Challenge 2: Brothers

Brothers

"And the Avatar's out of the round! Can the bending brothers hold their ground against The Buzzard Wasps?"
Mako and Bolin were already in Zone 2. Mako fired, sending one of the opponents back into Zone 3. He looked at Bolin through his peripheral and regretted it immediately.
Bolin wasn't looking good at all. Mako had just noticed the purple circles under his eyes, and he was already out of breath, dodging more than what he was firing. Mako turned and kept firing, trying to make up for Bolin and keep him on the platform. He focused on the firebender, who seemed to enjoy trying to knock Bolin off. He maneuvered around Bolin and sent three shots toward the firebender, who was only hit by one of them. He wasn't paying any attention to Bolin, and didn't notice his absence until he had knocked the firebender into the water.
"Bolin?" A disc collided with Mako's ribs and threw him into Zone 3. "Dammit."
He dodged the earthbender, the only Buzzard Wasp left. In a minute he knew his opponent's tactics, his dominant hand (the left), and where he liked to aim (the abdomen). Mako smirked, something he's never done in a match. He took the guy out easily, accepted the cheers, and dashed back into the gym.
"Bolin? You in here?" He looked around, but found no sign of his brother. A crash and a thud came from the stairs. He started up and found Korra, holding Bolin up by his arm, and having a hard time doing so. Mako came up from behind them and wrapped Bolin's other arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks," Korra said. Mako just looked at her. How could she be grateful to him helping his own brother? He's his brother, for spirits' sakes. He should be thanking Korra, not the other way around.
"Yeah…th-thanks. I—" Bolin started.
"Shh, Bolin. I know." Mako tried not to meet Bolin's gaze or it would kill him.
They reached their loft in double the time it would've taken if Bolin wasn't still damaged. Korra and Mako had rescued him only two days ago, and Bolin was still suffering. He had woken up screaming in the middle of the night from nightmares. A pang of guilt hit Mako at the memory of the night before, when he couldn't take Bolin's screams anymore. He had just held him in an embrace until Bolin finally stopped trembling from the scenes behind his eyes. Mako didn't truly understand Bolin's suffering, and it killed him that he wasn't taken by the Equalists, that he wasn't the one whose bending was almost taken.
"Where should we put him?" Korra's question brought Mako out of his trance.
Mako gestured to a futon to their right with his head.
They laid him in his bed, and Korra stretched her aching arms and back immediately. Mako was able to pull a blanket over him, half-hazardly tucking him in since he'd probably toss and turn as usual.
He looked up and noticed Korra's sudden movement. Had she been watching him?
"Korra," he said to stop her, "Thank you."
She smiled sweetly, her eyes shining brightly despite the darkness of the night inside the loft. The silence pressed itself down on them, making them both uncomfortable. Korra played with her high ponytail.
"So," she said, "How's he been doing?"
Mako sighed, giving in to the tension in his chest and sat on the couch in their "living room." She sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder as he put his face in his hands.
"You know," she said softly, "You're not alone in this. If you ever need any help, I'm—"
"I don't need help," Mako answered, not harshly, but he was trying to push her away to keep his heart from pounding in his head.
She took it farther than he wanted her to, standing up to leave.
"Fine. Don't take my help. You know, you're not the only one who cares for Bolin. Yeah, he got into the wrong situation, but it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't shown up. How do you think I feel about this?" She glared at him, waiting for an answer. All he could give her was a very confused look.
She scoffed. "Of course you wouldn't know. Or maybe you do! But I still wouldn't know because you never say anything about what you feel like! Well, I feel like I should have gone back to the South Pole, because if I had, none of this would have happened." Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence and lost its harsh anger.
Mako stood to see her better as a single tear brimmed her eye and fell onto her cheek. She turned away at the sight of him, so he took the chance and wrapped his arms around her. She turned in his arms and shoved her face in his scarf and coat. Her tears didn't last long, but the embrace certainly did. He didn't want to let go of her, though, and she didn't seem to mind the comfort either. They both needed a sense of safety in all of this.
Mako could see his brother from where they stood, sleeping soundly and, for the first time since his kidnapping, with a smile on his face.