A/N: I just wanted to write something that would excite strong emotion. Let me know if I've succeeded! Written while listening to Aqualung - "Tongue-tied"

"Please don't hate me," her voice was like a bell, sweet and ringing. It was a familiar song that had once made him feel so alight with happiness and that now, given their situation, made him feel as though his heart had turned to ash.

His responding laugh was harsh and cold. Empty.

"Hate you? You're breaking my heart and you're afraid that I'm going to hate you?"

"I don't have a choice-"

"You always have a choice," he barked out, fire flaring behind his eyes and smoke sizzling from his skin.

"You know that's not true," she replied solemnly.

His shoulders slumped. As much as he wanted to rage at her, shake her, and hold her…he knew that this hadn't been her choice. This wasn't what either of them would have wanted.

She stepped towards him, her movements slow as if approaching a wounded animal, and he supposed that she was. He felt small and scared, trapped by his pain and ready to lash out.

One, two timid steps and then her fingers were on his face and he was tugging her into his arms, wrapping her up as if he could contain her there forever. As if he could make her stay, warm and secure. Next to his heart. He buried his nose in her hair, his eyes shut tightly to dam the tears that were threatening to overflow.

"I couldn't bear it if you hated me," she whispered, her arms tightening around his waist, her hands splayed over his shoulders so that they touched at every point. Her face was snuggled into his neck, lips brushing against his scarf.

"I can't bear this, Korra. It's too much. We were supposed to-"

"I know," she whispered, her voice catching in her throat as her fingers brushed through his hair. "I know," she repeated.

She pulled back, her eyes staring into his. That flawless, opalescent blue that he had come to know every facet of. He searched her face, he had studied every line of her face during their relationship, her every expression had been cherished and tucked away. As he tucked this one away, now. Forehead wrinkled and blue eyes brimming with pain, pink lips full and chapped.

He could see his own heartache reflected in her gaze. He could see just how shattered she really was, how much she loved him. How much she wished that she could fight. What it cost her to give in.

And he loved her, Agni help him. He never had a choice in that.

"I can't hate you, Korra. I am so, so angry but I can't hate you. I never could. I just—I don't know what to feel."

Silence fell between them, moments lengthening into minutes before she spoke again.

"Then fight me," her voice was strong and stern. Resolve sinking into the tone and cutting through the waver, covering the break.

He nodded tiredly. This was how she understood him- Understood him more than anyone ever had. He wasn't good at dealing with emotions, especially emotions like this. That tore at your insides and ripped out your heart. He had been internalizing things for far too long, ever since he was an eight-year old boy that was forced to grow up too fast.

Fighting was his outlet, his way to channel his feelings into something physical.

And somehow, for Mako, that was a lot less dangerous than confronting his feelings head on. Easier than facing the ache that was already opening like a wound just under his ribs. The emptiness and apathy creeping forward and sucking him in with all of the gravity of a black hole.

She was offering this to him, this way to express himself, to share one last sparring match with her.

Fight me.

Because they couldn't fight it. They couldn't keep her from her duty.

She pulled away from the circle of his arm, falling into a crouch of defense, awaiting his first move. Determination and fire sat stubbornly on her features, burning through the tear tracks and splotchy red skin. She needed this too.

He watched her for a moment, taking in her fierce attitude and expression. Letting it wash over him like a breeze. This beautiful, amazing, and strong woman. He would never find another person like her.

He swallowed thickly before stretching his legs into the all too familiar stance, his arms up and his feet shoulder width apart. Ready to spar, to fight, to fire bend.

They nodded at each other, signaling their readiness, and then he was sprinting forward.

A fireball came racing from his fist, arcing overhead and speeding towards her.

Korra dodged, diving to the side and sending her own spiral of air out to crash against his sternum, knocking him back. He growled, low in his throat. She was going to give it her all, he noted, and heat raced through his veins. Excitement and adrenalin infused him.

Attack, defend, and dodge. It was a dance between them, primal and dark.

