Previously posted on my tumblr (elementalavatars) in response to this prompt: "mako and korra talk about having kids!"
Rated K+. A little angsty, but harmless enough. :)
"Do you want to have kids, Korra?"
The room is dark, the night quiet, but there it is, the question she has been dancing around for months. She knew the conversation would have to happen at some point, but she had kept waltzing delicately around the topic, diverting his attention to other things with hot kisses or heavy-handed touches whenever the topic crept into conversation.
She had seen the way he looked at Rohan, the way his eyes lit up when Rohan giggled at the silly faces Mako made or fell asleep in his arms; she had tallied up every time Mako offered to hold him for Pema, almost looking for an excuse to hold the small boy close to his chest, her own anxiety painfully thrumming through her veins, constantly conflicted between awe and love for the man before her and her own desires. How could she rip away something he so clearly wanted? What if he didn't want her if it meant he would never look into his own child's eyes, never hold his own son or daughter close? She knew her tactics would only work for so long, but it was easier to simply stay silent, if it bought her more time with him.
She swallows the lump in her throat, her hands cold, and turns in his bed to press her palms against his chest, tracing over the taught skin she knows so well. His hand moves to pull her closer, rubbing light lines up and down her back, and she aches at the sweetness of the gesture.
"I would give you almost anything if it would make you happy. But right now, when I think about what I want for my life, what I envision for myself as the Avatar, as a woman… I don't see kids of my own in my future. That's not to say it won't change; maybe one day I'll wake up and decide that having a family is right for me, that I want to be a mother and am ready for that part of my life. But I can't promise that day will ever come, either."
His hand stills on her back and she can feel her pulse rushing. She doesn't want to hear the hurt in his voice, doesn't want him to leave, and his second of silence terrifies her more than she wants to admit.
"Okay, Korra."
"What?"
He pushes back slightly, sliding his hand over her back and arm, before tilting her head up to meet his eyes and taking her hand in his.
"I'm not going to lie and say that part of me doesn't want a family, but I love you, Korra. I want to be with you, no matter what. If you wake up and want to be a mother, we'll make that happen. But if you never want to have kids, then we just won't have kids. That will never change how much I love you."
He lets go of her hand to push the hair off of her face, shifts slightly to kiss her lips, and pulls her firmly into his arms. She whispers an "I love you" softly against his skin, he kisses the top of her head, and she thanks every spirit she can for putting this man in her life and for putting her in his arms, before she falls into a peaceful sleep, wrapped in his embrace.