It is the day of Aang and Katara's wedding anniversary- a holiday in Republic City. It is the day that lovers bring each other gifts of chocolate and flowers, and a day to celebrate their closeness with one another. It is not, however, a government holiday, and Bolin works late into the evening.
Bolin finds himself working late into the evening regularly now. Military training is rigorous and Lin Beifong has not been going easy on him. He comes home every night sweaty and tired and barely makes it through his bath before he's fast asleep in his bed. He has been neglecting Korra.
She waits by the door for him almost every night he works when she is free. Every night he is late by at least an hour and she begins to worry. There are always fresh bruises and scratches and he limps through the door. He barely pays her attention when he comes in. He winces when she kisses him now.
Korra is used to his absence in the evening now but the last couple of days he has been gone in the mornings as well. It takes everything she has not to march into Chief Beifong's office and have a word with her about abusing her recruits. She knows that his training is important to Bolin and just barely manages to restrain herself.
When she wakes up on the morning of Lover's Day the space beside her is empty and cold. A note rests on Bolin's pillow with an apology scribbled in his familiar script and when Korra is awake enough to process what has happened, she feels tears prickle in her eyes. She had hoped that today of all days, Bolin would be home.
She rubs the sleep and tears out of her eyes and sighs. It has been a month since her and Bolin had had a day to themselves, to be intimate and to relax. It's been putting pressure on their relationship and arguments are becoming more frequent and hurtful. Her heart aches.
With delicate fingers she takes the note off of Bolin's pillow and opens it. Inside a dried rose has been stuck to the paper and she cannot stop a smile from gracing her lips. It hurts.
Korra, it begins,
I'm sorry I had to leave this morning. It wasn't the plan. Chief Beifong sent out a letter by Hawk demanding all first year recruits be in early. It wasn't scheduled. I should be home before the evening, though. Much love.
-Bolin
The "I" in his name is dotted with a heart and she laughs despite the tears that have started to stream down her face.
Bolin hurls disk after disk of earth at another recruit, grunting with each heave of his body. Sweat is dripping in his eyes and his muscles are screaming for a break when his wishes are granted and the shrill sound of Chief Beifong's whistle pierces the cacophony of the training arena.
"That's it! Hit the shower's and go home. Nice job, soldiers."
They must have done well as this is the first time Chief Beifong has referred to them as soldiers. Bolin's heart swells and he races the other recruits to be the first out the door. His legs and arms ache but the idea of Korra's soft hands kneading the knots out serves as the needed incentive to keep him going. He is jittery with excitement the entire way home.
When Bolin opens the door to their apartment he finds Korra sitting in his chair by the radio, facing the door. A smile quickly crosses her face and she jumps up, hurrying towards him.
"Woah!" he laughs, bracing himself for the embrace. Korra must sense that he's in pain because this hug is more gentle than her usual tackle.
"I missed you…" Her voice is quiet, muffled by his tanktop as she buries her face in the crook of his neck. He smells of sweat but she doesn't mind because it's him.
"I missed you too, Korra." Bolin presses a kiss to her temple and pulls away from the embrace.
He smiles down at Korra and cups her cheek in his hand. Korra places her hand over his and stares into his eyes. She begins to assess the damage from this morning's training and see's the sweat stains on his clothes, the dirt that has been ground into his tank top, and the countless scrapes and bruises that mar his skin. She sighs and takes his other hand in hers. "Bo…"
Bolin looks down with apologetic eyes. "I know, Korra, I'm sorry."
Her eyes are lidded and just as she is about to close them, she realizes.
His hands are empty.
Korra paces the floor for the first few hours that Bolin is gone. A heavy weight sits in her chest and she is too distraught to sit still for more than a few seconds. She considers going to train herself, or perhaps pulling her hair out and screaming when there is a knock at the door and she flies across the room to answer it.
The door swings open and she opens her arms but falters at the unfamiliar face.
"Hey, I-" The delivery man blinks. "Sorry, was I not who you were expecting?" He gives an awkward laugh.
"Um… no, sorry." Korra is red in the face and does better to look less disappointed. "What is it?"
"Well…" The delivery man fishes around in his bag and retrieves an envelope, handing it to Korra. "... they bill for the flowers and chocolate."
