So this is my first fanfic in five years, and I gotta say, I forgot how fun it is to play around with characters that aren't mine. Of course Legend of Korra would inspire me, wouldn't it? And I'm only a tad obsessed with her and Mako ;) This story is probably set a few months after they start dating.
Disclaimer: Of course Korra and Mako and any other character mentioned here do not belong to me...they're far too awesome.
Korra hastily wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead as she attempted to scrape charred bits off of the fish she had just cooked. It was stupid of her; she shouldn't have gotten impatient, should have just put it back in the oven for ten more minutes. But no, she just had to come up with the brilliant idea that perhaps firebending might speed the cooking process up a bit. And speed it up it did- perhaps a little too much.
Once she got the first fish looking somewhat appetizing, she took a deep breath and looked up for a moment- to see a pan of uncooked bread dough sitting on the counter. Korra growled to herself in frustration. If the fish wasn't in the oven, something else ought to be. She stomped over and grabbed the pan. She pulled the oven door open – maybe a little too roughly but inflicting no damage – and shoved the bread in. She would let if bake entirely this time. No special shortcuts.
Korra wiped her forehead again before she grabbed the knife to start on the second blackened fish. Frustration mounted inside of her as she chipped away at it. She only wanted to do something nice for him; did it really have to be this difficult? When she'd envisioned her plan she saw everything going so smoothly…the food was perfectly cooked and delicious, her hair was neatly in its usual ponytails, the table was set beautifully, and her face had a bright, accomplished smile on it.
In reality the food was either not done, half-done, or too done and probably tasted like charcoal, her hair had come undone in a knotty, sweaty mess, the table had her dirty training clothes tossed on it, and her face had a red, hostile scowl on it.
Korra glanced at the clock. He said he'd be over at six. She still had a half an hour. You can do this, she told herself, speeding up on the fish with one hand while reaching into a cabinet to grab some plates with the other.
A sudden hissing noise broke her from her fish-chipping and plate-reaching. She looked over at the stove, a lock of sweaty hair flopping down in front of her eyes.
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" Korra said as she watched with horror as the pot that was supposed to be boiling noodles overflowed with boiling water. She dropped the knife and attempted to shove the plates back into the cabinet. They slipped and went plummeting to the floor with a loud crash.
"For the love of-!" Korra dived down for the broken shards – some of Pema's best dishes, too – before remembering the pot on the stove and hopped back up again.
She quickly turned the heat down and lifted the lid up to blow on the over-boiling water. As the foam cleared, she stared down at a messy glop of overcooked noodles. Korra slammed the lid down and cursed loudly as she kicked a large shard of broken porcelain with a bit of airbending force behind it across the kitchen. As it sailed for the doorway, a hand shot out to catch it. Korra looked up.
Mako stood there, training gear slung over his shoulder, staring around the kitchen with confused and shocked eyes. They finally landed on Korra, who panted as she stared back at him among the shattered kitchenware and burnt chippings.
"Um…Korra?" he finally said. He took a slow step forward.
It was as if he set a bomb off.
"WHAT are you doing HOME?" Korra exploded, her hands in fists and her face red as a flame. "You told me you'd be home at SIX! It's FIVE THIRTY!"
"Bolin skipped out on training early, so I-"
"Well if you tell someone something, you better STICK to it!" Korra cut him off. "Because MAYBE they're trying to do something NICE for you and you just RUINED IT."
"Korra, I-" Mako took another step forward and attempted to reach his empty hand out to her.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, MAKO," she shouted.
Suddenly he saw the black smoke beginning to leak out of the oven beside her. Korra followed his eyes.
"Oh, are you SERIOUS- "
Korra yanked the oven door open, stuck her hand out and blasted a powerful, furious wave of water into the oven. Mako jumped back at the force of it, spray landing on his face.
"Korra! What are you- "
"Oh, don't you dare apprehend me, fire boy," she said, her voice lowered dangerously. Her eyes glared at him through slits. "I've got fire of my own, you know. Though it doesn't seem to help when you're trying to cook a damn FISH!"
She walked over to the counter and picked up a tray. Mako had time to just glimpse the two charbroiled fish before she raised a hand over them and torched them with a stream of fire. She threw the tray back on the counter and stuck a wooden utensil into the pot on the stove. She picked up a heap of slimy, overcooked noodles.
"And apparently I can master every element, but can't cook a bowl of noodles to save my life!" she said. She dropped the goop back into the pot and it landed with a splash on her face. She irately wiped it away with the back of her hand before waterbending the rest of the water out of the pot and into the sink, where it landed with an even bigger splash, soaking her.
"I'm the AVATAR, yet I can't cook a simple DINNER!" Korra said angrily, pushing her wet hair out of her face.
With an irritated huff, she looked around at her mess. The rage in her eyes flickered as she frowned and dropped back into a chair behind her. She buried her face in her hands.
Silence rang for a moment. Mako just stood, dumbfounded, in the doorway .Finally, he quietly placed the broken plate back on the floor and took another tentative step forward.
"Korra.." he said cautiously. "What is going on?"
She sighed, looking up from her hands, her expression tired and defeated. "I just wanted to make a nice dinner for you, for the both of us. You were supposed to come home and be surprised and everything was supposed to be perfect. But guess what, I suck at cooking."
She looked up and met his eyes. "I'm sorry, Mako. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Her cheeks reddened slightly. "I just wanted to do something…romantic. Guess that's a little out of my league, huh?"
Mako almost sighed before walked across the kitchen to where she sat at the table. He placed his training gear on the table with hers, then pulled up the chair next to her. Korra looked at him silently. He stared back into her icy blue eyes. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.
Korra had not been expecting it. She stiffened for half of a millisecond, aware of the fact that she was wet and soggy and charbroiled, but those things faded from her mind as she felt herself slowly leaning into him. His lips were gentle, and she could feel every ounce of anger and frustration she had today flying away as she brought a hand to the side of his face and returned the kiss.
Finally they broke apart. Mako flicked her on the shoulder and stood up again.
"Are you kidding me, Avatar? Nothing's out of your league."
Korra grinned. She stood up as well, right in front of him. Mako looked down at her and her exultant expression, and was unable to help a slight smile from forming on his own lips.
"So, I've got a better idea," Korra said. "Let's eat out tonight."
"Sounds good to me."
They grinned at each other again, not quite mobilizing her new plan yet. Suddenly, Korra's smile faded. She peered around Mako.
"But first," she said, as he turned around to take in the scene with her. "I need to clean this mess before Pema murders me."
"Yes, there's been enough…murdering for one day," Mako said, eyeing the scorched fish.
As Korra began waterbending to clean off the counters and sink, a spray or two (or a splash or six) may have accidently gotten Mako a little wet.