Disclaimer: I don't own LoK.

~P~

She Came by Satocycle

~P~

Mako trudged up the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. He was making his way to a restaurant to meet Korra and Bolin for lunch, but considering he always liked to be a bit early for plans, he left the apartment twenty minutes sooner than he had to. Knowing he had extra time to waste, he walked along leisurely, at his own pace, enjoying the pleasant day and slightly-cleaner-than-normal air.

Inhaling deeply, he arrived at the corner of the street, and looked up at the traffic lights that were blinking at him, waiting for it to change to red so that he could safely cross. A few seconds passed, and it did so, and so they Firebender sauntered forward. He had just finished crossing the road when, out of nowhere, a Satocycle swerved past the surrounding Satomobiles and onto the sidewalk he was on.

Mako's mind was wandering absentmindedly when he was hit by this bike. To the reckless driver's defense, he tried to make a sudden stop before hitting the Firebender, but it was unsuccessful. While the driver didn't throw him into the closest Satomobile, he hit him with enough force to send him back a few feet and knock the wind out of him with a grumble.

Mako blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened. Had someone actually just hit him? Feeling a bit sore, he tried to stand back up but collapsed, his legs having received the most damage. A scowl immediately etching into his features, he felt all of his previous carefree, pleasant attitude fly out the window, being replaced with annoyance and what would be eventual bruising. Here Mako was, actually enjoying his day for once, and it had just been ruined by this idiotic driver who didn't know how to read a stoplight!

The Firebender didn't hesitate to voice his thoughts. "Hey, buddy!" he waved his hand from his place on the ground at the person who had stopped their Satocycle a few feet away. They were getting off quickly, but Mako didn't stop his tirade of newfound irritation in the form of words. "Do you know what it means when the light is red? It means stop! I swear, you probably broke some—" The words died in Mako's throat when he realized that the driver was not a thin man, but a very attractive woman, revealed when she removed her helmet and a head full of dark curls fell out. To the Firebender's argument, her protective padding was quite thick, not really allowing one to see if they were physically a woman or not.

But this didn't stop the heat from rising in his cheeks when she rushed over to his side, expression worried. Hand latching onto his arm, his flush intensified.

"Oh, my, Spirits, are you okay? I'm so sorry!" she spat out in a jumble, green eyes flashing with true concern. Mako could barely form words at the sight of her, and forgot his previous anger at her.

Blinking at her, Mako realized he recognized the woman. Not like in a she's-an-old-friend way, but he had certainly seen her before... but he couldn't put as to where. He opened his mouth as if to form a response, but found nothing came to his brain and so he closed it to avoid looking stupid.

A few moments passed that she stared at him, and when she cocked a questioning eyebrow at his awkward quietness, the Firebender scrambled up with much difficulty, determined to break the tension between them. He tripped a bit, but didn't tumble because her hand was still on his forearm. "Whoa, there," she mumbled as he stood up straight, steadying him. He noticed with a little increase in his heartbeat that she still hadn't let go of his arm.

Mako berated himself as he turned away. Smooth one.

Refusing eye contact, he muttered quickly. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

She laughed sheepishly beside him. "Again, sorry. I'm not usually that... er, reckless. I was trying to get to the front because I'm kind of a rush... uh, whatever. Um... Sorry again?"

Mako nodded at her, and turned back and gave her a once over. He could tell she wasn't the reckless type – she had loads of padding on to protect her, which wasn't something an idiotic rider would equip themselves with. She was actually smart about her safety. And, he noticed with a dry throat, she was stunningly pretty. Bright, expressive green eyes and raven-colored hair. Gorgeous, in his opinion. Not that he needed to voice it, though.

When the Firebender realized he was staring at her, he looked away again, but when her hand tightened on his arm and she said his name excitedly, he turned back. Did he know this girl – like, really know her?

"Mako? Wait – are you the captain of Team Fire Ferrets?"

