Chapter Text
“I’m going go shoot some hoops this evening… Wanna join us?”
“And watch Tahno whoop your ass? No thanks.”
“Hey. We’ve been winning ever since my friend from work joined. I’ve never seen anyone handle a ball so well...and just–” Bolin mimics dodging and weaving around his brother, dribbling an invisible ball. “Like a leaf in the wind.”
“Work…” Mako’s eyebrows smoothen. “Oh, you mean from your new coffee shop gig. Well, maybe some people have way too much free time, y’know? Maybe that’s how he got so good.”
“No, I think she was like a star player at her old school. But the point is she’s just amazing all around. You really should come down to the shop sometime, maybe on one of your breaks.”
“You know I want to but I’ve been really busy these days.“
“C’mon. Even the great, busy Mako can have a coffee from time to time.”
“I can’t today, I have to finish reading up on background investigation for tomorrow, Bo. But I’ll definitely try sometime this week.” Mako adds, but Bolin knows when he’s fighting a losing battle.
“You’re going out with your work friend again? Don’t you two see each other enough during the day?”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna miss her so much when she leaves.”
“Why is she leaving?” Mako flicks absentmindedly through his newspaper.
“Oh, she’s going to the UN this summer.”
“It’s just a vacation, Bolin. She’ll be back.”
“No no, she’s doing an internship in Geneva. She was nominated for it by THE Katara.”
“Katara as in Aang’s wife?” He sees he has Mako’s full attention now.
“Katara as in the badass indigenous women’s rights activist, yeah!” Bolin enthusiastically continues. “Their families are really good friends. Apparently Katara even used to babysit Korra. She says she reminds her of Aang sometimes.”
“So, that friend of yours, why would she work at a coffee shop then?” Mako’s voice is far too casual, and that’s how Bolin knows that Mako really wants to know.
“Well, the shop is technically owned by Katara’s son. And she watches his kids sometimes too. Or used to, mostly, now, I guess. So it all just kind of works out.”
“Wait. You work for Aang’s son?”
“Yeah, they try to keep it on the low, because their kids are there all the time. So don’t say anything to anyone.”
“Of course not. I’m not you.”
A beat passes and Mako asks again, again in that far-too-casual tone of his. “What’s your friend’s name again?”
“Why don’t you drop by the shop and find out? Anyway gotta run.” With a wink, Bolin closes the front door.
“How do I look?” Bolin turns his head this way and that, adjusting his shirt-collar for the umpteenth time, and tries to smooth that stubborn part of his hair in vain. “Hello, Opal Beifong.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he spots Mako through the mirror, head snapping up to attention. “Beifong? As in police chief Beifong? Wow, good going, bro.”
Bolin shrugs. “I’ve no clue, maybe. But Opal is incredible.” He sighs dreamily, and Mako rolls his eyes.
Mako lifts his eyebrow. “You sometimes surprise me, Bo.”
“Why?”
“Dating a Beifong. Rubbing shoulders with well-connected people.”
Bolin shrugs; their connections don’t say anything of value about them to him, but he knows they do to Mako. “I guess I’m just lucky.”
“Ooh, someone’s got it bad…” They’re playing Street Fighter and Mako keeps offhandedly bringing Korra up.
“Actually, I think I’ll ask her out.”
Bolin pauses the game and turns to Mako. “Mako, no.”
Sighing, Mako puts his controller down. “Why not? I think she’s into me.”
Bolin places his hand on his brother’s forehead in mock seriousness before Mako swats it away.
“Nope, no fever. But definitely hallucinating. The doc recommends going off the caffeine in the meantime.”
“Whatever. You’re just annoyed she isn’t into you .” Without waiting for Bolin to pick his controller up, Mako restarts the game.
“Hey Asami. Hi Bo.” Bolin only hears her coming in when Korra greets them as the door to the apartment clicks closed.
“Korra! You’re back! Help me!” He attempts to wiggle into an upright position, the effort breaking his concentration so very slightly, and it costs him dearly as Asami’s Yoshi edges past his Princess Peach to the finish line. The celebratory tune starts as he glances at Asami slouching beside him, her expression as serene as ever with only the smallest hint of satisfaction. It widens into a true smile when Korra pecks her on the temple from behind.
Asami tilts her head further up towards Korra, “Bolin came by to drop Naga off, and I invited him to stay for dinner.”
“You didn’t mention that I challenged you to one game,” he holds his index up in emphasis, “–and you’ve been steadily destroying me over the last hour.” With a fake pout, he adds, “My reign is now over.” Bolin makes an exaggerated bow, waving the controller still in his hand, “But I humbly concede defeat to such a worthy opponent.”
