acknowledges | ic contact

[ What is he even trying to say...??

Unfortunately, the damage has already been done, and even I like you just the way you are isn't enough to fix it. She just keeps her head bowed so that her hair hides most of her downcast face. ]

I-It's not just th-that... I'm s-still childish in m-many ways, and I know I'm not very e-elegant or s-strong...[ Not like her mother was or her sisters are... compared to them, she's inferior in every single way. ]

I p-probably don't have a chance, do I!

Who says I’m not trying? [ Sorry he’s not oozing charm like this brother!!

Anyway, this isn’t about him. Bolin is enough of a well-adjusted person that relationships aren’t that big of a deal for him. Naruto is a different case. ]

What I’m saying is—it’s like the letter! There are sides to people here you might not notice unless you think in a different way.

Have a chance at what?

[He's frowning- it isn't a look of disapproval, but instead one that grows because he recognizes that he's lost track of the conversation. That he doesn't know where they're going with this. His head shakes.]

Hime-chan I don't get it. What's it matter if you're childish sometimes, or if you're not a strong as you wanna be. It wasn't a girl like that who saved my ass two times, it was you.

[His hands lift, both of them scrubbing at his hair like he might shake the thought loose. He's frustrated, but he isn't about to just give up on the conversation either. Even if it takes him awhile to figure it out, he'll keep going until he gets there.]

I've always been an uncool guy. I had the lowest grades in class and even after we got assigned to groups, nobody wanted to be on a team with me. I worked really hard and got to the exams and still nobody thought I could win.

They used to call me dead-last and I was a burden to my teammates. Even now sometimes I still am.

I'm a poor talker, so I'm not so good with words. My techniques aren't very stylish. I mess things up a lot and it takes me a long time to learn things. I know I'm not very smart'attebayo. But if I spend all my time afraid of being who I am, I won't ever be able to do anything.

It's okay to gotta grow some, and it's okay if some things stay the same.

Why're you so scared?

[Because Bolin decided that Naruto isn't well-adjusted??]

But I don't wanna think about people in a different way.

I wanna see people the way they are.

Oh.

[Out of sight, he's still looking at it- turning it over and over in his hand.]

Is it okay in my pocket?

[ She can read his frustration easily, since he's such an open book, and it wracks her with guilt and anxiety. Conflict and confrontation... negative emotions of any kind... especially since it's coming from Naruto, who has always managed to smile for her, it rattles her even more than normal. ]

I... I-I c-can't imagine you like that... [ Naruto definitely isn't uncool at all. To her, he's the coolest, kindest, strongest guy in the world. Even if he wasn't always that way, she finds it hard to picture. But... she sees the point he's trying to make, even if she isn't wholly convinced. ]

I-I just... want to become l-like my mother, or my sisters. They're so beautiful and graceful and kind and so strong. Everybody always looks up to and relies on them. I wish... I could be like that too.

I-I know that... that I have to work hard, a-and it might take a long time, but—

[ She swallows down the lump in her throat, her voice wavering. Why does she always have to cry in front of Naruto? ]

I'm scared that I won't ever be like that. Th-That no matter how hard I try, I-I'll always be... p-powerless... a-and a b-burden...

[ He thinks about that for a moment – wondering if Naruto has a point, though it doesn’t seem like Naruto’s entirely grasped what Bolin’s trying to say either. Or maybe he’s just going in a different direction with his thoughts.

If this were Mako, he might’ve rolled his eyes and told his brother to stop being obtuse, but he’s dealing with a different creature here. Romance and dating are different beasts for Naruto than they are for him, and he should roll with it. ]

Okay, if you say so. [ His tone shifts away from something that’s trying to forcefully lead somewhere to genuine curiosity. ] So what do you think about a fifteen year old going out with a twenty-three year old? It’s seriously weird for me but Sakura and Jae-ha seem to think it’s normal?

