First time writing, wrote it in about 20 minutes so there might be a few grammar mistakes but hope you enjoy!
It's been 5 years since he died.
Five long, painful years since he was ripped away from them.
Korra could still remember the day as clear as if it were only moments ago. The smell of burning oil. The heat of the fires that surrounded them. The last gasping breath he took, before darkness claimed him and he closed his eyes forever. But of all the things she remembered from that day, it was the guilt that resonated the clearest within her.
It was her fault. He was dead because of her.
It has been five years since he died.
It has been five years, since Korra went into the Avatar state.
Korra reclined slowly onto her bed, her large pregnant belly causing her to roll awkwardly as she shifted higher onto the mattress. Her arms ached, her back hurt, her ankles were swollen beyond belief. Pregnancy sucked. How she got her husband to convince her to have a third child was beyond her, but three times was her limit. There would be no baby avatar #4 if she had any control over it.
A small noise from the corner of the room caught Korras attention. She strained her neck, raising her head just enough to peek over her swollen belly towards the source of the noise. A young boy, the oldest of her children, stared back at her with wide eyes, clutching the door knob.
"Mommy?" He asked quietly. "Are you sleeping?"
Korra chuckled lightly shifting her weight slightly to get a better look at the boy. "No sweetie. Did you need something?" She asked, patting the bed next to her. The boy ran forward, scrambling up onto the mattress next to her. She lay back as he crossed his legs, sitting Indian style next to her on the pillows. Neither spoke for a long moment, the boy staring off into space silently, a contemplative look on his face. He was so much like his father.
"Honey whats wrong?" Korra tried again. The boy sighed heavily, his large eyes flicking over to her.
"When is daddy gonna be home?" He asked, his voice trembling a bit. Korra paused, racking her brain as she struggled to remember the work schedule her husband had murmured to her before leaving that morning. He really needed to learn that she does not pay very close attention when woken from sleep. Especially when it's the first quality sleep she has had since her second child had been born.
"I think around 5" Korra finally answered, smiling slightly when it sounded correct. The boy nodded and lay back, stretching out on the bed next to her.
"Mommy, can you tell me a story?" He asked quietly. Korra smiled. It was a tradition that nap time and bed time required a story. Most often, about what Korra and daddy had done when they were younger, all their adventures with his uncle and so on. His favorite so far was that of when Korra had first met his dad and his uncle at the pro-bending stadium where his dad still worked. Teaching and training students now rather than competing.
"Well, have you heard the one-"
"HONEY! I'M HOME!"
Korra jumped as the door was wrenched open and her husband appeared around it, grinning broadly at the two of them. "Daddy!" The little boy cried pulling himself to his feet and wobbling across the expanse of bed to the edge where the man pulled him into a tight hug.
"Hey little man! Look how big you're getting!" He huffed, setting the child back down on the bed. "I bet you could take on the entire Sabertooth-Mooselion team at this point!" Korra rolled her eyes at the team reference. They were the latest of his teams that he was training for the semi-finals. Ever since they found out Korra was pregnant, they both decided it was best if they retire from the Pro-bending circuit. They needed steady jobs, a home, and to keep Korra out of harms way. They could not risk everything on a game.
Korra had tried to get a job but her then fiancé had refused. Claiming that Avatar duties already dominated so much time and he would not allow her to over work herself by adding a job on top of her avatar training and her pregnancy. Luckily, he was offered a job coaching teams for future pro-bending competitions. The pay was decent but the hours were long and hard. They didn't mind though as the money he made bought them a house and paid off the lavish wedding ceremony that came only 4 months later. Life was good to them…now.
"I'm gonna be a pro-bender too!" The boy squealed excitedly, pulling Korra out of her thoughts and back to reality. He was punching his fists in mock bending form and making sound effects with his mouth of various elements. "I'm gonna be an earthbender just like you, and take out all the competition!" He laughed jumping around the bed now.
Korra froze, her blue eyes meeting her husbands green.
"Bolin…" She started. He shook his head jerkily, eyes widening and pressing a finger to his lips.
"That sounds awesome, little man." Bolin said quietly. A false smile adorning his lips.
The little boy turned to grin up at Bolin.
Green eyes, met gold.
(5 years previously)
Two wrongs don't make a right, Korra discovered. But they can certainly change your life forever.
It was 3 months after Mako was killed that Korra finally admitted these wrongs. She confessed her action to one of the two participators in her wrong doings. Bolin. It was with Bolin that she committed the second of her two wrongs, Mako the first. It was admitting her first mistake that finally broke Korra.
"I slept with him Bolin."
Her body was shaking with fear when the words finally left her mouth. She watched as Bolins eyes grew wide, a look of pure shock and horror crossing his face. His entire body went slack as he processed her words, his eyes refusing to meet hers.
"But. I thought…" He broke off. There was a long pause, silence surrounding them. Korra fiddled with her parka, twisting the fabric in her hands till her knuckles went white. Please. She thought. Say something. Anything.
