"I do not believe this…" Mako deadpanned as he and Alex walked into the restaurant known as Narook's Noodlery. Alex had consulted Mako about where Bolin might be, and after a short shouting match, the Firebender had relented and told Alex to call Narook's Noodlery, practically demanding to come along as Narook affirmed Bolin's presence there.

"How does someone get drunk on noodles?" Alex asked incredulously as he stared at the sight before him. Sight being Bolin, leaning his head on his arms at one of the tables, seemingly drunk off his ass, and about 15 empty noodle bowls in front of him.

"No use dwelling on it." Mako sighed as they approached the drunken Earthbender. "Hey, Bolin, wake up." He shook his brother gently.

"We need to get you home Bro." Alex added as Bolin looked up at them, sniffling, with dark black bags under his eyes.

"Don't call me that!" He slurred loudly, glaring at Alex. "You're not my brother! You're a brother betrayer!" He cried, pointing as accusatory finger at the Metalbender.

"Geez. What part of this situation made you think it was a good idea for me to talk things out with Korra now of all times?" Alex asked the older brother, making him sigh.

"Wait, you told him to do this!?" Bolin yelled at Mako, glaring.

"Bolin, I-"

"Traitors!" Bolin cried again. "Traitors everywhere! I can't trust anyone!" he threw his arms up in the air. "The only one I can trust anymore, is Pabu!" Bolin gestured to the Fire Ferret, who was lying back in one of the empty noodle bowls with an inflated stomach. "Pabu loves me…" he murmured.

"Is that how he got pregnant?" Alex asked dryly, looking at the rodents stomach.

"Alex!" Mako hissed before turning back to his brother. "Listen, you're a mess, and we've got the biggest match of our lives tonight. Let's go." He said firmly, grabbing Bolin's arm.

"No!" Bolin yelled, yanking his arm back. "I'm going anywhere with you traitors!" He growled, slumping back into the table. Mako and Alex shared a blank look before sharing a nod.

"Guess we're doing this the hard way." Alex stated, pulling his coat aside. Clipped to his belt was one of the earlier models of the Metalbender cables; the ones that were made before the gauntlets came along. He never leaves home without one of these, or his gauntlets. Using his Metalbending, he shot a cable at Bolin, wrapping it around his waist. "Let's go." he sighed, swinging the cable over his shoulder and walking away, dragging Bolin with him across the ground. Mako released a sigh of exasperation as he followed.

"Told you dating a teammate was a bad idea." he sighed in his little brother's direction.

"You're a bad idea!" Bolin shot back before turning his glare to Alex. "Let me go!" he cried, yanking at the cables, to no avail. Pabu saw his master leaving and crawled after him. Well, not so much crawled as used his tiny legs to drag his inflated body across the ground.


For the billionth time that night, Alex couldn't help but sigh. After Mako and Bolin went back to their waiting room a few hours after the noodle incident., Alex went back to the VIP room, where Asami was already sitting, a light smile on her face.

"I take it you fixed things with Mako?" The Metalbender asked, sitting next to the seemingly delighted girl.

"Yep~" Asami smiled brightly. It was then that Alex noticed a small mark on her neck.

"You don't think you're taking things a bit fast don't you?" He asked, pointing at her neck. "I mean, it's been like a month." he deadpanned. Asami's face lit up bright red as she realised what he was talking about.

"I-I-I-It's not like that!" She all but screeched in embarrassment. "W-w-w-we just got a little heated is all!" She said loudly, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh really? You think I don't notice you whispering things in Mako's ear that make him blush?" Alex teased, making Asami's face turn redder than is thought possible.

"A-a-a-anyway!" She stammered, changing the subject. "Did you fix things with Korra?" She asked.

"Well, yeah." Alex sighed again.

"And?" Asami raised an eyebrow.

"We kissed…"

"You did!?" She squealed.

"Bolin saw…" Asami's wide grin dropped as soon as it came. "And then he ran off to Narook's, where he binged on noodles." Alex sighed once more. "Mako and I had to drag him back here at the end of my cable."

"Is he ok?" The heiress asked in concern.

"Physically, he's fine. Might have stomach ache, but he'll be fine. Emotionally…" The Metalbender trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't know." He said finally. "Bolin's always been weak to women." He couldn't help the small smile of amusement that donned his lips at a couple of memories that came to mind. "Back in school, he would ask out a different girl every week. They'd shoot him down, he'd be depressed, and a few days later, he'd be pining after another girl." He remembered one of those girls actually slapped him when he got a little too flirty. "But that was back in school." the Detective finished, letting out another sigh.

