Bolin awoke swiftly. He wasn't sure why he was awake at this time of night, but after a moment he knew something was wrong. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before realizing Pabu was nowhere to be found.

"Shit! Pabu?" Bolin whispered into the dark, not truly expecting an answer. He didn't get one. Brow furrowed, he stood up out of bed and walked out of his room. Bolin tiptoed down the hall and outside of the men's dormitory. Maybe he had snuck into Korra's room, and he could at least make sure he knew where Pabu was.

It was a very short walk across the island to the women's dorms and it was a blur. The next thing he remembered was stepping into the long hallway and hearing a very faint sound of… crying. Bolin followed the sobbing down the hallway and stopped outside the door.

"Where's Pabu and who's crying at 2 in the morning?" Bolin opened the door and discovered the answer to both his questions. 1: With Asami; 2: Asami. She was hunched over with her hands covering her face. Pabu was curled around her neck.

Bolin, of course, did what he did best; comforting the ladies. He tiptoed into the room and sat in front of her on the bed. If she noticed him, she ignored him.

"Asami?"

No response.

"Asami."

She continued crying into her palms. He grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap so that she could wrap her arms around him. She accepted the hug and pressed her face into Bolin's chest. Asami stopped crying when Bolin softly brushed his fingers through her tangled hair.

She took a few deep breaths and pushed away from Bolin's chest. Pabu crawled off of her neck, down her arm and onto her lap. Asami wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Bolin shook his head.

"Thank you. I needed that."

"Much better." He smiled. She continued to frown until he used his thumbs to pull the corners of her mouth up. When he pulled away, Asami retained the smile.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, careful to whisper. She nodded, somewhat reluctantly.

"Nothing has gone right lately."

'Understatement of the year.' Thought Bolin. He nodded.

"I was forced to move on so quickly, and I didn't have time to grieve the loss of my father – or my relationship."

"Oh. I'm sorry about that, you and Mako. It was my fault."

"No. I'm glad. We're just so different. I just didn't notice for a while. I care about him, but we're not right to be together… if that makes any sense. He's just so serious, and for once, I'd rather have someone who isn't." This all came out it a blurt, and again her eyes watered a little.

Bolin blushed like a tomato. Brighter than a tomato, even. He was the exact opposite of serious. He swallowed, and caught himself. 'She just got out of a relationship with my brother. I can't… wait. I don't even know if she was referring to me.' Now Bolin blushed even brighter for thinking that she would ever want to be with him. It was Korra all over again, even worse, because Mako hadn't warned him.

Bolin came back to reality and noticed Asami had been watching his internal battle with interest and slight confusion. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He looked down and realized how close they were sitting, her legs still slightly straddling his. She glanced down and saw the same, but neither made an attempt to move.

"Bo?"

He looked up again and saw she was staring into his eyes.

"Asami. I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No! No. I don't want to be alone." Bolin raised his eyebrows at this.

He sighed. "Why—" Asami pressed her lips to his cheek and he gasped. She dragged them to his lips and he melted. His hands fluttered up her back and entangled in her black mop of curls.'She was referring to me.' She scooted closer to him and now straddled him completely. He came up for a breath and she cupped his cheek.

"Please, stay."

A realization dawned upon Bolin. "Wait. Am I just a rebound to you? A way to get back at Mako?"

"I understand why you'd think that." Her hand didn't leave his face. "But you're being an idiot, Bo."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought Mako was mysterious and handsome, interesting. But then I realized – he's so… grown up, adult. I'm still so young. Then I met you and I fell in love with every single detail. Your eyes, your muscles, your jokes – everything I'd never seen myself wanting. I've never felt scared about talking to a guy before, but you gave me butterflies for the first time. I thought you wouldn't like me, even though that's never been an issue with anyone else, Mako included." Asami punctuated her ramble by laying her head on Bolin's shoulder, and pulling him as close as possible.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Asami laughed a little, happy to have finally admitted it.

"You like me?"

"Yeah." Asami chuckled again.

"But you're so… Asami."

"As in…?"

"As in, out of my league Asami."

"C'mon, you're Bolin, lady charmer extraordinaire!"

"Yeah, fangirls. Lately, I haven't been able to get girls I actually like." He cringed and remembered his pathetic reaction to Korra and Mako's kiss.

Asami lay down on her back and patted the bed next to her, offering a spot for him. When he took it, she smiled and asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

That night, Pabu, Bolin, and Asami all slept in the same bed.