Written before Book 2.
Korra smoothed down her formal pants and tried to rehearse what she was going to say. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she felt her stomach churn bile.
She had led a raid on an Equalist base that she thought Amon was hiding in with Mako, Bolin, and Asami. Three low level Equalists were detained out of the dozens there. Everyone had left scarred. Amon had escaped.
Another failure.
"Bolin, I think I'm gonna vomit on you," Korra moaned, and turned around to see the Earthbender. He was standing behind her, offering his encouraging smile. She hadn't asked him to stay with her, he just had. "Maybe having a friend there will ease up your nerves," he'd said.
"No you won't," Bolin said, and patted Korra on the back.
"You don't want to test me," Korra laughed out, half nervous, half teasing.
Bolin leaned in close and cupped his mouth to Korra's ear, as if to share a great secret. "Well if you do, you can just water-earthbend it away. Perks of being the Avatar."
"What the heck!" Korra laughed out, and smacked Bolin's hand away in mock (well, partially real) disgust. Bolin just chuckled.
"But seriously," Korra said, feeling the pressure quickly mount back on her shoulders. "This is going to be a disaster."
"Oh come on Korr-"
"You know it's true," Korra cut in. She could just see the reporters' ice cold glares piercing her as she told them what happened. "The mission was a total failure." Korra dropped her gaze and glanced at Bolin's leg. "Even you got that huge cut on your leg."
Bolin looked down at it for a moment, then back at Korra. On her face was a slash that stretched across half her face. His fingers went towards it and rested close to the scar.
"Mine's nothing. If you wanna talk about wounds, we should be talking about yours. One look and everyone will know how much you're risking to fight Amon."
"Yeah, but that still doesn't change how everyone sees me. They think I'm a failure." The constant flash of camera that blinded her. The shrewd questions she would have no idea how to answer.
"You're not a failure," Bolin said, and Korra's mind cut back to Tenzin's words. "Do I really have to go through this again?" Bolin asked playfully. "You're smart, tough, brilliant, beautiful, strong, brave, fabulous… Would you like me to go on?"
Korra sighed, but was smiling.
Outside, the sound had settled down. She knew she'd have to go on moments from now, and realized how much she needed a hug for strength. So, she threw her arms around Bolin. He gave out a little gasp in shock, but then quickly held her against him tightly. Korra closed her eyes and felt his warmth.
"You know you're the only person in the world who sees me like that."
"Then the rest of the world's an idiot," Bolin said.
Then, Korra felt Bolin lean in, and with a soft press, kiss her on the cheek.
"Avatar, you're on!"
Korra pulled away. Bolin was avoiding her eyes, his face red. "Good luck," he said, as he snuck a sheepish grin at her.
Korra walked towards the curtains. As she reached the end, she turned back towards Bolin, and smiled. The churning in her stomach had been replaced by something peaceful, a floating winged sensation. "Not that I'll need it."