𝗷𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆, 𝗷𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀𝘆 || 𝚔𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚒 𝚡 𝚏𝚎𝚖 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚎 || 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

A few days pass and the day of the beginning of the tournament draws closer.

Despite Korra and I growing more and more close by the day, I haven't seen her lately because she's been working with Tarrlok's task force non-stop. When I try to visit the island, she's not there, and when I try to go to City Hall, she's out on a mission.

So with her busy, I focused on training for the tournament. The guys and I had finished practice for the night and Mako left us to go on a date with Asami.

Bolin and I stayed home, eating food and playing games. We were just lounging about in the living room, playing Pai Sho while we bet money in who'd win.

"Yes! I win again! Pay up, sucker." Bolin boasted, holding his hand out to me.

"You're cheating! I swear." I grumbled, pulling two yuans from my pocket.

"I play fair and square. Whatever, come on Y/N, play against me one more time."

"Nah, cause every time I win, you're such a sore loser about it. 'You cheated!' 'You did this wrong!' 'You did that wrong!' Like a freaking child." I laughed, getting up

"Okay I promised I won't be a sore loser if you win. Just play, please?" He begged.

I waited a few moments. "Fine."

While jazz music was pouring from the radio ont he coffee table, a bunch of static interrupted the music.

"Ugh.." I grumbled before smacking the radio and adjusting the antenna.

"Amon.." I heard Korra's voice mixed with static coming from the radio. I jumped slightly at the name and set the radio down.

"Did I just hear Korra say Amon's name?" Bolin asked.

I nodded and turned up the volume as Bolin and I listened in.

We heard her say something about challenging Amon to a duel and I felt myself go tense.

"No task force, no Chi-Blockers. Just the two of us, tonight at midnight on Avatar Aang memorial island." She commanded.

"Let's cut to the chase and settle this thing. If you're man enough to face me." Were her last words before the static came back and some broadcaster started talking again.

I turned off the radio in haste and didn't bother to look at Bo's reactions. I could already tell he were just as on edge as I was.

Neither of us breathed a word as I slowly placed the chips in my hand back on the game board.

"You don't think Amon will go through with it, do you?" Bolin asked with the sound of worry flooding his voice.

"Nah. She'll be fine." I told him.

We were both scared for Korra because we knew what Amon was capable of. We know she's strong and is self-reliant but it doesn't makes us any less worried.

The whole city was aware of the supposed duel, so Bolin and I stayed up listening to the radio for any new information.

The attic was dark and quiet. Bolin fell asleep quickly and Mako finally came home around thirty minutes after midnight.

"Y/N? What are you still doing up?" Mako whispered, seeing that Bolin was already asleep.

"Did you hear Korra on the radio?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"No? Why was she on the radio?"

"She challenged Amon to a duel. They were supposed to meet half an hour ago and I just couldn't sleep." I told him.

"Oh. Do we know if she's okay or anything?"

"No, and I'm getting paranoid because this stupid radio isn't telling me anything I want to know." I grumbled, walking into the kitchen to grab a snack.

"Y/N, I'm sure she's okay. I mean, it's Korra." He said, trying to reassure me.

"Korra's all lip. We watched Amon take a man's bending away.. She shouldn't have challenged him to anything, she could get hurt." I said grimly.

He didn't respond. He knew I was right. My attention left Mako and went back to the radio as I walked back to the couch.

Now, it just turned one am and Mako went to sleep while I was still under a blanket with a bag of fire flakes in my hand, listening intently to the radio.

And looking out the window to observe the journalists on the dock, facing the Avatar Aang statue.

At the back of my mind, I have a plan that if something bad happens. I'm leaving the arena and heading to memorial island.

The second I hear something go wrong, I'm out of here.

I yawned from boredom before I put the snacks down. I've been sitting down for so long, my head hurts from not doing anything.

I stood up and stretched my arms.

"You know what? Fuck this. This radio was no help at all. I'm going." I muttered to myself. In no time, I grabbed my jacket, slipped on my shoes, and ran out of the arena.

I ran through the now quiet city and to the docks where you'd take a ferry to Avatar Aang's memorial statue. There were police mobiles everywhere and news reporters all over the dock.

I couldn't exactly get through the crowd by asking politely, so I just started to shove my way through.

I ended up at the front of the crowd and saw yellow police tape before me, secluding the edge of the dock.

Since there was so much chaos, no one noticed when I went under the tape. I saw Tenzin with an arm around Korra. They were talking to some police officials and I recognized one of them as Chief Beifong.

She was at the gala last night but I didn't see her much.

I walked over to Korra, ignoring the people trying to pull me away from her.

I tackled her in a hug and she hugged me back tightly, not even concerned about the fact that I somehow knew she was here.

"Are you okay?" I muttered.

In the few days I've known Korra, she has never seemed the type of cry. Like, she doesn't cry unless it's from a physical reaction but when I felt her cry softly into my shoulder, I could feel my feelings for her grow.

She was comfortable with being vulnerable around me even with other people around.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you." She muttered against my ear.

"He didn't take your bending, did he? Did he hurt you?" I whispered.

