Opening AN: Hi! Before you begin, keep in mind that I haven't made a lot of changes in the timeline yet besides the One Big Change. While I've added some things, stuff will follow canon fairly closely for a little bit (i.e. I actually significantly change up some things next chapter). Bear with me. Hopefully what I'm writing is still entertaining!

"U-u-ugh." Korra let out an undignified grunt as she allowed herself to flop forward onto her bed on her stomach. The bed creaked as her mattress met the whole of her body's weight. Her three thin brown ponytails, propelled by her motion, flew forward into her face. Irritably, she brushed the hair out of her face.

Two weeks! Two weeks, Tenzin had been pushing her on learning airbending. Constant sessions of sleep-inducing meditation and painful airbending exercises. If someone told her to be the damned leaf one more time… angrily, Korra snatched up her nearby pillow and gave it a sound punching.

Two weeks. With the other elements, it hadn't even taken her one week for her to start soaking up what her masters showed her like a sponge. Hell, even for water, the element that had been the most difficult among earth, water, and fire for her to master, she had at least been able to do something from the very beginning. But with air, every time she tried to conjure even the lightest breeze… poof! Or, rather, no poof; no matter how hard she tried, nothing ever happened.

It can't be this hard! she thought to herself. With her fist sounding a frustrated thump, she gave her pillow a final punch before burying her face in it. I've gotta be the worst Avatar ever.

As she lay still, a sudden thought occurred to Korra: Since I am the worst Avatar ever, why should I listen to Tenzin?! 'No distractions'… ha! Might as well have some fun! She raised her head, and a wide grin spread across her face. The idea became more and more appealing the longer she thought about it. Sliding off the bed, she crept quietly to her room's window and pushed it open. Her face was assailed by the cool, clean night air of Air Temple Island. Korra took a moment breathe in deeply—there, just an arm's length away, was her freedom—before peering down to the ground below. As she scanned the ground, her breath caught. Just at that moment, a guard passed under her window; luckily, he did not seem to have seen her.

Back at home, in the White Lotus compound in the Southern Water Tribe, Korra had early on felt the need to escape its walls. As fun as it was, hanging out with old people who only ever wanted to talk about deep, spiritual bending stuff all the freaking time, a girl needed to get out once in a while. At first, it had been easy. It only involved her waiting for the guards to start passing around the rice wine, and she could sneak out with Naga for late-night ice adventures, while only running the risk of being spotted by guards who would forget ever seeing her come morning. But after just one time of accidentally getting stuck in a snowstorm, though, the White Lotus had somehow wised up. They passed out latrine duty for anyone caught inebriated on duty and increased their scrutiny on the Avatar, fencing her in with still more guards. She'd have been flattered, if the whole affair wasn't so damned annoying.

Here, however, the guards were not as versed in Korra's shenanigans. While they were all well-aware that she was the Avatar, there was just something about a teenage girl who still wore her hair in ponytails that implicitly said, "Underestimate me!" When the guard had turned from her window and had walked a sufficient distance away, Korra allowed herself a grin and a whispered "Pathetic", before she hoisted herself out the window. On nimble feet that had been trained after many years of practice to be catlike, she dropped to the ground, scarcely making a sound. After quickly orienting herself, she sprinted away from the temple, not lagging until she reached the edge of the island. Pulling up a wave of water as she jumped from the edge, Korra leaped in, propelling herself forward, through the water and towards the Pro-bending Arena.

Upon reaching the arena walls, she looked around for a way in. Back home, she had never had to worry about money before, and yet suddenly, here in Republic City, people were asking her to pay for things with money she didn't have, sometimes quite rudely. And frankly, Korra wouldn't have been surprised if the Pro-bending Arena had an entrance fee—and a pricey one, at that. So much for just trying the front door. Korra scanned her surroundings for any alternate ways to penetrate the arena. In looking up, she spotted an open window. She smiled and summoned a jet of water from the nearby bay to hoist her up to the window and another to shoot her in. Flying straight through the open window, she landed inside with a graceful barrel roll.

Pulling herself to her feet and bending the excess water off her body, Korra found herself in a dimly lit hallway with pipes and wires lining the walls and ceiling. Taking in the space around her, Korra's eyes darted around the hallways as her feet wandered, seemingly of their own accord. She passed many small utility rooms and storage rooms, her feet not stopping until one particular room caught her eye: a training gym. Large and well-lit, the gymnasium was mostly empty, save for some punching bags and nets hanging on the sides of the room and various other pieces of equipment scattered across the wooden floor.

