In the aftermath of the battle for Republic City, somewhere deep inside Mako wished that they still had to continue fighting only so he wouldn't need to accept what a true idiot he had been. Amon was beaten back, those in the city were no longer under threat of the Equalist movement that was still on the run with countless supporters rounded up by the Fleet, thanks to General Iroh's intervention and efforts. One would believe this was the ideal time to be happy that at last they could have peace, but it was peace that gave time for Mako to think, and all he thought about was his stupidity. Looking back on his relationship with Asami now, it was truly genuine. From the very moment they crossed paths he was starstruck by her beauty, the natural fragrance surrounding her perfect form, and that sweet voice that told you she couldn't do any wrong. And somehow, along the way, he had forgotten just why he fell in love with that selfless Sato, and set his sights more on the Avatar, Korra, instead. He had all this time, both on the trip to the southern water tribe, and during Korra's attempted healing, to consider everything. After Korra had raced out in defeat, Mako had been the first to get up and attempt to console her, but it was Tenzin who encouraged him to give her some time by herself. At first Mako was going to ignore that suggestion, but he had gathered himself long enough to consider that being what Korra would need. Time. Besides, what was his plan going to be? Something as stupid as saying he was in love with her, as though that would suddenly make things alright? 

Standing here beside the doorway Korra had run off through, he had found his eyes reaching to Asami at times he felt she wouldn't notice. If it weren't for Bolin and the kids playing, he felt he might go insane with the way things were. Still, it was mostly just him and her there thinking about how things had gotten. She wouldn't say it up front, but she had to have felt the same deep down. There were things he had to say to her, face to face, and not avoid the issue. His brother revealing that Korra and himself had kissed was, sadly, the best thing for them both. If it wasn't for that, he'd still be neglecting Asami. Yet there was something about Korra that Asami just couldn't emulate, and Mako felt that to be the best explanation for why he looked at her the way he did only after he fell in love with Asami. Where Asami was proper, enjoying the much finer things in life given her expensive background, Korra was much more accustomed to living on little like he and Bolin had. It had also helped that she was able to compete with him in the ring of Pro-Bending, but Mako had dismissed that. He wasn't so petty that Korra's bending was a prime reason he liked her, even if the Avatar was pretty incredible at it. But, then again ...

Grumbling, Mako smacked his forehead lightly. Being left alone in such a tense home was beginning to make him go crazy. All he knew was that hurting Asami was never the intention, but he had succeeded in doing so. The only thing left to do now was to make it right, and unfortunately Asami was the one who was forced to make that conversation happen last time. Thankfully a shift in the air resulted as Asami stepped into the kitchen, the first time she had moved in some time. With her gone, he pulled himself from the wall he had learned against and began to consider his strategy for this. No matter how he approached, Asami more than likely wouldn't want to hear it from him, but he had deserved those negative feelings. All that was left to confront her, and by the time she had stepped out he had reached out to her quietly. [b]"Asami."[/b] he seemed hesitant, but if you had a girl like her upset with you, cautious was always advisable. Of course she didn't seem thrilled to speak with him, but nonetheless she was willing to look at his stupid face and give him the time of day. What was left now, was expressing himself. Taking a deep breath, the expression he wore was long overdue and described his mood perfectly; honest, deep regret at how things had come to this. 

[b]"I was wrong, for everything ...I gave Korra so much attention and care, and in return I pushed you aside. To make it all worse, I stood in front of you and pretended that I wasn't hurting you whatsoever."[/b] Well, that was part of the issue down, but his nervousness was beginning to make his throat seize up. His eyes averted, and his right hand found itself behind his head awkwardly. The last time he had been this nervous had to have been the first time he laid eyes on her, and at this moment he wished he could go back and do it all over again. Do things right. [b]"I'm a jerk, and the biggest idiot on the planet for ever taking you for granted ..and I want you to know how sorry I am, and how much I wish I could take all my mistakes back. Of course, I can't."[/b] by then his eyes had met hers again, long enough to let her know that he meant every word if the pain in his voice just wasn't letting her know that enough. [b]"I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me for how stupid I was ..and maybe when that day comes, we could be friends again. I'd ..I'd like that, a lot."[/b] 

