A/N: For those of you wondering what Lu Ten looks like, I'll tell you right now:

He's 18, and taller than Bolin, but not as tall as Mako. So he's taller than the shrimp that is Korra, but it's not the same height difference between her and Mako.

His hair is black, and it's about as long as Zuko's is at the middle of season 3.

He's light skinned, (not labeling 'white' or any other color because I don't want anyone getting offended), and has the same golden eyes as any Firebender.

His face isn't round, but it isn't really pointed. His nose is cute, and his lips are kinda thin. But not weirdly thin.

He's easy going, and doesn't like to argue, but if you insult or offend someone close to him, he can get pretty angry.

When he first got to the city he wore his traditional Fire Nation Royal Prince outfit, but he's traded it for regular Fire Nation garb since his stay in the city became prolonged.

He won't wear his Fire Nation Prince topknot hair thingy because he doesn't want to be treated differently.

He used to travel with his mom when she first became Fire Lady, but since his stay at the Southern Water Tribe compound, he's stayed in the Fire Nation.

…Some of that wasn't physical stuff. Oh. Well. That's about it. If you have any more questions, just leave them in the comments!


"No way," Korra said, laughing as she shoved Lu Ten's shoulder. "I could still beat you in a spar."

The boy laughed, kicking his heels up to rest on a rock in front of him. "The last time we fought was back in the Southern Water Tribe. I've mastered Fire now."

"So have I."

"You may be the Avatar, but I'm definitely more skilled than you."

Korra rolled her eyes, throwing her arms behind her head as she leaned back against the rock. "You're forgetting one very important thing, Lu Ten." He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. "I'm the Avatar."

"Is that it?" he asked, trying to contain his laughter.

It was midmorning, and Korra had recently finished a session with Tenzin. It hadn't ended well, mostly because Korra had yelled about how useless Airbending was, and then she had stalked out of practice before it was over. Mako and Zuko had watched her leave curiously, while Tenzin just ignored it, used to her behavior.

Korra had stomped through the trees for a while until she found her friend leaning against the rocks. Wordlessly, she had joined him. And as she told him about the useless lessons, he had brought up her most embarrassing sparring moments.

Now, he just thought he could still beat her in a spar.

"What more do I need?" She retaliated, pouting a little. He laughed and ruffled her hair.

She huffed and punched him lightly in the arm, and he held up his hands in surrender. She smirked, feeling pretty smug about her abilities, when he shot a flame towards her face.

Korra gasped, scuttling backwards to get out of the way. "Fine. If that's the way you want it." She said, throwing a couple of punches towards her friend.

They were both on their feet now, throwing flames at each other. The small rocks made it difficult to keep their balance, but the grass was plentiful enough to get their footing back.

Lu Ten seemed to be getting an advantage when Korra wasn't able to do anything but defend for a few shots. He was getting closer to her, so Korra did the only thing that that seemed reasonable.

She used Earthbending.

Korra watched his feet as he advanced towards her. She defended his attacks, but her mind was too busy strategizing to fire anything back at him. He didn't notice, a cocky grin stretched across his face as he gained more ground. Finally, his foot was lowering to a rock, and Korra waited until the second his foot would make contact. When it did, she flicked her wrist, sending Lu Ten's foot out from under him.

Lu Ten's eyes widened in recognition as he started to stumble. He grabbed onto Korra's arms to try and regain his balance, but she wasn't ready for it, and he started to bring him down with her.

He fell onto his back, letting out a quiet cry of pain. Korra landed on her butt next to him, rubbing her arms where his fingers had dug in while he was trying to steady himself.

She sat there, unsure of what to say; especially since it was her fault he had fallen, until his eyelids lifted and his golden eyes met her blue ones.

Korra frowned, biting her lip. There was no anger in Lu Ten's eyes, and Korra couldn't understand why. "You're not mad?" she asked, "But I cheated, and I hurt you."

