Who: Korra and Mako When: Monday March 25, evening Where: Cheeseburger land. What: Dinner. No fighting! Rating: Low Status: Complete.
Korra had finished class for the day and taken Naga for a walk when she decided she’d need a shower before Mako picked her up for dinner. Not one to fret over wet hair on a cold day, she washed up quickly and changed into her typical t-shirt and jeans. Nearly the opposite of what she’d been wearing the last time she’d seen Mako.
Flopping on the couch to wait, Korra fixed her (still blue) hair into a high ponytail as she watched whatever garbage was on basic cable. Sighing, she checked her phone. They hadn’t agreed on a time, but according to the Avatar, Mako was late.
Poor Mako, always the bad guy.
It was really hard to be the good guy when Korra made up all of the rules and then didn’t bother to give him a list of instructions or even a set of cliff notes.
Seven didn’t seem late to him, since she said she got out at six and then had stuff to do afterward. So really, he thought he was right on time when he knocked on her door. And how could he have possibly been wrong when they’d never set a time in the first place?
Mako was trying to live in Korra’s world. He’d just have to get used to her rules. Jumping at the knock (she had been expecting him, so why’d she been surprised at the knock?), the blue-haired girl turned and looked at the door. It was him, definitely him. She audibly swallowed before standing, making her way over and opening the door.
The boy on the other side would notice that the place was a huge mess. It was a student apartment, and shared with roommates. Korra wasn’t rich and couldn’t afford nice shit, okay? Plus, you know, she’d probably break anything nice the second it came inside.
“Hi,” she greeted, sounding both happy to see him but also a bit disappointed. It was just their way, man.
It really was, and he wasn’t surprised at her tone at all. Why should he be? Mako had half expected her to yell or slam the door in his face for no reason other than the fact that she could. So hi was actually a pretty decent step.
“Hi,” he said in return -- his voice was that low, cautiously neutral that he was getting a lot of practice at lately. It took a bit of work, because he noted that her hair was still blue. And that was about as much noticing as he was going to do, so he had no reason to mention her messy apartment.
She stood there in silence for a minute, just watching Mako. Was he going to say anything other than hi? Lifting an eyebrow, she gave him that look (she’s judging you, buddy) and leaned against the door’s frame.
“Where are we going?” she asked, thinking she sounded pretty cool in the moment. Too bad she hit her funny bone on the frame, because that really fucking hurt and now she was making a not-so-cool face as she hissed in a breath. Mother fucker! “Fuck,” she complained, waving her arm a bit as she oww’d and complained and cursed her clumsiness.
Doors: never trust them.
Korra was weird. And confusing. And that was really just a terrible and not cool face she was making just now. Nearly endearing though -- which was miles better than cool, as far as he knew.
Brows furrowed in something akin to worry, and Mako gave her an awkward gesture. “You okay?” He asked, not quite touching her, but definitely thinking about how he wanted to. Not all that useful to either of them, though.
Korra frowned at Mako as she cradled her elbow in her other hand. “Yeah,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed at his worry. Shaking her head and the pain away, she was still frowning. “Let’s go?”
Pushing her way out the door, Korra stepped past Mako then turned and locked up. Heading down the apartment’s hallway, she folded her arms over her stomach and turned to watch him as they made their way outside. Silent. Slightly awkward. But when were these two not at least a little bit uncool and awkward?
Basically never. Which really begged the question of why either of them ever bothered to speak to each other, or hang out in the first place.
Attraction, Mako decided, did really strange and stupid things to people. Like, really really. A lot, even. “So, uh,” he said, sticking his hands into his pockets as they walked toward his shitty orange covered by rust until almost brown Geo Metro. “How’s..uh. Naga?”
The car really was terrible. But Korra was not one to judge. She had to be the only one in Orange County that didn’t own a car. Public transport was far worse than a shitty Geo Metro. “Naga’s good,” she assured him. Neither of them wanted to talk about her completely awesome dog, but she supposed she could carry on about her best friend for at least a bit. “Chasing squirrels, shitting on people’s lawns, you know. Dog stuff.”
