Bolin and Bumi were standing next to one of the gates near the entrance of the island, the makeshift finish line for the air scooter race Korra and the airkids were having. It was close down the stretch, but the avatar was able to pull away while eyes glowed white.

"The avatar is the winner!", Bumi proclaimed, and Bolin was getting ready to congratulate her before Ikki interrupted. "No fair! You can't use the avatar state to win!"

But Korra was unsympathetic, sticking her tongue out. "Oh, why don't you go-"

"You did what?" Tenzin must have heard his daughter's complaints, and it clearly put him in a bad mood.

"The avatar state is not meant to be used as a...booster rocket! You clearly have no appreciation for the gift you've been given."

"It's the avatar state, and I'm the avatar", Korra argued. "Who's gonna appreciate it more than me?"

Tenzin wasn't impressed. "Clearly you need more training to grasp the depths of your spiritual connections, not to mention that you're still a long way from mastering airbending."

Korra responded with some airbending moves that seemed to show Bolin and Bumi that she'd mastered the element, it wasn't enough to convince her teacher, though.

"You may have mastered 'Korra-style' airbending, but you still need to learn 'real' airbending. Hopefully our family vacation to the air temples will help inspire you."

Korra was clearly unenthusiastic about the idea of an educational vacation, but the airkids were the exact opposite.

"Are we gonna see where grandpa Aang was born?", Jinora asked.

"How many lemurs can I have?", Meelo wondered.

"I wanna get airbending tattoos, but instead of arrows, I want lightning bolts!", Ikki demanded.

That prompted a question from Bolin. "Hang on, why do air nomads get arrow tattoos?"

"They now show mastery of airbending, but the tattoos were originally given at birth, meant to show the flow of chi through the body. They eventually became arrows as a tribute to the sky bison, the original airbenders", Jinora answered him sweetly, before taking a bossy tone with her little sister. "That's why having lightning bolt tattoos doesn't make any sense!"

"You don't make any sense!"

That got Meelo excited for a fight, which Tenzin quickly put a stop to, and everyone's thoughts shifted to the glacier spirits festival they'd be visiting the south pole for. Bolin was looking forward to it especially, since he'd made sure to put some extra money aside to be able to enjoy everything they had to offer, as well as a more proper meeting with Korra's parents.

Asami had offered to let them all travel with her on one of the Sato industries ships, since she had some meeting for a hopeful business deal with some guy named Varrick, and Mako got lucky enough for Lin to give him some days off to help travel with them.

A couple days after the scooter race, everyone had their stuff packed and they were enjoying the trip down south. The night before they were supposed to arrive, Bolin and Korra had tried to find a little privacy, and they were going over all the things they'd be able to do, at least until Mako interrupted.

"Hey, you two. Been wondering where you were."

"Oh, we were just trying to talk...alone...by ourselves."

Korra bumped Bolin's arm, a quiet way of telling him to play nice, but any hint that he was trying to give his brother apparently went unnoticed.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this crazy chase I got into with a couple of bank robbers a few days ago."

"Sounds like a story Asami would love." Korra gave Bolin another bump, but Mako still didn't catch on.

"Nah, she told me she needed time to prepare for her business meeting tomorrow, and she said she didn't want any distractions."

"Neither did we", Bolin thought to himself

But Mako told a story of a high speed pursuit of a van he was following with a motorcycle, while dodging lightning and fire blasts from the escaping criminals. Bolin wasn't sure how much of the tale was actually true, but he did believe Mako had actually said the terrible pun his older brother finished the story with about "having car trouble".

The joke made Bolin groan, but it actually got Korra to laugh. "Did you have that written down or something?"

"Actually, yeah. I had a whole notebook of stuff I came up with, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere."

"You haven't found it because I burned it, Mako", Bolin confessed.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it was terrible! Felt like I needed a shower after reading it. Seriously, it would ruin the family name if you said half the stuff that was in there."

"We don't have a family name, Bolin."

"Come on, Bo, please?", Korra interrupted. "I gotta hear them, they can't be that bad."

"Oh yes they can. You'd probably dump me on the spot if you heard that stuff come out of my mouth."

"Ah, she puts up with everything else, what's one more thing?"

