Place in the Sun

Part 1

"Do you remember the first time we met? It was my first time at the arena and Bolin was just introducing me to you. We didn't get along at first, but we eventually became friends. And later, we became something more than that. You remember this, don't you?"

Mako lazily turned his gaze towards Korra, slightly curious about the sudden nostalgia in her voice. "Of course," he answered. "It was barely eight months ago since we've met."

The corners of Korra's mouth slowly lifted up into a small smile. "I'm glad you remember."

Mako frowned. "Were you worried that I would forget?" he asked in a quiet voice. Upon receiving silence as an answer, Mako shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. "I can't believe that you would think that I'd forget. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I forget the first time I met the love of my life?"

Korra averted her eyes from Mako's gaze as her shoulders slumped. "I don't know. We rarely spend any time together now. You're always busy with your police work and I'm busy doing Avatar stuff. Whenever one of us has free time, the other one has to run off and deal with a crazy serial killer or participate in an emergency meeting with the Council." Korra took a moment to catch a breath as Mako scooted closer to her. "Sometimes I wonder if we're even dating anymore."

Mako watched as Korra brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. He then reached forward and pulled her close, so that her body was leaning against his. "We'll be fine," he said as he gingerly stroked the side of her face. "We've been through worse." Mako recalled the time when Amon bloodbent them and took Korra's bending during their confrontation at the arena.

Korra didn't seem convinced. "I'm scared," she whispered.

"Scared about what?"

"I'm scared that I'm going to end up like Asami," she hesitantly admitted. "I'm terrified of waking up one day and finding that you've left me for another girl. Maybe a girl who…"

"What are you talking about, Korra?" Mako cut in, raising his voice slightly. "This is just crazy talk."

Korra frowned before continuing. "A girl who actually has time for you."

"Korra," Mako began, his hand moving up to cup her face. "I would never leave you."

"Then why did you leave Asami?" Korra asked, jerking away from his touch. "What makes me different from her?" She waited for him to answer.

"Because… I've never loved Asami."

"And that's what he said?" Asami asked with a raised brow as she stirred the sugar in her iced tea before taking a small sip. "Are you sure that you don't want any?" She gestured to the pitcher on the table.

Korra shook her head, not quite feeling thirsty at the moment. "Yesterday was the first time I saw him in two weeks," she continued. "I barely spend thirty minutes with him before the Council summons me for an emergency meeting. Sometimes I wonder how much longer Mako will put up with me before he decides that he wants a breakup."

"He won't break up with you," Asami said as she placed a reassuring hand on Korra's arm.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Korra asked. "To be honest, I'm not sure if you're the best person to ask for advice. After all, you are his former girlfriend."

"You're right," Asami admitted. "I am his ex-girlfriend, and he dumped me for a pesky Avatar."

Korra seemed to shrink in her seat at Asami's harsh words. Of course, Asami noticed.

"But I'm not mad. Do you want to know why?" Asami didn't wait for Korra to answer. "I'm not mad because I've seen his eyes when he looks at you. He has never looked at me with those eyes. Not even once during the time we were dating."

Korra wanted to say something, but the words couldn't form in her head.

"He really loves you, Korra," Asami said, leaning forward to gaze into Korra's eyes. "Because of you, he finally found his place in the sun."

"Bolin, what does it mean when someone finds a place in the sun?"

"Eh?" Bolin said as the question registered in his brain. "I'm assuming it means that someone flew up to the heavens and found a perfect spot to sit on the sun." When he saw Korra's deadpan expression—an expression uncannily similar to her twin cousins'—Bolin laughed. "I kid, I kid. It means that someone has found a state of happiness."

Korra crossed her arms as she thought it over. "Do you think Mako is happy?"

"Mako? Of course not!" Bolin quickly answered. "He's his usual cranky self… except when he's around you. Seeing you really brightens up his day."

At Bolin's words, Korra's face lit up. "Like how the sun brightens the world every morning?" she shyly asked.

"Exactly like how the sun brightens the world every morning… except for some parts in the poles," Bolin added. "I hear that those areas sometimes experience two months without sunlight, though they also experience two months when the sun never sets."

"Hey Mako, let's go out tonight. It'll be fun, I promise."

"Sorry. Chief Beifong wants me to work on a major case. We can hang out tomorrow. It's my day off."

Korra frowned as she pressed her ear against the phone receiver. "But I promised Tenzin that I'd be training with him tomorrow," she said as she grimaced. "I haven't quite mastered airbending yet," she added with a sheepish smile.

"Then tomorrow night," Mako offered. "We'll grab some egg custards at your favorite bakery and catch a pro-bending match at the arena. I'll pick up tickets after work."

Korra grinned, happiness obvious on her face though Mako wasn't there to see it. "Okay."

"And Korra?"

"Yes."

"As much as I love hearing your voice, I don't think Chief Beifong appreciates taking calls for you in her personal office," Mako whispered in a hushed tone.

