Work Text:
Ikki
The ceremony was intense emotionally. Jinora couldn’t believe it was actually happening, it felt like a dream. It was her dream since she was little. But now, every time she looked at her arms, there they were, sky blue arrows. Every few minutes she would trace her arms with the tips of her fingers.
It was no secret that Jinora was more of an introvert. She preferred a quiet day at the library than being at a noisy event. And despite the tradition of a peaceful ceremony in nomadic culture, this was Republic City, and a new era. Big occasions turned into big events quickly. At first she didn’t mind it, but when she noticed Lord Zuko and her grandmother crying at the sight of her, her anxiety grew. She’d looked at pictures of her grandfather before, but now she felt like they shared a life.
She stepped outside for some fresh air, as ironic as that sounded in her head. The sky was painted shades of oranges, pinks, and purples. It was like a painting, the picture perfect moment.
“I thought I’d find you out here.”
Kai. He was standing there in his airbending clothes, his dark hair almost hanging in his eyes. His olive eyes shone brightly, but with a different glow from when she met him. It wasn’t just smooth talk anymore, he was an airbender. She couldn’t have been happier to see him both grown, and alive.
“Here I am. What’s up?” Jinora asked. As she went to tuck her hair behind her ear as she often did when she was nervous, she realized something. She didn’t have hair, she was bald.
“I wanted to see you, and to say you look so…” He started but Jinora cut him off, nerves growing in her stomach.
“Weird right? I’ve never been bald before.” She admitted, her cheeks turning a shade of pink. She picked at her fingernails. She couldn’t bear the thought of him thinking she was weird, or worse, ugly. She’d never cared so much what someone thought before.
“Beautiful. I wanted to say beautiful. And you looked so cool up there, in the traditional clothes. I wanted to run up there and hug you when they took your hood off, but I figured that would have been embarrassing for you. But, are you free to talk now?” He asked, taking a few steps closer to her. It made her heart rate increase, and all she could do was nod and gesture for him to come next to her.
He leaned against the ledge like she did, just staring at the sky.
“How do you feel?” He asked, glancing over to look at her. She could feel his eyes on her, but wanted to keep her cool.
“Like I’m walking on air. As corny as that sounds. I’ve wanted this ever since I started reading about being an airbender. I was the third airbender alive in over 100 years, and when I was born I was the only other airbender in the world other than my dad. I wanted to be a master, like my dad, like my grandpa.” She commented, letting out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding in. She eased up, comfort with him became natural again.
“It’s not corny at all. You’re a master. When I said that you could do everything a master could, I meant it. You’re incredible Jinora… Uh... did they hurt? The tattoos I mean.” He said awkwardly, but flashing her one of his classic smiles.
She bit her lip to hold in a laugh.
“Yeah, a bit. Being shaved was more nerve wracking if I’m being honest. But while getting my tattoos, my mom held my hand, and my dad was as gentle as he could be. I just focused on the floor. They don’t hurt as much now. Staring at them makes me so happy. I didn’t know how much I could love the color blue before this.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” Kai asked, leaning towards her ear. When she nodded he tapped her chin, causing her to face him. And that’s when it happened.
His lips were a bit chapped, but he tasted like the lychee juice they were serving inside. She could feel her heart skip, just like how the stories she read said. Though, it wasn’t fireworks as much as it was sunshine. Maybe Ikki had been right about her romanticism of love. Unfortunately…
“Oh my gosh! Jinora!”
There Ikki was, standing a few feet away from her. Her little sister had wide eyes and her jaw hung open. Jinora pulled back from Kai and nearly shrieked.
“Ikki! Stop shouting!” Jinora yelled back.
“You’re the one who’s shouting.” Ikki clapped back, sticking her tongue out.
Jinora felt like she was going to throw up. Her one moment of pure happiness. Her first kiss with Kai that wasn’t in a dingy Earth Kingdom prison, and her sister had to interrupt it. What a mood killer, she wanted to strangle the younger girl.
“Jinora has a boyfriend. Jinora has a boyfriend.” The younger sister chanted in a sing-song voice. She bounced all around, excitement evident in her face.
