"Thunderstorm" [M] - Legend of Korra

[Vanilla]

I've recently finished watching AtLA and LoK for that first time (a few years late, I know), and I've fallen in love with Zuko and Mako in particular. I've been meaning to write something, and a thunderstorm yesterday gave me the perfect inspiration. This is just going to be a short little one-shot, and it's my first time writing, so any tips would be welcome!

Title: "Thunderstorm" (unoriginal, I know)

Fandom: Legend of Korra

Character: Mako

Cause: Illness

Words: 1,710

I don't own this universe or these characters!

~*~*~*~

Mako cleared his throat softly into his fist, hoping to dispel the irritation scratchiness that had settled there. Of course, like the seemingly hundreds of times he had already done so that day, it didn't work - if anything, it only served to exacerbate the tickle. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning against the wall behind him.

He had been on the police force for a couple of weeks now, and was starting to get a hang of the job. His quick wit and... experience... with Republic City's criminal underworld were a big help, and his pro-bender reflexes didn't hurt either. No, the only thing holding him back right now was the beginnings of a cold, coming on with the first signs of winter, just like every year. His sensitivity to the cold was the only bad thing about being a fire-bender, and no matter how much he hated getting sick, he always did. He's woken up with the tell-tale sore throat and runny nose that morning, and it had all gone downhill from there. Now it hurt to swallow or speak and a niggling headache writhed behind his eyes, not to mention the-

"Heh-kscew!... kng!... Ugh." The sneezing. Mako was a self-proclaimed master of near-silent stifling, having practised for years to avoid awkward questions (especially from Bolin, who was too damn caring for his own good), but a young woman across the street still turned and stared at him, eyes swiftly scanning his uniform. He cursed internally, straightening up and sniffling thickly. The woman looked nervous, and for a moment Mako wondered why, until a distinctive bird call split the low murmur of distant traffic - distinctive, in that it belonged to a bird that was definitely not native to Republic City - and the woman took off running down a back-alley. Mako knew what he was seeing and, wondering why he couldn't have had a quiet patrol, just this once, set off in pursuit.

"Hey, you! Stop! Police!" The woman took no notice, but Mako's throat was too sore for him to want to try shouting again. This woman was fast and clearly knew her way around this part of the city better than Mako did, as he was having trouble keeping up, his thoroughly-blocked nose letting him breathe only through his mouth. Turning a sharp corner, he spotted the woman climbing into a chunky black Satomobile which proceeded to drive off at speed before Mako was even anywhere close to it. He was already out of breath and had to pause to cough harshly into the crook of his elbow, but he wasn't giving up just yet.

As the chase continued, the sky began to darken ominously - true, it was getting into evening, but this was different. Mako was running behind the car, shooting fireballs at it in attempt to slow it down, when he felt the first heavy drops of rain falling. Soon, the chilly air was thick with the downpour and Mako was drenched, shivering slightly despite the exertion as the water sapped his heat. Just my luck, he thought dryly. As if in response to his sarcasm, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a low rumble of thunder. While he technically could have redirected any lightning that came his way, being out in such conditions made Mako uneasy and even more eager to end this pursuit. Thankfully, the rain made the road surface slick and the car skidded attempting a corner, giving Mako his chance to blast the vehicle again. The driver must have realised their predicament, as they and two others - including the young woman from before, now holding a suspicious bag - clambered out and took off on foot, but it was too little too late. Mako caught up with the woman and caught her by the arm, deftly handcuffing her and swiping the bag from her. The other two ran around a corner and out of sight, but Mako knew that they'd be found and brought in easily enough once the detectives had had a chance to question the woman now struggling against his grip. His nose now streaming constantly from the cold and wet, Mako sniffed and pulled his captive closer to him to prevent her escaping, then set off in the direction of the Police Station as thunder and lightning continued to split the sky.

