Mako was an idiot.

That was the only explanation Korra could think of as she leaned against the patio railing, watching snow dust the bare branches of the bushes in front of her. The only explanation to why he had yet to make a move. He was an idiot and he obviously was unaware of the fact that they were meant for each other. Because here they were, outside, alone with a starry night sky above them and he had yet to bring up their relationship status. They were at a Christmas party, complete with mistletoe—mistletoe—and Mako acted like he didn't notice (He had noticed, because he deliberately let Korra go through the door first).

It had been three months since their meeting at the Laundromat.

At the beginning of the semester.

The beginning.

it was almost time for finals and he was still sticking with the whole buddy-buddy routine. She knew he liked her. Knew it. He had to know she liked him—they were spending so much time together her best friend was starting to get jealous.

Well, if he was going to be that way…Korra couldn't figure out if she wanted to take matters into her own hands or just decide that Mako wasn't worth her time.

Maybe, she thought as she listened to him talk about the kids at their dojo, she should give him the holidays. She was headed back home for Christmas break. That might give him some time to reflect, absence made the heart grow fonder they said. Depending on his reaction when they got back to campus, she could make her own decision about what to do.

They might be taking classes together this semester after all.

"Will you be there?" Mako asked.

"What?"

"Tomorrow. You're coming to belt testing, right? You know Paige and Michael would love to have you there."

Korra sighed. She thought she knew the kids he was talking about, she was still getting to know the names of some of the regulars. Mako knew them all, of course, it was one of his two jobs. Korra was pretty sure those kids were in the advanced class right before theirs. They were sweet kids, she hated to have to disappoint them.

"I can't," she replied. "I'm judging a gymnastics competition tomorrow."

"Gymnastics?" he said, quirking an eyebrow.

Korra tried to look offended. "How do you think I got into cheerleading?"

"Um…I'm guessing gymnastics?"

"My parents enrolled me when I was little. I loved it."

"Why did you stop then?"

Korra shifted her feet. There were a lot of reasons she'd decided not to pursue, not all of which—well, one in particular—she was comfortable sharing with Mako. Not yet. Pulling herself up to her full height, she gestured to herself.

"Have you seen how tall I am?" she asked. Point made, she leaned against the railing again, taking a sip of her egg nog. "I was eleven and already a head taller than most of the girls my age. And competing can be really expensive."

"Were you any good?" Mako asked, taking a sip of his drink.

Korra scoffed. "Of course. How else do you think I made the squad here?"

She had an idea. Korra took a look at the party behind them. Nobody was paying them any attention. They were too busy dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock".

"I could show you." Korra wanted him to say yes, now that the idea had crossed her mind, she could feel the familiar itch beneath her skin. The itch that drove her to practice and kept her taking lessons even during the years that competing was just too stressful. The itch that drove her to join her high school cheer squad and think that maybe, just maybe she was ready to compete again.

"Now?" Mako asked. "Here?"

"Not here here. Not enough room."

Grabbing his hand, she dragged him through the patio gate and onto the lawn behind the sports building. Not that there was much lawn yet. It was mostly, snow and dirt right now.

Leaving a protesting Mako, Korra kicked through the tis layer of snow, making sure there weren't any nasty surprises. When she finally had enough distance, Korra spun, flashing her best cheer smile and raising her hands above her head.

A running start and she was in the air. This was her favorite part, the way her hands and feet barely touched the ground and she felt like something more than human, just for a minute. Instinct took over as she tumbled. There was no plan, she followed where her body led, paying only enough attention to make sure she stayed in a straight line. If she was going to show off, she might as well show off well.

The landing was perfect.

She posed one last time and turned to Mako.

His eyes looked ready to fall out of his head. Mako snapped his mouth shut as Korra cocked her head to the side and grinned at him.

"Impressed?"

"Impressed?" Mako sounded incredulous. "Korra, you were flying!"

Korra laughed, grabbing his cup and peering into it. "I thought you weren't drinking, Mr. I'm-Only-Twenty."

Mako took his cup back, rolling his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah," Korra said, heading back for the shelter of the patio. Outside was freezing, and neither of them had thought to grab their coats when they ducked away from the heat and the noise inside the building. She was surprised Mako's teeth aren't chattering, he hated the cold. Something about growing up down south before he moved up here to live with his grandmother. "It kind of feels that way. C'mon, we should get inside before you turn into a popsicle."

"Nah," Mako said, despite his bright red nose. "I'm fine right here. This is about the point where Bolin usually starts a Conga line." He looks across the abandoned tables and chairs between them and the door, gesturing inside, where is brother is indeed trying to instigate some sort of group…something. "So, cheerleading, martial arts, and gymnastics. Is there anything you aren't good at?"

"Plenty," Korra replied. She glanced at him slyly. "It's not like I'm Batman."

"You're going there again?" Mako glared at her. "You're just jealous that you'll never be as awesome as Bruce Wayne."

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" She, of course, knew that. Superheroes were a constant point of contention with them. Mako could be such a dork sometimes though, it was fun to tease him. She sighed. "I just don't see it."

"See what?"

"What makes him so much better." Now, give her a really cool hero, with actual super powers. Korra could get behind that. Someone who came from the bottom and worked their way up. "I mean, what are his superpowers? Brooding and tragic backstory? Oh, your parents were killed in front of you, sorry, sucks to be you. But maybe beating people senseless is not the best use of your parent's millions. Batman is just a rich man in a fancy suit when you get down to it."

It's very quiet when she finished talking. Korra looked up at Mako, surprised that she's actually offended him. They were talking about fictional characters for crying out loud. Mako took a deep breath.

