status ongoing
background Book 1, AU
notice There are many reasons why I decided to write this. The main one is that I completely hate the portrayal of Mako as a hardass/jerk in the beginning of the series. My canon Mako is the idiot who blushed and fumbled after Asami nearly ran him over with her moped, who slept under his desk (instead of accepting Tenzin's invitation to Air Temple Island) just to avoid his ex-girlfriends because he didn't know how to be normal around them, who sulkily drank his smoothie because Bolin hurt his feelings. And I simply adore the idea of Mako falling head over heels with Korra, instead of the opposite, and being a complete dork around her. So—this happened. There will also be a second chapter.


I.


Mako wasn't having a good week.

After the Fire Ferrets' latest victory, Butakha had presented them with an ultimatum. If they wanted to participate in the tournament, they had to contribute their share to the pot. They still had to win against the Platypus Bears and the Tigerdillos in the next two matches before they secured a spot in the tournament, of course, but Mako knew that they could make it.

But how the hell was he supposed to come up with thirty thousand yuan in two weeks?

They were dead broke. Their earnings from the last match had barely covered the month's rent, the gym fee, and the groceries. It certainly didn't help that Bolin insisted on eating at Narook's every other day. Sure, the old Water Tribesman let him pay by helping out in the kitchen more often than not, but the bottom line was that his brother was a spendthrift. Mako had hoped that getting older would have somehow made him more sensitive to financial matters, but he had yet again been proven wrong.

He groaned mentally as he pulled his scarf around his shoulders. The Republic City Power Plant paid decent wages, but it wasn't a job he could count on. The hours were long and the job was hard. He couldn't do more than three shifts a week, or else risk frying his chi paths and giving up bending altogether.

There had to be another way. Maybe they could land a sponsor. They were one of the newest teams in pro-bending, but they had already showed enough potential to make it to the tournament. They had climbed to the major league fairly quickly and they were gaining recognition by the other teams as well as fans all over the city. Surely, if they dolled themselves up a bit and did some bootlicking, someone was bound to take an interest in them. The pro-bending gala was next week, so maybe they could make it.

But attending the gala also meant renting formal uniforms, which would only cost more money they didn't have, and if they didn't end up landing a sponsor, it would be more money wasted.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he crossed the street. There was no way this week could get any—

"Watch out!"

Mako turned just in time to see a white blur coming at him.

"Wh—AGHH!"

He was knocked off his feet with incredible force and, for a moment, he actually believed he was dead. Now that would have solved a lot of problems. Except the fact that he would be leaving Bolin alone, and that was not an option.

He huffed as the world buzzed in his ears, and did a quick assessment for injuries. Nothing broken. Thank the Spirits. With the way things were going, he couldn't really afford injuries. He propped himself up as best as he could, massaging his neck and wondering how the hell he had not snapped it when he hit the ground.

There was some fumbling before a voice spoke up. "Spirits! I'm so, so sorry, I didn't see you!"

Mako scowled, looking up at his assailant. "How could you not see me? I mean, I was ju—"

He shut his mouth when his gaze locked on the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen.

Well… shit. Just what he needed.

"Uh... I was, uh… I…" He cleared his throat, looking at anything but her. "Wow. I was, um…"

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, clearly terrified that she had almost killed him.

"Ugh—"

She looked him over quickly. "Oh, shit. Are you hurt?"

Mako groaned as he tried to sit upright. "Just my pride."

She sighed in relief, before wrapping her arm around his and pulling him up. "Here, let me help you."

He felt his face flame up as she manhandled him easily, and he took note of her exposed muscles that bulged with the effort. "Uh, thanks?"

"I'm really sorry about this," she apologized. "We really should have been paying attention to the street."

The use of we made Mako's attention focus on something behind her. Something very deadly that he definitely shouldn't have ignored. "Is this a—what is it exactly?"

Her eyebrows met in confusion. "What? Oh, this is Naga."

"What?"

"She's a polar bear-dog."

"A polar bear-dog," he repeated, eyeing the beast that was currently licking off its paw. This week had gotten a lot weirder in a matter of seconds.

"Uh, are you sure you're okay? Maybe you got hit in the head."

"No, I'm fine. It's just... You don't see that every day in Republic City."

She looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, tell me about it."

Mako took advantage of her momentarily diverted attention to really look at her. Her skin was dark, and her brown hair was up in a ridiculous tri-ponytail kind of do. She was dressed in what he could only assume was Water Tribe clothing, if you took the bicep guard with the tribal markings and the fur pelt into account.

She was pretty much unlike anyone he had ever seen before.

"Hey, listen," she said, turning back to him quickly, and Mako had to fake dusting himself off to keep from staring. "I'm really sorry about bumping into you. I mean, you could have been hurt. Trust me, I know what Naga is capable of."

She seemed to be talking from personal experience, and Mako suddenly felt that he had only experienced a fraction of the beast's strength. He suppressed a shudder. He was better off not knowing what the polar bear-dog was truly capable of if it actually meant to hurt you.

"So, what can I do? You know, to apologize for knocking you over."

"Uh, you really don't have to—"

"No, really! I want to make it up to you. Do you, uh," she paused, scratching her cheek, "Eat?"

Mako looked confused for a moment, before a tiny smirk pulled at his lips. "Occasionally."

Probably realizing her mistake, she blushed. "Err, I mean, would you? Eat. With me, I mean."

She sighed, pouting a bit at her clumsiness. Mako thought it was cute.

"Like, I wanna treat you to lunch. To compensate. Is that okay?"

He really shouldn't accept. He shouldn't. She was a strange girl who clearly didn't belong there and who had almost stomped on him while riding her questionable choice for a pet through the streets of Republic City. Plus, he had training to do. And he needed to figure out how exactly to keep the team afloat and secure them a place in the tournament.

He didn't have time for strange girls with bright blue eyes.

"Uh, sure, I guess. If you insist."

He was such a fucking idiot.

"Cool!" She pumped her fist, before scrunching up her face. "Although there might be a problem, since I don't really know any places that serve food. But, it's okay! I'll figure it out."

Mako nodded, slightly amused. When the hell had that smile gotten on his face?

"So, how about we—"

She was interrupted by the sound of metal screeching, and someone yelling.

"You! Stay where you are!"

The both whipped their heads to see four police officers swinging from their metal whips. Mako flinched, if only out of habit — years spent running numbers for the Triple Threats didn't exactly put him on the right side of the law — but he saw the girl's eyes widen in shock. He barely had time to register what was happening, until she had mounted her pet.

"Sorry, I gotta run! I'll catch up with you later! Naga, go!"

With a great leap, the polar bear-dog bypassed him and started down the street with incredible speed. Mako barely had time to catch himself before he landed back on the street. He blinked in surprise, before calling after her.

"Hey! Wait!"

But she was already too far away to hear him, the police officers on her trail.

His smile fell, and he sighed. "I didn't even get her name."

A weird fucking week indeed.