Being aloof and oblivious was a critique Bolin had heard often in his life, but the tension between his two Fire Ferret teammates would have been clear and obvious to a hibernating platypus-bear. He knew that something had happened between the two, and although they hadn't told him what, it was bad enough that they had spent most of the match bickering instead of working together like they were usually able to.

When Mako had expressed caution towards asking out Korra, he had mentioned that it wasn't a good idea to date a teammate, saying that he needed to stay focused and keep his priorities in order. At this point though, Bolin couldn't help but suspect that his brother wasn't being honest with him about his apprehension about the idea of him and Korra dating, considering that Mako was pondering whether Korra would be a good girlfriend for himself when he brought up the topic.

Either way, Bolin knew that the conflict between them couldn't continue for the sake of their chances in the tournament and friendship with the avatar, let alone his dream of being in a relationship with her. And since Korra had gotten changed and left in a rush, that left his grumpy older brother as the best option to get answers from, even though he knew that doing so would be as enjoyable as giving a hug to a boar-q-pine.

"Look Mako, we need to talk", said Bolin as he calmly placed his hand on the shoulder of his teammate. "What happened with you and Korra earlier? The way you two were arguing, I wasn't sure if it was Hasook or Korra out there". Bolin winced internally, as he could tell by Mako's reaction that he shouldn't have been so accusatory (Or at least not directly).

"I'm not the one you should be talking to, Bo. She's the one being crazy", Mako said with a disinterested tone. Bolin had to roll his eyes at that, although he was only feeling brave enough to do so because he knew Mako wasn't looking at him. "And don't bring up Hasook. He bailed on us. And before you blame me for that, we weren't having problems with him until that incident with the fangirl you brought in. What was her name, Meng?"

"How was I supposed to know she would- Hey, don't change the subject!" Bolin could feel his own frustration about the situation increasing. "Is this because Korra and I went on a date last night? Because we had a great time, and I was hoping we could do it again".

"I know. You already told me that. Multiple times. Look, I know how you are with girls, and I don't want you to end up getting your heart broken, especially if it ends up happening with someone that we spend a lot of time with already. Mako was talking in a calm tone, but Bolin could tell that he was still annoyed by the conversation they were having. The way his brother bristled at the mention of their date gave him a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Spirits, please don't be jealous.

While Bolin often referred to himself as a ladies man, the title was more of a joke than he'd like to admit. Typically, girls tended to show more interest in Mako than himself, despite the attention he was more than willing to give them, an irony Bolin couldn't help feeling slightly bitter about, since Mako hadn't ever really had to try that hard in terms of getting girls to notice him.

The times that a girl reciprocated interest had never led to much, and if he was being honest, it was hard to remember the faces and names of those girls since he met Korra. Regardless, Bolin could only imagine the mess that would ensue if Mako had feelings for both Korra and Asami, and was letting that affect how he was behaving, and that was without himself likely getting tossed aside. He had to try to put an end to whatever Mako was trying to do, even if it was for reasons more selfish than he'd like to admit.

"Listen Mako, I'm not sure if you're being overprotective or jealous right now, but I'm gonna be honest with you even though I don't think you're being honest with me". Mako turned around to offer a rebuttal, but paused when he saw the expression on his brother's face that had never been directed toward him. "Look, I like Korra, ok? Like, really, really like her. And I know she might not feel the same way, that she probably just sees me as a friend right now, but I gotta know for sure because I've never felt this way about a girl before, and you've already got an amazing girlfriend of your own that wants to be with you for whatever reason, and I'm not a little kid anymore, and I can handle rejection, so do me a favor and stay out of this, please?"

While it hadn't been good for Bolin's pride to do what he felt like begging for scraps from Mako, but since he let out a long sigh and appeared to let go of whatever retort or argument he was about to say.

"Alright Bolin, good luck. Anyway, don't wait up for me, I'm probably gonna be out all night with Asami", he said with an encouraging tone but a weak smile.

Bolin's anxiety turned to relief and confidence at his brother's words. However, he couldn't help but let out a groan and a mocking "Ewwww" at his assumptions of what Mako's nighttime plans were, which forced him to duck and run to the safety of the locker room showers to avoid being hit by the discarded equipment Mako had decided to throw at him in response.

"You can do this. You can do this. You can do this", Bolin murmured to himself as he continued walking away from the flower shop that was luckily nearby the arena, unsure of his chances for what he was about to do, and grumbling about how he was pretty sure that the person that sold him the bouquet had ripped him off. However, he had to end the latter train of thought upon realizing that he would have paid double if the flowers had the intended effect. At least I wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud, Bolin thought to himself, as he wasn't sure if the shopkeeper was the type to call his bluff.

While Bolin hadn't had much success with girls, it wasn't due to a lack of confidence. It took weeks for him to work up the courage to ask Korra out, and now about to ask the smartest, funniest, toughest, buff-est, talent-est, incredible-est girl in the world if she wanted to be more than friends made him wonder if this was how Avatar Aang felt when he had to face the Firelord. Probably not. The Firelord wasn't nearly as pretty as Korra. Not that guys can't be pretty. Or that there's anything wrong with finding guys pretty.

Bolin again had to refocus his thoughts, trying to be optimistic and cheerful, telling himself that if things didn't work out, at least he could still afford a bottle of cactus juice from Narook. Or at least try to be more optimistic and cheerful.

