"Guys!"

"Bolin?" Mako questioned, seeing his brother rush up to them. Opal looked like she had just swallowed a bug, but Korra grinned. Bolin was a bro.

Opal excused herself, and Bolin looked a little downtrodden as she walked away. Korra felt a twinge of sympathy. Were things not working out there? That sucked, and she should know.

That awkwardness was smoothed over as Bolin requested, and got, two group hugs from Mako and Korra. Korra smiled. The original seed of Team Avatar. And Bolin had been the very first friend she had made in RC. He was a true bro.

Later, at Air Temple Island, Bolin and Korra kept finding excuses to nudge each other and ruffle each other's hair. They thought t'was all in fun, but Mako started to get suspicious. He turned to Asami. "I can see what's happening," he stated.

"What?" Asami asked, not exactly following Mako's train of thought.

"And they don't have a clue."

"Who?"

"They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line. Our quartet's down to two," he finished, holding up two fingers for emphasis.

"Oh," Asami replied, finally catching up. "Well," she continued, "I don't really have a problem with that. Two is a good number for...a lot of things." Mako's eyes bulged, and then he suavely put his arm around her shoulders and led her away, while a smile grew on her face.

The next day, Bolin and Korra had a fun time at the beach. The sun was setting, and things had gone as well as could be wished for.

They lounged together on the sand, huddled together in their modest bathing suits for warmth. Korra was weighing one last swim, but she didn't want to leave this spot. They leaned shoulder to shoulder, and just enjoyed the sounds of the surf.

Finally, Korra decided to ask something she had been wondering about. "How are things with you and Opal?" She was pleased that she managed to keep her voice nonchalant. After all, she didn't really care too much. Just asking for a bro.

Bolin sighed. "Not so well. I think she's over me."

"That's not fair!" Korra protested. "You didn't know what was going on. We were all tricked."

Bolin shook his head. "It's no excuse. She's right to be mad." He looked so down that Korra thought she might cry.

She leaned her forehead against his temple, hoping that her esteem of him would somehow be transmitted via the contact. "Don't blame yourself, Bo," she said, her voice lowering with regret. "It's not your fault. If only I had been here, none of this would have happened."

Bolin leaned back and looked her in the eyes. "No one feels that way," he smiled softly. "We're just happy you're back. And we know you're going to fix things." Korra beamed, a few tears welling up in her eyes. Like puppies, they rubbed their foreheads together, Eskimo kisses and all. As they stopped, they realized that they were very close, and something felt different.

Korra felt it, but didn't have a desire to question it. She always felt best when she followed her gut, and in this safe environment, she decided to do just that. Her lips crashed to Bolin's, who had reached the same conclusion, in about the same time.

They pushed against each other, not holding back in their enthusiasm. A part of Korra's brain appreciated that Bolin was big and strong, so she didn't have to worry about pinning him down accidentally.

Finally they came up for air, and looked into each other's eyes again. Korra wondered if things would be awkward now, as things had so often turned out to be in her life. But there was no heaviness between them. It felt just like it had before. She smiled, and they leaned back on the sand, each with one arm around the other.

They lay for a minute, admiring the pinks and oranges of the post sunset sky, when another impulse came to Korra. She turned to Bolin and grinned. "Wanna fool around?" she asked slyly.

Bolin merely grinned back and snaked his hand under her top.