Kissing Korra was not part of the plan.
No, as Mako stood with Bolin and Asami, waiting for Korra's train to get in, he planned on being Mr. Cool Guy. A friendly nod. Maybe a handshake. He wasn't sure he could bring himself to offer a hug, not after three years of silence.
Three years.
That's how long it had been since he last saw Korra. That's how long he spent gathering every detail he could to reassure himself that she was still alive. Three years of pain, worry, and restlessness and not even a telegraph to tell them that she was okay.
Mako tried to understand, tried to make peace with the fact that Korra needed time to herself, but he was angry. Not as angry as he had been at first, when the weeks inched by and they all wondered if she was still alive. Still mad enough though that he wanted to keep his distance.
He wasn't planning on letting Korra back into his life that easily. Not until—well, he wasn't entirely sure what he was waiting for, but something.
No, he was going to stay nonchalant and detached, just like in the old days. It would be better for both of them that way.
Then Asami called out Korra's name.
Mako had just turned to say something to Bolin when Asami stood on her tip toes and waved. "Over here," she called.
Mako turned, his eyes hungrier for proof than he wanted to admit.
She was there.
He could just see her over the heads of the crowd. Those blue, blue eyes. Her whole face lit up. Waving back to Asami.
"Asami!" Her smile blinded him. A true Korra smile, big and cheesy and full of life.
This was what the statue was missing. All of that life.
It was funny how much a smile could say. Just one smile and he knew, she'd thought of them just as much as they'd thought of her. She missed them just like they missed her. All of the frustration and anger inside of him melted. Korra was here. Korra was safe.
And that was that mattered.
He offered a little wave as he stepped up next to Asami.
Korra's eyes went wide and her smile disappeared. Tilting her head for a moment, she stared at him. "Mako," she said, though he couldn't hear her. There was an odd second where her face went blank. Then the grin broke out again and she was running, pushing through the people.
The strangest thing was: Mako was doing the same. She made headway more quickly than he did. Korra covered twice the distance in the same amount of time. The impact as she launched herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, shocked Mako and took his breath away. Instinctively, his arms closed around her, his body swinging around once in the wake of her momentum.
Korra stiffened as her feet hit the ground again. "Sorry, I, uh—I just missed you. All of you," she said, reaching for Bolin and Asami and wrapping an arm around each of them.
"We missed you to," Asami said. The glance she cut at Mako over Korra's shoulder made him duck his head and look away. So much for all your big talk, she seemed to be saying. At least Bolin was too busy going on about Korra's hair to pay much attention to—
Her hair.
How had he missed that?
Asami disentangled herself from Korra. "I've got to go," she said. "I have a…meeting, but I wanted to be here when you got back. We should catch up at dinner. I'm paying and make sure Tenzin knows his family is welcome too." She squeezed Korra's neck one more time and turned to Bolin. "Bolin, weren't you catching a ride with me?"
"What?" Bolin asked. Asami glared at him. "Um—oh, right. I have that thing. Yes, Asami, I am catching a ride with you. I'd forgotten."
Mako was horrified. He knew they thought they were doing both of them a favor, but really, this was too much. Had they planned this ahead of time? No. Obviously not. Mako hoped he wasn't blushing.
"Oh," Korra said. "Okay. I'll see you tonight then." Her voice was bright, but he thought he heard a slight waver. Disappointment? Nerves? Uncertainty?
Bolin and Asami were already disappearing into the crowd.
She sighed. "You probably have to get back to work too, don't you?"
"Uh," Mako said. "No, Lin gave me the day off. I think she figured I'd call of anyways."
They were all supposed to be taking the day off, showing Korra around Republic City together.
"So," Korra said. "I hear I have a statue now."
"Yeah. In Avatar Korra Park." He makes air quotes, laughing at her grimace. "Do you have any bags we need to get?"
"Just this." Korra held up a knapsack. "Is the statue really that bad?"
"Hideous."
Korra laughed. "I have to see it then. Show me around, City Boy?"
Rolling his eyes, Mako offered her his arm. "It would be my pleasure to be your escort, Avatar Korra."
"Shh, not so loud," she said, glancing around her.
With that, they walked off down the street.
Korra was not impressed by the statue. She stared up at it, walked around it, ducked her head when people walked by and looked at her took closely.
"You're right," she said finally. "It is hideous."
"Oh, it's not that bad," Mako said. "It's just not quite you. It's weird."
"Next time someone wants to put up a statue of me, remind me to say no. No statues until I'm dead and buried and have no say in the matter."
Mako swallowed, he didn't want to think about how far in the future that might be. Very far, he hoped. Very, very far.
The silence stretched between them. Odd, but comforting. He would sit in silence all day, he realized if it meant being with Korra.
"Mako, can I ask you a question?" she asked, still studying her statue.
"Anything," he said, glancing down at her. He felt like a spirit might be using his stomach as a punching bag.
Korra rounded on him. Staring up at him, she set both hands on her hips. "What happened to your hair?"
"My hair?" Mako retorted. "What happened to your hair?"
Korra narrowed her eyes. "At least I'm not wearing a whole jar of grease on my head. Seriously, Mako, there needs to be an intervention." Without warning, her hands reached up, fingers digging into his hair and ruffling it.
"Korra, don't—" Mako grabbed both of her wrists, hoping his hair wasn't beyond saving. He had a feeling that Korra's "intervention" had probably more harm than good. He glared down at her. She returned the same expression that trademark "deal with it" gleam in her eyes.
How he had missed her.
"Well," she said. "Other than hating each other's hair, it seems not much has changed."
"I don't hate your hair, I just—it was a surprise," Mako said. He still held her wrists, he realized.
"Not as surprising as you," she said. "I almost didn't recognize you at first. I don't like it."
"I do," he said, letting go of her. "Like your hair, I mean." He reached out before he could stop himself, fingers sliding through the strands. She tilted her head up further. They were so close. Just an inch or so and he could kiss her. But he couldn't kiss her. Surely, she didn't want that. Not so soon after all these years. He put a few more of those inches between them.
"Mako?" Her breath puffed against his skin as she spoke.
"Yeah?" he said, trying not to look back down, even though his hand was still in her hair.
"You're still an idiot."
There was the lightest pressure of her fingertips on the front of his jacket. Instinct made him look down and she rose up to meet him, brushing her lips across his. Mako was frozen. When he didn't move, the hand on his jacket slid up to his neck, bringing their lips together again.
Kissing Korra had never been like he expected.
Before their first kiss, he would have expected kissing her to be like a storm on the high sea. Like her fighting style. Explosive. Rough. One strong force battling another strong force. And there had been kisses like that. Most of the time when Korra had kissed him, it felt like a stream flowing over a rock. Gentle, caressing, but slowly wearing it smooth.
That was Korra. So powerful and yet, soft when she wanted to be. It had taken Mako a long time to realize that he was allowed to be soft too. That he didn't always have to be the strong one.
Korra pulled away. "Sorry, I didn't—I shouldn't have assumed—"
Mako cupped her face in his hands. "I said always, didn't I?"
"Yeah," she said. "Yeah you did."
They kissed again, bending and wrapping around each other.
It was the only apology he would ever need from her.