Sep 14, 2015
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you are the risk i’ll always take
Summary: Avatar Korra is a tornado clothed in human skin. These are the moments Mako falls in love with her. (fem!makorra au) Word Count: 4,700 Rating: T for language, some references to sex A/N: this is my fic for the makorrasummerproject !! i actually finished this a month ago, but couldn’t release it until the ebook came out so that everything could be a surprise. this project was so fun and i feel really lucky to have been a part of it. a huge thank you to my lovely friends quidhitch and mibuchireo for beta-ing and listening to my rants. (side note: as a writer, i’m always a slut for feedback!! reblogs, comments, and even likes mean a lot to me <333 )
Avatar Korra is five-feet-seven-inches of passion and rash anger, with a mess of brown hair and the bluest eyes Mako has ever seen. She’s impulsive and headstrong and always covered in bruises, she's assertive to the point of arrogance, and she owns a gigantic polar bear dog. Her driving is horrific, her parking even worse - she's seventeen and cocky and wild, and she's the complete opposite of everything Mako wants out of life.
Mako knows this, and falls in love anyway.
They meet the night of a match, one of those days where her heart has been rapidly beating in her chest since she woke up that morning, a never ending chant of win win win survive survive survive. Pro Bending is more than a game to Mako. It’s her job, and losing means going hungry. That’s why, when Bolin brings in what she assumes is just another distraction, she doesn’t fall in love. Not yet.
“Psst, Bolin,” she whispers, standing by the lockers and putting on her gloves with a grimace, “I told you. You have to stop bringing your crazy fangirls in here before the matches. Get her out of here.”
As Bolin launches into an excuse about how “this one is different”, Mako looks up and makes contact with the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen in her life. She plays off her blush by flipping off Hasook, who has finally arrived, not two minutes before the match starts. Striding onto the platform, she brushes off the girl (Korra, she thinks her name is) with all the nonchalance she can muster, redirecting her attention to winning this next match, and along with it, her next meal.
The game comes close, and Mako storms off the stage determined to kill Hasook, who continues to prove himself more useless by the day. Her anger boils over, but Hasook, forever apathetic, leaves before she can take out her frustration on him. Korra ends up on the receiving end instead.
“You guys were incredible out there! Especially you, Ms. Hat Trick.”
Barely holding back her eye roll, Mako sighs. “Oh, you’re still here?”
Korra frowns. “Oh, you’re still a jerk?”
That part stings a little, but Mako knows she deserves it, so she keeps her mouth shut.
That is, until the conversation (and Bolin’s confusion) demand she speak up. Face burning, she resists the urge to slam her head into the locker.
“You’re the Avatar, and I’m an idiot.”
Korra smiles. “Both are true.”
~~~
Hasook is a dead man, Mako thinks, cracking her knuckles and frowning with anxiety as she and Bolin wait and grow more nervous by the second.
Of course, that’s when Korra chooses to show up. Mako’s not only worried, she’s panicking, and having the Avatar herself here to witness their disgrace and failure isn’t helping. When Korra offers to play, Mako shuts her down.
“No way. I'd rather forfeit than look like a fool out there.”
Korra scowls at Mako. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
That’s when the referee bursts in, and Mako almost screams with frustration.
“Time’s up. Are you in or out?”
Mako’s mind changes in a flash, and she’s ready to get down on her knees and beg Korra to help them, but the Avatar moves first.
“We’re in!”
Mako is stunned. She knows she’s been nothing but standoffish to Korra since they met, and yet this girl still wants to probend with her?
“We are?”
Giving Mako a self satisfied grin, Korra winks as Bolin throws her a uniform.
“You can thank me later.”
This girl is a tornado. Mako’s known her for two days, and already, everything has changed.
“This girl is crazy.”
The second the words leave her lips, a stomach-dropping realization follows, and that is the first time Mako falls in love with Avatar Korra.
~~~~
Bolin isn’t at Air Temple island, and Mako’s heart has jumped into her throat. He’s probably just pigging out at Narooks, she tries to convince herself. But Mako knows Bolin, knows his nature and how much they need those 30,000 yuans, and is sure it’s more than that. My little brother, she thinks, my responsibility. She’s got to find him, now.
“Wait!” Korra calls, and Mako turns around, confused. “I could, uh, help you look for him.”
Mako’s internally freaking out, she needs to find Bolin, and Korra is a distraction in the sense that every time Mako is around her, her brain goes a little fuzzy and her heart beats faster.
These emotions scare Mako more than anything, and so she tries to sort them into a box in her mind labeled do not open. It doesn’t usually work, so when Korra is around, sarcasm and attitude become her shield for those feelings. Mako swallows dryly and scrambles for an excuse.
“Nah, I got it.”
Korra catches her arm, and every sense in Mako’s body goes electric, crackling with something she does not want to think about right now.
“Hey, Cool Girl. Let me help you. We can take Naga.”
No one has offered to help Mako with anything since before her parents died. It’s been her against the world ever since she can remember.
Mako thinks about that, and yeah - she falls in love.
~~~~~~~
Bolin has been flirting with Korra all day, and it’s starting to drive Mako insane.
She’s not jealous. She’s not. She has a date with Asami this evening, to which he will no doubt bring flowers and pull out her chair like a perfect gentleman. Why should she be jealous if Bolin wants to drape himself all over Korra’s warm brown skin and muscled arms? She doesn’t care.
Or at least, that’s what she’s telling herself.
“So, Korra, uh, what kinda guys are you into?” Bolin says, leaning casually against one of the gym walls while Mako grits her teeth, determined to focus on anything other than this. She pulls out her water bottle, scowling at nothing in particular.