Korra must look as taken aback as she feels because the delivery man laughs. "Sorry to spoil the surprise. Have a good Lover's Day!"
Korra holds the envelope to her chest as the man turns to leave, her heart fluttering. She closes the door and lays the envelope gingerly down on the front room table.
"Bolin…" Korra begins, deflating. "Where are the flowers and chocolate?"
Bolin blinks and looks down at her, panic rising in his gut. "Um… I don't have anything for you today… I'm sorry, Korra. After I paid the bills and the training fees with Chief Beifong there was only enough left for food this week… I'm really sorry."
His explanation processes in Korra's brain and Bolin can almost see the gears turning behind her eyes. She stares up at him, her eyes squinting as realization dawns on her.
A wave of guilt washes over Bolin as he sees she is obviously upset with him. He should have saved the last couple of weeks instead of blowing his last yuans on non necessities. Korra deserves the world and now she's upset. As if it wasn't bad enough that they had barely seen each other the last month, but now he comes home empty handed.
"Korra, I-" She cuts him off, crossing her hands over her chest. Her face is beat red and he can feel the heat of her anger radiate from her skin.
"You..!" She shakes as she searches for her words and Bolin takes a step back. "You cheater."
She spits the word like venom and her tone pierces his heart. His eyes are wide and he sees the tears well up in her eyes. Cheater?
"No wonder you've been coming home late so much lately. You're going to practice and then seeing some other woman on the side, aren't you?" Her hands are in fists and the flames in the hearth rise.
Bolin freezes, her words registering a second too late. Before he can speak the water vase in the kitchen explodes.
He isn't sure how she came to this conclusion, or where the idea would even come from, but Bolin is insulted.
"Cheating- No! I would never cheat on you, Korra! How could you say that?" He tries to take her hand but it's hot- he snatches his back and there is an angry red mark on his palm that has started to bubble into an ugly blister.
Korra shakes her head and stomps over the table where she had dropped the envelope from earlier. She tosses it in Bolin's direction and it drops to the floor at his feet. As Bolin bends to pick it up with his uninjured hand, Korra marches to the couch and takes a seat, curling over and crying.
He opens the envelope and examines the contents. He finds bill for flowers and chocolate, billed to his address under his name.
"Korra…" She shakes on the couch and Bolin approaches her, and kneels to bring himself face to face with her. "You don't understand. Please let me explain."
She pulls her hands away from her tear streaked face, her brows knitted to together in a glare. "What explanation could you possible have?"
Bolin takes her hand in his and squeezes it. "Mako bought them for Asami. They were billed here so she wouldn't see the bill before she saw the gifts. It's under my name because he gave me the money for the flowers and chocolate and I used the money to buy them. It was just a misunderstanding Korra, I promise."
He presses his lips to her knuckles and stares up into her eyes. They're red, but they're softer now and her brow relaxes. "Do you swear?"
"I swear." He wipes the tears from her cheeks.
Korra is ashamed. How could she think that Bolin would ever cheat on her? And she knows that he trains until late at night… She's seen his schedule. The weight of her anger overpowered her.
"I'm sorry…" She whispers. She looks down at Bolin's burned hand and takes it in her's, palm side up. "I didn't mean to do that…"
"It's alright, I know you didn't."
They both stand and Bolin puts his arm around her as she leads him to the bathroom. Korra turns on the tap and bends the water towards Bolin's burned palm. He winces as the water seeps into his wounds but relaxes as the sting wears off and the pain slowly starts to ebb. When she is finished the mark is still present but much less aggravated, and much less noticeable. He makes a fist and finds that it doesn't hurt. He smiles down at her.
"Thank you."
Korra doesn't answer. Her head hangs and her eyes are turned away from his. He pulls her into an embrace and hugs her tightly. "I love you, you know."
"I know…" She mumbles. Her arms come up to drape around his neck and he pulls away to press a kiss to her cheek.
"I'm sorry, I ruined today." She pulls out of the embrace and turns away from him. "I should have asked about it instead of assuming."
"Honestly, I thought at first that you were upset because I didn't have anything for you, not because I…"
"I'm just glad that you're here with me. I don't need any gifts. Just you."
She walks out into the hall and Bolin smiles, following her.