She shook her head in response and just clutched at my back, hugging me even closer to her.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"What is she doing? And why is she here?" I heard Beifong snap behind me.

"She's giving her friend a hug, Lin. Surely even you know what that is. Give them a minute." Tenzin's voice said softly.

"The Avatar hasn't answered all of our questions, and time is valuable right now. She needs to go-"

"Lin, please. After what Korra just went through, not even ten minutes ago, she needs a friend. You can get more answers tomorrow but right now, you and your force need to leave." She stated.

There was silence and tension growing between the two before someone smacks their teeth and multiple footsteps trail down the dock.

I pull away from Korra and then look up at Tenzin.

"And here I thought you didn't like me." I chuckled. He looked at me and scoffed. "I'm only defending Korra. You though, are very annoying in my opinion." He said.

"If you say so." I smirked. He rolled his eyes and flipped his weird air nomad cape before walking away. What a drama king.

I look back at Korra and notice how shaken she was from the events that took place. "What are you even doing here? How did you know I was here?" She chuckled, sniffling at the end of her sentence.

"The whole duel thing was being reported on the radio. Everyone in the city knows about it. But they weren't saying anything, and I got worried about you, so I just had to make sure you were okay." I smiled.

"Thanks, Y/N." She pulled me in for another hug and I gladly hugged her back. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"'Course, I do." I muttered jokingly. We hugged for a little longer.

"Let's get you home." I muttered. We left the dock, along with the many reporters still here trying to ask Korra more questions.

We eventually left the city and I went with Korra to the island.

"You sure you can't stay over?" She asked as we both walked off the ferry boat.

"Yeah, I've gotta head back. Mako and Bolin were asleep when I left, I just don't want them to think I went missing." I laughed.

"Alright then." She sighed. "Ugh, I know. You can't survive one night without me." I sighed dramatically. She laughed at my antics shoving my arm.

"We have practice tomorrow, if you wanna hang out.." I told her.

"Sure. I'll be there." She smiled. I gave her one last hug.

"'Night, Korra."

"Goodnight. And thank you again." She said as I pulled away. I looked behind her and saw Tenzin walking up to the temple.

"Hey! Hey, Tenzin! Bestfriend! Hey-" I yelled. I saw him take a deep breath and turn around in annoyance.

"Goodnight, bestfriend!" I yelled and waved at him. He stared at me for two seconds and the turned around, waking away from the dock. he's so gonna resent Korra and I meeting.

Korra chuckled with me before I felt myself blush. I quickly got back on the ferry, sparing Korra one last wave.

I got home around three in the morning and went to sleep in my room, leaving Mako and Bolin on the couch.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"WAKE UP!" Mako yells at me from the door way.

"I'm going!" I groaned, still under the blanket on my bed. "Bitch ass.."

"If you're not up in ten seconds, I'm getting a bucket of ice water and splashing it on your head." He walked out of the room and I scoffed, shuffling to the other side of my bed.

Ever so faintly, I heard the sound of ice clanking around in a metal bucket and footsteps coming closer to my bed.

I smirked with my eyes closed, knowing Mako was pathetically trying to wake me up with water knowing very well I can control where it lands.

The ice bucket was now right above my head and I slit one eye open to see the water before simply waving my hand and sending the water upright and into Mako's face.

I howled with laughter, falling off my bed and holding my stomach.

"Yeah, ha-ha. Very funny." He grumbled, shaking out the ice from his hair by rubbing his head with his hand.

"Okay, haha- I'm awake now." I said, still laughing a little.

Mako left the room and grabbed some exercise clothes from the closet before leaving the attic and going down to the locker rooms to shower.

After getting dressed, we all ate breakfast and went down to the gym to begin practicing.

About an hour into practice, Korra finally arrived and walked into the gym. She's been joining our practices for the last few days.

And from what I can tell, she's gotten less nervous about what happened with Amon.

I think it's good that she's distracting herself by hanging out with us so often.

She's also a very good sparring partner. I can tell she works through her anger by hitting things because I have the bruises to prove it.

Not that I'd let her know, she'd never spar with me again if she knew she hurt me.

While Mako and I are going against eachother, I quickly glance at Korra who's drinking water while watching me.

I smiled before suddenly Mako's fat ass foot almost kicks me in the face with flames coming off of it.

I yelped, jumping out of way and I take advantage of the fact that he's standing in one leg right now.

I send a streak of water to hit his ankle, causing him to fall in his back.

He groans in pain and I walk over to him before standing right above him.

"You need to pay more attention to me and not more attention to Korra." He said.

"I'm paying plenty attention. You're the one on the floor right now." I smiled mischievously.

"Whatever. Just get out of my face." He shoved my face away with his hand as he got up. I slapped his hand away and walked over to Korra.

"Aren't you guys nervous at all?" Korra asks, hanging me a cup of water. I take off my helmet and thank her.

"Not really. I'm fired up! We've never been this good." Bolin says, also taking off his helmet.

"Tch. Speak for yourself." I boasted after finishing my water.

I swear, it's hilarious how Bolin gets so pissed when I say shit like that.

"No but seriously, I feel like we have a really good chance of winning." Mako chuckled.