“I like funny guys, cute guys, you know, just guys in general. I don’t really have a type, I guess.” Korra says, and Mako tilts her head back, chugging down her water, because she is not listening to this conversation, she isn’t-
“But,” Korra stage-whispers, pulling Bolin towards her like its some huge secret that Mako can’t clearly hear from the other side of the gym, “I like girls too.”
Mako chokes on her water.
Coughing loudly, lungs straining for air as Bolin hurries over to check on her, Mako sees Korra’s knowing smile, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~
She finds her looking out at Republic City’s glowing lights.
The light reflects off the water and illuminates Korra’s face, making Mako’s breath catch in her throat.
“Yeah, but when you’re with him, you’re thinking about me, aren’t you?”
Mako knows it’s true, and it terrifies her. Being with Asami is easy. He’s nice and handsome and their relationship is normal. It’s what’s expected. It’s safer to kiss Asami and feel nothing than to act on the thoughts that she has about Korra’s lips when she’s alone at night and can’t force her feelings into the boxes in her head.
“We need to talk,” she begins. “Look, sometimes you can be so infuriating.”
“Save your breath,” Korra snaps, her back to Mako. “You’ve already made it clear how you feel about me.”
“No, I haven’t,” Mako says, hands shaking. “What I'm trying to say is, as much as you drive me crazy, I also think you're pretty amazing.”
Korra turns, and something in her eyes makes Mako step closer.
“So, you do like me?”
Mako’s words spill out in a mismatched jumble.
“Yes, but- I like Asami too,” she lies. “I dunno, things are complicated. I’ve been feeling really confused and-”
The words catch in her throat as Korra leans in, planting her lips firmly on Mako’s. There’s a split second of shock, during which Mako has the time to think, nothing is ever going to be the same after this, before her eyes flutter shut, and she loses herself in the kiss.
Mako’s a realist, so no, it’s not perfect, but it’s warm and soft in a way boys could never be, yet it’s also heart racing and so Korra that if she wasn’t so damn analytical, she might say she finally understood the meaning of the word supernova.
Of course, that’s when everything has to come crashing down. It’s Korra who pulls away first, her face ashamed. Mako’s heart clenches in her chest as she turns to see Bolin, the last person in the world Mako wants to hurt, clutching flowers, staring wide-eyed at her and Korra.
Shit.
“Bolin, this isn’t what you think,” she starts, desperate, but before she can say anything else, her brother bursts into tears and runs away.
Perfect. In one night, not only has she stolen her little brother’s crush, but she’s also outed herself to him without any warning.
She turns to Korra, flushing angrily. “Great. Look what you did!”
“You’re blaming me!?” Korra screeches.
Mako wants to scream. Everything about this girl makes her heart flip upside down, but Mako’s terrified of what that means. She’s never wanted anyone like this before. All she’s ever wanted is to have a normal and stable life, to make enough money to be sure that Bolin always has enough to eat, and that he doesn’t have to grow up before he’s ready.
Korra make makes her want more than that.
Of course, putting all of that into words is near impossible, so Mako settles on building up her walls instead.
“You kissed me!”
“You kissed me back!”
Mako stifles a scream of frustration, and storms off. She tells herself she’s going to look for Bolin, but all she’s really just trying to escape Korra, escape her confusion, and stomp these feelings into the dust.
She wants to stay. She leaves. She falls in love, and she breaks her own heart at the same time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako’s been watching Korra for hours.
The healers have already seen to her, and were very clear that Korra was going to be absolutely fine, perhaps just a bit hungry when she woke up, maybe with a mild headache. There’s really no reason to worry, they said, and no one needs to watch her because it’ll likely be hours before she wakes up.
Mako doesn’t care.
She’s anxiously waiting for the moment when Korra opens her eyes again. She’ll probably make some annoyingly sarcastic comment about Mako stalking her, and then Mako will probably fire back an equally bothersome reply. Words aside, she wants to be the first face Korra sees when she wakes up, and for her know that Mako will always, always have her back, and that she’ll wait for her, as long as it takes.
Mako threads her fingers through Korra’s, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako can practically feel Korra’s disappointment, and the thought curdles her stomach.
This is my fault, she thinks. If I had been stronger, she’d still have her bending.
Running outside, Mako stops at the top of the steps to shiver, watching Korra walk over to Naga. Making her way over, Mako has to open and close her mouth several times before she can make the words come out.
“Korra,” she says, “Wait.”
Korra turns, and the look in her eyes burns. “Go away,” she snaps.
“I will, but I just want you to know I’m here for you.” As long as it takes.
“No,” Korra snaps. “I mean go away, back to Republic City. Get on with your life.”
Mako furrows her brow. It’s not my life without you in it.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not the Avatar anymore,” Korra says, pain in her voice audible, “You don’t need to do me any favors.”
Mako has to stop herself from gaping. Does Korra really think that’s what she cares about?
Mako grabs Korra’s arm, and even through layers of fur and fabric, the contact makes the hairs on her arms stand up.
“I don’t care if you’re the Avatar or not.” Korra turns, and Mako can feel her voice begin to shake. “Listen. When Tarrlok took you, I was losing my mind at the thought of never seeing you again, and I realized...I love you, Korra.” The words spill out into one of the scariest things she’s ever said in her life, but once they’re in the air, Mako feels whole.
She places her hand on Korra’s cheek.
Korra’s face is one of total panic, an expression Mako is all too used to seeing on herself.
“I- I can’t.”
The words cut through Mako like a knife, and she has to physically stop herself from stumbling backwards from their impact. She watches as Korra jerks away from her touch, jumps on Naga, and runs away.
“Korra!”
The snow is cold through Mako’s thin coat, and her red scarf offers little respite.
She follows her anyway.
~~~~
Mouth dropping open, Mako watches in awe as Korra, this miracle of a thousand of years of life, the girl she’s head over heels in love with, bends all four elements in a terrifying display of power, before gently floating to the ground.
