The stone discs bolted through the air, spinning through the net as far as it would give. Bolin continued punching the discs through the air, one after the other flying, until they were all cluttered at the base of the net.

Mako looked on indifferently. He was breathing heavily, and wiped the sweat from his brow, looking over at Korra from the other side of the room. He had just been practicing simple firebending techniques but for hours before Korra even showed up (someone had to be dilligent around here), and sat against the wall beside Bolin, resting. He was thinking that after his break, he and Korra could spar together - fire and water are, after all, a good match, as they cancel each other out.

She wasn't practicing her usual fiery offensive - whipping tendrils of water through the air in sharp cords or sending deadly blocks of ice sailing across the room before sinking deep into the nets. Today it was more subdued; she stayed perfectly still, curling water around her in a gentle ebb and flow before spinning it faster in a whirl around her. This must have taken focus, but something about Korra's eyes as she stared blankly through the net made her seem distant and secluded. For Make, this was disconcerting. He watched her uneasily.

As Bolin went to gather the discs, his eyes wandered to Korra and stayed there. His concern was much more obvious, brow furrowed, lips settling into a pout.

"She seems kind of out of it today."

Mako said nothing. He got up slowly while Bolin piled the discs into a neat stack. Korra was paying them no attention at all, and upon closer inspection, she seemed very, very tired.

"I wonder what's up with her," Bolin said.

"Remember what she said on the radio the other day?" Mako said. "About a duel with Amon." Bolin's eyes widened into huge glassy orbs.

"You... You don't think think she actually fought him, do you?" whispered Bolin, stunned. Mako shrugged and called out to Korra, walkingup to her while Bolin followed in his shocked daze.

"Hey, Korra!"

The water she was manipulating splashed onto the floor abruptly and Korra whipped around as if not realizing they were even there. Up close, the dark circles under her eyes were haunting, and the paleness of her face stood in stark contrast to her usual dark flush. Mako and Bolin froze in front of the zombie-like Korra as still as statues until her eyes awakened into some form of awareness.

"What's up?" she said, without her usual confidence. Mako and Bolin looked at each other before saying anything.

"Uh, well... You don't look so good today," Bolin stammered awkwardly. Her face became, if it was even possible, more detached.

"Oh..."

"Maybe you should sit down," Mako said. "Take a break for a while."

She looked at him a moment before drawing the water into an urn in the corner and then sitting down by it, folding her arms and looking down at the floor. Bolin and Mako exchanged another glance before sitting beside her. There was a moment of silence.

"Are you okay, Korra?" Mako finally said, touching her arm and glaring at her as she continued to stare blankly. With a sudden, familiarly spirited spark, she returned his glare and shook him off.

"I'm fine," she grunted. "I just haven't been sleeping that well lately."

Bolin felt a surge of sympathy, giving her a sad but understanding look and gripping her on the shoulder.

"Me neither. I've been twitchy ever since that whole disaster with Amon..."

"It's scary," Mako agreed, gazing down at his own spot on the floor and crossing his arms just as Korra had. "Thinking that there are people out there just trying to take the only thing we have."

"Well, you guys don't seem to have lost much sleep over it," Korra said. "Not even you, Bolin, and they almost got you."

"Me and Mako have had to deal with danger since we were little and living on our own, on the streets with the triads. But don't let my coolness fool you! I'm still freaking out, and I can hardly sleep at all." Bolin paused a second before blushing slightly. "Well, I mean, in a tough kind of way." Korra smiled slightly at him, but Mako looked to see that it didn't fully meet those eyes.

"Bolin, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me." She put her own hand over her shoulder where Bolin's was, and Mako was sure that he was the only one to see Bolin's delighted grin. He stood up excitedly.

"Well, now that we're all on the same page," he beamed, "I think it's time we got something to eat. I didn't have breakfast yet and I'm starving!" Bolin's smile became manically happy.

"I'll catch up with you," Korra said, getting up. "I just wanna train a little bit more but I can catch up. I had a late start today..."

"And Asami's meeting me here soon, so I might as well say," Mako said without meeting their eyes. Bolin's grin fell sadly.

"Well, I guess I can go buy something and bring it to the attic," Bolin said uncertainly.

"That would be awesome, Bolin," Korra said, smiling half-heartedly at him. "I'll meet you there." Bolin looked between Korra, still with that unconvincing smile, and Mako, still sitting up against the wall and looking up at Korra. He nodded slowly, smiled again, and was off up the stairwell.

Korra sighed. She pulled a wave of water from the urn and began twirling it again, peacefully. As Mako watched the water, he saw how it seemed to tremble unsteadily - no where near as peaceful as it had seemed from afar.

"I was thinking we could practice fighting each other," Mako said, and as he broke her from her reverie, the water turned stiff and froze before she flung it out, embedding sharp quills of ice in the walls. "You know, because fire and water can cancel out."

"I don't really know if I feel like fighting today," Korra said without looking at him. Mako's eyes was a give away. It was completely unlike her - she would never back down from a fight.

