yoooo people, so i just realized how many drabbles i have over on my tumblr (tophbeithong) that i never post here, and i know my account has been kind of going through a drought in the fic-posting department, soooo why not have a bit of a posting marathon, right? i stop feeling guilty, you guys get fic, everybody wins. so that's what's up with that.

so this week i decided to do a prompt exchange with some friends for fun, and these are the 10 one-sentence prompts i got and decided to do for makorra/mako (yeah i know they look long but they each only have one period just trust me on this ok i counted). read on!

1. Stolen Kisses

Korra knows that it's not enough, at first (even though Mako is the only one who ever actually says so), only just catching glimpses of each other between her training and his new job, barely long enough to exchange a hug and a quick peck on the lips, let alone spend some quality time together – but, like always, they manage to work with what they have, and before long she starts to think of it as a little game: 5 points for catching Mako on his lunch break, 10 for just happening to bump into him while he's walking his beat, 20 for getting him to give her that look that says he's just as tired of these "sneak peeks" as she is and they're both going to have to set aside a night sometime in the next few days or else neither of them are going to be very happy – and with that kind of build-up, oh, are those nights worth it.

2. Denouement (Resolution)

"Hey, Korra," Mako mutters as she gets back on Naga and gathers the reins in her hands; he's definitely keeping track of his brother in his periphery, but there's an openness and earnestness in his eyes that she's not used to as he continues, "I, uh, I just wanted to – thanks," and she gives him the best smile she can manage after the events of the night before turning toward the docks – toward home.

3. A Lazy Afternoon

"I'm taking the afternoon off," Korra announces as she barges into the apartment by her preferred way of the window (despite the fact that the new place is four stories up), and before Mako so much has time to smile at her, offer a surprised greeting, even set his newspaper aside, she collapses onto the couch with her head in his lap and her eyes closed, clearly intent on taking a nap.

4. Family Bonding

When Korra mentioned that her parents had put together a huge dinner party and were adamant on her attending, the last thing Mako expected was for her to say, "Of course you're invited!" with a little laugh, as though the notion that he would be left out of family bonding time was completely ridiculous, and there was a funny tightening somewhere deep in his chest that he couldn't quite find the words to explain.

5. Serendipity

Although he doesn't know it, Mako's not alone in wondering where he'd be and what he'd be doing if Bolin hadn't brought "another one of his crazy fangirls" back into the changing room before the match that night – while he goes back and forth between relying on all the extra hours he could get at the plant to pay the bills and being chased down by the police instead of being on the force himself – because everything was so uncertain for them back then, living almost day-to-day on whatever money they could save – Korra's sure that she'd still be sitting around, frustrated and cut off from her airbending, wondering how she was ever going to find the kind of Avatar, the kind of person she wanted to be when the maybe only one who could give her the means and drive to go looking would be right across the bay.

6. Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

There's no one sitting around it, yet, which makes it easier for Mako to admire the new centerpiece of his new kitchen: a small wooden table surrounded by four straight-backed chairs, bought secondhand in a tiny, rundown, hole-in-the-wall shop on the north side of the city; the table is riddled with buffs and scratches, and three of the four chairs wobble on uneven legs, but it's his, a real table in his own kitchen for the first time ever, and he's determined to have it loaded with food by the time everyone arrives for dinner.

7. Coffee

Mako's never really developed much of a taste for coffee – back in the day, it was a luxury they couldn't afford – but between being introduced to the graveyard shift at the station as well as the horrors of staying after hours to file stacks of paperwork and having plans with his totally crazy (but still wonderful) girlfriend the day after late nights like these, he's gotta admit, the energy boost definitely comes in handy when he has to keep up with Korra – and he's never been picky about taste, anyway.

8. First Meeting

"Yeah, well, you didn't do yourself any favors on that first impression either, y'know," Korra says, teasing in her voice as she bumps her shoulder against his, and Mako chuckles, looking down at their clasped hands and thinking about how far they've come since then, back in what feels like another lifetime, wondering how he ever got so lucky.

9. Pockets

Loving the Avatar is – it isn't easy, certainly, being separated so often and for so long, knowing you have to support and be a crutch, an escape for someone so – so incredible, so huge, someone larger than life, in a way, more than reality – there's a pressure to it, a responsibility to be the best you can possibly be for this incredible person, and Mako's not sure he'll ever really qualify – but it's not difficult, either, especially when the Avatar is Korra, with her infectious laugh and bright eyes and sometimes pigheaded determination; it's not even a decision, really, it's like – like bringing the very last of your spare change out of your pocket, testing the weight of it and counting it out in your palm, wondering is it enough, would I be better off just letting go of it, would it be worth it? and then sighing, slipping it back into your pocket to save it for another day, protect it, even if you feel it weighing down your pants like a block of lead, knocking insistently against your leg as if to say, I'm here, don't forget about me – because Mako knows better than anyone that bearing that burden, taking that weight on your shoulders isn't even a choice, isn't even a question, because at the end of a long day you're so glad to have it there tucked so close against your skin, warm and safe, cherished.

10. Midnight

The city is just starting to go dark, like a dying star, when they stumble into the apartment, still flushed and breathless from the run ("I'm not gonna race you – Korra – hey, wait up!"), grinning as though they've got a secret to keep; Korra doesn't waste time turning on the lights before pinning Mako up against the door just as he finishes closing it; he makes a surprised little "mmpf!" noise into her mouth, but definitely does not protest as she winds her fingers into his hair and works on getting his scarf untucked from his shirt – the first, she thinks, of many clothing items that are going to be lying discarded on the floor by sunrise.