"I mean the sponsorship did help a lot and- Oh yeah, that reminds me, isn't Asami coming over with the uniforms?" I looked up at Mako.

"Yeah, she is." A familiar voice rang. We all looked toward the entrance of the gym and saw Asami walk in with a cart full of uniforms.

"Hey, Asami." Mako walked toward her with a smile on his face.

"Good morning, sweetie." She smiled.

"Aww, they're cute." I muttered in a sweet tone, only loud enough for Korra to hear.

Mako pulled out a uniform top from the cart and it looked almost like our old ones except the sleeves were white and the middle had a gear logo, which I imagine is the Future Industries logo.

I watch the couple compliment each other before they rub their noses lightly against eachother.

A classic couple cliché that makes me want to gouge my eyes out.

"That's less cute." I said, in my same sweet tone except this time it was sarcastic. Korra and I chuckled quietly to each other before Mako spoke up again.

We quickly stopped laughing and put on straight faces, pretending like we weren't just making fun of the two.

"I'll see you guys before the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date." He throws an arm around the girl and walks away as I waved.

"See you guys. Have fun." I said. "Okay, we'll check you guys later. You know, we'll see you when we see you" Bolin waved calmly.

I walked over to the sidebar of the gym to grab my bag, ready to go back up to the attic, when I overheard Korra and Bolin's conversation.

Well, it wasn't exactly a conversation from the way I heard it.

He just went on and on about him and Korra being "alone in the gym" when I'm not even ten feet away from him.

"Uhh.. I've gotta head back to the temple to train with Tenzin. See ya." She waved to Bolin and ran toward the exit.

"Bye, Y/N!"

"Bye, cutie. I'll see you later tonight!" I said, standing back up.

I heard her laugh under her voice before she disappeared behind the door of the gym's exit.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Mako comes home around three hours later and we have time before the match starts to eat and wind down before all the excitement.

Mako's heating up some noodles while Bolin is siting in front of a wash basin, holding a squirmy Pabu trying to give him a bath.

Better him than me. Last time I did that, I got ten new scratches on both of my arms.

"Please, just work with me, Pabu. Don't you wanna look spic-and-span for your new uniform?" He asked the complaining animal.

Pabu is the most dramatic animal I've ever known. He'll do the most just so he doesn't have to take a bath.

He finally shoved Pabu into the basin and the ferret lifts his soaked head above water in defeat.

I chuckled at the sight and looked up at the ceiling. I was lying back on the couch with one hand behind my head and the other held up in front of me.

While waiting for the food to be done cooking, I was messing around with my bending, letting droplets of water float around my wrist in a graceful manner.

It's so mesmerizing and it always helps when I'm nervous before a match.

"So, what do you two think of Korra as 'girlfriend' material?" Bolin asks us.

"Depends. A girlfriend for who?" I asked.

"For me, obviously. You two always get the girls. Aren't you tired? Just leave one for me." Bolin complains.

"Damn!" Mako and I laughed at the same time.

"Such a sore loser." I laughed.

I put the water that was floating in the air back into the cup I took it out of on the table.

"Whatever, just answer the question."

"Umm, I don't know. You and Korra are pretty different."

"Almost like you two have opposite personalities." Mako stated.

"Yeah, exactly. Opposites don't always attract, you know." I said, sitting up.

"You're crazy. Korra and I are perfect for each other. She's strong, I'm strong. She's fun, I'm fun. She's beautiful, I'm gorgeous!"

I rolled my eyes at his enthusiasm and walked over to Mako.

"Okay, I don't care what you two think. I'm gonna ask Korra out."

Mako handed me a bowl of noodles along with chopsticks and gave a a familiar glance.

He knows how I feel about Korra without me actually having to say anything.

I didn't bother returning the glance when I sat down at the counter and began to eat.

"Just don't let this whole dating thing distract you. Especially tonight. Keep your head out of the clouds and your priorities straight, got it?" Mako told him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Bolin said dismissively.

From looking down at my bowl, I saw two hands lean on the other side of the counter.

I look up at Mako but decide to ignore him. "You should tell him you're interested in Korra." He muttered.

"Why would I do that?"

"Cause you are, aren't you?"

"I don't see why Bolin needs to know that."

"So it doesn't bother you at all that Bolin's also interested?"

"Not really. Besides, Korra's not into him so why does it matter?" I whispered.

"How do you know?"

In that moment, every single memory of me flirting with Korra and her blushing insanely came to my mind. How could she not be interested in me?

"Call it a hunch." I muttered, hiding my smirk.

"Okay, a hunch. But I still think-"

"Just drop it. Please? Bolin can go for whoever he wants. I don't care." I snapped quietly.

Mako sighed and nodded understandingly, getting a bowl for himself to eat.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

Korra's POV:

It was snowing in Republic City and on the island.

While filling up the feeding cages for the flying lemurs with fruit, Jinora asked me a really embarrassing question.

"So, how's it going with that tall, dreamy firebender boy? You two have been spending a lot of time together lately." She asked teasingly.

"Ooh, yeah. Tell us all about the magical romance!" Ikki added.

