Chapter Text
I blasted the nearest chi-blocker with a powerful fire attack, stomped my foot, making earth shatter and crack under the feet of two more attackers, causing them to fall and then swiped with my water whip, pushing two more down.
Suddenly a chi-blocker was on me, avoiding both my fire blast as well as gust of air, hitting me hard, swiping my legs from under me, proceeding to hit me again and again, I barely managed to guard against his chi-blocking attacks… and then he got hit by Mako’s lightning in the back, screaming in pain and collapsing, lifeless.
I turned to Mako with a smile… and shouted:
“Down!”
He fell to the ground, and I tossed a boulder at another chi-blocker that was preparing to hit him from behind.
Soon, the Equalists turned tail and ran, leaving their wounded and unconscious comrades on the battlefield.
“Thanks for the save,” I told Mako.
“Likewise,” he responded, offering a rare smile. “We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”
* * *
“Kya… Bumi… Jinora… Jinora…” I muttered; my sight blurry from tears. “You know what was the last thing she said to me? Do you…? I… I’m bad news. I’m fucking bad news. I cause pain wherever I go.”
Mako never knew what to say such situations, not then, not later. Bolin was much better at that, but just like I had, he too had drunk way, waaaay too much and had to be escorted home, before Mako and I hit another bar.
This once, Mako did the right thing and just hugged me.
“I’m fucking bad news,” I said. “You should… stay away from me.”
“That’s nonsense! You’re amazing!” Mako said and then, the next thing I remembered, I was kissing him.
“I’ll… I’ll walk you to your place,” he said awkwardly, after we broke our kiss.
The walk was done in even more awkward silence. Back when we stood at the door to my place, and he pinched the bridge of his nose and said something about being happy I got home safely and that he would go now… I grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him and in and kissed him hard.
“Korra, are you sure...?” he asked but I stopped stripping only to silence him with my tongue.
I took off my shirt and skirt, kissed him again, ripped his shirt, kissed him again, pushed him onto the bed and straddled him.
“Korr, you’re drunk…” he muttered.
“So are you,” I said, before biting his lip. “Don’t worry. I want it. I want it. I want it.”
Another kiss and he stopped resisting at all, and I felt his mouth on my neck, his hands on my bra, removing it, and then travelling to my breasts.
“I want it,” I repeated and brought my hand down and felt he wanted it as well. “I want it,” I kept saying as I was moving on top of him.
But when I screamed in pleasure with him on top of me, I shouted out his name, pulling him hard towards me, with both my hands and legs, wrapped around him, no longer wanting but needing what pleasure and solace he was giving me.
* * *
“Hey, Bo, happy to see you!” I said and kissed him on the cheek.
“So happy to see you too!” he said. “So, umm… I thought… it’s been a while since all three of us met…”
“All three?” I asked, suddenly having bad feelings about it.
“Yeah, I invited Mako too!”
“Oh shit, Bo!” I suddenly, slapping my face in an exaggerated manner. “No, no, that’s fine, but I just realized I need to run! I have to iron Naga! And walk the clothes! Bye!”
I never considered myself a coward, but I ran, not looking back.
* * *
“Ummm… hey Korra,” Mako said.
“Emm… yes, hey, Mako.” I responded.
“So how are you?”
“Good.”
“That’s… good.”
“Yes… it’s… good.”
“Good.”
Silence.
“I… I’m worried about you,” he said. “After that… after… you know… are you better?”
I glared at him, suddenly angry at him for bringing up something I wanted to forget.
“Yeah, I’m better. No more sobbing Avatar,” I responded. “I’m…”
“Good?”
“Yeah, good.”
“Korr… you know… you don’t have to pretend in front of me. Whatever… else… we are friends. If you need a shoulder to cry on…”
“No!” I said more harshly than I intended. “I’m… good.”
“Good.”
“Oh, come on, you two!” Bolin gasped. “So, you did the deed! Are you going to behave like that around each other forever? Because I for one can’t take it!”
“What got into him?” Mako asked as Bolin got up and left.
I had an idea what that was, but I kept silent.
* * *
“So, what did you want to speak about?” I asked him, frustrated at him beating around the bush.
“Bo was right,” Mako said. “This awkwardness between us… I don’t know if I can take it. It has to end.”
“So what?” I snapped. “You don’t want to be friends anymore?”
“I’ll always be your friend,” he said. “But I want to be someone more, too. Maybe we could give it a shot?”
“By ‘it’ you mean...?”
“Us.”
“Us,” I said, tasting the word. “And how do you see it?”
“Maybe a date first? A normal date?” he suggested.
I smiled at the thought.
“A date,” I said. “Sounds lovely.”
Later, we were sitting in front of a burning Triad warehouse, laughing.
“Some ‘normal’ date it was!” I said.
