Fic; Nocturne
Title: Nocturne
Character/Pairing: Korra/Bolin
Word Count: 994
Rating: PG
Summary: Korra is late coming home to her family.
Author’s Note: Pointless family fluff because it’s Borra Week over on Tumblr! Yay! Thanks to fandom I can’t get rid of the idea that Bolin becomes a metalbender, so…that’s in here.
Will post this elsewhere at some point.
Some days, Korra is the late one home.
Being the Avatar is a job that never stops, and she understands that. She doesn’t mind the late nights - except when they’re consumed by council meetings that really serve no purpose other than to waste her time. Those nights are often more draining for her than the nights she spends fighting, or tracking down criminals.
She likes being able to work with her husband. This way, they both get to look out for one another. It’s hard on Tanza, but fortunately, Jinora is an excellent babysitter. Korra is often the one to send Jinora back to Air Temple Island and get Tanza to bed, but on the days she and Bolin are both late, the airbender never minded staying the night. Sometimes Korra wondered if Tanza would eventually become more attached to Jinora than her own parents, because she was around so often.
But on nights like this, Korra knows that isn’t going to happen.
She comes home and it’s all dark, and Jinora is nowhere to be found. She feels a momentary panic when she doesn’t find Tanza in her room, either, but then she passes by the door to hers and Bolin’s room, and sees the dark shapes on the bed. As she steps inside, a light smile crosses her lips.
Bolin is holding Tanza in his arms, and they’re both fast asleep. Tanza is curled up against Bolin’s chest, her dark brown hair fanning out over the pillow they’re sharing, and he has his hand cupped gently around the back of her head, like he’s protecting her from something. Korra never worries about her daughter’s safety with Jinora, but suddenly she is struck by how small and vulnerable Tanza is. She’s already so strong for a three-year-old, but at the same time, she’s helpless.
Korra slips into bed without disturbing her sleeping family, not even bothering to get out of her clothes. But even though she doesn’t make a sound, Bolin’s eyes still find hers in the dark when her head hits the pillow. She smiles in silent apology, and he leans forward to brush his lips against hers. Between them, Tanza shifts her weight a little, her leg bumping Korra’s belly.
She knows she should say that Tanza is old enough to be sleeping in her own bed and that they should probably move her, but something stops the words from escaping her. It might be the fact that they can rarely move Tanza without waking her up, or it might be the way Bolin looks when her little hands grip onto the front of his nightshirt. Instead, she just pulls the covers up more snugly around them and allows herself to nestle into the mattress.
As she closes her eyes, she feels Bolin’s hand brushing her hair back. “You’ll wake her up,” she whispers.
“She’s fine,” he whispers back. His smile fades slightly as he looks at her. “You look exhausted.”
She shrugs a little. “All in a day’s work.”
He makes a humming sound, deep in his throat. “Tanza wouldn’t stop asking for you when I got home.”
She frowns. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”
“Not at all,” he says, good-naturedly. “I just wish they’d get it through their thick heads that you have a family now.”
“They know I have a family,” Korra replies, her eyes falling on her daughter’s dark head. “That doesn’t mean I have any less responsibility to this city…and the rest of the world.” She looks back at him. “I’m not the only one who has a demanding job.”
“I know,” says Bolin. “But we’re managing, aren’t we?”
Neither one of them had been prepared for children when Korra had discovered she was pregnant. It had happened at one of the most inopportune times - right before Bolin’s first major promotion in the police department and right in the middle of an important case for both of them. Since Korra’s abilities as the Avatar were essential in closing the case, she hadn’t known what to do. Many of the missions involved a lot of fighting and no small amount of danger, and she had felt hesitant to risk it. Of course, once Bolin had found out, he had insisted she pull herself out of the case (after getting over his mixture of shock and awe). In the end, Korra had…but not without feeling a decent amount of guilt. She had told Chief Beifong that she and Bolin were a long way off from having children.
Despite the timing, and the anxiety that had nagged at her throughout the pregnancy, Tanza seemed to fit naturally into their lives. She disrupted it quite a bit, too, of course. Korra remembers laughing at Bolin for something he said about not knowing babies could poop so much, on a night when Tanza hadn’t been able to sleep because of some bowel problems. She’d reminded him that Meelo could have beat Tanza at the pooping game when he was as old as five. The two of them had shared more sleepless nights than they cared to remember with their daughter, and she was a handful during the day as well, but they couldn’t bring themselves to regret having her when they did.
“Yeah,” she says at length, letting his fingers tangle with hers on the pillow above their heads. “We’re doing fine.”
Between them, Tanza gives a sleepy snort, and Bolin chuckles. “I think she’s agreeing with you.”
“She better,” Korra grins, tugging up the sheet from where it’s slipped down Tanza’s legs.
Because whether her daughter knew it or not, everything Korra did now was for her.
