Playing with Fire
The cold breeze blew into his loft as Mako stood at the doorstep. He cleared his throat and looked at Tahno gravely.
"hey umm...Is Korra here?" He asked, shifting his weight awkwardly. His palms were stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket in a casual attempt of seeming calm. Kuvira did tell him to leave her alone but he was too stubborn to call it a night just yet. He wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully until he got the chance to speak to her.
Korra caught a glimpse of Mako as Tahno opened the door. His gaze was low and golden, the porch lights reflected off his irises making them look like pools of honey. He didn't seem upset which was something positive to focus on despite feeling her stomach drop into her gut.
It was good to see him though, not under the guise of lust and handcuffs. There was nothing left to distract or sway her intentions now which made her feel exposed in the moment.
Korra spent her little escape avoiding this confrontation, but it was time to address it now. She was rapidly trying to clear her mind, get her words right.
Tahno quickly held the door close to his body, just incase Korra might have been seen lingering over his shoulder. "Ahhhh..." He inconspicuously looked around, trying to gauge what Korra wanted him to do. "Well she...ahhh"
The princess placed her palm on his back, letting him know he didn't need to pretend she wasn't there. He was right after all, she couldn't hide forever. Her friend slowly moved to the side, opening the door wider revealing Korra beside him.
As she gazed up at him, Mako found himself struggling to breathe. She seemed to have sucked every ounce of life from him through her gaze. He felt absolutely vulnerable here, like his fate was completely in her grasp.
The seconds stretched on for what seemed like minutes as they stared at each other. Both too afraid to make the wrong move. Korra lingered by Tahno's side, her fingers curling around the edges of his shirt she wore. She felt safer there, more secure because he knew how she felt, her intentions, her hesitations. It took a lot out of her just to admit them the first time and luckily he didn't judge her. Then here comes the expectations that proceeds her confession, it was suddenly becoming too overwhelming again..
Mako's gaze bounced between Korra and Tahno as he awkwardly stood in the gap between the door frame. Korra cupped her hands together timidly as she glanced over at Tahno for a bit of support. He cocked his head to the side, giving her a non-verbal cue to bite the bullet. Like he said before, she could never go wrong with just being honest.
He swung his head over to Mako, slightly enjoying how rigid he looked. He decided to throw the poor man a bone. "I was going to take her home, think you can manage that for me detective?" Tahno asked with a smug expression.
Mako nodded almost too eagerly to that question. "If that's okay with Korra..."
The water-tribe girl hesitantly agreed and turned to give Tahno a hug goodbye. He winked to her playfully, trying to erase the worried look on her face. She sighed in his arms stealing an extra moment of peace.
Mako noticed how comfortable Korra was with Tahno. He was a close friend of hers so he never thought anything of it in the past. However, something seemed different now.
"See ya around.." He voiced as Korra stepped out onto the porch. He nodded to Mako before swiftly closing the door.
They slowly started to descend down the steps to Tahno's front yard. The energy between them was sharp, like an electric current. She felt the same jittery nerves as one did during a first date, or when you have to present in front of a room full of people. Careful not to say the wrong thing. Korra turned her phone on, trying to use it as a crutch to occupy her attention. As soon as she saw the unanswered messages she slipped it in the back pocket of her jeans regretfully.
Mako stopped at the bottom of the steps, his words bubbling up on his tongue. "The other night was entirely my fault...I'm sorry for getting too carried away. I was already so worked up and then I saw her...with you and I just reacted..."
Korra looked up at him surprised, she didn't expect him to start with that topic of conversation. "You're talking about in your office?" Her face got a little red as she remembered Kuvira's fierce determination and his dominance.
"Don't apologize for something I actually really enjoyed...You kept your word after all" She looked away, blushing heavily.
Mako seemed a bit relieved about that part, he'd never acted so...domineering before. In Korra's company sure, but with the added attention from Kuvira he was a bit conflicted. It was amazing and yet a bit cringeworthy. It was crazy to think about the activities you'd be willing to do under the influence of sexual gratification. Not to mention how much Korra encouraged his sexual explorations.
"I can't seem to act straight when I'm around you." He rubbed the back of his neck taking another deep breath.
Korra hummed, not entirely knowing how to respond to that. Before, it was easy to engage in playful banter, but now, she knew it was real for him. It meant more now and for some reason it was just...different.
