bottled up love
( Korra proclaims Bolin as her valentine, much to Tahno's dismay. AU. )
a/n: as a note, please ignore the blatant americanization of their culture. i am wholly ignorant.
"That fucker," Korra spits as she breaks into Bolin and Mako's house with a well placed kick to the door, dramatically launching her backpack across the living room. "That stupid, idiotic, piece of shit!" She punches the wall.
"Um," Mako says, dumbly, from his perch on the couch. "Can you not?" A photo frame is thrown at his head, narrowly missing the back of his skull. He slinks down further in the couch, deciding he'd be better off to let her do as she pleases. Chivalry and all that.
Bolin comes into the room from upstairs, rubbing his eyes. It's noon. "Ungh," he says, eloquently, stretching his arms high above his head with a yawn. "Wha's goin' on?" he questions, blinking a few more times, until everything begins to come into focus.
"Korra's mad," Mako says helpfully from where he's trying to fit into the spaces between the couch cushions. "She's breaking our things."
"Korra - ?" Bolin says, automatically perking up. He looks to her, smiles. "Korra!"
"I'm going to fucking castrate that Fucking Fuck," Korra responds, still seething.
"Um," Bolin says, blinking owlishly. "Tahno?" he guesses.
"Of course Tahno!" she screams. There is the unmistakable sound of their parents vase shattering.
"You're going to have to compensate for that," Mako says, fortifying himself with throw pillows.
"What did Tahno do?" Bolin asks, worried. He gasps. "Did he - did he break up with you?!" His voice is hopeful, betraying any good intentions. Bolin is full of nefarious purposes, indeed. "How lowly of him! On Valentine's Day, no less! I'll stomp him into the ground, you just give me the word!"
"He didn't break up with me," Korra snarls, taking a few angry steps into the room. She swings herself over the back of the couch to sit next to Mako, grabbing one of the cushions from his pillow fort and hitting him over the head with it for good measure. "I broke up with him."
Mako complains about being struck, belated. "What," he says afterwards. "Why?"
Bolin starts doing a dance around the living room. "Oh, happy day! Happy, happy day!"
"Because," Korra continues, mostly entirely unperturbed with Bolin's jig, "he didn't get me a present."
Mako comes out from hiding, lowering the pillow in front of his face to give her a look. "And you were surprised about that? Ow!" He rubs the side of his face, pouting. "Stop hitting me! I'm not the one who didn't get you a present!" Actually, he didn't get her a present, either, but that is beside the point. He has obligations to Asami and no obligations towards Korra, so there.
"He didn't even get you those chocolates you like?" Bolin asks, frowning in genuine concern.
Korra sighs, shrugging. "He didn't get me anything. He said Valentine's Day was stupid. Which." Korra thinks about this for a moment. "It is stupid, but that doesn't mean - I - " she cuts herself off with a huff, one that borders the line between annoyance and upset. She tries to play it off. "Fucking idiot," she says.
"Well, uh. Hey!" Bolin says in a tone that says lighten up, he's stupid, love me instead! "I got you something," he tells her, giving her the one minute symbol with his finger before rushing back upstairs to, presumably, get Korra's gift.
Korra and Mako sit in silence.
"So. What're you and Asami going to do?" Korra asks, eyeing Mako's outfit; his dressed in a white button up, black slacks, dress shoes. He fidgets with his tie, clearly guilty. "Oh, come on. It's not like I can be mad that your valentine doesn't suck." Korra tries to give him a smile, but the movement is stilted.
"We're just going out to a nice restaurant for lunch. I got her a necklace." He waves dismissively, brushing it off. "It's whatever," he says. "Pretty low-key. Not super extravagant at all. Kind of boring, actually, you know us."
Korra raises her brow, unconvinced. "Cool," she says, wishing she hadn't asked.
Bolin bounds down the stairs, movements awkward because his hands are behind his back. He comes to a stop in front of Korra, giving her the brightest grin he can muster, and then brings his hands in front of him. "Ta-da! Happy Valentine's Day."
