Earth was the element of strength and immobility. Unlike it's opposite air, there was no evasion, no fleeing, no avoidance, and certainly no hiding.
"Mako? Korra? Have either of you seen Bolin?"
Leaning against Naga's furry side, the young couple looked up at the sound of Asami's voice. Once the question was registered, the fire bender's face automatically twisted into one of concern. "No, not since this morning." Mako murmured. "Why? What's going on?"
Asami sighed and tugged lightly on the sleeve of her leather jacket, not sure whether to feel concern or annoyance at her friend's disappearance. "We were supposed to meet with Varrick to discuss Future Industries business an hour ago, but your brother never showed up." The non-bender explained, lifting her pale green eyes to meet Mako's gold ones.
"Are you sure he's not with Eska?" Korra put in, thoughtfully. "I mean, if she dragged him off somewhere I doubt he'd be brave enough to say no." The Avatar added, looking visibly creeped out by her unusual cousin.
Asami sighed. Of course, the possibility had crossed her mind, and when it had she felt more than her fair share of jealousy. Why she was feeling jealous of the creepy water-bending girl, though, she didn't know.
"Well, thanks, anyway." She said, feeling the sudden urge to lay down for a bit. "If you see Bolin tell him to come find me. We still have business to discuss with Varrick." With that, the young heiress turned and pushed her way from Korra's small home, her booted feet automatically carrying her in the direction of the village.
It was midday, and despite the sun being high in the sky, the air was still chilled and snow still lay thick on the ground. That's the Southern Water Tribe for you, Asami thought to herself, desperately missing the warmer temperatures of Republic City.
Around her, small shops and street vendors operated, but the tension was obviously still heavy in the air due to the presence of Northern Water Tribe troops, walking in pairs up and down the streets.
The non-bender forced back an undignified snort at the sight. Not only was the presence of the Northern Water Tribe effecting her business deals with Varrick, it was also causing a stir with Korra's family and Korra herself, who had become one of Asami's closest friends and allies since the new Team Avatar had taken down Amon a few months prior.
A nagging feeling in the back of her gut informed Asami that Team Avatar would most likely be reuniting in the near future, as tensions between the two water tribes increased.
"Asami!"
As Asami passed by an abandoned table, probably once used by a street vendor, the non-bender heard her name and froze, unsure that her mind wasn't just playing tricks on her. Sure enough, though, she heard it again, louder this time.
"Asami! Under here!"
"Bolin?" Asami crouched down, feeling kind of silly as she pulled back the cloth on the table, coming face to face with a pair of green eyes, a few shades darker than her own pale ones.
The earth bender frantically looked around before saying in a low voice. "Quick, get under here before she sees you!"
"Before who sees me?" Asami asked with a frown, looking around the street as well.
"Oh, for the love of…" Before she could even utter a single protest, a pair of strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and gently hauled her under the table, the cloth falling back into place and muting the light.
"Bolin, why are you hiding under a table?" The non-bender grumbled, attempting to situate herself on the uncomfortable ground. The space underneath the table was limited, with most of it being taken up by the bulk of the larger body next to her. Asami had to force herself as far back as possible, or else she would be half on Bolin's lap.
Not like that would be such a bad thing, though, were her thoughts before she could effectively stop them.
Bolin jutted his lower lip out, looking positively pathetic. "I'm hiding from…Eska…" His whisper trailed off, as he looked around the small space, as if expecting her to suddenly appear under the table with them.
Asami sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Bo, this is getting kind of ridiculous." She told him, trying to be as honest as possible. "You just need to man up and dump her."
Bolin grimaced at her words, his face beginning to turn the same green as his eyes. "I want to." He mumbled. "I need to. But, she's just so…" The earth bender trailed off, lowering his eyes to his lap.
"Scary?" Asami suggested, with a small smile.
"Scary doesn't even begin to cover it." He added with a soft chuckle.
"Well, you can't just date her forever, right? Get married? Have kids?" She mused, watching her friend carefully. The look on his face was enough to prove that he definitely did not picture his life going in that direction.
After a few moments, though, the fear dissipated from his face and he frowned. "If I tell you something, will you laugh?" Bolin asked, in a voice that was unusually timid for the earth bender.
Mirroring his frown, she shook her head. "No, of course not."
The earth bender was silent for a few moments before he said quietly. "Before Eska got…really crazy, it was kind of nice." He began, while Asami just looked on in confusion. "I know that I have a lot of lady admirers-" At this Bolin flashed a grin, before his face settled back into seriousness. "- but I've never really had a real relationship. It seems like all the girl's I've seriously liked preferred Mako to me. I mean, he's dating Korra now and he dated you before her-" The second his words caught up to him Bolin clamped his mouth shut, looking wide-eyed at the girl in front of him.
Shocked, Asami could only stare at him blankly for a few moments before she found her voice. "You…you liked me?" She asked, hardly daring to believe her ears.
He swallowed audibly before slowly nodding. "Not liked, as in past tense. I still do. Like you, I mean." After his confession, he looked away, not meeting Asami's eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me." The second the words left her mouth, Asami winced, not meaning to say that.
Bolin's panicked eyes shot up to meet hers and he began to ramble. "I started to like you back when you were dating Mako, but I didn't want to say anything because you were taken and then when you and Mako broke up, I still didn't want to say anything because it seemed like it was too soon, and then we got caught up with dealing with Amon and then I got caught up with the Fire Ferrets and you were caught up in your business and I'm sorry, Asami, just forget I said anything at all." At the end of his rant, he sucked in a well needed breath, looking like he was going to bolt from underneath the table.
By that time, Asami's thoughts had finally caught up, and she smiled softly over at the earth bender. "You're an idiot." She stated, with a hint of affection in her voice. "I like you, too, dummy."
Bolin's eyes grew hopeful and he asked quietly, "Really?"
Instead of answering his question with words, the non-bender leaned closed the short distance between them, and pressed her mouth against his. She felt him smile against her lips, before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her onto his lap, never breaking the kiss.
After what seemed like hours, the two broke apart for some well needed air.
"Wow." Bolin managed, smiling hugely at her.
Asami, still a bit flushed from the kiss, nodded in response, laying her head against his shoulder. "Agreed." She murmured, smiling in content.
"So, does this mean that we're together now?" Bolin asked, his hopeful voice in her ear.
"Of course." Asami pulled her head back slightly so she was able to look him in the eye. "Once you break up with Eska, we're good to go." She laughed, and patted him lightly on the chest before removing herself from his arms and slipping from underneath the table, unable to resist grinning like a fool despite her favorite earth bender's pain filled groan coming from behind her.