Stupid short thing about Kai asking jinora to dance at bopal's wedding
'Do you, Bolin, take Opal to be your lawfully wedded wi – '
'You bet I do!'
The sound of a throat clearing breaks through the comfortable silence, disapproval tinging it. Normally he'd flush red, Kai knows, normally Bolin would get flustered and apologise and make a complete fool of himself – but today wasn't a normal day.
'Very well. And do you, Opal, take Bolin to be your lawfully wedded husb – '
'Of course I do.'
The officiator clears his throat again, and Kai barely stops himself from rolling his eyes. Just let them kiss already, hangs in the back of his throat, his knuckles going white from where he's clenching his fists in anticipation. God knows he – and the rest of the Air nation, probably – have been waiting for this day since the lovebirds first set eyes on each other.
The officiator sighs, and Kai catches Mako's eye. The elder is standing at his brother's side, a foot or so away, back as straight as a ruler with his hand clutching the small velvet box that held Opal's ring. Kai smiles at him, crooked and quick, and Mako smiles back.
The joy in the air is contagious.
'You may now kiss the bride,' says the officiator. His voice is solemn and unyielding, but the applause that follows drowns it out. Opal throws herself at Bolin, links her arms behind his neck and kisses him just as his hands settle at her waist.
Calls of congratulations echo through the crowd, and Kai himself gets to his feet, whoops with the best of them when the newlyweds finally part. The break away and Opal is immediately ambushed by her mother, Suyin's face streaked with tears as she holds her daughter's face in her hands, takes a good look at her before she kisses her. Lin's standing close by, and Kai almost chuckles when he sees Opal scoop her aunt up in a hug he knows the elder Beifong does not appreciate.
'Kai!' comes a voice, and from the rumble of it, he knows it's the groom. He's by Bolin's side in a flash. He joins Bolin and Mako in a hug, and the warmth that fills his chest has everything to do with the way Bolin wails Brother group hug! in the middle, and nothing with the way the new husband is kind of bawling into his shirt.
'Come on, big guy,' says Mako, gently extracting himself from his brother's grip. By then Kai really doesn't think he'll be able to breathe, but Mako rescues him. 'Let's get that face all pretty again for your first dance.'
Bolin sniffs, the sound loud and wet and Kai kind of winces when he manages to take a look at the former. Mako has his work cut out for him. 'Okay,' says Bolin, feebly grabbing onto the elbow of Mako's jacket and letting the elder lead him away.
'So emotional,' a disapproving voice says at his elbow. Meelo stands by his side, hair stubbornly sticking up at all angles, his bowtie already coming undone. 'Foolishness!' he half-bellows, and Kai smacks his palm to his face, sighing when Meelo goes off about how real men do not bow to the good smellingness and beautifulness of mere women!
It's been six years since he'd first met the young airbender, the grandson of the great Avatar Aang.
He still can't get him to shut up.
'Okay!' he says, clapping his hands together as loudly as he can to get Meelo's attention. The younger falls silent, and Kai breathes a sigh of relief. Just out of the corner of his eye he spots one of Bolin's cousins. She looks to be about Meelo's age, with a flower in her hair and a soft smile that just screams sweet. He grabs the young airbender by the shoulder, turns him in her direction and leans in to whisper in his ear.
'See that girl?' he asks, and from the way Meelo's shoulders relax in his hold, he can tell the younger definitely sees.
'Yeah,' says Meelo, and the lilt in his voice has Kai chuckling.
'Go get her,' he says, before he gives the younger a gentle shove. Meelo stumbles away, and Kai lets himself breathe a sigh of relief.
'Nice swerve,' observes a voice behind him, and when he whirls around to see who it is, he relaxes. It's Ikki, her hair done up in a single braid, her dress a deep, burnt orange. She looks great. Kai smiles and says so.
'Thank you for that thoughtful observation,' says Ikki, but the way she's smiling lets him know she didn't come to him for compliments. 'But, more importantly – have you seen my sister?'
'I thought she was with Opal before the wedding,' says Kai, eyebrows knotting together in confusion. 'You know – doing all that hair and make up magic you guys do.'