“Please stop! I don’t want the whole party hearing you.” Jinora said with a hiss. If only she hadn’t taken a vow of never striking an unarmed opponent.
“You may buy my silence. I won’t tell dad if you… give me your dessert for a week.” Ikki bargained. Her devious smirk breaking Jinora’s willpower. Oh how she wished she had her confidence, but she couldn’t find it. The thought of her dad’s embarrassing rage was too much to handle.
“Deal. Now go back to the party. With my allowance I will go with Korra to buy you a nice dessert.” Jinora said, shooing her sister away from Kai and herself. She took a deep breath and turned to Kai.
“Can I?” He asked.
“Can you what?” She said, moving closer to him again.
“Be your boyfriend?” He said, pulling her in close for a hug. Jinora felt like she could cry.
“Sounds perfect.” She replied with a giggle, unable to hide her excitement anymore.
Mako and Bolin
Kai and Jinora had managed to keep their secret for the next two weeks. They would meet during training breaks or in between meals by the bison stables. The two would occasionally ride Lefty, or use their gliders to fly somewhere nice and private on the island. Getting around secretly was getting easier and easier as they worked together.
As per their usual routine, they met by the bison stables. It was before dinner and the sun was still out and shining. It was the perfect time to get away. When they met up they shared their usual kiss. Sure, it was still a bit awkward, but they were getting to a part where it felt more natural.
But then they heard familiar loud voices. It was Bolin, shouting at the top of his lungs, and Mako scolding him. The two attempted to hide, using their airbender breath control. But unfortunately, Lefty saw them and began to make noise and stamp his feet.
“Hey, whoever’s hiding, you’re not slick.” Mako called out, a flame dagger forming in his hand.
“What if it’s one of those bison rustlers that the airbenders ran into?” Bolin called out, in his signature whisper yell. Kai, exhaled and took a leap of faith.
“Bolin, Mako. What are you both doing here?” Kai asked, coming out of hiding with his hands up to prove he wasn’t a threat.
“Little bro!” Bolin called, but Mako crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.
“Who else is here with you? I know when people are hiding around me. You pick things like that up on the street, you know better than that Kai. What did I say about lying?” Mako started to scold, but Jinora popped out. She had a flower crown on, it wasn’t entirely well done, but Kai tried his best on it so she wore it everywhere all day.
The brothers looked from Kai to Jinora, and from Jinora to Kai until both of their eyes widened. Kai winced, realizing that they had been caught.
Bolin rushed over and swept both Jinora and Kai into a hug. Mako rolled his eyes and shook his head. But when Bolin was done squeezing the life out of the two teenagers he turned to Mako with a shit eating grin on his face.
“I told you so! Tenzin is not going to like this. How juicy.” He said, putting Kai and Jinora down.
“Please don’t tell him yet! I know how you guys feel about honesty, but give us a bit longer. Don’t spill the secret. I just want a bit longer of this before it gets weird.” Jinora begged, holding Kai’s hand.
Mako sighed but nodded.
“I get it. That’s private stuff, Bolin and I will keep it that way. But I will not cover for you if you screw up. You treat her right, got it?” Mako said, bending over to make eye contact with Kai. As much as Mako and Bolin bothered him originally, he saw them as family. And he wanted to be good to them. He’d already stolen and stranded them. He owed them honesty.
“I promise I will. I don’t want anything to happen to her, I mean, I got blasted off a cliff for her. But you’re not one to talk heartbreaker.” Kai snarked back with a smile.
To this, Mako scowled and Bolin let out a laugh.
Jinora smiled and leaned into Kai as the two explained how they got to this point to the two brothers. Bolin was ready to listen and Mako stuck around to make sure nobody walked over and caught them. He had a heart if he was trying.
The young couple relaxed in Bolin’s company. He was truly a great guy to talk to. And it was clear he was always there to help. Even if he was ‘dumb as rocks’.
