Comfort
She surfaces, gasping for breath, greedily sucking the cool night air into her lungs.
As she looks up, judging the distance to the open window of the arena's attic, she smiles at how this is exactly what she did the first time she snuck out; here she is, swimming off to the Pro Bending Arena in the middle of the night again. Just like old times.
Korra bends the water around herself, propelling herself up on a waterspout, aiming for the window. Unfortunately, she's misjudged the distance, and instead of gracefully landing on her feet like she'd planned, she crashes into the wall instead.
"Ow.." she whines, dazed. She rubs her head and looks around the small room Mako and Bolin share. Bolin's bed is empty – she supposes he's out partying it up with his fangirls swooning all over him someplace in the city.
She would have gone too, really, if it hadn't been for her Airbending training. She really is trying not to let her temper get the best of her, and it's working – she's been able to get through the spinning gates twice today without crashing into them. She thought Tenzin had looked pleased.
"Korra? What are you doing?" Mako's sleep-laden voice brings her out of her daze. He's staring questioningly at her, obviously wondering why she's crashed into his room in the middle of the night.
She's not sure what brought her here – she just felt lonely out on Air Temple Island. She couldn't fall asleep, and just the thought of Mako and Bolin a stone's toss away made her feel less lonely. So why not pay them a visit, never mind that normal people didn't pay surprise visits to friends in the middle of the night? Korra's never done things the normal way, anyway.
"I couldn't sleep," she says, getting up and walking over to him, gazing down at him. With a start, she realizes he's not wearing a shirt, and she has to force her gaze away from his muscled, toned chest. She feels herself blushing, grateful for the cover of the night.
"Move over," she says.
Instead of doing a she says, he merely raises an eyebrow at her.
"I'm cold," she whines, looking at him imploringly.
"You're dripping on the floor," he states matter-of-factly, and she notes that she's forgotten to dry herself off. She sighs, steps away from him, and bends a whirlwind of fire around herself, effectively drying herself off.
She crosses her arms.
"Happy?" she asks.
He half-smiles and scoots over towards the wall, lifting the edge of the covers up for her. She wastes no time in crawling into his bed, snuggling up against him. She's not sure if this had been what she'd planned when she set out from the island, not sure if this is changing things between them, but she knows that right now, right here, this is what she wants – all she wants.
After a few seconds hesitation, Mako puts an arm around her, drawing her closer. She breathes in his musky, unique scent and sighs softly, her head tucked under his chin. His fingers comb through her hair.
"Sorry I woke you up," she mutters softly, for lack of anything better to say.
He chuckles.
"It's okay."