Korra only laughs affectionately at the both of them, ruffling Naga’s head, before asking, “Come on, Bo, wanna help me make dinner?”
Asami puts their controllers away before Bolin can even manage to emerge from the folds of the couch. Instead, he sheepishly follows Korra to the kitchen counter, where she directs him to take out, clean, and cut the vegetables they will need.
Asami joins them just as Korra is balancing different spices in her arms in her path. She kisses her cheek before sidestepping towards the bluetooth speaker on the kitchen table and choosing something to play.
“Hey, samba! I love it!” Bolin starts dancing to the tune, while randomly opening drawers in search of a peeler. That’s when Bolin spots it. Asami has opened a cupboard and he can see it peeking out from behind the stack of pots, “What! you’ve got an air fryer!? Ooh ooh, can we use it?”
He sees Korra and Asami sharing a look, and then a whole silent conversation with their faces doing some...interesting things. Finally, Asami turns a warm smile towards him, “Sure, Bolin.”
“All right!” Bolin rocks up on his toes, in an attempt to contain his excitement. “So, okay. We have sweet potatoes, so, fries obviously.” He looks down at the vegetables he pulled out of the fridge. “Oh but, what about the broccoli? Can we really fry that?”
“Yep,” Korra answers, as she’s cutting the chicken thighs, “we’ve done it before.”
“Awesome. And then, Fried! Chicken! Legs!”
“With Korra’s random secret spice mix.” Asami bumps her hip lightly against Korra’s, as she slices the sweet potatoes.
Korra bumps her back, “My spice mix is not random at all. I swear, just because I won’t tell you the secret...”
Asami flings a potato nub at Korra, which falls a foot short. “Well, you just came up with it the day we had all those half-full bottles left from your aunt Kya.”
Korra points at Asami with a jar of turmeric, “I’ll have you know–” She turns to Bolin, “it’s a variation on our family recipe.”
Bolin watches her deftly mixing as she talks, taking a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that, too fast for him to see which spices in what proportion. ”Korra, that does look random. How do you even measure anything?”
“Experience,” Korra replies smugly.
Asami rolls her eyes, and says in a disbelieving tone.“Why can’t it just be exact amounts?” Bolin has the feeling that it’s not the first time she’s presented that argument.
“That’s why you’re the one who bakes to perfection, and I’m the cook in this relationship.”
“You know I’m only here for Naga.”
They hear a commotion from the doorway and a mass of white fluff comes bounding towards Asami. “Naga! No! You know you’re not allowed in the kitchen when we’re cooking.”
Asami wipes her hands, grabs the bag of doggy treats – Naga’s eyes eagerly following – and walks to the couch. Korra turns to Bolin, “If you like the seasoning, I could show you next time.”
“Really? That’d be awesome!”
“Hey, Bolin?” Asami calls out from the couch where she’s sprawled under Naga’s weight. He turns to see her half hanging off of the back of the couch in her attempt to face them. “If you’re done with the veggies, do you want to help me choose a movie to watch?”
Bolin turns towards Korra with his eyebrows raised.
“Go ahead, I just need to clean up a bit.”
He hurries to wash his hands and join Asami and Naga, who are already flicking through the sections. “What genre are you in the mood for?”
“So, Korra has a boyfriend, huh?”
A sense of unease creeps up over him as Bolin gives the pan a final toss and carefully divides the omelette into two exact portions, “Mako, stop it.”
Mako holds his hands up. “Wow, bro, I’m just trying to get to know your friend.”
Bolin takes a deep breath. Maybe he’s right, Mako can be thoughtful like that. “Okay, sorry, no she doesn’t.” In an effort to close the topic, he starts shovelling his eggs even faster than usual.
Mako uncharacteristically takes his time cutting his omelette up, “But you said she wasn’t interested in me.”
Or not… He still hasn’t taken a bite when Bolin is almost done. So, he puts down his fork and meets his eye. “She isn’t.”
“Okay, okay. I believe you.”
Only then does Mako starts eating. Like the subject’s closed. Good. Now everything is on the table. Bolin really thinks this time Mako will hear him.
“He’s here again.”
Oh no. Bolin can see he’s even wearing his uniform.
“I’m so sorry, Korra. I’ll talk to him again.”
Bolin barely registers the shoulder squeeze, knowing she is just trying to make him feel better. Which is messed up. “It’s not your fault, Bo. You know that, right? I don’t blame you for Mako’s behavior.”