Mako blinked at her, still blushing, a red thing that covered his face and went to his ears, and nodded slowly. "Yeah? Yeah, I am." Was she a fan? From her slightly raised tone of voice, he figured so.

"This is... great! I love watching your matches! Well, anyone's matches, actually, I love Pro-Bending – but that's not the point. You're my favourite team! All of you – Bolin, Korra, and yourself – you're all so talented! Oh, this is so exciting – to think, what are the chances, I'd hit you with my bike? Seriously – you guys are great. Especially you – I love you!" She carried on enthusiastically in front of him, her face flushing out of her excitement and her grasp on his arm tightening.

Mako probably had a small heart attack in this moment – he didn't know what did it more: the fact that she liked Pro-Bending and that she liked his team best, or that she told him she loved him. The Firebender knew that she meant his fighting style and or something like that, but still, he couldn't help but feel his pulse quicken and his palms grow sweaty. Good thing he was wearing his gloves, or he might look like an idiot trying to pull his arm away from her to wipe on his pants.

Smiling widely, he turned away out of embarrassment. He tried to contain his grin, but found that he could not. "Thanks," he managed out through his almost debilitating sheepishness. "We do what we can." He found his behaviour odd – he never acted like this around girls or fans. He acted like this a bit around Korra, but not the extent of that moment right then. Normally, with fan girls, he'd just push them aside or ignore them, unlike his brother, like he had that first night he had met the Avatar. But with this girl, for some reason, he was okay with her fawning and even kind of enjoyed it. Maybe it was because she actually knew her statistics about players as she repeated them to him or because she sounded genuinely interested in the sport of Pro-Bending like himself instead of just watching it for the attractive guys – maybe that was why. But he really didn't know – all he knew was that he kind of liked the girl, and he didn't even know her name.

And then she told him, and his eager heart deflated a bit.

"Oh, uh, I guess I haven't introduced myself." She let go of his arm finally and held out her hand. "I'm Asami."

Asami. Asami – oh. Asami Sato, heiress to the multimillion dollar Satomobile company that her father had established. He'd seen pictures of her in newspapers, her name in articles accompanying them. Mako shook his head microscopically – of course, this girl would be someone completely out of his league. That was just how the Firebender's luck worked.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sato," he forced out, taking her hand with his slightly trembling one and giving it a firm shake. They held hands for a fraction longer than Mako thought they should have – but didn't mind it – before he released hers.

Asami tucked her helmet further under her arm and twisted one of her dark tresses before looking away. "I'd prefer if you just call me Asami. I get enough of that Miss Sato stuff when I'm at parties and other gatherings. Sometimes it's nice to be known by my own name instead of my father's fortune."

Mako blinked, a bit taken aback by this, before nodding. It wasn't his place to judge her – just because she was wealthy, didn't mean she was a snob. He'd made the same mistake with Korra, and she was a good friend to him now.

"S'cool. As long as you don't go around calling me Mister Fire Ferret Captain," he quipped, trying to seem a bit flirty, but failing in his mind. She giggled at him before rolling her eyes, and he thought he might be doing something wrong and looking like an idiot. But he didn't really know when it came to girls.

"Trust me, I won't. Mako works fine with me," she smiled at him, and the flush that had toned down over the course of their conversation reappeared even more brightly than before on his face. Her smile simply widened as she continued. "I can't wait to watch you guys play in the championships – you're going to kick butt! I know you're going to win."

Mako smiled for show at her compliment, but his heart sank. The championships – he was trying to forget about them. He had been looking forward to them until a few days before – that is, until Butakha had told him that he needed to gather thirty thousand yuans somehow to add to the jackpot. He was just a poor Firebender – where was he supposed to get money like that! And so because Mako knew there was no way he could gather that kind of money in less than a week (like Butakha had told him), he had wholly and reluctantly given up on winning the championship. They might as well just drop out now.