Suddenly he laughed, the loud, booming sound echoing around the trees. "Oh, come on, Korra. Like I couldn't expect you to cheat? You're you." He propped himself up on his elbows. "And you didn't hurt me, it was this small pebble I fell on," he said, shaking his head.

Relief flooded Korra's expression. She had been worried that he would be angry with her. Sure they had given each other scratches and bruises when they had sparred, but that had been three years ago. Korra knew him better now, and she knew that she never wanted to hurt him unintentionally.

"That's a relief," she replied, matching Lu Ten's grin.

He turned to his side, his back facing her as he started to get up. "I don't know why you were so worried, Avatar. It's not like you haven't bruised me before."

But Korra couldn't focus on his words. His red tunic had ripped slightly where the rock had cut into the fabric, and she could barely make out some sort of scar, or scrape or something.

The Avatar stood at the same time that he finally did, pouting as he met her eyes.

"What?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Korra stepped deliberately up to him, grabbing the bottom of his shirt. She started trying to get it off, and Lu Ten laughed. "Korra, I thought you didn't like me like that." He winked down at her, but his expression grew serious at the sight of her glare.

"Korra, what's wrong?" she didn't answer him; instead she pulled his shirt over his head, and then walked behind him to look at his back.

What she saw made her gasp. There was a bright scar under Lu Ten's right shoulder blade. It looked almost like a Spider Rat web, but it had a distinct shape that Korra recognized from the pictures during her training. It couldn't have been any larger than the size of her palm.

She rested her hand on it lightly, and she heard Lu Ten sigh with recognition. "What happened to you?" she asked, and he turned around to face her.

Lu Ten laughed nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. "My first Firebending master got angry with me when I couldn't make my own lightening right away, so he fired some at me when I wasn't looking. I think he was hoping I would redirect it under pressure. Damn near killed me, though. Father banished him, and spent weeks searching for a new master. My mother had tried to prevent me from learning anymore, but I was already sixteen. I was already close to being a master." He shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal, Korra."

Korra frowned at him. "Didn't Zuko teach you how to redirect lightening?"

"Yeah, but when you're shot at from behind, without any knowledge of it, it's pretty hard to redirect that lightening. I can redirect it now, but I still haven's managed to make my own." He touched her chin, bringing her face up until her gaze met his. "I'm fine Korra, it didn't kill me."

"It could have," she muttered, scowling.

Lu Ten pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her. Korra was hyperaware of his bare chest, but at that moment she didn't care. She had no idea she almost lost him after he left the South Pole.

She might never have known.

"Grandson, I know you're out there! Just because I'm training the Firebender doesn't mean you don't need to brush up on your skills!"

Lu Ten cringed. "That means I'm late. See you around, Avatar." He grabbed his tunic from her hands and turned to run back to the training grounds, but stopped and looked back at Korra. He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, smiling at her before taking off through the trees.

Korra rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile from her face.

She still wasn't completely over Mako, and seeing all of his PDA's with Asami sure wasn't helping her heart heal, but spending time with Lu Ten was effortless. Sure, she and Mako could get along really well when no one else was around, but she and Lu Ten would make jokes and play around- even in public.

The young girl sighed. Why couldn't she be stronger? If she could only manage her feelings without dragging people down with her, then things for everyone would be so much better.

Korra found herself back in her bedroom, suddenly extremely tired after her morning session with Tenzin. She kicked off her boots, and pulled her hair bands out after pulling off her tank top. She fell on her back onto her bed, and sleep overcame her easily.

She was going to miss her afternoon session, but right now a nap was a lot more enticing.


"Korra, can you come to the dock for a moment?" Korra groaned and turned over on her bed when she heard Pema's voice through her door.

"I'll be out in a minute," she yelled back groggily.

Korra rolled out of bed a minute later and put her clothes on. She pulled her hair back and stepped out of her room towards the dock. Pema and Tenzin were standing at the edge, and the Airbabies were standing at their feet.

It was dark now, and Korra quickly realized she must have slept through dinner. Tenzin glared at her, and she smiled back tentatively. She missed two sessions.

