Dear Fellow Traveller

by Beifong_Brainrot

Summary:

Wei and Bolin get paired up on a weeks long mission in the Earth Kingdomtogether.

Notes:

Today, you will suffer as I have suffered and I will subject you to a much too detailed description of setting up a tent

Chapter 1: You were a wanderer

Wei Beifong wouldn't exactly be Bolin's first choice to go on a couple weeks-long mission with, but he definitely was not the last.

 

However, where specifically he would be on that list, Bolin wasn't exactly certain.

 Wei could be a whole lot of fun to be around. Energetic and spirited, an engaging sparring partner or a reliable ally in battle.

Of course, that was when he wasn't being his contrary, snarky self. Oh, he could get under Bolin's skin like no one else. Whether it be through pointed barbs in conversation or snide taunts during sparring sessions, Wei was always able to get a rise out of Bolin, to provoke the lavabender into retaliation. 

 

Sometimes, Wei needn't even open his mouth.

Sometimes, it was just something in the angle of his dark brow, the quirk of his dusky lips or the particular twinkle in his moss-green eyes that was enough to provoke a response. 

Bolin often found himself snapping back, retaliating with cheap shots of his own.

 

Despite all this, he found it difficult to actually dislike the younger man. 

 

And so, Wei, puzzling and frustrating Wei, was firmly fixed in that unnamable spot between endearingly intriguing and utterly vexatious.

 

  "Um. Are you just gonna stand there all day? We should've left half an hour ago." the source of Bolin's distraction came to a stop in front of him. One hand on his hip, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Back straight as an arrow, focused eyes scanning the garage they were standing in.

 

" Yeah. Yeah." Swallowing a dry lump in his throat, Bolin nodded. "I mean no. I mean... you're right, we should go."

 

  "We should." Wei brushed past Bolin and stepped further into the room, where everyone else was already waiting. Bolin couldn't help but be envious of the shorter man's effortless confidence. Of how Wei held his head up high, impeccably combed jet black hair lit by the morning sun seeping through the shutters.

 

It took Bolin a couple seconds to actually follow, sheepishly scurrying after the metalbender. Bolin always struggled with measuring his steps, so unlike Wei's evenly paced ones. Bolin often found that his own strides were either too long, or too short. Taken too quickly or too slowly. In stark contrast, Wei's every movement seemed deliberate, graceful, full of purpose.

 

  "Do you remember everything I showed you?" Asami fretted, turning to look at Bolin, one of her hands resting on the car's bonnet.

 

  "Sure do." Bolin reassured his friend with a smile. "You've practically drilled the manual into my skull." he was touched by Asami's care, though part of him wished she'd just believe in him. He hadn't been exaggerating. The last week or so had consisted purely of preparations for the quest and Asami had been particularly strict about teaching Bolin the ins and outs of the satomobile they'd be taking. 

 

  "Okay, okay." Asami smiled, shaking her head. "I've packed the manual for you. Just in case." she motioned vaguely at the car. Bolin nodded, pursing his lips. Something petulant in his mind resolved to never use said manual. 

 

Someone ruffled his hair. 

Trying to comb back his now messed up fringe with but his fingers, Bolin glanced at Mako, who grinned down at his brother. "Take care, baby bro." Mako implored, his brows knitted together in an, extremely familiar to Bolin, expression of near parental worry.

 

  "I will, I will." Bolin reassured, elbowing his brother away with a terse grin. "C'mon, Mako, have a little faith." he gave up on smoothing down his hair, letting his hands fall to his sides.

 

He barely registered Korra flinging her arms around him until he was trapped in her crushing embrace. "We're gonna miss you, Bo." she patted his back. Bolin laughed.

 

  "I'll only be gone for a couple weeks." he soothed, stepping back, before pulling Mako and Asami in on the group hug. "But I am going to really miss you guys too!" he closed his eyes, childish tears pricking at them.

 

Reluctantly stepping away from his friends' and brother's embrace, Bolin wiped at his dampening eyes with his sleeve. He hoped he was being discreet. 

 

Despite how much he was going to miss his friends and brother, he was looking forward towards this mission. In a way. More towards another chance to prove himself than the actual couple weeks slog through probably long since abandoned outposts. But it was a chance to show everyone that he could peel off from the others and not horrifically mess everything up.

 

At least Wei didn't seem the type to try and stage a kingdom wide coup. But then again, Bolin had thought that of Kuvira and Baatar Jr as well.

 

Out of the corner of his eye he spied Wei saying his goodbyes to Opal and Lin. The airbender standing on her tiptoes as she embraced her younger but taller brother. Bolin couldn't help but let his eyes linger on her.

He still adored her, but it would be a lie to say things hadn't been incredibly uncomfortable between them since the breakup. 

 

He couldn't bring himself to look at her any longer. The bitterly sour taste of loneliness oozed over his tongue. Goosebumps littered his forearms as he realised just how frozen he felt, despite how hot and humid the room otherwise was.

 The sudden cold reminded him of the winter one of the older vagrants had stolen a jacket right off his scrawny little eight year old shoulders. Of how the freezing winter air had felt like a slap to the face and how he'd cried, big fat tears frigid and painful as they slid down his face in a slow, icy crawl. 

Oh, how he'd cried and cried, until Mako came back from whatever job he'd been doing for the Triple Threats and soothed his sobs into small hiccups.

 

No one else seemed to be affected by this phantom chill and Bolin would've thought he'd just imagined it, if it weren't still clinging to his skin. Staying just at the edge of his senses, along with that sour taste in his mouth .

 

"... And remember, don't take any unnecessary risks. You're just meant to scout out a couple old Earth Empire outposts, check if they're occupied and report to Zaofu. Do not engage unless it's unavoidable. " Lin was speaking to both of them, presumably, though she was only looking at her nephew. Her voice was low and even, she accentuated every word as if she were speaking to a young child or to a misbehaving dog.

 

Wei visibly rolled his eyes, something Bolin wouldn't ever dare do in the presence of the ever scary Lin Beifong. "Of course, auntie. And we'll make sure to eat our greens, brush our teeth three times a day and be all conked out by bedtime." 

 

Bolin muffled an amused snort behind his hand, before immediately quailing from Lin's sharp glare. 

Sighing, the police chief shook her head. "Just take this seriously. And don't get yourselves killed."

 

  "I think we can manage that, eh, Bolin?" Wei cocked his head to look at his soon to be travelling companion. His sharp teeth slightly exposed in a cocky little grin, golden flecks in his eyes, sunlight adorning his olive skin with a gentle glow.

 

  "Uh." his throat oddly dry, Bolin's brain scrambled to respond. Something about the lilt in Wei's voice, about the sun playing along his cupid's bow and in his irises, it cut his breaths a little short. "Yeah, pretty sure we can." 

 

 

----+

 

Wei rested his head against the window, watching the trees pass by. The drought-yellowed leaves ruffled by the wind's invisible fingers as the world dashed by. He folded and unfolded his hands in his lap.

 And then folded them again. 

And then unfolded them again.

 

  "So!" Bolin's loud voice startled Wei enough to make him actually jump. He turned his head to look at the cheerful lavabender. What was he even so merry about? - We have a radio built in! Anything you wanna listen to? -

 

Humming non-committaly, Wei shrugged. "Not really." he watched Bolin furrow his lush raven brows, watched the confused frown form on his full lips. 

 

  "No? " Bolin sounded like he was in utter disbelief. "No stations you like? What kinda music do you listen to?"

 

For a moment, Wei's ears filled with grainy recordings of symphonies, his muscles aching from perfecting multitudes of dance routines until he could've performed them in his sleep. Playing and replaying the movements, methodically hammering any mistake or slip up into tiny pieces. The record looping and looping and looping and looping until he was flawless enough for whichever of his mother's shows he would be taking part in.

 

  "I don't listen to music." he responded in the end. Bolin seemed to be in even greater disbelief, his eyes widening as he spared Wei a curious glance, looking away from the road for a split second.

Wei took some ornery satisfaction in the other man's bewilderment. 

 

  "That's a broad statement. Everyone likes some type of music." Bolin tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "You've gotta like something!" he placed a finger to his chin, contemplative. - oh!- he snapped his fingers, face brightening "Is it jazz? You like jazz? Or maybe country?"

 

  "I dunno." Wei muttered, crossing his arms. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. "I told you. I don't listen to music." 

 

It was oddly upsetting to watch Bolin's face fall, his entire countenance seemed to sag and wilt a little, his mouth turning to a sad little crescent. Wei felt as though he'd stepped on a puppy's tail and couldn't help but want to somehow lighten the mood. "But you can listen to whatever you want to."

 

Bolin was sticking his lower lip out a little, but he seemed to perk up. "You wouldn't mind?" he asked, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel again, as if he were already itching to turn the knobs of the radio. 

 

  "Not at all." Wei leant back in the seat, observing Bolin's hefty but agile fingers fumble with the radio. There was plethora of faint little scars littering the other man's hands that Wei hadn't noticed before. 

 

Some cheesy love song filled the satomobile, filling the silence between the two earthbenders, making it at least semi comfortable. Almost pleasant. The sun peeking through the windows, the cheery, peppy tunes chiming in Wei's ears.

 

Bolin looked to be having the time of his life, swaying from side to side, which made Wei slightly concerned for their safety on the road, and singing along.

 

 "I wanna be loved by you, just you

Nobody else but you

I wanna be loved by you, alone!

Boop-boop-a-doop!!"

 

Man, the guy had a set of lungs on him. Wei couldn't help but be impressed. Sure, Bolin's singing, despite his strong voice, wasn't exactly anything to write home about, but he more than made up for it in enthusiasm. It was charming and Wei smiled despite himself. 

 

He often found himself doing that around Bolin. Being incredibly endearing seemed to be an, unfortunate for Wei, side effect of the lavabender's goofiness. Wei wished he could be immune to that ridiculous charm.

 

Wei had done his best to dislike Bolin when they'd first met.

 

He could've told Bolin was a liar from a mile away, and not even a good one at that. 

He could feel it in the soles of his feet, how Bolin's heart skipped over its beats erratically, like that of a frightened animal's. He could see it in how Bolin smiled, wide and stretched over his face, like some charming mask. In how his eyes would dart between people in a panicked, mad little dash. Hear it in the pitch of his voice when it cracked ever so slightly. 

 

Wei wasn't sure why everyone seemed so content to let Bolin talk himself in circles, thrashing around like a headless picken, until he found some pretty-half truth that would satisfy everyone in the room.

 

It frustrated Wei to no end, how Bolin insisted on lying to everyone so nicely. Like a coward.

 

 Perhaps it had been childish to try and agitate the other man, mocking and taunting him, giving him a hard time during metalbending practice. 

But Wei'd had the urge. To crush that glitzy, fakeish demeanour under his heel until he found something less polished, something just barely ugly. Something that felt a little more real than all of Bolin's regular loud, showmany veneer.

 

And he'd succeeded. Taken a pebble to the forehead for his efforts, but it had been worth it to see something sharper and more unseemly take the place of Bolin's usual stagy smile.

 

Why Wei enjoyed unearthing those unrefined but genuine scraps of Bolin, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was a simple curiosity. Maybe it was the thrill of seeing the spark behind Bolin's emerald eyes when particularly riled up. Or the ridiculous, wild grin Wei caught glimpses of when the lavabender really got down and dirty.

 

This uninvited, utterly unwanted urge twisted and squeezed at Wei's innards, hunger pangs on a full stomach. He equally hated and couldn't get enough of it.

 

Bolin's impromptu sing along was still going strong, the lavabender getting progressively more into it with every verse. His boisterous, clear voice somehow both harmonising and at odds with the singer's higher, lighter one.

 

"I wanna be kissed by you, just you

Nobody else but you

I wanna be kissed by you, alone!"

 

  "Wow, you've really got this down to a pat." Wei commented, watching Bolin through downcast eyelashes, clumped together with the sweat from the hot spring day.

 

Bolin laughed, slightly breathless, falling out of rhythm.

 

  "It's a pretty popular song. Been on the radio constantly for the last week or so. Drives Mako insane, he hates it! Besides, the lyrics basically just repeat." Bolin glanced at Wei with something akin to a sly smile. "C'mon, give it a try!"

 

Wei balked. "Absolutely not. I sound like a screeching dodo when I sing." he protested, slightly exaggerating with the hope Bolin would just drop it. "Not that you're much better." he couldn't help slyly squeezing in the inflammatory cheap shot.

 

Hearing Bolin heave a flabbergasted gasp was rewarding in and of itself, but Wei found himself utterly thrilled when the lavabender actually rose to the bait. Leaning a little closer, practically looming over Wei, a few glistening droplets of sweat clinging to his right temple.

But Wei was hardly intimidated, anticipation and thrill swirling inside his stomach. He gulped down the hot air between them, a foretaste of whatever's to come.

 

"Excuse you, my singing voice is absolutely fine! Varrick says that I have a solid tenor!"

 

  "Uhuh." Wei crammed as much condescension into his voice as humanly possible, leaning back in his seat, delighted to see Bolin squirming. The heat clung to their faces like thick red paint or candle wax. "And Varrick is, of course, known worldwide for his honesty."

 

  "Hey!" Bolin's elbow gently thumped against Wei's ribcage as the lavabender staggered out a disbelieving laugh. The jarringly bright sun was so much more bearable when reflected in Bolin's verdant eyes. "I don't think you're exactly an expert."

 

  "Neither is Varrick, doofus." 

 

  "Varrick can recognise TALENT."

 

  "So can I. I just don't see any here."

 

Any rebuttal Bolin could've pulled together was cut off by an odd chirping noise coming from the back-seat. Wei glanced over his shoulder. "Your bag is having an, uh... seizure?" he reported incredulously, watching a strange, very mobile lump straining against the fabric.

 

  "Wha?" Bolin seemed to still be caught up in their little quarrel. He cast a quick glance towards said bag, which seemed to be very close to getting torn by whatever was thrashing inside it.

 

Perplexed, Wei reached back and hauled the very lively bag into his lap. Now he could hear the sound of the thing inside scratching the material and squealing. 

 

Hesitating for just a second, Wei unzipped the bag in one quick, but cautious movement. 

 

He wasn't sure what he had expected to be inside the bag, but a fluffy ball of red fur scrambling out of the cloth confines hadn't exactly been at the forefront of his mind.

 

Bolin's fire ferret screeched its grievance as Wei grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, preventing it from barrelling into its owner.

 

  "Pabu?!?" Bolin turned abruptly to level his shocked gaze at his furry friend, the steering wheel completely forgotten. The car swerved a little, and that was enough to freak Wei out.

 

  "Bolin! Eyes on the road!" he reminded, instinctively clutching the ferret to his chest and pulling his legs up a little.

 

  "Right! Sorry, sorry." Bolin went back to his very important job of not getting them killed. Though now he kept sparing Wei and the ferret quick little glances.

 

  "Bolin... did you pack your damn pet for a mission ?" Wei asked in a slow, even voice, one his own father would often use with him and his siblings when they'd misbehaved. 

 

  "No, no, of course not!" Bolin waved his hand in denial. Thankfully keeping his other hand on the steering wheel. "I even asked Mako to feed and take care of him while I was gone... he must've snuck into my bag when I was packing?"

 

  "How do you not notice an entire ferret in your bag??" 

 

  "He's very stealthy! When he wants to be..."

 

  "Well, what are we going to do with him now?" The ferret nipped at Wei's fingers. "Ouch!" He stuck the tip of his, now slightly bleeding, ring finger into his mouth. An irony tang seeped onto his tongue.

 

Bolin was not taking this seriously, laughing at Wei's frustrated expression. "We can't exactly go all the way back just to take him home..." he glanced at Wei, almost hopefully, an expectant lilt to his voice. "He doesn't take up that much room or eat a lot of food."

 

Sighing, Wei released the little critter. "Fine. But you're responsible for him."  

 

Pabu leapt from Wei's arms and onto Bolin's shoulders with a triumphant squeal, wrapping a fuzzy tail around the lavabender's neck.

 

Bolin smiled at Wei, absent-mindedly petting the ferret's head with one hand. "Thank you."

 

Bolin's smile was honest and mildly sweet, all honey and dewdrops, and Wei didn't know what to do with all that.

 

  "Wasn't like I had much of a choice." he grumbled, looking out the window. Sightseeing was as good an excuse as any to postpone unpacking whatever he was feeling at the moment.

 

They were well out of the city by now, but the countryside looked almost as barren as the city. It had been a dry year. Though spring had only just settled in, a drought was already hanging over the entirety of the continent.

 

The shrivelled, yellowy brown grass and leaves trembled in the blurry heat haze, swaying gently on the dust carrying, arid wind. From a spotless, cloudless sky, harsh sunlight mercilessly seared all.

Their little car provided no reprieve from the withering heatwave. In fact, it seemed to make everything a thousand times worse, turning the confined space into a hellish hotbox.

 

The torrid air wrapped around the pair of earthbenders and single ferret like a cocoon, blocking out nearly all sounds from outside. Enclosing them in its own blazing, heavy little world.

 

A bead of sweat slowly trickled down the side of Wei's nose, until it came to rest upon his lower lip, salty as it lingered upon his skin. 

Wiping it off felt like too much of an endeavour, so he just let it sit for now.

 

----+

 

Dry grass crunched under Wei's feet as he gathered up another armful of supplies from the boot. He wobbled over to the small clearing they were staying in and laid out the surprisingly substantial canteen next to the narrow fireplace he'd built. To be honest, he didn't know what most of all these strange dishes and pans did.

 

Fabric rustled somewhere behind him, followed by a little thump along with Bolin's defeated whine. The lavabender had been trying to pitch the tent for the last thirty minutes and it seemed that whatever frail construction he'd managed to erect had just collapsed. 

Wei would've offered to help, but it was so much more fun to watch the poor guy losing his mind over a piece of cloth and a couple stakes. Somehow, Bolin was managing to fail the first steps, which was impressively pathetic .

 

Wei was content to watch two more attempts until he finally took pity on his companion.

 

Grabbing one of their water flasks, he strutted over to Bolin. "Here. You need to keep hydrated, it's hot as hell out here." 

 

Bolin took the flask with a grateful smile, wiping away the glistening sweat from that had pearled upon his forehead. He took a long swig from the flask. Wei watched a stray water droplet trickle free of his pale pink lips.

 

  "Thanks." Beaming, Bolin took another sip of water. Though he soon frowned down at the uncooperative tent again, sighing dramatically. 

 

"What's with all the huffing and puffing?" Wei asked, despite knowing the answer full well. He was enjoying Bolin's frustrated pout. Full lips puckered in annoyance as he crumpled the tent's fabric between his big hands. 

 

  "The tent's broken." Bolin announced, glaring at the tarp as if he could intimidate the thing into setting itself up on its own. He lifted one of the poles as proof. He hadn't assembled it, so the many little segments hung limply from his hand like an overcooked noodle.

 

Wei decided that Bolin's torment, as hilarious as it was, had gone on long enough. "That's because you need to thread both the poles in at the top. And you haven't properly unfolded them either."

 

Kneeling on the ground, he extended his hand expectantly. After a moment's hesitation, Bolin handed him the pole, calloused fingertips brushing against Wei's skin ever so slightly before dropping the sun heated metal into his hand.

 

Doing his best to not linger on the miniscule touch, Wei popped the segments into their places, assembling them into the long pole they were meant to be. He noticed Bolin had been copying his actions with the other pole. At least the guy was doing his best. Wei supposed he could commend him for it.

 

  "See? Nothing to it."

