•Nine•
Republic City, Island Kid's Apartment
*Knock knock*
Sikenna groaned loudly, keeping her eyes closed.
"No." She said bluntly, sick of turning people away politely. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone?
She hadn't gone to work, she hadn't gone to see Bolin or Mako, she barely left her room since last night. All she needed was one day- that's all! Just one day to shake this off.
Kona had been the only one allowed in for more than 10 minutes. Nero and Raiko had tried, but the second Nero started speaking she could feel her anger at him raging again, and she had to kick him out. Raiko stayed long enough to tell her he loved her, and went to go make sure Nero wasn't going to set anything on fire. Other than that, Nero and Sikenna haven't spoken since their argument when she and Kona got home from the arena.
"Kenna!" Raiko shouted to the twins as they walked up to their apartment.
"We were so worried about you guys! Are you okay?" Sikenna nodded her head but didn't speak. She was just too exhausted and mentally drained. Kona and Raiko chit chatted next to her as the three walked to the stairs that took them to their home. Sikenna looked up before putting her foot on the step to be met with a pair of bronze orbs. Nero sat on the stairs waiting for them, his elbows rested on his knees, hands to his chin. Sikenna sighed, she really didn't want to do this tonight.
"Can we not?" She asked quietly.
"Can we not, what? Talk about how you picked Bolin over me, again?"
"I've never picked Bolin over you, Nero, you convinced yourself I have." She answered him flatly. She closed her eyes tight, begging the spirits to stop his nonsense.
"You continuously choose him over me. Instead of leaving with me to safety, you threw yourself back into the moose lion den… to see him." Nero said monotonously, like he didn't even hear Sikenna. He scoffed and shook his head, looking away from her. Sikenna narrowed her eyes and him and stood up straight, arms across her chest. Fine, then. If he wanted to have this fight tonight, she would. Right here.
"YuP." She said, popping the 'p' dramatically.
"So you admit it?" Nero laughed out at her, a hand slapping his knee in disbelief.
"Admit what, Nero? That I didn't want to leave my friends? That I wanted to make sure they were okay?"
"WE'RE your friends. I'M your BOYFRIEND!" Nero roared at her as he stood on the stairs, towering over the girl. Her stoic eyes followed his face as it rose above her.
"Yes. A boyfriend who was on his way to safety. With my friend Raiko, and my brother." She said calmly, taking one step up onto the stair case.
Bolin, and Mako, who I also went to go help, and not just Bolin, were in a pool of water surrounded by people wielding electric weapons, Nero!"
"And you thought that was safe?!" He shouted at her, hands flying out to his sides.
"That's my point, Nero! They weren't safe! I just knew I couldn't leave them there! Which is what I would have done for any of you! What I have done for you!" She defended, but Nero quickly answered her.
"Again, I'm your boyfriend, of course you would-"
"Oh so I'm only allowed to care about my boyfriend?" She cut him off, raising her eyebrows at him accusingly.
"Do you want to tell Kona and Raiko that? Go ahead, Nero. Tell them that." She challenged him, nodding her head towards Kona and Raiko.
"That's not what I meant, Kenna." Nero put his hand through his hair and sighed, frustrated. Why wasn't she getting it?
"Then what did you mean, then? Hm?" She challenged him.
"I meant that it made sense to do it for me! But he- he's a stranger, Kenna! You barely know him!"
Sikenna laughed at him and looked up at the sky as if asking the spirits to help her keep calm. She seemed to be asking them for a lot tonight.
"This really is all about being jealous of Bolin, huh? I have corrected you every single time, even back in the arena. I went back for both, of them, Nero."
"I asked you to choose." Nero spat.
"Yeah that kind of proves my jealousy point." She scoffed at him.
"Do you love him?" Nero asked her suddenly. Sikenna looked at him, eyes wide, and blinked a few times in utter shock. Then, she burst out in a loud laughter. Even within the time Sikenna and Nero were together, they hadn't even told each other they loved each other. She knew he loved her, but she didn't like the idea of throwing the phrase around lightly, and had skillfully avoided the topic the whole time. The fact that he thought she had fallen in love with her best friend in the matter of weeks was, in fact, laughable.
"IM SERIOUS, SIKENNA!" Nero shouted, calling all authority into his voice. Sikenna stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, stalking up to where he was on the staircase to match him.
"Ken-na." She said slowly to him.
"What? I'm not allowed to call you by your name?" Nero said with a hint of laughter in his voice.
"No. I never said you could in the first place." She said instantly, causing Nero's smirk to drop as he stared at her.
"I'm tired, Nero. I'm tired of this fight every time we have it, I'm tired of you being an obnoxious prick acting like you can control me, I'm tired of your jealousy, your suspicions, I'm so tired of you. Go home." Sikenna shoved past him on the stairs, ignoring his protests.
"Kenna STOP!" Nero grabbed at her arm tightly and spun her around, and she shoved him away from her violently. He grabbed a hold of the stair railings so he wouldn't fall.
"No! I'm not going to STOP, Nero! I am never going to stop! I am never going to let you tell me what I can and can not do. Ever! GO. HOME." she spun around and stormed into the apartment, leaving the door open for the other boys. Nero went to go grab at her again, but he was stopped as Kona and Raiko ran up the stairs behind him, grabbing his shoulders with a chorus of 'hey hey hey' to get him to stop. Nero narrowed his eyes and pushed Kona away from him, storming into the apartment behind his girlfriend. He caught her as she was passing through the living room.
