Young Writers Society

"Varrick, you mind if I take this dance?". Mako walked up to the newly wedded couple. Zhu Li raised an eyebrow. Varrick turned to the young man.

"Would I?". He leaned in to Zhu Li. " Would I?"

"I'm sure you would be fine."  Zhu Li kissed his cheek softly. " Go get a drink and don't get yourself in trouble."

Mako clasped his good hand with her. "So, you and Varrick... Who would would've guessed?"

"Practically everyone, if you think about it." She smiled thoughtfully. "I was hoping for a long time. Varrick is just a little..."

"Rough around the edges, yeah." They moved around the dancefloor gracefully, despite his broken arm, flowing with the upbeat song Tahno and the band were playing. Zhu Li led the dance, gently pushing Mako through the song. "Well, I'm glad for you both-"

"Mako." She stopped him. "Is there something you wish to talk to me about?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, I would have talked to Opal, but she's with Bolin right now. Lin's not one to talk to about these kind of things, and Asami's out with Korra right now, well-"

"And I was the only one you could talk to right now. Relationship problems?"

He nodded. "How did you know?"

"First of all, you and I have barely talked before this, and now we're dancing like we're the best of friends. Secondly, you are like an open book, so it's not hard to tell. Third, there's only one reason for you to go out of your comfort zone to talk to a woman."

"What, I am-am just fine with talking to women.". His cheeks betrayed him, turning hot crimson. "Okay, fine. It's about Korra. I don't know how to tell her, but I still love her, even through all of this. I love her more than anything in the world, but I just don't know how to tell her." He stopped dancing as the song ended and the band took a break. "I'm so stupid, this ship has already been long gone, but I still have feelings for her, after all of this." He slumped down in a chair, facing away from the dancefloor. Zhu Li sat next to him silently, patient. "What do I do? It's like it's burning inside of me."

"Tell her, then. There may be problems, but it's nothing like what's going to happen if you keep it to yourself. For years, I fell secretly in love Varrick." She glanced over to the genius entrepreneur, trying to wrestle a glider from Tenzin. "I did everything for him, I would wake him up, get him dressed, fed him, and I was the one who would tuck him in for bed. I knew more about him than anybody, even himself. And I did all of that because I love him. Because I fell in love with him, faults and all. But I kept it to myself, and it took me leaving him for him to realize he loved me too. All of that could have been saved if I just told him how I felt. I knew, deep down, he felt the same." She turned to face Mako, a glint in her eyes. "If you love her, tell her that. You might not get the same chances I had with Varrick.".

Mako stood up gruffly, holding his injured up tenderly. He said nothing, looking at Varrick as he was running away from Tenzin, yelling at passerby's to DO THE THING!

He sighed. "Thank you, Zhu Li. Varrick's lucky to have someone like you."

"No I'm lucky to have him."

~~

He walked up the steps slowly, heart pounding. He knew Korra wouldn't stay at the after party of the wedding for long. She's not that kind of person. The hallway let off a serene glow from the spirit portal sprouting from the heart of Republic City.

He stopped at Korra’s door, not wanting to do anything rash or stupid or-

He could hear faint rustling inside, and his heart started pounding like crazy in his chest. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach, and all he wanted to do was turn away and just not be here right this moment. “Mako, get ahold of yourself. You are a detective of Republic City. You have dealt with the worst of the worst that the city can offer. You can deal with a girl… who just so happens to be the strongest bender in the world, but that’s… that’s besides the point.” He shook his head and knocked on the door.

“Korra, I wanted to talk to you. I’ve been thinking about what I said earlier. I will always be by your side, through thick and thin. But, I want to do that with you, together.” Silence beyond the door. “Korra, I want… I want to give our relationship another try.” Again, no one responded. “Korra, are you just going to not say anything while I pour my heart out for you?” He knocked on the door again, but there was no response, no noise at all on the other side. Taking a deep breath, he tried the handle. It was unlocked. Edging the door open just a crack, he couldn’t see much, so he stepped aside to open it all the way.

It burst open as he did, and Naga spilled out of the room and on top of Mako, pushing him to the ground. She hovered over him, licking his face and panting excitedly.

“Okay, Naga! Down girl.” He looked beyond her. “Where’s Korra?” Shoving the hound off of him as best as he could, Mako walked into the room.

It was a mess. Clothes had been thrown carelessly around the room and the bed was torn apart, its sheets tossed into a corner, which was covered in white fur. Probably Naga’s sleeping spot. On the bed, there were two different pieces of formal wear, both folded neatly, one red, one blue. Korra and Asami’s dresses from the wedding. In between them was a package, with two notes on top. Mako held his breath as he picked up the notes, fearing the worst.

“To whoever gets this,

I’m taking Asami to the Spirit World for a break. I think she deserves one, and needs it, even. We both need it. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone. It may be a few hours, it may be a few months. Please, please don’t come after us. We’ll come back once we’re ready.

-Korra.”

He set that letter down and hurriedly opened the next one.

“This is Asami. I don’t know what Korra wrote, but I’m pretty sure it leaves a lot of questions. I have a letter for as many people as I could think to write to. If you are the one to get these letters, make sure the get to their intended person, alright?”

He flicked through the other letters. Sato Industries. Varrick and Zhu Li. Tenzin and each of his children. Bolin. Mako. He stopped.

“Mako, I’m writing this right now while Korra’s sneaking into the kitchen to get some food for us on the journey. These past years have been rough between us. We’ve grown up and apart, I can tell. both you and Korra are like open books. I know you still have feelings for Korra. I think even she knows deep down. But I also know how it will end. We both do. Listen, these next few years are going to be the hardest of our lives, but I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you, no matter what. While we’re gone, don’t just focus on your work. Go live your life. Go find someone who will love you the way you love Korra. Reading this, it feels like a good bye. But, it’s not. It’s just the beginning.

I’ll see you when I get back, Mako. Just know, I never lost my feelings towards you. You’ll always be that probender I hit with my scooter and fell in love with. But, I think it’s time to move on, to something different. Promise me you’ll do that?”

~~

Mako woke with a start, covered in sweat. He felt Asami’s note in his hand, crumpled up from how hard he was holding it in his sleep. Naga whined and lifted her head slightly from her corner. “Go back to sleep, Naga. It’s fine. It was nothing.” The polar bear dog huffed slightly and lay her head back down. “It was just a nightmare.” He mutter to himself, or perhaps to someone who wasn’t there. He could see through the window, a glow that towered over everything in Republic City, lighting up the night sky. The glow of the spirit portal. “Just a nightmare.”