 

Bolin pulled a face, visibly fazed. "I thought they were supposed to be all... stringy like that." he huffed, looking down at the object in his hands.

 

  "Stringy poles don't keep a tent standing." Wei was happy rub salt into the wound, poking Bolin's shoulder with the pole. With an unreadable expression, Bolin poked right back with his own. The metal rod caught Wei's knee. Scraping up along his thigh for a little. Scratching at his skin through the thin fabric of his satin trousers. 

 

  "What's the next step, oh wise tent sage?" the lavabender was now playing with the tent pole, setting it upright and tossing it from one hand to the other.

 

  "Now we thread them in." Wei snatched the pole from Bolin's hands. That petulant, almost exaggerated pout returned for a second, as if Wei had stolen a toy from a kid. Wei rolled his eyes. Great. Saddled with babysitting an overgrown, immature manchild. Exactly how he'd wanted to spend his next few weeks.

 

  "Here. There's an 'X' at the top of the tent." Wei ran his index finger along the coarse material of the spot he was pointing out. "We thread the poles into these little sleeves here, so they cross in the middle."

 

He did just that. It probably would've gone faster if he'd let Bolin thread the other pole, but Wei stubbornly did both. He told himself it was because he couldn't trust Bolin with even this simple task. Even though he was quite sure Bolin would have to go out of his way to mess this up. And the guy could be pretty sharp when he put his mind to something. 

The 'when he put his mind to something' being key here. Bolin seemed to have a near debilitating difficulty with doing things without direction from others. 

 

So was Wei just being petty? Probably. 

But it was more convenient to keep trying to dislike Bolin, so Wei's just gonna be doing just that. No matter how cute Bolin's stupid, childish little pout and pathetic, kicked-puppy eyes were.

 

The poles snugly set in their place, Wei moved to one of the outer corners of the tent, fumbling with the stake there. His sweaty hands slipped along the pole's length, making it hard to grip the stupid thing properly. Dirt clung to his wet skin.

He was more than aware of Bolin's gaze boring into his back, red hot and feeling more intense than the blazing setting sun itself. He didn't want to turn around, didn't want to validate his subconscious' obsession with the guy.

 

However, it didn't take long for Wei's resolve to break. The edges of his nerves boiling like water in a kettle. He turned his head and jumped. 

Bolin was so close, so much closer than he'd expected, bent at the waist and watching Wei intently. His chin just shy of brushing Wei's shoulder, his hands folded behind his back. 

 

  "You OK?" Bolin cocked his head, his bright eyes, bordered by thick raven lashes filling Wei's vision. 

Now why did Bolin have to have such.... vivid eyes? Emerald bleeding into faded jade when the sun hit just right. 

 

Wei swallowed.

 

Bolin blinked.

 

And with the flutter of his lashes, the spell was gone and Wei could breathe again, his entire body floating in the thick, languid air. Bolin was still talking, seeming slightly panicked as his voice rose in pitch little by little. "Are you having a heatstroke? Please don't be having a heatstroke. If you are, I can't help you, I don't think I can, Wei."

 

Hearing his own name snapped Wei back to attention. "I'm not having a heatstroke, idiot." he hissed, digging his fingers into the dirt beneath him. He was slipping, sinking. Sinking deep, deeper into a hot ocean, warmth bubbling against his simmering cheeks.

 

  "Are you sure?" Bolin leant closer, if that was even possible. "You look pretty red. Do you have a fever?" he placed the back of his hand against Wei's burning forehead. "Do you need any water?"

 

Almost as if he'd been scorched by an open flame, Wei jerked backwards and slapped Bolin's hand away. "No!" he spoke much louder than necessary, so he did his best to smother his agitation. "No, no. I'm fine."

 

Bolin arched a thick eyebrow quizzically. He opened his mouth to say something, another dumb question, probably. 

 

Wei cut him off. "Make yourself useful. Secure the pole at that corner." he pointed. Bolin hesitated and that hesitation gave Wei enough confidence to feel like he could take back control of the situation. "Go on. Just snap the point into the hollow at the bottom of the pole. Chop, chop." 

 

His urging finally, finally made Bolin move away, let Wei take a deep breath of empty, hollow air. Weight slid from his chest, leaving a comfortable void beneath his heart. 

 

Bolin knelt at the other end of the tent, struggling a little with the pole and the stake. But he ultimately managed to complete the task relatively quickly. 

 

  "Good job." Wei commended as he secured the other side of his pole. At this point, he wasn't even sure if he was being sarcastic or genuine. 

Perhaps he was having a damn heatstroke after all.

 

Bolin seemed to think he was being sarcastic. "No need to get so high and mighty." he grumbled, dusting his hands against his trousers. "You better be nice to me or I won't take care of you when you pass out from the heatstroke."

 

  "I'm. Not. Having. A. Heatstroke." Wei drew out the sentence, but couldn't resist tacking on a quick little: "Dummy." at the end.

 

And Bolin had the fucking audacity to laugh.

 

Deciding to not rise to the bait, Wei changed the subject. He dared not look at Bolin or that stupid, goofy smile he knew, just knew the other man was wearing. "Help me stand the tent up."

 

With two people, it was easy to stand the tent up and Wei was thankful for at least that. Finally, Bolin's presence had some use.

 

Bolin himself was inspecting the tent with an almost critical frown. "It looks... saggy." he pinched the fabric between two strong fingers and lifted it a little. When he let go, the tent, indeed, sagged.

 

"See these straps here?" Wei tugged the material. Bolin nodded slowly. "We tie these to the corresponding poles and that'll stretch the tent to its full capacity."

 

  "Oh, yeah. That makes sense."

 

Bolin started doing up the straps with surprising deftness. He definitely had the large, strong hands considered a staple of all earthbenders. But there was an odd dexterity about them too. 

 

About all of Bolin, actually. Despite being rather stocky and heavyset, the lavabender moved with remarkable speed and agility. His light footedness and finesse in bending paired with that incredible strength and imposing physique made him quite the sight to behold both during and outside of battle.

 

Sometimes Wei found it hard to look away. It was just so easy to follow the ivory pathway from Bolin's slightly chipped nails, along his wide and work worn palms, down to his muscular forearms.

It was so easy to dwell on every time Bolin had touched him, a pat on the shoulder, a handshake, even a miniscule brush of coarse fingertips whenever Bolin took something from Wei's hands.

 

It was so easy, but Wei, like most of his family, wasn't in the habit of making things easy for himself.

 

He focused on his own side of the tent, fingers working the straps into neat little bows. 

 

  "Hey, how do you even know all this about setting up a tent?" Bolin asked, finishing his side of the tent and inching closer to Wei.

 

  "It's not that difficult." Wei surveyed their work, making sure the poles were attached properly. Satisfied, he grabbed the stakes. Bolin chuckled bashfully. Something about the sound was so disarming that Wei added: "My family used to go camping a lot when I was younger and my dad was always very insistent that my siblings and I learn to set up our tents on our own."

 

Just to make the guy feel a little better about himself.

 

  "Huh, Opal never told me about that. That's pretty neat." Bolin quietened down and proceeded to simply watch Wei hook the stakes through the cords and drive them into the ground. Wei did his best to act like he didn't feel the lavabender's eyes once again boring into the back of his neck and tracing his every movement with disconcerting attentiveness. 

 

The blissful silence lasted two, maybe three minutes. Which was, to be fair, already more than Wei should've expected from Bolin.

 

  "Wait. If you already knew how to set up a tent why didn't you offer to help when I said I'd give it a try?"

 

Wei paused, his fingers freezing where they were working another loop around the stake. To be completely honest, his only reason was spite, pure, simple and unreasonable spite. Especially when Bolin had lilted 'it can't be that hard, can it?' so happily and carelessly. He'd wanted to see that overconfident grin wiped from Bolin's stupid, infuriatingly pretty face. 

 

  "You didn't ask." he answered, regaining his composure quickly. Having four siblings (five, if you count you-know-who) will do that to you. "Plus, it was really funny to watch you fumble about with the tent."

 

Bolin scoffed, shaking his head. "Hey! I was getting there!" he insisted, crossing his arms and pouting once again. Manchild.

 

  "Sure you were." Wei finished with the last stake, before standing back up. The soft earth shifted beneath his feet. "You were just using the poles completely wrong and letting the tent fall back down every five minutes."

 

Bolin's knuckles barely brushed along Wei's bare shoulder as the taller man gave him a half-hearted shove. "I was getting a feel of it!" 

 

  "For half an hour?" Wei didn't let up, moving to the centre of the camp. "I managed to unpack AND build up the campfire in the time you were 'getting a feel of it'." he bragged, rifling through one of the bags. "Now, where's that flint and steel...?"

 

  "Hey, hey, check this out!" Bolin chirped, tugging at the hem of Wei's robe. He lifted his hand and a small pebble floated into the air. Wei watched it take on an odd reddish glow, the air around it growing a thousand times hotter than the summer's day.

 

Lavabending wasn't something Wei got to see every day and when he did it was a rare treat. He'd tried to awaken the skill in himself once or twice, in secret, of course. He would be much too embarrassed to ask Bolin for a lesson. 

 

And so, Bolin remained the only known living lavabender at the time. 

Wei held his breath, fascinated as he studied every facet of Bolin's form. The twitch of his fingers, his furrowed brows, his slightly tensed expression. The intense focus in his eyes, the soft, ember like glow in his irises. Bright cracks of orange, glowing stark against soft emerald.

 

And Wei was staring at all this for... research purposes. 

 

With a flick of his finger, Bolin dropped the red-hot pebble into the firepit. Shrivelled leaves and dry branches caught on fire quickly, the flames rapidly climbing higher.

 

  "Woah...." the hushed murmur escaped Wei's lips. Bolin glanced at him with a huge, proud-of-himself smile, making Wei realise that he'd been heard. He ducked his head, embarrassed, scrambling to somehow hide his slip up "I mean... neat trick, I guess."

 

  "You guess?" Bolin nudged him, beaming goofily. Spirits, this man took to compliments like a deer dog to a bone. It was halfway endearing, halfway disconcerting. Wei often found himself violently teetering between those two mindsets at dizzying speeds when it came to Bolin. 

 

  "I guess." Wei repeated, more forcefully this time. He lowered his eyes, looking at the fire merrily cracking through the wooden branches. He could at least pretend that the heat on his cheeks was from the growing flames. "What do you want to eat? We have..."

 

He cocked his head, tallying up their supplies in his mind. He wasn't exactly very good at cooking or planning meals. Growing up with a private chef hadn't exactly prepared him for such endeavours. "We have a whole lot of rice." he finally said, lifting one of the rather large bags.

 

  "That we do." Bolin laughed, gently taking the bag from Wei's hands. "Hmm..." he glanced between the bags. "We can cook some possum chicken and sweet potatoes. Oh! And the mushrooms!" Bolin seemed to be getting carried away, pointing at various containers with excitement. "Can't forget about the mushrooms..."

 

Curious, Wei watched Bolin mill about with various food articles, pots and pans. It was interesting to see the practised ease with which the lavabender set about making the dish. Setting the sweet potatoes in a bowl at the side and measuring out the rice. Wei felt displaced, unhelpful. 

 

  "Can I do anything to help?"

 

Bolin smiled, passing him a large jug. "Get some water from the stream?" he asked, inclining his head towards the far off brook. 

 

"Sure thing." Grabbing the jug, Wei stood and walked towards the stream. 

 

The brook greeted him with quiet babbling. It had dried up a little, but there still was enough for Wei to fill the jug.

 The water trickled over his fingers and hands, lukewarm under the sun. When he lifted the jug out of the stream, the glassy droplets of water dripped from his skin, glistening in the sunlight for a split-second, before returning to the ever running current.

 

It wasn't often that Wei would wonder what it would be like to waterbend. He always knew his place was as a part of his family's legacy, an earth, no, metalbender. But sometimes he would let the curiosity overtake him, wonder what it would be like to be able to stop the stream midflow. To freeze it or to use its waters to heal.

 

But all that was speculation and Wei was relegated to the dry earth beneath his feet. It was better like this. It was his place.

 

Returning to the campsite, Wei set the jug down beside Bolin, before plopping down himself. "Um. Here." he stiffly crossed his legs, straightening his back, stubbornly holding back from fidgeting awkwardly. "Anything else I can help with?"

 

  "Thanks!" Bolin beamed radiantly, but Wei's eyes were drawn more to how deftly the other man manoeuvred a knife over a sweet potato. He'd already peeled half the vegetables and had a healthy helping of rice sat in a bowl off to the right. "You can help me peel the rest of the potatoes, if you want."

 

  "The faster we peel them, the faster we eat, right?" Wei quipped, grabbing a knife and a potato. He started peeling the vegetable, trying to focus on his own task, instead of on how the fire flickered in Bolin's eyes. Flaring will-o'-the-wisps dancing in the depths of a pristine forest. 

 

The lavabender laughed. Somehow, every time Wei heard the sound it became more and more pleasant to listen to. "Right you are!" he patted his rumbling stomach with a whine. "And I am STARVING! I could eat anything right now! I could eat you up!"

 

Wei almost dropped the sweet potato. 

 

  "Relax! I'm joking!" Bolin giggled, seeing Wei's wide eyes and how he chewed his bottom lip. 

 

  "I know that. It was just a weird thing to say." Wei snapped, heat crawling up the back of his neck, up to his ears. He focused on the stupid potato, meticulously peeling off the skin as if it were the most important task in the world.

 

  "I say weird things when I'm hungry!" Bolin tossed another potato into the bowl with a wide, goofy grin. He pumped his fist into the air triumphantly when the potato landed slam dunk in the middle of the bowl. "When I'm cooking, sometimes I like to talk to the veggies and spices and stuff! You know, sometimes..."

Bolin rambled, chittering away about cooking and vegetables.

 

Wei wished he could be annoyed by Bolin's cheery yammering. He wished. But there was something enchanting about the taller boy's boisterous voice bouncing off the trees and leaves. 

 

The heat seemed more bearable now, perhaps due to the faint wind coming from the north. In fact, everything seemed more pleasant now. Ducking his head, Wei was content to listen.

Wei couldn't bring himself to be frustrated by the fact that Bolin had almost fully stopped peeling the potatoes in favour of excitedly gesticulating. He waved his hands around, grinning wildly and laughing at his own jokes. Even Wei struggled to relegate his amusement to an occasional twitch of his lips.

 

At the moment, Bolin was waxing poetic about Pema's delicious red bean cake. And recounting his own effort at replicating the recipe on his own. Alongside making a whole bucketload of bean puns.

 

 "...so then I said: bean there done that." 

 

Wei wasn't sure why that one got him. He burst out laughing, breaking into a cascade of giggles and snorts. His cheeks hurt from it. Embarrassment coloured his face pink. He covered his mouth with his hand, trying to muffle his mirth. 

 

  "Awww, your laugh is so cute!" Bolin cooed, looking at Wei much too intently for the metalbender's liking. It made him feel way too exposed. Doing his best to look at anything but Bolin, Wei kept his eyes on the stupid potato. Its skin unfurling under the knife easily, peels falling to the ground like petals. Baring the delicate insides to the world.

 

  "It's not." Snapping. Snapping was good. Safe. Bolin wouldn't think snapping would be cute. And Wei wouldn't have to let his mind linger on what Bolin thought of him.

 

  "It totally is!" Bolin insisted, huge, infectuous smile on his face. Wei fought to stamp down his own grin. Bolin shifted where he sat, to get a better vantage point, to look Wei straight in the eyes. "Lemme see that smile! I worked hard for that smile! I was getting worried you weren't finding my BEANTIFUL jokes funny!"

 

It was frustrating to feel the giggle pushing past his own lips despite his best efforts. "That was so bad..." he tried fruitlessly to convince himself, rather than tear down Bolin, who seemed unfazed anyway.

 

  "It wasn't! Besides, I don't carrot all." Bolin crowed his new joke proudly, puffing out his chest. It was the complete earnesty, the absolute lack of sarcasm, the simple and innocent joy at having someone laugh at his jokes. It made Wei let down his guard enough to guaff ouloud. Bolin practically cheered. "Getting you to laugh is a cause for celery-bration."

 

He couldn't help himself. Laughter overtook him, his shoulders shaking, tears of laughter gathering in the corners of his eyes. His stomach spun and his lungs ached. He couldn't bring himself make eye contact with Bolin. He couldn't bring himself to look at Bolin's huge, goofy smile. To see how intently Bolin was eyeing him.

 

"Fine. I'll give it to you. You're really.." he sighed deeply, and finally took the plunge, playing along. Nerves stabbing at his stomach as if he were doing something perilous. "... you're really... kale-ing it today."

 

The following silence was broken up only by the crackling of the campfire. Wei bit his lip. If he could somehow lower his gaze even further, he would do so in a heartbeat. He wished the earth would just swallow him whole, shame pinching at his cheeks. What was he thinking? 

Laughter from Bolin stopped what would definitely have been a healthy heap of self beration on Wei's part. 

 

Giggling, Bolin gave Wei a gentle little poke. How his big, strong hands could operate with such careful softness was still a bit baffling. 

 

"See, you're a natural at puns!"

 

  "I guess... I just needed some encourage-mint..." Wei doubled down shyly. Bolin's laughter grew louder and it was music to Wei's ears. Bright and strong, encouraging. It made Wei feel comfortable... almost at home. 

 

He dared look up at Bolin now. Big mistake. Big, big mistake.

His mouth dried up instantly. The amber speckled half-moons of his emerald eyes, the prettily upturned curve of his nose, the enticing arch of his lush lips hiding the glint of pearly teeth.

 

As easily as the dry wood cracked in the campfire, the long buried crush Wei had on Bolin was ripped back into the open after two whole years of blissful slumber. 

Swallowing the dryness in his throat felt like swallowing sharp, metal nails. 

The heat of the fire, the sweltering air, the feverish sheen over Wei's cheeks. Bolin's bright smile, his jovial laughter, the sweat lightly curling his hair into delicate waves. 

It drove Wei mad. 

 

  "We'll make a punster of you yet!" Bolin was still chipper as ever, still talking, still smiling, still so ridiculously enchanting. 

 

Poising a light barb felt like all the futile, thrashing resistance Wei could muster. 

 

"High praise coming from you."

 

And Bolin laughed again, dragging Wei deeper into the fire.

 

---+

 

  "um, Bolin... is the rice supposed to be doing that?" Wei's voice made Bolin snap his head upwards. One glance at the rice was enough to tell that it was NOT supposed to be doing that.

 

  "Oh, oh, crap, nope!" he rushed to the pot, reaching to grab at it. His skin sizzled as he pressed his hands to the heated metal. "OW OW OW OW OWWW!" He howled, the pain so intense he had to take a couple steps away and spin in a circle. Tears sprung to his eyes. He waved his hands in the air, a futile attempt at ridding himself of the searing agony slicing through his palms.

 

  "Fuck." through the blur of tears, Bolin saw Wei use metalbending to safely lift the pot off the fire. "Are you ok? Here, let me see..." Bolin shook his head, holding his hands to his chest. 

 

Appearing in Bolin's field of vision, Wei reached out.

 

  "Nononono!" whining like the wounded animal he was at the moment, Bolin hid his hands as best he could. "Don't! It hurts!"

 

"Hey... it's ok... breathe. You're winding yourself up, dummy." Wei gently wrapped his deft hands around Bolin's wrists. He pulled them away from Bolin's curled-in form, looking down at his scarlet, swollen palms. "Damn. I know it looks bad, but you'll live. Sit down."

