Rules

"This blood keeps me alive, but what is it that runs through you?"

Part Three

Mako let out something that sounded like a strangled laugh. "You're the Avatar." He sat back on his hands and looked at the water before them, his eyes wide. "You're the Avatar," he muttered.

Korra sat up as well, unsure of what to say. "Um... No, I'm not?" she tried in between breaths.

Mako glanced at her with one eyebrow raised. "You've got paint smeared on your cheek."

Korra's hand shot up to her face to wipe off the fake scar as she felt a blush creep up her neck. "Look, there's an explanation for all of this—"

"Yeah, that you're the Avatar. Korra, right?"

Korra bit her lip. "No?" she said feebly.

"I just saw you waterbend us out to safety. You were wearing a disguise, and you look exactly like the Avatar. There are posters of you all over the city. What else would you be hiding?"

"I—" Korra saw the certainty in Mako's eyes and knew then there was nothing she could say or do to convince him otherwise. She let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, I'm the Avatar," she muttered. "I suppose there's no point in asking you to keep this a secret?" she asked him.

She watched as he processed this. He had known as soon as they had plunged themselves into the water, but something about her confirmation appeared to have made him fully realize it. A crease formed between his brows as he suddenly seemed to lose himself in his thoughts—it was a look similar to the one he wore when he spoke of his brother's job, Korra thought. "Wow," he breathed.

It's over. It's all over—once one person knows, the whole city will know... Korra thought hopelessly about her team underground. What would become of them? For a moment, she seriously entertained the thought of incapacitating him, quietly ending his life or perhaps taking him back with her as a hostage so that word would never get out. But he had a brother, he'd said... What would happen to him?

Mako let out a long exhale and stood up on the rocky outcropping, holding his hand out to her to help her up as well. Bewildered by his lack of a response, Korra tentatively took his hand and stood up, too.

"Look," he said, crossing his arms. "I'd get if you didn't trust me... But I'm not going to tell anyone."

Korra gaped at him. "What?"

He sighed and shut his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's none of my business. It'd be a lot of trouble to get involved in any of this... I'd prefer if no one knew that I saw you, either."

For the second time in the last twenty-four hours, Korra felt relief so powerful that it nearly hurt. "Please tell me you're not joking."

Mako shrugged. "Why would I be joking about that? I've got no reason to lie to you."

Korra threw her arms around Mako in gratitude, making him stumble backward. "Thank you so much!"

"Whoa—uh, I guess it's no problem," Mako mumbled.

Quickly, she pulled back, embarrassed by the reflex reaction. "Sorry." She inclined her head. "I'm just so relieved. I really, really owe you. For everything today."

Mako shook his head. "I don't need anything."

Korra looked out towards the mainland. "Not even a ride back?"

Mako followed her gaze, and the corners of his lips tilted up. "I think I'll be able to make it back on my own. That was a pretty cool trick you pulled, though. Thanks for saving my neck."

"It was the least I could do. We were both in trouble there."

"So, what are you doing here, anyway, when you're supposed to be on the run?" Mako asked, kicking a pebble off of the outcropping and into the waves.

"'Supposed to be on the run'?" Korra said incredulously. "I'm supposed to protect the city!"

Mako looked unimpressed with her response. "Then where have you been?"

Korra glanced off to the side, irritated and ashamed. "This kind of thing takes patience," she said, echoing Tenzin's words to her when they had first evacuated the island. She turned back towards him then, eyes hard with conviction. "But I will come back."

Mako gazed at her, expression unreadable. "I'm sure you will. But are you sure you can take on Amon when you can't even fight a street thug?"

"Hey, I was at a complete disadvantage there! I was trying not to blow my cover—" Korra paused as an unsettling thought struck her. "You don't think they'll come after you, do you?"

"I don't think you need to worry about me," he said, and Korra wondered if she'd imagined the amusement that tinted his voice as he said this.

Korra watched him, the breeze of the bay blowing his hair and his scarf back as he stood with his eyes fixated on the cityscape. Even though he had told her so much about himself in that little amount of time they'd spent together, he was an utter enigma. She had the distinct impression that there was far more to him than he was letting on.

