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Mako took a deep breath and smoothed his jacket down. He snuck a look at his eyebrows in the back of his spoon and quickly set it down to make sure no one saw him.
He felt the tiny box in his pocket and fought the urge to pull it out. He’d been obsessively polishing it all day, but he was afraid that the moment he took it out, Wu would show up and the whole thing would be ruined.
Instead, he smoothed out the wrinkles on the tablecloth and flagged down the waiter.
“The champagne is going to get cold,” he complained. “I need more ice for this bucket!”
“Right away,” the waiter said. Mako tried to put his hands flat down on the table, but they kept twitching from nervousness.
And then he came through the door, that goofy smile on his face. Mako felt his heart skip a beat.
“Hey, Mako,” Wu said, sliding into his chair. He clasped his hands together in excitement and wiggled a little in his seat. “Ooh, champagne! You sure know how to treat a man right, Mako.”
Mako flushed. “I, uh …” His hand went to his pocket, but something told him to wait. “I … What are you going to order?”
He really wished his legs didn’t turn to jelly every time Wu smiled at him. At least they were sitting down, though. When Wu had reached over to hold his hand on their first date, he’d tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his butt. Wu said it was cute, but Mako always cringed thinking about it.
“What a great question, Mako!” Wu opened the menu with a flick of his wrist. “Hm … Ooh, they have roasted seal eel! Have you ever had roasted seal eel, Mako? It’s soooo yummy.”
Mako didn’t feel like eating seal ee. He felt like he was going to throw up already, and he hadn’t eaten anything all day.
But he pushed his nerves down.
“I was thinking I’d just have, uh, the kale salad,” he said. Wu giggled.
“Oh Mako, you’re so healthy. I wish I could be more like you.” He reached over and touched Mako’s hand gently, and Mako felt a chill go down his spine. He looked down at Wu’s slender fingers and thought about how in less than an hour he was going to put his mother’s ring onto one of them.
Mako smiled back at him, which Wu always got a kick out of. He said Mako’s grimace was his smile and his smile was his “super-smile,” and while Mako didn’t know exactly what that meant, he knew Wu liked it.
The waiter returned with more ice, and Wu didn’t take his hand off Mako’s.
“What would you like to order tonight, gentlemen?”
Wu went into his spiel of how exactly he wanted his seal eel roasted and what sides he needed as substitutes, all the while stroking Mako’s hand with his thumb.
“And you?”
Mako coughed. “Uh, can I just have the kale salad. Please.”
The waiter nodded and walked off, leaving Mako and Wu together.
Mako looked into the beautiful green eyes and took a deep breath. “Wu …” He pulled his hand away.
“Is everything okay, Mako?”
“Everything’s fine. I just, uh …” Mako took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But when he opened them, his heart sank. “Bolin? What are you doing here?”
Bolin grinned and pulled up a chair next to him.
“I didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight, bro! Me and Varrick were just cruising the town, thought we’d get a bite to eat, and bam! We run into you guys!”
Varrick stood at Bolin’s shoulder, his eyes glancing from Mako’s pocket -- at least, Mako hoped it was his pocket he was looking at -- to Mako’s face and then to Wu’s hands, which where still on the table. He smirked.
“We may be intruding on something here, Bolin,” he said, putting a hand on Bolin’s shoulder.
“What? No! I never get to see my big bro any more! If anything, this guy is intruding on the bro bonding,” Bolin said, elbowing Wu in the ribs. Wu gave a good natured grin. “The more the merrier, right bro?”
Mako bit back a curse. He glanced at Wu, who seemed ambivalent about the whole thing.
“Yeah, sure,” he said, crossing his arms and slumping down in his chair. Bolin clapped excitedly and grabbed another chair for Varrick.
----
“We can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done to usher in this new age of democracy in the Earth Kingdom, Prince Wu.” Wu laughed and waved.
“Please, it’s just Wu. Congratulations on your election, President Zhang,” he said, bowing.
Mako stood by his side while Wu and the newly elected president continued to exchange pleasantries. His hand kept creeping to that damn box in his pocket. Wu had been so busy lately organizing the elections that they’d barely seen each other. Mako had been staying in Zaofu, doing some freelance security work for the Beifongs, but the high speed rails weren’t enough to bridge the empty space in Mako’s bed each night.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and grabbed the box tightly. Tonight he was going to do it, and then he’d finally get some time alone with Wu.
But this new president would not stop talking to him. And then some more Earth Kingdom officials showed up, and Wu gave Mako those apologetic little pouty eyes as they lead him away to talk politics.
Mako kicked a rock. He scanned the pavilion for other familiar faces -- there was Korra, wrapped up in some Avatar business, and Asami, no doubt closing some kind of business deal for Future Industries. He crossed his arms.
