Legend of Korra Beginnings- a Legend of Korra fanfic

Bolin woke up to darkness.

He checked the tiny metal clock beside him, blinking sleep from his eyes. It took him awhile to read the hands; he could barely see in the darkness of the tent. The hands came into focus, the glow-in-the-dark Varrick Industries paint glinting faintly on their surfaces, and he realized it was midnight.

He groaned.

He was about to reprimand Pabu for waking him, but he realized that the fire ferret wasn't even with him. He sagged back into his sleeping bag, a sigh on his lips. Pabu...

One of the many friends he'd left for this mission.

He blinked rapidly, reminding himself that the mission had been successful. He'd gotten Opal back, and they were on their way to Republic City. They were almost home. So why was he feeling so... Sad? He sighed and scrubbed away at the tears that had welled up in his eyes. He missed Mako. And he missed Korra, and Asami, and even _Naga_...

Then, realisation hit, and it derailed his train of thought.

If Pabu wasn't there, what was it that woke him up?

Bolin was a heavy sleeper. Mako used to complain that it'd take a police raid to get him up, but Bolin always protested that a hungry fire ferret licking- or _sitting_ on- his face was enough. In any case, the Beifongs were all probably asleep, so they couldn't have woken him up... Could they?

He frowned, slipping out of his sleeping bag. The night air was freezing on his bare chest and arms, and goosebumps prickled his skin as he stood. Gosh, it was a wonder he hadn't frozen to death halfway through the night. He reached the tent flap and lifted it, peering out into the dark.

Impossibly, it was even colder outside. Bolin's teeth chattered as he surveyed the camping ground.

Everything was still. The burnt-out remains of their campfire were lumped together in a blackened pile in the centre of the campground. The moonlight glinted off the tents and shot through the trees, dimming colours and dulling depth. He suddenly thought of the South Pole- how all those nasty dark spirity things had chased him and the team- and realized there could have been any manner of creature lurking out there in the dark. He cringed.

Bolin shivered again as the wind blew, and decided to go back inside. He really should've put on more clothes- his boxers were way too thin for this. He turned, smiling nervously to himself. He probably hadn't been woken up by anything, really. Maybe it was just the-

He nearly jumped out of his skin.

A shadowy figure was sitting inside his tent, and it had turned in the lamp inside. Its silhouette flickered and jittered with the flame, and it looked horrifyingly distended. It had cruel, sharp fingers and a huge head.

The worst thing was, it looked like it was waiting for him.

His mind jumped through all the options- scream and run, scream and open the tent and hope whatever it was inside would run off, scream and lavabend the tent to bits before running away, scream and... Gosh, his options all included screaming and someone running.

He was considering screaming and running into Opal's tent when a hand shot through the flap and lifted it. Bolin gasped and stomped on the ground, bringing his arms up to summon a hail of rocks-

The tent flap lifted and Bolin nearly had a heart attack from sheer relief. It was only one of the Beifong twins. Wei, he thought. Yes, it was Wei. Naked to the waist and sitting cross-legged on his bedroll. Wait, cross-legged and half-naked on his-

What?

He stood there, staring at him, and the sharpened pebbles wobbled as they orbited his hands. Wei stared back.

The silence was terribly loud.

"Hey." whispered Wei, who looked like he wanted to smirk but couldn't. "What are you doing with those?"

"I- um," Bolin dropped the rocks with a clatter. "I thought you were some kind of _monster_!"

Wei smiled slightly, and his gaze dipped. His face, which looked a little red in the firelight, twisted slightly.

"It looks-" he cleared his throat. "It looks cold out there. Get in."

Bolin shivered again as the wind howled through the trees. "Yes! Thank you." He darted in, shivering. "Thanks for letting me in to your-" he frowned. "Wait, this is my tent."

Wei raised an eyebrow. His face did that weird thing again, where he looked like he was about to smirk but couldn't. He chuckled thinly. "Yes, it is."

Bolin frowned again, and waved his hands in the air. "Sooo... What are you doing in here? Is this about Opal?"

Wei looked down.

"Oh no," Bolin said, and his stomach dropped. "Did she change her mind about me and told you to tell me so that she wouldn't hurt my feelings?" He put his hand it and grabbed Wei's bare shoulder. "Please, no! I just got out of the polar bear doghouse!"

Wei looked up and his face twisted. Bolin sagged. "No. I'm right! Please say I'm wrong! Oh no."

Bolin wrung his hands.

"And now Opal will never want me again! Tell me what it was... Was I too weird about your grandma? I think I was too weird about your grandma. I shouldn't have asked for an autograph, right? Or maybe it-"

"No..." Wei looked like he was having trouble deciding whether he wanted to laugh or to cry. Bolin cringed. This was bad. It was obviously bad. He moaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Was it how I slurped my noodles earlier? Did she just realize how I slurp noodles? Did she hate that? Or maybe it was my joke about Juicy's nose. I shouldn't have said anything about his nose." He sniffled.

Bolin heard a sound like a choking penguin seal. He looked up with no small amount of alarm.

"Is something wrong-?"

Wei's hand was over his mouth, and he was laughing like he was about to burst.

"What's so funny?" Bolin asked, heat rising in his face. "There's nothing funny about-"

"Bolin," choked Wei, in between chortles. "Bolin, this isn't about Opal."

He stared. "What?"

"I said-" Wei snorted and shifted awkwardly. "I said, this isn't about Opal."

Bolin smiled so hard he felt like his cheeks would split. "Really?"

