The sun had just set, and the colors of twilight spread across the sky. It was your least favorite thing to do, but you had to pass by dark alleyways on your way home from work. As you walk further, the bustle of the central city dies down, and the heights of the buildings decrease. Smoke rises from the tops whatever and aromas of food that escape from the apartments are mixed with dirty stenches as well. But it doesn't bother you too much; you're used to it.
Soon, yours aren't the only footsteps you can hear. A chill runs down your spine as you feel as if you're being followed. You don't look, but judging solely by your ears, there are three or four men about two blocks behind you. You can hear snickers as they quicken their pace slightly, so you pull your thin coat tighter, and you hold your bag closer. Your heartbeat speeds up, and you find yourself walking faster too. But before you know it, they've caught up to you and are calling out to you.
"Hey baby where ya off to in sucha hurry?" one yells. They're probably only a few yards away. Your eyes widen. There's no way you're answering him, so you keep walking. The man frowns and he and his gang continue to follow you.
"Hey! Sweetheart I'm talkin' to you!" he growls. Suddenly you feel your leg being jerked backwards after something wet surrounds your ankle. The waterbender grins and his friends laugh menacingly as you hit the ground. You roll onto your back, supporting yourself with your hands behind you as you partially sit up and back away. To your misfortune, you back into a wall; the only thing you can see are three dark figures approaching.
"Sorry hun, lemme help you up," the same man hisses in an icy tone, grabbing you and hoisting you up harshly. "There we go," he says with a devilish grin on his face. He's so close that you can smell the alcohol in his breath. Your eyes dart around looking for an escape, but you're surrounded by tall thugs whose husky, threatening voices fill your ears. "What's'a mattah? Don't wanna hang out with us?" he taunts as you start to struggle against him. Two of them begin to tug at your coat as tears start to form in your eyes and you feel like you can barely breathe. In a sudden burst of adrenaline, your eyes shoot open and you pull your arms out of the sleeves and make a run for it, shoving one of the men out of the way.
"Oi!" he shouts after you. You expect to be tripped again, but you don't want to think about which elements the other two can bend, if they can. Your heart is beating out of your chest when suddenly, their loud footsteps are replaced with a rumble and loud yelps as the ground begins to shake. Panting, you stop short and turn around, alarmed at the sight of nothing but three heads on the ground. They exchange glances with each other. They're alive? Another shadowed figure stands in the distance. When he brings his strong arms up, the heads rise from the ground with a large boulder beneath each one. You take a step back as the young man approaches you from out of the shadows, holding his hands out to you to seem less threatening.
"Are you alright?" he asks calmly, taking your shaking hands. He turns his head to look at the men. "Don't worry, they're not goin' anywhere," he says reassuringly with a touch of humor in his warm voice. "Hm," he walks away to pick up your coat, and offers to put it on you. After he drapes it over your shoulders he remarks, "It's really not safe to walk these streets alone after sundown. Those metalbending cops aren't as…responsible as they make themselves out to be. Why don't you come with me to the police station so I can drop these guys off, then I'll escort you home. Sound good?" You nod, trying to plaster a smile on your frightened face.
Each step the boy takes is planted firmly into the ground as he earthbends the three boulders encasing the three men. You regain your composure as he pushes the thugs down the street. "Thanks…a lot. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up," you say particularly loud so he can hear you over the moving rocks.
"Don't mention it," he replies with a smile. It's so infectious that it puts a genuine smile on your face as well. Thank the spirits for this boy.
Most of the walk to the police station is silent, only to be broken by your complimenting him on his skill, and his happily accepting and acknowledging it. When the two of you arrive, one of the spiteful cops alerts the chief of your savior's "vigilante justice," one of her least favorite nuisances.
"Aw good thing I caught you, chief. I found a couple of punks attacking this young lady," the earthbender says as he sees Lin Bei Fong about to go home.
The tough-looking woman ignores you, rolling her eyes. "I see the avatar has rubbed off on you," she says, unamused and slightly annoyed. "But I suppose you can hand these buffoons to one of my men. However I'm letting you off with a warning, son. Leave the policework to the professionals," she says dryly. With that, she leaves through the open doorway and begins to walk home. As soon as the earthbender breaks the men out of their boulders, they are bound in wires and carried away.
The boy turns to you, holding out an elbow. "Shall we?" he asks, grinning. You smile and grab his arm as he leads you outside. "Hey, I didn't catch your-" His suave semblance becomes worried. "Oh shit I'm late!" he hisses, seeing the darkness of the sky.
"Late for what?" you ask.
"Oh, well, I shoulda been over there by now," he says, pointing to the bright yellow probending arena. "I play on a probending team called the Fire Ferrets. Maybe you've heard of us?"
"Course I have! Wait- oh how could I have been so stupid!? You're Bolin, aren't you?" you laugh, blushing. You'd seen pictures of the talented rookies in the newspaper, and heard of them on the radio.
"That's me," he chuckles, offering his hand, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, m'lady. And you are?"
You tell him your name and shake his hand. "Wow this is a surprise. You guys are amazing!" He thanks you with a smile. He knows it. He probably gets that all the time.
"Hey, if you're not busy tonight, why don't you come and watch us? I can get you in for free," he offers.
Your face lights up. "Sure!" Psch no one's waiting for me back home anyway.
"Great! We gotta hurry though, my brother's gonna flip," he chuckles, grabbing your hand and beginning to run across the street. "C'mon."
You laugh, trying to take in the situation while hiding your flushed cheeks. My luck completely turned tonight.