Mako lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, smile shy as Korra turns and sees her.
Korra runs towards her, and Mako catches her, spinning them both around before putting her down. Korra places her hand on Mako’s cheek, and she leans into the touch.
“I love you too, “ Korra whispers, pulling Mako downwards for a kiss.
This time, despite being a realist, it’s perfect.
And knowing that, Mako also knows that she is hopelessly, incurably, falling in love.
~~~~~~~~~
Mako hums softly, flipping the page in her book and continuing to run her fingers through her girlfriend's hair as she lays her head in her lap. Rain hits the window pane outside the apartment, and Mako is fairly certain Korra has fallen asleep until the Avatar's stomach lets out a rumble and Korra groans loudly.
"Mako," Korra starts to say, and she can actually hear the pout in her girlfriend's voice as Korra speaks, "I'm hungry."
"Hm? Well, I think there's some food in the fridge," the firebender answers, still absorbed in the newest book Jinora has recommended for her, a mystery novel involving a double homicide and a crime of passion.
Korra sits up and huffs, leaning her head on Mako's shoulder. "No, I don't want moldy leftovers. Can you make me a sandwich or something?"
Mako rolls her eyes in response. “Korra, you’re fine. Stop being a baby.”
One of Korra’s hands drifts up to Mako’s neck and strokes the skin there. Mako closes her eyes and leans back into the touch, smiling.
“I’m still not making you anything to eat.”
Korra raises an eyebrow. “If you cook me some noodles, I’ll let you touch my boobs. Under the bra.”
Mako’s eyes fly open, and she bolts upright.
“Um. You wanted noodles?”
Korra nods, but Mako’s already halfway to the kitchen.
She listens to Korra’s ringing laughter fill the apartment, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako watches as light explodes into the sky and dances in the dark, and her eyes shine.
She did it.
Korra walks out of the forest, footsteps crunching softly in the snow as she makes her way back to the group. Sometimes, Mako forgets that Korra is thousands of years of life immersed in one body, the most powerful person alive, a creature verging on godlike.
And she loves me back.
Mako runs to Korra, hugging and spinning her around. She puts her down, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt.
“You never cease to amaze me.”
Korra smiles up at her, and Mako fights the urge to kiss her in front of all these people.
“Thanks. By the way, I’m really sorry for being a total pain. Things were stressful and pretty confusing. It’s hard being the Avatar.”
“It’s harder being the Avatar’s girlfriend,” Mako teases, eyes shining.
Korra hugs her again, and Mako feels peaceful, which is rare, so she falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I think we both know that this.....us....doesn’t work.”
Mako nods. Her hands shake a little with the effort of keeping it together, but this isn’t about her right now. It’s about them, about how Mako thinks they were meant to be but maybe they did it wrong, maybe what she convinced herself was love wasn’t even real at all, and the realist inside her begins to scream that true love is a thing for fairy tales and little kids, and that she was stupid for ever believing otherwise.
“You’re right.”
“It’s over,” Korra whispers. “For real this time.”
Korra’s hands are soft on Mako’s face as she leans in, and it brings her back to a time when white snowflakes dusted their hair, and Mako believed in happy endings.
The kiss is salty, mixed with tears. Their foreheads rest against each other, and she resists the urge to grab Korra and not let go. She’s not hers to hold anymore.
Despite that, she can’t stop herself. “I’ll always love you Korra,” she says, and she can’t imagine the day she won’t.
“And I’ll always love you.”
Mako falls in love, and it hurts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako scans the courtyard for Korra’s familiar figure, trying to hold back her panic. If we can’t get this message to her in time, Zaheer is going to commit a genocide, she thinks, and tries to drown the loud thudding of her heart in her ears.
“Guys, look out!,” Tu shouts, and Mako turns to him, confused. “Giant dog-beast thingy!”
Naga, she thinks, feeling a stab of relief in her chest.
The polar bear dog barrels into Mako, tossing her to the ground. The firebender gasps for breath as Naga slobbers all over her, happily licking her and barking out an affectionate greeting. Mako doesn’t think she’s ever been so happy to be drooled on.
“Okay, all right Naga,” Mako laughs, making a feeble attempt to push the giant dog off her.
Flopping back down, she sighs. “It’s good to see you too.”
The polar bear dog’s licking becomes even more happily aggressive, and Mako tries and fails to squirm away from all the love Naga is showing her. “Ahh, stop. You’re licking my mouth!”
Finally, Naga decides that she’s loved on Mako sufficiently and sits back, panting joyfully. Mako jumps at the opportunity of freedom and rubs her mouth, giving the polar bear dog a rueful grin.
“Asami! Korra!””
Mako’s head snaps up at the sound of her brother’s voice, senses flooding with relief.
“You guys are okay!”
Scrambling up from the ground, she joins Bolin in running towards their friends. Before she can check herself, instinct causes Mako to gather Korra into a fierce hug, tucking her head into the crook of her neck and breathing in the shorter girl. Korra brings a myriad of smells with her, some familiar and other foreign. Mako resists the urge to bury her face in Korra’s warm brown hair, reluctantly ripping herself away. Standing tense, she shifts from foot to foot, struggling to find words.
“Sorry,” she breathes. “I was just-”
Holding herself back from reaching for Korra again, Mako regains her composure.
“It’s so good to see you.”
Korra’s blue eyes sparkle up at her. “It’s good to see you too,” she says.
Mako can’t even feel worried about the news she has to deliver, because right then, she’s falling in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako writes Korra a letter every day.
She never replies, and Mako doesn’t want to look like she’s desperately in love with Korra and that her heart feels empty all the time these days or anything, so she starts sending only a letter a week.