"So, Avatar Korra," he said, turning to her. "Will I see you again?"

Korra fidgeted, unsure of how to respond. Yes. She wanted to say yes. It had been so frustrating and stressful and exhausting being underground and coming out only at night, only to fight and worry about her team—her only family, for now—being taken from her. For the short time she had been up here with Mako, she had forgotten, albeit briefly, that she was the Avatar, that the world needed her to survive and succeed. Korra held her hands behind her back and found herself gazing at the ground. "I... I'm not sure." She looked back up at him and pursed her lips. "I'm not really supposed to be around here."

"And you trust me not to tell your secret?"

"Honestly... I don't know. But what choice do I have?"

"What if I were the enemy?" His eyes were on her now, intense and unrelenting. He suddenly looked like a different person.

Korra gasped. There's no way—

"I'm a complete and total stranger. I could have been feeding you lies all along." Mako's face was blank, his angular features perfectly calm even as more and more ludicrous words spilled out of his mouth. "You lied to me about who you were... What if I'm not telling you the truth about who I am, either?"

Korra was speechless. Somehow, the alarm that rushed through her was more intense than any night she'd snuck out to fight the Equalists.

"You could kill me right here, you know," Mako continued, leaning in closer to her. His voice had an eerily hard edge to it; Korra felt herself back up. "No one would ever know. Your secret would die with me."

It was as though he'd read her mind. But of all of the frantic thoughts that were going through her head at that moment, the one that came spilling out of her lips was the same counterthought she'd had to that very idea. "But you—you said you had a brother," she said weakly, and she wished her voice came out stronger. She had faced Amon several times and had always held her ground. What was so menacing about this non-bending boy who suddenly liked to talk big? She tried again. "You said he's counting on you. I couldn't take that away from him."

All of a sudden, the glint in Mako's eye was gone, and the lines of his face softened. "And you believe this?"

"Yes," Korra whispered. She thought about Asami's face when she spoke of her father, of Lin's whenever Toph Beifong came up in a conversation. "There's no faking that kind of feeling."

A long moment passed where all that moved was the sea, and then Mako smiled ever so slightly. Before Korra could decipher his response, he looked up at the peak of the island by the feet of Aang's statue. "It looks like we might have some unwanted company if we don't leave soon."

"Oh, right," Korra said, snapping out of her daze. "Uh—well... I guess this is goodbye." She waded out into the water and turned around one more time to see him standing there with one hand in his pocket, watching her and making no move to escape. Still, she had no time to concern herself with him. If any Equalist guards saw her, she was as good as dead. "Thank you, Mako."

"See you around, Avatar Korra."

She submerged herself into the water and made her way home.

"Korra!" Tenzin came over and held Korra by the shoulders. "Where have you been? It's been two and a half hours—I was about to send out a search party!"

Korra felt relief that Tenzin had been bluffing when he'd given her a one-hour limit earlier in the day. "I'm sorry," she said, suddenly ashamed. "I, uh—I got into some trouble, and—"

"What happened?"

"The vendor I tried to buy food from got angry at me because I didn't have enough money. He came after me, and I had to shake him off. I'm sorry I didn't bring back any food," she added ruefully.

Tenzin sighed. "That's quite all right, I'm just glad you're safe. Did anyone see you?"

"No," Korra said, but then she made an addendum so she wasn't telling a complete lie. "Not anyone important." I don't think.

Tenzin nodded. "Okay. Well, go wash up. Pema will be making dinner. I am interested to hear about how Republic City is faring—you'll have to tell us all about it."

"I will," Korra said. It would be important to mention the tense atmosphere of the streets and the new forms of social inequality that had risen since Amon had gained power—perhaps that was information they would later be able to use to their advantage.

Korra headed off to find the others, wondering all the while what to make of this Mako—the only person in Republic City, aside from Amon and his henchmen, to know that the Avatar was alive and well and coming back with a vengeance.

Thank you again, everyone, for your sweet reviews and favorites and subscriptions! I'm honestly so happy that people like this fic. I haven't written out much of part four yet, so there's no preview this time, but it should be up within the week, I promise! I love you guys. Please leave a review on your way out!

Love,

boreum dal