Rip
The horrible sound of the fabric tearing was replaying over and over again in Mako's mind.
Scream
Her chilling scream sent shivers down his spine as he remembered it.
Thud
The sickening sound of her body impacting the ground reverberated through his head.
The same horrific scene had been playing out in his mind for the past few days; it was as if it was eternally etched into his brain now. He couldn't help it, that moment was the reason she lay unconscious before him at this very moment.
She had fallen from the roof…
Lin had jumped down to save her…
She had grabbed onto the metal cable Lin had projected toward her but her hand slipped…
Her eyes widened…
She let out a terrified scream….
And then she fell…
Mako screwed his eyes up tightly, as though it would prevent him from watching the scene play over again, but it didn't work. She met the same fate every time.
There had been no change in her condition since she arrived at the Air Temple, Mako was living there now too, but he had barely left her side. He wanted to be there when she woke up- he forced himself to think 'when' not 'if'.
Was there anything he could have done to prevent this?
The guilt was practically consuming him, he felt somewhat responsible.
If he had gone with her, would it have made a difference?
If he had been closer to where she fell?
Could he have caught her?
He was broken from these frequent thoughts by Korra, her breath had hitched for a moment but there was still no change.
He felt the familiar sensation of disappointment he always felt when he thought she was closer to waking up, he tried to clutch onto the hope that at least she wasn't dead but it didn't raise his spirits in the slightest.
He would not feel better until she was awake and in his arms.
He wondered what Asami would say if she heard him say that? Would she be mad? That would be crazy, she was worried for Korra too, and besides, he and Korra were just friends, there was nothing wrong with that. Bolin probably felt the same way too.
A brief image flashed into his head depicting Korra in Bolin's arms, he felt a pang of something not unfamiliar as she shoved the image away to the back of his mind.
Knock knock
The soft tapping made his head shoot up; he took in the sight of a heavily pregnant woman standing at the entrance to Korra's room holding a steaming cup. She made her way toward him and gave him the cup
"Here, drink this" She told him and he looked to see the cup was full of his favourite variety of tea
"Thank you" he said taking a small sip
"Any change?" She asked, looking at the young girl
"No" he said, the word felt like it inflicted physical pain upon him "How is Lin?" he asked, ignoring the sympathetic smile Pema was giving him
"She is a lot better" His hands unconsciously gripped his tea tighter
He knew it wasn't Lins fault, he knew that if she hadn't risked her life as she did Korra would probably be dead. Even though she had fallen, catching the cable had slowed her down, if only for a moment.
He knew it wasn't her fault, but until he saw those bright cerulean eyes again he would have a hard time facing her.
"That's good" He finally responded, looking up at Pema
She was fiddling with Korra's hair and blankets as she usually did, straightening her sheets even though they were only ever disrupted by the almost silent rise and fall of her chest, and fussing with her hair even though it was still impeccable from the last time she had done it
"The others are a bit worried about you Mako" she said quietly as she absentmindedly adjusted the pillow upon which Korra laid. "Bolin thinks you'll go crazy if you spend much longer in here by yourself and Asami said that she will wake up whether or not you're watching her" She stood up straight before letting out a small sigh "I'm worried about you too, spending as much time as you do here isn't healthy. I know that you're worried but we all are, and we have to believe she'll pull through" She wasn't very good at concealing her emotions and her voice gave away the tears that were threatening to fall
He tried to give a legitimate reason for him staying in here but he couldn't think of one. It was as if an invisible force was pulling him toward her. Although it was unlike Asami to say something like that he had to admit her logic was sound, it wasn't as if Korra was his girlfriend or anything, if she was then that would probably be a good enough excuse but they were just friends. Good friends. Very good friends.
He nodded to Pema as if he understood her message. He would have felt awful if he just ignored what she had been trying to get across, she had let him and his brother into her house and he had to respect her decisions. "Will you tell me right away if anything happens?" He asked and she nodded, smiling at him sadly.
He made his way outside, the island was fairly unfamiliar to him and he had no idea where anyone's rooms were. He didn't exactly ask for a tour as they rushed Korra back to the island and called for the closest healers.
He didn't feel right leaving Korra back there, vulnerable. What if the equalists came back and kidnapped her? They had grown close as teammates and friends so it was only natural for him to feel this way about her, right? It was as if he was her brother, that's why he felt so protective of her.
He was walking down a hallway when he spied Bolin come out of a room and go through another door that led outside, he peered into the room and saw two beds, his measly amount of salvageable belongings on one.
He washed up and got dressed just before Bolin re-entered the room, Pabu on his shoulders.
