"Pabu!" Opal greeted her furry friend in an excited manner. The fire ferret chirped happily and hopped from Mako's shoulder as soon as he saw Opal. She caught him and brought him up to her face, and he gave her cheek a few ferrety kisses.
"Hey, Opal!" Mako said with a genuine smile on his face.
"It's good to see you again, Mako," Opal said as she handed Pabu to Bolin, opening her arms to signal to Mako that she wanted a hug. The firebender smiled and obliged her. After the short embrace, he stepped back into his apartment.
"Come in, guys," he said. Opal and Bolin walked into Mako's apartment and he closed the door behind them all.
"So how was date night?" Mako asked.
"It was awesome!" Bolin exclaimed, taking a seat on the couch. Opal sat down beside him and he wrapped his arm around her.
"Where'd you go?" Mako prodded on.
"The Kolao Cafe," Opal answered with a smile on her face. "And then we took a walk through Avatar Korra Park."
"Pretty romantic of me, huh?" Bolin teased, looking up at Mako as he poured three cups of tea on the small table in front of his couch. He decided not to dignify his younger brother with a verbal response, so instead shot him a look.
"Tonight, we're going to see the travelling circus on the North edge of town," the earthbender continued.
"So you finally found someone else to drag to the circus with you?" Mako taunted, extending a cup of tea to each of his guests. Opal laughed and accepted her drink.
"Yeah, but I'm actually really excited too!" She said. "I've been watching circuses and dance performances my whole life, you know."
Bolin grabbed his tea from Mako's hand and took a sip. There was a lull in the conversation as the firebender grabbed his own tea and sat down on the couch.
"I told you, she's perfect," Bolin stated matter-of-factly to his brother. Mako cracked a smile.
"I'm happy the person you're taking to the circus actually enjoys the circus, nonetheless," the firebender said.
Bolin opened his mouth to respond, but just then, the front door came crashing down to the floor of Mako's apartment. Opal, Bolin, and Mako all looked to the doorway to see the culprit, standing with her arms crossed.
"Dammit, Korra!" Mako yelled, standing up, almost throwing his tea to the ground.
"Sorry, Mako," Korra started, "but seeing your scared-of-beifong face for just one second makes it worth it."
"Now I have to install new hinges again!"
"Stop freaking out, Asami made me bring new ones," the avatar said coolly, before turning her attention to the green-eyed couple that sat on Mako's couch.
"Opal!" she smiled, crossing the room to the airbender, who stood up to greet the avatar.
"Hey, Korra," she said as they hugged each other. "How are you?"
"I can't complain," was Korra's response before she turned to Bolin. "You been taking good of my first airbending student?"
"What do you take me for?" the earthbender shot back, standing up to hug his friend for a short moment. After the embrace was over, Korra turned around and walked back to the doorway, pulling some hinges and screws out of a pocket.
"You got a screwdriver?" Korra directed her line of inquiry at Mako. The firebender scoffed dramatically and went into the kitchen, retrieving the requested tool from a drawer.
"Oh, hey, Korra," Bolin said across the room to her, "Opal and I were wondering if you and/or Naga could take Pabu for the next few weeks."
"Why, so you guys celebrate Opal's vacation by fucking nonstop?" the Avatar coined bluntly. Bolin and Opal both blushed. Bolin started to stammer out a response, but Opal put her hand on his to silence him.
"What do you think?" was the airbender's response. Korra laughed.
"Yeah, sure! Naga'd love the company," Korra said, accepting a screw driver from Mako. She then turned and picked the door up, checking to see if the original, broken hinges were still attached to the door.
"They tried to pawn him off on me for the whole time first," the firebender said as he watched Korra fix his door.
"Can you blame them? I mean, look at them," Korra stated nonchalantly as she started to attach the new hinges to the door. Bolin and Opal blushed again.
Bolin's smile grew wide as he and Opal were greeted by a large, decorated railroad car that read, in bold paint: THE ORIGINAL TRAVELLING CIRCUS OF THE EARTH KINGDOM.
"Your mom was in this circus when she was younger, right?" Bolin asked, his eyes scanning the next railroad car they walked by as they approached the large circus tent in the middle of the field they were walking through. The decorated car read: PIAO LI BROTHERS CIRCUS.