But she still writes the ones she doesn’t mail, and they pile up on her desk in unorganized stacks, hundreds of words that she could never say, even with the knowledge Korra might not even be reading them.
Mako wonders if she misses her too.
For the first six months, she understands. Korra needs time to heal mentally and physically, and she’ll write Mako back when she’s ready.
A year drags on, and still, nothing. Mako throws herself into her job at the station, working late hours to avoid confronting the empty side of her bed.
Two years. Mako swears she hates Korra. How could she do this? Doesn’t she know that Mako hurts for her, that she misses her all the time, that she’d do anything for her, that all Korra has to do is ask?
At least it’s not just her. Bolin and Asami don’t get replies either.
And Mako still writes her every single day, picks one letter out of seven to send, and stacks the others on her desk. She never rereads them after writing them, and she often tries to pretend they’re not even there. She doesn’t know why she keeps them.
Mako looks at her abandoned letters on the table, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She cut her hair.
Mako looks at Korra and a million memories flash before her eyes, glittering on the edges of her conscious. Warm lips in cold air, autumn leaves and polar bear fur, hot summer days filled with ringing laughter. The era of red scarves and wolf tails feels a thousand miles away as the firebender struggles to equate those memories with the girl standing in front of her, hair shorn into a chin length style that makes her blue eyes shine.
Her mouth is dry and all her practiced words lost to her, yet she still steps forward, trying to hold back the tears that suddenly prickle at the corners of her eyes.
“Korra!”
“Hey, Mako.”
Korra embraces her without hesitation. All the breath in her lungs evaporates with the contact, and Mako knows that despite everything, all those years of hurt and pain and growth, some things will never change. The moment Korra’s arms fold around her, Mako feels nineteen again, fumbling and awkward, lost and found all at once.
Mako remembers what longing feels like, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mako gulps nervously and smiles down at Korra, trying to ignore the dull ache in her burned arm and the way her heart attempts to pump itself out of her chest when this amazing, magnificent tornado of a girl she’s loved since she was only nineteen rests her head on Mako’s shoulder.
Korra grins back up at her as fireworks burst overhead, and golden eyes meet ocean blue like they did so long ago, when the sea wanted the city and two lost girls walked the darkness together in the light of first love.
She feels Korra’s hand slip into hers, and despite the fact that so much has changed in the last few years, Mako knows that this hasn’t, at least for her.
The words “always” echo through her mind and she lets out a deep calming breath through her mouth, trembling on the precipice of a feeling that hurt her so badly the last time she let it in.
But before the mouthful of gravel and blood, Mako could swear that they’d soared above the clouds, and maybe this time, both of their wings are strong enough to try again.
She turns towards Korra, trying to push out the treacherous, dangerous, wonderful words before something can stop her again.
“Look,” Mako says, as she grips Korra’s hand tighter with her good one, “Korra, I just- I mean, what I’m trying to say is-”
She’s interrupted by Korra dragging her down to her height, and before she knows it, warm lips smash against hers in a way that feels like home.
Grabbing the Avatar around the waist, Mako spins them until they’re both dizzy and laughing and her stomach flutters with feelings that she’s kept under lock and key for three years.
As they slow to a stop, Mako clasps Korra’s fingers and fiercely presses them against her lips.
Korra’s smile stretches across her face like the most beautiful sunrise Mako has ever seen.
“I love you too,” the girl that has saved the world yet again says simply.
Mako knows that this is their second chance, and falls in love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The betrothal necklace weighs a million pounds in her pocket, and Mako’s attempts to quell the rising nausea in her stomach grow more useless by the second. Korra’s 22nd birthday had felt like the right time to propose, but of course that was before Pema had decided to throw Korra a large celebration and invite all of their family and friends.
The only other people who know tonight’s intentions are Bolin, Tonraq, and Senna. Bolin because he’s a nosy little shit, Tonraq and Senna because Mako had asked for their blessing two weeks earlier, when she’d tagged along with Korra to visit them and Master Katara.
The night’s festivities drag on- dinner, music, dancing and so on. Mako’s getting ansty. When could possibly be the right time to ask, oh hey Korra, I’m in love with you, want me to spend the rest of your life doing that?
Her thoughts are interrupted by Pema clapping her hands.
“Gift time!” the older woman calls.
Present after present flies by- a new saddle for Naga courtesy of Varrick, a voucher for all you can eat at Kwong’s Cuisine from Bolin, a car from Asami, and a mahogany glider from Tenzin and the airbenders.
“Your turn Mako!” Pema calls, smiling at her. Mako’s heart jumps into her throat, but she turns to her girlfriend anyway, biting her lip.
She holds the necklace out gently, ears burning.
“Mako,” Korra gasps, eyes flicking up and down between her and the necklace, “Is that-”
“Look,” Mako whispers, words meant for only Korra to hear, “I really like you, and I think we were meant for each other.”
She’s laid her heart out in the space between them, and every nerve in Mako’s body lights itself on fire when Korra looks up, the hints of a smile hovering at the edges of her lips.
“Always,” Korra whispers, laying a calloused hand on Mako’s cheek.
Mako leans in and presses her mouth to hers, tangling her hands in Korra’s hair, smiling into the kiss. The party guests have started to stop and stare, and Mako can hear Bolin let out a faint whoop. Pulling away, Mako hums happily as Korra leans her forehead against hers, intertwining their fingers. Mako smiles bashfully at the crowd that has formed around them. Tenzin begins to clap, and soon everyone joins him.
When Mako’s parents died, she thought the only family she’d ever have from then on was Bolin. Looking around the room, seeing Asami’s knowing smile, Ikki and Meelo’s loud and happy laughs, Chief Beifong’s smirk, Jinora and Kai’s subtle thumbs up, the loud whooping cheering lead by Bolin and Opal, Mako knows now that family comes in many forms, and that it isn’t only rooted in blood, but in the heart too.
