Korra and Asami practically stumbled on Bolin and Mako after the tour through the house; both men were in a simple wide indoor garden, training Pro-Bending shots against improvised paper and rope targets with equally improvised rock discs in Bolin's case, they were also talking rather seriously between each other but it seemed to be private.

The garden was actually surrounded by the different divisions of the house and domed with a deeply blurred glass roof, making it fairly safe. Not far from the grassy area the brothers were using, there was a small oval koi pound with many fishes swimming about, a Zen garden with its precise sand ripples and a variety of lovely plants that thrived in the moist environment as a rhythmic thump of a water weight sounded every so often and luckily there was no more than a drizzle of rain outside the glass to obscure the afternoon sun.

Korra sat on the stones in front of the Zen garden as Asami moved to Mako, kissing is lips affectionately in the way that used to make Korra gag back when they were Pro-Bending and she still crushed hard on Mako, but now the sight warmed her and filled with relief that she hadn't screwed things up for them…even if it was a little icky to watch her best friends canoodle in front of her.

The Avatar really wanted to join in on the training but she knew Bolin would probably rant on about the baby and force her to sit back down, so rather than face the humiliation she just sat there on her own accord and watched them with longing and nostalgia until both brothers got too tired to continue, but then Asami had gone to check on security and whatever stuff the lady of the house needed to handle.

"What'cha thinking, Korra?" Bolin plopped himself on the grassy ground in front of her and sipped water from the jug Asami had left for them. Korra wondered why she hadn't seen any servants around yet since she was sure there had to be some around as she had seen proof of it here and there.

"Wondering if I'll ever Pro-Bend again." Korra sighed longingly.

"Of course you will!" Bolin seemed horrified that she could think otherwise. "Even after the baby is born you'll still have time to get back in shape before the next season really heats up."

"It's not that easy, Bo." Mako sat next to Korra on one of the rocks after stealing Bolin's water and sipping from it.

"Why not?" Bolin almost looked like he was about to pout.

"Recovering from that isn't so easy, besides she'll probably be exhausted with the kid at least for the first year, plus she is the Avatar so she has responsibilities." Mako explained.

"So you don't think I can handle it?" Korra crossed her arms with defiance.

"Not alone." Mako shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, Korra, you are a Fireferret and I do hope you'll be back on the team soon but I think you're overestimating yourself if you think you'll be in shape for it by next official season."

"Is that a challenge?" Korra smirked a little too full of herself.

"Take it however you want, Korra." Mako shrugged again, he knew it was useless to argue with her and he was simply trying to stay away from a fight.

"Korra can do it! I know she can!" Bolin cheered for the Avatar. "And we really can't win without her."

"Damn right, you can't." Korra chuckled playfully and Mako just rolled his eyes at the comment.

"Speaking of which, how does A…er…I mean, Noatak feel about Pro-Bending these days?" Bolin asked the question with wariness.

Korra grinned knowingly and leaned back, putting her weight onto her palms as she relaxed, not even caring that the position exposed her slight baby bump.

"I'll tell you a little secret if you promise not to tell him." She directed the comment at Bolin.

"Sure. What is it?" The earthbender leaned forward filled with curiosity.

"Noatak's guilty little pleasure has always been Pro-Bending." Korra snickered. "Even back during the war, he listened in on the commentaries and called it research if anybody asked, but he won't admit it."

"I don't believe you!" Bolin was trying not to crack up. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah! Apparently some other equalists felt the same way too since they had this little betting pool on who would win each championship match, and Amon allowed it because he said they might as well take some entertainment from it before the end." Korra laughed to lighten the words. "Guess who Noatak betted on?"

"No way! He betted on us?!" Bolin seemed really excited by the story, like a kid.

"Yeah, he said it was only logical to bet on the team with the Avatar in it and he usually used the excuse that he didn't care enough about the sport to know much about the other teams." Korra paused dramatically and cupped a hand to the side of her mouth in a gesture of fake secrecy. "Of course, that was a lie."

Korra and Bolin broke out laughing at the mental image her story painted and Korra slid from the rock and onto the grass as they exchanged giggly comments and Mako watched them with a slightly dumbfounded and stubborn expression. Suddenly the equalists didn't seem so scary.

"He told you this?" Mako looked at Korra skeptically.

"Yeah, we had a lot of time to talk about small stuff." Korra was actually wiping tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes.

"Back when you were away for those months?" Mako prodded.

"No, when…" Korra stopped herself suddenly, realizing she might have said a little too much since her friends didn't know about what she had done in the South Pole.

"When…what, Korra?" The firebender seemed curious and suspicious at the same time.

"Ah…Remember when I told you I was taking Katara home and visiting my parents in the South Pole?" Korra directed the question more to Bolin since Mako hadn't been talking to her back then.

"Yeah, so?" Bolin nodded, still chuckling.

"Noatak… came along." Korra hesitated and then spoke the words in a rush, wondering if Mako would finally explode, though she wasn't really sure why she had the feeling that he would be angry.

"What? How did you even manage that?" Mako was stunned and Bolin was looking at both of them in surprise.

