Disclaimer: Avatar: The Legend of Korra belongs to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. If I owned it, Masami wouldn't exsist and there'd be so much Makorra fluff it'd make the fangirls' heads explode.

So, four episodes in and I'm head-over-heels in love with LoK. I've seen a few drabble series floating around on here, so I thought I'd try my hand at some, too. Most of these will range somewhere between a few hundred and a little over a thousand words, because I tend to have trouble writing short ficlets. All the prompts I've used/will use are from the group #Makorra over on deviantArt.

~Annoyance~

Mako was about ready to rip his hair out.

He'd just come from a rather taxing session of Pro-Bending training with his teammates, and as usual, his mood had turned sour from the moment he'd walked into the gym. It wasn't the fact they had to practice at the crack of dawn because they were rookies that bothered him, nor was it the pressure of the championships hanging over their heads.

No, it was the newest member of the Fire Ferrets that'd been getting under his skin lately, one Avatar Korra.

Now, there were several things that tweaked Mako's nerves, but this girl trumped them all. He'd never met someone quite like her before, so brash and hotheaded and in-your-face. In less than a month she'd managed to come barreling into his life and destroy nearly every ounce of normalcy she could find.

Today's practice had been one of the worst yet. After the fiasco with the Equalists and Bolin being captured, Mako had stepped up the intensity of their team workouts, both for the tournament's sake and to keep them all fit in case trouble caught up to them again. Korra had been the most perturbed by this, — "I've already got airbending training to deal with twenty-four-seven, Mr. Hat Trick. One person can only take so much, you know." — and she'd made a habit of showing it whenever she could.

They'd been halfway through a three-way sparring match this morning when Korra had lost her focus and gotten the full brunt of an earth disk in the stomach, courtesy of Bolin. While the earthbender apologized profusely, Mako had called her out on her slip-up, snapping at her to pay attention. Of course, Korra'd flared up at him instantly, reminding him for the umpteenth time of the responsibilities she had stacked on her shoulders. He'd jumped to the defense of their team, pointing out how important it was for him and Bolin that they win the championship, and one of their most heated arguments to date ensued.

In the end, both Mako and Korra had stormed out of the gym in a huff, leaving Bolin standing awkwardly off to the side with his mouth hanging open.

Now Mako lay sprawled out on the couch in the brothers' attic apartment, sulking. He'd cooled off considerably since fighting with Korra, but he was still irritated. The Avatar always seemed to rub him the wrong way no matter what she did.

Why can't she just be easy to get along with for once?

Heavy footsteps hitting wood interrupted Mako's brooding. A moment later, Bolin appeared at the top of the stairs leading to their modest home, Pabu curled around his neck. He glanced over at the couch and threw his older brother a grin.

"You missed out on the best part of practice." He passed by the sofa and entered their tiny kitchen adjacent to it, heading for the food cupboards. "Pabu and I had a weight-lifting contest. He almost beat me."

Mako grunted noncommittally, staring up at the ceiling as Bolin rustled about nearby.

The earthbender grabbed a few things at random and set them on the counter, peeking at Mako over his shoulder. He frowned as he studied the other boy, noticing — not for the first time — how subdued Mako was. It wasn't like he hadn't always been somewhat stoic, but this was a new level of indifference, even for the firebender.

And Bolin was pretty sure he had an idea what was behind it, probably more so than Mako himself.

A devious plan began to form in Bolin's mind, and he arranged his features into a casual smile, turning back to his food.

"So," he began nonchalantly, "you and Korra really went at it today, huh?"

"Don't remind me," Mako replied crossly, running his fingers through his hair and letting his arm flop over the edge of the couch.

"How come you're always picking fights with her, anyway?" Bolin abandoned his half-formed meal in favor of facing his brother completely. He leaned back against the counter, adopting the perfect mask of innocent curiosity.

"I don't." Mako rolled onto his side, sending a scowl Bolin's way. "She picks fights with me."

"Doesn't look like it from where I'm standing. I definitely remember you starting it this morning. And yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that." The corner of Bolin's lips twitched as he tried to smother a smirk. Pabu chittered on his shoulder, almost sounding like he agreed with his human friend.

"I can't help it if she's too stubborn for her own good." Sitting up straight, Mako folded his arms over his chest, silently wondering where Bolin was going with this conversation. "If she wants to argue with everything I say, fine. Not my fault."

"Y'know what I think?" Bolin couldn't hold back his grin anymore. Mako arched an eyebrow suspiciously at him. "I think you like arguing with Korra."

"Like it?" The firebender blanched, looking for all the world like Bolin had just slapped him in the face. "Are you kidding? That girl's crazy. I don't even have to do anything and she still finds a reason to yell at me! And then I never win a fight against her because she never backs down! Why the hell would I like that?"

"Oh, I don't know." Spirits, Bolin was having way too much fun with this. "Maybe because you like her?"

That brought Mako up short. His amber eyes widened in shock, jaw falling slack as if he'd just gotten the wind knocked out of him. Several seconds passed in which his mouth tried to form inaudible words, thoughts spiraling out of control as a blush crept up his neck and splattered over his cheeks.

Like her? Korra? No, of course not. Bolin doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't like her… I think. Right? But, maybe I do, a little… She is kinda pretty… No. I don't know. I just… what?

Bolin was on the brink of exploding into laughter at Mako's predicament when his brother finally found his voice again.

"I-I don't — I, um — w-what makes you think I, uh, like Korra?" Mako cursed himself for stammering, hand perching itself on the back of his neck nervously.

"No reason, really." Bolin pretended to be studying a loose thread on his shirt, green eyes glancing up at Mako slyly through his lashes. "Just that I've seen you watching her when you think she isn't looking. Plus you two are always fighting like an old married couple. And then there was that one time —"

"I don't like Korra!" Mako interrupted hurriedly, sparing himself further embarrassment. His face darkened until it was nearly as red as his scarf, and he suddenly found his shoes extremely interesting.

"Pfft, whatever you say, bro," Bolin chuckled, shaking his head and scratching Pabu behind the ears absentmindedly. He shrugged away from the counter, sidestepping his brother as he made his way toward their bedroom, pausing just long enough to lay a hand on Mako's shoulder. "But take my advice; you're not gonna win her over by shooting her down every five seconds. I won't let your sad flirting skills ruin my chances of having little Makos and Korras running around with Uncle Bolin."

A loud guffaw burst from his chest at the mortification written all over the firebender's features. Bolin darted up the stairs before Mako could throttle him, his laughter echoing in his wake.

For several minutes after Bolin disappeared, Mako simply stood frozen in the middle of the room, his head reeling. He refused to accept his brother's words, to consider the possibility that he could —

But what if I do like her?

Ugh.

Apparently everyone was out to annoy him today.

Honestly I'm a little nervous about this, because I'm not sure four episodes is enough to have gotten a grip on how the characters think... Reviews would be much appreciated so I know if you guys thought anyone was OOC, and then I can try to work on improving that. Thanks~