"Well, he is a strong guy." Asami reminded him. "I'm sure he'll get over it. He doesn't seem like the kinda guy to hold a grudge for too long." She placed a comforting hand on Alex's shoulder. "And whilst he's no casanova, he's bound to realise that sooner or later, he'll meet the right girl." she added. Alex smiled softly at the little joke there, thankful for the comfort.

"Thanks Asami." He smiled gratefully. With that, they watched the game as it started.

It started out with the Ferret's opponents delivering a perfectly executed combo attack, sending all three Ferrets into an early trip to Zone 2. Mako was pushed into Zone 3 just seconds later. Whilst trying to defend from the attacks, Bolin got hit in the stomach by an earth disk, resulting in him literally losing his noodles. Using that as a distraction, the enemy Waterbender managed to throw Mako out of the field. Just barely managing to keep themselves in the field, Korra and Bolin were saved by the timer. Unfortunately, the first round still went to the enemy.

Round 2 started a little more evenly matched, until Mako was pushed into Zone 2 by an Earth disk, which disrupted his focus and caused him to throw a blast of fire at Bolin, who just barely got away unscathed. As Bolin yelled at his brother for hitting him, the enemy Waterbender took advantage and whipped Bolin into the water with a hard jet to the back. Korra, feeling a lot of frustration from the game's progress and all the drama with Alex, started mercilessly beating on the enemy Waterbender,earning herself a penalty, meaning she had to move back one Zone. Growling angrily, she sent a jet of water at the referee, who pegged her with a yellow flag, meaning that the Ferrets lost the Round.

With the opponents in the lead, the Ferrets could only win with a knockout. After failing to motivate her teammates, Korra and said brothers started the Round with their opponents. The enemy quickly knocked Bolin and Mako into Zone 2, the former taking a hard zinger to the shoulder. Since there was no foul play in the hit, the ref couldn't stop the match, so Bolin had to keep going. Crying out for his brother's safety, Mako was distracted enough to be tossed out of the ring, Bolin following. With them out of the game, victory rested in Korra's hands, and no way she going to let the Ferrets lose like this. Flawlessly, she dodged every attack coming her way. She was able to push the enemy Firebender into Zone 3, and then the Earthbender into Zone 2. With 10 seconds remaining, she pushed the enemy Waterbender to line up with his teammates, and shot a strong jet of water at him. The force of the jet pushed him into his teammates, and thus all three went for a swim; a maneuver known as 'The Big Kibosh' in the Probending world, and it score victory for the Ferrets.

Alex and Asami cheered loudly at their friends' victory. Sharing wide grins, they rushed out of the VIP room and straight towards the locker room. Still, the implications of actually going there started to sink in to Alex's mind, and his grin slowly dropped into a pained and regretful frown.


Alex and Asami quickly made their way to the locker room. As soon as they arrived, Alex stopped himself at the door, suddenly feeling nervous, while Asami jumped into Mako's arms and gave him a big kiss.

"Nicely done Champ." She said in a soft and slightly husky tone, sending a shiver down her boyfriend's back. "And you too Korra, I've never seen a hat trick like that." She smiled at the Avatar, who smiled back.

"Thanks, but, if it hadn't been for you and your father, we wouldn't even be in the game, so thank you." Korra responded.

"Hey, if the thank-yous are done, need some medical attention here!" Bolin piped up with a cringe of pain.

"Oh, let me help." Korra said, walking over to the bucket of warm water.

"Wait." Alex spoke up, approaching. "His shoulder is dislocated. You'll do more harm than good if you just heal him out of the blue without setting the bone." He warned before Korra could bend any water.

"Right." Korra nodded, scolding herself for forgetting such an important detail from her healing training. Alex put his hand on Bolin's shoulder and focussed some of his Bodybending technique into Bolin's arm. Finding the exact area that was dislocated, he placed both hands in the right areas and moved to create the illusion that he was setting the shoulder manually, when he was actually bending it into place. Never hurts being accurate.

"Gah! Haven't you hurt me enough you jackass?!" The younger Earthbender cried in pain.

"Don't be a baby." Mako rolled his eyes.

