A week later, Korra was almost better. She could almost walk without limping and run without pain. But she still needed watching and someone to keep her from hurting herself. Mako would often find himself on the night shift, when the hyper airbending children were asleep and wouldn't come bursting into Korra's room every minute or so. Asami and Bolin often went on dates at night and Pema was keeping Tenzin busy with baby things. If Mako didn't know any better, he would think that he was being left alone with Korra at night on purpose.

The only person who would ever come in while he was on watch was Master Katara. She would come in for a few minutes at night and check up on them, making sure that nothing bad had happened. Usually Korra was asleep, so all Master Katara had to do was tell him to call her if she suddenly took a turn for the worse. With that she would exit, leaving him alone with his thoughts, Naga most nights, and a sleeping Korra.

He noticed a lot of things about her while he slept. He felt like a bit of creep when he noticed that he was watching her, but he figured that as he was supposed to be keeping watch over her, it was fine, especially since he didn't have anything else to do. He wasn't the greatest reader. He could read, but he'd be damned if he ever did it for fun. So he wound up watching her sleeping, always alert for someone coming down the hall or for Korra waking up. He may know he had good reasons for being a creep, but he really didn't want to explain to anyone else why he was watching the sleeping girls so intently.

One of the first things he noticed was how quiet she was. He figured that, being the loud and outspoken girl that she was in the day, that at night her snores would rattle the rooftops. But she didn't make a sound. She was so quiet. She didn't even move that much in her sleep. She was just still. For someone who had always been around snorers (his parents had both been, Bolin was definitely one, and he was told that he was too), it was a bit disconcerting. The first night he had guarded her he had an overwhelming desire to wake her up because she was so quiet. But as Master Katara had come in soon after that thought and he then remembered how much Korra hated being woken up, he had let her lie.

The second thing he noticed was that she didn't use a lot of blankets. He was aware that she was from the South Pole and all… but he couldn't figure out how she wasn't cold at all. He was freezing in her room, and she was barely using a sheet for warmth. As a firebender, he was aware that it was harder to be cold than others, but seriously, this was ridiculous. Her body had to have accustomed by now to the climate, she had to feel the cold like they all did.

The third thing was that Naga didn't sleep much when Korra was sleeping. He found that strangely touching and a bit annoying. He thought it was brilliant that she had this pet that was so loyal to her… but at the same time, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Naga did not think he was capable of protecting Korra.

And that was ridiculous. Because he was perfectly capable… he was more than capable of protecting her, he was willing to. Even without these shifts he would probably be over here, keeping an eye on things for her.

This led to the fourth thing. He found that he was starting to really want her. He had already classified his feelings as being definitely more than family love a long time ago. But his feelings were more than just wanting her… he wanted to be hers and for her to kiss him and hug him and…

He let his thoughts trail off and stared at the sleeping girl basking in the moonlight streaming through her window. He was deeply annoyed with himself. He had already had his hands full with Bolin getting in trouble, now he had to somehow protect a girl who didn't want, and to be honest, didn't really need all that much protection. Why couldn't he have just fallen in love with a nice florist?

He stops in his train of thought as he finally realized what his feelings were. They were love. He was in love with the Avatar of all people! He started to panic. He wanted to get up and leave, but he had to stay. Someone would chew him out for hours if he left.

He sat there, trying to understand when this had happened. He would've stayed in the same position for hours, simply trying to figure everything out, if Master Katara hadn't come in. She did her usual routine of checking on Korra and then asking him if anything had happened while she was sleeping. He said no and she started to wander out of the room.

But tonight wasn't entirely like other nights. Before she left he called out to her, "Master Katara?"

"I'm sorry, I do not answer to that name from those who were not my students."

Mako gathered himself and drew a deep breath, "Gran-Gran?" He was still deeply uncomfortable about calling a woman he met a weeks ago any variant of 'grandmother.'

She came back in with a grin, "Yes, Mako?"

"When you… when you met Avatar Aang… did you know you were going to marry him?"

Katara blinked a few times in confusion, and then she let out a long peal of laughter. "Oh, no, oh, no, no, no. It was a long time before I even considered him in that light… almost a year actually."

Mako nodded and noted this. He looked up and saw Katara grinning devilishly. "Why do you want to know?" she sweetly inquired.

Mako was flustered. "Oh, well, you know, I was just… wondering… because… of reasons."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "Right, reasons. Well, I guess that's as good as an answer as I'm going to get." She began to move away slowly.

"Wait, Ma—Gran Gran!"

Katara slithered back over, the grin still covering her face. "Yeees?" she asked slowly.

"How do you handle the Avatar?"

Katara sighed, the grin slipping off. She sat on the edge of Korra's bed, Korra did not wake up (he was convinced she could sleep through a circus). "Well, I can't rightly tell you."

Mako groaned quietly. Katara smiled. "Aang was a different person than Korra. He hated to fight. Seriously, getting him to fight in the war against Fire Lord Ozai took us so long. He was a calm boy and he knew more heartache than anyone should ever know." She paused and they both looked at Korra. "Korra couldn't be more his opposite. She's—"

"Violent, impulsive, loud, spoiled…" he interrupted.

Katara laughed quietly, "Well, yes. Those would describe her, wouldn't they?" They were silent for a moment. "But sometimes I do sense Aang when she's around. She wants to help so badly, and that's a drive I feel Aang had. And she's so loyal, like my husband." There was another pause. "I like to think those are traits all the Avatars had. Throughout my readings and travels, I've heard of different Avatars being described as different things, but never once have I heard them called unhelpful or disloyal."

Mako piped up after the last comment. "It's so weird sometimes, to think that she's the epicenter of balance in the world and that she's just one of a long line of Avatars."

"It's less odd to think of her as the bringer of balance to the world than Aang was. The first week we met, we went penguin sledding." She smiled at the memory. "And it is strange to think that she's had so many come before her and that she's part of some grand spirit…"

Mako and Katara talked for a while more about the Avatar in general and Korra. Then the sun began to rise and Katara left. She pat him on the head and told him that to love the Avatar was so dangerous, but oh so worth it and then was gone, leaving him alone once more with an overprotective polar bear dog and a still Avatar.

He looked outside and wondered when the lovebirds were going to show up and usher him out for their turn. For once he didn't really feel like going.

"Mako," came a raspy whisper from the bed.

"Yeah Korra?" he asked. He really hoped that she had just barely woken up. There wasn't a response though. He looked down and saw that she was still asleep. A small smile stole onto his lips as he realized that she had spoken in her sleep. The quiet sleeper had broken her silence to utter his name.