Disclaimer: LoK is not mine. It is the property of Nickelodeon and all that jazz. You guys know the drill.

Author's Note: This is just a nice, fluffy piece. Yes, there is mention of a romantic pairing in this fic, but it's really a story about friendship and family. Translation: There will be "feels" but no "smut." Sorry to disappoint.

Snow crunched underfoot as Mako strolled along the compound walls. His footsteps sounded impossibly loud in the silence of the late evening and the sudden awareness of it brought him to a complete stop. It wasn't just silent outside. It was empty. The realization put him on guard and Mako's gaze swept his surroundings, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He spotted a flash of yellow out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late.

"You're going down, evil dragon!"

Mako whirled around and looked up helplessly as Meelo launched himself from the roof of a nearby shed, aiming straight for Mako. He took a step backward, unsure of whether he should dodge the dangerous fartbender or try to catch him. Before he could make up his mind, he heard a familiar giggle and felt a puff of air sweep his feet out from under him. He landed with an oof and propped himself up on his elbows. Ikki sped away on an air scooter, her face split by a huge grin.

Reflexively, Mako tried to jump to his feet only to find himself struggling to stand. He was bundled in layers of borrowed, oversized clothing and the result was a limited range of motion. By the time he managed to get on his feet, Meelo had managed to latch on to Mako's shoulders and knocked him back down into the snow. Face first.

That was the last straw.

Mako felt his face contort into a grimace. He'd left the comfort of the lodge buildings and endured the cold that nipped at his ears and nose- all so that he could have some time to be alone with his thoughts. Instead, he found himself ambushed by two rambunctious children. He knew he'd probably have a bruised tailbone from his first less-than-graceful fall. Snow dampened his hair and snuck down past his scarf.

Meelo hopped up and down on Mako's back and the firbender felt his throat grow warm and he clenched his teeth. Fire threatened to spill out of his mouth. Mako slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and scowled.

There was only one thing to do in this situation.

/

"Hey, have you seen Meelo or Ikki? Or Mako?" Korra asked an unsuspecting White Lotus sentry. "You know, the tall, moody firebender?"

The sentry shrugged. "Sorry, Avatar Korra. I saw him go outside, but that was about an hour ago. I don't know about Master Tenzin's children."

"Okay. Thanks anyway." She offered a friendly wave and hid her frown as she turned to leave.

She knew there was no real cause for worry. It wasn't unusual for Mako to disappear now and then. He frequently slipped away for some "brooding time" as she liked to call it. But it was unusual for him to be late for dinner. But even more worrisome was the fact that nobody had seen Ikki and Meelo for nearly half an hour.

Korra walked down the corridor and grabbed her short-sleeved coat from its peg on the wall. She pulled it on and bumped the door open with her hip. Without looking back, she nudged the door shut behind her and took one step forward. That was when she heard the scream.

Korra's head snapped up and she looked for the source. "Ikki?" she shouted.

A roar bounced off of the nearby compound wall and a plume of flame shot into the sky. Korra broke into a sprint, her nostrils flaring at the scent of ozone wafting in her direction. She spotted a pair of sentries looking down from their watchtower, amusement painted on their faces. Confused, Korra rounded the building in front of her and stopped in her tracks.

The previous night's fresh snow had turned into a large, dirty slush and standing in the middle of it was a tall figure, recognizable despite being obscured by an oversized coat. Two little airbenders flitted about, squealing with delight as they dodged half-hearted blasts of fire. Mako waved his arms and let out another ferocious roar before chasing after his nearest victim. He nearly had Meelo in his grasp when Ikki swooped in to wrap herself around his leg. Her efforts proved futile and Mako managed to get his hands on Meelo in spite of her best efforts.

"Unhand me, dragon!"

"Never!" Mako snarled and dramatically declared, "I never let go of a tasty meal once I've caught it!" He opened his mouth as if to gobble up the squirming boy. As he leaned in to take a bite, a snowball smacked the back of his head and he jerked in surprise.

"You heard what he said. Unhand the boy, dragon!"

