A.N. I apologize for the shorter chapter but I will make it up in the next two, so as I edit and begin writing the last part this story has extended a lot longer! So Part II will end with 12 chapters (yay on an even number for aesthetic purposes!). And somehow the finale has extended itself into ten chapters which has pushed back my progress on my other works... But what I mean to say is another hiatus is coming up soon and it may be a month or so which I am apologizing for in advance, if things work out as I hope there shouldn't be one.

On a brighter note, thanks for the two new follows! I appreciate y'all so much.

As always review/favorite/follow let me know if you're enjoying this!

Part II Revelations

Chapter Nine

Mako

Bliss.

Mako felt pure bliss, he felt content and it was something he wasn't quite sure he'd reach. He felt lost and inadequate for so long; and yet here she was. He felt fulfilled, all because of the woman in his arms; she challenged him and made him want to be a better person. She fulfilled all areas of his life in a way that he hadn't thought possible, she was extraordinary, and she was his. They belonged to one another, and that was the most beautiful part of it.

He watched as she breathed out a sigh in her sleep, she looked different like this. Calm and peaceful, her skin shined in the morning light with a warm glow giving off the reddish undertones of her brown skin. Her eyelids fluttered, the dark lashes leaving shadows against her cheeks, he gently brushed the side of her face admiring the view before him. She was the most precious thing he had ever seen, like a sleeping goddess in a field.

He had never been much of a romantic, but he could write sonnets to her beauty. He could write soliloquies on the timbre of her voice, and thousands of more pages could be filled on the way her eyes looked when hit by the light. Every fiber in his body was devoted to the woman next to him, and he'd never relinquish the hold she had… Mako supposed Bolin was getting to him… Her eyes opened slowly focusing on Mako's face a small smile gracing it.

"Creeper." Her voice was gravelly from sleep, and Mako liked that sound. He leaned forward capturing her lips with his own, a sigh escaping their mouths. "I know." He murmured pressing his forehead against hers, both of them enjoying the moment. It was a cocoon surrounding them in warmth and safety, within these walls it was just them. The outside world didn't matter anymore nor did they care what occurred there.

Mako moved ready to leave the bed but Akira wrapped her arms around his shoulder her head ducking to his neck as she kissed the juncture of his neck to his shoulders. "A little longer, please?" She whispered against his neck, and who was he to deny her request; his skin erupted in chills from the sensation of her breath against his neck as she trailed kisses to his shoulder. Mako turned, grabbing her waist and pinning her back into the bed.

Laughter filled the space for the next few moments as they wrestled one another, both of them erupting into laughter. After a few more minutes of neglecting to leave the bed, Akira's butler knocked on the door with the prospects of breakfast. "Can you bring it in here please?" Akira asked wrestling Mako back into the bed as he laughed, his arm keeping her back as he stood. "Stay." She said softly, her hands reaching for Mako as she crawled towards the edge of the bed. She kneeled to her full height her eyes shining, Mako sighed kissing her quickly before turning back to his duffle bag.

"I have to get to work soon." Akira made a face, before reaching for him again, "Take a day, one day that's all I'm asking. We don't spend nearly enough time together and…" Before she could finish Mako's hands were enveloping her face as he caught her lips with his own.

"I'll stay I know you've been through a lot these past few days." Mako paused smirking at her, "Plus how can I argue? Especially when you're actually saying how you feel." Akira feigned hurt shoving him away from her playfully, "I say how I feel." Mako made a face causing them both to laugh, the rest of the morning was filled with laughter as they ate breakfast with one another and made further preparations for the day. Mako called in and told the Chief that he was taking a personal day, Akira did the same with no argument from Asami. The day was there's to spend, and they had lots to do. The first stop on their day together was to Mako's old apartment, they spoke to the landlord about not signing the lease for the next month and packed up a few of his things. Mako decided to leave the furniture for the next tenant and took the rest of his clothing among other things.

