Modern setting AU. Let's suppose my dear otp lives in my country. I've tried to incorporate the way most people celebrate the New Year here. I'm from Brazil and here we have many superstitions for New Year's Eve, either you believe them or not, a majority of people does them anyway. And since here we are in the middle of summer and the weather is super hot, a lot of people spend it on the beach. It may sound strange to many but I hope you have a good time reading. And Happy New Year! Piece that accompanies my fanart on my tumblr blog [link]
It was the last day of the year. Mako usually spends the New Year's Eve with his brother and his girlfriend's family. But this year he wanted to surprise his girlfriend by doing something different: he already heard Korra tell how she liked to watch the fireworks on the beach so he rented a nice suite in a hotel facing the sea.
He had everything planned, they would leave the night before - the last day of the year would exactly match his day off! - to avoid traffic. They would spend the next day relaxing in the hotel, would eat a fine dinner and at midnight they would see the fireworks on the balcony of ther suite and, most likely, he would spend the first few minutes of the new year having fantastic sex with his girlfriend.
But apparently many people thought like him, except for the sex part maybe. Even they hitting the road in the middle of the night it was already crowded, They took twice the travel time. By the second hour of the trip, Mako's good mood was gone. Korra maintained the same level of enthusiasm as usual, singing loudly along with the song on the radio of the car. He cannot understand how anyone could be happy being trapped in a car in the middle of a summer night. The dry air made his skin sticky with sweat and his hand slip from the steering wheel. They arrived at the hotel way later than he estimated, sweaty and exhausted. All he wanted to do was to sleep - taking a good shower before.
o0o
"Let's go to the beach!"
Mako tried to cling to the bed sheets as he was pulled by his lively girlfriend.
"Are you going to sleep all day?" she pouted.
Mako looked incredulous at a Korra. Frequently HE was the one who asks her this question.
"I worked all day yesterday and drove half of the night," he buried his head on the pillow. "I'm tired!"
"You can sleep after taking a dip... come on, it'll be relaxing"
Korra gave a tentative tug at his ankles. Seeing her boyfriend motionless in bed, he realized she might have to play dirty.
"Then I'll go alone. You can stay here sleeping." Then she faked an exaggerated sigh,"it's a pity you won't see my new bathing suit... You'll loooove it."
In a jump Mako was out of the bed.
As he supposed, the beach was overcrowded, and the sand boiling hot under the sun. The salt water burned in his eyes and he knew he would be sunburned - instead of suntanned - in a few hours but seeing Korra in that bikini definitely made up for everything else!
During the afternoon they spent much of the time lying on a hammock in the shade of some palm trees, with Korra snuggled on him. The gentle breeze from the sea making the hammock swing slowly. In the background only the sound of the waves chashing at the shore. Mako couldn't recall the last time he felt so relaxed.
o0o
"Here are the clothes I bought for you." Korra handed him a bundle of white fabrics.
"White clothes. To bring peace to the next year." She said as if explaining. Mako couldn't help letting out a small snort. A peaceful year? With Korra? He doubted it much.
"You know I don't believe these stuff, right?"
"And you know that I don't care, right?" She yelled back from the shower.
Mako was getting impatient already. He looked at his wrist watch again. Korra never took a long time to get ready. She wasted no time in makeup - and she did not need to, he thought she was naturally beautiful - and her hair was always in her signature ponytail or a braid.
"Korra, I don't want to rush you, but room service has already delivered dinner, and the food will get cold so..."
"I'll be out in a minute!"
A few minutes later the bathroom door opened an Mako's jaw dropped to the floor.
Korra was all dressed in white, wearing a loose crop top accompanied by a long flowy skirt with a deep slit on the side, showing a peek of her tonned legs as she moved. The color of her clothes highlighted her skin in a delicious chocolate tone. Her dark brown locks falling in waves by her shoulders. Mako has never seen her in such garments. She was quite a sight to look at. But Korra looked rather uncomfortable.
