Turning Pages

Summary: Korra and Mako are an unlikely couple, yet it doesn't stop them from being together. They bicker, joke, and live through the good and the bad. They do this because in the end, they know it's going to be worth it.

Damage and Repair (Pt. 2 of 2)

Bolin dragged his feet across the wooden flooring of Tenzin's home, a little bit on edge that he hasn't heard from either Mako or Korra ever since their fight earlier that day. It was already past noon, and there was still no sign that the couple had made up. As he walked, he heard a pained cry in one of the many rooms of the home.

"Ouch! Stupid needle! Stupid scarf!" a young woman's voice echoed through the hallways.

Bolin's ears perked up, knowing who said that angered statement. He sprinted to the room the cry from earlier came from, and peered into the room. There was Korra, sitting on the floor, pins, needles, and red string surrounding her. The young girl had her thumb in her mouth, sucking the pain that seemed to be caused by a needle's poke. She noticed the young man's presence and immediately blushed.

"Oh, hey Bolin!" Korra smiled, and looked down, taking a moment to observe her current surroundings, "Uhm, this is pretty weird."

Bolin smirked, "Trying to fix up Mako's scarf?" then his face fell serious, "By the way, where is Mako?"

Korra flinched, remembering the cold stare Mako had given her before he left the Island. Bolin noticed the way she reacted and grew worried.

"Mako left," Korra stated simply, a parallel to the way Mako had said it at the pier that morning.

Bolin's eyes bulged, "What? He left? For good? And where?" he questioned, hands tugging at his hair in a frenzy.

"Yea, he said he needed to get away from me, and no, not for good. Your brother wouldn't abandon you. Also he took a boat back to the City."Korra explained, and turned her attention back to fixing the scarf. She gave a look at the ground, very sullen and worried.

Bolin felt a pang of protectiveness towards his friend, and decided that he should fetch his brother, or at least smack some sense into him. The earth bender left the room without a word, determination marked on his face.

Republic City Park was crowded with families, teenagers, and older citizens. Some played sports while others enjoyed a picnic. A certain firebender sat on one of the many park benches, glaring at anything with a pulse. Many recognized him as the Pro-bending star and others as the Avatar's boyfriend. When they came up to him for autographs or questions, he gave them a hard look, which was enough for anyone to back off. Mako averted his eyes to the ground, glaring at the dirt below him instead. He heard footsteps approaching him to his left, which halted when this mystery person's shoes were in Mako's field of vision.

"Kid, what are you doing?" a gruff voice demanded.

Mako tensed up, not expecting him at all. The firebender reluctantly glanced up, only to meet a glare from the one and only Toza.

"Hey, kid!" Toza barked, "I know you're not deaf. Stop looking at me like I'm a purple armadillo-bear."

Mako shook his head, and answered as polite as possible, "I'm just here to think."

"Glaring at the world isn't thinking," Toza retorted back, leaning in a bit to get on Mako's eye level.

Mako and Toza held a quick starting contest before Mako confessed.

"Alright! I fought with Korra, and I went away to get some space. Happy?" Mako reveled, crossing his arms like a child. Toza raised his brows and signaled Mako to scoot over, giving him space on the bench.

"Fight with the Avatar, huh?" Toza said as he sat down, "Surprised she didn't kill you."

"What are you doing here?" Mako whined, patience not his forte at the moment.

"I had a fight once with the wife once," Toza started, ignoring Mako's question, "Said some really nasty stuff, had a bending battle in between, left her alone at the house, too." He heard Mako sigh, uninterested. "Well that was the last fight I ever had with her, though." The middle aged man felt the young man change in body posture, now interested.

"What do you mean? Did you guys vow to never fight again or something?" Mako asked. There was a pause; Toza looked ahead of him with searching eyes.

"My wife got sick a couple days after our fight. By sick, I mean really sick." He said, "I insisted on taking her to the doctors after a week, ya know? To get her checked out." Toza rubbed his chin, in thought, "We got to the doctors. The doc came out and said that her sickness came from us fighting so much. Said that we waited too long. Can't be cured."

Toza glanced sideways and saw Mako with a guilty expression on his face. He continued, "I couldn't fight with her anymore. It would only kill her even faster. All the stress and anger that she goes through when we fight…" he trailed off.

He turned to Mako, and looked him straight in the eyes, "Listen kid, you better fix things up with your girl. Just by looking at her, all that anger's gonna eat her up, and get her sick. Just like my wife. I don't care if she's the Avatar, she's still a lady. Ladies do crazy things when they're upset."

Mako considered his words and nodded. Curiosity consumed him, forcing to ask, "What happened to your wife?"

"She died." Toza said, as simple as a blink.

