Summary: After convincing the council to keep the arena open, Bolin and Korra have a lunch date together to clear the air before the final
Bolin had actually been having a nice morning. The fire ferrets were in the finals, one win away from the prize money they needed to finally get a bigger place to live (hopefully one with two bathrooms), and Mako had made his favorite breakfast. After that he'd had a cheerful practice with his brother and new girlfriend, picturing destroying Tahno by...destroying pictures of Tahno.
Then he heard his voice on the radio. The mood of the room changed immediately, enough for even little Pabu to scurry off the table and hide behind Bolin's leg, as if looking for protection. He couldn't help but think of his own fear of the equalist leader at that, the past few weeks starting to play back in his head.
While Bolin had been truthful when he'd told Korra that he'd been having trouble sleeping, he hadn't told her the full story either. The first few nights after his abduction, Mako would have to shake him awake, since the nightmares he'd have caused him to scream loud enough in his sleep to wake up his older brother.
Fortunately for his pride, the dreams faded in intensity over time, to where now he would simply jerk awake in bed at night from a nightmare, leaving Pabu to nuzzle his head against Bolin's and lick his face to clean away any tears or sweat that had gathered from the ordeal. Now, any bad dreams were relatively normal, such as last night where he had dreamt showing up for the final ready to take on the Wolfbats, only to discover he wasn't wearing pants.
Once Amon's broadcast had finished, they all agreed to head to city hall, hoping that council wouldn't roll over for the equalists like Pabu wanting a belly rub.
After a quick ride on Naga, Korra pushed through the doors with Bolin and Mako, only for her to be immediately reprimanded by her airbending sifu.
"Korra, This is a closed meeting. You and your friends shouldn't be here".
"I have a right to be heard, as the Avatar and a probending player. You can't be considering canceling the finals".
"I know how much winning the championship means to you. But we need to shut the arena down as far as I'm concerned". Bolin couldn't help but feel like a child who wanted to stay up past his bedtime with the way Tenzin was talking to them.
Korra then turned her attention to Tarrlok, probably hoping he would be on their side given their work on his task force, but he didn't seem willing to budge either, saying he wasn't willing to risk innocent lives so we would play "a game". Bolin couldn't help but feel disrespected at the man's condescension, and apparently his brother felt the same way.
"Probending might only be a game to you, but think of what it means to the city!"
"Yeah!" Bolin added. "I remember when I was a little kid, me, Mako and our parents would always gather around the radio whenever a match was going on. It meant so much to us growing up, and if you'd talk to people in Republic city they'd say the exact same thing!"
Bolin could feel the mood shift at his outburst, although he wouldn't look around to confirm it. Korra was probably surprised to hear about his parents at all, given that he'd never mentioned them, and if Mako had brought them up at all, it was likely just to explain why they weren't around. Speaking of his older brother, Mako probably wasn't pleased that he brought up their mom and dad, given how touchy the subject had been. At the very least, the council seemed to understand what the sport meant to them.
After a long sigh, Tarrlok said "I appreciate your input, but you're ignoring the reality of the situation".
"The reality is, Amon wins if you close the arena", Korra retorted. Unfortunately, that didn't seem enough to make him think about his position.
"Our decision has already been made, I'm sorry". Mako and Korra groaned in frustration at this, while Bolin let out an impromptu "Booooo!", if nothing else a preview of how he thought the people of Republic city would greet him.
Tarrlok looked like he was about to whack his gavel when it got smashed by a metal cable that came out of nowhere. Bolin and his teammates turned around to see that it had come from the chief of police.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with the Avatar".
"You do?", Korra and Tarrlok questioned with the same surprised tone.
Bolin couldn't help but tune out Lin Beifong verbally abusing the council, instead dwelling on how cool she looked metalbending, and how much he wanted to do things like that himself. He quickly focused back on the meeting though, as what they were discussing was probably important.
"If Chief Beifong can personally guarantee that the arena and it's audience can be kept safe, then I am changing my vote. Does anyone else agree"? Three of the people at the table seemed to change their mind along with Tarrlok, although Tenzin seemed unconvinced. "Then the arena will stay open. Good luck in the finals".
While Bolin and his teammates were celebrating the ruling, he couldn't help but notice Tenzin going towards Lin, probably to give her a warning about what she was up against.
(-)
"See you at home, Mr. Heartbreaker!"
Once her laughter about making her normally stoic mentor so flustered subsided, Korra couldn't help but feel a little guilty about how the same thing could have been said about her if things had played out a little differently.
