“….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.
Korra’s thoughts were still on Mako and actually seeing him smile before she left the training hall when she heard a familiar voice behind her. She released Naga and turned, her face automatically lighting up and her heart pounding at the sight of her firebending teammate approaching. She grinned and leaned against Naga’s fur.
“Well, you sure know how to keep a girl waiting,” she teased Mako smugly with a clever gaze and a hand on her hip.
She lowered her gaze and a little hesitantly looked at him. ”Did Bolin ask for anything when you saw him? We could go and get ‘em some medicine on the way, if you want. Maybe some medical herbs or something?”
She had a feeling that Mako would look for medicine anyway, so she might as well bring it up. After all, when Mako wasn’t pro-bending or training for pro-bending, the only other thing he seemed to care about was his brother. That’s right. His world revolved around those key things, while Korra—well, Korra was just some outsider who just so happened to barge into his world unannounced. She wondered if Mako ever resented her for that. Sure, they were friends, sort of, but they had their differences, and Kora had seen Mako frown or grimace at her more times than she saw his smile. She didn’t want to be a bother; the last thing she wanted was for Mako to think that she was holding him back.
But she did want to get to know him, hang out with him, and see him smile, and hopefully with the newfound time she just managed to have with him, perhaps Korra could do just that. She climbed on top of Naga and extended her hand out to help Mako up, too. Naturally, Korra would take the reins. This was her polar bear dog, after all, and she preferred to direct her best friend herself. Korra looked over her shoulder, her wide, blue eyes blinking.
“So. Where to, boss?”
(Source: bendingwater)
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.
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.
(Source: bendingwater)
