Usually, Korra waited up for Mako when he came home late.

Since Korra was on maternity leave from her Avatar duties, he came home late often. Twelve straight weeks of Mako not needing to pick Katara up from the air temple? Beifong was over the moon and she had no shame.

Tonight, though, Korra hadn't waited up. She put the children down and fell into bed herself. Retreating under the warm blankets for a few hours before her son howled for food again.

Still, despite the fact that keeping up with a five-year-old and a seven-week-old was both mentally and physically exhausting, it saddened Korra to think that she only had a few more weeks like this. It also made her very cranky towards anyone who suggested she shorten that time even further. Everyone had been given specific instructions not to speak of her cutting the time short unless the world was literally ending.

Korra was extremely jealous of her time with her children.

The baby didn't wake her with his crying that night. When she woke, still close to the usual time, her small home was filled with only the normal creaks of the late evening. Might San actually sleep through the night? That would make her life so much easier if he started the habit early.

Shifting a little, Korra cracked one eye.

"Hey," she said, pushing her hair out of her face. The chilly air bit at her bare arms. Growing soft, Korra?

"Hey." Mako sat on her side of the bed, still dressed in his uniform. From the slope of her shoulders, she knew he had the baby. No wonder San was still quiet; he loved being cuddled almost as much as he loved eating. "I didn't mean to wake you," he said. "I—" He trailed off, rocking slighty as San let out a little huff that Korra recognized as a yawn.

Korra rolled over, combing her hair of her face and sitting up. "It's okay. He'll be hungry soon anyways." At least, she hoped it would be soon, her boobs were getting sore.

San was curled into Mako. One little hand had worked free of his thick blankets to grasp a button on Mako's jacket. He wasn't quite awake yet, his blue eyes were heavy-lidded, his mouth slightly squished by the way his cheek pressed against Mako's chest. Cradling San with one arm, Mako reached for Korra with the other, resting his hand on her knee. She leaned into him, propping her chin against his shoulder.

"Bad day?" she asked.

His face was her wordless answer.

Mako swallowed, but before he could tell her anything, San's face scrunched up and he started to whimper.

Korra didn't know if it was her the sound of her voice or just the passage of time, but her baby finally realized he was hungry.

"Here," Korra said, reaching.

Despite the fact that San progressed to actual crying, Mako hesitated for a moment. Then he handed their son over to Korra

"I should get changed," he said.

Korra only half heard him, she was already pulling down her tank top so that San could nurse. "Mmhmm."

Mako leaned in, kissing her on the forehead before he got up. "I love you."

Once San was settled, Korra's attention went back to her husband, trying to figure out what bothered him. Something was definitely wrong. He'd been looking at San like he was afraid the child would just melt into thin air. Until now, it was a look she'd only seen him direct at her.

Mako disappeared into their bathroom for a quick shower as Korra shifted the baby from one breast to the other. When he came back out clad in an undershirt and long, sleep pants, he took up his spot next to her again, eyes on the ground.

Korra nudged him with her knee, bringing his attention back to her. He tried to smile.

"Can you talk about it?" It was a question she'd learned to ask.

Sometimes an investigation required him to keep information close to his chest. For a long time that frustrated her, after all, it wasn't like she would go around blabbing confidential info to anyone. Over time, she realized that Mako was protecting her. She didn't have to lie to anyone when they asked her about high profile cases, she just told the truth: She wasn't involved, she didn't have the information.

"Yes…I'm—I'm just not sure if can…" He ran both hands through his hair. "I need—I'm going to go check on Kat," he said. "I'll be right back."

Her husband looked like an old man as he crossed the short distance between their bed and the door and headed down the hall to their daughter's room. He was back several minutes later, just as Korra was moving to put San back in his crib

Mako's smile came easier this time. "I've got him."

Placing a kiss on San's little hand, Korra gave Mako the baby. He waited a few minutes, just to be sure the baby was asleep, before laying him down in the crib in the corner. Thankfully, San went down without further fuss. If he would just stay asleep for a few more minutes, he'd be out for the rest of the night. Compared to how Katara had been, the boy was a heavy sleeper. He at least waited until the sun was up to start his, while her daughter had a hard time grasping Korra's "mornings are evil" philosophy. Though the cold mornings meant that Katara could be enticed to snuggle under the blankets until the baby forced Korra to get out of bed.

"You're home really late," Korra said as Mako sat next to her.

"I needed to clear my head," he said. "I walked around the city for a little while after I got off my shift."

And then, to her utter surprise, Mako placed his head in his hands and began to weep quietly.

For several long moments, Korra wasn't sure what to do. Mako wasn't a crier. Never had been. Sure, there had been tears of joy the first time he held both their children, but Mako usually manifested sadness in other ways. Like holding it in until it soured into something he could take out on a punching bag or an unlucky suspect.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "What happened?"

"Two kids," Mako managed. He took a breath, exhaling slowly and that was it. He was done. He put his arm around her shoulders, crushing her to him. "Really bad day."

"I can tell. Now I'll repeat, what happened?" She wasn't going to back down on this.

"A shop owner found two kids behind his store." Mako leaned his head against hers, one hand absentmindedly twirling a lock hair that fell across her shoulder. "Boy and a girl. They'd-frozen to death in the night."

Korra gasped.