While her talk with Mako before the match last night about how she had confused a crush as for something more and how she had no intention of hurting his brother seemed to smooth over any tension between them, she also realized that Bolin probably had questions about what happened between them, even though he hadn't asked about it. Korra figured that she should tell Bolin sooner rather than later, since this wasn't the first time she'd had this train of thought, thinking back to that very morning where she dwelled on it during practice.
She was brainstorming how to talk to Bolin about what happened when she was startled by that very same boy.
"Hey Korra!"
"Oh, Hi Bolin."
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
"Ah, don't worry about it, it's not your fault", she dismissed. I just uh, forgot you guys were still here!" Smooth, Korra.
"Well, you're kind of our ride", he shrugged sheepishly.
Korra privately wondered to herself the difference in travel time for walking on foot and polar bear dog before responding to what Bolin had said.
"So you wanna head back to the arena then?"
"No rush or anything. Buuuut, I was thinking after we get back you and I could go get some lunch together?"
Korra felt herself relax a little at that. "Sort of a...date situation?", she asked with a playful smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Only if you feel date-worthy", Bolin responded, remembering their conversation from two nights ago.
She accepted, then as they walked towards Naga, Korra decided to take Bolin's large hand in hers, bringing a little color to both their cheeks.
They had dropped off Mako by the apartment, who told them to just be back in time for the match tonight. After that, Bolin gave Korra and Naga directions to a small building with a sign that read "Hue's BBQ".
Although both passengers dismounted, the earthbender said to stay outside and wait for him to get their food, as there were no tables available to sit down and eat at, and left Pabu in charge of keeping them entertained. After a few minutes of tricks and petting, Bolin emerged with their meals and found a nearby rooftop for them to eat.
"How do you like your possum chicken?"
"It's great! Kinda tastes like arctic hen, but the sauce really makes a difference", Korra answered, both her and Bolin's voices slightly changed by the food they had in their mouths.
She was impressed by the boy's taste in places to eat, between the noodles at Narook's and the barbecue she was now eating.
"Yeah, they have a lot of great things to eat here, turkey duck, cow hippo, flying boar, land boar, puffin-seal and a whole bunch of other stuff I can't even remember. They actually have this eating challenge: the 'Fauna Feast', where you have to eat every animal on the menu in an hour. They even give you a free shirt if you can pull it off."
"Kinda surprised you didn't order that, the way you're talking about it", Korra said with a smile before taking another bite".
"Oh I was tempted, believe me. But we'd probably need a nap so bad after that we'd end up sleeping through the tournament". 'Fair point', Korra thought to herself. "Anyway", Bolin continued "think of it as something to look forward to after our victory tonight".
"Deal"
After peering down at the ground, Bolin noted that Naga was probably looking for taste, given that she was sitting on her hind legs and looking up at the couple with an expectant look on her face. Korra obliged, tossing down a bone with a little meat left on it that was happily devoured.
"So I was wondering, how did the two of you end up together? I've never heard of a trained polar bear dog before".
"Yeah, we met when she was a pup and I was a little kid. She must have been separated from her pack when I snuck outside to go play. I gave her a bit of fish jerky and we played in the snow for a while before I got lost too. I had to waterbend us an igloo for shelter until the next morning when my dad found us, and we've been best friends ever since".
"Woah", Bolin remarked, clearly enchanted by the story.
"How about you and Pabu?" Korra asked with a giggle.
"I first saw him in a pet store, actually. Buuuut as food for a pythonaconda. Mako didn't want to cough up the five yuans for him, so later that night I 'snuck in' to free him. I let him out of his cage and we were so excited that we didn't notice the pythonaconda sneaking up on us. Luckily Mako was there to save the day, again". He looked away at the last part of the story, probably feeling embarrassed that he had to be bailed out like that.
Korra couldn't help cringing a little as well at the mention of his older brother. Well, since we're talking about him. "Bolin, I need to tell you something".
"What's up, you need more napkins or something?"
"No", she said while trying not to laugh. "About me and Mako".
"Oh. Do you still have a crush on him or something?"
It was good she didn't have any food in her mouth, as what he just said probably would have made her choke. "Wait, you knew?"
"Well I didn't know, more like guessed. Usually with my brother girls either have a thing for him or can't stand him. And I saw how you were acting when he and Asami were together soooo.."
"It's kinda both...or was both...anyway, I'm glad you're not being blindsided, but I wanted to let you know what happened because you've been so patient, and so understanding, and you deserve to know what's been going on".
"Uh, alright."