 

Like a trained dog, Bolin plopped onto the ground. Kneeling next to him, Wei grabbed some tea towels, dipping them in what water was left in the jug.

 

 "Stay still for me, okay?" he gingerly wrapped the makeshift compress around Bolin's hands. "There we go..." Bolin whimpered again and Wei shushed him in a cooing, soothing tone. His voice was so soft now. Like the crackling of the fireplace and the babbling of the brook. Unlike anything Bolin had ever heard before.  

 

Wei looked up at Bolin. The faintest freckles teased along his cheeks and nose, a hundred kisses from the blazing sun. His eyes- a glimpse of what the meadow surrounding them could've been if spared from the drought. 

He'd always thought Wei's eyes were sharp, sharper than a dagger wrapped in luxurious, green silk. But now, as Wei carefully searched Bolin's face for traces of pain or discomfort, there was none of that.

 

All Bolin could remember was the warm summer nights when he and Mako slept on a soft bed of moss in the city's park, surrounded by sweet smelling honeysuckle vines and blackberry bushes, sagging under the lavish weight of their glistening ebony bounty.

The best sleep Bolin'd had in his entire time on the streets. Morning had brought shy rays of sunlight and the sweet tartness of berry juice on his tongue. 

 

"Let those sit for a couple minutes, okay?" Wei smoothed his thumbs (soft, unmarred by the work that had carved itself into Bolin's) along Bolin's wrists. Just below the aching burns. 

Pursed lips, furrowed eyebrows, expectant. Awaiting an answer.

 

  "O... okay..." Bolin chirped, strangely dazzled. The damp, cool material was soothing upon his hands. It filled his head, snuffing out hazy thoughts with its blissful relief. The ache was gone.

 

Wei smiled, patting Bolin's shoulder as he stood up and walked away to check on the thoroughly ruined rice.

 

---+

 

The food wasn't exactly exquisite, but it was edible. Bolin was still struggling to eat with his burnt hands. He winced, trying to maneuver the chopsticks properly in order to eat the last of his possum chicken.

 

  "How bad do they hurt?" Wei was a couple feet away from Bolin. Back straight, legs primly tucked under his thighs, his empty bowl set neatly in his lap. As if he were sitting at a proper dining table and not a campsite. 

 

Bolin willed a smile onto his lips, ignoring the burning pain coursing over his palms. 

"Oh, I'm a-ok! Doesn't hurt at all!" 

 

Unexpectedly, Wei didn't seem placated. He didn't shrug and go back to his food, didn't smile and nod. 

Instead, he snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're a terrible liar."

 

Bolin's smile wobbled. He barely noticed Pabu stealing the last of the possum chicken straight from his bowl.

 

 "I'm not lying. "

 

  "You are."

 

  "Am not! I'm completely fine!"

 

Throwing his hands up in frustration, Wei groaned in annoyance. "Whatever. Suffer in silence for all I care."

 

He stood up, bearing his bowl and the utensils they'd used to cook their meal. He snatched Bolin's recently emptied dish as well. Stopping to toss a rag over his shoulder, he went to stomp towards the brook. But he paused for a bit.

 

 "They should be fine in like a week. Keep them out of the sun." it was barely audible, Bolin could've pretended he didn't hear anything.

 

And so he did. Hanging his head in something akin to shame. Pretending to busy himself with picking at the dried grass with his swollen fingers. Despite the sun having almost set, the air was still infernally hot.

Sweat dripped down his neck. 

 

Wei made a noise of frustration, disappearing amongst the scarce trees surrounding the brook. His footsteps fading into the stream's hushed murmurs.

Bolin couldn't use seismic sense to track Wei further than hearing and sight allowed. He'd tried to learn the skill time and time again. But just like metalbending, it constantly eluded his grasping hands. 

And so, Wei was gone.

 

Turning to Pabu, Bolin let a little frustration loose. "'You're a terrible liar'" he mockingly mimicked Wei's voice. "What's his problem? "

 

Pabu's ears twitched as the critter looked up at him, eyes glowing with the campfire's embers. 

 

Bolin deflated. "You're right." his shoulders sagged. "He's just being nice. I think. He's being not nice about being nice?" 

 

Pabu swished his tail and pawed at Bolin's knee. 

 

  "I didn't mean to upset him!" Bolin defended himself, wilting under the ferret's reproachful gaze. "I was being polite!"

 

After all, Wei'd put the effort into wrapping the compresses around Bolin's burns. And gentle parenting him through a breakdown over a minor burn.(Which was a little embarrassing. And yes, Bolin's pride was bruised, thank you for asking)

And Bolin hadn't wanted to upset the guy by revealing that the burns still hurt, despite his help.

It wasn't Bolin's fault that Wei was weird and got all hissy over being offered simple gratitude. 

 

  "Of course you talk to your ferret. You seemed like the type." he hadn't heard Wei return. Cheeks burning, Bolin whirled his head to look at him.

 

  "Well... I..."

 

Wei shrugged with a smirk. "He ever answer you?" he started packing up their canteen. 

 

Chuckling, Bolin shook his head. "Well, not directly." he petted Pabu, but winced as he irritated his burns. "He's very smart, you know. He always knows what people are saying to him, and he's such a clever little guy!"

 

  "I'll take your word for it." Wei glanced at Pabu, almost curiously. "Never had a pet so not like I can compare."

 

  "Really? None of your siblings ever wanted a lil' friend?" Bolin was surprised. Sure, Opal hadn't ever mentioned any pets, but the Beifongs just felt like the types to adopt animals. "Here, let me help you with that."

 

He reached to help Wei carry the canteen back to the car. The metalbender swatted his hands away. "Don't. You might be okay pretending that your hands are fine, but we need you in top shape when we're clearing the outpost. Take it easy, ok?"

 

Arguments pushed their way onto Bolin's tongue, but he swallowed them down. In defeat, he let his aching hands fall to his sides.

 

  "Good boy." Wei offered him a little smile over his shoulder, before going back to the conversation. Bolin wasn't sure why his ears rung from the mock praise. "I guess the topic of pets never really came up. We rarely left the estate. It's not really like we got to see other people have them, so I guess..." he shook his head, placing the canteen in the boot. "How'd you end up with a fire ferret, anyway? I thought it was super hard to domesticate them."

 

Pabu crawled up Bolin's leg, as if he could tell that the conversation was about him. Bolin laughed. "Well, Mako and I were still living on the streets and this tiny little guy..." he cooed at Pabu, who chirped back. "... just climbed right onto my head!"

 

Bolin was more than happy to tell the tale.

About learning that Pabu was going to get fed to a pythonaconda. About trying to buy him and bring denied by Mako. About his subsequent breaking into the pet store and saving the baby ferret. And then almost becoming food for the snake himself, if it hadn't been for Mako. 

 

  "So you've always been brave and stupid." there was no bite to Wei's voice, he was smiling, actually. Bolin preened at the compliment. "Your ferret's lucky to have you."

 

He slipped past Bolin with a smile, light and swift like a gust of wind.

Something compelled Bolin to try to catch that gust in his bare hands.

 

  "He, uh, he does tricks."

 

This seemed to get Wei's attention. He turned back to face Bolin. His eyes were sparkling, his lips coiled into a small grin. For a second. The metalbender schooled his features back into that ever present frown almost immediately. 

 

  "Oh yeah? "

 

If Bolin didn't know any better, he would've said Wei sounded interested, if not outright excited. 

 

  "Yeah! You wanna see?"

 

Wei hesitated, chewing the inside of his cheek. He sighed a little.

 

  "Sure, why not..."

 

It was hard for Bolin to contain his glee at drilling through at least a little of Wei's aloofness. Erecting a little obstacle course from the earth, he ushered Wei into sitting in front of it.

 

  "Come one, come all!" Bolin crowed, spreading his arms as he addressed a non-existent crowd. He motioned towards his star. "See Pabu the fantastic fire ferret as he crosses the Ladder of Peril," ...pause for effect... "upside down!" he added in a theatric whisper. 

 

He dared gauge his audience's reaction. Wei was sitting like he had during the meal. All stiff and formal. But he had a little smile upon his lips and his eyes glimmered with amusement and curiosity. He was drumming the fingers of his right hand on his knee as if in anticipation.

 

  "Your cue, buddy." Bolin whispered to the ferret.

 

With a slightly disgruntled chirp, Pabu hopped along several tiny pillars. Traversed the long earth plank, hanging under it. Landed with a flashy backflip. On one paw. Perfect, just like they'd practised.

 

Applause filled their clearing. Wei was giggling as he clapped his hands. "Riveting!" once again, there was no malice or sarcasm in his voice. He was positively beaming. "You trained him yourself?"

 

  "Yep! I told you he was smart!" Bolin puffed out his chest in pride. "It started with teaching him to sit and now he can do backflips and everything." he tossed the ferret into the air and Pabu, indeed, did a backflip, landing safely in his human's arms.

 

Wei clapped again, ducking his head with a little laugh.

  "That's really cool!"

 

  "You would think that, but the amount of treats I had to buy to even get him to focus enough to actually learn almost drove Mako and me bankrupt!"

 

Wei was laughing outwardly now. Eyes bashfully hooded by jet black lashes. Fingers picking at the material of his trousers. Was Bolin just imagining the pink painting Wei's cheeks?

 

Bolin was drowning in the sweet smelling evening air. He wanted to prolong the moment as long as he could.

 

  "Do you... do you wanna see Pabu do the Somersault of Calamity?" he asked, slightly aching fingers spasming with tension.

 

Wei's laughter faded for a second, but the smile never left his lips. "Sure."

 

---+

 

  "We should wake up early tomorrow." Wei warned, pulling on his pyjama shirt. "That way we can reach the nearest village before midday, and ask around about the outpost. And hit the outpost the day after that."

 

Changing in the small, cramped tent wasn't exactly fun. Both men tried to change with their backs to each other. Give each other as much modesty as possible. Wei tied the silk straps to keep his shirt in place. His back brushed against Bolin's. His cheeks burned, his eyes itched to look. 

 

  "Sounds good." Bolin spoke up and Wei heard the larger man flop down onto the mess of mats and blankets. "And how early would that be?"

 

  "Dawn." Wei answered curtly. He lay down as well. It was a little awkward, their shoulders bumping.

 

  "Whaaattt? Nooooo!" Bolin rolled over to face Wei. Their noses almost brushed.

 

  "Yeah, why not?" Wei shuffled backwards, trying to not look at Bolin. Not at his drowsy eyes, glimmering emerald green peeking from under thick, furrowed brows. Not at how his white tank top hugged his broad chest tightly.

Nope, nope. Not at all.

 

  "Just because we're on a mission doesn't mean we have to make ourselves miserable..." Bolin complained, petting his ferret absent-mindedly. "We need our beauty sleep!"

 

  "Maybe you do." Wei muttered, slyly.

He let out a muffled yelp as Bolin brought a pillow down on his head. "HEY!"

 

  "Psh! YOU need it more than I do!" Bolin huffed, brandishing his pillow like a weapon. "Maybe it'll help with that awful personality of yours too!"

 

Wei gasped dramatically. "How dare you! I'm a joy to be around!" he pulled a blanket around himself. "We get up in about six hours, so best get all the beauty sleep you can." he added sweetly, relishing in the horrified widening of Bolin's eyes.

 

  "You're evil." Bolin breathed, sharing an aghast look with the ferret, which seemed to somehow be aware of the gravity of the situation. Fur all ruffled and all.

 

  "No, I'm pragmatic." Wei purred, leaning his head on his chin. He smirked as a shiver ran down Bolin's body. But it was even more satisfying to see the lavabender's face harden.

 

So they're going to haggle.

 

  "Nine hours." Bolin rolled closer to Wei with an almost menacing expression.

 

  "Five." Wei countered, pushing away a gasping in offence Bolin. Though the big lug barely budged.

 

  "Eight and a half."

 

  "Four."

 

  "You know, you're gonna be sleepy tomorrow too, right?" Bolin cooed, poking Wei's chest, leaning in with a triumphant smirk.

 

  "A sacrifice I'm willing to make." Wei snipped, wishing he could escape further, but Bolin had backed him completely into the tent wall. Perhaps it was Bolin's overwhelming closeness that pushed Wei into surrendering and actually taking this seriously. "Seven hours." 

 

  "Eight." Bolin seemed to have sniffed out Wei's weakness and was taking full advantage of it. Wei couldn't breathe.

 

  "Seven and a half." he closed his eyes, though that didn't protect him from the warmth of Bolin's body against his, the heat of Bolin's breath on his neck. There was something soothing, almost dreamy about this. So much so that Wei could see himself closing his eyes and floating of into sleep beside Bolin's strong yet soft form. Snuggled up against his firm chest...

 

  "Good enough for me!" Bolin laughed, moving backwards a little, giving Wei some cold empty air. Good, this was good. Wei wasn't missing Bolin's closeness at all.

 

  "Great." snapping, Wei lay his head down on the pillow. He closed his eyes again and shook his head in annoyance. 

 

Sensing Wei's irritation, Bolin squirmed awkwardly under his own blanket.

 

  "ummm... goodnight." he mumbled, and Wei heard him making himself comfortable.

 

  "Goodnight." Wei answered bluntly. Through his eyelids, he saw the light disappear as Bolin extinguished their oil lamp.

 

  "Sleep tight." Bolin added, his body pressed up against Wei, forced close to him by the tiny tent.

 

  "Sleep well, Bolin." Wei answered dispassionately, tensing up as Bolin's shoulder rubbed against his cheek.

 

A few seconds of blissful silence and darkness. Finally. Wei could pretend that he's not gonna be stuck with Bolin for weeks. Loud, annoying, flashy, bright, sunshine in human form Bolin. Even thinking about having to resist Bolin's stupid, wonderful, aggravating charm for a few days was giving him a headache. At least he could shelf those thoughts for a while. Seven and a half hours to be exact. 

 

Or not.

 

  "Don't let the bedbugs bite."

 

  "Thank you, Bolin." Wei hoped to have telegraphed his annoyance properly. Apparently he failed. 

 

  "No problem. Sleep well." Bolin said again, his elbow digging into Wei's waist.

 

  "You too, Bolin." Wei answered a little forcefully, trying to nudge Bolin's arm away from him. He hoped the big oaf would get the hint and roll off. 

No such luck.

 

Balling his hands into fists, Wei sighed. Just relax.

Try to relax.

 

Blissful silence and darkness.

 

Blissful silence and darkness and soft pillows.

 

Blissful silence and darkness and soft pillows and warm blankets.

 

Blissful silence and darkness and soft pillows and warm blankets and Bolin pressed up against him, his hand grazing Wei's waist.

 

Peachy.

This is gonna be a long mission.

 

Chapter 2: These hands of mine were clumsy, not clever

Summary:

Bolin and Wei visit Makapu village and experience their famous fortune salon. Baby Bo goes through an existential crisis. Love that for him.

Notes:

I think I forgot to mention that the title of this fic comes from the song Dear Fellow Traveller by Sea Wolf. The song has always made me think of weilin for some reason.

Warm and soft. Bolin's head was laid upon the most perfect pillow in the world! He nuzzled closer to it, smiling through his sleepy haze. He didn't recognise the cloth of the pillow, it felt smooth and soft, almost silky.

Firm too. He could wrap his arms around it and hold it close to his face. Somehow, it made him feel all safe and sound.

He could probably go back to sleep, right? Maybe just half an hour. Was he supposed to wake up for something? Oh well, he can't remember. Maybe he'll remember... in a moment.

"Bolin. Get off." his pillow was speaking. Bolin furrowed his eyebrows. Why was his pillow speaking? "I know you're awake. Get. Off. You're crushing me, you big lug."

Who does this pillow think it is? Bolin, defiantly, snuggled even closer.

"Get off. I will kick you." the pillow was very feisty. Silly pillow "I will."

Shaking his head petulantly, Bolin hugged the pillow tighter. The pillow seemed to be squirming too. Not enough to stop being comfortable.

Up until a sharp pain stabbed through his shin.

Bolin yowled, sitting bolt upright. The pain wasn't intense, but it was enough to be a nasty surprise.

Wei smiled up at him, saccharine and venomous at the same time. "I did warn you." he purred in lieu of a good morning.

"What is wrong with you?!?" Bolin rubbed his shin with a scowl.

"Excuse me for wanting to breathe." Wei snipped, crossing his arms. The smug and syrupy sweet smile turned to something sharper and harsher. "I'm not gonna die crushed to death by you, you hairless platypus bear."

"Hairless? Hairless?!?" Bolin ran his hands through his hair as if to make sure it was still there. "You call these luscious locks hairless?!?"

"That insulted you more than being called a platypus bear?" Wei grinned, sitting up and gracefully stretching with a (almost cute) little yawn. How did he manage to look so put together and refined ridiculously early in the morning?

"Actually, I'm most insulted that you kicked me in the shin." Bolin whined, hoping to get some sympathy. It's the least Wei could give him after all. "I thought you said we needed me in top shape!"

"A lil bump on the shin won't kill you." Wei rolled his eyes, pulling his duffle bag into his lap and unzipping it. He looked through several items of clothing. "Get dressed. We should aim to reach Makapu village before noon."

Nodding, Bolin started getting himself dressed. It took him a second for the realization to hit. "Wait! What about breakfast?"

"I guess we can have some sandwiches before we set out." Wei mused, neatly setting out some undergarments, trousers and a short robe.

"But... but eggs and bacon?"

'We have a schedule."

" It won't take long" Bolin inched closer, making his best puppy eyes. He was still trying to crack through Wei's exterior. He'll find a way. He turned the charm all the way up. Trying to look as beseeching as possible, he pleaded. "Just half an hour? "

----+

Despite Wei's very obvious displeasure, he did give in and let Bolin make them a proper breakfast. Wei did not, however, complain when handed a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. He even complimented Bolin's cooking, which was nice and Bolin definitely revelled in it a little too much.

It actually took them an hour to fully pack up and get into the car.

Wei offered to drive, to spare Bolin's burnt hands. Bolin silently thanked him.
Burnt hands and a bruised shin, and they haven't even gotten to the first outpost yet. Great work, Bolin.

This time they were silent through the ride. Too sleepy to talk or even listen to the radio. At least that's how it was for Bolin. Wei seemed so focused on the road that Bolin couldn't even tell what was on his companion's mind.
Though Bolin could barely tell what was going on in Wei's head anyway.

Sleepy as he was, Bolin was satisfied to lean back in the seat, petting Pabu absent-mindedly. He played with the critter's fluffy tail.
His hands still tingled with slight pain. About a week, Wei had said. Ok. Bolin could deal with that, right?

He missed the pleasant coolness of the damp tea towel around his hands, and even Wei's hands on his wrists.

It had been a while since Bolin had gotten such gentle affection. Not since him and Opal had broken up. She'd let him down slowly. He'd felt her pulling away ever since the last battle against Kuvira. Though he'd been in denial for months before the breakup was actually final.
Often, too often, Bolin replayed the last few years in his head, wondering if, had he done things differently (hadn't joined Kuvira) him and Opal would've still been together. Happy.

He missed the soft sensation of someone's lips on his. The bubbly glee that came from seeing someone's eyes light up at the sight of him. The comfort and sureness of someone's arms around him. The feeling of being wanted.

The newly risen sun was hot and bright. Too bright. Bolin could barely imagine it had been dark out like 2 hours ago. The morning dew probably hadn't even dried up yet. But it was so hot already...

He closed his eyes and wasn't able to open them again. As if the heat had crept over his eyelids and sealed them shut. His head felt empty... he felt... lost...

