The shadows slowly shifted around the brothers as the sun advanced across the sky.
All afternoon, Mako ran scenarios one after another, trying to find a way to get his brother the medical attention he needed as soon as possible. He thought through every iteration down to the details, but no matter how many variations he tried, he couldn't get things to come out in their favor.
Close beside him, Bolin drifted in and out of sleep. His attempts at conversation puttered out as the day wore on. There was no point trying to talk to Mako when he wasn't in the mood, so the younger boy entertained himself with people-watching when he was awake and left his brother to his thoughts.
Afternoon faded into evening, slanting the shade away from where the boys sat. It wasn't until he found himself fully under the late rays of the sun that Mako realized how much time had passed. They'd lost almost a whole day and he felt no closer to a solution than when he'd started.
Wearily rubbing his eyes, he stood up and brushed the dirt off the seat of his pants.
"Come on," he prompted, offering a hand to his brother. "We should go."
Bolin listlessly tracked his progress, trailing a vague, questioning look up his arm to his face.
"Can't we just stay here…?" he asked, making no effort to move.
"You know we can't stay here. The cops will chase us off as soon as it gets dark. Now come on."
Mako thrust out his hand more emphatically—a gesture his brother knew better than to refuse—and pulled the unhappy Earthbender to his feet.
Bolin's habit of setting himself up for disappointment strained Mako's patience to the last. They both knew they couldn't stay there, just like they both knew he wasn't strong enough to tag along tomorrow. Even chalking it up to optimism, the fact that he insisted on asking for things he knew he couldn't have was beyond frustrating.
Still, the older boy took a deep breath, quickly tamping down his exasperation as he hoisted his brother onto his back.
"Look, I'll bring you back tomorrow, all right?" he compromised, scanning the area as he spoke. "You can wait here for me."
"Really? All right!"
Bolin chattered excitedly over Mako's shoulder all the way back into the city, laying out all sorts of ambitious plans for the next day. It was just a couple of hours in the park, but he made it sound like he'd won the lottery.
The sheer force of his enthusiasm brought an involuntary smile to his brother's face. It didn't solve their problems, but Bolin was happy, and that had to count for something.