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Mako and Korra
Mako watched as the Rabaroos waterbender was knocked into the drink. The new Fire Ferrets team was actually pretty impressive. Mako had been surprised when Asami mentioned the team's first match, thinking she had stopped funding the team after Bolin left. He should have known better, Asami was one of the biggest pro-bender fans he knew.
"Yeah!" Korra shouted, pumping her fist in the air.
The round ended when the Rabaroo earthbender joined the other two in a full knockout.
"Alright folks," the announcer called. "While we reset the arena, please turn your attention to our newest attraction. Donated by our sponsor Varrick Global Industries, our camera screen takes real time images. With it we will be playing a game the inventor came up with himself. When the camera lands on a couple, you kiss!"
"Varrick is so inappropriate," Mako muttered.
"I don't know," Bolin said. "Seems fun."
"Which is why Mako doesn't like it," Korra joked.
"I'm going to go get more food while the game's on hold," Bolin said. "Anyone want anything?"
"More drink!" Korra said, holding her cup up to Bolin. Mako shook his head.
"I'll come with," Asami said, standing. "I need to stretch my legs."
With the two gone, Mako and Korra fell into silence until Korra broke it.
"It is kind of invasive, isn't it?" Korra said, as she stared up at the unlucky couple on the screen.
"Yeah, and how would they know who's a couple and who's not. They seem to just be picking a male and female at random," Mako said.
Korra hummed in agreement as she turned her attention to the arena clean up.
"Well, look who we have here!" The announcer called. "The former Fire Ferrets themselves! Mako! Korra! Give us a kiss!"
"She's not my girlfriend, anymore," Mako called, but it was drowned out by the cheering in the stadium.
"I don't think they care," Korra muttered.
"I'm not going to kiss you just to shut them up," Mako said.
"Fine," Korra said, crossing her arms and pouting. Booing replaced the cheers.
"Are you seriously mad that your ex-boyfriend won't kiss you?" Mako asked, incredulously.
"Doesn't matter," Korra said, turning away.
Mako scoffed before giving into the pressures from all sides and placing a soft kiss on Korra's lips. He felt her laugh against them as he pulled back and gave the camera a rude gesture. It quickly picked a new target.
Asami and Bolin returned soon after.
"Did we miss anything?" Asami asked.
"Your girlfriend peer-pressuring me," Mako mumbled.
"Mako being a square," Korra replied, before sipping on her drink.
"Forget I asked," Asami said.
"Woo!" Bolin called. "Nice shot!"
Mako pushed the whole incident behind him as the game started back up. He'd be more aware next time the kissing cam came out.
Iroh II and Ursa II
Ursa had been talking Iroh's ear off about the pro-bending match. It was the first thing she had wanted to do upon landing in the city and Iroh got dragged along.
Iroh liked pro-bending just fine but he had never bothered to attend a match before. That didn't mean he hadn't heard rumors of a new game the arena played and some of the awkward moments that came from it.
Iroh was prepared.
When the kiss cam, as the public now called it, swung around the room, Iroh hoped it wouldn't land on him. Though, the man to his left might tempt him if they took the center of the screen.
Instead, the camera did exactly what he was hoping it wouldn't. Of course it spotted him, as Republic City was all too familiar with him. His sister on the other hand was unknown to the city. He looked like he was on a date with a random woman.
The crowd took issue with Ursa making a face and shaking her head harshly. Ursa made a gagging noise as the camera became more insistent.
Iroh had prepared for this exact case and pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. He unfolded it to the confusion of the crowd that went from cheering and mocking his sister to questioning what he was doing.
Iroh held up the paper. The words "She's my sister" and an arrow made clear the mistake. The arena laughed as the camera swung to an actual couple.
"Sorry about that General!" The announcer called.
Ursa looked somewhere between amused and horrified. "As if I'd ever date a loser like you," Ursa said.
Iroh shot her an unamused look.
"I'll have you know," Iroh said, "I'm a catch!"
Ursa looked at him in disbelief. "Sure, Ro Ro, whatever you say," she said, dismissively as she turned back to the game.
Mako and Lin
Mako was really starting to hate the new tradition of the pro-bending sport. It didn't help that the idea had been Varrick's.
It was supposed to be a team building exercise. His co-workers had wanted to see his old scene and by that, Mako knew, they meant poke at him over it.
Chief had approved it, amused at Mako's predicament, which was how they ended up here.
Up on the giant screen, Mako was once again pinned by the camera with someone he wasn't really keen on kissing.
Mako's eyes went wide as his co-workers laughed nervously. They were likely humored but entirely too scared to laugh outright.
