Mako and Korra were at the Southern Water tribe Festival for her 18th birthday. Korra was so happy to be back in the Southern Water tribe, she just wanted to see her parents and spend time with Mako without any distractions. Korra was sure Mako needed it too, with his police duties; he was busy all the time now. It saddens Korra that they don't get to see each other often, so she was hopeful they could make up for lost times at the carnival.
They were walking hand in hand as Korra was searching for a game they could play. But her eyes set upon something bigger and better than any game at the carnival, the Ferris wheel. She remembered the carnival every year when she was a kid; the Ferris wheel was her favorite part of it all. She would always have her father ride it with her. Although it has been years since that happened, she still remembers it like it was yesterday.
"Come on!" Korra encourages Mako. Before he could react, Korra practically drags Mako towards the Ferris wheel.
"Where are we going?" Mako questions with a slight frown of confusion on his face.
Korra doesn't respond right away, all she focuses on at the moment is getting to the Ferris wheel. She replies back when they are half way there, "We're going on the Ferris wheel."
Mako gulps, "Don't you want to play another other games? What about the Ring Toss? That looks fun."
"We already played that though!" They finally reach the rides line. "Besides, the line is starting to get long so we might as well get in line." She smiles up at him but notices his nervous expression. "What's wrong?"
"Uhh, nothing. Nothing's wrong, why do you ask?" He smiles but she can still tell that something was wrong.
She knew that he wouldn't tell her what was bothering him so Korra just dropped it, not wanting him to get upset. They were both silent but not for long. Soon enough, they both finally get into their seat, and the Ferris wheel operator locks them into the seat.
Once everyone else is seated, the operator starts up the Ferris wheel and that's when Mako slightly tenses up and Korra could feel it. She raises an eyebrow at Mako, "Are you sure you're okay? You normally don't twirl you're thumbs unless you're nervous…"
"It's nothing, I just can't wait to get off and play more carnival games," From the tone he was using, it sounded like he was being sarcastic. He turns his attention to his feet which meant something was definitely off.
Korra persists, "Oh c'mon Mako you expect me to believe that. You usually don't like this type of stuff, are you going to tell me the truth or not?"
Just then when they are on the very top, before Mako could come up with an excuse, the Ferris wheel stops. Everyone on the wheel starts complaining except Korra and Mako. Korra hears someone even yelling at the operator to get it fixed. He shouts, "Don't worry everyone, I'll get it working again! Just please be patient for a few minutes." With that being said, he goes to the control panel and starts messing with it.
Korra's attention goes back over to Mako; she isn't going to drop the issue. "So? Are you going to say something?"
"I can't tell you, you'll think it's stupid." He looks down to Korra who has a confused look on her face. "It doesn't matter anyway."
"It matters if you're acting like this," Korra points out. 'What can be so bad that he can't even tell me?' She thinks to herself, "And you know you can tell me anything, I won't judge you, I promise."
Mako sighs in defeat, "See, I have this thing with heights…" He waits for Korra's late reaction. When he hears her reaction, he instantly regrets telling her. Korra bursts out laughing, she laughs for a good minute before the laughter dies down. Mako frowns at her and asks harshly, "Are you done?"
"Yeah," she giggles, "Your nervousness? Is that what all that was about?" He nods in response; still upset that she laughed at him for being a little scared of heights. "The only reason why I laughed was because it's not as bad as you made it out to be. Honestly, I'm not laughing at you if that's what you were thinking."
"Oh," Mako responds, "I thought you found it funny in the bad way. Sorry," He sighs, "It happened when I was a kid, my parents took Bolin and I fishing on this cliff off of Republic City and I tripped and fell off the cliff. If it wasn't for my mother's earth bending, I would have probably been dead. That's why I haven't been the same with heights." He glances over to Korra, "You probably think it's dumb that I'm still not over that."
Korra's expression saddens. She now felt bad for laughing earlier, and he mentioned his parents which was probably hard for him. Which made her feel even worse, "I'm sorry about that," She takes hold of his hand; "I don't think it's dumb, that was probably a dramatic experience for you, I don't blame you for still being a little scared. I'll help you out," She points out to the rest of the carnival that went on to the top of the hill, "Just look out to the rest of the carnival and not think about how high up you are. Enjoy the view for what it is. No one's going to let anything happen to you Mako, especially me."
Mako smiles as he does what he was told and looks out to the setting, "You know, it really is a great view from up here." He lays his left arm atop of Korra's shoulder's and pulls her into his side. Korra snuggles up into him as she feels the heat of him warming her up. "Thank you Korra, I appreciate it."
"Anytime, City Boy." Korra smiles up to Mako and kisses his cheek.
Right then, the Ferris wheel starts working again and goes around a few more times until the ride is over. Korra gets up to leave along with the other's who were on the ride but Mako pulls her right back with a smirk on his face, "Do you want to go again?"
Korra grins, "Sure!" She gets back to her spot right next to Mako and snuggles back up against him, into his arms as they wait for the other's to board the Ferris wheel.