The Dinner

Word count: 3,469

Task: Write about your OTP having a double date with your NOTP.

Prompts:

- 1. Terrific

- 6. Mad by Ne-Yo

- 7. Last Hope by Paramore

- Season: Winter

- Element: Fire

Hat-tip to avatarfanlin for suggesting the NOTP. I had a lot more fun writing it than I expected.

Was it hot in here, or was it just him? Mako tried to loosen his necktie, unsuccessfully. That earned him a disapproving look from the waiter. Or was he imagining that too? Well, he wouldn't be hallucinating if he could breathe in here! Served him right for letting Asami pick the place. He'd suffered through enough of these things to be wearing clothes of his own this time, but they didn't make him much more comfortable. Fancy clothes weren't supposed to make you comfortable.

The fireplace burned extravagantly. It crackled at him: rich people don't sweat; if you're sweating, you don't belong here. Mako didn't pass the test. He pushed the flames down to a reasonable level, but he couldn't keep them there indefinitely. Could he? It would be an excuse to avoid the night's conversation. Probably a weak one, though. Reluctantly, he let go. The fire roared back even hotter after being held down, burning away his confidence. This was mistake. If he left now he could call, come up with a better excuse…

"I hope you haven't been waiting long."

Too late. The fireplace had distracted him, probably on purpose. There they stood, beautiful and different as ever. Everything else aside, it was great to see them.

"Not at all," croaked Mako, hugging Asami.

"And you got us the Presidential booth," said Asami. "I'm impressed."

"I thought that was your doing," said Mako.

"Wasn't me," said Asami.

"Don't look at me," said Korra, hugging Mako. "I'm not even sure what a Presidential booth is. It better not have Raiko in it."

They sat down, the girls grinning stupidly at each other. The fancy clock ticked deafeningly. Fancy clocks weren't meant to make you comfortable either. He should say something. That they looked happy? Would that be awkward? Maybe something neutral, just to break the ice.

"So how was the Spirit World?" asked Mako. Too prying?

"It was terrific!" said Asami. "I can't believe you guys were keeping all the fun to yourselves."

"How about you?" asked Korra. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" said Mako. "Oh, I'm terrific, too. Just… terrific."

Tick.

"And what about your date, Mr. Heartbreaker?" asked Korra, smiling.

"Is she with the Force?" asked Asami.

"Right, my date," said Mako, clearing his throat. "Must be the snowstorm. We should just go ahead and order."

Tick.

"I hear the octopus fritters…" said Mako.

"I love this city," said Korra, watching the snow outside the window, "but it's like winter catches them by surprise every year. The tiniest flurry and the whole city shuts down. If the South worked like this, they'd be closed all year round."

"Yeah," Mako said weakly. "Weather."

Tick.

"I hear the octopus fritters…"

"Too bad Bolin and Opal couldn't be here," said Asami.

"Yeah," said Mako. "Seems like they have their hands full in the Earth States."

Tick.

"I hear the octopus fritters…"

"Honey," said Asami, holding his hand, "we'll order the fritters. Double servings. I'm actually glad your date is late. It'll give us a chance to talk. Now, I know you and Korra sometimes get a little defensive…"

"No we don't," Mako and Korra said simultaneously.

"Good," said Asami, "then this should be easy. We want to know how you're doing. Really. We realize this might be a little awkward for you, and we care about you."

"Yeah," said Korra, "all the touchy-feely stuff she said."

Asami glared at her. "This is now a sarcasm-free zone. You can be as touchy-feely as you like."

Korra rolled her eyes.

"Awkward?" said Mako, his voice breaking like a teenager. "Why would this be awkward?"

"Your leg is twitching and I can feel you tugging at the fireplace," said Korra.

Mako sighed. In the weeks after Harmonic Convergence, when he couldn't bear to look either of them in the eye, he'd thought he'd reached his personal awkwardness record. It should've been smooth sailing from there. He was wrong. But now he was older and wiser. Wasn't he? And had they been staring at him all the time he was having this internal monologue?

"Fine," he said finally, "maybe a little awkward. It's funny, I think I was more shocked when Asami came out."

"Hey," said Korra, "just because I'm not a girly girl and like to be the big spoon…"

"Well, this girly girl actually had the guts to walk up to you and…" said Asami.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about the spoon thing," hissed Mako.

Asami laughed.

"It's not that at all, Korra," said Mako. "My reaction had nothing to do with it being you or Asami, it had to do with me. Do you know what my first reaction was when Asami came out to me? I was worried what other people were going to think… about me! I mean, how much more self-centered can you get?"