"Yeah, she was a trapeze artist," Opal answered, looking past the second railroad car to see a rabbaroo being led on a rope leash toward the main tent. As the pair got closer to the circus tent, the sounds of music grew louder and the scent of popcorn and sawdust whafted its way to their noses.
"Flowers! Flowers, sir, for your lady?" A man wheeling around a small cart of bouquets asked Bolin.
"Of course, my good sir!" Bolin answered enthusiastically. "However, I think just one flower should suffice; don't you, my dear?"
"I do," Opal smiled, squeezing Bolin's arm gently. Bolin leaned toward the cart and picked a large lily out from an arrangement. Its petals were a deep purple with white splotches. He the flower to his girlfriend, and as she reached her hand out to accept his gift, he grabbed her fingers and lay a kiss on them before placing the flower in her hand. He turned back to the man with the flower cart and handed him a ten yuan note.
"Thank you, sir," The man said, putting the money in a pocket. "Enjoy the show!"
Opal tucked the lily behind her ear and the pair made their way to the entrance of the large circus tent.
"Tickets, please," the large doorman requested. Bolin reached into his jacket pocket and produced two slips of paper. The man took them and stamped them, handing them back to Bolin while looking at the three people behind them and saying again, "Tickets, please."
Bolin led Opal into the large tent towards the bleachers, but not before stopping at a popcorn stand and buying a large bag with an unapologetic smile on his face.
They took their seats in the front and Bolin was already stuffing his face with popcorn. Opal smiled and gently nudged her boyfriend, who looked at her, took a huge swallow, and smiled guiltily.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he said and offered her some. She obliged him and popped a few kernels into her mouth.
"So what possessed you to buy tickets to the circus?" Opal questioned, looking around the large room in front of them as people continued to make their way to their seats.
"I've always loved the circus," the earthbender said. "Circuses usually have a deal with children where if you help out for a few hours, you get free tickets. Mako and I saw every travelling circus in Republic City when we lived on the streets."
"It's hard to imagine Mako having a good time at a place like this," Opal commented.
"Yeah, he wasn't the biggest fan," Bolin returned.
After several more questions about the circus, Opal and Bolin's conversation was interrupted by the ringleader's announcement that the show was about to begin. He was a tall, middle-aged man with a freshly shaven head and a tophat. He wore a long, black jacket and bright red pants with black boots.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I hope you all have found your way to your seats! I have for you today, a fantastic show! For those of you who don't know, moving a circus this big around the country is hard work, and it takes a lot of railroad cars. Why, this giant tent," the Ringleader paused to gesture dramatically to the large tent they were in, "takes four cars to transport. And these fine men set up and take down four railroad cars' worth of tent every time the Piao Li Brothers Circus changes location!"
Eight large men made their way out into the ring. Bolin's mouth dropped at the sight of their muscles. He thought he was strong, but these men had the largest biceps he'd ever seen. The only thing each man was wearing was a small pair of green shorts, showcasing the earthbenders' strong chest and leg muscles as well.
"Give a hand for the Piao Li Earthbending Troupe! They're going to start the show off for you tonight!"
After a short burst of applause, the men ran into position and crouched, waiting for silence. As the band began to play a lively song in the background, they all stood up and several of them jumped backwards, landing on the shoulders of the men behind them. They quickly formed a standing human pyramid. They then bent a giant rock platform, in unison, to the height of the tallest man in the pyramid. He hopped onto it and extended a hand to another man below him, who took the hand and jumped up onto his shoulders. This process repeated until three men were on his and each other's shoulders, and then the next man stood on the platform next to the first man, allowing three more men to stand on him. The final two men used earthbending to propel themselves up into the air, and they landed on the top of the human pyramid.