"He didn't give up," Mako said. "He didn't let what happened to him rip him apart, he kept going. He does everything in his power to stop what happened to him from happening to anyone else. He fights harder and trains longer and thinks smarter."

Korra waited. Something about the way Mako watched the snow that had started falling around them made her reluctant to speak. She had touched some deeper issue and if anyone understood how deep things could go, it was her. Korra placed her hand on his arm, bringing his attention back to her.

"I'm sorry." Part of her wanted to ask what made him look so sad, but she had her own secrets and until she was ready to share those, she wasn't going to ask Mako to share his.

Mako studied her, his face easing into his familiar neutral expression. He always tried to keep his feelings under guard. Even after three months, Korra felt like she'd barely cracked his shell. For the first time, she realized there might be a good reason why.

"You know how Bolin and I grew up with our grandma?"

Korra nodded.

"We're orphans."

"I know," she said. "Mako, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I want to tell you though," he said. Mako set his cup on the table behind them and turned to stare back out at the snow. "I was eight. Bolin was sick, but my parents hadn't wanted to miss my soccer match, so they left him with Grandma Yin. My team lost." The corner of Mako's mouth that Korra could see quirked into a smile. "I was really upset, so my parents took me walking around the park and let me play on the swing set for a little bit. It was really late when we headed back to our car. The park wasn't in the best part of town and this guy walks up with a gun..." Mako hung his head. "I can't even remember why he pulled the trigger."

Korra gasped. "Oh my god." Her whispering breath was hot against her palm.

Mako kept looking out at the field.

"He was going to kill me too," he said. "I'd gotten a good look at his face—IDing him was easy when they took me to the station—but he looked at me and I knew he was going to shoot and I was too scared to even cry. Then he dropped the gun and ran, didn't even take my mom's purse. Hey," Mako said, glancing down at Korra. "It's okay."

Korra blinked, realizing suddenly that she was crying. With icy fingers, she wiped away the tears.

"I didn't know," she said. "I never would have said…"

Mako squeezed her shoulder. "I know." He picked at paint flaking on the railing. "I've been wanting to tell you for a while now, I just—that's not something you just dump on someone during a normal conversation."

"Unless they stumble into it like an idiot, you mean," Korra said. She rested her head against his shoulder. She knew this was big. Suddenly, she didn't care that he was taking his sweet time deciding how he felt about her. Maybe Mako wasn't such an idiot after all. He just needed more time than most people.

Hesitantly, Mako put his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm really am sorry I said that, Mako."

"It's okay. You—"

"Mistletoe!"

Korra and Mako jumped apart, whirling to find Bolin standing behind them with something green held between his fingers.

"Now, now, you two," he said. "You know the rules."

"Bolin, seriously," Mako said. "What is wrong with you? You don't just sneak up on people like that." Turning bright red—Korra strongly suspected the cold had nothing to with that—he ducked his head. "Korra, I apologize for my idiot brother. He doesn't seem to understand that not everyone appreciates being kissed by random strangers."

"Oh, so I'm a stranger? I thought we were friends," Korra said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Mako said.

"So really, what you're saying is that you don't want to kiss me."

"Yes! I mean, no," Mako said. He tried to step back, but Bolin blocked him, driving him a little closer to Korra. "I mean—I'm really confused. What exactly is going on here?"

"I am tired of seeing you two dance around each other, so I'm giving you the perfect moment."

"And I am taking advantage of the moment."

Mako looked at Korra and then back at Bolin. "Wait, you're not trying to date Korra?"

"What?"

"Yeah," Bolin said, scratching his head. "What?"

"You two have spend a lot of time together."

"Because that means she gets to hang out with you," Bolin said. "Shut up, Korra, I know it's no my dazzling personality that keeps bringing you back."

"Traitor," Korra muttered.

"But you asked me what I thought of Korra as girlfriend material," Mako said. He cast a quick glance at Korra, who crossed her arms and smirked.

"I was dropping hints," Bolin said.

"Very badly, apparently," Korra said.

"I—uh—"

"Mako?"

"Yes, Korra?"

"You're an idiot." She had to reach up on her tiptoes to press her lips against his. To her disappointment, he did not kiss her back. When she stepped away, Mako was looking at her like she'd grown a third eye.

Slowly, his eyes shifted to the mistletoe that Bolin held barely above his head. When his eyes met Korra's, he was fighting a smile.

"Well, that was different than I expected."

"What was different?"

"I never expected you to be such a tame kisser."

Korra glared at him. "Maybe I didn't want to overwhelm you."

Mako stepped closer, placing his hands on Korra's waist. "Oh, you can try."

Let's face it guys, Mako would LOVE Batman if he were a modern day kid.

Anyways, I cam up with this AU in reponse to a later prompt in this project (which I ended up writing first, go fig). Since nothing in this little drabble-thon follows a linear timeline, I decided it was okay to post this out of timeline too, but I did try to give some context.

It wasn't difficult to translate Mako's tragic backstory into modern day terms. And of course, Bolin had to butt in with his lovely sense of timing. Still haven't decided if Korra and Mako are both criminology students (Mako definitely is, but he's taking the semester off to earn money to pay for tuition, he, unlike a certain younger brother does not have a football scholarship) or if Korra is going more for a degree she could use as a social worker. I know for sure she wants to work with kids who've been victims of crime (anyone able to chime in on that one?), for reasons that will be explored in a later prompt (yes, I translated Korra's story to modern terms as well).

I know next to nothing about cheer or gymnastics, but it made sense to me that Korra would be into these if she ever was exposed. Plus she is SO competitive.

Enjoy!