#mako fic

“You’re joking,” he deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest. You dropped down to sit on the edge of the problematic bed itself. “Are you and Beifong trying to pull a prank or something?”

You stared up at him. “Beifong? A prank? Really?”

“Okay, no,” he huffed. “But you’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you think it’s funny to inconvenience me?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Mako.”

“Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not joking.”

He groaned and threw himself in the threadbare armchair in the corner of the room. “Great, just what I needed,” he grumbled to himself.

“Hey, I’m not exactly thrilled about this either!” You rolled your eyes. “If you’re gonna freak out about it you can take the bed and I’ll just... sleep on the floor or something.”

“No, no. You take the bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“How noble,” you laughed. “You’re the one who has a problem sleeping with me. Take the bed.”

“I—” His cheeks tinged a slight pink that didn’t escape your notice. “I don’t have a problem.”

“You sure seem to.”

“I shared a blanket with Bolin on the street for most of my childhood.”

“You must be getting spoiled with that detective salary if you can’t rough it for one night and share a bed with your favorite partner. Going soft?”

You grinned when he glared at you. “Why are you torturing me?”

“You’re easy to torture.” You stood up to rifle through your bag. “And it’s fun.”

“I’m requesting a partner transfer when we finish this assignment,” he muttered, making you bark out a laugh.

“You wouldn’t, you’re too attached now.” You straightened up with your arms full of toiletries and clean clothes. “I’m gonna go wash up so I can pass out. Early day tomorrow, and all. Catchin’ bad guys, kickin’ ass, takin’ names.”

“Uh-huh.” A small smile finally graced his handsome face for the first time since arriving at the inn. “I’ll be here keeping watch—y’know, for the bad guys.”

Once you’d scrubbed off the long day of travel and changed into clean, comfortable clothes you reentered the main room to see Mako studying the files for the case the two of you were working. His eyebrows were set into a furrow as he read through it and chewed at the inside of his cheek absently. You watched him for a few more moments once you settled down onto the worn but comfortable mattress. Something in the papers seemed to perplex him as he wrinkled his nose and flipped back a few pages. Suddenly, his warm orange eyes flicked up to meet yours.

“Why are you staring at me?” he asked with a small frown.

You shrugged. “Trying to figure out if that smell is the room or just you.”

His frown deepened. “Uncalled for.”

You hummed noncommitally and snuggled down between the sheets. “Go clean up so I can sleep.”

“I’m not stopping you,” he said, snapping the file shut and rising from the chair.

“I gotta keep watch, remember? Bad guys,” you murmured despite your heavy eyelids. Mako shook his head and disappeared into the bathroom. The gentle, steady sound of running water lulled you into a drifting sleep after only a few minutes.

You roused slightly when Mako returned, shuffling around the room followed by curling steam and the smell of his soap from the bathroom. You squeezed your eyes shut tighter and tried to fall back asleep until you felt him grab a pillow off the other side of the bed. Rolling onto your side you sleepily looked up at him.

“What are you doing?” you mumbled, rubbing at your eyes.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you up.” He stood next to a blanket on the floor with the pillow in his hand, dressed in a clean white shirt and loose pants. “I was just getting set up over here.”

You squinted at the pillow he held while your tired mind tripped over itself trying to catch up. “What?”

“I told you I’d sleep on the floor,” he said, gesturing to his makeshift sleeping area.

You blinked slowly at him. “Mako.”

“Yeah?”

“Get in the bed.”

“But—”

“I wasn’t asking,” you interrupted. “Come. To. Bed.”

He flushed lightly and opened and closed his mouth a couple times before looking down at his pillow he srill gripped. “I—I don’t want to make you... uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable?” you repeated blankly and he nodded. “I put my life in your hands every day, Mako. I trust you, probably more than I’ve ever trusted anyone. You’re not gonna make me uncomfortable. In fact, I’d be a thousand times more comfortable with you up here than on the floor.”

