Lost My Heart in Republic City
Korra’s heart threatened to leap out of her chest thanks to Mako’s agreement. ”R-Really!?” she stammered, grinning widely. Realizing how enthusiastic she was, she quickly forced out a cough and attempted to make herself as cool-headed as possible. ”I-I mean, cool. That’s cool,” she muttered casually ”We can do that.”
It wasn’t a date—it wasn’t, she kept telling herself, but she couldn’t help but be excited. Finally, some quality time with Mako! Of course, she liked Bolin, too. Not like-liked him, of course, just as friends. But this was Mako, the guy she had sort of, maybe, kind of been crushing on for who knows how long. Some private, alone time would be good. They’d be able to talk about things other than the up-coming tournament and bending. Maybe Korra would be able to find out Mako’s interests and bond with him; getting to know the guy you liked was always a key thing, wasn’t it?
“Uh, you probably want to see Bolin before we leave, right? I’ll wait outside with Naga.”
And before Mako could so much as protest or do or say anything at all, Korra was already outside of the training halls, running over to her polar bear dog and unable to control her excitement any longer. Her hands wrapped around Naga’s snout as she pressed her face into her fur, letting out a shrill, muffled squeal. ”Naga, y-you won’t believe what happened…! I-I did it!” she exclaimed happily before lifting up her head to look at her best friend.
Her composure cooled down in an instant thanks to her polar bear dog’s comforting presence. ”We’re going to go exploring, okay? And Mako’s coming with us, so be on your best behavior.” Naga brushed against Korra’s cheek, as if the gesture alone was her answer. Korra laughed, smiling. ”Good girl,” she whispered fondly as she stroked Naga’s fur and waited patiently for Mako to meet up with her outside. She wondered if they could also look for some medicine or remedy for Bolin. Mako would probably like that, Korra was certain. After all, he cared a lot about his brother.
“….Heh.” Mako smiled. Her reaction was a bit more excited than he expected but it was nice to see her happy all the same. With that in mind he departed upstairs to change. There was no longer a point in remaining in his work-out clothes after all.
“Hey Bolin? You awak—” But before he could finish his question his attention was caught unguarded by a sudden aroma that leaped straight for his nostrils. “Arrgggh..!” quickly covering his nose his eyes darted around for the source. It was as though all the malice in the world had suddenly been unleashed and condensed in the small room and then suddenly decided to help itself to the expired Hippo-Cow milk that’s been sitting in the ice box for about a month.
“Bolin….!”
Groans and moans came from the restroom until a small voice beckoned him to go away. There was no argument to be said on that part. He loved his brother but there are limits as to how much love can be had. This being one of them.
“I’m..” Mako needed to re-cover his mouth to inhale. “I’m going out! Don’t know when I’ll be back you need anything?!”
Through the door he could only make out something about medical needs, food, and various cleaning supplies followed by sounds that did not require a description. With that, Mako said his good-byes, grabbed his clothes and bolted out of there. Maybe put a Quarantine sign on their door for the sake of any who dared walk by..
“Okay let’s go! Sorry for the wait.” He finally announced when he reached Korra outside. City air had never felt so clean and refreshing.
Lost My Heart in Republic City
A pause. Another pause. More pausing.
It took Korra a long moment to process that Mako had actually agreed to her on a whim idea. And here she thought that he would make things difficult for her out of his own utter denseness and that she had to work for his attention. She inwardly sighed in relief. However, at Mako’s next question, the Avatar froze. She didn’t exactly have anywhere in mind; it wasn’t like she planned this all out. It really just a struck of luck—and Bolin and some really bad Turkey-Duck dumplings—that allowed Korra to be able to spend time alone with Mako in the first place. She pursed her lips, contemplating on an idea of something they could do but ultimately ending up with nothing. Nada. Zilch. She had no idea.
“Um, actually, no,” Korra replied truthfully, scratching her head and staring at her shoes. ”I just thought we could walk about for a while, maybe check out some stores or grab lunch.” She looked up. ”Do you have anywhere in mind? You’re the expert in all things Republic City, right? After all, I just got here. I’m sure there must be somewhere we could go.”
Hopefully, Mako would think of something. He always seemed the level-headed one between the two brothers. The one who always seemed to know what to do. He could be difficult sometimes, and Korra had to admit their first meeting was less than friendly, but she knew that he made the right decisions when it counted. She would never admit it—not to him or anyone else—but she believed in Mako. There was a reason why she was a fan of him in the first place.
He just always seemed to pull through.