So she told him everything. How she confessed her feelings to Mako, the rejection and how they'd fought about the date with Bolin after it happened. How her feelings for him ambushed her after the match, her talk with Pema and the realizations that came with it, and finally clearing the air with Mako to smooth things over.
"So you're pretty much caught up now. What do you think?"
"It's good to know the whole story", Bolin responded. "But I gotta know, what made you want to bring this up now?"
"I didn't want things getting awkward between us", Korra answered. "And I also just found out the other woman Pema was talking about was actually Lin and I-"
"Hang on a second", he interrupted with a raised finger, taking a moment to comprehend what he had just heard. "Lin Beifong? The chief of police? The woman who seems annoyed with everything in existence?"
"Yes, yes, and probably yes".
"Wow. Guess Tenzin and Pema must have really loved each other to be willing to break her heart".
"Exactly!", Korra exclaimed. "That's why I feel kinda guilty. Because I could have messed up Mako and Asami for what I thought was 'love' but was just a crush. And I also feel bad because you've been so sweet, and funny, and charming, and I should have realized that right away".
Bolin looked back into her eyes and said "You really feel that way about me?", with a tone that seemed to be teasing her, although she noticed a little pink in his cheeks that probably matched her own.
"I do. You...are one of a kind, Bolin."
His cheeks turned redder after hearing that. Then, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, the edges of their lips making slight contact.
"What was that for?", Korra asked as she could feel her face getting hotter.
"Because I like you. And you're pretty. And you had a little sauce right there."
(-)
While the Fire Ferrets had expected a difficult fight as the underdog, they hadn't expected it to be four on three. The entire time, Tahno and his team were using tactics clearly against the rules, ranging from illegal headshots, hosing, out of zone earthbending, water blasts filled with rocks to even an icing move that caused him to belly flop into the pool, making him wonder if the ref had been promised a new satomobile. The only enjoyable part of the match for him had been watching Korra embarrass Tahno in a tiebreaker that ended up with his helmet being launched into the stands and a desire to "send them to a watery grave".
Bolin was just emerging from the water with his teammates after their third round knockout ready to give the referee an earful when he saw flashes of electricity in the stands. He then looked around to see an equalist he recognized with a weird mustache from the rally ready to electrocute them again. Unfortunately Korra wasn't able to waterbend him in time and they all passed out from the shock.
He, Korra and Mako woke up tied to one of the ring supports with Amon above them speaking about his plans for world domination or something when they noticed their opponents crawling out of the pool, probably stripped of their bending. Bolin couldn't help feeling pity for their fate, thinking even if they were jerks, they didn't deserve that.
Mako began wondering how they would get out when Bolin noticed Pabu swimming toward them. Following a brief demonstration of what he wanted the fire ferret to do, Pabu chewed through their ropes with Bolin reminding himself that he owed his buddy treats and a belly rub later.
Korra told them she was going after Amon, but dove in the water to launch herself in the air before Bolin could tell her to be careful. Mako then said he was going to find Asami to make sure she was alright, while Bolin went to go help Tenzin.
Fortunately the man appeared safe, and explained that he and Lin had been ambushed by equalists with gloves that could electrocute and stun their victims. Mako showed up a few moments later, saying that he wasn't able to find Asami, and Tenzin reassured him that the spectators had been evacuated when the ring exploded. All three of them looked up to the roof after that, and could only watch the Avatar and the chief of police battle with the escaping equalists.
A chill ran down Bolin's spine when he saw Korra fall through the glass, and he was about to impulsively launch himself into the air with an earthbending pillar to catch her when the chief pulled off metalbending acrobatics that felt like they would belong in a circus act.
After sprinting over to where the two had safely landed, Bolin pulled Korra into a tight hug, expressing relief that she was okay.
"I can't believe that Amon did this on my watch", Lin said with a look of shame. "I played right into his hand".
"He played all of us", Tenzin responded in the hope of reassuring her. "Republic City is at war".
Tenzin's words caused Bolin to reflect in disbelief at how much their home and lives had changed, seeming like their match with the Wolfbats had happened months ago instead of within the last half hour.
Bolin then realized he and Mako were probably gonna need a new place to live.
Notes: In this chapter I wanted to give a better explanation of what probending meant to Mako and Bolin than what we got on the show, and I do plan to give more information on their parents later in the story. I thought the date for Bolin and Korra was a good way for her to explain what was going to Bolin, as well as give them more time together as a couple. Naga and Pabu stories ARE canon btw, check out republic city hustle short and 'friends for life' comic by dark horse. As for the final match, I wanted to give my theory on what Mako, Bolin, and Tenzin had done when Korra and Lin were chasing Amon and the equalists.