Chapter 9- Leaving so soon?

It was coming dangerously close to the day that Eska would leave… and it was driving Bolin insane!

The young Earthbender had tried many methods of blocking the coming event from his mind- focusing on other things such as just helping her get well, thinking about how he would attack Omeghi the Omega, and whether he would be able to find some earth to bend in this frozen tundra. But every time it snapped back at him like a rubber band that had been pulled to tight-that she was leaving, and he might never see her again.
He'd faced this before, quite a few times actually…more times than he'd like to think about. But now, he felt too close to lose her. She wasn't just his love; she was his friend and his equal... his other half.
She meant more to him than ever before.

Besides that, Eesta was keeping a close watch on him, and Anana took every opportunity she had to glare at Bolin as though he had done something terrible!
Which, in her eyes he probably did- but that was beside the point!

The young Earthbender tapped his finger against the tabletop, his mouth formed into a cute little pout as he thought.
His green eyes were focused on nothing in particular; his body slumped onto the chair as though his muscles had stopped working.
Eska had fallen asleep about an hour ago, and Bolin had grown weary of waiting for her. Instead he had been fully prepared to eat a meal, maybe chat with Asami or… Or visit Korra. Instead, there he was, sitting prone in a wooden chair and trying to think about nothing.
Bolin sighed through his nose, considering the events passed (despite all attempts to keep his mind blank). When Korra had been hurt by Omeghi, when he had been turned down by Eska and the following attack from those WaterBenders. And then carrying Eska back…
And before all of that, the bad guys he'd faced. His first kiss from Eska…

Life had been like a rollercoaster for him hadn't it? But it was always leveled by something; he was always brought back down to earth.

"Hey."

Bolin flinched at the unexpected voice; he spun around in his seat to find Korra standing before him. Her weight was being pressed onto Mako's shoulder, but she seemed surprisingly upright compared to the last time Bolin had seen her.
"Korra!" the young Earthbender jumped from his seat and wrapped his arms around the Avatar. She winced, and he pulled away, "Oh yeah, sorry," he apologized.
She smiled crookedly, "its ok. Good to see you too," she said.
Mako guided Korra to the chair Bolin had previously been seated in, and lowered her down. She pressed a hand to her now barely visible wound and closed her eyes.
"Does it still hurt?" Bolin asked, though it seemed a rather pointless gesture. She nodded, "Not much, Anana's a good healer. It just aches now," she shrugged her bare shoulders.
Mako nodded, "She says that Korra should be fully healed by tomorrow," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "And then I think we should head home."

Bolin blinked at his brother, "But…what about that Omeghi guy? He's just going to keep terrorizing this village if we leave!"
Mako ran a hand through his upright hair, "I know, but I don't think we can stop him without Korra…and there is no way she's fighting him again!" he added sharply.
Korra frowned, "Hey, just because he caught me off guard once doesn't mean it'll happen again!" she said sharply, and then groaned.
"See!" Mako gestured towards Korra.
Bolin shook his head, "We have to try," he stated, "-without Korra."
The Avatar wrinkled her nose at being shoehorned out of the conversation, but she didn't seem to be in the best place to argue.
"We should ask Asami what she thinks," Mako said, "and I guess Desna should join us too," he said, putting a finger to his tight lipped mouth in thought.
Bolin nodded, "Right," he stated, "I'll go find them-"
Mako blinked at him; "I didn't think you meant right now," he said, but eventually shrugged, "Alright, let's do it," he smiled crookedly.

Bolin nodded curtly and then took off in search of Asami and Desna, his boots making a soft thumping sound against the floor with each heavy step. Turning around a corner he nearly knocked over a small table, which had a painted vase resting perfectly on top of it. Bolin continued running a few steps before his breath caught in his throat, and he swung around.
Was that…?
He reached out and carefully picked up the vase, closing his eyes he felt the earth beneath his fingers…it was clay. An elated smile grew on his pale face, he had Earth-or more importantly-he had his weapon!