Korra gasped, the edges of her mouth jerking upwards into a grin. Now, this is more like it, she thought happily. As she gazed at each piece of equipment in turn, her mind turned over all the possibilities of what kind of exercises might go on here. She imagined it must be a whole lot more fun than being battered by ancient panels of wood. Entranced, she didn't even realize she had moved until she heard a voice behind her, when she somehow found herself standing in the middle of the room.

"Hey!"

Korra turned towards the sound of the voice to find herself confronted by an obviously irritated, silver-haired man. Great. An angry old guy. As if I haven't had to deal with enough of them already….

"What're you doin' in my gym?" he said pointedly.

"Uh," Korra said, smiling meekly, "I was just looking for a bathroom when I got lost."

"Ah, the old 'I had to pee' excuse!" Korra grimaced. She had used the same excuse after the snowstorm incident; it hadn't worked then, either. "You know, I'm sick and tired of you kids sneakin' in without payin'! I'm taking you to security!"

She panicked. "No, wait!"

"There you are!" Her attention momentarily drawn from the older man in front of her, Korra turned to the welcome distraction. Its source was a rather short, broad-shouldered fellow in some kind of red athletic uniform, who had a matching helmet tucked under his right arm. As he approached, he continued, "I've been looking everywhere for you! It's all right, Toza," he directed to the crotchety old man. "She's with me."

Korra grinned. "Yeah, I'm with him."

"So, you see, we're together."

Her grin became more forced. "Well, not together, together. More like friends."

"Right. Friends. No, I didn't mean to imply…." He trailed off into a slight cough.

"Oh, you implied it."

With their routine, they had sufficiently annoyed the old man, Toza, that he was deterred. Pulling off the towel that was draped around his shoulders, he whipped it threateningly in the air at Korra and her newfound ally, who were startled out of their back-and-forth. He raised his arms in annoyance. "Ah, I don't care what'cha are! I got work to do." Irritably, he tossed the towel to the floor and stalked away from the pair, glad to be rid of them.

"Right this way, miss." The guy made an exaggerated flourishing gesture with his free hand towards the door, a wide smile on his face.

"I thank you, sir," said Korra, doing a mock curtsey. As an aside, she flashed him a grateful smile and added, "Seriously, thanks."

He led the way out of the gym, and Korra was only too happy to go along for the ride. After following him for a spell, she was halted when he stopped in front of a door that for all intents and purposes looked like any other door she had seen, and he swung it open. As Korra entered next to him, she glanced around the room. It was small and other than a few lockers, the room was otherwise unremarkable in and of itself. Next to her, she heard him say, "Whaddaya think? Best seats in the house, huh?"

She happened to glance forward and let out an involuntary, "Woah." This unassuming locker room overlooked the entire pro-bending ring far below, illuminated by the light from the many spotlights aimed at it. Hundreds or maybe even thousands of people inhabited stands surrounding Korra's vantage point. "Unbelievable. This place is even more amazing than I imagined!"

"Name's Bolin, by the way."

"Korra," she said distractedly, continuing to gaze down at the arena. Korra knew a little bit about what would go on from the snatches she'd been able to catch of the matches off the radio, but to see it in person!

Tenzin and all that leaf crap could go jump in a lake, as far as Korra was concerned.

While Korra was distracted by the shiny arena, Bolin's attention was drawn from her by one of his teammates' whispered, "Psst. Bolin."

Bolin turned around to find his brother standing by the lockers, dark brown eyes shooting one of his trademark disapproving stares. He sighed and walked towards the lockers. "Yeah, Mako?"

"I told you," said Mako, adjusting the straps on his gloves, "you have got to stop bringing your crazy fangirls in here before the matches."

"Oh really?" Bolin arched one of his thick black eyebrows. "Then what would you call that girl you keep bringing up here… you know, what's-her-face." He stroked his chin in mock contemplation, his lips quirking into a half-smile. "Something sounding like… salami."

"Asami." He slammed his locker shut. "And that was different. Get her out of here."

"Ahh, come on, Mako! Right, look, I kinda promised her that she could stay." He pointed over his shoulder excitedly and grinned at his brother, hoping the enthusiasm would be contagious. It wasn't. "But man, I got a good feeling. There's something special about her, I just know it!" Trying to diffuse the situation, he turned and hurried over to Korra, steering her by the shoulders over to Mako. "Come here, I want you to meet my brother, Mako."