“I still feel responsible.” How does he get him to stop? The whole situation makes his stomach churn. How can Mako be so thoughtless?
“I’ll work in the back for now.” Korra’s voice is much too high-pitched for it to be authentic when she cheerfully adds, “And I get all the leftover batter.”
“I won’t tell him. If he thinks you’re not working today, he’ll hopefully leave.” He was never a very good liar, but for Korra’s sake, he has to try his best.
“Thanks, Bo.” He knows she knows that too.
He tries to smile reassuringly, but he can feel his failure painted all over his pained mien.
“So, Korra’s really invested in her studies, huh?” Bolin is about to turn in for the night when Mako asks.
“What?” Bolin feels that same alarm that slithers down his spine whenever Mako mentions Korra now.
Mako is nonchalant, not looking at him. “If she doesn’t have a boyfriend, but she’s not interested in me.” Bolin marvels at how he manages to keep the question out of his voice; more a disbelieving statement.
You know what? Bolin is tired. He’s had a long day, and his brother is refusing to listen. “Sure.”
He closes his bedroom’s door before Mako continues a conversation that is both repetitive and annoying.
Bolin’s playing Night in the Woods, one of the dream sequences, when Mako throws himself sulkily onto the couch.
He finishes this part before pausing, and asking, “What’s wrong, Mako?”
Mako folds his arm across his chest. Bolin thinks he would pout if it was deemed manly. “I don’t know why Korra is mad at me.”
Bolin refrains from sighing. Not this again. “What do you mean?”
“She’s always busy and barely talks to me nowadays.”
Bolin wonders if he is mistaking his acrimony for condescension. Towards him or towards Korra is another question.
“Uhm...maybe that’s a hint she doesn’t want to talk to you?”
Mako guffaws. “You’re so funny, Bo. Nah, I’m pretty sure something is bothering her. She should know she can trust me, but I think she’s just too cautious sometimes.”
“Hey Bo, is Korra sick? I haven’t seen her around lately.” Mako doesn’t even let him close the front door before asking.
Uh oh, here we go. Bolin takes his time taking off his shoes and his jacket before answering. “No, she’s fine. Just, you know, busy with school.”
Mako faces him, not paying attention to the stove he’s standing at. “Oh yeah? How’s her UN thing going?”
Bolin crosses to the cupboard and pulls out plates for the two of them. Still not looking at Mako, he answers, “Um, I’m not sure.” Korra’s told him quite a bit –she’s so excited about the opportunity, but he’s not that oblivious.
“....okay. Has she changed shifts?” Mako turns off the stove and brings the pan to the table. He thinks he’s so good at extracting information since he's read that one book about interrogation techniques.
Bolin sets glasses and cutlery down, avoiding Mako’s gaze. Not that it will really hide his dishonesty. “I don’t really know.”
He takes his seat, Mako remaining where he is, “How can you not know?”
Bolin looks up, capitalizing on his anger to look Mako in the eyes. “I just don’t, okay?”
Mako scoffs and smirks. “You’ve never learned how to lie properly, Bolin. Why don’t you wanna tell me?”
“Look, Mako, don’t.”
“Don’t what? I can’t believe this, Bolin. I’m your brother. What’s wrong with you?”
“Just back off, she’s not interested in you.”
“What are you saying?”
“Nothing, just back off, okay?”
Mako looks at him, almost pensively for a moment. Uncharacteristically, none of them has started eating yet, and Bolin gets the sudden urge to protect his plate from his own brother.
“Alright, Bo, whatever you want.”
Bolin sighs in relief. He’d been dreading this convo with Mako, but of course he’d just been overthinking. Mako is reasonable. He’s always had it so hard, especially when they were young, so he’s just brash sometimes. But his heart is in the right place. And he does listen to him, when it really matters.
They’re brothers, after all.
“I thought you were interested in Opal.” Dammit, he didn’t listen.
“What?”
“Not Korra.”
Wha-–nevermind. “I’m not interested in Korra.”
“I don’t know, Bo. You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with her lately. You’re always hanging out together after your shifts. I don’t even get to see her anymore. Why do you want to undermine our relationship?”
Bolin almost laughs out loud, but manages to swallow his snort. What relationship?
“What? What relationship?”
“Hey, if you are. I’ll back off, okay. Just say the word. But you gotta leave some for the rest of us,” his laugh sounds flat, even to Bolin’s ear, and his smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“Mako, just stop. Please.”
“What’s up with Korra? Has she changed shifts again?”
Bolin minimizes the rental website he’s been browsing, but does not turn towards Mako yet. He hesitates. Would Korra want Mako to know? But he needs Mako to understand.
