Secret Santa gift for korrashorts on Tumblr, who requested Borra (and who I know also ships Masami!).
Mako and Bolin's tradition with the tree is inspired by a scene from Coming Up for Air by Margaret Becker.
"Oof." Bolin landed in the snow with a thud. He rolled from his side onto his back and looked up at the shadow looming over him.
"Still think you can beat me?" Korra asked, fake-menacingly.
"No," Bolin said meekly. Korra rubbed her hands together in anticipation — then grunted as she was thrown into the air and landed at Bolin's side. "I know I can," he added, grinning as he examined the mound of earth he'd just bent under her feet. He began giggling at his own cleverness, earning a frown from his girlfriend. Which, of course, only made him laugh even more uncontrollably.
"Fine," she said, now stifling laughter of her own, "you win this round, little earthbender boy. But don't expect it to happen again." She rose to her seat and gave him a scowl in her best imitation of Tahno, drawing even more laughter from both of them. Bolin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, there was a call from the mansion's door.
"Don't get too messy," Mako yelled. "You'll track snow and mud all over the carpet!"
"All right, Mom!" Korra shouted in reply, then turned so he couldn't see her and made an L sign in front of her forehead, sending Bolin into another fit of laughter.
"I MEAN IT!"
"Okay, Mako. We'll be careful," Bolin promised.
"Be sure that you are," Mako replied, a bit haughtily, and he turned on his heel to re-enter the mansion.
"You'd think he owned the house, the way he talks," Korra pouted.
Bolin shrugged and grinned. "What, you don't think he's going to marry Asami? Then he'll practically co-own it, anyway." Korra frowned, then pushed him back into the snow.
"Well, fine, Bolin. Go ahead and defend your loser of a mother. I mean, brother," she said teasingly. Bolin glared at her briefly, then grinned as he saw the sparkle in her eyes indicating she was joking. She collapsed back onto the snow next to him and moved her limbs to make an angel pattern. "It is really nice of Asami to have us here for the solstice," she admitted. "The mansion's really beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as yooou," Bolin cooed jokingly, earning him a burst of snow in the face. "Pssf!" he spat, then turned to Korra with a pout. "It's not fair! You can waterbend the snow."
"Life's not fair," she replied, then quickly got to her feet. "Race you to the door!" she said brightly, taking off immediately.
"You gave yourself a headstart," Bolin grumbled as he got up and ran after her. But for as much as Korra cheated at their little games, he didn't mind that much.
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Asami hummed softly as she wound a string of lights around the tree in her parlor.
"I've never seen so many lights strung together," Korra said, slightly awed.
Asami chuckled. "That's one of the benefits of being wealthy, I guess. You can afford the newest technologies!" She paused, looking around the room. "Where did Mako go?" she murmured, almost to herself.
"In the kitchen," Bolin supplied in a chipper voice. "He's popping corn or making peppermint candies or... something."
"I'd better go find him," Asami said as she placed the end of the light string. "He should be helping us. We've got an entire tree to decorate for the Solstice!" She snorted and marched out of the room.
Bolin watched to make sure she was gone, then leaned over and whispered in Korra's ear. "You know what Mako and I used to like to do with the big tree in the city center?" Korra chuckled, then raised her eyebrows and shook her head to indicate puzzlement. "When no one was there, we'd slide underneath it with our eyes closed, then open them so it looked like the tree was full of stars." He grinned. "Wanna try it now?"
Korra laughed. "Sure, Bo. It sounds... fun."
Bolin sat down on the floor, a few feet from the tree, then closed his eyes as he lay down, Korra mirroring his actions. "Eyes closed?" he prompted.
"Mmhmm."
"Then slide in..." He waited to hear her do so, then did so himself. "And — open!" He did so himself, grinning as he always had. He heard Korra give a small sigh of pleasure as well. "It's been years since I did this," he murmured. "I feel like a kid again."
Korra snorted. "Like you ever stopped?" she teased.
"Hey!" he protested. "I'm very grown-up!" Korra reached around the tree to punch his arm lightly. "What, are you Chief Bei Fong's mother now?" he cried. Before she could answer, he slid back out from under the tree and sat up next to her. Korra smirked as she pulled herself to the same position.
"Would Toph Bei Fong have done this?" she asked jokingly, then leaned in front of him and planted a kiss on his lips. She quickly pulled away, leaving Bolin to sigh and smile like a lost child.
"Probably not," he admitted. "But I'm happy to be wrong," he added in a whisper. Korra snickered as he leaned in to initiate another kiss, this one lasting what could really have been only thirty seconds but seemed like five minutes. Bolin closed his eyes, losing himself in the sensation of meeting Korra's rough but warm lips with his own, soft and cool. Complementary opposites, he thought, remembering something Tenzin had once said in an effort to explain the importance of each element. Tui and La, ying and yang.
Eventually, Korra pulled her face away from his, then pressed her side against him and rested her head on his shoulders. As they sat and cuddled, Bolin thought that no matter what gifts he received for the Solstice, Korra was already the greatest of all.
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I entered the kitchen, annoyed. Mako had promised to help me decorate my tree for the Solstice, along with Korra and Bo, so what was he doing in my kitchen? He turned around to face me and smiled, then seemed to read the question on my face.
"I'm popping corn," he explained. "Thought you might want to string it on the tree. Or," he added as a trace of seductiveness entered his voice, "just eat some with me." He removed the pan from its place on the stove, and as its noisy popping ended, plucked a piece from on top and pressed it against my lips, making me giggle. All right, I couldn't stay mad at him for this. Not for long, anyway.
"Why would you think that?" I asked as I leaned in to give him an Eskimo kiss. He smiled back at me, enjoying this rare pleasure we allowed ourselves only when Bolin and Korra weren't in sight, given how much they liked to mock us for it.
"Just an idea," he replied as he grinned and dumped the pan's contents into the large bowl beside the stove.
I picked the bowl up while he placed the pan in a pile of dishes next to the sink. "Well, it wasn't a bad one," I told him. "I've got some string back in the parlor." I tilted my head toward the door, indicating that he should follow me there. Once we arrived in that doorway, though, we were met with the sight of two pairs of legs jutting out from underneath the tree. "You don't think they're —" I began, stunned.
Mako shook his head. "No. I bet they're doing what Bo and I used to do with the big tree in the shopping district. We'd stick our heads underneath so it looked like all the lights were little stars."
"Aww," I murmured. "That's sweet." Mako shifted uncomfortably, making me chuckle. For all I loved about him, he still seemed to have a problem with being labeled anything girly like "sweet." I'll get him over it someday, I thought. I tilted my head to watch and listen to Bo and Korra coo over their view of the tree, but then I felt Mako's hand on my shoulder.
"Let's leave them be for a minute, huh?" he suggested. I nodded, shooting one last glance at my friends as we walked back down the hallway.
"They really do make a good couple," I said off-handedly.
"Not as good as we do," Mako assured me. I wrapped my hand around his arm, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "It's true," he reiterated as he nuzzled my own cheek with his nose. I tilted my head against his.
"You want some popcorn?" I asked, holding the bowl toward him. He nodded, taking a few pieces in his hand. So we continued down the hallway, chatting affectionately and sharing our bowl of popcorn. By the time we got back to the tree, there was none left to string, but Mako didn't seem to mind going to pop some more.
And odd as it may seem, that's my favorite Winter Solstice memory. We never did tell Bo and Korra that we saw them under the tree that year, but since they've done the same thing each year since then, they must not be too embarrassed.