Fic; Between the Hours
Title: Between the Hours
Character/Pairing: Sort of Bolin-centric again, but there’s Borra family fluff and it’s tooth-achingly sweet.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1,377
Summary: Nothing ever scared their daughter…until one day, something did.
Author’s Notes: Still not stopping. I have too many feels. Also, as I was writing this, I could not stop listening to Lullaby for a Stormy Night by Vienna Teng. Originally posted to Tumblr 6/30/2012
Their daughter wasn’t afraid of anything. She faced everything head on, strong and steady, just like an earthbender - and just like Korra. She was just as stubborn and determined as Korra was, too, so Bolin was hardly surprised when she started moving small rocks around their backyard at the age of two. She was never afraid to hurt herself, although she frequently ended up with little cuts and bruises that Korra or Bolin had to kiss better. Once the pain went away, she went right back to being reckless and brave, like nothing had happened. Bolin, who had been somewhat of a crybaby when he was little, was endlessly proud of her for that.
So he was surprised on the night Tanza came tearing into his and Korra’s room and jumped onto the bed, pulling the sheets up over her head and huddling there in a quivering little ball.
Bolin, who had been half asleep, jerked up with a little snort and pushed down a huge yawn. “Tanza?” he asked quietly, lifting the covers up and peeking under them. “What are you doing under there?”
“Hiding where it’s safe,” she whispered, peering up at him with luminous green eyes. “I don’t want him to get me.”
“Don’t want who to get you?” asked Bolin in concern. Beside him, Korra was shifting, trying to drag herself out of sleep. She had been so worn out that she’d been asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
“The scary guy with the big green eyes,” said Tanza, making circles with her fingers and putting them over her face like a pair of glasses. Then she wiggled over and buried her face in Bolin’s hip, curling her hands into the thin material of his shirt.
Korra sat up, pushing her hair out of her face, and Bolin looked at her in confusion as he rested his big hand on Tanza’s back. Korra’s brows were knit as she looked back at him, just as lost as he was.
“Did you have a bad dream?” she asked Tanza, and their daughter nodded against Bolin’s hip.
“So this was a dream monster?” asked Bolin. Like all children, Tanza had her share of nightmares due to an overactive imagination, but usually all it took was a hug and kiss from one of them to ease her mind and get her back to sleep. She had never come running into their room like this because of a nightmare.
“No!” said Tanza shrilly, and now she was clambering onto Bolin’s lap. He lifted her up a little so she wouldn’t step all over him, and so that he could get eye-level with her. “He’s a real monster!”
“Sweetheart, we’ve told you before that the things in your dreams aren’t real,” Korra said gently, reaching over to brush some of Tanza’s hair out of her face. “They’re just part of your imagination.”
“I saws him afore!” she insisted. “On that paper Daddy reads all the time.”
The newspaper, Bolin thought, and suddenly he knew who Tanza was talking about.
As much as they tried to keep their work lives out of the house, sometimes there was only so much they could shield their young daughter from considering the radio, the newspaper, and the wanted posters that were put up all over town. The newest case down at the police station was a man who had taken to using the old Equalist masks from several years ago, which did indeed have distinct green goggles. So far, they didn’t know if the man was an Equalist or not, because he seemed to target benders and non-benders alike. But he was causing a lot of panic within the city because more than one person had been killed. And Bolin had a sneaking suspicion that Tanza had overheard him and Korra talking about it a few nights ago.
And she was scared.
Somehow, that man had managed to scare his stubborn, proud, unmovable daughter.
In that moment, Bolin swore that he was going to do whatever it took to catch that man and put him behind bars.
Korra seemed to have figured it out around the same time as him. Her eyes softened and she reached out to pull Tanza gently from Bolin’s arms, settling her in the little space between them on the bed. Bolin noted, with a little painful twist of his heart, that Tanza’s face was screwing up the way it did right before she started crying. Korra stroked her hair back and pulled the covers up to her waist.
“Don’t let the green eyes man scare you, Tanza,” she said. “He’s not going to be in this city much longer.”
The little girl between them sniffed, her nose starting to run. “He’s not? Where’s he going?”
“Away,” said Bolin, smiling down at her in reassurance. “Far away.”
“Yes,” agreed Korra, “because guess what the green eyes man is scared of?”
“What?”
“Your dad!” Korra bent down and tickled her belly until she giggled and squirmed so hard that one of her legs kicked Bolin right in the solar plexus. He gasped, taken aback once again by how strong she was, and then caught her feet in both of his hands, grinning.
“Are they really scared of you, Daddy?” Tanza asked, once Korra had stopped tickling her.
“Well,” Bolin started.
“Of course they are!” Korra jumped in. “Because they know what he does.”
