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There she was walking, It was dark. Mako had told her to meet up at around nine next to the thrift store a few blocks from Kyoshi bridge. She had been in it before, Bolin dragging her inside to look at knick knacks while his brother stalked behind them occasionally picking something up to study. It was run by an old man that kept eyeing Mako down like he was going to kill him. ‘Had Mako stolen from the man before when he was young?’
‘It doesn’t really matter now to be honest, he’s changed and so the old fart should deal with it and get over whatever is bothering him about my new friend.’ She was lucky to be able to rely on her bending and not the boats to get back and forth between the island and the city.
Sneaking past the white lotus was harder than last time, Tenzin had made sure to increase security around the island ever since her last escape and with brewing troubles in the city about the equalist, but it wasn’t all that more difficult.
She was holding herself close to the wall of the women's corridors. Slipping through the window out to the back of the building as she spread her arms to mold a dent in the soft earth below mid fall, spreading it out in a ripple to soften her footing. With a quiet thump she was successfully outside.
She looked around for the faint voices of the guards, luck must have been on her side tonight because they were already well past her on their route, a taller man chatting away with a younger woman whose helmet was far too big for her, making it dip slightly to the side.
“Thank the spirits.” She muttered under her breath as she headed towards the bush. Branches scratching her slightly exposed skin. “I should have graded my fucking jaket.” she growled as she forced her way through the foliage, brows knitted together. One thing she didn’t expect about moving to the air temple, or just leaving the south in general, was the amount of green she would see.
As a kid she read books and heard stories from Katara about the rest of the world, but she guessed it just never clicked until she saw it for herself. It was so thick she could barely make her way through it, throwing her covered arms above her head, silently thanking herself for wearing her near full arm navy sleeves instead of her usual smaller pair.
“Well the white lotus certainly isn’t going to get me out here.” She chuckled as she finally reached the cliff she was looking for.
Putting her right foot back in a crouch she burst into a sprint, leaving small pebbles of grey and brown behind her every step, leaping off the cliff's edge. The air of the night was cool and harsh against her face, hair waving all over her face as she turned forward into a dive. The howling wind and the dropping of her gut came to a harsh stop as she cut into the water below.
It was freezing, and sunk all around her body, as she turned slightly to the side. Water filling her ears and nose. She looked back up at the cliff and not to anyone’s surprise she couldn’t see a soul. With that reassurance she pushed herself through the bay with a rush of water behind her, leaving no trace of herself.
. . .
Stepping onto the hard concrete of the city was a relief. Sliding next to a wall filled with large old pipes sticking out as she wrung the water out of one of her wolf tails. The dark rust of the pipes being cleaned off with the occasional splatter of wetness from her hair.
She looked around her little cove as she started to bend the water out of her shirt, nothing around her but some large pipes and trash from the street above. She tossed the water glob aimlessly to the side, crashing into a pile of rotten gunk.
Gray on brown on grey. She breathed in and focused her chi inside to try to warm herself, light trails of steam coming off of her, getting rid of the little droplets of water left in her clothes.
The wall was about 10 feet tall with the railing included. The shadow from it covered her in darkness but she could still see the street lights warm the roads with a bright yellow.
She grunted as she prepared to jump up. Widening her stance and going flat footed, she forced the ground in with the jerk of her elbows down. Doing so causing her to meet some resistance from what she assumed was some kind of rebar in the cement.
“Ugh” she moaned, bringing her arms flat to her chest. ‘Of course it has to have metal in it.’ Then with a stomp of her left foot she was launched into the air once more.
Flying higher than she expected she yelped as she cleared the wall. She spun mid air, pelts wiping in the breeze, as she crashed into the sidewalk shoulder first.
She laid on the sidewalk for a second, contemplating her pain. “Fuck” she groaned out slowly while flipping on her back, lifting her now redish face from the ground as she propped herself up with her elbows, one knee pushed up into the air.
Bringing herself shakily to her feet she looked around. The street lights were bright in the night along with the many stores down the corner, bright neon signs advertising whatever it was they had on sale. A somewhat thick fog covering most of the roads, being brought to life by the lights above.
She scanned the brown architecture looking for the greenish shop Mako and Bolin had brought her to before while stumbling, trying to get her bearings. She finally recognized one of the buildings from the past month and realized she still had a fair way to walk before meeting her friend.
“This damn city is to fucking big for its own good.” she whined, putting a hand on the side of her head as she strolled down the street.
One thing about Republic city though was that it was never dull, or at least not to her. Although it may not have that much competition. It was at least ten times bigger than the biggest “city” back home, she only had been to that once when she was what, five?
