," Asami continues for him. "I used to beg Dad to let me go every year, but he always thought it was too dangerous." A hint of bitterness creeps into her voice. "He's doing a great job of keeping everyone safe."
She looks so miserable that something snaps inside Mako. He feels wild and reckless with the unfairness of it all. One little thing, just for her. "Nothing stopping you now." He crosses the distance between them and takes her hands. "I think you deserve something you enjoy. I think we both do."
Asami stares at him. "But the war. We have to help stop the Equalists. I can't let Dad destroy everything."
"He won't." And it's worth a little risk if I can see you smile again. "Neither of us will be any good to anybody if we're nervous wrecks. A week, maybe less. Just enough to say you've seen Zaofu."
"I—" He sees the wheels turn in her head, the light in her eyes as she wonders if it might be possible, and the swift, disappointed scowl that follows. "No. How would we pay for it? Tarrlok's frozen my trust fund. There's some cash here, but I don't know how long it'll have to last."
Mako's shoulders slump. He's always been practical, but the last few months have given him space to dream, and the intrusions of reality seem sharper than normal. He's suddenly so tired of only ever having to think of food and survival and keeping his head down. He's learned that there's more to life than paying the rent. Asami should think about more too.
Rent. He puts his hand in his pocket and feels the stack of bills. A sharp cold fills him. He can do this for her, if he wants. All he has to do is walk away from the apartment. Not even walk away, just delay. Stay with the Air Nomads like Korra wants him to. Put his dream on hold for a little while
Her dream or mine. It's an easier call than he ever thought it would be. He takes out the bills one by one and presses them into her hand. "We can do a lot on a hundred yuans a day. Train leaves at six."
Asami covers her mouth with her free hand. A tremor seizes her whole body, and her eyes are bright with tears. "I can't," she whispers. "I can't accept this."
"After everything you gave me? It's about time I started pulling my weight in the boyfriend department." He pries her hand away from her mouth and kisses her fingertips and palm. "I love you." The coldness in his stomach vanishes, replaced by something quietly warm and certain. He loves her, and right now that's enough. He's done with surviving. It's time to start living.
"I love you, too." She lets out a shuddering breath. "You really want to do this?"
"Go somewhere with my girlfriend that doesn't involve being electrocuted. Yeah."
"Then yes. My answer is yes." She kisses him. "You know, I used to dream about running away with a handsome stranger."
"Stranger? I'm not a stranger."
Asami laughs at him, her eyes crinkling, and Mako decides this trip is going to be worth every yuan. He looks around at the luggage. "I think you're going to have to pack a little lighter. Think you can get it down to one suitcase?"
"One suitcase?" she asks as if he had just suggested she earthbend. "Right, one suitcase. This is going to be an adventure."
Later, as they stand on the platform hand-in-hand, Mako decides it's more than that. It's a dream come true. For both of them.