Asami
Jinora had begun working on new projects for the airbenders as they began to run nomadic missions, or live in the other Air Temples. However, she had come up with an idea that she fell in love with. And she had arranged to meet with the CEO of Future Industries, Asami Sato, for assistance.
Speaking of falling in love, life was getting so much better for her. Spending time with Kai grew trickier as they began to start working again, but they always made time. Jinora asked her mother to help her make cookies to surprise him with. She sat by the pavilion where she usually meditates, with a warm plate in her hand. She hoped Kai would arrive on time to share them with her.
She began to grow distracted in herself as she fell back into her typical cross-legged position. It felt as natural as breathing when she was out here. It was only until she sensed footsteps headed her way that she was brought back to reality.
“I’m sorry I’m a few minutes late. I was training the airbenders how to properly treat their bison as they trained them and got carried away. What’s up? And what smells so good?” Kai questioned.
“Cookies, and some tea. I got them ready so we could relax for a bit.” Jinora said, turning to him.
His smile was worth a thousand words to her, and Jinora loved to read. He had grown a lot more muscle lately, most likely due to training and a good vegetarian diet. But she wanted to spoil him, give him a chance to feel like a storybook character for a change. However, when she sat next to him the sunshine feeling came back. If she didn’t love it so much she would have loathed him.
“That’s so nice! Did you make them?” Kai asked, popping a cookie in his mouth. His eyes widened once he began chewing.
“I did… are they bad?” She replied, taking a quick sip of her tea.
“They’re amazing! Is this Jasmine Tea? How did you remember I liked this?” Kai remarked, taking a sip of his tea to wash down his cookie. But once he swallowed, he popped a second cookie into his mouth.
“Well, I’ve liked you for a long time. You pick up little things when you start to study someone. Besides, it’s my favorite too.” Jinora said with a small giggle, digging into a warm cookie as well.
Eating cookies, drinking tea, staring at the sky? It was easy to fall into a peaceful silence.
“Hey, would you mind looking at these designs I drew up? I’m not the best artist so I mostly wrote down notes next to things.” Jinora asked, pulling out her manila folder with her designs. She wanted his opinion on efficiency since he’s traveled without a sky bison before.
“Of course, what are these suits?” Kai asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
“Yeah, they are. In storms our gliders can tear or break. But I figure that, we can make gliders we can wear. It would mean we wouldn’t have to carry gliders in our supply packs too. If we’re going to be nomadic helpers in the Earth Kingdom I’d rather us not have as much stuff in case supply bandits try and take anything.” Jinora explained opening the folder and showing him her sketches.
They weren’t perfect drawings, but the descriptive side notes made sense. Kai would never admit it, but he had a hard time reading. His parents died when he was young, he was an orphan, and the “nice” family that adopted him didn’t care too much. He picked up reading a bit, but it was still hard. But with pictures next to it, and Jinora’s easier to read handwriting, he got the gist.
“I like them. How are you going to get them made?” He finally spoke up.
“I have a meeting with Asami at 3 o’clock. I figured that Future Industries would be able to get the materials. And since she’s a family friend, I trust her.” Jinora replied, taking a sip of her tea.
“Wait…three? That’s in ten minutes!” Kai said with wide eyes.
Jinora yelped and shot up out of her cross-legged position and ran off. She threw her head over her shoulder and waved before whipping up an air scooter to make it to her house. Kai always admired the air scooter and was working on perfecting his. But he was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw the manila folder and sketches still on the ground next to him.
He went to call for her but she was already inside. He picked up the plate of cookies and the two cups of tea and handed them to an air acolyte and begged them to take it inside, which they had no problem with. He organized the folder and began to sprint towards the house.
Asami and Jinora sat together at one of the bigger tables, sharing pleasantries and chatting before Jinora reached down for her plans. But they weren’t there.
“Oh no.” She said softly, causing Asami to raise an eyebrow.
“Everything ok?” Asami asked. But before Jinora could reply in came Kai, a gust of wind behind him.
“You forgot your folder thingy. I figured it would be important you know? Thanks again for the tea.” Kai said, putting the folder down in front of Jinora. And then, without thinking, he placed a big kiss to her cheek. Asami’s jaw dropped but a smile began to form. The two teenagers froze in their tracks, turning to look at her.