Bolin knew Mako was kidding, but it was enough for him to be about to tell his brother to get lost in a much less delicate way, at least if Korra hadn't changed the subject.

"I wish I could be out there with you chasing down those guys, though. Tenzin's starting to drive me crazy with all his nagging."

"I'm sure he's just trying to make you the best avatar he can."

Bolin froze. Lately Korra had been getting more frustrated with her avatar responsibilities, and although he wasn't entirely sure why, he'd learned that his girlfriend didn't really want to hear an apologist when she talked about it, and it was better to be an ear for her and just let her vent, since Bolin hated the idea of arguing or fighting with her.

Unfortunately, he'd forgotten to warn Mako that she tended to take any differing opinion personally, and sure enough...

"Why are you taking his side?"

Mako was caught completely off guard. "Wha? I..."

Korra didn't even feel like giving him a chance before standing up and storming off. "I'm gonna go for a walk."

That left Bolin sitting by himself, giving his older brother an annoyed glare. "Really, Mako?"

"What did I do?"

"I'll let you figure it out on your own, third wheel", Bolin told him as he got up to go find his girlfriend.

Though after a few minutes of searching, he realized he might have to do more than what he usually did to cheer up Korra.

The whole festival sounded amazing the first time she'd told him about it, and they'd both been looking forward to it so much in the weeks since. So he didn't wanna risk anything putting a damper on their trip.

So he stopped by his room and got his pipa and winter coat, the former to cheer up his girlfriend and the latter because it was getting chilly, which was only going to get worse the further south they traveled.

He also found Naga to help track the avatar, figuring her animal guide would be useful for tracking. Pabu tagged along, riding on Naga's forehead, and Bolin was pretty impressed with the bond his furry childhood friend had developed with Korra's.

Bringing the polar bear dog along was a good idea, since she was able to find Korra much quicker than he would have on his own, and when he saw her, she was leaning on a railing, staring out at the vast ocean that was reflecting the moonlight.

Bolin made sure to clear his throat first, so Korra wouldn't be startled, but she still looked pretty surprised when she turned around.

"What are you-"

He was able to hold up a finger to get her to pause, and Bolin used the moment to start the song he'd been trying so hard to prepare in secret. It wasn't the perfect moment like he'd wanted, but it was hard to think of a better one.

My head is stuck in the clouds, she begs me to come down, said "boy, quit foolin' around".

I told her, "I love the view from up here, warm sun, and wind in my ear", we'll watch the world from above, as it turns to the rhythm of love.

Korra looked stunned, but Bolin didn't see any signs that she wanted him to stop.

We may only have tonight, but til the morning sun you're mine, allll mine. I'll play the music low, and just sway to the rhythm of love.

The chorus had her smiling with red cheeks, so Bolin sat down and leaned back against Naga like he'd done with her months ago, and started the second verse.

Well, my heart beats like a drum, or a pipa string to a strum, for a beautiful song to be sung.

She's got blue eyes, deep like the sea, that roll back when she's laughing at me. She rises up, like the tide, the moment her lips meet mine.

Korra was able to steal a kiss before she joined in on the chorus, and then after a little solo Bolin sang the last lyrics he could come up with for the final verse.

And long after I'm gone, I hope you'll be humming along, cause I will keep you in my mind, the way you make love so fine.

(-)

Getting woken up by the boat's foghorn wasn't a pleasant experience for Korra, but it was nice to be cuddled up with Bolin and Naga outside.

"Hey you", she told her boyfriend, who was also stirring from the unusual wakeup call.

"Mornin', beautiful."

"You doing okay? You warm enough?" Korra couldn't help worrying, since she new firsthand how much harsher south pole winters were in comparison to the ones in Republic city. They hadn't meant to fall asleep outside, but Korra had learned the breath of fire technique at a young age to stay warm, though that couldn't do much to help Bolin.

But Bolin was fine, he'd had help from Naga, Pabu, and Korra's tight grip to stay warm overnight. They could see the south pole in the distance getting closer, so they got up and prepared for arrival.

Once they docked, the children were the first down the ramp, taking in the new sights.

"Wow, I forgot how cold it is down here!", Ikki exclaimed. "It's way colder than back home. Is that why we didn't visit more often, daddy?"