Mako could tell she felt a bit awkward and gathered his courage to speak his mind. "...and about what I said-"
"Im sorry," They both spoke, their words mingling together.
Korra shook her head in frustration, visibly asking to talk first. "No don't be, I shouldn't have run away..." She stood in front of him, his height naturally towering over hers as she continued. "I was just...overwhelmed...I didn't expect-"
"Korra..." Mako began, his breath creating a cloud of vapor in the chilly air. He reached out for her hand and lightly took hold of it. "It was wrong of me to spring that on you. No matter how impulsive, so I do need to apologize."
They both paused again, teetering around the obvious elephant in the room, that dreaded three letter sentence.
"I didn't realize you felt this way...I shouldn't have let things get so complicated..." Korra's gaze was wide, her eyes so bright in contrast with the night time sky. "I never want to take advantage of you and I thought we were on the same page." Playing with fire...
Mako stepped closer to her and interlaced their fingers. Korra felt goosebumps ripple up her arms. Her heart, mind, and body were all sending her mixed signals. She couldn't decided which was best to listen to.
"Korra...it was inevitable." Mako confessed. There was no way this wasn't bound to happen eventually.
"Mako..." She whispered, her eyes-lashes batting back watery eyes. "Don't say that,"
He seemed determined, almost in a mood to snap her out of whatever funk she was in, despite what everyone else has been telling him the past few days, he knew what they had was real. "It's true, and deep down you know that."
"Stop," Korra stepped back, turning over her shoulder and hugging her arms to her chest. She looked at Tahno's door and contemplated making a run for it. Her chest felt like it was in knots and she craved the safe space he created for her.
The detective shrugged, remembering how much they teetered over this edge. Their connection was dauntless, she was just hell bent on denying it. "We were just playing ourselves.."
"No you were!" Korra answered poking a sharp glare over her shoulder. "You played yourself." A part of her didn't want to say this, but she felt almost compelled to.
Mako's expression hardened, Kuvira had already told him this but he hated hearing Korra say it. The princess started to pace around the cement yard, her flat shoes making little trotting sounds as she stomped about.
"I told you what I wanted. Where this was going! My intensions! My feelings! I did everything right!" She threw her hands up in frustration, like she was internally arguing with herself.
"How did we get here then?" Mako asked, although it was more of a mutual rhetorical question.
"Because you lied!" Korra yelled, her eyes welling. "You broke our contract Mako!" her voice cracked as a few tears spilled down her cheeks. She angrily wiped them away, hating how emotional she had gotten so quickly. They spent the past few months building a layer of trust and Korra was slowly allowing herself to open up. She accommodated for him every step of the way and now that he was at a good place she felt like he had her backed into a corner.
"Korra all of those times...Did they mean nothing to you?"
"Don't!" The princess threatened with a pointed finger. She wasn't going to let him weaponize those moments, of course they did and he knew that. She wouldn't have pursed him in the first place if there wasn't any significance behind it. Korra loved their playfulness and natural tendency toward each other but, he was moving too fast. He was asking for too much now.
He tried to walk toward her but she followed his steps, backing away to keep their distance. "It's not like I did it on purpose! I-I thought we could move on from this..."
"That's not your decision to make." Korra snapped. "If you want out, we don't have to do this anymore!"
Mako reached out for her, "That's not what I want..."
Korra cocked her head to the side bewildered. So just having sex wasn't enough, but also no sex wasn't an option for him either. This was impossible!
"You don't even know what you want!" She yelled.
"I want you!" He shouted.
Korra huffed, "I can't be cordial with you Korra, I want to go back to having nothing to do with each other... actually we're just fuck buddies, I'm not worth being a genuine friend to you...okay now I'm ready to be friends with benefits...actually I love you and I want you all to myself! That's quite the transformation for 4 fucking months of time!"
Korra had barely begun to get back to herself, assimilate to the normal routine of her life after her break up disrupted everything. They were content and comfortable; she was learning more about herself, setting her boundaries, discovering multiple ways of giving and receiving love, then he just fucked it up! So now she was just supposed to stop?
Mako breathed deeply threw his nose, his face flustered. "I was lying to myself too! I was pushing down this stubborn emotion because I thought this was better than nothing!" He shrugged, "Have I not said this before? I wasn't truly over you from the beginning!"
Korra understood exactly what he meant, better than he could ever know.
