Legend of Korra (c) Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.

Mako could see that something was wrong with Korra. It wasn't that her personality had changed in any way or her bending skills had puttered out. No, the young Avatar was just as obnoxious and loud as before. Her airbending training continued as per usual with Korra's skill growing stronger with each passing day, and she had made several connections with her predecessor, Avatar Aang.

The change was subtle; a flicker of weariness, a small stumble here and there over nothing. No one else seemed to notice and went on with their day-to-day lives as per usual, not catching the signs of passing exhaustion and far-off looks.

But Mako did.

The firebender could read people like a book, but only if they let their pages lie open. He couldn't very well force apart the covers and search for the problem like a dictionary. Luckily for him, Korra bared her pages to anyone willing enough to look. She really wasn't trying to hide anything – it was just that Mako could tell she thought she didn't have time to be tired.

Her boyfriend shouldn't have been surprised by her energy – or rather, her lack thereof. Korra was the Avatar, the master of all four elements, bridge between worlds and harbinger of peace for the four nations. She had every right to be tired, what with how much exertion it took her to bring everyone's bending back.

But something was nagging at the back of Mako's mind: Korra had had all the energy in the world between the time she had defeated Amon and two weeks ago. That was nearly a six-month gap. So why was she slowing now, when the imminent danger had passed?

The sounds of a forceful wind hit Mako's ears as he disembarked the ferry at Air Temple Island. It was a sound he had grown accustomed to over the last six months and was a sort of Pavlov to him; every time he heard it, his mouth quirked up into a knowing smirk. He thanked the captain of the ship once more and began the walk up to the training grounds, relishing the sunlight that peaked out from behind the temple's shortest tower.

It was a beautiful spring day in Republic City, one Mako was planning on taking full advantage of with his girlfriend. Avatar Korra may have lived here for more than half a year now, but with all the airbending and spiritual training being thrust upon her like extra homework, she had yet to really see the city in its entire splendor.

The firebender could see it now; he'd show her the bookstore he used to bring Bolin to twice a week to teach him to read. Regale her with the story of how Avatar Aang had proposed to Katara (though she'd probably already heard it) and reveal at the last moment that it had been at the very spot outside the pro-bending arena where Mako and her had first kissed. Bring her to the pond hidden deep within the park's forest where he used to catch fish for dinner. And then, right when the sun hit the trees and cast the jagged shadows across the ground, he'd –

"Mako!"

The young boy flinched at the high pitched squeal and whirled around to see Ikki running at him full force, her arms outstretched like a crocodile's mouth. Mako relaxed visibly, relieved that the little girl had given him some warning this time, at least. The last time she had tackled him, Ikki had propelled herself using wind currents and knocked them both back into a tree. She had been fine; Mako's aching back, however, took most of the impact.

"Hi, Ikki," he said with a bemused smile as she launched herself into his arms and given him a quick hug. "Do you know where Korra is?"

Jinora, who had been following a sae distance away from her younger sister, giggled. "The same place she is every morning, goof. Where else would she be?"

The eldest airbending child was by far the calmest and, in Mako's opinion, the easiest to get along with. She had the attitude of a true airbender; balanced, calm, yet strong-willed and passionate. The older boy respected the girl regardless of his age being double hers. It wasn't easy keeping your cool around Ikki and her younger brother Meelo.

The teenager shook his dark head of hair ruefully, chuckling and thanking them. The two girls followed him dutifully over to the training grounds, where the winds had grown much more violent and the leaves whipped off the trees as if it were already fall.

Just around the corner, Mako heard an older man's voice call out above the gales of wind. "Relax, Korra! Focus all your energy on hitting the target spot-on. Calm your thoughts until all you can visualize is the center, and then unleash."

Rounding the bend, Mako suddenly heard nothing. The leaves stopped rustling, the wind's roar ripped from its throat. The training center was at the most still the boy had ever seen it; nothing moved in the slightest, a perfect painting of the grounds at its most empty.

Except it wasn't empty. There stood Tenzin in the far back, watching the Water Tribe girl in the center. His eyes bored into her back intently, looking for the slightest movement, the tiniest change in posture. There was none.

Where the normal Korra usually practiced her fighting styles and evasive maneuvers, a completely different Avatar stood. She was facing her boyfriend, but she showed no signs of even noticing his presence. Her shoulders were relaxed, her head bowed and her fingers brought together in front of her chest as though she were praying. Her stance, feet shoulder width-apart, was rigid, and even from his distance, Mako could see sweat drip down her cheek and splash against her shirt. He, too, was taken aback by the way Korra had transformed within mere seconds, and couldn't help but stare.

