Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra.

Mako breathed in deeply as he rested his head against the wall in the hallway of Korra's home, You've been a real jerk. He shook his head to clear his thoughts; he knew he had been a jerk. That was the whole point of that conversation with Korra, to apologize and make an attempt to make things better. Part of him had just wished they could still be together.

Amazingly, though, Korra had proved to be wiser than him. It hadn't worked out between them. She was too stubborn. He was too stubborn. They clashed, and that didn't mix well. Even worse than that, Mako had been so uncertain and unstable that he allowed a simple confession from Asami throw him for a loop.

Maybe you just need a break from women for awhile.

He chuckled bitterly, "No kidding."

"Who are you talking to?" Asami questioned as she looked up from the Engineering book she had been reading. She hadn't meant to walk this far down the hall, but she got so lost in her studies that she suddenly found herself in front of Mako... Someone she wasn't interested in seeing.

Mako suppressed a shock yell, "Uh, no one, just... thinking out loud." He did his best not to make eye contact with her, not to look at her at all, even. He stared blankly ahead.

The girl nodded subtly and moved to his side. She stood for a moment, then slid down to his level. She pursed her lips, looked at him, tapped her fingers on the book, then looked ahead as well. "So Korra has all of her memories back?"

"Yeah."

"So she remembers you broke up?"

"Yeah."

Silence echoed through the hallway.

"Can you look at me, please?"

Their eyes met. Mako tried to force every thought he had about being sorry, tried to make it as evident as possible to her. All he could see looking back at him, initially, was harshness... and then sadness.

"I'm sorry," Asami whispered, looking away sheepishly. She clenched the book.

"Uh, what?" Mako grunted, more confused than he had been in awhile-and he had seen a lot in the past twenty-four hours.

Asami laughed uncomfortably. She took a strand of her hair and twirled it between her fingers, "It was wrong of me to pursue anything with you after you had just broken up with Korra. I'm sorry."

Mako attempted to comprehend what was being said to him, rubbing his temples. "You're sorry."

"Yeah."

Mako shook his head incredulously, "Asami, I should be the one who is sorry. I hurt both you and Korra and acted selfishly because I wanted what would make me feel good... I'm sorry."

They sat together silently for a moment. Asami continued to twiddle with her hair, and Mako allowed his thoughts to consume him once more.

Asami stopped her movement and glanced at his stone-hard face, "What now?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Mako connected with Asami's soft green eyes and allowed a smile. "We grow up."

Asami's pretty features scrunched together in confusion, "I'm not sure if I follow."

Mako chuckled, and reached for Asami's hand. It felt cool and soft in his. He squeezed it lightly, "It was never said aloud, but it was etched into every aspect of the moment. Korra and I broke up for good this time, Asami, and I'm thankful for that. It's evident to me that she and I both have a lot of growing up to do." He paused for a moment, bringing her hand to his lips, "Just as you do."

He stood, helping her up, then dropped her hand. Putting both hands on her shoulders, he said, "You have a business to run, Asami. I've been promoted to detective. Bolin may very well still have acting going for him; he's good at it. And Korra... Korra is going to have a lot on her hands with this new world she has set up. We all have our places, we all have things that need to fall together."

Asami looked to the ground, trying to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. She knew he was right, but it was difficult... It left many questions unanswered. "What, then, of us?"

Mako dropped his hands. He wanted desperately to look anywhere other than her teary eyes, but he knew it wouldn't be right unless he did. His eyes met hers once again. "I'm sorry, Asami, there can't be an us anymore. It's not fair to you, and it never has been." He paused once again, "Continue to rebuild your father's legacy in a new light. Make your business thrive. You are going to do a lot of important things with that; make them count."

Asami embraced him tightly and quickly, "Thank you, Mako."

As quickly as quietly as she had came into the room, she was gone again.

Mako sighed in bittersweet softness. For once, he was certain that he had done the right thing. He turned to the window that overlooked the backyard of Korra's house. Korra was outside, playing with Jinorra and some spirit-bunnies. Katara, her children, and Korra's looked on with loving smiles on their faces.

Mako allowed his eyes to rest on Korra's smile, her crystal blue eyes shining in the sunlight. Her hair had fallen to caress her cheeks once more. He grinned, finding that he could spend hours gazing at such a beautiful sight. Instead, he turned away from the window, tucking that picture of Korra away in his heart.

They had their time together, but they were young and foolish; they were harsh. He hadn't been lying when he said that he would always love Korra. He would always love her. He didn't know what that meant for their future. More than anything, he wanted to be with her again. But he knew it was more important for each of them to grow up before that pressure stirred up tensions again.

He would always love her, but he needed to watch from a distance as she grew in the grace and beauty that the Avatar was supposed to be. As desperately as he wanted to be a part of that, to influence her in that, he knew that he had to step aside.