“Hey, Mako.” He turned to see Chief Beifong at his side, holding a drink tightly in her hand.
“Hi Chief,” he said. She rolled her eyes.
“Please. I’m retired,” she said, taking a rather vigorous swig.
“Oh, congratulations. I didn’t know,” Mako said. She shrugged.
“You haven’t been to Republic City in a while.”
“I’ve been, uh, in the Earth Kingdom.”
Lin arched an eyebrow. “I know.”
Mako cast his mind around for another possible topic of conversation, but was spared by the arrival of Kya and Bumi.
Kya snaked her arm around Lin’s waist and kissed her on the cheek, while Bumi clapped Mako on the shoulder.
“How’s it going, kid?” he asked. “Democracy in the Earth Kingdom, huh? Never thought I’d see it happen, but then again, never thought I’d be an airbender!”
Mako frowned and looked around the pavilion. His eyes quickly landed on Wu, who was surrounded by an entirely different cohort of equally boring-looking politicians.
“How long do you think they’re going to keep talking to him?” Mako complained. Bumi followed his gaze to Wu and snickered. Kya slapped him in the back of the head with some of Lin’s drink.
“Don’t make fun of him, Bumi,” she said. “I’m sure they’ll be done soon, Mako.” She gave him a reassuring smile.
But an hour later, they weren’t done, and Lin and Kya had wandered off. Bumi was still talking his ear off about the time he had sailed into a sea serpent and his crew firebended their way out of the side of its belly, and Mako was getting tired.
He saw Wu break away from the crowd and come towards him, and he perked up.
“Hey Wu,” he said, his arms unconsciously reaching out for his boyfriend.
“Hey Mako,” Wu said, stepping into Mako’s embrace. When they broke apart, he looked dejected. “They want me to come to some formal hearing thing and swear some oaths and sign some thingies. I am so sorry, Mako. This whole thing is so exhausting.”
“It’s -- it’s okay,” Mako said, trying to keep his voice even. “I’ll just see you at the hotel?”
Wu nodded glumly. “It might be a little late.”
“Thanks okay,” Mako said.
But later, as Mako lay in the cold bed alone, it really wasn’t okay.
---
“Ooh, Mako, this is so exciting! I’ve never been to a pro bending match before.” Mako bit back a laugh at his boyfriend decked out head to toe in purple -- he even had a soft little purple scarf. Which Mako only knew was soft because he had accidentally brushed against Wu as they got out of the Satomobile together. Not because he had felt it on purpose.
“I think tonight’s going to be very special,” Mako said, giving Wu a grin. Wu slipped his freezing hand into Mako’s, laced their fingers together, and kissed Mako’s cheek. Mako blushed.
He led them up the stairwell and towards their box seats. Mako still couldn’t believe that he had a standing invitation to the President’s box, but Wu seemed completely down with it.
They walked in together and took their seats in between Varrick and Bolin.
“Hello everyone,” Wu said, slipping his hand out of Mako’s to do his cute little wave. Varrick asked him how President Zhang was, but Wu groaned in distaste. “Please! This is why I gave up the throne, so I wouldn’t have to talk about boring politics all the time! Now, Bolin: tell me you have pictures of Mako in his pro bending uniform. He keeps telling me he doesn’t, but I know better.”
Mako rolled his eyes and his mind wandered as Wu and Bolin kept talking. This time he knew Wu would be with him the whole night, so there was no reason he wouldn’t be able to propose tonight. It was their first pro-bending game together, in the President’s box, and it was going to be a perfect night. Mako was sure of it.
After the first round, which the Flying Wolf-Bats won in a knockout, Kai and Jinora showed up with Ikki, Meelo and Rohan in tow. Mako felt knots start to tie themselves together in his stomach -- this was a rather large crowd for a marriage proposal.
“Hey dude,” Kai said. “Do you think they’ll ever add airbendering to this stuff?”
Mako raised an eyebrow. “I feel like pro-bending isn’t very congruent with the airbender lifestyle.”
Kai shrugged and gave him a grin. “Hey, you seemed to make some pretty good money out of it. Money and connections.” Kai winked, and Mako scowled at him.
“It’s true, Mako is so well known,” Wu said, leaning across Mako and brushing his lap on the way to tap Kai on the nose. Mako’s eyes widened and he gently pushed Wu off his lap.
“Um … anyways,” Mako said, his cheeks filling with color. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
“Can you take Meelo with you?” Jinora asked. “I don’t trust him to go on his own.”
“Hey!” Meelo complained, but Mako just hooked him by the collar of his shirt and drug him to the bathroom.
While Meelo was … Meelo-ing in the stall, Mako splashed some cold water on his face.