You can. [ Bolin wouldn’t because he would definitely lose it. He might be able to hold onto it if he kept it in his wallet, but it’s not really important enough to warrant a space in there. ] Or just leave it in your room? It’s not that big of a deal.

But if I keep it in my pocket maybe I won't get cut in half next time.

[The pocket it is!]

Anyway, thanks Bolin. That was nice of you.

[There's conversational whiplash, and then there's this.

Naruto is equally concerned and confused- mouth working silently for a moment before he starts sputtering.] Wh-

What?! Who- What?!

You might not ever be like them.

But that doesn't mean you've gotta be powerless, Hime-chan.

[He doesn't say it lightly because Naruto understands what she's saying beneath those words. He understands what it means to have people like that walking ahead of him, and to know how much he has to live up to. In a lot of ways he's been fortunate to have the kind of mentors and teachers he has- they're all distinguished in their own ways, and they've left their legacies behind to be carried into the future.

But he's also seen what the weight of expectations like that can do to people. The way it can eat them up inside. The things that get erased.

There's nothing wrong with having a dream, or people to aspire to. But wishing to be someone else just feels like a waste of the people they are. It makes it sound like there isn't any value to her for the way she is.]

I know what it's like to want to change.

But I think it's important to become your own kind of strong. Not like your mother or your sisters, but like you.

Yeah, no—

[ Wait, what?!

Bolin shoots up into a sitting position, and if his voice is louder it's because he's grabbed Yun and is essentially yelling into her poor face. ]

You got cut in half?! What happened? Why—what happened? How did you survive? Vertically or horizontally?!

[ That reaction means that Naruto's thinking is probably similar to his right?

But he glances away, vowed to secrecy. ]

I can't say... But what do you think? Does it sound normal? Sound I keep my nose out of it? Sometimes you have to be... [ he squints, pained ] accepting of differences?

[There are little lines in his face now, from the creases of the sheets pressed into his skin and the strange fold they're making- tucked into one another. It doesn't occur to Naruto, in this moment, that this is the kind of embrace he'd been wanting for years- this full bodied awareness of another person. The sense of safety, of being understood, of not being for anything. All his life he's been trying to grow- to outgrow the boy he'd been, to outgrow his shortcomings and the things he couldn't do or understand. He's always been trying to be more. More for the village and for his team and for Sakura-chan and for Sasuke and for his sensei and for his mentor and for everyone but himself.

It won't occur to him that this purely selfish moment had been something special until long after its over. Maybe until he's climbing in bed for the night and smells Bolin's shampoo on the pillow.

He pulls back slow, because he thinks abstractly, that he's supposed to.]

I don't really know that part yet, and I still don't think I'm gonna get a house. But I think it'll be fun to work on something like that. When I was younger I always thought it'd be kinda nice to garden with somebody else.

Well.... [This isn't a situation he's ever been in before. No one back home would ever think to ask him, of all people, for advice- let alone romantic advice. Well, except maybe Sai, but Sai really was clueless. His head shakes.]

Are you only gettin' involved cause of you, or is it cause the younger one's in trouble?

We were fighting. [To the tune of: obviously.]

And uh... the up and down one. But it's not a big deal, I got better.

[ Bolin looks away rather guiltily. ]

Just because of me. [ His eyes go back to Naruto then. ] But only because I care.

[ Unbeknownst to Naruto, Bolin is frowning aggressively as he pushes himself up. ]

Where are you right now?

I dunno... I think if you care then maybe you also gotta care that it's something that makes them happy right now, right?

I'm about to take a bath- why?

[Bolin... are you okay?]

I just don't want her to get hur—

[ He stops, realization hitting him like lightning. ]

Oh man... I'm turning into Mako.

Gimme one sec.

[ Before the audio call ends, and hopefully Naruto doesn't get bored and end up in the shower in the time that it takes Bolin to run over to Naruto's room and burst in— ]

Hey!

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