Korra raised her head just long enough to see Mako slam a wall of fire into the ground, preventing the chi-blockers from getting to he and Idan.
She breathed, hoping the chi-blockers would give up.
Her wish was granted.
The truck began rolling, and she was the lone captive in this truck.
She laid back, trying to ignore the small buzz of electricity in her shackles. If being unable to bend the platinum shackles wasn't already a problem, it being electrified just made it worse.
Her vision was beginning to dim in the corner of her eyes. She had exhausted herself. Even she could tell that she had not been using her bending properly. She had thrown everything into it and had probably done more harm than good.
But Idan was safe. That's what mattered to her.
She smiled, feeling like a good mother for once. She didn't have the nagging guilt that she abandoned her son right now. She had done all she could for him, and that made her proud.
She passed out thinking of that last vision of Mako holding Idan, before the wall of fire obscured everything.
Korra dreamed...
The inauguration of Jinora receiving her airbending tattoos had finished.
Asami walked pacefully out of the temple, with Mako following suit.
"Asami. What's wrong?" Mako asked his girlfriend.
"Not here" She gestured that they positioned themselves in a place a bit more private.
"Alright. Fine." Mako said with an annoyed tone.
Korra saw this, and something compelled her to follow them.
The couple had reached the back of the temple when Asami spoke..
"What's wrong with you?" She jabbed a finger in Mako's chest.
Korra was standing around the corner, eavesdropping on their heated conversation. Maybe today they'll finally break up, and I'll have a chance with Mako, she thought to herself.
"Me? What did I do?" Mako's face was quizzical.
"Oh, don't play dumb," Asami snapped at him, "I see how you've been acting recently. Especially around Korra."
Korra - now thinking a week back to when she confessed her feelings to Mako after their pro-bending match against the Raberoos. 'Look, I really like you and I think we were meant for each other' were the words she remembered herself saying. She felt guilty, accompanied by a little bit of hope inside her.
"W-What? N-No. Where'd you get that idea?" Mako asked, but his stuttering wasn't helping his case.
Asami started listing the reasons for her suspicion: "We went on one date this past week; You wouldn't even give me as much as a simple hug in front of her; And what's with this awkwardness between you and her? I noticed it again there inside the temple. Oh, and especially after that match with the Raberoos in the locker room." Asami said, clearly peeved with him.
"Asami, you're being paranoid . I-" Mako was interrupted.
"Am i? Or is there truth to it?" Asami demanded of him.
Mako looked to the ground, "Asami, I'm just confused about-"
"J-Just leave me alone for now, okay. I need some time." Asami paced down the long flight of steps which headed to the island's dock.
Mako tried catching up with Asami. Now, Korra really compelled herself to follow them.
Mako reached the dock. "Asami, wait."
Asami got on the boat that he and she came to the island with. She left without him. The sun was almost set, and the last ferry going from the island to the city left an hour ago. His only way of getting to the city would be on Naga.
Mako roared in the air, ruffling his hair, clearly frustrated with himself.
He heard a cracking in the distance.
He hurried in the direction of the sound, he rounded a corner and saw a determined Korra hurrying towards the flight of steps.
"Korra," He called for her.
"Oh.. Um..Mako? What are you doing here? She asked, trying to seem as innocent as possible.
"I could ask you the same thing." His look was a suspicious one.
"W-Well..I'm looking for Naga. Have you seen her?" She quickly lied to him, content with the alibi she came up with.
"No, I haven't," He said, sighing when he hearing that.
Great, looks like I'm staying here for the night, he thought to himself.
"Where's Tenzin?" Mako asked.
"He should be in his quarters," she answered. "Why though?"
"Well...It looks like I'm goona have to stay here for the night," he sighed.
Korra didn't want to seem suspicious, knowing full well what happened between him and Asami.
"Where's Asami then?" She asked.
He took a deep breath, "Asami and I had a fight, and she took off without me."
Korra forced herself not to react. She could not be jealous or petty. If Mako chose Asami, she could be okay with that. "Oh," she said, hoping she sounded like she didn't care.
"Yeah." He cleared his throught. "She's very...sad."
Korra didn't want to ask because she didn't want to seem nosy. She wasn't sure what was okay to ask without sounding too personally invested. "What about you?" She asked.
She was Mako's friend. That was a safe question.
"I'm..." He looked around at the sky and then found her eyes, "I'm tired of being confused."
Korra walked a little closer to him, standing next to him; they were both looking out over the dock. "Are you?" She looked over at him. "Are you still confused?"
Mako wouldn't meet her gaze. He rubbed his arm absentmindedly. "Not as much as I used to be."
Korra's heart thudded in her ears. What did that mean? Did that mean he was more comfortable with Asami? But why would he say that just after a fight with her.
"It's getting cold," Mako said, interrupting her thoughts. "Let's head towards the temple."
They walked together silently, heading toward the temple.
There was crack, and then a thud when on of the steps broke and Mako fell to the floor clutching his ankle.
She barely hesitated. "Are you hurt? I can heel you. I just need fresh water and-"
Mako interjected, "No, no. I'm fine." But the next step he attempted to take, he found himself the ground again. "I think I sprained my ankle really badly ," he said, clearly annoyed with himself.
Korra turned around, and crouched in front of him.
