AN: "I will not ship anything in Korra" indeed. Damn episode 5. Damn kiss. Damn Makorra. In case you missed my rant in my previous Korra fic: I tried to remain ship-neutral but that did NOT work out. Also, Zutara DOES NOT EQUAL Makorra. I adore both ships but they are totally different.

This was written on my phone whilst waiting for lectures during the day. This will probably be the last fic from me in a while. Don't ask about it: I dunno where it came from or what it's doing. The drabbles could be connected, if you want them to be. Also, if a miracle happens and somebody wants to flesh these drabbles out I will love you forever. Seriously.

Disclaimer: Korra isn't mine. These scenes probably won't happen because Bryke writes better than I do and they don't make the characters OOC like I have in this.

1. Air

They'd known the Wolfbats would be tough to beat. They knew that they played hard and, quite probably, slightly dirty. But they'd never expected this; this level of ferocity, this level of rawness, this level of underhandedness that still managed to go unnoticed by the referee. When Korra, tired of being battered around, complained about it, Bolin muttered about Tahno having money. That just made her that much more furious.

Somehow, due to their stubborness and refusal to give up, they'd ended in a tie with the Wolfbats, meaning the fate of the final match rested solely on the sudden death one on one battle. The coin toss was about to begin and there was a part of Korra that just wanted to drag herself to her bed and sleep for a week. She was bruised, bleeding from cuts on her arms and cheek where her uniform had ripped and so exhausted she could feel it to her bones. Bolin caught her eye and gave her a grimace - he was as worried about their chances as she was. The Earthbender had taken many knocks as well and he was favouring his left arm, leading her to believe that the arm injured last match had been targeted once again. She refused to look at Mako who was standing on the other side of Bolin. If 'standing' could even be used for what Mako was doing. The Wolfbats, it seemed, deemed her only the second most important target and had instead focused most of their brutality on the Fire Ferrets' captain. Korra was sure Mako was still standing and fighting only out of sheer force of will.

Up flipped the coin and she held her breath, begging the spirits to have mercy on her team. The spirits did not; the Wolfbats won the coin toss. Korra's heart sank to her aching knees at the smirk on Tahno's face.

"We choose fire," he announced smoothly.

Korra had never wanted to hit him more than she did at that very moment. Even the imagined image of her fist breaking his nose was satisfying. If she could just...

The announcer was roaring something irrelevant to the crowd and as though drawn in by a sick force she could not ignore, Korra's attention was captured by Mako making his way onto the small platform. He was limping badly and every time he took a halting, swaying step Korra winced. She wanted to grab the referee by the scruff of his neck and demand that she take Mako's place, that she be their Firebender, that she'd make him so sorry if he didn't let Mako off. As though sensing her distress - or maybe it was simply because he needed the comfort himself - Bolin's hand was suddenly squeezing her shoulder. Korra swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around herself, resigned to waiting.

"And the final battle for the championship begins! It doesn't look good for the Fire Ferrets - their Firebender looks more likely to fall over than Firebend. And they're off! The Wolfbats immediately go for their opponent's weak spot and - Oh! Mako manages to dodge but he still came down hard on that leg. Looks like he's trying really hard not to collapse or at least swear. Now Mako's on the defence ag- oh, man! Direct kick to the chest! That must have hurt! But the Fire Ferrets are still in the game. You gotta hand it to both Firebenders - neither of them are giving up. And now it's Mako on the offence but his attacks look too weak to really be doing any damage. His attacks are being blown off easily and - woah! I'm sure that's a foul! Surely that's a foul?"

Bolin's hand was gripping Korra's shoulder so tight by now that it hurt, but the Avatar was too busy trying to stop herself from tearing Tahno and his team to little shreds. It had been a foul, but once more the referee was doing nothing about it. And Mako had yet to rise from his knees where the underhanded move had left him.

"Come on, Mako," Korra whispered. And then she yelled it, trying to infuse as much strength and self-righteous anger into her words as possible. "Come on, Mako! Come on!"

It was no longer just a matter of winning a game. The Wolfbats had made it personal and there was no way Korra would stand losing to them now. Even if they lost the match they would not lose their dignity or their fight. It simply could not happen like that.

"And Fire Ferret Mako is back on his feet! Although how long he's going to stay that way is very debatable at this stage. Once again the Wolfbats attack and boy does he look sure of himself! Can't say I blame him - victory is as good as theirs by now. Mako struggling to hold his own and - my word! I have never seen a move quite like that before! Mako comes back with a force that seems impossible for his condition and a move that was so fast I can't even tell what it was! Whatever it was it's given him the upper hand and allowed him to keep on the attack... Looks like Mako has run out of steam, though, and I'm not sure he has anything left. Mako on the defence... Mako trying to fight back but not really succeeding... Mako being forced to the edge as his opponent comes closer and closer for the final attack and - Mako blowing his opponent completely off his feet with another surprise move! Both Firebenders are on their knees now, folks and I don't know - oh! Mako attacks again with a very weak blast of fire but maybe... Yes! I don't believe it! The Wolfbats are in the drink! The Fire Ferrets-!"

Korra didn't hear anything more; she was too busy screaming. And then Bolin was crushing her so hard she thought he might strangle her and she felt wetness on her shoulder as he sobbed. Injuries forgotten the two barrelled forward as one and tackled a completely stunned Mako, each trying to hug him hard enough to express their feelings of utter elation and relief. Halfway through the hug Mako's stunned silence shattered and he began to laugh, a sound that thrilled through Korra's body and caused Bolin to grab her and spin her around the arena with one arm.

She could honestly not remember a time she'd ever been that happy; that deliriously giddy with relief and pride and elation and the desire to cry despite so many eyes watching. Her heart swelled inside her chest, threatening to lift her into the sky so she could soar amongst the clouds where she felt sure she belonged. The happiness was so consuming she suddenly, for the first time, really understood what Tenzin must feel when he bent air.

And so that's exactly what she did. Korra let go of Bolin and copied the move she'd been struggling with for weeks. This time something happened - she expected nothing less in her utter elation - and the mini-tornado caused the dust to rise from the arena and swirl happily around them as she spun. Her spinning brought her crashing into Mako - who had finally managed to rise shakily to his feet - and the whirlwind emotions tearing through her would let her do nothing less than reach up and kiss him.

Luckily her momentum and the hurricane of dirt and dust made the kiss swift enough that nobody else noticed it. After a while her guilt and mortification ceased enough that she could look at him again. Supported by a grinning Bolin, Mako caught her gaze and gave her a tentative half-smile that turned into a grimace as an excited Bolin dragged him forward too quickly. She knew that that was his way of saying that things were still confusing: it wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no, either. And even though she told herself to forget what she'd done and put it down to a mistake that had been made in the heat of the moment she couldn't forget what it had felt like.

The taste of him. His head. His elevated heartbeat thrumming beneath her fingers.

The way he'd kissed her back this time, as well.

And she could honestly not deny that that 'mistake' had been the thing to make the victory one hundred percent perfect.