Author's Note: When I began writing this I hadn't seen the new episode. So, on the fourth episode, Korra tells Amon to meet her at midnight that night but in my story, surprisingly, I said midnight as well, but it's "tomorrow" night. Sorry, I didn't want to go through and have to change everything just for one minor difference. I will incorporate the other aspects of the brawl from the episode into the story but I just figured I'd get that out of the way now. Thanks for reading! Enjoy(:
This has been revised. Just a few kinks needed to be worked out. I will be altering a few of the other chapters as well, but nothing too major.
Chapter 2:
So Soft
Mako's POV:
I let out a low grunt as I neared the end of my workout. I had done everything from practicing my fire bending to weights to pushups. My muscles were throbbing and my legs were trembling beneath my weight. Steam had begun rising from my shoulders. Beads of sweat were running down my forehead; I wisped them away with the back of my palm before announcing to the empty room that, "I need a shower." I grabbed my black bundle of a bag that I had thrown lazily by the door and stumbled out of the room. The walk to the showers felt longer than usual. I couldn't get the images of Amon out of my head. The terror in my little brother's eyes as he stood facing the demented being was etched into my brain. It was difficult knowing that had Korra been a moment later while activating the steam, my little brother would no longer be able to call himself an earthbender.
The hot water rushed over my body, steaming on impact. I placed my palm against the partition housing the shower head. My mind was racing; images of Korra facing off against the beast on her own while Bolin and I watch from the background. The showdown is supposed to happen tomorrow. Did she really think we would just stand there and let her fight him alone? My forehead rested on the wall while the water continued to wash away the evidence of my long night. I sighed. The rush of heat soothed me, but it wouldn't help me escape my thoughts. The side of my fist hit the wall in frustration. She should have never come here. If she wasn't so irrational and cocky Amon wouldn't even know she was here which would give all of us a great advantage. Instead, she's a show off and far too over confident and exposed herself with no plan in mind. I sighed, turning off the water and grabbing the folded towel on the counter. I dried off, slipping on the spare clothes I had stowed away in my bag.
Then again, if she hadn't been here, Bolin may have still been captured and his bending would have been taken away anyway. I frowned at the thought. My brother is everything to me; he's all I have and I'm all he has. If extending my night workouts and practicing harder in the mornings meant I could better protect him from harm, so be it. I couldn't allow myself to depend on her, Avatar or not. This was my responsibility. I refuse to let that monster near my brother again. I walked up the stairs to the apartment where my brother would be snoring and peaceful. I smiled, rubbing the towel against my head to dry my hair.
I opened the door to the dark, silent room, closing it behind me. I threw the towel on the floor beside my empty bed, sauntering over to it. Even just as a blob in the darkness I could already tell how comfortable my bed would be right about now. One step towards my nighttime paradise I hesitated. Something wasn't right. Bolin was still snoring and I could almost hear his drool hitting the floor like a leaky faucet. Nothing was missing, but something was off. My eyes widened against the black. "The door," I whispered. My heart sank into my chest. I could feel every pulse like electricity. The door was unlocked. I know I locked it before I left, that's why I took the key with me in my bag. My muscles instantly tightened, ignoring the painful cry of weakness rupturing through them due to the late night workout.
"What are you doing here?" My voice sounded foreign to me; there was venom on my tongue as I spat out the words in a low tone. I still hadn't turned around. I would never admit it, but I was terrified. Not for myself, I was terrified knowing whoever was in this room had been in the room with my little brother alone, without me there to protect him. A hand touched my shoulder but I quickly turned around, striking out and hitting air. A soft cackle came from the darkness behind me so I spun around once more, flames shooting from both fists but to no avail. A knuckle made contact with my right temple. I spun my foot around in a complete three sixty but hit nothing. I stood silently, hoping for a creak in the floorboards to indicate where my enemy was but I heard nothing.
"You're weak." The voice was right beside my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck rose.
"Amon," The name left my lips in a hushed mumble as images of what he could've done to Bolin ran through my head. What was he doing here? An intensity sparked inside of me as I spun around before a foot met my chest, throwing me across the room. My back hit Bolin's bed. His snoring stopped before he rolled over and it continued once more. I grabbed his arm, "Bolin! Bolin, get up!" The figure grabbed the collar of my shirt and lifted me from the ground. He messed up; I had my target. I pulled my hand back and quickly shot it forward, a huge flame ignited from my palm and launched forward. I fell backwards once more as the man dropped me. He groaned, gripping his side. I smirked at the smell of burning flesh confirming my accuracy; I had hit him. My eyes were still not adjusted to the darkness of the room but I could now make out the white of his mask. I watched his eyes glance at Bolin then back at me. He slowly began walking backwards. A muffled laugh left the mask and then, somehow, the white vanished.
