As Republic city became further and further away from the boat he was using to escape with his brother, Noatak could finally feel himself relax.

"The two of us finally back together again, there's nothing we can't do!"

"Yes, Noatak."

Any relief he felt disappeared when he heard his brother speak. He sounded broken. And it was his fault that his little brother was in that state. He knew what he had done to him, in that cabin that used to belong to their father, was unforgivable.

"Noatak. Hmph. I had almost forgotten the sound of my own name."

He had gone by Amon for so long, it was difficult to remember what it was like before he started the equalists. To some he was he was a savior, to others he was a monster. But now, he knew everyone would only see him as a fraud.

They didn't know the truth, though. That he truly wanted to rid the world of bending. That he actually thought it was unnatural power, and his own abilities were a necessary evil, the only way he would do what was needed to make the world a better place. People like his father shouldn't have that kind of power.

But he failed. And now he'd only be thought of as a man who exploited suffering for his own gain. He knew nobody would believe otherwise. It was over. That's why he didn't stop Tarrlok from taking a chi blocking glove and holding it over the boat's opened fuel tank.

"It will be just like the good old days."

He felt a tiny smile creep onto his face, thinking back to the happy memories of his childhood, before everything else happened, and he let himself escape to the times they spent playing outside in the snow, as a tear rolled down his cheek.

(-)

The longer Bolin waited outside of the room where Katara was trying to heal Korra, the harder it was for him to remain hopeful about the situation.

Tenzin had decided to take Korra back to the south pole on Oogi, since it would be faster than traveling by ship. He initially planned to take Korra by himself, but he had no objection to Bolin coming along, thinking she probably needed the support.

None of them said anything the entire trip. Tenzin just focused on flying, while he stayed in Oogi's saddle, with Korra resting her head on his shoulder. She fell asleep at some point, which Bolin was grateful for, just to give her a little time to escape everything that happened.

When they landed in the south pole, Tenzin told him to wait with Korra until he returned with her parents and Katara. Eventually he reappeared with the people he had mentioned, and when Bolin woke up Korra, she immediately dismounted from Oogi and went to her parents, and he felt a little relieved that Tenzin had already told them what had happened, sparing both of them from retelling the day's awful events.

After that they entered a compound, which Tenzin explained was where Korra had been trained as a child. Then Katara went into a private room with Korra, to attempt to get her bending back.

That left Bolin waiting with Tenzin and Korra's parents. He quietly introduced himself to them, and while they weren't apprehensive to his presence, he could tell they were focused on Korra, just as he was, so they all sat and waited.

Eventually, Mako and Asami arrived with Lin and the rest of Tenzin's family, as Commander Bumi had been able to spare a ship for them to travel to the south pole as well. None of them seemed to be in good spirits either, Asami in particular, as he noticed her eyes were red, probably from crying, but he figured it was best not to call attention to it. Bolin was glad to see Pabu around her neck though, as he'd decided to let his buddy travel with everyone else for emotional support.

At some point, they received a message from Bumi, that a United Forces patrol had found a destroyed boat with two bodies, matching the description of how Tarrlok and Noatak escaped, but knowing that Amon was dead didn't do much to brighten the mood.

The eerie silence of the room was starting to get on Bolin's nerves. Even Meelo and the new baby Rohan were quiet, deciding it was a good time for a nap. He wanted to suggest that some people should clear out to give Korra some space, but the freezing weather outside with howling winds didn't really offer many options in terms of places to stay.

When Katara finally emerged from where she was healing Korra, the look on her face had already told him everything, but she still spoke with a grave tone.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot restore Korra's bending."

"But you're the best healer in the world", Lin pleaded. "You have to keep trying."

"There's nothing more I can do", Katara explained. "Korra can still airbend, but fixing her connection to the other elements is beyond my ability."

Korra then came out behind her, taking a quick glance of everyone in the room, before looking away with a pained expression. Bolin stood up to go to her, but Tenzin spoke first.

"It's going to be okay, Korra."

"No, it's not." She didn't even look at them when she said it. Then she ran outside, leaving the door open and everyone else in the room stunned. Bolin was the first one to collect himself, following her and hoping the others would give them space.

Fortunately Korra was still close by, but she wouldn't be for long as she was about to climb on Naga.

"Korra, wait."

"Go, Bolin."

Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, and it stung to hear, but he understood why she wanted to be alone.

"Okay...just, I'm here for you, alright?"

"No, I mean go", Korra responded with her normal volume. "Go back to Republic City. Get on with your life."

Now she wasn't making any sense. "What are you talking about?", he asked. "I'm not going anywhere."