“Okay. You got this.” He smoothed his eyebrows out and did a couple quick air punches in front of the mirror.
“What have you got?” Mako yelped and jumped.
“What the -- where did you come from?” he demanded, glaring at Meelo, who had seemingly apparated at his elbow.
“I got done going to the bathroom a long time ago, old man. Let’s get back to the action!”
Mako’s freshly smoothed eyebrows knit together in a frown.
“Did you wash your hands?”
Meelo groaned. “You’re as bad as Jinora!”
Mako watched over him as he washed his hands and then corralled him back to their box. Wu was still sitting in his chair, his hand resting gently on Mako’s chair. Mako felt like he was about to burst into tears, but he wasn’t sure why.
He slumped back into his seat, the ring box pressing into his thigh. He’d made up his mind. When the match ended, he was going to whip it out and do it.
The next two rounds were much closer, and everyone was tense, so no one noticed Mako white-knuckling the arms of his chair. But with twenty seconds to go in the last round, the waterbender from the Flying Wolf-Bats got hit with a disc straight to the gut which slammed him against the side of the arena with a sickening thud.
The ref blew the whistle and the crowd teemed with nervous energy. The waterbender was holding their side, groaning in pain, and after a few seconds the healers showed up and took them out on a stretcher.
“Republic City! This match will be postponed due to the serious injury incurred by the waterbender of the Flying Wolf-Bats!” The entire stadium groaned, half in sympathy and half in annoyance. The crowds started shuffling, and Mako’s friends began packing up their things to leave.
“So … that’s it?” Mako said, a little panicked. He could always just do it now, but he felt paralyzed with fear. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to propose, to let Wu know how he felt, but things kept going so wrong.
And then he felt Wu’s hand on his shoulder, and he felt the tension melt out of his muscles.
“Hey,” Wu said, grinning up at him with those gorgeous green eyes. “Wanna go get a smoothie or something?”
Mako kissed his forehead. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he said, and they left the arena together.
There would be another time.
-----
“You ready for this?” Korra said, adjusting her necklace and fluffing her hair out.
“Yeah, I think I finally am,” Mako said, straightening his collar and rubbing some more gel into his hair. “This is gonna be one memorable night.”
“Oh, you don’t even know.” Korra grinned at him, grabbed his keys from the counter and tossed them to him. “Let’s do this thing.”
Mako started his Satomobile and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as they made their way to the restaurant. He hadn’t explicitly told Korra he was going to propose tonight, but she seemed to have picked up his hints.
He parked and helped Korra out of the car.
“So … is this gonna be a better double date than that one with Opal and Bolin?” Korra laughed.
“Anything would be better than that,” she said. “Oh, Asami’s here already. Of course she is.” Korra practically melted at the sight of her girlfriend in a stunning red tailored suit walking towards them from the moped she rode in on.
“Hey Korra,” she said, kissing Korra on the cheek. “Hey, Mako! It’s been too long.” She hugged him, and not for the first time, he thought how glad he was that these two had found each other and stayed in his life.
“So,” Mako said as they strolled into the restaurant. “Big night tonight, huh?” Korra elbowed him and gave him a death glare so scary he thought she was about to go into the Avatar state. He frowned, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
The three of them reached the table where Wu was waiting, looking dapper as always. Mako stood next to his chair with his hand on Wu’s shoulder for several moments, until Korra asked him if he was going to sit down.
“Uh, yeah,” he said, sitting down and dropping his silverware on the floor in his hurry to grab his napkin.
He straightened up and gave the waiter his order. Everything seemed to be going according to plan: the champagne stayed cold, the food arrived on time, and the waiter was polite. Mako had only ordered a salad, but he was so nervous he could hardly eat. Korra got her favorite roasted grinch-hen, but she didn’t seem to be eating much either.
Asami and Wu, on the other hand, had no trouble polishing off their meals. When the waiter came to clear their dishes off, Mako slipped his hand in his pocket. This was it. As soon as the table was clear, he was doing it.
But just as he was getting out of his chair to kneel on the floor, he saw Wu squeak in delight and clap his hands together.
“Wh --” Mako looked over to see Korra kneeling in front of Asami, staring up at her as though she was absolutely smitten. She was holding a delicate blue necklace in her hands.
“Asami,” Korra said huskily. Asami was grinning so hard it looked like her face hurt. “You are … my best friend. The love of my life. You know me better than anyone, and I …” Korra lifted the necklace up. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Asami.”
Asami took the necklace in her hands. Mako could see tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“Korra … I love you,” she said, pulling Korra in for a hug.
“So .. yes?” Korra said shakily, wiping her own tears away.
“Yes,” Asami said, nodding emphatically. She held the necklace up. “It’s beautiful. Would you …” Korra’s nimble hands fixed the necklace on and then fell into Asami’s hands.