With that being said and done, Mako took a step backwards, but kept his eyes on her to read her lips. If she had nothing to say to him, and he'd understand, then he'd return to his part of the home and leave her be. Of course with him apologizing, perhaps she had some words for him to hear, given he had been deaf and blind to her pain all this time. 

[center]-~-[/center]

Upon Bolin's touch and a silent plea, Korra had regained her mobility and her awareness had fully returned to the physical world. Gasping in surprise at returning with a wealth of new knowledge, Korra had looked around to find that she was once more just beside the cliff with nothing awaiting below her but bitter cold waters and regret. Prior to hearing Bolin's voice in the Avatar State she had suddenly leaped into, her pain was at an all-time high. The best healer in the southern water tribe and a great mentor, Katara, was unable to undo what Amon had brought upon her. Taken from her was the bending she had known how to access all her life, and with her failure to protect herself she had robbed the world of a useful Avatar. Without her bending she was dead weight, and all value in who she was appeared to have just evaporated with her power. And for a single instant, when she had stood up from having kept her head down for so long, and peered down at the waters roughly crashing against the cliff, she had contemplated the saddest thing imaginable. A willing sacrifice to bring forth a better Avatar the world deserved, while she drowned in the cold abyss of her failures. An Avatar without bending was no Avatar.

That was what she had believed, anyway, until her body had seized up and her mind moved forward where her body had remained behind. There they had stood out to her, countless Avatars, her past lives had gathered to her and in the very center was Aang himself. The previous Avatar reached out, as they all had, assuring her that what made the Avatar was much more than the power they wielded in the form of mastering the elements. At that point, she had found the spiritual side she had neglected and failed to understood. All of them had assured her that this wasn't the end for her, and with Aang's touch he had restored her ability to bend. At first she had been understandably incredibly excited and happy to no longer be worthless in her own eyes, but Aang had revealed to her that instead of restoring her powers up front, they had merely only allowed her to relearn them once again. Though she recalled the teachings of all three, to 'master' them meant more than just wielding them as she did. They could all agree, and even Korra herself, that she still had so much more to understand about what made her who she was. Her self-esteem no longer to the point of leaping from that cliff, the previous Avatars had parted one by one, leaving only Aang before her. With this gift, her bending capacity was once again able to be met. So much emphasis was given about her friends as well; Bolin, Mako, Asami. Korra was told to keep them all close, and she was quick to argue that she had, though deep down she knew the only close one at this point had to have been Mako.

..And when it came down to it, even that had felt empty. To Korra this had originally been about doing what was necessary as the failed Avatar, but to Aang this was about doing what was right. They saw through her eyes, and they had all lived long enough lives to fully understand. Some of which never kept the friends they had made, and they didn't wish to see Korra lose those she held dear in favor of restoring her strength. Just before Aang had begun to fade, he had encouraged her to pass on her gift to Lin. At first Korra didn't understand what that meant, but Aang seemed assured that figuring it out wouldn't take long, as long as she had gone to see her. As his image began to disappear bit by bit, Bolin's voice had recaptured her. By the time he had tapped her, she had once more left the cosmic space she was in, and by the time she was out again she had unknowingly been crying. Two minutes later and she might not have been standing here. Korra had fallen to her knees, and begun to cry and laugh at the very same time. 

