got to get a new pair of shoes

[uncritical]

They both have an apartment with their name on it. But they have been, more or less, sharing the one that Bolin spent his first night in. Not contently, of course, but it feels as close to home to him because of it than any other place in all of Darrow.

And Korra spends most of her nights in the bed or on the couch, depending on where she falls asleep, and Bolin is glad to let her, easily stealing a blanket and a pillow for wherever else for himself. He isn't picky if he has to be not picky. Sharing a dry bathtub and some old blankets for a couple of hours with Mako in someone else's crowded apartment was half of his childhood.

And he likes that he can come back from whatever he's got to do during the day and find Korra there, waiting impatiently for him. He especially hopes to find her today - he's been shopping, and mostly for her. He's not afraid to spend some of the mystery money that's there for them, from wherever.

Hiking the bags up his arms, he leans his hip against the door to slide the key into the lock and turn it sideways, just enough to manhandle the knob around awkwardly and push himself into the apartment with goods in tow.

"Korra?" he calls, trying not to sound too expectant. Or excited. He knows it stresses most people in his life situation out, but Bolin really likes shopping.

"You in here?"

Comments

[uncritical]

When her gaze catches his again, he doesn't drop his face. He offers Korra a smile in return, a little more shy than it might normally be, but just as honest. He fingers fidget with the fabric of the tails of his shirt laying on his lap.

"I don't really know what to do with a kitchen. I was sort of banking on takeout until I couldn't afford it. And then maybe a forced diet for a little while. I do dishes, that's pretty much the extent of my food preparation ability."

[unrestraint]

As always, the immediate remark that comes to mind is one that pokes fun at Mako's expense — that cooking can't be that difficult if Mako's capable of it several times a day. There's just a certain pleasure that comes from momentarily knocking down the ego of someone normally so put-together, and someone who seems to enjoy lording over them whenever possible.

But Mako isn't around. And that changes everything.

"Well... I sometimes watched the cooks down at the South Pole, but the only easy dishes are, like. Stewed sea plums. And I don't know if they have those around here. They definitely don't have South Pole animals around, judging by the looks Naga gets," muses Korra, tilting her head. "Actually, I've seen a few people around with dogs. Can you imagine that? Just... dogs."

[uncritical]

"Oh, oh," Bolin says, raising a hand like a classroom student with an answer for a familiar topic. "I went to the pet store the other day, to look for toys for Pabu. Although I didn't buy anything, I promise. But you should see the things they have there, seriously. Just cats, too. And rabbits, whatever a rabbit it."

He seems, rather than confused or disturbed, rather pleased about this state of things. "It was a learning experience. Which is probably nothing new since ... every day ... since the first days ... has been the same way. You know what, I'm going to manage my enthusiasm over here. We'll go out and get the things we need for the kitchen. Soon. Together? And then eventually, I figured I should look for a job. Please don't get mad at me. Or tell me no. Even though I'm not saying that this subject isn't up for discussion, I'm just saying ... "

He doesn't know what he's just saying. As much as he's able to almost infinitely grin and bear things, the steady pay of the last year had ensured a steady loft apartment and life without uncomfortable cold or overly lean meals.

[unrestraint]

In the same way that Korra isn't always able to keep up with Jinora's endless chatter, right now she finds herself struggling to keep up with Bolin as well, head tilted and brows raised as he continues on about learning experiences and kitchen wares and jobs. And, apparently, Korra getting mad at Bolin. Which she doesn't personally think is enough of an issue to warrant being told to refrain in a fast-paced slew of too many words. (She isn't mad at Bolin all that often, right? He's not Tenzin. He's also not Mako. As far as the others go, Korra figures that Bolin's probably the one she rails at least.)

"Uhh..." she says, tilting her head and slowly processing everything, even if a few seconds late. "Well, personally I actually think that I'd be more willing to trust the money that we actually work for. What I don't necessarily trust is your ability to pick out the right job—" Korra levels a look, brow highly raised. "—but if I'm with you the whole time, I guess that lessens the odds that we start working for, like. The Darrow equivalent of the Triad."

Her lips press into a small smile, teasing and knowing all at once.

She doesn't really mean to make Bolin feel bad about his judgment, but, well. His judgment could indeed sometimes use a bit of work.

[uncritical]

Bolin lets go of the breath he's been holding in one sigh when Korra gives her answer, which is, all things considered, very Korra. Expected. But, at the same time, not entirely familiar, not the usual flow of how those sorts of conversations have tended to go for Bolin. Of course, he'd only ever had conversations like this ... with one other person. And that person would have been looking for a good reason to shut him down.