“Okay, okay,” he relented, finally moving back towards the bed. “You’ve made your point.”

“Good.” You closed your eyes again and yawned loudly. “The mattress is big enough we can both stay on our sides, no big deal. You need to rest well so I know you’re alert enough to save my ass tomorrow and sleeping on the floor does not reassure me.”

“I already agreed, you don’t need to keep working at me.” Mako carefully slid into the sheets, being almost calculating in how close he could stay to the edge without falling off. Even with the considerable empty space between you, you could still feel his familiar warmth seeping into your tired muscles.

“‘M a detective, can’t help it.”

“Go to sleep. You’ll have plenty of time to harass me in the morning.”

“You know you love me.”

If only you knew, he thought to himself as you slipped back into your dreamland.

The first thing you noticed upon regaining consciousness was the thumping rhythm next to your ear. The next thing you noticed was how warm you felt, despite the sheets being tangled down around your feet. You turned your head and buried your face into your pillow, inhaling deeply.

Soap. And smoke.

Hold on. You lifted your head up slowly and blinked blearily, taking in where you were as your brain whirred back to life.

Not your pillow. Mako—his chest, more specifically. Your eyes trailed down to where your bodies were pressed together in a tangle of limbs. The arm wrapped around you ended in fingers pressing into your waist. Your thigh was hiked up around his hip and his knee was slotted between your legs. You looked up at his face to see he was still sound asleep, lips parted as he breathed slowly.

You sat up all the way and his hand on your waist flopped down onto the bed. “Mako.”

He snorted and gave no other response.

“Mako,” you hissed, smacking his chest lightly. Without opening his eyes, he grabbed your hand and yanked you back down.

“Don’ hit me,” he grumbled, lips brushing your forehead as he spoke. “‘M sleepin’.”

Your face was starting to burn. “Well, wake up!”

He cracked one eye open to peer down at you and closed it again with a sniff. All at once it seemed to hit him and his eyes flew open as he shot upwards, knocking you to the side. You groaned as he launched himself out of the bed and onto his feet.

“What time is it?!” he barked.

“I don’t know!”

He whipped his head around to look at the clock on the bedside table. He made a small noise of panic and snatched it up as if getting a closer look would change the reading it gave.

“Fuck, we’re late!”

thank you for the request! i hope you enjoyed it! it ended up being way longer than i thought it would be lol. i guess i’ll tag my atla list and the people who wanted to be tagged in my full mako fic lol

ATLA TAGS: @hotgirlazula @octophopi @blazedbakugou @protect-remus @akiris @sunflowerazula @wooscottoncandyhair @chewymoustachio @ohno-caroline @sunflowerr-mami @1vitamin @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @u-4iia @nymeria-targaryen @tommy-braccoli @dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee @a-sloppy-bitch

Coincidentally, it was Mako’s aforementioned protective nature that led to your current situation: standing together in Toza's gym, practicing your fighting skills.

“Remind me again why you’ve forced me to be here, in the morning on my day off?” you whined, adjusting the fingerless gloves on your hands.

“Look, I know this isn’t exactly the best way to spend a Saturday, but it feels like the world is getting more and more dangerous by the second. You’re a great bender, but you never got much practice with hand-to-hand, and it can come in handy sometimes, so I want to make sure to get you brushed up on it.”

“I never got much practice with it because you always fought everybody for me,” you quipped, crossing your arms and staring accusingly at Mako.

The white tank top he wore was quickly becoming your favorite attire of his. It kept his muscular arms free for your viewing pleasure, and the tight fabric clung to his toned torso. The slight sweat he’d worked up during your sparring session shone on his forehead, although he quickly wiped it away with the back of his arm.

Spirits, you really needed to stop thinking about your best friend like that.

“You know I’ve always got to protect my best girl,” Mako retorted, shooting you a small smile.

Well, he certainly wasn’t helping.

“Now, get into your fighting stance again,” Mako ordered, and you did as he bade you, fists up and ready.