Korra was betting that this car was the type that didn’t have power locks, so she waited by the passenger side door while Mako unlocked it.
Which he did. In the totally gentlemanly way of getting into his own side first, and then leaning over to pull up the lock on her door. Chivalry could fuck itself, because Mako was sure that Korra didn’t give a damn about it, anyway.
“Cool, cool,” he said, and it was clear that he didn’t give much of a shit about Naga’s shit. These two were comically bad at small talk.
Yeah, chivalry? Not Korra’s thing. She climbed into the car, buckled up (safety first!) and tried to forget the last time she’d been in this seat. Crossing her arms and her feet at the ankles, she turned to look at Mako. Damn, why did he have to look so nice and be so infuriating all at once?
“Where are we going, anyway?” she pressed. Because she wanted a cheeseburger.
“There’s this keen little dinner in downtown Irvine,” Mako said, even as he buckled up his seat belt too, because it was totally the law and he got enough tickets for other crap as it was. “It’s just normal stuff -- you know. Burgers, fries. Chicken tenders.” Mmm, chicken tenders. “Does that sound cool?” It was very hard to bite back a comment about how it wasn’t nearly the same as the last place they’d gone -- but he didn’t want to be slapped or eat alone tonight, and so refrained nicely.
“Sounds great,” she said. Because fancy restaurants were lame and Korra definitely wasn’t into that. Sorry Toph, but a diner sounded much more appealing than the last date.
Waiting a little bit, testing out the awkwardness in their silence (apart from the weird noises Mako’s car was making), Korra let out a sigh as they got going. “So,” she breathed. “Why did you want to go out tonight? I haven’t heard from you in awhile.” Guilt. Good at it, this one.
Toph doesn’t have time for your shit, or your opinions. Just saying.
Yeah, Korra really was good at the whole guilt thing. Mako was sure he didn’t deserve it, honestly. Then again, he was fairly convinced that he was always the innocent one when it came to the two of them, anyway. Not that he was going to say so. Yet.
“I told you I had a paper due,” he said, ignoring the guilt and the noises his car was making. Both were normal, even if they should have been out of place. “But I wanted to see you.” Try making him feel bad for THAT.
“Right, a paper,” she mumbled as he said it, looking away. And then he had to go and make it better by saying he wanted to see her. Funny enough, it kind of made her annoyed. Korra made an amused sort of noise, shaking her head. She wasn’t really making it easy for him to want to see her more. Or was it just the opposite?
“I’m glad,” she said finally. Because she’d really wanted to see him too. As much as she hated to admit it, she really liked Mako. He was clever, funny, and didn’t mind her temper. In fact, he seemed to like it. What else could she ask for in a guy?
Not much. Not without being a greedy bitch, anyway.
Mako wasn’t perfect by any means -- nor did he think he was -- but then again, neither was Korra. He didn’t assume she thought she was perfect either -- in fact, he was fairly certain that she had a lot of self esteem issues going on. He’d pointed that out once and received a shove and a kiss for his troubles.
“Really?” he couldn’t help but ask it -- even though it would probably lead to trouble. So he covered up his folly by talking even more. It was always a good plan. “Cool. I mean -- you know. Cool. Anyway, we’re about there. I’m really feeling fries today.”
And kisses, for Korra, were not always meant the way that most kisses were. Often with Mako they were selfishly used. Not for giving, but for taking. They really had to work if they were going to have anything close to a healthy relationship one day. Since, apparently, they just couldn’t stay away from each other.
“Fries are good. I’m pretty excited for a cheeseburger, myself,” she said, sounding a bit distracted. She turned and watched Mako driving. An image popped into her head of something that could only be described as NSFW. In the car. She really had to stop thinking about him that way.
“Um,” she mumbled all of a sudden, deciding she had to distract herself from such thoughts. It was like she’d reverted back to her teenaged years with Mako. Hormones raging. “I’m glad that you called.”