"Sorry," he says, apologizing for unintentionally burying a lead like that. "I just expected ... I don't know what I expected. I just want to help figure something out." Which is, maybe, not entirely true. He knows he expected to be told 'just let me handle it,' but he doesn't know how to tell Korra why he feels that way. It's not even a conversation he's certain he's comfortable having with himself.

"But if you want to come with me, I like that. It's not like I want to end up under the table. It's just that sometimes we, I-- you know. End up wandering in that direction out of habit without realizing it's not an ideal decision. Maybe together is better. The only thing I'm really good at is totally out of the question. So whatever I do, at least if it's with you, that'd make me happy."

[unrestraint]

"At least you're still good at something," Korra says with a sigh, bringing her palm up to her forehead and rubbing hard in frustration, as though stimulating her brain enough might help to bring the rest of her bending back. So far, nothing. So far, even controlling the air around them is an almost Herculean task, limited to small bursts that she occasionally manages to punch out. "What good am I to this place? Can't read, can't cook, can't use these machines that are all over the place, can't even bend."

Her lips purse, arms crossing over her chest as her head tilts. "You know, I still don't like how we're forced to keep quiet about our bending. It's like... everything that I'm afraid that Republic City would have become under Amon. Only a few benders left, and all of them too afraid to show the world what they can do. Bending is awesome. And yeah, it sucks that not everyone can do it, I guess, but just because that not everyone can do an awesome thing doesn't mean that everyone should keep quiet about it, right? Ugh. Do you really think that we'd get in a ton of trouble if we used a bit of it? It could help us get work, right? I mean. If I ever manage to control my airbending."

[uncritical]

"You're good at lots of things," he argues, if a little weakly at the end, because really, Korra does have a point. Blind optimism won't help them. She's yet to totally acclimate herself to city life to begin with -- this city is only like Republic City in the way that any cities share something in common that give them that name.

Bolin leans back into the cradle of the couch cushions.

"I don't like it either. I'd rather be who I am. Proudly. Believe me, Korra. It's kept us away from trouble so far, but I know you, and I know that it should be your decision whether we keep it to ourselves or not. I told you before -- I'm your friend, but you're also my Avatar. And maybe people don't think that way anymore, but it's still important to me. If you think we should stop tip-toeing around bending, then I'm with your decision."

With a puff of breath, Bolin tries to blow the stubborn forelock off of his brow with little success. "And I'm with you with your airbending, too. As much as I possibly can be. Given that it's pretty much the polar opposite of, you know ... earthbending. But I mean, okay, so this is a long-shot but ... have you thought about maybe that you sort of already know airbending? I mean, think about it. Aang was an airbender. And you're sort of Aang, but not really. So."

[unrestraint]

Glancing in Bolin's direction, Korra tilts her head with a slight wrinkle of her nose, expression searching. Even though she's certainly had exposure to all four elements, in many ways she's starting to regret her approach to mastering the bending practices, one which mostly ever focused on the physical without considering the ways an element could be applied. She's never given any thought to the natural tendencies of water or fire, to the way that waves smoothly glance around any surface or the inconstant flicker of flame — at least, not before Tenzin requested some greater attention from her.

Float like the leaf.

"Yeah, well," she mumbles, forehead wrinkled in thought. "I'm Water Tribe, so you'd think that with water being my first element, I'd be closer to airbending than you, but honestly... if it were possible for you to be the Avatar, I'm willing to bet you'd get air before me. You're always so light on your feet. I kind of like to force everything." Rolling her head back with another sigh, Korra runs her fingers through her hair, tugging lightly at turns.

"And yeah, I have totally thought about consulting past Avatars, but there's the whole meditating-usually-comes-before-the-Avatar-State deal, and you know how well that's going. I guess I could also put myself in mortal peril, but. I'd rather not rely on that."

[uncritical]

Mako doesn't actually need to be in the room for Bo to hear Mako's retort about what would happen if Bolin had been the Avatar, and the voice in his head is enough to draw a wry smile out of him, and a soft sigh of consideration. Korra's problem is something he wants to help her with, more than almost anything. It's the how that's frustrating. But no amount of frustration, he thinks, would be enough for him to set the problem aside like it isn't his. Like he doesn't have to be just as concerned about it.

"I learned how to bend in a totally different way than you. And for totally different reasons, with totally different goals. I hate to sound like Tenzin, only 'cause sounding like Tenzin is Tenzin's job, but maybe we both need to free up our minds and stop thinking we know what we think we know ... and start thinking about bending differently. Maybe you could meditate on that. I'll do it with you."