Up until then, the Firebender had kept quiet about his anxiety for the situation, but found himself divulging this sensitive information to the woman upon her bringing up, feeling the need to vent about his frustrations and worries. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he muttered, "Actually, I don't think we're going to be participating in them, Asami..."

He didn't see the shock appear on her face and was glad he didn't. "I... I... why?" He was relieved that he didn't hear pity in her voice and instead just curiosity.

"I don't really have thirty thousand yuans sitting around," he told her sarcastically, mood gone sour again at the reminder, and he stuffed his hands in his pocket and avoided eye contact.

Asami stood there, watching the grumbling Firebender closely. The gears were turning in her mind, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "I do, though." Mako raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, and the intense look of his eyes on her caused her to look away and blush a small amount. "I-I mean, my father does."

Mako sighed. "I'm well aware of the fact that you're a millionaire, Asami."

The non-bender disliked his tone of voice and wanted it to go away. Suddenly, she got an idea – a good one, too. He couldn't pass it up if he tried, and it would allow her to... spend more time with him. You know – monitoring her favourite team that is, not Mako. Smiling brightly, her green eyes glowing, she said quickly, "My father could sponsor your team!"

Mako blinked at her, but his heart stopped a bit. "What?"

"You heard me," she smirked at him. "My father could sponsor the Fire Ferrets and he could provide the yuans you need for the jackpot."

Mako could have gone and pulled a moment there himself and told her he loved her – for her offering to sponsor him, of course – but he didn't. Instead, he shook his head and said spitefully, despite being overjoyed internally, "He wouldn't do that."

"Yes, he would," she frowned at him. "I'm his only daughter and he would do anything to make me happy. That includes sponsoring my favourite team so that they can play in Pro-Bending championship."

Mako finally turned to her and his expression no longer belied his happiness at the offer, his ochre eyes bright and hopeful. "He would really do that?"

"Of course, I just told you!" she giggled at him.

The Firebender then reverted to his previous attitude – he couldn't accept such a generous offer. Mako knew better than to take things like this for granted, and so he wasn't going to get too excited about the idea and attached to it when there was the possibility of it not even happening. He'd gotten attached to unrealistic opportunities before when he was younger, regrettably so, and it sometimes landed both him and Bolin in a heap of trouble. So he learned to be cautious, no matter how genuine the offering seemed. "Asami, that's a lot of money," he tried to argue. "I can't just let you make your father spend thirty thousand yuans on my team. That's ridiculous."

"Mako, just take the offer. I'm not arguing with you – I'm telling you." She had a forceful look on her face, but then it softened, and she looked down at her red biking helmet in her hands. "Look, I really just want to see you guys go on and succeed. You're not just in it for the money, like the other teams are. You're genuine about your love for Pro-Bending - you're passionate about it. And I love that. If my dad's going to sponsor a team, I want it to be a real team like yours."

The Firebender felt his cheeks heat up once again, his hands get clammy, too. This girl had quickly managed to establish herself as someone Mako genuinely liked and even trusted a bit – and they had only really known each other for a grand total of five minutes. What was he getting himself into?

Slowly, Mako felt himself nod. "O-okay. I... accept your offer?" It took everything in the Firebender then not to hug her until she went blue, letting all of it really set in – what an opportunity!

"Good!" she closed her eyes in her satisfaction. She then started as though she just remembered something, and turning away slightly and flushing lightly, she murmured, "Of course, you'll have to speak with my father about it, too. But I can assure you he will agree to it. You'll just have to discuss some business stuff with him." Mako nodded again – he could handle that. But he couldn't help but splutter to his side when she spoke her next proposal. "Um, if you'd like, you could come over... tomorrow, I guess? I'm assuming you know where I live – everyone does, unfortunately. That way, you can, um, talk to my father in private instead of at a banquet or something where he'd be getting pulled back and forth. It'll be much more efficient that way, I think. I wouldn't mind seeing my favourite Firebender again, either."