Luckily for the both of them, Mako was a pretty decently collected guy. Sometimes. He only smiled, and was pleased with himself that he didn’t blush like an utter moron. “Thanks,” he said, simply. “Me too.” Because he was. As much as they couldn’t seem to stand each other sometimes, Mako knew that at the very least he felt weird and a little lacking when he didn’t see her for long periods of time. What even could that mean?
Then he was pulling down a street slowly and mastering some pretty fucking sweet parallel parking. His shitty car might have been just that, but it was small and therefore pretty easy to get into the tight spots.
That... was what she said?
“Cheeseburger, ahoy?”
Korra just smiled at that, stepping out of the car quickly. Because she felt like if she didn’t get out of that enclosed space soon, they’d end up never getting to the restaurant. It would probably close before they could get their coveted cheeseburgers and fries.
God, why couldn’t she control herself? Mako. Always Mako.
Folding her arms over her chest, Korra leaned on the car and waited for her date whatever to get out. She didn’t know where she was going, after all. Tapping a toe, she looked over her shoulder and watched him. Silent. Awkward. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing, after all.
Mako exited the car, giving Korra a raised eyebrow -- one that he hoped conveyed his feelings of ‘alright?’ and ‘god I hope she’s not already giving me the silent treatment, oh fuck oh fuck, what did I just say a second before? Was it stupid?’. It was a very complicated eyebrow.
Still, the show must go on, unless she really wanted one of them to become “hangry” as she liked to put it, and so he locked his car door and then stuck his hands in his pockets. “Ready?” Actually verbalized, no eyebrows here.
“Yeah,” she said, pushing off of the car. She smiled in apology as she nearly bumped into him, and after a moment of meeting his eyes, turned her head toward the most diner-looking storefront in front of them. “Can’t let you get hangry on me,” she joked, smirking as she headed off in the direction of food.
“Never,” Mako said, feeling a bit stupid, and his words coming out as such, too. At least he was consistent, he supposed. His shoulder did brush hers as he opened up the door (for them both! Not just her, thanks), and they wandered in to the place.
Terrible of him, he knew, but he had to momentarily wonder how big the bathrooms were here.
Bathroom times always end badly, Mako. You should know this already.
They were seated at the table a few minutes later, with waters placed in front of them. Korra already knew exactly what she wanted (cheeseburger, duh), so she didn’t bother with the menu. Staring at the water in front of her for a moment, she turned her eyes up to Mako. She looked hesitant for a moment before saying:
“Want to see?” The waterbending, of course. Once again, mind out of the gutter, Mako.
Not so, Korra. About 99.6 percent of the time, bathroom time worked out pretty awesomely. In that normal, bathroom sort of way.
He knew what she was talking about -- since the two of them never really bothered with small talk, it was kind of easy to know what she was referring to most of the time. He didn’t have to filter through memories of bullshit conversations just to find the important ones.
“Yeah, sure,” he said, raising a brow and looking down at the water, too. He was kind of expecting … you know. Jurassic Park vibration in water-cup.
“Okay,” she said, letting out a breath as she tried to steady her nerves. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why she felt so uncomfortable around Mako. Was it because she liked him? Or because she kind of hated him? Or both?
It was all very confusing.
Korra was looking at the water as she let her hand hover over the glass. Concentrating, she stole a glance up at Mako to gauge his reaction. She felt self-conscious and a bit weird as she lifted her hand, the water following. But her eyes didn’t leave Mako’s face. She watched, just waiting for the freak out.
Why did she think he was going to freak out? They’d wandered together through Wonderland not a month ago. They’d stood on top of mushrooms that had probably at one point been mailboxes or something.
He didn’t freak out. He just. Stared. For a very long time. Silently. Mako had the distinct urge to just -- well -- poke the water, but couldn’t seem to make himself move to do so.
Who knows why she thought Mako was going to freak out. To be honest, she really didn’t know how to read the guy yet. She was much more physical than introspective, and it would take her longer. Keep her guessing for longer. Not know what to do.
