Lol my chapters are getting so much longer than i intended, all of them have been over 3k. This is the first chapter purely about Mako, the story will have a fair few dedicated to him. It will be relevant to the plot, so don't skip them plz. Enjoy

Mako groaned, clutching his head. The rays of sunlight coming through the window suggested that it was early morning. He checked his watch and cursed. It read 7:57am. He tried to roll out of bed, and then fell onto his thin carpet. The smell of vodka reached his hungover nose, and he raced to the tiny sink in his bathroom. He threw up for a solid thirty seconds, and curled up into a ball. He tried to remember what had brought this on. I was drinking with Korra, and I had too much on a goddamn work night!

He pushed himself up and decided that he needed to wash his rank body. After getting ready, he sat in the bath and filled his bowl up with cold water, one, because cold water was good for a hangover, and two, he couldn't afford hot water. He could use firebending to heat it, of course, but he was barely able to tell left from right at that moment, so firebending wasn't a great idea anyway. There was also the rule of not firebending in the apartment block for safety reasons, but that was near impossible to enforce.

"AHHH!" he cried as he dumped the water over his head. The initial numbness of his scalp passed after a minute, and he repeated the action a few more times. He racked his brain for memories while doing this. It seemed that he had passed out while drinking, and then he had a very nice dream, but he had woken up fully- clothed, and Korra was nowhere to be seen, so that question answered itself.

He was feeling considerably more awake when he got out and dried himself off with a towel. The worst of his headache was gone, and within seven minutes, he was dressed appropriately for another day at the office. He had had a little difficulty in getting the other commanders to respect him as much as he wasn't a metalbender, but slowly that was turning around.

He flung open his door, and fumbled stupidly for about three attempts before he finally locked it. It'd take a twenty-minute walk to the station, and he was to report to his desk at 8:15am. That gave him just under ten minutes to be on time. He rushed through the hallway and very nearly fell down the stairs. A whisker separated him and an old woman being knocked down when he crashed through the doors.

"Sorry!" he shouted back at her, and turned around just in time to see himself run into a man walking around the corner. He smashed in this man and knocked all of his papers and briefcase on the ground, as well as falling on a heap on him.

"Watch where you're fuckin' going!" the man gave out, picking up his glasses. He had deep, commanding voice that meant every word he said.

"I'm so, so, so, sorry," Mako blurted out as he got off the man, scooped up everything and then proceeded to drop it as he tried to carry too much.

"What is coming of our force nowadays?" the man challenged, then his eyes lit up as he saw who had just bumped into him. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my old friend Mako." He stood up and dusted himself off.

"What?" Mako said, confused. He knew that being a commander meant that he had to answer to the press sometimes, but he didn't think anyone actually remembered his name past the official report, and he certainly had never made any friends there. He glanced up at the man but didn't have a clue who he was. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but… who are you?" The last part came a lot more stupidly than he would have liked.

"Oh well, I suppose you're too caught up in your police work to remember me," he dug. Mako frowned, but he really couldn't remember anything about his 'old friend'. The man was dressed in casual yet very nice water-tribe clothing, although he didn't have your typical northern accent as was common among privileged water tribe people in Republic City. It had a slight southern tinge, but that could well just be the way he pronounced his words, as he was very articulate. He was slim but not skinny, and his medium-length hair was drawn back into a man-bun.

"Come on," he said, now smiling, and threw his hands up in mock exasperation. "Hazukk? From probending? Before you replaced me with the Avatar?"

Then it clicked into place. Hazukk hadn't shown up for their all-important probending match because he'd had a fight with Mako after the previous match (how simple things seemed back then looking at them now), and Korra had offered to fill in. He'd never seen Hazukk after that and had pretty much forgotten all about him.

But the man in front of Mako, still holding his hands up, was nothing like the moody 17-year old from all those years ago. Back then Hazukk didn't bother paying attention to his hair, he always mumbled his words and never let anything go like a petulant child. As well as that, in Mako's memory, Hazukk had a hunched back like at old woman, but the man in front of him was standing up straight and tall. He seemed a completely different person.

"Hazukk? As in Hazukk Arahonov? Wow, you're… you're… you're completely different," Mako said, trying not to sound too stupid. He stood up and faced Hazukk, who was in fact an inch taller than Mako.

"The one and only," Hazukk confirmed, with a very wide smile that reminded Mako of Verek. "Long time no see, old friend," he said, keeping up that grin.

"Yeah, it must have been, what four years now?" Mako said, thinking about how drastically his life had changed after that match. "So much has happened in that time, you wouldn't believe how much has happened." Mako stopped, cursing himself. He really wasn't acting like himself today, not watching where he was going and repeating his words in the same sentence.

"It looks like you're in a hurry, eh?" Hazukk asked, and Mako bit his bottom lip in frustration for stopping for a lovely conversation with an old friend, when he was already tight on time. "Maybe we can meet up later, for old time's sake, Commander?"