“What?” asked Tanza, starting to smile.
The Avatar smiled too, and then looked over at Bolin with a sort of fierce pride in her eyes. “He doesn’t give up.”
Bolin actually blushed a little, something that she hadn’t made him do in years. Of course, he knew that Korra was proud of how far he had come in the police academy, but sometimes it was still nice to hear. Reaching out, he slipped his hand into hers, and she looped her fingers through his. Then she turned back to Tanza and continued. “He doesn’t give, and that man knows what he’s been doing is bad and that your daddy’s going to protect the families of the people he’s hurt. He’s going to do whatever he can to make things right again.”
“And Mommy, too,” Bolin put in, giving his wife’s hand a squeeze. “She’s been kicking butt much longer than I have.”
Tanza smiled, her fears forgotten. “I wanna kick butt when I grow up too!”
Bolin laughed. “Maybe you will!” He lifted her up into the air, flying her around like an airplane. “Maybe one day you’ll be flying through Republic City and protecting it from all the bad guys!”
Tanza squealed with joy. “Can I wear a shiny outfit like you?”
“Of course,” said Bolin. Reaching behind him, he pulled his cadet’s hat off the bedpost, a dark, floppy thing he hadn’t worn in almost a year now. He dropped it onto Tanza’s head, where it immediately settled over her eyes. “And we’ll call you ‘Officer Tanza’!”
She giggled again and pushed the hat back, peeking at him from under the brim. Korra grinned and then yawned, and Bolin suddenly remembered that they both had to be up again early in the morning.
“Okay, back to bed,” he said, reaching out to take the hat off her head. But she clamped down on it with both arms and wouldn’t let him.
“Can I keep it? And can I stay here?” Tanza asked. “Pleeeeease?”
Bolin looked over at Korra, who shrugged and smiled, already lying back on her pillow. “As long as you keep still and don’t kick, I don’t see what’s wrong with staying here just tonight.”
“I won’t! I promise!” Tanza wiggled back down in her spot between them, pulling the covers up to her chin and immediately closing her eyes. Bolin chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss against her forehead before he laid back himself, his eyes already getting heavy.
They slept through the night (although Tanza didn’t keep her promise about kicking), and when Bolin woke up he would see his daughter lying there next to him with his cadet hat resting on the pillow over her head, and his wife on the other side - a reminder of exactly how far he’d come.
Character/Pairing: Sort of Bolin-centric again, but there’s Borra family fluff and it’s tooth-achingly sweet.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1,377
Summary: Nothing ever scared their daughter…until one day, something did.
Author’s Notes: Still not stopping. I have too many feels. Also, as I was writing this, I could not stop listening to Lullaby for a Stormy Night by Vienna Teng. Originally posted to Tumblr 6/30/2012
Their daughter wasn’t afraid of anything. She faced everything head on, strong and steady, just like an earthbender - and just like Korra. She was just as stubborn and determined as Korra was, too, so Bolin was hardly surprised when she started moving small rocks around their backyard at the age of two. She was never afraid to hurt herself, although she frequently ended up with little cuts and bruises that Korra or Bolin had to kiss better. Once the pain went away, she went right back to being reckless and brave, like nothing had happened. Bolin, who had been somewhat of a crybaby when he was little, was endlessly proud of her for that.
So he was surprised on the night Tanza came tearing into his and Korra’s room and jumped onto the bed, pulling the sheets up over her head and huddling there in a quivering little ball.
Bolin, who had been half asleep, jerked up with a little snort and pushed down a huge yawn. “Tanza?” he asked quietly, lifting the covers up and peeking under them. “What are you doing under there?”
“Hiding where it’s safe,” she whispered, peering up at him with luminous green eyes. “I don’t want him to get me.”
“Don’t want who to get you?” asked Bolin in concern. Beside him, Korra was shifting, trying to drag herself out of sleep. She had been so worn out that she’d been asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
“The scary guy with the big green eyes,” said Tanza, making circles with her fingers and putting them over her face like a pair of glasses. Then she wiggled over and buried her face in Bolin’s hip, curling her hands into the thin material of his shirt.
Korra sat up, pushing her hair out of her face, and Bolin looked at her in confusion as he rested his big hand on Tanza’s back. Korra’s brows were knit as she looked back at him, just as lost as he was.
“Did you have a bad dream?” she asked Tanza, and their daughter nodded against Bolin’s hip.
“So this was a dream monster?” asked Bolin. Like all children, Tanza had her share of nightmares due to an overactive imagination, but usually all it took was a hug and kiss from one of them to ease her mind and get her back to sleep. She had never come running into their room like this because of a nightmare.