Disks of earth came whistling past his ear, vibrating through the air with a whirr of sound. They collided with the net at his back as he spun forward, advancing towards her with blazing intensity. A kick of fire and a punch of flame.

Water sliced through the air, hardening into crystals of ice that scratched into his flesh and hit the ground with little sharp pings and clinks. Ember eyes widened at her ferocity, his dark eyebrows pulling down in consternation.

"You're holding back!" she shouted and he could hear the tears returning, the desperation in her cry.

Her arms were wind milling, spinning in a rush of elements as she screamed and grunted with the effort. Her body was wracking with sobs and Mako darted forward, gripping one of her arms at the wrist and stealing into her space.

An angry windstorm met him as he pressed his body against hers, scorching heat pouring from her outstretched hands and then he was tugging her forward, making her stumble and her head fall back.

Before she could blink, He crashed his lips down upon hers.

He could feel the fight seeping out of her. The tenseness of her body relaxing into his arms, her mouth opening to his in a well-practiced amble, a tangle of tongues and lips and teeth.

He kissed her as if his life depended on it. Sharing her breath and savoring her taste. His tongue slid against her own in a wet caress, exploring her mouth, twisting over the velvet muscle and running along her teeth. She was gasping against his lips, her chest expanding with the motion so that her breasts were pressed against him.

"Mako," she sighed and he peppered kisses along her lips, nipping at the plump smooth flesh before moving down to her jaw and along the column of her throat.

She wrapped her arms around his head, winding her fingers through his hair. He rested his forehead against her collar bone, breathing her in and exhaling warm breath against her skin. He didn't want to think about it, but the thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. This would be their last time. These would be their last moments.

He shook under her arms and she squeezed him tighter.

"Make love to me?" she asked and he could've laughed—if he remembered how. If he didn't feel so hollow.

She didn't have to ask. He could never deny her anything, especially not now. Not now, for these few hours that she still belonged to him.

He raised his head, peering down into cerulean eyes and tawny skin- flushed red. His smile was small but meaningful and her returning one wasn't much better, but he brushed it aside, hunching down to lift her under her back and her knees.

He began carrying her bridal style from the gym and up the steps to his apartment. He shifted her when the stairway narrowed, so that her legs were wrapped around his hips and groaned at the feeling of her mouth on his neck. He could feel his pants tightening as she gently rotated her hips against him.

"Korra," he rumbled in warning. She snuggled into his shoulder, ceasing her movements and he was relieved that she recognized his need to take this slowly.

He pushed the bedroom door open with his shoulder and settled her down gently, her feet landing noiselessly on the floor. She rose up onto her tiptoes, gripping him behind the ears and pulling his mouth down to hers in a bruising kiss.

He was sinking in longing, his knees giving out, and then he was kneeling in front of her. His face pressed into her stomach and her fingers rubbing soothing patterns into his scalp. Her stomach was spasming beside his cheek and he knew that if he looked up that he would see that she was crying.

He pressed a kiss to her womb, to the place where their child would never grow. All of those discussions about having children together, all those hours spent planning a future together. A future that would never live anywhere but in dreams.

It was just another gaping loss to add to the pile.

Long pale fingers traveled over her hip, and up to her ribs. He traced each bump and ridge before moving higher; resting over her heart and feeling its beat, fascinated by the way it sped up, responding to this simple touch. His knuckles brushed the underside of her breast and her breath hitched in her throat.

His hands fluttered down to the hem of her shirt and he bunched it upwards, brushing a kiss against her toned abdomen. He watched as she gripped the material and dragged it up and over her head, so that she was bare above the waist, only her bindings covering the full cups of her breasts.

He breathed out slowly, the air from his lungs tickling over her flesh.

Her skin was warm against his palm as he flittered down over umber skin and untied her pelts, letting them fall to the floor before slipping his fingers under the waist band of her pants.

He pulled them down slowly, revealing the jutting bone of her hips. He loved that spot, the two hard bones that stuck out on either side of the shallows of her pelvis. He brushed his lips against her, there, on her left hip bone, his tongue sneaking out to taste the sweat on her skin. Wet, open mouthed kissed sliding down as his hands came around to cup over her bottom, pushing her pants down farther.