He kept this in mind before he left the Southern Water Tribe with Bolin and Asami. He slipped a note addressed to Korra to her mother. "Give it to her when the time is right."

Senna beamed at him, knowing perfectly well when she would give Korra the note, and hugged him, "She'll miss you. Don't be too much of a stranger."

Mako hugged her back, "Hopefully there will be a time when I can return. Right now, we both know I can't be here. I'll miss you all." He called to Bolin, who had been saying his goodbyes to Korra, "Bolin, Asami is waiting for us!"

"Right, right, sorry!" Bolin scrambled to pick up his belongings, then realized he hadn't brought anything with him.

Mako and Korra locked eyes, and smiled softly at one another before Mako turned and left.

Tenzin looked at Korra questioningly, "You aren't going to say goodbye?"

Korra turned to Tenzin and shook her head, "We've already said goodbye."

That night, Korra retired to her bedroom and collapsed on her bed face-first when she realized she was breathing in paper instead of her pillow. "Huh?" She lifted her head and peeled the envelope from her face. Her name was written on the front in relatively nice handwriting. She opened it, and paused, wondering if she wanted to know what was in the letter.

"Just read it, dear." Her mother spoke from the doorway.

"Mom!" Korra exclaimed in surprise.

"Come on, I'm just as curious as you are."

"I know... but am I ready?"

Senna joined her daughter on the bed, slipping her arm around her. "Sweetie, you've matured significantly since we last saw each other... and I'd have to say that a lot of that was done in the last forty-eight hours. I don't think it's wise to get your hopes up, but I think it might be nice to let your imagination do some exploring." She thought for a moment then gave Korra's shoulders a squeeze, "Besides... I've always been a bit of a romantic."

Korra rolled her eyes with a smile, but couldn't find anything clever to tease her mother with. "Fine, just for you, Mom."

She turned her attention to the letter and read it aloud:

My dearest Korra,

I'm not sure when you will read this as I've left that open to the discretion of your mother. However, I feel like you need to know what's going on through my mind at this very moment.

You and I have just broken up, and to be honest, I couldn't be more relieved.

Don't get me wrong; I will miss you. I didn't lie when I said I would always love you. Korra, I will always love you.

But we're at a crossroad in our lives. I've realized from my treatment of you and Asami that I'm not ready to be in a serious relationship... not for a long time. I'm going to go back to Republic City and do my very best as a detective there. I'm not sure what will be in store for us, but it's an opportunity for me to grow, and to put my past dating habits behind me.

And you, Korra, have a lot of work cut out for you. You're going to do a lot of growing up. I've seen so much of it today. You are going to continue to grow into a lady of dignity, beauty, wisdom, grace, and strength. Unfortunately, I cannot be a part of that process... Not at this point. I'm not sure what that means for our future, but I do know what it means for the world. We are extremely blessed to have you as our Avatar. I believe in you. Work hard, be humble, and love others as you do what you were meant to do. Continue growing.

I don't know when or if we'll see each other again, but I'm not looking to view this last interaction with one another as a permanent goodbye. If anything, it's a 'see you later.'

I'm proud of you.

See you later,
Mako

Korra wiped away the tears in her eyes; she had never been good with emotions, but Mako had proven something that she hadn't been quite so sure of since they began dating: he loved her. Being able to step away from her as she did the growing she needed to was proof of that.

Meanwhile, Mako and Bolin were looking out at the stars and spirits during their trip back to Republic City. Asami had gone to bed, leaving the brothers to catch up.

They had been standing in silence for the first hour since Asami had left, but Mako broke that. "I'm sorry I haven't been that supportive of a brother, Bolin."

Bolin looked at his brother with wide eyes, "I'm sorry that I haven't been supportive either."

They enjoyed the silence for a few minutes longer before Bolin asked what his brother would be doing in regards to Korra and Asami.

"I'm not doing anything."

"What?"

Mako shook his head, keeping his focus on an especially bright star. "I've messed with too many emotions, Bolin, especially my own. It's best for now if we all just remained single and didn't allow hormones to get in the way of what needs to get done."

"That's pretty wise..." Bolin thought for a moment, "Are we all going to be friends still?"

"You and I are brothers, so we don't have a choice but to live with each other." Mako chuckled, "And it's up to you if you want to remain in contact with Asami and Korra, and Korra and Asami can make that decision as well. I, however, am going to focus on detective work. Perhaps one day, we can all be Team Avatar again... But for the time being, there needs to be time for healing. If Korra ever needs me, I will drop everything to help her. But right now, we need space. We need to heal. We need to grow."

Bolin rested his left hand on Mako's right shoulder, "Mom and Dad would be proud of you."

Mako grasped Bolin's shoulder firmly, "They'd be proud of you as well."