Returning to Pro-Bending

In the following days after Koda's date with Korra, the Air Temple turned into a house of rumors and gossips. Apparently, some of the White Lotus guards spotted Korra and Koda together, and while they couldn't confirm or deny anything, the time at which they arrived at the Air Temple was enough to raise a few eyebrows. It wasn't long before the acolytes of the island heard about the couple's little night out and, soon enough, everyone started speculating. The fact that something interesting rarely ever happened on the island made the gossip all the juicier.

The rumors of the Avatar going out with the son of the Police Chief eventually reached Tenzin's ears. The airbender confronted Koda about this, and given how little choice he had, Koda decided to be honest and told Tenzin the truth.

To say that Tenzin was uncomfortable by the revelation was an understatement. He had already accepted the fact that Korra was going to form bonds with the people she met, but there was a big difference between bonding with someone and going on dates. Koda argued that him dating Korra wasn't going to make a significant impact on anything. Korra was still going to learn Airbending under Tenzin's tutelage and Koda would still keep an eye on her.

"Only now, it won't be just professionally speaking," Koda told Tenzin with a cheeky grin. The airbender was less than amused. Tenzin knew that his mother will get angry about this and will yell at the both of them.

Still, there was nothing Tenzin could do about it. Those two had their own lives, and as long as their relationship didn't interfere with Korra's Airbending training, the son of Aang was forced to put up with it. In any case, the fact that his eldest son was now dating the reincarnation of his father was just... It gave Tenzin the creeps.

Koda had yet to tell Lin the news, not because of how she might react, but rather because he couldn't find the right occasion. It was obvious that his mother wasn't going to approve of them being a couple, but honestly, Koda couldn't care less. He was happy with Korra and Korra was happy with him. That was everything he needed to know and Lin had no right to keep them apart from one another.

However, not everyone was thrilled by their new relationship...

'Pro-Bending Arena'

"What on Earth is happening to Bolin?" Koda asked himself as he watched the game between the Fire Ferrets and the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps. 'It's like he's going Hasook or something,'

The opposite team was, without a doubt, talented. Probably just as talented as the Fire Ferrets were. Mako and Korra were responding blow for blow, but for some reason, Bolin was doing more harm than good out there. He was constantly missing his shots, he looked disoriented, and he didn't seem to have the confidence that he usually displayed. The Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps took notice of that and they bullied him while keeping Mako and Korra at bay.

At some point during the game, Bolin got his shoulder busted by a disc and was consequently thrown out of the ring. The referee stopped the match and signaled the healers to take a look at the earthbender's injury, who was still moaning in pain. While this was happening, the referee declared Bolin's injury had been clean and free of malicious intent, so the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps were not penalized.

"Hey ref, we need to check on Bolin!" Mako requested all the way from his spot. The referee nodded and grabbed a megaphone.

"The Fire Ferrets are granted five minutes to corroborate their teammate's status and return with a substitute if one is required,"

Mako and Korra immediately left the stage while the members of the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps regrouped in order to discuss their strategy. As soon as he and Korra arrived at the medical station, they saw Koda was there too, having seen the incident all the way from the locker room. Mako took off his helmet and carefully made his way to his brother. "Bo, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

The healer who was working on Bolin's shoulder removed the glowing water out of the earthbender and sent it back to a fountain nearby. "He has sustained no major injuries, but he needs to take it easy right now. His shoulder should be fine in a couple of days,"

"A couple of days?" Korra repeated. "We can't wait that long, you need to fix his shoulder right away!"

"Ma'am, I assure you I'm doing everything in my power to help your friend, but I can't perform miracles," the healer replied in a no-nonsense tone before giving Bolin a look. "I'm sorry, but unless you want to put your shoulder at an even greater risk, you have to call it quits for now,"

"Are you absolutely sure you can't go on?" Mako asked once the healer had left. He knew the answer to that question already, but he had to make absolutely sure of it.