The closer you get to the huge arena, the brighter it glows. Bolin leads you in, past countless rooms and corridors. You can't believe someone could actually memorize this whole place. As you pass different probenders hanging out or training you can hear them scoff about "another Bolin fangirl." But the strong earthbender with his arm around you doesn't seem to notice. Finally you reach the Fire Ferrets' changing room, only to be greeted by a furious Mako.
"Bolin!" his eyes widen at the sight of his brother. "I thought you pulled a Hasook! We're ten seconds from being disqualified!"
"That's all I need, bro," Bolin replies coolly. The moment's over in a flash, but you do mangage to catch glimpses of his perfectly sculpted body as he changes into his gear. He begins to introduce you to his team, but he's cut of by his brother. Bolin gives you a smile. "C'mon darlin', you get the best seat in the house." He grabs your hand again and you follow the Fire Ferrets to the balcony where they'd be lifted up to the probending stage.
"Good luck," you call to him as they rise up. He winks at you while Korra thanks you, thinking you'd been speaking to all of them.
You watch in astonishment as the game begins. You'd only ever heard stuff like this on your radio as you'd eat your dinner alone in your apartment with your hamster-cat. This is more amazing than you could ever imagine. The excitement builds as the crowd goes wild and you cheer on your favorite probending team. The avatar is especially impressive. Her moves vary as if she's fighting in a different element with each strike, even though she's only bending water. It's an easy win for the Fire Ferrets, so lucky for you, Bolin's in an even better mood and Mako's not as sour as before, with Korra on cloud nine. The victorious benders descend on the platform and meet you back on the balcony.
Bolin's got his arm around Korra; they're laughing and whooping while Mako's pride compels him to keep his composure. He smiles, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Bolin runs up to you. "Did you see those whimps? They really weren't on their game tonight," he laughs.
"You guys were amazing!" you exclaim.
"Hey are you a friend of Bolin's?" Korra asks. "I'm-"
"You- you're the avatar! Korra, right? It's an honor to meet you." you say excitedly.
"Nice to meet you too," she chuckles.
Mako rolls his eyes, pulling Korra away to the locker room. "C'mon, Bolin and his groupie want some privacy."
Bolin scowls at his brother, then turns to you. "Don't mind him. He treated Korra the same way. He's just a little rough around the edges before you get to know him."
"Eh, it's fine," you chuckle.
"So…we're probably gonna go out for drinks later. Wanna come?" Bolin offers.
"Sounds good….As long as your friends don't mind."
"Nah, don't worry about those two lovebirds," he teases, even though they're not around to hear it. "You sure you don't need to get back home? It might get late."
"Yeah, I'm sure," you say with a smile.
"Alright, cool," he replies. By the time the two of you get back to the changing room, Korra and Mako have already changed into their clothes.
"Hey, sorry I was such a jerk," Mako says to you, giving Korra a quick glance. "Uh, I'm Mako, Bolin's brother."
"It's alright. Nice to meet you, Mako," you reply sweetly.
"So, how'd you like the match?" Korra asks.
"You guys are incredible. I've never seen a live match."
"Alright, you guys ready?" Bolin pops up behind you and throws an arm around your shoulder. "This girl right here, she's one tough chick. She stood up to three guys on the street by herself."
You blush. "Seriously? You totally saved my butt, Bolin."
"True, true," he touches his chin then points to you, "but believe me, you're not a total damsel in distress,"
"Shyeahh ookayy."
Mako's previous condescending look changes to a more respectful one as he considers what you'd been through. He quickly shakes off his remorse as he breaks up your conversation. "Alright are you guys gonna keep being all modest or are we gonna leave?"
The three of you spend hours laughing and exchanging stories. Even Mako loosens up.
Korra has to go to the bathroom and Mako decides to get some air, being the aloof guy he is. When Korra doesn't return for a while, neither you nor Bolin doubt that she'd gone outside too.
"You're pretty easy on the eyes by the way," Bolin says once your eyes meet after an awkward silence.
You quickly look down again, blushing. "Thanks, so are you." You look back up with a smile.
Bolin smiles back. "I'm glad I ran into you today. You're pretty cool. And pretty good lookin'."
You laugh at his attempt at sounding suave. "Likewise."
He looks at your glass. "Hey, wanna get outta here? It's kinda loud…and crowded."
"Sure." You almost want to swoon. First the compliments, now he wants privacy? How can you refuse? Luckily, t's easier to be around him now that you'd gotten the chance to hang out with him and get to know him.
Being a gentleman, he helps you up. Still holding your hand, he leads you outside where you pass Mako and Korra sitting on a bench. "I'm gonna be taking _ home guys. See ya back home, bro." Mako and Korra say goodbye. Mako waves, but Korra is much too comfy with her head on his shoulder.
Bolin scoffs at them, and you smile. "Wanna head back to my place? We've got a great view," he whispers in your ear so his brother can't hear.
"Alright," you respond softly.
The two of you return to the probending arena, and Bolin leads you up several flights of dark staircases.
"Home sweet home," he says once you finally reach the attic. "Make yourself comfortable. Want something to drink? Tea or something?"
You shake your head, your eyes fluttering sleepily. You sit on the couch and Bolin grabs a blanket for the two of you to share. After he drapes it onto your lap, he gestures to the window. "There it is," he says softly. Squinting, he points to a dimly lit needle against the dark sky, "And there's where the airbenders and Korra live."
"That really is a beautiful view," you almost whisper. It's really late, but you're really warm and comfortable next to him.
"Yup, you are."
"What?"
"What?" he chuckles. "You're really pretty," he says, turning his head toward you.
Your cheeks grow hot. Your faces are really close now. "Thanks," you reply. "For everything tonight."
"No problem." Finally, the space between your faces disappears. Your eyes close and your lips meet.