It was like he was completely alone. As if Wei wasn't there, as if he didn't have Pabu in his lap. He was lost, untethered... drifting... he clutched at what he could of the stable safety of shore.
But it was no use. Swept away by the current, Bolin sunk to the dim, lonely depths of his own mind.

----+

Bolin had apparently ended up falling asleep.
He awoke with a start, frantically gulping air as if he'd been trapped underwater. Though he was quickly grounded by a small hand lightly shaking his shoulder.
It was easy to forget about his dreamless dream as Wei fired off the things they were meant to ask the villagers about. It was easy to banish the dark, shoreless waters from his head while standing in the sunlight.

Makapu village looked like many of the small rural towns Bolin had visited while working for Kuvira. However, a distinct feature stood out.
Pouring down from the tall mountain, tall rocky arches loomed above the city. They seemed... familiar somehow.

Out of curiosity, Bolin read a couple of the signs dotted around the town square. A flower shop, a restaurant, a bakery, nothing interesting and...

"Ooooh, look, Wei!" he grabbed his companion's arm. "A fortune-teller! Isn't that cool?!"

Wei squinted suspiciously at the sign.

" 'Aunt Wu's Fortune Salon; Reading from: palms, bones, cards and tea leaves.'" he read out loud, before looking up at Bolin again. "Come on, big guy, don't tell me you believe all that. "

"Wei, I'm best buds with the Avatar! " Bolin placed his hand on his chest, puffing it out proudly. "I've gone far and wide and seen many things.... and..."

"And have you seen someone accurately predict the future by staring at your hand really hard? "

"Well, no...But..."

"I rest my case. "

"Ah, we do get the occasional sceptic. " An old woman in a bright pink robe and an outlandish headpiece approached them. She looked like some odd, exotic flower. Perhaps that was the point. "But I can promise you that what feedback I receive is always positive. "

"I'm sure it is. " Wei muttered crossing his arms. He yelped indignantly when Bolin elbowed him in the side.

But Bolin paid him no mind. "Um, hi! I mean... good morning! " he gave the older woman a quick bow. She smiled candidly at him. When she nodded her head, the gold of her headpiece sparkled in the sun. "Are you Aunt Wu?"

The woman laughed hoarsely.
"Oh, heavens, no! Aunt Wu passed away decades ago." she must've seen Bolin's confused frown, because an explanation wasn't far behind. "I apprenticed under her when I was a young girl. And I've since taken over the salon. I kept the name to preserve her legacy. " Pabu cautiously emerged from behind Bolin's legs and began sniffing her pink robe. The old woman didn't seem to mind him at all. " It would be a great honour to host a friend of the Avatar."

"Friend of the Avatar? I'm a friend of the Avatar!'" Bolin exclaimed in gleeful surprise. He turned to Wei, jabbing a triumphant finger to his chest. "Hah! She knew I'm a friend of the Avatar! She is a fortuneteller!"

"Or..." Wei slung his arm over Bolin's neck and pulled him down to his eye level. His lips brushed over the shell of Bolin's ear as he spoke. "She heard you yammering on about being 'best buds with the Avatar' less than a minute ago."

Bolin tried not to see Wei's dusky lips forming into a sly, triumphant little smile. He'd never thought something could be both pretty and infuriating at the same time.
" You ruin everything fun."

Wei's face went slack for a second, but soon hardened into a scowl. He released Bolin, shoving him hard enough to have him taking half a step back.

"Fine. Get scammed for all I care." He spat, turning around and walking further into the city with a conviction Bolin could only dream of.

"Where are you going?"

"To ask around about the outpost." Wei spun around, but kept walking backwards. "You know, the whole reason we came here!" he approached a man in a uniform, presumably the local law enforcement.

Touchy. As usual.
Bolin sighed, massaging his temples. He just knew Wei was going to give him dozens of headaches during this mission.
He felt pretty bad now, too. As if he'd somehow hurt Wei's feelings, but for the life of him couldn't tell how.

He turned to see that the fortuneteller was still there. How embarrassing.

"Uh, sorry about my friend." he mumbled, twiddling his thumbs. "He's kinda sensitive."

"Is he now?" the old woman smiled indulgently, inclining her grey head. Pabu seemed curious of whatever was in her pockets and was doing his best to stuff his snout in there.

"Yes!" Bolin threw his hands up in the air. "So sensitive! He's like... perpetually mad at the world. And at me! It's like whatever I do, he just keeps going right back to hating me! He kicked me just this morning! I just can't get through to him, no matter how hard I try."

The fortuneteller laughed, and it made her face seem less aged. "You seem like a man in need of a reading." she placed a frail hand on his shoulder, leading him towards the salon. "Free of charge! Maybe it'll help you."

Bolin gasped. "Really?!? Awesome!" he caught himself and cleared his throat. "I mean, thank you, that's very generous of you." face burning with embarrassment, he gave another polite little bow.

The fortuneteller patted his shoulder. "No need to curb your enthusiasm, dear." she laughed, sliding the door open. "It warms an old woman's heart.'"

Stepping over the threshold felt like stepping into a whole new world. The rich scent of incense mixing with spices hit Bolin's senses immediately. So intense he could practically taste the cinnamon and anise on his dry tongue. The small waiting area was filled with odd little trinkets. Colourful crystals, tiny carved figurines, dried flower wreaths. Bolin would've loved to linger and check out every single one of them. Was that a statue of a dovesnake made out of amber? And right next to it, some intricate puzzle cube made of gold and jade?

But the fortuneteller ushered him deeper into the salon, and he dared not dally. He hurried along, his feet thumping heavily against the rosewood planks. The ever present incense was making him feel light-headed and clumsy.
He exhaled a sigh of relief when they came to a stop at a dimly lit room. A fireplace crackled in the middle of it, surrounded by a few zabutons. The fire cast twitching, almost dancing shadows onto the walls. The type of shadows that would've scared Bolin back when he was a child.

The fortuneteller motioned for him to sit by the fire. It crackled its welcome when he did. The old woman settled in front of him with a little effort. She muttered something about not being as spry as she had been in her youth. Bolin smiled in a way he hoped appeared understanding.
He wondered absent-mindedly about what his own twilight years would be like. Perhaps that's one of the reasons he's here.

"May I have your dominant hand?" the fortuneteller pulled him out of his musings. He complied, extending his hand. Palm upwards ready to be read. The old woman took him by the wrist . She began inspecting his palm with an almost professional expression. Bolin was momentarily reminded of the shady pawnbrokers him and Mako would sometimes have dealings with. "Anything you're particularly curious about, dear?"

Bolin perked up immediately, curiosity piqued.
"Oh yeah! Can you tell me who I'm gonna marry? Oooh! Have I met her already? Am I gonna have any kids? I want to have kids... How many?" he bombarded the woman with questions. She laughed quietly. "Sorry, is that too many questions?"

"You're certainly enthusiastic." she murmured, fingers skimming his palm. It irritated the burn a little. But Bolin's curiosity and longing for answers willed his hand still. "I might not have all the answers, but perhaps I can shed some light on them."

Bolin nodded silently, pursing his lips. He watched the woman trail a frail old finger from the base of his thumb up to the centre of his palm.

"Your fate has been dictated by events outside of your control, you poor thing. It hasn't been easy, has it?" her voice carried enough polite sympathy to feel scathing. "Your life has undergone many drastic changes not of your own choice. Am I correct?"

Bolin nodded faintly, nose filled with the phantom scent of his parents' flesh burning. Ears echoing with the sound of Kuvira's spirit canon. Mouth welling up with blood from his ever bitten tongue, eyes welling up with tears as if the ones he's shed countless times before meant nothing.
He couldn't breathe. The fireplace felt all too close, smoke somehow worming into his tight throat and lungs.

"Ah. This line tells me you've been manipulated by others." she poked a small, shallow indent above his thumb. Bolin ducked his head, embarrassed. Even his own hands betray his gullibility. Mako would feel vindicated, at least. He's always talking about how Bolin's far too naive. The fortuneteller moved to the line slightly above the previous. "But this one tells me that, despite everything you've gone through, you still have hope and a zest for life."

"Zest for life." Bolin repeated slowly, as if testing how the term felt on his tongue. It tasted like candy picked up off the sidewalk. "Yep... that's me. Zest for life guy." the laugh he uttered was hollow, but if the fortuneteller caught that, she didn't comment. Bolin shifted on his pillow. "Hey, um, I don't mean to be rude, but isn't fortune telling supposed to be all about the future?"

The woman hummed a laugh.

"Yes, that's the part everyone's always the most interested in. But the future is dictated by the past and present. Sometimes looking behind us can provide a few clues to what awaits in front of us."

"Oh, ok." Bolin hesitated a little, chewing his lip as he weighed his next question. "Does it say anything about, uh... girls? Love? You know... those things."

The woman chuckled. "Of course, of course." she shook her head with a smile. "Your palm tells me that you've had many relationships and you fall in love easily.... but the breaks in it show that you've often been hurt. Your heart is big and open, and you're often taken advantage of."

Bolin grit his teeth. He couldn't help but cringe. Mako said similar things. Usually right before he was about to disapprove of whatever Bolin had set his mind to at the time. Things that made him feel like a child, stupid and small. And the worst part was that it was all true. Bolin was easily manipulated, he was stupid and rash and reckless and far too trusting.
He wasn't cautious like Mako, nor strong like Korra or smart like Asami. Without them, he always messed up. He needed them. But they didn't need him.

"Your love line is incredibly long." the woman continued, a quizzical arch to her brow.

"Is that good?" Bolin asked nervously, happy to move to the considerably lighter topic of romance.

She chuckled. "Yes and no. You're direct, passionate and devoted to your partners. Loyal to a fault. But some people... some people can't handle the... intensity of your feelings." she spoke softly but all Bolin could hear was the plethora of times he'd been told to dial it back. Hold his ostrich horses. Simmer down. Get a hold of himself. "These branches tell me that you have plenty of love to give. But also that you have or will experience plenty of heartbreak and struggle romancewise."

Well. Not exactly what Bolin has wanted to hear.

The fortune-teller seemed unaware of his hope slowly dying with every word she said.

She shifted to another part of his hand. "Your fate line is very faint... it means you have no direction in your life... nor any vision of the future. You may struggle to..."

Bolin snatched his hand back. The woman folded her hands in her lap and cocked her eyebrow, regarding him curiously. Bolin felt like a beetle ant sizzling under a magnifying glass held by a cruel and curious child.

"I uh... I'm sorry. I... um. That's all I want to know. Thank... thank you..." he mumbled, eyes downcast. He wanted to dissipate like the smoke from the fire did once it reached the chimney.

"There's still a few lines for me to read.." the fortuneteller smiled at him tentatively. Features obscured by the darkness, she almost reminded Bolin of his grandmother. Comforting. Yet foreign and foreboding st the same time. Just like the unreadable lines on his palm. Perhaps, just like his grandmother they were also meant to be... kept at a distance. Far enough that Bolin wouldn't be able to see what they said about him.

"No!" Bolin pressed his palms to his knees as if she could read them from a distance. "I mean... I.... I would hate to take advantage of your generosity... more. Any more!" he shuffled backwards a little. Pabu, who had still been sniffing about the fortuneteller's pockets chirped inquisitively at his human. Bolin was usually comforted by his pet's affection, but now it only added to the eyes on him. He couldn't escape the scrutiny. "Um! Thank you, I'd... I'm just gonna go now..."

He awkwardly staggered to his feet and stumbled towards the door. Pabu chased after him, his concerned squeak echoing in Bolin's ears. The smell of smoke, spices, incense... it was too much. Filling his nostrils, plastering over his senses. The inside of his mouth was dry and sharp, his tongue like sandpaper.

He swayed on his feet and tripped, leaning on the wall. Heady and feverish. His head swam. He ran his still aching palm down his face. Smearing sweat and spreading faint pain over his achy palm. A high-pitched breath that sounded almost like a sob escaped his constricted lungs.

He heard the fortune-teller complaining to herself about her old bones as she stood up. Perhaps she needed assistance getting up, like his grandmother often did. He felt a little bad that he wasn't there to help.

And yet, he marched towards the door with purpose. He tripped over the doorstep and nearly fell flat on his face as he rushed out into the open. He took a heavy gulp of fresh, mountain air. Cold as any gust of wind when it wandered down to his tight and burning lungs.

He was vaguely aware of Pabu climbing up onto his shoulder. He absent-mindedly petted the little creature, without even looking at him.

Swallowing, he walked aimlessly into the marketplace. He wasn't sure what to do now. He couldn't see Wei anywhere, which shouldn't be as upsetting as it was to Bolin.
What had he been expecting, exactly? For Wei to be waiting at the fortuneteller's door like a parent coming to pick their kid up from school? Would Bolin have liked that?

Perhaps it was better Wei hadn't seen Bolin rush out of the salon, looking like he'd seen a ghost. Bolin certainly felt haunted at the moment.

"Done messing around? Had fun?"

He heard Wei's sharp voice snap from behind him. Bolin heaved a sigh of both relief and annoyance. He turned to see the metalbender approaching, robe swishing around his knees.

Bolin glued a smile onto his face. "Yeah, actually! Learnt all about... you know.. the fu... fun future stuff." he crossed his arms. Shifted his feet on the much too slippery seeming cobblestone.

Wei's eyebrows rose a little. He stepped closer, pursing his lips. "Yeah I bet it was fun." his voice was low. "So fun that you look like you've just witnessed a murder."

'Oh, just the murder of my hopes and dreams' Bolin thought bitterly. It wasn't the first time he wished Wei just took what was said to him at face value, like normal people did. Bolin had to put so much effort into talking with him. It was exhausting.

" Yeah, well, I learnt a lot of interesting, cool, important future thingies." Bolin almost snapped. Almost.

He hadn't expected Wei's eyes to soften like they did at that moment. The metalbender crossed the last few steps between them slowly. Wei looked up at Bolin as if he knew exactly what was going on in Bolin's head. Reading Bolin's thoughts with the same ease the fortuneteller had read his palm.

"Bolin, all that stuff is just stupid superstition." he said and it shouldn't have been as comforting as it was. "I highly fucking doubt whatever that old crone told you is true. Con artists like that just take advantage of... lost people who want answers."

"Lost? I'm not lost!" Bolin laughed, breathless, feeling as if a hand were wrapped around his throat. He twitched when Wei lifted a hand, awkwardly hovering it halfway between them. Seeing his reaction, Wei dropped his hand back to his side. Bolin felt an odd anger flare through his veins. "You know what? Maybe you should try it out. Maybe YOU need a reading."

Wei's eyes widened slightly. "Why would I? It's all bullshit."

"Oh yeah? Ever tried it?" Bolin poked a finger at Wei's chest, triumphant and vindicated. Really, who was Wei to call Bolin lost and pick him apart like that? Who was he to make Bolin feel seen so intimately? Wei, who was born to become another perfect exemplar of the great Beifong line? Wei, whose path was laid with readily given glory and ingrained purpose and everything Bolin had ever wanted? "Hey, maybe you'll learn something about yourself."

"No." Wei looked away, shrinking back a little. Like an animal rearing back before pouncing on its prey. "It's stupid and I won't entertain it."

"What's the matter, Wei? Scared you'll hear something you don't want to hear?" it was so satiating to see Wei pale, to see his jaw to tense. Bolin didn't care that he was tingeing the accusations with his own grievances. "Scared she'll tell you you'll end up alone or something? That you don't have anywhere to go?" he barely registered his eyes tearing up "That everyone around you will move on and forget about you and..."

"That's enough!" Wei interrupted and Bolin saw his hands, balled into fists at his sides, shake. "Spirits, what..." he pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling sharply. "You know what? I'll go get that reading if it gets you to shut the fuck up!"

"Great." Bolin snapped, though he didn't feel as satisfied by Wei's surrender as he had hoped.

"Great!" Wei copied Bolin's hostile tone to a T. He stomped towards the fortune salon angrily, not sparing Bolin a second glance.

Bolin's shoulders sagged under an invisible weight the further Wei was from him. And when Wei slammed the door to the salon behind him, Bolin's knees buckled a little as he realised... he hadn't wanted Wei to leave. He didn't want to be alone.

Pabu's wet little nose gently nudged Bolin's cheek. Bolin petted the creature's head. "I'll be ok, buddy." he smiled, shaking his head, trying to lift his spirits. As it often did when he was upset, his stomach growled loudly. "How about we go see if we can find some grub?"

Pabu trilled affirmatively, though his tail still seemed slightly stiff with worry.

Walking about the town, Bolin looked around at the different stores and food stands. Not that there were that many, but he was struggling to choose. He must've circled the town square several times already while, eyes skimming what the town had to offer. Ramen? No, it's absolutely too hot for that. Bark onion soup? Bolin had heard absolutely awful things about the dish, so no.

Eventually, he ambled over to a stand selling 'Authentic Makapu style bean curd puffs'. The gruff middle-aged vendor spoke with a heavy accent, sweating beneath his straw hat.

"Isn't it a little too hot to be standing here all day?" Bolin tried to make conversation, wiping sweat from his own brow. Horrid heatwave has been tormenting the entire kingdom for weeks now and it felt even worse outside the city.

Bolin was slightly embarrassed to say that he didn't really catch what the vendor had grumbled out while packing a paper bag full of puffs. But he still tried to smile politely and nod whenever the man paused for air. He awkwardly paid for his order and bumbled a goodbye.

The puffs were all too delicious and gone all too soon. Bolin looked down into the empty paper bag, heartbroken. As if he had absolutely no idea where his delicious snacks had gone.

Meandering about the square, Bolin finally indulged his curiosity, approaching one of the odd rocks formations. He placed a hand against the dark slag. He lightly tapped its rough surface, chipping off a bit. Cooled lava. Frozen in time and immobilized. He played with the little piece he'd freed, hovering and spinning it in the air above his palm.

"Like it? One of our best known tourist attractions." a girl, Bolin's age, perhaps a little older spoke up. She was leaning out from amongst the multitude of flowers she'd been selling at her stall. "Ol' aunt Meng says it's from when mount Makapu erupted and Avatar Aang helped freeze it before it reached the village."

"Really?" Bolin asked curiously. He trotted towards the flower vendor.

She chuckled. "At least that's what aunt Meng says. But she's always one to tell tall tales. No one really believes her."

"I'd believe her." Bolin crumpled up the paper bag and stuffed it into his pocket. "You know... I'm actually friends with Avatar Korra." the girl's facial expression changed from amusement to curiosity. Glee fizzled in Bolin's stomach at her newfound interest in him. "Yeah..." he ran a hand through his sweaty hair. (Hoping this made it look tastefully tousled) "I'm kinda a big deal. Maybe you've seen me in Nuktuk: Hero of the South?"

She furrowed her brows, before recognition brightened her features. "Oh, the mover?" she lilted, her interest seemingly sky-rocketing. Bolin grinned and nodded, eager to continue this conversation. Maybe this is what he needed. Heartbreak and struggle, his ass. Take that, fortuneteller. "I haven't seen it. No mover showings round these parts. But I've seen the posters." she chuckled, looking him up and down from head to toe. Wait, was she checking him out? "A lot of us were very interested."

"Oh. Um." Bolin faltered, suddenly flustered at the idea of people ogling his half naked likeness on a poster. "Really?"

"Really. Pretty sure ms. Ling Ni still has one tucked away in her store." the flower vendor smirked. She leant forward, resting her forearms on the counter. "So, Avatar's friend, huh? You some sort of big shot hero?"

