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Bolin finished packing the last of his belongings into his suitcase. He and Mako were just about ready to leave for the South Pole. Bolin was invited to join Asami on her business trip while Hiroshi attended to things in the city.
"This is so exciting! This is the first time we've been out of the city! Aren't you excited Mako?…Mako?"
His older brother was distracted with his own thoughts. He had already packed everything he would need and was currently gazing into a photograph of him and Korra. It was during a yearly carnival in the city, she had persuaded him to go. It wasn't a date since Bolin and Asami had come, but Korra coaxed Mako to take a picture of him and her sticking their herds out of cardboard cutouts. They were both smiling like happy children. Despite the gray coloring, Korra's eyes still sparkled.
Bolin waved his hand in front of Mako's face, "Mako!"
"Hu?! What?!" the firebender finally woke up from his trance.
"Did you hear a word I said?"
"What? Oh, oh yeah, I totally agree with…whatever you just said." Mako blushed and attempted to place the picture back into his luggage, only to have it be taken away by his younger brother.
"Hey! Bolin, give it back!"
The earthbender managed to bypass his brother and smiled at the picture, "Awww, I remember this. Your first date."
"It wasn't a date! You were there, remember?" Mako finally managed to take the picture away.
"You know, it's been six moths already. When are you and Korra gonna hook up?"
"Excuse me?"
"You know, go out, hold hands, cuddle, kiss, am I going to fast for ya?"
Mako groaned as he sat on the couch of their apartment, which they had purchased not long after Amon's defeat. "I don't know."
"Have you talked to her about it?"
"Of course not! How can I just dump this on her like that?"
"It's not dumping if you already got pass the first step. Confessing! You two already confessed, now you just need to make it official."
"But what if I just make things awkward between us."
"Things are already awkward with you two dancing around this!" Bolin stated.
Mako ran his fingers through his spiky raven hair. "I really don't know what to do…but, what I do know is that I can't keep living like this."
"Here's a thought. Maybe it's high time you stopped being careful, took a deep breath, and take the plunge."
"Maybe you're right."
Bolin smiled, "Awwww, Maky! I think your heart just grew three sizes this day!"
Mako pouted in annoyance while his brother poked him receptively in the chest. He grabbed Bolin's finger and stood up. "But, I wouldn't even know how to start."
"Well, you could practice on me. I'll pretend to be Korra."
Mako arched an eyebrow at this. "Seriously?"
"Or you could practice on Pabu." he said while lifting the ferret up to his brother's face. The ferret squeaked.
Mako shook his head and opened his luggage, "Maybe I shouldn't even go."
"No!" Bolin quickly swooped in and closed the luggage. "No more running!" he shouted, causing his brother to back up a few feet. Bolin sighed and calmed himself down. "Okay, I understand you're scared, that's okay. But you have a choice, you can either wimp out because you're scared of the outcome, or are you going to amp up the guts to find out?"
"…are you saying this because you love me or because you really want to hit me in the head with snowballs?"
"I really, really, really, really, really want to hit you with snowballs! And because I love you."
His brain was telling him to be rational…but, his heart was saying….. "Alright. I'll do it."
Bolin screamed with joy as he embraced his older brother in a gigantic bear hug. "That's my little man!"
(~)
Tenzin still couldn't believe he agreed to this. Here he was, with his family on a yacht heading to the South Pole to meet the Northern Water Tribe chief, who was supposedly Korra's long-lost uncle. As much as he understood why Korra wanted to do this, it was still hard for him.
He gazed at the image of Korra's fifth birthday party in his hand while he laid on the side of his and Pema's bed. For years, he was her father. He was her family. He was the one she called 'daddy'. He was the one she came to when she had nightmares. The one who rocked her to sleep when Pema was too tired. There came a time where she literally had to pry her away from him just so she could hold her.
He loved his children equally, but Korra always held a special place in his heart. The fact that she wasn't even related to him by blood made it all the more reason for him to hold her tight. What if her really family came to claim her one day? What if she would one day wish to see them and think they were better than him?
"Tenzin?"
He looked up to see his wife before him. She sat down beside him, resting her chin on his shoulder, gazing into the picture. "I know this isn't easy for you, honey."
"I knew this day would come one day."
"Hey, just because she's going to meet her birth family doesn't mean she will love you any less."
"I know, it's just…it's just that it only reminds me of the painful truth."
"What truth?"
"…that's she's not really ours. She belongs to other people, not us. We didn't bring her into this world, somebody else did."