Asami squeezed his hand.

"If Mako's ex is dating girls, what does that say about Mako as a lover? As a man? But then I looked at Asami, trusting me with this. I was ashamed. Who cares what people think? Asami was my friend, I cared about what she thought. And right then she could use some support."

Korra looked at Asami. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"Maybe it was better this way, baby," said Asami, wiping away a tear. "Plus, I got to dump all the touchy-feely garbage on Mako."

Mako smiled. "So I had the whole ex-coming-out thing figured out. With both Asami and me attracted to strong independent women…"

"Excellent taste, sir," said Korra.

"…I guess it was a matter of time before something like this happened," said Mako, looking at Asami. "Unless it already…"

Asami nodded, smiling.

"Really?" said Mako. "Who? Wait, don't answer that."

"Well, someone was busy," said Korra.

"Hey, I had this long-distance crush on a straight girl," said Asami, "what was I supposed to do?"

"I'm sorry, you're right," said Korra. "I wasn't in a very good place back then."

"Seeing you two together did shake me up a little," said Mako. "But I want you to know I meant what I said at the wedding. I'll always have your back, be it fighting giant mechasuits or being a friendly shoulder. I'm hoping for more of the latter, but the promise stands regardless."

Korra smiled. "I'll try to avoid the giant ones for a while."

#

The octopus fritters were really good. Both servings.

"Argh," said Asami, "look who just walked in."

Korra turned to the door. "Oh no. Avoid eye contact, maybe he won't notice us. Who picked this place?"

"I did," whispered Asami. "Magic mushrooms and talking cake are fine, but I needed normal food."

"You call this normal?" whispered Korra.

Wu walked up to the table.

"I'll handle this," said Mako, standing.

He pecked Wu on the lips.

The girls' chins dropped.

"Korra, Asami," Mako said nervously, "this is my date."

"Yes, of course," said Asami, recovering first. "It's, um, nice to see you, King Wu."

"Is this a joke?" said Korra.

"Sorry, I realize there's a lot to explain," said Mako. "I wanted to tell you sooner, but it never seemed like the right time, and then you invited us to dinner… Remember all that stuff I said about being supportive friends?"

"Touchy-feely zone is over, girly girl," said Korra, smiling. "What will other people think when they find out my ex is dating Wu?"

"Go ahead, laugh it off," said Mako, sitting.

"I deserved that," said Wu, his voice silky as ever. "Ladies, I wish to apologize for my past behavior. I clearly had some issues to figure out, and I tried to hide my insecurities with ridiculous, offensive machismo. I hope you can forgive me."

"Wow," said Korra. "You apologizing is actually more shocking than Mako coming out."

"Please," said Mako, "give him a chance. For me."

"Fine," said Korra, shaking Wu's hand. "To a fresh start."

"That is all I ask," said Wu, kissing Korra's hand, then Asami's. "I see you're enjoying the Presidential booth."

"It's amazing," said Asami. "I had never actually been in here."

"It's the only way to experience Kwong's," said Wu, taking a seat. "Oh, octopus fritters, excellent choice!"

"Think they'll notice if we sneak out to the Arena?" Korra half-whispered to Mako.

"Fine," said Wu, "we can discuss sportsball or whatever…"

"Actually, King Wu…" said Asami.

"Just Wu," said Wu. "After fifty-four generations, the unbroken line of the Monarchy has finally gone the way of my horrid great-aunt."

"How is that going, by the way?" asked Korra. "I've been meaning to get involved."

"Good, someone probably should," said Wu. "The Royal Council – did you know there was a Royal Council? – made me sign this huge document. I'm fuzzy on the details. Did you know some of the Earth States want to keep me on as a symbolic monarch?"

"That's very thoughtful of them," said Asami. "Will you move there?"

"Well," said Wu, "Mako insisted on returning to the Force…"

"It's better for our relationship," said Mako. "And my sanity."

"…so I'm thinking of staying in the City for the time being," said Wu. "But I have enough money not to need to work, so I guess I'll do whatever symbolic monarchs do. Tour the countryside? Open bridges? Kiss ugly babies?"

"That's nice," said Asami.

"Polite chit chat zone over," said Korra. "How did this happen?"

"Well, a lot happened while you were in the Spirit World…" said Mako.

"Clearly," said Korra.

"Yey, coming out story time," said Wu. "Me first. I don't think my mom hugged me enough as a kid…"

"Can we get the short version?" said Mako.

"If you say the magic word…" said Wu.

Mako sighed. "Please, Wubear?"

The girls stifled their laughter.

