Author's Note: I'm thinking of making this a series of semi-connected short stories. Or one-shots. Or whatever they would be. Hahah. Kay, enjoy. Rate and review? Please? Thanks! Bye.


"Nothing's wrong!" Mako slammed open the door.

"Don't lie to me! I can see you're hurt," the Avatar yelled after him, letting her water splash to the ground. He stormed out, banging the door shut behind him.

Korra cursed him under her breath, irritation growing as his footsteps faded away. From behind her Bolin said, "He won't tell you anything. Mako doesn't even tell me anything." The earthbender shrugged and went back to training. Before long he was so absorbed in the drills that he didn't notice Korra slipping out of the room.

The avatar wound her way through hallways and up stairwells, barely remembering her way to the brothers' rooms. She'd only been there once before and never dreamed of just waltzing in without permission. But anger (and a slight touch of concern, though she'd very admit it) drove her up to the attic and she flung the door open without hesitation.

The young man was sitting on a low stool, rubbing his knee. He jumped when the door smacked against the wall. After a long moment he turned to look at her and said, "What do you want, Korra?"

"Damn it, Mako. I came up here because I know you're hurt." She crossed her arms over her chest, leaned her weight on one leg, and set her jaw. There was no way he was going to make her leave. Tension filled the room as she waited for him to say something. Instead, he just stood up and tried to cover his limp as he walked over to the kitchenette and began making tea. It was a pathetic attempt.

Seeing that this was going to take a long time, Korra stepped all the way in and flopped down against a wall. She'd never really taken a chance to know him and now seemed like a good time to start. "Why don't you just tell someone? You don't have to be completely self-sufficient. Doing that just makes a person tired." He didn't say anything, just stared at the teapot like the secret of the universe was hidden there. That was answer enough for her. She may not know him very well but she knew that he'd just drop his cool and calm mask a little bit. Something she'd said hit a nerve.

"It's because you've had to take care of Bolin, isn't it? All those years you've had to be tough. Couldn't complain, worked when you were sick. Just to make sure he had food. Just so he could be a kid. You did everything to protect him."

"Wouldn't you?" Mako's low voice cracked a little. "I took care of him. That means that something like this," his hand motioned toward his sore leg. "Doesn't need to be shared with him. If I'm hurt, he'll worry. And the whole point is making sure he never has to." There was a pleading in his voice. Something begging her to understand that he couldn't just give up being strong. It was built into him. A part of his foundation and if you took that away, he'd crumble.

But Korra pushed anyway. She may not know a lot about balance and her social skills probably weren't the best, either… but everybody needed somebody to lean on. Suddenly, she wanted to be his support. The need caught her off guard but she pushed it to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. "You don't have to protect me."

The firebender's head snapped up and his eyes met hers. There was something in decipherable in the look he gave her. "What?"

"I said you don't have to protect me." She flashed a cocky grin and continued. "I'm a big, tough girl and I can take care of myself. So… tell me. Tell me when you're hurt or sad or pissed off. Let me support you a little. We're a team, aren't we?"

The silence stretched out between them. Mako just blinked and Korra just leaned back against the wall. Neither of them stirred when the water for the tea boiled over and sizzled on the logs. What seemed like hours later, the young man walked over, sat on the floor in front of her, and rolled up his pant leg. "Alright, I'll trust you." And with that, the waterbender smiled and leaned forward to heal the burn he'd gotten during practice. "We're a team."

Dimly, Korra felt something beginning to change between them. For now, however, she was content with things they way they were.