(Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3,Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11,,Chapter 12,Chapter 13,Chapter 14, Chapter 15,Chapter 16,Chapter 17)
Mako ruminates on his relationship with Asami while Bolin languishes in lonely suffering. Korra is overburdened by her mounting responsibilities; Asami reminds her she doesn’t bear them alone. Korra tries to comfort Bolin. Asami is confronted with a terrible situation.
The group marched back to the mansion in silence and splintered apart once inside, the race driving deep rifts between them. The brothers retreated back to their rooms while the girls went back to the parlor.
Mako paced around his room, trying to figure just what the hell had happened out there that made Asami so insane.
She hadn’t bothered to talk to him after gloating over his near death experience. He wanted to say something to her, but a scowl passed over her face every time he looked at her, shutting down conversation before it even began.
He no idea what the hell she could be angry about. She was the one who nearly killed him, he should be the one glaring at her, yet she treated him like he was the bad guy.
He replayed the incident over and over in his head and never seeing where he went wrong. She was obviously offended when he claimed he was out there to protect her, but that was hardly a sufficient reason to ram him off the road. Nothing he had ever done to her warranted that kind of anger.
‘Maybe she had a fight with her dad or something and took out on me…’
But that hardly seemed likely; Hiroshi catered embarrassingly to his daughter’s every whim. Whatever was bothering Asami had nothing to do with him, or her father…
The only other catalyst he could think of for her change was Korra. Asami’s shouting and chest thumping antics mirrored Korra’s insane behavior. His love blinded brother may not have been able to see it, but Korra just wasn’t girlfriend material, and she wasn’t a good influence on his girlfriend either. She was certainly sexy, almost as sexy as Asami, and he certainly didn’t mind getting a little taste of her before but she was too powerful, too wild. You couldn’t predict her or control her; she was a force of nature. Girls were supposed to be demure and calm. Like Asami was.
Hopefully Bolin would understand that soon. He hadn’t spoken to Mako either since he forced him to swallow that bitter medicine about Korra. When they came indoors he shut up inside his room and hadn’t come out since.
‘Whatever.’
This was all temporary; it would pass.
He couldn’t wait for the day Korra left for Air Temple Island. Then Bolin would get over her, Asami would stop being moody and aggressive and he could start living the life he dreamed about, the life he had yearned for when he was curled up on the cold city streets at night trying to ignore how much his empty stomach hurt.
***
Nothing about this moment felt temporary for Bolin.
He laid in his bed next door wallowing in depression and self-pity, his brother’s blunt words lodged in his gut like a dagger. Of course he remembered walking in on them making out just after Korra had shared so many laughs and smiles with him. He never forgot that. But he never longing for her, never lost faith that they would still be together one day. After all, Mako was with Asami now and Korra already liked him a little. If they spent some more time with each other she’d like a little more and little more…until one day she’d love him like he loved her.
He was convinced of that right up to the point Mako slapped reality in his face, dispelling his naïve romantic fantasies. Bolin realized everything he said was true. It was stupid to keep feeling things for a girl who already rejected you. She wasn’t going to wake up morning and have some epiphany about them as a couple.
He pressed a pillow to his face, trying to obliterate his incessant thoughts about Korra, to forget how warm her smile was, how cute her giggling was, how drop dead sexy she was, how loudly she belched…and on and on.
None of that mattered. She didn’t want him, and he knew it.
But if he accepted that then why did it still hurt so much? Why couldn’t he stop feeling so bad?