Korra laughed. She could imagine an impatient Beifong standing behind a nervous Mako with her arms crossed and an annoyed frown plastered on her face. "Alright, but we'll hang out tomorrow night, right? You promise?"

Korra then heard some shuffling and muffled yelling—mostly likely Beifong telling Mako to hang up the phone—before hearing Mako's voice again. "I promise."

Korra paused for a moment, wrapping the phone cord around her fingers as she tried to envision Mako's smiling face in front of her. "I love you," she said.

"I love you too."

"Korra, are you in there?" Mako asked as he knocked on her door. Frowning upon not receiving an answer, he opened the door and peered inside. It was eerily quiet, save for the soft sound of steady breathing. The rays of the setting sun filtered into the room, illuminating it with a reddish glow. Somewhere inside, Mako could make out a small figure curled up on the bed.

"Don't tell me that you're too tired to go out," Mako said as he quietly shut the door and moved towards the bed to adjust the blanket to cover Korra's bare shoulders. She looked exhausted and Mako didn't have the heart to wake her up. "If I had known that you were going to be this tired after airbending practice, I would have planned a different time for our date," he mumbled aloud.

Of course, Mako wasn't bitter at all. In fact, he was happy that Korra was working hard to master airbending. After all, she was the Avatar. She needed to master all four elements. But then again, she was the Avatar—meaning that he couldn't be selfish and keep her all to himself. Though there were times when Mako would find himself wondering what it would be like if Korra was simply an ordinary waterbender. If she was an ordinary waterbender, she would only have to deal with ordinary responsibilities. She wouldn't have to service herself to Republic City and the rest of the world. She could get an ordinary job, perhaps work as a healer in the hospital, and live an ordinary life.

But of course, Mako couldn't imagine Korra being satisfied with an ordinary life. She needed adventure, and in spite of all the crap she had dealt with during her few months in Republic City—especially when the city was occupied by Amon and his Equalists—Korra loved being the Avatar and he couldn't take that away from her.

"Hey, do you remember the first time we met?" Mako asked, despite knowing that he wouldn't get a response. "We met in the players' box, right before the match with the Tigerdillos. I'm sorry that I wasn't very nice to you. In my defense, Bolin's fangirls were really annoying. Now that I think about it, you were pretty annoying too." He stopped himself for a moment, imagining a pouting Korra glaring at him for that comment. "Anyways, I'm really happy that I met you."

Then Mako leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Korra's forehead. When he pulled apart, he could have sworn that he saw a small smile appear on her face.

"I love you, Korra."

"Asami! I need your help!"

Asami looked over her shoulder and saw a frantic Avatar quickly approaching. "Korra?"

"I screwed up," Korra cried as she fell to her knees.

"What happened?" a concerned Asami asked as she knelt down. She then noticed the tears threatening to spill from Korra's eyes. "Korra, tell me what happened."

Korra brought up a hand to wipe her eyes. "I really screwed up," she repeated. "I was supposed to go out with Mako last night, but I was so tired from airbending practice that I took a nap and ended up sleeping the whole night." Korra looked down at the ground, her lip quivering as she spoke. "I ruined everything."

"Oh sweetie," Asami began, stroking the strands of hair from Korra's tear-stained cheeks. "You didn't ruin anything. It's not like the world is going to end just because you missed one date with Mako."

In response, Korra frowned before slowly breaking into quiet sobs.

Asami sighed as she awkwardly patted Korra's head. It was strange for her to see the headstrong Avatar like this, behaving like an insecure teenager. It reminded Asami that all the great Avatars were once awkward teenagers with teenage emotions. "You really have to stop being so melodramatic about this," Asami commented. "It was only one date. You'll have plenty more with Mako."

"No," Korra protested, hiccuping as she spoke. "He won't ever want to date me again."

Asami nearly rolled her eyes. "Now you're just being ridiculous." Seeing that her words had little effect on Korra, Asami decided to take a different approach. "Korra, the things you do for Mako—like taking him out on dates—aren't important. What really matters are your feelings for him."

Korra looked up at Asami in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"When you're in a relationship with someone, you can give them the entire world—anything they want, whether it'd be diamonds or fancy cars—but it all pales in comparison to how you feel about that person." A bittersweet smile appeared on Asami's face as she reminisced about her failed romantic endeavors. "Love is the most powerful thing you can feel for someone."

As Mako walked down the stone steps of the police department that night, he was ambushed by a female assailant who wrapped her arms tightly around him and planted one too many kisses on his face—not that he minded.

"I love you," Korra breathed before kissing the slightly dazed-looking Mako. She smiled at him as she buried herself in his chest. "I love you," she repeated once more, lifting her head to kiss his chin. "I just wanted you to know that."

Mako chuckled as he bent down to press his nose against hers. "I love you too… but you already know that."

There was an accident, an explosion at the warehouse. Something happened with the one of the criminal triads—either the Triple Threats or Agni Kais, from what Korra had heard on the radio—but Korra didn't care at the moment. She just needed to find Mako.