"Oh," Korra says, the apples of her cheeks coloring as she accepts the chocolates she likes and a little stuffed polar bear from Bolin. "You didn't have to get me anything," she adds, but holds the gifts close to her heart.
Bolin shrugs nonchalantly. "It was no trouble, really." Oh, yes, it was no trouble at all for him to spend five hours in the store, contemplating over just the thing that wouldn't be too much or too little so love me just love me already!
"Thank you," Korra says, sincerely touched.
Next to her, Mako gives his brother a very discreet thumbs-up.
\
Thirty minutes and a box of chocolate later, Mako has been demoted to the floor and Korra is laying across their couch with her feet in Bolin's lap, watching shitty reality television.
"Just who are the Kardashians?" Korra demands, throwing chocolate wrappers at the screen.
"One of them is married to Kanye," Bolin says smartly. "They've got that kid, Southwest."
"North West," Mako corrects, grumpy because he keeps having to pick up Korra's chocolate wrappers off the floor.
"Why would they name a kid after a direction?" Korra asks. Then, "I bet Kanye got Kim a really great Valentine's gift, at least."
"I got you a Valentine's gift," Bolin points out, pouting.
"Yes, you did, thank you," Korra responds, patting her stuffed polar bear. "You're the light of my life. Also the only decent guy on the planet."
"Hey," Mako complains, only to be pelted with a wrapper Korra has rolled up into a little ball. It his the side of his eyebrow and propels to the floor, jumping a few times on the carpet. He scrunches his nose. "Stop throwing stuff. I'm going to have to vacuum again."
"You're such a mom," Korra complains. "Anyways, it's true, at least in my opinion. Bolin is the only good thing in the world." She looks at Bolin seriously, as if contemplating something. Then she asks, "will you be my Valentine?"
Bolin's heart stops. He probably needs to be resuscitated.
"Are you - are you serious?" he asks.
Korra shrugs. "Sure, why not? You've earned it." She pats him on the shoulder. "Good job."
"I get to be Korra's Valentine," Bolin tells Mako.
"I was here for that, yes," Mako says. "Good job."
\
At forty-five minutes, the doorbell rings and Mako rushes to get it, checking himself out in the mirror to make sure he looks presentable for Asami. When he opens the door, his face falls.
"Oh," he deadpans. "It's you."
"Don't sound so excited," Tahno responds, shoving past him and into their living room without invitation. Surprisingly, he does not burst into flames. Mako is forced to rule out his suspicions of Tahno being a vampire. He is probably something far more sinister, anyway. "Korra," says Tahno, "I've saved you the time and embarrassment of coming back to me by coming straight to you. I'm willing to take you back." His tone is deadly serious.
Korra blinks at him. "Well, that's too bad. Bolin is my Valentine, now," she replies, nonchalant. She turns back to the television, apparently intent on ignoring him.
"Bolin!" Tahno crows, aghast. He places a hand dramatically over his chest. "Such betrayal!"
"Get used to it," Korra responds.
"Yeah," Bolin agrees, sticking out his tongue. "Get used to it!"
Mako sighs. Why must he deal with such imbeciles? "Please leave," he says to Tahno.
"I will do no such thing!" Tahno snaps, walking straight over to where Korra and Bolin are sitting on the couch. "You!" he cries, gaze zeroing in on Bolin's hand draped over Korra's ankles. "Don't touch her!" he snarls, grabbing Bolin's wrist and lifting it from her skin.
"Hey!" Bolin cries, glaring at him. "She's my Valentine! You had your chance!"
"Boys, boys," Korra chastises, clearly enjoying herself. She turns to Tahno. "I've made my choices."
"Like hell you have!" Tahno exclaims. Oh, is he angry! "You dumped me for this guy? He practically falls over himself for your affections!"