Sure the place may be gloomy but that was part of the excitement, never knowing what she will see around the corner, being locked in a compound for years in one of the most remote parts of the world had really lowered her standards for what was impressive.
When she first got off that boat with Naga she was shocked, even more so when they were lifted into the air by the police and essentially flown over the city.
‘What did Mako even want to meet up for anyways?’ He had told her after practice that morning that he needed to tell her something really important but she had literally no idea what that could be.
‘Is he going to finally tell me more about him and the triads? Or at least a little more of what he did on the street as a kid?’
He had been acting more and more off recently, ever since Bo had gotten taken by the equalist he had been on guard non stop, only letting one other person besides her into his life. But it wasn’t that kind of worry.
No, what he was doing now was different, right after Bolin was captured for the first week or so he had actually opened up a lot to her, but now it was almost as though he wanted nothing to do with her.
Cutting in to talk only every now and then and only really seeing her when it was practice, or if he was dragged somewhere by Bo or his new friend, or was it girlfriend, Asami Sato which was rare in the first place but now even more so.
He was even more pale than normal, not heading out for much of anything besides work, quick errands, and that was about it. ‘Is he sick with something? No, if he was sick Bolin would have told me.’
She found herself being out with Bolin more and more recently. Hanging out with the younger of the brothers was fun, he was sweet and would try his best to make even the most mundane of things exciting, which wasn’t all too hard given the older girls inexperience with the city. But when she asked about Mako he would just say something quick about how he “was a good brother” and change the subject.
Even when he was talking about stories from their childhood he would seem to make Mako almost nonexistent in them. ‘Why? What, is he trying to hide something from me? Does he think I will judge them for what happened to them?’
She was rounding what would be the last corner after what felt like an hour and a half of slow walking. The fog clearing away as the store came into view, a familiar 6’2 figure coming into eyesight.
He was wearing thick clothes, his staple at this point, but this time it was not an outfit she had seen before. He wasn’t in his uasal grey jacket but rather a dark brown leather one with the front open and his lower face being somewhat hidden by his red scarf, the opening showing off a dark burgundy fire nation shirt with gold accents a fair bit nicer than what he normally would wear.
“Hey! Korra you're here.” He called over in a gruff voice, flagging her down with his fingerless gloves. “Nice shirt, the dark blue really fits you.”
‘Oh so now he’s being friendly again all of a sudden? What the hell?’
“Thanks, and you look nice too in… that.” She said, waving her hand awkwardly over his outfit, leaning a little on her side. ‘Aren't you a fire bender? You don’t need that thick of a coat.’
“Thanks. Are you hungry? I heard there’s a place not too far up the street from here that stays open late.”
“Sure!” And so here she was, walking again, but at least this time she had company, even if it was only Mako’s awkward introverted self.
. . .
They walked down the light up street, purple and yellow signs leading the way, most stores were closed by now but they still had their signs on for spirits knows what reason.
Side by side they stomped in rhythm in the small puddles of the rough road, covered arms nearly touching every now and then. Both had both of their hands in their pockets, shoulders wide, their breath blowing out in the cold wind in warm puff’s around their faces.
They eventually found the place he was talking about, a small restaurant on the side of a building right on the corner.
They rushed inside and looked at the menu, the place seemed to be a mix of water tribe and earth kingdom foods. ‘Yes! Some home cooking.’ They quickly ordered and waited as the older man went to the back.
He stood against the wall of the cramped shop, pulling at the edge of his fingerless gloves. The warmth of the hanging light up menu illuminating his face. Korra let a few minutes pass before saying anything again.
“Was this your awkward way of asking me out on a date?” She asked, cocking a brow at the fire boy.
“What?!? No Korra it’s not-” he slapped one of his rough leather hands on his forehead. “ Look I have something actually important to tell you ok?” He turned his head to her, one eye and brow twitching in a cartoonish manner as he stared at her in annoyance.
“Why don’t you just tell me now and you know, get it over with.” She said, sounding slightly disappointed. ‘Why is he being so short with me recently?’ She rattled off a few theories in her head, she didn’t really want it to be a date either but to get that mad at the idea still stung a little.
He looked around the place nervously, as though a triad member was going to pop out around a corner and get him any second. “No I… not here, I want to tell you somewhere a little more private.” He leaned in on that last part, putting a gloved hand in front of his mouth, speaking in what Korra would barely count as a whisper.
“Ok.” She said with a slight nod. Several minutes passed, she felt the fire in the back kitchen and watched as it occasionally flashed into view. She couldn’t help but use a little bit of her bending to brighten the slightly sour mood, hitting Mako in the side with her sleeved elbow. “Watch this.”
