Title: It's been a while

Word Count: 3,081 Words

Rating: M

Notes: A Makorra Reunion…of a different sort. Late nights, breaking and entering, and lovely friction. Here there be smut!

Mako decides to be selfish. Without a word, he steals her away from the others, pulling her into a narrow alleyway lined with potted plants and laundry. When he's sure that the air-drying bedsheets are hiding them from view, he turns to face her.

"Mako—" Korra starts, but he cuts her off, cupping her face with both hands as he suddenly steals a kiss. He doesn't even ask first, pressing against her lips a bit harder than he intends to, and he doesn't pause for air as he uses his thumbs to tilt her head back, kissing her deeper. It's impulsive, sloppy, and rushed, but it's so passionate that he can feel the rush all the way down to his toes.

She inhales sharply as they break apart, and he cuts her off one more time before she has the chance to slap him (he knows he deserves it, too). "I'm sorry, I just—I just had to."

His heartbeat clamors noisily in his ears when he realizes that she didn't kiss him back. He drops his hands and his eyes immediately as he mentally kicks himself for being so stupid—what were you thinking?—before he feels her take his hands in her own. Korra says nothing, and when he finds the courage to meet her gaze again, he sees that she's practically glowing and she's smiling at him with such wonder…

Mako feels like a million weights have been lifted off of his chest.

….

It isn't long before she's called back and he never gets another moment with her for the rest of the day. She's summoned back and forth, consulting on this and that. He steals glances at her in between tasks and he can feel her eyes on him as he moves around, but he can't even get within arms-length of her—her presence is exclusive.

He turns his attention away and suddenly, she's gone—whisked away for something important. He's run out of things to do so instead of waiting aimlessly to see if she returns, he decides to call it a day. As he leaves, he's astounded—the stars are out, it's past midnight; He'd been working all day and he didn't even realize…yet he still feels as if his day is incomplete. To distract himself, he thinks about food and luckily, Mako knows at least a few places to grab a quick bite to go at this ridiculous hour. The choices are slim but it's decent fare; he thinks about it for a moment and decides to add in an extra order of summer rolls. Just in case.

When he finally gets home, unlocking the plain, red door and dropping his food on the counter, he cracks his neck to release the built up tension in his shoulders. It doesn't help, too much, so he decides to take a shower. He turns the hot water knob as far left as it can go, yet it still isn't enough. Accepting that he probably won't get any relief tonight, he gives up and reaches for the towel.

Just as he's about to swab cotton in his ears, there's knocking at his door. Mako ignores it—it's probably one of his neighbors (Drunk and lost. Again)—but the knocking is persistent. It continues, getting louder and louder as the pauses between knocks get shorter and shorter. He finally gets fed up and shouts over his shoulder, "I'm coming, I'm coming! Jeez…" as he secures the towel around his waist. Seriously. Who the heck does this sort of thing so late at night?

Grumbling with each step, he trudges over to his front door—at least the Nuisance outside has stopped banging. He cracks the door open just enough so that a razor-thin column of light lands on his body—and then suddenly, he's pushed back and the door is forced open.

Mako has barely enough time to register who his assailant is—it's Korra. He barely has enough time to slam the door shut as she suddenly kisses him, her arms thrown around his neck and her lips moving as urgently as her knocking. He barely has enough time to register that he's being walked backwards until he's falling on his couch, and he definitely doesn't have enough time to register that she's straddled him, her lips never leaving his.

"I've got to be dreaming…?" he asks, breathlessly, as her lips turn their attention to the crook of his neck. He's painfully aware that the only thing that's hiding his…excitement…is a towel.

Korra laughs, but she doesn't stop, sliding up to his earlobe. "Are you? You tell me." There's a bit of wickedness in her tone as she swivels, pressing on the the bulge that's growing under the combed cotton. He groans, unintentionally, which makes her laugh even harder.

From their resting place on her hips, Mako's hands spring into action. They quickly untie the pelt around her waist, discarding it carelessly to the side, then they roam her body, peeling her tank off as she raises her hands to the ceiling. His hands remember how to undo the cloth that binds her breasts, and once they're free, his hands remember exactly how to caress and tease them. Korra hums appreciatively, her hands on his shoulders, as he bends, taking a nipple between his teeth.

When he notices that she starts to grind her hips against him harder, Mako pulls away, heating the index and thumb fingers of each hand as he reaches to make a clean slit down the side of her pants...but she stops him, both hands on his chest.