But Bolin is convinced. Aang's got to have the answer to what Amon did to Korra. And somewhere in Korra is Aang.

[unrestraint]

If nothing else, Korra's memory of her first probending training session with Bolin is more than enough to convince her of the truth of his statements. His type of bending is different. His reasons for bending and the end results have always been different. In many ways, learning probending has helped Korra's understanding of bending overall as a practice; it only stands to reason that the other way around would apply as well. Lips pressed thinly together, she nods, the gesture resolute — even if this doesn't lead them directly to a solution, the two of them can improve one another through teamwork and by sharing one another's strengths.

"We could teach each other. And I mean, I'm not just saying this to get out of meditating or whatever, since I think we definitely — I definitely — still need to do that," Korra says, tilting her head back and forth in thought. "But the two of us can teach each other more of what we know. The only reason I became a decent probender was because you started showing me the ropes and helped me think about bending in a totally different way than the White Lotus did for all those years. It's worth a shot. Definitely."

[uncritical]

"I would love to learn from you," Bolin says, enthusiasm growing as he looks at her, reaching out to rest his palms on Korra's knees. "What you know isn't gone, even if for now your connection to the other elements is. You still mastered three out of four. You still have all that practice with those forms. There's no probending here, so maybe it's time to focus on something else to make sure we get back home safe, and I'm sure you can make my earthbending better. By tons. You're the most brilliant bender I've ever known."

Which is more than true. Most of what he can do he modified off of whatever he picked up from watching street scuffles as a kid, and from Mako, and even from old Toza when he felt the patience for it. He's never learned squat from an actual master bender. He gives her knees a firm squeeze with his fingers.

"And you're amazing in general, too. I know we can get this all figured out. You're gonna do great, Korra."

[unrestraint]

"Oh, come on," Korra replies, cheeks flushing deeper as she glances down for a moment, weighed by Bolin's praise. However happy his words make her, Korra just isn't sure that she can completely agree with his statement. "You must have met better benders. I mean, I don't even want to think about trying to earthbend against you or firebend against Mako, although I do think I could probably kick your asses in combat alone." She looks up with a cheeky grin.

"But like... there's Lin, there's Master Tenzin, and man, you haven't seen waterbending until you've met Master Katara. I mean, I'm sure I could still teach you, and you me, but I think it's more give and take than you're admitting to right now." Korra grins, letting her own hands drop heavily on top of Bolin's, curling underneath and squeezing them tight against her palms. "Having you find me those months ago is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me."

[uncritical]

"Well, okay, maybe, sure. Maybe. Everything Tenzin does looks awesome and I would give my right hand to be half as talented as Ms. Beifong, but in my eyes ... you're still the best I see, Korra. You're the coolest thing I've ever met." He makes no comment on an earthbending match between himself and Korra. She'd win for sure. He could just never get that serious. And Mako's just ... something else. There's a reason he's team captain.

But her hands on his put everything back into perspective, moving the argument over bending over to where it belongs, essentially forgotten over things that are and will always be more important to Bo. He squeezes back, still smiling broadly.

"Nobody's every said anything like that about me and my brother before. But that's why you're one-of-a-kind. And that's why I want to return the favor so bad, Korra. Because you stuck with us no matter what. You believed we could make it to the top even when we were ready to throw in the towel. Remember?"

It certainly seems like a lifetime ago, after everything that happened after the arena was attacked. But Bolin was thinking about it nightly, when he was stuck here all alone.

[unrestraint]

At once, the memories seem impossibly distant and close enough to taste, and every bone in Korra's body aches in memory of the probending matches they used to have. She misses the feeling of being so close to the elements, she misses having other people to share that passion with her, misses the sheer pleasure of hitting one another so fast that it bruises. Having multiple people enjoy that together, even. But there's one thing that doesn't feel far from her in the slightest, and that's the faith that she has in both Mako and Bolin, a faith which seems to run as deeply as the elements ever have. She knew they could make it back to the top — she still thinks that the three of them would have won the tournament, had rules been fair and square.

There were more important things in the moment, of course. She doesn't forget that either.

"Well, you stuck with me while I was at my lowest," Korra offers in return, and light though she tries to make the shrug on her shoulders, there are deeper implications that she doesn't even know how to breach. Things she doesn't know how to say at all. "I probably wouldn't still be fighting if you hadn't, I — well. I won't get into that." Her hands still clutch tightly at Bolin's as she glances down, lips quirked in something of a grin that doesn't quite make it all the way into her chest.

"We'll make the best of things, though. I know we will."