“Oh my goodness,” Wu said, his eyes bleary, and Mako noticed a warm tear running down his cheek too. “This is just. So beautiful. I love love.”
“I love you guys,” Korra said, hugging Mako. Wu threw his arms around Asami.
After they were done congratulating Korra and Asami (and fighting their way past the press -- the Avatar proposing to the CEO of Future Industries was kind of a big deal), Korra went home with Asami on her moped, leaving Mako and Wu alone.
“Mako?” Wu said gently. “You okay?”
Mako sighed. “I’m fine. I just …” He shrugged.
Wu put his hand on Mako’s shoulder.
“Why don’t you drive us out to the country a little ways. We can look at the stars.”
Mako smiled gently. “I’d like that.”
He put the car in gear, and as he drove out of Republic City, Wu’s hand on his thigh and the breeze in his hair, he had an idea.
-----
The next few weeks were a blur of wedding invitations, flower arrangements, and shoe shopping with the Avatar (which is not as fun as it sounds). Wu insisted on acting as Korra and Asami’s personal wedding organizer, which meant Mako hardly got to be alone with him until night, when Wu usually passed out as soon as hitting the bed.
But that was okay, because Mako had plans of his own to make. Renting a badgermole was actually a lot more complicated than he’d thought, and he still had to get Bolin to construct the bleachers.
“So this is like … his coronation ceremony? But I thought we were over that whole “king” phase,” Bolin said.
Mako groaned. “Ugh! Bolin! It’s just -- can you just build the bleachers? I don’t need this attitude from you right now!”
“Okay, okay, sorry, bro,” he said.
Once that was done, all Mako needed to do was steal Wu away for a day. This time, he felt like he should probably tell Korra exactly what his plans were, because they clearly weren’t on the same page last time.
“Korra,” he said, knocking gently on her door. She was doing pushups on the floor, but nodded that he could come in. “Is Wu here?”
“Nah,” she said. “He’s looking at dresses with Asami. I think he’s more excited about it than she is, to be honest.”
“Okay, good,” Mako said. “Korra, I’m -- I want to propose to Wu. And it’s not because --”
Korra hopped up from her pushups and hugged him, grinning from ear to ear.
“That’s awesome, Mako,” she said. “What do you need from me?”
“Just tell Wu you don’t need him this Saturday. Say - say your parents are coming to Republic City or something.”
Korra smirked. “I’ll do you one better. Asami and I were actually planning on going away to Ember Island for a bit to get away from all this crazy. We were gonna leave Friday. I’ll tell Wu to take a break while we’re away.” She nudged him in the ribs. “Big man Mako, getting married, huh?”
“I’ve been planning it for a while,” he said defensively. “I was actually going to propose that night we were at the restaurant together, but …”
Korra’s face fell.
“Oh, Mako, I’m so sorry,” she said, taking his hands. “I had no idea. I never would’ve proposed to Asami if I knew you were planning on it.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “It gave me time to come up with a better idea anyway.”
She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.
“I’m happy for you, Mako,” she said. He couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across his own face.
“Thanks, Korra.”
---
Mako’s alarm clock buzzed promptly at 6, but he’d been lying awake for hours before that. He felt like a rookie pro bender again, lying awake in stress and excitement the night before a big match.
Wu groaned at the sound of the alarm clock, smacking his lips several times and rolling over to put his head on Mako’s chest.
“Hey, Mako,” he said, nuzzling his nose into Mako’s pecs. “Why are you getting up so early? Do you have to go somewhere today?”
Mako ran his thumb across Wu’s jaw and smiled down at him.
“We’re going somewhere,” he said. “C’mon, let’s get up.”
“Noo, Mako …” Wu cuddled closer and rubbed his cheek on Mako’s shirt. “You’re so warm … and strong.” His hands slipped onto Mako’s biceps, and Mako flushed.
“We gotta --”
“Shh …” Wu pulled him into a kiss, and when they broke apart, Mako continued with a trail of kisses down to the nape of his neck. “Mako …”
“Yes?” Mako breathed into Wu’s collarbone.
“Mako … will you marry me?” Mako pulled back and started into Wu’s eyes.
“Are you serious?” he said.
Wu’s face fell. “I … I just …”
Mako laughed and grabbed Wu’s hands. “Wu … I’ve been planning to propose for six months. I had this whole thing for you today ... “ Wu’s face split into a toothy grin.
“Mako! You were?” Mako nodded, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.
Wu wiggled his hips and giggled. “Mako … you were going to propose to me!”
“That was the plan,” Mako said.
“Well … we can just pretend I didn’t --” Mako cut him off with a thorough and passionate kiss.
“Yes. I’ll marry you.”