I don't own any of the characters in the following chapter. I only own my words and interpretations. I hope you enjoy this chapter (admittedly its a short one but a necessary one).

Chapter 10: Accepting the Hard Truth

What have I done… thought Mako as he stared into the mirror. His haunted face reflected back at him showing bloodshot eyes and a pale and gaunt face he hardly recognized. His hair was a matted mess and his face bore the slight shadow of stubble. His thoughts flashed back to just a few hours ago: Korra's confession, Asami's confirmation, his reaction.

His reaction disgusted him. He had sworn, both to himself and to Korra at the wedding reception, that he would always have her back. The fact that it had only taken two months and two sentences for him to break his vow disgusted him. Mako felt a painful wave of nausea return. He forced down the burning sensation of acid in his throat with all the willpower he could muster. His knuckles turned white to match his effort. When the acid receded he relaxed but only enough to let the blood rush back to his hands.

He stumbled over to the door of the bathroom and opened it. Korra stood right outside, her hand raised as if she was about to knock on the door that now stood wide open. Mako bleached white and slammed the door shut. He couldn't face her, not now, he didn't know if he ever could.

"MAKO!"

He slumped to the floor, the wave of nausea returning in full force. Through the acid he croaked, "How did you get in?"

"Bolin let me in, he has a key."

Mako thumped his head on the door. The sound was muffled to him but the ache on his head told him he had hit it much harder than the sound would have indicated.

"What do you want Korra?" A bitter flavor now pervaded his entire mouth. His tongue felt as though it was on fire and each word that came from it was just one more nail in his proverbial coffin.

"I want to talk."

"Does Asami know about this?" It had only been a few hours since they had part ways… rather since he had stormed off in cloud of unresolved feelings and emotions.

"Does that matter? And no she doesn't. I snuck out after she had fallen asleep."

Mako felt a light thump and heard a soft hiss come through the door as Korra leaned against and slid down the door. The thin barrier of wood was all that separated them and yet it felt like it was a thousand miles thick.

"Fine. Talk."

"Are you okay?"

"What kind of question is that?" spat Mako, the words coming out harsher than he intended.

"The only kind worth asking at this point." Korra's words were soft and even, there wasn't a hint of anger at all, only a slight tinge of sadness."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I shouldn't have sprung this on you. I thought that maybe being in the company of friends would help." Mako heard a sigh through the door. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."

Why was she apologizing? She had done nothing wrong. Sure she broke my heart but that was seriously one sided, she couldn't possibly have known.

Mako tapped the back of his head against the door a few times.

Part of me wants to be glad she's happy but part of me wants her back. Her heart belongs to another now. Would it be right for me to take that away? Would it be right for me to interfere with her happiness for the sake of my own?

"You have nothing to be sorry for." The words drifted out of Mako's mouth before he could think. Clearly his unconscious thoughts were better attuned for these things than the mess that was his conscious thoughts.

"Can I ask why you stormed out like that?"

"It's… It's probably because I'm still in love with you," admitted Mako. Suddenly the suffocating weight on his chest lifted slightly as though someone had removed a heavy stone from above his lungs letting him breathe just a little.

"Mako… I… I didn't know."

"You couldn't have. I wasn't sure of my feelings either. I had no idea that you and Asami had gotten so close. The two of you hated each other when you first met."

"We became friends."

"I saw that. And I thought that was wonderful. I thought you were finally branching out and becoming friends with more than just Bolin and me. I just never thought…"

"I would pick her over you?"

"Yeah…" The word stuck to his mouth like a sticky poisonous tar.

A silence enveloped the two of them as they both struggled to find the proper words.

"So what now?" said Korra, breaking the silence.

"I don't know…," admitted Mako, "None of this is making any sense in my head. At first I thought it was because you were both women that I was so hurt and angry. But when I look back on it now, it's clear that that wasn't the case at all. It was just me being an idiot—,"

"Don't say that!" snapped Korra.

"Say what?"

"Say that you're an idiot." Her voice shook with a genuine anger that Mako could not recall having heard in his life.