She turned to face him, but she still wasn't making eye contact. "You don't have to do me any favors. I'm not the avatar anymore. That something special is gone."

"No it's not!" He spoke louder than usual, unable to hide his confusion and frustration. Then he stepped towards her, closing the distance between them.

"You're still the girl who sees a polar bear dog, and wants to make it her best friend and ride it around everywhere. You're still the girl who...hears a guy burp on a date and turns it into a contest. You always smell amazing, like snow, which is great, but I know it sounds weird to say. You could beat up anyone I've ever met with your bare hands, and you always try to do what you think is right, no matter what."

Korra still wasn't looking at him, but when he put a hand on her cheek, their eyes finally met, and words he'd been holding back tumbled out.

"Korra, I love you."

For a brief moment she covered his hand, and she wore a tiny smile. But it disappeared just as quickly as she tore herself away.

"I-I can't."

"Korra!"

But she didn't acknowledge him, climbing Naga and riding her off into the distance.

A few moments later he heard someone walk up next to him. "We need to be patient with her. It will take time for her to accept what has happened."

"Would you be able to accept it? If it happened to you?"

Tenzin didn't really seem to have an answer for that. There wasn't any anger to his question, but he couldn't help but be more concerned than her mentor was.

To Bolin, bending meant survival. He knew without it, there wasn't going to be many happy scenarios for his and Mako's lives. For Tenzin, bending probably meant an entire culture, memories of his father. It was hard for him to imagine what bending meant to the avatar. So he started walking, following the footprints Naga left behind.

(-)

When Korra finally had Naga stop running, she wasn't sure where she ended up. She just had to get away.

Hearing what Bolin told her felt wonderful. It was amazing. But she couldn't lie to herself. He'd get bored. He'd change his mind and move on. Then she recognized where she was.

She'd had one of her first waterbending lessons with Katara here. It had been at night during a full moon. She had pushed and pulled the ocean water against the ice she was standing on. She remembered how powerful she felt in that moment. Now? She couldn't feel anything. The connection was gone.

At that point, everything Korra had been holding in finally came out. She fell to her knees and cried. For what she had lost and what she thought she'd never have. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, but her solitude was eventually interrupted by a man wearing familiar air nomad robes.

Korra didn't look up at him. "Tenzin, I just want to be alone right now."

"But you called me here."

She was surprised by the unexpected voice, and when she saw his face, she knew who it was immediately.

"Aang?"

"Hello, Korra."

She was at a loss for words, something her past life apparently found amusing since he chuckled while taking a seat next to her before speaking again. "You're finally at one with your spiritual self."

"But how? I'm not the avatar anymore. Noatak, he..."

"The avatar is more than their bending, Korra", Aang responded in a manner not unlike his son.

"I'm just so confused right now."

"That's understandable", he comforted.

Then he started to explain. "When I took Fire Lord Ozai's firebending to end the hundred year war, I did it because I was so afraid of the idea of killing him. I was the last of the air nomads. I was taught that all life is sacred, and I felt that...to kill someone, even a person as horrible as Ozai, was something I could not do as the only person that could carry on our culture."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know that taking a person's bending away is something that was a last resort for me. It was never supposed to be a power or threat I would use against someone like Noatak did. His father was the only other person who I took bending away from."

"When did you realize he and Tarrlok were Yakone's sons?"

"Tarrlok's face was familiar to me somehow, but I didn't make the connection until he used bloodbending. As for Noatak, I had no idea until Tarrlok revealed it. How I'm able to watch over your life Korra, it's...so hard to explain. I had always wanted Roku to tell me what it was like, but, now I understand why he wasn't able to."

"Why did you show me those visions of what happened with you and Yakone, instead of just telling me Tarrlok was his son?"

"I tried, Korra", Aang answered. "But trying to connect with you spiritually was more difficult than I anticipated."

She knew he meant no disrespect or offense with his response, but hearing again about her struggles with spirituality, especially now, stung, which hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I'm sorry. You know, when I used to talk to Roku or other past lives, I had such a hard time trying to understand them and their viewpoints, but now that I'm in their shoes..."

"What do you mean?"

"Trying to give advice to your successor. It's harder than you think, trying to tell someone how to fix your mistakes, thinking about your own failures."

"What happened to me wasn't your fault", Korra said, surprised by his admission.

But Aang just shook his head. "I saw the conflict between benders and nonbenders getting worse with the advances we had with technology. It's beyond clear I didn't do enough about that. And Yakone escaping to pass on his awful ability, that falls on my shoulders as well."

