A/N: To all the Mako lovers and Makorra shippers still out there, this one's for you.

I'm trying something new. This will be a series of vignettes, each exploring a particular moment in Mako's life. Most chapters can be read alone - but there will be a gentle plot running through them all, and each moment will be posted in chronological order. Our boy Mako has an eventful life ahead of him.

Puzzle lingo: Tabs are the sticky-outie bits on a puzzle piece, blanks are the notches they fit in.


1. Words are all I have to take your heart away

When he speaks to Korra, he intends to confess.

I still love you.

There are so many words waiting on his lips, sentences he almost wrote on letters never returned, thoughts that have been circling his mind for over three years now.

I'll always love you.

A wedding is a good time for those sentiments, isn't it?

I want to try again.

Ever since they called it quits, all he's wanted is to get back together. But they don't fit right, they don't work. They're like puzzle pieces that look like they could match, but the fit is just a little off. The blank is just a little too small, the tab just slightly the wrong shape, the pieces not quite the same size.

We can make it work.

That little bit makes a difference. Their trainwreck of a relationship resulted from them trying to force it, and they both wore down their edges until they couldn't make even a false match. It took a while for them to repair their tabs and blanks to fit in a different way. Platonic friendship was awkward at first, but it suits them much better than a romantic partnership.

It's just not as fulfilling.

We've both changed. We've grown.

He watched her sacrifice herself for the Air Nation. He saw the poison destroy her from the inside out. He knew the damage he couldn't see was worse, but he couldn't do anything to help as her strong, indomitable contours shattered. She left to rebuild them, and he was left behind. Three years apart, and their puzzle pieces evolved, shaped by different experiences and practically zero contact. He's not sure how they fit anymore.

We can have a mature relationship.

The friendship side is still there, undoubtedly. That contour is firm, fully interlocked. If he's certain of one thing about them, he knows that won't change.

The other edge is empty, because not once since they broke up has he found anyone else with a tab to match his blank.

I've never met anyone like you.

He's talking with Wu, but his eyes are on her. She spots him from across the dance floor, and makes her way over. The prince's declaration of his intent to abolish the monarchy genuinely surprises him, and for a few moments his focus is entirely on the conversation. Then Wu moves away, and it's just him and Korra, and the words beating in his heart.

Now's his chance.

"How's the arm?"

It still hurts, but he doesn't care about that. "Much better."

"The words 'thank you' don't feel big enough for what you did. But I honestly don't know what else to say."

He does.

"You don't need to say anything." He has enough words for them both.

He gazes into her eyes, drinks in their crystal blue. She's happy, at peace, for the first time in a long time. Would his words change that? Put a burden back on shoulders that just released the weight of an Earth Empire? Does he really want to deform their puzzle again just when they found a comfortable fit after a three-year separation and all the turmoil of the past few months?

He swallows the words. This isn't the time.

"I want you to know…" I love you. I'll wait for you. I want you to be happy. "I'll follow you into battle no matter how crazy things get. I've got your back, and I always will."

The other words will keep until the time is right — when he's sure their tabs and blanks are stable enough to accommodate a different match.

She smiles fondly, and the expression is so pure, innocent, and happy, that for a while, he's glad that's all he said.

But when the festivities are over and the bride and groom have departed together, and everyone has gone back with someone they love — Bolin and Opal, Kai and Jinora, Tenzin and Pema, Suyin and Bataar Sr — and he goes home alone and the unspoken words are all he has…that's when he wishes he'd said more.


A/N: I don't have a regular update schedule for this yet. I'm testing the waters and seeing how things go. Review if you'd like more soon :D