"Hey Bo, I'm home," Mako called out, entering the relatively bare attic apartment that the brothers shared.
Bolin, having been deep in thought, jumped at the sound of Mako's voice; he hadn't even heard Mako come in. "Welcome back," he returned. It was time, he supposed-after all, most of his day had been dedicated to deciding how to tell his brother something that had, to this point, been his own little secret. It was hard to approach a topic when he had no idea how his brother might have reacted.
Nearly losing himself again, Bolin only came back to reality when he heard the other call, "Where are you? C'mere, I got something for you."
"Show time," he told himself under his breath. He'd find out what Mako brought him first, a logical decision and definitely not a stalling technique, then do his confession. Standing and straightening his shirt, Bolin headed down the ladder and approached Mako, who was leaning back on the end of their corner couch. A brown paper bag sat idly on the table between them. Mako gestured to it, and Bolin scooped it up and opened it.
His whole face lit up, pleased with the gift, and Mako's face in turn softened, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. His eyelids, though, still drooped, and his brows were tense, Bolin noted as he flopped down next to his brother and muffled a quick, "Thanks bro," through his mouth full of dumpling.
"Yeah, don't mention it," Mako yawned back. He cleared his throat and went on to ask, "So, what did you do all day?"
Admittedly, Bolin felt a bit guilty being asked that when Mako was the one who spent most of his time working to support the both of them. "Well, y'know," he sighed, rubbing his neck and giving Mako a sheepish sideways glance. He recounted the first part of his day, the part where he'd tried to play music while Pabu squirmed around in motions that vaguely resembled a dance, and, even more embarrassingly, the part where very few people threw a coin or two into his tin. Despite Mako's warning, he was so certain that this was going to be his day. Still, where Mako could have given him a stern "I told you so," instead he chuckled.
"You oughta show me sometime," he said while ruffling his own already messy hair.
"Yeah," Bolin nodded. He would be sure to do that later. For now, though, it was time. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and exhaled. "Hey, Mako?"
"Yeah? What's up, is something wrong?"
"Wrong? No no," Bolin waved his hands in the air, palms towards Mako, somehow hoping the motion would wave away his brother's frown. Mako was so good at picking up on Bolin's moods-too good. "Not wrong, really, I just... There's something I wanted to tell you, I'm just not really sure how to say it, I guess."
Mako responded with a soft grunt, but kept his eyes on Bolin's face. The space to think in silence without feeling rushed was greatly appreciated.
"Okay, here we go," Bolin finally tried again, this time looking his brother right in the eyes, hands planted firmly on his knees. "First of all, this is purely hypothetical, okay? Just an imaginary situation. Okay, so, suppose I'm out one day, and I see this guy. He's kinda tall and he's got a beard and he's pretty big. There's these kids that run up to him smiling and laughing, and he buys them something, and they run off to play, and he watches them, he's probably their dad since he's kind of old but not super old, you know, and I'm getting off track but what I'm saying is he's really attractive and I think, 'wow, what a good lookin' guy, I think I might kind of like him.'"
"Like him," Mako echoed, eyebrows raised.
"Like him like him," Bolin added, certain that his face was at least as red as a beet. If nothing else, it was feeling pretty hot, and he considered running outside and getting some air before Mako could fully digest it. Despite himself, he sat there, trying his best to stay calm while his heart tried to beat right out of his chest.
After what felt like an hour of silence (but, in reality, was only a few moments), Mako said, "Okay. So?"
"So?" Bolin's eyes widened and he leaned away, mumbling, "So...so, so Mako, I'm saying I think I might like guys."
"Okay," Mako said again, calmly regarding his brother. "So you like guys. Is that what you were freaking out about? That you like guys? Did you think I'd get mad or something?"
Bolin's face scrunched up, his hands pulling to his chest. Of all the reactions he'd imagined Mako having, this definitely wasn't one of them. In a quiet, childish voice, he admitted, "I didn't know what to think you'd do. I guess...I thought you might think it's weird or gross or something. But you...don't?"
This was met with another chuckle. "Listen, Bo, I didn't work hard to keep us safe just to get mad at you for something dumb like that. You're my little brother, and I love you, and I don't really care who you do that stuff with as long as you're not getting into trouble over it."
In that moment, Mako would have described Bolin as an ecstatic puppy. And, in the fashion of a puppy, he scrambled over and latched onto Mako's waist, face buried in his shirt. "Mako, you're the best!" he declared in what almost sounded like sobs. He was so relieved, and nothing could have felt better at that moment than Mako's arms circling his shoulders, one hand rubbing between his shoulder blades.
"What am I gonna do with you," Mako teased. But, in that moment, he couldn't have been more proud of his little brother.