"Hold up, hold up," she teases, easing herself up, "I've still got to walk home in these, you know. Let me." Korra leisurely undoes the waist-ties at her waist, taking her time as she eases the top band down, one hip bone at a time. He growls—it'd be much faster if he could have just burnt it off—but he's enjoying himself, also. She pivots and bends as she pulls them lower, showing off the firm, roundness of her ass before she steps out of them, now clad in only tight, black underwear.

She moves to return to his lap but he holds an arm out. "Wait," he says, "It's been a while…I want to look at you."

There's a softness in his tone—nostalgia, almost—so she obliges, basking in the moonlight….for a moment. She stalks over to him, grabbing his hands and pulling him up till he's standing. "It has been a while," she says, running her hands along the chiseled planes of his chest, "But it's been three years, you can look at me all you want, later." With a quick flick of her wrist, Korra rips the towel off, flinging it to the side.

Mako raises an eyebrow as he shrugs. "Well then, if you say so." With one effortless motion, he sweeps her off her feet as she squeals in delight, and walks over to the mattress. As he lowers her down, he pulls off the black bottoms; there's a curious shimmery mark between her pelvic bones, a "U" shaped symbol, curled inwards at the ends, winding around itself like vines. He points to it in question but Korra just smiles as she sinks into the soft sheets, enveloping herself in the fluffy down of his comforter. "Don't worry about it," she says cryptically, beckoning him closer.

His fingers travel from the arch of her feet, ghosting up the sides of her shins before circling her kneecaps and crossing over, trekking along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. He feels her body quiver as he moves further up towards the heat that's growing between her legs and she gasps as he slides the pad of his finger across the nub of her sex, swirling it in slow, deliberate circles. She's already ready; wet and slick enough to handle him, but she's so tight—he slowly slips one finger in to help her adjust. She moans as he feels her walls tighten around his digit, so he slips in another, sliding them in and out as he gently reaches up and rolls one of her nipples with his free hand.

Her breath comes in short gasps and her hips start to buck from the mounting pressure—suddenly, she sits halfway up and moves his hands away. She gazes at him through half-lidded eyes but there's a hunger in them, an insatiable itch that's she's been dying to scratch. "Mako, just—enough," she breathes, her voice low and husky as she pulls him upwards. He moves over her, canvasing her skin with hot kisses as she reaches, wrapping slim fingers around his shaft before pumping them. "I need—"

With a regretful groan, he pulls away, rummaging around for a condom but she grabs at his arms and pulls him back. "It's okay, don't worry about it," she says again.

Mako looms over her, kissing her deeply as her fingers roam the angles of his back. "Are you sure? I'm—"

Her laugh is playful, "I'm sure. I'm definitely not ready to be a mom, just yet."

Reassured, he kisses her neck, this time, as he lines himself up, knowing that the sensation of his tip rubbing around the delicate skin of her opening is driving her crazy—it's his turn to grin at her wickedly. "Where was I? Oh that's right. You need…what?"

Korra groans in frustration but suddenly gasps and arches her back as he fills her with one, deft thrust. Her lips are formed in a silent, satisfied 'o' as he draws out slowly, just slightly, before pushing himself back in.

She shudders against the press of his body and her fingers trace every part of him that she can reach. She bites her lips as pulls his body against hers, harder with each thrust. Mako closes his eyes, enjoying the delicious friction between their bodies as he rolls his hips against her again, and again. She angles her own to receive him better, gripping his shoulders as she moans with pleasure.

Her breath is hot against his shoulder as he thrusts into her and he can feel her fingertips digging into his skin. It's a sharp, unfamiliar sensation but he finds that he loves it, which makes him push even harder. She drags her tips down until she's gripping his waist, using the indentations of his ab muscles like finger holds, holding on for dear life.

There's a knot, growing within him, that's dying to be unraveled. His breathing is increasingly erratic as he fights the temptation to let go. He realizes that he's fighting a losing battle here; his hands brush along the smooth curves of her waist, bottom, and breasts, she nips against his collarbones as she pulls him closer.

"Mako, I—I," she pants, her grip on his arms tightening, "Please, I—"

He braces himself over her, picking up speed as his thrusts gain intensity. She hooks her legs around his as he collides into her, and her hands come up to cup his face.

He gazes down upon her and she's looking at him—the same way she did this morning. Lips parted, her eyes glittering, she gazes back, so intimate, so tenderly. There was never a moment that Mako has ever felt so loved.

He leans into her hands; he's close and from the tightness that she's gripping him, she's close as well. "Korra, I—," he gasps, "I—"

She brushes the pads of her thumbs across his cheekbones and smiles, now, in pleasure, in happiness, probably both. "…I know, Mako. I know."