Lin glared out from the image but the chants for a kiss meant the camera stayed put. Mako panicked as kissy effects and small hearts took up the screen around them. It seemed the arena had a new peer-pressure tactic.
After a while, the camera gave up, moving to two other couples before it did something else new.
In the past, if two people refused to kiss the camera moved on and left them alone. This time it swung back around until Mako and Lin were once more on the screen. He could hear the uncomfortable sounds coming from the audience. It seemed even they didn't think peer-pressuring someone twice was okay.
The camera moved on again and then swung back around again.
Mako felt distinctly uncomfortable and in his panicked state pressed a kiss as close to Lin's mouth as he dared, whispering "sorry" as he pulled away.
"No, kid," Lin muttered, "don't worry about it. It's not your fault the cameraman can't take a hint. There's nothing for you to be sorry for but when I'm done with them, the cameraman will be."
Mako relaxed slightly at that and his co-workers seemed uncomfortable enough by the targeted actions of the camera that they didn't mention it, even days later. It was as if it never happened, but Mako still felt discomfort whenever he thought of his two kiss cam incidents.
Bolin and Iroh II
Mako had warned him. Bolin had never had the pleasure of being caught under the kiss cam, unlike his brother had been.
He always figured he'd get caught with Opal if he ever did.
The two of them were on a date and Bolin figured it would be fairly obvious they were together. He hadn't counted on the new seating policy.
With the rise of the sport, the arena had started selling pre-assigned seats, rather than just admission tickets.
Due to this new policy, Bolin and Opal had been seated next to General Iroh. The general had briefly spoken to them while introducing his sister. Princess Ursa was apparently a big pro-bending fan and had started up a conversation with Bolin about it.
The conversation only stopped when Bolin realized they were talking over General Iroh, who had been sinking further and further back in his seat. Bolin had turned back to his girlfriend at that point who looked unamused.
Bolin smiled sheepishly before turning to the game.
When the kiss cam came up, he heard General Iroh groan but he himself was actually excited. He hoped it landed on him and Opal.
When the camera did finally land on him, it wasn't Opal he was paired with. It was General Iroh.
Princess Ursa laughed, though it was pitched oddly as if she found the situation anything but amusing.
General Iroh frowned and shook his head. The effects Mako had described started up and Bolin started sweating slightly. He didn't want to kiss General Iroh.
Opal's huff was his only warning. He startled when her lips were pressed to his and the camera adjusted to center them instead of his other seat neighbor.
"Nice save, Opal," Princess Ursa called, laughing slightly. She reached a hand out and Opal pressed a high five to it.
"Opal," General Iroh said, as she and Bolin pulled apart, "I have never been more grateful to a Beifong in my life and that's saying something."
"Don't worry about it, Iroh," Opal said. "The whole thing is dumb."
"Wait," Bolin said, looking between the other three, "you guys know each other?"
Mako and Iroh II
It was the last match before Ursa returned home and Iroh was going to suck it up and go with her. It didn't change the fact that Iroh was starting to feel targeted. Iroh had only ever attended two pro-bending matches and he'd ended up under the camera's gaze at both.
He was surprised to find that fate had sat him next to Bolin's brother, after having sat him next to Bolin at the last game. Iroh tentatively sat next to him, hoping he'd be left alone by the camera this time.
Unlike Bolin, Mako wasn't as talkative. There was an exchange of titles, and an introduction of his sister and that was about it.
Mako, oddly enough, seemed to be at the game alone but the empty seats next to him spoke of either canceled plans or late arrivals.
His sister laughed slightly and turned away to hide a smile.
"What?" Iroh asked. Something told him she was laughing at him.
Ursa leaned closer to him and whispered, "Something interesting about the detective? You were staring awfully hard."
Iroh's face heated. "Shut up," he muttered. Iroh had realized a while ago that he found the other man attractive. Having worked on a few minor projects with him, Iroh also knew he liked the man well enough, but it wasn't anything serious.
Ursa held her hands in surrender and turned back to the game.
Iroh still had no clue what the rules were and followed absolutely nothing about what was happening.
"Hey, ref," Mako shouted. "Maybe call the play properly. That's a foul! That was a face shot!"
Iroh glanced down and realized Mako was right. One of the firebenders appeared dazed as they were knocked back a ring. They held their head where a bruise was already forming.
The commentator also called out the bad sportsmanship.
"Dirty match," Mako muttered.
"What?" Iroh asked, confused by the whole process.
Mako jumped, not expecting to be addressed. "Oh," Mako said, "ah, the ref was paid off. The Zebra Frogs paid the ref, of course they did, because they can't win in a fair match against the Moose Lions!"
