Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last Airbender of the Legend of Korra.

Okay guys, this piece is going to have some time skips. Some of these scenes are directly from the show, while others are of my own invention. Please review, and thanks for reading my story!

When Iroh received the message from Korra, he felt his breath hitch. It had been so long since he'd heard from Korra. Her letters since arriving in Republic City had been few and far between, but her last one had been the most worrisome. She mentioned how she was faring in her airbending training as well as her new probending career. She mentioned her teammate, Mako, several times, which intrigued the General. But most alarming was her not about Amon and the Equalists. Words of the Equalist Movement had even spread to the Fire Nation and the other nations were in fear of what it could mean.

"General, how do you want to respond?"

Iroh answered immediately, his concern for Korra eliminating any room for rationalization and planning. "Tell her we will be arriving in three days time. And that I look forward to winning back Republic City. Together."

"As you wish, General Iroh," his lieutenant said with a salute. He scurried off to relay the news, leaving Iroh alone to think over what he had agreed to do. He quickly brushed aside any thoughts against helping Republic City. He had a duty to Republic City, to the World, and to Korra. This last thought left him slightly confused. He had always been ruled by duty and honor, but his duty to Korra ran deep than his traditional ideology. To say he missed her was an understatement.

To Iroh, Korra was not the Avatar. She was someone who didn't care that he was a Prince, or a General. She didn't care about status, and he loved that about her. More than anything, he missed the person he never had to put on airs for. She expected nothing from him, other than his friendship, which he happily gave. He trusted her to be someone he could depend on, and someone he could talk to about anything. There was no awkwardness or tension in their friendship, something he had sorely missed. It had been six years since he last saw her, but they had never completely lost touch.

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"Couldn't sleep either?" Mako asked, striding over to Korra.

Korra shook her head. "No,I have this awful pit in my stomach."

"Me too," Mako replied, taking a seat next to her, leaning against Naga.

"It's so crazy, a few months ago, I was in the South Pole, practicing for my firebending test. Now, I'm in the middle of an all-out war." She leaned forward, her eyes weary and her body tired.

"I know. We didn't even know each other then." Mako looked at Korra, a soft smile on his face. "But now, I can't imagine my life without you in it. You're the most loyal, brave, and selfless person I've ever known."

Korra returned his smile, butterflies in her stomach. "I think you're pretty incredible too." She looked away for a moment. "But then, you already knew that," and returned her gaze to him. He was staring at her intently as they both leaned closer. Korra pulled back, knowing she couldn't hurt Asami like that. This wouldn't be right. "Well," she said awkwardly, "I should probably try to get some sleep." She hoped to send Mako the correct message.

He apparently understood and stood up, responding with, "me too." He turned back to her before walking away. "Goodnight." And with a few steps, he disappeared into the shadows.

"Goodnight," she said quietly, more to herself than to him. She leaned into Naga, her mind racing as fast as her heart. She couldn't kiss Mako, no matter how much she wanted too. It wasn't fair to any of them. She wished Iroh were there. Iroh always knew exactly what to do and how to cheer her up. She smiled when she remembered his response to her message. Iroh would never forget her. He was someone that she knew would stand by her no matter the danger, something she truly admired about him. She buried her face into Naga's side, finally falling asleep for the night.

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The fact that they were in sight of the city and hadn't met any enemy ships worried Iroh. He spoke his fears to his lieutenant. "Amon had to know we were coming," he said, surveying the shore. "So why aren't we meeting any resistance?" he asked. "Something's not right," he realized.

And that's when the first mine hit one of their ships. Mines began erupting around them, and Iroh feared for his men. "It's a trick!" he shouted. He ran to tell his men what to do, heading towards the other end of his ship. He slammed open the door to the control room, running to the PA system. "Water and Earthbenders, detonate those mines!" he ordered. He could hear the explosions around him and he prayed to Agni that his men would make it home after this invasion. He heard a buzzing that he didn't understand. "What is that sound?" he asked. Met with unsure looks from those around him, he strode to the deck of the ship to observe for himself.

He was greeted by a squadron of planes, all fully equipped with missiles they were dropping at alarming rates on the ships below. The firebenders lit the cannons to try and shoot down the planes, but it had little effect. Most of them evaded the blasts and kept dropping missiles. Earthbenders tried to take them down as well, but they were blasted off the ships in the process, tossed into the ocean. Only a few managed to hit their intended target.

Iroh shot flames from his fists, shooting down as many planes as he could, panting from the exertion. He was backed up to two of his comrades, all putting everything they had into taking down those planes.

And then he saw her.

She had bent up a funnel of water, rooting herself at the top. She was older now, something he had only a second to notice. She manipulated the water around her, trying to help. A plane crashed into the bottom of her water tower and it crumbled, leaving her to fall into the ocean. Iroh watched in agony, unsure of how to help her or even reach her. He saw her bend a missile at a plane, and knew she was as tough as he remembered. He grinned as she resurfaced from the water, and decided to try a different tactic. He climbed the ladder, filled with a new energy, reaching the basket on the top of the mast. He shot bursts of flames at incoming planes, but one managed to fly past his attacks. It launched a missile at him, which hit the basket, sending him flying.

The cold ocean water greeted him and his mind felt fuzzy. After the initial shock of the cold water his awareness disappeared and he reached unconsciousness. He felt an arm wrap around his chest, tugging him towards the surface. His eyes snapped open as he gasped for air, coughing water from his lungs.

"It's alright, I've got you." Iroh would know that voice anywhere. He should've known she would come to save him.

"Avatar Korra . . . you saved my life." Admittedly, he had always imagined having to save her life due to her headstrong and childish ways. But he immediately relaxed under the familiar warmth and the scent of the ocean she always seemed to carry with her. "Thank you," he said earnestly.

She didn't respond immediately, instead choosing to waterbend them back to the shore with a blast in one direction.

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When Korra saw the mines explode on the United Forces Ships, her heart caught in her throat. Adrenaline coursed through her veins and she knew the only thing she could do. Without another thought, she leapt into the ocean, intent on protecting him.

She pulled the water up to her, letting it suck her in as she swam towards the boats. She resurface near one of the ships, only to hear a buzzing noise from back in the city. She saw the planes approach and her blood ran cold. How was she going to protect them against planes? As missiles fell from the planes and landed on ships she was blown backwards. She narrowly avoided getting hit by two more missiles in the process.

As ships were destroyed around her she knew she had to stop those ships before she could do anything else. She bent up a tower of water, her feet held firmly in the water. She froze water into ice, hitting a plane as it headed in her direction. As the plane hit the ice it split apart and crashed into the water, knocking her out of the sky. She fell into the ocean, redirecting a missile towards another plane. When she resurfaced, she saw Iroh on the mast of a ship, shooting flames at incoming planes.

She saw the missile hit him.

She saw him fall into the water, missiles exploding around him.

She felt her heart lurch painfully when she heard the sickening splash.

She found him in only a moment as he was sinking towards the Ocean floor. She wrapped her arm around him, praying to Tui and La that he would live. She pulled him toward the surface and as he spluttered and gasped for air, she knew her prayer had been answered. When he spoke to her, her mind was too busy relishing in the fact that he was still alive. When she pulled him onto shore, it was all she could do not to pull him into her arms and never let him go out there again.

As they sat on the edge of the docks she noticed his disheveled state. His normally immaculate uniform was torn from the explosions, and burnt in several places. His dark hair was loose around his face instead of slicked to the side. But his eyes, they were still the same burnished gold they had always been. She noticed his form and how much he had grown up. He was a man now, a General of the United Forces, and a Prince of the Fire Nation. But he was still Iroh, the boy she once wrestled to the ground, the boy who would take rides on Naga with her, and the boy used to send her pressed fire lilies for her birthday because he knew that she loved them. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were both out of immediate danger.