"Work your magic." Alex told Korra as he stepped back. Korra nodded and sat beside Bolin, applying some glowing water to his wound, easing the pain.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff." Bolin sighed in relief.

"Bolin, I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." The Avatar bowed her head in shame.

"Ah, I'll be ok." Bolin waved her off with a slightly wince of pain. His shoulder was still hurting somewhat. "But, we had fun, right?" he asked hopefully.

"I had a great time." Korra nodded, meaning every word. "You, Bolin, are one of a kind." She smiled at him.

"Please, go on, I enjoy praise." Bolin said in a jokingly sauve tone, making everyone laugh.

"I suppose I owe you an apology too Bolin." Alex spoke up. "I was stupid, and should have come clean sooner. Then maybe this whole mess wouldn't have happened." He bowed his head in shame.

"Bro, I said I'll be alright." Bolin responded with his usual grin. However, it soon turned into an uncharacteristically serious face. "But, I have to ask, why weren't you more forthcoming sooner?" He asked. Alex sighed, looking at the younger Earthbender. Mako, Korra and Asami were also looking at him expectantly. With another heavy sigh, he relented.

"So many reasons." He shook his head. "I guess one of the reasons is my relationship with my Mom." he told them. "Nothing I've ever done has made her proud, or even smile. If I can't have a good relationship with my Mom, how exactly am I supposed to make a girl happy?" He asked. "And then there's what happened between the three of us." he said to the two brothers, who winced. "I cut you guys off completely for doing what you needed to survive. How am I supposed to maintain a healthy relationship with a girl if I break things off because a small fight or argument?" He asked, making the brothers give him a look of understanding.

"Is that why…" Asami trailed off, earning a nod from Alex. Mako looked at them in confusion, but shrugged it off. If it was important, he'd find out eventually from one of them.

What the young heiress was referring to was the time she and Alex had first met. Asami had developed a little crush on the young Detective and had attempted to woo him. She was met with a blunt rejection, which hurt her a little, but she quickly got over it. As stated before, it was just a little crush. The Metalbender had told her that he was flattered, and that he did find her attractive, but he just wasn't looking for a relationship. Now, she could see that it was a lot deeper than that.

"Long story short, I was afraid I'd mess things up." Alex summarised, making everyone look at him in sympathy.

Clearly, the boy, no, man, in front of them has had a difficult life. So much so that he fears developing bonds. And Korra knew exactly where the situation begins; Lin Beifong. Korra felt her dislike of the crabby old lady grow some more. Not only had she neglected Alex's emotional needs from childhood, but he couldn't even bring himself to form a bond with anyone because of her.

Everyone was pulled out of their thoughts by a group of people entering the room, which happened to be none other than Tahno and the Wolfbats. Just the mere sight of him made Korra's blood boil. What she wouldn't give to get just one hit in on that jackass' smug face. Out of nowhere, said jackass started sniffing the air, his face curling in disgust.

"Ugh, you smell that boys?" He asked, waving a hand in front of his nose. "Yeah, that's the scent of losers." He sent a teasing smirk in Korra's direction, who was fuming with clenched fists.

"Probably because three of them just walked in." Alex chimed in before things got violent.

"Ah! Look who it is." Tahno grinned at the sight of the Metalbender. "Detective Beifong. How lovely to see you again." he greeted, his voice laced with malice behind his grin.

"I'd say the same, but I'd be lying." Alex glared. Tahno just chuckled in amusement and continued on towards the arena.

"Whatever you say Pal, whatever you say." The Waterbender smirked, putting his helmet on.

"That guy makes me so mad!" Korra screeched, kicking the wall.

"The feeling's mutual." Alex hissed, glaring at Tahno's retreating form.

"You know him?" Bolin asked in confusion.

"Yeah." Alex growled under his breath. "A year ago, he was involved in a drug deal that resulted in the death of a 15 year old kid. He refused to give the info we needed, so the killer walks free, due to lack of evidence." The Metalbender seethed. "And since we can't prove that Tahno knows something, we can't charge him for Withholding Evidence." Criminals who get away with their crimes enrage him to no end.

"Wait, Tahno's on drugs?" Bolin gasped.

"You'd have to take something to be that pale, especially for a Waterbender…" Asami mused out loud. She may be rather pale herself, but her skin shade was natural, given her habit of spending most of her time in her workshop.

"Scumbag." Korra spat.

