Guilt: Korra confronts Mako about his feelings for her, not knowing the real reason he hasn't told her yet.

Genre: Romance/Angst

"Admit it. You like me."

"H-how...did you know?" Mako asked her quietly.

He refused to make eye contact with Korra – he was too embarrassed. He had feelings for her, strong feelings at that, which wouldn't really be so bad under normal circumstances. But his brother had feelings for her too, and he just couldn't do that to Bolin.

"You're incredibly obvious, you know? I see the way you look at me - I can read you like an open book," she told him smugly.

He laughed humorlessly in response, and turned his head away, but Korra grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him towards her so he had no choice but to look at her.

In a low, serious voice that is rare from Korra, she murmured to him, "Really, though, fire boy, I'm not wrong? There's no doubts, no jokes, nothing? You like me?"

He felt an involuntary shudder go up his spine, either from her true accusation or from being in such close vicinity to her, he didn't know. His throat clicked when he swallowed. His palms were getting sweaty, and his heart was pounding furiously in his chest. Even though his face was inches from hers, he was still attempting to avoid her gaze by looking down at his shoes.

"Yeah..." he admitted, still looking down at his feet.

"Then...kiss me."

He gasped, and looked up at him. And she looked so solemn, so serious. And she looked so beautiful.

"N-No. Korra, no way. I just can't do that..." he stammered. He hated how weak he sounded; only Korra had that effect on him.

"Why not?"

Man, there's something special about her!

"Well..." he started, unsure what to say. He couldn't tell her about Bolin.

"You sure have a way with words, Oh Wise One," she teased. "Oh well, if you don't kiss me," the corners of her lips turned upward in a seductive smirk. "I'll just have to kiss you."

He wanted her with a passion he had never felt before. But Bolin was his little brother. His only family. How could he possibly go and kiss the girl he loved so dearly?

"I'm going to count from three," she said.

"Please, Korra, don't do this to me."

"Three," she breathed, her hands now gripping his face. As much as he knew he should have, Mako made no effort to pull away.

"Stop..." he whimpered unconvincingly.

"Two."

"Korra..."

"One."

She moved her head forward and closed the distance between their lips. There was no point in resisting now, so Mako guiltily soaked up her touch as he felt her lips on his. The only coherent thought going through his mind was, 'Agni, she really did it.'

One of her hands moved up from his face and tangled itself in his short hair. The other moved down to his back, and she pulled him closer, so that her body was pressed up against his.

Though physically, he remained stoic, not responding to her touch, he felt as if all his nerves were lit on fire. Wherever she touched him, he felt as if she had sent a bolt of electricity. His knees were wobbly, his arms were shaking, and all the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight. His frantic heart was desperately pounding in a pathetic attempt at keeping up with his unstable emotions. He could feel the pounding in his chest and in his head, and he knew Korra could feel it.

He had to force himself to think, 'You can't do this. Think about Bolin.'

But with Korra's chest pressed up against his, he could feel her heart pressed up against his. He could feel it pounding against his, and he couldn't help but wonder if that meant she was just as nervous as he. Did she feel as if her body were on fire? Did she feel like her heart was about to explode?

This though triggered something inside him, and his self-control snapped, and he could hold back no longer. He pushed back all thoughts of Bolin and focused only on Korra. As immoral as it was, he kissed her back with all the passion he could muster.

He wrapped his arms around her, one hand tangled in her ponytail and the other at the small of her back.

Mako knew Korra could feel the difference in his kissing, because as their lips danced together, he could feel her smiling.

Occasionally a nasty thought would probe his conscience about Bolin, but his mind was so foggy at the time that they were soon pushed out and forgotten. At this point, it really didn't matter anyway – all his bewildered mind could think about was the beautiful girl in front of him, kissing him.

He had no experience with kissing. It was his second time, and the first was a surprise attack (courtesy of Korra). And that kiss was nothing like this.

But he could tell that kissing wasn't one of those things you could force. You couldn't think about it, or it would show – he just went along with it.

Korra pushed him gently, and he felt himself pressed up against a wall. He was already dizzy and lightheaded from being so physically close with another person, and his legs were wobbly from the excitement. He slowly slid down the wall, his jelly-like legs slowly yielding, and brought Korra right down with him. He sat with his legs askew, and her legs lay right on top of his.

After what felt like forever, she finally pulled her lips from his, ever so slightly. Their arms were still wrapped around each other, as close as physically possible.

"Now I know for sure you weren't lying," she whispered.

"I'd never lie to you about that..." he breathed out, as if breaking the silence would destroy the fragile moment.

He thought he felt his heart just about break when he heard her quiet voice say, "Mako, I love you."

The silence that followed was heartbreaking. He wanted more than anything to tell her that he felt the same, but his love for Bolin stopped him from doing so. Instead, he turned his gaze away.

Korra broke the terrible silence first.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Goodbye, Mako. See you tomorrow," she said, emotionless. He had never seen Korra so solemn looking; he couldn't help but hear the hurt in her voice.

And then she was gone. The last thing he saw was the single tear that escaped her eye.

After she left, he could still feel his heart pounding. He knew he was a goner. He loved the warm feeling that arose in his chest when he thought of the moments they just shared together. She was the only person who could make him feel that way.

But then he remembered Bolin, his brother, the most important person to him. His only living family. He had never before wanted something so badly for himself. It had always been about Bolin. Keeping him safe. Protecting him. And the harder he thought about it, the more he knew that he and Korra couldn't be together.

And this made him so upset and confused that it made him cry in frustration.

A/N: Aaaaangst everywhere