Rating: T

Pairing(s): Makorra

Summary: Even with Amon unmasked an defeated, three elements mastered with air well on its way, and the ability to restore bending discovered, trouble is far from gone in Republic City, and Korra is bound to be right in the middle of it. As a fully realized Avatar, Korra must juggle her budding relationship with Mako and the duties of her destiny. Post Book 1.

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The South Pole: The Compound

"I love you too," the words tumbled from her mouth before she pulled him gently towards her to meet her lips.

Korra felt his hand press against her, sliding down to the small of her back, his fingers curling slightly in the thick material of her jacket. Her fingers slid into this hair as she held fast to him as if her life depended on it. She couldn't help but enjoy the heat rising of his skin, firebender and all as the extreme chill of the South Pole air ended wherever her body met his.

This kiss was not much at all like their first. While the fiery passion of that brief moment outside the Pro-Bending Arena was there, the rush and uncertainty was eradicated by their earlier emotional proclamations. Now they had time. Time to enjoy each other without crazy revolutions or war.

The kiss deepened and their tongues joined the fray and they fought for control as they always did. Warmth pooled within her, relaxing the stress of war away to a peaceful surrender to him.

Mako pulled away, a half smile creeping on to his face. They were forehead-to-forehead, eyes locked on one another alone.

"You know you're incredible, but I think you already know that," he said, brushing a stray tendril of hair away from her face.

"I thought that was my line."

"Well, I didn't think you'd mind me borrowing it in this situation."

Korra leaned closer, their lips millimeters apart. "Well, that isn't wrong."

She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. It seemed impossible to get enough of him. In the moment, touching him seemed as vital as breathing; stopping would leave her gasping for air and faint.

This kiss broke, and smiles broke out simultaneously on each side.

"So," his breath was hot on her face. "How did you…?"

"Get my bending back?"

"Yeah."

With a sigh, she dropped her head to his shoulder. "It's kind of a long story…"

"We have time."

She looked back up at him, "When we get back to the compound."

He hugged her closer suddenly, "I was afraid I lost you there."

"Mako I'm fine-"

"But you weren't earlier," he took a deep breath. "When I followed you before you ran, something was different about you. I'd never heard you talk like that before."

"Really I-"

"Korra just listen," he tipped her chin gently up with a finger. "I love you. All of you. That means Avatar or not okay?"

"You mean it?"

Tears glistened in her eyes. Was it really possible for things to work out so well? She had her bending, gained the ability to airbend, learned to restore bending, and she had Mako also?

"How's this for meaning it?"

He crushed his lips against hers and she melted into his embrace. Yue, she loved this. Was it ever possible to get enough of him? Her fingers fisted in his scarf, pulling him impossibly closer. His scent flooded her senses with each breath she took. It was so distinctive, so him, and so utterly intoxicating.

"You know we have to get to the compound eventually right?" Mako mumbled.

She laughed, "The key word here is eventually."

Korra felt him smile into the kiss, as time seemed to stand still. The troubles of the week seemed to dissolve away and fall forgotten into the snow. Battle. War. Amon. None of it mattered now that she was finally in his arms.

The touch of a wet polar bear dog nose to her cheek forced her to break the kiss. "Naga, we're a bit busy."

The creature cocked her head to the side, before suddenly delivering a sloppy lick to the firebender's face. The show of affection obviously caught him off guard, as he slipped in the slick snow and fell unceremoniously to the frozen ground.

"Not funny," he brushed snow off his jacket.

She couldn't contain her laugher. "Who's the cool guy now? Someone's extremely coordinated," she quipped.

Mako smirked in reply, before grabbing her arm and pulling her down on top of him. They were flush against one another, her body pinning him to the ground.

"Oof! Hey! I didn't have a firm footing?"

"Who's the coordinated one now?"

"Umm, clearly me." It was then that she realized how close they were. A rosy blush reached her cheeks. "I mean I got you here didn't I?" It was a conscious effort not to trip over her words.

"Actually I'm the one that pulled you down here," he grinned.

"Well…I…errr…"

He wrapped his arms around her, "Exactly. But honestly, all the others are really worried about you. We should get back and tell them the amazing news."

"What news?"

"The fact that you got your bending back," he shook his head with amusement. "What do you think I was talking about?"