Korra rubbed her eyes again before realizing that everyone was out on the docks, even Oogie. "What's going on?"

"We're going into the city, can you babysit the children?" Pema asked, putting a sleeping Meelo into her arms.

Korra quickly tried to adjust her arms, "Wait, but whose going?"

"Everyone except Mako." Tenzin said. "And you."

Korra groaned as Jinora and Ikki attached themselves to her legs. "Is this because I missed those sessions?"

"Maybe."

Everyone loaded himself or herself onto Oogie's saddle, and Bolin seemed a whole lot more excited than everyone else. "Why isn't Mako going?" Korra yelled up to the group.

Asami shrugged lightly. "He said he was tired after all of his training. You know, the three sessions?" She laughed at the Avatar's expense.

Korra pouted. "What am I supposed to do with these guys?"

"Just make sure they get to bed before too late. Oh, and Meelo needs a bath!" Pema called back as Oogie took off towards Republic City. Korra could hear Lu Ten laughing for a good minute.

Korra sighed, but put Meelo down when he started screaming in her ear. "I have an idea," she said, bending down to kneel in front of the children. "Why don't we go bother Mako?" Ikki's eyes lit up, and she took Korra's hand to lead her back to the Temple.

They found Mako in his room in the boy's dormitories. He was leaning on his bed, his right arm behind his head, the other leaning on a pillow. It was wrapped with gauze around the bicep.

"Ikki wait!" Korra called, causing Mako's eyes to shoot open. But the young Airbender didn't listen, and instead she shot herself onto Mako's bed.

Mako groaned in pain with the sudden jostling of his bed, but he hid it with a smile directed towards the girl.

Ikki immediately started rattling off her questions, "Mako, why didn't you go to the city? Were you not invited? Are you hurt? Were you training this morning? Can we play with Pabu? Where's Naga? Why are you glaring at me? Ah!"

Ikki's words quickly died off as Mako grabbed her around the waist and started to tickle her. "Mako! Stop it!" Ikki laughed, squirming in his arms.

She finally managed to worm her way out of his grasp, and quickly ran behind Korra's legs. "Korra," she whined, "Mako tickled me!"

"I saw that."

Mako groaned clutching at his arm as he sat up. "What's going on?"

Korra sighed. "Everyone left for the city. I'm on babysitting duty."

He raised an eyebrow, standing slowly. It was then that Korra realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. She bit her lip, trying her hardest to keep a blush from spreading to her cheeks. "So why are you unleashing them on me?"

"If I'm on babysitting duty, so are you."

He laughed, and quickly wrestled his shirt from Meelo's grasp. The male Airbender pouted, and Mako swung him up to sit on his shoulders. "Where'd Jinora go?" he asked.

Korra shrugged. "Probably to read somewhere." She turned around, nearly kicking Ikki over in the process.

"Korra!" She whined. "I want Lychee Juice!"

"Didn't you have some with dinner?" Korra asked, since it was usually the only thing the girl drank.

Ikki pulled on Korra's hand, dragging her through the hallways. "But I want more!" she yelled as they entered the kitchen.

Korra grabbed a glass and poured some juice in it, handing it to the young girl. Jinora walked into the room, took one look at the group, and walked right back out.

Mako tapped her shoulder, but immediately put his hand out to catch Meelo before he fell. "Isn't she only allowed one glass a day?"

Korra scoffed. "How much trouble could one more glass be? No, Ikki, stop it!" Korra grabbed the girl's arm, taking the carton of Lychee Juice from her other hand. "You can't drink from the carton!"

Ikki pouted. "You're no fun!"

Mako laughed from behind her. She turned around to glare at him, and he tried to hide it as a cough.

"Ikki, you know the rules. I already let you have too much with that second glass." Pabu ran through the kitchen just as the young girl opened her mouth to speak.

But the Fire Ferret was too much of a distraction, and Ikki squealed as she chased the creature from the room.

Korra started looking through the kitchen for the leftovers from dinner. When she finally found them, she started eating happily, not bothering to fix herself a plate. Mako raised his eyebrows at her, but smiled while Meelo continued to yell about something.