He turned his head as she reached her palm out and jerked it up in a flashy manner, a small trickle of flame coming from her enclosed fist and running down her covered arm. But it was nothing compared to the blast that happened in the back, she knew he could feel it to given his own ability with fire, as a plume of it burst upward engulfing the wok. She heard the cook screech from the opposite side of the kitchen and dropped her arm, lowering the heat back to its intended size as quickly as it exploded up.
They both tried not to burst into fits of laughter, Korra kneeling over on her knees while Mako covered his mouth. Small giggles escaping them both as the cook flashed them a glare. She could smell their food from where they stood. Knowing it was almost finished she grinned at her older friend, small tears forming in her eyes.
They were given their food with a very suspicious look on the middle aged man’s face, seeming to try to get them out of his small restaurant as quick as he could. Mako handing over the yuan’s and grabbing the bag.
They sat outside on a bench next to the water, looking out across the bay at Avatar Aang’s statue and the starry night sky reflecting on the water. Korra absolutely devouring her arctic hen and fried rice while the boy took his time chewing bites of his chicken pork belly. “Spirits, I missed the taste of meat!” She exclaimed with pure almost childlike joy.
“That’s the main problem I have with Tenzin and his rules, well that and a few other things, but I mean I have nothing against vegetarians or air nomads but I have lost so much muscle ever since I moved out here it’s insane.” She said with her mouth almost full of hen.
A bit of warmth flashed in his eyes but he was still stuck on how his tone affected her earlier, even if it was only slightly visible. “hey uh, I didn’t mean to snap at you about the date thing, I just… got a lot on me right now.” He tilted his head to look back at the purple and red writing on the sign of the building, the cook still eyeing them down like a hawk. “I’m sure someone would love to go on a date with you, but that’s not what this is, my bad for the confusion.”
“Your good bro, just struck a little bit of a nerve.” She grinned sheepishly as she held up her fingers in a pinching position.
“Yea.. that makes sense.” He looked back out at Yue bay, distance in his eyes and a blank expression while sipping on his drink. ‘What is wrong with him tonight? Is he ok? I’ve never seen him have this many of his mood swings?’
He gave her time to finish her food and throw it out before he stood up, hands in his pockets once more.
“Come with me.”
He turned on his heel and started to walk faster than he had all night, heading towards Kyoshi bridge.
. . .
They walked side by side until the boy picked up his own pace. It started to pour as they rushed by the street, cars driving past. He was heading towards a small part next to the bridge, a set of stairs.
Diving down she quickly tried to follow, fleeing the cold rain and slick roads. “Mako hold up!” She yelled running as fast as she could to him.
She finally got to the stairs and jumped over the railing to get down as fast as she could, they were safe under here. The sound of cars and the smell of motors filled the damp air.
He kept walking until he was in the center of the walkway, no one but themselves there. She quickly grabbed his shoulder, gripping as hard as she could. “Mako stop! What the hell is going on?” She growled, anger in her blue eyes.
He let out a huff as he turned his head to her, his spiked hair now only wet clumps on his forehead. “Don’t touch me!” He stated, fire flashing in his own eyes as well.
“Why are you so pissed off all of a sudden? Just a few minutes ago we were laughing and eating but now?!? What the hell man!”
He only grunted and turned to face the sea, whipping his hand to kindle a fire at his exposed palm. “Korra-“
“Mako what has gotten into you recently, not just tonight but the past month? Why do you hate me all of a sudden, what did I do?!?”
“Nothing!” He yelled at her, flame bursting upwards at his outburst. “Korra your.. you didn’t do anything but I… I don’t know what you're going to think about this.”
“What are you talking about?”
They stood in a thick silence between them for what felt like an eternity, the only noise being the rain, occasional cars and the crackle from the flickering flame.
“Have you ever felt like you aren’t a girl?”
To that she bursted out into a laugh. “Of course not.”
“Oh ok….”
She studied his face, not finding any humor at all. “Wait, are you serious?”
To that he said nothing, he just stared at his flame.
“Why, do you not feel like a dude or something?” She asked, leaning in, genuinely concerned for her best friend.
“No, I’m a man Korra.” He looked at her with an unreadable expression, the only understandable part being the determination in his eyes.
“Ok so why did you ask me that?”
“Because I was… I was once like you Korra.”
“What?” Now she was even more confused. ‘What is he going on about?’
“Bolin told me you kept asking about our childhood, so I figured now was the time to tell you. I would have done it earlier but I just didn’t know what you were like. Korra I’m transgender.”
He turned his head from her, almost as though he was ashamed of what he just said. ‘What the hell is a transgender? And why would he think I’m not going to like it?’
