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]

"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."