Author's note: I decided to add another chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who read this!
He clutched the worn edges of the photograph between his gloved fingers, gazing at the faded color of the image. They had looked so happy. The smile plastered on her face was unfeigned and innocent, the same smile that he had fallen in love with.
Before he went and messed everything up.
The sheer pressure she was under and the confliction within her was enough to turn that smile strained. Being the Avatar, she was expected to fix everything and please everyone. She was also expected to prevent an inevitable war. She had watched her home sieged and her father arrested. He understood. He hadn't before but he did now. Only he came to this realization too little too late. She needed him, and he broke her heart. He missed her. From the minute she left that room he missed her and every minute after that. He was filled with nostalgia to the point of pain. He would give anything for those times back, to see that smile again. But he could no longer help her. Times have changed. He had changed. And he would never stop feeling guilty.
The photograph was very easily burned, very easily reduced to ashes. He could do it. He could set fire to a torn corner and watch the flames engulf the paper until nothing remained. It was tempting. Rather than the burden of remembrance, he wanted the freedom of forgetting. But somehow, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it. It seemed as though destroying their memories would consequently destroy him. It was a keepsake that told him who they once were. A reminder of everything he had lost.
At the sound of the door opening, Mako carefully tucked the photo in his uniform, close to his heart, where it could never be taken from him. It made him feel safe, as if the thin paper could protect him from harm. Something his police uniform never did. It had, in turn, done precisely the opposite. He wore that uniform more often than his normal attire. It consumed him. He had become so caught up in his job that he had forgotten what was important. He had neglected Korra when she needed him most.
Asami entered the room, clearly upset about her lost shipment. Without it, the company she was desperately trying to save would fall apart. Mako could offer little consolation. He tried to present Beifong and the ship captain information he found vital, only to be thrown out and humiliated. Asami convinced him to carry out a sting operation in an attempt to figure out what was going on. He could lose his job, the very thing he chose over Korra.
The pair recruited the Triple Threats and set off on one of Verek's ships. It wasn't long before their plans went awry. They were able to escape on a lifeboat and head towards the city. They rushed to Asami's factory, but it was too late. It was gone. All of it. Gone. Asami was ruined. Her company, her hopes, everything she worked towards, obliterated. Mako desperately suggested other options, but it was futile. Asami's company was finished. Her face fell with loss and disbelief. In a last ditch effort, Mako gave her the only thing he could: a promise. A promise that he wasn't going to give up. She looked up at him through tears, her eyes pleading. Her face inched closer to his.
He had messed up once. He wasn't about to do it again. He would never forgive himself for what happened between him and Korra. This was his chance. He could start anew. He could be there for Asami in her time of need and remain by her side when the world seemed to weigh on her shoulders. He could do everything he failed to do with Korra. He…he couldn't. He was compensating, and he knew it. He needed to set things right with Korra, not Asami. But would she forgive him? Would she want him there after he abandoned her? The pain of the unanswered questions hung around his shoulders. He wanted to forget. Forget his wrongdoing. Forget everything he had lost. He couldn't fight it. He caved. The battle inside him ceased as Asami pressed her lips to his.