"I present a seared elephant koi with a giant pea tendril with a hibiscus root salad."
"Stunning," Suyin complimented. Next to her, Lin, with her usual permanent scowl, moved the food around with her chopsticks. Analyzing it briefly, she was unimpressed. To her right, Korra marveled at the new food. Even though she was the Avatar, she seldom ate such fancy food.
On one side of the table, Wei and Wing teasingly punched each other as they mocked each other's power disc abilities. Beside them, Huan sighed and laid his head on the table. Wei and Wing's liveliness made his daily life interesting, but a quiet moment with them happened once in a blue moon.
On the other side sat Bolin, Opal, Mako, and Asami. Given the company, the room was loud, bustling, and rambunctious with the noise of friendly conversation.
Bolin tenderly poked at the pea tendril with one of his chopsticks, watching it jiggle a little to the left before snapping back to its original form. He ate a number of strange foods before and he always had an appetite for exotic foods, but this delicacy may be too much. Slowly, he grasped the tendril with his chopsticks and sat it on his tongue. As if in pain, his cheeks moved up and down as his teeth carefully chewed the unknown food, his tongue attempting to savor the flavor.
"You know, I was worried when he said 'pea tendril,' but this is delicious," Bolin blurted to Opal, who sat next to him at the giant dinner table. Without thinking, he let out a hearty laugh to accompany his comment. Tasting the surprisingly succulent food, looking at Opal's soothing smile, laughter was the only appropriate reaction.
And it was contagious. Opal let out a small laugh too, though it was not as strong as Bolin's, which bellowed from his muscular stomach. Her laugh was meeker in comparison, but it was not weaker in its enthusiasm.
"I know right. I don't think I've ever had a bad meal in my life!"
"Oh, I've had plenty when Mako and I were living on the streets. You'll be surprised how bad food from a dumpster can be!"
"Sorry, I didn't know…" Opal's eyes focused on her plate of food. Her mind was in a million places; her thoughts were increasingly incoherent. Her life in Zaofu, being daughter of the leader, was privileged. Status alone made it difficult for people to approach her. Walking down the streets, she saw the way people reacted to her. Their facial expressions transformed from indifference to recognition to fake happiness within a few seconds of her passing them. Even surrounded by family in Zaofu, she found herself often alone, pondering about what life could have been being born in Republic City or Ba Sing Se. Somewhere pretty, somewhere nice – just not as nice as Zaofu.
So, it was that reason that now caused her frustration and her solemn face. Why did she brag about her lavish lifestyle that she was never proud of before? She wanted to let out a heavy sigh, curse under her breath, run to the solace of the bedroom, anything to let her escape this moment. Why did she keep embarrassing herself in front of Bolin?
"No, it's ok, it's ok. It's all in the past now. Things are great now. I got to be a pro bender, fought against a dangerous revolution, became a mover star, and now I'm helping the Avatar rebuild a whole nation." Raising his hand as he mused about the recent past, he used his fingers to count each of his recent accomplishments. A satisfied smirk sneaked onto the edges of his lips. That life truly was in the past.
"Wow, your life sounds so exciting." She wanted to let out another sigh now, one of relief. Thankful that Bolin did not take offense to her previous response, her body slowly leaned in closer to Bolin's. Her eyes attentive and a small grin forming, Opal prepared to listen. Zaofu will always be her home first, but she might consider it as a prison second. She never left Zaofu except for the one time her family went to Republic City on a rare vacation. The outside world was as mysterious as the stranger sitting beside her. Her ears piqued by Bolin's cheerful voice, she was ready to be enthralled by the stories of his adventures. However, the next thing she heard was the shrill tone of her mother's voice.
"If you have something to say to me, Lin, then just say it!" Suyin commanded. The sound of dishes clattering against the table filled the room as Suyin pounded her table cloth with what might as well have been a literal iron fist.
Lin stormed off the dining room, shutting the door behind with a loud boom. Nobody said a word. The silence lingered in the air, too fragile for anyone to dare break. Nervous glances were exchanged across the room. No one was quite sure what to do.
Opal picked up a piece of her elephant koi and stuffed it in her mouth. With the once lively atmosphere of the dinner table completely killed, she will have to wait another time to hear Bolin's stories.
"So, you and Opal seemed to have hit it off at dinner. I think she's into you," Mako commented. Swiping some fancy hair cream next to the sink, Mako applied it generously to his hair. The upward spike near the front of his hair did not come naturally – or easily for that matter. He was thankful that the Beifong's bathroom would be fancy enough to have hair cream since his hair had fallen out of place from the eventful day.
"Yeah, she's pretty, and sweet, and super nice," Bolin contemplated. With her innocent effeminate charm, Bolin was interested in what was below Opal's seemingly cute exterior. The way she bit her lower lip while attempting to avoid eye contact when she thought she made an embarrassing mistake caught Bolin's attention. Normally, he would not be so keen on picking up such subtle movements. Mako often teased him for letting obvious jokes fly right past his head and for his poor judgment of people. As a testament to their brotherly insults, Bolin had not been able to go through a week without his older brother making some backhanded joke about his "dangerously stupid" relationship with Eska. To Bolin, Opal appeared more like a sheltered little sister than a romantic interest.
