Notes: Burning hair is a smell that really sticks around no matter how hard you try to get it to go away, and smell is the strongest sense to trigger memories. Depending on how many fic ideas I get for this coming episode, I might expand this into a series that explores the way how past events and fears effect Bolin, Korra, and Asami, too.
Asami was too absorbed with driving to duck her head fully from the blast of fire that Mako had thrown, a bit too powerful than he intended, at the Equalist on the motorcycle driving right beside her. The flames licked at the tips of her hair that blew out behind her, catching fire and Korra yelled above the din as her arms flew into the air to collect water to put it out. Mako hardly had the time to care as Asami swerved as he shot another volley, and the Equalist spilled out on their side and was left in the street.
Even though Korra managed to put out the tips of Asami's hair, the smell of it burning hit him straight to the gut. The sweat that had collected on his body ran cold from the harsh wind that passed over his face from the unrelenting speed of Asami's driving.
"Bro?" Bolin said quietly from the backseat. "You ok?"
Mako swallowed hard and already felt resistance in his throat. Korra still worked with Asami's hair as the older girl drove, the tips of her black curls crinkled and breaking away like ashes against Korra's fingertips.
The stench lingered.
Mako sharply turned and leaned his head out over the side of the car, hands gripping tightly to the smooth, cold metal of the door. The hot acidic bile forced up his raw throat and spat against the ground and the side of the car as it blew back from the wind.
Korra shouted and Asami jerked again, slamming her foot on the break and making the car spin out to the side in a hard stop. Ahead of them, the loud engines from the Equalist motorcycles dimmed as they sped ahead, and Team Avatar's patrol was put on hold.
"Mako, hey, you alright?" Bolin said quietly, placing his hand on his older brother's shoulder.
Mako stayed frozen and tensed bent over the car, watery eyes wide and stinging in the dry air, but he found he was incapable of blinking. He saw the vomit clinging to the black exterior of the car, felt it still lingering on his mouth and starting to drip down his chin, he knew that everybody was staring but how do you explain this.
Korra jumped from the car, rocking the body, and he heard her footsteps travel across the ground. He straightened up a bit and stretched his fingers before returning his white knuckle grip.
"Was I going too fast?" Asami asked quietly.
He sensed Bolin shrugging, and Korra came into view as she walked to his side of the car. He didn't lift his eyes to see her, kept them trained on the blues of her pants and soft browns of her boots. A puddle nearby sprang to life and the water pressed against the side of the car.
"I don't think so...," Bolin replied. "He would've said something."
The bile washed away with the water and was tossed to the ground. Korra stood before him with a nebulous orb of water hovering above her hand, his view of her ending at her torso because he was too ashamed to look up.
"I can heal you, if that'll make you feel better?" she said.
The water darkly shimmered in the night air, shifting between dark blues and purples and warm yellows from the streetlights. He watched it for a moment and breathed in and out harshly through his nose, trying to make the smell of burning hair go away. It was difficult to keep heat and flames from working their way from his stomach and out his flared nostrils, which would only increase the smell and what was left in his gut rolled dangerously with the threat of resurfacing.
"I just need to wash out my mouth," he said, voice low and coarse.
Korra shifted, her hips moving so one popped out where she pressed her weight onto one foot. "This is from a puddle."
"I don't care."
There was a brief pause, and he could tell everybody was communicating to each other with silent, worried looks. Asami's small, warm hand pressed against his back and smoothed down the wrinkles in his coat. Bolin's hand found its way to his shoulder again.
Korra sighed and the orb shifted into a stream. "Alright. Open your mouth."
He lifted his head and parted his lips, the nasty water dropping in and he hastily closed his mouth around it. Not expecting it, Korra's control of the water slipped and pushed against his lips as he swished the water around, desperately trying to get rid of the sour taste. She didn't hesitate and continued moving the water to clean his face like he was a messy child.
With that thought in mind, he tipped his head so as to not hit her, and forcefully spat the water back onto the ground.
The stiff, rough fabric of his gloves felt violent against his skin as he dried off the remaining water and bile with the back of his hand. He breathed in sharply again, eyes unfocused as he caught the smell again and his eyes watered, but they had bigger problems to deal with. The police scanner crackled back to life as if to remind him that the world didn't stop for his nightmares.
"You alright?" Korra asked again.
"Yeah," he said and shakily lowered himself back into the seat, pointedly avoiding her gaze. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."
She didn't move, nor did Asami or Bolin. Korra breathed harshly through her nose and sniffled.
"Asami, do you have any perfume?" Korra suddenly asked.
Mako's eyes widened and he kept his eyes trained on the dashboard. Sheknew.
"Uh, yes. Why?"
Korra walked around the car to the driver's side, and when Mako's eyes flickered up to her, she was perfectly calm. "Your hair's burnt and that smell really sticks to you. I think perfume might cover it up?"
"Oh, sure," Asami said. Her hand reached across Mako's lap to the glovebox, which spilled open and revealed a small, red leather purse. She grabbed it and snapped the glovebox shut and her arm disappeared from Mako's line of sight, but he heard her rifle through it. "Here. If we just douse it everywhere I'm sure the wind will make it less pungent."
Korra took the bottle and the short hisses of the flowery spray shot into the air. Quickly the awful smell that clawed at Mako's throat was replaced with that sweet perfume, dashing away memories of brilliant flames turning flesh and skin and hair to ashes.
The bottle landed in his lap and Mako lifted it, turning his head to watch Korra as she sprang into the backseat of the car. She caught his eye and shrugged.
"If it still bothers you, I figured you could spray your scarf with it," she explained, and the car came back to life. "Then just cover your face with the scarf."
He nodded. "Right. Thanks."
Her eyes softened for a moment with worry, and he was sure she knew. She was a firebender and there had to be horrific, scarring accidents while she was learning how to tame fire. She knew about his parents. It wasn't hard to put two and two together.
He sprayed the perfume on his scarf and tightly wrapped it over half of his face, burying his nose into the scent with a heavy, cleansing sigh. He placed the bottle back into the red purse and into the glovebox, and they were off again with the roar of the engine into the dark streets.