"I TOLD YOU TO CHOOSE, KENNA." he shouted at her from the door way. Sikenna spun on her heels and faced him, face red, her hands in tight fists by her side to stop her fire.
"I DID." she screamed back at him. Nero looked at her, eyes wide.
"I DID CHOOSE. BACK AT THE ARENA, JUST OUTSIDE, AND HERE NOW. GO. HOME. NERO." she said the last three words slowly, deliberately.
"I AM HOME." Nero shouted lamely, not sure what else to say. Sikenna shook her head.
"No. Home, Nero. Go back to Ember Island."
He hadn't left, clearly. He hadn't listened. But what could she expect? That he would listen, and pack everything and jump on a ship back home that night? No. Instead, he had been sneaking letters under her door since this morning. It was obnoxious, really. How many letters can one boy send under a door in less than 24 hours? Too many, apparently. The letters currently piled up on her dresser, unread. She liked Nero a lot, and they had been through a lot together. They had been together for 3 years, 4 in a handful of months. He had been her friend when her mom died, when she lost Bolin and Mako. He tried to make up for the loss of Mako so badly, sticking up for her to Kona when he started being a jerk, trying to spar with her the way that she and Mako did. He never was as good as Mako, even at that age, but she appreciated the attempt. Sikenna had gotten him out of some sticky situations back home, everything from other girls before they started dating, being bullied at school, to getting away from the cops for their petty crimes, to his parents, who weren't the nicest parents on the island, when he was late for curfew. She always seemed to fix his problems, honestly. And she cared about him, even when they were little, and when she cared about someone, she couldn't just not help fix a problem they were having. They had experienced so many firsts together. She had him as a part of her life ever since she could remember- did she really want to lose someone else?
*Knock knock*
Came her door again and Sikenna opened her eyes, grunting loudly in annoyance.
"I said no!" She called back to it.
"Kin it's me." Came Kona's muffled voice from the door. Sikenna sighed and rolled on her back, staring at the door with a blank face.
"Fine." Came her monotone voice from inside her room. Kona stepped in with a cup of spiced tea for her.
"I brought you some tea, your highness." Kona bowed deep. Sikenna rolled her eyes, but smiled gently.
"Whatever, idiot." She laughed lightly, sitting up. Kona smiled brightly, happy he could just make her laugh finally, and walked the tea over to her. Sikenna never acted like this when something went wrong back home. She had gotten them into a bunch of instances where they could have died if they didn't play it smart, but she had never had a reaction like this. Usually, Kenna was the over confident one who got excited by close calls like that.
"Thank you." She muttered into the tea cup as she took a sip. It tasted like home, and she was glad Kona made it.
"Bolin and Mako have tried to stop by." He said gently to her, sitting cross legged on her bed by her feet. Sikenna nodded slowly, aware of it. She heard them, Bolin pouted at the door for a good 5 minutes before Kona told him to take a walk with him.
"I know." She said softly, looking down at her tea. Kona frowned, not liking seeing his sister this vulnerable for such a long time.
"Kenna?" He asked, getting her attention from her tea cup.
"Are you okay?"
Sikenna sighed a deep sigh, and looked out her bedroom window.
"I don't know. I keep having nightmares. Lotus moves and I think it's an equalist with a glove… I don't ever want to lose my bending, Kona." She looked over at her brother, horror in her tear rimmed eyes.
"I watched him do it. I watched him take away someone's bending, like it was nothing. Like it was as easy as opening his eyes... A part of your soul just…. Ripped out of you." Sikenna felt her chest tighten and shivered, lighting a small flame in her hand, just to make sure she could still do it. She felt its familiar, comforting warmth and sighed, running her fire free hand through her hair.
"Korra is going to figure this out, Kenna." He said, trying to comfort her. Sikenna extinguished the flame in her hand and scoffed.
"So, you're on like, a first name basis with her now?" Sikenna giggled and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Don't try to change the subject- the guys asked how you were today when I helped them settle in at Asami's. They're worried about you." Sikenna nodded sadly at him.
"I didn't even know that's where they were staying…" she trailed off.
"Yeah, well, you're like, really hard to get a hold of today." Came a voice from her window. Sikenna screamed and stood up quickly, flames rushing to her hands.
"WOAH! HEY! Kin, you're good!" Kona laughed, grabbing her wrist to calm her down. Sikenna looked at Kona's hands on her wrist, back up to the window, to see Bolin waving wildly at her. Mako and Korra were beside her, sheepishly smiling at her.
"HI, KIN!" Bolin shouted loudly as she extinguished the flames in her hands again.
"What are you guys doing in my window?!" Sikenna looked at them accusingly.
"You wouldn't come to the door!" Mako answered quickly.
"I didn't know what else to do!" Bolin at the same time.
"I tried to tell them to use the door but they didn't listen to me." Korra shrugged as the boys spoke.
Sikenna sighed, putting one hand on her hip and the other on her forehead.
"I hate you both. Fine, then, come all the way in." She sighed again as she heard the three of them shuffle through the window.
"I don't think I've ever seen your legs before." Bolin said teasingly. Sikenna looked down at her night shorts and tank top, then back to Bolin.
"Dont make this weirder than it already is, Bolin. But, you should mention that to Nero the next time you have the misfortune of running into him." She rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed, grabbing her tea cup and taking a sip.