"It's…a long story." Korra looked away blushing at the memory how Katara had pretty much caught them red-handed.

"No, enough 'long story' excuses. Explain." Mako insisted snappily.

So she did. Korra left out the detail of what she had been doing with Noatak when Katara caught them but she tried to be as honest as possible about everything else, even going as far as explaining how they had kept everything from the White Lotus, how her parents had reacted and how they didn't know Noatak's real identity, and she even described the day of the Equinox festival; she did not, however, go into details about the personal things she talked about with Noatak, or about the duel, or about the blood-sensing and especially nothing about the sex- for all they knew, Korra had been perfectly chaste in her childhood home.

"That's…pretty unbelievable." Mako looked astounded and cynical enough that she couldn't tell what he was really thinking but he seemed more shocked than angry. "I guess it's only fair that your parents got to meet him first."

"Of course it is." Bolin nodded in agreement. "I really don't know what happened that started all this and I'm still working on trying to ignore the past but I'm just glad he makes you happy somehow, Korra."

"Thanks, Bolin." Korra smiled earnestly and then looked at Mako, already feeling a very strong and ominous change in mood threaten to affect her. "What about you? I can feel all that anger you've been building up even if we have been perfectly civil to each other today."

"Korra…" Mako frowned heavily. "Of course there's anger! You made a mess of my feelings and then left me and just when I was beginning to accept it and open up to your friendship again you recklessly drop the bomb that you're pregnant! I got mad and overprotective…And I hated Amon, he nearly took Bolin's bending and he bloodbended us, for crying out loud! He even took most of your bending and he lied to everyone about who he was! He led a violent war and destroyed many lives! Now suddenly we get Noatak, saying he's changed and that he's the father of your kid?! Yes, there's a lot of stuff here that pisses me off!"

Mako took a deep breath to steady his emotions and his yelling voice but since Korra was too stunned to reply and she was looking frightfully close to a breakdown, he decided to continue his speech, albeit clumsily, angrily and simply by ranting on all the confused thoughts that assaulted his head in the past day:

"But Amon never really tried to kill us and that would have been easier for him but he didn't, even if what he did came considerably close. And then Noatak also saved all our lives when he didn't really have to, he risked himself to save Asami, and he keeps proving that we can trust him and that he'll do anything for you…Plus he shows up scarred like that without so much as trying to get people to feel sorry for him like Amon did…and you seem to really trust him and love him in ways that I just can't understand." Mako shrugged in frustration and annoyance but he wasn't finished and figured that since he had come this far he might as well say it all. "I guess Bo has a point; as much as I hated Amon I can't judge without the full story and Noatak did prove to a different person so… I want to trust your judgment, I value you enough to respect your wishes, I won't lie and say I'm fine with all this but I'm trying and I want to support you."

"Mako…" Korra's voice nearly broke at the surge of gratitude.

"I won't let you down again, Korra." Mako looked into her eyes with his typical look of confident determination. "Even if I have to learn to like that guy."

"I second that!" Bolin agreed immediately. "We're with you all the way, Korra!"

"Yeah, but if he hurts you…If he so much as looks at you the wrong way, I'll barbecue him." Mako highlighted the words by snapping his fingers causing a flame to flicker between but the words made Korra laugh shakily with repressed emotion, she loved that they cared that much for her.

"Bolin… Mako… I'm sorry, guys… I hated keeping stuff from all of you but it was just… complicated." The high she had gotten from the joking and laughter was gone completely and for no reason other than her rampaging hormones and Mako's speech, Korra suddenly felt depressed, overwhelmed, emotional and grateful at the same time; the need to apologize was overpowering and even brought the sting of unshed tears to her eyes. "Really complicated and messed up… I should have trusted you and I didn't, I'm really sorry for that."

"Hey, hey." Bolin edged closer and placed an arm around her shoulders. "It's ok, Korra. We understand, don't we, Mako?"

"…Yeah." Mako sighed, she couldn't tell if he was being honest or just trying to cheer her up but when he slid off the rock to the take the side opposite to Bolin and wrapped his own arm around her too, Korra felt a million times lighter. "Yeah, we get it now, Korra. We're here for you."

"Thank you." Korra hiccupped the words, covering her face with her hands and letting lose all the pent up guilt and stress that she been piling up for weeks, she hated lying to her friends but all the tension and remorse had been shoved away and locked in a drawer of her mind until it was so full that Korra felt strung like a wire. Now all that emotion was spilling out without any control as she cried into her hands with blind gratitude; she knew that if she hadn't been pregnant and hormonal her reaction might have been emotive but in a light-hearted or even aggressive way but in the current condition it was sometimes hard to keep a lid on her real emotions and that made her overly honest and embarrassingly emotional.

"Woah! What the…? Calm down, Korra." Mako was too surprised by her sudden reaction and could only tighten his grip on her shoulder to try and comfort her.

"Nah, let it out." Bolin smiled rubbing the Avatar's back with his usual sweet and supportive understanding. "Everything is ok now."

