Written before the finale - sorry for the extreme sadness, I'm trash.
Reviews and favorites much appreciated!
"Uhm… Master Mako…?"
Two worn eyes slowly open, adjusting to the light that is filtering in through the window. It is already midday, but the fact does not surprise him for long. Days and nights seem to slip by in a blur when someone's as tired as he is.
Coughing, he turns his neck to look at the young girl who is gazing down at him with soft emerald orbs. She is fidgeting slightly; pulling at her sleeves and running fingers through her dark coal hair.
"Luli," Mako greets the girl warmly. She smiles.
"How are you feeling?" She asks, helping him fix his pillow as he moves to sit up.
"I'm doing just fine," Mako says, but the lie is exposed when another round of coughing hits him. It shakes his withering frame and makes the old man see stars. Luli gasps and her hands hover over his body – unsure of what she can do.
Once Mako has quieted down, Luli pulls a chair up and takes a seat next to his bedside.
Silence falls upon the pair for a few moments until Luli clears her throat. "I… passed my firebending test today," she mutters, barely audible.
"Did you, now? Congratulations – that didn't take long."
Luli laughs. "It's only because you were such a great teacher," she explains. "I'm… sad we couldn't finish together." She looks down. "And I'm sorry… about the cancer."
Mako reaches up and places a warm hand on the girl's shoulder. "There is nothing you should feel sorry for – it's the natural course of life."
"I know, but –"
"I'm not sad, and neither should you be, Luli," Mako says.
She nods, biting her lip.
"When will you start your airbending training?" Mako asks, changing the subject.
"Next week… I'm nervous."
"You'll do fine," Mako reassures the girl. "Korra had trouble with airbending when she first started, but she mastered it with time. You'll see."
Luli notices the quiet pain behind the older man's eyes as he mentions the name of his deceased wife. Her former life…
It'd been ten years since Avatar Korra had died and Avatar Luli had been born into the world. Ten, long years since Mako had shared a bed at night…
The thought makes Luli restless. Her firebending teacher wouldn't talk about Korra often, but when he did he spoke with such admiration and love.
How he'd survived so long without her in his life was a mystery to the young girl.
Luli taps her foot quietly against the chair, wringing her hands together as she does so. If she's going to do this… it's now or never.
"Master," she speaks up, straightening her back and puffing out her chest. Mako looks at her quizzically.
"I… uhm… I haven't only been working on my firebending these past few months," Luli confesses, trying to keep her courage strong and her words even. "I've been… meditating."
Mako raises a tired brow. "Meditating?"
Luli nods. "I just… wanted to give you something before you –" Her throat catches and she blinks, trying to will back tears. "… before you… leave us."
Mako hums in understanding and sits up a bit more.
"I know I'm only ten," the young girl sighs, "and I know I won't be able to do this for long, but I…"
"Go on," Mako urges. "I'm right here."
Luli nods and folds her legs underneath her on the chair before closing her eyes and pressing her fists together lightly.
Time slows down as Mako watches the girl meditate. He feels colder by the minute and just wants to lie down and sleep. His lungs ache and he is so very tired, but he does his best to focus on the Avatar – the young girl that he had grown quite fond of over the past year he'd known her.
Mako sighs, his eyes slipping closed as he gives in to the aches and pains of his own body and mind. It'd be so easy… to just slip away right then and there…
"Mako."
His heart, close to stopping, beats again within his chest as his eyes snap open.
Luli is gazing down at him, her eyes two orbs of white light.
But it is not Luli's spirit that radiates within her.
It's Korra.
His Korra.
He struggles to sit up, but a small hand pushes his chest down lightly. It is Luli's hand, yet at the same time it moves with the strength and confidence that Korra once exhibited in life.
"You're here," he gasps, reaching a hand out. She grasps it firmly.
"I'm here," Korra smiles, bringing their joined hands to the side of her face.
