A/N: Why hello again good and faithful readers! Thank you all for checking out my first two drabbles, Winter Sun and Pillar of Flame! I've been bitten by the creative bug this week, so the stories just keep on coming! This lengthy one-shot spans the entire first season, and is from Mako's point of view. Naturally, the title is self explanatory, describing many of the moments where Mako realized that Korra was truly the Avatar and that he was truly an idiot. I tried to stay in order of the episodes, and there were some moments/episodes that I skipped because there wasn't much to work with. I also gave each episode I wrote about a "He was an idiot" and "She was the Avatar" moment. Anyway, let me know what you think, reviews are love! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Korra, no matter how much I wish I could firebend.

The Avatar and the Idiot

He was an idiot. He thought that she was just another of Bolin's many fan girls. She appeared to be just as superficial, gushing about how great the arena was, and about how she heard him on the radio. She looked like the typical fan girl too; pretty, with turquoise eyes open as wide as they would go, taking in all the "splendor" of Pro-Bending. But as he listened with half an ear to her and Bo's conversation as he put his gear away after they won the match, he not only realized that she was the Avatar, but that he was an idiot to go on first impressions.

She was the Avatar. He had watched her earlier in the training room when Bo was giving her pointers. Her earthbending stance was the traditional horse stance, much too wide for the quickness that Pro-Bending required, as Bo pointed out. But she made the adjustment quickly, the earth disks hitting the back of the net with two quiet thunks. He had to admit, she had talent and wasn't bad. Now, as she, Bolin, and himself battle the Tigerdillos, he begins to think that she isn't all that she seems. Her bending is erratic, and she keeps getting penalties. But as the match comes down to wire, with her in zone three, she begins to move like a whole other player. And the way she moved. As he dodged blows himself, he watched as she moved effortlessly past the flames, torrents of water, and disks of earth that came towards her, as if she knew exactly where they were going to be. Later, he thought that he got a rare glimpse of the fully realized Avatar that she was beginning to become.

He was an idiot. He shouldn't have accepted her help. He grudgingly had to admit to himself that she sometimes posed as too big of a distraction for him. Take now for example. She was here, asleep on his shoulder, leaning against a Polar-Bear Dog in the middle of a park, when they were supposed to be looking for his brother. Yet they had no other leads. He stole a chance to admire her as she slept against his shoulder. Her hair was silky and dark brown, a shade lighter than black. Her turquoise eyes, now closed in sleep, usually brimmed with emotion making her easy to read. Her closed eyes were rimmed with dark lashes and thin eyebrows. Her skin was tan and smooth and her body was well muscled. His face reddened as his eyes scanned over her curvy waist and voluptuous chest. He looked away quickly as she stirred in her sleep, her warm body snuggling closer to him. He sighed. He was an idiot to tempt trouble when he saw it.

She was the Avatar. He was very aware of this fact as they hid in plain sight at the Equalist rally. Amon spoke about the Equalist movement, its purpose and goals, and even singled out her. "As you all know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City." This statement was met by a loud torrent of boo's. As she pulled his scarf up higher around her neck, he glared daggers at those around them, the boo's still echoing throughout the building. Who were they to boo the Avatar? She was the bringer and maintainer of balance and all that was good. She was the connecting bridge between the human and the spirit worlds. She controlled all the elements and the power of her past lives coursed through her veins. He glanced at her standing next to him. With a straw hat concealing her wolf-tails, a long, dark coat hiding her water tribe clothing, and his scarf covering half of her face, it somehow wasn't hard for him to realize that this seventeen year old girl was indeed the Avatar.

He was an idiot. Just because he had met the perfect girl, the girl of his dreams, that didn't mean that he could ignore Korra's friendship just because he was infatuated. Yet she was still an unknown variable, waiting for him to calculate where exactly she fit into his life. Asami, on the other hand, was like 1 + 1=2, sliding perfectly and evenly into place. But did that moped hit him too hard? He was stupid to let her face Amon alone, and an idiot that he did nothing about it.

She was the Avatar. Now more than ever, he knew that fact. The Equalists posed more of a threat than anyone realized. And she went off to face that threat completely alone. But maybe that was something he couldn't do with her. She was the Avatar, and her path was one with many curves and road blocks, much unlike the straight and narrow one that he had worked so hard to build for himself and Bolin. But now he knew, that sometime in the not so distant future, she would have to face Amon, not as Korra, but as the Avatar.

He was an idiot. He let her kiss him. At the moment, it didn't matter that he was dating Asami; it didn't matter that he would hurt Bo's feelings. It didn't matter that he would be too much of a coward to sort out his own feelings; it didn't matter that he would be messing with her own emotions. It didn't matter. He just never realized how much he needed this until now, her lips against his. When she admitted her feelings to him, he felt something powerful stir inside him, but he chose to ignore it. He was with Asami, and he was happy. Although, he had to agree with her, he did think about her a lot when he was with Asami. But that was besides the point. When Bo asked her out, he felt a flare of jealousy rise up in him, much like the fire that he bended. It licked his insides, burning and scorching his heart. So he let her kiss him. And he was an idiot for not distinguishing from what he wanted from what he needed.

She was the Avatar. Sometimes he had to remind himself of this. But now, as she tried to make him admit that he liked her on the steps of the Pro-Bending Arena, he had to remind himself that she was Korra, a seventeen year old girl. So often he thought of her as only the Avatar, doing Avatar things like aribending training, or Tarrlok's task force, or attending galas. And maybe that's part of the reason why he didn't act on his feelings sooner. She was the Avatar. Why would she date someone like him, a street rat? He was an idiot for only focusing on her title, and not on the girl that lay underneath.