Bolin and Opal joined the crowd in applause throughout the Earthbending Troupe's act as they demonstrated their strength, and pulled off some impressive earthbending moves. After that, the ringleader had the rabbaroo Opal had seen earlier jumping in and out of a small hoop in increasingly complex ways. Then, an amazing trapeze act featuring three women who could do what seemed like an infinite number of flips in the air. Then, a long (but hilarious, and Bolin would hear no different) clown act. Then, a fire magician put on a display of pyrotechnics that ended with the audience being showered in white flower petals. After this, an armadillo-bear and his trainer came out into the ring and not only did the trainer predictably fit his head into the bear's mouth without being eaten, but he also rode the large creature and got it to wear a silly hat, much to the audience's enjoyment. Then, one of the trapeze artists translated her skill for performing flips to the tightrope for an exciting display.
The grande finale was almost overwhelming. Two members of the earthbending troupe stood on elephant rhinos as they trotted around the ring, each carrying one of the trapeze girls on a shoulder. Whenever the creatures passed by each other, the girls would leap into the air and trade spots on the animals. The fire magician stood in the middle, firing off glittery blasts of flames, and balls of fire that looked like dragons that perfectly missed the men on elephant-rhinos as well as the rest of the earthbending troupe, who were crashing rocks together into the fireblasts to produce firework-like explosions.
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! The Piao Li Brothers Circus appreciates your attendance and your enthusiasm!" The ringleader called out over the thunderous applause that ensued at the end of the show.
"Wow! That was awesome!" Bolin said excitedly as he and Opal stood up to join the large crowd shuffling towards the front entrance of the tent.
"Those girls were amazing, weren't they?" Opal chimed in.
"Yeah, and those earthbending guys? They were huge!" Bolin exclaimed. The pair laughed together as they moved slowly to the exit. Opal took Bolin's arm in her hand and squeezed lightly, causing the earthbender to look at his girlfriend.
"Thanks for taking me to the circus, Bo," Opal said sweetly, standing up on her tiptoes to place a peck on his cheek. He blushed.
"Anything for my lady," Bolin said, his voice a shade darker than it previously was. He grabbed one of her hands and tugged her away from the slow-moving crowd heading to the front of the circus tent. Opal smiled mischievously and played along.
He led her to the edge of the tent, behind the bleachers they had been seated in during the show. Bolin then squatted down and grabbed the bottom of the tent, standing back up as he lifted the fabric to above Opal's height, gesturing for her to go through.
"I wanna show you something," he said with a bright smile on his face. She walked through the makeshift doorway Bolin held for her, and Bolin came through behind her, dropping the tent after they had made it outside. There was a smaller tent in front of them, and the sounds of muffled cheers and clinking glasses told the pair that it was where the circus cast was celebrating another show well done.
"You wanna show me the afterparty?" Opal asked, unimpressed.
"No, I just wanted to show you the stars on the edge of the city," Bolin returned nonchalantly, pointing up. Opal looked at the display above her. She could only see a few faint stars behind the glow of the light from the new spirit portal. A few spirits flew overhead, and the airbender cracked a smirk.
"No, you just wanted to get me alone," Opal said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, pressing their hips together. Her fingers trailed their way through his hair.
"You caught me," Bolin said breathily after breaking the kiss. Opal pulled him back down for more, nibbling at his bottom lip. She kissed her way to his neck and trailed her hands down his body, stopping at his belt. Her fingers traced around the top of his pants. A moan escaped Bolin's lips.
"Can we go back to my apartment now?" he asked, eyes full of lust. His girlfriend once again captured his lips with hers.
"No," she said firmly after falling back on her heels. Bolin opened his mouth to protest, but one of her fingers pressed against his lips silenced him as her other hand unbuttoned his pants.
"I want it here," Opal whispered in his ear. Bolin's face went blank for a moment, as if something in his brain had broken. He nodded with a dumb expression on his face, and bended a large pillar of rock behind her. Before she knew it, Opal was pressed up against the rock behind her, Bolin hiking her dress up to her waist. She finished pulling his pants down far enough to free his erection. One of his fingers found its way to her entrance, causing the airbender to moan.
"You're always so wet for me," Bolin said softly as he inserted another finger into her. "You want it bad, huh?"
Opal could only moan and whimper in response to her boyfriend's ministrations. She reached back down to touch him, and he groaned as her hand made contact with his shaft. He withdrew his hand from her and lifted her off the ground as he lined himself up with her entrance.
