Summary- Mako suffers with regular nightmares after the death of his parents. Bolin learns the truth.

Fire. Raging red flames danced in his vision. Thick clouds of black smoke filling the air, it travelled up his nostrils and he choked, coughing violently. He was scared. Terrified. He felt like crying. The tension in his chest was almost unbearable as he pressed through the black dragons of smoke, desperately trying to find his parents.

He'd seen them go off, telling him that they'd only be a minute. To be a good boy and take care of his brother. He should have followed them. He should have followed.

"Daddy!" He cried out, coughing as the smoke invaded his lungs, filling his chest. The fear was growing stronger now, he could feel tears leaking from his eyes. He was so scared.

He pressed on further. He could hear something. It sounded like crying. "Daddy?" He tested. A loud cough. He followed the noise. He shattered as he saw them. His mother was blackened, burnt to a crisp, unrecognisable. His father, equally burnt and blistering holding her against him. There was blood on the ground. Up the walls. He choked on his own bile.

His fathers dying eyes came to rest on him, opened his mouth but coughed blood.

His amber irises burned with the image. His father stilled. Dead. He sobbed.

Mako awoke in tears, the image of his parents in front of his eyes. He gasped, choking on air, clutching at the red scarf around his neck. Feeling the soft fabric beneath his fingers. Willing himself desperately to calm down. You'll wake Bolin. He couldn't. The image wouldn't go away. The bodies of his parents. He could have done something. Why didn't he do something? He placed a fist in his mouth to muffle the noises, he didn't want to wake Bolin. It was difficult to get him to sleep in the first place. Mako didn't want them both to be sleepless.

He rubbed at his shadow-rimmed eyes with his free hand, wiping the tears off his face in desperation. At his side, Bolin stirred. Mako froze, holding back the whimper in his throat.

Bright green eyes stared curiously up at him, "Mako? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Mako sniffed wiping his nose on his sleeve, "I had a bad dream, go back to sleep."

Bolin's curiosity only spiked. "What was it about?"

"You don't need to know. Go back to sleep."

Bolin frowned. "Daddy said that bad dreams go away once you tell someone."

Mako bit back another sob. "D-daddy isn't here now."

"I know." Bolin said softly, "You said he and mummy were on vacation, right?"

Mako choked on his tears, shaking his head, chest tightening in guilt from the lies he had spewed. "They're not coming back Bolin."

"What?"

"They're not- mummy and daddy- they're not-" He cut himself off as he began to cry again. Bolin sat up, wrapping an arm round him, nuzzling into his side.

"Why are you so sad Mako?" He asked innocently.

"Mummy and daddy aren't coming back!" He cried, Bolin's eyes widened at the statement. "They aren't coming back, ever, they can't come back Bolin!"

"Why?" Bolin was starting to tear up, his lower lip trembling.

"They're dead. They're not coming back. They won't come back."

Bolin fell silent, although Mako could feel his hot tears through the fabric of his shirt. Bolin's fingers pulling at the scarf round his neck, as he began to sob loudly. Mako regretted telling him. "Mako, I want mummy and daddy!"

Mako swallowed his own tears. Pulling Bolin closer to him, whispering words of affection into his ear, rocking him gently. The way their mother used to do to lull him to sleep. Their mother was gone and so was their father. It was just them.

Bolin drifted into silence and Mako knew he had finally fallen asleep. He was glad. He wanted Bolin to sleep, to not worry about anything. Bolin knew now though, he'd told him. It was for the better, right? He had to know at some point. Death was something you had to accept.

Mako didn't sleep that night. Or that night after, or the night after that. Just like he hadn't slept the nights before. The nightmare kept haunting him, reminding him that it was just them now. Him and Bolin. Mako would make sure Bolin wouldn't be harmed, he wouldn't let him end up like their parents. Bolin was all he had left. And Mako would do anything to make sure he was safe. And happy. It would be hard, but he could do it. He had to. He'd start by not letting the nightmare bother him anymore. The more he got upset, the worse it would be right? He had to be strong. He had to be strong for Bolin.

AN: Well this is the first out of a series one-shots I have planned for this fic. I mainly wanted to explore their life on the streets together, growing up. Because I feel that's something that could have been explored a bit more in canon.

This one is set roughly a couple of weeks after Bolin and Mako became orphans. Bless them.

I've got more planned for down the line, so I'll hopefully update soon.

Reviews aren't necessary but they help me feel motivated and I can't help but smile every-time I read one, so if you enjoy, please drop a review so I know you liked this and would potentially like to see more down the line.

Enjoy!