"Too bad she's not my type," Bolin continued with a slight reluctance in his voice.
"Oh, I forgot. You're type is dumb mover star or psycho ice princess," Mako responded, dryly and sarcastically. He had that funny little smirk on his face, the one he had whenever he teased his younger brother, and Bolin wanted to smack it right off.
But, Mako was right.
Bolin had dated women who were the epitome of insensible. He doubted that his exes had any amount of common sense in their bodies, yet he did choose to date them. And, at one point in time, he did find them attractive. So, maybe it was him that lacked common sense. If Ginger and Eska's demanding personalities were not compatible with Bolin's, Opal's gentleness might be exactly what he needed.
"Hmm…you're right, bro. Maybe Opal is Bolin material." Bolin winked to himself at the mirror, taking some of that fancy hair cream to straighten out his trademark squiggle of hair that rested right on top of his forehead. He clicked his tongue as he checked himself out in the mirror.
Mako rolled his large hazel eyes and accompanied the action with a small chuckle. He knew this ritual; he has seen it quite a number of times in his life. It was the same ritual he saw minutes before Bolin asked Korra out on a date. The last time he saw it was when Bolin wanted to impress Esna.
The cold night air wrapped around Bolin as he entered the courtyard. The night's chill became exponentially stronger when he got closer to Opal. Gracefully moving her arms in a fluid motion, she created gusts of wind that spread throughout the entire courtyard. Bolin's jaw dropped ever so slightly as he marveled at Opal's airbending. For somebody with only one lesson, she was a natural. Every gust of wind he felt made him a tad bit warmer. Each gust only made his heart beat faster, his stomach rumble with butterflies, his blood rush through his veins. She made him nervous so easily.
"Hey, little lady. Wooow, you're really blowing me away with your airbending." A double entendre and a pun in one. Satisfied, Bolin gave an awkward but confident smile. He was sure that his unique sense of humor will be able to swoon Opal. Moving his arms in a strange manner, Bolin attempted to mimic Opal's airbending to follow up his supposedly clever statement.
Opal squinted her eyes, narrowing her eyebrows in the process. The Bolin before her was not the same Bolin she talked to during dinner. To describe the new Bolin in one word, Opal would choose creepy. Had she not met him before, she would have called for security immediately. Was this the real Bolin? Whatever the case, Opal did not want to waste time with whatever was in front of her. She wanted to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.
"Why are you acting so weird?"
"Why are you acting so weird?"
Opal turned her head in disgust. Arms sternly folded across her chest, she started to go back to her bedroom. Bolin was impossible to take seriously. The fact that he answered her question by simply repeating the question made her furious. She was not a child, and neither was he. It was such a stark contrast to their dinner conversation, where she could have listened to him for hours. Now, she could not wait to get away. If he was not going to take her seriously, neither would she.
Bolin frowned. He knew his sense of humor did not appeal to everyone. Aware that he had alienated himself from a number of Mako's friends and countless strangers, he often had to pay attention to make sure his comments would not be construed as being offensive. He had grown accustomed to it because in the end, he knew there were people out there who loved him for what he was, arguably questionable humor and all. Opal could have just been another stranger that Bolin alienated, but he hated seeing her upset. Upset because of what he said. Upset because of what he presented himself as. The best he could do right now was to apologize and attempt to explain his own behavior.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just get really self conscious when I know a girl likes me, and I… I end up acting stupid."
"Who said I liked you?" Opal quipped. Her eyes softened a bit, once again showing her gentler nature. She let out the tiniest of smiles, satisfied with Bolin's apology. At least he recognized his own mistakes and corrected them. She appreciated someone who listened to her actions, someone who cared about what she thought.
"Oh no, but I thought…Mako said…" At this point, Bolin's mouth was sputtering whatever it wanted. He sometimes had a knack for making a situation worse than it already was, and he just made this situation worse. Mentally, he was kicking himself all over.
"Just kidding! Do me a favor, and stop trying. Well, don't stop trying… just stop trying so much. Just be yourself."
"Yeah, I guess I could give that a shot!" Bolin replied, excitedly. Her words were music to his ears. Had she been serious with her original comment, Bolin probably would refuse to talk to another female ever again. He let out a gigantic grin in appreciation.
She did not say anything in response, letting the silence of the night control the atmosphere. Instead, she found herself lost, perhaps in a trance, as she stared into his bright green eyes. He had a funny chubby nose, she just noticed. It was cute though, almost like a puppy. It contrasted the rugged features of his face, framed by his protruding facial muscles. If Bolin was frowning, he would appear frightening, like the type of guy that you wouldn't want to be near to on the street. But, right now, she wouldn't mind if he got closer, close enough so she could smell his scent or feel the touch of his scarred arms.
"Mmph-mmph!"
Korra's little cough sliced through the once silent atmosphere. Swiftly turning her head, Opal shot Korra piercing death glares for a split second. She could have killed the Avatar right then and there, but she could not blame her for interrupting a moment she probably did not know was happening. Oh well. Judging by Bolin's grimace, he was not too happy with Korra either. It was a special moment for him too.
