"We'll have to wait until morning."
Before he knew it, she was closing her eyes as she leaned against Naga's side. Mako was on edge, unsure of how she could trust the streets of Republic City to be safe enough that she could sleep. In the park.
And she called him a city boy like it was a bad thing.
He noticed the way she acted when the two of them rested under the red leaves. He'd been trying not to think of Bolin and what could be happening. What more could he have done?
A lot more.
His brother was out there. Somewhere.
And Mako was here, worrying himself into a hole.
However, it didn't stop him from noticing how much she kept looking around - looking for something to preoccupy her attention instead of just being quiet. It was distracting.
It was annoying.
And possibly cute.
Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.
He noticed the way the light from the sun streamed through the slivers of spaces of the leaves to highlight her bright eyes and the sheen of her dark hair.
And now, he could watch her as she nodded off repeatedly. Her mouth parted, letting out deep breaths.
The corner of his mouth quirked out as he left his arms crossed over his chest.
Then she was falling over and he didn't know what to do.
So he did the one thing he could do.
His body went rigid as her head fell onto the tip of his shoulder. He leaned back and felt the strands of her hair tickling his neck. He caught her by the shoulder before her head could land on his lap.
Not a place for her head right now.
When night fell, he hadn't moved. Naga was happily sleeping and Pabu had found solace upon the saddle. Korra was dead to the world and all Mako could do was watch the water run in the fountain.
As the lamp posts flickered alight, he glanced down at her and brushed the tip of his finger against the curtain of hair that hid her face. The pad of his finger touched her temple just as he tucked the hair back and he couldn't help but immediately pull back.
She started to snore and he would have laughed. "So the Avatar snores."
As the sky darkened, his eyes grew tired. He didn't sleep all that much though. It didn't look like it, but he didn't. He would just close his eyes and when he opened them again, the world seemed to be lit with another morning.
He didn't sleep though.
So when the first bursts of morning light fell onto the two of them, his thoughts wandered.
And his cheek remained pressing against the crown of her head.
His eyes were closed before he felt Korra's body shift closer and the heavy weight of her head was gone. He turned, his eyes drifting open before he stared at the pink staining her dark skin.
Mako pulled away, his own eyes widening as he realized he was caught in the act of being intimate with the Avatar. The Avatar who he couldn't even touch the waist of when they were riding Naga.
But her own reaction sent a shock through his body. He couldn't find any disgust, but just… embarrassment. He squashed the welling of hope that sprouted inside him.
The Avatar could never like a street rat.