"Nah, he was just worried I'd beat him up again like when we were kids", Kya answered, to Tenzin's annoyance.

"I'm not scared of you...anymore", he told her unconvincingly.

Korra spotted her parents after that, and they were overjoyed to see her again, but her dad wasn't as welcoming to Bolin.

"I hope you haven't been getting my daughter in any trouble in Republic city", he told her boyfriend in a stern voice while looming over him.

"What? No, sir! I've been- er, I, um..."

Good thing Korra was there to get her father to relent. "Knock it off, dad", she playfully told him.

The man showed mercy at the request of his daughter, chuckling while shaking Bolin's hand, who still seemed a little rattled by the joke, but didn't say anything as he accepted the hug from Korra's mom.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again! I can't wait to hear about everything you've been up to."

Before Korra would start telling them anything though, attention on the pier turned to a boat much more elegant than the one she'd traveled on pulling in next to them.

"Who's ship is that?", Bolin asked.

"My brother's. Every year he comes from the northern water tribe with his family to celebrate the festival."

Her dad's tone may have been neutral, but Korra knew he wasn't very pleased that her uncle was here. He'd never talked about him much, and even less about his life before he left for the south pole. She'd never figured out why, but Korra had been able to get along with her uncle perfectly well, even her cousins that hadn't mastered human emotions yet.

"Is that him? With the two girls?"

"Yeah, that's Desna and Eska. Desna's a guy, though."

It was to watch Bolin try and play it off. "Oh, yeah, no, I knew that. Which one is Desna, by the way?"

Her father was the first one to offer greetings. "Hello, Chief Unalaq."

"Hello, Chief Tonraq."

Her dad then greeted his niece and nephew. "Eska, Desna. Good to see you two.

"Likewise, Uncle Tonraq", her female cousin told him with a monotone voice that Korra forgot how creeped out it made her feel.

Her dad then glanced around before speaking to her relatives again. "Is your mother alright? I'd thought she'd be here with you."

"Malina came down with a fever before we left", her uncle explained. "She should be fine by the time we return, but she wasn't well enough to travel when we departed."

It felt like there was something unsaid when he told her dad that, but Korra couldn't put her finger on it. The formal exchange between brothers was enough to get others to clear off, leaving Korra with her parents and uncle to walk through the festival, while Bolin was close by, listening to their conversation and trying food from nearby booths. It was fun to tell her mom and dad what they'd been up to, but talking about the festival made her uncle seem agitated.

"It's a shame the southerners have abandoned all connections to the spirits, even during the most hallowed times."

"I've always enjoyed the festival, they were always so much fun growing up", she told him.

"It used to be a time of fasting and meditation, now it's a chance to see someone try and stuff a whole arctic hen in their mouth."

They all turned to Bolin, who was in the midst of what Unalaq was talking about. "What? Oh, it's so good."

Korra was so busy giggling at her boyfriend trying to talk that her dad defended Bolin for her. "Traditions change. It's not the end of the world."

"Tell that to the people on ships that are getting attacked by angry spirits. Some traditions have purpose."

That got Korra's attention. "Wait, spirits have been attacking ships? How long has this been going on?"

"They've been happening the past few weeks as the festival draws near. I'm surprised that the avatar didn't know about the spiritual unrest that's been happening. I'd be honored to teach you the spiritual ways of the water tribe."

"Maybe I should, if spirits are attacking people now."

Her dad then spoke up. "Korra is already receiving spiritual instruction from Tenzin. Training from anyone else is unnecessary."

"A spiritual advisor that doesn't inform her of spirit attacks?", Unalaq retorted.

"Either way, it's my decision who I train with, Dad", Korra added.

"Yes...of course."

(-)

Bolin really wanted an explanation for whoever organized the seating for this royal feast.

Katara, Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi were all great company, but he definitely would have preferred to sit with Korra and her family. After all, Mako got to sit with his girlfriend as she was working out details of whatever agreement she'd made with some really weird billionaire she'd met with earlier. Not to mention that Pema couldn't be pleased trying to keep four kids in line by herself with no help from Tenzin.

Still, at least there was some good entertainment to watch, with Wacky Wushu's Dancing Otter penguins. But Bolin noticed from his table that Korra seemed annoyed with her dad, based on how she looked while talking with him and her uncle, something others noticed too.