I scurried to the light. The room showed no sign of our scuffle and Amon was no longer there. Bolin rubbed away the sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing?" He yawned. He sat up, staring at me through squinted eyes. "Mako?" He pointed to the side of my face. I turned away so he wouldn't see the bruising around the outer rim of my eye, "We need to talk to Korra." Bolin smiled, stretching his arms above his head. "Okay, but why?" I opened the door, peering around to make sure Amon wasn't waiting to catch us off guard. "Just get up, we need to go, now." He stared at me with an eyebrow raised, but did as I requested. He threw the sheet aside, sliding out of bed. I continued to stand watch while he changed his clothes.
I rushed my half-asleep brother down the stairs and into the streets. We were walking towards the docks. The walk had been mostly silent while I was lost in thought and Bolin was busy rubbing his tired eyes. I stole a glance at my little brother, worry etched into my features. I knew this, because Bolin caught my stare and forced a smile, "What's wrong?" I didn't speak for a moment. How could I ask him this? What if I really was too late? "When we get to the water, try bending a bridge that we can just walk across to get to the island." He nodded, clearly not understanding that his life and his treasured ability had just been in danger only minutes beforehand.
We reached the water's edge. I watched the smooth waves journey in towards the shore where we stood, collide with the rocks, and then sway back to meet the next wave. It was so peaceful. I know my element is the exact opposite of water, but I couldn't help but marvel at its mysterious simplicity. I continued acknowledging the beauty of my rival element before I heard Bolin's foot hit the ground while his hands were outstretched behind him. He motioned them forward in the shape of a smile, his palms now facing the water. I closed my eyes, praying Amon had not gotten away with his intended reward. Suddenly I heard the water splash as the ground shook. A path of rocky earth rose up leading towards the island. "Piece of cake!" He flashed his teeth at me with an accomplished grin that I happily returned, "Good job, now let's go." I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until I spoke and the air rushed from my lungs, begging for more. Good, I hadn't been too late. My brother still had his bending, and he wasn't even aware that he was ever in danger at all tonight.
Bolin stepped up on the narrow path with confidence while I on the other hand struggled to get my footing at first. We hurried down the path at a pace I was not too proud of. Turning behind me, I noticed that as we walked, pieces of the path would calmly sink back into the water. Bolin lead the way until we reached the island. I stepped up onto the grassy surface just as the final patch of earth began to sink. We began to run, gliding over the grass almost without a sound. We were used to sneaking, having to be completely silent. On the streets anything could happen, unless they didn't know you were present. I now lead the way; however, I had never been in Korra's room before so I didn't exactly know where to go.
Then I remembered our apartment could be seen from here. I glanced across the water and spotted it, locating our window. Taking a few steps backwards towards the shore, I tried to picture the island from our window; I had stared over here numerous times lost in thought, and noticed the girl in a room one night. Now I just had to remember which one. I glanced up and saw the familiar tower, "I think that's it." I whispered to Bolin. He nodded as we made our way around to the other side of the building. On the other side there were guards in their watch tower. Luckily, they were all laughing loudly around a table with a dimly lit candle for light.
I ushered for Bolin to follow suit as I wandered back to the other side of the building on tiptoes. "Is there any way for you to lift us up there without making any noise?" Bolin thought for a moment, scratching the back of his head. He shrugged, "It's our only option I guess, so it's worth a shot." Before I could even muster up a thought I was being catapulted through the, luckily, open window thanks to a large, growing hunk of earth Bolin had created beneath me. I grabbed hold of the windowsill as he did the same for himself. In moments he was beside me, pushing me through the window. He jumped, barely making it through the window but I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him through. He held his finger to his lips and shushed me at the sound of a girl's soft snoring. We were crawling towards the door to close it, just in case we had made more noise than we thought when I heard my name. "Mako," The girl mumbled in a tired voice. I turned to face the bed, "Yeah, sorry. We just really need to ta"- I was cut off as a soft moan left her lips. She rolled over onto her back. She was still sleeping. Was she dreaming about me? My heart began to beat at an unusually fast pace.
