In this story, the Fire Nation is their equivalent of Korea. Fire Nation BBQ is Korean BBQ, and FN-pop is K-pop.
Valentine's Day arrived and Mako was excited as he exited his workplace. He climbed into his car and drove home.
He was putting on a tux and preparing in the bathroom. Bolin, on the other hand, was just wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. Once Mako finished preparing, he turned to Bolin.
"Lucky you, you get to wear comfy clothes," said Mako.
"Hey, you look sharp. And at least you and your date live near each other so you can meet up," said Bolin. "Have fun."
"You too," said Mako. "I hope your confession goes well. I have a feeling she likes you too."
"Thanks," said Bolin. "I know you probably just said that to make me feel better, though."
Mako walked out and began driving to the university dorm where Korra lived. He parked outside and texted her.
He didn't need to wait long. The door opened and Korra walked out, wearing a light blue dress that stopped just above her ankles. The twenty-one-year-old had her hair in a bun. Mako was briefly stunned. Even after years of dating and seeing her in an elegant dress multiple times, he couldn't help but gush a little. A few seconds later, he returned to normal and grabbed the door.
"You look so gorgeous," said Mako.
"And you look handsome," said Korra.
They then went downtown to the restaurant. As they got closer, the skyscrapers got taller and there were more cars and people outside. Eventually, they found the fancy restaurant, which was next to a mall and a few fast-food restaurants.
They were then seated at their table. They both glanced at the menu.
"I'm gonna have the deep-fried squid and fried rice," said Mako. "What are you gonna order?"
"I'll have the crab legs with fried rice," said Korra.
The restaurant had high ceilings, bright white lights, and lightly colored walls. Multiple couples with the same Valentine's Day plan as Mako and Korra were dining around them.
On one side, there were big glass windows where the busy streets and tall skyscrapers of downtown Republic City could be seen.
"Korra, can you please give me some water?" Mako asked.
Korra opened the pitcher and moved her hands around to bend the water into Mako's glass, filling it. It was something most Waterbenders did instead of pouring it like everyone else.
"I love it when you do that," said Mako.
"Yeah, it's fun," said Korra.
Once a waiter came and took their orders, Mako and Korra sat silently for a few minutes.
"How's it going at work?" Korra asked.
"It's going fine," said Mako. "Working under Chief Beifong motivates me to be more serious. She doesn't play favorites and working in the same police department is fine."
"Those first few years must've been awkward," said Korra.
"They were, even though she knew me for a long time before I became a cop. She always seems strict, but I know she's looking out for us like an aunt. I've always been a bit serious, but I think she's rubbing off on me even more now."
"I don't think so. You still know when to bring out your fun side."
"Yeah. Some of the older officers have been pushing Chief Beifong to get a date and let loose a little. She's so stern most of the time.
"Let's hear about you now. How are you doing?"
Korra paused for a few seconds to think.
"Great," said Korra. "It feels good to be almost out of university and finishing my Kinesiology degree and I'm all set to become a personal trainer."
They spent time briefly talking about their lives. There were few new things to talk about regarding their lives since they regularly met up.
Eventually, their food came. Both Mako and Korra took a picture. Mako had intentionally starved himself today, rather than eating a snack between lunch and dinner. His stomach was empty, and he felt light. Now he couldn't wait to eat his food. It smelled great, and his taste buds were itching for the meal.
Mako picked up his chopsticks and Korra did the same. He grabbed a piece of squid and stuffed it into his mouth, before using his spoon and eating a scoop of rice.
"I miss this," said Mako. "Totally worth the money."
"Good thing we're fine with drinking water," said Korra. "Don't wanna hurt your wallet too much."
"Yeah," said Mako. "This meal's on me."
"You shouldn't have! Well, I guess I can't argue with you."
Mako ate his food a bit slowly to savor the taste. The sky was getting a bit darker, and he figured that they would have about 30 minutes before they need to pay and leave before they can get to the Aang Memorial Park right when it gets dark enough for the lights to turn on.
Mako had to pay for the food by himself. He was happy to do it, though. It's been a while since he had paid for a meal or a ticket for Korra. The total came out to about $120, which wasn't that bad. It was a good thing neither he nor Korra wanted to drink alcohol. Buying the drinks would've make their meal much more expensive.
Mako and Korra changed out of their formal clothes into warmer clothes before leaving the restaurant. They then returned to the car to grab Mako's camera. The sun had already set, leaving a pinkish hue in the sky. Mako took some photos.
They crossed the street to the park. They arrived at the side where there were trees lined up and wide grass fields. The park took up a whole city block. There was a map near the crosswalks in the corner of the block. They briefly checked the map. In the middle of the park were statues of war heroes that Mako, Korra, and the rest of the Krew knew personally.
There were many lampposts and trees where heart decorations were hanging from. They emitted a pink light as the sun was going down. Mako and Korra took dozens of pictures as the sky turned from pink to black. Some were selfies, while others were just landscape pictures that Mako took without including anyone in the photo.
They spent a few minutes just walking on the path and admiring the lights. There were many other couples of all ages at the park with them. It was dark, but Mako was able to easily recognize people while they were under the light.
Mako looked around and saw two teenagers whom he thought he recognized. There was a boy and a girl standing next to a lamppost. He silently walked in their direction and Korra followed. Once he recognized the teens, he quickly walked towards them.
"Kai, my man!" Mako greeted the boy. "Hey, Jinora, what's up?"
Mako hugged both Kai and Jinora.
Korra approached and greeted them, hugging them both.
