Bolin can't take the way she looks now, truly. She's always so strong-willed and vibrant, he doesn't begrudge her even a little any of her weaknesses - he knows he's pretty much the winner by a landslide in that department, out of all of them - but it's rough to see. He doesn't know what she'll accept from him as comfort, and how much of it. But he's all she's got right now, and he's got to give her something.

He settles on moving himself to the couch cushion beside her, slouching over to rest the side of his head against her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know," he says, plaintive and small-voiced. "But I don't need you to be. I don't regret a single moment of knowing you. We had as much fun as people can have with each other and not get arrested for it. Right? I'm the one that should be sorry. I should have just told you how I felt. Because you just showed up out of nowhere and I felt like we were perfect for one another. But it doesn't matter if you don't feel the same way. So I'm telling you now: this is how I feel. I love you and I want you to be safe and happy. I want Mako to be safe and happy, too. That's good enough for me. So don't be sorry."