“I know, I know, you don’t know what that means. But the simplest way to put it is that I was born a girl but I’m not, I’m a man but I was given the wrong body in the womb.” He said, now determined golden eyes lit by fire staring into her soul, looking for something, anything on her face that could tell him what she was thinking. So she looked down.
“I envy those who don’t care, Korra” he whispered “I wish I didn’t care, that I could just be a girl but…” his voice cracking like ice in the south “but I can’t ignore it anymore, I couldn’t and so I changed, but.. you still need to know who I was”
Looking up she saw orange eyes with small hits of green surrounded by red, lower lashes forming together in wet clumps just like his hair minutes prior, eyebrows formed together almost losing shape at their fine points. He looked so tired, so drained of life, deep circles of his eye sockets and sharpened jaw just bringing more focus to that fact.
“I’m a freak Korra, I’m not in the right body and I don’t think I ever will be, I was born a girl but I’m not and I know I’m not inside but I just can’t do shit about that.” Gloved hands extinguished his flame with a fist, now gripping tight on the metal railing next to the waters edged as he yelled. The storm hid his tears well but Korra could still feel the difference between the fluids of his eyes and the rain puttering down on the top of the bridge. She was a water bending prodigy after all.
“Mako don’t cry-“”No you don’t get it” he growled back “all my life I’ve had to suffer, I didn’t have a mother, I didn’t have a father, I didn’t have a home or a childhood and I couldn’t even be given the right fucking body!”
“Mako, just try to let me understand for a second!” she snapped at him, dragging him out of his spiraling
His eyes widened, horrified and embarrassed at his outburst but before he could form an apology she was already speaking.
“Listen, I may not understand what it’s like to not be in the right skin but I don’t need to too see how it has affected you, Mako I may not know exactly what this means for you but whatever it may be I’ll try my best to help you with it and you know that, I know what it’s like to not feel like you're enough of something but I can guarantee you that you are enough, of a friend and of a man.”
She grabbed him by the side and held him as close as she could to herself. “Hey, I guess I don't have to explain what it’s like to be a woman to you then huh?”
He chuckled, tears still falling. “Yeah I guess you’re right about that.” He wrapped an arm around her, gripping his hand tight on her back. She dropped her head into his shoulder.
“So… is this why Bolin doesn't talk about you too much when he tells me about what it was like as a kid?”
Mako looked away. “Yea… he’s not ashamed or nothing but… he knows I’m sensitive about the subject.”
Korra looked up at him with a raised brow. “Well if it makes you feel any better, I would have never guessed you were once upon a time a girl.”
To that he smiled, for the first time she’s ever seen him actually smile. “ I thought you would hate me… or say that I can’t change my gender….”
“What no!” She pushed him away. “Mako I would never, I don’t really know anything about… uhhh… ummm….” She trailed off with a pout, looking for his help in finding the right word.
He gave her a look. “Trans people?” He said.
“Yea that, I may not know anything really about that but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn, hell I’ve learned a lot from this city already, this is just another thing I’ve got to know, you know?”
She waved her hands at her side to try to be less tense. “Yes I know Korra.” He giggled back. “So you’re really ok with me being a man who used to be a woman?”
“Yes I am.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh yeah?”
“Are you sure, sure?”
“Yea of course, have I not made that clear already Mako?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forward.
“I just had to make sure you know?” He smiled again, putting a hand behind his head to mess with his hair as he grinned.
“Here” Korra said. “Let me walk you home.”
“You don’t have to do that.” His eyes narrowed and his messy brows came together.
“It’s not that I have to, I just want to, besides you look so tired I wouldn’t be surprised if you could take another step.”
“Do not.” He said with a pout.
“Do to.” Korra teased back, eyes suddenly widened and brightened with an idea. “Here let me pick you up and carry you back!”
“WHAT NO-“ he yelped like a polar bear dog pup as she lifted him off the ground bridal style. “See I told you I could pick you up!” She said with a lopsided grin.
“You are not seriously considering carrying me back like this are you?” He said pulling his head from her shoulder, one shark brow raised.
“Yes, I am mister Mako man, yes sir!” She exclaimed in an excited tone.
“Now I’m regretting telling you I’m trans” he pouted. “I didn’t expect you to be this supportive of me.” He said waving his one hand up and down, the other wrapped around Korra's neck, quickly pulling both arms back tight around her after losing some stability.
“Well you better get use to it! You are my best friend after all.” She said in the sweetest of voices as he held on tight.
And so here she was again, walking, not alone this time and still in the company of an awkward, yet happy and free of worry, Mako.