A/N: So my first story. Sorry it sucks.
Based on a prompt by Korrawr on tumblr. "Run"
I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or Legend of Korra
Running in the Night
Her head was pounding, her heart racing, as she ran through the dimly lit city streets. The bustling, crowded streets of Republic City made her feel both hidden and exposed, as she tried to grasp what had just happened.
Mako was so infuriating! He was so uptight, always telling her what to do, and trying to control her. It seemed like nothing she ever did was good enough for the firebender. He was always criticizing her forms, her evasive maneuvers, and even her approach to being the Avatar, of all things. La knew that she heard enough of that from Tenzin and Chief Bei Fong.
"You are too rash, Korra," Tenzin always said.
"You are far too reckless, Avatar," was what she constantly heard from the Chief.
"You have to be more careful, Korra," Mako always warned when they would narrowly escape an Equalist attack. In fact, he had just said it before he…
She shook her head as she ran into the park. She couldn't think about that, not now. She stopped in front of the pond, and collapsed on to the grass. Her chest heaved up and down as she caught her breath, and she lay on her back on the grass, looking up at the night sky. She could see the stars shining tonight. Not as many as she could see in the South Pole, there was far to much light in the city for that, but they were still a comforting sight. One of the few constants in her life was that she would always be able to look up and see the stars…
'Constants,' she thought with a snort. She had thought that she, Bolin, and Mako would be a constant. Even though she had known them for such a short time, she trusted them both completely. She never had any friends as a child, the White Lotus had kept her focused on her studies that she never had time to make any. Bolin was so funny and kind, always making her laugh, and he was always the first one to join her on whatever adventure she proposed. Mako was steady, reliable, and gentle. His first concern was always his brother, and even though Korra often wondered whether he liked her at all, she knew that he would always be there when she needed him.
Until now, anyway…
Perhaps she and Bolin would remain the same. She knew that he had a little crush on her, but she was sure that he never act on it. Mako…
"Korra, you can't keep doing this," Mako shouted. Korra rolled her eyes as she healed her arm, where she had been cut with an Equalist's dagger.
"Mako, do you honestly think I plan for stuff like this to happen?" Korra demanded. "Those Equalists ambushed us!"
"Korra, you have to me more careful," Mako warned. She glared at him. She knew exactly where this lecture was going, she had heard it a thousand time before.
"Mako, Bolin was just fine. More than fine, actually. Hell, he was the only one of us who didn't get sliced by that one with the dagger…"
"That's not the point, Korra…"
"Mako, someday you're going to have to stop smothering your brother," she snapped.
"I'm not talking about Bolin!" he shouted suddenly. Korra raised her eyebrow, and Mako turned bright red.
"Then what are you…" she began.
"You're the AVATAR!" he sighed. "You have to protect yourself. You can't just charge into battle."
"Mako, I hear that from Tenzin all the time, I don't need it from you."
"But you don't listen, and you keep going into dangerous situations…" he said, coming to sit beside her. She eyed him as he sat beside her.
"What are you…" she began, but before she could get the question out, he leaned over and pressed his lips to hers…
"Why did he have to ruin everything? " she yelled out loud. The kiss had only lasted a moment, but it had changed everything. She had pulled away quickly, and done what any sane person would have done in the same situation.
She ran.
She had left him sitting there, looking flushed and confused, and ran as fast and far away from the apartment as she could. She sat up, and looked at the pond. It was still and smooth in the night. Somewhere a Badger-frog croaked, and a cat-owl cried.
'What am I going to do?' she thought. She was supposed to train with them tomorrow, but how was she going to face Mako? What if he told Bolin what had happened? Would he ever let her live it down? She could just hear his laughter at her spazziness now. And Mako... what would he think of her? HOW did he think of her? She cared about him, but they were friends. Just friends. He drove her crazy with his constant nagging...
Was it all because he cared for her as more than a friend? Why did he kiss her, anyway? Had it been a spur of the moment thing, or had he wanted to do it for a long time? She didn't know, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She didn't want to think about how warm and soft his lips were...
"NO!" she scolded herself. She just didn't feel that way about him. Not at all...
A/N: Again, sorry it's not very good. Hopefully I can improve with practice, and once I actually know what the characters are like...