Hide and Go Collide

Ha ha ha, yes, the title rhymes this time. A few seconds ago, I really wasn't sure what this third chapter was going to be about. If you didn't catch my maybe not so clever title, instead of hide and go seek, Korra's been avoiding Mako, but eventually they literally bump into each other. You see, because- yeah, okay on with the fic.

Disclaimer: Never owned, never will. All belongs to Bryke.

I swirled the bubbly dishwater in the deep sink idly. It sloshed at the loud crunching of a time card being punched.

It was official. Mako's evening shift had started, and my real work had begun- avoiding him.

This little routine of ours had been going on for a solid two weeks and counting. Every day I added another little tally to the count I had going in my mind: This workplace has been confrontation free for fourteen days.

And if I had it my way, the count would continue unhindered for the month and a half I had left in Republic City.

Loud guffaws echoed back into the kitchen. I sighed, and plucked my notepad out of my pocket. I bared my teeth in a smile, scowled at Mako's back, and marched out into the dining room.

Teenagers, probably around Mako's age, were clutching each other. Hooting chortles were escaping them, upsetting their balance as they struggled to put their rears in the booth. Eyes- drawn to my entrance -slid up and down my figure, slippery as ice trailing down my spine; and suddenly their laughter died off rather quickly as they shot each other looks I couldn't decipher. I shook off the goose bumps, crushed them under my feet as I approached their table. I slid three menus and three pairs of chopsticks onto each placemat.

"Hey guys," I greeted them. They all grunted in response, eyeing an item that was definitely off the menu. I shifted on my feet, and tapped my pen against my temple, clearing my throat.

Three pairs of eyes shamelessly took their time climbing their way up to my face. "What can I get you?"

One guy, who smirked knowingly at the rest of his friends, grabbed my hand in both of his. "Some of your sweetness would be lovely."

I cleared my throat again, eyes flicking to Uncle Narook's vacant seat at the front desk. "A glass of lychee juice a day." I advised awkwardly.

"You sound like you could use your daily dose." Another guy piped up, this one bedecked in a red shirt with black trim. "Come on, take a break and have a drink with us."

I glanced back to the kitchen, where Mako was hovering in the doorway, wiping his hands on his apron. I gave the shocked group my prettiest smile, batting my eyes. I laughed, throwing my head back. "I'll be right back with that."

I sashayed away, flicking my hair out of my face as I passed Mako, who stood clutching the door frame.

"You might want to start boiling some water." I advised him casually, snagging a tray off the counter on the way to the ice box. I placed three glasses on its surface, hesitated, and added a fourth. I bent the sweet juice out of the huge jug neatly into the cups. Satisfied, I turned to head back to the table.

I whirled around, and jumped back in surprise when I came face to face with the stains on Mako's apron. Somehow through my shocked and frayed thought process, I remembered I had a tray full of liquids and managed to keep most of them from spilling.

"Agni," I snarled, and attempted to brush past him. Mako moved with me, narrowed slits of gold tracking my every movement. "Do you have something you'd like to say?" I planted a hand on my hip, exasperated. When he opened his mouth, it shot off, and covered his chapped lips. Just like his had covered mine-

I shook off the thought. "Good, than save it for your therapy session."

He growled, the gravelly sound vibrating in his chest and slipping past his lips to buzz against my hand. He swiped it away. It fell to my side, tingling with phantom vibrations from his growl. "You should be working, not flirting."

I shuffled from side to side, still trying to get past the wall he was presenting me with. I glared up at him. "And you should be boiling water for orders, not invading my personal space."

I shoved his shoulder, sloshing more leechee juice. I stomped into the dining room with a fierce, victorious smile glued to my face. Unlike Mako, the guys in the booth seemed to appreciate it, trading glances as I presented them with their drinks. Their expressions only brightened further when they saw me lift my own glass in a toast. They whooped and cheered as I tipped the glass back and gulped down some of the sweet, tangy liquid. Mako poked his head out of the kitchen, already scowling at the scene in front of him.

I paid him no mind, giggling when one of the guys tugged me down in the booth. I let my eyes travel over his collared red shirt, trimmed with black up to his face. Despite the fire nation garb, his eyes were a mesmerizing mix of dull gold and green. He sent me another cocksure grin, and grabbed my hand in his.

