Tears

by That Girl With The Hat

Inspired by The Spirit of Competition...basically, this is Bolin's take on Korra kissing Mako.

Enjoy. Or not.

(Yes, I know I should continue writing Doctor Whooves...I just needed to get this out of my head)

I OWN NOTHING. Do I look like Mike or Bryan to you? If so, you need glasses...

After ensuring that Korra and Mako weren't going to kill each other, Bolin excitedly ran upstairs. "Woohoo!" Bolin cheered as he ran into his apartment. "We did it, Pabu! We won! You should have been there; it was awesome!"

Pabu lifted his head and waved his tail happily. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but Bolin seemed happy, and so he was happy.

"One more match and we're in the finals! And on top of my date with Korra earlier?" Bolin said happily. "I can't believe it, Pabu! This has been the greatest day of my life!"

Pabu chittered in response as Bolin picked him up and hugged him. "There's only one way to make this better," he informed the fire ferret. "I'm gonna ask Korra out for real! You wanna come with, Pabu?"

The fire ferret tilted his head and chittered some more. Bolin grinned. "Awesome. Let me get dressed, and then... oh! We're gonna go to Hana's and get some flowers. You can't ask a girl out without flowers..." He then hugged Pabu tighter. "This is gonna be so perfect, Pabu!"

The next few minutes were spent holding clothes up and throwing them to the side while Pabu dodged. Finally, Bolin settled on the clothes he had worn on the date with Korra. "After all, they were lucky once before!" he declared.

Pabu sneezed, then scratched his ear. Bolin made a pouty face at him. "What? You don't like it?"

There was no response. Bolin looked at his reflection for a moment, then said, "You know what? This is just fine. Korra likes me for who I am and not what I wear." He then picked up the ferret. "Come on, buddy. We've got an Avatar to sweep off her feet."

One shopping trip later, Bolin had a dozen pink roses in his hands. "Ok," he muttered to himself. "Flowers, check. Cute animal, check. My dignity...well, I'm pretty sure after the belching contest, that doesn't matter." He tightened his grip on the flowers. "Ok, I'm ready, Pabu."

Pabu gave Bolin an affectionate nuzzle as he set out to find Korra. He checked around the arena first, but found no trace of her in the halls or the gym. A security guard he bumped into said he'd seen Korra heading outside about ten minutes ago, but he didn't know which way she had gone after that. Then Bolin realize that she was probably going to the docks – since it was so cold outside, Korra was probably waiting for a ferry to take her back to Air Temple Island rather than swimming across. Taking a deep breath, he headed outside and scanned the area. Sure enough, he could see Korra's figure down at the end of the pier. "Yes! I was right!" he cheered.

Pabu held on for dear life as Bolin ran down the stairs and toward the pier. "It's time, Pabu!" Bolin informed him as he focused in on Korra.

Hey, I think there's someone with her... is that... Mako?

Bolin began to slow down. He could clearly see Mako was down with Korra.

What's he doing with her? Weren't they fighting the whole match?

Korra turned toward Mako, who was shifting his weight.

What are they doing?

Then Korra ran forward and...

Wait... no... they're kissing... Korra's kissing him... what.

Bolin stopped dead in his tracks, taking in the horrific scene unfolding in front of his eyes.

She's... kissing... him...

After a moment, Korra and Mako separated. Then Korra looked over and locked eyes with Bolin.

What... Korra... why...

As Korra looked away, Mako turned around.

No... NO... MAKO YOU TRAITOR HOW COULD YOU

Anger and betrayal flooded every inch of his being. The tears started flowing immediately as he threw the flowers to the ground and started running away. He could hear Mako calling him back, but he had no intention to do so.

TRAITOR WHY HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

As he ran, all he could see was Korra... their date... their belching contest... how she had disposed of Tahno...

"Why did she kiss him?" he wailed to Pabu. "I don't understand! What did I do wrong?"

Pabu chittered worriedly as he held on for dear life.

I don't understand... Korra... Mako... why?

Finally, he couldn't run anymore. He stopped and leaned against a wall, panting heavily as tears continued to flow down his face. Pabu gently nuzzled him and licked his cheek. "Thanks, Pabu," he said weakly, grabbing the ferret and bringing him up to his face. "You're a real friend... a real... pal..."

Leaning back, he sighed. "I guess I shouldn't have expected different..." he muttered. Then his eyes fell upon the cafe across the street. It was Narook's, the same place he had taken her for dinner. The flood of tears doubled in strength as he stood up and began walking toward it. "At least... I have our noodles..." he cried as he entered. "Narook, give me a double."

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