A/N: Korra gets a banquet and someone gets a blast from their past they'd rather not deal with again.
(The council members except Tenzin and Tarrlok are never given a name to my knowledge so I made one up. This character will be just as unimportant as they were in the series, so don't worry about any OCs. Also this chapter will be much shorter than the previous chapters because a good chunk of events will either be prevented or occurred before Mako and Bolin arrived. Sorry.)
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Mako wasn't a councilman here. He could have been placed on the council, but he didn't want to just oust the current representative from his seat. Councilman Xian knew more about the current situation - more about the city in general - and to simply assume Mako would know better when it came time to vote was pure hubris.
On the other hand, there was clearly something fishy going on here.
Mako had gone over the minutes from the most recent meetings and found the one where the council had voted 4-to-1 in favor of Tarrlok's task force. No proposal gets all but one vote. Either the proposition is unanimous, or things are split more evenly between the opposing sides. The only way something like this should have happened would be if one side was arguing something ludicrous, which neither of them had done.
Someone had something over the other council members.
Mako went to Tarrlok - Bolin accompanying him from a reasonable distance - to ask about the session. He wasn't overt - oh no, of course not - he simply asked a few questions. He wanted only to better understand the council's position.
Were all the council members benders? (Yes) Was Tenzin's stances usuallly so passive? (Yes) Who was Yakone?
The ground beneath Mako's feet shifted when he asked his final question. Even if it hadn't, he'd caught the briefest of pauses before Tarrlok told the story of the bloodbender. So, not only had Tarrlok made a comparison that was in very poor taste, his heartbeat had fluctuated at the criminal's name.
Very interesting.
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"You're my date."
That was all Asami said before she hung up, and Mako had no idea what she meant until a messenger arrived with an invitation to a gala thrown in honor of Avatar Korra.
Hosted by Tarrlok.
That's not suspicious at all, Mako thought sarcastically as he looked through his wardrobe. Asami would be wearing something red. Mako would need to wear something to match.
Or he could honor of his Earth Kingdom roots.
"Asami's gonna kill you; you know that, right?" Bolin said as Mako decended the stairs in a dark green suit.
"Asami should've ordered you to be her date," Mako said as he looked into the hall mirror, checking his tie. Dead center. Perfect.
"Even if I wasn't going in an official capacity, you know she likes going to these things with you more." Bolin adjusted his hat and did a quick status check on his equipment. "You two always insult enough guests that no one tries to get either of you out of whatever corner you hide in."
"Maybe galas shouldn't suck then."
"Maybe you should learn to dance, then they wouldn't suck."
"Hey! I can dance, I just can't do that ballroom crap." Mako gelled his spikes down. Spirits, he hated galas. He'd just skip it if he didn't know that Asami would show up and forcibly drag him rather that be stuck there herself, bored and alone because Bolin would gladly take the excuse to stay behind as well.
A horn honked.
"Ride's here; let's go."
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"You look ridiculous," Asami said the moment they stepped out of the satomobile and she was able to properly see Mako's suit.
"I am a representative of the Earth Kingdom and my wardrobe choices should reflect as such," Mako replied. "Plus, it brings out the amber in my eyes."
"It does no such thing."
Bolin shared a longsuffering look with Hiroshi before turning to look around the ballroom, searching for anything his feet wouldn't be able to detect. After a minute or so, he picked a corner and perched there before his lack of formal dress could draw any undue attention.
Below him, he saw Hiroshi networking amongst the other businessmen. Asami and Mako had hit the open bar to gear up for a long night of backhanded compliments.
"It's very brave for a woman your age to wear a dress in that style. Some might worry that people would think they were trying to hard."
"It is so refreshing to see someone choose comfort over fashion."
Ok, they weren't waiting at all.
Bolin turned to the staircase as the airbenders and the guest of honor arrived. The family looked great, but Korra looked especially beautiful to Bolin. Her official Watertribe formal wear, (sleeveless, of course, and he honestly could not tell if she was wearing a dress or pants made to hang like a dress), was a nice contrast to the United Republic-style clothes of the other guests, and oh, her hair. Bolin was lovin' the hair.
Tarrlok immediately honed in on her and began to introduce her around; to Hiroshi, to the other council members, to the chief of police. She seemed uncomfortable and Tarrlok seemed to either not pick up on it or not care.
This wasn't going to end well.
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Called it.
"I… believe that Amon presents… a real problem," Korra stuttered. Obviously, none of her instructors had thought the Avatar needed tips on handling reporters.
"Then why haven't you joined Tarrlok's task force?" Or tips on spotting plants.
Bolin couldn't take much more of this.
"I-"
"Why are you backing away from this fight?"
"Hang on, I'm not-!"
He looked down to Mako and Asami, silently communicating with his brother who glared harshly at him before stomping and muttering "fine". Mako turned to whisper to Asami.
"Don't you feel as if you're going back on your promise to protect Republic City?"
"How do you think Avatar Aang would have handled this?"
Korra looked around in panic. Bolin kicked the wall.
There was a mighty crash as the painting Mako and Asami had been standing near fell to the ground, but no one focused on that. The now-distracted press could only think of their next headline; New Love on the Horizon? Heiress Sato Seen With Earth Kingdom Lord.
Bolin thought it was worth it, but he doubted Mako wouldn't get him back for making him kiss Asami Sato.