"Yes, he does! And I find it sweet and endearing!" Korra cries, voice raising. "And I didn't dump you for Bolin, I dumped you because you didn't get me a Valentine's Day present!"
Tahno takes a step back, taken aback. "You said it was for idiots!"
"Semantics!" Korra screams.
Mako has a pounding headache. He wishes for Asami to arrive soon.
The doorbell rings. Speak of the devil.
Mako opens the door, says, "help me," because there is simply not much else he can say. Perhaps he should've started with happy valentine's day, but. Semantics, as Korra might say.
"What's happening?" Asami asks, already confused.
"The love triangle from hell," Mako hisses.
"Oh, that," Asami says, feeling, strangely, as if she has been given the short end of the stick with that one once upon a time. Perhaps in another life? Hmm. "That's nothing. Our reservation is at two, so we should get going."
With that, the happy couple slinks out of the house to enjoy their Valentine's Day. Someone has to.
This means, of course, that the problem of the love triangle has not yet been alleviated.
"I can't believe you'd do this to me!" Tahno wails, looking as if he is physically hurt by his emotional turmoil. "If you want a different valentine, fine! But not this guy!"
"You're the bad guy, here!" Bolin proclaims, lifting from his perch to better stand up for himself. "You didn't even get Korra a Valentine's gift! I did and I'm not even dating her yet!"
"Yet?" Korra repeats, confused.
"Semantics!" Bolin cries.
"You're pathetic!" Tahno accuses. He turns to Korra. "Take me back! I promise to get you a gift! Anything you want!"
"Oh, now you want to give her a gift!" Bolin cuts in. This - Fucking Fuck!
Korra sticks her nose up. "I am perfectly fine with what Bolin gave me, thank you." She pats her polar bear on the head. "That will be all."
Tahno backs down, deflated and defeated. After a long silence, he speaks. "I'm sorry," he says.
Bolin actually almost faints. Korra looks as if she is close to following his lead.
"You're - what?" she asks, as if she is not sure she heard right.
Tahno puffs up his chest, trying to make himself seem bigger. Really, he just makes him look like a bigger dodo than before. "I said I'm sorry, alright? I should've gotten you a gift," he concedes, looking - guilty. Oh god, is that even an emotion Tahno can express?! What is happening in this crazy, crazy world!
Korra looks a little torn. "I..." she says, and then swallows, looking down at her stuffed animal. The one Bolin got her, thankyouverymuch! "You mean that?" She is not used to him apologizing, you see.
Tahno's expression softens, and Bolin finally is starting to see why Korra - well.
"Yes," Tahno says. "I mean it."
"Well..." Korra says, looking between Tahno and Bolin, as if weighing her options. She huffs, training her stare on Tahno. "I forgive you. But," she adds, looking to Bolin. "My Valentine is still Bolin."
"What," Bolin and Tahno say at the same time. Perhaps they are more similar than they would like to consider.
Korra shrugs, standing up and taking Tahno's face in her hands, drawing him in for a kiss. Bolin can't help but think that her signals are becoming very mixed. When she pulls back, she says, "I don't want to break up, but I want to spend Valentine's day with Bolin. Okay?"
Tahno looks as if he is going to say something, but Korra casts him a stern look and he relents.
"Fine," he grumbles. He turns to Bolin. "You'd better not fucking touch her," he says, earning a slap to his shoulder.
"Bolin is a gentleman," Korra tells him, shoving him towards the door.
"I swear to God, Bolin - " Tahno threatens, only to get the door slammed in his face. Bolin feels very stuck.
"D'you wanna get lunch?" Korra asks, smiling softly at Bolin.
Bolin shrugs, returning the gesture. "Sure," he decides. He turns to the coat rack to get his coat, only to be stopped by Korra's fingers winding around his wrist. He blinks, confused, and turns to her, immediately getting kissed on the apple of his cheek. "K-Korra!" he cries, embarrassed.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she says, bringing up her stuffed polar bear to her heart and squeezing.