"Look, we've all had a long day." Mako decided to speak up. "Bolin needs rest, Asami needs to get home, and you two need to sort out wherever 'this' is going." he gestured to Alex and Korra, who blushed faintly.

"He's right." The Detective sighed before turning his attention to Bolin. "You gonna be ok?" He asked, referring to both younger Earthbender's heart and shoulder.

"I'll be fine." Boling assured him. With a submissive sigh, Alex nodded. After giving Korra some time to get out of her uniform, the five friends went their separate ways; the brothers to their apartment, the heiress to her mansion, and the Avatar and Detective to Air Temple Island. Needless to say, that trip was long and awkwardly quiet one.


The day after the Pro-bending Semi-Finals, Alex found himself sitting on a bench on Air Temple Island, looking at the city on the other side of the water as he petted a lemur that lay on his lap. Republic City seemed so peaceful, and tranquil this distance, it was hard to remember why he had to do what he does. From this point of view, the need for Detectives and Law Enforcement… It all just seemed so redundant. Unfortunately, in the shadows, there was a world of crime flourishing. Murderers, drug dealers, rapists… Alex had even come across a front for human trafficking once.

And that is why he does what he does. Not just because he idolises his Grandmother, and yes, to some extent, his Mother as well, but because there aren't many others who would do it themselves. That in mind, he feels it's up to him to protect Republic City, his City. And if it means risking his life, or even taking another from time to time, so be it. Yes, he has taken a life before, several times.

He still remembers the sounds of his gauntlet blade slicing through a would-be rapists throat as he came at the Detective with a knife, the distinct crack of a drug dealer's neck being broken when the Detective pushed him a little harder than he thought, and the horrible screams of a murderer when Alex pushed her off of a building during their fight as she tried to get away. Those memories will haunt him forever…

And yet, looking at the City from his current position, you'd never guess any of it.

"Alex?" The familiar voice of a certain young Avatar called out to the Metalbender. He turned and saw Korra approaching, holding her arm as she walked, unable to look him in the eye. She had a nervous look on her face, and a faint blush of embarrassment and nervousness decorating her cheeks.

"Korra." Alex greeted with a small smile, gesturing to the spot next to him. Gingerly, the young Avatar took the seat, still struggling to look at the object of her affections.

Several moments of awkward silence passed before someone spoke. "Who's your friend?" Korra asked, gesturing to the lemur that lay on Alex's lap.

"His name is Jet." Alex smiled fondly at the animal. This particular lemur was rather unique in many regards, but the most obvious was the lack of any fur that wasn't coloured white. "He's a direct descendant of Momo, who travelled with Aang during the 100 war. He latched himself onto me several years ago, but never leaves the island." The Detective explained. "I named him after a man that Master Katara once told me of; her first love interest, who betrayed her trust. Eventually, he was able to earn her forgiveness, but lost his life in the process." He recalled the story as the elderly Waterbender told it. "Something about the story just clicked with me, and when I met this little guy, the name chose itself." He finished, stroking the lemur across its back.

"Master Katara told me that story too." Korra revealed. Alex didn't respond. Again, there was some awkward and painstaking silence. Neither of the teens knew what they should say. For an unknown number of minutes, not a sound could be heard. Until…

"I'm sorry!" The two of the burst out in perfect, and somewhat frightening unison. "Oh, I'm sorry, I…" They spoke in unison again, rubbing the backs of their heads. "You go first." Again, they spoke in unison. Looking at each other for a moment, their cheeks lightly pink, they shared a light laugh.

"You go first." Alex told her. With a small breath, Korra nodded.

"I'm sorry I went so overboard." She apologised. "Even with the way things turned out, I should have just accepted your response instead of trying to force everything to go my way." She sighed, leaning her arms on her knees. "It was very immature of me… and here I am, doing everything I can to convince Tenzin that I'm an adult." She grumbled before focussing back on Alex. "I'm sorry." She repeated.

With a smile, Alex nodded. "It's ok Korra. I owe you an apology too." He sighed. "I let my own fears and insecurities get in the way of what I wanted with, well... us." He said with a shake of his head. "I get that I hurt you. It would have been better for everyone, myself included, if I had been more forthcoming with my feelings. I'm sorry." He gave a slight bow of his head. Korra scooted up closer to him and smiled.