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"Thanks for the save back there."
"What makes you think I did anything?"
The gala was over. Mako was back at the house, Asami and Hiroshi were on their way to their estate, and Bolin decided to check in on Korra.
"As much as I'm sure Mako enjoyed making out with a pretty girl, I doubt he would've done it at such a convenient time if you hadn't gotten him to," Korra said, a small smile on her face. "So thanks."
Mako actually didn't enjoy kissing at all, but Bolin decided that the point was moot and simply said, "You're welcome."
They sat quietly for a while, with only the gentle music made by the wind passing through the specially designed air temple walls to break the silence.
Bolin wondered if Master Tenzin would let him examine those walls so he could recreate some for himself.
"Do you think I'm neglecting my duty to the city?"
"I'm sorry?"
Bolin looked to Korra, but Korra looked away. She curled her arms around herself defensively, and Bolin took back everything he'd thought about wanting her to wear her hair down as she used it to hide her face.
"Do you think that - by not joining Tarrlok's task force, by not… hunting down Equalists or… whatever - that I'm not doing my duty as the Avatar?"
Bolin didn't know what to say. He felt this would be a defining moment in their relationship - an opportunity to see if they would remain mostly professional or become close friends - and he didn't want to mess it up.
How would Mako handle this situation? Well, he didn't like Korra so maybe Bolin shouldn't be trying to channel him right then.
How would mom handle this situation?
"Do you know the story of General Fong?"
"Huh?" Korra looked confused at the random comment, but Bolin pressed on.
"He was a high ranking military official during The Hundred Year War," Bolin told her. "He fought the Fire Nation often and without fear. The moment he met Avatar Aang, he announced that they could win the war immediately if Aang would just go into the Avatar State, and then manipulated him into agreeing."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Korra demanded. "I really don't feel like being compared to Aang right now."
"I'm not comparing you to Aang!" Bolin insisted. "It'll make sense in a bit.
"Anyway, after many attempts to try and trigger the Avatar State, Aang announced that he had changed his mind. He decided to go back to his original plan; mastering the four elements and confronting the Fire Lord."
"He hadn't mastered the elements yet?" Korra sounded incredulous, and she had every right to be. It was one thing to expect a single person to turn the tides of a war - he was the Avatar, everyone expected that - but to expect him to do it before completing his training? Madness.
"Nope. He knew air and water and that was it. Now, as you know, it was later discovered that using the Avatar State came at a great price."
"Risking the Avatar Cycle."
"Exactly. So, Aang made the right decision. He wasn't neglecting his duty by not trying to fight the Fire Lord as soon as someone else decided he should; he was just making sure he could do his duty right. And that's what you're doing. And in the future, people will see that you made the right decision, too."
Bolin found himself pulled into a fierce hug and Korra's face buried in his chest.
"Thanks, Bolin."
Bolin wrapped his arms around her and wondered if this night could have ended any better.
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"Hello again."
He froze. That voice. That voice - deep and smooth and dripping down his spine with promises of a world made right, a fear long gone, a monster defeated.
"Long time, no see."
A mercy granted, a favor given.
"How did you get in here?"
A spirit stolen. A spirit released.
"Did you really think you could keep me out?"
limbs twisting burning burning BURNING stop stop stoppleasestop
"Did you really think I would not come for you?"
he begged and cried and twistedtwistedtwisted and you just looked on I looked on why why not he deserved it he deserved it he deserved it MONSTER
"I will always come for you. I promised you that, remember?"
coldcoldcold why so cold supposed to fix supposed to cure then why so cold
He couldn't deal with this - coldcoldcoldcold - not this, not now. He clenched his jaw and willed his hands to stop shaking, but of course the voice knew.
will find a way can help help fix help cure
The voice knew everything.
come come find absolution
Always had.
come find rest no more running no more struggles no more no more nomoreno
"What do you want from me?"
"For now? Your silence."
Had he not already given that? Had he not kept his knowledge from everyone - from the council, from his family, from himself? What more could he withhold? What more could be stored inside him before he couldn't take it anymore?
"For later?"
"We shall see."
And then he was alone.
so alone so cold so alone so cold….
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A/N: It's not a lot of plot movement, but I did still have some scenes to set. Next chapter will be much more action packed and longer. I swear.
So, to recap canon divergents, Korra is still not on the task force - won't join ever, tbh - because she was saved from Tarrlok's manipulation by Bolin. She still hasn't faced Amon, still isn't as afraid as she was in canon, and a certain someone got a visit from a certain someone. Care to guess who?
Mako and Asami are not dating, but they are those bitchy friends that whisper fashion-don't to each other at parties, Bolin is falling down the rabbit hole of luuurrrve, and Hiroshi doesn't have any speaking lines yet, but never fear! His time will come.
To clarify: Bolin wasn't comparing Korra to Aang. He was comparing Tarrlok to Fong. Both men wanted a quicker solution to a longterm problem and end up fucking up really really badly. In Korra's time, people realize Aang made the right decision, even though there were people in Aang's time that felt otherwise. Bolin is saying Korra made the right decision, and that that will become obvious to everyone else eventually.
Also, the Red Lotus knew killing Korra in the Avatar State would end the Avatar Cycle. Seeing as they were locked in a hole for over a decade, I'm saying that that's common knowledge by this point.
Stay tuned! And send in those theories!