"Mako that's exactly what I did to Asami! Do you not see how fucked up that is!" Korra whined, referring to their brief conversation back at his ceremony. "I told her to move on but I didn't fucking mean it!"
Korra remembered what Asami said, how she felt like that decision was taken from her, and she was right. Korra couldn't let herself bring Asami into this mess as well, no matter how tempted she was.
"She deserves someone stable and supportive, but look at me Mako! I'm still a mess." Korra huffed. "I'm still so tied down...I love her enough to let her go!"
That was the problem with unraveling her web, she was left with too many loose strings. Mako didn't realize Korra felt that way toward Asami, from his perspective back at his promotion, everything seemed fine. Korra was only saving face.
"I'm not ready for whatever you think is supposed to happen after this!" She shook her head, trying to keep herself together. She didn't have the capacity to love so many people, it was exhausting now, trying to uphold everyone's expectations. There was no way he'd understand.
"Why do you feel this way? I thought we were-" He bit his lip, remembering every subtle glance and gentle touch. Her laughs, her embrace, so genuine and pure. There was no way all of those times shared between the two of them was just playing a role. "I thought-"
"I'm sorry Mako, I don't know what you thought but..I can't... despite how I feel." She stammered.
Mako's brow perked as he caught the tail end of her sentence, "How you feel?" He took a step forward. "So you do-"
"What do you want me to say Mako!" Korra shrugged, the muscles in her arms tense. She had no more fight left in her, including her own internal denial. He saw right threw her, there was no reason to be so coy.
"Korra.." Mako tried to soften his tone, feeling that he was at a point of break through.
He could see her slightly shivering and took his jacket off. He approached her again and this time she didn't pull away as he draped it over her shoulders as a make shift peace offering. Korra breathed in his cologne and admittedly felt better being coddled by him. She tried to repel the tension between them but it was like separating the ends of magnets, they will always fight to attract.
She was so guarded...How much he wished to console her. "I know this feeling Korra-"
"I love you..." She interrupted.
He fell silent, almost as if he didn't catch what she said. Korra peaked up at him with a disgruntled expression as he stood seemingly paralyzed for a few seconds. Once she spoke it into existence, she felt an enormous weight lift from her shoulders.
"I love you okay?!...but it's more complicated-"
Mako pitched forward and kissed her, wanting to ease any confusion she might have on his part. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her against his chest desperately. He wanted her more than the air he breathed, every fiber of his being clung to this embrace as her voice filled his ears like a sweet hymn.
She said it... Despite what anyone else had told him, he knew their truth. He wasn't going to let her go this time, no matter what obstacles were set in place.
Korra melted under his grasp, hitching her hand around his neck to hold herself up as their lips intertwined. It felt like coming home, like being wrapped in a gossamer blanket of bliss and fulfillment. Mako always had this hold on her that she couldn't deny, even despite herself.
This was trouble, she thought.
The moment they connected everything seemed to fade into the distance. As they embraced everything felt at ease, but it was fleeting. Just like every moment they spent tangled up together naked and exposed, it never lasted.
They separated and Korra gazed at him doubtfully. That's how they ended up here in the first place, stitching together love and lust. Korra realized just how deep in this she really was.
Mako wasn't the problem here, she was...
He lightly brushed the back of his palm across her cheek. "...I can wait for you." he whispered.
"I can't let you do that," Korra sighed, breathing heavily threw her lips as she realized what just happened.
She didn't believe Mako would be able to quell his jealousy. He can say that now, but she doubted he'd be able to comprehend just how conflicted she was about all of the relationships she was tied to. How she still depended on them as well as their own.
"It's not enough-"
Suddenly, both of their phones rang simultaneously. Their ringtones interrupted their soap-opera of emotions in a generic tune that demanded their attention. At first they were reluctant to answer, holding their devices stubbornly. Mako was the first to check his caller ID.
"It's Beifong."
"Tenzin," Korra commented. He never called this late so it must be something important.
She answered the phone as Mako did the same, hearing a loud commotion on the other end as Tenzin began telling her what was going on.
"WHAT?!" Korra shouted. "HOW DID-" She cupped her mouth to stop from screaming over Tenzin's voice.
"Is there a visual?" Mako asked, he looked so calm and collected despite the high level stress situation. "Okay I need dispatch at every port, depot, and transit station. Have every surrounding building locked down. I'm on my way!"
They locked eyes, Korra seemed panicked while Mako's face was stern as he listened to Beifong. Tenzin remained calm on the other line and instructed her to meet him at the Water-tribe museum as quickly as possible.