"I'm Zang," He introduced himself, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand with his thin smiling lips.

I bit my lip, rotating my glass with my free hand on the table. "Korra." I said a bit shakily, a blush staining my cheeks when he pressed another kiss to my hand. I reeled my hand back in, wrapping them both around my sweating glass so that he wouldn't have another opportunity to grab it again. "And who are you two?" I asked politely, addressing the other two sitting across from us.

One of them, with light brown hair and pale green eyes parted his mouth, but Zang interrupted him before he could answer. "Nobody important."

My lips quirked up into a smirk. "Yeah? Who's Nobody and who's Important?"

Zang howled with laughter as both of the boys hurried to say that they were Important, arguing and shoving when the other wouldn't admit to being Nobody. I took another sip of leechee juice in between my chuckles, covering my mouth slightly so that it had no chance of reappearing on the two bickering boys across from me. I swiped it at my blushing cheeks after I had swallowed, as if I could wipe the red away with a wave of my hand.

Zang touched my chin, turning me towards him. I froze, eyes blinking rapidly as he swept his thumb just under the corner of my mouth, catching a stray droplet of leechee juice. The blush in my cheeks reignited.

I sent him a hesitant smile, which he began to return.

There was a loud clearing of a throat in the doorway of the kitchen.

Mako stood there, shoulders and mouth tight. In one of his hands he clutched the old, rusting bell that signaled when an order was ready to pick up. Was it just me, or did it look slightly more battered, as if it had been hit with more force than necessary?

"Your order is up Korra." Although his voice was low- nearly a growl -it was steady and even.

"Sorry, Mako." I said shortly, reluctantly scooting out of the booth. "I didn't hear you ring the bell." I smiled saucily, gliding towards the kitchen. I sent an apologetic smile back to the guys in the booth, and shrugged helplessly as if to say- 'what are you gonna do?'. I paused as I got to Mako, my once apologetic smile twisting into something a little more sinister. I flicked the bell once, looking up at Mako underneath my lashes. The battered bell gave a sad little ting. I spared him one more second to admire my smirk before I swept off into the kitchen to grab the orders.

"Here you go boys," I slid the three dishes across the table to them, and snatched the menus away to tuck under my arm. I grabbed my glass of leechee juice and polished it off for good measure.

"Hey, thanks a ton, Kor." My eye twitched at the shortened version of my name. A lazy wasp-fly buzzed against the closed shutters of the windows, adding to my simmering irritation. I cleared my throat and backed up slightly to where Mako was still hovering in the doorway clutching the broken bell like a he imagined it to be something, or rather someone, else.

"Oh don't thank me. I'm no cook." I laughed the sound coming out rather mechanical rather than the easy giggles I had shared with while sitting at the table with them. "Thank Mako. If I was cooking your lunch, you'd probably end up with charred bits of something inedible. I can't even boil water."

"You're temper sure could." Mako muttered to me.

I smiled at his grunt when I stepped on his foot, covering it with a clearing of my throat and a closed mouthed smile. "Just let me know if you guys need anything else."

"I could use a refill and some more of your lovely company," Zang inserted smoothly. Mako stiffened behind me, his whole body tensing to make him look as intimidating as possible. With an adorable smudge of some sauce or other on his cheek, it wasn't working very well. "Hanging out with these two bums can't possibly compare now that I've had a taste of your personality."

It looks like he wants more than just a taste. Probably a whole mouth full, the thought ran through my rather sharp subconscious. I'd put all my summer wages on the fact that something similar was probably running through Mako's mind at the same moment.

"Sorry boys," I apologized, rather insincerely. "But like I said, only one glass a day. If I'm too sweet, I'll give you a cavity or two."

"I doubt that'll happen anytime soon even if you drink a gallon of leechee juice." Mako reported to me as we entered the kitchen, the beaded curtain swishing back into place behind us.

"I didn't even know that the word 'sweet' was in your vocabulary Mako, considering you're never even relatively polite to me." I said conversationally as I filled another fresh glass of sticky liquid for Zang. The chilled air of the ice box did nothing to cool the boiling blood rushing to my cheeks or to quell the snapping comebacks forming in my mind.

"I would be if you just gave me a chance, Korra!" Leechee juice spilled over the rim of the glass and onto my fingers as Mako's fingers wrapped around my bicep.

