A/N: And we have hit 300 reviews! Thank you ever so much to BlackDragonMaster, Lightbrightfury, AsahixMe, Tertius711, Sharpe, IrishDreamer4, Guest, kalu23, MasterKriebel, devilfiredog18, CrazyPhenom, Guest, and Aquamirra for getting us there!
Time check: Summer, 176 AG (23 months post-Book 4)
34. I won't hesitate, just tell me where to start
He should've known something like this might happen.
The Avatar's return to Republic City after almost two years in the Earth Federation has been publicised with much fanfare, and he should have known it was going to cause trouble.
Korra's actual homecoming was fairly under-the-radar; she and Naga landed in an airship at RCPD HQ — but Raiko wanted to have an official welcome-back press conference in front of City Hall (probably because elections are just around the corner and he is campaigning for a third term). Korra could see no way out, and she did want to assure Republic City that the Avatar was back to stay — so she had agreed. Lin provided the police escort and he'd made sure he was on it.
Good thing, too, he thinks grimly as he takes down yet another mook wielding an electric baton.
Remnants of the Equalist movement had never fully been quashed, merely subdued. The Equalists had gone dormant after Amon had been proven as a liar, but their anti-bending sentiment had persisted, and it was re-ignited by Kuvira's attack and then the triad war. The movement had been revived in recent months, but they hadn't had much opportunity to cause trouble…until today, that is.
Korra had barely begun telling the reporters how happy she was to be back when the hidden Equalists in the crowd started zapping people. The metalbenders on the protection detail were among the first to go down, electrocuted in their metal suits. Lin was one of the few exceptions to evade the surprise attack — she's defending Raiko now, strictly using only earthbending and barking orders to her officers. Saikhan is leading a small group of police against the Equalists in a systematic, effective manner.
No one is watching Korra's back.
Korra is bending fire and air with all the skill of an Avatar, and is obviously more than capable of defending herself…but no one is watching her back and that makes him uneasy. He starts fighting his way towards her, determined to protect her even if it is unnecessary.
He's almost reached her when he spots it.
One of the Equalists pulls out a glass knife. One small part of his mind — the glassmaking part — notes the ingenuity, because even the Avatar cannot bend glass.
Every other part of him is overwhelmed with terror, because he knows what happens next.
He uses fire to propel himself the last few feet, just as the Equalist hurls the knife at Korra's blind side.
There is no time.
Without hesitation, he shields Korra with his body, pushing her down with his weight in the vain hope that they might both avoid the bite of glass.
At first he thinks he's succeeded; but then he feels the stabbing pulse in his side and he knows he's been hit.
Well, better me than Korra.
Korra whips around and rolls to her knees, rippling the earth to unbalance the Equalist. He braces himself with both palms on the ground, and keeps his eyes sharp for any other glass, willing himself to ignore the rising pain and the growing sticky wetness at his waist.
All around, it seems as though the RCPD have gained control of the situation. Only a few Equalists remain standing, and Saikhan's people are already on them.
Korra comes to the same conclusion and turns anxious eyes to him. Her face blanches when she registers his state.
"Mako!"
"I'm —" Before he can say okay, his body betrays him and he topples over, clutching the wound that flares excruciatingly in his left side.
He idly wonders where the glass knife went.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Korra swears. Her hands flutter over him in panic. "Hang on, Mako, hang on — I just need some water —" She glances around frantically for any source of liquid.
"I don't…think it's that bad…" He closes his eyes so he can focus on his breathing to alleviate the pain, but Korra shrieks at him.
"Mako, stay awake!"
He blinks his eyes open and meets Korra's blue orbs, gazing at him with a ferocious, desperate intensity.
Fuck, am I dying? He doesn't feel like he is. A stab wound is, obviously, not great — but though it hurts like hell, he's been around triads enough to know what a fatal hit is, and he's pretty sure his isn't.
Well, bleeding out is a possibility, but he's already putting pressure on the wound. He imagines it'll keep until RCPD get him medical attention.
Clearly, however, Korra does not have that insight. She genuinely looks as though she thinks he's in danger of dying within the next few minutes.
"Korra!" Lin tosses her a canister, and the frenzied Avatar has the water out and over his wound within seconds.
He grimaces a little at the sting of healing tissue, but then the magic of the water takes over, easing the pain and repairing the damage. Under Korra's skilful hands, the open stab wound fades to a closed pink scar.
He tests the scar with a prod of his finger. The flesh is tender and a bit sore, but it's healed.
He looks up with a warm smile to thank Korra, only to be caught off guard at the raw emotion on her face. He barely registers the moisture in her eyes before she flings her arms around him, pressing him close against her. Without thinking, he returns the embrace with equal fervour, wrapping one arm around her waist and holding the other hand behind her head.
"Spirits, Mako, what were you thinking?" she demands against his shoulder. She's trembling, he realises with shock. He tightens his grasp, hoping to steady her. Korra shouldn't be this scared.
