He just sat there, staring at her. She was the most wonderful thing that could have ever happened to him. They had been together for almost 10 years now but it had felt like a mere minute. She was just as beautiful as she was then. Her dark skin radiated in the pale moonlight that seeped in through the curtains above the bed; her dark silky smooth hair was strewn across the pillow. He reached over and gently brushed a strand off her face.
Bolin was the same if not better off. Amon and the Equalists had finally been defeated but at immense costs. Chief Lin Beifong had lost her bending, among countless others. Lin dealt with the depression of losing part of herself but in the end saw it as an opportunity to settle down...one she would have not addressed had she still been Chief of the Metalbending Police. Tenzin had become Head Counselor of Republic City and had appointed a new Equalist Party so that the voices of all the people could be heard. Jinora had just recently gotten married to a wonderful non-bender and Ikki was in the process of dating different guys. Meelo, on the other hand, had chosen the life of a monk. His reasoning was wanting to become the greatest Airbender to date and "Nothing! Not even a beautiful, sexy lady was going to deter me!" Everyone is placing their bets on when this phase will end. Mako and Asami had gotten married and had 2 children, Payla and Shan. Bolin was overjoyed when he had heard the news that Asami was pregnant. It had been one of his many dreams to be "that crazy uncle".
And finally, Korra had accepted his hand in marriage. His efforts had finally paid off when she had agreed to one more date with him. He understood she was infatuated with Mako but he was damned determined to get her to notice him and in more than the big-brother way. It was on that night they finally saw how perfect they were together. Bolin knew they were perfect together, of course. He knew that from the way they counterbalanced each other in the Pro-Bending arena. He didn't care that she was the Avatar. In fact, that made it harder on their relationship. In the beginnings of their relationship, she was gone more often than not out of the year, off to distant lands doing her Avatar duty to the world and finding justice for those around her. It had been hard on him and their relationship but in the end, had built a trust so strong the likes of which the world had never seen. It was during one of her visits back in Republic City that he would ask her to marry him. Bolin had been pondering this notion for quite some time but never knew the exact moment in which to ask. So he figured he would just come out with it. They had been together for 4 years now and if she hadn't left by now, then well, she probably never was.
He chuckled to himself and looked over at Naga and Pabu cuddled together, asleep on the floor. They were getting on up there in years and knew the day would come sooner rather than later when he would have to let his best friend go. Bolin felt a lump form in his throat and shook off the thought. Korra stirred in her sleep and was now facing him in the fetal position, drool seeping out onto the pillow. Bolin snorted. He had a hard time sleeping as of late and found himself most nights out in the garden building little rock castles or watching TV. Bolin smiled as his previous thoughts came back to him.
Bolin and Pabu were sitting on the couch one night when there was a knock on the door. Bolin had joined the Metalbending Police Force and was at current a Lieutenant in the ranks so it felt good having money and a place to sleep that wasn't cold hard pavement. He liked taking care of himself and since Mako and Asami had moved in together, he found the bachelor life incredibly appealing. Granted he was with Korra and would never even consider another woman, he considered his life a type of bachelorhood especially since Korra was gone a lot. But when she was in Republic City, she was with Bolin. Every second of every day. Tenzin had allowed her to move in with Bolin after they had been together for a couple years though he hadn't been too fond of the idea of them not being married. Bolin had sought to fix that. Pabu chirped in his ear as he got up to answer the door. It was really late and didn't really expect anyone unless...He threw the door open and there she stood.
"Hi." she breathed.
"Hi." My God. It had been almost seven months since she had left. He had gotten a few letters but he guessed most got lost in the mail. She looked older. More...womanly. He stared into her ice blue eyes for what felt like an eternity before she cleared her throat.
"Sooo...Bo. You gonna let me in?" she said as she poked his chest and grinned. "I have something for you."
He did a sort of double take, forgetting where he was for a moment and backed out of the way so she could come inside. He grabbed her other bag as he shut the door behind her. "So what do you have-" He was silenced by her lips attacking his. Spirits, he had missed her. He had missed holding her in his arms. Her eyes. Her hair. Her cute little pout she always managed to pull off perfectly. They held each other for a good minute before letting go.
"I really like what you got me," Bolin laughed. "And I have something for you." He pulled out a necklace he had hand fashioned in his spare time. He had made it to look Southern Water Tribe authentic and hoped she knew the story behind what it meant.
"Oh my..." She trailed off, unable to take her eyes off the beautiful piece of jewelry in her hands. "Bo...Do you know what this is...?"
"Well I was actually curious if you did. You see, I made it for you and it's been driving me nuts thinking about how you would react but I guess you don't -"
"Hush." She silenced him with a finger. "I know exactly what it is." It was blue with the waterbending symbol engraved on it. The small pendant was attached to a silk navy blue ribbon. It was an engagement necklace. Waterbenders crafted it themselves and presented it to their ladies of interest. It was every other nation's equivalent of a ring. Leave it to the water tribes to make things difficult. "Would you mind putting it on me?" she asked.
His breath hitched in his throat. "So is that a yes?"
"That's definitely a yes." she winked.
He felt his entire body go warm with the thoughts that were swirling through his head. He shimmied down to his boxers and slithered back in bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and her protruding stomach, smiling as he nuzzled into her mane of hair. Their second was on the way. His firstborn was a waterbender named Senna for Korra's mom. He had no idea he could love anyone as much as his little girl. She had her mom's big blue eyes and her dad's cute button nose. She also had his sense of humor. It was almost too much to handle at times. He knew for certain the next one would be an earthbender. According to Korra, it kicked like one. He was also fairly certain it would be a boy. He knew these things. Bolin heard the door creak open and little feet pad across the floor. He felt a poke on his butt.
"Dad..." Senna whispered. Bolin rolled over to meet her beautiful blue eyes.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Can I sleep with you?" It was damned near impossible to refuse such a request so he scooted over and let her snuggle into the cave between Korra and his body. "Thanks, daddy."
He smiled down at her and wrapped his arms over her and onto Korra. "Sure thing." And with that drifted off into a wonderful night's sleep.