Tucking the vase beneath his arm so that he might later ask Talia if it was priceless or not, he continued on his search-a new spring in his step. The clay felt comforting in his grasp as he peaked into different rooms.
He almost passed over Eska's room, but a voice inside made him stop. Slowly he reached out his free hand and opened the door, revealing Asami and Eska. Eska was…on her feet!
Asami was standing sort of off in a corner, talking to the young Waterbender- most likely in an attempt to be friendly. Eska was braced against the wall, her thin fingers splayed out against it.
"Korra's um…doing better too," Asami said awkwardly, "Isn't that good?"

Eska nodded, "Relatively, I don't care for my cousin but I imagine she takes it as good news," she said simply.
Asami smiled sort of crookedly at that, "You'd like Korra if you got to know her better," she said. Eska snorted, "Unlikely."

Bolin decided he didn't want another "Desna" moment, and so pushed his way into the room. "Hey guys, er, girls, " he greeted, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as it slowly became more real to him- Eska was standing, which meant she was getting better, which meant…she would have to leave sooner than he thought.
"Bolin," Eska nodded, "How long had you been lurking in the doorway?" she raised an eyebrow towards her bangs.
The young Earthbender laughed nervously, but ceased pretty quickly, "…Not long I promise," he said.
"Did you see Korra yet? And…why are you holding a vase?" Asami questioned, perfect lips quirking into more of a frown now.

"I'll explain later," Bolin replied, "Right now, we need to go talk with Mako and Korra about Omeghi."
Asami stood up, "Are we fighting him again? Because I am very ready," she clenched her hand into a fist.
"Hopefully yes," the young Earthbender replied, "but we're going to talk about it," he shrugged. The Nonbender nodded, "Where are they?"
"Kitchen, I'll…meet you there in a sec," Bolin said, looking back at Eska, who had been staring at him in return. Asami shot a confused look at the two of them before she left the room, her long silky black hair swaying with her.

"You're standing," Bolin said softly.
Eska rolled her ice blue eyes, "Very well observed," she snorted.
Without warning her hand slipped from its place, nearly sending her to the floor- Bolin quickly jumped to her aid, tossing the vase onto the empty bed.
Her hands gripped at his strong arms, body slumped against his as they both took in a few calming breaths.
Eska's touch was warm and comforting, but the weight pressed on to her still-injured arm was clearly hurting her. Bolin shifted his hands to her waist and raised her up so that she was standing straight. She winced, but gave him an appreciative little smile.

"Thank you," she said quietly.
"No problem," he replied just as softly.

Neither had the mind to move from this position. Bolin really wanted kiss her at that moment, but resisted to the best of his ability-he couldn't. Friends, they were friends! Ug, this was harder than he had first assumed.
He was aware of Eska suddenly staring at him, and he wondered if his distress had shown on his face. "You possess exceedingly green eyes," she remarked randomly.
Something melted inside of him, and a crooked smile formed on his face, "And yours are very blue, what's your point?" he joked, almost stroking her with his pointer finger. The young Waterbender tilted her head, "No point beyond what I had just said Turtle-Duck."
Bolin swallowed against a sudden lump in his throat, he wished she would stop flip-flopping with the use of his nickname. One moment it had caused great hurt, the other great comfort… And sometimes it meant nothing at all.
She (for the first time) noticed his distress and turned her gaze away from him.

"Bolin, hurry up!"

The two startled and turned to see Mako poking his head into the room, eyes suddenly wide and a blush growing across his pale face, "Ah…Nevermind," he pulled his thin frame away from the doorway. Eska uttered a strange little laugh at this, "Ones imagination can get away from them," she said.
Bolin forced a smile 'I know what you mean' running through his head.


I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! *Gasps for air*
I don't know what happened to me, but I had the hardest time with this chapter! UG. At any rate, there is actually only one (maaaybe two) more chapter(s) after this and then an Epilogue! O-O
I hope you enjoyed it, and don't find this whole thing tedious. But there's not much to build on Bolin and Eska's relationship except for the fact that they are in one lol and that comes next chapter. ;)

I vow to take no more than a month on the next chapter so help me! X)

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