Time Runs Slow

There are always bumps in the road, but they've got a handful of shining moments to hold on to when things get rough. Because love is made of the little things. Thirty 100-word (or less) drabbles. Makorra friendship/romance. Not in chronological order.

1. dream

She wakes up gasping, fearing darkened corridors and fingers outstretched for her forehead. Disoriented, she sits blinking in the sunshine before glancing up. Red leaves frame a blue patch of sky. Her throat is parched and dry.

"That was a short nap," remarks a familiar voice. She twitches, startled and still confused, before meeting amber eyes. Mako's brow furrows. "What's the matter?"

Feigning nonchalance, she stretches her arms. "Nothing. Let's go. I'm rested and ready!" she chirps with cheerfulness she doesn't quite possess. He doesn't prod, only offers her a water bottle that she guzzles heavily when he isn't looking.

2. memory

The applause swells. They've won the championship and the money. However, it is still painfully obvious to Mako that he cannot buy his parents back, and it stings as a little twinge in his chest.

When he turns, Bolin is raising his arms in victory to the crowd, encouraging their screams. Korra whoops, then straightens, her blue eyes shining. "We won! Nice job out there, Team Captain," she grins.

He lets the praise wash over him and decides that even though his parents are a faint memory, it won't prevent him from making new, shining ones with Bolin and Korra.

3. fragile

She's always been strong, always been loud and brash, sometimes abrasive, and maybe it's because she's always known from the start that she was the Avatar. The world rests on her shoulders, sometimes pressing down on them with terrifying force, so she has learned to push back—anything to keep her head held high.

When she walks into probending practice, she expects some remark about her recent absences. Instead, Bolin fusses and hugs her. Mako pulls himself away from his intense practice session to look her in the eye and squeezes her shoulder ever-so-tentatively, saying, "Glad you could make it."

4. celebration

"Cheers to a great season," says Bolin, clinking his glass against Korra's. She raises it in salute and nudges Mako under the table with her foot.

"C'mon, Cool Guy, no cheer? There are no cameras around—it's okay to smile, you know."

A smile tugs the corner of his mouth and he tips his head in her direction, acknowledging her statement.

"Cheers," he says, raising his cup. "To a great team."

5. whisper

The light from the street lamps casts a yellow glow on the road. Republic City seems painted in sepia tones. Mako pulls her out of the glare from an oncoming car's headlight. They stand in the shadows, backs pressed flush against a wall. Korra's heart beats loudly in her ears, though she knows she isn't scared.

"The Triads are preparing for something big," whispers Mako, breath brushing warmly against her ear.

Korra swallows, turning her head to regard him in the half-light. "But for what?" she whispers back.

Mako shrugs and tugs her along, his fingers clamped around her wrist.

6. confessions

"Admit it, you like me," says Korra, leaning in with her hands on her hips, her hair swaying slightly.

Mako opens his mouth and closes it before averting his eyes, unsure what to say. Does he like her? Sure, as a friend. Maybe there's something more to it, but he isn't ready to admit it to himself, much less to her. They work well as a team and he admires her independence, but…

She quirks an eyebrow, as if to say she's won the round, and he just shoves his hands in his pockets and mumbles, "We should get going."

7. chocolate

Korra shows up at their attic with a massive box of chocolates.

"Did you buy these?" Mako asks incredulously, because didn't she say she didn't have any money?

Korra shakes her head. "No, it's from when Tarrlok was trying to recruit me to the task force. I never ate them, and I figured someone ought to."

"Sweet," says Bolin, already craning around Mako to see the chocolates. "Maybe this Tarrlok guy isn't so bad after all."

After Korra leaves, he and Bolin try the different fillings. Mako can't help glancing out to Air Temple Island as he bites into one.

8. vanilla

Asami smells like vanilla. It's beginning to grow on him—the scent clings to his clothes, wrapping itself around him the way Asami wraps her arms around him. But in the middle of the cloying sweetness, there's a part of Mako that hasn't been touched by Asami's fragrance yet. His scarf, wound tightly around his neck and draped close to his heart, still smells like himself. It smells like the attic, like hard work and Republic City's air, and when he buries his nose in it there's the faint smell of snow, spring air under trees, and a blue-eyed girl.

9. letters

"Do you think she'll come back?" Bolin asks worriedly. "Things are getting bad."

"Yeah," says Mako, turning away from the window to look at his brother. "She'll come back, Bo. She wouldn't abandon the city." She wouldn't abandon us, he adds internally. Of all things, he has faith in Korra.

Bolin laughs weakly. "Man, I feel like a father, all worried."

Mako props his arm up on his knees and looks out at Air Temple Island for what feels like the fiftieth time.

That night, he encloses a newspaper clipping in an envelope and addresses it to the South Pole.

10. sunshine

It's Korra's first summer in Republic City, and the heat is sweltering. It rises in waves off the pavement. Mako has discarded his trademark coat in favor of short sleeves, and Korra's definitely noticed his well-toned arms. "How do you stand the heat?" she moans. "I want to jump in Yue Bay right now."

Mako smiles at her, then nods his head in the direction of a food stall. "Come on, let's grab something cold."

She reaches in her pouch—she's learned to bring money with her—but Mako stops her.

"It's all right," he says softly. "Food's on me."

That's the first ten...the next twenty will be coming soon. I needed a place to dump a bit of Makorra action/fluff, especially after today's episode. :'( Leave a review and let me know which drabble was your favorite! I've got a list of words I'm going to use, but feel free to suggest another word and I'll see what I can do. :)