author's note: i was out of town for the entire month of july so sorry for the lack of updates. but yay fluff fluff fluff.

disclaimer: i don't own the legend of korra. (if i did bolin would have an actual character and mako wouldn't have been so jerk-y to asami.)
(also, there would be more iroh ii because hot damn.)

Sometimes he feels as though he missed out on a lot of the cliche "couple-y" things with Korra.

He admits this to her one day as they're sparring in the air temple courtyard. "What are you talking about?" She asks as she ducks under a burst of flame, retaliating with a quick blast of air. "We didn't miss out on anything."

"It's just," he sighs as he cartwheels out of the way of some ice daggers before forming a fire whip and snapping it towards her, "I never really got to properly 'ask you out'. Or take you on a fancy official first date. Or work up all the nerve for our first kiss—" he dodges a boulder, shoots back a plume of fire— "or plan out how to tell you 'I love you' for the first time. Or anything." He straightens and shrugs, his head hanging slightly.

She stops and cocks her head to the side. "Who cares, Mako? It's no big deal." She slides her arm around his waist and squeezes. "None of that stuff matters. We're together now, aren't we? And who really wants a mediocre relationship like that?" She releases him and puts one hand on her hip, looking up at him.

His hand finds hers, their fingers lacing together. He sighs. "I guess you're right. But still. Sometimes I wish we could have done all that stuff." He lets go of her hand and loops his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close and pressing a kiss to her hair. "But I guess it's not really that big of a deal," he mumbles against her temple.

Korra nods but has a faraway look in her eyes, like she's not actually listening. Mako doesn't notice.

That night, Korra sits down with Mako and asks him out on their first official date. She looks confused when he laughs. "What? I thought you wanted this—" He cuts her off, darting forward to kiss her, just once.

"Even when we're trying to be normal we can't be," he says, grinning.

"What do you mean?" She asks, crossing her arms and sitting back.

"Well," he says sagely, "normally the guy is the one to ask for a date."

She huffs. "Well," she says, mimicking his tone. "That's stupid."

He laughs again and grabs her hand. "Yeah. It is."

She raises an eyebrow but looks mollified. "Besides," she says, twining her fingers between his, "Who needs normal anyway?"

He nods, smiling. "Yeah. Who needs it?"