"I could heal your arm, you know." Korra said after she had put all of the food away.

He shrugged, trying to hide his bad arm behind his back while trying to keep a steady hold on Meelo at the same time. "It's not that bad, Korra."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and was about to tell him to stop trying to be inhumanly strong, but Meelo interrupted her.

"Momma said I need a bath!" he yelled, seeming too happy for a young boy who needed to bathe.

"I think that's your job." Mako said, handing Korra the child.

She pouted. "No way you're getting out of this, cool guy."

"I'm not even supposed to be babysitting!"

Korra shrugged. "That's too bad." She put Meelo on the ground, knowing the boy would jump right back to Mako. Meelo attached himself to the older boy's leg.

Mako sighed, "Fine."

They made their way to the bathroom, and Korra turned on the tap to start filling the tub. Mako was wrestling Meelo on the counter to try to get him out of the dirty clothes. "Hold still you midget!" He cried in exasperation, sighing as Meelo just laughed.

"Here, give him to me." Korra said, taking the boy from Mako's hands. She tickled his bare stomach for a moment, and when he was distracted, she dunked him into the bathtub.

"Hey! You cheated!" Meelo said, shaking out his hair.

"I don't remember you laying out any rules." Korra said, laughing as she started to wash his hair.

He kept trying to squirm out of her hands, but she managed to wash him down pretty quickly. She finally used the tap to rinse him off before pulling him out of the tub. He shook his hair out again, and she wrapped him in a towel.

"What?" Korra asked, picking up Meelo and meeting Mako's glance.

The Firebender was leaning against the door, his arms crossed with a small smile on his face. "I didn't know you were so good with kids."

"Don't try to sweet talk me," Korra said, laughing. "You didn't even help."

"I kept him in the room."

"Great, now if only you did something helpful."

Mako pouted, and Korra laughed as she put down the Airbender. "Alright I'm sorry. Thanks so much for your nonexistent help, Mako."

He rolled his eyes and held his hand out towards the boy. "Come on, Meelo. Let's get you dressed."

"No way!" Meelo shouted, and he ran through Mako's legs, pulled the door open, and took off down the hallway. "I'm free!"

"Meelo!" Korra shouted, brushing past Mako to the hall. She nearly tripped on something, and she realized that it was Meelo's towel. "Great," she groaned, turning around to face Mako, who had come out of the bathroom after her. "Now he's running naked around the Temple."

"The Acolytes are going to love that." Mako said, and Korra glared at him.

"Come on!" she urged, grabbing at his hand. "We need to find him."

"I'll go this way," Mako said, pointing behind him. "And you go that way." And with that, he took his hand from hers and walked away.

Korra cupped her hands around her mouth, "That doesn't look very urgent!" He raised his hand back at her as he rounded the corner. Korra picked up the towel at her feet and started running through the hall.

"Meelo!" she called out, glancing around each of the corners she passed. "Jinora, have you seen your brother?" Korra asked, passing the training grounds. The girl shook her head, never lifting her eyes from her book, and Korra continued to run through the grounds.

Korra came back to the house, running into the kitchen. "Ikki! Have you seen Meelo?" Korra rubbed the back of her neck when she realized that Ikki was asleep on the kitchen table. "Guess not."

"Hey, come here you!" Korra heard Mako shout from somewhere close by.

"Mako!" Korra ran through the kitchen door towards the yelling she heard. She found Mako chasing Meelo around a couch in the living room, trying to gain an advantage on the young boy.

Meelo hadn't noticed her yet, so Korra waited in the doorway. Meelo made a sharp turn and started running towards the door, and Korra tackled him to the ground, making sure not to crush him. Unfortunately Mako had also tried to tackle him, and he ended up slamming the shoulder of his bad arm into her forearm, and landed on his back beside her.

Korra quickly wrapped the Airbender in his towel before turning her head to the side. Mako was close, like really close. He hadn't moved after he had fallen, although his hand was clutching at his bad arm, and when he turned his heat towards her, their faces were really close.

