AN: So this is my submission for the Makorra Summer Project over on Tumblr. It is really long so I split it into three chapters on this site. Make sure to read all of the amazing works on their too.

The text message read 'Are you busy?'. He wasn't necessarily busy but instead was face down on his pillow deep asleep since it was two in the morning. She didn't wait for him to respond but instead she followed up with a 'Can you open your door?'. It seemed she wasn't going to take NO for an answer or any answer for that matter. He tossed on a t-shirt and shorts and walked to open the front door for her.

He saw her through the plate glass window of the complex's front door as sad as a puppy. He didn't know how long she had been standing there but she was drenched and wet down to her socks due to the downpour that was happening outside behind her. He ushered her inside and up the two flights to his small apartment. They didn't say much as he tossed her a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that had been washed the previous morning. She quickly changed and sat on his bed clutching a pillow as she sat on the couch.

Normally, her fights with Asami weren't this bad but this time it just boiled over. Asami blamed her for hanging out with Mako too much. Korra thought Asami was being foolish, she was never unfaithful to her but as Korra slowly thought about it, she had talked about Mako all the time. She stayed up late texting him and called him when she was away on long road trips with the team, longing to hear his voice. She hadn't realized it till Asami pointed it out to her. It was something that had been waiting to happen. But when she sat on Mako's bed that evening she just told him that she and Asami had grown apart and the season was her focus, that she just needed to focus on bringing the city a championship and then she could focus on Asami.

Mako didn't say a word and just listened as Korra let it all out, the frustration of how this had affected her play and how she had blamed herself too much. He saw the tears stream down her face as the agony of heartbreak started to take it's hold unforgiven hold. Asami was all she had known for the past 4 years, the two had been through everything and now they were over. He wanted her and say 'I know how you feel' but those would just be empty words. Mako never had a relationship or cared for one. Bolin was his main focus and even though he did have the occasional fling it never amounted to anything. So he just let her cry. For the first time in his life, probably since his parents death, he felt helpless. He didn't know how to fix what was unfolding in front of him.

Soon the crying stopped and Korra had fallen asleep, wrapped in the blankets that he had been so comfortably wrapped in 2 hours prior, dreaming about whatever had been in his mind. Now he was hunkered down on the lumpy couch, one leg draped over the back of it and the other hanging over the side with his toes just grazing the floor. He stared at her, watching the blankets move up and down as her breathing was finally under control. He tried to keep his eyes open to make sure he was available if she needed but the depths of sleep soon took its hold.

When he had awoke a few hours later he felt a body moving simultaneously with his. Once the morning haze had lifted he saw Korra beneath an arm he had wrapped securely around her. Unknown to him, she had joined him during the night for whatever reason. He took a deep breath and let the smell of her fill his senses. Her hair smelled of lavender and the ocean. It was intoxicating. She stirred and once she realized who she was with she fell on the floor in embarrassment. She quickly grabbed her things and bolted from the apartment without a word.

/~~~~~~\

She stared at her phone that laid on her kitchen table as she paced back and forth debating on whether or not to call him. She had left in such a hurry without a word, she at least owed him an explanation, at least one to herself. She had broken up with Asami about a month after the late night talk she had at Narook's with Mako and if she were honest with herself, that night was when she realized that Mako was the one for her or at least someone she wanted to be with. After that night at the noodle shop she had tried her hardest to see him whenever she could even going out of her way to go to the shop. She would spend hours there talking with him, falling more and more for him. She knew it was the wrong thing to do and she convinced herself that it didn't mean anything. They hadn't kissed or been intimate together so she didn't see the big deal.

Her phone started to vibrate which jolted her from her thoughts. She quickly went over and sent it to voicemail. That was the fifth time Asami had called her probably to reconcile. He hadn't called yet. Why? Was he upset that she had taken it upon herself to find shelter in him? She ran a hand through her hair as she leaned over the phone and closed her eyes. She wanted him more than anything, more than soccer at this point. Soccer! Her eyes shot open as she looked at the clock that hung on the wall over her television. 2:00 pm. Shit, she was late for warm-ups. She threw her clothes in a bag and ran down the stairs and outside to grab a cab to the pitch.

Mako cursed the day he had ever met that woman. How could she have run out like that without some sort of goodbye? Hell, at least a 'Thank you' for letting her sleep in his comfortable bed. He stared at his phone debating on whether or not to call her. He couldn't get the smell out of his senses. He closed his eyes trying to remember her warm body next to his as they slept together. For the first time in his life he felt safe, content to just lay there for the whole day, maybe forever. It didn't help the full-fledged feelings that he had developed for Korra. Every day he hoped beyond hope that she would come into the shop, her eyes ablaze with a story to tell him. She had stopped in everyday for the past month, whether it was early in the morning or near closing time. In fact, he started to keep late hours on the off chance that she would stop in.

