acatalepsy_logs | done with having dreams

[Her vision is significantly better by now. It's still a little blurry, but she can make out peoples' faces and find her way much better than she could before. And after learning that the mermaids had enjoyed her concert... of course she'd put on another one. Why just do one?

She's again sitting by the water, towel-- pilfered from the bathhouse-- draped around her neck as she soaks her toes in the cool lapping waves, watching the sun set. She's wearing a very short cropped top and a breezy-looking skirt that goes down to about her knees, perfect for the still-warm late summer weather. She looks up when she hears people approach, and gives Mako a smile.

She's still thinking about that silly advertisement post from the other day.] Mako~

[She greets him warmly, then smiles.] You don't think I can find my way back alone?

( why is she like this. he doesn't blush, exactly, but he does sort of... awkwardly fumble for something to do with his hands. now that he's out of the sling (thanks, allura) he really has nothing he could... hide behind, per se. )

No. I mean, ( spirits. no one in republic city dresses like sheryl. they're still in full body bathing suits, or near enough as to make no difference! ) yes, I'm sure you can. But it's getting dark, and I thought you might like the company.

[Even in the dying light, she can see that reaction, and it's just what she'd hoped for.

Sorry, Mako. She's a troll.] Okay, I'll forgive you then.

Some company sounds nice! That is, if your schedule isn't packed full with all those dates I hear you're going on?

( he groans. loudly. sheryl... please... have mercy on him he's a tender boy. )

Look, that was just my brother and my best friend goofing off. They mean well, but. I'm not actually in the market for a girlfriend right now.

( things with korra are complicated, he hasn't gotten laid in over three years, he's too busy trying to figure this place out and train in earthbending and it's just. too much. he doesn't have the time or inclination. mako's always thought of love as a finite resource, and he just. doesn't have room in his heart for other people. maybe ever. )

[She can't help but laugh. It's as musical as everything else she does and says.] Relax, I'm just teasing you.

["Best friend," though... interesting. She'd thought from some of the ways Korra reacted that there'd been something more. Maybe she'd been wrong?] You're a dutiful man of the law, after all~ you don't have time for something petty like a love life!

[Still teasing him.] Going on a date doesn't mean you're dating someone, you know? It can just be a fun thing.

( he sighs. because yes, of course she's right. but he still just. doesn't have time. fun? barely knew 'er. )

It's still a precursor to an expectation of something more. I'd rather not disappoint anyone like that.

( since. not wanting to upset anyone or hurt anyone's feelings was the cause of a lot of the conflict that came up between he and korra and asami to begin with. sure, korra kissed him, but. mako tends to be drawn to whoever needs him more at the moment. he's well aware it's shitty of him to be like that, and he's. working on it. kind of. )

Only if you let it be! [She stands up to her full height, which is still like... a good eight inches shorter than him. Homeboy is tall. She affects a lower, more masculine voice, and it's clear she's trying to mimic him.

honestly, it's not a bad impression.] I just want you to know, I'm not interested in anything serious, so tonight will just be having fun, okay?

[In her normal voice:] There. That's all. It's not hard.

( is that. is that going to be a thing, now? people just. pretending to be him? what eldritch horror has bolin unleashed on the world... mako rubs the back of his neck in obvious embarrassment.

how can he say 'i don't really like fun' without sounding... well. actually... he looks at her askance. )

Do you really think I'm boring?

[She regards him for a few heartbeats before answering.] No, but I think you're what doctors might call an "at-risk subject."

Ambition and dedication are nice and all, but they can't be all. All work and no play makes Mako a dull boy, you know?

( the funny thing is, it's not like he'd even deny it. he's not here to be interesting, or make friends, or any of that. bolin was always the charming one, and mako was just. the guy who pulled him out of the proverbial fire. he drags a hand through his hair, and when he speaks it's in the tone of one admitting to a crime. )

I'm not here to impress anyone.

But you don't want to have friends? People you can get along with? "Wake up, be serious, cook some food, be serious, take a bath, be serious, go to bed" isn't much of a daily plan.

[She gives a little shrug.] Let's say we were married. [SHERYL THAT IS A BIT BEYOND A DATE. And yet she just goes with it.] I'm the dutiful little housewife, you're at work. [She sounds very amused by this.]

"Hi honey, how was your day?" "It was good. I caught criminals. Is dinner ready?" "Yes, here it is. Did you want to talk about anything else?" "No, just the criminals. Good night!"

[She acts out their married life. As she understands it, anyway.]

I have friends.

( why would he want more. that's just. too many friends!! also sheryl please don't joke about marriage like that, mako would never cheat on his job. excuse you. somehow the way she says it makes it easier to take, and almost impossible to get up in arms about.

and you know what, that that sounds like a good conversation to him! but. he just makes a soft argh of frustration. )

It was never that hard with Korra!

[Like a lioness pouncing on her prey, Sheryl raises an eyebrow.] Oh?

So there was something between the two of you~ I was kind of getting that feeling from how she talked about you, you know?