"Yeah… what's up with him, by the way? The first time I came, he shut the door in my face before I could even ask about you." Bolin asked as he sat on the floor. Sikenna cringed.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. He's, uhm…" Sikenna trailed off once more, unsure of how to explain it with one word.
"A fucking baby?" Kona offered. Eh, it worked.
"Yeah, that." Sikenna said, pointing to Kona, who nodded proudly.
"Why? What happened?" Mako asked, leaning back against the wall. Sikenna looked at him, about to tell them, but decided against it. She shook her head.
"It's a long story. Hi Korra, it's good to see you again." Korra laughed at her dodge and said hi back to her.
"How are you, though? Really?"
Sikenna was surprised by how soft Korra's voice got when she asked. She sounded genuinely concerned. Sikenna blinked at her a few times and sighed, throwing her head back.
"I'm shit. I can't sleep, I keep feeling terrible for Tahno, of all people. I can't even redirect the electricity from my own lightbulbs without having a flashback! Raiko's big ass hands broke a glass doing dishes earlier and I've never jumped so high in my life. This is stupid, I hate feeling this powerless." Sikenna let everything out quickly, flopping back on her bed dramatically. She looked up at the ceiling quietly while everyone soaked in what she said.
"I stopped working with Tarrlok at first because I was scared." Korra said suddenly. Sikenna turned her head to the side from the bed and raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah." Korra continued.
"I went face to face with Amon, and I shut down just like this. It's terrifying. I get it, Kenna."
"If Mako and Korra hadn't saved me when I was kidnapped, I probably would have actually pooped my pants on stage." Bolin offered. Sikenna scrunched up her nose in disgust, but appreciated his attempt at making her feel better.
"Right, well, the point is," Mako began.
"It's not stupid. Its normal. But you're not alone." He shrugged as he looked at her, laying back on her bed still. Her head was cocked to the side to look at him, her own face looking utterly miserable.
"Just have to open the door more."
"Nice." Kona said under his breath, impressed by Mako's encouraging words. Sikenna chuckled as Mako rolled his eyes at Kona, a smirk playing on his lips in the dark. Bolin scooted closer to the edge of her bed without getting up from the floor.
"He's right. I was going to come camp outside your door until you let me in before Nero shut the door in my face." He laughed and poked her hard in the knee. Sikenna reached down and swatted his hand away with a scowl as she spoke.
"You did do that, Bo. 5 minutes later, when Raiko let you in." She chuckled out at her friend. Bolin shrugged, taking in her laughter with a big inhale.
"You're gonna be okay, Kin. I promise. Let us help you."
She sighed and sat up in her bed, looking around at the people in her room. A smile started to creep onto her face as she did before another knock came from her bedroom door.
"Kenna? Kona? Everything okay?" Came Nero's voice. Sikenna rolled her eyes and turned to yell at him, but Kona spoke before she could.
"Yeah, Nero. Just talking. Bye."
"... Who else is in there? I heard other voices." Nero tried. Sikenna groaned loudly.
"It's none of your business, Nero! Go away!" Sikenna could feel her temper rising. She told him to go home- why did he think he could still act this way? There was a moment of silence, but Nero spoke again.
"It's him, isn't it?" He was angry, she could hear it. Sick of him and the way he was acting, and filled to the brim with pent up energy and angst, she stood up, stomped over to the door, and flung it open. The door swung open with such force, it bounced off the wall behind it a bit before settling. Nero didn't even look at her, he looked past her, looking around the room for who he knew would be in there. His eyes narrowed when he spotted Bolin's big green ones, peering over the edge of Sikenna's bed at her angry boyfriend.
"Sure is. And his brother, and mine, and Korra." Sikenna said to him. Her hands shot out to the side as she did, she let them slap against her thighs as she let them fall in defeat.
"I'm really not in the mood to deal with your jealous controlling shit right now, Nero, and I promise you don't want to pick a fight with me right now, either.." She put a hand to his chest to push him away from her door so she could shut it, her other hand on the door handle ready to do so. But Nero was quicker than she intended and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the room with him. The door slammed behind her with the momentum, Kona and Bolin yelled her name as it did.
The minute Sikenna realized what had happened, she twisted her wrist and pulled it away from his grasp. Her bedroom door flung open again behind her just as the girl punched some fire at Nero's gut, knocking him onto the floor.
"WHAT WAS THAT, NERO?!" Kona yelled from behind her. He went to go past Sikenna towards the boy on the floor, furious and protective of his sister, but she put her arm out to block his path.
"I just want you to talk to me!" Nero wheezed from the floor. He held his stomach trying to catch his breath.
"I don't want to talk to you!" Sikenna gritted out at him. She was trying her hardest to breath through her anger. This was, after all, the boy she gave everything to at one point.
"I just want to explain about the other night!" Nero coughed and sat up.
"What is there to explain?!" Sikenna shot her arms out to her side and leaned forward.
"You think there's something where there isn't, Nero! You're making up scenarios in your head!"
Nero stood to his full height with a grunt, then narrowed his eyes at Sikenna darkly.
"Then why is he here?!" He shouted at her, getting closer to her face. Mako raised a dramatic eyebrow at Nero, Bolin stood beside him, confused. In her peripheral Sikenna saw Korra step up next to Kona protectively, but Kona put a hand on Nero's shoulder and pushed him back a bit, shaking his head no at him, his face dead panned and serious.
