No matter how hard he pushes himself in training, no matter how exhausted he feels after a long day, Bolin doesn't get any sleep. Most nights, he stays awake, staring at the dark, flitting shadows on his ceiling, and fearing the ones that move too quickly.
The earthbender's experience against Amon, to say the least, has scarred him. The dark circles under his eyes are evidence enough that the Equalists have awakened a new kind of fear in him – one that literally messes with his life.
He just hasn't been feeling himself lately, and he hates it. Living in fear, especially living in fear of seemingly nothing makes him angry. He's supposed to remain strong and courageous, supposed to mimic Mako's brave, stoic behavior.
Instead, Bolin is flopped lazily on a couch in the arena's attic, wrapped in the tight, comforting embrace of a heavy wool blanket. It's pulled up over his ears and shoulders, around his neck and the top of his head – not an inch of skin is showing, and he even has his knees pulled up to his stomach to keep them from hanging off the edge of the couch.
He does this most nights, spends his "bedtime" hours staring out the large window in the attic, watching spotlights flash and satomobiles zoom down the crowded, nightlife streets of Republic City.
It would be a lovely experience, watching the golds, greens, and browns of the city fade into midnight colors, but he can't focus on the beauty outside his window.
Bolin's too busy looking over his shoulder, shifting his weight, trying not to jump at every creak that floats from the attic's walls. He can hear the dull roar of people in the arena below, but it does little to calm him. His eyes, as usual, are opened and wide with terror – he's too afraid to close them.
What if Amon appears, threatens to take his bending away again? Bolin can already picture the tall, masked intimidating figure gliding towards him, hand outstretched, ready to press his palm against Bolin's forehead and take everything he is – his bending.
What if the reason that the attic is so quiet…what if he's already got Mako and Korra? Are they tied up, ready to be ransomed?
Are they dead?
Bolin shoots up from the couch, wrapping his blanket around his torso like a cape, and runs towards Mako's room. He almost has a heart attack at the sight of his brother's empty bed, but then remembers Mako is out on a date with Asami, and he has nothing to worry about.
Slightly more at ease, Bolin trudges with heavy, tired steps towards the guest room they've let Korra borrow. When the Avatar isn't training with Master Tenzin at the temple, or on some sort of diplomatic adventure for the city council, she crashes at the arena.
Bolin slides the door to her room open, peeks his nose in to make sure she's safe in her bed.
Sure enough, Korra is curled up on the bed, arms wrapped around her knees, breathing regularly with a slight, adorable snore every few seconds. Bolin lets out a relieved sigh and tiptoes across the room.
She looks a bit chilly, curled in on herself, so Bolin takes the blanket from his shoulders and throws it over her sleeping form. To his surprise, she looks over her shoulder at him, and he's struck by how blue her pretty, cyan eyes are, even in the dark, dusky night air. They're opened with worry and fear, but immediately glaze over with relief when he's recognized.
Bolin notices - and not for the first time - that Korra's steady cerulean gaze does strange things to his stomach.
"Sorry, Korra, just wanted to…" he scratches the back of his head, shrugs his shoulders, and begins to step backward awkwardly. "I couldn't sleep so-"
"Nah, it's okay Bo," she whispers, sitting up against the sheets and rolling a fold of his blanket between her fingers. Bolin sits on the edge of the bed, because it seems like she has something more to say; he smiles a bit, because when doesn't Korra have something more to say?
"I haven't been sleeping well either," she admits, and Bolin doesn't need to hear any further explanation. He knows she can't sleep because of Amon. To his surprise, she blinks continuously, and the earthbender, with all of his girl experience, recognizes it as a sign that she's about to cry.
"Hey, stop it," he says, trying to comfort her. He yawns and then pulls his friend closer, wrapping one arm around her waist. Korra immediately drops her head against his arm in exhaustion.
"But what if-" she begins, but he interrupts her by flinging himself backward, taking the Avatar with him. Korra struggles for a moment, laughing and punching his arms playfully.
"Any chi-blockers try and get at you, they'll have to deal with me first," he announces, cheekily chilavrous and with a simple, teasing smirk on his face.
Korra goes quiet after a moment and Bolin's about to speak up again when he realizes that the steady rise and fall of her shoulders means she's fallen asleep.
So Bolin finally allows himself to close his eyes, insanely proud of the fact that he's got the Avatar pulled against his chest. There's a surreal, comforting wave that ebbs over him as the world fades to black, and he looks down at the top of Korra's head, her eyes shut, mouth slightly agape, and most of his worries about the Equalists fade.
It's the first real satisfying rest that either of them has had in a long time, so when Korra wakes up, she doesn't immediately disentangle herself. Instead, she squirms closer to Bolin, ignoring the heavily crushing grip he's got around her waist, and buries her face in her friend's shoulder with a content smile.
She'll come to classify moments like this as purely comforting.