A process, but she was willing to put in the effort. As long as he didn’t piss her off all the time. Doubtful, though.
Glancing away for a moment, Korra made sure nobody was looking before turning the water into a ball. Swirling it around between her hands, she watched him for a moment before saying “Put your hand out.” And don’t freak out.
No freaking out! Mako glanced around as well, before doing as instructed. Because why wouldn’t he? Well, unless they were arguing. But clearly that part of the evening wasn’t happening quite yet. He predicted it would somewhere between fries and dessert milkshake. Not that he had any bets placed one way or the other.
“I can’t do--water things,” he said, even as he held his hand out, palm up.
“I know,” she said, watching the water as she brought it over his hand. She’d done the same to Toph earlier, to demonstrate waterbending without seeing it. But two senses were better than one to guarantee they weren’t hallucinating.
Suddenly, one of the servers walked over to the table. Surprised and afraid they might see, Korra’s kneejerk reaction was to drop the water. The entire glass of water that was now soaking the table and their laps. “Oh god!” she exclaimed, grabbing a fuck ton of napkins and making work on the now-drenched table. “I’m so sorry!” She handed a few napkins to Mako, making a face at the server. Why couldn’t she have normal outings with this guy?
Without an answer, the server pulled a cloth from his apron and Korra used that to clean the rest. She was a bright shade of red, blushing madly, as she mumbled “I’ll have a fucking cheeseburger and fries please.” Because she wanted this situation to be over, please and thank you.
Mako had stood a lot faster than one might have expected for a guy in a booth. He’d definitely hit his thighs on the table on the way up, too. And it definitely hadn’t saved him from getting soaked, either. Can you remove water from pants, Korra? That’d be fucking awesome.
He sighed, sopping up what he could with the napkins, and then looking at the drenched seat that he’d been sitting in a second previously. “And I’ll have some fucking chicken tenders and fries, please.” The waiter just... stared at them before walking away. The problem in diners was that no one ever gave a damn shit. Maybe it was best they skipped the bathrooms this time around; they were bound to be disgusting.
Well she wasn’t about to bend the water out of his pants with everyone looking! Taking a quick look around, she was sure nobody was watching as she pulled the water out of Mako’s seat and pants. It all gathered into a ball floating over her hand, which she quickly dumped back into the cup.
Now that that’s over with. Korra made an apologetic face at Mako, shrugging as she said, “Sorry. I didn’t want anyone else seeing.” Guess you shouldn’t have done it in public then. Genius.
“Oh my god,” Mako said, ignoring both the apology and his annoyance over the scene -- because, really, how mad could someone be when they’d just been shown some crazy water magic. “You never need to worry about getting stuck in the rain again.” Trust him to think of something like that.
Yeah really. Korra smirked at that, shrugging. “Guess that’s true,” she agreed. “Good way of looking at it.” Because right now, she felt a bit weird about it all. Like she wasn’t herself. She was becoming the Dream Korra, the Avatar. What a weight to bear. She didn’t know if she could handle that kind of responsibility. Her dream self had probably thought the same. “Can we, uh, talk about something normal?” Please?
“Oh. Uhm. Sure.” Mako said, and her request was kind of challenging, because the two of them didn’t talk about normal things. In fact, he was fairly sure he didn’t know what she considered normal. They never really -- well. Spoke for very long. It’d gone from arguing and yelling to arguing and making out and there really hadn’t been a whole lot of time for talk in between those things. “So. Er. The weather’s pretty great today,” he said, lamely.
Korra laughed at that, shaking her head. “Yep. Spring is finally here,” she agreed, lamely. The food arrived then, which was quick Korra thought, but it was a diner after all. She thanked the server and started working on her fries. “I guess, um,” she mumbled around a fry. Because Korra just isn’t the polite type. “Tell me about yourself.” Because even though this could be counted as their third date, they really didn’t know all that much about each other. “Where’d you grow up?”