"Because. They. Are. My. Friends." Sikenna said through her teeth. She was seething. She really didn't want to have to tell Bolin about Nero's misplaced jealousy and the ridiculous way he was acting if she didn't have to, and here he was, basically spelling it out.
"So that's it, then? Almost 4 years, wasted?" Nero bored his eyes into hers. Sikenna almost faltered- that is an awful long time.
"Everything we've been through? Everything we shared? What about Lotus?" He asked her. He was trying to guilt her, and honestly, it was working. Sikenna's face stayed stoic but she felt the familiar turn in her stomach.
"She's a Ferret, a think she'll be okay." Kona scoffed beside her, not willing to let him guilt trip his sister right in front of him.
"Stay out of it, Kona!" Nero yelled, keeping her eyes on Sikenna's. Kona went to go lunge at him but Sikenna shot her arm back out to stop him again.
"Go home, Nero." She said calmly.
"I told you," he narrowed his eyes at her again viciously.
"I am home. You are my home." He tried.
"I'm not doing this anymore Nero. I can't fix you this time." She heard her own voice crack as she said it and scolded herself.
"Leave." She said strongly, narrowing her eyes at him. Nero licked his lips and stepped towards her again, his arms reaching out for her. As Sikenna stepped away from him, Mako and Bolin took a step forward to remind Nero that he would be out numbered if he tried to cause any more problems, even if Korra wasn't there.
Nero put his hands up by his chest in surrender when he looked around the room and took a step backwards.
"Fine." He said when his eyes landed back on Sikenna. Nero turned and gathered some things around the living room that were his, and walked to the door. He stopped before he walked out, the cold night air blowing into the apartment from the open door. Sikenna's blue eyes found his copper ones once more and he tried to smile at her.
"But I'm not going to stop trying. Not yet." He walked out and closed the door before anyone could respond, not that Sikenna really knew how to. What did that even mean?
"What a tool." Korra spoke from next to Kona. He laughed and turned towards Bolin and Mako. The four of them talked about what just happened and how much of a jerk Nero was, making fun of him a bit in the process. Sikenna zoned them out and closed her eyes, still facing the door.
There it goes- almost 4 years, gone. Just like that. The past couple of days had been absolutely exhausting. Honestly, she wasn't sure how to feel. She was upset about losing a long term relationship with someone she had known her whole life, but it also felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her, which made her feel even worse. She was tired still, from not being able to sleep well last night. If anything, all of this made her want to crawl back into her room and sleep for a week and just forget it all happened. Instead, she would settle for the next best thing. At least, in her mind.
She turned on her heel towards the group, startling Kona. He flinched and pulled his leg up towards himself at his sister's quick spin.
"I'm changing. Let's go." She said matter-of-factly as she marched to her room to change into warmer clothes.
"Where are we going?" Bolin asked her curiously.
"Fried food on a stick." She said flatly, her mouth watering at the thought of the deep fried greasy food of happiness.
"Yes!" Kona cheered.
"We can take Naga!" Korra offered. Sikenna poked her head out of her bedroom door, pulling her pants up from behind the door frame out of view from everyone.
"What's a Naga?"
•¥•
Sikenna's mouth hung open in amazement at the sight before her. It was glorious. Beautiful. This was everything she ever dreamed it would be.
"I WANT A NAGAAAAAAA! HIIIIIIIIII pretty girl!" Sikenna walked up to the Polar bear dog happily. Naga wagged her tail at the compliment and nudged the girl's hand lovingly as she reached her.
"She's the sweeeeeetest and I would DIE FOR HER." Sikenna gasped dramatically in adoration as she loved on the large faced dog. Korra watched the interaction with amusement.
"Yeah, She's a good girl." Korra said with a smile, brushing a hand down Naga's face. Sikenna was resting her chin on Naga's snout, her eyes big as she stared at Naga lovingly from the spot.
"Can we go get the fried food? I can't stop thinking about it now." Sikenna narrowed her eyes at her brother, already on the Polar bear dog's back. He pouted as he held his stomach.
"You're the one that brought it up." He said sadly to her.
"You are the prettiest polar bear dog, and I love you. I'm going to get on your back now, okay?" Korra laughed at Sikenna talking to her pet, and pulled her around to Naga's side, hoisting her up to the dogs back.
Fried food on a stick was exactly what she needed. The distraction of her friends didn't hurt, either, but the fried food was doing a lot of the work. Sikenna sat on Naga's back, her weight shifting from side to side with each step the animal took. She munched on her fried dough happily, having already eaten the things on sticks. The group made their way back to the apartment, Kona, Korra and Bolin were deep in conversation about Pro-bending in front of her. Mako sat behind her, a small box of fried dough bites in his lap he was bringing back for Asami.
"We still need to have that talk." Came Mako's voice. Sikenna swallowed her fried dough and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Yeah. I know. Sorry I haven't been feeling up to it." She said dryly, a tone of sarcasm could be heard if you listened close enough. Mako shook his head lightly.
"I didn't mean it like that." Well, at least he could still pick up her sarcasm.
"But, I do think it would help us both soon. I keep having memories pop up randomly, the stories behind them I bet are great. Did you push Kona off the dock?" Mako asked her curiously.
"Which time?" Kona scoffed, looking over his shoulder. Sikenna smiled at how many times she's pushed her brother off the dock back home. Sometimes she didn't even have a reason, he just happened to be close to the edge.
"Something to do with a stuffed animal?" Mako explained.
Sikenna widened her eyes as Kona laughed heartily at the memory.