The pipes shuddered, the bricks trembled in their mortar, and the flames in the burners licked at the bottom of the pots and pans hungrily.

"Let go of my arm, Mako." I said quietly, trying to keep my voice steady. "It's been a slow night so far, and I doubt we'll have many more customers after this. After they leave I'm going to do inventory with Uncle Narook. You'll clean up in here, and that will be that."

"Please let go of my arm Mako." I repeated when we remained in the same position.

He let go, and I was able to breathe again through the fire that was roaring in my chest.

"Slow tonight Korra?" Uncle Narook asked as he hobbled down the stairs. I kept one eye on him, as I counted my tips. I shoved the small pile of coins into small, soft felted pouch Mom had made me.

"Very," I sighed, and cast a wary glance at the kitchen entry way when the beads rattled another presence in the mostly vacant dining room. Ley Shen and Han were playing another game of pai sho on Uncle Narook's worn and weathered board.

He had changed into his street clothes and out of the dark blue trousers, chef whites, and apron. He studied the pair in the booth for a moment before greeting them somewhat confusedly. "Hello." It sounded more like a question than anything else.

Ley Shen gave a small wave in greeting before pushing her tile forward on the board. "Hello to you too."

He cast a small glance at Uncle Narook, before darting his eyes back to the two White Lotus members. I don't think I'd ever seen the sentries dressed so casually before. "Um, I'm sorry to say this, but the restaurant will be closing soon." His eyes scanned the room pointedly.

Han opened his mouth to intervene now, but Uncle Narook beat him to it. "Oh, Mako, these are old friends of mine. Ley Shen and Han. They're old friends of mine from the South Pole who came to visit me with Korra." He chuckled good naturedly, as if he were about to share a secret. "Between you and me, I'm glad to have the extra help. She can be a bit of a handful." I scoffed, and bumped his side gently with my hip. Uncle Narook flailed his arms dramatically, before steadying himself with his cane. His weathered face glowed with playfulness in the warm, cozy lighting of the restaurant. "And abusive!" He claimed, clutching a hand to his heart.

Mako laughed as he made his way to the door, shaking his head at his boss's antics. I fiddled with the drawstrings on my pouch, listening to the quiet clink of metal within the fabric. The sound filled my ears, and unwillingly, my heart with quiet glee.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Narook." My uncle waved this off. "Oh, Mako, you and Korra have been working so well together these past weeks," which was a blatant lie because he had seen the way we avoided each other, "So I think you two deserve a break. Korra can do some sightseeing while she's out and about running errands for me, and you can have some quality time just for you." Uncle Narook made his way unsteadily from out behind the counter. Mako steadied him, which made him smile. He put a tanned and scarred hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes I think you work too hard, Mako. You have to unwind a little, enjoy life."

Mako nodded respectively, but something hard and twisted lurked behind the softness that his honey colored eyes projected. "Yes, Mr. Narook. Good night."

The curtained entry fluttered shut behind him as he swept off into the night streets of Republic City.

"Korra."

Something was jabbing into my back, finding the tender spaces between my ribs and the ticklish curve of my side. I squirmed away, curling into the thin sheets and pulling my pillow over my head with a grumble.

"Kor-ra," Uncle Narook drawled, poking me again. "You need to get up. Now. Or otherwise all of the choice produce will be gone, and I'll wake you up early again tomorrow."

Fuzzy dreams filled with melted gold, creamy ivory, and smokey scented scarlet wrapped around my muddled thoughts, corralling them, and drew me back down into sleep. "Yeah, tomorrow sounds good," I mumbled contentedly, stifling a yawn.

White and yellow spots danced behind my eyelids. I cringed away, rolling off the narrow cot and onto the unforgiving floor.

"Korra, you are going to go to the market to pick up some things we need for the inventory." Uncle Narook explained this patiently to me. "After, if you like, you can go do a bit of sightseeing, visit the Air Temple, or Avatar Aang's memorial if you want. But before you do any of that, you have to do this one thing for me. After all I, being crippled at the moment, can't very well go out into the crowded streets. I could trip and be trampled, or not get out of the street fast enough and be hit by a Satomobile or-"

I sat up, ignoring the static cloud that was my hair. I scrubbed a hand over my face, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. "All right, all right. What do you need for inventory, Uncle Cripple?"