It's much easier to be friends with your exes.

( he hadn't really meant to give that away, but. good job, firebender temper. mako grimaces, and then just. squares his shoulders. he might as well own it. it's not... exactly a secret, he and korra are both just. kinda private about certain things.

soft, )

Yeah, we dated. Korra's the most amazing girl I've ever met.

( even when they're fighting, his opinion of her never wavers. she may as well have hung the moon, painted the sun into life. that mako loves her is absolutely not up for debate. that the love is as deep as the deepest trench in the deepest ocean in the universe is also an irrefutable truth. )

We just didn't really... work, like that.

( although she's certainly given him a lot to think about now, with her admission that she and asami had. talked about him. in a context he'd never considered before. )

[She's expecting him to get flustered, or to be bashful, or something that's a more fun reaction. Instead, she gets that honest, almost admiring tone. It's not what she'd expected, and it throws her off guard.

More to the point, it kind of hurts, a little. Hearing someone talk about someone they loved like that, when neither Alto nor Ranka are anywhere to be seen, and she doesn't know if she'll see them anytime soon.

Sheryl realizes, after a moment, that she's feeling a little jealous.

So, to cover up her momentary vulnerability, she opts to, again, be something of a gadfly.] She seems like a pretty amazing girl. And she's got an incredible body, from what I saw in the baths.

[More seriously, though:] That's a pretty mature thing to be able to recognize, though.

( if he sees it, he chooses to sidestep it. it's obvious, that sheryl is one of those people that covers up her vulnerabilities by going on the offensive. he's a detective, sure, but he's not going to prod her unless there's a reason for it. so while she gets a pensive sideways glance, he shifts his attention back ahead as they walk shortly afterwards.

— and then she says that. oh spirits, he does not want to imagine the two of them in the baths in any sort of proximity for sheryl to admire korra. he has too many memories of that body beneath his hands to do anything except just. awkwardly try to think about pro-bending. the return of the not now, boner.

thankfully, sheryl's next comment yanks his attention back like a too-short leash. )

It really wasn't.

( they hurt each other a lot before they got to that point. being young seems like such a flimsy excuse, now. )

I was an idiot. Realizing all that came later.

Maybe, but it doesn't make it any less of a mature thing to know now. When you learned it isn't as important as the fact that you did learn it.

[Again, not the reaction she was expecting, and this line of questioning is starting to feel a little personal. Not enough that she'll stop, mind you, but she resolves to be a little more careful about it.] How long ago were you together? She seemed pretty comfortable trying to find you a date, so I'm guessing this isn't a "we broke up six months ago" deal.

( stop being the mature one here, sheryl. mako shrugs a bit. )

About three years ago. We were just kids.

( he doesn't realize he's echoing what korra had told her. it's just that he and korra are sort of... of one mind. )

But we've been through a lot together.

( and apart. but they've settled that between them now. )

[She can be really mature! Sometimes.] Clearly, the way you talk about her.

[It's said with that sort of wry confidence, but it's masking the fact that... yeah, she really does envy Korra, at the moment, having someone talk about her like that.] You're in your early twenties, right? You aren't that much older than you were before.

Besides, at least you've got each other here.

[Oops. There it is. She's probably just said a little more than she means to.]

( there it is again. mako's brows furrow thoughtfully, though he glances back towards the lake rather than at her again. )

I just turned twenty-two. And. Yeah. I know, I'm luckier than a lot of other people here.

( that's his... sort of awkward, fumbling segue into asking her his next question — )

What about you?

Me? [There's a brief moment when she glances at him at smiles.] I just turned eighteen. So you're not that much older than me.

[That's not what he was asking, Sheryl.]

( just. a look. he knows she knows that wasn't what he meant. he's just going to put a little pressure on her. maintain that surly cop-honed silence until she caves. he can do this forever, sheryl!! )

[Her confident (if slightly feigned) smirk fades as he gives her the silent treatment, and she crosses her arms over her chest with a huff.] No need to look at me like that.

If you're asking if I have anyone in my life... I do. A grumpy, beautiful flyboy. [A beat.] And the sweetest aspiring singer you'll ever meet.

( he doesn't have to be a detective to recognize the wistfulness in her tone. they aren't here.

despite everything, losing his bending, being here... at least he has bolin and korra. he'd be absolutely destroyed without them. spirits, just look at his last three years in republic city without them. so he. understands, a little, and his brow crinkles in sympathy. )

I'm sorry they aren't here.

( he's pretty sure he isn't wrong, and the platitude is wholeheartedly meant. as much as sheryl is a bit of a gremlin, she's sweet beneath it all. )

[Genuine sympathy is that weird mix of nice to hear and uncomfortable for her to accept.] Yes, well. Alto would hate it, because there'd be a wide open sky above him for once, but he couldn't fly in it.

Ranka would probably do better, though. She's the girl who works at the restaurant I told you about.

[Sure does sound like she's dating two people, doesn't it?]

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