He was an idiot. He told himself that he could only touch her once a day, after the debacle of a kiss. He wanted to get her out of his head. He was with Asami, after all. But after she and Beifong returned to the broken and shattered Pro-Bending Arena, Amon long gone in the skies, he hugged her. She was short but lean and fit into his arms perfectly. She was covered in sweat, but he didn't mind. He was just glad that she was alright. He buried his face in her neck, and he caught a whiff of her hair, and his resolve wavered. But then Bolin joined the hug and he regained his senses. He was an idiot for letting her affect him like this while he was with Asami.

She was the Avatar. He acknowledged this as he saw her go after Amon through the broken and shattered ceiling of the Pro-Bending Arena. Amidst the general chaos of the attack and pillars of smoke clouding the air, he saw her jump into the "drink" and rise in a towering torrent of turbulent water. He stared, dumbstruck. Sometimes he didn't realize what a powerful bender she was. She didn't get much of a chance to show off her skills in front of him, besides water bending during practice and matches. As she rose higher and higher, like a speeding bullet, he vowed never to get on the Avatar's bad side.

He was an idiot. Who was he to question her motives, let alone their friendship? Ever since Asami entered his life, she seemed to linger in the recesses of his mind. He couldn't seem to shake her, or that kiss. And he felt guilty always thinking about her because he was with Asami, and that's how things would stay. So, to put the blame on someone other than himself, he lashed out at her when she became suspicious of Asami's father, Mr. Sato. She was only acting out of jealousy, he told himself, and he threatened their friendship. But he was an idiot for acting out of guilt and self-loathing.

She was the Avatar. He realized that she was only doing her job, investigating Mr. Sato. And he was slightly hurt to find out that she valued doing her job well over her friendship with him. Didn't she admit that she thought they were perfect for each other just the other day? But…no. He was being unfair. She should value her duties as the Avatar over her own personal feelings. He should have realized that earlier. He just didn't expect her duties as the Avatar to hit so close to home.

He was an idiot. He was so stupid for getting himself locked up in jail, of all places. He knew Korra. She would do anything to spring them out. He just didn't know that anything constituted getting captured by Amon (or so he thought). He was an idiot for not telling her how he felt. He was an idiot for not spending more time with her, helping her when she needed him. He was an idiot for choosing Asami over her, what he wanted over what he needed. He was an idiot for not memorizing her face, her laugh, her smile. Who knows when he would see her again? She could already have her bending taken away, she could be hurt, she could even be…no, she couldn't be gone. She just couldn't. She was Korra. He felt like the biggest idiot in the world, with her missing, but he was going to change that.

She was the Avatar. That's what made her desirable to her enemies. And for the first time, he hated that she was the Avatar. He hated it even more as he saw her slumped across her Polar-Bear Dog, wandering along the abandoned streets of Republic City. She was the Avatar, and everyone wanted to take her away from him because of it. Relief flooded through him as he held her in his arms and carried her back to the Sky-Bison. His worry wasn't squelched, however, as he saw the extent of her exhaustion and many injuries. But she was with him now. He would keep her safe. And never again would he forget that she was the Avatar.

He was an idiot. He thought that he could keep her safe. That's why he went with her to face Amon in the first place, once and for all. He didn't want the Tarrlok fiasco to happen all over again. He didn't think he could handle losing her. But as he lay frozen on the wooden floor of the Pro-Bending Arena, his blood working against him, all he could do was shout her name. Yet Amon's hand descended to her forehead, and she let out a scream as part of her life was taken from her. And he was saddened by it. She lived for bending. It was an even more integral part of her than it was for him. He accepted her, faults and all, for who she was. Her whole self. And Amon was taking part of her away. And he could not live with that. So he struggled against himself, his own blood, and let crack a bolt of lightning into the man who was taking away part of his Korra. But he was too late.

She was the Avatar. So, naturally, she was always full of surprises. As they ran for their lives, her limp and full of despair in his arms, all he could do was lie to her, telling her everything was going to be alright, when they both knew it wasn't. Suddenly, he felt the painful sensation of his blood working for another, and Korra was thrown from his arms across the hallway. And he knew all was for naught as Amon's hand descended to his own forehead this time. As the fingers inched closer and closer, he almost could resign himself to his fate. Firebending was a part of who he was. But her bending was gone too. They would get through this together. But, little did he know, she had other plans. Just as Amon's hand was inches from his forehead, he was surprised as a gust of wind blew harshly by. He looked at her in disbelief as Amon crashed through the window into Yue Bay below. She could airbend. And as they stood hugging in the remains of the shattered window, he vowed to never underestimate her as the Avatar.

He was an idiot. And she was the Avatar. Yet as she left the healing hut, dejected, he realized that he loved that Avatar more than he could say, and he told her so. But, in her words, she couldn't love him back. She was no longer the Avatar. Despite Tenzin's advice to be patient with her, he followed her into the snow. He watched with awe as she entered the Avatar state, bending all the elements once more. She was the Avatar, and he never doubted that for a second. Even when she had doubts in herself, he always believed that she could live up to her past lives. As she came back to herself on the snowy cliff, she turned around to find him standing there, arms open wide, inviting. Even though he was an idiot, he had always known she would be a fully realized Avatar, no matter what challenges she faced. She ran to him, and he swung her around in his arms. They kissed. And so the idiot and the Avatar fell in love.

End

A/N: So what did you all think? I'm not sure I got the ending quite right, and let me know if you think it got repetitive. I tried to write these from another angle, so as not to repeat things that have been done before. Anyway, I'm very happy with this and I worked hard on it, so review, and thanks so much for reading!