“Well uh, I’m going to go check on Daw and the others, I bet they’re struggling at the spinning gates. Bye ladies.” Kai said with an awkward salute. He ran out just as fast as he ran in, nerves evident on his face.
Asami smiled, and placed a hand on Jinora’s shoulder.
“I’m happy for you two. Unfortunately, this means I owe Korra twenty yuans. Honestly, I’m happy for you both. You’ve had a connection forever. And I have to say, you two had a better first meeting than I’ve had for my romantic experiences.” Asami admitted with a small giggle after what she said. Jinora smiled at this.
“Thanks Asami. Do you mind not telling my dad? I love him, but you know telling dads about this stuff is weird.” Jinora explained awkwardly. Asami laughed a lot at this.
“My father tried to throw my ex-boyfriend in jail, so I get where you’re coming from. But I think Tenzin- I mean your dad, would be understanding. You’re growing up and he knows that. I mean, you’ve been a beam of spiritual light before and you’re an airbending master. A boyfriend is hardly dangerous in comparison.” Asami said with a supportive nod.
“Let’s get to work. As an airbending master, I want your help.” Jinora said, pulling out her designs.
“I’m happy to help.” Asami replied.
Bumi and Kya
Jinora had been a master for four months and her projects were finally in progress. She already got her wingsuit project off the ground with Asami, and her father approved of the designs. But she wanted to get a chance to be with the spirits for a bit, before things got even more intense. She went to the vines to meditate and relax. Furry Foot came to visit by her side, and a few others came by her side. She always preferred the company of spirits, even after the trauma of being held against her will by Unalaq.
But that didn’t mean that that trauma disappeared. She preferred to keep her nightmares about it quiet. It wasn’t too difficult and she could handle it, she had plenty of breathing exercises and methods to calm down. Other issues were more important than being scared.
Spirits were around her as she peacefully meditated but when one landed suddenly on her shoulders she burst into tears and screamed. She began to shake, and Furry Foot curled into her lap. She knew that Wan Shi Tong couldn’t hurt her out here, but the possibility never disappeared from the dark corners of her brain.
“Jinora!” She vaguely heard a voice call her name. But her mind was too cloudy to make out who it was. She just continued to cry as she felt her muscles go stiff just like they had the night she was nearly consumed by darkness. She felt unable to breathe and was silently praying not to be thrown into the fog again.
A pair of hands held hers, forcing her to peel her eyes open.
They were Kai’s. He was right in front of her, with worry written all over his face. Jinora realized that the voice that called to her was his. That he was there in front of her. Unalaq and Wan Shi Tong were gone, Kai was here.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and continued to let out sobs. She hated being scared. It wasn’t like her to get scared. She’d been captured by Amon, by Zaheer, and fought against the end of the world. She shouldn’t have been scared.
He picked her up bridal style. He carried her out of the spirit wilds. He moved as gentle as he could so as to not drop her. He was much more careful than he normally was. His eyes never left her face.
“Breathe Jinora, I’m right here. It’s going to be ok. I won’t let anything hurt you.”
“Kai! I...I don’t want to die! I don’t want my bending to go away. Please, please don’t let him hurt me.” She pleaded, shaking violently. His breathing remained calm, but his heart clenched. He put his lips on her cheek, barely kissing her but letting her know that he was there. That she was ok.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you Jinora. No matter what Jinora, I’m right here, we’ll take Lefty home ok? We’re going home.” Kai said softly, as he jumped onto his Bison, Jinora still in his arms. He let her rest on the saddle, and he grabbed the reins.
“Lefty! Yip Yip!” He called as they took off.
The nipped at Jinora’s cheeks, it was turning to fall finally, and the weather reminded her of dancing in the snow with Ikki while teasing Korra about her crush on Mako. She was in the material world. She was ok.
They made it to Air Temple Island daily quickly. As Lefty was growing up he was getting faster and bigger. Jinora opened her eyes slowly and realized she was at home, she couldn’t feel her fingers and toes yet, but she knew where she was. She was at home, with Kai.