Korra didn't like to wear underwear, and it was a fact that Mako had secretly always loved, since he first discovered it in their early months of dating.

He brushed his nose against the light dusting of curls at her sex, breathing her in and resisting the urge to taste her. To make her quiver and shake until she fell limply to the floor. Slowly, slowly, he chanted to himself.

Her fingers tugged at his hair and he tilted his chin back, staring up at her. He gazed into half lidded eyes, pupils blown and irises now almost black with desire.

He rose to his feet as she kicked off her boots and shimmied out of her pants. Their gaze never breaking as he undid her wrappings. His hands palmed her breasts, thumbs and forefingers pinching at rapidly hardening nipples until she was moaning, the sound deep and throaty, her bottom jaw slackening and lips curving into an 'o'.

Mako nipped at her shoulder, kissing his way up her neck and over to her lips. Swallowing her breath until her head was swimming and the rest of her was positively drowning.

She was being lifted, her legs wrapping around him as he carried her over to the bed. He settled himself between her hips, still clothed, and stared down into her eyes. She didn't blink, just let him see, kept herself open until she could feel him looking past the blue paned windows and down into her soul. Reading her.

"Oh, Korra," he sighed so brokenly that she had to bring him back. She craned her neck, smashing her lips onto his own once more. Pouring herself into him.

He let his weight fall heavily upon her, shifting to his elbows, and she widened her legs, accommodating him.

She could feel his hardness through his pants and as he bucked against her she gasped. The friction sending prickles of warmth through her core.

He ground his hips down against her and she undulated in return, craving more pressure.

When he sat up, she sat up with him, scrabbling at his shoulders, gripping the fabric of his scarf and trying to pull him back into her arms.

He chuckled quietly, soft pecks landing on her lips, her forehead, her temple as he pressed her gently back onto the bed.

She was so beautiful like this, hair a mess around her head and dark skin flushed and glistening with sweat and excitement.

He blazed a trail of kisses down her stomach and over those perfect hips until he came to lie just between her thighs, at the apex to her sex.

He rested his cheek on her thigh, peering up at her and watching as her chest stuttered with short shuddering breaths.

He let his thumb feel her first, sliding over her folds and then slipping down to where she was most pink and finding her soaking.

He groaned, biting the flesh of her thigh lightly.

His fingers found their way inside of her, curling against her walls and reveling in the slickness. He pulled them out of her slowly, leaving her gasping as he brought his finger tips to his lips, tongue darting out to taste her. He moaned.

"Mako…" she was shuddering with need and he couldn't hold back anymore.

He spread her open with those same sinful fingers and lowered his mouth to her, tongue swirling over the bundle of nerves at the top and then dipping down to spear into her. Drinking her in until she was thrashing against the sheets and thrusting her hips roughly against his mouth.

Strong hands held her down as he licked his way back up to her clit, flicking over the bud with quick little strokes. His thumb was at her entrance, circling over the sensitive outer wall before sliding inside.

"Ah!" she was breathing harshly, her pulse racing against his tongue and he could feel her tightening like a spring as he replaced his thumb with two longer digits. She was quaking around him; Coiling and ready to erupt. Her hands fisted in his hair.

She exploded around his fingers, her orgasm ripping through her with a scream and he knew that he was smirking as he lapped up every bit of her pleasure. He loved this. He loved sharing his bed with her, making her come, and marking her as his. His Korra.

He didn't think that he had ever undressed so quickly in his entire life. Beautiful blue eyes laughing lazily at him as he divested himself of his cloths and fell back over her with a possessive growl.

She smiled up at him, her fingertips curling behind his ears and brushing lightly through his messy hair. He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together heavily over his eyes, hiding his pain as he kissed her.

His length slid wetly against her slit and then he was arching his back, raising his hips and aligning himself before falling into her heat.

.