"BUNKIE!" Kona screamed as he laughed at his sister.
Sikenna could feel her cheeks turning red in embarrassment. Of all the memories, this is the one he had to remember first?
"Who is BUNKIE?!" Bolin asked jokingly at Sikenna, wiggling his eyebrows up and down at her.
Naga stopped in front of the apartment and shook her giant head. Sikenna tossed the paper plate of her fried dough at Bolin and slid off the dog trying to avoid the topic.
"Bunkie," Kona began, answering for her as he slid off Naga's back.
"Was Kenna's stuffed hogmonkey when she was little."
"Awe, that's really cute!" Korra offered, trying to make Sikenna feel better. She smiled at her attempt, but if anything it was making her even more embarrassed.
"Sikenna stole my fire gummies, so I stole Bunkie and hid him in the ceiling rafters of our bedroom. She couldn't find him all day and was freaking out. She and Mako found me and Raiko down at the dock watching the ships pack up to leave, and she shoved me in!" Bolin laughed as he slid off Naga.
"First of all, you know damn well his name was Mr. Bunkie, Kona. And Naoki made it for me for our birthday, of course I was protective of him! You were just jealous about anything i got from them." Sikenna crossed her arms at her brother as she spoke. Mako froze up at his mother's name being said so nonchalantly by someone he still felt like he hardly knew.
"Besides, San got you matching play duel swords with Mako, what would you have even done with a stuffed animal?!" She shot at her brother as an after thought.
Korra noticed Mako tense and wince, and offered him a gentle smile. She only knew a little bit about how the bending brother's knew the twins, but enough to know that Mako was still coming to terms with it all.
"Hey, I have to head back to the Island and get Mako back to Asami. Bolin, are you coming?" Korra looked down at Bolin on the ground with the twins, trying her hardest to get Mako out of an uncomfortable situation. Bolin looked unfazed by the mention of his parent's name, she was sure he had heard the twins have similar fights before Mako even knew they were in Republic City. The earth bender shook his head and looked up at Korra and his brother.
"Nah. I'll crash here tonight, keep Kenna and Kona company. Make sure Nero doesn't try to do anything weird."
"Like what? Showing up in my bedroom window?" Sikenna called over to him. Korra laughed at her joke, but nodded to Bolin, understanding why he wanted to stay.
"When you come home tomorrow, bring them, Bo. I'm sure Asami won't mind." Mako offered as he situated himself closer to Korra on Naga, smiling at her gratefully.
"Yeah, sure. I'll drag Kenna out by her hair if I have to." Kona said with a smirk. Sikenna gasped and pushed him lightly.
"Don't you dare."
Mako and Korra waved to them before taking off in the direction of Asami's place. The three turned and started walking up the stairs to the Island kid's apartment.
"You didn't have to stay, Bo." Sikenna said to the boy walking up the stairs behind her. He shrugged, knowing she couldn't see him.
"I know. I want to. That's what friends do, right?" He answered her, reaching for her hand and giving it a quick squeeze while Kona unlocked the door.
"Imagine if he did try to show up, though. And saw Bolin sleeping over?" Kona laughed as he opened the door. Sikenna ignored him as she walked in, flipping on the lights.
"Why would that matter?" Bolin asked, confused.
"Were you there when they broke up?" Kona asked Bolin with a laugh. He couldn't believe he didn't catch on during that whole conversation. Sikenna winced at the mention of her break up with Nero. She knew she had to, but it still hurt. She had invested so much time, and so much of herself into him and their relationship. She helped him become the person he was, up until he turned into… whoever that was earlier tonight. Or, did she help him become that, too? Was he right? Did he have a reason to suspect she liked Bolin? Had she given him a reason to act the way he had?
Bolin was about to ask Kona what he meant when Sikenna interrupted him.
"Can we not talk about him?"
The two boys stopped what they were doing to look at her. Kona's face dropped, realizing he had ruined what little bit of a good mood she was able to muster up tonight by talking about him.
"Yeah. Sorry, Kin." He said to her, his voice soft.
•¥•
Sikenna laid on her back in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Kona's snores came from the floor to her left, Bolin's soft breathing on her right. The boys flanked each side of her bed, they had set them up before she even had a say. At first Sikenna protested, but Kona and Bolin wouldn't take no for an answer. To be truthful, it was sweet and she appreciated them for being unwilling to leave her alone after being so sad. Even if it was just a day, Sikenna had never experienced that kind of despair before, and it scared her a little bit. The events of the last 30 or so hours played through her mind and her chest tightened. Why was this messing her up so bad?
"Can't sleep still?"
Sikenna turned her head to see Bolin's big green eyes looking up at her from his pillow. She smiled weakly at him and shook her head. Bolin sighed and sat up, running a hand through his messy hair.
"Yeah, it's hard at first. I had trouble the first week or so. But it gets easier." He comforted her.
"I wasn't even close to the position you all have been in, and look at how I'm reacting." Sikenna said more to herself than him. Bolin scooted closer to the edge of her bed and reached a hand out, resting it on her arm.
"Why are you beating yourself up so much over having a natural reaction?" He asked her.
"I'm not-"
"You are though, Kenna. Korra is even scared of Amon, It's okay for you to be." Bolin interrupted her. Sikenna looked over at him, letting his words sink in.
"So, I just… keep having nightmares until I'm over it?" She asked him with a hint of humor in her voice. Bolin chuckled.