"Ah, um, sort of. I lavabend." Bolin mumbled, self-conscious all of a sudden. "It's.. cool." he tried to sound cool as well. He scratched the back of his neck. He turned the piece of rock in his hand to lava, then cooled it off. As proof. He always needed to prove himself to be the person he thought and said he was. He wasn't a liar. Up yours, Wei.

The girl's eyes widened a little. "Can't say I've seen anythin' quite like that before." she chuckled, drumming her fingers against the stall. "So, what brings you to lil ol' Makapu?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell anyone..." He leant over, closer to her, lowering his voice conspiratorially. Sure, he was playing up the secrecy aspect of their quest to sound cooler. Sue him. "But I'm on a secret mission. Don't tell anyone."

She laughed. Bolin thought it was a nice enough sound. It was nice to have someone's attention. To feel worthwhile. It always was. Bolin craved it as if it were a drug.

She was pretty enough, too. Bolin still felt bashful around pretty girls, but the flower vendor seemed alright. Easy to talk to, easy to amuse. Bolin was always happy to amuse. It's what he does best, Varrick had said once.

"My lips are sealed." she promised, before cocking her head inquisitively. "You got a reading from Aunt Meng yet? If not, you should totally get one. The salon is famous."

Bolin's stomach tied itself into a knot.

"Yeah... I got a reading." he muttered, looking down at his feet. Pabu was running around the square, chasing some pigeons, his gleeful chirping echoing off the cobblestone.

"Didn't go well?" the vendor put her warm hand over his. It was uncomfortable, especially with the heat making them both sweaty, but Bolin did appreciate the gesture. He blushed and scratched his cheek. He wasn't sure if his embarrassment was a result of his disastrous reading or the closeness to the pretty girl who was now holding his hand ( is she interested in him? Is she???)

"Weeeelll... it didn't... It didn't go the way I expected it to." he admitted, biting the inside of his cheek. "Expected" is a strong word for "hoped", but oh well, the vendor didn't have to know that particular titbit of information.

"That bad, huh?" she smiled placidly, patting his hand in a comforting, but detached manner. "Well, y'know what they say. Take your fate into your own hands. And I've got something that can help you with that."

"oh yeah? What is it?" Perhaps alarm bells should've been sounding off in Bolin's head by now. He should know when people are trying to sell him something. But the girl had been so nice to him, right? She's probably just trying to help. Right?

The girl straightened, an almost triumphant glint in her eyes. She grabbed one of the many vases adorning her stall, the one filled with the pretty black and white petalled flowers.

"Panda lilies!" she exclaimed, proudly brandishing the vase. The flowers rustled cheerfully, as if they were laughing at him.

Bolin stared at the flowers so intently that he might've went cross-eyed. "Uhm... they're very pretty." he said slowly, furrowing his brows in confusion. "But how're these gonna help?"

This time it was her turn to look like she's divulging a secret. "so there's a legend around these parts." she whispered, plucking one of the flowers from the vase. "that if you give a panda lily to someone, the two of you will be together forever."

She held the flower out to him.

Bolin blinked slowly, staring down at it. The monochrome petals seemed to stare back at him. His face burned, and he wasn't so sure it was just due to the sun's merciless heat.

He reached out for the flower. But she laughed and withdrew her hand. "Hey, I can't just give these away, you know!" she nursed the delicate thing in her hands. "Panda lilies are extremely rare!"

She looked at Bolin expectantly.
It took him a second to realise what she was implying.

"Oh! Right, right." he cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, how much?"

"Not much at all." she reassured with a smile. "5 silver pieces for one."

Bolin's face went slack with surprise. 5 silver pieces? Really? That much could get him and Mako through at least a week back in the day. Sometimes even more, if they were frugal with it.

"Oh. Um. That's... a lot... for a" he swallowed a little. "Flower."

The girl made a face that made Bolin feel like he should backpedal immediately.

"I mean, the flowers are lovely!" he tried, fiddling with his sleeve. He didn't want to look her in the eyes. "I just, I don't even have anyone to give flowers to anyway. "

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Hey, I'm not forcing you to do anything." so she said, but Bolin was feeling very forced at the moment. "I was just trying to make you feel better. No pressure. Dozens of people buy them. They recognise how important panda lilies are, and they appreciate the effort it takes to climb mount Makapu, and harvest the lilies from around the crater. "

"No, no. I do! I do appreciate the effort!" Bolin really would've argued further. His head was spinning a little, how did he get here? They were just having a nice conversation. Well, he could spare 5 silver pieces, right? He sighed. "Ok, fine. I'll take one, then."

He reached into his trousers' pocket to get his wallet. A chirp to his side caught his attention as Pabu came bounding back over, holding an odd shiny thing in his little mouth. He chirped excitedly.

"Hey Pabs-Pabs, whatcha got there?" Bolin asked, the issue of flowers momentarily forgotten. Pabu climbed up onto his shoulders with a proud little trill. He dropped the sparkly object into Bolin's hands. It took Bolin a while to recognise what it was. "Is this Wei's bracelet?" he asked, holding the silver bangle between two fingers.

"Yes, it fucking is!" Bolin almost jumped when Wei's voice snapped from off the side. The bracelet flew out of Bolin's hand. Wei effortlessly metalbended it back onto his wrist, where it joined the five or so other identical bands dangling from his forearm "Teach your furball not to steal." he snapped, glaring at a shamelessly chipper Pabu.

"He doesn't steal!" Bolin defended his pet's honour. He noted, with a twinge of envy, that Wei hardly looked as shaken by his reading as Bolin had been. Of course. What would Wei have to worry about in his future?

Wei rolled his eyes and Bolin squared his shoulders, preparing to hear an insult. "Agree to disagree." the lack of argument left Bolin slightly off kilter. He'd expected, almost looked forward to it. It would've made for an excellent distraction, at the very least. Wei was oblivious to Bolin's odd disappointment. He seemed a little antsy. "You done here? Let's go."

"One sec." Bolin went back to fumbling with his wallet. He decided to draw this out as long as possible. For no reason. Certainly not for the petty reason of pissing Wei off. He turned back to the girl, who had been curiously watching the pair of earthbenders. "Five silver pieces, was it?" he already knew the answer, but 'making sure' would make the process even longer, hopefully getting under Wei's skin.

She nodded, pulling a flower from the vase again.

"Five silver pieces for a flower? Are you crazy?" Wei snorted in disbelief, eyes flitting between Bolin and the vendor.

"It's a panda lily." The girl spoke as if that explained everything. Which it probably should've.

"Even worse." Wei pulled a face that was somewhere between amused and annoyed. Curling his upper lip into a crooked smile. He looked up at Bolin. "You're really spending all that on a stupid old fairytale?"

Bolin almost outwardly grinned. There's the Wei who could throw him out of his blues. It should be concerning, really, that Bolin had somehow trained himself to look forward to their petty, ugly little squabbles.

"I'm an adult, Wei. I'm allowed to spend my own money."

"And I'm allowed to tell you you're spending it like an idiot." Wei pinched the bridge of his nose. "The flowers are pretty, sure. But they're not as rare as people say."

"Excuse me?!?" The flower vendor lashed out. Bolin almost felt like cowering behind Wei. "Panda liles only grow on mount Makapu."

"I promise you that they do not." Wei sounded exasperated almost and not half as concerned by the girl's anger. He leant back a little, regarding the stall. "Also your sign says they're for 1 silver piece."

The silence that followed his statement was deafening.

Bolin squinted at the sign. The characters were small and blurry. Bolin had never been that good at reading. It took him a second to confirm that Wei was indeed right. "Huh." was all he could say.

The girl pursed her lips, still awkwardly holding the flower out. Bolin stood there, equally awkward. Wei, for one, seemed rather annoyed, arms crossed, tapping his foot against the cobblestone.

The flower vendor closed her eyes and exhaled slowly through her nose. She glared at Wei, before turning to Bolin with a tight smile. "1 silver piece, then?"

----+

Bolin cradled the panda lily in his hands as mount Makapu disappeared behind them. Beside him, Wei was deathly silent, eyes focused on the road.

Bolin hadn't exactly expected the continuation of their travel to be this... tedious.
Granted, he's not sure what he'd expected. But certainly not... sitting in the passenger seat like a child being driven back home from school. Perhaps he'd hoped that Wei would be as shaken by his reading as Bolin was by his own. That they could complain about it all together, maybe? Or at least, if not that, that Wei would be his usual feisty self. That a quarrel would be able to offer Bolin the escape from his thoughts. The escape he so desperately craved.
But no, no escape. Just Wei fully focused on driving, completely ignoring Bolin.

"Sooooo..." he trilled, leaning over a little. Wei gave him a quick glance. "How'd your reading go? Do you still think it's all silly?"

"Yep." Wei snipped quickly. Heavy silence engulfed the satomobile for a few seconds, before Wei spoke again. "Don't take whatever she said seriously, big guy." when Wei looked up at Bolin, there was something akin to worry in his eyes. "Bolin. Really. It doesn't mean anything." he pursed his lips, before adding: "It definitely doesn't mean you should be chasing overpriced fairytale flowers. Or their sellers. "

Bolin coloured a little at his words. The world around him coloured too. He felt as if blood started pumping through his veins again.
He'd missed the feeling he used to get before a big Probending match. Heat at his fingertips and buzzing in his ears. That fluttering, plummeting feeling in his stomach. Perhaps this is the closest he'll ever get to it again.

"Psh. I wasn't chasing her! SHE was chasing ME!" he boasted, cheeks hurting from the force with which his wide, selfsatisfied and meticulously practised smile had formed. Bolin was proud of his smile. He'd done his best to copy the guys he'd seen on the covers of those sports magazines. The ones he'd never been able to afford. "Did you see how all over me she was?"

"More all over your wallet." Wei grumbled, rolling his eyes. "How do you not notice these things? I thought you told Opal you and your brother used to be scam artists or something."

"Ah ah ah!" Bolin raised his index finger and admonishingly wagged it in Wei's face. "There's a big difference between scamming and hustling, I'll have you know, Wei. And she wasn't scamming me. To be honest, I think you're just jealous that the ladies flock to me."

"Trust me when I say I am not." a small chuckle laced Wei's reply and Bolin couldn't help but feel like his companion was laughing at a joke only he could hear. "No wonder Kuvira played you like a fiddle." The metalbender muttered, turning his attention back to the road.

Bolin winced. "Well, at least her and Baatar Jr wanted me around." He snapped, coming off more petulant than he'd wanted to. He hadn't meant to come off as harshly, but the sharp words flew out of his lips before he caught them.

Barking a quiet, wry laugh, Wei shook his head. "Oh, please, they kept you around because you're convenient." he hissed, not even looking at Bolin. " You were a handy little toy soldier with an empty enough head for Vira to put whatever lies she wanted in."

Well, a slap across a face would've been kinder. Bolin had never wanted to jump out of a moving satomobile more. Though he'd also never wanted to strangle someone more.

"See, Wei, it's saying stuff like that that gets you no friends." he crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. "People like me! And you have no one but your family."

Wei rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to yourself. People don't like you." He spoke, quieter than death and almost just as agonizing. "They use you."

Try as he might, Bolin couldn't come up with a rebuttal. He clasped his aching hands in his lap. He stared out of the window, stubbornly fighting back the tears stinging and burning at his eyes.

Notes:

I know it's been a while since I posted thw last chapter, but I've been going tgrough a bit of a depressive slump and my creativity has been suffering. I'm terribly sorry to anyone who has been following this story

Chapter 3: There you go, saying something stupid

Summary:

Bolin and Wei reach the first outpost

Notes:

I'm back, bitches! Sorry for the wait but everything has been horrible recently.
Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments under the last chapters, you really motivated me!

The earth, damp with dew, was firm beneath Wei's feet. Cold little droplets soaked through his thin shoes. He ignored the abject discomfort, getting the map out of his bag and laying it out over the car's bonnet. 

Pressing his finger to the area they were camping in, he trailed their path to the small mountain he'd been told the outpost was. It'd take them 5 hours to get there. And Earth Sages know how long to clear the place. Then they'll have to set up camp somewhere.

Best set aside a whole day for it.

 

And the next outpost was at least a week away.

 

Wei sighed. Ideally, he'd be back home a few days before auditions for mom's next show. Sure, not the most time to prep, but if he pulled a couple allnighters, he'd catch up soon enough. Nothing he hasn't done before.

 

Of course, that was all assuming Bolin wouldn't be making full day stops at every vaguely interesting place. They were on a mission, not a roadtrip, for fuck's sake. 

 

Wei drummed his fingers against the map, biting his lip. It's not fair. Not fair that Wing and Kuvira are back home, with mom, with ample time to prepare for the audition. While Wei's stuck out here, babysitting Opal's very distractable and very distracting ex. Cleaning up yet another piece of Kuvira's nationwide mess.

 

He hadn't even wanted to be here in the first place. But who was he to argue with his mother? She must've had some good reasoning behind volunteering him for this misson. She always did, Wei shouldn't doubt her. Nothing good came of questioning family, he'd seen what it had made of Kuvira and Baatar Jr.

 

Whining about his situation won't help. Mom always said to focus on the goal, not the obstacle. And Wei's goal, at the moment, was to get through this stupid mission fast enough for him to still get enough practice in to not completely embarrass himself during auditions. It had become tougher to win mom's attention since Kuvira had been taken back in. 

Of course Kuvira would manage to turn the kingdom into a militaristic dictatorship and still somehow not have fallen behind on dance practice. She was the prodigy, after all. Everything mom had ever wanted. Ever since she'd been dropped off in front of the gates like some sort of messed up present, all those years ago.

 

Just means Wei has to work harder. 

Hard work always pays off, another of the phrases mom had drilled into his head. He replayed it over and over in the back of his mind as he charted their route to the outpost on the map.

 

  "Wei?" Bolin's voice easily carried across their campsite from where he was clambering out of the tent. His drowsy eyes were still drooping closed, his usually styled hair an absolute mess. He'd slept on his side, obviously. Wei could tell by how the hairs on the left side of his head stuck up into an almost roosterlike comb. An equally sleepy Pabu hung off his owner's shoulders, somehow making the pair look even cozier. 

 

For a second, Wei even forgot they're meant to be mad at each other. And then Bolin just had to open his big fat mouth. 

 

  "Do you ever sleep?" If Wei didn't know any better, Bolin sounded almost curious, if not a bit worried. But Wei had woken up gasping for breath, wrapped tightly in Bolin's strong arms. It had taken ridiculously long for Wei to untangle himself, and twice as long to calm his heartbeat. He'd crawled his way out of the tent after that, cool morning air feeling icy upon his skin.

Technically, Wei's current sleeplessness was all Bolin's fault. And that of Bolin's big muscles and his warm, broad chest pressed up against Wei's cheek, his comforting heartbeat softly thumping away beneath Wei's ear. 

No. 

Not comforting. Bolin wasn't sweet, or endearing, or anything else that made Wei's stomach tie into knots. Bolin was a distraction that Wei didn't need, nor want. 

 

"Of course I sleep. I just don't hibernate like you do, platypus bear. " Wei snipped weakly, pushing away traitorous thoughts, ignoring the weight of his eyelids and limbs. Sometimes a short sleep was more restful than a longer one, Wei reminded himself. And sleeping in Bolin's arms would be far from restful, anyway, he decided. Not to mention an awful idea. Five hours was more than enough for Wei.

 

"Hey! Beauty sleep, Wei. Beauty sleep." Bolin huffed and Pabu offered an affirmative chirp. Ganging up on him, as usual. Stupid ferret. 

 

"Fine." Wei wasn't in the mood for banter. Frankly, he wasn't in the mood for much of anything. He folded the map. "Get dressed, we're already falling behind."

 

"But what about..."

 

"No breakfast!"

 

----+

 

Once again, the car ride was completely silent. Save for Pabu's chirping as the ferret wrestled with Bolin's hand, the lavabender absent-mindedly playing with his pet.

 

'What you're feeling right now, it's not real.' Wei told himself, biting his lower lip so hard he felt like it'd bleed. He'd thought he was past this. This nauseating, wonderful feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

 

He'd felt it before. Years ago, when team Avatar had returned to Zaofu after their clash with the Red Lotus. 

Wei had watched Bolin, the annoying, puffed up rosterpig dotingly care for his old grandmother and family, displaced by the chaos unfolding in Ba Sing Se. Something about the huge oaf making himself smaller in order to not scare his younger cousins made Wei's innards flutter and squirm.

 

And then Opal came back home. On Bolin's arm. And the feeling in Wei's stomach went up in smoke, choking him, clinging to the inside of his throat.

 

Wei hated it. Hated it all. Hated the familiar taste of watching from the sidelines. Hated the roiling ache in his lungs. Hated how Bolin smiled at her, wonderful and unreal. Hated watching it all, hated the unwanted longing that pricked at his heart.

Hated Bolin for inciting this ugly jealousy against his own sister.

 

"Hey, by the way, so what's with the schedule you keep talking about?" Bolin asked suddenly, scratching his cheek and observing Wei with a small smile. "I don't think we ever discussed a timeline or, like, actual schedule?"

 

Jolted out of his musings, Wei took a moment to comprehend the question.

 

"I just want to be done with this as soon as possible." 

 

"Aww, c'mon, don't you wanna enjoy your time away from home?" Bolin leant back in his seat, Pabu sprawling across his owner's lap. "This is practically a roadtrip! What's the hurry?"

 

"This isn't a roadtrip. And I have responsibilities back home."

 

"Oh, yeah? Responsibilities like what?"

 

"Well, Wing can only manage the guard by himself for so long... and our mother has been so stressed over Kuvira and Junior... she needs someone on her side. Plus there's all this paperwork she's been getting from Ba Sing Se. And father's been locking himself in his study for days on end, someone's gotta make sure he's eating. And then there's the audition... and..."

 

"Ok, ok, I believe you." Bolin placed a hand on Wei's shoulder. Wei stammered, realizing just how anxious he'd probably sounded. At least Bolin didn't seem put off. "Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate. Su's lucky to have a son like you."

 

Wei did his best to focus on the road, more than aware of his cheeks reddening. Part of him wanted to protest. It wasn't luck that made him who he was. It was his mother who raised him, who taught him that family was the most important thing. Who lovingly moulded him into the son he was today. 

Though the rest of him preened at being acknowledged.

 

"What about you? Got anything to get back to? In Republic City, I mean?" Wei asked, wanting desperately to change the subject.

 

Bolin dropped his gaze, almost bashfully.

 

"To be completely honest, I think Zhu Li's doing just fine without a secretary. If not better than fine! " he laughed shyly, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm not that good with all that paperwork. "

 

"Opal told me you were working as Zhu Li's secretary. I almost didn't believe her." Bolin shot him a slightly hurt look. " No offense. Just... you don’t strike me as the office dweller type." 

 

"Not like I have much else going for me." Bolin huffed, looking out the window. "World peace means no more Team Avatar. Everyone else has moved on. Mako's busy being a cop, Korra's got Avatar stuff and Asami says business is booming for her. And I'm... pushing papers in City Hall." 

 

Wei winced. He didn't exactly know what to say. "Waste of your skills." He muttered in the end. 

 

For a moment, Bolin looked taken aback, brows furrowed and lips pursed. However, his surprised expression almost bloomed into a huge, practically glowing smile.

"Awwww, you know, I think that's one of the sweetest things you've ever said to me!" He crooned, leaning in with a giggle.

 

"Oh, shut up. All I'm saying is that you could do better."