Pema gently placed the image down for him. "You're right, we didn't. But that doesn't change anything. Blood does not make a family. Love does, and you know this, she knows this. Nobody will ever replace us in her life."
She always knew how to make him feel better. Tenzin kissed his wife and smiled. "Thank you Pema. You always know just what to say."
"It's my job."
(~)
The moon was up and so was Korra. She couldn't sleep for too much was going through her mind right now.
"Couldn't sleep?"
The Avatar giggled when she heard the voice of Twilight Sparkle who landed on the rail of the ship, along with the others, minus Rarity.
"Why do you feel the need to sneak up on me like that?"
"It's our job." said Sunset with a smirk, which made Korra chuckle. "You nervous?"
"Excited. And nervous."
The famous pink dragon-bird peaked from behind her head. "You're nervexcited! It's like you want to jump up and down and yell, 'Yay me!'. But you also want to curl up into a tiny tinny ball and hide at the same time! We've all been there."
"I'm there almost every day." said Fluttershy.
Applejack flew up and landed on Korra's shoulder, "You got no reason to fret, Korra. Everything's gonna be just-" she was interrupted when Rarity came swooping in, knocking the yellow bird right off of the Avatar's shoulder. She was hold a hair clip in her talons.
"He's coming! Oh, sorry dear but, I just noticed a certain firebender is approaching." the dragon bird started fixing Korra's hair, pulling a few strands of the white locks back and places the hair clip on perfectly.
"Rarity!"
"What? You need to look your best."
"It's only Mako."
"Exactly!"
Speaking of which…
"Korra."
The young Avatar slightly yelped when she heard his voice. At this point, she was already happy Rarity had managed to fix her hair in time. Korra tried her best to play it casual.
"Oh. Um, hey Mako."
"Hey, Korra."
The dragon-birds giggled and flew off, leaving the two have some privacy. But, there was no way they were going to miss this. They flew up to a higher portion of the boat and watched with anticipation.
The two teens smiled at one another and leaned onto the side of the boat. Korra gazed up into the sky, mesmerized by the beauty of the full moon.
"You know, sometimes back on the island, I would stay up late and just gaze up at the full moon. My aunt and Gran Gran would tell me stories about the water tribe. My favorite was about the moon spirit."
"The one who saved you when you were a baby?" he asked.
Korra nodded, "Yeah. She use to be the princess of the north. My grandparents and great-uncle knew her."
"You told me that story once." Mako said with a smile, "Didn't she use to date your great-uncle Sokka?"
Korra giggled, "Yeah, needless to say it didn't go so well. How many guys can say their first girlfriend turned into the moon?"
Mako winced, "That's gotta be rough."
For a moment, Korra's eyes shifted away from the moon and onto Mako. She couldn't deny how handsome he looked tonight, or the butterflies in her stomach.
"I can't thank you enough for coming with me."
"You don't have to thank me." he said humbly.
"Actually, I do. There's a lot I should thank you for." she took a deep breath yet she could still feel her heart pounding like crazy. She faced him completely, ready to tell him how she truly felt after such a long hiatus.
"I've been thinking about this. Us. A lot."
Mako's cheeks flushed and he could feel his heart racing. He couldn't even speak at this point, which was fine because Korra still had plenty to say.
"What did she say?" Rainbow asked Pinkie Pie, who was using a horn to listen into while the teens spoke.
"Raiko's nose is long and he wears a dress." replied the pink dragon-bird.
"Ha! Told ya! Sunset, pay up!"
Sunset groaned while she handed Rainbow a singe yuan.
"Do you remember what we said six moths ago? After Amon was defeated?" Korra asked him. His words caught his his throat so all he could so was nod his head. "And, do you…still feel that way about me?"
Mako finally found his voice, "Uh…yes, I do. But, what do you feel about me?"
Korra removed some hair and placed it behind her ear. Her cheeks were tainted red and she smiled rather shyly at him. Bitting her bottom lip before finally saying what she wanted to say. But instead of blurting it out, she looked directly into his eyes and said with with nothing but love.
"I really, really, really like you. And, I really, really think we were meant for each other."
Mako could not believe his ears. Did he hear her right? He was completely speechless, which did not seem to look good for Korra.
"You can talk at any time now." she said while fiddling with her fingers. Maybe she had come on too strongly.
Finally, Mako managed to come to his senses. "You…you really feel that way about me?"
"Yeah. I've wanting to tell you I just didn't know if it was the right time. But, after seeing everything you've gone through just for me, not only with finding my uncle but everything before. You've always been such a good friend to me Mako, I guess I just didn't want to loose that."
