It was insincere and perhaps even a little foolish to say it to himself, but Mako hurt just as badly as Asami did. As he filled in every blank that he could, the tears that quietly flowed from Asami’s eyes was a site so pain-inducing that it begun to make his own eyes sting. It did not feel good to see her like this, just as much as it did not feel good to tell her any of this. Ironically, he would call that a good sign; if he felt pain from her own, knowing that what had occurred was the source, Mako understood that what he felt for Asami wasn’t in jeopardy after all. He felt something for her that Korra did not manage to come between, and he wanted it to stay that way. Maybe even stay that way forever. Firstly, he’d need to be able to see a tomorrow with Asami Sato as his girlfriend.

Right now, it wasn’t looking likely. 

His hands now deprived of her warmth, Mako set them on his knees as the dam of Asami’s emotions split in two. He could only wait until there was a pause in her fury before trying—[i]desperately[/i]—to explain himself further. Asami was entitled to rant, rave, and rage at him, but he was still trying to do the right thing deep down. Somewhere deep. Way deep. Right?

When she stood and took a step back, Mako stood up. [color=Peru][b]“If I went to Bolin, it would have just made him insecure and depressed! What kind of a brother would I have been if I came to him with nothing but a hunch, and it just so happened to be tied to the fact Korra wanted me more than him? I just thought that if I confronted Korra—“[/b][/color]

Mako was cut off and completely silenced by Asami’s next volley. Unlike before, where he felt he might have been able to explain it all away, the comparison of who he was then to who he was now had kept him mute. It was arrogant. He knew even before he approached Korra that maybe, just maybe, he was putting himself on a pedestal he didn’t need to be sat upon. But there was just something that wrenched at his gut when he saw Korra take his little brother up on that offer to go out and spend some time together. 

A deep frown formed on his face, eyes downcast to the floor beneath their feet. Asami had continued by suggesting he was drawn to Korra. This wasn’t something he could just jump up and outright deny. Korra was amazing, there wasn’t any doubt about that, but it wasn’t just because she was the Avatar. Asami’s fear of that had roused him from his silence, meeting her face with a hard stare, one filled with determination. 

[color=Peru][b]“You’re wrong. A girl doesn’t need to be the Avatar to have my affection—or be able to bend ANY element. Aren’t you proof of that?”[/b][/color] He dared to step closer, and dared even further to reach out and let the tips of his fingers brush against hers. [color=Peru][b]“I… I messed up tonight, Asami. I thought that maybe I was doing the right thing, protecting Bolin from getting his feelings hurt… but you also had a point, that I could have just been too absorbed in my own ego to just let Bolin and Korra be themselves. It would have been simpler if I just came here and got lost in your smile, like I always do.”[/b][/color] 

The pounding of his heart and the trembling of his arms betrayed the bravery he thought he was showing. He needed not to shy away from her, otherwise he would only confirm her worst fears. His hands moved beneath hers in a careful attempt to cup them.