The knot finally pulled taunt and snapped—Mako's body goes rigid as he grinds his hips down for the last time as she cries out, arching against him. His vision is white from the intensity of the pleasure he's feeling; he can't think or move. Spent, he collapses on her, slightly aware that her hands are still stroking his back.

When he finally recovers enough to pull out, slowly, he rolls off with a groan. She twists to face him and they both lie like that for a while, content, satisfied,…and spent.

"...Mako," she says suddenly, breaking the silence. Her fingers wind through his hair as she speaks, "I know I owe you an explanation. On everything. And I promise that when we finally have some downtime to talk, we'll talk…but long story short, I was broken. I wanted to be with you, with everyone, but I couldn't because I had to fix it on my own. My way."

Mako, still feeling a bit dazed, is quiet as he listens. Her tone sounds as if she's trying to justify her actions to herself, like she's running from demons that only she can see.

"And on top of that, I'm still broken. I have a lot of things to fix, which is why I can't be with you right now."

He instantly feels his heart clench in his chest, it's a bitter, icy feeling that cuts deep. He tries not to flinch when her fingers caress his face again, but he knows he failed when her face falls.

She smiles sadly as she withdraws her hands out of respect. "It's just that…right now, there's so much going on…and there'll probably always be something going on, but I can't give you my all and that's what you deserve—all of me, not some broken, distracted, beat-up version."

"I'm working on it," she continues, "And…it scares me. A lot. In Kuvira, I see a lot of myself—my old self, and what she's doing isn't right. But the silver lining is that I can see this now, and I think that's what's important. Now, I think I'll finally be able to find…balance."

Korra peeks up at him, her tone hopeful, "When this thing is over…and if you're…willing, I'd like to try again. I feel that now that I'm older, I feel more…level," She smiles ruefully at this, "I'm better at listening and I'm trying not to be so…impulsive."

Mako feels his heart knit back together as he gazes at her, illuminated in the moonlight, as he sees her for who she really is—she's Korra. She's not the Avatar, first, she's a girl—or rather, a young woman—and she's trying her best to do something crazily epic in proportions while trying to figure herself out at the same time. She feels incomplete and unneeded but she's still trying to make it work because people are still depending on her. It's a lot for one person to shoulder. Why should she do it alone?

She reaches out tentatively, and her hands are warm as they cup his jawline. "I thought about you, everyday," she confesses. "I wrote you letters upon letters but I couldn't send them because…" She sighs deeply, and this is enough for him to understand. "I always wondered how you were…what you were doing, if you found some cute blond girl to date and if you were happy…and still. I'd totally understand if you didn't want me, I just figured—"

"Korra..." He says, finally speaking. His voice sounds lower than he imagines, and he chooses his words carefully, "You're not broken. You're you, and you have some stuff to think about, but you're not broken. Don't ever think that."

She seems to melt a little, as he slips his stiff arms around her body, pulling her closer until her face is nestled into his shoulder. He speaks softly now, into her hair as he feels the warm puffs of her breath against his skin. "You're right, we can talk about later. And, if it helps…just know that...always meant always, to me. It always has, and it always will. Being your boyfriend is just a label, anyway. I know you'll be busy and doing crazy things and I'll help you anyway that I can but just know that I'll always support you, and I'll always be here. I'll always want you, I'll always need you. Always."

Korra makes a relieved noise into his collarbone as her fingers tighten around his back. He thinks it's a laugh but it sounds like a sob as well, he can't be sure.

"So. That thing, between your hip bones," says Mako, awkwardly trying to lighten the mood, "Err...what…is it?"

"Ohhh," says Korra, pulling back so that she can look at him. Her eyes are a clear, sparkling blue and they flash excitedly as she explains, "Katara taught me how to control the energy in different parts of my body. It's a water bending healing technique but because I'm also the Avatar, we think I have better control. But yeah! It manifests itself with this mark, down there, but I've gotten my ovaries to stop…ovulating and stuff. I haven't had my period in I don't know…Three months. I mean I do let myself get it, every now and then just to get it out but still. Three months!"

Her mouth is set in an open-mouthed smile and she's extremely pleased with this, but the only thing that Mako can say is, "…Cool?"

"Super cool." She smiles at him smugly. "It's like birth control. Right now I can't get pregnant. At all."

The lightbulb finally clicks on in his mind as he nods in understanding. "Super cool, indeed."

She giggles but is interrupted by the unmistakable growl of her stomach.

"Are you hungry? I've got an extra order of summer rolls…"