This is a headcanon that me and several of my friends on tumblr share. Bolin and Korra must have twins.
The minute the loading ramp descended from their little boat into the snow, Korra's four-year-old daughter went pelting down, hopping through the wet stuff in glee even though it nearly reached her waist. Behind her, Korra moved more slowly, weighed down now by the weight of another child in her belly. She was only four and a half months along, but already she felt much larger and heavier than she had when she was pregnant with Tanza. Bolin, beside her, took her gloved hand in his and helped her down; when she caught his eyes, they were twinkling with excitement and delight. He looked very much like their daughter, who was currently flinging herself into her grandfather's waiting arms. Tonraq lifted her high and spun her.
Korra's mother smiled at her as she stepped down into the snow, the lines around her eyes crinkling. It surprised Korra to find that Senna looked noticeably older than she had the last time they had visited. Her parents were creeping into their upper fifties, but it still surprised her to see the streaks of gray in her father's beard and the new lines in her mother's face. But that didn't stop her from walking into Senna's arms in the same way she had when she was still a child. The only difference was the obvious extra weight between them.
"Korra, you've gotten big!" Senna breathed when they broke apart.
"Gee, it's nice to see you too, Mom," the Avatar replied, rolling her eyes.
"Sorry, it's just a little surprising. You told me you were only eighteen weeks along."
"I am."
"Well then, how many babies are you hiding in there?" her mother asked with a grin, prodding her belly gently. "Three? Four?"
Korra looked absolutely mortified. "Just one, thank you!"
Senna laughed and then moved in to hug her son-in-law, favoring him with a kiss on the cheek. "She does look really big, don't you think?" she asked him.
Bolin flushed and glanced sideways at his wife, who had turned her warning glare on him. "I think she looks beautiful!" he said quickly.
"Good answer," said Korra sweetly, flashing him a smile. She then moved in to hug her father, but Tanza jumped up swiftly and wedged herself between them, holding her mittened hands over her head.
"Mommy, I'm cold! Why is it so cold here? Look, my nose is froze cause I'm so cold!"
"Your nose is just fine," Korra said, taking her hands and lowering her gently back to the ground. "You've just got a bit of snow on it." She flicked a thumb over her daughter's upturned nose, brushing the flecks of white away. Tanza promptly dove right back into the snow with a giggle.
"You'd think she'd be tired after spending four days on a boat," said Korra with a twist of her mouth, glancing at Bolin.
"Nah," he replied good-naturedly, with a shrug. "She spent a lot of that time sleeping, remember? Now she's all rested up."
"How are you two holding up?" asked Tonraq, looking between Bolin and Korra. "I've heard the South Seas have been pretty unforgiving lately. Was the ride rough?"
"It was a little bumpy. Made him a bit seasick," the Avatar replied, pointing a thumb at Bolin, who flushed. "Tanza was having a blast, though."
"I'll get my sea-legs eventually," Bolin said defensively, finally reaching down and plucking up their daughter from the snow and securing her at his hip. "It wasn't as bad this time around."
"No, at least this time I didn't have to sit with you and rub your belly for three hours," Korra teased.
Tonraq laughed and slapped a broad hand on Bolin's back, nearly making the earthbender's legs buckle. "I'll have to take you ice-dodging with me sometime," he said. "That'll get you some sea-legs for sure."
Bolin, though he wasn't sure what exactly ice-dodging was, went pale nonetheless. "O-of course," he stammered, as Tanza pulled on the long curl flopping over his forehead. "I'd love to!"
Korra grinned and slipped an arm around his waist, tugging him against her body gently. "Well, let's get inside, I'm already tired of standing." She glanced around. "Where's Sifu Katara?"
Katara, her former teacher, had been her official midwife the day that Tanza was born, because even though her due date had been very close, Korra had wanted to take a short trip to her home for the Midwinter's Night Festival. Halfway through Katara's waterbending demonstration, she had suddenly gone into labor. Her old sifu had stopped bending immediately and had gotten her safely back to her parents' home to deliver the baby. Katara had also been the one to tell her that she thought Tanza was going to be a girl. Now, Korra was going to rely on her once more to tell her about the new baby growing within her.
Senna's eyes softened. "She's going to meet you back at the house, dear. She didn't feel quite up to hiking all the way out here to meet you."
"Is she sick?" Korra asked in alarm.
"Well, no," Senna replied. "She's just getting old...her limbs aren't what they used to be."
Korra frowned, finding it hard to wrap her head around the image of Katara being so weak. Of course, she was very old, but she had still been able to remove with remarkable speed and strength at that waterbending demonstration she had given at the festival.