"Mako?" Obligingly, Korra flashed her friendliest smile. As Mako started to walk towards the ring, Korra extended a hand towards him. "Wow! I heard you playing on the radio!"

"Come on, Bolin. We're up." Mako swept past Korra, ignoring her completely.

"…or I could meet him later."

Bolin managed a lighthearted grin. "Yeah, sorry about that. My brother—"

"Is a jerk?" supplied Korra helpfully.

"Nah." He chuckled. "He just gets real…focused before a match." Bolin pulled on his helmet, fastening it shut under his chin. "Okay, I gotta go. Wish me luck. Not that I'll need it," he added hastily.

"Good luck!" came the excited response from behind him as he stepped out onto the moving platform. "Knock 'em out!"

Korra watched the match from the locker room with rapt attention. As her eyes darted back and forth between Bolin's team, the Fire Ferrets, and the opposing Tigerdillos, charting their progress, she could not help but marvel at how controlled it all was. Everything was at a much smaller scale in terms of bending and space than it ever was when she had trained with the White Lotus members. There was something new here, a rapid-fire directness in approach that she had never seen before. It intrigued her, excited her. Oh man, I've gotta try this, she thought.

As the match came to an end, the Fire Ferrets' platform was raised back up to the locker room. Bolin was first off the platform, leaping up before it was completely raised. "Woo hoo! Yes!" With great energy, he bounded over to Korra, jade green eyes positively sparkling beneath his helmet. He held up a finger. "Just one more win, and we're in the championship tournament!" As he slipped off his helmet, he added more casually, "So… what'd you think, Korra? Bolin's got some moves, huh?"

"What did I think?" Releasing all her pent-up enthusiasm, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him forward. "What did I think?! That was amazing!"

Before Bolin could react, she grinned and in the spur of the moment, shoved him backwards. While he was still reeling from the effect of her push, Korra turned her attention back to the platform where the rest of the team was now disembarking. There had apparently been some disagreement between the Fire Ferrets' third member and Bolin's brother, Mako, as the waterbender that stepped off the platform looked so annoyed that he could have realistically had a cartoon thundercloud drawn over his head. On his way to the door, he shot out an angry "Get off my case, pal!" over his shoulder. Ripping off his helmet, he flung it at the ground behind him. It hit the ground as the door slammed behind him.

"Useless," said Mako, equal annoyance evident in his voice.

Turning her attention from their dearly-departed irate waterbender, Korra shot him a grin. Mako slid off his helmet, and he began to stride towards the lockers. "Hey, you guys were incredible out there! Especially you, Mr. Hat-trick!" she exclaimed. Enthusiastically, she swept her arms out far in front of her and stabbed both index fingers through the air at Mako.

"Oh, you're still here?"

Korra's grin rapidly shifted to puckered lips and a glare, to boot. She folded her arms across her chest. "Oh, you're still a jerk?" If I wasn't such an awful excuse for an airbender, I'd blow you over where you stand, she thought darkly.

"Ooh!" said Bolin. He was clearly enjoying the drama, to some degree.

"Anyway!" Reminded of his presence, Korra turned back to Bolin. His demeanor, more friendly and open than that of his brother's, brought the grin back to her face, and she felt her newfound excitement for pro-bending returning in force. "Wow. I've been immersed in bending my entire life, but I never learned how to move like that! It's like there's a whole new style here. Think you could show me a few tricks?"

He grinned lazily. "Ab-so-lutely."

"Right now? Come on, Bolin."

Eyes darting briefly towards his brother, Bolin shook his head. He leaned forward, hand cupped next to his mouth to mask the sounds it made, and whispered conspiratorially, "Just ignore him."

"Oh, I plan to," muttered Korra. Kick his ass, that is, she added silently.

After whispering to Korra, he straightened and began to speak normally once more. As he started to speak, as if in deep thought, he rubbed his chin. "Yeah, I could show you the basics. I'm… not sure how my earthbending would translate to your water bending." He grinned goofily. "But we'll figure it out."

"Won't be a problem." Crossing her arms, Korra couldn't help a note of smugness entering her voice. "I'm actually an earthbender."

Grin fading, he stood dumb for a moment. Raising his eyebrows, he stammered out, "I'm sorry. No, no, I didn't mean to assume…. 'Cause I, you know. I was just figuring, with your Water Tribe getup… that you are… a Water Tribe… gal."