Bolin got up from his chair and tried to perform a single jab. He winced and gritted his teeth in pain, placing his left hand on his bruised shoulder once he finished. "Nope. I can't play nearly as good as I usually do with only one arm."

It was useless to try and encourage Bolin to play, Mako deduced. Bolin was still pretty heartbroken after knowing that Koda and Korra were dating, and those feelings were getting in the way at the worst moment possible. If Bolin's performance was already poor with two working shoulders, only the Spirits knew how worse it could get with only one. "There's no other way around it. We'll just have to make do without you."

"Actually, I have an idea," Koda said all of a sudden, gaining the attention of his girlfriend and Mako. "Bolin, give me your equipment. I'll be your substitute."

"Wait, are you serious? But Koda, you don't know our game style, also it's been years since you have done pro-bending!" Korra warned him, only to receive a confident smirk from Koda.

"That didn't stop you from walking into that ring for the first time, remember? And besides, it will click back right away. My fighting style has some pro-bending influences."

There wasn't much that was left to discuss. They needed an earthbender to help them win and Koda with his pro-bending experience, they will have a higher chance to win.

They carefully stripped Bolin of his protective gear and handed it to Koda, who removed some of his own clothes so that the equipment would fit. The earthbender was a little disgusted as he put on Bolin's helmet, which was covered in sweat. The bells rang loud and clear, indicating both teams that the break was over. "All right, time's up. Are you sure you can do this?"

"Sure. I wouldn't like to see the Fire Ferrets say goodbye to the tournament after all the hard work you guys have put into this."

Before leaving the medical station, Korra gave Bolin one final glance. The earthbender promptly looked away as soon as his eyes met hers. It made the Avatar wonder what was going on with him as it was clear he wasn't just having a bad day related to Pro-bending, but rather at a more personal level. The Bolin she knew would at least cheer for them enthusiastically after being replaced by Koda, but instead, he was being sulky and quiet, two adjectives that most certainly didn't fit his description.

As for Koda, there was one thing that he was afraid of and that he hadn't realized until it was too late for him. Should the spectators find out Koda Beifong was playing for the Fire Ferrets as a substitute for Bolin, it would cause a public uproar. He wasn't doing anything against the law, but the Police Department would most likely receive several letters asking why was the Lieutenant of the Police Department playing Pro-bending all of a sudden, despite him being a former pro-bender. It was a headache that neither Koda nor Lin needed.

'Well, it's too late to back down,' Koda thought as he entered the ring. He took a deep breath and ignored the roar of the crowd. Dealing with pressure was a part of his job, but still, the feeling of being watched by hundreds of individuals around him was not a pleasing one. Press conferences were one thing, Pro-bending matches were another thing entirely.

As he got into position, he saw Mako looking at him. "Don't worry about me or Korra. Just stick to not getting hit and don't take any risks unless you absolutely had to," he heard the firebender say.

Koda nodded. He appreciated Mako's direct approach. It made him feel like he was listening to a superior giving out orders, a sensation he was more than used to. Do this, don't do that. Specific tasks were the easiest ones to carry out.

"Are the two teams ready?" the referee asked. The two captains gestured they were. Koda's belly tightened. "Then... Begin!"

DING DING DING

All of a sudden, the three benders in front of Koda started to move, and the earthbender felt a rush of adrenaline taking over his body as he dodged fire, water, and earth. He couldn't focus on not getting hit and firing earth discs at the same time so he simply did what Mako instructed him to do and evaded everything that was coming his way, either by jumping or raising a disc that would take the hit for him.

It was tedious for him not being able to perform Earthbending the way he wanted to. Looking at it from a sport's perspective, using earth disks to compete was a completely reasonable idea, but as a means of attack, it was mind-bogglingly limited. Earthbending was so much more than throwing rocks, and being this constricted made Koda feel awkward. It was a shame he couldn't use Metalbending as well, given how it was his fortitude.