He was about to internally recite a made up prayer to every spirit and past Avatar he could think of before a gust of wind allowed him to take in his surroundings, and notice the girl occupying his thoughts was within talking distance, looking over the city she was still so new to.

"I just don't feel the same way"

"I know you're just using him to get back at me".

"Get over yourself!"

"You're crazy!"

So much for magical romance, Korra thought to herself bitterly. She listened to Pema's story about Tenzin, and decided to act on her feelings, hoping for a similar result. However, the feelings weren't reciprocated, leaving her hurt and embarrassed. Meant for each other, really? Rethinking what she had blurted out in retrospect only added to the shame, but also helped her understand from his perspective what it must have looked like for her to immediately go on a date with his little brother after putting herself out there like that. But that wasn't the case when Mako confronted her outside the probending arena afterwards. His reaction to her accusation of just being jealous hadn't done much to convince Korra otherwise, but since their frustration with each other had nearly cost them their shot at winning the tournament, she was left feeling unsure about what to do next.

"Uh...Hi, Korra".

Bolin's voice had snapped her out of the funk she was in, and caused her to turn around and see her teammate with a nervous grin and a bouquet of pink roses.

"Oh..., hey, Bo".

Her response with his shortened name must have given him a small boost of confidence, as he started to slowly walk towards her, with his grip on the flowers visibly tightening.

"I wanted to give you these.., as thanks for the date earlier..., and for everything else. We...I, owe you for a lot".

Accepting the flowers from him, she was able to momentarily forget the heaviness of the situation that she had put herself in. "Thank you Bolin", she said, taking a moment to breathe in the smell of the gift he had given her. "They're beautiful". Unfortunately, her relief didn't last long as she then heard the sound of Bolin taking a deep breath, probably to bring up the real reason he wanted to see her.

"Anyway, I was wonder-"

"Hang on, Bolin", Korra murmured, barely able to get the words out. Her nervousness had suddenly turned to panic as she realized that she had nothing to add to her interruption of his question. Mako's plea of "Just don't hurt him" resurfaced in her mind. She had no idea how to go about this. Korra hadn't really taken time to consider Bolin as more than a friend during their "date", and mentally reprimanded herself upon realizing that it was probably all he thought about the entire time. Her feelings then turned from fear to guilt, as her vision went from the flowers to his face, and it reminded her of Naga's reaction to her being unable to get a treat or belly rub from Korra. She looked away quickly, unable to come up with words that would ease the hurt and disappointment he had to be going through. "Bo, I- I-"

Korra was then taken by surprise, as Bolin decided to wrap his arms around her and pull her into a firm hug. It was a small miracle that the flowers he had gotten her weren't squished between them, but she was able to make a quick maneuver with her arms so that they were wrapped around his waist, bouquet safe in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Korra", he whispered. Wait, what? "I didn't mean to freak you out, make you uncomfortable, or put you in a bad position. If you don't feel that way about me, I completely understand. I won't ever bring this up again, and I hope you still want to be my friend".

Korra was stunned at his response to all this. She couldn't imagine trying to comfort Mako like this after he shot her down, and she hadn't put nearly as much effort into impressing her crush as Bolin had. The whole situation had brought her train of thought to a screeching halt. She could only focus on the feeling of being held by the person who clearly thought the world of her. The kindness he always showed her, the way he always tried to cheer her up or make her laugh, the...body he had. Although the attempt of affection was likely meant as platonic on his part, Korra couldn't help but reconsider her initial reaction to his interest. The tightness of his grip allowed her to take in how firm all of his muscles were, likely the result of constant training for earthbending at a competitive level. She could feel her cheeks turning red in response to the contact, but Bolin apparently hadn't noticed, as he broke apart their embrace and turned to leave, probably to go wallow in self-pity.

A part of her wanted to act on her newfound feelings, wanting to turn him around, wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in for her first kiss. But considering how acting on her instincts had gotten Korra into this mess, she decided to finally use that patience stuff Tenzin was always lecturing her about.

"Bolin, wait", she told him as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "That's not what I was trying to say at all. Listen, things have gotten so crazy, and I guess I'm just confused about everything right now, and I could really use a chance to figure this out, ok?

The change in his demeanor upon hearing her reassurances was honestly adorable to watch, as he went from a slouch and a frown to being upright with a wide grin. However, once he saw Korra's expression, he shook his head wildly, not unlike a soaked furry animal trying to dry itself off. He then gave her a reassuring smile, and told her "It's okay Korra, if you need time, I can handle that. Whatever you decide, I want you to be sure, ok? But could you do me a favor and hang on to the flowers? Just a little something for you to think about".

"Oh...sure thing", Korra said as she could feel the heat on her cheeks from before returning.

Bolin had apparently taken notice this time, and apparently felt awkward about it as he started to rub the back of his neck, although his face did seem to get a little red as well.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head back to the apartment. Gonna need a good night's sleep for the match tomorrow".

"Hm? Right, the tournament! Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I'm going to head back to Air temple island soon. For sleep", Korra said, in a more flustered manner than she would have preferred.

Bolin gave her a smile and a nod upon hearing that, turning around and walking away, and Korra couldn't help but giggle at the good mood her new crush was in, skipping along to where he lived, humming a cheery tune.