"But it's—,"

"I'm warning you Mako, say it again and I will break down this door and beat you senseless with the splinters." Mako suddenly became aware just how terrifying Korra could be at a moment's notice.

"Why do you care what I have to say about myself?" he retorted.

"Because I still care about you! I may not love you like I did when we were dating, but I still do love you. You're still my best friend regardless of what you may want to believe. I can't simply stand by and watch as you spiral into a pit of despair."

"But that is exactly what I did to you when you were hurt! At the time I thought you just needed time to figure things out for yourself. I was wrong, I abandoned you. So tell me, how can I let you be there for me when I wasn't willing to be there for you? You of all people know what I'm like. I'm brash, abrasive, distant, uncaring, and I don't change easily."

"You're also kind, impossibly caring, honorable, courageous, and strong enough to pull yourself out of any hole you may find yourself in."

"So let me get myself out of this one!"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I learned something when I was recovering in the South Pole, I learned that it takes great strength and will to pull yourself out of the hole you're in but it takes more strength to let those around you take some of the weight and help you out."

The wisdom in her words struck true. Mako was floored. How was it possible that Korra had grown so much in the last three years and he was still stuck in his old ways? It seemed as though everyone had moved on leaving him in the dust. So what did he do when he was faced with change? He retreated, he turned away, and he refused.

The realization that he had not changed ripped at his soul. Mako had found a sort of complacency in his life and whenever something challenged his hard established prejudices and beliefs he turned away choosing to ignore the problems rather than face them head on.

Bolin, who had once depended on him entirely, was no longer in need of his guidance. He had staked a claim on life that he was happy with. Mako realized that he may have accepted his on the surface he was anything but accepting in reality. When Bolin had left to help the world, Mako had picked up a surrogate little brother that needed guidance, Prince Wu. And now even Prince Wu was beginning to take control of his own life.

His shock and anger that Korra was dating Asami was, when taken in this new light, nothing new. He had not accepted the changes that had taken place in Korra. Instead he had chosen to ignore them and to believe they were temporary. He fixed an image of her in his mind that was unchanging as a statue. In doing so he had only set himself up to be hurt worse and to hurt those around him.

He was exhausted and worn out. His fight with change was anything but useful. It had only served to make him hurt the ones that he cared about. He knew now that he loved Korra, but not in the way that Korra loved Asami or Bolin loved Opal. His love was not one that was shared between couples but one that was shared between friends and family. His reluctance to accept the changes in those around him had only led to suffering on both ends. It had to stop. If he couldn't accept the changes around him he might as well find a museum and lock himself in with the rest of the creatures that went extinct.

Mako pushed himself to his feet. His legs felt weak and his head felt heavy on his neck. His arms were sore and his chest ached as though someone had cut into him and had ripped something out. And yet through all the discomfort he felt that he could breathe. Each breath nourished him like the ones taken by a drowning man upon reaching the surface. He felt the psychological chains he had established loosen. Some of them slid off but many would remain for his entire life. He would just have to not trip.

He faced the door leading out of the bathroom and grabbed the handle half expecting it to burn him. When it didn't he pulled open the door. He saw that it was not just Korra on the other side but also Asami, Bolin, and even Opal. All of them smiled warmly as they surrounded him in a tight embrace. He felt the warmth and care of their embrace and felt disgustingly dirty and guilty. How had he been so fortunate as to come across friends who he considered family so accepting that they could even accept him in all of his faults and unwillingness to change?

He felt his throat unstick as he croaked, "Will you forgive me?" It wasn't directed any anyone but his eyes met with Korra's and Asami's. The two women smiled wider than ever.

"Always," Korra and Asami replied.

"You lied to me," groused Mako indignantly as he nursed the drink in his hand. The small porcelain cup was filled with a faintly green and cloudy liquid. A larger jug matching the cup stood on the table glistening with condensation.

"Well yeah, how else was I supposed to get you to talk?" admitted Korra with a sip of steaming tea from her cup. "It's hard enough to get you to say anything much less spill your soul. Besides, if you had KNOWN Asami and the rest were there you'd probably have clammed up and we would never have gotten anywhere."

Mako frowned because he knew it was true.