"Of course, we had to investigate. See if they anyone knew them, if they had any family." He shook his head. "As far as I could tell, they had no one. Spirits, Korra," he said, his voice cracking. "It was terrible. They were curled up together. Just like they were sleeping. The boy was huddled around the girl, like he knew if he could just keep his sister warm...if he could just give her one more night..." Mako's voice broke again and Korra thought he might start crying once more. His nose pressed into her hair as he breathed deeply.

"Oh Mako," she said. Soothingly, she ran a hand up and down his back.

"That could have been me and Bolin," Mako said. "So many times, if—if I hadn't been a firebender..." Mako pulled away from her, hiding his face in his hands again. "The girl, Korra—she looked so much like Kat. Probably was the same age. I can't stop thinking..."

Korra pulled his hands away, letting him cry against her shoulder this time, rocking their bodies like she would if he were Katara's size. Her husband hid his demons well, but she knew they still haunted him. Especially with the kids so little right now.

"Shh," she crooned, running her fingers through his hair. It was slightly damp from his shower. "Shh. It's alright. They're safe. We're safe. I'm right here." She pressed her lips to his scalp. "We're all right here."

Finally, Mako sighed and sat up, wiping at his eyes. "Sor—"

"Don't even think about apologizing," she said.

That got a chuckle out of her husband. How many times had he said the exact same thing when she'd broken down after an especially hard day—or an especially bad nightmare? Mako kissed her lightly.

The patter of little feet interrupted any further conversation for the time being. Katara appeared in their doorway, holding her stuffed fire ferret (a gift from her uncle) in one hand, the other rubbing at tear-stained cheeks.

"Mommy..." she started, her voice wavering as she rushed across the threshold and into Korra's arms.

"Hey, baby," Korra said as Kat clambered into her lap. "Bad dreams?"

Kat nodded before turning to Mako with a protruding lower lip. "You weren't home for bedtime kisses," she accused as if her father had been caught in the most heinous of crimes—sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar.

Sparking amber eyes met soft ones as Mako smiled.

"I know," he said, ruffling her hair. "Daddy's sorry."

Korra yawned.

"I can sit with her," Mako offered.

Looking from one tear-streaked face to the other, Korra shook her head. "No, she can stay with us tonight. Just maybe go make sure nothing's smoldering."

Some parents had to worry about children wetting the bed after a bad dream, Korra and Mako had to worry about a child who accidentally set things on fire during nightmares.

"Mommy," Kat whined. "I have done that in forever. Not in," she paused, thinking, "two whole weeks," she finished, with and emphatic.

Korra laughed. "Yes. Yes. That is a very long time. Daddy still had to make sure," she said, lifting up the blankets so Katara could take the spot in the middle of the bed. "Now into bed."

Kat clutched her ferret to her chest and snuggled against Korra, who kissed her daughter's head and ran her fingers through the girl's brown hair until her breathing slowed down and she was asleep. Mako was back well before then, climbing quietly into his side of the bed, being careful not to get so close he'd smoosh Katara. He joined Korra, rubbing the little girl's back.

"They'd be okay," she said, when she was sure Katara was asleep. "You know that, right? If anything ever happened to us, they wouldn't end up like you guys did." Korra didn't want to even contemplate her children sharing a fate with the unnamed kids Mako found today. "They'd be taken care of. They have my parents, Bolin and Opal, Asami, and even Tenzin and the airbenders." And she was the Avatar. She supposed that was one of the good things about everyone knowing who her children were. There was no chance they would end up forgotten on the streets.

"I know," Mako said, taking her hand. Their hands slipped together so easily, their arms resting protectively over their daughter. "I know." He glanced down at Katara. "But nothing is happening to either of us. Not ever."

"Right, but I just wanted to remind you…" Korra's eyelids drooped. She wanted to stay awake, but she was just too tired. She didn't even know how Mako could be so awake.

"Love you," she yawned.

"I love you too."

All of the family stuff in the Makorra tags on tumblr has gotten me thinking, plus I've been searching some of these questions while working on the Catalyst. I can totally see these two being BAMF parents once they got over the initial, "Why doesn't this things has an instruction manual?" In case you couldn't tell, little Katara is just as much of a handful as her mother was, while baby San is a little more laid back, like his dad (even has his dad's darker hair, though both of them are closer to Korra's skin tone). Anyways, this fit right in with a discussion I had on tumblr over whether Korra as the Avatar would have time for a family, to which my answer was absolutely.

I think Korra would love being a mom as fiercely as she loves being the Avatar. She has such a big heart as a character. And with the right support system, I think she could totally rock, just like some modern moms do today. Of course it would be difficult and where she could go would be limited for the first few months at least, but for normal stuff I imagine she and Mako would trade-off who had to pick the babies up from the air temple and the Air Acolytes would be more than happy, I'm sure to watch the Avatar's child during the day. I'm sure Mako would have some worries, but I think they'd mostly revolve around what he went through as a kid and not wanting his kids to repeat that. After all, he already did a really good job with Bolin, so of the two of them, I think he would be slightly less nervous about being a parent. But only slighty, because babies can be scary at first.

I have to say, little Katara nearly killed me though. I have fallen in love with this child. When she pouted at Mako and told him he missed bedtime kisses I nearly died from feels. I did not see that amount of cuteness coming.

Lemme know what you think. This also fits in continuity with my story, "We Lived" and some other one shots I have banging around in my head.