"What? Listen to you two." I laughed.

"I'm- I'm not interested in Mako or Y/N or any romantic stuff. Plus, I'm pretty sure they're both into the prissy, beautiful, elegant, rich girl.." I said, sounding disappointed.

Ikki and Jinora look at eachother and then back up at me.

"We never even mentioned Y/N. You like her too??" Jinora asked.

"Love triangle??" Ikki gasped excitedly.

fuck. i shouldn't have said her name.

"I don't think it's really a love triangle. It's more just me liking two people at the same time and not being able to decide who I actually want to be with.." I said.

They both looked at me like I was talking nonsense.

I just smiled sheepishly, ignoring the fact that I just embarrassed myself in front of two kids.

"But let's just say, hypothetically that if I were into, I don't know, let's say Mako, what would I do?" I asked, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Ooh, I just read a historical saga where the heroine fell in love with the enemy general's daughter, who was supposed to marry the prince. You should do what she did!" Jinora started.

"Tell me."

"She rode her dragon into battle and burned down the entire country. Then she jumped into a volcano. It was so romantic." Jinora said dreamily.

"Uhh.. I don't have a dragon.." I said.

"No, No, No! The best way to win a boy's heart is to brew a magical love potion of rainbows and sunsets and.."

Yeah, no. I stopped paying attention after "love potion" because what the fuck.

Kids have such a wild imagination, it's so head to keep up with them most of the time.

"You know, the volcano is starting to make sense to me now.." I said slowly.

While talking to these girls, behind me I heard a woman laughing. I look behind me and see Pema holding a wooden bucket in her hand.

"Oh.. hey, Pema! Uh, how long were you standing there? Just out of curiosity."

"Long enough.." She laughed.

"But trust me, I know exactly what you're going through. Years ago, I was in this exact situation. With Tenzin."

"Daddy was in love with someone else before you, Mom?" Ikki asked her.

"That's right." She smiled.

"So, what did you do?" I asked Pema.

"Well, for a while I didn't do anything about it because I was so shy and afraid I'd get rejected. But watching my soulmate spend his life with the wrong woman became too painful for me. So, I sucked it up and confessed my love to Tenzin. And the rest is now history." She smiled.

"Wow.." all three of us said dreamily.

Pema and Tenzin's story is so romantic! And if what Pema did to get together with Tenzin worked, then what's wrong with me trying that with Mako?

Plus, I don't think I like Y/N all that much. Of course she's beautiful and a good bender and considerate and kind but do I really want to date her?

Oh god, what would my parents think if I dated her? And what would Tenzin think?

He hates Y/N. Well, maybe not hate but he definitely thinks she's annoying.

She is pretty cocky.. but if I'm being honest it's pretty hot...

But Mako's so nice..

"That actually helps a lot! I'm gonna go confess to Mako!" I said, not even sure I wanted to.

"Now, while I appreciate the enthusiasm, you do need to think. Seeing as this boy is in a relationship, you need to be a little careful when confessing." Pema says before I ran off.

"Wha- uh- what do you mean?" I asked.

"Hah.. Korra, Mako has a girlfriend! Imagine how she would feel if a girl came up to him saying she likes him?"

"Well, isn't that what you did?" Now I'm even more confused.

"Yes but, I knew that neither Lin or Tenzin weren't happy in their relationship. That's why I decided to confess there and then. So, think about it. Does Mako look happy when he's with this girl?"

I thought about it and realized she was right. Mako and Asami definitely look happy with each other.

And I haven't been considering Asami's feelings at all! I'd be a horrible person if I went behind her back and told Mako I liked him.

"Oh.. yeah, you're right. Maybe I shouldn't confess after all."

"Well, I didn't necessarily say that.." She winced.

"Pema, please. Make up your mind. This is confusing enough as it is." I said.

She laughs. "I'm just saying, do what you think is right. But be careful." She said.

"Come on girls, dinner time." She told the girls. They both followed Pema and I stayed walking behind them, contemplating on whether I should even go to the tournament tonight or not.

Y/N's POV

"Introducing our first team, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets." The announcer calls to the crowd.

The platform reaches the ring and we step off, waving to the crowd above us.

We walk over to zone one as the announcer calls out the opposing team, the Red Sands Rabaroos.

They walk to zone one and we stand in position, across from each other, each of us in a fighting stance.

I stood in the middle across from Umi, their teams water bender and she winks at me.

I scoffed as the bell rings and I immediately strike her first with a punch of water. Mako and Bolin do the same next to me and I can already tell our team is off to a great start.

Ula sends sends two disks right at me and, like a fucking acrobat, I cartwheeled out of their aim and sent a a few streaks throwing her off balance.

I'm pretty sure the Rabaroos are triplets because they all look the same and have similar names except for Adi, their firebender.

Ula and Umi are going up against the brothers while I'm trying to fend off Adi, dodging her punches.

She sends a flame toward my shoulder but I dodge it in time and kicked a streak her way, hitting her in the stomach and landing her in zone two.

We advance and the fight continues. Our team definitely has the upper hand in this round. The game just started and we're advancing quickly.