“No!” said Tanza shrilly, and now she was clambering onto Bolin’s lap. He lifted her up a little so she wouldn’t step all over him, and so that he could get eye-level with her. “He’s a real monster!”
“Sweetheart, we’ve told you before that the things in your dreams aren’t real,” Korra said gently, reaching over to brush some of Tanza’s hair out of her face. “They’re just part of your imagination.”
“I saws him afore!” she insisted. “On that paper Daddy reads all the time.”
The newspaper, Bolin thought, and suddenly he knew who Tanza was talking about.
As much as they tried to keep their work lives out of the house, sometimes there was only so much they could shield their young daughter from considering the radio, the newspaper, and the wanted posters that were put up all over town. The newest case down at the police station was a man who had taken to using the old Equalist masks from several years ago, which did indeed have distinct green goggles. So far, they didn’t know if the man was an Equalist or not, because he seemed to target benders and non-benders alike. But he was causing a lot of panic within the city because more than one person had been killed. And Bolin had a sneaking suspicion that Tanza had overheard him and Korra talking about it a few nights ago.
And she was scared.
Somehow, that man had managed to scare his stubborn, proud, unmovable daughter.
In that moment, Bolin swore that he was going to do whatever it took to catch that man and put him behind bars.
Korra seemed to have figured it out around the same time as him. Her eyes softened and she reached out to pull Tanza gently from Bolin’s arms, settling her in the little space between them on the bed. Bolin noted, with a little painful twist of his heart, that Tanza’s face was screwing up the way it did right before she started crying. Korra stroked her hair back and pulled the covers up to her waist.
“Don’t let the green eyes man scare you, Tanza,” she said. “He’s not going to be in this city much longer.”
The little girl between them sniffed, her nose starting to run. “He’s not? Where’s he going?”
“Away,” said Bolin, smiling down at her in reassurance. “Far away.”
“Yes,” agreed Korra, “because guess what the green eyes man is scared of?”
“What?”
“Your dad!” Korra bent down and tickled her belly until she giggled and squirmed so hard that one of her legs kicked Bolin right in the solar plexus. He gasped, taken aback once again by how strong she was, and then caught her feet in both of his hands, grinning.
“Are they really scared of you, Daddy?” Tanza asked, once Korra had stopped tickling her.
“Well,” Bolin started.
“Of course they are!” Korra jumped in. “Because they know what he does.”
“What?” asked Tanza, starting to smile.
The Avatar smiled too, and then looked over at Bolin with a sort of fierce pride in her eyes. “He doesn’t give up.”
Bolin actually blushed a little, something that she hadn’t made him do in years. Of course, he knew that Korra was proud of how far he had come in the police academy, but sometimes it was still nice to hear. Reaching out, he slipped his hand into hers, and she looped her fingers through his. Then she turned back to Tanza and continued. “He doesn’t give, and that man knows what he’s been doing is bad and that your daddy’s going to protect the families of the people he’s hurt. He’s going to do whatever he can to make things right again.”
“And Mommy, too,” Bolin put in, giving his wife’s hand a squeeze. “She’s been kicking butt much longer than I have.”
Tanza smiled, her fears forgotten. “I wanna kick butt when I grow up too!”
Bolin laughed. “Maybe you will!” He lifted her up into the air, flying her around like an airplane. “Maybe one day you’ll be flying through Republic City and protecting it from all the bad guys!”
Tanza squealed with joy. “Can I wear a shiny outfit like you?”
“Of course,” said Bolin. Reaching behind him, he pulled his cadet’s hat off the bedpost, a dark, floppy thing he hadn’t worn in almost a year now. He dropped it onto Tanza’s head, where it immediately settled over her eyes. “And we’ll call you ‘Officer Tanza’!”
She giggled again and pushed the hat back, peeking at him from under the brim. Korra grinned and then yawned, and Bolin suddenly remembered that they both had to be up again early in the morning.
“Okay, back to bed,” he said, reaching out to take the hat off her head. But she clamped down on it with both arms and wouldn’t let him.
“Can I keep it? And can I stay here?” Tanza asked. “Pleeeeease?”
Bolin looked over at Korra, who shrugged and smiled, already lying back on her pillow. “As long as you keep still and don’t kick, I don’t see what’s wrong with staying here just tonight.”
“I won’t! I promise!” Tanza wiggled back down in her spot between them, pulling the covers up to her chin and immediately closing her eyes. Bolin chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss against her forehead before he laid back himself, his eyes already getting heavy.
They slept through the night (although Tanza didn’t keep her promise about kicking), and when Bolin woke up he would see his daughter lying there next to him with his cadet hat resting on the pillow over her head, and his wife on the other side - a reminder of exactly how far he’d come.