“Here in California,” Mako said, dipping his chicken tenders in ranch and waiting for them to stop being that lava-type hot before taking a bite. “Not the OC -- but pretty close nearby. It’s about a half hour drive out of town.” This was the most he ever talked about himself in front of Korra, and he was keeping it cool, because he didn’t want her to think he was doing that arrogant thing, again. “Normal. You know. Parents, backyard. Little brother.”
The little brother part sounded a bit familiar to Korra, but not the parents part. But she was thinking of the Mako in her dreams now, not the Mako here. “What’s your brother’s name?” she asked, genuinely curious. She was picking at her food, putting condiments where they needed to be, and eating slowly. Which was weird for her. She was so used to barrelling through all things without pause.
Trying new things was cool, sometimes. Right? Mako inhaled air after taking a too-soon bite of his chicken. It burned the top of his mouth in a delicious and bad way. “Er-- Bolin,” he said after a second of heat-panic. “He’s a few years younger than me. Good kid, if not a bit weird.” It was clear that Mako actually got on with his brother quite well. “Hopefully he’ll come to college here sometime soon.” He resisted the urge to tell Korra something weird like ‘you’d like him’.
Korra was smirking when he said Bolin. Yeah, this was way too weird. “I’d love to meet him,” she said, sounding altogether genuine about that. “You’re lucky your family lives so close. I haven’t seen mine in forever,” she admitted. “They’re in Colorado. The drive’s much more than half an hour.” She was started to feel a bit homesick, now. Even though she’d run as quickly as she could when she’d decided to go to college, she still missed home. Her parents were always there for her. She frowned at the thought of them.
“Don’t you go back for holidays and breaks?” Mako was happy with the temperature of his chicken tenders now, and was tucking into them with the grace of a hungry boy, which was (obviously) no grace at all. “I could drive you, if you needed...?” His little Geo Metro might have looked like shit, but it had some life in it, still.
“I can’t really afford it,” she admitted. The girl should probably have looked at getting a job, but she was already so busy with classes. It wasn’t what she’d come to California to do, ignore school. “I’m living off of a lot of loans right now. My parents can’t really help me, either. We’re, uh, we’re not really well off. Buses and airplanes to go home aren’t really in the cards.”
At his offer, Korra shook her head. She couldn’t let him do that. “It’s okay. We Skype a lot. I just miss them. But I have Naga.” She was smiling at the thought of her dog.
Now was not a good time to offer again, Mako was sure. Explaining to her that he had money (not a ton, he wasn’t rich or anything, but he was comfortable) would probably end poorly if anything could be garnered from their previous conversations (if they could be called that). Instead, he just rose his eyebrows and tilted his lips into something of an apologetic smile. “Whatever works,” he agreed.
She was silent as she finished her plate, pushing some errant blue hairs out of her face. Even the ponytail she had wasn’t keeping her wet shower hair from getting unruly. “Thanks for offering, though,” she said finally. “Maybe one day. I’ll show you the mountains and the snow.” Korra was smiling as she imagined Mako, California city boy, roughing it in the mountains with her and her hippy family. It really would be a sight.
Yeah it would. Especially since Mako had seen snow maybe once before in his life and had really not a clue what to do with or about the stuff. He grinned though, more than anything because he was pleased the two of them were actually getting along for once. He hadn’t been yelled or glared at all evening. It was impressive. “That’d be cool,” he agreed, finishing off his fries.
It didn’t even occur to him that she was basically offering to eventually introduce him to her parents. Probably for the best.
She pretty much was. But they weren’t even at the level in their relationship to recognise what they were to each other. Sure, they liked each other well enough. But was there more to them than that? “Yeah, it would be,” she agreed. “It kind of makes you realize how small you are, when you’re in the mountains. That the world will go on even after you’re gone, and the mountains will still be there.” Korra realized she was rambling about mountains, and blushed at that. She hadn’t really talked about that with anyone before.
“Damn,” Mako said, sipping on the water from the cup of stuff that hadn’t been all over his pants. “That’s really deep, yo.”