"Hey Mako, hey Korra," said Kai. He was a short and skinny boy, and Mako easily dwarfed him. Kai had black hair that was combed, and his skin was a bit dark.
"Hey, Mako and Korra," said Jinora.
Jinora had short, black hair that didn't go below her shoulders. Her skin was lighter than Kai's, and she had blue arrow tattoos on her forehead. Both her and Kai were wearing a hoodie under a jacket, with jeans. Jinora was wearing a denim jacket.
"I see you guys are celebrating your first Valentine's Day," said Mako. "Congrats."
"Yeah, Kai and I had Fire Nation barbecue earlier," said Jinora. "We decided to come here and get some good photos."
"Mako and I went to Kwong's," said Korra.
"Wanna go to the statues together?" asked Mako.
"Sure," said Kai.
They then walked together.
"Good job, Kai," said Mako, patting him on the back. "Your date seems to be going so well. You guys are sixteen now. We were close to your age when Korra and I started dating."
"Thanks," said Kai. "I thought I was a bit awkward."
"Don't worry, Kai, you did pretty well," said Jinora.
"Her dad gave me a speech before I took her out today," said Kai.
"Oh, fun," Mako said sarcastically.
"How did it go?" asked Korra.
"It went pretty well," said Kai, "considering Master Tenzin gives me private airbending lessons on weekends ever since Jinora and I met in freshman year."
"Every guy who wants to date a girl has to deal with the dad speech," said Mako. "It could've gone worse for you. Master Tenzin is serious most of the time."
"Surprisingly, he was quite chill this time around," said Kai. "I thought he would find it funny if I pretended to be Jett from Valorant using her ult, except I was airbending chopsticks instead of knives. He wasn't amused."
"Korra's dad was a bit chill, even though I was intimidated a bit," said Mako. "He then thought I was cool after he got to know me a bit, after I told him that I was in the basketball team and that I liked film and photography. As usual, he gave me the warning about hurting Korra."
"Yeah, you guys started getting along so easily," Korra asked. "Well, are you gonna share more details, Kai?"
"I was dreading the speech, but her dad basically said that my main goal was for Jinora to be happy and safe," said Kai. "It seems like he trusts me quite a bit and he even says I'm a good guy and can be a gentleman. Of course, he warned me about breaking Jinora's heart, which is the last thing I want to do. He also laid down some ground rules like no PDA and her curfew is 9pm."
"You've still got plenty of time," said Korra.
"It was quite entertaining to hear Kai tell me about the speech," said Jinora. "The funny part is that Ikki and Meelo were super excited for us. They were chanting 'Kainora forever!' repeatedly. Kainora isn't a bad combination of Kai and Jinora."
"I'm not surprised," said Mako, turning to Kai. "Meelo looks up to you like you're his older brother, the same way you look up to Bolin and me."
"My mom was excited for us," said Jinora. "Rohan too, but he's a bit young and doesn't understand relationships much."
They then arrived at the statues. There were six statues. One was of Aang, who was an Airbender. Next was his wife Katara, who was a Waterbender. Katara's statue was connected to a fountain which made it look like she was pouring water from her hand. Next was Zuko, a Firebender, whose outstretched palm held a flame. Next was Toph, an Earthbender. On the sides were Sokka and Suki, two Nonbenders holding guns in one hand. Sokka held a boomerang in the other hand, while Suki held a fan.
The war monument was made for them after the Fire Nation's attempt at conquest sixty years ago under Fire Lord Zolnu. Aang and his friends, who were all in the United Forces, rallied legions of Benders and Nonbenders to defend Republic City from an attempted invasion from the air and sea. The battle was fierce and destructive, but they managed to wipe out a good chunk of the Fire Nation's forces, and it helped steer the war towards a Fire Nation defeat.
Mako and Korra met them all multiple times in their life. They were now in their mid-eighties or older, with Zuko being the oldest at ninety, and Toph the youngest at eighty-six. Toph was Opal's grandmother, while Zuko was Iroh's grandfather. Aang and Katara were Jinora's grandparents. Sokka and Suki also had grandchildren, though the Krew wasn't too close to them.
Mako remembered watching Jinora and her three siblings be born and grow up. After visiting them multiple times, he eventually met Kai two years ago. He and Bolin acted as older brothers and mentors to Kai.
After taking pictures with Kai and Jinora, they just hung out and talked.
"I hope Bolin's date goes well," said Kai.
"Yeah, me too," said Mako. "Compared to the rest of us, he's been playing the long game. I thought he wasn't going to start dating until they're both out of college."
"Maybe playing the long game is beneficial for some," said Kai. "But do you think he's up for a long-distance relationship?"
"Based on what he told me, I think he wants to get something big off his chest," said Korra.
"I hope Operation: Bopal goes smoothly," said Jinora.
They spent time taking pictures around the statues, which were decorated with hearts.
"It's time for us to go," said Kai. "I'm gonna walk her home before I my parents pick me up."
"Bye," said Jinora.
"Bye guys," said Mako and Korra.
Mako and Korra decided to go home as well. Mako dropped Korra off before driving home. He found Bolin relaxing silently on the couch. He wasn't doing anything. The TV was off, and his phone was beside him, laying facedown on the couch's armrest. The only light that was on was a lamp beside the couch.
"Hey Mako? How was your date?" Bolin asked.
"It was amazing," said Mako. "I even ran into Kai and Jinora. I have a feeling they'll have a strong relationship in the future."
"My man Kai has game."
"Well?" Mako asked, smiling a little and getting his hopes up. "Tell me what you did while I was gone."
"Okay, so here's what happened," Bolin began.