"You ended a war that lasted a century. You seem pretty hard on yourself for someone who saved the world when they were twelve."

He took the reassurance with a good sense of humor. "You've accomplished a great deal as well, Korra. Very few avatars have been able to master even a single element at your age, let alone more than one."

"No offense, but I'd rather have the other elements back instead of just air right now. I still don't get it. How am I only able to airbend now?"

"Korra, why did you want to learn airbending?"

"Because the avatar is supposed to be able to master all four elements."

Aang didn't respond the way she expected, as he simply asked another question instead of commenting on her answer. "And why did you want to airbend when you were facing Noatak?"

"I wasn't even trying to airbend, really. I just wanted to do something...anything to stop Noatak. Stopping him from hurting my friend, that's all that mattered to me right then."

Korra thought back to one of her conversations with Bolin. How he told her about the air nomads and how they'd detach themselves from worldly concerns and focus on spirituality. It wasn't clear or made complete sense, but it was possible that when she was in that moment...?

She looked back at Aang, and he seemed to know what was going through her mind. "Things aren't always straightforward and simple, Korra."

"Ok, but I'd still like to know how I'm able to talk to you now."

The look on his face made it seem like he was slightly amused. "When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

"Enough to get my bending back?", Korra asked hopefully.

"What do you know about chakras, Korra?"

She paused for a moment, trying to recollect. "They're...pools of energy in our bodies that let chi flow through us, and they can get blocked by spiritual gunk?"

"Good answer, but they can be blocked physically as well. That happened to me when I was struck by lightning in my back."

Korra pondered, thinking about what she had been told, then she realized. "So you think Noatak used bloodbending to block my chakras, and that's how he takes away bending?"

Aang nodded. "When one of my chakras was blocked, I was unable to enter the avatar state at all."

"But I saw you use it to defeat Yakone, so how did you unlock it?"

He stood up before he spoke, and Korra did so as well. "Let me show you", Aang spoke, as he put his hands on Korra's shoulder and forehead.

(-)

Bolin wasn't quite sure how long he had been following Naga's footprints, but he had no intention of stopping anytime soon, especially if he still had a trail to follow, but he wished he had been able to put on a heavier coat before heading off into the tundra.

He hoped that admitting his feelings to Korra hadn't overwhelmed or freaked her out, but he wanted her to know. He probably would have if he had done it when thoughts of being in love with her first appeared in his head, but he wanted to be sure. Love at first sight never meant sense to him. You only knew what the person looked like. But as he spent more time with her, got to know who she was, he was sure. There was no one else like her and he didn't want to bother trying to look.

The wind blasting in his face got Bolin's attention, and when it continued to gust, he wondered if he had finally tracked Korra down. He raced up the small hill in front of him, and when he reached the top, seeing her somehow still took him by surprise.

She had risen high in the air, lifted by airbending. Blasts of air, fire, and earth shot along the ground from where she was suspended, but none of them came close to him or Naga. He could feel the ocean crashing against the ice he was standing on before she finally descended back down.

Then she turned around, and all Bolin could feel was relief. She ran towards him with a grin matching his own, and in that moment he didn't care how cold it was anymore.

He probably should've noticed how much speed she was picking up, though. Korra probably had the idea of jumping into his arms and being spun around, but what ended up happening was she basically ended up tackling Bolin, leaving him flat on his back in the snow with Korra on top of him.

She immediately blurted out "Sorry!", but Bolin didn't really need an apology, he just let out something between a laugh and a groan in response. He was as happy as he had ever been. There was nothing she could do that would ruin this. She shifted herself so that she was still on top of him, and her face was inches from his. Then Korra spoke.

"I love you too."

Then she kissed him. And Bolin lost himself in her. Nothing else mattered to him at that moment. He was hers. Korra was okay. And she loved him.

Notes: Wanted to give a bit of Noatak's perspective in this chapter since he never really got that on the show, and I saw him as more of a tragic villain who's worldview was shaped by his abusive father.

Also added on to the admitting feelings for Korra, instead of just saying "I realized I love you" (While you were with someone else, Mako).

It was something I was looking forward to when I came up with ideas for this fic: A longer conversation between Korra and Aang. It felt like a good way to explain things that we never got an answer on, plus add more to his role in the show. He was difficult to write for me, since we never really got to see his adult personality, but it definitely felt worth it.

Not sure where to go from here. Don't get me wrong, I still plan to do all four books + comics, but I'm not sure what to write next. I'm torn between starting book 2, and adding on to book 1, adding more content from episodes two, three, and four. Let me know what you think, thanks so much for reading!