Four years ago, she reminded herself.
She shook her head, pushing down the fear, and gave Bolin's hand a squeeze, belatedly realizing he had slipped it into hers. The group made their way through the snow to the village, and Tanza finally stopped her bouncing on Bolin's shoulders when she saw the way the streets were lit up in the early twilight. Hung lanterns cast everything in different shades of blue, orange, green, and red, fascinating their young daughter. By the time they got to the house, she had become lulled into a state of drowsiness, her head drooping against the top of Bolin's. As they stepped in out of the snow, Korra reached up and got her down gently, making her wake up just long enough to get her out of her coat and boots before letting her go lay down on the soft, fur-lined bed that her grandparents kept for when she visited. After that, Korra collapsed onto the couch herself, groaning as the weight was taken off her swollen ankles. She wanted to go see Katara, but a brief moment of rest was needed first.
Ultimately, though, she didn't get much time to rest. Her mother started asking her question after question about the baby, and following that, updates on Tanza. Though Korra was perfectly fine reclining with her feet in Bolin's lap and answering questions, they talked long enough that Tanza woke up again and wanted to go penguin sledding. Despite his age, Tonraq agreed to take her, and Bolin said he'd go with them (Korra almost wondered if it was to make sure neither one of them hurt themselves). She was torn between taking advantage of the quiet house to nap and going outside to watch her family play in the snow, but in the end, she decided to make the short trek across the village to see Katara with her mother.
The Avatar was beyond relieved when she found her former master not bedridden, but busy making a pot of tea inside her little hut. Inside it was warm and familiar; the smell of it still reminded Korra of when she was young and Katara would let her over for snacks after they finished their training. When the old woman looked up to see who had come in, a broad smile broke through the wrinkles on her face.
"Korra. Good to see you," she said, and Korra walked right into her embrace.
"I've missed you, Sifu," the younger woman murmured into the fur lining of Katara's collar.
By the time the sun had finally sunk below the horizon, leaving the landscape in a darkness that Korra was no longer used to, the three women were splitting cups of tea and Korra was lying back on a soft pallet, her jacket off and her loose-fitting top pulled up over her expanding belly. As Katara rolled up her sleeves, preparing to check on the baby, the Avatar glanced out the window, wondering what could be keeping her husband, child, and father. It definitely wasn't safe to go penguin sledding after dark, and Tonraq knew that better than anyone. On top of that, it looked like a snowstorm was rolling in. But her thoughts were cut off when she felt the tingling sensation of Katara's waterbending over her stomach.
"She's big, isn't she?" asked Senna, who was kneeling at Korra's other side.
"Oh, knock it off, Mom," said Korra sourly, though her words lacked malice.
Katara chuckled. "Your mother's right, actually. You do look big for this stage of your pregnancy."
"So what, does that mean I'm not even going to be able to walk by the end of it?" Korra asked worriedly.
"No, but the baby still has a lot of growing to do." The old waterbender moved her hand, focusing her energies a little lower, and suddenly looked very surprised. Her blue eyes met Korra's, and then she smiled in such a way that Korra didn't know whether to be scared or relieved.
"What is it? Is the baby okay?"
"Oh, the baby is fine," she replied, amusement coloring every word. "But I think the more accurate term to use is babies."
Korra blinked at her as though every word out of her mouth had been complete nonsense. "What?"
"You're having twins, Korra."
This was the exact moment that Bolin chose to come bursting through the door, ushering in a gust of freezing air and snow flurries, clutching Tanza to his chest. Tonraq came in behind him, quickly shutting the door and looking rather winded.
"I'm sorry we're so late getting back," Bolin breathed, carefully letting Tanza down. "The storm came in so suddenly and Tanza fell through some thin ice…lucky your dad's a waterbender, he got her out quick, but it still scared me half to death…"
Korra sat up, pulling her shirt back down and pulling her daughter into her arms as the girl came over to her, her complete shock forgotten as her motherly instincts took precedence. "Are you okay?" she asked, smoothing Tanza's wet hair back. "You don't hurt anywhere?"
"I'm f-f-fine, Mommy," Tanza said, her teeth chattering too hard for her to speak properly. Her lips were blue and she looked very pale, though not utterly terrified. Shaken, but all right. Korra immediately gathered her close, using the slightest bit of firebending to warm her hands so that she could, in turn, warm her daughter. Katara got to her feet and added more wood to the fire in the hearth, and then she and Senna went to get more hot drinks for everyone. Bolin knelt down beside Korra, reaching out to stroke Tanza's hair as the girl burrowed into the heat her mother provided. His eyes met hers, full of deep-rooted fear.