"It's ok." She smiled. For half a minute the two looked into each other's eyes, Korra into his deep emerald orbs and Alex into her lovely cerulean orbs. Jet, who had woken up at some point, let out a large stretch and sat up on Alex's lap. Giving a small chitter, he jumped off of the Detective's lap and flew off, presumably to find something to eat. "So… what happens now?" Korra asked softly.

"Well…" Alex trailed off slightly, a faint blush decorating his cheeks. "I'd really like to give this…" He gestured between the two of them. "A try." He confessed. Korra's face lit up like the southern lights.

"R-really?" She asked, her ecstatic tone straining through her barely straight face.

"Really." Alex nodded with a light laugh. Placing one of his hands over Korra's, the Detective placed his other hand under Korra chin and lifted her head up to look at him. Korra, in an uncharacteristically girly moment, felt her heart racing as he leaned in closer to each other.

A hair's width, just a hair's width away and they would have been kissing. Unfortunately…

"Shhh! They're gonna kiss!" A young, girly voice hissed.

"So romantic!" A younger, also girly voice sighed before they both went quiet.

Rather blushing in embarrassment, or burying their faces, or anything remotely resembling that kind of reaction, all Alex and Korra could manage to feel was exasperation and frustration. They didn't move an inch, but their expressions had turned from love-struck and excited, to deadpanned and exasperated.

"Would you like to or should I?" Alex asked bluntly.

"Please, be my guest." Korra sighed, leaning back and crossing her arms with a huff. "So close!" she raged in her mind as Alex stood up.

"Ikki! Jinora!" He yelled towards the bushes. The two eavesdroppers stiffened at being found out. "Get out of here before I tell your mother about the book you stole from the library!" He ordered, pointing at the Air Temple. With loud squeals, two orange blurs shot out of the bushes and flew towards the Air Temple. "And that takes care of that." The Metalbender said with a satisfied smirk.

"Book?" Korra asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Jinora got her hands on a book that she shared with Ikki. Let's just say that it wasn't exactly child-friendly." Alex grimaced, remembering one of the particularly steamy scenes of that book.

"This book wouldn't happen to involve a woman who rode a dragon into battle, burnt down an entire country, and jumped into volcano would it?" Korra asked with half-lidded eyes.

"Yes, exactly, why?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No reason!" The Avatar said quickly, recalling that particular conversation where the aforementioned book came up. Raising his eyebrow, he sat down, deciding not to press the issue. Suddenly, the air became rather thick between the two teens. "So…" He trailed off, looking away bashfully. "Shall we try that again?" He asked.

With a light snort, and blush to match Alex's, Korra nodded softly. "I'd like to, yes." She answered, scooting closer to him. Without bothering with cheek cupping, hand holding, or anything else that could delay them this time, the two teens leaned towards one another. Without any hesitation, their lips met in a wonderful kiss. Korra's lips were soft, and warm, almost heated in a way. Alex's were also soft, and a little cold in Korra's opinion, but she found that she liked it, immensely.

Their lips moved together in a steady tandem, dancing like a rehearsed ballet. Alex placed one hand on Korra's shoulder, and the other on her cheek, deepening the kiss, as Korra rested one of her hands on Alex's knee, and the other on his shoulder. A soft moan escaped her as Alex ran a hand through her soft, silky, dark brown hair. Something about the gesture just stirred something within her, and she like it, a lot. Separating, the new couple looked into each other's eyes, their faces flushed. They couldn't help but stare at each other, grinning like total maniacs.

"Wow…" Korra let out a dreamy sigh, in total bliss with the amazing kiss she just experienced.

"Wow indeed." Alex chuckled. The Detective was most definitely in agreement.

Both teens knew this was just the start of something amazing for both of them.


OK, I am aware that I said that this chapter would be out sooner. I was wrong. It was much harder to write than I had initially anticipated, but I got it done. That's really all that counts. It's not the longest chapter I ever wrote, I know that, but this where the story starts to pick up, so I'm fairly certain you can expect longer chapters from this point on.

Anywho, Alex and Korra are finally together! Who liked the fact that there was conflict between them before they actually got together? I figured it was a bit boring for them to just go on a date, kiss, and then become an official couple. That happens way too often in OCxKorra fics in my opinion. So I figured I should mix it up a bit. Who prefered that I did it this way?

Again, I'm totally open to suggestions and requests. Whether it relates to the plot, bending, character interactions, I'm all ears! Well, eyes, technically, but I digress. Don't hesitate to make requests and/or suggestions.

PLease Review!