He shook his head and let out a laugh in disbelief, he had changed his business for her. He looked at his phone one more time and a thought hit him. Korra was single. For the first time since he had known her, she was available. Yes, she did just break up with her girlfriend but she had clearly shown interest in him. Right? He picked up his phone and pulled up all the texts they had sent to each other, all the 'Good mornings' and 'Good nights' sent between the two. The ridiculous late night calls that he was all too fond of and the laughs that they shared. He went to her profile, the beautiful blue eyes that made him weak whenever he looked at her peered back at him from the small picture that made its home in his contact info. He clicked the small green phone icon, it was time for him to make his feelings known to her. It was now or never.

/~~~~~~\

"Well look who it is! We thought you forgot about us" Bolin said loudly as Korra ran onto the pitch, hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She was a mess, emotionally and physically. The lack of sleep made her groggy and there was only so much energy drink that she could consume before her kidneys rejected her.

"Not now Bo" she said sharply as she joined him while he stretched. She tried to focus as her calves and hamstrings stretched themselves out but there were two things she knew would happen. One, Asami was going to show up and confront her at the pitch tonight because she would want answers to why she wasn't answering her phone. Two, she had to stop playing this game with Mako. She had fallen for him and she wanted to be with him. She had to tell him and let him make the decision.

"Wait a minute, I know that shirt" Bolin said, his eyes wide as he took in her appearance.

"Bo" Korra said, realizing that he recognized Mako's shirt that she was still wearing. In her frantic leaving this morning to get to practice on time, she had forgotten her warmups and only grabbed her jersey. This meant that she needed to warm up in his baggy shirt and sweatpants. Her coach already had given her a hard time about it when she was in the locker room so she didn't want to get it from Bolin as well.

She looked over at Bolin who had a giant smile on his face and his eyes squinting at her.

"You spent the night at Mako's last night" he said with a bit of glee in his voice.

"Asami and I had a big fight. I went over to talk it out with Mako and it was raining so this is what I changed into" Korra said as she took and stretched her arms over her head.

"You spent the night at Mako's last night" he replied again with the same inflection in his voice, his smile getting bigger.

"Bolin, it was nothing more than that" she lied. Of course it was more in that. She made herself vulnerable without thinking any of it through.

"Korra!" a voice yelled out near the entrance of the pitch. She turned around to see Mako running out on the field to her. Her teammates looked on as this newcomer interrupted their pre-game workouts. He finally came up to her panting and resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"You OK?" she asked panting him on the back, a bit confused as to why he showed up.

"Sure. I just ran three miles and I'm finding out that I need to start working out again" he said standing up.

"Why are you here? What about the shop?" she asked, internally thrilled that she got to see him again but also nervous to hear what he would say about the previous night.

"I called your phone...and...my shirt" he said motioning to her current outfit. This caused her to shift onto one leg and put a hand on her hip, while glaring a bit at him. He interrupted their practice because she kept his clothes.

"I'll return them to you, it's not like I don't know where you live" she said sharply. Her head was a mess and this was the first game of the tournament she didn't need this extra stress right now "Mako, I have a game in a few hours and I need to focus. Can we talk later?"

"No, I need to talk now. I can't let you get away from me, not after last night. Korra, when I saw you crying and unable to help you I couldn't handle it. And when I woke up to you in my arms it was the greatest feeling I ever had. Yes, even better than when I solved that case" he said with a smile. Korra felt her face grow flush. Bolin saw what was happening and shooed the team away to give them some privacy.

"I can't give you everything Asami could but I can give you all the happiness in the world. I just...I want you Korra. I wan-" he tried to say but was cut off as Korra lips silenced his as she pulled him towards her. He closed his eyes as he felt a wave of bliss overtake him. She put her fingers through his unkept hair and he pulled her close as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn't know how much time was passing but what she did know is that this was all she ever wanted.

Her teammates let out whistles and cheers as they stood there embracing each other. They broke their kiss and rested their foreheads together.

"You're all I've ever wanted to" she whispered to him as she closed her eyes, allowing herself to be in the moment. She sighed in happiness as he held her close and lifted her chin up to meet his lips again. He tasted like the coffee that she had fallen in love with when she first had met him. She never thought it would had led to this.