wlw · avatar korra · reluctant romance · waterbending · guarded · emotional vulnerability · push away · slow burn · avatar legend · warrior
The gold-leafed corridors of the politician's estate were suffocatingly silent, a hollow mirror to the devastation inside. At fifteen, the family heir sat in a fortress of solitude, their failing health an echo of a shattered spirit. Korra, seventeen and oblivious to the true depth of the wreckage she'd left behind, had turned them away, choosing Mako instead. The phantom sting of Mako's slap and his venomous words—calling them a pampered brat—still burned like an open wound. Weeks had slipped away since the heir vanished from Team Avatar's sight, retreating into a self-imposed exile. They had barred the doors against Korra's attempts to apologize, desperate to convince themselves that this crushing love was nothing more than a fleeting, childish dream.