The Fire Nation crown had been stolen.
"O-Okay Tenzin I'm on my way!" She hung up and looked to Mako for some form of guidance. "Mako!" Korra yelled, quickly loosing her composure.
He gestured to the passenger side of his car as he fled down the driveway. "Get in!"
Korra quickly obeyed his order, throwing herself into the passengers seat and buckling her seat belt. He sped down the road and out of the cluster of townhomes. Luckily Tahno didn't live too far from downtown and their eta was only a few minutes. Once they made it to the freeway they could hear and see the police sirens and multicolored lights downtown.
Korra's heart fell into her gut as she visualized the worst possible outcomes. Of course this would happen right now of all times! What kind of fucked up karmic cycle was she perpetually trapped in?
"This is all my fault..." She muttered, her expression heartbroken. The artifact was scheduled to be unveiled in the coming week and she was the sole proprietor. The preparations were going so smoothly. Iroh was funding and providing so much toward the effort, the Fire Nation embassy trusted her with this priceless heirloom and she fumbled. The princess felt like she had let them all down.
Mako glanced to her sympathetically, it was a little ways back but he remembered when they first discovered the crown. How excited she was to show it to him. It was more than just a prized piece of history, it was symbolic to her. It meant the merging of Water and Fire, two cultures that were constantly at war with each other finding a productive middle ground.
"No it's not." He retorted, "You don't know who could have taken it."
"Only a small handful of people even know its here! I gave it to the wrong person," Korra was rapidly visualizing every person who might have gotten in contact with the crown. It was being restored, repainted, photographed, all by different sectors of the museum faculty. "I wasn't being careful!"
"Don't jump to conclusions." Mako declared, there was no use in freaking out before they saw any evidence.
He drove steadily, being mindful of stop signs and traffic signals. As they came to a red light with no other passing cars Korra wanted to scream.
"Come on! You're a cop you can run a red light!" She sat bouncing her knee anxiously, her mind racing with outlandish scenarios. What if they sell it and it ends up half way around the world on some Black Market? Or it gets melted down and they can never find it again! What if they break it?!
"I know you're anxious but relax Korra." He retorted.
"Mako don't tell me to relax..." she grunted.
As they drove toward downtown she could hear the sirens getting louder. Vans of police vehicles were parked along the street. Trained dogs sniffed along the side walks with officers sweeping their flashlights beside them.
He parked and they headed toward the front entrance of the museum. Korra practically teleported up the steps leading to the main entry way with Mako trailing behind her.
Everything was closed off with caution tape and metal barriers. Korra approached Beifong's officer and was stopped by the palm of his hand.
"No trespassing!" He yelled. Korra glared at him distastefully. He clearly didn't know who he was talking to.
"I work here!" She yelled back.
"ID then?" He asked.
Korra rolled her eyes as she searched her jeans, remembering she was wearing Tahno's clothes. "I don't have any of my things..My name is Korra of the Southern Water Tribe. Now let me in or I'll get you ass fired!"
Mako ran up to Korra and pulled out his shiny new detective badge, "The princess is with me." He sighed, holding Korra back before she punched the guy for doing his job.
The officer apologized and let them through the barricade. She rolled her eyes with half a mind to take down the idiots name and badge number. As they ran inside Mako departed to get information from his fellow troupe. Korra ventured threw the darken corridors, scanning and evaluating everything they had on display. To her surprise the museum wasn't wrecked at all, everything was in its place.
Korra finally spotted Tenzin who stood in the corridor just before the Fire Nation exhibition. He was speaking with a few officers and Beifong as she sprinted up to the group.
"Tenzin!" Korra cried.
"Korra calm down." he fanned her with the palms of his hands until she stopped pacing.
"Did they catch them! What can we do?! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"
He cupped her shoulders, "No it is not, they are still at large but we are working as quickly as possible."
Cheif Beifong approached them sternly, a clip board in her hands as she jotted down all the information coming to her threw her earpiece. "This was a tight knit job, it's clear this wasn't some random beatniks. They knew just how to get in and where to find the crown, nothing else is damaged or stolen. So our best bet is to consider this an inside job."
Korra nodded like a toddler trying to absorb every ounce of information being fed to her. She knew that had to be the case, "I was telling Officer Mako that on our way here. The crown wasn't public information yet. Knowing how strongly the Southern Water Tribe feel about who it belongs to verses the Fire Nation. It was best not to let the whole world know yet."