Mako wonders if her parents are watching from the spirit world. She hopes they’d be proud.
Korra’s lips brush her ear, grounding her back to the present.
“Hey, City Girl. You wanna get out of here?”
The hairs rise on the back of Mako’s neck as she turns to Korra, whose eyes are sparkling mischievously. Grinning down at her, Mako nods.
She lets Korra take her hand and lead her down the steps, ignoring Varrick’s wolf whistle (electing instead to flip him off), never once thinking of letting go. As they reach the door leading to a courtyard lit by paper lanterns, cerulean eyes meet amber, and Mako can see that it's the start of a new chapter for them, an era beyond first loves, red scarves, and wolftails, going further than second chances, police uniforms and shorn hair.
It’s the beginning of something that feels a lot like forever.
Somehow, Mako knows that everything is going to work out just fine.
from here we go (and world goes down)
Title: from here we go (and world goes down) Word Count: 3,376 Summary: [And maybe in the end they’ll speed into the stars, sinking into the black folds of the galaxy, where no one can find them. | Mako. Korra. Asami. Jedi!Makorra. StarWars!AU]
Warnings: Mentions of Death & Violence
A/N: Hey everyone! It’s been ages since I’ve posted any fic here, but this was my entry for the makorrasummerproject! I must’ve tried a million things for this project, (I even ended up scrapping two 10k+ fics on separate occasions that I was striving to finish for this thing) but in the end I wrote this short snippet of a Star Wars AU I’ve had in my head since ~fall 2012, so I guess that’s one less idea I’ll have cluttered in there. Not really sure how “Makorra” this is overall, but I did enjoy writing the end. So hopefully you do too! Enjoy! ^^ – Alice
-.-
The Jedi Temple of Coruscant is something to behold. He’s heard the stories, how it can hold all 10,000 Jedi Knights and still have room for more, but nothing prepares him for the way it rises above the shimmering metalwork of the planet, a colossus in both size and reverence. It’s a monument of peace, something that has been there for over five-thousand years, and will continue to be once all is gone from this planet, and then, he thinks, maybe longer than that…
Now, it burns.
Face pressed too close to the ships’ front window, Mako can see the smoke plumes all the way from the mesosphere. His breath fogs the glass as Asami descends to the planet, and he waits until she's aligned with the Temple's right side before flipping the switch to the side doors. Air flows inside the cockpit as soon as the doors are cracked, turning their small shuttle into a full-blown wind tunnel. Once they're open, Mako makes his way to the back of the ship.
“Are you sure about this?” Asami shouts, barely keeping her voice above the noise of the ship. Hair whips in around her face, and as she looks back at him Mako just catches the fine locks sticking to the corners of her mouth. Red with lipstick, the way they’ve always been. He puts his hand on the doorframe, and the scent of smoke fills his lungs as the top of the Temple flies into view. They were right above it now, give or take a few hundred-feet. After that, there was the ground, and an army of highly-trained clone troopers.
“Just be ready for the pick-up,” he says.
He leans over the edge, and then...
.
.
.
Air streams across his face as he descends.
The haze of the smoke clears the further he drops, and the tall looming statues of the Temple's entrance come into view. He watches them, waiting a good four seconds in his head before reaching to his belt to fire two hookshots at them. They hit the farthest statue to the right, and his body jerks forward as the cables draws him in. He hits the stone hard, and as he fumbles with the beltline trying to get the cables loose, a group of clone troopers pass by the open entrance, guns smoking at their sides.
“This way!”
Mako narrows his eyes as the group disappears behind the wall, and presses the button on the belt to lower himself to the ground. Using the shadows for cover, he quickly moves to the archway, enters the main hall—
–and stops right in his tracks.
Spread out all across the hall are hundreds of bodies. Jedi and Clone lay scattered on the floor – all still, all limp and all very, very dead. It takes him a moment to register, or it doesn't, he can't really tell. All he knows is that for the first few seconds he lays eyes on the scene his mind is blank and numb. They've been at war these past five years, but he's never had anything hit him quite like this—
Toza puts a hand on each of the brother’s shoulders.
“You two are gonna be Jedi.”
He puts a hand to his mouth to keep himself from vomiting, and he shuts his eyes tight, teeth grinding into themselves. He stands there for a moment longer than he should, his mind screaming mad. He tells himself to move – he’s just as good as dead here – but even with a thousand reasons to, he only moves when the sound of an approaching patrol reaches his ears.
“There’s still some on the third floor!”
He hides behind a pillar as they pass; watching as they take the same route the other band of troops took. They disappear on the stairs, and Mako closes his eyes, and counts again:
1…
2…
3…
4…
On the fifth, he heads to the stairs.
.
.
.
Smoke fills his lungs for a second time as he reaches the upper level, a thick fog covering the whole of the floor. His eyes sting as he walks through the haze, but he's grateful for it, at least, that he won't have to spend precious time sneaking through the halls. The footsteps of the troopers guide him part of the way, but eventually they fade into the smoke. They're too fast, he's too cautious.
Kneeling beside a fallen pillar, Mako closes his eyes and listens. The floor is all but quiet, but as he concentrates, he can just make out the sound of blaster fire on the south end – that’s where he needs to go.
The halls are long, full of twists and turns but he knows them like the back of his hand. He moves with ease, hanging low to the ground to avoid the brunt of the smoke. He had no way of knowing what was waiting for him on the end of this trek – it could be a few clones, it could be a hundred. But as he reaches the corner with the blue shine of blaster fire lighting up the hall, all he can think is “let’s find out”.