Mako stood up and sprinted out of the park, not even looking back at the middle aged man, and headed for the many stores the city offered.

"Huh. Probably gonna buy that girl somethin'. Pretty rude to leave me hanging here though," Toza thought and stood up.

"Okay, kid. I did your dirty work, you happy?" Toza shouted to a tree that grew a few meters away. Bolin immerged behind the tree, a shy smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Toza!" Bolin smiled, showing his pearly whites.

"Yea, yea, kid. Your brother's pretty gullible, bah! A wife that died from fighting too much? Can you believe that story I made up!" Toza said, with an incredulous look on his face.

Moments later, Bolin muttered, "Your story wasn't real?" Toza sighed dramatically, smacking his forehead for effect.

The sun was setting again, signaling that night was arriving soon. Korra sat on the pier, starring at the ocean. She was water bending tiny swirls with a finger. The young Avatar's hands were covered in small bandages, and a newly sewn scarf rested on her lap. It took all day and most of her efforts to fix the article of clothing, but she knew her determination wasn't going to be wasted when she saw the boat that Mako left come into her view.

The boat came to a stop when it reached the island. Korra stood up, eyes with hope, and walked to the boat. She hid the fixed scarf behind her back, wanting to surprise her boyfriend.

Mako saw Korra waiting for him at the pier. Guilt consumed him, but he pushed it aside.

"I got something for her, don't freak out," his mind said. The said item he got was hid behind his back, wanted to surprise his girlfriend.

He jumped out of the boat, and Korra smiled shyly at him. Mako felt his heart rush, knowing that he'll always get this reaction when she did that.

"Mako,"

"Korra"

The couple said at the same time. A pause, then they laughed.

"I have something for you,"

"I bought something for you,"

They laughed awkwardly. Mako cleared his throat, and said, "Okay, maybe you should go first?"

Korra nodded. She brought her arm from behind her body to the front, presenting the newly fixed scarf she slaved over for hours. The once uneven edges were gone, and the scattered teeth marks were invisible. It wasn't perfect, but Mako thought that it was better than the original scarf he owned.

"I tried getting the other pieces from Naga's teeth, but they were just too ripped and gross to use. I found Pema's sewing kit and worked on it. I know I'm not great at it, but I tried!" Korra said, bringing it closer to the firebender's face, "My hands hurt though."

Mako's heart swelled a little more, finally realizing the fight was down-right stupid. He remembered that he was still holding something in his hands, so he thought he should give it now.

"I got you something, too," he said, stepping closer, "I didn't have much money on me, and all the jewelry and flowers were so expensive. Besides, I don't see you as the type to like them. So I got you this." Mako presented a paper bag, which smelled oddly of...

"Watertribe food! You got me Watertribe food!" an excited Korra yelled, dropping the scarf on the ground. "Oh, I miss this stuff so much!" She grabbed the bag, but winced due to her hands being damaged.

Mako chuckled and grabbed the bag back, placing it on the ground. He gently touched Korra's hands and massaged them.

"Korra, I'm sorry for this morning," Mako said, rubbing his thumb over the palm of Korra's hands.

"It's okay, Mako" Korra said quietly, "I'm sorry for not realizing that your scarf actually meant so much more."

Mako sighed, "No, I didn't tell you why it was so important. I should probably apologize to Naga, too…" he said, searching the area for the animal.

Korra pulled her hands away from Mako's grasp and placed them to the side of his face, forcing the man to look at the woman in front of him. "Forget about Naga," Korra whispered and brought her lips to his, initiating a kiss and Mako kissed back, placed his hands around her waist, as if it were already second nature. They broke apart moments later, cheeks flushed.

"So, we're good? No more fights?" Mako asked as he looked into Korra's eyes.

Korra smiled back up at him, "Yea, I'm also sorry for the burn I gave you," she said, eyeing his left arm. "I can heal that, if you want."

"We can heal it later, after we finish our dinner," Mako replied, picking up the bag of Watertribe food. Korra nodded her head and grabbed the fallen scarf, wrapping it around Mako's neck. The two held hands and started back for the home.

As they walked, Mako glanced at Korra's shorten wolftail, and snickered. "I'm also sorry for burning your hair," he said, not really sorry at all.

Korra pouted and bumped into Mako lightly, causing him to lose balance for a bit. If he wasn't holding on to Korra's hand, he would have fallen for sure. He regained his balanced and bumped her back. The two gave each other a look and smiled lovingly at each other, knowing that even if their fights do get out of hand at the start, they're bound to finish it with understanding at the end.

There you have it! Just saying thank you to everyone that likes my story!

Keep your eye out, new chapter will be added often!