"Maybe the fact that we love each other?" she said, planting a light kiss on his cheek.

"Well, that's news too. Okay, we really should get going."

"Sure."

"Ummm Korra?"

"Yes?"

"You're kind of on top of me."

Her blush intensified and she rolled off. She stood, brushing some snow off and offering an open hand to help him up. Wordlessly, he allowed her to aid in getting him to his feet. Their eyes locked for a moment in silent communication. In his eyes she saw "I love you," "I care about you," and countless other endearments. When had they reached this point? Everything that needed to be said had been so and would surely be said many times to come.

With a triumphant display of airbending, she jumped atop Naga, landing as lightly as a feather. Korra looked down to Mako as he placed a foot on the saddle. "What are you looking at?"

"You." This time, instead of grasping the back end of the saddle awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

She nudged Naga forward, and soon they were hurtling towards the compound. For the first time in quite a while, she couldn't help but feel that everything would be okay.

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"Korra!" Tenzin had been waiting in the primary watchtower with the White Lotus Guards. His orange and yellow air nomad garb stood out distinctively on the palette of blue. He glided to the ground, landing beside them. "Thank goodness you're fine!"

"I'm better than fine," Korra slid off of Naga, giving her a loving pat to the head.

"Well that's…" he stroked his beard, "unexpected but I'm glad Mako here and been able to have you see that everything will truly be alright. As I have said, your bending is just a small part of you and I-"

"Tenzin," she interrupted him with a hand. "I can bend."

"I'm glad you feel strongly on your airbending-"

"No, I can bend all four elements." She didn't even give him a moment to sputter out a confused remark. She closed her eyes, breathing slowly and surrendering to the power within. Her eyes glowed and she floated into the air on a column of wind, rising small displays of fire, water, and earth around her before returning to the ground.

Tenzin's face could barely contain the grin it held as he scooped Korra into a hug. "We must tell the others! I am so proud of you and what you've accomplished," he released her.

Mako walked up behind her and he slid his hand into hers. The gesture caught her off guard, and she looked over to him with a smile.

"Do uhh…you two need a moment?" the airbender wrung his hands uncomfortably.

"No," Korra didn't look away from her firebender, "we've already had a moment or two."

"Well let's head inside then and get out of the cold."

The three walked in silence with only the sound of crunching snow beneath their feet as accompaniment. A kind of warmth radiated up from where her fingers were entwined with Mako's. She gave his hand a slight squeeze, causing him to look over.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too."

Tenzin reached the door and pushed it in. The room was still filled. Everyone was there; all these people cared about her. She caught Bolin's eye when they stepped through the door; his eyes flicked quickly down to her occupied hand.

Immediately, she dropped the hold on Mako's hand before rubbing her shoulder uncomfortably. Suddenly, the realization hit her that not everything was so simple. Asami was still in the picture; she hated to think of the pain she could cause to one of her friends. She looked into the room not wanting to see a potentially hurt look on his face.

"Wonderful news everyone! Korra has regained the use of all four elements!"

The room showed mixed reactions ranging from shock, to happiness, to the hopeful glint that shone in Lin Beifong's eyes.

"How?" Katara spoke quietly from the back of the room.

The Avatar met the waterbending master's eyes. "It was Aang."

"Aang?" Tenzin and Katara said, practically in unison.

"He said that 'When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change' to me and that I had finally connected spiritually. He restored my bending."

The room sat quietly, mentally chewing over this surprising development.

"Is there hope then?" Lin stood.

Korra nodded, "I know for certain that I am able to restore the bending of others."

"So that's it then!" Bolin exclaimed. "Happy ending!"

"Not quite that easy I'm afraid," Tenzin spoke up. "While Amon has escaped, we still do not know about his whereabouts. General Iroh and Bumi are still stationed in Republic City and are searching the waterways for any sign of Amon and keeping the city in a stable state."

"While the war may be over, the Equalist threat is far from over," Lin added.

"As the Avatar, I would like to be involved in the rebuilding. I think while Noatok went to ends that were extreme, I think many of the requests of Equalist supporters aren't bad at all. After all, I'm their Avatar too. And, I need to restore the bending of all those who lost it."

"You have matured quite a bit since you first came to Republic City," Tenzin placed a hand on her shoulder. "But if you would, who is this Noatok?"

