request from tumblr, just another short drabble. i hope you enjoy! :)
It was always her who went first. Her job was far more dangerous and she was reckless. He was the sensible one who never went into a situation without calculating the risks involved. That was Mako. Living in the streets had taught him that lesson at a very young age. So it was only natural that in every scenario that played out in her mind she was the first one to die.
He was supposed to grow old without her, help train the next Avatar just like Katara. That had always been the plan, which would never come to fruition now that his body was six feet underground.
"Korra."
She turned over her shoulder toward the voice; her eyes meeting swollen green ones that she was sure were as red as her own.
It was impossible for either of them to sleep on their own without nightmares filled with blood and Mako's body falling to the ground with a thud, the fire in his amber eyes gone. The scent of iron was still fresh in their minds when they awoke.
Bolin pulled her closer to him, enclosing his arms around her, pressing his forehead against her shoulder.
Words were barely shared between the two. There was nothing that either of them could be said that would bring Mako back or take away the pain left from his absence.
No one in the world loved Mako the way that they did, no one could understand. Korra had been married to him for four years, plans murmured in bed of the names of future children and the family they would build together. Every night they would argue over possible names, teasing each other over their respective choices.
"Stop," he muttered, knowing that her thoughts were filled with what could have been. Korra adjusted herself, turning until she was face-to-face with him.
Bolin brushed his lips against hers to remind her of who was lying next to her, who was holding her now. Korra responded, sliding her tongue against his bottom lip and bringing her fingers through his hair.
He pulled away, pressing kisses to her jaw. She sighed, breathing him in.
Bolin was her touchstone, the only one who could bring her back into the here and now.
Mako was dead, but Bolin was alive and breathing, his breath hitting her skin, his voice calling out her name to bring her out of her thoughts.
"You're alive and I love you."
She nodded. His chest continued to rise and fall, his heart continued to beat, he held her when she cried, his tears falling alongside hers. "You're alive and I love you," she repeated back to him, pressing her mouth to his swollen eyes.
They would get through this tragedy together.