I have a great feeling about tonight.

Mako and I work together to go up against Adi, who's targeting me directly. We both send water and flames her way, making her step into zone three.

Again, we advance and take over round one.

I look over at Umi getting up from her little tumble. "Aw, what's wrong, darling? Lost your balance?" I chuckled.

"Shove off." She seethed. I giggle to myself as the brothers briefly congratulate each other behind me. The bells rings, letting us know round two will commence.

Once it starts, immediately, Umi starts to target Bolin and I immediately come to his defense, hitting her with a few more streaks until eventually she's down.

From next to me Bolin, sends a disk towards Adi while she's busy with Mako, but she dodges it.

Luckily for us though, she lands right in front of Ula. Bolin took the opportunity to strike them both at once so he sends another disk to their feet and they collapse on top of each other.

Round three starts up and this time, Ula is the one going after me. She sends three disks my way and I dodge one of them but send the other two in different directions, both of them hitting Umi and Adi in the stomach.

At this point, these three are just fighting to stay up on their toes. They collapse into Zone two and we quickly send them into the pool, winning the match against the Rabaroos. The three of us shout and laugh in celebration as the crowd above us shouts and cheers with us.

We go back to our lockers and wait for the next match to start up again. Next to our lockers, the door opens up and Korra steps through with a smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh, you guys were amazing out there!" She exclaimed, walking over to me. I took off my helmet and out it in my locker before looking over at Korra.

"Thanks, cutie. Nice to know you're our number one fan."

"Of course. You guys are the best team out there right now." She smiled.

"We just started." I laughed. "So? Doesn't change a thing." I rolled my eyes and leaned back against my locker.

"Um, while I did come up here to congratulate you guys, I also wanted to talk to Mako about something." Her glance changed to the boy next to me.

"Sure. What'd you want to talk about?" He said. I walked over to to Bolin to give those two some space to talk.

"So, what should we do for the rest of the night?" I asked him. "Uh, I don't really know what you're gonna do but I'm gonna ask Korra if she wants to go out to eat. SO, have fun by yourself." He said.

"Damn, you're leaving me hanging just like that?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. "And after basically raising you the last seven years? That's cold."

"Okay fine! I'll stay with you! Jeez, you're such a manipulator." He grumbled. I chuckle before rubbing his head.

"I'm just messing with you, Bo. Get outta here, go out with Korra. I'll find something to do." I told him.

He nodded and went over to the bench to wait for Korra, because she was still talking to Mako.

Once they had finished talking, Asami walked in too. "Congratulations on the win, guys!" She said, going over to Mako and kissing his cheek.

He smiled weakly and glanced at Korra. She looked away from him and seemed let down or disappointed. I wonder what they talked about to make Korra look that way.

I watched Bolin compliment Korra and I felt weirdly jealous, even with knowing Korra isn't interested in him.

Ugh, I need to get out of here.

I grab my clothes from my locker and say bye to everyone, planning to head down to Narook's to hang out with Blossom, maybe pick up some extra change by cleaning up or something.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"Why aren't you at the arena right now?" Blossom asked from behind the hostess desk.

"We're not competing right now. The other teams need to advance." I told her as I walked in.

"So you moved up?!" She asked.

"We did!" I said eagerly.

Blossom squeals and runs over to me, giving me a big hug. "I couldn't hear the match on the radio because ours is broken and I was just dying to find out!"

I laughed as she guided me to the kitchen where the rest of our co-workers were.

I just sat in the corner on a stool, talking to the chefs about how our last match went.

Eventually, I start to get nauseous from the octopus smell and join Blossom at the hostess desk.

"Oh, hey. Can you do me a favor and serve those two right there?" She hands me two menus, a notepad and then points to two familiar people in the middle of the room.

"Ugh, seriously?..." I groaned.

"What?" Blossom asked.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, they've been waiting for their menus for five minutes now. Please?" Blossom ordered.

"Ugh, so bossy. I wonder why Narook hasn't made you the manager yet." I joked, taking an apron from under the hostess desk.

"Me too. I mean the guy is barely ever here. I'm basically running this place. Might as well change the name to 'Blossom's Noodlery.'" She said.

"Ooh, I like that name. Has a nice ring to it." I smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough with the flattery. Please, go serve that table?"

"Aright, I'm going." I said, putting my hair up.

I grabbed the menus and a notepad and walked over to them.

"Hi, guys. Sorry, for the wait. Here are your menus. Can I get you a drink?" I handed them both the menus and they looked over it briefly.

"Hey, Y/N. We'll just take iced tea for right now. Does that sound good, Korra?" Bolin asked her.

"Yep. That's fine. Wait, Y/N?" She frantically looked up at me, not recognizing me fully with my hair up.

"Oh, crap. I didn't even recognize you!" She laughed. "Seriously?" I chuckled.

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen you with your hair up. It looks... pretty." She blushed.

"Aw, thank you." I smiled, as I wrote down their drink orders.

"So, Is this the date you were talking about, Bo? or.."

"No!"

"Yes." They said at the same time. My eyes widen a little when Korra immediately said No to my question.

Like, she had been caught stealing something from me.