"Uh-oh, looks like someone's trying to take your place as the Avatar's stick-in-the-mud mentor, Tenzin", Bumi warned.

Then Kya started piling on. "Bumi, don't pick on Tenzin. You know he's always been sensitive."

"I'm not sensitive!"

Bolin decided not to get involved, instead trying some of the food that had been placed in front of him earlier by a waiter, hoping it had cooled off by now. It got the attention of everyone else at the table, and he wasn't sure if he'd done something wrong, but Katara explained.

"It's not common at all for people that aren't from the southern water tribe to enjoy sea prunes."

"Oh, well I kind of had them pretty often growing up. When we were on the street, there was this restaurant, Narook's, that used to give out leftovers when they closed up for the night, and they always had sea prunes. Guess I just got used to the taste."

"Well, looks like dad was right", Kya told him. "There were starving children that would've loved to have sea prunes for dinner."

"Kya...", her mother warned.

"Well, he didn't like them either!"

"That's not the point, and you know it. Southern water tribe food is an important part of your heritage, and you should have more respect for it. All of you", she told her children.

"I wasn't really starving, anyway", Bolin clarified. "We also knew this guy who would make street gruel out of dumpsters, so that was what we usually had."

"Which tasted better?"

"Bumi!"

Dinner ended soon after that, and Korra seemed happy to get away from her family to go and out to the festival again. Bolin couldn't do the same with his brother though, since Mako decided to go with them, but he was much quieter now, and that let the two of them pretend they were alone, taking in the scenery.

"It looks so different out here now that it's nighttime. All these lights and colored lanterns, it's beautiful."

"I remember when I was little I'd ride around on my dad's shoulders looking at them while we walked around", she told him. "Do they have anything like this in Republic city?"

"There were some festivals and celebrations, but nothing really traditional except for the anniversary of the war ending. When those were going on, we'd try to steal as much food as we could or look for people to pickpocket. Speaking of which, if you're carrying any money, don't put it in your back pocket."

"Oh, great." They saw Mako patting down his clothes, probably assuming he had his wallet taken before walking off, saying he'd be back later.

"Should we...help him with that?", Korra wondered.

"Nah, it's fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because I have his wallet right here", Bolin admitted with a sly grin.

Korra looked shocked, but she still had a little smile. "Why?"

"Well, if Mako's somewhere else looking for his wallet..."

Korra connected the dots. "Then that gives us some time alone. You know he's gonna kick your butt when he finds out."

Bolin handed the wallet to his furry buddy, who scurried back to where they were staying. "Relax. Pabu can take Mako's wallet back, and if he sees it there he'll probably just think he forgot to take it with him. Besides, even if he does figure it out, I've got the avatar to protect me."

He was hoping to get another laugh from Korra, but instead her smile was now looking more like a grimace. "You okay?"

"Yes...no."

"You wanna talk about it?"

They walked over to one of the games that had been set up, shooting water into a chibi figure of Aang the fastest to win, then Korra started to explain. "Unalaq told me during the feast that Tenzin and my dad had decided to keep me hidden in the compound when I was growing up."

"I thought Aang had ordered the White lotus to do that", Bolin said, remembering what Korra had once told him.

"Me too, but my dad said they were trying to do what was best for me. Another time he didn't think I could make my own decisions."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?", she told him with clear annoyance. "Unalaq's been offering to help teach me about spirits so I can help deal with these spirit attacks, but my dad's been acting like it's his choice. As if I'm a prisoner, or still a little kid." It looked like her frustration was affecting her bending, because she was able to get way more water than she should have been able to into the Aang in front of her, beating everyone else. The ringer of game declared Korra the winner and gave her a stuffed sky bison to go with it, even though Bolin wasn't sure if she broke the rules doing that, but he knew better than to say anything out loud.

"Sorry." It was a pretty stupid thing to ask, and should've been clear from earlier. She had enough to deal with without him missing obvious things like that.

"No, don't be. You didn't deserve that. This whole thing...I think working with my uncle would be really helpful, but, I don't know. What do you think?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Don't you have an opinion on this?"