The five of them sat in a dimly lit bar that was on the verge of closing. The establishment was mostly empty by this point but several patrons were happily, or in some cases sadly, drunk and they wobbled uncertainly with each step they took. The barkeep eyed each individual warily as they exited his little slice of heaven. With a few quick gestures a number of grim looking individuals got up and left supposedly tailing the drunken individuals to make sure they got home safely.

Bolin and Opal were both nodding slightly in their little corner of the booth. Opal was flushed rather red but happily nestled up against Bolin who was doing his best not to topple over. Mako was just the slightest bit red from the chilled cactus juice in front of him. Asami was a bit redder than usual flushing through her usual blush and making her features stand out just that much more. A thinly fluted glass stood before her filled with a variety of fruits soaking in clear liquor. Korra was the only one who decided that tea would be better than a stiff drink.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked Korra.

"To be honest I have no idea," said Mako the feigned indignant tone giving way to a musing tone, "Wu

still needs a bit of guidance but I think he's about ready to strike out on his own. As for me…," he looked up at the dark ceiling, "I think it's time to move on. Maybe go back to the force. You think Lin will let me back in?"

"You were good before. No reason in thinking that you aren't still good. I think she'll welcome you back with open arms… gauntlets… err… cables?"

Mako chuckled. Despite everything that had happened he found that he was happier than he had ever been. He was unrestrained by the chains that had once tethered him to a fantasy that would never come true. He still felt a little raw around the edges but mostly he was just glad to be on good terms with Korra and Asami. He found that he was happy for them, a thought that a few hours ago would have seemed entirely impossible and unreasonable but now made sense in the grand scheme of things. For the first time in a long time, he was able to look to the future, and he was able to do so without flinching. The future no longer seemed a terrifying thing of uncertainty. Now the blank canvas tempted him with its limitless possibilities, and he intended to paint upon the mural of the future a landscape unlike any other.

Hey readers, so apparently my last chapter generated something of a mixed response from you guys. Some of you claimed it was out of character for Mako to behave the way he did, perhaps that is true. I was aiming for more character development. Mako is the hero type but he also happens to be a bit more like Batman in that he never really lets people in, so this chapter was to allow his character to open up a little. Look more to the future and all that. Hopefully you enjoyed it.

As of right now I'm thinking of ending this project sometime in the next few chapters. Everything that I did will eventually be resolved (a return to the baseline if you will). Characters will ultimately have their changes stick and that may reflect in my future works. I found that while this fic has been interesting, fun, and at times heartbreaking to write, it has more or less served its purpose which was originally to expand on the vacation and now has moved into the time after the Vacation. The story is no longer just about Korra and Asami and I feel that it may be time to return to our heroines but really in terms of smaller more episodic type chapters rather than an overarching narrative. It seems to work better if written in that way.

Oh and interesting thing. Over the last few days, I got into a conversation with an interested reviewer. The reviewer made me realize that homophobia and any negative associations with the same-sex relationships may not exist in this world due to the absence of westernization and western religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). As such the original intent was to use the Korrasami relationship and the story I wrote surrounding it a commentary on the injustices and impracticality of the negative perception of same sex or even multi-sex relationships. The reviewer made me realize that having characters that react like people in the actual world we live in might not be an accurate representation of the world that the characters live in. While there are many parallels between our world and the Avatar universe there are also drastic differences that I think would have affected the perception of relationships as a whole. Based on this conclusion I decided to write Mako's reaction as more of him wanting to hold onto the past rather than him being outright against Korra and Asami's relationship just because they were both women.

Anyways, you readers may not agree with my decision to do this but it's done. Review away. Remember that his behavior might be considered out of character but this is an interpretation in the end.

Oh hey, I do want to encourage you readers to leave your reviews with your accounts. This is not so that I can come chase you down and get mad at you for a review that I didn't like. This is more to get into a conversation with you to figure out what you would like to read instead of XYZ offending chapter. I may not agree with the reviews but wanting conversations and interactions because of said reviews is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm saying this because it frustrates me when a negative review is left and I can't ask the reason why apart from the reasons stated in the review.

Anyways. Rant over.