~*~*~*~

"Heh-tsch! Heh-pschew! Hh... heh-tschew!" Mako finally got up to his and Bolin's apartment, coughing weakly, too tired to continue trying to stifle all his sneezes. It had been a long couple of hours. Though the rain had been easing off as he and the woman had reached the station, he had still been soaked to the skin. The two rude detectives had poked fun at his appearance, but had swiftly taken the young woman to be interrogated. Mako had had to answer far more questions than he would have liked about the incident, his voice growing increasingly hoarse and congested, and then he had had to complete all the relevant paperwork, unwilling to leave it till the morning. He had received looks from several other officers, some pitying, some disgusted, as he sniffled, coughed and sneezed his way through form after form, head pounding, clothes and hair still sodden - he was too exhausted to even attempt to fire-bend himself dry. Finally he had managed to escape and make the 10-minute walk home, though it had seemed like longer to his cold, aching body. Still, he was here now, and all he wanted was to get dry and then sleep for a year. Entering the apartment, he saw Bolin lying stretched out on the sofa and some take-away cartons sitting on the table. Upon hearing the door, Bolin sprang up, grinning.

"Mako, there you are! Where've you...?" He trailed off, surveying his brother's tired and soggy form, taking particular note of the shadows beneath his eyes, the pink nose and the pale face. "What happened to you? You look like you fell into the harbour!" Despite the joking tone, his thick eyebrows were knotted in concern. Mako ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Dot quite, bro. I got caught id that storb earlier," he explained nonchalantly, though the cracked, stuffy quality to his voice somewhat ruined the effect. Bolin frowned.

"You don't sound so good, bro... and you don't look so good, either," he said, stepping closer and placing a hand on Mako's shoulder. "Are you feelin' okay?" Bolin had long since learned to recognise when his brother was coming down with something, since he knew Mako was too stubborn to admit any illness on his own. It was getting colder, after all, and Mako always got sick this time of year. Mako shook Bolin's hand off and looked away.

"Yeah, I ab. I'b fide, Bolid," he replied, sounding anything but fine in Bolin's opinion.

"You sure? I thought I heard someone sneezing just before you came in." Mako winced - he'd hoped Bolin wouldn't hear those sneezes - but shrugged.

"Whatever. Adyway, what's all this?" he asked, mustering a smile and gesturing at the food on the table. Typical Mako, Bolin thought, changing the subject. Still, he let the topic drop, for now.

"Oh, well, you said you'd be back around 8, so I went and got some of those awesome noodles from that place on the corner, so we could eat together. They might be kinda cold now, but they should still taste good!" Mako didn't really feel like eating, but he felt guilty for making his brother wait so long, so he nodded, not trusting himself to speak again. Bolin's smile widened. "Cool! First, though, you gotta go get changed, like, seriously. I'll get this stuff ready." Feeling a wave of affection for his little brother, Mako punched Bolin's shoulder lightly.

"Thangks, bro."

~*~*~*~

Mako didn't feel as much better as he'd hoped as he and Bolin sat down to eat. He'd managed to blow his nose without Bolin hearing, but it hadn't done anything to shift the congestion, and though the warm, dry clothes had helped quell the shivers, he still felt pretty awful. His headache was definitely worse. The food was cold, though Bolin seemed to be enjoying it. Mako couldn't taste it, and he had to make a conscious effort not to wince each time he swallowed.

"So," Bolin began, his mouth full of noodles, "why were you so late back, anyway? Did somethin' happen?" Mako nodded, clearing his throat and sniffing in an attempt to improve his voice.

"Yeah, I got caught up id sobe robbery, had to brig ode of 'eb id, fill id the forbs ad stuff." Well that hadn't worked at all. Talking hurt so much, and to make matters worse, an itch was starting to build in his sinuses. He scrubbed at his nose and scrunched up his face to try to get rid of it.