The two of you stared at one another for a few moments, standing a few feet apart, unsure of who would be the first to make a move. Mako had been the first to initiate all of your previous scraps today, so you quickly decided to be the first to do so this time. It caught him a little off guard, as you’d hoped, as you swung at him. Nonetheless, Mako managed to miss your attack, moving to the side to dodge your fist, before swinging at you himself. You dodged that too, and took his outstretched arm as an opening, sweeping his legs out from under him with your foot. He landed on the mat with a loud thud and an “oof,” and you immediately began to laugh triumphantly.

“Ha! You’re a damn good fighter, Mako, but you have to admit –”

The sly devil used your own tactic against you before you could finish your gloating, using his leg to knock you off your feet, causing you to crash down on the mat just as he had, and he immediately straddled your waist and pinned your arms above your head.

“Admit what?” Mako inquired, his tone cocky as could be while a smirk formed on his lips. Honestly, you were too floored by the position you two were currently in to give an equally-witty comeback, as you normally would, so he continued. “Always make sure your opponent is actually down for the count. There’s a difference between knocking someone down and knocking someone out, and that difference could cost you your life if you’re not careful.”

“Got it,” you managed to respond, and you desperately hoped that he hadn’t noticed the breathlessness in your voice.

The sparring session had come to a close, and the conversation was over, but… Mako didn’t move. He remained situated above you, staring down at you with those beautiful amber eyes of his. His face was expressionless, as per usual, and although you could typically still read him, you found yourself unable to at that moment. You simply continued to stare at one another, and before you could speak, Mako suddenly leaned down and kissed you.

Stupefied beyond comprehension, you froze for a half second, before returning the kiss with fervor. It was equal parts passionate and sweet, and although you’d dreamt of this moment for nearly a decade, it was somehow better than you could have ever imagined.

Mako broke the kiss, leaning up a bit so he could look at you. Your eyes met again, and you noticed that this time, his pupils were dilated, and the way he stared at you seemed to be awe mixed with hunger.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a really, really long time,” he admitted.

“Me too. What took you so long?” you teased, and Mako grinned a little.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was terrified of ruining our friendship if you didn’t return the feeling. Decided it wasn’t worth the risk,” you explained, and Mako nodded.

“That was what stopped me too. But I guess you never noticed all the times I failed miserably at hiding how I felt,” he stated, and your brows furrowed together with confusion. You definitely hadn’t ever noticed anything like that. “I couldn’t ever take my eyes off of you whenever you had to wear a skirt or tight slacks for work. My face would always get really red whenever you’d heal some of my wounds from pro-bending. And all the cold nights I’ve offered for you to share a bed with me wasn’t just out of kindness; it was honestly more so for selfish reasons.”

“Well… I guess you never noticed how I practically drool over you when you’re in your police uniform, or how it’s even worse when you’re wearing your workout clothes,” you retorted, sparing a glance down at his white tank top. “Also, I’m usually lying whenever I whine that I’m cold; I only do it because I know you’ll let me cuddle with you. And, while we’re making confessions: I didn’t insist on healing every little cut and scrape of yours because I was worried about you. That was just an excuse to touch you.”

“You’ve never needed to have an excuse to touch me,” Mako responded, and you noticed that his voice had gotten lower.

“Then unpin my hands and let me.”

With no hesitation, Mako did as you asked, and moved his hands to rest on either side of your head instead of on your wrists. In the blink of an eye, your hands darted into his hair and pulled him into another kiss. This one was far more hungry and desperate than the last, and after a few minutes, Mako rolled onto his back, pulling you on top of him in a position that mirrored his previous stance. With your legs on either side of him, you leaned down, your chests pressed against one another, and you held his face in your hands. His hands rested on your waist, before trailing up your back and into your hair. Impulsively, you pulled his bottom lip between your teeth for a moment, and the action caused him to grip a fistful of your hair at the base of your scalp, earning a loud moan from you.