"Sure thing, Macub," said Wu. "I experimented a bit in boarding school, of course."

"Of course," said Asami.

Korra looked at Asami.

"What?" said Asami. "Everyone does it."

"I didn't know many kids my age growing up," said Korra. "In hindsight, that probably wasn't very healthy."

"In the streets they'd beat the gay out of you," said Mako. "Or one of the older kids cornered you alone."

"Enough with the sob stories," said Wu, "this is rich kids fond memories time. You don't know how good you have it here. The Earth Kingdom is very conservative. The Royal House, even worse."

"The Water Tribes are pretty conservative too," said Korra. "A generation ago, they didn't want to teach Master Katara waterbending because she was a girl. Can you imagine that?"

"As I was saying," said Wu, "an openly gay Earth King was unthinkable, though I'm sure there've been tons of them in the closet. I wanted the Throne so badly, I just pushed these inconvenient feelings away. But they came back to bite me, in the form of a seriously ripped firebender. But you ladies know what I'm talking about."

The girls laughed as Mako turned deeper shades of red.

"Let's move on," said Mako.

"What can I say?" said Wu. "Being around Mako, the Throne lost its shine. And it finally hit me that the feeling was mutual! Not with Mako (that came later), but with my people. They don't know me, they don't need me. Why did I ever think the Throne would bring me happiness, when happiness was standing right next to me? The rest is history."

"You, I could see," said Korra. "But you, Mako. I did not see that coming."

"I think it goes back to my first real girlfriend," said Mako, smiling. "She kept insisting on being the big spoon. I think it made me gay."

Korra stuck out her tongue.

"But seriously," said Mako. "I had two really great relationships with women. The relationships weren't perfect – maybe none are – but we actually stayed friends afterwards. Not just 'let's just be friends', actual real friends. How many people can say that? I don't say this enough: that's something I truly treasure."

"Dude," said Korra, blinking away something in her eye, "touchy-feely warning."

"Maybe that was the first sign," said Mako. "Maybe that's what it takes for men and women to really be friends: the absence of sexual tension. All my life, I had to put up this tough guy persona. To survive in the streets. To protect my brother. It worked, up to a point. After Korra and I broke up, I realized I had to figure out who I was without a lady in my life. I didn't know myself at all. I thought I would've been happy by then – I had a job and an apartment, but it was empty. I was too tough to realize the tough guy act might be the problem. Then Asami had the guts to come out to me."

Asami smiled.

"Now that was real courage, courage I hadn't had. When the shock was over and I was ready to support Asami, I was taking the first step to supporting myself, too. I realized I had to let go of control, just let it happen, you know? It's like she lit this little spark in me, but it was enough to keep me going. You know how it is, Korra. Firebending doesn't make fire out of nothing, it draws heat from our bodies. At first it can't even heat a teacup, but the fire grows. I'd lie awake at night, trying my best to dream of how tomorrow would make it better. But I'd just wake up to cold reality, not a thing had changed. I didn't know how to make it change. Hitting the gay scene with Bolin's mover friends seemed daunting. Then I met Wu."

"Finally," said Wu, "the knight in shining armor."

"At first I thought he was a superficial, self-centered, spoiled brat," said Mako. "But he kept surprising me at every turn. Then came your trip to the Spirit World. I put on a brave face, but it hit me harder than I expected. Wu and I talked, we drank a little bit more than we should have, and I was finally ready to let the tough guy go. I wasn't afraid of hurting anymore. And I just let it happen."

Mako and Wu kissed.

#

"What about you ladies?" asked Wu, sipping coftea.

"Well," said Asami, "when I almost lost my company I was feeling really vulnerable and confused."

"Or so she claims," said Korra. Asami and Mako blushed, but she was smiling.

"The company recovered," said Asami. "But I really couldn't say the same for my personal life. There was a string of guys that didn't mean much. Then Korra nearly got killed."

Korra reached out to hold her hand.

"She was in a really dark place when she left us. We didn't know whether she would recover, or when we would see her again. I felt so useless! Big fancy CEO with millions at her fingertips, everything I'd ever dreamed of. Everything my father had groomed me to be. But what good was all this power now, if I couldn't help the person that mattered? I finally understood how Mako felt when Tarrlok took Korra. And I realized it wasn't just because I liked her as a friend."

Korra smiled.

"Of course," said Asami, "she had much bigger problems to deal with. Also, she was straight and on the other side of the world. So I had to settle for other athletic brunettes with pony tails."

Korra poked her in the ribs.

"But none of them measured up to the original," Asami added.

