Officer Mako x Reader

Chapter 18: On Thin Ice

[Airship] 2 miles from Boiling Rock

From the balcony above, Mako and Jay could only assume this was what Hell was like– hot, humid, and hard to breathe. Though they should've put two and two together, Tenzin had failed to mention that the airship couldn't land at the prison site, let alone barely anywhere on this near-deserted island, where the only sign of life was sealed in an ironclad fortress. The air was too thick, too heavy, too dense for an aircraft this size. The steam alone could suffocate even the healthiest of lungs, but something told the men that the lake below was far more dangerous, given the way it sloshed and churned against the bedrock of the metal building without the help of a cooling breeze,
"Is that water...boiling?" Mako asked Tenzin when he joined them outside,
"It is,"
"Yeah umm, follow-up question," Jay interrupted, "Where and how are we supposed to land this thing?" he asked nervously, "I-I don't exactly see solid ground that's not at a complete 90-degree angle. Come to think of it, I-I don't even see a goddamn tree down there. Just jagged rock and metal,"
"The airship isn't landing, but we are," Tenzin nodded as he opened his glider,
"On that thing!?" Jay questioned in disbelief,
"Yes, so if one of you could wake the ladies on board. I'd appreciate it," Tenzin huffed impatiently,
"I'm still on all of us riding that thing!–
"I plan on taking you one at a time–
"Wait. I-I didn't want her actually going inside," Mako protested,
"It's a little late for that," Tenzin sighed, "It'll take the captain roughly two and a half hours to turn the ship around in these conditions. The less people on board, the better,"
"Shit," Mako breathed as he paced back and forth,
"You know she wasn't going to let you leave her here anyway," Jay reminded him,
"I know. I-I just–
"Whatever you're mulling over. It will have to wait," Tenzin ordered calmly, "If we want to get into that prison, we need to leave. Now,"

[Republic City Docks]

"She's alive! Now will let me down!?" Shah roared at Viper, his ankles bound together with duct tape as they hung him over the bay, upside down, by a crane. His body chilled to the core from the piercing seawater Mudo had been dunking him in for the past hour,
"She may be alive, but you still put her in the hospital!" Viper roared back over the rushing waves,
"She did the same to you!"
"I'm aware," Viper smirked slyly, feeling the old scar beneath his dress shirt, "That temper she pretends not to have has done its fair share of damage to me. And rightfully so," he breathed, "But family is family. How can I expect you to be loyal to me, when you nearly killed your own sister?" he questioned sharply as Shah struggled above him, "Mudo, dunk him again,"
"No. No!" Shah screamed only to disappear into the sea once more, his nose, ears, throat, and lungs filling with frigid water,
"Boss, I think he's had enough," Shin sighed with his arms crossed,
"Is that so?" Viper grinned innocently, "Would you like to take his place instead?"
"You know, that's not what I meant," Shin huffed, "She's alive. That's what you wanted to know. Shouldn't we be focusing on tracking down Mako? Which, considering he's a cop and all now, he's probably looking for Shah as we speak,"
"Hmph. True," Viper sighed, more or less convinced about letting Shah live, "That still doesn't mean this little shit here didn't cross the fucking line by having the entire RCPD questioning my line of work," he hissed as he marched toward Shin and stared him down. Any other time Shin would've yielded when faced with Viper's unpredictable rage, but letting Shah die was reckless. Foolish even since he knew Viper needed him whether he wanted to admit it or not, "Hmph. Since you're getting all soft on me now," Viper chuckled before whistling toward Mudo, "Bring him up. Cut him loose,"
"Y-You're...fucking insane!" Shah coughed hoarsely, crawling on the concrete in exhaustion until his strength gave out,
"And you're on thin ice," Viper threatened while he towered over him, "So, I'd take all this precious time you have right now to rest. Because we have work to do,"