However, years of training in both Earthbending and Metalbending sure came in handy, as once he got the hang of the game, he started to recognize the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps attack pattern. The moment one of their opponents got in trouble, the whole team would quickly gang up on the disadvantaged adversary until they knocked him or her out of the ring. They had to be fast, otherwise the other members of the opposite team could take advantage of temporarily not being a target and knock them out first. It was a risky maneuver, but if the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps were able to get this far, then it had to be effective as well.

'In that case...' Koda slightly lowered his defenses and allowed himself to be pushed back by the waterbender from the opposite team. The Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps' firebender and earthbender did as Koda predicted and started throwing their respective elements at him.

Before a disk could send him into zone two, however, Koda dodges between them spinning his body mid-air parallel to the ground. The earthbender wastes no time in sending two more plus a third. Koda spins his body to avoid the first two but grabs one of the disks mid spin and hurls it directly at the third one and the two make contact and deflect off each other. Wanting to test him further, the earthbender continues to unleash a barrage while being light on her feet. Koda dodges what he can and punches right through what he can't.

The opponent team was awestruck as they saw Koda catch a disk and throw it back. It caught the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps' waterbender off guard and struck her in her stomach. As she stumbled back, Mako shot a fireball at her with enough strength to knock her off the ring. The crowd cheered and clapped in favor of the Fire Ferrets.

There was no time to celebrate. With the waterbender out of the way, Koda turned his attention towards the earthbender while Mako and Korra focused on the firebender. Without exchanging a single word, the Fire Ferrets managed to synchronize and agree on a simple but efficient strategy. Koda managed to keep the rival earthbender busy while the two others overpowered the firebender. Their idea paid off as they gained more and more territory until eventually a sudden disk from Koda sent the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps' firebender into the water below.

The last member of the Bau Ling Buzzard Wasps didn't stand a snowball of a chance as a fireball from Mako, followed by a disk from Koda and one final water blast from Korra was all it took to send the Fire Ferrets into the championship finals.

"Game over! The Fire Ferrets win!" the referee immediately announced.

'After the Match'

"That was amazing! You caught those disks and threw them back with pinpoint accuracy," Korra said excitedly. The Fire Ferrets were celebrating their victory in the locker rooms, with Asami hugging Mako and Pabu standing on his two legs and jumping excitedly around the place. Koda lifted Korra off her feet and the couple shared a quick but fiery kiss, making Asami squeal in delight.

"Maybe I should go back to Pro-Bending," Koda said.

"Does that mean you're gonna quit your job at the Police Department and start a Pro-bending career?" Asami asked.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna stick with catching bad guys and solving crimes. Besides, this was a one-time thing. I don't want Mom to find out I got involved in this,"

Bolin was the only one who wasn't celebrating. He was sitting by himself avoiding everyone's gaze, especially Korra's. Not only was he heartbroken by Koda and Korra's new relationship, but he was also feeling quite embarrassed by how close the Fire Ferrets were from getting thrown out of the competition. If Koda hadn't stepped in to replace him, who knew what could've happened.

Once the party died down, the Avatar went over to Bolin to check up on him. "Hey Bolin, what's gotten into you? You almost cost us the match!" she said not in an angry tone, but one that certainly demanded answers as Bolin's behavior was way too strange for her to ignore.

"M-Me? Yeah sorry, I just... I just have a lot on my mind right now," the earthbender meekly replied, his eyes still refusing to meet hers.

"Mako, Korra, could you please give me and Bolin a minute alone?" Koda asked out loud.

Mako stared at Koda suspiciously. "What for?"

"We need to discuss something very important and private. I think you know what I'm talking about,"

The firebender thought about it for a minute. He supposed Koda was already aware of Bolin's feeling towards Korra and how sad he was now that she was dating him. Mako liked Koda well enough and didn't mind having him around, but Bolin was his little brother. Should a fight arise between those two, he wouldn't hesitate to protect him.

