Bolin was feeling something he had never felt before.
Happiness.
It was strange and new and kind of exciting, really.
Korra.
Who would have guessed that the AVATAR, of all people, could have roused this new emotion from him? And really, how could she not? She was...well, PERFECT. There was no other term for it. She wasnt like the other girls. She didnt fawn over HIM. She fawned over the sport. The competitiveness. The adreneline.
She wasnt dainty at all. She looked ready to kick ass and break bones, and she actually DID. She wasnt girly, she was one of the guys. She spoke her mind, stood her ground, and wasnt afraid to break a nose if need be.
It got to the point where he ACTUALLY told his brother (who was going out with that gorgous piece of millionaire trust-fund ass Asami Sato, and thus HAD to know about these things) that he was thinking about Korra in 'a girlfriend sorta way'.
He found it weird that Mako would be against it, considering how he'd wished Bolin would stop getting caught up in the fangirl hype and get serious, but chalked it up to Mako taking things too serious again, this time with the tournament.
His attitude shifted a little into possessiveness when he found that Korra had asked his BROTHER out, and had been rejected, but instead, he put on his happy face and asked her out on a date.
When she said she would, and could use some fun, he felt a strange emotion throb in his heart.
It felt...nice.
So he nurtured that niceness and took her out to Narook's Seaweed Noodlery, since he had heard her complain that the Air Temple Island didnt serve the Water Tribe meals she was so used to. It made that nice feeling in his heart soar to see her enjoy her meal.
And of COURSE, that dickwad Tahno had to show up and make a move on HIS girl. He had persuaded Korra to not strike back, whilst thinking of a plan to have Tahno's limbs broken in an 'accident', when Korra whistled and summoned her polarbear dog Naga to scare the shit out of the ponce.
And for the first time, Bolin laughed. Truly laughed. Korra...she really WAS one of a kind. Really, who else would be so ingenious to humiliate the Waterbending ponce without violence, THEN beat him in a belching contest? It was almost too good to be true.
And really, it HAD to be, what with Mako screwing up the quarter-finals, and making Bolin step up his 'public' game to save their asses and win the match. He figured there was trouble in Millionaire Heiress Paradise, but didnt dwell on it. Instead, he thought long and hard about officially making Korra his own.
He thought he'd surprise her with a gift, and maybe some tickets to a show. Flowers...girls liked those, right? He picked out some pink ones, nothing too flashy, and pocketed the tickets before heading out to find her, his heart still throbbing with that wonderful feeling. He heard her voice around the corner and hurried over to proposition her...
...She was kissing his brother.
Korra...was kissing Mako.
...His heart...what was WRONG with his heart? Where was that wonderful feeling, and why was someone stabbing it instead!? He was aware they were looking now, and he couldnt help but do something he hadnt done since he was seven.
He cried.
He ran away.
He ran until his legs were too numb to run anymore, and willed his brain to stop playing what he had just seen on repeat, willed his heart to stop hurting. He turned and vomited into the alley, being brought back to his childhood.
"Harden your heart."
...He was a fool.
His fists clenched tightly, his jaw flexing from his teeth grinding. He had let his heart soften. He had allowed himself this...WEAKNESS! Unforgivable! Inexcusable!
He pulled the tickets out of his pocket and tore them to shreds, tossed the pieces to the ground, then stalked off to a bar. He needed drinks. NOW.
That was where Mako found him. Still slightly drunk, but mostly hungover, glaring with an anger he'd never shown had he NOT been inebriated, spouting off about 'brother-betrayal', and protesting when Mako practically carried him home. En route, Bolin allowed himself to cry. For the last time.