From the attic upstairs Mako could start to see the crowds of people starting to pour in one direction. The illuminating glow from the arena made their bodies mainly appear as dark shadows, but he didn't have to see their faces to know their excitement. As usual, their voices formed together as one buzzing, happy sound. But like always, even though they sounded radiant as a whole from a distance, he could still pick out their senseless chatter. Some were children begging their parents to walk faster to the ticket booth. Some were older men casually talking about who they predicted to win the match, some even placing bets of hundreds of yuans.

"Idiots," mumbled Mako underneath his breath.

If only the children whining about getting tickets faster would be grateful that they had parents, much less parents that would take them to pro-bending matches. The thought of parents only gave him an ache he didn't want to welcome, so he changed his thoughts to the men.

The money the men were willing to bet was almost an insult to him. If only the men placing bets realized the money they were betting could be put to better use. Mako swore to himself that if he ever had money it would be used for a better life for him and his brother, Bolin. He had always struggled trying to take care of his brother and couldn't imagine being so fortunate that it would be okay to bet money on a game. If he had money he would have spent it on Bolin. There wasn't much of anything that was more important than Bolin to Mako.

He could've bought a place for them to stay when it rained at nights, he could've bought them coats for when it got cold, he could've kept them both away from the awful acts they had to do to survive, and he could've bought them food…

Food, Mako thought. He could feel his stomach churn. He put his head in his hands trying to get thought out, immediately getting mad at himself for even thinking about it. He and Bolin had already eaten once today, he shouldn't be feeling hungry. A few years ago he would've been grateful to have had one meal, now he was turning into one of them. One of the spoiled, ungrateful, no-good, lousy-

"Alright, alright, I can't contain my excitement any longer! Would you just look at that crowd? They love us! Two matches away! We only have to win two more matches and then we're in the tournament! Can you believe it, Mako?"

Mako lifted his head from his hands to see Bolin staring below at the crowd of people in awe with a huge smile. Mako sighed. Bolin was so young and naïve. His optimism almost pained Mako, he didn't want to see his brother let down.

"Easy there, little bro. I wouldn't count us in yet. Hasook has really hurt the team in practice lately, not to mention he is already late. He should've been here ten minutes ago for pre-match practice. I just don't want you getting your hopes up," Mako reasoned in a dry voice.

"Aw, c'mon, Mako! You have to be a little optimistic!" Bolin exclaimed while squeezing Mako, nearly lifting him off of the ground. He was so strong.

"Sure, go team," said Mako sarcastically "Now will you please let go of me?"

"Okay, team captain, what's up with you? What, haven't you seen any fangirls fawning over you tonight?"

Mako immediately felt disgusted by the latest memory of fangirls. Although he had won their last match with moxie, there wasn't enough moxie in the world to shake hands and sign autographs while girls chanted Fire Ferrets over and over, sometimes exclaiming that they'd never wash their hands again.

He smirked, "If anything, I'm glad there are none tonight. And hey, no more letting girls in before matches okay? That could really make you lose focus and we don't need that, especially now."

Bolin smile immediately faded and he sighed, looking at the ground. Mako saw that his bad mood had taken away from Bolin's excitement. Trying to protect his brother from disappointment was giving him disappointment. Mako realized he needed to lighten up. As much as he knew their life had not been easy, he still had to be thankful. Although he missed their parents, he knew all life happens for a reason. If they hadn't been orphans out on the street they wouldn't be where they are today. He was thankful that they struggled because they were stronger today.

He was thankful that Toza realized they were worth something and let them have a place in the arena's attic. He was thankful Toza taught them pro-bending even though Shady-Shin had taken away his big chance in the sport. He was thankful that at just eighteen years old, his team was upsetting every team they had faced this season. Mako then started to believe that life was all about destiny. A destiny in which a good attitude and patience would reward. He and Bolin had a bright future as much as he didn't realize it. He looked Bolin's way and tried to provide a sincere smile.

"Hey, I'm sure we'll do fine tonight. We're both great benders, aren't we? Mom and Dad would proud of us, I know it."

Mako reached for Bolin's shoulder to comfort him and Bolin squealed in response, again, squeezing Mako almost picking him up off of the ground. Mako smiled, rolling his eyes.

"It's going to be a good night, Mako! I've got a good feeling!"

Just then, the door opened in the far corner of the attic, breaking up the moment between the brothers. Hasook came running into the room panting with drops of sweat lingering on his forehead.

"Sorry, I'm late guys. You know how these Satomobile drivers get on game nights," Hasook hurriedly panted out of breath.

Mako's eyes narrowed and he stepped away from Bolin with his voice booming, "Are you kidding me? That's why you're late? That's no excuse! We should've been practicing by now and you come in blaming slow drivers as an excuse to be late?"

Out of the corner of Mako's eye he saw Bolin look down and shake his head.

"I'm not overreacting this time, Bolin, there's no 'I' in team, everyone has to put in an effort," Mako snapped. He then stepped forward to point a finger in Hasook's face, "Especially those like you who are weak and need to put forth the most effort instead of being utterly useless!"

The words were like a bomb, it felt like the room had exploded. Suddenly the room was quieter than it had ever been. Mako couldn't even hear the senseless chatter from outside the arena anymore.

What felt like an eternity later, Bolin laughed a nervous laugh and headed towards the door of the attic, "Weeeeeell, I'm going to go ahead and head to the lockers. Have fun you two, and don't forget, tonight the whole world will know that we, the Fire Ferrets, are champions!"

The door slammed shut and Mako and Hasook were left alone.

"One more time, Mako, one more time. That's all I'm giving you. I'm so sick of you yelling at me and throwing everything in my face. Life can't be perfect all the time!" Hasook hissed.

"Do you not think I know that? Bolin nor I have ever had a perfect life!" Mako roared in response.

The room was quiet again.

Mako sighed and put his hand to his forehead, "Look, I'm sorry, but this close to the tournament, there is no time for anyone to be late, okay? Just… Just get here on time from now on. Let's go, we have a match to play".

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I'm so excited to finish this story! I know throughout the fandom that Mako is not a very likable character, but personally, I think he is intriguing. Most of us hate Mako's character from the outside so I wanted to write what I would like to think was going on in Mako's head throughout the whole first season. Please continue to read the upcoming chapters. I would love helpful comments, this is my first fanfiction and I hope I'm doing okay! But please be nice ^^