"I mean, yeah. Kind of. I'll sleep on your floor every night until they stop, if you want. But you'll get there."
Sikenna rolled to her side to face Bolin now, tucking her arms under her pillow.
"You don't have to." She told him with a soft, but thankful, smile.
"But I would." Bolin said to her bluntly, his face tired, but serious.
Sikenna stared at him. The moon shone in, illuminating half of his face, but she could see both green eyes clearly, staring into her own as if reaching into her soul to tell her how much he meant it.
"My life would have been so different if I hadn't lost you guys." She said absentmindedly. At first she thought she just said it in her head, and was slightly shocked to hear her voice speak the words out loud. Bolin chuckled at her and nodded.
"Yeah, probably. Would have been a lot more loud, too, I bet." Bolin said lightheartedly, trying to make her feel better about the slip up.
"I know you don't want to talk about it, Kenna… but why is Nero so jealous of Mako?" He asked her quietly. Sikenna blinked at him, and laughed loudly. She quickly tried to stifle the laugh to not wake Kona, but it wasn't easy.
"You think it's Mako?" She asked him, amused.
"I mean, isn't it always?" Bolin laughed at Sikenna laughing at him, genuinely confused. It was always Mako, every time. I mean, just look at what happened with Korra. It's always Mako.
"He's jealous of you Bolin." Sikenna said between laughs. Bolin's eyes shot open wide and he pointed to himself.
"Me?! Why is he jealous of me?!" He asked defensively over his friend's laughter. It took her a few moments to calm herself enough to speak.
"He thinks we have a 'thing,' whatever that is. You are so oblivious sometimes and it's adorable." She chuckled out at him. Bolin felt himself blush and was thankful it was still dark in her room. He cleared his throat before he spoke.
"What made him think we had a thing?"
Sikenna sighed loudly and shrugged, looking at the moon out the window instead of Bolin's face.
"I don't know. Because I was so determined to come here to find you guys? Because I did, and we're friends now? Because I went back for you at the arena instead of leaving with him... but I would have done it for him, too. Kona, Raiko, Spirits, even Korra and Asami at this point. He was jealous before we left Ember Island, he even started a fight at my old job. But it just got worse the longer we were here… everything's been a mess since we moved here."
She thought for a moment, fear rising in her chest at the realization that everything had started falling apart the second she stepped foot on that boat. For everybody, really. Sumi had stopped talking to them, Mako was under more stress than she knew by just seeing her, Raiko was miserable and being treated terribly at work for being a non-bender, Nero spun out even worse and she lost her boyfriend…
"Bolin, do you think it's me? Should I go back home?" She asked, her eyes darting over to his frantically. She felt like a bad luck charm.
"What?! Why would you even think that?" Bolin laughed at her- actually laughed- and shook his head. Sikenna raised her head a little bit to look at him more seriously.
"No, really, Bolin. I'm serious. It's like I stepped foot in Republic City, and everything imploded. The equalist start making moves, Mako thought he was actually going insane because of me, my relationship with Nero spun out of control and I didn't even do anything about it, the arena blows up, you get electrocuted, i got electrocuted, it's like I'm the bad luck charm." She explained as quietly as she could, but it wasn't needed.
"That's awfully cocky of you, Kenna." Came a rough voice from the other side of the bed. Sikenna jumped and turned towards Kona, Bolin screamed a little bit, not expecting to hear the other voice.
"What?" She asked her brother through narrowed eyes. Kona sat up and laughed under his breath.
"You think you, are the reason everything is happening in Republic City?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sikenna stayed quiet, eyes narrowed at him, not really sure how to answer him.
"I'm just saying it's ridiculous. The equalist would have made their moves with or without us," he emphasized as he turned towards her.
"Moving here. From what I could gather, Mako started having dreams about you before we even came. Nero was acting like an idiot even back on the island, it was only a matter of time before you left him. The arena still would have blown up without us in it, Bolin still would have been in the same pool at the same time, and someone else would have been in your seat. It would have all happened with you, without us, Kenna. We all came here, not just you. If you're bad luck then so aren't we. Stop acting like you're alone." Kona stared at her, letting his words sink into his sister's head. Her eyes pulling out of a glare and went to looking guilty.
He was right, of course. She was getting too into her own head about this. The world didn't revolve around her, things were set into motion before she even stole the shipment for Varrick back on the island. This wasn't about her, and it never was.
"You're not ever going to be alone. Trust me, I'm hard to shake. You can ask Pabu." Bolin offered, resting his chin on her bed by her knees.
"And you've literally been trying to get rid of me since we were born." Kona smirked at her. He might be a little harsh sometimes, but sometimes Sikenna needed harsh. She was confident, and strong, and passionate. But it wasn't uncommon for her to get a big head, be too confident, to try to be too strong.
Sikenna sighed and rolled her head back to look up at the ceiling.
"I hate when you're right, Kona. You never shut up about it."
•¥•
The next day, Bolin had almost pulled Sikenna's arm out of socket pulling her to Asami's front door. It was the nicest place Bolin had ever lived in and he was overly zealous to show her the mansion he was currently living in. He had shown her as much of the house as he could remember, and they still got lost getting back to his room. Currently, they were in the pool waiting to see if Korra would show up or not. Sikenna got the gossip from Bolin from the other side of the bathroom door as she was changing into the bathing suit she had borrowed from Asami. Apparently, Korra was still really into Mako, and was still pretty unsure of Asami, but she was supposed to come over because Pabu asked nicely.
