Hearing Bolin’s understanding of the situation brought little comfort, but it was a step up from feeling nothing but apprehension when they first made their way here. He continued by expressing that he didn’t wish to hold any of this against her. Relieved, she could finally manage to offer him a smile of thanks, but he wasn’t stopping just by understanding her position. The earth bender continued, and the further he went the tighter her chest became. Soon her smile ceased to exist, replaced only by a firm stare that grew harder by the second. Finally, it touched on the real problem he had. Not just her feelings on Mako, but the relationship she didn’t care for before. 

Korra gripped her knees tightly as Bolin finished saying what he had to. It left her agitated, and a little sad on top of it. Hurting Asami’s feelings was never her intention when she kissed Mako, but she knew how it must look to someone else on the sidelines of what they did that night. Then there was the matter of Bolin feeling like he was played. On top of it all, he had the nerve to ask her if there was a shred of regret when she kissed Mako. The tension in her body couldn’t have been any more apparent to him, but for the sake of not drawing any more attention to them she kept her composure as much as she could, took a shaky breath, and tried to deal with his rant all at once.

[color=7ea7d8][b]“It’s not really any of your business, but… no, I don’t regret making my move. If you want to jump down my throat about kissing him, then fine, but I wasn’t even thinking about him while you and I were out. He came to me. He wanted to see me. What does that tell you?”[/b][/color] Her voice remained low to not draw attention to themselves, but it was hard to conceal how irate she was becoming after all the blame he gave her. A hard frown and a piercing stare were given to him in response. [color=7ea7d8][b]“I’ll tell you: Mako likes me, and I bet he regrets picking Asami over me. Why else would he be jealous that you and I spent time together? He just feels guilty, and I get it, he knew he had Asami to worry about. But if he really cared about her then he wouldn’t have come to me at all. [i]But he did.[/i] And I met him halfway and made my move. You can’t sit there and be disappointed that I took some action. It worked for Pema!”[/b][/color] 

The conversation she had with Tenzin’s wife prior to all of this had taught her the value of being bold. Asami couldn’t have been the right girl for Mako. In her heart, she knew that there was something between them, something Mako was trying to deny. He wanted excitement, not comfort or riches to tide him over. As much as she was grateful to Asami for everything she had done for them, it was difficult to imagine Asami making anyone truly happy by just being wealthy and, admittedly, beautiful. Mako clearly wasn’t satisfied with that alone.

[color=7ea7d8][b]“And you think I was playing with you about going out? I went with you because I wanted to have a great time, and we were! But the difference between you and me, and Mako and I, is that I can return his feelings for me. With you… I just…”[/b][/color] Taking another shaky breath, Korra’s gaze left him to take interest on her knees. [color=7ea7d8][b]“You’re just a good friend. At least I thought you were. I’m not going to be one of your groupies to hang onto your arm, and I’m not going to sit here and let you make me feel terrible for how I feel about Mako. If Asami was right for him, then he wouldn’t have come for me instead. That’s that. End of story.”[/b][/color]

Sparing him one last glance from the corner of her eyes, she closed them and stood up. [color=7ea7d8][b]“Just forget it, Bolin. Goodnight.”[/b][/color] She made for the aisle opposite of the earth bender and began to ascend the staircase, hoping to leave this all behind her.