I received another poke in the ribs for my cheek, and a list shoved in my face.

"-and two packages of fresh seaweed please," I finished relaying the final item for Uncle Narook with a huffing breath. My, Ley Shen, and Han's arms were laden with the different produce and products that he needed for the restaurant.

The nearly toothless old vender garbled something that could have been an affirmative or a curse, and winked at me. His thinning grey hair was drawn up into a scraggly topknot that slouched limply on his head. I winced at the increasing heat. The July sun baked the cement beneath us, and roasted the mass of bodies that had forced their way into Republic City's market.

The old man's darkly tanned and skinny arms trembled as he plopped a cooler onto the table between us. He frowned down into the quickly melting ice before scooping out the dark green seaweed.

I set a bag of flour down on the rickety table, and walked my fingers over the surface of the water in the cooler, refreezing it into neat blocks and leaving a bit so that the seaweed could soak. When the old man looked up from his packaging, he cried out happily, pumping my hand enthusiastically. I juggled the produce in my arms as he hauled me across the table to place a wet and smacking kiss on my cheek, his dark blue eyes shining in gratitude. I laughed, and wiped it off good naturedly.

I handed off the seaweed to Ley Shen, who stuffed it in between her side and a large jar of plum sauce.

I drew out the much lighter sack of yuans Uncle Narook had given me that morning as I was walking out the door and jingled it in my hand. "How much for the seaweed?" I asked, pinching a few, shiny bronze coins between my fingertips.

He waved this off, forcing me to replace the coins I had withdrawn. "Nuh-ting for such pritty and sveet girl." He grinned gummily at me before bowing respectfully. I struggled to do the same with my hands full.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Shing!" I called as Ley Shen and Han cleared a path in the bustling market. Already, I was losing sight of the waving man.

"Honor mine!" He hollered before disappearing in the crowd all together.

After what seemed like an eternity, we were spat out of the bustling crowd on the boardwalk near the pier, the stalls lining it must less busy. A few venders called out to us in greeting, enticing us to view their wares. After seeing how loaded down we were, the chatter soon ceased, and they turned their attention to the customers they did have browsing their selection. Gull-doves called overhead, cooing and diving to snatch at the waves with bright, webbed feet.

Ley Shen and Han wandered closer to the street, struggling to flag down a taxi. I drew closer to the edge of the dock, setting my armload down near the wooden pillar supporting the boardwalk. Twisting rope formed a barrier of sorts to keep people from tumbling into the bay. I kept one eye on my purchases, and turned the other out to the glittering bay. Avatar looked out serenely from his place on his island, watching as ferries and boats chugged across the water. He seemed to send a breeze filled with the smell of the sea and the coolness of the bay to wrap around me.

I sighed, hugging my arms around my middle. In the sweltering heat of the day, as it was nearly noon now, smelling the ocean and looking at the gentle waves, I had never missed home more.

As another bird dived into the water, a mere blur of white, I idly wondered how Master Katara and Naga were doing. Was she spoiling her while I was gone? The polar-bear dog always did have a certain fondness for turtle-seal fat-

Something crashed into me. It was firm, sharp, and soft all at once in the second that it had contact with me. The rope dug into my stomach, the touch fibers working their way through my shirt easily to prick my skin as I tumbled over the edge of the railing and into the bay.

I hurtled towards the water I had been admiring only seconds before. I twisted, imagining myself as an otter penguin and dove cleanly into the water.

When I was younger, and was first taken into the compound, I wasn't allowed outside by myself under any circumstances without adult supervision. Katara, being much spryer then, had been the first to introduce me to penguin sledding. We hurtled down the hill together, and squealed with glee as we flew off of the small ramp at the very edge of the short cliff. One of the first water bending techniques I had learned was to pull the water up towards me as we dived towards it, to cushion my landing.

As I grew a bit more experienced, I simply created my own sleds out of ice when I grew too lazy to catch a penguin; and when I thought Katara wasn't looking, I sped through the arctic waters like I was a young otter penguin chick, chirping and sending the sound echoing out into the dark ocean.

I grew more homesick as I twisted in the gently rocking waters, the soothing liquid a welcome change to the heat and smog of the city. Algae grew floated like long, ghostly green hair from the strong wooden pillars that supported the boardwalk.