His golden eyes seemed to search her blue ones, as if he were trying to find the answer to something in them.

His gaze was too intense. It caused her cheeks to flush and made her remember her morning with Lu Ten. She looked away and stood up, tucking Meelo's towel around his waist a little more securely.

"No fair!" Meelo yelled, breaking the tension as he squirmed in her arms.

Mako stood from the ground, and tried to hide his groan of pain while he took the writhing Meelo from her. "Thanks."

"I had no idea you were so bad with kids," Korra said, crossing her arms over her chest, and smiling broadly.

He glared at her, but quickly smiled instead. "I'm not. Meelo's just a devil child."

"Whatever." She paused for a moment, watching as he cringed when Meelo's weight shifted to his bad arm. "Mako, I can help you with your pain. Zuko trained me, too, you know. You don't have to suffer all by yourself." Korra said, resting her hand on the gauze. He hissed in pain, and recoiled slightly, causing her to drop her hand.

He dropped her gaze and murmured, "No, thanks."

"Does Asami know?"

Mako sighed. "No. If she saw this, she probably wouldn't want me to train anymore." He scoffed slightly, and Korra was surprised to see anger in his eyes. "Even though she trains all of the time."

Korra put a hand on his shoulder, "Mako, is something going on between you and Asami?"

His eyes widened in shock, all evidence of anger removed from their depths. "What gave you that idea?"

"Nevermind. Forget I said anything, okay?" Mako still looked confused, but he nodded.

"Korra?" Ikki walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes. "What happened?"

Korra picked her up before bringing her to sit in front of one of the couches. "Nothing, your brother was just being annoying." Ikki laughed as she leaned against the couch. Korra sat next to her, putting her arm behind Ikki's head.

Mako sat down on Ikki's other side, Meelo still in his arms. It looked like the young boy had tired himself out running around the house.

"I was serious, though, back there in the bathroom." Mako said after a minute. Pabu scurried into the room, running up Mako's arm before settling himself around the boy's neck.

"About what?" Korra asked, smiling as Ikki leaned her head against her shoulder.

"You are really good with kids. Before that, I had only seen you running after the kids when they made fun of you." He smiled slightly at her. "That was a whole new side of you."

Korra laughed, brushing a few strands of hair from Ikki's face. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Mako? Korra? Are you guys in here?" Jinora poked her head out from behind the door, and when she saw that everyone was in the room, she sat down on the couch they were sitting in front of.

Meelo started to snore lightly, his head lolling back in Mako's arms. Korra gaped at the scene.

"How'd you do that?" she asked in wonder.

Mako raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Do what?"

"He never falls asleep that easily. Well, except in meditation."

Mako smiled a little, looking down at Meelo's sleeping form. "I guess I'm not that bad with kids after all."

Ikki kicked her legs out between Mako and Korra's and rested her head on her hands in Korra's lap. Korra played with the young girl's hair, smiling as she heard Ikki's breathing slow down.

"I don't know what they did today to make themselves so tired, but I'm not complaining." Korra said, chuckling to herself. "I bet you're happy, huh Jinora?" but the eldest Airbender didn't reply. Korra turned her head to look at the girl, and found her asleep, sprawled out on the couch.

Mako shook his head, a smile ever present on his face. "I wouldn't know either. I was training all day," he sent her a knowing look, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "But this was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"Are you complaining?"

"No." Mako said immediately, "I'm just saying, that the worst we had to deal with was Ikki chasing Pabu, and Meelo running around naked. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful night."

Korra smiled with him, "If I had known they were going to fall asleep this easily, I would have turned on the radio for us." He chuckled with her for a moment.

Companionable silence enveloped the group, but Korra wanted to ask the Firebender something. It had been on her mind since she had heard the report about the Arena's reconstruction.

"Mako, are you going to move back to the arena when the construction is done?" Korra asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?"

