"How about this one?" Aika said, holding up a shirt to her sister as the girls browsed an outdoor market.

Layla looked at the article of clothing, then at Aika in slight irritation. "We can't afford it." she said with annoyance. The entire day, her mood had been rather on the foul side. Her life was at stake, and all Aika could think to do was shop.

Aika sighed. "Layla, I'm trying to give you a break, here. Not everything has to do with starving, being poor, or crime syndicates. You can just be a normal person."

Layla looked back at her and put the shirt roughly back on the table. "Not likely."

"Layla!"

She turned to see Bolin and Mako making their way towards them, the former smiling as broadly as his shoulders. "Hey!"

"Bolin?" she said in surprise. "What are you doing here? And... not weeping?" The last part was pushing it a bit, but her mood hadn't been improved in the last thirty seconds, and wasn't likely to change in the next thirty.

"Oh, yeah, we got it cleared up after our latest match." he said airily.

"Mostly." Mako put in.

"Well, anyway, we saw you over here and... whoa. Is that your sister?" Bolin exclaimed, staring with huge eyes at Aika.

Layla watched as her sister's graceful eyebrows came together over her liquid-gold eyes. Yes, she was beautiful. But he didn't need to make such a scene of it. "Um, yeah. Bolin, Mako, this is Aika. Aika, these are my, uh, friends."

"Hello," she said, shaking their hands politely as she looked at them curiously. It had been a while – nay, a long while since Layla had introduced her to any friends. Her line of work didn't allow for much closeness.

"Don't mind my brother." Mako said as Bolin stared at her in an entranced sort of way. "He's easily pleased."

An eyebrow went up. "Oh?"

Mako made a face. "No – I didn't mean – ugh, don't mind me, either, I guess."

Aika laughed. "It's alright. I've gotten far worse compliments in my time. So you're brothers, then?"

"Yep. Ever since birth." Bolin said with a nod, having come back down to reality.

She laughed again. "I suppose that's how long Layla and I have been sisters."

"Speaking of whom," He turned to the young Fire Bender. "We missed you at the match today. It probably would have been painful to watch, but still, it would have been nice to have you."

"I was busy." she said quietly.

His mouth turned down in a slight, almost concerned frown as he looked at her, unsure of why she was so unresponsive today.

"Mako," Aika said suddenly. "Can you come here for a moment? I want to look at your scarf; I think I know where it came from."

"Uh, okay."

Bolin took this opportunity to pull Layla to the side. "Hey, are you okay? Did we do something? Because, to be honest, I wasn't really paying attention the last couple of days."

"No, it's not you." she said, rubbing her arm. "I just have this part-time job thing that I do sometimes, and it's getting a little rough at the moment. Aika told me to relax for today, but it's just not working."

"Oh. If that's all!" he said, sounding relieved.

She was taken aback. "Um, what? No, I don't think you-"

"Because I thought it was something we did. But we can get around this easy. You just need some noodles and-"

"No, Bolin, noodles are not going to help me!" she argued.

"Sure they will! Come on, you're acting worse than Mako." he complained.

"Bolin, I'm not kidding-"

"Just walk with me, and right around the corner is-"

"No!" she snapped, wrenching her arm out of his grasp. "Why aren't any of you taking this seriously? I don't want to shop for stupid clothes and I don't want to eat stupid noodles! I want out!"

Their expressions were varied. Bolin looked shocked, Mako looked confused, and Aika simply looked... guilty? The only thing this accomplished was making Layla feel even worse. She blew out a puff of air and stalked swiftly from the market. Aika had no reason to feel guilty. She didn't get her sister into this mess. Layla put herself there. Intelligence wasn't known to run in their family, and Layla was making this apparent in almost everything she did.

"Hey, hey, wait a second," Bolin said, jogging to keep up with her. "Layla, I wasn't trying to make you mad."

"Too late."

"Come on, tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help." he offered.

"Not likely."

"Layla, please," he insisted, cutting off her furious stride and looking at her pleadingly. "I just want to help."

She sighed, hands on her narrow hips. "Fine." she allowed. "What did you have in mind?"

He smiled. "Meet me later tonight outside the arena. I promise, you won't be disappointed." He made to leave, then turned once more. "Oh, and wear something nice."

She watched him go bemusedly, then kept going homeward. Aika could make it on her own.

. . .

Layla paced around outside of the arena, waiting for Bolin to emerge with whatever prize he certainly had in store. She'd swapped her shorts for a skirt, her shoes for some old wool-lined boots, and her shirt for one of Aika's patterned tops. She hoped it was nice enough.

"Layla!" Bolin called, hurrying down the stairs to meet her. He was dressed in a nice shirt, jacket, and pants, something she hadn't thought he could afford. "Wow, you look great!"

"Ditto." she said, impressed. "You look pretty sharp."

"Ah, gift from Asami." he said dismissively. "Come on, I've got something special planned." He took her arm and lead her down the road, towards the main section of Republic City.

"Why?"

He shrugged with a smile. "Because you're under a lot of pressure and you're always doing nice stuff for us. And... because I figured you were getting tired of noodles." he added.

She grinned back. "Okay, then, what do you have planned?"

"Ever seen Republic Park at night?"

"Never had the chance."

"You'll love it." he promised as they wove their way through the late-night foot traffic. They reached the corner of an intersection, where there was a mass of people waiting to cross. Someone bumped into Layla and would have knock her off her feet if Bolin hadn't caught her. "Whoa, there." he chuckled. "Gotta be careful around here."

She stared up into his green eyes, suddenly realizing how handsome they were underneath that stubborn curl of his. Then the light changed, signifying that they were permitted to cross, and he let go. She followed, shaking off the feeling that had crept over her.

It didn't taker her long. The minute they stepped into the park, she was awestruck. Lights were strung up everywhere, making the place as bright as daytime, and it made all the flowers take on a cheery glow. The water from the pond was like a mirror, reflecting the beauty. Families and lovers sat on blankets across the lawn, looking as though they didn't have a single care in the world.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, taking a few steps further.

"Well, yeah, that was kinda the point." Bolin laughed.

She turned to him, looking happier than he'd seen in a while. "Thank you."

He smiled back. "What are friends for?"