Mako dropped Meelo and whirled around to face his attacker. The children shouted and all but flew towards their savior. She stood with feet planted firmly, one hand on her hip while the other held another large snowball.

"Korra!" Meelo and Ikki shouted in unison.

"Now then, dragon," she said with a smirk, "if you're done attacking small, helpless children, maybe you'd like to pick on somebody your own size."

Mako grinned and crouched down, prepared to pounce. "Bring it on, Avatar."

/

When all four of them arrived in the dining hall, soaked and out of breath, Mako at least had the good grace to look sheepish.

Tenzin bit back a groan and Pema sighed. Lin rolled her eyes. Bolin and Jinora tried to stifle their laughter and both failed miserably. The senior members of the White Lotus glanced at the Avatar with mild disapproval and resignation, but no trace of surprise.

Katara merely looked up and said, "I see you found them, Korra." The master waterbender's eyes held a glint of amusement as she gestured to the empty seats at the table. "Why don't you sit down and have something to eat."

The meal went by quickly and- to Mako's own surprise- rather peacefully. He looked up at one point to see Ikki watching him and Mako let his lips curl up into a little snarl. Ikki's hands flew to her mouth to cover her giggles and she ducked her head down.

Korra teasingly poked his side. "Down, dragon," she scolded.

The two shared a smile and Mako felt his face grow warm. As he turned back to his food, he caught Katara's eye once again. This time, amusement wasn't the only thing he spotted. This time, the corners of her eyes were crinkled with happiness.

/

Later, while on his way to the bedroom he shared with his brother, he found the older woman sitting alone in the small lodge's main room. He had been walking in a bit of a haze, his lips still tingling from a rather deep goodnight kiss. When he saw Katara, he hesitated and noted that her gaze was fixed on a large tapestry depicting the heroes of the Hundred Year War. He debated trying to sneak by unnoticed, but Katara spotted the young firebender and made the decision for him.

Wordlessly, she patted the seat cushion next to her and smiled. Mako took the hint and joined her in front of the tapestry. From his new seat, he saw that the figures seemed almost alive in the dim, flickering light of the fire. Katara continued to smile and gave the tapestry a wistful glance before fully giving her attention over to Mako.

"So, you're the young man who's got Korra finally thinking about something other than bending," she said. Her voice was soft but somehow still laced with mirth.

"Um, yes. I guess that would be me."

Katara eyed him. "My grandchildren seem to be developing an attachment to you, too. And to your brother as well."

Mako rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. It's kind of weird," he confessed quietly. His eyes widened suddenly and he waved his hands in front of him. "I mean, not weird in a bad way. I just mean that I wasn't expecting it."

Katara laughed and gave his arm a reassuring pat. "I know what you meant. It's odd to go to sleep one day and then wake up to find yourself thrown into a new family. Just know that we welcome you and Bolin with open arms. We're a large and loud family, but I hope that doesn't scare you off."

It was Mako's turn to laugh then. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

The two sat in companionable silence for a moment while Katara allowed Mako to digest her words. Then the old woman sighed and stole a glimpse of the tapestry. "Would you like to humor an old woman and let me tell you about how I found my family?"

Mako nodded and propped his elbows on his knees.

And as her gentle voice wove together the tale of her late husband and friends, Mako couldn't help but realize that he did feel welcome.

Author's Note: If you can't tell, i'm really big on the concept of "framily" (friends + family-like bonds = framily). Family is about more than just bloodlines and who's married to whom. There's something very special about creating such a tight bond with people to whom you have no blood relation. For me, there's very little distinction between my closest friends and the people who are related to me by blood; to me, they're all family.

This kind of bond is something i would expect to develop as a result of Korra's friendship with Mako and Bolin, regardless of who ended up with whom. It's also one of my favorite things about Avatar: The Last Airbender. In fact, my favorite moment of the show is when Toph asks, "Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?"

Anyway, i've gone on long enough. I just typed up this little bit on a whim and i'm already contemplating making it a series of "framily-themed" one-shots. We'll just have to wait and see what happens…