“Korra quit.”
“Isn’t her UN thing in a few weeks still?”
“It’s not because of that.”
“Then why?”
“Because you’re a creep.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been harassing her for months.” Bolin knows he sounds more tired than disappointed, but if he’s being honest, he should have seen it coming.
“You are not making any sense, right now.”
Oh, now Mako’s making him angry. “You wouldn’t leave her alone, despite her insistent and constant refusal.” Mako scoffs at that. How dare he? “You even started to wear your uniform cons.tant.ly. “
“Everyone has their ups and downs. We were doing fine. And what has anything got to do with my uniform?” Bolin isn’t sure if Mako is madder at the harassment or the uniform comment.
“What? You were never a couple. You were at best acquaintances because I didn’t confront you when I should have.”
“What are you talking about?” Mako laughs, but it comes out forced. “You’re so oblivious to everything around you. Ever since we were kids. Korra has been into me since day one, if you’ve paid any attention at all.”
Bolin shakes his head vigorously, not quite believing what he is hearing. For someone who is training to be deductive, he cannot believe how far off the mark his brother is.
“I can’t believe that woman. Turning my own brother against me. I have the decency to go slow for her and be a good guy, and now I’m the bad guy?”
“What the hell, Mako? She was doing her job!”
“She flirted with me!”
“She has a partner, for God’s sake!”
“Well, then, I don’t know if her ‘partner’ was unsatisfying or what, but I– You know what? I’m sure she’s saying all that because that boyfriend of hers learned about it and she’s trying to cover it up.”
Oh, wouldn’t Mako like that. His charm so irresistible that women in committed relationships couldn’t refrain from cheating.
“No, believe me, her partner knew from the beginning that you were being creepy.”
“I can’t believe you’d take her word against mine. Even if I hypothetically misunderstood her situation –and honestly, she is the one who never mentioned a boyfriend; she definitely lead me on.”
“No, she was being a decent, polite human being.” Of course, Bolin realized too late that Korra wouldn’t have let this slide, if not for him. She’d have kicked Mako’s door down if she’d needed to, and told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted to have nothing to do with him. Or borrowed Asami’s bike to mow him down. Okay, maybe not. But something, at least.
All that restraint, because of him, Bolin. Because he was her friend. Bolin could have kicked himself for being such an idiot. And now, because of his passivity, confronting Mako is not going to cut it.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m moving out.” Bolin has packed all his stuff, and put it in front of the door outside their apartment, to wait for Opal’s car.
“Why?”
“Because, Mako, I can’t live with you anymore.”
“What? You can’t be serious. Is it because of this Korra situation? She flirted with me!”
“She had to quit her job to get away from you, and even then you couldn’t get that she wasn’t interested.”
“I can’t believe you would side with her. She’s the one who lead me on!”
“Just–” Bolin sighs, “I just need some distance right now, okay?”
“Bo, come on. You’re my brother. You’d choose a girl over us?”
Bolin almost relents then. He stares at his brother as though seeing – really seeing – him for the first time in a long time. This is his brother, the boy who kept them alive when they were homeless. The boy who gave up his food for him. And delayed his own ambitions so his little brother could finish high school to get into a decent college.
Sure, he’s done questionable things in the past, but always for their survival, for Bolin’s protection. This is – or used to be – the person he always looked up to, for his strength and perseverance.
And yet, here they are.
It’s harder when he looks into Mako’s eyes. Because he still sees the same person reflected back.
His survival instincts are still strong; even joining the very system that discarded them. The same survival instinct that enabled him to turn his back completely on his own past. They never had real friends, their childhood life could not allow that; but Bolin could never have given up the people they knew from their past the way Mako did, so easily, so carelessly. A person who did not take ‘no’ for an answer; born out of necessity and hardship at first before hardening into a way of living.
How do you reconcile these things? How do you pretend everything is still normal?
As though the realization he now holds exists in a vacuum, separate and absolute. As though it does not now taint everything it touches.
Including their relationship.
His self-respect. His respect for his brother. His love for him even.
Bolin cannot find the right words to express it all to Mako, so he says, ”I can’t just stand back when you hurt somebody else.” He’s shaking with restraint, the heat seeping in his voice involuntarily. “I can’t pretend this never happened, and still keep living with you, and be okay with myself.” At this point, his voice is sharper with anger than he’s ever allowed himself to be with his brother. “Can’t you understand that?”
And just like that, his rage crashes against the enormity of his decisions. Shoulders slumping, nothing left to add, he closes the door gently behind him.