Well, I was originally gonna post a happier drabble, but after seeing episode five today, I felt the need to get this written. There was so much going on that my head is still reeling, and I wanted to focus on the fact that Mako was trying to look out for Bolin pretty much the entire episode, even though he was seriously confused himself.

*This does contain some major spoilers for episode five, so if you haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend you do and then come back to read this later. Usual disclaimers apply, and I promise the next drabble will be lighter and have more Makorra fluffiness~ Thank you so much for all the support so far. Read, review, and enjoy, everyone.

~Selflessness~

Everything was so out of control.

Korra'd confessed her feelings towards him after their last match, and he'd shot her down flat without giving himself a chance to really think about the situation. Now he was sure he'd never forget the way her face had fallen, the heartbreak that she'd tried to hide swimming in her ocean eyes — not for as long as he lived.

On top of that, Bolin was practically head-over-heels for the girl when she'd already proved she didn't return his affections, at least not to the same degree. The earthbender was just setting himself up for a letdown, and it killed his brother knowing that nothing he said would change Bolin's mind.

And as for Mako… well, he wasn't really sure how to feel about everything. He'd gotten out of his fair share of messes before, but never anything like this. So many different thoughts and emotions were spiraling through his mind that it gave him a migraine whenever he tried to unravel them.

There were very few things Mako could say he was certain of anymore. One was that he was dating Asami, and that he did like her. As to how much he liked her, that was where the problems began. Because as much as he hated to admit it, he liked Korra, too. She was abrasive and rash and way too proud for her own good, but she'd wormed herself into his life all the same, and somewhere along the line, he'd realized he was falling for her.

And that wasn't even the worst of it, not by a long shot. The most gut-wrenching part was watching Bolin and Korra together. His brother always managed to make Korra smile, to weasel a laugh out of her no matter her mood. The two were like peas in a pod. Korra had even agreed to go on a date with him, though clearly it hadn't meant the same thing to her as it'd meant to Bolin.

It wasn't the fact they got along so well that hit Mako like an earth disk to the gut, though. That he could bear, because he knew it made Bolin happy, and what he wanted more than anything was for Bo to be happy.

No, it was the jealousy he harbored toward his baby brother that struck him the hardest. As much as it sickened him, he couldn't deny how his eyes narrowed whenever Bolin would sling his arm around Korra's shoulders, or the ache in his chest when the earthbender talked about Korra like the love-struck teenager he was.

Mako had always tried to do the best for his brother, but as long as Bolin had Korra's attention while he didn't, there would always be a piece of him that would rather put his own interests before Bolin's.

And he hated himself for it.

It was all this uncertainty and confusion that'd led him here, sitting on the steps outside the Pro-Bending arena and struggling to ease his mind before their next match. The night air was a welcome companion, the ordinary sounds of city life lifting the burdens from his shoulders a bit.

Of course, his moment of peace was doomed to be short-lived. He should've known she would find him there. She always did.

Seeing her only managed to double his turmoil with himself, and he scowled as he rose to his feet. A flash of longing hummed in his chest, while at the same time a stab of annoyance tore through his head, and when he spoke his words came out harsher than he'd intended.

"What kind of game are you playing?"

Korra paused in her tracks, arching an eyebrow at him as if he'd gone insane — which, in all honesty, he was starting to wonder if he had. "Uh, Pro-Bending? We've got a quarter-final match?"

"No, I mean with Bolin," Mako snapped impatiently, glare deepening. No matter what he felt for the Avatar, or about his brother spending so much time with her, he knew Bolin had to come first. Bolin always came first. "You got him all in a tizzy and I know you're only using him to get back at me."

"I am not." Korra looked genuinely confused, which lessened Mako's irritation with her, if only by a fraction. "We're just having fun together. What do you care, anyway?"

Oh, if only she knew.

"I'm looking out for my little brother. I don't want to see his heart get broken."

And it was true. He'd spent more than half his life protecting Bolin, keeping him away from danger, from the pain the world could cause. There was nothing that mattered more than the only family member he had left, and if Bolin got hurt because of Korra, he'd never forgive her — or himself.

He just wished the darker side of his mind would stop yelling at him to shove Korra against the wall right now and —

That train of thought came screeching to a halt when he noticed the smirk tugging at one corner of the Avatar's mouth.

"Wait a second. You're not worried about him." Despite his better judgement, Mako's pulse kicked up a notch at the mischief glittering in her eyes. "You're jealous! You do have feelings for me!"

Damn, why was this girl so good at figuring him out? Somehow his innermost thoughts were always an open book to her, and he just didn't understand how she did it.

But that still doesn't change anything. I can't do that to Bolin. He deserves better.

So instead of pouring out his heart and soul to her, explaining everything like he wanted to so badly, he played off her accusations like they were nothing.

"What? Jealous? Pfft, don't be ridiculous."

"Admit it, you like me."

Great Spirits, she was going to be the death of him. The challenge in her voice nearly won him over, but the image of what his brother would do if he found out Mako'd confessed to liking Korra steeled his resolve. He could picture all-too-easily the tears brimming in Bolin's green eyes, the betrayal and despair that should never be on his innocent face.

Nothing could ever be worth seeing his baby brother like that, not even Korra.

"No!" The denial in his words sounded false even to him, and he mentally cringed. "I'm with Asami!"

"Yeah, but when you're with her you're thinking about me, aren't you?" He couldn't decide whether that cocky grin of hers was the most infuriating or the most attractive thing he'd ever witnessed. Some combination of both, probably.

"Get over yourself!"

"I'm just being honest!"

"You're crazy!"

"You're a liar!"

That one struck home. Before he could let her comment unsettle him enough to say something he'd regret later, Mako stomped away from her, heading for the entrance to the arena. Korra spun in the other direction without another word, and Mako forced himself not to watch her retreating form as she disappeared through an entry to his right.

Once inside the building, Mako slumped against the door, running his fingers through his hair exasperatedly. No matter how much he wanted Korra, even with Asami in the mix, he couldn't have her. Bolin was more important to him than that.

Even if it meant breaking his own heart.