Sikenna turned away from Kona and Bolin's splashes as they wrestled in the water, acting like the teenagers they were. She reached her wet hand out of the pool water to scratch Lotus' exposed belly as she laid on her back next to the pool. Asami's house was beautiful, and it was nice to swim in water as warm as it was back home again, but there was still a pit in Sikenna's stomach for some reason. She had laughed and joked around with everyone else, and was able to actually enjoy her time with her friends, of course. But she couldn't stop thinking about Nero whenever she saw Mako show Asami affection. At one point, Nero had been that tender, that crazy about her. He loved her fire and her spirit, and if anything, fed those flames… now all he did was try to extinguish her, snuff out that fire.
She felt the water around her move and Asami slid up to her side. She smiled sweetly at her, reaching for Lotus' belly as well.
"She's a lot better behaved than Pabu." Asami observed with a laugh.
"She's a very proper little lady, yeah. I'm sure not being raised by Bolin helped." Sikenna laughed as Lotus yawned, rubbing her head against her hand, soaking up the attention.
Mako jumped into the wrestling match with Bolin and Kona, they both screamed loudly as they were ambushed by him. Asami laughed loudly as she watched, Sikenna admired how it sounded like a bell. Who wouldn't like her? No wonder Mako was having such a hard time picking between her and Korra.
Asami watched Mako play in the water adoringly, a small smile fixed on her perfect lips as her eyes trailed him. Sikenna smiled and turned so she was facing the boys again.
"You guys do make a really pretty couple." Sikenna said to her. Asami glanced at her for a only a second before switching back to Mako, tilting her head to the side in thought.
"We kind of do, don't we?"
Sikenna giggled at her response and relaxed a little. She hadn't had much one on one time with Asami, and she honestly didn't know what they would really talk about without the boys around.
"Mako told me you went back to the pool to help them when the arena was under attack. Thank you for that." Asami said, quiet enough so the boys wouldn't hear. Sikenna shrugged, looking at the three goofy boys still finding enjoyment in rough housing in the water somehow.
"I would have done that for any of my friends, you don't need to thank me for it. Plus I told Mako I'd save him one day when we were really little, and I had a point to prove." She joked to Asami, trying to lighten the mood. Asami laughed with her before wincing away from a splash as Kona canon balled into the water.
"Yeah, he told me about that, too. How he knew you when he was young but barely remembers it... Crazy, huh? What trauma can do to a kids brain." Asami said sadly as she watched Mako again.
"I didn't believe it at first. Thought he was just being a dick, honestly. But I mean, you have to admit, It sounds like an Ember Island players plot. You know?"
Asami threw her head back and laughed at Sikenna's joke.
"So, terrible?" She said between laughs.
"Yeah and really over dramatic. No one has ever been that dramatic." Sikenna said, laughing with Asami.
"Uh, you once set my favorite pair of pants on fire because I ate some of your fire flakes." Kona interjected. Sikenna whipped her head around to her brother and spoke quickly.
"Keep your paws of my snacks!"
"THE PANTS WERE UNFIXABLE, KENNA." Kona shouted at her dramatically. Sikenna turned back to Asami.
"I take that back, Kona is that dramatic."
"EARTHBENDING BOMB!" Bolin shouted. The teenagers looked up at him as he belly flopped into the pool. Sikenna held her arm up to defend herself from the splash. Mako moved over to Asami's side, Kona groaned loudly as he laughed.
"That's not going to feel good." He chuckled as the door to the pool room opened. Sikenna put her arm down and looked over towards the door as Bolin resurfaced right in front of her, scaring the spirits out of her.
"Avatar Korra... has arrived." Asami's snooty butler announced with boredom.
"Hey, Korra!" Mako waved to her.
"Glad you made it!" Asami greeted Korra with a smile.
"Welcome to paradise!" Bolin shouted happily to her. He put his hands behind his head and started floating over towards where Korra stood, Pabu jumped onto his belly for the ride.
"Hi, Korra!" Sikenna waved over to the Avatar. Kona repeated her in a mocking tone and Sikenna could feel her cheeks turn red. She turned around and launched herself at Kona, who yelped loudly right before she pushed him under the water.
•¥•
Sikenna felt her shoulder being shoved from behind, a skipping Bolin shoving past her forcefully.
"Hey!" She yelled at him. Kona slammed into her other shoulder as he rushed past as well, almost sending her flat on her face onto Asami's floor.
"Kona!" She yelled after him, but she was ignored by both boys.
"Emergency! Emergency coming through, beep beep!" Bolin called as he pranced through the parlor with his hands to his groin.
"HEYHEYHEY I CALLED DIBS!" Kona yelled as he chased after him in a similar pee dance. The two ran around the corner, shoving each other to race to the bathroom.
Sikenna shook her head as she watched them. Unbelievable. They were truly unbelievable.
"Uh, is there another bathroom I can use?" Korra asked Asami with a laugh.
"We have a lady's powder room upstairs!" Asami said politely, her voice still sounding like bells. Was she even human? Spirits. Mako walked up beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders proudly.
Too proudly, Sikenna thought. She just told Korra where a toilet was.
"First door on your right. You can freshen up in there." Asami finished, and Korra started heading that way. That's when Asami turned to Sikenna.
"So what did you think of the track?" She asked curiously, leaning into Mako.