“You know you’re so cute. It’s ruining my life.” He commented with a laugh, picking her up bridal style again.
“What?” She asked nervously, she didn’t want to hurt him.
“All I think about is kissing you. Do you know what it’s like staring at the most beautiful girl in the world? It’s insane. I can barely focus some days because I see you smile and that completes me. It’s so weird you know. I’ve never felt like this Jinora, I’ve never even had a real family. And you’ve given me everything. Thank you.” Kai praised her, and kissed her forehead.
He was teasing her, almost like always. He didn’t pity her, he loved her. And that was all Jinora needed to know. It brought a small smile to her lips.
Kai carried her all the way to where her Uncle Bumi and her Aunt Kya were standing and talking. He held her close one more time, smiling down at her before taking her closer to them. He held her out towards her Aunt and Uncle.
“She was having a panic attack out at the spirit wilds, can you help her with some water?”
The older waterbender in front of him nodded softly and took her from Kai’s arms. She headed inside, looking Jinora in the eyes. Kya was a healer through and through, and she knew what it was like to have a panic attack before.
Bumi turned to Kai once the two girls went inside. His arms were crossed and his chin slightly forward.
“Listen youngster, that’s my niece. I know you make her happy, and that she makes you happy. You two sure did have fun beating me up as I learned to bend. But I need to know that you’re going to be good to her. I don’t know too much about relationships, but I do know about trust.” Bumi started.
The younger airbender nodded and kept eye contact as best as he could. He knew Bumi well, the two were the first two airbenders to join the Earth Kingdom trip. He trained with the older man. He didn’t want the man to think he’d do anything bad.
“Sir, I love Jinora. I… I love her. Like a lot. And I know the two of us are young and I don’t want to rush anything. But she saved my life from the Earth Queen. I got blasted off a cliff for her. We’ve been kidnapped by Bison Rustlers and terrorists together. As much as I get why you wouldn’t trust me with her, I’ve made plenty of mistakes and hurt people. But she’s one person I can’t hurt. She’s too important.” Kai confessed, going to mess with his hair to try and not get too nervous.
“I was gonna say, I trust you with her. And don’t worry too much about my stick in the mud brother. We’re a loving family, even though we’re all a little messed up. I trust ya.” He said.
Kai hugged Bumi and sighed in relief. He hadn’t said all of that stuff to anyone yet. It felt new.
Meanwhile, Kya was easing Jinora’s mind and muscles with her hands. She wanted to do her best to let Jinora’s chi flow freely. She wanted the smaller girl to be as relaxed as possible. But seeing Jinora’s cute little smile, Kya knew that she’d be fine.
“How are things with you and Kai?” She asked.
“I love him.” She mumbled softly.
“Do you want to talk about it? I’m right here.” Kya mentioned, finally pulling her hands and water away from Jinora.
“I still think about Wan Shi Tong and Unalaq. It doesn’t happen often, but once and awhile my body stiffs and I feel myself go purple, consumed with darkness. But there he was, he held my hands, picked me up, got me on Lefty and took me home. I love having tea with him, and training together. I like his kisses and his smile. It’s just like and sometimes even more than what the story books say.” Jinora confessed, leaning back into her Aunt.
Kya smiled, and a light laugh came from her chest.
“There is no shame in having nightmares of our darkest hours. It’s how our minds work, you just need to heal a bit. And Jinora, I’m so happy for you. I remember feeling that way with first love. It is truly wonderful. You deserve something happy and simple. I think we’ve had our fill of evil life threatening missions.”
“Thanks Aunt Kya. Promise not to tell dad yet?” She asked, stretching a bit.
“Of course sweetie. I am a firm believer that love is your story to tell. But I’m always here if you need to talk. I love you Jinora.” Kya said, hugging Jinora closely.
“I love you too.”
Pema
“Honey? Can you come help me with these moon peaches? I thought that maybe we could make something sweet with them since you’ve liked cooking lately.” Pema called looking for her daughter. She couldn’t find Jinora anywhere.
