A/N: Listen to Parachute's Forever and Always. Plus some facts were from floofymiko's Something Honorable. Check that out too. :) Very Makorra, which I do not own.
Day#1: Forever & Always
Sitting by his bedside, she rested her head on his arm, but it was quite awkward with the IV tube sticking out of his hand. She tried to stay calm and breath deeply like her mentor had taught her not too long ago, but sometimes things happened that even the Avatar could not be expected to handle. Daring to glance up once more, her lip quivered as she peered over his wretched state. He's too pale... She returned her head to its original place. Perhaps if she buried her head far enough, she could hide from everything and pretend that this was not happening. That there had not been a faulty pipe line in the old warehouse. That renovations were not going on throughout the city. That Mako had not secured a job as a police officer. That he was not now lying here wasting away.
What killed her the most was how inadequate she felt. I am the Avatar. But that means nothing when you are at death's door, she thought grimly and bitterly to herself. She was not sure if it was because she was not calm or something else, but she could barely heal one of his huge superficial wounds. The inside was a whole lot worse...she had overhead the nurses whispering. And his heartbeat was becoming dangerously low.
Her mentor and his family had stopped by to check in on the two, but with no improvements there was nothing much to talk about. They encouraged her to eat, but she was in no mood for eating or sleeping or doing anything really.
Why is there always SOMETHING separating us? She knew she was being a bit melodramatic because they had their share of wonderful little moments, but they had expected to spend their days growing old together. Wiping each other's butts. She half-choked out a laugh, but it sounded more like a sob.
Her mind went back to December as she tugged onto the betrothal necklace that lay on against her rapidly beating heart. He had made it with his bare hands. She remembered how flustered they had both been. He had almost tripped getting down on one knee and she almost dropped the beautiful wooden piece onto the ice out of sheer shock. But one thing she recalled.
"I want you forever and always, Korra. Through the good, the bad, and the ugly... I want to grow old together with you..." When she did not respond right away, he swallowed hard, "Can you please say something?"
"Are...you serious?"
He could tell that she was in shock and stood up, approaching her, and with great warmth responded, "I could never be more serious than right now. I love you, Korra. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, caring and adoring you."
She felt frozen, granted the snowing was falling hard, but still, her heart was forgetting the importance of involuntarily beating. As she slowly processed the reality of what was occurring, she shouted, "Y-yes! YES! I want you, Mako. Forever and always."
He helped her put the necklace and she could see the slight scars on his handsome hands where he had missed the necklace while carving it. "Beautiful," he whispered to the air. His gaze fell upon her, and he felt a warm blush and he wanted to bury his face into his scarf, but instead he leaned forward and kissed her forehead before embracing his stunning fiance.
The flat note pierced through her and shook her out of her daze. Her heart came into her throat as she was pushed aside so the nurses could resuscitate their patient. As the hot tears slipped out, she thought, forever and always is shorter than I expected.