"It was great! Korra looked like a kid when she stepped out of the car." Sikenna laughed. She wasn't exactly best friends with Asami, but Bolin had a habit of over sharing maybe just a little too much, and she knew from him that Asami wasn't a typical prissy rich girl. Gorgeous and bad ass? It wasn't fair. Asami was out here walking around like a humble non-bending Katara.
"I still wish we did the make overs." Bolin pouted as he rejoined them before Kona. Ah, so that's who won the race to the bathroom.
"You're very pretty, Bolin. No make over required." Sikenna pouted back at him mockingly. Bolin stuck his tongue out at her, Sikenna returned the face.
"You guys hungry? I can have the chef make us something." Asami asked as she laughed at the two friends acting like children.
"Bolin, you smell terrible." Mako grimaced at his brother.
"Ah! I can fix that!" Bolin said cheekily. He snapped his fingers and a butler appeared, and he began spraying him with perfume. Too much, if we were being honest. He smelled like a flowery fart.
Just then Korra came running down the stairs, frantic. Sikenna pulled her eyebrows together as she watched her. She didn't say anything, just ran right past the group.
"You're leaving? But I-I thought …" Asami began, hurt starting to form in her voice.
Korra whipped around and looked at them, her eyes wide. What the spirits happened in that bathroom?
"Uh, sorry! I forgot, I'm supposed to airsit, I mean babybend, I-I mean babysit the airbender kids. See you later!" she didn't even wait for an answer. Korra flung the front door open and ran outside, Sikenna didn't take her eyes off of her until she heard Kona speak, bringing her back from her thoughts.
"Did Korra just leave?"
Well, that was different. Was she okay? Sikenna decided she needed to find out. Turning back to her friends with her eyes wide in mock shock, she pointed with her thumb over her shoulder.
"I totally forgot I said I would help her so she could still train while she babysat. You know Meelo, can't get anything done with him around. I'll catch up with you guys later!" Sikenna said as she walked backwards towards the door. Kona raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously, apparently the only one who could smell that the story was laced with bullshit. She smiled reassuringly at her brother, a smile he knew meant 'ill explain later, cover for me.' Then she turned around and chased Korra outside.
Naga was already starting to trot off when Sikenna got outside.
"Korra! Wait up!" Sikenna ran full speed towards them, catching up quickly.
"You okay?" She asked, looking up at Korra. She put one hand on Naga's side to take a deep breath.
"I don't have time to explain, I have to go talk to Tenzin. Get on, I'll explain on the way."
Without a second thought Sikenna flung herself onto Naga's back and they dashed off to air temple island.
•¥•
Tenzin wasn't home, and by the time the two girls had found him, it was night. Korra was already annoyed that it took so long to find him, she has gone to Chief Beifong, who called him at city hall to tell him to meet her and the two teenagers outside, somewhere secluded. Korra was practically vibrating with the information she told them, it had obviously shaken her up quite a bit.
"So, you think Mr. Sato manufactured those gloves for the Equalists then framed Cabbage Corp?" Tenzin asked after she explained. Korra nodded, but Chief Beifong spoke before she could.
"That's a bold accusation, but what proof do you have?"
"She basically heard him say it. What more do you need?" Sikenna said with a heavy eye roll. Cops never wanted to listen to anyone younger than them.
"Well, I don't exactly have proof, but I know what I heard. Sato's up to something." Korra said before Lin could snap something sassy at Sikenna. Instead, the chief of police sighed as she thought for a moment.
"He does have the means... and he has a motive." she thought out loud.
"That's right!" Tenzin said, as if he had remembered something for the first time. Sikenna raised an eyebrow at him. A motive? Luckily Korra mirrored her thoughts.
"A motive? What is it?" She asked curiously, clearly as confused as Sikenna. Tenzin took a deep breath before launching into the story.
"Twelve years ago, the Agni Kai Triad robbed Sato's mansion. A firebender killed Sato's wife during the break in."
The what? The Agni Kai killed Asami's mom? Sikenna knew they were a triad, and weren't exactly the most law abiding and kind citizens of the city, but the thought of her and Kona working for the Agni Kai triad, after Asami welcomed them into her home like a saint, made her stomach do a flip.
"That's terrible." Korra said with a frown. Sikenna stayed quiet beside her, letting her guilt swallow her whole.
"It was tragic. It's possible that he's been harboring anti-bending sentiment all this time." Tenzin said as he turned to Lin.
"Maybe we should look at Mr. Sato a little more closely."
The three of them nodded to each other and came up with a plan. Sikenna stood there silent, not really sure if she should even be there.
"Kenna, will you come tomorrow? Keep Mako, Bolin and Asami busy while we question Hiroshi?" Korra asked her, eyes pleading. She wasn't sure why Korra looked so desperate, or how she knew polar bear puppy eyes worked on her 100% of the time, but Sikenna caved almost instantly.
"Yeah, of course. I got your back." She nodded to Korra. The Avatar smiled gratefully at her.
"Come on, let's get you home. I'm sure Kona is freaking out." Korra laughed, nudging Sikenna's arm with her elbow as she walked.
"Can we get some fire flakes first?" Sikenna asked hopefully as she walked with Korra back to Naga.
A/N: ooooh wee, guys. This is a whole lot of words for a bunch of character development without moving the story along too much. I usually hate doing that, but I *really* needed to sneak in some character/relationship development before the story moved along much more.
So, I'm giving you two chapters back to back to make up for it. Lol! Hang tight, Chapter 10 will be up within 24 hours, I promise. :)