"I'm all right, Korra," he assures her. "Thank you."
She scoffs at his ear; the sound is almost hysteric. "That doesn't answer my question, cool guy." She pulls back so she can look him in the eye, but her hands remain on his shoulders. "What were you thinking?" she repeats.
He sees the vestiges of her worry on her face, and all he wants is to smooth them away. He settles for brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I just wanted to protect you."
She inhales a deep, shaky breath. "I know." She places her palm over his heart. "But you need to protect yourself too." Her next words are almost a whisper. "I can't lose you."
She's never been this open to him before, never had such transparency etched into her beautiful features. He hears no words, but the things she wants to say to him are crystal clear in his mind — and he knows why they are so striking now.
For the first time in a long time, there is no barrier between them. There is no Asami, no Zoya, no Bolin, no troubled history or uncertain feelings, no grudges or unreadiness.
They have no boundaries anymore.
He exhales and hugs her again, holding her tightly to his chest. "I can't lose you, either." That was the whole reason he'd thrown himself between her and glass. "So how about we both agree not to let that happen, deal?"
"Deal," she agrees. Her breath brushes his neck and it's so much more intimate than he could have imagined, but this is neither the time nor place to discuss where they go next.
Someone clears their throat behind them, and he twists to see Lin looking gruffly at him.
"Sergeant," she says — using his rank to remind him that he is still, technically, on duty. "We need to debrief."
"Right." He disentangles himself from Korra with an apologetic smile, but his eyes hold a promise.
There'll be time to talk later — time to say everything they need to say, to feel everything they need to feel. Time to chart the direction they've both longed for, but couldn't see until now.
They've waited this long; they can wait a little longer.
Korra smiles back and nods, and the pact is solidified. There will be a later.
And when later comes, he won't hesitate.
A/N: While I thought the Red Lotus were the most interesting villains, I felt that the Equalist arc had the most potential of any antagonistic force in TLOK, and it was sad that we only had 12 episodes with that plot. Book 1 was a satisfying tale in itself, and it's my favourite of all Korra's seasons — but imagine how great the story could have been if the creators had been allowed more episodes to flesh it out.
I originally intended for Korra to get hurt in this chapter, because Mako's already had more than his fair share of physical jeopardy in this story — but as I was writing I realised it just wouldn't go that way. So you get this instead.
Once again, the song for this chapter — 'Hesitate' by the Jonas Brothers — is just packed with meaningful lyrics for Makorra. Let's go through them. *rubs hands in glee*
'Won't get scared, that's the old, old, old me' — Mako's old self — heck, even the Mako of last chapter — would have been wary of this change in their relationship, but now he's not afraid anymore because there's nothing holding him back.
'Time only heals if we work through it now/and I promise we'll figure this out' — Mako and Korra now have time on their side to figure out their relationship and resolve any lingering issues that may cause problems going forward, but they still do need to have that discussion so that their future is clear.
'I will take your pain and put it on my heart' — I feel like this is something they both will do for each other, now that they both have struggled and overcome both physical and mental trauma, and therefore both are able to understand what each other needs as support
'I won't hesitate, just tell me where to start' — The reason I wrote this chapter is because I believe at this point, Mako and Korra would need some sort of push to actually come together again. My interpretation of where they are right now is that they both are fully aware of and desire the possibility of being together again, but because they've gotten so comfortable being friends and because of everything surrounding their romance, they're hesitant to just plunge right in. They need someone or something to tell them where and how to start, which is what happened this chapter.
'I thank the oceans for giving me you' — Korra is from the Water Tribe. The theme of water has been very strong throughout this entire story, and Korra has been compared to water multiple times, so this line is particularly apt. Moreover, if we want to add another layer of meaning, Korra first came to Republic City by ship, over the ocean.
'You saved me once and now I'll save you too' — Korra saved Mako way back in Chapter 7, and here Mako saved Korra from the Equalist's glass knife. And obviously, in canon, they have each saved each other in different ways multiple times.
'I won't hesitate for you' and later on 'Know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you' — this is specifically Mako's point of view; there's nothing he wouldn't do for Korra, and he wouldn't hesitate if she needed help.
'Cross my heart and you can keep mine' — as mentioned several times in this story, Korra has kept Mako's heart since they dated.
'If I could only read your mind/Then I could map out all the ways to make it right' — they want to make a relationship work, and do it right this time. But that requires a potentially difficult conversation with input from both of them, and this obviously would be easier if they could skip the conversation and just know what each other is thinking. This is encapsulated by the paragraph in this chapter where Mako knows what Korra wants to say just by looking at her.
'Don't be scared 'cause I'm on your side' — straightforward lyric, but also extremely apt for Korra and Mako because of the whole 'sides' thing in Book 2.
Okay, so that breakdown was longer than I thought; I think only about five lines of the song were not included in the analysis. Oh, well. I trust you'll forgive me — because, at long last, here begins the Makorra arc!