"Thank you so much! I… I love you guys. You're family and I'm so sorry I didn't trust you." Korra sobbed even harder at their words, feeling intense relief as well incredible frustration because she just couldn't stop the tears that soaked her hands. "Crap! I hate this!" Korra meant the crying and made it obvious by sniffing absurdly loud to keep the snot from dripping off her nose. "I can't stop! AH! Stupid…feelings…" Korra mumbled between sobs even as she tried to swallow her humiliating hiccups.

Asami was standing by a door not far away watching the whole scene and thanking the Spirits that mood swings made Korra honest though she liked to think that she might have had a little hand in helping the friends reunite, after all she had been working hard for that goal by persuading Mako to see things from another angle and by trying to give both Mako and Korra some insight about what the other was feeling.

"What exactly happened while I was away, Miss Sato?" Noatak's voice spoke behind Asami, holding a slight note of worry and plenty of interest.

He appeared next to raven-haired woman, masked and wearing one of his own hooded coats while watching the scene from afar as Korra continued to sob pathetically loud and both brothers still had their arms around her. Asami had no idea how he had gotten in so quietly and snuck up on her but she just smiled kindly.

"They resolved their differences, I guess… And I think Korra just had a pregnancy induced meltdown." Asami chuckled gracefully. "I don't think I've ever really seen her cry before."

"Korra is a strong person but a very passionate and emotional one as well." Noatak's eyes were still training on the weeping Avatar as he spoke.

"I noticed that." Asami was also watching the scene in the garden. "But I figured she was the type to always act tough."

"Sometimes she is too impulsive to consider that. She is also unpredictable, she can let the stress accumulate until she explodes or she can just as well impulsively express what's on her mind immediately with whatever adjoined emotions it brings." Noatak tilted his masked face slightly as he watched the brothers murmur words of comfort and continue to embrace. He wasn't really jealous but he was curious about what was being said.

"You know her well." Asami placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Noatak, may I ask you something?"

"You may, Miss Sato."

"Why Korra? Out of all the people in the world, why did it have to be Korra?" Asami wondered what odd twist of faith had joined two enemies together.

"Believe me, Miss Sato, I ask myself that very question every day." Noatak finally looked at the jade-eyed woman.

"I see." Asami seemed satisfied by the answer. "I have one last thing to say."

"Yes?" Noatak was a little curious.

"She loves you." Asami beckoned at Korra. "And I suppose you don't have the luxury to say that about many other people so I hope you are both happy together. However…"

"Go on." Noatak had to agree that Korra was indeed the only person that now held any love for him in the world, excluding perhaps his estranged mother, and yet he was pretty certain he knew where Asami was going with this.

"I can tell you love her too, however… As you can see Korra has other people who love her very much as well." Asami gave the masked man a dark severe look that transformed her lovely face into something completely different and even frightening. "So if you ever hurt her, I assure you that you will not go unpunished. Korra may be the Avatar and she may be very powerful but if you so much as make her shed a single tear of pain, you will be answering to all of us, no matter what abilities you possess."

Noatak surveyed the woman for a moment, without giving away any reaction. She meant every word and he could see that easily, the way she looked at him was more than a warning or a threat- it was the predatory look of complete and utter determination and protective instinct, she didn't even seem the least bit afraid of what he could do with bloodbending. Noatak was once again impressed by these people, their integrity and loyalty for Korra made him fond of them in ways he hadn't predicted.

"Miss Sato, I very rarely admit to this but I am impressed." Noatak bowed to her politely. "Your warning says volumes about your devotion to Korra and that certainly means much more to me than anything that may happen to me."

"I don't think you get the whole picture." The woman was still glaring dangerously at him. "I don't just mean you have to protect her and respect her, I mean you have make her happy and that includes keeping yourself out of trouble so she doesn't have to suffer for you."

And once again Noatak was impressed by the woman's reasoning, he was beginning to like Miss Sato very much considering how protective the woman was of her friends. He saw her as a very intelligent and perceptive supporter in his relationship with the Avatar and he also saw her as a valuable ally for his future with Korra.

"Your words will be forever seared in my mind, I assure you." Noatak turned to look at Korra again, who was till sobbing though much more quietly now. "In return I ask that you hear my words."

"Go ahead." Asami had a hand on her hip, expecting his speech.

"If I ever do become a threat to Korra or the child she carries, please round up your group and whatever allies you can and destroy me." Noatak's voice was perfectly serious in every way. "I expect it wouldn't be hard to find enough people who despise me."

"You really mean that, don't you?" Asami didn't look perturbed, in fact she appeared to approve of his words.

"Yes, if need be there are ways of blocking even bloodbending though if I tell you those myself it would remove your advantage of surprise." Noatak paused for a moment. "That is all I have to say."

"Duly noted." Asami nodded and her stern face softened into her delicate slight smile again. "Now go get her before she snorts all over my man." Asami joked to lighten the air.

Noatak nodded quietly and walked into the garden with long purposeful strides, watching as Korra's weeping but obviously relieved face suddenly shifted into happiness at the sight of him even though she looked mortified and quickly tried to dash at her tear streaked face, causing the firebender and earthbender to chuckle at her silly reaction. Noatak had never imagined that one day the sight of him would brighten up the Avatar's face with joy.