Mako woke in the middle of the night to a squeal followed immediately by a short sob. His immediate reaction was to get up and get the baby to soothe his discomfort before he woke Korra, but a second cry came from inches next to him.
"Korra?" He reached for her and she stiffened. "Are you ok?"
"Fine." Her response was clipped; her voice was rough, proving to him she was the one crying.
"Liar." Mako sighed, too tired to really argue with her as he tugged her arm to pull her closer. She finally turned over after some effort and he frowned at the tears on her cheeks. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Even as she said it a flash of lightening paired with the deep rumbling of thunder made her flinch and unashamedly burrow into his chest. Mako wrapped his arms around her instinctively and held her tightly. It made sense suddenly, though the reasons weren't clear.
Korra was afraid of the storm.
To be fair, so were hundreds of other people, even those who were used to storms, this one was different. It was a massive hurricane that had gathered off the coast and had come ashore during the night while they were sleeping. Mako had heard about it beforehand and he'd prepared some supplies with Korra to make sure they'd be ok if they lost power, but he hadn't expected this.
"Are you alright?" Mako murmured into her ear.
"Fine." She flinched as the thunder boomed outside their walls.
Mako sighed. The woman was being stubborn, worse than usual anyway. She may have been lying in his arms, sobbing and shaking with fear, but she would never admit it to him. "Why didn't you tell me you were afraid of storms?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Korra." Mako tightened his arms at a flash of lightning, but felt her flinch at the inevitable thunder.
"I'm not afraid." She repeated. "No one likes hurricanes."
"Not everyone shakes with terror at them either." He regretted saying it a little as she huffed at him, but she was too scared to pull out of his arms. "You've never been upset at one before."
"Rain doesn't bother me, it's the thunder." She muttered darkly. "Thunderstorms are rare in the South Pole." She muttered darkly. "First time I heard it I was five, hated it." She tried to move herself closer, but she was already pressed completely against him. "I was at the White Lotus Compound that night so my parents were far away from me and I was scared."
Mako tightened his arms and kissed her forehead. Shit, her childhood had sucked from her account. Excessive time away from her parents, prolonged periods of loneliness, and a lack of basic affection because of those two. "It's ok." He kissed her forehead. "I'm here for you."
"Thank you." Korra winced as a particularly loud boom of thunder came, accompanied by the cry of a startled infant. "Ryu." She breathed and stood, fears abandoned now that her son needed her. Mako followed her into the nursery and made it just as Korra had pulled Ryu into her arms. She planted herself back in his arms and spoke soft words to soothe him as Mako held her. "It's just noise, baby, Daddy and I are here for you." The sound of severe winds rattled the windows and Korra pressed herself against Mako.
"Come on." He murmured. "I'll set up the living room, there're no windows in there." He kissed her forehead and she smiled up at him, her blue eyes watery with tears as she held her child against her chest. Ryu had stopped crying with the warmth and comfort of his mother, unfazed by a kiss from his father.
It took him a little while to gather pillows and blankets, but Mako formed a cozy nest in the living room where Korra settled, closing her eyes while she held the now sleeping Ryu. Mako built a fire and lit it quickly with his bending before curling up onto the couch with Korra. Out of their bedroom, the lightning wasn't obvious and the thunder was dulled through the layers of walls, soothing both his wife and child. Mako grinned as she fell asleep in his arms and he closed his eyes as sleep dragged him back under, content that his little family was safe.