His mind immediately tries to process the situation. He can hardly think through his disbelief.
"Luli –" he sputters, "how is she…?"
"Luli is next to me, here in the Spirit World," Korra tells her husband. "Mako, we don't have much time. She can't keep doing this forever."
"I thought… that I would never see you again," Mako whispers, and a tear slips down her cheek. "For ten years I've… I've lived without meaning," he confesses. "Korra, I need you to stay here with me!"
He won't lose her. Not again. Not after he'd just gotten her back.
Korra kneels down and looks into his face. Her eyes still glow white hot and belong to Luli, but there is something in her expression – her features – that is just so Korra.
It makes his heart ache.
"Mako, listen to me," she says quietly. "Your time in this world is almost over." He starts openly weeping at this, and Korra shushes and whispers comfort to him until he quiets down. "I know it's scary, and I can imagine how afraid you are right now, but I need you to be strong."
"Strong…" he agrees, clutching to her hands. The world is spinning and black is creeping into his vision. He fights it off. Not yet. Not now.
"Luli's getting tired," Korra gasps, her white eyes flickering.
"No."
"You did so good, Mako," Korra whispers, gently stroking his hair. "So good. Now, you can finally rest."
"With you?"
Korra falls silent.
"Korra." He catches her eyes.
"I don't know," she admits. "The Spirit World and the afterlife – they're strange, Mako. Sometimes… people don't end up together like they're supposed to."
His body is aching but he is feeling weightless. His lungs burn, yet his heart is cooling. Everything is shutting down, but he feels alive with Korra – more alive than he had in a decade.
Mako fights through the haze and grips her harder – using up his remaining strength.
"I will be with you," he says. "I'll never let you go again."
It is a statement – not a question.
It's a promise.
"I love you," Korra says, tears running down her cheeks. "You've done so good, Mako."
"We did good," he corrects her.
Korra laughs. "We did," she smiles, squeezing his hand before releasing it.
"I'll come find you," he says. "I love you. I've loved you since I first met you at the arena. I'll always love you, I'll never stop – not even in death."
Korra nods through her tears.
"I'll hold you up to it," she says before the light in her eyes fade and return to a soft, emerald green.
Luli blinks tiredly before falling over and crashing to the floor.
Mako wishes he could stand up – help the girl who had brought such meaning to his life in the final moments – but he is finding it difficult to breathe as dark spots start to consume his vision.
"Dad!" A voice yells. The door to the room bursts open and his son and daughter run into the room. Their spouses and his grandchildren trail behind. The younger kids see their grandfather and begin to cry.
Luli sits up tiredly and gazes up at Mako. Tears tracks are still visible down her cheeks.
"I hope… you guys were able to talk for long enough," she breathes.
"It was perfect," he sighs, trying to display his gratitude for the girl through his depleting strength. "I will never forget this, Luli."
Luli nods before stepping back and allowing room for Mako's children.
"I love you all… so much," Mako whispers, focusing on his son and daughter.
"Dad…"
"Please… hang on!"
"It's alright," Mako reassures them. "I'm ready… I'm going to see your mother."
Finally, with a smile on his face and his family surrounding his bedside, Mako slips his eyes closed and lets the blissful nothingness take hold.
He awakes in a field.
The breeze ruffles his coat and his red scarf as he sits up and squints at a few figures in the distance.
A form on the horizon is jumping up and down and waving wildly.
Mako grins before breaking off into a sprint.
As he runs closer, he realizes there are a few familiar faces sitting at a long table. Bolin sits next to Asami Sato – they are both smiling and waving. An old man seated at the head of the table is laughing joyously and patting his stomach.
And the fourth person –
Collides into Mako and tackles him to the ground.
They roll together in the grass until he is pinned down by two, toned arms. When he looks up, he laughs.
She is young again, and so is he.
"Nice of you to show up, City Boy," Korra says.
Mako laughs again and pulls her down into a kiss.