Dinner was, to say the least, awkward.

Every few seconds Bolin would flash Asami a guilty grimace that Asami would never acknowledge. Actually, Asami acted her normal self, except maybe she was a bit rougher with her utensils than usual, slamming her fork down at one point and muttering, "Sorry."

Mako knew something was up, but he didn't know quite what. Korra was busy regaling him with stories of her training today – training which she had skipped, to Tenzin's annoyance, and spent the day instead fishing in the pristine waters surrounding Air Temple Island. The Avatar was funny. Mako liked her, and maybe at one point he had liked her too much than was perhaps allowable. Gulping down his cup of tea too hastily and burning his throat to avoid thinking of the...incident...he began coughing. Korra slapped him on the back a couple of times rather energetically and Mako did not miss the glare Asami shot him from across the table. Oh boy...

Tenzin and his children did not seem to notice anything, and Pema was busy scolding Meelo for air bending pieces of food onto his plate to realize how uncomfortable Bolin was or how Asami was gradually beginning to grasp her knife harder and harder. Finally, the once-heiress stood up abruptly. The entire dinner table stopped to look at her. "I'm..." she began, her green eyes flickering from Korra to Mako, "I'm going to go wash up."

"Oh, Asami, thank you," Pema breathed. It was getting close to her time to give birth and the nonbender was having trouble moving easily.

"No problem," Asami added graciously, and then somewhat venomously continuing, "I like to put the needs of others before my own, that's all."

Korra stopped picking her teeth with her fork to glance up at the slim, statuesque girl. Her blue eyes conveyed puzzlement, but Mako had flushed to a deep red.

Later as Asami scraped rather viciously at her plate in the sink, Mako stormed into the kitchen. "What was that about?"

She whirled on him, her dark, wavy hair slapping him full on in the face. "You tell me! How long have you been hiding what happened between you and Korra?"

Mako scowled, his thick brows furrowing. "What are you talking about? Korra and I have ne-"

"I know about the kiss, Mako," Asami broke in. Eyes downcast, her hands were gripping the plate as if it were a lifeline. She looked up through her lashes at the firebender. "Why?"

The hurt in her voice shot through Mako like an arrow. He found that he could not bear to keep her steady gaze. "I'm sorry... It happened once, a while ago. She started it, I just-"

"I've heard enough."

"Asami, look-"

"Go."

As he was leaving the kitchen, he bumped into Pema who was precariously balancing a load of dishes.

"Mako," she called as he passed her. "The best thing to do when a girl is mad at you is just to be sincere and apologize."

He flinched. "But I already did and she didn't even listen!"

Pema breathed through her nose slowly and closed her eyes, shifting her weight from one foot to the other to balance the dishes she was carrying. "Mako," she began slowly, as if talking to a child, "she's just mad right now. Give her some time, she'll come around."

Mako rubbed his temples. "Yeah okay. Thanks, Pema." He looked up at the woman who had let him into her home so selflessly and added, "I'll take those dishes for you."

But when he stepped back into the kitchen, Asami was gone.

Mako was reclining on Naga, Korra's huge polar bear dog, and looking at the stars above him, trying to sort out his thoughts.

"Hey!" a voice shouted, and Korra landed next to him with a soft thump. She was always so energetic and ready to go that it made Mako want to curl up and go to sleep.

"Hi Korra," Mako replied rather dejectedly, his hand ruffling his usually impeccable hair.

"What's up? What was going on with you and Asami tonight? I heard voices from the kitchen." Korra settled herself, resting her head on Naga.

Mako knew she was only trying to look out for him as a friend, but what he said next came out short. "This needs to stop."

Korra raised a lone brow, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed. "I really care about Asami. And the...the kiss was wrong, Korra. And I regret it."

The Avatar closed her bright blue eyes. She was upset, Mako could tell.

"Is this what you and Asami were talking about tonight? How to get rid of me?"

"No!" Mako cried, frustrated that he was getting this all wrong. "No it's not like that."

She began in a low voice. "Mako, I have...you know I have feelings for you...and I thought you felt the same way..."

Naga rumbled a bit in her low voice, nuzzling Korra, sensing the girl's distress. She began to absentmindedly pat the beast's head, burying her tan face in the white fur.

Mako reached out to stroke Korra's back, but thought better of it, retrieving his hand as if it had been shocked.

"I was confused," he confessed. "You're amazing, you really are. But Asami's my girlfriend."

"Don't I mean anything to you?" Korra interjected, lifting her face. Mako couldn't tell if she was mad, hurt, or ready to kiss him. He thought it was probably safe to assume that she felt all three.

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course you do. You're one of my best friends!"

"Ugh!" Korra punched the ground, startling Naga, and creating a huge boulder off in the distance. "I don't want to be a friend."

"Korra, the answer is no. And I'm sorry," Mako said as firmly as he could muster, but his voice broke anyway. He hated making her upset. He hadn't been lying when he had said that the Avatar was one of his best friends. She was. He could tell her things that he knew Bolin and Asami would not understand, but that was that. She was just a friend.

"Go," she muttered, her hand gripping Naga's fur.

Mako stood up, feeling terrible. "I...I'm sorry," he offered and walked back to the house where he knew Asami was waiting for an explanation.