Everything hurt.

Every move he made, a familiar sting shot through his body, his lean muscles screaming in protest and agony. With a bit of self-berating and reassurance, he lifted his arm, using the opposite hand to wrap a bandage around his upper arm. He grimaced as he caught a glimpse of the old bandages. A crimson stain had soaked through, dark and discouraging. It would never heal, his muscles would always ache, he thought. There was very little chance that the open wound on his back looked any better, it was probably worse. After a few long minutes of struggling through the pain, he finished dressing his wound, getting rid of the older binding. With a sigh of temporary contentment, he settled himself by the window that overlooked the water gingerly.

Air Temple Island was shrouded in darkness for the most part, as pale light from the moon lightly coated it. It sent relief rushing through his body. Air Temple Island was something of a rock for him - much like the statue of Avatar Aang further off in the bay was for many of the people in the city. It never had been until recently… before it had always been his brother. As long as he had Bolin, he could survive. However, the earthbender wasn't really that calm and stable at times, and that was why the island had become something of a close second. It had been there since before his parents were killed, and it had not moved an inch.

Now he had another reason to use the island to ground himself when needed, as Korra resided on the island made by the past Avatar. Not that he needed her like that or anything… she was part of his pro-bending team. She was a valuable asset, no matter how much she infuriated him. The girl could not be bothered to show up to practice on time, wasting the brothers' own time, wondering where the hell she was, but she was talented. It was enough to drive anyone to madness. It was hard to give up the strict routine that he had set for the Fire Ferrets, but the Avatar barged into his life and changed all that. She demanded that things were done her way and not his, even though his had been working for the team thus far.

Her duties as the Avatar also screwed up the schedule. There was a small scuffle over in the East end here, a public event in the South there. There was always something. It made him want to bash his head against the wall and tear his dark hair out. But he couldn't say a word against her being the Avatar, oh no. The entire city would go up in arms if word ever got out that he didn't like having the Avatar in their fair city. Not that that was true, of course. It was good that she was here, especially when the Equalists were stirring up trouble. It was also …not very good. It only made Amon and his Equalists start more problems, like the Revelation. Maybe if Korra had not arrived so suddenly, it would never have happened. Amon wouldn't be rushing his agenda; Bolin would never have been taken.

Suddenly, there was a noise on the other side of the apartment and Bolin appeared like a ghost in front of him.

"I'm hungry," he said, cutting the quiet of the apartment like a knife. The light switched on and the brothers' faces were visible to the other.

"Get some food then."

"But we don't have anything good!" Bolin whined, stomping over to the kitchen and rummaging through the cupboards. It was obvious that the brothers had cut down on their grocery intake ever since their winnings had been cut down to a fraction of what it should have been by Butakha, no thanks to Bolin. Frustrated, he turned around in defeat and trudged back to his room. Again, the apartment was filled with a deafening silence and darkness, just the boy sitting on the couch, left to his own thoughts. At first it was just 'I need to get more food', 'I wonder if Bo is hurt more than he's letting on', and things even more superficial. In time, his thoughts drifted back to Air Temple Island.

A light flickered in one of the visible windows now. That was unusual for the island at this time of night, he thought. It was only nearing ten o'clock though; maybe it was just one of the students getting up like Bolin had. Within a few moments, the light was gone. He kept an eye on the buildings though, eventually giving into his exhaustion and dozing off on the couch. When he woke up, he was aware of a presence in the room that had not been there before. Lazily opening an eye, he glanced at the clock nearby. 11 p.m. He stood to go to his room, brushing the foreboding feeling away. Before he could make it far however, he noticed a pair of bright eyes staring intently at him. With a start, he squinted his own golden amber eyes and recognized the owner of the other bright blue set.

"Korra, what the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.

"I just couldn't stay there, Mako," the girl replied, crossing her arms and sitting defiantly in her place. Moonlight shone on her, revealing her exhaustion and frustration. Her hair was wet, dripping onto the couch. She had been complaining about her airbending training for the past few days, and dark bruises littered her arms and shoulders. "Tenzin had been riding my ass lately, and it's just so frustrating. I snuck out and swam over here… can I stay the night?"

Mako paused, knowing full well that Tenzin would rush over here as soon as she was found to be missing. He also knew that Korra wouldn't leave without a fight and he really didn't want to get into an argument with her at that moment. After what seemed like forever, he said, "yes." Korra's face lit up with glee, standing up as she began to ready the ratty couch to sleep on. "Korra, you can sleep in my bed. Bo's already asleep. It's easier for me to sleep down here anyway." He really didn't want to give up his warm bed for the couch, but Mako was always the gentleman. The pair sent a few words at each other over this arrangement, and eventually Mako won. He was to sleep on the couch and the girl was to sleep on his bed.

After that was settled, Mako laid down on the couch with a grunt. 'It is only for one night. I can handle this,' he thought as he closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. A quiet, scared-sounding voice broke the silence again.

"…Mako?" she whispered. "Mako, can you come up here?"

Without a word, the firebender was in his room and looking at Korra, snuggled up in his sheets on his bed. "What?" he asked as quietly as possible. Bolin didn't need to know about Korra spending the night. It would just rile him up, make him excitable. Hesitantly, Mako sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Can you sleep here too? It feels weird to be here by myself," Korra muttered, gently tugging on the back of his shirt. Mako was honestly taken aback. He gazed steadily at her, only raising an eyebrow as a response. This prompted Korra to speak again. "I can't sleep and Naga's not here and I'm scared that Equalists will come in and I won't be able to defend myself…" Korra? Scared? Mako was again surprised, but crawled to the head of the bed and pulled the blankets over himself. He attempted to stay as far away as humanly possible from Korra, but it seemed she had other plans. She snuggled right up to him, noticing the bandages on his arm. "What happened?" she asked curiously, running her finger down the length of the dressing.

"It was just an accident at the power plant. No big deal," he muttered, downplaying the injuries. He didn't need her pitying him or the situation that he and Bolin lived. She was the Avatar, guaranteed to live it up during a time of peace. He and Bolin were destined to always struggle for money, no matter how many odd jobs they did at the arena or how many real jobs they had. While the arrangement of Korra holding onto his arm, in his bed, in his room, in his apartment at such a last minute time was more than uncomfortable, it was kind of nice. She trusted him enough to allow him to share his bed with her, and even move closer than she needed. It was weird for Mako to see Korra in such a vulnerable state. Usually it was the two of them sparing, either with words or their bending. But here they were, holding each other.

"Oh…" Korra said softly, nuzzling her face into his arm. "Mako, will you sing for me?"

"Excuse me?" he asked, pulling away from her slightly in disbelief. "Why in the hell would I sing for you?"

She was quiet. "My mom would sing to me when I had trouble sleeping, when I was a kid. I haven't been able to sleep lately… and Tenzin and Pema definitely won't sing for me. They already have their hands full with their kids and I haven't seen my mom in a few months and…" she drifted off.

Mako was silent for what seemed to be the longest time, thoughts mixed with confusion and happiness. Finally, he opened his mouth, and began to softly murmur the words to a lullaby that his mother would sing for him and Bolin while rubbing her shoulder gently. It was some old Earth Kingdom song, used during the time of Avatar Aang's youth, but it had always comforted him when he was in need of sleep, and it seemed like Korra could use some comforting.

A/N: I know it's not that good ahaaaaaaaa, but I needed to write it cause wanting to write it was driving me crazy sooo! c: