City Lights Love (Bolin x Reader)

Where the Blame Falls

"Why was Bolin at the hideout?" Mako repeats his question.

I stand silent and nervous, with a hint of dread. "Uhh... he-" I stutter out.

"Did you drag him there?" Mako steps forward.

"What? No." I say defensively.

"Then why was he there?" Mako asks.

"I didn't want him there. I went there on his own."

"Why would he do that?" Mako narrows his brow and folds his arms.

"Shady Shin offered him money to be extra muscle for the night." I say. Mako stands still waiting for a more detailed explanation. "Listen. Bolin said you guys needed money for the championship pot and the gang does offer a lot for on the spot work like that."

Mako tilts his head. "So, you thought it was ok since he was getting paid and you let him stay?"

"No! I-"

"Do you know what could have happened? What almost did happen?"

"Yes Mako, I know. But-"

"His bending almost got taken away!" Mako starts raising his voice. "That would have destroyed him. He wouldn't be a pro-bender anymore and that is almost everything to him!"

I stand up as I get more and more angry. "I know Mako! Don't you-"

"And do you know how long it took for us to cut ties with the Threats? How hard we worked to get away so we wouldn't be in a position like this?"

"Yes, I do!"

"No you don't because you never left!" Mako shouts.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Mako!" I shout back.

"Then why didn't you make Bolin leave? Huh? Even if the Equalists didn't attack you guys last night then it would have been some other gang and WE WOULD STILL BE IN THIS SAME POSITION!"

We stand in silence for a moment and I feel the whole weight of my mistake rest on my shoulders. I don't want to be angry right now. I just want to be glad I'm alive right now and happy I still have my bending. I need to calm down. I take a deep breath. "Mako, I am so sorry. I truly am."

"Really? Cause I don't buy it."

"Oh my fucking..." I trail off. I take a bottle of beer, wedge its cap on the edge of the table and I hit the cap with the heel of my hand. The bottle hisses open and the cap falls to the floor. Turn away and I take a drink to calm myself before I start boiling over.

"Can you blame me? I'll say it again: Bolins bending almost got taken away because he was hanging out with the Threats and you!"

"I FUCKING KNOW, MAKO!" I snap back. "You don't think I feel guilty about that? You don't think I felt guilty when we were sitting in that broom closet of that stupid factory for a whole day? I got it Mako! Message received! I should feel like shit! I do feel like shit! But I'm sooooo sorry I couldn't do anything cause I WAS GOING THROUGH THE THING!" I take a second to catch my breath and I start pacing. "For fucks sake, Mako. I saw the people who practically raised me after my dad died get their bending taken away. These titans of strength being reduced to nothing by a SINGLE man. Plus, I almost got mine taken. My bending-" My voice starts to catch in my throat. I take a moment and sit down to collect myself. "My bending is all I have left of my dad and it was almost gone." I look Mako dead in the eye from under my brow. "So don't you dare say I don't get it."

The tension in the air is dense, you can practically taste it on your tongue. Mako and I stare at each other for an intense minute. Mako makes a long exhale and looks away, releasing the tension in the air. I look down as the same tension leaves my body. "I..." Mako starts speaking in a calm voice. "You're right. I didn't even take a second to consider what you went through, even though it's the same experience Bolin had. I'm-" He pauses. "I'm sorry."

I hesitate. It's rare when Mako apologies, so I take it. "Thank you. I'm sorry too." I say calmly. I take a deep breath before tilting my head up to take a drink. I stop when my eyes see Bolin, who is looking down at his hands and sitting on the bottom steps of the spiral staircase that leads up. My pause catches Makos attention and he follows my line of sight, before sighing.

Bolin looks up at me, then makes eye contact with his brother. "Mako, if you have a problem with what I did then talk to me about it. Don't take it out on (Y/N)." Bolin says with a sober tone. Woah...

Mako pinches the bridge of his nose, puts his other hand on his hip and sighs again. "You're right, Bo." He removes his hand from his face and waves his hand in exhaustment. "Then would you care to tell me what you were doing at the Triple Threats hideout?" He asks, letting his hand fall to his side.

"You know why. To get money for the pot." Bolin says as he crosses the room to come join our circle of reinvigorated tension.

"Ya, but why? I mean..." Mako laughs defeated and at his loss for words.

"Wouldn't you even consider a situation where you'd get paid twenty thousand a night? I would have only had to do it twice." Bolin turns to Mako. "I know it was risky but I couldn't pass up a chance to be in the tournament."

Mako looks Bolin in the eye, thinking and judging. He sits on the couch and runs his hands over his face and into his spiky hair. "I'm just..." He pauses. "You are all the family and blood I have left in this world. I was so scared when I couldn't find you... I thought you were dead." Mako almost tearfully looks up to Bolin. "I'm sorry."

Bolin walks over to Mako, with his eyes similarly misty. Mako stands up and Bolin hugs his loving brother. "I would be scared too if you didn't come home." Bolin says. The air returns to the room as we all breathe easier.

Mako and Bolin continue to talk for a while. I decided to take my shower and I rummaged through my bag for a change of clothes before going upstairs. As I look through my bag, I catch a glimpse of my dad's letter and the book. It always comes back to family. The chains that bind us and lift us up. Kind of frustrating. As I get into the shower, I think about Mako. Why he was so angry and worried about Bolin. The cold water beating down on me only emphasized my guilt.

You should have been stronger.

I did try to protect him. What more could I have done?

You know. The answer...

I can't.

...it's in the back of that book.

If I had tried... would it have... helped?

...

Would it help... in the future?

Yes. You know this is not the end of the Equalists. Had you blood bended Amon when you had the chance...

But I couldn't. I didn't know how.

You have to learn how...

So that...

So that the next time you see him or anyone that tries to hurt Bolin...

I can...

KILL THEM!!

"NO!" I shout, banging my fist on the wall and forcing the thought away. I pause before realizing I wasn't breathing. I exhale and breathe slowly. Then I notice all the droplets of water that were flowing out of the shower head were suspended in the air. I relax my muscles and unclench my fist. The water falls to the bottom of the shower and the shower continues to run.

"(Y/N), you okay up there?" I hear Bolin shout from down stairs.

"Y-ya!" I shout as I hastily turn off the faucet. "Just a bug. It's dead now." I pull back the shower curtain and look around the bathroom. I shake off the bad feeling, change into clean clothes and head back downstairs to turn in for the night.

A/N: In the LoK universe, there is no set age drinking limit and no main character in LoK is ever depicted participating in alcohol consumption. In some places around the world there is no drinking age but in some places, the minimum age is higher than the ages of the characters present in this chapter. Please do not drink if you are under age and if you are legally able to drink, please drink responsibly.

Do not drink when angry, under the influence of stress or any stressful emotions. Doing so can create a bad drinking pattern that could result in an unhealthy crutch when dealing with emotions.