 

"It's not like there's much need for lavabenders in these times, Wei" 

 

"I wasn't really talking about the lavabending." It slipped out of his lips before he managed to swallow it back down. 

 

"Wait, then what skills do you mean?"

 

Wei bit his tongue. Oh, no. Absolutely not. The guy's ego was big enough already without Wei adding to it.

 

"Hey!" Bolin whined, pouting at his companion, as Pabu copied his noise. "Tell me! Tell me! What else do you mean?" 

 

"Uh..." Wei tried to find a good distraction. Noticing a dark shape upon a nearby hilltop, he hurriedly changed the subject. "Oh, look! We're near the outpost! We should continue on foot from here." 

 

He hit the brakes and high tailed it out of the car as soon as he could.

 

"Wei!" Bolin chirped from the passenger seat. "Come back here, I wanna know!"

 

"Not a chance! Your head is already the size of a a Future Industries grade airship!"

 

"You can't just run out on a guy like that, you tease! "

 

----+

 

The outpost looked abandoned, at the very least. Clutching a flashlight to his chest, Bolin immediately announced that the building looked haunted. From his shoulder, Pabu trilled in agreement. 

 

Wei shook his head with a chuckle. "Ghosts are the least of our worries, big guy." He cocked his head, examining the outpost. A thick layer of dust clung to the windows, completely obscuring any view of the interior.

 

Bolin heaved the door open. The rusty hinges groaned in protest before giving into the lavabender's insistent tugging.

A dark, gaping hallway greeted them. Suddenly the idea of the outpost being haunted seemed all the more plausible.

 

"Still..." Bolin gallantly held the door open, gesturing into the hallway with a flourish. "After you." 

 

Wei snorted, rolling his eyes. "How chivalrous." He tried to make eye contact with Bolin when he passed by him. He tried to feel indifferent towards Bolin's ridiculously wide grin.

Bolin's antics weren't even that funny, Wei told himself. He's not sure why Bolin's ridiculous jokes and exaggerated poses struck a chord with him every single time. 

Not that funny at all. 

 

He'd only taken five steps into the hallway before he realised he'd made a terrible mistake.

The floortile beneath his right foot dipped just a little. The telltale click at the wall sounded like a death sentence. Of course the damn place would be booby trapped.

 

Wei scrambled backwards. Feet slipping along the tiles. He heard Bolin call out his name.

 

A panel on the wall slid open. Revealing slits in the wall. 

 

Wei was prepared to dodge or block. Be it darts or spears.

He wasn't prepared for a vise grip around his waist and arm. Nor for being yanked backwards. Nor for harshly colliding with Bolin's frame, though the larger man easily steadied him.

 

A swish in the air. Shadows of darts cut through the air right in front of Wei. Embedding in the wall in front of which he had been standing but a few seconds ago.

 

Silence.

 

Wei couldn't breathe. In truth, it wasn't the brush with death that had him frozen up like an ostritch-deer in the headlights. Oh, but Bolin's hands on his waist and arm, his shallow breaths tickling the shell of Wei's ear most certainly did.

 

"Whoa! That was close, dude!" Bolin wheezed, still holding Wei tightly. Pulling him closer, even. "You ok?" He awkwardly patted along Wei's arm, as if checking him for injuries.

 

All of a sudden, Wei realised the position he was in. Cradled protectively in Bolin's arms just like that actress had been on all those ridiculous posters for the Nuktuk movers.

The humiliation rang alarm bells through his brain.

 

"I'm fine, get off me!" He hissed, shaking Bolin's hands off him. 

 

"Okay, okay!" Bolin raised his hands. "Geez... not even a 'thank you' for saving your life?"

 

Heat trickled down the back of Wei's neck. Was it anger or shame, he wasn't sure. Against his own better judgment, he adopted a theatrical expression. He folded his hands over his heart and pretended to swoon.

 

"Of course, where are my manners? Thank you, oh brave hero, for rescuing poor little old me!" He cooed, clinging to Bolin's side. "How could I ever repay you?" He stroked his index finger along Bolin's jawline. "A pat on your head? A kiss on your cheek?"

 

He's only teasing, he told himself. He stood on his tiptoes, his face only inches from Bolin's. Only teasing, just to fluster Bolin. Give him a healthy dose of the embarrassment Wei was feeling.

 

And Bolin was looking mighty flustered. Face scarlet, eyes wide, lips parted just a little. His hand awkwardly hovering just above Wei's waist.

 

"No, uh." Bolin gingerly nudged Wei backwards. "I'm, ah, good." 

 

"Your loss." Wei cleared his throat, smothering something akin to disappointment in his gut. Pulling himself together, he motioned towards the hallway. "Keep your guard up. There's bound to be more traps around."

----+

 

Getting through the corridors took longer than Wei would've hoped. At least they're safe to roam the outpost, he thought, glancing at the hallwayful of dismantled traps. Mechanisms torn apart by Wei's metalbending dotted about, piercing through the floor.

 

They'd checked a few of the smaller side rooms, with little to show for their efforts. Wei sighed as they entered yet another bunk room. Yet another dead end.

 

Steel frames of standard issue beds glinted in the light of the flashlight. The tiny drawers and wardrobes were nearly completely empty. Save for a left behind uniform jacket, an ashtray filled almost to the brim with cigarette butts and a few forgotten personal affects, nothing of interest was found.

 

"I remember sleeping on beds like these back on Kuvira's train." Bolin suddenly blurted out.

 

"Not comfortable, I take it?" Wei hummed, almost grateful for a break in the monotony of searching. The silence had began weighing on him. He wasn't used to not having Wing around. Not used to not having someone to bounce inside jokes and sarcastic jokes off.

 

"Absolutely not!" Bolin wailed, looking very sorry for his past self. "I know it was the Earth Empire, but did the beds have to be made out of stone?"

 

Wei giggled despite himself, running his hand along the surface of an almost decrepit desk. His palm came away covered in dust. "A firm mattress is actually better for your back." 

 

"Well, it doesn't feel like it." Bolin dramatically flopped down onto one of the beds. A cloud of dust flew into the air, making them both cough. Even Pabu sneezed and skittered off into a corner. Bolin sprawled himself out on the bed with a frown. He wiggled experimentally, before giving his verdict. "Just as uncomfy as I remember. Course, not as bad as sleeping on the streets. Yeah, this is much better than concrete. " 

 

Wei pursed his lips. He wondered if Bolin was comfortable sleeping in the tent. Perhaps he would like to sleep on something softer? Maybe he'd like more pillows?  

 

However, when Wei finally answered, he simply said: "Come on, get up. We don't have all day."

 

----+

 

  "This looks like a corporal's office." Bolin muttered, pushing open a door. " I was a corporal... but I never had an office like this. But I know lot of them did. Varrick did." 

 

The office wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny, either. A small desk with many drawers, an already outdated map of the Earth Kingdom hanging above it.

 

"Why didn't you have an office of your own?" Wei asked offhandedly, crouching down to rifle through the desk drawers. "I thought that you were part of Kuvira's 'Inner Circle' or whatever."

 

"Huh, I never asked." Bolin hummed, leaning on the desk. "I guess I never really wanted an office?" His face fell as he picked up one of the papers scattered about the desk. " Heh, kinda ironic. I do have my office in City Hall now, though it's kinda small."

 

Wei discarded a practically ancientpatrol chart and glanced up at his companion. "You're not happy with it?" Of course, Bolin hadn't looked thrilled while talking about his newest job. But Wei wasn't exactly champing at the bit to pry into every nook and cranny of Bolin's life. But then again, a little bit of curiosity never killed anyone, right?

 

"No, no! I'm happy!" Bolin laughed nervously, fiddling with his sleeve. " I mean, it's taking a bit of, uh, adjusting... but I'm happy. I'm happy, right?"

 

Wei should probably back off, but seeing Bolin's eyes dash around the room, as if searching for an escape had his lips moving before he even registered it. "I don't know... Are you happy?" He reiterated the question looking up at Bolin.

Seeing the other man's torn expression, he wondered if he should somehow reach out. Put a hand on Bolin's shoulder, maybe? Offer some comfort?

 

"Well, I... uh, I think? Yes? I don't know! Why do you keep asking me that? You're making me question myself." Bolin was clearly becoming agitated. He ran a hand through his hair, laughing bitterly. "You sound like Mako! But I can do this! Just because I haven't found my 'true calling' like him, or Korra, or Asami doesn't mean I'm not happy with where I am right now. I am happy! I am!"

 

Bolin threw his hands up in the air, accidentally knocking the map off the wall. The paper sheet fell to the floor at Wei's feet, rustling pathetically to the chorus of Bolin's heavy breaths.

The dust settled upon the map as Wei took in his companion's outburst. Bolin leant against the desk, inhaling sharply. He slumped a little, hanging his head. 

 

Wei stood to look Bolin in the eyes.

 He tried his darndest to imitate his mother's 'I'm so proud you were brave enough to open up to me' aura. He chose his words carefully. Wing had always been so much better at these things than him.

 

 Bolin's vulnerability felt painfully precious and delicate, something Wei instinctively knew to handle with care, like the gemstones he'd been collecting since childhood. But feelings and fears rarely can be neatly arranged on display upon the shelves above his bed.

 

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with not being happy-go-lucky all the time. You know that, right?" Wei almost winced at how unsure he sounded. "You don't have to pretend to be doing great."

 

"I'm not..." Bolin sniffled, wiping his eyes with a gesture that seemed to have been meant to be sneaky. "M' not fucking pretending."

 

As bad as Wei felt for the guy, he still rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. 

 

"Oh, don't bullshit me. You're insulting me. And you're hurting yourself. What's with you? You scared of feeling things? Of being anything other than a peppy little bit player?" 

 

He looked up into Bolin's eyes, wide and terrified, as if Wei had him at knifepoint. Even if he heard his mother's voice in the back of his head, telling him that this was 'unproductive and insensitive', the thrill of cracking Bolin's shell apart was almost like a high.

 

And then Bolin's bottom lip quivered in a terribly miserable way.

 The fight trickled from Wei's body. He realised just how close he'd been standing to Bolin, practically crowding the much larger man against the desk. It would've been a funny, how easy the tall, hulking lavabender was to intimidate. It would've been funny, if it weren't so incredibly sad.

 

Exhaling a soft breath, Wei took a few steps back. He'd gotten too heated. Tempers flaring would only make the situation tenser between them.

 

"Look. All you're achieving with all this, is looking like an idiot." He muttered, looking down at the ground. "And... and there are people who care about you in this world. You should let them help you. They'd be happy to."

 

He kept his eyes downcast, crossing his arms over his chest. Now he felt like the vulnerable one. As if his ribs had been pried open, revealing all his mushy insides, ready to spill out onto the dusty floor... 

The silence dragged on and on, and Wei felt his stomach spin, fingernails digging into his arms. 

 

"I..." Bolin's voice wavered a little. Wei heard him shuffle his feet. "That's... uh, nice of you to say. Very nice."

 

And even though Bolin hadn't yelled or reacted angrily, Wei's stomach dropped. He swallowed a bitter mouthful of disappointment once again. 

That's what you get, he told himself, for stepping into unfamiliar territory. Stick to what you're good at.

 

"I think we're done here. Place is pretty much deserted." He snipped, taking a sharp breath. Get it together, Wei. 

 

"...Yeah." Bolin wiped his palms on his trousers. "Yeah." He repeated softly, making a noise sort of resembling a sniffle.

 

Bolin leant down to pick up the map he'd knocked down. Wei shook his head with a chuckle, oddly endeared. Only Bolin would try to clean up after himself in a completely abandoned outpost in the middle of nowhere. 

 

While Bolin fumbled with the map, Pabu skittered onto the desk in front of Wei. Absentmindedly, Wei petted the ferret behind the ears. Pabu chirped appreciatively. But the critter's eyes remained oddly serious, boring deep into Wei's soul. Wei didn't exactly feel judged by the little thing, but rather scrutinized. As if the ferret were trying to gauge Wei's feelings towards its owner.

 

"Um, Wei? I think I found... something." Bolin was holding the map in one hand, staring intently at the wall. "Look." He ran his hand along the wall, fingers finding a dent in it. "It's like a handle. There might be some sort of compartment in there."

 

Bolin tugged at the handle and Wei felt a spike of worry stab into his stomach.

 

"Careful, it might be...!" 

 

Bolin wrenched the compartment open. A panel opposite him slid open. Expelling a barrage of darts in Bolin's direction. Light bounced off the blades as they dashed through the air.

With a quick hand movement, Wei stopped the darts inches away from Bolin's face.

 

"...booby trapped." Wei finished, letting the darts clatter to the ground. " We're even now."

 

"Even?" Bolin seemed to be struggling to process. His gaze flitted between Wei and the darts on the floor. "Oh! Yeah... I guess we are."

 

He laughed breathlessly. 

Wei didn't like Bolin's laugh. It was much too soft, too disarming. It made something inside Wei stir uncomfortably. 

 

"I hope whatever's in there is worth you almost becoming a pincushion." 

 

Nodding, Bolin reached into the small compartment. He furrowed his brows as he moved his hand about a little. Excitement lit up his face. "Ah-hah!" He pulled back, holding a piece of tracing paper. 

 

Wei approached, curiosity taking over. "What's it say?" He stood on his tip toes, leaning over Bolin's shoulder to get a better look. Even Pabu seemed rather excited. Standing on his hind paws, as if he wanted to look at the paper in Bolin's hands too.

 

Frowning, Bolin looked the sheet up and down. " It's... just a bunch of weird symbols." He shone his flashlight onto the paper.

 

Indeed, the half transparent paper was dotted in odd little symbols, unlike any alphabet Wei had ever seen. The symbols repeated at random intervals, covering almost the entirety of the sheet.

 

"You almost died for a bunch of scribbles?" Wei exclaimed incredulously, feeling Pabu clamber onto his shoulders.

 

"It seemed like it was important." Bolin muttered, scratching his head. "Why would it be hidden away like this if it was just a sheet of random doodles?"

 

"Let's take it with us. Maybe we'll figure out what it is later. For now, it's late and we haven't even set camp up yet." 

 

Bolin siged, rolling up the paper. 

 

"You're right. Besides, I'm hungry."

 

"You're always hungry." Wei chuckled, even though he himself was also staving.

 

"Oh, do you think we have time to make some ramen for dinner?" Bolin seemed to already have completely latched onto the idea of food, a dreamy look on his face. Pabu hopped from Wei's shoulders onto Bolin's, chirping curiously.

 

"I don't see why not." Wei agreed, though he had very little faith in either of their cooking skills. They could at least try.

 

"Great, oh and we can give Pabu some of the porkchops and..." Bolin was already out the door, planning what seemed to be a five course meal. 

 

Wei followed behind him. He let Bolin ramble a little before he eventually hit the brakes on the robust dinner plan.

After all, it was nice to see the guy happy. His cheer was infectious and Wei soon found himself smiling as well.

 

----+

 

They ended up setting camp up not too far from the outpost. Although the trees surrounding them somewhat blocked out the abandoned building. Wei was thankful for that. The damn place was just too creepy.

 

Bolin had somehow managed to throw together a decent ramen, with Wei's well-intentioned, but overall inept help. The dish was fine, if not overly salty. 

As was becoming the norm, Wei offered to do the dishes. 

 

Returning to the campsite with an armful of freshly washed plates,pots and pans, Wei noticed Bolin frowning down at his hands. He picked at the skin of his palm, where he'd been burnt the other day. He winced and hissed pulling his fingers away from the reddened skin.

 

"Your hands still hurting?" Wei asked, making his presence known. 

 

Bolin startled for a second, but seemed to relax when he noticed it was only Wei. 

 

"My hands? Wh... My hands are fi..." Bolin looked like he was about to soft-pedal his pain again, but suddenly cut himself off. He deflated with a defeated sigh. "Really hurting, actually."

 

Wei was pleasantly surprised at his companion's newfound honestly.

" I think I have something that could help with that." He announced, dashing towards the car. Depositing the dishes in a graceless heap in the boot, he scampered to get his bag.

 

Fishing the little jar out of his bag, Wei turned back to Bolin. "It's a balm for burns. I bought it at Makapu while you were at the fortuneteller's. I didn't give it to you earlier because..." The 'I was mad at you and wanted you to suffer' went unsaid.

 

"Really?" Bolin looked up at him, bewildered. "You bought it for me?" 

 

"It's got aloe vera and firelily extract. They're known to soothe burns." Wei searched his memory for those herbalism lessons Aiwei had given him when he was a little boy. Before he'd discovered his bending. Before it had taken up all his time.

He glanced at Bolin, who'd just been standing there awkwardly, an unreadable expression on his face. "Well? Are you gonna take it?"

 

He held out the jar for Bolin to take.

 

"Oh! Yeah, thanks." Bolin reached out so quickly he knocked it out of Wei's hand and onto the ground. "Monkey feathers! Sorry, sorry."

 

Wei picked up the jar before Bolin did. He held it in both hands for a moment, biting his lip.

"You know, I can apply it for you." He blurted out suddenly and instantly regretted it. Bolin looked up at him, taken aback. Wei rushed to justify himself. "It.. It'd be faster and easier, I mean."

 

He dared not look Bolin in the eyes. There you go, saying something stupid again, he admonished himself.

 

"You're right. Sure." Bolin's reply caught Wei quite off guard. Looking at him, Bolin seemed to be quite flustered as well. He was looking off to the side, cheeks a bit pink.

Wei's face warmed a little more, but he smiled.

 

----+

 

Bolin wasn't sure how he'd gotten there.

But there he sat, beside the dying fireplace, facing Wei . The sun was just about to begin setting, and Pabu was curled up upon Bolin's discarded jacket.

 

Wei popped the cap off the jar of balm. He reached out both hands. "Let's see about those paws, platypus bear." He said, a playful twinkle in his eyes.

 

Bashfully, Bolin placed his left hand in Wei's. Ugly reddish splotches of burns marked his palms and suddenly Bolin felt ashamed.

 

He hissed and winced in preemptive pain when Wei began applying the balm to his skin. But after a second, he opened his eyes in surprise.

 

"Huh, this is... nice." He remarked, baffled. "I thought it'd hurt."

 

" It's not supposed to hurt." Wei replied, not looking up at Bolin. The setting sun painted pink and red hues upon his cheeks. "Tell me if it starts to hurt, ok?"

 

" O...Ok." Bolin mumbled, oddly flustered. He wasn't sure why Wei tending to his burns never failed to envelop him with some strange, soothing charm. 

 

Wei hummed in acknowledgment, still carefully massaging the balm into Bolin's skin.

 

The manner in which Wei held his palm brought Bolin back to the fortuneteller's salon. However, Wei was holding Bolin's hand gently, not tightly like she had. There was no judgment, no appraising scrutiny. Sure, Wei was intently looking down at Bolin's palm. But there was more of a soft curiosity to his eyes. 

 

The silence surrounded Bolin like a thick, downy blanket. He felt like he needed to fill it up with words.

He cleared his throat.

 

"Hey, Wei..." At Bolin's words, Wei perked up. "What did the fortuneteller tell you?"

 

Wei stilled for a second, but soon went back to his work. "Oh, you know. Cryptic bullshit. Other hand." He huffed, a little stiff and quiet. Bolin obediently allowed Wei to take his other hand. "Something about birds in cages of loyalty, or whatever. She told me that if I keep clinging to my roots, I'll never grow. A bunch of nonsense."