"I was so scared for her…if your dad hadn't been there, I might not have…"
"Shh, it's okay, Bo," Korra whispered, resting her forehead against his. "She's safe. She's going to be fine."
But the incident had clearly shaken her husband more than it had her daughter, because even after Tanza got warm and dry and was once again smiling and laughing, Bolin remained pale and distracted. Neither Katara nor Senna mentioned the news on Korra's pregnancy, and Korra herself chose not to volunteer the information just then. As the hour grew late, and the storm grew worse, Katara offered to let them stay with her for the night, which they all agreed to without much fuss. She made up a single pallet for Korra, Bolin, and Tanza to sleep on together, in the spare room at the back of the house. It was only when they were all in bed, and Tanza had drifted off to sleep between them, that Bolin's hand found hers in the dark.
"I know she's okay," he whispered, "but I don't know if I'm going to sleep very well tonight."
Korra nodded. "I can't blame you, Bo…as long as you're not blaming yourself."
"I'm trying not to," he admitted, brows knitting together. "It was hard to see, and I thought I had a good grip on her hand…but she slipped right out from under me…" He shuddered, and Korra could see the fresh memory replaying itself behind his green eyes. "I just feel like if I'd been carrying her…if I'd held her tighter…"
"Bolin, if you had been carrying her, you might have both gone under," she said gently, reaching out to brush his curl off his forehead. "And that wouldn't have been any better. It was just unexpected…and look, she's fine." The Avatar nodded at the little girl nestled between them. "Sleeping like a rock. She'll probably want to go right back out there tomorrow."
He let out a forced sort of laugh. "I rather hope she doesn't."
"She is pretty fearless, you know."
"All too well." His eyes found hers. "She gets that from you."
Korra smiled, and let him pull her hand to his lips. "Hmm, I wonder if these two will inherit that trait, too."
Bolin hummed a bit, his hand traveling to her belly. "I don't know. I might prefer them to be a bit more cautious, like – " He cut himself off suddenly, and Korra could see him slowly processing what she had just said to him. His mouth worked furiously for a few moments, and then he managed to spit out, "Wait…two? Did you say two? As in, more than one? Not one, but two? There are two babies –"
"Yes, Bolin," Korra laughed, trying to keep quiet. The expression on his face was so comical that she couldn't hold back the sound. After a moment, though, her laughter died down, and she became more serious. "I don't think it's entirely set in yet. I'm waiting for the freakout, but it hasn't happened."
"So…that's for sure, then?" he asked, and she knew he was suddenly wishing their daughter wasn't in bed with them. "You're definitely having – twins?"
"I guess so." Korra looked up at the ceiling. "I didn't plan for this…"
"Are you…not happy?" he asked carefully, playing with a bit of her hair that fanned out over the pillow.
"Actually…I think I am." She looked over at him, a slow smile starting to spread across her face. "I think I'm really, insanely happy, and that's why I haven't started freaking out yet."
Bolin stared at her in silence for a moment. "Are you sure? Because when we found out you were pregnant with Tanza, I would have described your reaction as anything but insanely happy. I know you don't really like surprises, Korra."
"Yeah, but that was before I knew what it felt like to be a mother," she said. "And, more importantly…before I knew what it was like to raise a family with you." His eyes softened at that, and she could tell she was probably going to make him start crying. "Bolin, I'm sure you know by now that I'm terrified of stepping out of my own comfort zone…and having a baby was a huge step out of it for me. But you know that this time we actually planned for a baby…and yeah, maybe we didn't plan for two, but I still agreed to have another child with you because I wanted to. You're a good father…a good husband and a good father, and what happened today with Tanza was a perfect example of that."
"But if your dad wasn't there, I would have been useless," Bolin said, his eyes wet. Korra reached out and wiped the gathering tears away.
"You would have done anything to save our daughter, even if you'd had to jump in yourself," she said softly. "And I have no doubt that you would have been able to save her, even without my dad. You're strong, Bo."
He sniffed a little, cupping her cheek. "You're strong, too."
"The strongest," she replied with a grin, which coaxed an answering smile to his face. "So I think we're strong enough to handle two more kids, right?"
"Yeah…" he said, moving his legs to tangle with hers beneath the thick blanket. "Maybe we are."
A peaceful silence fell over the room.
"Twins, though," came Bolin's voice after a moment. "I guess Bolin really does have some moves, huh?"
"Shut up," Korra mumbled through a smile, giving him a little kick.