Character/Pairing: Korra/Bolin
Word Count: 994
Rating: PG
Summary: Korra is late coming home to her family.
Author’s Note: Pointless family fluff because it’s Borra Week over on Tumblr! Yay! Thanks to fandom I can’t get rid of the idea that Bolin becomes a metalbender, so…that’s in here.
Will post this elsewhere at some point.
Some days, Korra is the late one home.
Being the Avatar is a job that never stops, and she understands that. She doesn’t mind the late nights - except when they’re consumed by council meetings that really serve no purpose other than to waste her time. Those nights are often more draining for her than the nights she spends fighting, or tracking down criminals.
She likes being able to work with her husband. This way, they both get to look out for one another. It’s hard on Tanza, but fortunately, Jinora is an excellent babysitter. Korra is often the one to send Jinora back to Air Temple Island and get Tanza to bed, but on the days she and Bolin are both late, the airbender never minded staying the night. Sometimes Korra wondered if Tanza would eventually become more attached to Jinora than her own parents, because she was around so often.
But on nights like this, Korra knows that isn’t going to happen.
She comes home and it’s all dark, and Jinora is nowhere to be found. She feels a momentary panic when she doesn’t find Tanza in her room, either, but then she passes by the door to hers and Bolin’s room, and sees the dark shapes on the bed. As she steps inside, a light smile crosses her lips.
Bolin is holding Tanza in his arms, and they’re both fast asleep. Tanza is curled up against Bolin’s chest, her dark brown hair fanning out over the pillow they’re sharing, and he has his hand cupped gently around the back of her head, like he’s protecting her from something. Korra never worries about her daughter’s safety with Jinora, but suddenly she is struck by how small and vulnerable Tanza is. She’s already so strong for a three-year-old, but at the same time, she’s helpless.
Korra slips into bed without disturbing her sleeping family, not even bothering to get out of her clothes. But even though she doesn’t make a sound, Bolin’s eyes still find hers in the dark when her head hits the pillow. She smiles in silent apology, and he leans forward to brush his lips against hers. Between them, Tanza shifts her weight a little, her leg bumping Korra’s belly.
She knows she should say that Tanza is old enough to be sleeping in her own bed and that they should probably move her, but something stops the words from escaping her. It might be the fact that they can rarely move Tanza without waking her up, or it might be the way Bolin looks when her little hands grip onto the front of his nightshirt. Instead, she just pulls the covers up more snugly around them and allows herself to nestle into the mattress.
As she closes her eyes, she feels Bolin’s hand brushing her hair back. “You’ll wake her up,” she whispers.
“She’s fine,” he whispers back. His smile fades slightly as he looks at her. “You look exhausted.”
She shrugs a little. “All in a day’s work.”
He makes a humming sound, deep in his throat. “Tanza wouldn’t stop asking for you when I got home.”
She frowns. “Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”
“Not at all,” he says, good-naturedly. “I just wish they’d get it through their thick heads that you have a family now.”
“They know I have a family,” Korra replies, her eyes falling on her daughter’s dark head. “That doesn’t mean I have any less responsibility to this city…and the rest of the world.” She looks back at him. “I’m not the only one who has a demanding job.”
“I know,” says Bolin. “But we’re managing, aren’t we?”
Neither one of them had been prepared for children when Korra had discovered she was pregnant. It had happened at one of the most inopportune times - right before Bolin’s first major promotion in the police department and right in the middle of an important case for both of them. Since Korra’s abilities as the Avatar were essential in closing the case, she hadn’t known what to do. Many of the missions involved a lot of fighting and no small amount of danger, and she had felt hesitant to risk it. Of course, once Bolin had found out, he had insisted she pull herself out of the case (after getting over his mixture of shock and awe). In the end, Korra had…but not without feeling a decent amount of guilt. She had told Chief Beifong that she and Bolin were a long way off from having children.
Despite the timing, and the anxiety that had nagged at her throughout the pregnancy, Tanza seemed to fit naturally into their lives. She disrupted it quite a bit, too, of course. Korra remembers laughing at Bolin for something he said about not knowing babies could poop so much, on a night when Tanza hadn’t been able to sleep because of some bowel problems. She’d reminded him that Meelo could have beat Tanza at the pooping game when he was as old as five. The two of them had shared more sleepless nights than they cared to remember with their daughter, and she was a handful during the day as well, but they couldn’t bring themselves to regret having her when they did.
“Yeah,” she says at length, letting his fingers tangle with hers on the pillow above their heads. “We’re doing fine.”
Between them, Tanza gives a sleepy snort, and Bolin chuckles. “I think she’s agreeing with you.”
“She better,” Korra grins, tugging up the sheet from where it’s slipped down Tanza’s legs.
Because whether her daughter knew it or not, everything Korra did now was for her.