"I mean.. yes. Yeah, it's a date.." Korra said, embarrassed.

I smiled, trying to hide how much I was cringing inside.

"Right. Well, while you two figure that out, I'll get your drinks.." I said softly.

I quickly walked away from them and into the kitchen to get the drinks.

shit, maybe she is into him.. why else would she have gone out with bo?

I thought to myself. I put two lemon slices into the drinks and walked over to the table, placing them on the table. I handed them straws and took out my notepad to write down their orders.

"So, have you guys decided what you wanted to eat?" I asked politely.

"Yes, two bowls of seaweed noodles, please." Bolin said.

"Gross but okay." I smirked. "Really?" Korra asked.

"I'm kidding. I don't like them but maybe you will." I told her. I picked up their menus and placed my notepad in the pocket of my apron.

From the corner of my eye, I see a group of young adults walk into the restaurant, asking for a table.

I look over and to my horror, I see fucking Tahno and two of his new girlfriends on either side of him.

"You have got to be kidding me.." I muttered. As if this night couldn't get any more awkward...

As Blossom leads the group to a booth in the back, I put the menus back on the desk and go back to the kitchen to put in Bolin and Korra's orders.

"I need two orders of seaweed noodles, please." I call out. "Working on it!" The head chef calls out.

Minutes pass of me glancing at Tahno and at Korra before the bell rings, letting me know that the orders ready.

"Thank you!" I say to the chef.

He gives me a thumbs up and I placed the tray of food onto my shoulder before walking over to the table.

Carefully, I place the bowls of food down in front of them.

"Here you guys go. Two bowls of seaweed noodles!" I said, placing the tray to my side.

"Sweet! Can we get some chopsticks?" Korra asks me. I nod and look through my pockets but I forgot to refill one of them with chopsticks.

"I'll be right back.."

I go back to the kitchen and grab a few pairs of chopsticks and put them in my front pocket.

"Hey, that table in the back keeps asking for you." Blossom walks into the kitchen and says.

I look up at her. "What?"

"Yeah, specifically that guy with slick back hair." She says.

"Ugh, hell no. Tell him I'm busy. " I said to her.

"Already ahead of you." She smirked and walked back to the table to tell them I won't be their server.

I go over to the two friends and give them chopsticks.

"Thanks, Y/N." Korra smiled.

"Sure. Do you need anything else?" I asked her.

"Actually, I need a napkin-"

"Not you, I was talking to Korra." I spat.

"Uh- napkins please?"

"Of course!" I said politely. As I left, I stuck my tongue out at Bolin and he did the same.

I chuckled and continued to grab napkins. After serving a few more tables, I went back to Bolin and Korra to make sure everything was okay.

"Oh yeah, we're great! How do you not like these? They're amazing!" Korra said with a mouthful.

"It's cause she's as picky as a five year old kid." Bolin said.

I scoffed and slapped the back of his head, making him shut right up.

"I'm not picky. I have taste." I spat.

Korra chuckled at my antics and glanced behind Bolin, noticing the group that's been looking at me the whole night.

"Hey, who's that guy in the back that keeps looking at you?" Korra asked.

Bolin and I looked back and saw one of the girls whispering something into Tahno's ear and the whole group chuckling.

"Oh, that's Tahno. The leader of the Wolf-Bats.  His team are reigning champs of the tournament. They've been winning for three years straight." Bolin tells her.

Korra looks up at me. "Is that your.."

"Yep. Just ignore him and hopefully he'll stop." I told her.

Of course, I had to be wrong as Tahno stands up and his groupies walk over to us.

"Uh-oh. He's coming. Don't make eye-contact. This guy is nasty and I'd suggest not messing with him." He says.

"You can't tell me what to do.." I spat quietly.

Bolin face palmed his forehead and continued to keep his head low.

"Well, well, well... If it isn't the Fire Ferrets. Pro-Bending's saddest excuse for a team."

"I know you're not talking." 

"Y/N, baby. Come on, now. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?" He said in a cocky tone.

God, I know I tend to be cocky sometimes but when he does it, it's just plain annoying.

"We were never friends."

"Ah, but we were something weren't we?" His hand starts to trail from my shoulder down to my hand slowly.

"I'm sorry did you need something from me or..?" I asked, slapping his hand away.

"As surprising as it sounds, I didn't come here for you. I just wanted to meet your new little friend here." He walks around me and stands next to Korra, leaning in closer to her.

"Now, if you wanna learn how a real pro bends, I could give you some private lessons.." He whispers.

I scoffed in disgust. I then watched as Korra slowly stood up.

"You wanna go to toe-to-toe with me, pretty boy?" She said quietly.

"Go ahead. I'll give you the first shot." He said, dragging along his words.

"Korra, don't. If you hit him, we're out of the tournament. He's just gonna say we started the fight, I wouldn't risk it." Bolin whispered.

As much as I hated it, he's right. We're not allowed to engage in physical fights outside of the ring and that includes people we know. I don't know why it counts but it does.

"You know what? These guys ain't worth my time. We've got a match to get to anyways." Tahno backs away from Korra and his group begins to head for the front door.

