Firebenders are usually described as passionate beings. Right now, Mako was passionately angry at his new teammate, the unfortunate Avatar, he thought to himself. She had missed three weeks' worth of training. At first she was occupied with the Task Force, which he and Bolin had mixed feelings about.
Bolin was genuinely concerned of Korra's welfare but was also aware of her undeniable power, both physically and in bending. She is the Avatar, after all. Mako, on the other hand, felt a little worried but tried to look at the bright side. At least she's getting some practice done. But somehow, he felt bad for thinking that. He would then start a train of thoughts that end up justifying that Korra was doing what she had to do. And that Bolin and him only came second, no maybe even lower, on her list of priorities.
Then came her stint with Amon. Bolin and him rushed to Air Temple the next dawn, taking the very first ferry. Worried sick for their friend. And our waterbender. However, they weren't allowed inside the temple and were ushered kindly towards the pier. They couldn't get any information, other than Korra was still able to bend and now resting. Somehow, that wasn't enough for him. And he knew Bolin felt the same thing.
In fact, Bolin kept on returning to Air Temple every single morning but was sent back with no new information to share to his brother. This frustrated Mako even further. And now it's been two weeks since the events on Aang Memorial Island and they still haven't seen Korra not even a glimpse of her shadow.
Asami came today and dropped of groceries for the boys. She, too, was concerned for the Avatar. But she couldn't help to ask the most avoided question: Will Korra continue to be a part of the Fire Ferrets and compete?
This is probably why he found himself on the last ferry going to Air Temple Island that day. The sun was already setting, the skyline now a mix of the sun's orange blaze and the night sky's purple. As he made his way to the stairs leading to the temple, a white ball of fur jumped over his head and ran towards the trees to the side. Naga? Naga never goes anywhere without Korra, so he thought it best to follow the humongous polar bear dog.
The path led him to the northern edge of the island, directly across from the direction of the pier. He easily spotted Naga, fishing at the shallow end of the water. He scanned the area and found a bonfire close by with a few fish on sticks cooking. He found a figure on the sand that looked like a black ball. An oddly shaped ball.
Just when he was about to make his way down, Korra whirled out of the water, wearing nothing but her bindings. Mako couldn't help but blush. He's never seen girls scarcely dressed and Korra being his teammate is not helping him any. He heard her laugh. A sound he has not heard in a long time.
Finding the courage to finally look back at her, he found her leaning on the oddly shaped ball on the ground. And the oddly shaped ball began yelling at her. "Oh crap, Korra's lost her mind!" She earthbended a person to the ground. Who the heck does that?
Korra laughed, stomped her foot and the ball, err, person, shot up on the ground level. From what Mako could see from his view, the man and Korra appeared to be friends. Despite the abuse he received from Korra, they were getting along just fine. There they were sharing the single fish that was cooked and waiting patiently for the others. Naga, too, was friendly towards the man evident by her calmness around him.
What he didn't expect was to feel his chest hurting. His stomach churned in a way that has never happened before. He couldn't tear his gaze off of Korra, who was now eating her fish in the opposite manner that Asami would. Asami. Right, he now had Asami. She was nothing but kind to him and Bolin. So why was he feeling this way?
With a final glance at Korra, he willed his feet to turn around. Unfortunately for him, he was one passionate firebender. And he knew there was something stirring in him that told him for sure he was holding the wrong hand for it should be the unfortunate Avatar's that should keep his hands occupied.