"Oh, sure." Bolin swallowed, then shot his brother a puzzled look. "You okay, bro?" Unfortunately, Mako couldn't reply, as the itch in his nose overwhelmed him.

"Hhh... heh-ksch! Heh-kschew! Heh-KSCHEW!" He sneezed forcefully, making his head clang and his throat burn. Suddenly he found himself coughing; harsh, rough coughs that tore themselves mercilessly from his lungs. Bolin was instantly at his side, rubbing his back.

"Woah! Okay, Mako, it's okay, eeeasy there..." When Mako finally managed to stop, he groaned and placed his throbbing head in his hands. Bolin kept rubbing his brother's back in gentle circles.

"Okay, serious talk, bro. You sound terrible. This can't just be from the rain before." His tone was grave, which let Mako know just how worried about him his brother was. Defeated, he sniffled.

"You got be. I've had a cold sidce this bordig, but it really wasd't this bad earlier. The storb sure didd't help." He coughed again, as if for emphasis. Bolin looked at his miserable, exhausted brother. Mako was normally the responsible one, but at times like this Bolin knew it was his turn to look out for his big brother. He stood up and held out his hand.

"C'mon. You should be in bed." Mako looked up at his brother, smiling gratefully, and took his hand.

"Thangks, Bolid."

"No prob, big bro. No prob."

[Vanilla]

Meant to add this to the end: I know it's a little light on sneezing and a little heavy on dialogue, and the pacing got away from me a bit, so constructive criticism would be appreciated! I hope you enjoyed it!

[SneezyHolmes]

This was really cute! I am not good with constructive criticism so I cannot help you there, sadly. ^^;

[Lonewolf]

Ah man, I haven't thought about LoK in awhile. This was absolutely fantastic. Everyone seemed to be perfectly in character, great job at that. I love the way you executed the relationship between Bolin and Mako, great job!

[Vanilla]

On ‎04‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 1:58 PM, sneezyholmes said:

This was really cute!

Thank you!!!

7 hours ago, Lonewolf said:

This was absolutely fantastic. Everyone seemed to be perfectly in character, great job at that. I love the way you executed the relationship between Bolin and Mako, great job!

Wow, thanks for all the praise! I wasn't sure if I'd got them quite right, so this is really encouraging.

 

By the way, I don't suppose anyone knows of a way I can edit my original post? Re-reading it, I've noticed a few annoying typos. I might be being stupid and missing something obvious, or maybe I'm not allowed to edit posts yet? Either way, I'd like to know if I can fix it. Thanks!

[Vongola Undicesimo]

Aw Bolin's such a great brother.This was really cute and I hope you write more AtLA and LoK in the future!

[VividBubbles!]

It always makes me so happy when stuff like this springs up. I love LoK and AtLA, and it's great to see new people fall in love with the shows that made up such a significant part of my childhood and early teen years. This was really great, Vanilla. You did a wonderful job keeping Mako and Bolin in-character, Mako especially. The scene where Mako stays behind to complete his paperwork, even though he's miserable and sick, is exactly what would happen. Thanks for sharing this, Vanilla! I hope we get to see some more LoK and AtLA from you!

Edited April 10, 2016 by VividBubbles!

[AnteatersOnParade]

The only bad thing about this fic is that it had to end! I loved this. Don't know the fandom but it didn't matter one bit; the dynamic between the brothers and the amount of sick/h/c was perfect. Lovely lovely job.

[Vanilla]

Thanks for the positive comments!

On ‎06‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 10:55 PM, Vongola Undicesimo said:

I hope you write more AtLA and LoK in the future!

On ‎10‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 6:30 PM, VividBubbles! said:

 I hope we get to see some more LoK and AtLA from you!

I'm planning on it, though I'm not sure when I'll get around to it or who I'll focus on next. I've been toying with an allergy fic about Mako (and maybe also Bolin?) or maybe some kind of illness-y redemption-y thing for Baatar Jr. set after season 4. Any preferences?