"Okay, Korra, what's wrong?" said Mako, getting up. "I get that you're scared, we all are, but you're acting beyond -"

"Could you get off my case? I'll be fine for the tournament, just don't worry about it. Since when did you care, anyway?" Mako's eyes widened.

"I- It's not like- don't be an idiot," He said lamely, uncharacteristically flustered. He crossed his arms and glared in another direction. Korra turned to him.

"Listen, it's not what you're thinking." She feigned another smirk. "I'm strong, I'll get over it." Mako watched her pull the ice from the walls and spin it into water again in silence.

"Don't think for a second that I'm not scared, too," Mako murmured. Korra whipped around to face him, drawing the water into a round bulb, but Mako was looking resolutely away again. "They almost got my brother... And what if they took mine and Bolin's bending? It's all we really have..."

Korra's face softened, but she couldn't think of anything to say. She pulled the water into a thick rope and let it writhe and wave like a snake. Mako watched it and continued.

"But I guess it would be more scary for you. You're the avatar... A lot kind of rides on your bending. Not just you're own life, but all of ours, too."

"Yeah," Korra said, watching the water as well. "Scary..."

When she did not continue, Mako blurted, "We heard what you said on the radio about a duel with Amon the other night. Is that what you're upset about?"

He turned his frustrated, piercing eyes on hers, which seemed to stare through the water, and he froze. She was getting that look. A flush bloomed in her cheeks and her eyes became glassy with a sudden chill. She wasn't going to...

Mako backpedaled frantically. "You know, if you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine," he said awkwardly.

He held his breath as Korra rubbed her eyes with her wrist and no tears were spilled. Mako sighed with relief.

"No, it's okay," Korra said. "That - I met Amon that night." Mako froze, his eyes widening, forgetting her easy waterbending. She met his eyes, and added. "It's okay, nothing happened. But... it was really scary."

Korra let the water retreat back into the urn, gently billowing into it's mouth. She stared absently at it.

"I don't know why I called that duel. It was so stupid. He overpowered me... Brought his Equalist followers, and I was pretty much at their mercy. He could've took my bending right there, if he wanted..."

The hairs on the back of Mako's neck stood up. He was lost for words as she spoke, and looked into her eyes, which weren't meeting his. He felt an emptiness in his stomach when he saw that they were brimming with tears.

"I was so helpless... I never felt like that before." The tears spilled over onto her cheeks and she hurried to catch them. "Oh my gosh, sorry," she whispered gruffly, "not again..."

Mako was not good in these situations. He took a deep breath and tried to compose his horrified glower. He reached his arm around her shoulder, gingerly pulling her towards him.

"It's - It's okay," he grumbled quietly, resisting the urge to pat her on the back.

She wiped away the last of her tears, and suddenly she turned into his arms, hugging him unexpectedly. His eyes widened and he went still, feeling her warm face on his shoulder. She looked up at him and laughed weakly.

"Thanks, Mako. You're... a good friend."

She smiled, and as another tear threatened to spill, Mako was struck with the sudden inexorable thought of wiping it away himself. A light flush rose in his cheeks as they looked into each other's eyes merely inches apart - hers soft and warm, his wide and frozen. It was the first genuine smile he'd seen from her all morning, he realized, as he felt her heart pounding against his chest... Or was that his?

Suddenly, Korra's face went blank, before flicking to life, her eyes widening like his, her face going red.

"Oh!" She squawked before springing out of his arms. They looked away from each other, both red, although he was nowhere near as deep as Korra. "That was - I mean - uh, sorry..."

"It's fine - don't mention it..."

"Maybe I should go meet up with Bolin," she said awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry."

"Korra," Mako said, and as she looked at him, his face had returned to that usual stoic indifference, his blush almost faded completely. His eyes, however, had changed, reflecting something like tenderness. When she looked up he looked quickly away.

"Sorry," she said quietly, trying to laugh it off. "You know I'm usually not like that."

"I know," he mumbled. "It's just... If you ever need to talk about something, don't feel like you can't tell me about it." After a moment of quiet he added, "You know, talk to me and Bolin. We're a team, after all..."

"Thank you," Korra whispered and gave him a quick, one-armed hug that nonetheless squeezed some strange, unexplained feeling of gentleness up to his eyes. Suddenly, he saw someone at the foot of the stairs.

"Asami," He breathed.

Korra spun around and saw her, standing there watching them with an embarrassed air of having intruded. Suddenly Mako was a good arm's length from her, before walking up to meet Asami. Korra watched them blankly as they met, Asami's smile lighting up her face.

"Well, I'm going to go eat with Bolin," Korra said. Her stomach lurched as Asami wove her slender arm around Mako's and he smiled down at her.

"Goodbye, Korra," Asami said pleasantly. "Good luck training for the tournament!"

And the two left, leaving Korra in the middle of the basement with an unexplainable feeling of unease.

A/N: Sorry, I made a few edits. after rereading, but very, very minor ones. Thanks for your feedback, and anyone else reading, feel encouraged to share your thoughts! I'm an absolute review junkie! You should see my face whenever I get feedback. So whether good or bad, please let me know what you think so I can adapt (or pat myself on the back) accordingly!