Mako smiled hesitantly, missing the fact that Hazukk knew he was a commander now. He didn't want to come across as rude, and accepted. "Yeah sure, go for it. How about The Bridge on Maturu Street, 7:15?"

"Sounds great. See you then," Hazukk said, and then walked past Mako and like a man born with confidence. Mako, with his headache, decided to take it a little slower even if it meant being late.

The day passed fairly quietly. A couple of robberies, assaults, vandalism, nothing incredibly serious like they'd gotten used to. No-one noticed him being a couple minutes late thankfully. Since it was a Saturday, Mako wasn't working the day after and he could enjoy himself without having to worry about being late the next morning. Mako got home at seven and Mako yet again was annoyed at himself for his tardiness. He was definitely not going to be on time.

After changing into some casual clothes, which in his opinion were a black t-shirt, brown jumper and navy trousers, he got the bus to Maturu Street. By the time he had got to the bar, he was in a lot better time than he had expected. He walked in and spotted Hazukk at a two-person table in the corner. He was in more or less the same clothes except his hair was let down, in line with his jaw, and his coat wasn't anything fancy. It reminded Mako of his old memories of Hazukk, but his hair wasn't as greasy now.

"How are things?" Hazukk greeted, standing up and clasping Mako's shoulder.

"Today was fine, but the last few months in general have just been chaotic. Tough job." Mako wasn't one for rambling on. They ordered drinks and sat down.

"I've barely had any time to catch a break myself recently," Hazukk related. "I've been stuck in Ba Sing Sae monitoring the political tensions between them and Omashu. I just got back recently after sending my article in."

"Article?" Mako asked nonchalantly, although he was alert in his head.

"Well yes, I am a journalist," Hazukk explained, bemused. "Couldn't you tell earlier?"

"Oh no, sorry, it's just I couldn't imagine the sulking guy I once fought with-"

"And often against," Hazukk joked, interrupting.

"Yeah," Mako admitted. "-becoming a journalist." This was true, but another reason for his reaction was that journalists weren't popular in the force, due to the fact that the papers had been giving out constantly about the skyrocketing crime rates in the last few months, and just in general, they very rarely ever praised the police. It was an unspoken rule to avoid them at all costs.

Shit, I can't just leave now, I'll have to watch my mouth from now on, Mako chided himself. He'd never been on great terms with Hazukk back in their probending days, and he wouldn't open up on any police issues that Hazukk could write about.

"You probably think I'm here to get something like a quote and then twist in out of context," Hazukk said, reading Mako's mind. "Trust me, at The Sun, we stick to the truth and nothing but the absolute truth."

If Mako had not had such good self-constraint, he would've spat his drink out all over the table. That was genuinely one of the funniest things he'd heard in a while. Exaggeration was one thing, but Hazukk was downright lying, even if he believed the lie himself. Mako decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the sake of not starting a fight.

They chatted for roughly four hours, and despite Mako's initial reaction, he found himself warming up and agreeing with Hazukk on a lot of things. He seemed to mean well. Hazukk said that he didn't want to go drinking to get drunk, and Mako was relieved. He didn't fancy walking home like half of his arrests had been when he started out as a rookie.

Hazukk told Mako how on the night he had been absent, he'd actually been hit by a car on his way to the arena. He'd heard about how the Avatar had filled in, and realised how it would've looked after their previous argument. He'd had to deal with his left leg being broken entirely and his right leg snapped, so he couldn't have marched back in anyway. It had a silver lining though, and he'd found out he had a passion for journalism while restrained from any work including his legs. He wasn't bitter anymore about how the Avatar had casually taken his place in the team as he'd started to be productive with his life.

"I've actually been promoted to a commander recently enough," Mako said, letting his guard down. "Beifong herself promoted me."

"That's great," Hazukk congratulated him loudly, as if he were one of his close friends. And Mako didn't see why not. "Who would've thought, from a lowly-little punk in the Triple Threat Triad to a commander in our very own police force!"

The general chatter in the bar lowered a bit, and a few glares were sent Mako's way. Mako cursed quietly to himself, but Hazukk heard. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mako said through a fake smile. "Just remembered some work I forgot to do."

Hazukk clearly didn't believe him but let it drop, oblivious to stares from behind his back. After another half hour, Mako stood up, wobbling a little bit, but barely even tipsy. They'd not had a drink for an hour or two. "Well, I've got to be heading home," Mako declared. "It was good to see you."

"Any special ladies in your life?" Hazukk teased. "It's not unlike you to punch above your weight, as the Avatar and CEO of Future Industries would know."

"Please," Mako laughed. "I know myself that Korra isn't girlfriend material. Been there, done that, no thanks. No more women for a while."

"If you say so," Hazukk said. "I don't know how you even managed to get Asami Sato to spare the time of day for you, nevertheless go on a date."