Their lovemaking was a slow burn of passion. They took their time, imprinting the memories of being together in this most intimate of ways. Burning these moments into their minds and locking it away where no one could ever take it from them. Not these moments. Not their time.

Not the months and years of finding each other and overcoming war and hardship; of coming together only to be ripped apart again.

.

He stayed awake, long after her breathing had evened out. Watching her sleep in the bed they had come to share during their courtship.

Tomorrow she would travel to the Fire Nation.

She would sit in on endless meetings with their government, her hand resting gently on the arm of the man who was to be her husband. Playing a part and acting the happy fiancé.

'I don't have a choice'

It was all over the papers-The Fire Lady was stepping down. The people were calling for her resignation. Gossip had spread after high profile case involving a Fire Nation triad gang, that her rulings were more lenient on benders, especially fire benders.

This gossip was damaging in a post Equalist world. The anti-bending agenda had spread from Republic City and had been adopted by people who were down on their luck, depressed, and looking for someone to blame. Benders made a good scapegoat.

The people of the Fire Nation were calling for an end to the Monarchy and for a democracy to take its place, where heads of state were elected and chosen by the people instead of being determined by blood.

In light of the pressure from all sides, the Fire Lady had decided to step down and her Council of advisors had agreed with the motion.

General Iroh had been called home and was being prepared to take his rightful place on the throne. The expectation was that he was young and well liked; he could easily earn the respect of the people.

The Advisory Council proposed a more citizen-friendly government that they called a constitutional monarchy. They planned on employing a parliamentary system, where Iroh, as Fire Lord and head of state would retain some power. A vote for a Prime Minister would allow the people the extra taste of democracy that they so craved.

They all knew that it wouldn't be a smooth transition, that these adjustments would take time; that the love of the people would have to be hard earned by Prince Iroh. That during the transition period, all of the members of the Fire Nation Royal Family would be under constant threat of danger.

Enter Korra.

The Avatar would be the piece put into place to smooth it all over. The people loved her, idolized her. Having her in their corner, with her words in their favor, was a tactical advantage.

The marriage would cause a distraction, a grand affair to enrapture the people and distract them from the changes their government was undertaking.

A political marriage between two powers.

It was a slight of hand that made Mako feel sick.

But not nearly as ill as imagining her walking down the aisle, Or of her taking her vows with another man- on another continent, in another country. So far from his gaze, his touch, his love.

It wasn't nearly as debilitating as imagining her in the other man's bed. Standing by his side throughout the years and bearing his children.

A man that she didn't love and who didn't love her.

All for a lie to keep the people happy. To keep the peace in an otherwise warring world.

He cuddled into the girl in his bed, breathing her in and memorizing her scent. He trailed calloused palms down the skin of her arm, closing his eyes so that he could burn the feel of her skin into his mind.

He let his hand stop at her hip, wrapping around her stomach and spooning behind her.

His knuckles rubbed against the cheap scratchy cotton sheets that were unworthy of her presence and he sighed. The hard tatami mattress sat unyielding under them, she never complained of it, but he knew she found it uncomfortable.

'It's not much,' he had mumbled the first time she had entered his bedroom. And it wasn't, he had nothing to give her but empty coffers, hardship, and misfortune.

She deserved so much more than he could ever offer her. His Korra, who had only been his for a short while. His.

Tears prickled at his eyes as he brushed his nose against her nape.

"I could never-Never- hate you, Korra," he whispered into her hair, hoping that she would wait to wake. Wait until he could manage the tears now flowing freely down his face.

Wait until he could look strong for her.

Because she was so strong. For everyone else.

He wouldn't burden her. He wouldn't add to her pain. When they said goodbye he would hold her, bravely, and smother down all the words that he knew were too selfish to say.

I love you.

Don't leave me.

I'm lost without you.

Marry me…

But he was a street rat from Republic City and she was the Avatar who would be Fire Lady. And in the end those words would mean only pain for them both.

Words left unsaid. Unheard. Unanswered.

I love you, Korra.

A/N: I plan on expanding this, future chapters will be mainly Korroh, but I wanted to post this as a stand-alone Makorra as well