Korra took a deep breath the calm her nerves. "I said-"

"No, no I heard what you said. Why are you asking me that?"

She sighed, looking at a piece of fuzz on the carpet to avoid his eyes. "I heard a report about the Arena, and I couldn't help but wonder what you and Bolin were going to do."

"Korra, you don't have to worry about that. The Arena won't be finished for months. We can work it out when the time comes closer." Mako said, and she finally met his gaze.

"That doesn't answer my question."

Mako sighed, silent for a moment. "I don't know, okay? The Arena was our home for almost a year, the longest since our time in the streets. And I don't want to intrude on Tenzin and Pema any more than is necessary."

Korra thought about that for a moment before saying. "What about Asami?"

"I can't control where she lives," he said, shrugging around Meelo. "She's got the finances to stay wherever she wants. I couldn't force her to live with me at the Arena."

Korra opened her mouth to ask if he even wanted to leave the island, but Mako interrupted her. "How about we deal with living arrangements when it's absolutely dire. Deal? I'm not leaving you, Korra."

"Deal," Korra said, yawning as she tried to ignore the warmth that spread through her.

She heard Mako laugh, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "How can you still be tired after sleeping all day?"

"How can you not be tired after training all day?" Korra asked, ignoring his question.

He shrugged, smiling at her. "I guess being the Avatar is just too much to handle. Sleeping all the time, and then taking care of some children. Draining."

Korra smiled a little, leaning her head on his shoulder after punching him in his good shoulder. "I guess you're right." She said, closing her eyes.


"Mako?"

"Korra?"

The Avatar's eyes shot open, and she was about to jump into a fighting stance when she remembered Ikki on her lap.

"Who's there?" she called out groggily.

Asami's soft laughter filled the room. "It's just us."

"Yeah, Avatar, don't forget your friends so quickly." Lu Ten's voice said.

"Oh, goodness what happened here?" She heard Pema ask.

Korra pulled Ikki into her arms, and saw Mako handing the still towel-clad Meelo over to Pema. "Just babysitting. What time is it?" he asked lazily.

"Late." Pema replied. "You should get some sleep. Go to bed." She turned to face Asami, Bolin, and Lu Ten. "All of you."

Tenzin picked up Ikki and Jinora, and he and his wife exited through the opposite doorway.

"Bro, I gotta talk to you," Bolin said hurriedly, pulling Mako to his feet and dragging him to the door.

"Good night, Asami." Mako said as they reached her. She pulled him in for a quick kiss, returning the phrase before leaving the room.

Lu Ten smirked at Korra. "Good night, sweetheart." He drawled in an overdramatic voice, leaning down to place a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Ew, Lu Ten!" Korra laughed, pushing him away from her. "You know I hate gooey stuff."

"Exactly," he said, winking at her. His laughter could still be heard through the door when he left for the kitchen.

Bolin tugged on his brother's arm again. "Bro, this is important! Night Korra!"

"Wait, can I hear what's going on?" Korra asked. They were best friends, after all.

Mako shook his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "No. Brother stuff."

"That's not fair!" Korra cried, crossing her arms as she pouted.

Mako shrugged, "Get over it."

Korra glared at him. "What's your problem?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. Bolin looked worriedly back and forth between the two of them. He looked nervous, as if the news he had was urgent, or he was afraid of the tension between the two teens.

"I don't have a problem."

Korra threw her hands up, pointing a finger to his chest. "Anytime Lu Ten comes near me, you look like you're ready to rip his head off. Then you see him kiss me, something that could be completely friendly, and you're suddenly cold to me again." Korra crossed her arms, suddenly exhausted. "I'm just tired of it."

Mako's expression softened. "Korra, I-"

"Mako, I don't have time to wait on this, you can deal with your problems later." Bolin grabbed at his brother's good arm, dragging him through the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Mako mouthed as his face disappeared into the kitchen. Korra didn't know if he was apologizing for how cold he had been a few minutes before, or for how Bolin was interrupting them, but Korra knew that she would accept the apology no matter what.