Wei nodded, his face doing the funny twist again. Bolin whooped with joy, then grabbed Wei and tugged him into a hug. Wei was tense, but Bolin barely noticed. Opal hadn't broken up with him!

It was then that a thought flashed across his mind and his eyes widened. He pulled back and clamped his hands over his mouth.

"Was that loud?" He hissed through his fingers. "I don't want to wake chief Lin up, she'll kill me!"

Wei shrugged, his face twisting into a strange smile.

Bolin straightened and put his hands down. "Phew. Okay." He scrunched up his face and leaned back. "Wait a second..."

There was a long silence as the gears turned in his head.

"... Yes?" said Wei, after a minute had passed. Bolin nodded quickly, blushing at how slow he was. He continued talking.

"If this isn't about Opal-"

"Then why am I here?"

Bolin nodded slowly, looking into Wei's eyes.

Wei shifted his gaze slightly, the strange look on his face again, and his hand went up to his hair. Bolin frowned as Wei dragged his fingers through it, combing it back almost... Almost nervously? Wei remained quiet. Bolin shook his head, and suddenly, realization hit him like a ten-ton block of iron.

"Did you run out of underpants?" He asked, eyes wide. "That must be it! You need to borrow a pair or something? No wonder you're so-"

"No." Wei's voice sounded thin, and also the way Mako's did just before he started a fight, or before a police arrest. Bolin jerked back a little, and Wei closed his eyes, dragging in a deep breath. He sat still like that for awhile, dragging in gulps of air, his chest heaving. Bolin stared. Was this some sort of fit? Was Wei going to collapse? Was Wei about to ask for his autograph? Maybe he'd seen the movers and had waited to get him alone so he could-

After what felt like an eternity of bad speculation, Wei looked up and opened his eyes. His face looked... softer, somehow, and the flame in the lamp painted crimson over his features. He ran his hand through his hair again and spoke.

"No." Bolin had to lean in to hear what he was saying. Wei continued, his gaze fixed on the flickering fire in the lamp. "I'm- I'm sorry for snapping, I just- no. I'm sorry."

Bolin looked at him questioningly, and waited for him to continue.

"It's not- oh god. This never gets easier." Wei muttered. He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Bolin looked at him again, and felt something strange stir in his chest. It was like that one time when he was younger and had seen a bird with a broken wing. It was lying helpless on the road, and cats were closing in. The bird looked cornered, frightened, hurt. He'd felt like picking it up, taking care of it, and... Now, looking at Wei, he felt like he was looking at that bird all over again.

He cleared his throat.

"Uh, so... What are you here for, exactly?"

Wei tugged his hair back into place- again- and swallowed thickly. He looked up, his neck so tense it looked like he had steel cables in it.

"I... Never got to- to thank you," he managed, "for rescuing me. And... And my family too."

Bolin waved his hand, bemused. "Please, it was nothing. Chief Lin did all the-"

"Chief Lin got us out of the _cage_." Wei's voice was sharp as knives. Or broken glass. "You... You _caught_ us. When we jumped. You caught... All of us. You _saved_ all of us." His voice softened and his tone dipped with his head. "You saved _me_."

Bolin looked to the side, uneasily. What was going on? He shook his head. "Oh, really. It wasn't a big deal-"

"It _was_." Wei's voice was alarmingly thick. He moved forward slightly, looking into Bolin's face. "It was a big deal... For me."

Bolin made a face, confusion flooding his mind. "What are you-"

Wei grabbed him and lunged somehow, and then they were suddenly hugging. Wei's chest was bare on his, his arms wrapped firmly around him, and as Bolin gasped Wei planted a kiss straight on his mouth.

Bolin's eyes went so wide he thought they'd spill from his sockets. He felt his body tense under Wei's, and confusion marred his thoughts. He felt Wei's tongue slip in between his lips, and his breath tasted...

It tasted sweet.

He pulled away, gasping, and shoved the metalbender off him.

Wei fell into a crouch in front of him, panting. His eyes were wild and it was now that Bolin realized that the redness on his cheeks had nothing to do with the firelight. He sputtered and shook his head, swiping at his mouth. The taste of Wei's lips still remained. He wanted- he felt-

He shook his head again, closing his eyes. He opened them and looked at Wei, his mouth hanging open. He finally found his tongue.

"What was that-"

"My _god_!" Wei was panting and his voice was... He sounded happy, and also mad, and- it was just a heady mix of emotion. His eyes dimmed as he looked at Bolin's expression. "I- I- you're _impossible_." Wei sagged and closed his eyes, looking like he was about to frown, but a ridiculous smile spread on his lips.

"You idiot. Oh Bolin, you... You _oaf_." He buried his face in his hands. "You _impossible_, idiotic oaf." He added, almost as an afterthought, and went very quiet. Bolin stared at him, and realized that Wei's boxers were... Awfully tight... Around his front. He felt something stir in his own pants-

He gulped.

Wei looked up, opening his mouth as if to continue, and caught Bolin's stare. He saw what Bolin had been looking at before he could look away, and eyeballed his... Reaction. Bolin flushed deeply and Wei grinned. His eyes were flaring again, the firelight glowing bright with his... joy.

Bolin saw the look and recognized it. He finally recognized it. It was the look he used to see on Mako's face when Korra walked into a room, the look on Asami's face when she caught a glimpse of Mako-

"Bolin, I... I really like you."


End file.

Legend of Korra, Romance