Mako’s shoulders slumped a bit. Was she serious? He could feel his irritation growing ever so slightly. The last thing he wanted to do right now was play tour guide. Something that would only take a few hours sure but the entire day? The whole thought process of that made him let out a very loud, very audible sigh …They could be training instead…
His annoyance probably showed through when he glanced back up at Korra.
….She was making a weird face.
“……”
What was he supposed to say to that? Seriously. The expression on her face was just so pathetic and hopeful that it could really only result in two ways. Either he rejected the idea and she calls him a good for nothing Dragon-Moose. Or he accepts and she’ll just make that goofy looking grin she always has. The latter seemed like the better idea. A happy Korra would be better than having to deal with an angry one.
”..Ahem.. Well I.. don’t really have any place in mind but, let’s do the walk. We’ll probably find something to do while we do that.”
He’d have to check on Bolin of course before leaving. Tell him he won’t be around for the day and ask if there was anything he needed while they were out. Anything with the exception of Turkey-Duck Dumplings of course.
Lost My Heart in Republic City
Korra grimaced at the thought of Bolin, indigestion, and running to the can. She shuttered, shaking her head. ”Note to self: Turkey-Duck Dumplings are evil,” she muttered, crossing her arms. She certainly wouldn’t trust Bolin with food choices again. Korra had a big appetite herself, but that wasn’t worth destroying her bowel system in the process.
Then, it occurred to her. She was alone with Mako. Alone. With Mako. Just the two of them. Alone. Together. Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest at the realization of it all. ”H-Huh? Oh, yeah, practicing. Right…” He had a point, but if they were just going to be alone together, couldn’t they do something more fun? Less team member friendly and more… relationship potential friendly? ”But you know, Mako. If we train without Bolin, he might feel left out,” Korra suggested, innocently shrugging. ”He might feel left behind. We could always set aside training for a day and do something else, at least until he’s better. Like we could go out and explore the city, or grab a bite to eat, just not training.”
She averted her gaze, refusing to even look at the firebender in fear of rejection. ”Sooooo…?” she began, a little hopeful.
“…..”
“Is something wrong?”
Korra’s reaction was questionable to say the least. There was no real indication to believe that the two of them training together would upset Bolin in any way. If anything, he would probably boast about how relaxed he was in the lounge upstairs while his team mates were tiring themselves out.
On the other hand.. The team had been practicing nearly everyday none stop these past few weeks. Not to mention frequent unwanted visitations from the Equalist Party. Perhaps a break for everyone wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.. A bit of rest and relaxation never hurt anyone.
“Nevermind. Sure. Why not?” Mako nodded in agreement. He could hardly remember the last time he took time off for himself. When he wasn’t training he was usually out running errands for extra Yuans. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Got any place in particular in mind?”
Lost My Heart in Republic City
After an uneventful morning of mindlessly boring airbending meditation, Korra was pumped to head over to the probending hall to train with Mako and Bolin. With finals coming up, it would be a good way to practice for the competition—as well as for her to spend some quality time with a certain tall, dark, and brooding firebender.
But when she arrived, she found only Mako leaning against the wall in the training room with Bolin nowhere in sight. He seemed to be agitated for some reason, but knowing Mako, he was always agitated for some reason. It wouldn’t kill the guy to smile sometimes. He almost seemed disappointed upon seeing her, probably hoping that it would be his brother walking through these doors instead. Needless to see, the Avatar felt a little annoyed by the lack of recognition. Korra’s eyes glanced around awkwardly before she approached her probending teammate and not-so-secret crush.
“Oh, hey, Mako,” Korra attempted to greet him as casually as she could muster—and failing miserably. ”Um, so, where’s Bolin?” Knowing the earthbender, he was either oversleeping, flirting with girls, or gobbling down noddles at the noodle house.
“He’s out for the day.”
Mako’s reply was immediate and to the point.
“He insisted on going out for some Turkey-Duck Dumplings at the nearby street vendor. Needless to say.. it didn’t exactly agree with him. So he’s on bed rest until he gets better.”
Mako let’s out a sigh. A clear sign of his frustration. The Tournament was so close and the Fire Ferrets needed to make every day of training count for preparation. Bolin’s adventure into the glorious world of indigestion was an unnecessary disruption to say the least. If he didn’t know better, he’d assume that it was just a front to skip out on practice, but the foul odors coming from the restrooms proved otherwise. No living soul should ever have to deal with that.
“Eech..” Just thinking about it was enough to make him shudder..
Mako leaned off the wall and then faced Korra. “So it’s just me and you today. One of us may be out, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep practicing. Are you ready?”
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