"You really did love him, hu?"
Not what she wanted to here.
Bolin's sad face turned towards her, his eyes showcasing the emotional battle occurring within him. Korra nodded slowly, biting her lip against the swell of tears about to erupt out of them. She would not cry, she can not cry. "But," she began weakly, cursing herself for how her voice cracked, "But I love you too. That's why, that's why.." she could not finish. Big fat tears were rolling down her cheeks now, her voice trembling to much to form coherent sentances.
"That's why you slept with me too?" He roared suddenly, his fists clenching tightly and stepping towards her. "Or was I just your emotional scapegoat after he died? Hu? Well which is it Korra? Its obvious to me that you just used me for sex! You were upset, and I was willing so you used me for your own personal gain didn't you?" His voice was rising louder and louder and for the first time, Korra legitimately began to fear Bolin.
"Agni, Korra! How could you be so cruel! Do you even realize what could have happened? You could have gotten pregnant for one thing! Imagine that now! Mako is dead. That child would have no father. Or," He continued, stalking closer to Korra so that he hovered just above her seated position. "Or, worse. It could have been my child! A child with a man you don't even care about! How wonderful!" He finished, throwing his hands into the air and letting them fall back against his sides. He was breathing hard from the released anger as he directed his attention back to the ground.
Korra sat, frozen in place, tears still streaming down her face. The irony. Oh it hurt.
"I'm pregnant." She choked out.
Bolin's jaw practically dropped off his head. His eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, as he stared at her.
"For real?"
"For real."
They sat in silence for another long moment before Korra burst into tears, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs and she slid off the bench and onto the ground. Boiln stared sadly down at her. He was so angry at her for betraying him. So mad that it was his brother that had held her gaze rather than him. So angry at feeling used, neglected. However, deep down the love that persisted inside him for the beautiful blue eyed girl is what crumbled his resolve.
He sank to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms. She tried to pull away initially, but he tightened his grip on her. Eventually she gave in, sinking into his embrace as she sobbed into his chest. She was talking, but between her gasping breaths and muffled shirt, he could not make out the words in which she was speaking. Instead, he rubbed her back gently, soothing her as best he could.
It must have taken a full hour before her sobs finally slowed and she began to regain her composure. Bolin pulled away slowly, keeping a grip on her shoulders and he examined her. Her face was red and puffy, her eyes swollen and her nose running. She refused to meet his eyes.
"Korra I—"
"I love him. I truly do Bolin and I am sorry. I can't help it and he is gone. Its my fault he is gone. I know that I should never have left my emotions get control over me. What we did was a mistake and I know it but I, I just… I'm so sorry Bolin. I'm sorry." The tears were starting again and Bolin shushed her, using his thumbs to wipe away them away. Korra hiccupped pathetically, watching him closely.
"I miss him too Korra." Bolin whispered. "Its not your fault though. He chose to sacrifice himself because he loved you back. I know it. When you went into the Avatar state, you lost control. You would never have been able to stop the electricity before it hit you and he realized that. He took that hit to save you. Its not your fault." Recounting the events leading to his brothers death brought a sharp pain to his chest. It seemed like an eternity since they had lost him.
"The, the baby though. It s-still might be yours B-Bolin." Korra hiccupped pathetically, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.
Bolin nodded solemnly, his hands gliding down from her shoulders to grasp her own. He didn't speak for a moment, turning her hands over slowly as he examined the scars on them. "Korra?" He asked in a quiet voice. "Do you think… do you think that you could ever love me? The way that you loved him?" He asked quietly, his voice once again shaking with emotion.
Korra stared widely at home. "Korra, I love you. I always have." Bolin continued, raising his head to hers and finally meeting her eyes. "I'm going to help you raise this baby. Mine or not. I'm not going to leave you alone. Even if this baby is my niece or nephew, I will raise it as my own. We can at least pretend can't we? Play out the family thing. A large house in town with a fire ferret and a bouncing baby. The dad who kisses his wife each morning before going to work." Bolin offered her a sad smile. "I can make you happy. I promise."
Korra stared at him bewildered. She had been so horrible to him and yet, after all this, he was still willing to be so kind to her, to love her unconditionally.
She promptly burst into tears, throwing herself back into his arms and hugging him for all she was worth. She did not deserve a guy like him and she knew it.
5 months later, republic city erupted into celebration at the wedding festival of the Avatar. Bolin and Korra. Two lovers who had all the odds pitted against them, somehow had found love. The front page of the newspaper featured a very pregnant Korra in a traditional water tribe wedding gown, holding hands with a smiling Bolin, likewise decked out in wedding fashion.
1 month afterwards, Korra gave birth to her first child. 7 pounds, 1 ounce. A full head of dark brown hair, and enormous golden eyes.
They named him Mako.
Well hope you liked it! Might continue if I get good reviews. Don't know for sure yet but we will see! :)