You and I [Desami Fanfiction]

Chapter 21: Mistakes

Asami

I take a deep breath before bringing myself to knock on Mako’s door. He answers within seconds, wearing only a tank top and shorts. His hair is a mess, but he gives me a smile anyway.

“Hi,” I greet him.

“Did you come here to tell me how paranoid I am?” he asks without even saying hello.

No, sorry you’re not the center of my whole world, I think to myself. “No, I just wanted to see you,” I tell him. I’m not sure he took this the way I intended, because he steps aside and let’s me into his apartment.

I don’t bother taking a seat. I’m not planning on being here too long. I just wanted to tell Mako I’m leaving and that I’ll be in the South Pole if he needs to contact me. Hopefully he won’t ask any other questions, and we’ll be fine.

“Can we talk?” I ask him.

“Well, I’m a little busy right now,” he tells me.

I don’t give up there. I have to leave tonight, and I don’t want to tell anyone but Mako where I’m going. I put my hand on Mako’s shoulder. “Just for a few minutes. I really need to tell you something,” I explain.

I move my gaze from my hand, still on Mako’s shoulder, to his fiery orange eyes. They somehow seem to be moving like a fire. I’m so caught up in Mako’s gaze that I don’t even realize his arms sweep around my hips until it’s too late.

“Maybe I do need to get my mind off things,” he whispers I my ear, sending chills down my spine.

“Mak-.” I’m too late trying to tell him to stop. His hand finds my head as his other arm swings my body around. He leans into me, his breath intoxicating. His lips find mine and instantly start to kiss me with full on passion.

I do everything in my power not to kiss him back. I imagine Desna’s face, what he would do if he saw me right now. His lips are still all over me as I trying to squirm away, but he doesn’t even notice. He finally pulls his face away when there’s a loud banging on the other side of the door. “Police!” someone yells.

My heart is already pounding in my throat, and this doesn’t help at all. I feel like sitting down I’m panting so hard. What had I done? Not again…

Mako, hardly noticing my reaction, opens up the door.

“Aye, Mako,” one of Mako’s coworker’s says. “Hope we didn’t interrupt you two love birds.”

I gasp, about to argue when the cops barge right into the apartment.

“What’s going on?” Mako demands.

“We busted some triple threats who said you hired them for a job,” the other officer explains. After a moment I remember that these officers are Lu and Gang. Behind them is Chief Beifong, who watches while the cops tear through Mako’s closet.

Mako sighs next to me, obviously ready to confess to the sting operation. “Alright, it’s true. We were trying to find out who stole Asami’s stuff, so we hired them for a sting operation. I’m sorry for going behind you’re back.” I’ve been in the world of business long enough to know that sorry won’t cut it. Mako seems to know this, too.

“According to the triple threats, you did more than that. They said you helped them steal a warehouse full of Future Industries property,” Lin tells Mako. I can’t help but gasp at this accusation. Mako was my friend- or maybe more than my friend to his standards- he would never rob me!

“That’s crazy!” I say.

“You’re going to believe a bunch of criminals?”

“I have to follow up on a lead,” she says simply, just as Lu comes across a discovery.

“Cash, and these,” he announces, holding up a small vile.

“What are you doing with explosives, Mako?” Lin asks, her voice sounding calm.

“I don’t know where those came from,” Mako says.

“You’re under arrest,” Gang, completely ignoring him. He grabs Mako’s wrist and locks them in a pair of tight cuffs. “Should’ve known you’d hook up with your old pals. Once a triple threat, always a triple threat.”

“This has to be a mistake,” I say, giving one final plea.

“Sorry to break it to you, but your boyfriend’s just a crooked cop. That sting operation was just a way to lure you away from your warehouse.” He let’s these words sink in a second before adding, “He was just using you the whole time.”

As they drag Mako out the door, he turns to me. “That’s not true. I would never do anything to hurt you!”

I watch as they take Mako away to whatever cold cell he’ll be spending the night in.

I immediately feel my emotions start to boil over. Who could I trust? What should I believe? Why did no one seem to care what Mako had to say? Did I care?

The words of those cops sunk in too. You’re boyfriend’s a crooked cop. They didn’t know what they were talking about. Mako and I had broken up a long time ago, and up until that kiss, I thought we would stay that way.

I’d never do anything to hurt you, Mako had said. And yet what was happening right now? He was messing with my emotions, making me have feelings that didn’t make sense. Why had he kissed me? Was it just an instinct, or something he had been planning a long time? We had barely spoken in a week, and this is how he greets me.

I sigh, my head still reeling. I knew I only had two options at this point. I could go to the Southern Water Tribe, where Desna surely needed my help dealing with his father, or I could chase after Mako, who would need someone to bail him out of jail. I could only save one of them, a choice that could haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Mako or Desna?” I ask myself out loud. Hearing me say it only made the choice all more clear. Only one of them would have a happy ending no matter what happened. Only one of them would be left alone without me. Only one of them would care even if I didn’t go. But I was going anyway.

Desna

“Father, haven’t the spirits had ten thousand years to open this portal?” Eska asks as we all stand in front of the Northern Portal.

“If they could not succeed, what makes you think we will?” I ask.

“By entering the Spirit World through the portal, we bring something the spirits never had; our bending.” Father begins to bend some of the water from a nearby stream, sending it flying into the portal, which starts to drastically change colors. It doesn’t make any sign of opening. Still, Father continues.

“Join me!” Father commands. “Together we can open this portal.”

Something inside me beckons against it. Perhaps this isn’t our place to open the portals, but if we ever want to achieve peace, this is what it will take.

Eska and I both help our father send tons of water into the glowing orb. It makes all sorts of sounds, and it almost appears that we put a dent in it. This only makes me continue, putting everything I have into it.

After only a few moments, the portal starts to move. I see my father’s smile widen as something shoots out of the portal. A purplish electric shock comes from it, and it suddenly shoots out. I only catch a glimpse of it all before I feel myself fly backwards with a pain in my chest. Then everything goes black.

“Leave him! This is…”

I fade in and out of consciences, vaguely realizing that Eska was holding me. She sounded worried, but the other person didn’t.

“He needs a healer!” she yells. Then I go out again.