“Sorry for that,” Mako said, but he too couldn’t stop himself from laughing.
“No, no need to apologize! I had fun. Did you see how this mobster flew when you exploded the barrels?”
“Yeah, straight onto your kick!”
“Damn, that was FUN!”
“Yes, it was…”
Mako leaned in towards me, hesitated and leaned in his direction too and next thing I remembered was us kissing.
* * *
“You jerk!” I said, laughing as I took out the gift from Mako – a magnifying glass, the type private detectives used in newspaper serials.
“Oh, come on, you can’t run a PI agency without that!” he responded.
“I… I think I’ll leave now,” Bolin said, getting up. “I’ve got an audition early tomorrow. See you, guys.”
“See you!” I said, barely looking at him.
The moment he was behind the door, I locked it, approached Mako and kissed him on the lips, before pushing him onto the bed.
“Are you sure, Korra?” he asked, his memories going in the same direction mine went.
“This time, I’m sober,” I said, kissing him again. “And I still want it. I still want you.”
* * *
“I’m just saying we would make a good team!” I said, trying to fight down the feeling of frustration. “And with the amount of cases that I have, I could really use your help!”
“And I’m saying that I already have a job!” Mako snapped. “Or did you forget about that?”
“You can leave the RCPD… I’m sure even more people will come when they learn I have a former cop working for me.”
“With you, Korra. With you, not for you. And I don’t want to leave the force. Not everything is about you!”
“Oh, come on!” I said. “I know you get no respect there; you have no chance to get promoted…”
“But I want to be doing this!”
“You really prefer to be a beat cop to helping me?”
“I prefer to be helping people!”
“I AM helping people!”
“How?” he asked. “By digging dirt on cheating spouses!”
“That’s not fair!” I protested. “You know I get other cases too!”
“But these constitute the majority of your workload!”
“Is it so much worse than working for RCPD – probably the most corrupt organization in the Republic of Nations?”
“If I want to change the police, I need to do it from the inside!”
“Fine!” I snapped. “Do it your way! I have a stake-out to go to!”
“That’s another thing! You’re always alone there, without backup…”
“I’d have backup if I had you watching over my back!” I pointed out. “And don’t you worry about me! Which one of us is the Avatar and which one isn’t?”
* * *
“Mako!” I shouted into the phone. “I need you here!”
“I said, I’m sorry!” he responded. “The order came suddenly…”
“You’re a beat cop, Mako! You wouldn’t be on this type of mission unless you volunteered for it!”
“I need to be volunteer if I ever want to be promoted!”
“Yeah, I get that, but you promised you would help me tail this guy! It’s a two man job!”
“I said, I’m sorry but I can’t!” he snapped. “We’ll do it another day. It’s not as if…”
I hung up.
* * *
We kissed.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been such a jerk recently,” Mako said. “And for not having enough time for you.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t cool,” I muttered. “But it’s not as if I’m faultless here.”
“How does this sound for a make-up present?” he said, pulling out a piece of paper.
I glanced at it… and grinned.
“Two Toed Ping’s file? You know what to give a woman to make her swoon!” I said and kissed him again.
* * *
“Mako, meet Ginger,” I said, introducing him to the red-headed beauty.
I saw his eyes go wide when he saw her, surprised both by her beauty as well as the fierce look in her eyes, looking out of place at someone who was being hounded by such a powerful stalker.
“Pleasure’s all mine,” he said, bowing.
“Ginger has a nasty stalker, who just can’t seem to get a hint, and I thought a policeman’s protection would do better than from a mere P.I.,” I said.
“I would be delighted,” he said.
“So will I,” Ginger responded. “It’s not often that you find bodyguards with such good manners.”
“I hope not too delighted,” I chuckled, hugging Mako.
I wasn’t really worried, however. Mako wasn’t a cheating type.
* * *
When I walked into my office and saw Mako sitting at the desk, I knew something had happened.
“Bolin?” I asked, feeling a shiver of fear.
“No, Bolin’s fine,” Mako said, looking away. “Korra… we need to talk.”
Like through a fog I heard his next words.
“Ginger and I… I’m sorry… I have no excuse… it happened… Ginger needed… I understand that you’re angry… she was afraid… don’t be angry at her… my fault…”
“How could?! Get out!” I screamed before ending in quieter voice. “Or I’ll kill you.”
Behind me, Naga growled.
Only when he left, I hugged Naga and started to cry.
* * *
I knelt by the groaning burglar and took off his mask and...
"Mako?" I gasped, looking into his eyes, amber like the colours of the sun that set on our relationship.
* * *
“So now that you understand… will you drop the case?” Mako asked.
“You know that I can’t,” I told him. “That I won’t.”
“I know. But be careful, Korra,” he warned me.