They walk ahead of Tahno but he stays behind a bit, standing right behind me.

I feel something slip into the pocket of my apron and his presence right behind my left ear.

"Just a little something to compensate." He whispered.

I look down at a roll of yuans in his pocket. Looking back up at him, I slowly slide my hand toward the money.

" Thanks, Now get out before I bash your teeth in. I'm not in the mood for your bullshit." I said. Once I had it, i slowly slid my hand behind my back.

He scoffed, stepping away and leaving the restaurant, finally.

I looked in my pocket and pulled out whatever Tahno had left in my pocket. A small bundle of yuans, looked to be thirty or forty.

I waited till the bell above the front door rang for me to start counting the money. Korra and Bolin see it and their jaws drop.

"Uh.. where did that come from?" Bolin laughed.

"Tahno. Shouldn't have fucked with the best pick pocket in Republic City." I smiled, counting the yuans that amounted up to four hundred forty somethin.

"Wait.. you said bash his teeth in?" Korra asked.

I shrugged, putting the roll into my apron pocket. "You know why it's so specific?"

"Why?"

"Because he's seen me do it before."

I leave and continue working, thinking about how Tahno pisses me off.

As Korra and Bolin begin to leave to go back to the arena, I check the time and decide it's time to go back too.

"I'm leaving, Blossom!" I called out.

"Okay! Collect your cut of the tips before you go!" She said from the kitchen.

"Eh, ya'll keep mine. I got enough tips." I smiled, putting my apron on a hook and taking the money out,

I stuffed it in the inside pocket of my jacket and walk out to take the bus back to the arena.

I'm tired of that stinky bus. Maybe I'll save up to buy a moped from Hiroshi.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

The tournament is split into a span of three to four days. The quarterfinals are taking place tonight and the semifinals take place tomorrow night.

I walked back from work to the arena and upon arriving, I saw Mako and Korra talking on top of the steps.

"You're crazy!" "You're a liar!" They yelled.

Oh, well that escalated quickly. Just a second ago they were talking and now they're yelling at each other.

"I guess I'll say hi to them later.." I muttered to myself.

I meet up with Bolin in the locker rooms and we all together to the arena.

"Hey, is everything okay with you and Korra?" I asked him, wondering why she was acting so weird during their date.

"Fine. Great, even. I feel like we connect really well, her and I." He said eagerly. "That's great, Bo. I'm happy for you." I said.

"Thanks. Oh and by the way, I wanted to ask you something." He says .

"Okay, ask away then." I said.

"Last night, with Tahno, he said something that got me thinking. He said that you and him used to be something and I'm just wondering what he meant by that."

Bolin's tone made it sound like he was asking a trick question, something with an obvious answer.

oh fuck he KNOWS.

We stared at eachother for a second before he spoke up again.

"Did you or did not date Tahno and not tell us about?"

"I.. did? I don't know, that question was pretty confusing." I winced.

"So you did have a thing with Tahno! I knew it!"

"Wha- you knew!?"

"Well, I only just put the piece together last night but that explains why he's always been nicer to you than he was to Mako and I. But the only thing I can't understand is why you never told us? Are you embarrassed? I mean, I get it, I would be too-"

"No, it's not that. I didn't say anything because Mako hates that guy and he'd kill me if he knew I went out with him."

"Okay so I know why you never told Mako but not why you never told me." He pouted. I rolled my eyes.

"Because up until recently, you couldn't keep a secret to save your life. If I told you, Mako would have found out as well. Sorry.."

"It's fine. I'm not mad about it or anything. I was just curious." He chuckled.

I laughed and threw an arm around him, walking the rest of the way to the arena with him.

Time passes, and our team walks back into the ring again. This time, we're up against this team made up of a bunch of old guys, the Boar -Q-Pines.

The bell rings and the match starts. Their earthbender is quick to send disk flying toward me and I struggle a bit to dodge them.

I jump out of aim from the last disk but in doing so, I bumped into Mako, making both of us fall over.

I try getting up but with Bolin defending both of us, he gets hit, sending us all into zone three and costing round one.

"Damn. Sorry about that, Mako. That was my fault." I muttered to him, holding out my hand to help him up. Irritated, he slaps my hand away and stands up.

"The hell was that? You seriously had no other opening? You just had to jump in front of me?!" He said angrily.

"I- No there wasn't. Sorry about that, I guess? Why are you so worked up over it?" I asked, confused.

"Because you cost us the round!" He yelled. My eyes widen and I laughed in disbelief.

"Whatever. Just get into position again." He grumbled. I watched him walk away and then looked to Bolin.

"The fuck is his problem?" I asked. "I don't know but just ignore him. You know how he is during matches." He said.

I nodded and went both to Zone One, ready for the next round to begin.

I know Mako usually gets antsy and grumpy during a match, but he's never yelled at me Ike that.

Actually, no that's not true. He has yelled at me many times before for being childish during a match but never because I cost our team a round. He's usually very understanding.

I don't know what's got him so angry but he needs to get it under control before he's the one costing us the match.

Bolin and I do a good job at dodging and attacking while Mako gets himself sent to zone two.