I looked up, smiling dreamily at the sunlight filtering through the surface of the water like light through a prism.

I kicked my way to the surface, pushing back wayward strands of hair off my face. My irritation surfaced with me, and I scowled as water dripped into my eyes again. A dark bobbing head caught my eye some yards away. I jetted towards them, fisting the back of their shirt in my fist.

"I don't know who you think you are bub, but you've got another thing comin' for knocking me into the bay." I didn't bother to tell them how good the water felt against my overheated skin, keeping me from feeling smothered.

"I see that Republic City's charm has already rubbed off onto you," A weak, wry voice said.

I jerked the idiot who had knocked into me around, and immediately pushed him away in disgust.

"Jerkbender, this charm is one hundred percent my own. At least when it's directed at you." Mako and I had drifted away from the boardwalk a bit, and I began to swim back.

Ley Shen and Han were waiting anxiously like expecting parents on the boardwalk, relief evident in their eyes as I waved to them. Inwardly I rolled my eyes. It was if whenever I was in danger, they forgot that I could bend three of the four elements.

"Korra wait, please." Mako pleaded, catching up with me surprisingly fast. I cursed his tall, lanky, and muscled- I shook myself out of the train of thought before it took me somewhere I had no intention of visiting.

"Why should I, you just knocked me into the bay!" I squawked, spinning around to face him. My forehead clunked solidly against his collarbone. Obviously he hadn't been expecting me to stop so suddenly. We both groaned. I rubbed at the growing ache between my eyebrows, a headache starting to form. I blamed it more on the fact of Mako's presence than the injury I had just acquired.

"Hey, I have a good reason for that," Mako protested, one hand held up in surrender while the other rubbed at the sharp divot where his collarbone poked out. Water pooled in the shallow hollow formed by the graceful lines of the bones, like a dragon's wings fanning out-

I shook my head again. All aboard, next stop, Mako's Attractive Features.

"You remember that girl from The Opal Dragon, the waitress that you didn't like? June?" I scoffed, although silently I was wondering when he had made this observation.

Mako continued on even though I hadn't really answered his question. "Well, I ran into her at the market, and she just kept talking to me, and I was trying to back up to get away from her when suddenly I was on the board walk and-"

"-you backed into me, making me fall into the bay, and jumped after me to avoid a girl who so obviously wants to go on a date with you."

Mako paused, and looked at me curiously. Water clung to his dark lashes like dew drops. "You really think she wants to go on a date with me?"

I splashed him lightly, my angry blush surfacing and fading as he spluttered and tried to clear his vision. "Yes, you idiotic, absolutely clueless boy. Why do you think she wouldn't leave you alone, and provided me with only mediocre service when we went to The Opal Dragon? Obviously, she wanted your attention, and from the looks of it now, a bit more than that."

Mako grinned stupidly, and even more stupidly, my heart beat hard against my ribs to try and see his smile for itself.

I scoffed again, this time in disgust, and pushed away from him once more. We had drifted away again, and were gathering quite the audience at the railing of the boardwalk. Venders and customers had been drawn away from the stalls at our raised voices. I sliced easily through the water as I made my way back to them. "Oh, and by the way, I don't accept your apology which you haven't given me yet!" I yelled over my shoulder to where he was still treading water dazedly. That seemed to snap him out of it. He sliced through the water easily. It shouldn't have surprised me really. All his movements held a hidden, fierce sort of grace.

He caught my arm, and held his grip firm when I tried to tug away from him. "Thank you for falling into the bay and allowing me a good enough excuse to get away from that clingy girl." Satisfaction bloomed in my chest like a rare flower at her being addressed as such, killing the tangled green vines of my petty jealousy. "I'm sorry that I hurt you though. I didn't mean to. I'd like to make it up to you by showing you around the city today."

I wasn't sure we were talking about him knocking me into the bay anymore.

I breathed in a lungful of sea air, and let it out as I bended myself back up onto the boardwalk. Immediately, the White Lotus sentries were there fussing over me. I brushed them back, curling my fingers to draw the water out of my clothes. I snuck a not so sneaky glance over the edge of the dock to where it looked like Mako was attempting to slouch in a pout in water. I flicked the water that had been hovering near my shoulder down at him. It hit him square on, directly in his face.