The clones are farther down, but even through the haze he can still see the stark white polish of their armor as they press their backs into the wall. They take turns firing in waves, taking cover as the blasts are sent back at them, breaking off pieces of their cover. Mako can see the makings of a stand-off just by the look of it. There’s too much distance between them and the Jedi – neither of them were making any ground.
His hand goes to his belt, and he feels the smooth edge of the lightsaber. He’d sneak up at their side, waiting until the clone closest to him was finished with his volley and activate the blade. He’d cut the first two down before the ones at the other side had a clue he was there. It was a fast-thought plan, and a risky one, but it was the best chance he had at getting those Jedi out of there.
But just as he’s about to make his move, the clone leader, shoulder pressed into the blaster-scarred wall, looks down his end, making a jab at the hall with two fingers. The clone across from him nods, and in a quick motion he steps in view of the hall, hands grasping at his utility belt. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's he's getting, and as he pulls the pin apart on the grenade and arcs his arm to throw it Mako reaches out, finding the hand-sized explosive with the Force, and drags it above the clones’ heads, hidden in the smoke.
He waits till three, and lets it drop. The clones aren’t fast enough.
“Soldier! Get—!”
Remnants of the blast brush against his face as he walks to the now silent hall. The bodies of the clones, still intact in their armor, spread out on the entrance. He waves the new collection of smoke with his hand, stepping into the hall with slow, cautious feet. He makes it halfway through the hall when the glow of a blue saber shoots up through the dark. The Jedi’s face covered in a layer of fog.
“Who’s there?”
The sensation of needles pricks across his skin as the voice carries through the hall, and he's sure that if he wasn't already stopped he would have been frozen in his tracks right then and there. He'd gone in with some hope, just a feeling of the Force reaching out – but after everything that's happened and everything he's seen just now, he can hardly believe it. He didn't think he'd be able to hear her voice again—
“Hey!” a second voice whispers beside her. “Don’t just walk out there! It could be another—”
“It’s not a trick,” Mako says hastily, finally finding his voice. “It’s just me.”
It takes a beat of question, but the figure in the smoke finally lowers their sword. She walks toward him slowly, each step lined with the same caution his was, feet placed carefully after the other. The distance between them couldn't be more than a few feet, but to him it takes her an eternity to cross the smog. His arms relax at his sides as he waits, and then, finally, she comes into view.
The relief that spreads across hers is immeasurable – disbelief, hope and joy all wrapped into one. A wide smile spreads across her face, and all at once she runs at him, hitting his body so hard it almost knocks the air from his lungs. Her grip is tight as she presses her face into his shoulder and he wraps his arms around the middle of her back. He rests his nose into her hair, it smells of ash.
“I can’t believe it,” she says, pulling away from the embrace. “How are you even here? Weren’t you all the way on Felucia?”
“Asami’s got a fast ship,” he replies. Korra’s smile stays on her face and she moves to look around him, searching for something in the smoke.
“Where’s Bolin?”
“Hey… Korra,” Tahno says, walking to them with his shoulder pressed into the wall. “Don’t you know it’s not nice to leave your battle-buddy all on his own?”
Mako can tell something is wrong by the way he was leaning to one side – his leg must be injured.
“Asami,” he says, putting his hand to the com-piece in his ear. “We’re heading to the south landing deck. Be ready to move in two.”
He turns down the hall.
“This way,” he says. “We’ve got a—”
“Hey!” Korra grabs his shoulder, facing him towards her. “Didn’t you hear me? I said where’s Bolin—”
She stops mid-sentence, and whatever was on her lips fades as she gets a look at his face. He doesn’t have to say anything; it’s all in his eyes.
“So…” Tahno says, kicking the limp body of a clone trooper with his hanging foot. “We getting out of here or…?”
Mako sighs, taking her hand from his shoulder.
“I’ll explain later,” he says. “Right now, we gotta move.”
.
.
.
Bodies litter the landing deck like confetti. They don’t have time to walk around, but they do their best to avoid stepping on them anyway. Mako hates the shift beneath his boot as the weight presses down, but there were more important things to worry about. From behind, he can hear Tahno’s ragged huffs as he hobbles down the path. They're almost to the end of the platform. Mako pulls the com-piece from his ear.
"Asami, we could really use you right now!"
"Working on it!" she replies. "Just a little longer!"
Korra goes up to him as they reach the end, arms spread at her sides.
“What now?”
“Our ride’s running late,” he says. “We just need a little more time.”
“Hey, guys…” Tahno calls, looking back toward the temple. “I think we might have—”
“Over there!”
“—company.”
They hit the ground hard as blaster fire whizzes through the air. Rolling back to her feet, Korra draws her lightsaber, deflecting the shots that are too close for comfort.
“We could really use that ship!” she says. Mako keeps himself on the ground, scanning the skyline…
Then he sees it, and gets to his feet.
“Get ready!” he says, stepping back to the edge of the platform. Korra follows, still deflecting blaster-fire as Asami’s ship pulls beside the deck, the doors slowly open...
He and Korra jump onboard the first chance they get, tumbling into the ship’s cargo bay. The clone’s fire enters the ship, and they keep their heads low as they make their way behind the cover of the wall. Mako peeks his head out, catching sight of Tahno, still on the platform, deflecting the blaster fire as he hobbles back to the ship.
Korra moves to help, but he sticks his arm across her chest, holding her back.
“He can make it.”
Tahno parries, the edge of his saber a blur around him. The clones advance, and Mako grips his hand on the ship’s side as Tahno shifts back to the very edge of the deck. He deflects on last bullet and jumps, reaching for the platform and—
–a blaster fires just as he’s about to land, hitting him square in the back. Tahno tumbles midair, hitting the edge of the door as he lands, slipping down the loading ramp. Korra dives across the open door, arm stretched out but it’s too late. Tahno slips off the edge, falling down into the deep layers of the city below. Mako grabs the back of Korra’s shirt, pulling her into the ship—
“Go!” he shouts to Asami. “Get out of here!”