I raised an eyebrow, not even understanding my own body right now as I stared at her for a moment before slowly crawling to the door and closing it gently. Bolin was sitting Indian style beside Korra's bed, watching her with a confused expression, "Is she dreaming about you Mako?" I tensed. She moaned once more before a playful giggle left her lips, "…so soft…" She mumbled. I began to blush, "Um, no. I'm sure she said something else." Bolin stared at me with no expression. "Mako, stop it," She let out another giggle after she swatted a hand at the air. Bolin was holding back a laugh but failed as he fell backwards, laughing loudly. I growled while leaning my back against the door with my arms crossed. I felt heat rushing to my cheeks. I silently thanked Agni that it was dark and my brother wouldn't notice my embarrassment. "I want you so-" Korra stopped mumbling in her sleep, opening her eyes at the sound of Bolin's boisterous laughter.
She sat up quickly with a scream at the site of two dark figures in her bedroom. She pulled the sheet closer to herself, drawing the water from a glass on her nightstand and lashing it out at me. I barely dodged it by diving to the side and blocking my face with my forearm, "Whoa, easy!" Korra gasped, narrowing her eyes to steady her vision. "Mako?" She sat up to see Bolin still rolling on the floor at the end of her bed. "Wh-what are you guys doing here?" Bolin wiped a tear from his eye as he recomposed himself. "Mako just wanted to come talk to you but it sounds like you wanted a little more than that." He laughed once more. Funny, I figured he'd be jealous of his "fan girl" saying his older brother's name in her sleep. At this moment, I kind of wish he was instead of making things even more awkward. I wouldn't admit it, but the sound of her whispering my name made my entire body go numb. I don't know if this was a good feeling or not but I didn't enjoy feeling like this especially when the one causing me to feel this way was irritating and obnoxious.
Korra began to blush wildly, "I don't know what you're talking about." I pushed myself away from the door walking over to them. "'So soft?'" I muttered as a playful smirk touched my lips. She glared at me. "I was referring to your bending. You're, uh, soft. You know, weak." Her hands were on her hips. The way she spoke was in a matter-of-fact tone that just egged me on. Usually these kinds of insults didn't bother me one bit but the moment she said 'weak' the word repeated in my head in Amon's voice, "You're weak." I balled my hands into fists, "I'm weak? You're the one dreaming about 'wanting' me when you should be focusing on the brawl you irrationally planned." She threw her sheets and hurried to her feet, the blush still radiating against her cheeks. "Wanting you? I said that?" She turned to Bolin. He laughed once more, "Yeah ya did!" She looked at the ground for a moment before meeting my gaze once more, "W-uh, well I am trying not to think about," She glanced away with fear evident in her eyes, "Amon." She grew silent for a moment, clearly her train of thought had left her before she glared back at me once more. "Besides, I was awake the whole time, ever since you walked through that door! I was faking it as a joke!"
I crossed my arms with a grin, "Oh yeah? Because we came in through the window." I nodded my head towards the open glass. Korra growled, rubbing the side of her head vigorously as if trying to scrub away her stupidity. I hated to admit to her it wasn't going to happen. She sat back down on the bed, pulling her white nightgown down to cover herself. "Either way, I wasn't dreaming about you so just drop it, city boy." I was good at that. I let my arms fall to my sides and my smile fade. I grew serious as I opened my mouth to speak. Bolin on the other hand was still chuckling under his breath before the jealousy finally sunk in. He began to mope realizing his dream girl had opposing dreams in mind. I ignored him, hoping he wouldn't pay attention to what I was about to say, "Amon broke into our apartment tonight while Bolin was sleeping. Luckily, I didn't go to bed early and I got back to the apartment just in time. The only thing is I don't know why he was there in the first place when you were right across the bay."
Korra frowned as she stared down at Bolin, "What? Are you okay?" Bolin's face was pale, "Who was there? What? Why didn't you tell me? That psycho was watching me sleep?" I pinched the bridge of my nose. "That's not the issue, the issue is figuring out what Amon is plotting." Korra sat back on the edge of her bed, tugging one leg at a time against her chest. She held onto them tightly as if this simple act would protect her; that fear was back in her eyes. I knew she wouldn't admit it, but the thought of facing off against Amon terrified her. My gaze softened and my voice followed suit as I knelt in front of her, "Korra, it'll be okay. You're the Avatar." I could tell my terrible comforting skills did nothing to soothe her; she pulled her legs closer, resting her chin against them.
Bolin sat beside her. "Why was he in our room?" He asked me, as if I were some magical, all-knowing guru. "Why do you think I wanted to come here? I have no idea, Bolin. I was just as shocked as you when I came into our room and got attacked." Korra's eyes widened slightly. I clearly used the wrong choice of words. Her eyes fell to my swelling temple for the first time. "He attacked you…" She hid her face in her knees with a sigh before standing up with clear anger now radiating against her azure pools. "Alright. I'm going to finish this guy." She opened her palm, punching it, "For good."