"Hop on," she gestured to him to climb on her back, "I'll carry you back to the temple."
"You're kidding, right?," he said with a bemused look.
"Actually I'm not. I'm stronger than you think, you know.. Unless you wanna crawl the 500m back to the temple," She smirked.
"Fine. Okay. But I hope nobody sees us. It'll look pretty embarrassing," he sighed.
She smiled, "hopefully not, city boy."
She could feel this toned body on hers as she carried him. Fortunately he couldn't see her face that was pretty much blushing the entire time. But half way, her legs were admittedly tired out.
"There," She pointed to vacant guest bunker. One of many scattered around the island. "I can heal you in there. There's a fresh water supply inside."
Mako thought nothing of it, "Yeah, sure." He just wanted his foot to be healed already.
Korra had used these empty bunkers many times to have her 'time off' when she grew fed up of her air bending practice. Thus, knowing where the hidden spare keys were. She reached inside a clay pot of soil that was hanging to the left of the door, and dug her fingers an inch deep, finding the bunker's key.
Inside, they took seats on opposite ends of the bed, each leaning against the wall. She began healing his ankle with the water she had gotten from the nearby basin. She felt very aware that they were alone, and she couldn't tell if Mako was experiencing the same jumpiness that she was.
The awkwardness that she had been feeling faded quickly as they began to talk.
They didn't talk about Asami or Amon. They talked about their childhoods and their favorite things to do. They talked about how they both loved lying in the sun on hot days. They talked about their favorite bending moves.
They laughed and they got serious and then they would laugh again.
Korra relished the absolute comfort she felt. She forgot about all of her troubles. Mako made her forget. He made her feel normal. The weight of being the Avatar was gone, if only for a while.
He's ankle was already healed, but he was enjoying the time with her to saying nothing about it.
The whole night was innocent enough up until Korra began talking about fishing with her father in the South Pole. Mako's relaxed smile faded, and his eyes fell to his hands.
She didn't realize his reaction for a while, but when she did, she stopped talking. "Mako?"
"Sorry." He tried to smile, but he just looked terribly sad. "I fished with my dad too. It was actually the last thing we did together before..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry. You should finish your story."
Korra didn't say anything. She just watched him, looking at his messy hair and at the sad tilt of his mouth. He was vulnerable right now. She only hesitated briefly before joining him at the head of his bed.
She leaned against the wall next to him and held out her hand. She and Bolin held hands sometimes, but it was a very silly thing, more like being young siblings. She would be lying if she said this wasn't any different.
Mako took her hand in his. She glanced over at him. "Do you want to talk about him? Your dad?"
Mako didn't answer for a while. He looked over at her, his eyes taking on a new spark in them.
"My dad told me once that my mother was the best thing in his life. He told me to make sure I didn't let go of a girl that I-" Mako stumbled over his words. Korra couldn't tell if he was trying to push her away or bring her closer. Was the girl he was talking about her or Asami? "Korra, he'd have loved you," Mako finished.
Mako's eyes were simultaneously passionate and vulnerable, and Korra couldn't take it. She let go of his hand and pulled his head toward her with both of her hands.
She kissed him. She was assaulted by his taste and smell, and she just wanted more. Mako barely hesitated in his response, turning himself toward her and deepening the kiss.
She pressed him down onto his back, climbing on top of him and losing herself in his kiss, his body...
Korra woke the next morning in the bed feeling warm and comfortable. She was on her side, facing the door. The sun was just about to rise, which meant that Mako would soon be rising too. She could feel his heat against her back.
He had fallen asleep holding her, but they had shifted as they slept.
She pulled herself into a sitting position gently, trying not to wake Mako, fighting the urge to pull the covers with her to cover her nakedness. She was a little in shock over where she was and what they had done.
Mako was sprawled out, the sheets only covering up to his hip bone. Korra's eyes traced the light skin of his chest and flashes of last night, of touching that chest ran through her mind.
She considered waking him up, but in the light of morning, she was nervous about his reaction to all of this. Weren't he and Asami still together? ,echoed rigorously in her mind.
A pit of guilt formed in her stomach, and she panicked.
Korra gently got out of bed and gathered her clothing from various places around the room. She found her pants next to his shoes... It didn't seem like much, but Korra remembered shopping with Asami whom had gotten him those shoes as a gift.
The pit of guilt grew, and she dressed quickly.
Without ever waking Mako, Korra slipped from the room.
Korra awoke from her dreaming memory when a soldier pulled her from the back of the transport vehicle. She felt cold in comparison to the warmth of that night in bed with Mako. The memory was still vivid, and her dream had caused her to relive it.
The chi-blockers escorted her down dark tunnels, until she came to a row of prison cells. She was tossed unceremoniously into the last one.
"Amon will want to see you bright an early tomorrow morning. I suggest you get some sleep for your big day, Avatar."
She struggled to a sitting position. She was displeased, but not surprised that they weren't removing her shackles. Just before they shut the door to her cell, she caught sight of a familiar face from many years ago.
Tahno was being carried between two chi-blockers, his head hanging loosely. She couldn't tell if he was knocked out or just exhausted.
As her door closed, she let her head fall onto the wall and closed her eyes. She hadn't made a clean sacrifice. Idan might be safe, but more benders from the city had gone down with her.