Asami closes the doors, and they fly into the stars.
.
.
.
Coruscant becomes a speck on the horizon.
They don’t have a destination in mind, and Asami never asks. They fly in silence, none of them saying a word for the longest time.
Mako stares out the window, thinking about how suddenly everything has changed. One moment, he and Bolin were pushing back droids on Felucia, and the next thing Master Toza was telling them to get back to the ship. Everything is a blur from then on – he remembers the sound of clone guns coming from the camp and Bolin – he ran to go help Toza, but he was already…
He leans over his leg, driving knuckles into his forehead. He wishes anything and everything that he could go back to that moment, to stop him, even if he had to drag him back. His breath slowly seethes through his teeth, and the hand relaxes, running down the rest of his face as he looks to the back of the ship. Korra sits on the floor back from the door. She hasn’t said a word since they closed it, Mako’s sure she hasn’t even moved.
“Where do we go now?” Asami asks, finally breaking the silence. “Another temple?”
“The temples aren’t safe anymore,” Mako says. “Neither are any of the major planets.”
“Then where is?”
Mako sighs into his hand. With the transmissions ringing on about the “Evil Jedi Plot” the Inner Rim Territories were probably filled with more threats than allies by now. They had few options to go on. They needed somewhere remote, spread apart and hidden, somewhere their enemies wouldn’t find them. Somewhere they would be safe…
Then, it comes to him.
He crouches in front of Korra, placing hands on her shoulders. “Your parents still live on Imei, right?”
“Yeah,” she says, brow furrowed in confusion. “But I haven’t seen them in years.”
“It’s our only option right now.”
Mako looks to Asami and gives her a nod.
“Okay,” she says. “Setting coordinates for Imei.”
.
.
.
The spaceport on Imei is stiff and slick with ice. Winds howl, and snow blows all over the ship. A quarter of it’s buried by the time they get the door shut again, and they hurry into the shelter beside the landing platform to get out of the weather.
“Senna and Tonraq?” the portmaster repeats. “Yeah, I think I’ve heard of ‘em. They live on the south tundra, but you’ll need a speeder to reach it. Probably some more clothes, too.”
Mako reaches into his pocket to give the portmaster all the credits he has, but Asami is just as quick with her wallet as she is her own ship, and by the time he has his thumb out of the fold she’s already handing the man a card, paying for their expenses.
“Thanks,” is all he can think to say.
“It’s the least I could do,” Asami says. “You’ll be needing those credits, even out here.”
“Where are you gonna go?” he asks. The portmaster returns with keys to an old speeder, and a few bundles of snow gear. He places them on the counter, and Mako scoops them under his arms. “You’re not staying here, are you?”
Asami shakes her head. “No, I’ll need to ditch the ship and come up with some story for my dad. But I won’t tell a soul about you guys, I promise.”
Mako could almost grin, thinking about how a few days ago Jedi were some of the most respected people in the galaxy. Now with the way the transmissions were sounding they might as well be the name of criminals – they kind of people you’d never want to meet.
Korra waits by the door to the landing, glancing lazily out the frost-covered window. He sets the bundles down as they reach the door to the platform, and Asami gives each of them a tight hug for the road.
“Stay safe, you two,” she says, reaching for the door. “And good luck.”
.
.
.
He’s wrapped over with five pairs of jackets, but he still feels the chill of the tundra long after they reach her parent’s house. Senna and Tonraq are surprised by the sudden company, but welcome them with open arms. Korra tries to act like she’s happy to see them after so long, but is still silent for the most part, even with them around and when they ask, he chalks it up to the long ride.
“They don’t know,” Korra whispers to him in passing. “Let’s keep it that way.”
He nods. “For now.”
Once everyone has been introduced, hugged, fed and talked over a million over things, Senna leads them to the guest room. It was Korra’s old room, she tells them, though to Mako it looks nothing like a child had lived there before, aside from a few faded scribbles on the wall.
“We wanted to keep it the way it was for so long,” Senna says as she puts up the beds. “But we needed the room for other things, even if it meant letting go pieces of our family.”
“You let that piece go once she joined the Order,” is what he wants to say, but he swallows the words, giving Senna a near-silent ‘hmm’ instead. There’s a bitterness growing in him from being here – the way her parents can act as if nothing has changed, even when so much has. But he knows it’s not their fault, even he knows the stories about how Master Katara had a vision, and sensed her connection to the Force all the way on Coruscant. They had no choice but to let her go, and she was eager and willing to.
“I’m gonna be the best Jedi ever!”
Now here, in the end, he’s not so sure.
.
.
.
Neither of them can sleep.
Mako tries, at least, laying in one of the beds Senna made up for them. But his mind is racing with a million things other than sleep. He stares at the ceiling, and he wonders if he’ll ever be able to rest again.
Korra’s shadow is long on the floor, her body covered in light from the planet’s third moon. It shines in her eyes and she’s so still that when he tilts his head to look at her Mako feels like he can’t move, as if he’ll be breaking some kind of unspoken rule that only they knew of.
Then, she breaks it herself.
“We can’t stay here,” she says, speaking to the window. “I look too much like my mom, someone’s bound to make the connection…”
Mako sighs, getting up from the bed to stand beside her. The blanket hangs off his shoulders. She looks at him once before turning back to the window, and she leans into him, eyes to the ground.
“What are we going to do?”
Mako doesn’t know. For so long, he’s been following the Jedi’s rules, abiding by their practices, obeying their laws. But the Jedi are gone now, and he wishes so much that he could just forget everything – everything that’s happened and everything that was – but knows he can’t. He won’t.
Not ever.