Korra snuck down the hallway of the boy's dormitory. There was no way she wasn't hearing this news that Bolin so anxiously needed to tell.

She got to the door of Bolin's bedroom, where she heard the brother's voices coming from. She crouched down to look through the tiny keyhole. She could see Bolin sitting on his bed, and through her peripheral vision she could see Mako leaning against the wall at the base of the bed.

"…How's your leg?"

"Fine, Mako."

"Is it healing alright?"

"Perfectly. Look Mako, I really need to tell you that-"

"How was your date?"

Korra knew he was giving his brother a cocky, knowing smile, but she couldn't see it.

Bolin stuttered, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Mako laughed, and for a moment, Korra envied the scene she saw before her. They had such an easy relationship. No matter what, they were brothers, and even though she screwed things up, they would always understand each other.

"Come on, bro." Mako said, crossing his arms. "You chased that Ainya girl after she left. Don't pretend like we all didn't see it."

Bolin looked defeated, but his face quickly broke into a smile. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Mako shook his head. "No, but I'm pretty sure anyone who went to the city with you caught on."

There was a slight pause before Bolin said, "You didn't tell Korra?"

The Avatar stiffened. She should leave. These were Bolin's feelings, and she didn't want to hurt him any more than she already had. But the promise of urgent news was enough to keep Korra posted outside the door.

"Not my place to tell her, Bo." Bolin nodded, and Korra watched as a serious expression replaced his goofy grin. "What did you need to tell me?"

"Ainya and I went to a fountain at the end of the date, you know, to look at the sky and stuff." He coughed for a moment, as if he were embarrassed, but when he didn't meet any resistance from his brother, he continued, "Anyway, I heard some guys behind us in some alley. Normally I would have ignored it, but they mentioned you."

"Me?" Mako asked.

Bolin nodded. "Yeah, so I turned my head to try to see if I knew them. I couldn't recognize their faces, but the clothing looked really similar."

Mako's arms tensed slightly. "What do you mean by similar?"

"They looked like the civilian disguises the Triple Threats have." Bolin nodded to his brother. "You know, the clothes you had to wear when you went on street missions." Mako nodded in understanding.

Street missions? What else didn't she know about their past?

"And they were mentioning me?"

Bolin didn't speak for a minute, but his face was scrunched with concentration, as if he was trying to find the right words. "They said your name a lot, and then one of them said, 'Boss says he knows too much, says it's time to end his knowledge.' What do you think that means?"

Mako had completely stiffened in Korra's peripherals. He didn't say anything for what felt like forever.

Finally, he broke the silence with a laugh. It was cold, and void of any emotion, but Bolin didn't seem to notice. "Probably just the guys who I always beat when we would have competitions to con people in the streets. I'm sure it's nothing, bro."

Bolin nodded, a look of relief washing onto his face. "Good. We always were the best conmen."

"That's for sure. Goodnight, Bolin."

"Night, Mako."

Mako walked to the door, and Korra scrambled back to hide in the shadows of the corridor. The Firebender walked out of his brother's room, turning towards his own. Korra expected him to open the door and turn inside, but Mako looked up and down the hallway before he walked right past his door.

Korra gasped, but began to follow him soundlessly as he walked out of the Temple and to the docks. She watched from behind a tree as he leaned down to start undoing the rope that kept the small boat tethered to the wood.

Finding a small bit of courage, Korra walked to the beginning of the dock, and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Mako. What are you doing?"

He froze, letting the rope drop as he stood up straight. His hands fell into his pockets, and he sighed. "Korra. Why am I not surprised that you're here?"


A/N #2: Whoops, this ended up about twice as long as it should have been, but i just had a lot of stuff that i wanted to write(:

Anyway, i apologize for my prolonged absence. I was at volleyball camp for 9 days, and when i got back a few days ago, i was too tired to think through the plot. But my mind finally decided on what it wanted in this chapter, and I finally had time to write it.

So ^^ there it is. Review? Let me know what you think. What's going on between Mako and the Triple Threats...? o.O ;D