Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing in the avatar verse
Author's Note: This was just a short story I had floating around in the back of my head. Enjoy!
"Bo? Did you hear that?" Mako sat up straight in bed, a crash coming from the gym waking him from his slumber. He hastily threw the covers off his body and pulled a shirt on. His brother was snoring loudly a few feet from his bed, unaware that anything out of the ordinary was happening. Frustrated, Mako picked up his shoe, called out Bolin's name, and threw it at his sleeping form. Bolin effortlessly threw up his hand, caught the shoe, and threw it back, all without otherwise stirring. Mako rolled his eyes. Nothing gets in the way of Bolin and his sleep.
Taking a deep breath, he began to sneak his way down the stairs and into the gym, ready to face whoever or whatever, was causing the ruckus.
He heard some grunts and the sound of discs hitting the net. Someone was training? He fumbled at the wall for the lightswitch.
"Korra? What are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion. Korra froze, in mid-form, and turned bright red. She straightened, dropping the discs with a loud thud, and folded her hands behind her back.
"I, uh, couldn't sleep and, well, I thought might as well train for the finals." Sheepishly, Korra rubbed the back of her head, smiling innocently. Mako narrowed his eyes and studied her, hands on his hips. Her hair was sticking to her forehead, her eyes were bloodshot, and her clothes were unkempt. She fidgeted at the hem of her untucked shirt.
"Are you….okay?" He hesitatingly asked, "You look…tired." She blushed, and turned away from him, shrugging. Mako took a slow step closer, unsure of what he should do. He wasn't particularly good at reading girls emotions to begin with, especially when he couldn't see their faces, but he knew wanted to help her.
The air was thick with sweat, energy, and unreleased emotion. She clearly had something on her mind but didn't know how to approach it. He watched her for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"Look…I know the Amon thing on Avatar Island must've really freaked you out, but you know if you wanna maybe talk about it. I'm here."
"Mako, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? I'm the avatar. I was raised being taught how to deal with these things, so you just back off from things you don't, or can't, know anything about," She turned around, with fists balled, and glared at him menacingly. This was not something he was prepared to handle.
He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "Fine, if you're fine, then I'm fine. Just try to keep it down and clean up this mess." He conceded, gesturing towards the piles of broken earth. He turned around and began stalking back up the stairs to his room. Why does he even bother?
He didn't notice her shoulders slump and a tear slide down her cheek as he retreated. He did, however, hear her resume earthbending training as he climbed back into bed.