Her heart speeded up when he took both of her hands. She saw the sparkle in his eyes and the loving smile on his face. "You won't. I said I will always be there for you, and I meant it."
She knew he was speaking from his heart. All doubts, fears and worries she previously had faded in a matter of seconds. She had nothing to be afraid about. Asami was right, Mako did still care about her. They had agreed to wait but, maybe now the wait was finally over. There was not a single dared of doubt in their minds, or in their hearts, that this was right. One hundred percent.
Mako: I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
And right here tonight
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right to be here with you
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart…
The start of something new.
Korra: Now who had ever thought that
We'd both be here tonight
Oh,
Mako: Yeah
Korra: And the world looks so much brighter
With you by my side
Mako took her hand and spun her around the deck, dancing underneath the moonlight to the rhythm of their hearts.
Together: I know that something has changed
Never felt this way
And right here tonight
This could be the start of something new
It feels so right
To be here with you, oh
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart!
That it's the start!
Of something new!
It feels so right
To be here with you
And now, looking in your eyes
I feel in my heart
Korra: The start of something new
Mako: Start of something new
Together: The starts of something new...
The two slowly stopped and held each other in their arms underneath the moonlight. The dragon-birds cried tears of joy as they watched the two newly formed couple down bellow.
"She's making those eyes!" said Rarity while batting her long lashes.
"He's smiling that smile!" Pinkie said with glee
Even Rainbow was tearing up, "They're laughing and the hugging and…and…
And it's the start of something new
We can only assume
Twilight: Their fearful days
At last, are history
Together: Underneath the light
Of the moon!
The six started brawling, tears literally shooting out of their eyes as they held one another close. Happy to see their best friend had finally found true love. However, this feeling would not last for very long.
Korra and Mako released one another once they felt the ship suddenly start shake. At first it was a gentle movement, but then it felt as if a large animal had just hit the side of the boat. The dragon birds flew up into the air, concerned as to what what happening.
Korra leaned to the side of the boat to inspect the strange occurrences. Her eyes widened when she spotted a large glowing, slithering thing with green glowing orbs for eyes. It looked like some kind of sea monster, but none Korra had ever heard of.
The rest of her family, Asami and Bolin ran out to investigate what was happening. Tenzin quickly rushed over to his daughter, nearly shoving Mako aside.
"Korra, are you alright? What happened?"
Before she could answer, a large glowing purple tentacle stretched out from the water and wrapped itself around Tenzin, lifting him upwards. Korra immediately unleashed a fire blast at the creature, missing the first two times but finally hit it the third time. Tenzin used his airbending to soften his landing.
More tentacles reached out and started wrapping around the ship. Mako, Korra, Kya and Tenzin all jumped into action, using their respected bending elements to attack the creature, which was beginning to pull the ship down into the sea. Asami and Bolin fell and hit the side of the boat, Pabu was flung up and Bolin quickly caught his tail before he hit the water.
"Whoa, Pabu! You were almost seafood bait!"
The four benders managed to scare away some of the tentacles, but the creature still would not give up. One of the tentacles aimed at Korra but Mako pushed her out of the way just in time. The two landed onto the floor while Tenzin and Kya continued fighting the creature. It finally released the boat and was just about to attack once more.
Korra and Mako quickly jumped up and unleashed a converged fire attack aimed at the monster. The impact was so powerful the beast shrieked in pain before diving back into the bottom of the sea where it came from.
The fight was over, Tenzin and his sister sighted with relief. Bumi finally managed to get out, holding a frying pan in hand.
"What happened?! What did I miss?!" he looked around to find everyone alright and whatever was attacking, completely gone. "Awwww, I missed all the fun?! That's the last time I let myself get seasick during an epic battle!"
Korra looked into the ocean, making sure the monster was not coming back up. Once she was certain it had disappeared, she sighed in relief. She felt Mako's strong arms around her.
"Korra, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." she rested her hands on his chest, relieved to see him okay as well. She then rushed to help her father. "Dad, you okay?" she asked as Mako assisted Kya.
Tenzin rubbed his head, "Yes."
"What was that thing?"
"I don't know." he turned to his sister, in hopes she might have an answer.
"In all my years of sailing I've never seen a creature like that before."
"Whatever it is, it's gone now." said Mako
Asami and Bolin also manage to compose themselves. "Maybe we should turn back." Tenzin suggested, "It's too dangerous out here."
"No!" both Korra and Asami exclaimed in unison.
"Dad, we can't go back now, we're so close!"
