Disclaimer: disclaimed

Nothing much to say...except WHO'S EXCITED FOR EPISODE THREE

When Katara heard the firebending boy quietly ask for permission to enter her hut, she was confused, but kindly waved him forward. He sat rigidly on the mat she offered, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world.

"Master Katara," he began nervously, "You probably don't remember me—"

"You're Korra's friend Mako," the water interrupted primly, "The firebender."

Mako looked startled. "Er—yes."

Across from him, Katara smiled. "Well, Mako, you don't have to be so nervous. I'm old, not a monster."

The boy immediately started blathering apologies and his host smiled, noting his wealth of respect. Eventually he just shut his mouth, pale cheeks tinged red.

Katara chuckled gently. "No harm done. Now what can I help you with?" she asked.

His gold eyes—so much like Zuko's; eerily so—flickered away from her. "I…need some advice," he admitted reluctantly.

"I assume it's about Korra," the old waterbender said bluntly.

Instead of going on the defensive or looking more worried, Mako's shoulders slumped—not in relief, but in resignation. "Yes," he mumbled. Katara did not speak, but her silence encouraged him to continue. "I…" the firebender sighed, then said in a rush, "I think I'm in love with her."

Silence.

Katara blinked. "Yes; and?"

The young man stared at her in astonishment. "And I don't know what to do about it!" he explained, somewhat hysterically. "I can't be in love with the Avatar!"

"And why not?" the master inquired serenely.

The poor boy didn't even know where to begin, she realized sadly, watching him struggle with words. Eventually a garble of insecurities came out: he's a street rat, not educated, not talented, not powerful, not important. When Mako finished he looked upset, with furrowed eyebrows and clenched fists.

"But does any of that really matter?" Katara questioned.

"How can it not?" the firebender asked brokenly, "I'm just…not good enough for the Avatar."

Scrutinizing blue eyes watched him for a moment, then posed, "What about Korra?" Mako only sighed, and she asked in a slightly harder tone, "You do realize that she is more than just the Avatar, don't you?"

"Of course!" the boy exclaimed, "Korra is so much more than that—she's…everything," he finished vaguely.

"So what's the problem?"

Mako stared down at his folded hands. "The rest of the world doesn't see that. All they see is the Avatar," he mumbled, "And if I'm with her, they'll expect some master bender who can negotiate and—and that's just not me; all I know about firebending is what I've had to learn. I can read, yes, but that's it, and I have a horrible temper and—" He stopped abruptly and smiled faintly at Katara. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

The master laughed heartily, but not unkindly. "A bit, yes."

"Sorry," he muttered, mood again darkening. "I guess you never really went through this."

"Not really," Katara replied honestly, "Aang and I were together from such a young age that…there was never any doubt. And I was already a master and war hero in my own right; people already respected me." The waterbender's blue eyes had taken on a faraway look, but when Mako shifted they flickered back to him. "But even so, being an Avatar's companion, whether as a friend or lover, is a lot of work. You are in the public eye at all times and are expected to behave as such. You have to keep your temper and check and be diplomats to everyone you meet. And most of all, you must always stand behind the Avatar—they're the leader and you're the follower, and that's how it's supposed to be."

The firebender nodded slowly. "Was it worth it?"

The distant look returned to Katara's eyes. "When you love someone, anything and everything is worth it." She smiled with a hint of bitterness. "But when you don't…"

After a moment of silence the boy asked in a hushed voice, "Did you love Aang?"

Write hair draped gracefully over the waterbender's face momentarily. "I learned to," she whispered, "But to do that I had to let someone else go." She raised her head and looked Mako in the eye. "What I—we did was not a mistake, but it was always a regret. Don't do that; don't walk away from who you love because you think it's the right thing to do. Fight for them, and it will always be worth it."

Taken aback by the intensity in the old woman's words, Mako stammered, "Okay, but I don't even know for sure if—"

Katara smiled mischeviously. "Oh, of course you do, silly boy. I've seen the way you look at her."

He blushed. "Is it really that obvious?"

Instead of answering him, the waterbender simply chuckled to herself. "Young people," she commented out loud, "Especially firebenders!"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Um—"

"Master Katara, have you seen—there you are!" Korra's familiar voice spoke, followed by her inquisitive eyes and chestnut curls poking into the hut. She tugged on Mako's Water Tribe parka impatiently. "C'mon, we gotta go."

"Coming," the firebender grumbled, getting to his feet. He held the curtain open for Katara as she followed the two young benders outside.

Korra had already said her goodbyes to everyone she needed to and Bolin was already sitting on Oogi's saddle, glaring at his brother impatiently. Mako turned quickly to the master waterbender and said politely, "Thank you for the advice. You've given me a lot to think about." He hesitated, then leaned forward to ask, "How do I know if she's, uh, really worth all that?"

Katara's eyes turned up in a nostalgic smile. Over Korra's shouts she answered, "If she is, you'll know."

The young firebender nodded in contemplation and turned. And as he caught sight of Korra, yelling in annoyance with pink cheeks and dark hair and bright blue eyes, something in him realized he knew already.

Sooo I may have promised a friend I'd write her a Makorra fic for her birthday...actually let's be honest she wants a lemon. Any hints?

Review!