 

Bolin cocked his head, trying to decipher the fortuneteller's words. Sure, Wei is loyal, especially to his family. But all this talk about cages and growing was a bit confusing. Bolin had never been that good at deciphering metaphors. The fortuneteller had been speaking in metaphors, right? Wei isn't actually, physically grabbing onto tree roots, probably. 

 

Bolin abandoned his musings in favour of staring at Wei's deft, olive fingers massaging the sweet balm into his palm.

 

He watched Wei's hands still over a crescent-shaped scar at the base of Bolin's thumb. Bolin was no stranger to old wounds, but most had healed properly. This particular one hadn't. 

 

"Heh, that happened when I tried to pet a stray cat and it bit me." He laughed, a little embarrassed. "Not the coolest story, I know."

 

"Not really, but it's a story." Wei murmured, looking up to smile at Bolin. But he quickly averted his gaze as he started speaking. "When I was a kid, I had to have stitches on my back. Because I crashed into a mirror. While trying to copy a dance move I saw my mom do. It was way too advanced for me." 

 

Bolin couldn't help but chuckle. The idea of the graceful, controlled metalbender falling headlong into a mirror was somewhat amusing. 

Though his laughter died when he saw how mortified Wei looked. An embarrased frown twisted his face, eyelashes shyly hooding his eyes. His face was quite pink, too. It was an adorable look on him.

 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Bolin said hurriedly, waving his free hand. "It's just... funny. I never imagined you're someone who would slip up.

 

"I'm not." Wei snapped indignantly. "I did end up getting that move down pat. And I never messed up like that again." 

 

"Hey, it's ok. We all mess up, right?" Bolin moved to try and relax Wei. The guy could be so uptight sometimes. "Look." He pointed out a thin, jagged gash across his palm. "Here, I cut my hand open. Mako and I were dumpster-diving and I got so excited about a bit of steak that I cut my hand on a broken bottle." 

 

"That's...kinda sad." Wei smoothed a gentle fingertip along Bolin's scar. Bolin winced a little. There you go, ruining things again. No one likes dumpster-diving stories. He went to change the subject. But Wei surprised him by asking a question. "Did you have to... scrounge for food a lot?"

 

Bolin blinked several times, taken aback for a second. And then the floodgates opened.

 

"Oh, yeah, at least twice a week. You know people throw away so much stuff that's still edible! Like, if you cut the mold off a loaf of bread, you can eat the rest! Kinda wasteful And..." 

He didn't realise that he ended up babbling about his childhood for at least half an hour. He spoke of everything from dumpster-diving to foraging in the park, and even about the occasional theft. 

 

He rarely met someone who didn't react with instinctive disgust or uncomfortable pity whenever he spoke of his childhood. Perhaps that's why the words poured out of him like water from a broken dam.

 

For his part, Wei remained calm and inquisitive, if not a little squeamish at the grossest parts of Bolin's tales. Every now and then, he asked leading questions, letting Bolin latch onto new topics. Although he'd long since finished applying the balm, his and Bolin's hands still remained intertwined. 

 

Bolin somehow couldn't bring himself to pull away, or stop talking, even as the sunset bled into twilight.

 

He knew that if he stopped talking, then the moment would be over. But Bolin had always been good at talking. 

And he rarely got to talk so freely. He basked in it. 

 

Notes:

So yeah, I'm back!
Sorry if this chapter was pretty short and shitty. I haven't been feeling super well recently, so even being able to finish it feels like a great accomplishment.
I'll start writing shorter chapters, too, hopefully that will let me post more often.

Chapter 4: The water is fine

Summary:

Bolin and Wei have a little soak. Wei is slowly proving himself to not be as much of a hardass as he tries to be.

Notes:

Dearest readers I regret to inform you that i have returned! It's been a rough year, but I am getting back into writing, but slowly lol.

I want to finish this fic, or at least get further into it, because in the beginning I will be mostly untangling Bolin's insecurities and issues, and diving into Wei's after a few chapters, since he's more guarded.

"Are those...?" Bolin paused, stopping the car as he stared out the window. His eyes glued to the little white and black flowers starm against the yellowed grass.

"Panda lilies. " Wei muttered from where he sat in the passenger seat. "Told you they grow in places other than Makapu." He watched Bolin exit the car and stand amongst the flowers, stepping carefully as to not disturb them. "There's probably a volcano or hot spring around."

"Hot spring?" Bolin lit up at the idea. Taking a nice soak in a hot spring sounded like heaven right now. He craned his neck, trying to see if he could spot the telltale steam through the thick shrubbery.
To his delight, just above the treetops he caught a wispy trail of white.

"Looks like you're right!" Bolin turned to Wei with big pleading puppydog eyes. "Wanna go see? Maybe take a little soak?"

"We should probably keep going..." Wei opposed, petting Pabu, who sat in his lap, blinking up at Bolin. "We only have a few more hours of daylight before we need to set up camp. We should use them productively."

Bolin pouted, leaning down and sticking his head into the car to be eye level with Wei. "But maybe taking a nice soak could be productive!" He argued, doing his best to sound convincing. "Come on, aren't you tired of bathing in tiny, muddy streams, man? My back is killing me... a lil' soak sounds sooo good...." he practically moaned at the idea of kicking back and letting the hot water soothe his aching muscles.

"You can't keep interrupting this mission for several hour long pitstops!" A suddenly flustered Wei crossed his arms, avoiding eye contact. "Yesterday you stopped us to explore a 'cool looking' cave and pissed off a pack of wolfbats! Do you have any idea how behind we are on schedule?"

"Ah yes, the invisible schedule in your head that I am not allowed to even see." Bolin remarked snidely. He was getting more than a little fed up with Wei's bossiness. "We're not even gonna cover that much ground in just a few hours. We can just set up camp and have a proper, warm soak. Maybe it'll help you relax. Agni knows you need it."

"Ok, can you stop saying 'soak'? It started to get annoying after the first time!"

"I'll stop saying it when you agree to take a nice, warm...."

"Don't say it."

"..soak."

Wei glared up at him, dusky lips forming into a thin line. Bolin gave him a sweet smile, batting his eyelashes innocently, before continuing to hassle the frustrated metalbender.
"Pleaseeee, Wei, we can just take a few hours to set up camp early and then wash. We can even wake up an hour or so earlier, if you're that worried about delays."

"No." Wei furrowed his brows sternly. "Absolutely not."

----+

Despite Wei's protests, they ended up making camp not far from the hotsprings. Bolin had got quite good at setting up the tent and, working together, it wasn't long before they were done.
Bolin dashed towards the hotsprings, already kicking off his boots and stripping off his shirt midway. A sulky Wei followed with an armful of towels, trampling over the plethora of panda lillies surrounding the pool.

By the time Wei reached the hotsprings, Bolin was already fully nude and leaping into the water. Droplets of disturbed water glistened in the sunlight, falling onto Bolin's ivory skin, trickling down his muscular torso and thick arms, soaking into his messy raven hair.

Wei brought the bundle of towels up to his face, hoping to distract himself from the view and hide his cheeks reddening. Half-hiding behind the terry cloth, Wei did his best but look anywhere but the very handsome, very hunky and very, very naked Bolin.

Bolin, who was practically melting into the water with a content sigh, reclining against the rock walls of the hotspring. Pabu chirped as he inched along the edge of the pool, seemingly not in the mood for a swim. Bolin splashed at the ferret playfully, before glancing up at Wei.

"Come on, Wei, don't be shy! Hop in!" He beamed, splashing about in the water that thankfully wasn't clear enough for Wei to see... everything. Bolin noticed Wei's hesitation and chuckled. "You waiting for an invitation, dude?" He teased, running a hand through his soggy raven hair.

"Oh, zip it, I'm coming." Wei bristled, dropping the towels down on a small boulder. He shrugged his jacket off. He turned his side towards Bolin, trying to remain modest while not having his back to the man. He began folding his shirt and placed it by the towels, a stark contrast to Bolin's messy trail of hastily discarded clothes. "I don't want any woodland critters making off with my socks, even if you're fine with that..."

"Yeah yeah" Bolin waved his hand dismissively, rolling his eyes as a small smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth. "Whatever you say, Your Royal Fussiness."

"Fucking pardon?"

"Nothing."

Wei, still fuming over the newest nickname, didn't drill the subject. He slipped out of his trousers, toeing off his shoes and socks, adding them to the neatly folded clothes by the towels.
As he got to his underwear, he hesitated, glancing at Bolin almost shyly. Sure, he'd never exactly been shy around his brothers, or in the locker room of the guardhouse, but Bolin was... different.
Wei made a twirling motion with his finger, urging Bolin to turn around.

Bolin complied, huffing a chuckle as he turned his broad back to Wei. "I've seen other guys naked before, y'know. Nothing to be embarrassed about." He muttered as Wei stripped himself down completely.

"No, really?" Wei gasped, voice full of mock shock and awe. He bit his lip, slipping into the hot water. He sighed in pleasure as the warmth engrossed him, suddenly realizing how tensed up he'd been. "That must've been an absolutely thrilling experience."

"Oh, come off it. Not like that!" Bolin turned back around, a faint blush on his face. Either Wei's teasing had hit its mark, or perhaps it was simply from the warmth of the rising steam. "You make it sound weird."

"You're the one boasting about looking at naked men." Wei shot back, making himself comfortable against the rock walls of the hotspring.

"I wasn't boasting, I was just..." Bolin trailed off, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull as he laid eyes on Wei. "Um..."

Wei shifted awkwardly, suddenly self conscious. "What? 'Um' what?"

"I, uh... I... um..." Bolin shifted awkwardly. "I didn't know you had those... umm..." he awkwardly waved his hands in front of his own chest, his face completely scarlet.

Wei cocked his head in confusion, glancing down at himself before his face lit up in realization. He couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, quit being a prude, big guy." He leant back, spreading his arms and smirking up at Bolin. "Don't tell me you've never seen nipple piercings."

Bolin sputtered. "Wh...uh, um... can't say that I have..." he sank a little into the water, as if that would hide him from view. But his eyes never left the other earthbender. Part of Wei wanted Bolin to keep staring at him, the other desperately wanted him to look away.

"Well, now you have." Wei hummed, resting his head against the edge of the hotspring. The silvery barbells on his chest caught the sunlight as he shifted. Wei could've sworn he heard Bolin audibly gulp.

Wei kept his eyes trained on the surface of the water, picking at his nails as he did his best to not glance back up at Bolin. Wei had always found Bolin's face fascinating. Full of contradictions, just like the man himself. Upon first glance, Bolin looked childish. With round features, big, soft eyes, a slightly petulant pout to his lips and that adorably upturned nose. And yet the more Wei looked the more he saw to the man that was Bolin. The angularity of his jaw, the furrow of his brows, the strange focus in his eyes...

"Did it hurt?" Bolin's voice practically made him jump. Wei swallowed, looking up at him incredulously. Bolin seemed rather flustered, but intrigued. "I mean, like... when you got them pierced. Did you hurt?"

"A bit." Wei muttered, wincing at the memory a little. "It stung for a few seconds but then it was just... sore for a few weeks. Why?" He couldn't help but tease "You looking to get some?"

Bolin's already pink cheeks went cherry red.

"O.. oh! No no no... I'm not... um.." He swallowed, scratching the back of his neck, craning his neck and staring up at the treetops as if they were the most fascinating thing in the whole wide world.

Wei took some glee in rendering the damn chatterbox speechless. Especially after Bolin had practically dragged him into the hotsprings. Call it getting even.
Wei didn't address the part of him that found Bolin's embarrassed state deliciously adorable.

"Scared of needles, big guy?" Wei scooted closer to him, along the side of the pool. He was vaguely aware of Pabu running around the rocky walls of the pool, chasing a butterfly, chirping stubbornly.

Bolin froze for a second, but then chuckled bashfully, leaning over to Wei. "Pretty much, yeah. Aren't you? Needles are scary!"

"I'm used to them. My mom made me go to an acupuncturist a lot as a kid."

"No way! For what?"

Wei frowned, rubbing his shoulder at the memory. "Usually muscle strains and the like. I had a tendency to push myself during training when I was younger." A tendency Wei hadn't grown out of, but Bolin didn't have ot know that.

Bolin winced sympathetically. "Yikes, that much? I pulled a muscle or two back in the probending days." He glanced at Wei curiously "Does acupuncture really help with that?"

"Apparently. And even if it didn't, I think it gave my mom peace of mind. What did you do for strains and sprains?"

"Not much." Bolin answered, scratching his head. "Mako would wrap it up for me and try to get me ice. Sometimes I'd go down to he arena nurse if it was severe enough. Butakha -that's the owner of the arena- would make us pay for going to the nurse. So usually I'd have to like.." he made a vague motion with his hands "...walk it off."

Wei did a double take. "Wait, really?" He sat up straight "That's bullshit! Weren't you guys his athletes?

Bolin shrugged, smiling awkwardly. "I mean, yeah, but..." he made another gesture with his hands, as if he couldn't fully articulate his thoughts. "Mako would always say that people like Butakha only have eyes on their bottom line and left it at that. I never really understood that."

Wei pursed his lips, sympathetic. He placed a hand on Bolin's arm, opening his mouth to speak...
And then Pabu, chasing his butterfly leapt over the hotspring, before plummetting into the water with a spash and a squeal.
The critter's small, fluffy body made a surprisingly big splash, dousing both the earthbenders.

"Ack! Pabs-Pabs!" Bolin scolded playfully, his hair dripping and messy, framing his face in thick black waves. He reached out an arm to support the ferret in the deep water. "Careful there, lil guy!"

Pabu seemed to be having the time of his life, splashing about and letting Bolin guide him towards the shallower end of the hotspring. Wei couldn't help but giggle at the critters paddling paws and soggy tail. "Pabu seems like a talented swimmer... can all fire ferrets swim?"

"Yeah. Most of 'em can. Better than Pabu, actually." Bolin smiled softly, letting go of Pabu, allowing the critter to splash about happily in the shallow end of the hotspring. There was something a bit sad about his expression.

Wei cocked his head. "How so?" He observed Pabu's aquatic antics, smiling fondly despite himself.

Bolin pursed his lips. "You know how I told you that Pabu was meant for food for a pythanaconda?"

Wei nodded, glancing at Bolin's slightly... regretful expression. The lavabender absentmindedly petted Pabu's soggy head before continuing.

"I think Pabu never got to be a... free ferret." Bolin smiled sadly. "I've heard most 'food ferrets' are bred in cages and stuff. Not much space to learn essential skills for... uh, ferreting."

"No kidding..." Wei made a face. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the ferret. He could at least take solace in the abject joy of Pabu's splashing. "At least he gets to be a 'free' now. Thanks to you. I'm sure he's grateful."

"Thanks..." Bolin blushed and looked down. "I just wish I'd have got to him sooner... he's missed out on so much."

"Well, still..."Wei glanced at Pabu again. The ferret wagged its tail, letting it fall back into the water with a wet 'plap'. Wei gave Bolin's arm a comforting squeeze. "He's here now. And he's more than making up for what he's missed out on. No use dwelling on what was lost."

Wei knew he was just regurgitating his mother's motivational phrases, the ones that he pretended to listen to intently, despite not putting any stock in them himself. But it was nice to see Bolin perk up thanks to the encouraging words.

"I... thank you." Bolin raised his head to look into Wei's eyes, despite still seeming a little flustered. "You're... you're a good..." he hesitated and tapped his chin, as if looking for the right word. "...motivational speaker?"

He still sounded a little unsure of his phrasing, but it amused Wei, who shook his head with a giggle.

"Hardly. I just try to imagine what my mom would say." He couldn't look at Bolin anymore, glancing down at the water's surface, disturbed by Pabu's splashing. "You should be thanking her."

"She isn't the one here, though." Bolin hummed, leaning back against the pool walls. He yawned, stretching his arms. "Careful there, Wei." He let his arms rest on the wall, essentially putting one arm around Wei's shoulders. "I might start thinking you're secretly a sweetheart."

"Guess I'll just have to be extra mean to you for a bit." Wei bit back with a small smile. His mind went a little fuzzy at every brush of Bolin's wet, warm skin against his shoulders. "To preserve my reputation."

Bolin laughed loudly, tipping his head back, exposing the thick curve of his ivory throat. "Yeah?" He hummed, giving Wei's shoulder a playful poke. "How are you gonna do that? Sweetheart?" He added teasingly.

For a split second, Wei froze up, his mind drifting to a truly shameful place. His eyes lingering on Bolin's lips and jawline, his sparkling, emerald eyes.
The next, Wei was slipping out from under Bolin's arm, splashing a rush of water up at him.

"Oi!" Bolin sputtered as the water flew into face. He shook his head as if he were a dog shaking water out of its fur. "What was that for?"

"Just preserving my reputation." Wei lied airily, shuffling to the other side of the hotspring.
He sighed a little, closing his eyes and running a hand through his hair.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze just caught a cascade of water rushing towards him. Right before it splattered over his face, making him yelp indignantly.
He glared at Bolin, who looked half smug, half repentant of his actions.

Wei couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Oh, it is on!"
He could vaguely hear Bolin's booming laughter over the sound of the huge splash Wei sent his way.

----+

Bolin decided that out of all the campsites they'd set up the last few days, this one was by far his favourite. Perhaps it was the panda lilies that grew all around the little clearing where they sat.

Ok, it was definitely the panda lilies.

He wasn't sure why the flowers have had such a hold on his mind since Makapu. Perhaps it was buying one from that flower vendor that had allowed them to take root in his mind. Bolin had, stupidly, left it on the dash of the car for a painfully hot day, which resulted in it wilting dramatically overnight. Even putting it in a mug of water hadn't managed to bring it back.
It currently sat in said mug of water, on the ground beside Bolin. He could so easily see how massively he'd dropped the ball on it as he looked around at the healthy panda lilies all around.

Bolin had wondered about the legend the flower vendor had told him. That giving someone a panda lily would bind one with them forever. Of course he'd seen stranger and more outlandish things. But he'd also seen a lot of people break up. Been broken up with a lot himself.
He nudged the wilted lily with his index finger, wondering if such a small, impermanent thing might've truly had the power to keep any of his many flings around.

Back when she was around, his mother had kept fire lilies in vases around the house, telling Bolin stories about them uniting lovers. Perhaps Bolin had heard the echo of her words in the legend of the panda lily.
Only he hasn't his mother's affinity for flowers, he thought bitterly, lifting the withered panda lily to his eyes.

"You can get another one, you know. We're surrounded by the damn things." Bolin glanced over at Wei, who was kneeling over a small water basin, apparently not satisfied with their bath.

Bolin huffed, face flushed. He felt childish, getting so depressed over something as trivial as a silly flower. "What if I kill the next one as well?"

"Flowers always die." Wei replied, gathering water up in his hands and rinsing his face. "That's kind of inevitable with picking them." He dunked his head in the basin, wetting his hair before beginning to apply a healthy lathering of shampoo to it.

"Wow, always so cheerful." Bolin said dryly, watching the water droplets trickle down Wei's lithe but toned chest and shoulders. He swallowed a little at the sight of those damn piercings. Their glint taunted and pulled at something in his gut.

"I'm just being realistic." Wei once again dunked his head in the basin, keeping it there and thoroughly rinsing the shampoo out of his hair. He lifted his head after a while, his hair dripping and utterly un-Weilike. "If you want to pick flowers they will die. Don't blame yourself."

Bolin pursed his lips, cradling the mug with the wilted panda lily in his hands. Due to Wei applying the burn cream to his palms every evening for the last few days, his burns had more than healed. That's at least one win for Bolin.