[b]"Bolin ..you ..you have no idea how happy I am to hear you right now!"[/b] Standing back up, she had wiped her eyes with her left sleeve and threw herself at him, squeezing him tightly in a desperate embrace. That dead weight on her shoulders had lifted, and she had been given a second chance at both being the Avatar, and living itself. Whistling, Naga who had remained idle even after Bolin had showed up hustled over and boldly balanced herself on her hind legs, grabbing Bolin and Korra, and hugging them both as well. Even Korra's dearest friend could tell that something glorious had happened, but was unable to perfectly understand what. As long as Korra was happy, that was good enough for her. With that, she laughed harder, finding joy in these new circumstances. She'd learn how to bend once more, and she'd especially restore the faith in her friends. 

[b]"Come on, let's go back! I'll explain everything then!"[/b] 

[center]-~-[/center]

With the exception to Korra's new pain at the loss of all but one element she had tapped into, and with some noticeable tension between Mako and Asami that Tenzin couldn't describe, the elder air bender was content. With Bolin, all three of his children were thriving, trying to find happiness with the fighting finally ending. Beside him was his wife, Pema, who was truly exhausted after the recent events. In her arms was his newborn son Rohan, nestled peacefully in her arms. This was the ideal ending he wanted for himself, where there was no more fighting, no more evil in the shadows, and all he'd need to worry about was who wet their bed and punishing whoever ate cookies before dinner. Call it boring, but he was a man who had begun to stood by this kind of life when he had married Pema. These children have changed his life, and he was thankful he could sit beside his beloved and share this one more time. The consequence of his family being happy was that his ex-lover, and who he had once upon a time expected to be the mother of his children, Chief Lin Beifong. Her sacrifice had allowed this family to be happy and unharmed, and while he was content with how things were, he knew he owed her a private word. What she had done for him surpassed anything he could ever say, but unfortunately there was very little he could do for her physically as well. Would his word be enough with her life changed forever? He had sat there and thought about it to the point he could no longer stand it, and muttering a quick word to Pema in her ear, he parted from her side with a kiss and moved to Lin, who had been just as quiet as Mako and Asami seemed to have been. With Bolin leaving his children, he allowed the young man to step out and grab Korra, who surely didn't want to miss a southern water tribe cousin. Bless his mother for trying to bring some life here again.

[b]"Lin, may we speak just a moment?"[/b] he muttered. She had appeared to comply, and he had led her just outside as the children had resumed to playing without Bolin for a while. Parting the doorway, he had guided her down the long steps until their feet had both hit the snow. He wasn't certain why he had stepped so far outside with her, but believed it came down to expressing himself fully. In what he figured he might do, Tenzin held doubts that Pema could really object to such a thing given she was the reason both her and the entire family was not harmed, and at the cost of a gift she held her entire life. It seemed that even in such times as these, Lin was still trying to comfort him. She believed that Korra was his primary concern, and she'd be right, but this was more about her now than it was him or Korra. And he couldn't believe it when she had said that he had done all he could. In such a terrible time for Lin herself, she was still making sure he was emotionally stable. That was a quality that, admittedly in their issues as a couple, he had forgotten about. 

Turning to face her, Tenzin studied her, his eyes locked on hers. He had made his decision the moment he had taken her outside, and before he had nervously considered backing out of it he had chosen to embrace Lin in a hug with warmth Tenzin hadn't given since they were in love so many years ago. Words alone could not possibly display just how he had felt about her after this fight, and though he knew nothing he'd say would bring her bending back, it would at least show her that her sacrifice was never going to be forgotten. [b]"If it wasn't for you, my family might be injured, or much worse. There's so little I can actually say to show you how much I value you as a friend, so instead ..this is what I've chosen."[/b] It seemed like very little, but from Tenzin it had meant much more. Through it his gratitude could not simply be heard, but felt through this action. His eyes were closed tightly, hoping that it would mean something to her, because it had meant the world to him. [b]"I owe you a debt I don't think I can ever truly repay."[/b]

Parting from her just a moment later, he smiled warmly at her, a smile he didn't believe he had given her since they were once an item.

[b]"Meelo called you a hero that day ..and I couldn't agree more."[/b]