"Hey!" A voice called out urgently from the entrance to the small tent where the circus cast was. The almost-lovemaking couple both looked hurriedly to the source of the voice, and saw a man sprawled out on the ground. Immediately, Bolin set Opal back down on the ground and hurriedly fumbled to get his pants back on.
"You can't just back out like that!" The voice of an angry woman pierced the air. Bolin and Opal looked at each other in confusion. What kind of a pervert was watching them?
"Did you think we wouldn't notice?" A man's voice joined the mix. Opal and Bolin looked over to see the source of the noise.
A man was standing on all fours, struggling to get back up on his feet as three people surrounded him.
"Please...don't do this..." the man on the ground gasped. One of the people, a woman, bended a large block of earth at the man's back, forcing him to collapse back on the ground.
"We have to help him," Opal said in a stern, but hushed voice to Bolin. He nodded solemnly.
"Now we have to pick up your slack," a man said, bending a ball of fire in the palm of his hand.
"But only after we take care of you ," the woman said, bending another boulder in the air above the man. A strong gust of wind blasted the rock away from the group. Opal and Bolin ran towards the scene to protect the man lying on the ground.
"Leave him alone!" Opal yelled as the three attackers turned to look at the earth-and-air-bending duo.
"The fuck is going on?" the woman asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"You called reinforcements?" The firebender asked the man lying on the ground, who was struggling to stand up again.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but you have to leave this man alone," Opal interjected.
"Sorry honey, we're not gunna do that," the woman said, bending a boulder at Opal.
Bolin jumped in front of it and punched it to powder, countering with a rock of his own. The two other men began to shoot fire blasts at the couple. Opal snuffed some out with bursts of air, and Bolin blocked others with earth.
"Let's get that guy out of here!" Bolin said, firing a series of rocks at their opponents. While the group dodged Bolin's attacks, Opal fired a few blasts of wind at them as well, sending them sliding back a few feet. The pair ran up to the man, and helped him up, each supporting him with a shoulder. One of the firebenders shot another fireball at them, but Opal deflected it with her airbending.
"Enough!" Bolin yelled, turning the ground in front of the attackers to lava. They took a few steps back but stood their ground until Bolin began to fire shots of Lava at them. They dodged the attacks, stepping further away, but the earthbender began to throw large chunks of earth at Bolin. The firebenders began shooting back as well. Bolin bended a wall of rock for the pair to duck behind to dodge the attacks. They set the man down against the wall.
"We won't be able to get him out of here if we don't knock them out," Opal said decisively.
"How? These guys are pretty good, in case you haven't noticed," Bolin asked, standing up to fire a few quick shots of lava. Opal brought her finger to her chin in thought for a moment.
"I'll sneak off to the side and distract them. When they're looking at me, take them out."
"I'll cover for you," Bolin said, standing up and sending a barrage of lava towards the earthbender and firebenders.
Opal ran to the side and started to bend a giant torrent of wind, causing the woman and two men to stop attacking while they attempted to hold their ground. Bolin fired three quick, powerful shots at each of their heads and watched them all fall to the ground. He cooled the pool of lava in front of him as Opal ran back to him and they picked the man up together and walked as quickly as they could from the scene.
"Where are you taking me?" the man rasped.
"To Avatar Korra," Opal answered. "We have to get you healed."
"Going to Air Temple Island is going to take too long," Bolin said. "We should just take him to the nearest hospital."
"Why would we do that? That's probably the first place those crazy people would go to look for him!" the airbender argued. "And we're not going to Air Temple Island."
"I thought we were taking him to Korra?" Bolin asked with a confused expression.
"We are. She's probably at Asami's. Her estate isn't too far from here," Opal reasoned.
"You are so smart, babe," Bolin said dreamily as the group finally made it back to the paved streets of Republic City. Bolin hailed a cab driving by, and they helped the man into the back seat before climbing in after him.
"Take us to the Sato Estate, and fast!" Opal commanded, and the driver set off down the street.
Author's Note: There's chapter 2 for you guys! I've got plenty more adventure in store for our heroes, and in the next chapter, detective Mako will start on the case! Thanks for the follows and reviews :)