"I don't usually wear clothes like that, I don't know if I'm ...
"You're beautiful." He interrupted her.
Korra felt her cheeks heat up a bit. The way he adored her with her eyes, made her feel the most beautiful woman in this world. She had to smile.
"Really?"
He walked over to her, picked up two white roses from the arrange on the table and tucked in her hair.
"You look like a goddess."
"You're not bad yourself. This color enhance your sunburns. - she pecked his lips playfully.
"Ha, ha very funny."
"Don't be so grumpy. If you turn the year like this, this is what you'll be all next year!
"Another superstition?" She nodded, guiding them to the table. One more to add to the list, where do these people get these ideas from?
o0o
"It's almost midnight!"
"So?"
"Let's go to the beach!" She exclaimed, taking his hand.
"But why?"
"Well, to see the fireworks?"
"We can see here from the balcony."
"I know, but we can see from the beach, which is a lot more fun."
Mako wondered how fun it would be to be on the sand surrounded by mostly drunk people. He never liked crowds anyway.
He even tried to argument to his girlfriend who basically dragged him by the hand. When he realized his feet was touched the soft sand of the beach.
In her rush Korra had time just to get the bottle of champagne.
"Uh, Kor ... you forgot the glasses ... - he pointed.
"We can drink straight from the bottleneck, huh?" She shrugged not paying too much attention.
They squeezed themselves among the people until finally they found a good place. They were facing the sea, a thin layer of water covering her bare feet every time a wave crashed.
It was only a matter of seconds before midnight. Voices of hundreds of people doing the countdown echoed through the air. Mako had to admit, being there had an indescribable energy going on.
5... 4...
Korra bounced on her feet like an excited child. "It's starting!"
3..2..1
"Happy New Year!" they all shouted, almost in unison as the sky exploded in color.
It was a beautiful spectacle, with the colors of the sky reflecting in the waves adding a special glow to the moment. Korra watched the fireworks marvelled, still holding his hand tightly, while mako was mesmerized by the beauty at his side.
The way the shades of pink, yellow and blue reflected on Korra, on her eyes, her smile, her skin, outshone any other event. She was an apparition, a mythical figure, something larger than life under that glow. To Mako there was no one else there on that beach now, just her. Only her
Mako pulled her into a impassioned kiss, so suddenly that she was caught a little off guard.
"If what I'm doing at the turn of the year is what I'm going to do the next year," he said a little breathlessly, " then that's the way I want to spend the whole next year. This is how I want to spend my whole life."
He caught her lips again and could feel korra smiling in their kiss. They parted again when they both needed air.
Then they popped the champagne, the cork rocketing to somewhere far in the sea, and gulped down some of it after Korra playfully sprayed a bit of the beverage on Mako. He caught her spilling a bit of the champagne into the sea, apparently on purpose. Another superstition perhaps? He didn't dare to ask.
"Come here, now we have to jump over seven waves!"
"What?"
For the second time that night Mako found himself being dragged around. Korra took him to where the waves crashed.
"It's simple, when the wave break, you do a jumping motion. - she held his hands - This symbolizes you "jumping over" the obstacles in life on next year. You do it seven times."
Mako just followed her movements. He felt a little silly, but that was quite fun. When he seemed to have gotten the hang of it, Korra interrupted him alarmed.
"You shouldn't jump with your back to the sea, it brings bad luck with money and-"
A wave crashed harder on them sweeping them off their feet and into the water. Mako was soaked from head to toe but he was laughing.
When they regained their balance, Korra looked at him alarmed once more.
"We forgot the grapes! The twelve grapes to-"
Mako didn't even want to know. He caught her lips again, silencing her. He held her close to him and and let both fall back into the water.
They could leave that superstition for later when they returned to the hotel. Or for the end of this year, when they returned to the beach again.
And that's it! I hope you have enjoyed this fic. It was so fun to write :)
And I hope you had fun as well on New Years Eve. Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated.