This is an idea I had inspired from that short scene in Episode 4 with Bolin complaining to Mako about Korra not showing up to practice.

I thought about it a bit, and before long, this story was born :).

Hope you enjoy!

This will progress as the series progresses.

Chapter 1: Idea

"So, is Korra skipping practice again?"

I dropped the heavy dumbbell, creating a thud on the rubber gym floor, and plopped down beside my brother. Grabbing my glass of water, I gulped down half of the refreshing liquid and dumped the rest down my back to cool off. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and I could literally feel the heat emitting from my body. Working out was tough.

"It seems so," he answered, jaw clenched. A sure sign that he was bothered by this turn of events.

Tossing the glass aside, I noticed his golden eyes lock onto the door, awaiting our friend impatiently. His brunette hair was still gelled to perfection, clothes unscathed and bearing no signs of his previous firebending. Anyone noticing this would conclude that he was either really good at bending or a freakish perfectionist. But I knew better.

I was the only one that heard his late-night rants about how much Korra was getting on his nerves, his constant requests for 'deep discussions' about dealing with her, and then there was the occasional, "What do you think about Korra?". There was no questioning that she was on his mind quite frequently. And it was reasonable that he tried to keep his appearance neat around her.

"You're not mad, are you Mako?" I inquired, fully knowing the answer to that one.

Calmly linking his hands together, he sent me a frown.

"No," he began, "No I'm not."

Pause for dramatic effect.

"Well, maybe a little…"

And there you have it.

"Our pro-bending match is coming up sooner than you think. We should be training extra hard, putting in everything we've got. And where's Korra? She's slacking off with Tarrlock's task force and missing practices left and right," he explained, sighing, "Sometimes I just don't understand her."

"Well, she is the Avatar," I tried to help.

"Bolin, that doesn't excuse her from this. In fact, it's just all the more reason why she should be giving her all; she's got way more strength than normal benders."

I nodded in agreement with him, just to sympathize. Pro-bending was really important to Mako and anything that messed with it bothered him. Besides, he didn't open up that often.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!"

Enter Korra. Shiny brown hair tied up in a high ponytail with two short ones framing her face, she strided in with a serious expression defining her features. Ice-blue eyes met gold and green, as if waiting for an answer.

"Korra!" I bounced over and gave her a hug, relived that she made it, "I'm so glad that you're here!"

"Nice to see you too, Bolin," she returned the embrace and gave me a friendly pat on the back, "So why are you guys sitting around? Shouldn't you be practicing?"

Mako stepped over and grunted a greeting, before slipping his pro-bending armor over his body suit.

"We were waiting for you," he replied simply, "Not that we were counting on your showing up."

Her eyebrow arched at this remark,

"What's that supposed to mean? Yes, I admit it; between airbending and Tarrlock's task force, it's been a little difficult to squeeze in practice time, but that doesn't mean I'm giving pro-bending any less effort."

"Whatever you say," he finished his protection gear by tying the red belt around his waist and left to the other side of the room where he proceeded to practice manipulating flames in an offensive way.

It was so obvious that he liked Korra. Why did he always have to act so cold around her? Why couldn't he just come clean and tell her the truth?

"Well! You're one to talk Mako!" she yelled across to him, "You've been spending all your free time with that Asami girl and then drooling over her in practice! You're always distracted and your bending's gotten weaker."

Glaring back at her, the fire bursting from his fists grew larger and angrier,

"When have I ever 'drooled' over her during practice? And besides that, my bending's perfectly fine, contrary to yours. Why don't you give it up already and just practice harder?"

Aqua eyes flashing with rage, her mouth opened to shout her next retort at him, but I quickly stepped in to break it up,

"Korra, could you help me with my earthbending? I can't seem to get this one move right."

Sighing, she nodded, recoiled from her previous demeanor, and cast Mako one last poisonous glare before following me over to the earthbending area of the gym.

I knew for a fact that Korra liked Mako; I squealed it out of her previously, but had promised not to breathe a word. So if she liked him, then why was she always so…hotheaded around him?

Gosh, they were both equally stubborn. If someone didn't step in soon, they might never get together.

And man, I really didn't want that Asami girl as my sister-in-law. She brought out such a fakeness in Mako; it's disgusting.

However, matchmaking might not be such a good idea. I listened to a radio show about people who hooked couples up and ended up with disastrous results.

Still, it was only an idea. I probably wouldn't act on it or anything…