While Korra was evaluating Iroh, he was doing the same to her. The little girl he had always known and teased, was replaced by the fierce looking young woman before him. He wasn't surprised by her muscular frame or her traditional water tribe clothing. He was surprised by her cerulean blue eyes that shone with concern and determination, and not their usual mischief. She had experienced a lot in the years since he had last seen her, he could tell by the worried look on her face and the weight that seemed to press down on her shoulders. All he wanted was to pull her into his arms and tell her that everything would be alright, and he would promise upon his honor, that she would be okay.

But he held himself back, bound by his honor and decorum.

Despite every part of him that wanted nothing more to protect her, he knew she would never want to be 'protected.' That's not who she was, and that was something he had always admired about her.

Korra's gaze landed on his arm. "Spirits! Did that just happen?" she pointed to the wound on his arm.

He nodded grimly, trying to stand. Korra pushed him back down gently as she stood up herself. She extended a hand to him, and he took it gratefully. She pulled him up, letting him lean on her as they headed towards their hideout. "I'll heal that when we get there," she said quietly.

The pain was becoming unbearable, so he just grunted in response, fighting to maintain consciousness. She sat him down on a bench inside the underground tunnels while Mako, Bolin, and Asami gathered around. After a brief introduction, everyone else left to tend to the wounded. Korra decided it was past time to help him, and pulled water from a nearby fountain, forming it around her hands. She pressed it on his arm as it glowed, and he sighed with relief. The cool water washed away his pain and his head cleared as it healed the skin.

"Do you remember the last time you had to heal me?" he asked softly, a slight chuckle in his voice.

Korra nodded, smiling at the memory. He had been trying to rescue a fox cub from the roof of one of the training facilities, when he slipped and fell off, taking the cub with him. The cub walked away, but Iroh had to spend two hours with Katara and Korra while they healed his broken leg. "I told you to watch your step on that roof," she chastised.

"I don't remember that," he said, a smirk on his face. They both felt all the tension leave them at the memory of their childhood together. She sat down on the other side of him, leaning slightly against his shoulder.

"I missed you," she said softly. He put his arm around her, pulling her close for a moment. "I missed you too," he said. "But I'm here now, so what can I do to help?"

"You can start by taking moving your arm," Mako said cooly from behind them.

Korra blushed, sitting up and scooting away. "Iroh and I have been friends my whole life, Mako. It's not like that," she protested. The butterflies in her stomach, persisted however, and she immediately missed the comfort of Iroh.

Mako arched his eyebrows at Korra, but made no reply, his arms folded across his chest.

Iroh cleared his throat, uneasy with the tension in the air. "It's true, I taught Korra the basics of firebending when she was younger. She was my best friend," he said simply. He did his best to hide the hurt he felt at her rejection, but he couldn't understand why he felt hurt. He didn't feel that way towards Korra. They were just friends, weren't they?

Mako rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said. "It doesn't really matter," a smirk gracing his face. "I saw you fighting out there, Iroh, it was impressive," he said with admiration. He looked Iroh in the eyes respectfully.

He nodded in response. "I wish I could've done better, I would've liked to have helped more of my men." He looked away, regret covering his face.

His obvious pain hurt Korra deeply. She grabbed Iroh's hand, gripping it tight. "Now you listen to me. I don't care what you think, you did everything you could. Your men knew what they were getting into when they joined the forces, and they were willing to pay the consequences. You fought as hard as you could, and I don't care what it takes, we will take down Amon." Her usually cool blue eyes were fiery and full of passion as she spoke on his behalf. Mako nodded in agreement with Korra, his eyes lingering on their intertwined hands.

Iroh nodded, understanding Korra's faith in him. He looked her in the eyes as he thanked her. She inclined her head as she stood up, pulling him with her. No matter what their personal problems were, they still had a city to save.