"Can't we wait a few more days before we start training for next season?" Bolin asked his brother as he dodged another fire punch. Mako sighed.

"Bolin may be right, Sweetie," Asami interjected. "Some relaxation wouldn't hurt you. Especially with everything that's happened recently…"

Mako looked from his brother to his girlfriend. "Fine. But we will practice before the season starts, deal?" Bolin pumped his fist in the air.

"Heck yeah!" Asami chuckled at the two boys as she stood and walked over to stand beside Mako.

"Take it easy," she soothed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mako smiled. The heiress's gaze flickered past his shoulder and he turned to see what had caught her attention.

"What's he doing here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the person who was walking towards them.

"Um, Tahno, what are you…I mean, what brings you here?" Bolin asked awkwardly. The ex-Bender looked around before answering; his clothes seemed to swallow him as he trudged toward the trio.

"I came to see the Avatar." Mako raised a suspicious brow.

"Why?" Tahno tried to straighten his posture at the edge in the Firebender's tone.

"I'm not sure why it concerns you," he replied. The Firebender glared at him until Bolin stepped between the two.

"Why don't we hear him out, Bro?" The Earthbender supplied. Tahno looked from one brother to the other before returning his gaze to Mako.

"If you must know, Fire Rat, the little Avatar invited me here," he said. A smug smirk ghosted across his face at the shocked expression that flickered across the Ferrets and heiress's faces.

"You're kidding, right?" Mako asked. Tahno raised a brow at him.

"Why would a kid about that?" he asked, some satisfaction creeping into his voice.

"Tahno!" All turned to see the Avatar walking toward them, a towel hanging around her neck. "So you decided to take me up on my offer after all?" she asked, arms crossed and a smug smirk on her face. Tahno rolled his eyes.

"I figured since I had nothing better to do," he replied, his tone indifferent. He didn't miss the look the Firebender sent both him and the Avatar.

"Korra, can I talk to you for a minute?" Korra looked over at the older brother, brow furrowed.

"Uh, sure," she replied as the Firebender drug her away from the group. Tahno shook his head at the Firebender before turning to the heiress and Earthbender.

"I heard about your father," he started. The heiress stiffened. "And I wish to offer my condolences." Asami watched as he bowed his head to her, his voice sounding sincere. "It's not easy, losing something so important."

"Thank you," she replied gratefully.

*** "What do you think you're doing? Inviting him here? Have you lost your mind?" Mako hissed. Korra crossed her arms.

"I don't know if you noticed this Mako, but he isn't exactly the same jerk we fought in the arena," she countered, keeping her tone even. "All I'm offering him is someone to talk to."

"Doesn't he have teammates or fangirls for that?" he asked.

"All his friends dumped him. Mako, he's lost something vital. And I'm not just going to ignore him."

"Just last week you told me you hated his guts. Now you want to help him?"

"Don't all rivals claim to hate each other?" Korra shot back. "And in case you haven't noticed, Pro-Bending is over!" The Avatar felt her fists heating up but she refused to let her temper get the best of her. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she said as she pushed past her teammate, bumping his shoulder while she was at it. Mako pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did she have to be so infuriating?

"Sorry about that Tahno," she said as she approached the group once more. "So you wanna go do something in the city? We can just hang out or something." She shrugged her shoulders. Tahno stared down at the girl before him before shrugging as well.

"Sounds fine," he said indifferently, but he smirked when he saw the Firebender's expression. "This place was getting a little too crowded for my tastes anyway," he commented, turning his attention back on the Water Tribe girl.

Korra couldn't have agreed more.

*** The duo found themselves at the park, where they simply talked about everything and nothing. Tahno found himself asking her questions about life in the South Pole, to which she admitted that her childhood hadn't exactly been normal. He'd figured as much. Being the Avatar, you were bound to be raised a little differently.

Still he hadn't exactly expected her to be imprisoned. She asked him about where he'd grown up. He'd answered the swamp.

"Really?" she asked. "You always struck me as a Northern Tribe guy," she admitted. Tahno managed a chuckle.

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. You just always had this aura of…" She paused, searching for the right word. "Arrogance. Something I sense on Tarrlok all the time." Korra practically spat the name out. "But this does explain why you're so pale," she concluded, thinking aloud.

Tahno smirked and shook his head. "No, actually I was born and raised in the swamp for about thirteen years."

"How'd you wind up in Republic City?" Tahno frowned. Korra immediately changed the subject. She asked him about life in the swamp. He replied that it was a simple place. But it was a lot like the city, in that it was either eat or be eaten. Korra laughed loudly at the comparison. Tahno found himself chuckling along with her.

He had to admit, this was helping somewhat. Just talking to the Avatar seemed to lift a huge weight off his shoulders. He found himself not worrying about Amon and the fact that he was still free. He found himself not thinking about how he'd lost his Bending.

For now, all he cared about was this moment of just talking.

***** What has happened to me? Why have I turned so soft? WHY?

I blame maila08…

Well I hope ya'll enjoyed this. I'll probably update this soon. Adios for now!

BG out! Peace!