( his fingers flex on his thighs, and mako exhales. there aren't a lot of options. mako has always been a straight bender, he does things above board as much as he can, he believes in the law, maybe not always to the letter but at least to the spirit thereof. he isn't going to lie to beifong, but. he'll omit some of the truth. he owes dick that much. )

People saw your face. That much I can't help. But I can understand why you might want to keep the bending quiet.

( any other sort of bender and he wouldn't care. own it, deal with the consequences. but airbending is different. even now, there are so few of them, and mako in good conscience can't knowingly expose him to the danger inherent in that, given how hard he's worked at keeping it a secret. it's a conflicting choice. he doesn't like it. and he probably won't do it a second time, if their paths cross in the future, but. one chance. he can give him that much. )

Did you ever think about going to join the Air Nomads? Master Tenzin's a great man, if you're worried about that. His whole family is amazing.