Tonight was going to be perfect; there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was just right. Though Bolin had given it a lot of thought, he finally decided that he was going to surprise Asami tonight. He had been denying it for a while, his crush for her. After what had happened with Korra, Bolin wasn't sure if his heart was ready to fall in love again. He was afraid Asami might be worse; she was a rich girl after all. She wouldn't want anything to do with him.
Asami was one of the last girls Bolin would fall for. All of the make-up, the fashionable clothes; Bolin always thought that girls who wore those kind of clothes and wore make up were fake. Just out there two rip his heart into shreds. The makeup was a mask for them; look beautiful on the outside but turn out to be a horrible monster on the inside.
Bolin soon learned that his assumption about Asami had been wrong. After the fight with the equalists and her father, Asami had taken a hard hit personally. Everything had been taken away from her; her mother, her mansion, her way of living and now, her father. He knew that she had been fighting tears all the way down to the south pole so she wouldn't look like she was selfish and only worrying about her own problems. In her room that night, Bolin walked past, seeing her with her makeup washed off and tears racing down her cheeks. Her sobs were soft and muffled from her hand covering her mouth; she didn't want anyone to see her. Bolin stepped in to comfort her. He sat down on the bed next to her, there was no hesitation; Asami clung to him and hid her face in his night shirt. Bolin cheered her up by saying goofy and idiotic things without even realizing it. By the time they all returned to Republic city, Bolin knew he had feelings for Asami. Even if no words had been exchanged that one night, he realized that Asami wasn't fake She had been used and hurt, but she still held her head up high.
Asami was a strong woman, and after seeing everything around her come crashing down on top of her, Bolin offered his hand. He wanted to be the one to show her everything would be okay. He wanted to be the one to give her hope again. He wanted to love her.
Bolin checked himself in the mirror, making sure he looked decent enough, and made his way out of the dormitory.
Stars. Asami's mother always told her to shoot for the stars, even if your rocket is beaten, battered and broken. Asami used to love making stars out of golden construction paper and hang them in her room. Those stars never failed to cheer Asami up if she was having a bad day. She often made them because her mother told her it was impossible to see the stars over Republic city. Whenever Asami felt down, she would make more paper stars, making a wish as she hung them on her ceiling. Wishes to be happy, wishes to help those who need it, wishes to get married and live happily ever after, wishes to always be safe.
Asami could sure use those paper stars now.
Bolin invited her to go to an evening picnic with him. Just the two of them; no Korra, no Mako, no babysitting; just them under the stars. Asami wanted to tell him that it was impossible to see the stars in the city, but she knew how hopeful and happy-go-lucky Bolin was, so she kept her mouth shut.
Walking down the stairs, Asami found Bolin standing on the beach. "Bo!" she called, taking her time walking down the steps. Bolin grinned from ear to ear at her, his silly, child-like, lovable grin. Next to him, there was a small row boat; enough room for two people and a basket. "Where are we going exactly?" she asked, laughing. His grin widened as he helped her into the boat.
"I told you we were going to sit under the stars." Bolin replied. "So, I'm going to show you the stars." With one push, the boat began to float on the water and Bolin quickly jumped in. He took the oars, one in each hand, and began rowing.
"Won't you get tired?" Asami asked, watching him keep a steady rhythm as he rowed.
"Nope; I'm a growing boy, I never run out of energy." he answered back, flashing her a grin. He rowed for awhile as Asami watched the bright lights of the city slowly fade off in the horizon like a sunset. Bolin stopped, threw a little anchor in the water and sighed, catching his breath. "Well then, shall we eat?" he asked, opening the basket.
"Sure." Asami replied, smiling back. He pulled out two small containers and chopsticks. He gently handed one to her and chuckled.
"Pema helped me make dumplings." he explained. "I made some noodles. And I have a surprise for you for dessert." Asami popped off the lip and felt a little breeze of steam roll across her face. "Good! They're still warm!" They ate together, talking about their days and some of their new goals now with Amon and the equalists gone.
"With my father in jail and everything, I'm going to start working for his company." Asami said, eating the last bit of noodles. "The company will go belly up if I don't try to help it from drowning." Bolin nodded. He had already finished his dinner a while ago and put the containers back into the basket.