"Liar," said Korra, kissing her.

"Sorry I didn't tell you about my crush earlier, Mako," said Asami. "It felt stupid and impossible and I didn't want to weird you out."

"You were right," said Mako, smiling. "It did weird me out. But it worked out in the end."

"That only leaves you, Avatar," said Wu.

"Well," said Korra, "my love history is really short. Like really short. Like one person."

"Wow," said Mako. "Really? I didn't know that."

"I didn't tell you 'cause I didn't want you to think I was weird," said Korra.

"You're the Avatar," said Mako. "I think weird is part of the package."

"That was the problem," said Korra. "I didn't really grow up with kids my age. When I finally found friends and some freedom, it seemed like there was always some crazy bloodbender, ancient spirit, secret cult, or mad dictator getting in the way."

"Do you wish you hadn't spent so much time on the same guy?" asked Mako.

"No, honey," said Korra, "I value what we had. It taught me a lot about myself."

"Spirits," said Mako, mock-burying his head in his hands, "I made you gay."

"You wish, Macub," said Korra, smiling. "After we broke up, I just buried myself in Avatar work. When the Red Lotus hurt me, they took that away. I couldn't hide behind being the Avatar anymore. Everything I had been running away from finally caught up."

Korra looked away from the table, wiping her eyes. Asami squeezed her shoulder.

"I blame you guys for the waterworks," said Korra, sniffling. "I won't bore you with the details, but it took me a while to figure out what being the Avatar meant to me, and what else mattered in my life. Asami mattered. I felt something in the letters, but it seemed so fragile, like it would melt to the touch. What if it was all in my head? What if I ruined everything? I wanted to talk to her in person, but to do that I needed to deal with my Avatar issues. When I finally made it back here, another crisis was boiling over. We only really had a chance to talk after Kuvira was defeated."

"Some talk," said Wu.

"I'll say," said Asami, smiling.

"The wine helped," said Korra.

"That seems to be a recurring theme," said Mako.

"Rubbish," said Wu, "that's just an excuse to do what you already wanted to do anyway."

"That's the thing," said Korra. "We could still blame the wine. The next day was the day of the wedding, and I couldn't reach Asami before the party. Remember that stuff Zaheer used to say about emptying and becoming wind? That actually started to make sense. That was how lovestruck I was. But I had no idea how she felt."

"She found out soon enough," said Asami, kissing her.

#

They huddled on the brown slush outside Kwong's.

"It's freezing," said Asami. "You guys need a ride?"

"Thanks," said Mako. "Wu's driving. You know, I really had a terrific time tonight. I'm glad we talked. I love you guys."

"You softy," said Korra.

The four of them hugged. The girls left.

"Shall we?" said Mako. "It really is freezing."

"I saw it, Mako," said Wu, frowning.

"Saw what, Wu?" said Mako.

"The looks you were giving each other," said Wu. "What were you talking about before I arrived? They want you in a threesome, don't they?"

"What? No!" said Mako. "They said nothing of the sort!"

"But you wish they had, don't you?" said Wu. "You want me to believe you feel nothing for either of them?"

"I can't talk to you when you're like this," said Mako. "You're paranoid."

"Answer the question, Mako!" cried Wu. "Do you or do you not still have feelings for them?"

"I love them as friends, Wu!" cried Mako. "Friends!"

They stood in the cold.

"C'mon Wu," said Mako.

"No," said Wu, jaw chattering. "I don't need you."

"You're cold, I'm a firebender," said Mako. "We don't have to talk."

"Fine," said Wu, hugging Mako. "This changes nothing."

"Fine," said Mako. "I'll just stand here wondering what you're thinking. No talking, cause that just turns into screaming. And yelling at each other means none of us are listening. Pretty soon we wouldn't even remember why we were fighting. We'd be mad, fighting, crying, all for nothing."

"Mako…" said Wu.

"I'm sorry I got mad," said Mako. "It's just… I love you, can't you see that? This kind of thing should be nothing to a love like we got. This love couldn't be perfect. Sometimes it's gonna rain – or snow. But I want to make up now, 'cause I can't sleep through the pain. I don't wanna go to bed mad at you."

"You didn't have to scream," said Wu.

"Sorry," said Mako. "It just gets me upset when you're constantly accusing. And then we get into this war when both of us are losing, yet neither of us wants to back down."

"It's just… you admire them so much," said Wu. "I wish you could look at me that way, Macub."

Mako looked into his eyes. "I meant what I said, Wubear. You just keep surprising me every day. Baby, we're gonna be happy."

They kissed.