I was still giggling as I bent him up onto the planks in a rush of water. He choked as excess water streamed over him and drained between the cracks in the wood. I forced the rest of the water out of his clothes, and sent it back into the bay with a splash.

I hauled him up, dusting off his lapels. My eyebrows furrowed at the sight of his red scarf wound around his neck again. It was over ninety degrees by now surely, why was he wearing that in the middle of summer? I sighed again dramatically, putting a heavy hand on his shoulder so that he stooped to my height.

"Well, I suppose that we're even now, seeing as I knocked you into the bay first. At least this time, we didn't lose the sea prunes." I nudged the crate next to us gently with my foot.

Han hurried to pick it and the rest of the products for the inventory up as if this had been our secret signal that he do so all along. He lugged it over to where a taxi driver was impatiently waiting, chewing on a dark cigar. Ley Shen gave one last wary glance between Mako and I before drawing backwards to herd our rapt audience away to give us some relative privacy. A foot tapping June though refused to be herded away, bouncing on her toes anxiously and running her eyes up and down Mako's figure.

I caught her gaze with mine, and gave her a wicked smile and wave before I turned my attention back to Mako. "Sure, I'll go and see the sights with you today. Not like I have anything better to do anyways." At these words, June let herself be led away.

Mako cocked his head curiously, and went to turn around. I tucked my arm in his and swung him around to stride over to Han and Ley Shen who had just finished loading down the taxi. "Mako is going to take me on a tour of Republic City for the rest of the afternoon. I already have some extra money that Uncle Narook gave me, and I probably won't be back until dinner. Don't wait up okay? Okay," I smiled brightly, if not slightly manic, and shoved them into the taxi and slammed the door behind them. The driver tipped his hat to me, and roared off in a cloud of exhaust.

I turned back to Mako, who was wearing a slightly flabbergasted expression. I clapped my hands together excitedly, softening my probably insane smile. "So, lead away Tour Guide."

"And this, is Republic City Park," Mako spread his arms grandly before the giant, open wrought iron gates bearing the same name behind him.

I gave him my best dead pan look. "No, I thought it was the Republic City Dump."

In turn, he gave me his best look of pure exasperation. I laughed gaily, sticking my tongue out at him as I dragged him into the lush green park. Neat, winding cobblestone paths wound through the great lawns. A pretty bridge was suspended above a small stream that originated from a glimmering teal pond. The sweet breeze carried the sound of quacking turtle ducks. The giant, twisting trees provided shade for small benches made for two that were huddled in front of nearly every trunk in the park.

Mako watched in amusement as I struggled to take in everything at once. A pang of longing made it slightly harder to breathe as I thought of how enthusiastically Naga would take to this seemingly perfect playground for her.

I shook it off, and dragged him to a woman who was pushing her cart, which had a bright pink parasol attached to it so that it shaded it. Her light blue eyes darted to our joined hands, and smile lines lined her cheeks as she flashed us an easy smile. Grey and silvered threaded through her rich brown hair at her temples. "Hello there. What can I get for you youngins?"

I opened my mouth to ask what she was selling when Mako ordered for me. "Two orders of moon peach ice cream please." High, childlike giggling drew my attention back to the pond where the turtle ducklings were chasing each other through the reeds. "And a bag of bread crumbs for the turtle ducks." I fumbled for the pouch on my side while Mako smoothly pushed a small pile across to her. I scowled at him. He shrugged sheepishly. "You already paid for lunch."

I gave an unconscious smile as my stomach burbled contentedly at the memory of our lunch. We had consumed the delicious chicken pork and caramelized onion and pepper kabobs we had eaten a while earlier while Mako was showing me the Central City Station and the flaming statue of Fire Lord Zuko.

The kind and narrow faced woman frowned as she opened a small hatch in her cart. "Sorry kids, I only have one serving of moon peach left." She drew out a bowl the frozen cream, colored the lightest shade of orange I had ever seen. It contrasted interestingly against her celery green dress. It was sheer, and layered in a way that I had never seen before. I bet that it was cooler than anything kind of clothing from the South Pole.

I answered before Mako could do something gallantly stupid like volunteer to order something else. "That's all right, we can share, can't we?"

Mako parted his lips anyways to speak.

I rolled my eyes, and shoved the bowl and the two spoons that the woman had kindly provided for us into his hands while I grabbed the bread crumbs and Mako. I hauled him away while calling over my shoulder to the lady. "Thank you, have a nice day!" She waved in return before returning to pushing her cart across the small, rolling hills.

I released Mako as we approached the pond, spinning around to walk backwards. I snaked a hand forward to grab a spoon and take a small spoonful of the dessert before popping it into my mouth.

I moaned in pleasure at the sweetness breaking across my tongue. It was like biting into a fresh moon peach at the peak of the season, and I resisted the instinct to lick my lips for extra juice. I stumbled in my bliss, and Mako caught my wrist with a surprised laugh before turning me about so that I could actually see where I was going.

"You know that I could have just ordered something else?" He said even as he took his own spoonful of the sweet. I observed the way his eyes became slits of gold, and the deep hum of pleasure that emitted from his throat. I wasn't sure that he even knew he was making that sound that made my stomach clench in the most wonderful of ways.

I shrugged. "You looked like you knew what you were doing, and anyways, I was almost full from lunch anyways."

Mako sat down by the edge of the pond, sighing. He took another bite full, cradling the bowl closer so that I couldn't reach it. "Full huh? Well, than I guess that I'll just have to finish this myself."

To my utter horror, he began to shovel giant amounts of my new favorite dessert into his mouth. I lunged, tackling him onto the grass and trying to reach the bowl that he held out of my reach with his ridiculously long arms. As we wrestled, somehow the paper bag of bread crumbs was split open, and rained down on Mako. I scrambled up his torso, yanking the cool bowl out of his hands and rolling away with my spoils. Somehow, he had managed not to spill it during our struggle, for which I was eternally grateful.

Mako sat up, brushing crumbs out of his hair to watch mournfully as I spooned the last of the ice cream into my mouth.

My gloating was interrupted at the delighted quacks from the pond, and a dozen waddling, stumbling ducklings rushed towards Mako to peck at his clothes to get at the bread crumbs that covered him still. I fell over laughing as he struggled not to thrash in fear of crushing one of the precious little creatures.

I laughed for what seemed like hours, gasping and practically sobbing out my mirth on the pillow-like grass. I laughed until I grew light headed and my stomach clenched and unclenched painfully like I had just done a thousand abdominal crunches. Finally, the last turtle duckling hopped off of Mako's forehead with a triumphant quack, and hurried to join its siblings who were lazily making their way to their nest with intent to sleep off their food coma.

I struggled to draw in a proper breath, and my attempt failed anyways at the sight of Mako's hair sticking up ridiculously and his clothes full of tiny, wet marks in the shape of a turtle duckling's webbed foot. I howled as Mako pushed himself up disgruntledly, brushing off his clothes with sulky mutters.

Finally, I sat up, drawing in much needed oxygen. I swayed slightly at the sudden onslaught of blood rushing to my brain. I shook my head, clearing away the black spots. I winced, hissing at the throbbing centered in the middle of my forehead. The ache seemed to push at the front of my skull. I groaned, burying my head in my knees. A warm hand settled on my shoulder. "Korra? Are you okay?"

"Head hurts," I managed to grunt out, rubbing at my eyes.

I could practically feel Mako shaking his head disapprovingly behind me. "You probably had a brain freeze. You shouldn't have eaten the ice cream so fast." Even his tone was scolding. The pain stabbed with amazing intensity, making me moan again. I rocked back and forth, drawing my arms around my knees and rocking. His voice gentled, and his hand moved from my shoulder to rub at my tensed neck. "It'll go away in a moment, don't worry."

I wasn't sure how long we had sat there, but when I raised my head, I blinked at the change of the position of the sun. It was playing peekaboo with the city's skyline, nearing the horizon.

I turned my head to look at Mako, who seemed to notice this as well.

He frowned. "We should probably get you home. Your uncle will be worried."

I nodded, because his mind was already made up. He was already on his feet and offering a hand down to me. I grabbed it, and stumbled into him slightly as he pulled me up. Mako clenched my hand tighter in his, and I steadied myself by twisting my fingers into his scarf. I tapped the red fabric thoughtfully, and Mako ever so slightly tensed at the movement.