Recently Jinora was interested in cooking traditional air nomad foods. She wanted to test out if they were sustainable to eat on longer trips. She wanted to make sure that everybody would be fed on their new nomadic assignments. She took her jobs as an airbending master seriously, and Pema thought it was adorable. She couldn’t help but be proud of her daughter.
“Sweetie?” Pema continued to call, and eventually decided to check Jinora’s room. The younger girl was never one to sleep in, so Pema didn’t think to check there.
But when she opened the door, there Jinora was, a few books around her, and curled up in a sleeping Kai’s arms. The two teenagers had been especially close lately, and Pema had a sneaking suspicion that this would happen eventually. They looked peaceful. Although Pema wished they had slept with pillows instead of the hard floor. She made a quick decision.
She left the room and shut the door quickly. Pema rushed to the kitchen to whip up a little late breakfast for the two teenagers. She giggled to herself a bit, a memory of herself sleeping in Tenzin’s room for the first time, and how awkward she was for it.
“What are you laughing about dear?” Her husband called, going to the kitchen and kissing her cheek.
“Just an old memory hun. Little things.” She replied, calming her giggles.
“Did you ever find Jinora?” Tenzin asked, stealing a moon peach from Pema’s basket. He took a bite, careful not to get any of it in his beard.
“She’s studying. You never interrupt a lady’s alone time Tenzin. But I assume you’ve known that for a long time by now.” Pema teased, poking her husband’s cheek. She returned to the pancakes and tea she was making. She began to hum an old airbender song as she worked.
Tenzing blushed at the memories of his sister, his mother, his wife, and even Lin Beifong losing their temper with him interrupting their quiet time. He figured it was best to go outside and play with Rohan and Meelo.
When Pema finished her impromptu meal for the two teenagers, she returned to Jinora’s room. They were in their clothes from yesterday. Pema knew her daughter well enough to know the two spent the whole night reading and fell asleep. Pema looked at all the papers and noticed that it was practiced signing Kai's name.
Pema vaguely knew of Kai’s history as a street kid. She realized that it was her daughter that was teaching him to read and write better. A swell of pride filled Pema’s chest.
“Hey kids. I made breakfast for you both. But reminder, falling asleep studying isn’t good for you.” Pema called, gently shaking Jinora up. The two blinked up but then scrambled to stand up and separated from each other. Pema practically snorted at the ridiculous nature of teenage love.
“It’s ok, don’t worry. I’m not a tattle tale. And if the two of you can promise me that you’re going to be good to each other, my lips are sealed. Enjoy the breakfast I made ok? And after you eat, you should change clothes. It’s a bit late in the morning.” Pema said softly.
Jinora smiled and rushed to her mother and hugged her close.
“Thanks mom.”
“Of course sweetie. Mommy’s always going to have your back.” Pema said, kissing the top of her daughter’s head.
Tenzin
“It’s been 7 months, I think it’s time to tell your dad.” Kai brought the subject up first, making Jinora sigh, She knew he was right but didn’t want to face the facts.
“You’re right, I’m just so nervous you know? I love you so much and I don’t want my dad to make it weird.” Jinora explained herself with a sigh. She rested her head in the crook in between his neck and shoulder. He’d gotten more muscular there so it wasn’t as soft as it once was. But it was a habit for her, and she couldn’t stop.
Kai nodded in understanding. He knew just as well as her that things would be different.
“Yeah, but if the two of us are gonna be going on missions and helping the Earth Kingdom, then we have to get this part out of the way. And I’d like to kiss you in public Jinora.” Kai said with one of his cheesy smiles.
“I do too. Fine, we’ll do it this afternoon ok? We can get through this.” She said, pulling back to look him in the eyes. A honey brown meeting with an olive green.
Then, Kai blew a raspberry on Jinora’s cheek causing the girl to shriek. She lightly punched his shoulder and blew a gust of wind at his face. She smirked as he moved his hair back in place. She was finally brave enough to tease him back. And he loved it. He went over and ruffled her hair, which finally had grown back. It wasn’t too long, but the hair was finally on her head and past her chin finally.