A low growl came from deep in Mako’s throat upon hearing you, and he tightened his grip on your hair in an attempt to elicit another such sound from you. You instantly moved your hands to his shoulders, digging your nails into them as he pulled your hair, and you could feel a small smirk form on his lips. He flipped the two of you over again, except this time, he was situated between your legs, your thighs resting on his hips. Mako’s hand remained in your hair, cradling the back of your head, and his other hand gripped your waist. Opting to give him a taste of his own medicine, you tangled your fingers in his hair once again, before gripping his black locks to turn his head to the side and trail kisses and light nips down his throat. This earned a groan from him, and he couldn’t help but instinctively grind himself into you, the sensation causing you to gasp in pleasure.

Misunderstanding your reaction, Mako immediately pulled away from you to look down at you with worry in his eyes. “Is this okay? Just say the word and we can stop.”

“No, no. It’s more than okay,” you assured him, and he found his way to your lips once again.

Realizing that you’d daydreamed about something like this happening for years, you conceded that you should definitely take advantage of the experience. After spending so long admiring his body from afar, you began to run your hands down his shoulders and arms, feeling the strong muscles beneath your fingertips, and you couldn’t help the faint moan that escaped your lips as you allowed yourself to soak in just how attractive Mako truly was. Eventually, your explorative hands reached the hem of his tank top, and you tugged on it slightly, hinting at what you wanted but allowing him to decide if he was okay with it or not.

Taking the hint, Mako leaned up onto his knees and pulled that pesky article of clothing over his head, and tossed it to the side. You chose to follow suit, removing your own shirt, then your bra, and threw them away carelessly. Mako remained on his kneeling for a few moments, his hands on your thighs as you stared at one another with hungry eyes. The lights of the gymnasium illuminated his perfectly toned body, and you couldn’t help but stare. His fingers idly moved to grasp the hems of your pants and panties, but his eyes remained locked with yours, to gauge your reaction. When you gave him a small nod, he began removing the garments, and you lifted your hips up to allow them to be removed from your body and join the discarded pile of clothing nearby. Mako quickly stood and took off his sweatpants, leaving both of you completely naked aside from his boxers, before he rejoined you on the gym mat.

Mako returned to his previous position, on his knees between your legs. One arm wrapped around your waist to hold your body firmly against his, and the other hand cradling the back of your head, also enabling him to remain propped up on his elbow. He kissed you again, hard and urgent, and occasionally, your tongues met in the middle, which only made the kiss more desperate. Mako began trailing kisses down your cheek, along your jaw, down your neck, and finally, to your chest. He did all of this slowly, to allow you time to stop him if you wished, but truthfully, you only wished for him to pick up the pace. He then wrapped his lips around the sensitive peak of your breast, the hand that had been around your waist coming up to grope the other. You had half a mind to be embarrassed by the loud moan that fell from your lips, but the other half couldn’t be bothered to care.

After a short while of that bliss, Mako’s hand began trailing down your body as his mouth preoccupied itself with your other breast, palm flat against your skin, before it stopped on your hip, so achingly close to the spot you needed him most. He removed his lips from your breast to gaze up at you, curiosity and desire in his golden irises.

“Is it okay if I…?”

“Yes. Please. Yes.”

You didn’t miss the little smirk that formed on his lips, and your response was all he needed to move his fingers down to your sex, gliding through those lower lips before moving upward to your clit. Mako began rubbing small, precise circles over the sensitive spot, as your eyes rolled back in your head and you let out a long, low moan.

“You’re so wet, baby. Is that all because of me? You been craving this for as long as I have?”

His words brought you somewhere between cloud nine and a burning, raging inferno of desire. Mako had never referred to you by a pet name before, so that plus his dirty talking left you breathless. All you could do was moan once again, but it was cut off by a gasp as his fingers moved downward, and his middle digit sank into you.

Mako groaned and lowered his head to your shoulder. “Spirits, you’re tight.... You’ll be the death of me.”