"No, you're right," she said casually. "I'm a waterbender. And a firebender." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mako's slender frame stiffen slightly. A satisfied smile crossed her face. Check and mate.

"Mm hmm…." He rubbed his chin. "I'm very confused right now."

As for Mako, he simply sighed. "You're the Avatar… and I'm an idiot."

"Both are true," said Korra, still smiling.

The truth had been spelled out for Bolin. With that, he was finally on the same page as everyone else in the room. Eyes widening, he gaped at his brother as Mako turned around, silently asking if his brother was the one pulling a practical joke for a change. When Mako's features remained impassive, Bolin's mouth fell open. "No… way." He pointed at Korra, adding in a stage whisper, "The Avatar?!"

"Yep. Right here. In the flesh." She punched Bolin lightly in the shoulder; he looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. "So you can stop talking about me like I'm not here right now." As Bolin mumbled out some kind of an apology, Korra only grinned. Tensing her arms into a ready position and playfully balling her hands into fists, she said, "Hey, how 'bout that earthbending? Still want to teach the mighty Avatar a thing or two?"

"Oh. Sure!" With only a small bobble, Bolin seemed to have recovered some of his old gusto. He gestured towards the lockers. "Just let me change first."

"How about you?" Korra turned to Mako, who had removed the last of his pro-bending equipment and stowed it in the locker, and she cocked an eyebrow at him. A challenge. "Think you could show me some of that cool under fire style up close?"

"Nah, I think I'm gonna turn in." He started to walk towards the door. "You kids have fun. And nice to meet you, Avatar Korra," he shot over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Korra soured slightly. "Been a real pleasure."

"Hey bro, don't wait up. I'll be back in a couple hours."

"Okay. See you upstairs," said Bolin as he tore off his gloves and shoved them into his locker.

"Upstairs?" Korra watched as the door swung shut behind Mako before turning to Bolin, her expression awed. "You guys live here?"

"Yup. In the attic. Nothing fancy, but we have some great views!"

"Wow." Waiting on Bolin to finish stowing his equipment, she leaned back against the railing that substituted for a wall in the locker room. Cracking her knuckles, she stared at her hands for a few moments, listening to the sound they made as the fingers were flexed. "So-o… Mako sure seemed in a hurry to get out of here," she said casually.

"Yeah." He stepped out of his pro-bending suit, revealing that he was wearing a grubby white shirt and grey cargo pants underneath. "There's this chick who ran over Mako a couple weeks ago on her motorcycle. She's been taking him out to dinner ever since."

Korra dropped her hands. "Wait, what?" Taking her weight off the railing and putting it all back on her feet, she stumbled forward. Quickly regaining her balance, her expression perplexed, Korra furrowed her brow. "Mako's dating someone?!"

"Oh, I'm shocked, too, believe me." He gave a long, soft sigh and closed his locker. As he turned to Korra, he clasped his hands to his chest and gave an exaggerated fake choking sob. "My big brother, he's… he's growing up so fast! Oh my, I don't ever know how I'll do without him!" Korra rolled her eyes; she tossed her head, jostling her ponytails so they went flying. Still, a grin managed to peek out, spreading infectiously across her face as a small laugh flew from her mouth. And for Bolin, that was enough. He grinned from ear to ear. Clapping his hands and rubbing them together, he said, "All right! Let's see what'cha got!"

Closing AN: Can't believe I still haven't gotten past the events of A Leaf in the Wind yet! Anyway, a few things. First, a disclaimer: if anything seems a certain way ship-wise at the moment, it may not stay that way. The One Big Change means everything is still very much up in the air, both in that department and in the main "Equalist Revolution" plot.

Second, a note on any smaller canon shifts I may make. Most of these are things that worked fine on the show, given the limited time it had, but that annoy me and seem sloppy, given a medium with no time limit like prose.
- It bothers me in canon that security is so tight on Korra with the Southern Water Tribe (I attribute most of her escape to Katara's liberal-mindedness), but that it's so easy for her to slip away on Air Temple Island.
- It bothers me in canon that moving like an airbender "clicks" for Korra within a matter of days when it's supposed to be so opposite to her personality and when it took her years to master other forms of bending. (It also helps that I get more flexibility with my timeline.)

TL;DR, I will make changes as I see fit, but I may discuss them and my logic for making them at the end for interested parties. Which mostly just means me, but eh, I am writing this for me, no? :)