When Mako confessed his love for Korra in the snowy banks, it was complete bliss for the duo after that. The boat ride back to Republic City was just the right amount of awkward. They had a hard time trying to concentrate on the goals at hand, to get the city back to normal as soon as possible. A glare here and a giggle there made it impossible for Tenzin to hold a serious meeting, but at the same time he was happy that Korra was happy. After the whole Amon trauma, he decided she needed some joy.
The tension among everyone died down. It appeared that Asami had ultimately forgiven Mako, not holding a grudge or anymore repressed anger. She was starting to evolve back to her kind and upbeat self again. The only thing holding her back was the memories of her merciless father. Bolin had dried many tears on her delicate cheeks, and embraced her with a silent message: You are not alone.
It was hard for Bolin to get used to the idea of Mako basically stealing his first serious crush, but he had no choice but to just let it go. Besides, he had a new prize on the horizon. He never did admit it to Mako before, but Asami sure was something. Not only beautiful, but strong, confident, brave. It felt a little weird to be moving on to what was once his older brother's territory, but then again this whole circumstance was weird in itself. And this was all because of one extraordinary girl. Avatar Korra.
Perhaps it took Mako a bit longer than the ideal to realize just how extraordinary Korra was. There were definitely hints of feelings for the Avatar before all this mess, but it took a mix of pain and loss for him to finally reach reality. He was in love. If you'd heard the expression of appreciating something more when you had to experience life without it, it is easy to understand. When Korra was taken by Tarrlok, he had truly begun to lose his mind. Mako couldn't imagine life without Korra in it. His Korra. His arrogant, naïve, and impatient Korra. His beautiful, selfless, and noble Korra.
Love was such a foreign feeling for the young fire bender, which explains why it was so hard to know the truth in the beginning. Sure, he had feelings for Asami, but not like this. No, this was very different. Korra was truly his greatest thing. He had never smiled so much in his life than when he returned home. It was going to be a bumpy ride, but Mako wouldn't change it for anything. Not even for all the yuans in the world. Korra was irreplaceable, like a rare diamond in a mound of coal. Stepping off the boat, onto the island with Korra's hand intertwined with his, signaled a new beginning.