He looked back to Wei, just in time to catch him finishing up shaving. Wei, of course, had to show off even during such a mundane activity. He held a tiny pocket mirror in one hand, angling it carefully, while levitating the razor with metalbending. Bolin couldn't help but watch the smooth and precise movements. Couldn't help but admire and envy his metalbending prowess. Bolin had always wanted to acquire the skill, to be so attuned to it to use it as casually as Wei did.
But that was simply not in the cards for him, it seemed. Bolin did his best to look like he wasn't staring.

"You should go after me." Wei suddenly said, catching his gaze in the little mirror. "You're starting to look a little scruffy."

"I don't know, maybe I should grow it out." Bolin thoughtfully rubbed his stubbly chin, feeling the rough hairs under his palm. "What'dya think, Wei? Do you think the chicks would dig 'rugged, bearded Bolin'?" He struck a pose, playing up a more macho and serious persona.

He thought he caught a glimpse of pink on Wei's cheeks before the mirror was set down. Wei rinsed the shaving cream off his face, and dried off. "Do you want it or not?" He asked, his face carefully deadpan, holding out the mirror and razor.

"Fine." Bolin grumbled, a little offended by Wei's lack of opinion on his prospective beard.

He soon discovered that the mirror was much too small to effectively shave. And so, with a face covered in shaving cream, a hand wrapped around a far too short razor, he was left to squint at his own blurry reflection in the tiny mirror. He felt so clumsy, so stupid, as he kept cutting himself with the razor.

"Ow!" He hissed, nicking his chin with the razor for the third time. A small trickle of blood coloured the shaving cream.

"You ok?" Wei asked, suddenly appearing beside Bolin, leaning in slightly.

Bolin huffed in annoyance. "This mirror sucks! I mean, how did you manage to shave with it, I can barely see anything." He complained, lowering the mirror and razor.

Wei cocked his head. "It was a bit easier with metalbending." He rubbed the back of his neck, seeming a little bashful.

"Gee, thanks for the advice." Bolin grunted, his irritation palpable. He could not metalbend, he couldn't shave, he couldn't...

The razor floated out of Bolin's hand and hovered in the air above Wei's. The metalbender knelt before Bolin. "Oh, shut up." He leaned in, practically setting himself in Bolin's lap. "We'll get a bigger one in the next town over."

He ran the razor along Bolin's jawline in one smooth movement.
Bolin swallowed, feeling the cold blade against his heated skin as Wei continued to help him shave. It should, probably, be humiliating. Bolin was a grown man, and he had been shaving since his teens. He should not need help.
But he'd been recently finding it easier to let Wei in. Even if it wasn't on his own terms. Perhaps it's because Wei invited himself right in, brusque but reassuring.

And so, Bolin allowed it, angling his head however Wei guided or nudged it, and trying not to overthink the position they were in. Wei was all but in Bolin's lap, with a razor at his jaw. Bolin idly wondered if Wei thought about pressing it into his flesh, slitting his throat. He knew Wei wouldn't. But there had been a time, back when Bolin worked for Kuvira, that Wei would've, without hesitation.
The thought should probably have been startling. But it felt so distant and muffled, like a splinter burrowed deep into his skin.

He just wished he knew what to do with his eyes. Close them? No, that would be awkward. Look Wei in the eye? Even more awkward! Try to follow the razor's movements? He'd look like an idiot!

"Stop squirming, you'll make me hurt you." Wei snipped tartly, digging his fingers into Bolin's shoulder.

Bolin couldn't hold in a playful snort. "My apologies, your royal bossiness."

The razor stilled against his chin. "Calling the guy with the knife at your throat names." Wei knit his brows, though a crooked smile pulled at his lips. "Bold."

Grinning back, Bolin winked up at him. "What can I say? I'm pretty damn fearless!"

Wei huffed a laugh and shook his head, resuming his work.

----+

Bolin had to admit, that Wei had done a good job at shaving him.

"You're pretty handy with a razor." He told Wei during dinner. "Ever thought of becoming a barber?" He added with a grin.

Wei rolled his eyes. "Can't say I have." He played with the edge of his sash, smiling wryly. "Not a Beifong-appropriate job, I suppose."

"Beifong- appropriate?" Bolin laughed at the idea. To him, the Beifongs, wealthy and powerful as they were, could pretty much do whatever they pleased. "And what's a Beifong appropriate job? Being an awesome metalbender?"

"That's definitely one, yeah." Wei's voice coiled around a sigh, his expression firmly neutral. "And I guess it's the one for me. Ever since Wing and I started bending, it's been everything to us."

"Everything?" Bolin cocked his head, trying to gauge Wei's emotions. "Sounds kinda boring, to focus on one thing forever."

"It's not." Wei replied, almost incredulous. "It's not just all combat and forms. I dance in my mom's troupe, and play power disc with Wing. Metalbending can be honed in so many different ways."

There it was again, jealousy. Wei had metalbending, versatile and artful. Bolin had the rush and power of lavabending, but he could only handle it like the weapon it was. No dance, no sculptures, not even sports. Just blazing, oozing ruin. Perhaps that jealousy pushed him to say what he did next. "Yeah, but still. Doesn't that feel limiting? You're basically a one trick pony." He added the last sentence, a shameful attempt at trying to make himself feel better.

Wei didn't react, save for his grip around his chopsticks tightening and a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. "I don't see how that's a bad thing." He spoke coolly. "I chose something to focus on, and I'm going to master it- like my mother and my grandmother before her."

And though Bolin wondered if it really was Wei's choice, he knew to back off. He smiled tightly. "Right. Good goal. Uh, admirable." He scratched the back of his neck, looking down into his bowl of rice. "Your mom is... great. And every earthbender looks up to your grandma."

Wei's shoulders dropped, relaxing a little. "You're not wrong. I don't think I'll ever be on their level." His eyes dimmed a little, his lips pursing. But after a second, he seemed to snap out of it, offering Bolin a wry grin.. "So... do you look up to my grandma?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Bolin blurted out before he could stop himself. He turned crimson, and did his best to backpedal: "I, uh, meant... that I admire her, but not... weirdly. I'm, um, totally cool about it." Trying to look nonchalant, he took a bite of his food. "At least, not as bad as when I was a kid.." he mumbled into his bowl.

Unfortunately, Wei had heard him. "How bad did it get when you were younger?" He asked with a little laugh.

"Oh, did I say 'bad'? I didn't mean 'bad'! I mean, I guess you can say that I was a bit obsessed, but not in, like, a creepy way!"

"Obsessed?" Wei arched a brow, grinning almost mischievously. "Don't hold out on me, do share!"

Bolin ducked his head behind his bowl. "It's nothing! I was just a dumb kid, doing dumb kid things!" His face was on fire.

Laughing, Wei leaned in. "Awww, come on, tell me!" He was now just an arm's length away from Bolin, his smile illuminated by the campfire. "I promise I won't tell anyone!"
Perhaps it was the playful and soft spark in his eyes, or the elfin quirk to his lips that managed to crumble Bolin's defences.

"Ok, but you have to promise not to laugh."

"Cross my heart" Wei beamed, drawing an 'x' over his chest.

"Fine, fine..." Bolin sighed, preparing to air his embarrassing childhood secrets. He opened his mouth, then closed it, not knowing how to start. He glanced down at Wei, biting his tongue. Wei smiled, sidling up to him. Finally, Bolin found his voice. "You know, ever since I was a little kid, I just thought your grandma was the coolest thing. She was like my childhood hero! I mean, she invented a whole new type of bending! She made me proud to be an earthbender!"

And being proud to be an earthbender was rare in Republic City, with its red tiled roofs with gilded trims and scarlet clad landowners. And the golden eyed children from Bolin's preschool class that had called him things like 'rock tosser' or 'dirt eater'.
It had been Toph Beifong who had given earthbending a fraction of its owed respect back. Though mostly for those precious few who had metal at their beck and call.

"I wanted to metalbend so badly, because of her." He admitted, voice hushed yet feverish. "I wanted to be just like her." The melancholy weight of his own words began to press down on him. He chuckled, awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I even once told my preschool teacher that I wanted to be a Beifong when I grow up."

Wei ducked his head, stifling a laugh. It was a nice sound, tinkling and bright, like silver bells. "Sorry, I promised I wouldn't laugh." He waved a hand apologetically. "Though, that is definitely an... interesting career choice." He added, a polite, but teasing smile upon his lips.

"Oh, I was like, four!" Bolin snorted, trying to defend himself. " We all had silly dreams. Didn't you?" He leaned down a little, eyes catching the flicker of the firelight upon Wei's skin.

"I guess..." Wei chewed his inner cheek, offhandedly shooing Pabu away from his bowl. "But it was all just childish daydreaming. Nothing serious."
There was a heaviness to Wei's voice, and his shoulders slumped a tad, lips forming a tight line.

Bolin suddenly realised that he knew next to nothing about Wei. He'd never felt the need to. When amongst the Beifongs, Bolin had spent most of his time chasing after Opal, or looking up to Suyin and Toph. Wei had simply been a side character to his grand romance, a necessary distraction that Bolin had to contend with every now and then.
It's not that Bolin disliked Wei, despite the other man's prickliness. He tried to be nice to the guy, he was dating his sister after all. But casual pleasantries and the occasional sparring match weren't the best methods of getting to know someone, not truly.
Frankly, Bolin still wasn't all that confident that he could tell Wei apart from Wing. Usually, his main hint was that Wing was peppy. And Wei was mean. Though, after Bolin joined Kuvira, Wing also became mean.

Bolin glanced at Wei, curious. What were Wei's 'childish daydreams'? He couldn't even begin to imagine what Wei would've wanted to be as a child. All Bolin saw Wei as was a metalbender, a Beifong. Was there more to him? Of course, there had to be, it's just that Bolin had somehow only just realised this.

"So what were those 'childish dreams'?" He nudged Wei with his elbow, grinning softly. "I told you mine. You wanna make it a trade?"

Wei didn't look up from his bowl, chopsticks idly resting amongst the slightly overcooked grains of rice. "They're just dreams, nothing interesting." He practically mumbled, looking into the flames.

"I don't mind. I just... wanna know more about you!" Bolin grinned, twiddling his thumbs. "No pressure!" He added, realizing he may sound pushy. "I don't mean to, like, pry!"

Wei placed a soft hand over one of Bolin's, lulling his bluberring into silence. "Alright." He smiled softly, soft campfire hues cast over his face. "I guess it's only fair."

"Yeah! Um, fair!" Bolin beamed, relieved. Mindlessly, he lay his other hand upon Wei's, immediately realizing that he'd made the situation even more awkwardly intimate. It would draw more attention to pull away, and Bolin didn't want to make things weird, not when Wei was finally opening up. And so his hand stayed where it was.
Wei didn't seem to notice, or mind, anyway.

"Before Wing and I started metalbending, I guess I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life. One day, I wanted to be a herbalist, like Aiwei, or a dancer, like my mom." Wei's voice carried over the campsite, tinged with nostalgia. A little whimsy, a little regret, perhaps. "The next, I was obsessing over collecting crystals, and minerals, and then talking about running away to join the circus with Wing.Though the circus had always been more of Wing's idea." He huffed a laugh to himself at the last assertion. Bolin laughed along with him, almost without realizing it. Softer and quieter than his usual boisterous guffaws, less ostensible.

"Huh, herbs. And minerals. I never would've thought you'd be into that type of stuff. It seems so...smart." he immediately regretted those words when Wei's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then knitted together and furrowed. Bolin rushed to pry his own foot out of his mouth. "Not that you can't be smart, I just... I just haven't met a lot of earthbenders who... are, uh, like, into smart stuff!"

Despite Bolin's best efforts, Wei furrowed his brows even further. "Don't tell me you believe that shit."

"No, I mean, I don't believe it completely..."

"But?"

Bolin huffed, skin tingling with a confused sense of frustration. Wei was an earthbender just as Bolin, was he not? This shouldn't be difficult to explain to him.

"But... like, how many earthbenders do you see in like, "smart" jobs? Most earthbenders I've met do construction, landscaping, that type of thing. My dad worked in a factory when selling fruit didn't cut it." His words hung in the air for a moment, Bolin half remembering being a toddler, settled on the counter of a rickety fruit sand, his father's big, coarse hands keeping him from crawling his way off the edge. He quickly filled that silence, though. It made him feel far too morose "Of course, there's probending. I did that. And the triads are always on the lookout for earthbender muscle. I did that too, kinda..."

Wei rolled his eyes, but not from annoyance. There was just a splinter of pity in mossy eyes. It wounded Bolin's pride in a way mockery could never.
"That might be the way it is in Republic City. But not here. Not where I come from." He countered, moving his hand out from under Bolin's. "There's so much more to earthbenders than combat and labour."

Wringing his now uncomfortably idle hands, Bolin shot Wei a crooked look. Not quite glare, but not a casual glance either.
"Agni's sake, Wei, I know that. I just..." he inhaled through his nose, the scent of smoke from the fire tickling his lungs. "Then what about you?What's the more to you?" His tone was perhaps a little accusatory now, a little demanding in its sharp cadence.

For once, Wei wavered. It was gratifying to watch him hesitate. Bolin watched the tip of his clever tongue dart over his lips in thought. The lavabender took a shallow breath, unwittingly mirroring the gesture, though slower and clumsier.

But then the casual poise returned, and Wei was speaking again, every word a tiny, innocent bodkin aimed straight at Bolin.
"Didn't my mother tell you that everyone in Zaofu has many talents?" The only evidence of being caught off guard by Bolin's question, was the faint flush on Wei's neck. Oh, but he wore it so well, it almost didn't count. "She runs a dance troupe. Kuvira's part of it, and Wing and I too." Wei's gaze slid off to the side. The, much familiar to Bolin, weight of discontent tugging the corners of his lips downwards. Only when he noticed Bolin opening his mouth to comment did Wei hastily tack on: "And you know Huan doesn't fight at all. He's an artist. And... Aiwei, he was our tutor, when we were young. Taught me to garden, about herbs and minerals..."
The words died in Wei's throat, though by his expression, he had killed them himself. As if speaking kindly of Aiwei were something he did not allow himself.

Bolin could've tugged on that thread, or on the fact Wei had barely spoken of his own interests and hobbies. But he remembered Wei's steadying hand on his when he had stumbled and stuttered.
Scratching open those wounds, no matter how much satisfaction it would bring, was not worth it.

"I guess..." he clicked his tongue, trying to come up with something biting, but not scathing. "I guess it's different for metalbenders." He finished lamely

But that still got a rise from an already agitated Wei.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He snapped, sitting up straight, the glare in his eyes eclipsing the firelight.

"I can't really make pretty things out of lava, Wei!" Raw anger trickled from these words. Aimless and sputtering like boiling water from an overfilled kettle. "I can't dance with it, unless I wanna set my pants on fire! Lava's good for one thing and one thing only, ruining stuff. I don't have the skills to make it something it isn't. I'm just another rock-tosser." Bolin fell back onto his back, exasperated. Yellowed grass and scarce panda lilies framed his view of the sky. He let out a stuttering breath, from deep inside his stomach. "I'm not smart enough to get the hang of shit like plants, herbs and whatever the hell there is to learn about minerals and crystals. I'm good at throwing rocks, and putting on a show while at it. Can't that be enough?"

"I suppose it can be." Wei said quietly, so quietly Bolin could've imagined it.

They stayed silent for a moment, Bolin staring up at the sky, as it shifted from yellowed blues to deep oranges and pinks. Far too cheery and colourful for his mood at the moment, but Bolin couldn't keep himself from watching. He couldn't see the sunset from his position, but for now, the shifting hues were enough.

He barely took note of Wei moving into periphery, until the metalbender was laying beside him in the grass. Eyes of green steel boring into him from between the grass blades. Had Bolin not known better, he could've easily imagined it was some manner of nature spirit staring into his soul.
When Wei spoke, it was the same tone from the Earth Empire outpost. The tone Bolin didn't know what to do with.

"But is it enough? For you?"

Perhaps Bolin didn't have the energy to pull back. Wei was as persistent as a hunter following a blood trail, but Bolin didn't feel hunted at that moment. Though his gut bucked like a wounded fox-antelope when Wei looked at him with those equivocal eyes.

He licked his dry lips. "I've... always wanted more." He admitted, not looking at Wei. "To have more. To be more." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "It's never enough. But I'm good at making things... less. I don't mean to. Mako says it's because I'm too much sometimes. Maybe that's why I'm so good at lavabending." He grinned, bittersweet pride in his voice.

It is a special rush to have molten rock at your fingertips. Bright and all-consuming in its glory, devouring anything in its path.
Bolin had been one of the lucky few to harness it. But it hadn't been the elevating grace and versatility of metal, which he had craved all his life. It was a weapon, a tool, and as its harbinger, so was he. Throwing himself where directed, as hungry for praise and success as the earth's molten maw was for destruction.

"You talk like lava only destroys." Wei cut into his thoughts, not averting his gaze from Bolin's face.

"Doesn't it?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'destroy'." Wei looked up at the sky, finally giving Bolin a moment of reprieve from his eyes. Bolin didn't know that they had affected him so, until they weren't on him anymore. "Lava formations can be... natural wonders. I mean, you've seen the one in Makapu. It's basically a tourist attraction now. Cooled lava can contain various crystals, even diamonds. And we're literally sitting in a field of panda lilies. These things love the heat. That's why they grow around volcanoes so often."

Bolin rolled over, to face Wei. Wei didn't look at him, eyes fixed on a passing cloud. Bolin admired how the dying sunlight danced on his golden cheeks and in his green irises. For a moment, Wei seemed far away, despite laying right by him.
Impulsively, Bolin reached out, running his knuckles along Wei's temple. To remind himself that Wei was, in fact, within reach. Wei stiffened, under his touch, eyes darting to glance at him but not pulling away.

"What?" He snorted, taking a sharper breath when Bolin's thumb nudged his cheekbone. Bolin watched his chest rise with it, the glimmer of his necklace as it shifted position.

"You're kind." He didn't blurt it out, didn't regret saying it. Even if it was something he never saw himself saying to Wei.

Wei laughed, airy and breathless, tipping his head back into the grass, the flowers, the sun's fingers gripping at his throat. A pleasant sound.
"You're giving me far too much credit. I'm just telling you that you don't know shit about the element you bend."

Bolin sat up, looking down at the other man, still sprawled out in the brush as he was.
"But you said it for me. To cheer me up." He smiled. "And I appreciate it."

"Good. You're not much fun when you're moping." Wei grinned, sharp teeth glinting as he tilted his head. But when Bolin made to reach for the empty bowls, that smile faltered. "Bolin." He sat up to face Bolin, but didn't look him in the eye. "I did mean it. I think you can make something... more. Something beautiful, or smart. Whatever you want it to be."

Bolin beamed and opened his mouth again, but then Wei added a hurried:
"Speak of this to anyone and you'll lose all your fingers."

"Oh yeah, Agni forbid that anyone knows you're not an asshole all the time."

"No one would believe you anyway, you know."

"You sure? I'm quite the convincing storyteller, I'm told."

"Not convincing enough."

"That a challenge, Beifong?"

Wei laughed again, and it carried over the clearing.
Truly a pleasant sound, Bolin remarked to himself.

Notes:

I hope my writing hasn't suffered too much in my time not doing it. I'm never satisfied with it, which is why I struggle with posting. Most of this chapter was complete for months in my writing app but I just couldn't bring myself to post it lol.

Notes:

Genuinely. Tell me if you wnat me to continue this because if God (several people on the internet) willing, i will abandon my life and yeet myself into this project