* * *
I turned around ready to fight… and sighed in relief seeing that it was Mako jumping in. Ah, so he didn’t entirely trust Asami and decided to keep a watch on the meeting.
I thought that up until his lightning hit me, turning my whole body into pain, my muscles spasming, electric energy crawling over me as I screamed, and I found myself writhing on the floor.
“I’m sorry, Korr,” Mako said. “I had no choice.”
* * *
Mako went still as soon as he entered the room and saw me and Lin waiting. Quickly he shot a glance at Bolin, who looked away.
“Don’t worry,” he muttered. “She promised not to hurt you.”
Mako took a deep breath and walked in.
“Whatever you want to do to me, I guess I deserve it,” he whispered.
“You deserve that and more, Mako,” I said in cold voice. “But I don’t have time for grudges right now. We have to work together, or we’ll have a true war on our hands. I need your help.”
He looked up at me, defeated.
“What can I do?” he asked.
“I’m need to trust you again,” I said. “Please don’t make me regret it again.”
“What can I do?” he repeated.
* * *
“So, you got me to join your agency after all,” Mako said as Bolin finished writing their names on the door.
“Took a while, but it worked,” I said, still tense around him.
“Listen, Korr… I can’t blame you if you still don’t trust me,” he sighed. “I appreciate the offer, but if you prefer not to work with me…”
“No, Mako,” I said. “Whatever else you are, you’re a damn good police officer. Well, when you aren’t corrupt.”
* * *
“Damn, did you see that guy’s face when I aimed my finger at him?” Mako laughed.
“Well, having a lightningbender point at you has the effect of making some people piss themselves,” I smiled as well.
Bolin was on a stake-out and Lin was back apartment hunting – or whatever her excuse was this time - so it was only us two celebrating solving the case.
“Soooo, Korra… tell me if I’m too nosy but you and Asami…” Mako began, glancing at me to see if I looked as if I wanted to kill him. “Is this something serious?”
“I… I don’t know, Mako,” I replied after a moment. “I really don’t know. I… I don’t know.”
He sat in silence, waiting for me to say more. He knew me too well.
“Sometimes, I think I can see the real her,” I said. “And sometimes it feels as if she’s wearing those damn masks again. And sometimes… sometimes I don’t know, and I begin to second-guess myself.”
“Women, huh?” he said, and we both laughed.
It felt good.
“Well… either way she’s a lucky girl,” he said. “You’re one of the best people I know, Korra, and whatever you offer her, she’d be a fool not to take it. And from what I know, Asami Sato is no fool.”
“Thanks,” I said and smiled at him, actually smiled.
“Are… are we good?” he asked after a long, long while.
“No, not yet,” I said, after a moment and, to lighten the words, I took his hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “But we’re better. We’re getting there.”
“I’m glad to hear,” he said. “I sucked as a friend and a boyfriend, but maybe I’ll do a better job as a partner.”
“I won’t lie, your betrayals hurt, both of them. But as for us being together… I don’t think you’re the only one to blame.”
“It wasn’t Ginger’s fault…” he began, ever the gentleman, even when talking about his own affair. “It was me who…”
“I’m not talking about her,” I cut him off. “I wasn’t ready for a relationship. Not so soon after the war, after Jinora… We were bound to realize that it wasn’t working, even if it wasn’t for you sleeping with Ginger.”
“I guess you’re right,” he said. “But I still did a shitty thing.”
“You did. That’s all in the past now,” I responded and hugged him. “Let’s focus on the future ahead of us.”
“Do you think we’ll ever get back to how it was before?” he asked eventually
“No,” I said slowly. “But in the end this new ‘us’ might be even better.”
“To the new us,” he said raising his drink.
“To the new us.”
* * *
Mako.
Friend’s brother. Friend. One-night stand. Awkward best-friend’s-brother-whom-I-slept-with. Boyfriend. Lover. Ex-boyfriend. Informant. Traitor. Partner.
Partner on the way to being a friend again.
He’d been so many things to me.
* * *
Bolin entered the office.
“Korra!” he said, his face shining with enthusiasm. “You won’t believe what just happened to me. So, I was walking down…” he stopped talking when he saw my face. “Geee, who died?” he chuckled.
As I got up and approached him, I saw him tense.
“Who died?” he gasped, no longer joking.
I hugged him tight, and he understood.
“No… please… by the Spirits… please… no… not him… it can’t be…” he said, his voice breaking. “Not him!”
I hugged him tighter.
* * *
Mako.
Friend’s brother. Friend. One-night stand. Awkward best-friend’s-brother-whom-I-slept-with. Boyfriend. Lover. Ex-boyfriend. Informant. Traitor. Partner.
Partner on the way to being a friend again.
He’d been so many things to me.
And now he was dead.