Mako shouted the last part at the court as the teams reset. One of the Zebra Frogs glared at Mako. Apparently the comment hit too close to home.
Iroh hummed, understanding cheating even if he didn't understand the game.
Iroh watched closely, frowning as the Moose Lions hit the Zebra Frogs earthbender out of the ring.
The ref called the play.
Mako shook his head.
"Was that not allowed?" Iroh asked.
"It is and it isn't," Mako said. "Waterbenders can't bend water with something in it, but double attacks are allowed. If the earth and the water were being bent by two different people it's not a foul. This was too vague to call and with a dirty ref, it's getting put down as a foul anyway."
Iroh nodded, listening as Mako started a running commentary of the match. He wasn't sure if Mako was doing it for him or if the man was just worked up enough he needed to talk about it. Iroh listened anyway, his focus drawn from the match to the man next to him.
Then came the dreaded kiss cam. Iroh watched with bated breath as it swung around the arena. Just when he thought he was in the clear, as the last kiss effect showed up on the screen, it stopped on him.
"Again?" Mako yelled at the camera. "What is your deal? Why is it always me?"
"You too?" Iroh asked.
Mako turned to him in surprise. "What?" He asked.
"It keeps landing on me too," Iroh said. "Seems to like me."
Mako snorted. "Yeah, well, I don't like it," Mako said.
"Same," Iroh replied. "It's not going to leave us alone is it?"
"No, stupid Varrick," Mako muttered, turning to him.
Iroh opened his mouth to ask what that meant when Mako's lips pressed to his. Iroh kissed back without thinking about it, his hand cupping Mako's face to tip it into a better angle.
There was a slight hesitation, as Mako pulled back. They looked at each other across the short distance, their breaths mixing together before they kissed again. Iroh couldn't tell who started it but when they stopped, the kiss cam was over and they were halfway through round one of the next match.
Iroh turned to his sister, who was pointedly looking at the match, even as her lips pulled into a grin.
"Did we miss much?" Korra asked, flopping into the seat on the other side of Mako. Asami sat on her other side. "A wreck had us stalled on the way here."
"No," Mako lied easily. His eyes caught Iroh's. There was a question in them that Iroh desperately wanted to answer.
Triple Attack
Korra watched the kiss cam swing around the room.
"Watch it catch Mako and Iroh again," she joked.
Mako scoffed. He and Iroh had started dating shortly after the supposedly uneventful match. Korra had already gotten back at the man for lying about that detail.
Their friend group had adjusted slightly and with the new addition came what Asami called their bonding time. Korra just called them pro-bending matches because that was really all they did together.
Opal had made it to this one, finally, as she had missed the last four. Which meant the group was fully together for the first time in a while.
"Ha," Mako called. "You brought that on yourself."
Korra glanced over to see her and Asami on the screen. "Oh no," she said, mockingly, "they want me to kiss my girlfriend! Whatever will I do!"
Asami laughed, even as their lips pressed together. "At least it's not Mako again," Asami said.
"Yeah, I've had enough of kissing him," Korra joked.
"Hey!" Mako called.
"Finally!" Bolin said, as the camera moved two seats over to show Bolin and Opal together. Korra watched as the two kissed sweetly, a great contrast to what Korra had heard happened last time.
"Wait for it," Iroh said, gesturing towards the screen as the camera swung to Korra and Asami's other side. Iroh and Mako were once more thrown up on the big screen.
They both looked exasperated, even as they also kissed.
"They are getting better at spotting couples at least," Opal said. "They're three for three."
"Oh yeah, they got Republic City's it couple, the couple they've already seen kiss even when they weren't the ones on screen and their two favorite targets who just happen to be dating now," Mako said, unimpressed. "They got lucky."
"Maybe they planned it," Korra said, smiling slightly as she recalled the day Princess Ursa had walked up to her with a brilliant plan to matchmake two stubborn firebenders. It hasn't been hard to convince the camera guy to turn the camera on them that day.
He apparently liked screwing with them as they gave really good reactions. The only thing that had to promise was to protect him from Chief Beifong.
"After all, their two favorite targets have become one," Korra said, winking at the two.
Mako and Iroh looked at her in horror. "We're never going to be able to attend a pro-bending match without kissing are we?" Mako asked.
Korra tried not to laugh at their faces but couldn't help it. She wasn't the only one as the rest of their friends laughed at them too.
Mako pouted as even Iroh chuckled slightly.
"I suppose there are worse ways to spend the mid-game break," Mako finally conceded, kissing Iroh lightly, this time without the pressure of the kiss cam.