After they returned to the newer portion of Republic City, they picnicked in Moon park, and while Mako spoke and laughed and looked at Akira, he could tell that something was going on with her. Every time there was a quiet moment between the two of them, there was a look in her eyes like she wanted to say something. And he wanted to get it out of her, he wanted her to be able to share anything with him. And while it hurt Mako that she was keeping a secret from him, he had changed a lot too.

He wasn't going to press her until she broke, nor was he going to extract the information out of her. They had come too far, Mako had changed a lot in both his relationships and his outlook on the world. He had been with her during the worst moments of her life and when she was ready, he knew she would confide in him. And while it broke his heart to watch her work through her feelings alone and ignore him, he would always put her first.

They walked hand in hand back to their apartment after a late dinner, the rest of Mako's belongings were in the living room and the two began going through things that they'd keep and get rid of. Mako was going through the eighth box of his ( and truly beginning to wonder how he had garnered that much junk), he saw Akira's butler come forward with a telegram. She took it quickly in the other room and returned with the paper tucked in her pocket. Her face looked pinched from stress, Mako took her hand pleading with his eyes that she'd confide in him.

"I'm fine." Akira said softly, she placed her hand on Mako's face, and much like when they went to the Fire Nation, she focused more on the action of touching him than whatever it was she was thinking. She leaned forward kissing him on the cheek before returning back to the boxes, "Are we keeping this?"

And just like that, it was like the telegram never happened, they were back to laughing and teasing one another. And if it had been anybody else, they might have believed the smiles, but Mako could see that it didn't quite reach her eyes. Or that she would run her hands through her hair more frequently than usual, which was often something she did when she was stressed.

"I'm going to head to bed." Akira said wrapping her arms around Mako from behind, they had gotten through half of the boxes and it was well into the night. She kissed Mako's jaw before resting her chin on his shoulder. "Come with me?" Mako turned kissing her quickly, "I'm going to finish up this box, and then I'll be right there."

Akira smiled kissing him again, slower this time; and had Mako not been so worried about her he would have indulged at the moment. He would have pulled her against his chest and kissed her until he couldn't breathe, and while that was always between them, he didn't let it control him. Akira left, too occupied by her thoughts to notice that Mako had caught onto her actions, as she left Mako reached for the telegram.

We'll meet in Shu Jing just as you said, one week.

Agni Kai.

~ Reli

Mako wanted to be furious, it was reckless and frankly illegal to do Agni Kai's anymore. Fire Lord Zuko had disbanded the fire duels (save for educational settings) decades ago, and yet here Akira was ready to risk everything for someone she didn't like? And Mako knew there had to be more to the story, but he needed to sort out his own feelings before he went to her. Because it would be unfair of him to judge her without hearing the story. So, he sat there for a few minutes going through each emotion, the betrayal, the hurt from her lack of trust; and the fear that gnawed at his stomach.

Mako knocked on the door of her office, he knew she wasn't going to bed and instead found her writing furiously against parchment. "Want to talk about this?" he placed the telegram on her desk and Akira looked up at Mako a frighteningly fearful look on her face.

"Mako." Her voice broke at the word, and Mako wanted to let that anger back in. He wanted to shake her and tell her this was the most stupid thing she could do but he bit back his anger and simply leaned against her desk.

"Why?' He asked simply, his voice carefully devoid of any emotion. Akira looked up at him angry tears filling her dark brown eyes as she rose from her desk chair meeting Mako at eye level.

"Because I'm scared, and I feel like I've lost control of everything. I know this is reckless and illegal, but Mako I am so angry! I feel like half of the time I want to burn everything; I want to carve out the pain I feel. And they just reignited it Mako they…" She trailed off hot tears falling down her face as she clenched her hands at her sides. As she sank to the floor her body shaking from the force of her sobs.

"I can't lose anything else Mako, I won't…I'm so scared Mako." She squeaked, and Mako sank to the floor with her his body sheltering hers from the floor as she clutched onto his shirt.

"You have to understand Mako, I can't earn respect if they don't think I'm worthy. And with the Ito's gone I can prove that. I can prove I'm worthy." Akira mumbled her words getting clearer as she continued. "I can't let people take advantage of me, never again."

