30 Days of Makorra - Day 5 - Summer Haze

It was her first summer outside of the South Pole, and Korra was not handling it with grace. The constant buzz of insects, the humidity, the shimmer that rose off the asphalt nearly blinding her, all of it was the source of her sour mood. Laying on the beach at Air Temple Island, she wore the bathing suit Asami had picked out for her after she swam in her underwraps, limbs spread out to allow air to hit the most surface area. She had just come out of the water after a long swim, and she was contemplating spending the rest of the day in there.

"Korra! Korra, where are you?" Mako's voice barely pierced through the heavy air, and Korra couldn't be bothered to muster up the energy to respond. He would find her soon enough, she knew, and she could wait until then. Every now and again she could hear his voice, it grew louder with each call until finally he rounded a corner on the path and saw her out on the beach. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you. I thought you wanted to train today?"

"Too hot," she mumbled, eyes never opening to look over at him.

He frowned down at her, standing in the way of the sun so that a long shadow cast over her. "You don't complain about heat when fire-bending, why is the weather so bad?" Grumbling, she glared up at him, her expression clearly stating that she thought him an idiot for not understanding. After meeting her angry gaze for several long moments, Mako finally gave in and slumped his shoulders. "All right. What am I missing?"

Making a face at his exasperated tone, she finally sat up, cupping her hand over her brow like a visor, "I'm from the South Pole, city boy. Your winter is my summer. Fire-bending is heat in spurts, it's dry, and it's over when you're done and you can cool off. This heat is, it's, ugh, it's oppressive. How do you do it?"

"It's not all that bad," he shrugged, expression softening as he saw where she was coming from.

"Whatever." Standing up reluctantly, she poked him in the chest, "Why don't we swim instead of train today, hmm? It's still a work out, but at least it's cool in the water."

Mako rubbed the back of his head, glancing out at the water, "I didn't bring my bathing suit. And besides, you're going to have to get used to it sooner or la--!!"

Drenching the both of them with water-bending, Korra grinned triumphantly, "Now it doesn't matter, you're wet anyways. C'mon!" she laughed, dashing into the water and diving under a wave.

Defeated by her once more, Mako sighed and shook his head. He peeled off his wet clothes until he was just in his boxers and followed her into the water before she could yell at him. They laughed as they splashed one another, playing in the surf until the sky was painted in vivid oranges and reds, the sun disappearing on the horizon. As they swam back onto shore, Korra closed the distance between the two of them and caught Mako before he got too far.

Circling her arms around his neck, she pressed a wet kiss against his lips. He pulled her in tight, floating back with her in his arms, happily returning the kiss. "Thanks for cooling off with me, Mako," she murmured, lips grazing his with every syllable.

Chuckling, Mako yanked her close for another kiss, their bodies pressing together under the surface of the water. Foreheads pressed together, he slid his hands along her arms, grabbing hold of her fingers and bringing them to his lips. "It's not like you gave me a choice," he teased her, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy yourself," she jabbed right back, grinning wickedly. They lazily drifted back to shore, and as Mako slipped back into his clothes, Korra watched him with hands folded on her hips. "I guess the summers here aren't so bad." He looked over at her curiously, wondering what changed her mind. She shrugged and held out her hands, a smirk turning up a corner of her mouth. "At least there is a way to have fun while keeping cool."