[Airship] 1 mile from Boiling Rock

"Ugh. Why do I have to wake her!?" Jay scoffed quietly at Mako outside of Kuvira's room,
"Because I only have enough patience to be yelled at by one woman today," Mako snapped,
"You say that as if you don't get yelled at every day by her," Jay reminded him, "A-And besides, need I mention, I'm not exactly waking a friendly housecat here. Nevermind the hostile takeover of the Earth Kingdom, b-but this woman has killed–
"Hmph. So has he," Kuvira smirked when she flung her door open, "I take it we're landing,"
"We are," Mako answered sternly, "Just not the ship. Both of you, get outside,"
"Fine, but I am still not sold on us riding that glorified kite," Jay huffed before he followed Kuvira upstairs. It was still early when Mako barged into his room to find you wrapped up in his blankets. Your snores, barely a whisper above the pressure gauges blaring loudly from the cockpit above,
"Hey," Mako called softly as he cupped your tired face in his hand, "Remind me, what was the reason you never visited your brother in prison?"
"Mmph. I hate prisons," you groaned in exhaustion, attempting to pull the covers over your head, "Just like I hate being woken up,"
"Right. I was afraid of both of those things," Mako sighed before he scooped you out of the bed and threw you over his shoulder,
"Mako, what the hell!? P-Put me down–
"Look. You can cuss me out and argue with me all you want later. But we gotta go. Now, " Mako snapped, tucking his gun into his belt,
But I-I'm not even dressed!–
"Okay. You have two minutes," Mako nodded after setting you down on your feet,
"What's the big rush anyway?" you huffed, slipping back into your jeans from the night before,
"We're landing in a volcano,"
"We're what!?"
"Don't argue right now. I said later," Mako reminded you, "Now, do you have your shoes?"
"They're right here,"
"Good. Let's go," Mako ordered, once again throwing you over his shoulder and rushing out the door,
"Y'know I can walk if you'd just give me a second to put these on!"
"I'm aware, but we're sort of on a time crunch as of the moment, and I'd like you to be the first one off the ship," Mako informed you quickly as he raced up the stairs and onto the balcony, only to find Kuvira standing there with her arms crossed, "Where's Tenzin?"
"Where do you think? He took scaredy cat and whisked off," Kuvira scoffed,
"Damn it. Why are you still here?" Mako asked after he set you down and gave you the time to slip into your shoes,
"Because I told him I wasn't riding that thing. I can borrow my ride from the terrain," Kuvria reminded him unamused, "The bigger question is. How do you plan on getting off with your shadow here?" she questioned slyly, "Or do you think baldy can make three trips before the ship hits that lake?"
"That depends," Mako breathed flatly as he peered over the balcony railing, "How far are we from the island?"
"I don't know, I'd say, half a mile at best,"
"I'll make it," Mako nodded before scooping you back into his arms,
"Woah, what do you mean you'll make it!?" you asked panicked, your arms gripped tight around his neck while he carried you to the ledge, "L-Last time I checked, my idiot brother can fly. Not you!"
"I can with my bending," he admitted quickly,
"Since when!?"
"Since I picked up a little trick from a General I used to know. Now, hold on," Mako ordered sternly, stepping onto the railing carefully,
"M-Mako, I-I swear to god if fucking drop me–
"I won't," he promised, "Let's just pray this steam won't slow me down,"
"Slow you down!? What!?"

There was no time left to protest. Mako jumped anyway. With enough fire blasting from the soles of his feet to keep you both from free-falling into scalding water,

"You don't have to hold so tight," Mako chuckled lightly, "I'm not going to drop you,"
"I'll believe you when we're back on the ground!"
"Hmph. Fair enough,"

You were only in the air for less than a minute yet it was the longest one of your life. Even when Mako's feet hit the ground again you didn't let go. You couldn't. Your heart was still pounding in your chest as if it had been hit by lightning,

"You can open your eyes now," Mako smirked after leaning up against the jagged rock to catch his breath, "I told you, I'd make it,"
"Are we still in the air?" you asked a bit shaken,
"No," he chuckled,
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Because Jay wouldn't be behind that rock over there, puking his guts out right now," Mako teased,
"Let the record show," Jay coughed after wiping his mouth, "I've never been a fan of heights. Nor did I ever claim to," he heaved, "But I see you two made it just perfectly," he mocked sarcastically,
"I wouldn't say perfect. She screamed at me the whole time," Mako grinned before he kissed your forehead and set you down gently,
"That's because you failed to mention that we'd be jumping into the middle of a volcano!"
"Hey, I tried to keep you out of this. You begged me to bring you along, despite your injuries,"
"I know! Doesn't mean I've lost my right to complain about nearly being cooked alive by a steaming lake!" you shouted back before marching away from him,
"Ugh. Remember how I told you how I only had enough patience to be yelled at by one woman today?" Mako asked Jay with a slight grin,
"I believe you mentioned it. Yes,"
"Yeah. The day's over," Mako sighed, eventually following you when you walked too far out of sight,
"Where the hell are you going?" he asked in annoyance after snatching your wrist,
"Isn't it obvious!?" you snapped, holding your mouth closed to keep from gagging,
"You're going to be sick aren't you?" Mako chuckled,
"No,"
"You can puke in front of me. It won't change how I feel about you," Mako reassured you, holding your cheek sweetly before you smacked his hand away,
"Ugh. How goddamn arrogant do you have to be to believe that I'd be too embarrassed to–
"Want me to hold your hair?" Mako asked when your face paled,
"Yes please," you gulped, rushing toward the nearest bush and dropping to your knees. Mako was less than a step behind you, holding your hair out of your face while you hurled away your newfound fear,
"If I had known you were going to get sick. I wouldn't have flown so fast," Mako admitted with a tinge of regret,
"I'd prefer you'd not fly at all," you panted as you rose to your feet, your heartrate finally returning to normal, "At least not over a boiling lake and not with me in your arms,"
"Hmph. Let me make that promise after we get out of this prison. Okay?" he begged while he fixed your hair,
"Ugh. Deal,"