"She drove into me with a motorbike," Mako said, smiling at the sound of it. Hazukk roared with laughter.

"Now THAT," he said, catching a breath, "is something you HAVE to tell me about another time."

"Yeah sure," Mako agreed. "I don't see why not."

The two men parted ways outside the bar and Mako walked clumsily back home. Halfway there, he decided to talk a shortcut through an alleyway, and when thought he was turning a corner, he just faced a dead end. That's annoying, he thought, and turned around.

Mako froze, and got into a boxing stance. There were roughly eight men facing him at the entrance of the alley. He could've tried to play it off and ignore them, but he wasn't stupid. They were looking very menacingly at him.

"What's your issue?" he called out, hoping to be wrong.

"You," the man who seemed to be the leader. "We heard you and your friend earlier. You turned your back on us and joined the rats." The last word was dripping with malice.

Must be from the Triple Threats, Mako thought. "I am a police officer and I have the authority as well as the duty to arrest you," he called out. "Walk away now and we can forget this ever happened."

"Cocky words for a dead man," the leader snarled. He was stocky, roughly mid-thirties, with a sleeveless denim jacket on despite the cold. His biceps and triceps were huge, but didn't any tattoos which would've completed the biker look.

"I'm giving you one last chance," Mako bluffed, his heart rate rising quickly. He was snookered. He could maybe take on three at one time at the most, but eight was completely out of the question. He knew that these guys wouldn't be willing to let him off lightly. As Zolt had said back in the day, No witnesses.

The leader pulled his right fist back and blasted a quick fireball at Mako. Mako ducked under it, but barely managed to cancel out a volley of water coming right his way. He let off a quick barrage of fireballs, but only one made really contact, with a scrawny guy who hadn't managed to get out of the way in time. The others started joining in. Mako did very well to wave away a couple of the fire shots, and he caught a water whip with a short blast of lighting. He then unleashed a tunnel of fire and smiled to himself as two of the water benders cried out in agony.

His smile was momentary though as he caught a brick clean in the ribs that had been shot through the fire at a high velocity. He doubled over, the fight done before it really even began. He clutched at his broken rib and howled in pain, his hand now covered in blood.

"Typical," the leader said. "All talk, no-" A loud clunk was heard, and the man fell face-first on the concrete , a large gash in the back of his head, bleeding freely. Before anyone could even turn around, five more large ice cubes connected with 100% accuracy, and the five remaining members crumbled. Mako looked at his saviour, his vision blurry. He winced in pain at the sudden movement of moving his head, which also meant the skin of his torso shifting slightly.

"Let me look at that," the person said, and Mako couldn't believe his luck. The waterbender rushed over to Mako with a large amount of water hovering over his flat palm. "It isn't the cleanest, unfortunately, what you expect with canal water, but it'll have to do."

"How did you- EASY Hazukk!" Mako hissed as Hazukk rolled him over onto his back. Hazukk ignored Mako and pressed the water on where the cut was flowing freely.

"Oh dear, it seems that it's broken," Hazukk said, as he closed up the wound. "I've done what I can, but no hard physical activity for a week."

"You haven't answered my question," Mako said. "I appreciate the help, but how did know I was in trouble?"

"I specialise in investigative journalism," Hazukk said. "Didn't I mention that earlier? Oh well, I guess not. I noticed them follow you out earlier, and I had three to myself, but they were amateurs. Sorry you had to take that hit, but I had to wait for them to attack you so it would be defending you and not assault."

"We would've got away with it if you'd hit them before they attacked," Mako said, gingerly standing up. "It's not even a technical thing, they clearly only had one intention."

"But now they have no loopholes, and besides, nothing but the absolute truth," he said and held out a card.

Mako took the card without even looking and shook Hazukk's hand. "You know, in the force, we don't really like journalists but you could be a reliable one maybe. You seem like you mean well. Honestly. I'm a detective as well, so you could maybe even pitch in with a bit of work if we're short on numbers."

"Let's not talk about that now," Hazukk said, and he went up in Mako's opinion, not jumping at the offer like most would. "There's a bigger issue right in front of us," he said, gesturing to the men slumped on the floor, and the two with serious burns, which Mako had inflicted, and one with a minor burn who hadn't gotten out of the way of his first shot.

"I'll get back to you," Mako promised, walking over to a phone booth to call for a few police wagons.

"I'm available whenever you need me," Hazukk promised back as he began to use water from the nearby canal to seal up their wounds before he froze the unconscious men into place. He didn't bother with the waterbenders, for the obvious reason that they could melt it if they wanted, but also because they'd be lucky to stand with their injuries.

Hey I'd just like to say that in the line where i said journalists almost never praised the police, I don't mean anything related to real life, with george floyd. If anything here seems like a reference to political, it's purely coincidental. RR!