You were immensely grateful that he didn’t expect a response from you, because you certainly couldn’t have managed one, as his finger began pumping in and out of you. Mako’s pace was slow at first, but he eventually added his ring finger, and all the while, you were rendered a whimpering, moaning, writhing mess beneath him. Eventually, you felt the tell-tale tension in your lower belly, and as you grew louder and your nails began to dig into his skin from their place on his shoulders, Mako put two and two together to determine that you were close to your climax. He moved his fingers even faster, curling them upwards slightly to reach that oh-so-special spot deep inside you, and you were done for. With a string of curses and moans, you came undone, and Mako allowed you a moment to come down from your high before removing his fingers from your core.

Your eyes were still shut as you tried to catch your breath, before you finally looked up and realized Mako had removed his boxers. His length was impressive, and not that you got around much, but it was definitely the best looking one you’d seen. Mako leaned down to bring you into a kiss, and you could feel his member gliding teasingly through your folds. He then grabbed your leg under your knee and held it against his hip, positioning his tip at your entrance, before breaking the kiss to look at you.

“I love you.”

His statement was simple, yet it left you in a brief daze. Right then, through all the heat of the moment, his eyes held nothing but love and sincerity. You had fallen for him a long time ago, and not once looked back, yet you never expected to hear him say what you’d always felt. Hell, you never expected the current events to be transpiring, yet here you were.

“I love you too, Mako.”

With that, he sank into you, and a deep gasp escaped you, as Mako let out a long, deep groan and dropped his head onto your shoulder once again.

“Fuck, you feel a thousand times better than I’d ever imagined,” he whispered, his voice a lower octave than usual, and deliciously rough. You realized that this meant he’d had perverse daydreams about you before, just as you had about him.

“Same to you,” you responded, and he let out a small, breathy chuckle against your skin.

Your mind was then immediately elsewhere, as Mako finally began to move, in slow, deep strokes. The hand beneath your head abruptly grabbed a fistful of hair, just as he began increasing speed, and you moaned incredibly loud, earning a soft groan in response from Mako. He moved both of your calves to his shoulders, and held them there by moving both arms to the back of your head, each grabbing their own handfuls of hair. You outright screamed then, your hands gripping his forearms desperately.

“Mako – fuck – yes, please, just like that! Don’t stop!”

“Anything you want, baby,” Mako said, and you could hear the grin in his voice without even having to see it. He began thrusting even harder, leaning down to lock you in a searing kiss, and the stretch in your thighs from it felt amazing.

True to his word, Mako kept at it, pounding you into the mat at a delectably swift pace. How he felt inside you was indescribable, and he was angled perfectly to hit your g-spot with every thrust. Just as his hands got another tight grip on your hair, you came once again, his name falling from your lips in a scream so loud it made your throat ache.

Mako’s release wasn’t far behind, seemingly aided by you screaming his name, as his hips began to stutter and he let out a growl, before he pulled out to finish on your stomach.

Mako flopped onto his back on the mat beside you, breathing heavily, just as you were. Still staring up at the ceiling, he reached out and held your hand, lacing his fingers with yours and giving it a squeeze.

After a couple minutes, when both of you had finally caught your breaths, Mako rolled onto his side to kiss you, before standing to throw on his boxers and grab a nearby towel. You held out your hand to take it from him, but he ignored you and dropped to one knee beside you, and cleaned his mess off of you himself. You smiled warmly at him, then he kissed your forehead, and gathered up your clothes and returned them to you. The two of you dressed in peaceful silence, before Mako pulled you into an embrace and kissed you tenderly.

“I love you, Mako.”

“I love you too,” he stated, his smile brighter than you’d ever seen.

“Want to go grab lunch?”

“Sure, as long as it’s somewhere quick,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Why?”

“Because I’m dying to do that gain,” Mako reasoned, jerking a thumb in the direction of the mat, where the two of you had been tangled together about ten minutes prior.