#oops not so casual since shiro spotted him in a viewing box lmao i kinda went off there gkfdsgdf hello hi

[bolinity]

zuko casually watching a pro bending match bolin happens to be in

The roars of the crowd that had regularly gathered from all walks of life within the Jewel of Yue bay, the Pro-bending Arena, echoed and intensified under its glass roof as the excitement of the upcoming match buzzed through the air.

A small bit of crackle brought the PA system of the venue to life before the familiar voice of the city's most well known radio personality Shiro Shinobi took to the mic in the commentator's booth.

"Goooooooood evening, pro-bending fans! We're comin' at you live from Republic City's beautiful Pro-bending Arena right on the edge of Yue Bay! The crowd's going wild from anticipation and, boy, do we got a line up for you folks tonight!" Shiro continued to build the excitement as he listed off the names of the teams they had lined up for tonight's games, giving each of them fun alliteration-filled introductions before continuing. "How are we feeling about tonight's match-ups, folks?" He pulled back from the mic to capture the sound of the audience cheering and whooping for their favorites.

"Again, first up will be the fearless Fire Ferrets, who have been blazing through their opponents despite it being their debut season, going up against the long-time lean, mean Laogai Lion Vultures — while it's not their first rodeo, they're always ready to rally and romp round by round. Another classic case of old-timers versus new-timers as these two teams go head-to-head as our opening match of the night!"

Shiro paused as he scanned the crowd and his face lit up as he spotted a familiar face. "And what a night we've got here, folks! For instance, if my old eyes aren't deceiving me, we've got the Fire Nation's very own Looooooord Zukoooooo here in one of our viewing boxes! Hope our matches will be hot enough for you! If anything, they'll definitely be as hot as our sponser's Flame-o Instant Noodles —" Shiro continued on as he read copy for the conveniently transitioned-into ad before resuming other announcements before the games started.

In the locker room, Bolin was already suited up, sans his helmet, as he was rolling his head to stretch his neck muscles before the game before moving onto some lunges to hit those hamstrings and hip flexors (and it made his butt look good for his fans).

The sound of Shiro's voice was easy to drown out as one got used to hearing it after three years of living in the Pro-bending area. However, he paused in mid-squat as Lord Zuko's name bounced off the walls of the locker room and Bolin gasped loudly. "MAKO," he shouted in the direction of his brother while charging toward him then shook him by the shoulders, which Mako had to stop mid-drink as he held his waterbottle away from the two of them. "Didja hear that? THE Lord Zuko is watching us! Tonight! Here! AH!"

"He's here to watch pro-bending, Bo, not just us," Mako pointed out. He was used to his little brother's high energy and was well aware of how big of fan he was of Avatar Aang and his close friends. It wasn't often they got to brush against living history like that, especially two boys who lived on the streets for most of their lives — even if celebrities came to see pro-bending matches all the time.

Bolin let go of him before holding his own face. "YesIknowbut, HE'S HERE. HE'S GONNA SEE US PRO-BENDING. We gotta kick butt. We gotta do this. Should we pull one of our specials out? Should Pabu do an extra three flips? Is my hair okay?" Bo continued to ramble.

Mako finally took a drink of water since he was freed. "Your hair's fine and and will be half-hidden by your helmet anyway. And just do what we normally do; no need to get super fancy."

"You're right. I gotta chill. I gotta focus." He breathed in deeply then noisily exhaled as his shoulders dropped. "He's just another audience member in the crowd. We've got this."

Before their introductions were finally made by Shiro to signal the start of the game, Bolin managed to calm down. Once the bell rang, he quickly got into the groove and rhythm of the match and was so deep into the game itself that he forgot who was watching as he was used to tuning out the crowd.

The game resulted in their victory as the earthbender roared in celebration as he removed his helmet in the middle of the ring, hyping the crowd up again as he welcomed their energy with open arms. It was intoxicating each time and was basically enough fuel for him to train more for their next game.

"I'm starving; let's go to Narook's to celebrate," a familiar thing he said after most matches as the Fire Ferrets retreated back to the locker room. Mako was half-expecting Bolin to bring up tonight's special guest again, but his brother already had most of his street clothes back on, almost half-way out the door.