Ice Skating: Korra takes Mako to the South Pole to meet her parents, Katara, and most importantly, to grab the opportunity to mess with him. Because Korra totally would.

Genre: Romance/Humor

Mako knew it was a bad idea to let Korra take him to, as she so ambiguously worded it, "have some fun."

"Korra...what are we doing here?" Mako asked stiffly. "I thought we were here to meet your parents and Sifu Katara."

"We're just having some fun," she repeated in a suspicious way that made Mako suspicious that he wouldn't have fun at all. "Besides, you just met all of them, do you really want to spend the entire time here with them? Put these on."

She handed him a pair of shoes with blades attached to the bottom of them. Ice skates. Mako had never ice skated before, but he had seen it before in pictures.

He took them reluctantly.

"No way am I doing this," he called out to Korra on the ice.

Of course, stubborn Korra wouldn't take no for an answer. She skated back and stopped abruptly, coating him with a thin layer of ice that melted almost immediately.

"What's the problem?" she asked him in an innocent voice. "If you're scared, we could always go back to the village and play Pai Sho like old men. Because apparently this is too difficult for you."

He glared at her. She really loved taunting him. And he hated the fact that it bothered him so much. So he sighed, and sat down and started tying the skates.

Mako stood up and felt his legs wobble on the thin blades. He stepped slowly and cautiously onto the icy surface, and immediately regretted it. He felt no traction in his skates, and he knew he just wasn't cut out to be an ice skater. He hated this feeling of being so far away from his native element, and the cold was threatening to engulf him. He already wanted to be back on land.

But then he turned his head and saw Korra grinning at him smugly, and he knew he there was no turning back.

So he took a deep breath, and continued onto the unrelenting ice.

He awkwardly made his way to the center of the frozen pond, one step at a time. It was obvious he had no idea how to skate. He was actually lifting his feet up each time he wanted to move forward, rather than gliding his feet how he should have. He didn't know any better; he had never gone to ice skating rinks in Republic City.

He made it impressively far into the pond without falling, so he gave Korra a look that said, Told you I could do it.

Rather than admit defeat, she giggled, giggled at him.

"Mako, you look like a turtle duck on land. You're supposed to glide your feet, not step."

Blushing furiously out of embarrassment, Mako attempted to glide the way Korra had done.

And then he slipped – and fell forward on the ice, his chin hitting the cold surface.

"Need help, duck feet?"

He sighed in defeat and crossed his arms stubbornly, like a child that has just lost a game.

"Just get me out of here."

"What!" Korra gasped. "You haven't even skated yet! We never even did the fun part yet!"

"I don't care," he said glumly. "I want out."

"Mako," she said, squatting down to his eye level. "Come on. Let me lead you. It'll be fun – I promise!"

Mako groaned. He now hated ice skating with a passion. He was in pain, and he was morbidly embarrassed to have fallen in front of Korra. He knew that there was nothing that she got more pleasure out of than seeing him humiliate himself.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then take my hand."

"But-"

"Hey. Cool guy. Just shut up and take my hand."

He rolled his eyes before he obliged, but he couldn't help but suppress a smile.

The skating was awkward. Korra lead, and Mako glided behind her, not really making any movements on his own. It was strangely pleasant. In fact, it was almost like flying, and Mako actually thought it was kind of thrilling, in a pleasant way that he could only enjoy with someone like Korra.

That was, until she made too sharp of a turn, causing him to lose his footing – and then he fell on his butt on the ice, and slid at least ten feet.

He hissed at the searing pain in his behind, and glared at Korra for making him fall. But instead of repenting for her action like she should have, Korra did, well, what was expected of Korra – she burst into a fit of hysterics.

Mako was seething in annoyance; he was burning holes through the ice where his hands were.

"That," Korra taunted, "is for being a jerk."

"I repeat what I said about you when I first met you: you're crazy."

Korra held out her hand to him once again, and he takes it again with no hesitation. And this time, instead of just holding hands, Korra took the initiative and laced her fingers in between his.

"W-what are you doing?" he stammered.

She grinned at the obvious blush that heated up his cheeks. "Just making sure you don't fall," she said simply.

Their hands didn't break away from each other's until long after they were off the ice.

"So how was your first time ice skating?"

"It was...nice," Mako admitted, almost shyly.

Korra grinned at him.

"But it was a pain in the ass. Literally."

"We could always have one of the healers heal it for you," she remarked snidely.

"I think I'll take my chances with the pain," he muttered grumpily.

"I know what will cheer you up! Tomorrow we can go penguin sledding!"

"Oh dear Agni."

Korra couldn't help but laugh. And her laugh made him laugh in turn, and as soon as he saw her smile, he remembered why, despite all the madness she puts him through, she's the only one who can stir up that warm feeling in his chest.

A/N: Fluff, everywhere!

I have no idea where the inspiration for this came from, but I had fun writing it.

This is completely unlike what I usually write - one of the first times I've written something not angsty.

Thanks for reading! ^^