Beifong nodded, "Tomorrow morning we will need every employee and volunteer in for questioning. Including Korra."
"That's fine! I can tell you everything I know." Korra said confidently.
Mako jogged up to the group, "there's no sign of activity downtown, every building within a ten mile radius is being searched but we need a few more dispatched at the train station."
"We're already spread too thin," Beifong retorted.
"Let's go!" Korra protested.
Mako paused, his brows twisting despairingly. "What? no...it's not your responsibility."
Tenzin agreed, "Yes Korra we should let them handle it-"
"We can't have anyone leaving the city! They might have the crown! Let me help please..."
"Korra might recognize the thieves since they probably work here." Beifong added.
Mako shrugged, not having the time to debate with her although he'd prefer not having Korra tagging along. "Okay let's go."
He drove to Republic transit station and parked a few blocks away. Once they had stopped all lines from travel, several officers searched threw every parcel of luggage on board and in the cargo hold. Nothing to raise suspicion was found so they moved to searching individual passengers.
Korra and Mako spent the next several hours running through every passenger with a ticket out of the city. None of whom Korra recognized, leaving them with no real leads until the morning.
Mako parked beside Korra's car in her driveway and turned off the ignition. He lazily glanced at the clock on his dashboard as 2 A.M flashed on the digital screen. They were both exhausted and Korra felt a bit of sympathy toward Mako and his chosen line of work. It was a lot to handle even with the short few hours she had contributed to the search.
She glanced at her front door and her heart skipped a beat. They seemed to be lingering on whether or not to call it quits. Their earlier discussion/arguement was abruptly cut short, leaving them feeling a tad unresolved.
Mako was floored by Korra's confession. He was extremely happy and grateful but, it had a bittersweet taste. She was still closed off from him. He knew this was most likely going to be the case and stubbornly shot himself in the foot.
Korra turned to him, "Nightcap?" she said calmly.
Mako shrugged unable to give a straight answer without over analyzing. When they were alone together things never really got resolved like they should be.
Korra opened the car door and stepped out, "Come on. Call it a truce until tomorrow okay?"
She closed his door and walked up the short path to her front door. She just wanted to sleep in peace, there was only so much drama she could handle in one day. Her emotions had definitely over exceeded their limit and she was just numb now. Mako ultimately felt the same and followed her lead.
-O-
Korra traveled down her stairs lightly scrunching her wavy hair with a towel after having just taken a shower. At the bottom she peaked into her office to see Mako sitting at the desk, chatting lightly on the phone.
She assumed it was Beifong going over the case with him. He was scribbling in his logbook unaware she was watching.
His short black hair, damp from his shower as well, was messily finger combed out of his face. He wore a white tank and boxing shorts he had in his gym bag kept in his trunk. As hectic as his schedule was, Korra found it comical he was always prepared for practically anything. Her gaze followed the dips and curves of his arms and the steep line of his neck. The desire to feel the warmth of his body against hers lingering every so slightly.
Fuck... Korra stopped her staring, feeling indifferent about how much she still wanted him. What was her problem?!
"Korra?" Mako called.
She turned back around seeing him closing his notepad with a curious look on his face.
"Oh-um," She looked away briefly. "I'm just letting you know that I'm going to sleep now."
He nodded and glanced over to her guest bed impassively. "Okay."
As Korra began to close the door she paused, looking at him with a knowing expression. "You can join me if you'd like."
Mako listened to her walk away trying to decipher what she meant. If he was being honest with himself he didn't want to sleep alone either. He just knew that sleeping in the same bed often lead to other things when it came to Korra's ideal comfort, which tonight seemed like a bad idea.
Korra snuggled up under her covers and tried to sleep. Her mind was still racing over the past few days' events and she couldn't seem to stop her intrusive thoughts. She hugged her pillow close to her head and forced her eyes shut. There was nothing wrong with being alone, she needed to get use to that reality.
As she finally started to drift, the slight creak of her door sounded. She could feel the weight of his body sink into the cushion beside her and couldn't deny the joy she felt knowing he accepted her invitation.
Mako cautiously moved closer to her and draped his arm carefully around her waist, pressing his chest to her back. Korra sighed gratefully, her muscles relaxing under his embrace. Finally at ease to sleep.
She could never be alone, as long as Mako was there.