“Hey, wanna go fly for a bit?” Kai asked with a smile.
“We can for a bit. But we have work to do. We have people to train.” Jinora said, poking his forehead.
He laughed and swatted her hand away. He unclipped his wingsuit and got close to her to unclip Jinora’s as well. She loved their closeness. And she was so thankful that he also respected her boundary lines.
After a half hour of gliding together they decided it was time to take care of their students. They were so thrilled with the progress everyone was making.
Kai was clearly the best with the bison, he was gifted with animals in general, but he was very proud of how far that Bumi had come. Bumi managed to pull people and spirits in, so why not bison? Daw had natural strength, it was evident on the fact that he was able to launch himself up a bridge and knock down doors on his first night with the gift. Jinora was already so proud of everyone and the amount of people who want to learn about the spirits through her style brought her a lot of fufillment.
Things were finally going well. Helping the world without the threat of terrorists murdering them, was a whole lot easier. Helping whole families with one airbender move in to the other temples was also going well, which meant that many air acolytes that Jinora grew up with were doing more work than ever.
But the best part of it all, was how happy her father was. For a long time she noticed how unhappy her dad had become. Fighting with Tarlock on both the council and physically was driving him insane. And then Korra had to separate from him. And then once her gift was exposed, she thought SHE was the cause of her father’s unhappiness. But now, throughout this whole year of rebirth, he was happy again. His fighting spirit had returned. He was smiling more than he was frowning.
There was an underlying fear the longer she hid her relationship from her father that he would be unhappy again. She couldn’t take the thought of him being upset all over again. She noticed that when people who didn’t even know the truth call Kai her boyfriend her would get angry. She didn’t want that.
Meditation sessions often lasted a short period of time since meditation is hard for beginners. But it lasted longer by the new airbenders request. So when it ended, she decided to take off and find her dad and tell him the truth.
When she got to his study she walked in but saw Kai standing in front of her father’s desk.
“Jinora, Kai just said there was something he had to tell me, if you don’t mind waiting outside until we finish talking that would be great.” Her father said with a smile. Jinora’s heart dropped.
She looked to Kai for an explanation, but he just nodded to her and gestured his head towards the door. She wanted to yell at him, or burst her way forward, but she trusted him. She gave him one last look of support, and then walked out of the door.
Leaning agaisnt the door to listen in was her next objective. She controlled her breathing and went silent.
“Master Tenzin, I wanted to come clean and tell you the truth. I love Jinora, with my whole heart. I’ve been dating her ever since her tattoo ceremony. We’ve kept it a secret because we didn’t want to anger you. And believe me, I know we’re young and I don’t want to take things too quick. But I wanted to tell you the truth because you deserve to know. You saved my life, and I owe you my honesty. But please, if you’re going to be upset about any of this, please be mad at me. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever anger you feel.” Kai said calmly, he sounded so mature. So different. And Jinora would be lying if she said her heart didn’t swell when he said that he loved her.
“Sit down Kai. As much as I would like to be angry that you’re with my little girl, I want you to know something special about this. You two are the first airbenders to fall in love in almost 200 years. That is something extraordinary. You’ve risked your lives for one another, and for that I am so grateful. I give you my permission, but if I see you make her cry, I will not hesitate to make you split.” Tenzin explained calmly.
“Thank you sir. Thank you so much.” Kai replied, exhaling in relief.
“Jinora, you can come out from the other side of the door. I know you’re there listening.” Tenzin called, a small chuckle after his words.
She awkwardly walked back in, realizing her father knew that she was there the whole time. Not by her breath, but by knowing who she is as a person. Her face was still beet red from all that Kai and her father said. She hadn’t even realized that they were the first airbender only couple that existed for a long time. It filled her heart with pride.
Tenzin stood up and hugged Jinora close. And then pulled Kai in for the hug as well. It was a peaceful moment until her father finally asked,
“Who else knows?”
“Everybody.” Jinora admitted awkwardly. --