"That's pretty cool Asami." he said. "I'm sure your dad would be proud of you." Asami froze at his kind words and sighed.
"Maybe; if he's forgiven me." she muttered. "Well, what about you?" Bolin stretched and yawned; the dumplings and noodles were making him sleepy.
"I'm trying to keep the Fire Ferrets alive, with Mako being a cop and Korra doing her airbending training and all." he started. "I'm also trying to think about my future. I'm…I'm thinking of applying for the metalbending academy. I've always wanted to metalbend, but could never figure it out. Plus, I want to keep goons like Amon out of Republic city for good. This city was built by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko for peace; not anger and destruction." Bolin sighed as his face softened. He glanced up at her and smirked. "Ready for dessert?"
"Of course!" Asami answered. Bolin laughed.
"Alright, close your eyes!" he said. She did so, laughing at his silliness. She felt him drop a little bag into her lap. "Okay, you can open them now!" he said. Asami fluttered her eyes opened to see a small cupcake that was from the bakery near Narook's. She had eaten many of these before to know that there was usually a small piece of fruit on top, which had been replaced with some kind of charm. "If you want the fruit, I can give it to you."
"No, it's fine." Asami said, carefully taking the cake out of its bag. She plucked the charm off of the cake to see that it was a small necklace. The charm was a golden star, reminding her of the ones she used to make when she was a child. "Bolin, it's beautiful! How did you get this?" Asami was one to know that jewelry, especially gold, was expensive. Bolin must've been saving money again.
"It's my mothers." he whispered. She froze, letting her arm fall slowly to rest on her knees. "I don't have a lot of memories of her, since I was so young when she died, but I remember that she used to wear that necklace a lot." Bolin reached over towards her, flipping the charm over. Engraved in the gold was 'hope', and a small smile grew over Bolin's lips. "I remember that she told me stars bring hope and happiness to people. When she died…I kept this in my pocket at all times; kinda like how Mako kept dad's scarf. It gave me a little piece of hope while we lived on the streets. It kept me going." He swallowed and sighed. "I wanted to give this to you because I know you have a lot of things going on right now. I just…just want to let you know that everything will be okay." Astonished by his words, Asami wrapped her fingers around the charm and fought the tears back. It was endearing of Bolin to give her his mother's necklace that he had cherished for so many years.
"Bolin…thank you." she whispered, staring into his emerald eyes. "This is really sweet of you." He smiled as he took her hand.
"Why don't you look up at the sky, too?" he said, laughing. Asami smiled gently as she lifted her head up to see the billions and billions of stars in the sky; it was almost as every single star was surrounding them. "It's beautiful! Are you seeing this?" A few meteors flew across the sky, shimmering in the shadows.
"Yeah…" Bolin replied. What Asami didn't know was that Bolin wasn't looking up at the stars; he was watching her. The way her eyes lit up once she saw those stars in the sky, the starlight making her eyes glitter and sparkle. The way her hair flew gently across her face as the breeze flew by. He could see through her, he could see everything she was hiding from everyone. "You're beautiful." he mumbled. Asami moved to look at him.
"I'm nothing special." She said, giving him a look. Bolin frowned.
"Asami, I know you're fighting hard to smile and stay positive. You don't have to be alone. We're here for you. I'm here for you." he said. "I want you to believe again. Believe that not everyone lies to you. I…" He paused, blushing. "I really like you, Asami." Asami blushed as well.
"Bolin…I…" she started. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers, kissing her softly. Asami was taken back at first, but she kissed him back. The kiss wasn't too intense, it was their first kiss after all. Bolin pulled away, opening his eyes and locking them with hers. It was just them, under the starlight, staring at each other. Each and every piece to their personality was suddenly understood while they sat there. Bolin smiled, reached up, pulling her face to his and kissed her again, cradling her face in his hand. Asami felt him smiled as they kissed and when she pulled away, she tied the necklace around her neck. "Tonight was special, Bolin." Asami whispered.
"I hope I can make more of those the more we hang out together." Bolin said, grinning. She giggled, letter her fingers hold onto the small charm around her neck, closing her eyes, making a wish.
I wish that we'll be together, holding each other, under the starlight, forever.