"I still need to make my business deal! My dad's counting on me!"
"Girls, I understand but-"
"But nothing!" Korra interrupted, "Please don't do this, you know how important this trip is for me."
"And me!" Asami included, gesturing to herself. "Have some sympathy!"
The two friends gave him the puppy eyes, which caused Tenzin to back down. "Alright. But if we see another creature attack, we are turning back!" he warned before walking back towards his room, bypassing his older brother who saluted him.
"Don't worry Tenzin! No monster is getting near this boat while I'm around!" he took a fighting stance, waving his frying pan, ready to strike.
Bolin arched an eyebrow, "You're gonna fight it with a frying pan?
"Hey, these things are deadlier than you think!" he waved the thing with his free hand, only to accidentally hit himself in the face with it. He was already starting to loose consciousness. "See?….deadly…." he passed out.
Bolin poked the now sleeping man with his finger, and Korra only giggled. "He'll be okay. My uncle Bumi's got a thick skull."
Pinkie Pie landed on Korra's shoulder, "Did you know snowmen don't have skulls?…or bones?"
Rainbow groaned at Pinkie's randomness. The dragon-bird flew away and Asami walked over to Bolin to help him carry Bumi. Good thing he wasn't as heavy as he looked.
"Come on, Bo. Let's get our fallen hero back to bed so we can all get some sleep."
"You got it." said the earthbender before turning his head to Mako and Korra, who were already wrapped in each other's arms once more, gazing lovingly at one another. "Come on guys, let's….wait."
Asami also noticed this too and she was almost speechless. "Am I seeing things?" she asked. "Are you two, finally…?"
Korra smiled and nodded 'yes' at her friend while Mako smiled and blushed. Asami and Bolin screamed for joy, dropping Bumi in the process.
"Hallelujah! Praise the Heavens above!" Bolin shouted with joy as he and Asami ran up to their friends. Asami hugged Korra from behind while Bolin hugged his brother, lifting him up a few feet.
"I'm so happy for you two!" Asami said with glee. She then released Korra and hugged Mako, pinching his cheeks like a mother. "And you! You lucky little-I could just kiss you! Oh, but I won't, I'll leave that to-oh, you know!" she then shoved him to Korra, who immediately caught him.
"This is fantastic!" Bolin said as he wrapped his arm around Asami, "Now we can all go on double dates"
"And you'll be happy." Asami added
"We don't have to keep secrets anymore!"
"And you'll be happy!"
"And Mako won't have to be a sad mope all the time!"
"Because you'll be happy!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that too."
Asami hugged her friends one more time. "This trip just keeps getting better! Except for the monster attack thing."
Korra chuckled as she released her excited friend. "Okay, take it easy, Sami. I'd prefer you not make this into a huge deal about this."
Mako nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the last thing we need is crazy unwanted attention."
This relationship was between them and it was they who had to work things out, not invoke other people into it. They had already come to that agreement without having to say a word.
Korra broke the brief silence, "Well, I'm going to get some more sleep before something else happens." the young, exhausted, Avatar walked back to the boat, but not before dragging her unconscious uncle back to his. She was strong enough to take him by herself without any assistance.
"Come on, Uncle Bumi."
Mako chuckled and he too headed to his room to get some sleep. Bolin and Asami remained outside, the earthbender rubbed his hands together in a mischievous maner.
"Ooooh! Tenzin's not gonna be happy about this!"
"Then don't tell him." said Asami.
"How can I not? This is too juicy!"
Asami grabbed her boyfriend's shoulders, "Bolin, please. Korra and Mako said they didn't' want to make a big deal out of this. Please say we will let them do this on their own."
"What kind of crazy-mouth-nonsense is that?!" Bolin exclaimed. Asami groaned and face palmed herself as her boyfriends wrapped his arm around her. "Come on, let's look at the facts: They love each other, Tenzin's already here, I mean this thing is out of our hands!"
"So you won't interfere?"
"Eh, it's too early to think about that."
(~)
Yet, another scene from Boy Meets World. God I love that show!
So, it looks like Makorra has set sail….but, will it be smooth sailing ahead, or will this beautiful blossoming romance crash into the rocks, break into a million pieces and sink to the bottom of the ocean never to be heard from again?!…XD have you guys met me, yet? Makorra will prevail, but not without struggle. ;) *wink, wink*
And what about Bosami? Will they have a falling out too?…no spoilers ;) *wink, wink*
The next chapter will be even longer, so stay tune! And a special thanks to PikaGelly for her kind encouraging words!
God bless, *kiss kiss*