"Why are you wearing this in the middle of summer? Afraid of catching a brain freeze?" I teased as we passed the turtle duck nest that was tucked into a particularly thick patch of weeds. I resisted the urge to coo at the fluffy mass that was huddled in the nest and was already sleeping deeply.

Mako didn't laugh, only brought our hands down to swing between us. "Something like that," He finally answered.

His gloves pressed into the lines of my palm, creating new imprints there. His bare and calloused fingers fit neatly in the grooves between my knuckles. I tapped his covered hand with my own finger. "What about these hmm?" I asked. "Why do you wear these gloves all the time?"

This time Mako didn't take as long to answer. By the time we turned the next corner, he parted his mouth to reply. I was content to walk with him back to Uncle Narook's. A taxi ride would e too short to ask him all the things I wanted to know when he was opening up to me. Spirits knew when I would have another chance like this. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"I didn't have anyone to teach me how to fight with firebending when I was little. I had to teach myself." I didn't ask why no one trained him to fire bend, knowing that this was too personal of a question, no matter how curious I was.

"How did you train yourself then?" I asked, eyes wide with amazement. Beneath his slightly dark and bitter tone, there was a certain note of pride.

He shrugged. "How else? Through trial and error." He tugged off a glove. "Usually there were more errors than successes before I got older."

We had reached Uncle Narook's by now. I leaned against the door frame, not quite ready to go in yet. I took his uncovered hand in both of mine, tracing over too smooth burns, and the uneven dips and divots the made up his hand. I pressed a kiss to the back of it, and I heard Mako draw in a shallow gasp. I looked up at him through my lashes. It was hard to see what his facial expression was in the dim street lamp.

He didn't say anything for the longest, time and neither did I. I cleared my throat, and traced his burns again, wishing that I had been there to erase the damage before they had scarred his pale skin. "You'll need a new pair of gloves soon. These are going to practically fall apart."

Mako hummed, still staring at me.

I licked my lips, a flicker of nervousness running through me. I didn't do well with nervousness, so I turned to something that I knew how to express instead- irritation. "Are you even listening to m-"

A warm pair of lips cut me off, sweet from the moon peach ice cream. My eye lids closed, and I remembered my dream from this morning, full of melted gold, creamy ivory, and smokey scented scarlet.

"Bye."

My lips burned as their blanket disappeared, already cooling in the evening air. I let my head thunk against the door frame with a sigh before I twirled around and stepped into the restaurant.

Uncle Narook was seated at the counter, going over his lists. He had countless lists of things he needed to do, while my mother was completely disorganized. Only the small lamp behind the reception desk was lit, the other lights in the dining room extinguished.

"Did you have a good day today?"

I hummed some kind of response that could have meant anything. I wound my way towards the stairs, replaying the scene over and over again in my head and noticing something different every time- the noise of traffic in the background, the increasing amount of pink gathering on the horizon as the sun prepared to descend below the horizon line, the way his hand hadn't tightened around both of mine.

"I heard that you and Mako took a tumble into the bay today."

I paused halfway up the stairs, biting my lip as I waited for Uncle Narook to continue.

"At least all the sea prunes made it this time." He chuckled, and went back to his list, humming under his breath.

I didn't notice that I was still clutching the ragged glove that Mako had removed until I was upstairs sitting down on my cot.

I fingered the fraying fabric between my hands. I bit my lip and considered a pair of scarred hands that belonged to a golden eyed boy, and the difference between a stolen first kiss and a kiss given with clear intentions by said boy.

….

You don't need to say it. I know what you're thinking: SNO is a terrible person. Well, I went on an unofficial hiatus of Makorra. I didn't think that it'd be fair to get your guys' hopes up at a new chapter just to say that I was taking a break.

And just because I haven't published anything recently doesn't mean that I haven't been working on some pieces, just no necessarily for this fandom. Really, I went from about 2,500 words tonight to over 7,000. I'm really pleased with how this turned out, and how fast I worked out the plot. This has definitely been one of the easier chapters to write. Lucky for both of us, its long- really long –so hopefully that'll make up for my updating, or lack of thereof.

Reviews are loved, the people who write them even more so.

SNO.

P.S. I HIT MY 100,000 WORD MARK! XD XD XD XD XD