"Where is he?!" Korra demanded as she barged through the doors of the hospital. Eying the injured officers with burns and bruises on their bodies, Korra rushed down the hall, bumping into nurses and doctors along the way.

"Please, have you seen a tall male with dark hair and gold eyes?" she pleaded to anyone who was willing to stop and listen. A dejected Korra pouted when they all shook their heads. "Alright, thank you," she quietly said before running off, nearly slamming into Chief Beifong.

"Korra!" Beifong's eyes widened upon seeing the Avatar. Then her eyes softened as a grim expression appeared on her face. "You must be here for Mako."

A nervous Korra nodded her head, not liking the tone in Beifong's voice. "Is he alright?"

Beifong didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes turned to a room adjacent to where they were standing.

Korra followed her gaze and took a step forward, but a hand on her shoulder held her back. "Let me go!" Korra protested, trying to shake off Beifong's grip. "I can heal him!"

"The healers have done all they can for him," Beifong said. "I doubt you will be able to do anything more." Her grip tightened on Korra's shoulder as she debated whether to release the girl or not. "Just… just be prepared when you see him," she warned before letting go.

Korra slowly walked into the room, quickly noticing an unconscious Mako lying on the bed. She then eyed the clipboard at the end of Mako's bed, picking it up and quickly flipping through the pages of his medical chart. After a few minutes, Korra slammed the clipboard down and cursed. Beifong was right. There wasn't anything she could do.

"The doctors said that he's in a medically-induced coma now," Beifong said as she stepped into the room. "He suffered head trauma…"

"I know that!" Korra snapped, though she quickly regretted her tone when she saw Beifong's hurt expression. "I'm sorry," Korra quietly whispered.

Beifong nodded, knowing that Korra's anger was understandable. "When Mako wakes up…" Beifong struggled to find the right words, "things might be a bit different with him. Just remember that."

Korra didn't need Beifong to remind her. Korra already knew the full extent of brain injuries.

"Why did the doctors put Mako in a coma?" Bolin asked as he watched Korra read through Mako's chart, looking for any new development in his treatment.

"To protect his brain," Korra answered. "With brain injuries, the brain sometimes swells and..." Korra looked at Bolin to see a quizzical expression on his face. "When a brain swells, the skull doesn't allow any room for expansion so the brain compresses and… well, it's not a good thing. By putting Mako in a coma, the drugs they used should cause the blood vessels in his brain to narrow, hopefully reducing the swelling."

Bolin nodded his head. "Do you think it is working?"

Korra bit her lip. "Well, yeah… I hope so. The doctors ran some tests and said that the swelling went down, but…"

"But…" Bolin urged her to continue.

"It's a brain injury," Korra said in an exasperated voice. "It's hard to tell what's going to happen." Korra didn't need to explain further as she moved to sit by Bolin, resting her head on his shoulder.

"You know a lot about medicine," Bolin commented as he placed his arm around Korra's shoulders.

Korra smiled to herself. "I learned a lot from Katara."

Korra, after asking Tenzin for some time off from airbending practice and Council meetings, spent most of her time waiting at the hospital with Bolin. Unfortunately for Bolin, hospital protocols did not allow animals to be anywhere present in the building, so Bolin left Pabu in the care of the airbender children—much to the fire ferret's horror. While patiently waiting for Mako to wake up, Korra and Bolin would often pass the time either sitting in awkward silence or exchanging childhood stories.

"And that's how I met Naga," Korra explained. "You should have seen the looks on their faces when I brought home a polar bear dog," she said, referring to the grouchy White Lotus elders.

Bolin laughed. "But Naga must have been so adorable as a little puppy." The smile slowly disappeared from his face when a nurse entered the room to check the equipment attached to Mako. She offered Bolin and Korra a sad smile before quickly leaving. "Do you think Asami will come today?" Bolin asked. "She hasn't been here in a while."

Asami visited Mako, but not as often as Korra and Bolin. But when she did visit, she would sit in between Korra and Bolin and let them cry on her shoulders for an hour or two. It wasn't uncommon for the hospital staff to see a poised Asami leave with the sleeves of her jacket wet from tears and snot stains.

"Hey Mako," Korra whispered as she rested her head on the bed and stroked Mako's hair. "Do you remember the first time we met?" she quietly asked, mindful to keep her voice down because Bolin was sleeping in the chair nearby. "It was my first time at the arena and Bolin was just introducing me to you. We didn't get along at first, but we eventually became friends. And later… well, we became something more than that. We're together now. You remember this, don't you?"

Per usual, Korra only received silence as an answer. With a heavy sigh, Korra lifted her head up and saw a pair of curious gold eyes staring back at her.

A/N: This is a lot different than my usual work, but I wanted to see if I'm capable of writing anything that isn't funny. And about Part 3 of The Talk, I will finish that… eventually. I promise. Also, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a college kid studying science and doing some research, so some of the physiology in here may not be 100% correct.

Oh, and check me out on Tumblr. The link is on my profile. I'd love to chat with y'all.

Per usual, reviews are appreciated.