Welcome back! Thank you for starting this story and I hope this is as entertaining for you as it was for me to write.

Summary: Following the Battle with the Red Lotus, Korra tries to recuperate from the trauma, while dealing with the demons haunting her at night and a surfacing connection with a certain Firebender.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the World of Avatar.

Rating: T will sometimes include curse words and possibly non graphic sex scenes.

"You have indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us."

–Guru Phatik

II

There had been many things that Korra had never expected in her short life. And she most certainly did not expect him. Any other person could have walked into her room in the middle of the night and she would have shrugged it off, because she could come up with fifteen names of people who had more reason to do so than he did. But the one standing on the door wasn't any of those fifteen, it was him.

Her heart was racing but it was not fear she felt. Or maybe it was. She was never good at identifying her own emotions, and she was particularly bad at acting on them. Korra turned her head to the left and there he was. Mako looked the same as always and it gave her a sense of homesickness that she forgot even existed, because it did not mean she missed a specific place or people. She was theoretically home. It meant she ached for the easiness of a different time period in her life and even for what he once made her feel.

After things burn out, just like a flame, there's a remaining warmth for a while. The body does not forget the heat of that fire. Especially during cold nights, when there is nothing else to protect you from the frozen air. Both of them were fire at some point. But they were also emotionally immature and did not know how to handle the pressure of their lives. It was not their time. They had to learn and grow in order for them to become who they were meant to be. Their fire turned angry and uncontrollable, and eventually, it extinguished. She understood why. However, that did not mean she forgot how alive and bright it was. And in her loneliest nights, it was his warmth that she missed, even if she would never admit it to herself.

Korra must have been starring for a while as his cheeks unintentionally started to turn red, "Isn't it too late for visits?" she asked. A part of her wanted to get closer to him but she remained still. As if she could do otherwise though.

"I didn't think you would pay that much attention to rules anyways," he gave her a small smile but she knew he felt uncomfortable. He had always had trouble emotion-wise, and honestly, he was also slightly awkward. "What are you doing on the floor?"

She opened her mouth, "I was– " but closed it immediately after failing to come up with a quick lie. She smile sheepishly, "Stretching?" Korra didn't mean for it to come out as a question, and if what she said was not a dead giveaway, her tone totally was.

He relaxed at her smile, "Stretching, huh?" His tall figure started to move towards the bed and stopped before he was too close. Korra patted the ground next to her and he followed as he lowered himself to the floor. He was not close enough for them to touch, but enough for her to see every detail of his golden eyes. She had always been intrigued by them and how they looked like fire themselves when he was bending. Mako seemed equally interested in her. She then saw his eyes soften, "How are you, Korra?"

"I'm fine," she assured with a smile. He gave her that look that meant he knew pretty well that she was lying. He was about to speak when she stopped him with her hand against his mouth, "Mako. I'm fine." Korra knew he would not believe that so she tried to change the subject, "What about you? How is the job going?"

"It's been going great, honestly. Every day Republic City feels somewhat safer. But since everyone is doing their own thing, sometimes it feels kind of lonely."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Lonely? She had to stay in bed most of the day and do absolutely nothing, while everyone she knew was doing great and doing their own thing. "I can only imagine," Korra replied. But there was a hint of bitterness that she knew he would pick up. She knew she should not feel like that, he was just being honest after all, so she swallowed her annoyance. Her tone changed to a more empathetic one, "What about Bolin? Or Asami? I'm sure they would always make time for you."

"Bolin is in the Earth Kingdom at the moment, they have been trying to stabilize the situation over there. And Asami… Well, you know, Future Industries. She's making a name for herself." He explained. There was no jealousy or resentment in his voice and she wished she could genuinely feel as excited for them as he did. "Don't get me wrong. I've been extremely busy myself. It's not just them."

She nodded and then asked the question that had been burning in her mind for a while, "If you're so busy… Then why are you here?"

He looked at her and she saw something familiar in his eyes, something she knew he would not tell. "I am not sure." Mako tried his best to hide his nervousness.

Korra snorted, "You came all the way to the Southern Water Tribe and you don't have a reason?" She was tired, but not stupid. She knew he was hiding something. "So Beifong just let you have a vacation because you're such an amazing worker. Sure." She laughed sarcastically and she could tell she was getting under his skin already.

He took a deep breath, "We can talk about that another day. You should go to sleep."

"No!" She raised her voice even though he was next to her, "You will tell me. Now."

"Korra." he whispered loudly as he was starting to get annoyed. No one knew he was there yet, and he did not feel like alerting the White Lotus guards who were walking around sometimes. He was not going to get in trouble, but he preferred avoiding that situation if he could. "Could you please be quiet?"

"I can speak as loud as I want," she crossed her arms over her chest but was hard to look intimidating when her legs were extended on the floor. "You can't come into my room and then tell me what to do."

He ignored her comment. Mako knew she was only angry because she hadn't been able to sleep at all lately. Yes, he knew about that. However, he was not going to listen to her exponentially angrier self. He stood up and took her hand, "I'll help you into bed."

She let go of his hand quickly. Korra was perfectly aware of how his touch felt and this was not the best time to think of how their hands molded against one another. She was irritated with him and this room and this bed and this ceiling. Everything. A part of her did know that it was her lack of sleep that was making her act this way, but she did not care. "I don't need your help," she spat.

"Oh really? I would like to see you try on your own!" He crossed his arms, challenging her. Mako did not mean to sound so angry, he was truly worried about her. He knew what she was going through. He knew every detail. As calm and collected as he wanted to be, he was also exhausted. But she did not know that yet.

She shot daggers at him with her eyes, "I don't need to prove anything to you," there was condescension in her words and even though she did not mean it, she did not take it back either. He noticed that too,

"Says the person who can't even stand!" he yelled at her and as soon as he said it, he regretted it. Immediately afterwards, he saw the hurt and embarrassment in her eyes. He kneeled next to her and started gently, "That came out wrong! I'm so sorr–"

"Leave" she interrupted him while turning her head away. He was just like everyone else, she thought. He saw her as a weak and useless damsel in distress. For some reason, it hurt more that it came from him than it would have if it was someone else.

"Korra–"

"Leave!" and so he did.

I hope that you guys understand that Mako and Korra are not this angry all the time. I'm sure all of us have said/done stupid things when incredibly tired, so I wanted to show that here.

Anyways, feel free to ask questions, comment or as you wish. I would truly appreciate it.

Thank you again for reading!