It was like watching a dance recital. One moment, the ballerinas were all on pointe, their postures perfect and prepared, the next they were effortlessly going through the steps of their number. Almost as if in slow-motion, Korra's hands detached from each other and spun around gracefully in a large circle. Her right foot came up slightly; her right hand pointing with two fingers toward the sky and her left in a defensive position on her side.

Korra's eyes flew open, their dark blue flashing with concentration. The feeling of vulnerability shattered, and her right foot slammed into the ground, its toes pointing to the single target at the other end of the grounds. Her arm swung down in a half-arc and, torso leaning forward, shot a gust of wind straight through the bull's-eye.

The target had never stood a chance.

Ikki and Jinora started clapping wildly, cheering for the girl they looked up to as an older sister. Tenzin walked up behind her and took her shoulder, saying, "Good job, Korra. You did very well."

Mako just grinned, proud of how far his girlfriend had come in her training since six months ago. Airbending had been as hard for Korra to figure out as it had been for Mako to admit he was in love with her. I guess we've both figured things out, he thought to himself.

Korra looked back towards her boyfriend and noticed him standing there for the first time. Her face broke into a delighted smile, and she walked over to him, touching his arm lightly for but a second. Where her fingers had been, fire seared through his skin; he couldn't believe she still had this power over him.

"Hey, Cool Guy," the Water Tribe girl said brightly, "how do you think I did?" She wiggled her eyebrows jokingly, and Mako laughed, grabbing her arms and pulling her close. He kissed her temple lovingly, and she sighed into his embrace.

"Fantastic, as usual." He murmured into her hair.

"Ahem."

The two broke apart, Korra's eyes rolling in exasperation as Mako pulled away reluctantly. Tenzin had come up from behind, his expression unreadable. It wasn't that the councilman didn't like Mako; it was just that he preferred their love life be kept to a minimum during training… and around his kids.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Tenzin asked, "Shall we check the target?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned and walked to the other end. Korra and Mako exchanged an amused glance before following him.

Halfway to the other end, Korra tripped and stumbled. On instinct, Mako's arm flashed out and caught her by the waist, pulling her back up. Frowning, he looked searchingly at the ground, but Korra's mumbled thanks kept him from looking for too long. It hadn't escaped his notice, though; there was no guilty obstacle anywhere near the couple that the Avatar could have tripped over.

Tenzin was already inspecting the target by the time they got there, a single finger wedged into a hole in the center. He pulled away, and Mako got a good look at the destruction his girlfriend had caused. A hole, no wider than his index finger, had been blasted through the straw, leaving a near perfect hole dead in the middle of the bull's eye.

The teacher looked back at his pupil, eyes wide. "Kriminy, Korra! You could've pierced someone's heart with this attack!"

Korra's eyes were wide with astonishment. "I did that?" She said. She looked from the target to her hands, her face breaking into an ear-splitting grin. "Cool!"

Mako laughed at that.

"Does that mean your training is done for the day?" The brown-haired girl seemed to consider this for a moment before turning to the third person of their party.

"Tenzin?"

The airbender hesitated. "I don't know, Korra…" He looked at the pair of pleading gazes, and his resolved crumbled. A small smile tugged at his lips. "Well… Okay, but only because you've been doing so well with training and you deserve some rest after what happened last night."

Korra cringed at his words, but Mako doubled back. "Wait, what happened last night?"

"Some guy who had lost his bending came pounding on the temple doors in the middle of the night. Said that he couldn't wait until morning unless we wanted him to completely lose his mind."

"I was about to lose my mind," Korra scowled at the memory, not pleased at what she was seeing. "As if I wasn't already barely sleeping, the idiot –" Mako's eyebrows furrowed together; Wake-up calls at two am? Sleeping troubles? What was going on?

As if sensing she had said too much, the Avatar's mouth set itself into a firm line and refused to cooperate for the rest of the conversation. Finally, with the promise that the firebender would have Korra back for dinner and yes, he would be more than happy to drag Bolin and Asami with them, the young couple ran off to the water. Because when you were the Avatar's boyfriend, why wait for the ferry?

GUYSGUYSGUYS

I HAD THIS EPIPHANY. AND IT MADE ME SEE THIS HUGE STORY. NOT LIKE HUGE IN THE SENSE OF A MILLION CHAPTERS BUT HUGE LIKE OHMYGOD I NEED TO WRITE THIS NOW.

I promise the whole thing isn't like this; you guys know me, everything I write is super dee-duper angst ridden and full off happy endings of love. BUT. This one will be written way better and I promise you that the action comes next chapter. I know, already!

Oh, and by the way: Korra will be in the Spirit World for a long time in this story. Just so you know. But she isn't there on purpose.

OKAYTHATSITBYE.