Mako put a warm finger against her lips, a small smile on his face. "Stop for a second." She opened her mouth again to continue her defense but Mako had none of it, his hand enveloping her mouth completely as she looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Let me finish." Akira pulled his hand away with a scowl before righting herself next to him on the floor. Mako had thought about it really thought about it, and he wanted to tell her that this was the wrong thing to do. He wanted to get the police involved and see if they could find a way to figure out that this was extortion, something anything. But he knew that it would only make Akira do the rash thing.

She was reckless, brave, and sometimes a little irrational. But he stood by her through it all, he wasn't going to make the mistakes he made before with Korra. He knew she was the Avatar, but he wanted to shelter her, in the end, she didn't need his protection. The same was true with Akira she didn't need his protection; she didn't need him at all truthfully. She chose him, and that meant something to him.

"I think this is a terrible idea, and I don't want you to do it. I want us to find a legal solution to these issues." Mako sighed looking down at her fearfully eyes and giving her a reassuring smile. "But I also know you Akira, and I know that you'd exhaust every option before taking action…or at least consider it."

She let out a startled laugh as he continued, "I really, really hate this Akira…But this isn't my decision to make. All I can do is stand by you…And I will." Mako paused thoughtfully for a moment, "Besides I think those Ito men deserve to get their asses handed to them." Mako smirked, Akira let out a laugh, it was the mixture of a laugh and a sob as she held on to Mako.

"I know this isn't a good idea Mako, I know that I can lose more than my company by going along with this. But I can't be weak anymore I can't stand by and let this man bully me, he's already evaded the law…Trust me I tried." She paused gnawing at the bottom of her lip, "I refuse to be weak again." Her voice broke, and Mako tenderly reached for her chin making her warm brown eyes meet his, "Being sad is not weakness, being confused is not weakness, and losing hope is not weakness. You have been through so much; you have been hurt in so many ways but you still try you still love. You are one of the strongest people I know Akira, never forget that."

Akira smiled and leaned forward kissing Mako. "I'm just afraid of losing everything." Mako nodded, "I understand that, but you won't lose everything."

Akira smiled a light blush blooming across her cheeks, "You're right I'll still have Asami." Mako laughed at that, she squeezed his hands before reaching behind her to the desk for a pen and pad, she began writing something down quickly. "I'm going to turn the tides; I will end this." Mako watched proudly as she left the room in a flurry flagging down her butler before he left to his room for the night asking him to send a telegram for her.

And as Mako watched her go he knew for certain that things we're going to be alright. Or at least they would be one day.

A telegram came in the middle of the night, the servant rushed to the table writing down the codes as they came through the machine. After re-reading the note for clarity he rushed down the halls and knocked on the large mahogany doors awaiting his master's approval. "Enter." The young master Reli sat at his father's desk, looking more drained than the servant had ever seen the young man.

He assumed it was due to his duties as Chief Engineer, not realizing that there was more going on with the boy. He handed him the telegram and left after receiving a grunt as a form of thanks; Reli read the telegram a bitter smile on his face. After what his father had told him, he had lost the taste for humiliating Akira Piandao.

In fact, it left a bitter taste in his mouth to even say her name, his father's obsession with her had always made him squeamish but now knowing everything… He felt sorry for her, she would lose everything.

Reli walked down the silent halls knocking on his parent's bed-chamber, Shin opened the door an irritated look on his face as he stepped into the hall. "This better be good Reli." He handed the telegram over his face impassive.

"She wants a duel, with swords." A smile stretched across his face and he clapped Reli roughly on the shoulder. The young man felt like his knees would buckle from the force, "We have her right where we want her boy." And Reli indulged him, turning on his charm and trying to please him. Anything to please him, because if he was happy it meant that his harsh hand wouldn't reach his body. It meant that his mother wouldn't cry in the late hours of the night, keeping Shin happy wasn't what Reli wanted.

It was survival.

And as much as his heart went out to Akira, self-preservation was the only way he knew.

"Indeed father, indeed."