"How is she?" He asked but got the answer as soon as the words left his mouth. His brother's eyes lacked the flame that was usually burning fiercely behind them
"Oh" Bolin said, sitting down on a bed beside his older brother
"There isn't much use in worrying" Bolin tried to comfort Mako "The healers said that they don't know when she will wake up, but that it's heaps likely that she will!" He still got no reply from his brother "And besides, Master Katara will arrive here soon, she is the best healer in the world!" He flung his arms out as if it emphasize his point
"Thanks Bo" He finally said, appreciative of his brothers attempts to cheer him up, but until she woke he would have this heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders
"You should go find Asami" Bolin said, rubbing Pabu's chin with one of his fingers, "She's very worried"
He felt another, smaller pang of guilt. He had hardly spoken to Asami since he had arrived here. He had come to the island with Korra and Tenzin offered for him to stay here, he accepted because it would mean he could keep a better eye on her condition. Asami had later offered for him and Bo to stay at her place but he declined.
He had really been a horrible boyfriend lately, but to be fair being a good boyfriend was not at the top of his priorities list at the moment.
"Do you know where she is?" Mako asked, hoping that she was on the island. She had been coming here most days to keep Bo company, check on Korra and help Pema out in her pregnant state.
"The last time I saw her was a few minutes ago, she was outside babysitting the kids. I had to wrestle Pabu from Meelo, that kid needs to learn that you don't eat Fire Ferrets tails" He said, a faint scowl showing from his mock anger at the youngest child
"Thanks Bo" He said again, got up off the bed and proceeded to walk through the door he had seen him leave through earlier.
….
A gust of wind was the first thing to alert him to Asamis whereabouts, as he turned the corner he saw Ikki and Meelo playing chase with her, using their Airbending to try to catch her. She spun and danced out of their grasp very gracefully and for a moment all Mako saw was Korra, dancing through the gates during her Airbending training.
He shook his head slightly to clear it, Jinora was sitting under the shade of a large tree with her nose buried in a book, he decided to stay there, out of the way while Asami finished her game
"Hello" She said with a knowing tone in her voice, a tone that screamed 'I know something you don't know!' She always acted differently around him, especially when she was with Korra. Other than that she was his favourite of the Airbending children, she was quiet and had a thirst for learning, she used proper manners and was very dedicated to her training. It probably wasn't fair to declare her his favourite when the others were so much younger but it was hard to imagine a young Jinora being as out of control as the other two were.
"Hello" He greeted and sat down beside her
"She'll be fine you know" She said, making her place in the large leather bound book she held. Mako looked at her, "Gran-Gran will be able to wake her up" she said confidently, referring to Katara. Mako smiled the slightest bit at the confidence this young year had, she wasn't the type to hold false hope. "I know, thanks" he said, she lashed him a smile and reopened her book, becoming absorbed in a matter of seconds.
They sat like that for a few minutes, in silence. Mako liked that, he didn't want to be forced to talk about his feelings. It wasn't an awkward silence, as if they couldn't think of conversation, it was an understanding silence.
"GOTCHA!" screamed Ikki, breaking Mako out of his thoughts, he looked up to see Asami lying face first in the dirt with Meelo and Ikki both sitting on her, they were all giggling. Mako got up and walked over to help her, she was surprised to him as he offered his hand to her; he hadn't really been seen apart from Korra for days
"Hey" She said smiling as he lifted her up "Good to see you" He answered with a hug that Asami quickly fell into. She had really missed him and couldn't help but feeling a little jealous at the fact he had been spending all his time waiting for another girl. She felt horrible for feeling that way, she was worried about Korra too, but it wouldn't matter what they were doing in the meantime, she would still wake up.
"Do you want to go to the city to get dinner together tonight?" She asked, giving him a swift kiss. He smiled apologetically and gave her an excuse about being really tired, but maybe another time? She nodded in agreement and noticed the sun was setting; she had spent more time playing with the kids than she thought.
"I'm going to go back home Mako" She said, searching his amber eyes for the usual spark that filled them
"Okay, goodnight" He said, bending down a little to give her a kiss
"I love you" She said as she turned to head to the edge of the island.
"I love you too" She heard him reply.
She quickly blinked back tears, not wanting him to see. She didn't quite believe him when he said that but she didn't want to point that out.
Mako turned to return to Korra's room, he would look in on her once more before he went to bed. Tonight he would actually go to bed and not sleep on the chair in her room. He entered her room and saw the same thing he saw every time, Korra lying, unmoving on her bed.
He let out a small sigh and approached her; he picked up her hand and wished to the spirits she would wake up. The temperature of her hand bothered him, it was too cold. He scanned the room for another blanket before seeing one on the back of the chair he usually occupied; he put it over her but was still not satisfied.
He eventually reached around his neck and undid his red scarf, he tenderly wrapped it around her in the hope it would comfort and warm her.
His brother wished him sweet dreams that night but Mako knew it wouldn't make a difference; his dreams were always the same.
Rip.
Scream.
Thud.
….
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