However, Koda didn't seem like the kind of person who would start a fight with Bolin or anyone for that matter. Koda went as far as to risk his own life for Bolin's sake when he got duped into helping the Triads for cash, which in all honesty, could've ended in Bolin going to jail for taking a job offer from the Triple Threat Triad. He nodded and gestured Korra and Asami to leave with him. Korra seemed suspicious but decided to go with Mako and leave the questions for later.

Once they were alone, Koda took a seat next to Bolin and looked at him straight in the eye. "Okay Bolin, are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"

Bolin sighed. "It's not something you'd like to know,"

"It's because you like Korra too, isn't it?" Koda's tone was so casual that it took Bolin by surprise. He began to panic as he had no idea what to do or to say, so he simply hung his head in shame, fearing that Koda would hate him. Much to his surprise, Koda's voice became softer and more relaxed than usual. "It's okay, I can see why you like her so much. I'm not angry at you, Bolin. Not in the slightest,"

"You... You're not?"

"Honestly, I would feel the same way you do right now if the tables were turned. It's never easy to be in your position. But still, you have to cheer up. Korra may not feel the same way about you when it comes to dating, but you're still her friend and she cares about you, as does Mako, Bolin, and I. Besides, Korra isn't the only girl in Republic City. I'm sure there are others out there who would love to meet a guy like you. It's not the end of the world,"

"I know that, it's just... You just don't get it. It's easy for you to say that when you already have Korra by your side. What if I don't get another chance to meet someone?"

"You will get another chance, Bolin. Trust me," Koda replied. Bolin didn't look very convinced as he was still frowning and staring at the floor. Koda took a deep breath and decided that if he wanted to make Bolin feel better, he had to reveal some of his experiences in order to get to him, even if it meant sharing things that were personal. "Bolin, I'm going to let you in on a secret, but you can't tell a soul about what I'm about to say,"

For the first time, Bolin dropped the long face and gave Koda a curious look. "A secret?"

Koda nodded. "You already know that Asami and I go back a long way. It might look like I've always seen her like a friend and nothing else... but the truth is, it wasn't always like that. I used to have a crush on her."

"Wait, what? You used to have a crush on Asami?" Bolin asked in shock.

"Oh yeah. And it wasn't just a stupid teenage crush that lasted for a week or two. I've been pretty close to Asami ever since I was a kid, but when I turned fifteen, my feelings changed. My best friend became my love interest, and little by little, I managed to convince Asami to go on several dates with me."

"So that means... You and Asami used to be a couple!?"

The war veteran shook his head. "Not really. They were friendly dates, and we only went out like three or four times. Of course, I didn't see it that way back then. I thought it was only a matter of time before Asami became my official girlfriend, which was the one thing I thought I wanted the most. But then, Asami and I talked we both agreed that we were feeling comfortable by the way things were going. She knew I liked her and I found out she liked me at a point. But in the end to Asami, I was her best friend, maybe even a brother, and to me she was like a sister, and I also decided to leave to join the United Forces."

Bolin's gloomy attitude was replaced by astonishment and awe. He never expected to relate to someone like Koda Beifong, the lietenant of the Police Department. Up until now, the only things they had in common were their bending and their love interest in Korra.

"Lighten up, Bolin, there will be other moments. Maybe if I go to the earth kingdom, you and I can go and fish for women..."

After hearing such a revelation, Bolin couldn't help but smile a little. It felt great to know that Koda knew what he was going through and that he was willing to share some of his private life in order to make him feel better. Mako tried to comfort him, but he didn't really offer almost anything other than "get over it" and "toughen up". The fact that Koda knew she liked Korra and still went out of his way to help him spoke volumes to the earthbender, who was starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

"And, since we're on the subject, how about this? If you promise me you will try and cheer up, I promise I'll set you up with the next girl you want to date. How does that sound?" Koda offered for good measure.

It worked like a charm. Bolin got on his feet and vigorously shook Koda's hand. "Alright, good sir! You have got yourself a deal!"

Koda chuckled. "That's good to hear. Come on, let's get going. I have work tomorrow and I can't afford to be late."