Mako was sure his face went bright red then, and that the expression on his face was either completely dopey or totally embarrassed. He didn't know – all he could comprehend is that she kind of, sort of just asked him out. To meet her father. Or, at least, she wanted to see him again, soon. Again, what was he getting himself into? For once, he didn't care to analyze it to the last detail – he just wanted to be there with her for the ride.

"Sure," he smiled at her, a shaky one he was trying, but failing at, making charming.

Asami caught his eyes on her and turned away and began to twist her tresses again. "I'm looking forward to it," she whispered more to herself than to him, but he still heard it, and it sent his pulse into a rushing frenzy and made his bruising legs go a bit weak in the knees.

They stood there, blushing away and avoiding eye contact for a few moments before a clock rung out in the distance, signalling that it was officially lunchtime, twelve o'clock. Asami panicked at this – she was supposed to be meeting her father for lunch... fifteen minutes beforehand. She had been hurrying before because she was already late for lunch with him, but now she was even tardier than she had planned. Not that she had planned on hitting Mako, that is. But she didn't regret it. Rushing back over to her bike, she turned to Mako. "I-I forgot, I'm having lunch with my father," she explained, and he nodded at her, crossing his arms and following her. "I'd take you to see him now but I don't want to just surprise him by bringing you by... I'll explain it to him today." She threw her leg over the seat and placed her helmet on her lap, smiling at Mako sweetly. "Would you like a ride to wherever you're going? My father won't mind if I'm a few more minutes late."

Mako blinked at her, flustered at the thought of sitting behind her on the Satocycle. Shaking his head, he managed out, "No, thank you. It's not too far from here – I'll be there in no time." This was the truth – it was only a five minute walk from that curb.

Asami nodded at him, before debating her options of a goodbye, and mustering up her courage, took his hand in hers and squeezed it. Mako was surprised by her bold move, considering they had just met, but smiled softly at her.

"Bye, Mako," she returned the smile. "See you tomorrow." At this, she placed the helmet on her head and tucked her thick, dark hair back into its place in the headgear.

He nodded at her, feeling a heat in his hand as she continued to hold it. "Goodbye, Asami."

Releasing his hand, she revved her engine, and the Firebender backed off, momentarily surprised by the power and noise of it. Twisting the handlebars, she peered at him quickly through her helmet visor and then winked before taking off.

The Firebender allowed his suddenness fondness for the girl to take over upon her driving off from him, and a large, goofy smile appeared on his face, and he felt himself go a bit dizzy as he remembered her own bright smile. She wanted to see him again – a girl like her wanted to see a guy like him! He realized he must look stupid – standing there with a ruffled jacket and hair, still a bit scraped up from the hit, and grinning like a dope, but he didn't care.

His smile widening, he took two steps forward and blinked, confused, as he looked around. His mind was lapsing – all he could think about was Asami Sato. Not that he minded.

Where was he going again?

~P~

Author's Notes: Let's pretend it's like California and you can lane split with motorcycles and that's what Asami was rushing to do. Also... WAT. I'm not supposed to ship Masami – yet I kind of do. She's so pretty and Mako's hot... so, you know. Hot couple. XD I don't know, I like the look of them together... I'm still a major Makorra shipper, though, don't worry! Masami will never be as big to me as Makorra – hell no! But I will admit... I like it. More to come? I don't know. But don't kill me, fellow Makorrians! Please, I ask for repentance!

Also, those screenshots of them together – I flipped because we finally got to see Asami and also because MAKO LIKES HER. This does not sit well with me on my rabid Makorrian scale... but... we'll see. I'm not too happy about it, but I don't hate Asami by any means. So, again, we'll see. But I just felt so compelled to write this... and so I did. XD

Not to mention – Mako is such an adorable dork, it hurts. XD That heart scene (which I freaked out about, by the way) is just so, so cute.

Okay, bye now!