"I mean, sure, but I don't know how helpful it'll be. Wouldn't it be better to talk to Aang or one of your other lives about avatar stuff?"

Korra looked away. "I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't ask Aang. Or any of my past lives. I haven't talked to him or anyone else since I got my bending back."

Bolin tried to think of possible causes for this, but something else came to mind. "Hang on, does Tenzin know about this? Because he might be able to hel-"

"No, and don't say anything to him. If he finds out, he'll just lock me away to train and I won't be able to see you, or do anything else."

He wasn't sure what to say now. This was a problem he had no idea how to solve, completely different from what they'd been talking about just moments before. Bolin had no intention of betraying Korra's trust and telling Tenzin about her inability to talk with Aang, but he still felt that he'd be helpful in order to fix this, rather than treat her like a prisoner, as if that'd work.

He wanted to take his time, make sure he said the right thing, but he'd been quiet for so long Korra must have mistaken it for doubt or disagreement, because she tossed the stuffed animal in his hands and walked off. "Just...just forget it."

She was going at a brisk pace, so it wasn't hard for Bolin to catch up with her and gently grasp her hand.

"Wait. Look, I promise I wont say anything to Tenzin, but you wanted to know what I think, right?" It came out as more of a plea than he intended, and Korra didn't answer him, but she slowed down a little and hadn't told him to shove anything anywhere, so it felt like it was okay to continue.

"I think if you really feel that working with your uncle can help, you should go for it, but I'll support you no matter what. But you don't need to make a choice right now. Let's just enjoy the festival, because I know how much you've been looking forward to it. I'll win you as many prizes as you want, okay?"

"Okay." Korra had stopped walking and he noticed her voice had cracked a little, but Korra hugged him before Bolin could even offer, with a grip nearly strong enough to hurt.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

It sounded a little muffled with her face buried in his jacket, but it still meant everything to Bolin when she said that. So he made it his sole desire to spend the rest of the night trying to cheer her up.

He did his best to follow up on his promise to win Korra as many stuffed animals as he could, even though she never actually asked for any, but it seemed to do the trick as her forced smiles eventually became genuine as the night went on. They found a photo booth, and they each got a strip for themselves of them together. Korra found something he'd never heard of called cotton candy, which tasted delicious as they shared it, even though it looked like something you'd use for insulation. They even had to get Naga to carry all the stuff Bolin had won, as there became too much for them to carry on their own. He didn't really care how much money he'd spent on food and games, it was worth it to him if she was feeling.

Unfortunately, their good mood didn't last the whole night, as some angry spirits decided to attack them while they were all sleeping. Naga was the first to notice the presence, with her howls waking up him and Mako, and bringing them and everyone else outside.

Bolin wasn't sure why the spirits were mad, but whatever it was, it translated well into their fighting. He and Mako both got their butts kicked, Korra and her dad didn't fare much better, and even Tenzin's plea for an explanation was rejected. The only person who seemed to have any success was Korra's uncle Unalaq.

That and the argument she had with Tenzin and her dad must have been enough for her to make up her mind right then. He wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but based on how Tenzin looked once the conversation ended, it was a safe bet to assume what had happened. At least everything seemed to end on relatively good terms.

Korra walked up to him not long after. "Hey."

"Hey. So I'll be working with Unalaq now."

"I figured. You doing okay?"

"I guess so. Do you think I did the right thing?"

"I'm not sure. Guess I need to work on the whole avatar advisor thing. But you don't need to explain yourself. Like I said before, I got your back."

"Thank you."

They were quiet for a while after that, just watching the sunrise until Unalaq approached them.

"I know that was a difficult decision you just had to make, Korra, but I'm proud of you for making it. I promise, everything I have planned for you will be to help make the world a better place."

Author's Notes: So for Bolin and Korra in book two, I want to portray a happy relationship between them, but not have them be no troubles at all at any time, since I don't think that'd be faithful to the characters.

As for the whole singing thing, I want honest feedback, because if you like it, I can do it again later in the story. If not, I can edit it out of this one. The song is "Rhythm of love" by the plain white t's, if you're interested, I just made a few little tweaks.

Sorry for the lack of Varrick, Zhu Li, Asami and emotionless waterbending twins, they'll show up later, I promise.