Bolin dodges every single disk and flame that's thrown his way and I was able to get two of the other team's players sent to Zone Two and eventually, into the pool.

"It was a close one but Y/N and Bolin were able to narrowly notch Round Two. I don't know what's gotten into Mako lately, but he's playing like he's never have played before. Literally!" The radio broadcaster says.

The players climb out of the pool and join us for Round Three, which is a gonna be settled with a tie-breaker.

We stand in Zone One with the referee standing in between the two teams. He has a coin in his hand that he tosses up in the air.

It lands on his hand and he flips it over before revealing the side it landed on. The coin shows the red side

"The Fire Ferrets win the coin toss. Which element do you choose?" He asks us.

Mako begins to step forward but Bolin stops him. "I know you probably think you've got this but your heads not in the game tonight. I'll take this one." He says.

I smile, knowing Bolin is definitely going to win this match for us. He's been doing great this whole this whole time.

Bolin and the opposing teams earthbender stand one zone one and the rest of us back up as the floor rises.

We watch as Bolin basically dominates that old guy and wins us the match easily.

"Whooooo!! Go, Bolin!!" I yells and clapped as he jumps down to the ring and tackles me in a hug.

We all walk back to the little room and Korra's there again. I notice that her and Mako haven't even glanced at each other. At first I was confused but then I remembered them yelling at each other before the match started.

"Is um.. is everything okay with you two?" I asked hesitantly.

"Splendid." Mako said sourly. Something tells me that's not entirely true. I looked from him to Korra and pulled her aside.

"What is up with you two? Just yesterday you guys were getting along. Before you had that talk and then everything went weird." I said.

"I Um.. I said something to him that I shouldn't have and now we're not really talking... It's kind of embarrassing though."

"That's okay. You don't have to tell me what you told him. Let's get some dessert somewhere to get your mind off things. I'll change and meet you near the gazebo. Sound good?" I said.

She nodded and smiled sweetly before leaving the room.

I quickly changed out of my uniform, put my things away and left the room with Bolin. Mako had already left hastily and his attitude is starting to get on my nerves at this point.

On the way out of the arena, Bolin quickly stopped at the gift shop.

It sold mostly merchandise but also sold flowers for fans to give to their favorite pro-benders. I was looking at all the different souvenirs they sold, not ever visiting this place before.

Most of the time I forget the arena has a gift shop, and I plan to visit but I forget again.

"What do you think? Good enough for Korra?" Bolin walked up to me and held up a bundle of cute pink roses.

"Yep. They look good." I laughed. He payed for them and we both walked out to the gazebo. It's cute how he gets so excited over that stuff.

The gazebo was at the end of a dock that showed a view of the bay. Bolin stopped me at the start of the dock.

"Wait here, I want to give these to Korra first." He said excitedly. I shook my head and laughed. "Okay. Go, then."

He nodded and began to walk toward Korra but he saw another figure there talking to her.

"Oh, who's that?" I asked. "I don't-" He cut himself off when he recognized the figure as his brother.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

I got closer to Bolin but I stopped in my tracks when I look to the gazebo and see Korra kissing Mako under it.

And him kissing her back.

My eyes widen and I gasped softly.

So many things were running around my mind. But the main worry I had was about Bolin.

He just watched the girl he likes kiss his brother.

But I couldn't say anything. My mouth felt dry and I couldn't get the right words out.

Suddenly, Korra and Mako look back at us and Bolin just breaks down.

He drops the bouquet of flowers and runs away crying.

y/n moment 💀

"oh my god, Bolin..." I call out to him but he continued to run away into the arena.

"Great, look what you did!" Mako yells. "You're blaming me for this?" Korra yells back.

"You kissed me!"

"You kissed me back!" Korra yelled, acting like she was making a good point.

Mako seethes and runs in the direction Bolin went. Before he could pass me, I grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him back.

"Stop. You've done enough. I'll go after him." I said simply.

"Shit, Y/N-" he starts.

"I don't want to hear it." I shoved him away.

I looked at Korra who was standing under the gazebo and she looked at me in pity, realizing I also saw her kiss Mako.

I scoffed and continued to go after Bolin.

I can't believe he kissed her. When he knew about my feelings for her.

And I'm even more angry with Korra. Kissing Mako when she knew he has a girlfriend.

I wiped away a tear that had fell onto my cheek as I looked all throughout the arena.

I couldn't find him so, I assumed he went up to the attic. But he wasn't there either.

Soon, I gave up, thinking he just went somewhere win the city to wind down.

I walked to the entrance doors of the arena and walked out, sitting on the top step with my knees brought up to my chest.

I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe that Korra actually liked me.

She obviously just wanted to get closer to Mako.

I sighed tirelessly and rested my head on my knees, hoping this feeling that was eating away at me would go away.

"Hey, Y/N. What are you doing out here? Is everything okay?"

Ugh, the voice I dreaded most to hear right now.. Why'd Asami have to come right this second?

I don't think I'm in the mood to win this tournament anymore...

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

A/N: so lots of stuff happened. Hope you're excited for the next chapter. Have a good rest of your weekend, lovelies :)