"Calm down, Korra. You allow your emotions to control your behavior to a generous extent. This could potentially be fatal if you don't begin thinking things through." I jumped up at the deep voice standing in the doorway. I hadn't even heard the door open. There stood a tall, bald man dressed in the traditional yellow and crimson robes of an air bender. "Tenzin," Korra clearly saw the look on my face as she stated with a nod towards the man. I recomposed myself, remembering meeting the man at one of our tournaments. "Of course. Nice to meet you again. Sorry to sneak in so late. It was an emergency of sorts." I shrugged. He frowned, "Yes I heard. I suppose we need to increase our security around here." He sounded annoyed that his security attempts were not working.
Korra didn't say anything to rebuttal against Tenzin's words, which I found odd. She stared with no emotion at the man, responding to his first statement. "Then what do you expect me to do? Everyone is counting on me. They all want Amon to be taken down and apparently they think I'm the one to do it." He walked into the room, stepping in front of me to place a comforting hand on the young Avatar's shoulder. "Yes, but you are not ready, Korra." Her gaze fell to the floor then turned to look at Bolin before her gaze settled on me. "Yeah but it looks like I have to be." She shrugged away his hand, sauntering to the window. "I have to fight Amon tomorrow night, alone. I can't let anyone else get hurt." I became enraged, remembering back to the party earlier that night. She was practically pressured into agreeing to eliminate Amon due to the overwhelming crowd. She really thought she had to do this alone. I knew any kind of disagreement with her decision would be of no avail so I stood silently, watching her stare out the window.
"My air bending will have to wait. He's made this personal by going after Bolin." Her eyes narrowed. However scared she was, that fear was invisible as her determination kicked into high gear. She turned back to face us, "He made a big mistake. I don't care how many followers he has. I'll show 'em all what being a bender really means if I have to!" Her voice was louder now. She had a problem letting her emotions control her, Tenzin had that accusation dead on.
My brow furrowed, "You don't know what kind of power he possesses. Why don't you listen? Tenzin has a point. He came after us but what will the world do if the Avatar loses her bending? He has a plan. He has to. Once we find out what that is, then we can strike." I raised a fist to enunciate my point. Our eyes met and I knew she was going to fight me on this. She thought for a moment before shrugging. "Fine." She stated. We were all taken aback by her simple response. No fight? No rebuttal? I was shocked but maybe she was finally wising up to reality.
Korra strode across the room in three strides, tossing herself onto her bed. She placed her hands behind her bed staring up at the ceiling. "If we're done here, I want to go back to sleep." Bolin stood up and came over to me. Tenzin smiled in triumph at the less-resistant Korra before turning his smile to us. He swung his arm around towards the door, "If you two would like to a place to sleep for the night, there's a room downstairs that you two can stay in. I'll go talk to the guards and let them know they need to be more alert."
We both looked at each other before we bowed with appreciation. "Thanks! That'd be great! I don't think I can sleep in my own bed anymore, I'm so freaked! That creep was just hangin' out in the room while I was passed out!" Bolin slapped his face with both hands, shaking his head rapidly as he spoke; he was always overdramatic. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, glad that my brother was safe at least for the night. Tenzin glanced back at Korra, "I'm very proud of you. Good night." He stated with a loving glimmer in his eye before leading the way out of the door. We followed Tenzin out of the room; I hesitated in the doorway, glancing back at Korra. Her gaze hadn't left the ceiling. She was nibbling on her lower lip, clearly lost in thought. "Good night, Avatar." I smiled, expecting some kind of response about me not calling her by her name but instead she lifted a lazy hand from behind her head and waved without breaking her gaze from the ceiling. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the door knob. As I began to close the door, I heard a soft sob come from behind me. I almost went back in the room to comfort the crying girl, but instead, I did the "Mako" thing; closing the door, shoving my hands in my pockets, and following a short distance behind my brother to the stairs.
Author's Note: I hope this was up to your expectations. If not, let me know and if you enjoyed it let me know as well! It took forever to write and I'm exhausted from it. I've been piecing this together every night this week after work and college classes so please read and review and to those of you that added this to your alerts or favorites, thank you! (: I hope you're enjoying the story so far! It picks up big time in the next chapter so stick around!
Have a great night everyone.
-InconsciousSin.