Mako takes a deep breath and shoots it out his nose.
“We’ll figure something out.”
Wrapping the blanket over her back, he holds her close.
:FIN:
Sailor Raava and Tuxedo Mask, a Sailor Moon/LOK AU. this is one of my submissions for the makorrasummerproject Samsara ebook! I know I'm a bit late posting this, but I was sitting my IELTS exam yesterday 😅
The Makorra Summer project inspired me to post something makorra-related. I haven’t had the time to make anything too new (sadly) but I guess I can start with this little old beauty I made back in 2012. This paring means more to me than you know, they kind of helped jump start my passion for writing stories and only showed me the way to creating complex yet interesting characters. These two will always hold a special place in my heart, both as a couple and as individuals. They hold a very strong sentimental value for me and no amount of shipping wars or haters is going to change that. Who knows, maybe one day this very pair might inspire a new and creative story for somebody to write or bring to life one day. Anything is possible. ;)
HAPPY MAKORRA SUMMER EVERYBODY!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!! (I have no regrets)
Better Than Blankets
Title: Better Than Blankets
Rating: K
Pairing: Makorra
Word Count: 702
Summary: Mako’s dorm room is always cold; fortunately, his girlfriend is curled up beside him to keep him warm.
AN: my contribution to the makorrasummerproject (which is amazing, and I would recommend you read if you ship makorra!)
She curls into his back, an arm draped loosely across his waist as her face burrows gently into his shoulder. It’s a position they’ve perfected over the past few months, for the nights when the covers aren’t enough to keep out the chill from Mako’s poorly heated dorm room.
Korra doesn’t get cold as easily as her boyfriend; after all, she tells him, when he’s bundled up in layers while she’s only in a shirt, she comes from a place a lot colder than Republic City.
He, however, thinks it’s some sort of magic. It has to be, because he’s wearing his thickest pyjamas whilst all Korra is wearing is one of his old Fire Ferret shirts, and somehow she’s the one radiating warmth.
He can tell she’s asleep by the breaths on his neck, the relaxed stillness of her body; he doesn’t want to wake her, but he needs to pull the blankets up because his arm is freezing. Mako slips his arm from under hers, trying not to jog Korra as he searches for the edge of the blanket, desperate to keep his feet covered.
He grips the slightly frayed edge of the blanket, yanking it over his torso whilst making sure he doesn’t cover Korra’s face – he loves being the little spoon, but there are disadvantages to his slightly shorter girlfriend being wrapped around him.
Not that he’s complaining; he’d rather have Korra than a hundred blankets (even if those hundred blankets sound pretty tempting at the moment...). Mako has about three seconds of pride in his blanket-moving success when it curls away from his feet, revealing them to the icy air of the dorm. Mako sighs, realising that the blanket is the wrong way round and won’t cover all of him, and thinks that there’s no way he can readjust it without waking Korra.
Accepting defeat, he curls his legs up beneath the blanket, his feet brushing against the bare skin of his girlfriend’s legs. He hears the hitch in her breath, and his eyes widen as he feels her move to mimic his, curling against him so her knees touch the back of his.
One of her hands worms its way beneath Mako’s shirt, pressing gently against his stomach as Korra nuzzles her head against him, pulling herself up slightly to place her head in the crook of his neck.
“You still cold?” she mumbles into his shoulder, her voice thick and sleepy.
“Nah,” Mako replies softly as she presses herself closer to him, placing little kisses near his ear. “Aren’t you, in that shirt?”
The kisses stop, and he feels her breath against his ear before she whispers “the cold never bothered me anyway.”
Mako knows she can’t see him, but he rolls his eyes anyway.
“I never should have let you borrow Bolin’s DVD.”
“Like you could have stopped me, Cool Guy,” Korra retorts.
“Very good point,” he murmurs; Korra’s head slides away from his shoulder back onto the pillow, nudging against the back of his neck.
Korra stretches her legs out away from his, and he can feel her eyebrows furrow when her legs meet the cool air he’s tried so desperately to avoid. She lets out a huff of air and sits up, pulling the blanket with her. Mako mewls in protest, a sound which he will deny ever came out of his mouth when Korra inevitably brings it up again. The blanket is removed, warmth disappearing around the two of them as Korra rotates it so it’s the correct way round before spreading it back over Mako and herself. She nuzzles herself against Mako, who’s basking in the newfound warmth.
“Better?” Korra asks, smug and sleepy.
Mako moves his hand to capture hers, once again around his stomach, pulling it towards his lips.
“Better,” he confirms, kissing her knuckles. “Love you.”
“Love you too,” Korra yawns, relaxing against him as she once again succumbs to sleep.
Mako smiles to himself as he feels her breaths deepen. He feels himself drifting off, keeping hold of Korra’s hand as sleep overtakes him, her body lined against his, her warmth seeping through his clothes and into his heart.
She’s better than a blanket any day.
Yo I can't handle the overload of Makorra it's too beautiful.
Bound to Be Together - (Modern AU)
We were victims of the night The chemical, physical, kryptonite Helpless to the bass and the fading light Oh, we were bound to get together, Bound to get together
She took my arm– I don’t know how it happened We took the floor and she said,
“Oh, don’t you dare look back– Just keep your eyes on me.” I said, “You’re holding back.” She said, “Shut up and dance with me.”
This woman is my destiny…
-Shup and Dance, Walk the Moon (X)
This is my contribution for the makorrasummerproject, since I was a dunce and posted my waterfall art like I always do. I figured an 80′s theme was something that wouldn’t show up elsewhere–which is funny cause I’ve never been much of an 80′s fan (my eyes! the colors!). But I heard this song at work and thought I could do something carefree and fun. Anyway, enjoy!
ETA: AND background geometrics are by Yoko Honda