Korra and Mako repeated the story of Noatok, Tarrlok, and Yakone.

"We should head back to Republic City as soon as possible to clean up this mess," the airbender stood. "I am not sure when we will be able to depart by ship again; it might be a few days before the crew is readied and provisions are loaded. But for now, I suggest that we get our rest. There is quite a bit ahead for us to face."

Everyone stood, and began filing out to their sleeping areas. Each paused, giving Korra a tired smile; they all knew that the day had been rough and that there would be time for congratulations later.

"Wait," Korra turned to Lin. "I'd like to restore your bending tonight."

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Korra sat on her bed. The day had been…overwhelming to say the least. She connected spiritually with her past lives, reached the Avatar state for the first time, had her bending restored, admitted her love for Mako, and gave Lin back her bending. Part of her reveled in the satisfying conclusion, but the other part wasn't so satisfied.

Tenzin was right; it wasn't over. It probably never would be, Avatar and all. There would always be threats to face and conflicts to mediate. Republic City was not yet in harmony with Avatar Aang's original vision, and it was certainly going to take an incredible amount of effort to reach that point.

Korra mentally went over what she would have to do upon their return. Restore the bending of many. Reassure the people with a press conference of some sort (the thought of that made her feel particularly uncomfortable). Get Beifong reinstated as the Chief of Police. Work on getting non-benders on the city council…

The rustling of the curtain to her quarters snapped her from her thoughts.

"Can I come in?" Mako said quietly.

She nodded, patting the bed beside her in a motion to have him sit down. "I'd like to thank you, for being here for me all this time."

"I should be thanking you," he sat down, placing hand on her knee. "You've been there for me despite how terrible I've been to you on occasion. I'm sorry it took me so long to figure all this out about how I feel."

"I told you I thought we were meant for each other," she laughed.

"And you were right."

They sat, just looking at each other lovingly.

"What about Asami?"

"It's pretty much over…we talked before she headed to the airfield. But to be honest, it was left unclear I'm going to make sure it gets cleared up tomorrow."

"I don't want her hurt."

"I think she knows that this has been a long time in coming now. We talked at the Air Temple; she knows we kissed."

Korra frowned and looked down at her lap. She hated the idea of the pain she might have caused. "She's had a rough time."

"We all have."

They locked eyes and leaned in until their lips touched. Her eyes fluttered closed and she wrapped her arms around him. Being in his arms felt safe; she was wrapped in the kind of warmth no fire could provide.

"Can I ask you something?" he pulled back, cupping her face in his hands.

"Anything."

"Earlier you said that you had reached your 'lowest point' and-"

He paused and watched her eyes dart away from his.

"Were you going to-"

"I don't want to talk about this."

"Why not?"

"Because…" she took a deep breath. "I don't want you to see me like this."

"Like what?"

"…Weak," tears began to well up in her eyes and threatened to fall.

"Oh Korra," he pulled her on to his lap and into his arms. "I'm here for you. Through everything."

She let herself go, relaxing into the safety of his arms. Tears ran down her face freely. "I was just so scared and what's an Avatar without her bending?"

"How many times do I need to tell you that you are much more than the Avatar?"

A small smile formed on her face. "Stay with me tonight?"

Mako nodded and pulled back the thick covers, allowing her to slip in with him close behind. His chest was flush against her back and he wrapped an arm around her midriff and held her to him. She covered his hand with hers as he buried his face in the back of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.

"I love you," he mumbled into her skin.

"I love you too."

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Republic City: ?

"Sir, we've been able to de-scramble the United Forces radio signal."

"And?"

"It indicates that Amon's body has been found, along with that of Councilman Tarrlok."

"…"

"Sir?"

"That's fine. Amon didn't truly care about the advancement of non-benders. Not like I do."

"Should we proceed?"

"No. Not quite yet. The United Forces is still on high alert. Keep our network of communications going and instruct the true believers of the Equalist cause to lay low. It's time for a different approach."

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Well! That's chapter one! This will be a multi-chap post book 1 fic and I have a lot more planned.

For the record, I am going to keep this story T. However, may the time arise that I wrote a more adult version of a chapter, I'll post it separately as a one-shot missing moment and indicate it in the chapter to better accommodate younger readers, or those that would prefer not to muddle through the smut.

Please do read a review! Encourages me to write faster and I love the feedback!

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