[ Through the girls' sotto voce conversation, Hei stays silent. He can read lips easily. Doesn't blink, doesn't look away from Korra or Yin like he's ashamed -- but something goes taut in his expression. Is he the guy? He actually feels a little sick -- not with Yin or Korra, but with chagrin. When Korra re-focuses on him, though, he struggles to keep his gaze steady. ]
That's everything.
[ Inside, his stomach clenches with deep unease at how private this situation is. He wishes he could explain to Korra -- her gaze so dizzyingly dark and sharp -- that his decision to bring Yin along has nothing to do with sex, but with her safety. If it's his loyalty she's worried about, she needn't be. He wishes he could reassure Yin -- her calm melted into that sad, strange lassitude -- that he's not going to abandon her, regardless of what he feels for Korra. She was, and still is, the closest thing he has to a best friend. ]
[ But now isn't the time. So he drops his gaze, and gently nudges Jinora forward -- the only human being he can touch with any neutrality. Gives himself over to the flow of people at the gate, to its uncertainties and possibilities. ]
:|
That's everything.
[ Inside, his stomach clenches with deep unease at how private this situation is. He wishes he could explain to Korra -- her gaze so dizzyingly dark and sharp -- that his decision to bring Yin along has nothing to do with sex, but with her safety. If it's his loyalty she's worried about, she needn't be. He wishes he could reassure Yin -- her calm melted into that sad, strange lassitude -- that he's not going to abandon her, regardless of what he feels for Korra. She was, and still is, the closest thing he has to a best friend. ]
[ But now isn't the time. So he drops his gaze, and gently nudges Jinora forward -- the only human being he can touch with any neutrality. Gives himself over to the flow of people at the gate, to its uncertainties and possibilities. ]