'Yeeeeees,' says Ikki, dragging her tone upwards. 'But have you seen her since all that hair and make up magic was done?'
Kai shakes his head. 'Come to think of it – nope. I haven't actually seen her today.'
The smile that sits on Ikki's lips blooms into a full-blown grin, and Kai's confusion just doubles.
'You might wanna turn around,' chirps Ikki, and there's a gentle push of air at his waist that pushes him just so, but before Kai can even voice his indignation – he sees her.
There are intricate braids in her hair, the ends of them pinned to the back of her head. Her dress isn't long, but it isn't too short, either – the skirt of it seems to float, soft butter yellow fluttering about her knees. He can tell she has make up on, but not much of it – she still looks the same as he's always seen her.
She blushes when she sees him looking, and Kai feels like every last bit of air in him has been knocked out of his lungs.
Another gentle push has him stumbling in her direction, and he's sure the giggle behind him came from Ikki, but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he finds that he can't say anything, the words evading his mind as he takes in how breathtakingly gorgeous the girl – almost woman – before him is.
'Um – hi,' says Jinora, the deep red of her blush dying down to a faint pink. She tilts her head down a little, shyness making her look at her shoes. As she does, a strand of her hair falls loose, and Kai's fingers reach for it automatically, tucks it behind her ear as he smiles.
'Hi,' he says in return, his hand lingering on the side of her face for a little bit longer before he realises what he's doing. He clears his throat and the hand retreats, his face growing warm. He licks his lips and looks her in the eye, clear brown irises looking right at him. Music begins to play in the background, but he doesn't take much notice. All his attention is focused on her.
'You look… Great,' he says, and the smile that he gets in return makes his heart melt. There are butterflies flitting around in his stomach when she reaches out to punch him lightly on his arm, but they don't stop him from reaching for her hand and taking it in his.
'Thanks,' she murmurs shyly. All around them, people are starting to leave their seats, crowding around the centre of the marquees that had been set up for the wedding. Jinora glances at them, and something in Kai's mind clicks.
'Do you… Wanna dance?' he asks slowly, and the surprise in Jinora's eyes is opportunity enough for him to tug her to the dance floor. The band changes from a slow song to a more upbeat one, and Jinora looks uncertainly at her feet.
'What's wrong?' asks Kai, worry rising in his chest.
'I just – I don't really know how to dance,' says Jinora, and Kai smiles, his grip on her hand becoming tighter.
'Don't worry about it,' he says, finding a space for them on the outskirts of the dance floor. 'I don't know how to dance, either. You kind of just… Move.' He does a goofy shimmy and proceeds to sway his shoulders from side to side, and he's sure he looks ridiculous, but he doesn't care – because Jinora's laughing. The sound is sweet on his ears and it makes him want to make an even bigger fool of himself, if only to hear her laugh more.
'You look like a goof,' she says, but the light in her eyes tells him she doesn't mean it in a bad way. It boosts his confidence, and he moves closer, coaxing her to dance along.
'A little spirit-bird told me you like goofs,' he says, and she laughs again, slowly letting her body move in much the same way as his does.
Soon enough the song ends, and it changes into something a little slower again, and the groups of people break into couples, bodies sticking close and swaying. Kai tugs at his collar and Jinora smiles easily at him. She takes his hand and lays it on her waist, her arms locking behind his neck.
'Um – is this a good idea?' he asks, eyes darting around nervously to find Tenzin. The elder airbender doesn't really give him much grief nowadays – but then again, Kai doesn't make it a habit to do public displays of affection with his girlfriend in front of her father. He's kind of scared for his life, here.
'Relax,' she says, swaying him to the sound of the music, resting her head on his shoulder. 'I'm a big girl, now. It'll be fine.' She says all of this with confidence, and some of it rubs off on Kai. He looks down at her and he can't resist: he leans in to give her a peck on the forehead, and the smile she gives him in return is reward enough.
He doesn't watch her for the rest of the song, instead, just enjoys feeling her warmth against him. He takes a look around: from where they're standing, he can see almost everyone: Korra and Asami laughing together off to the side, Mako accepting congratulations on behalf of his brother, Bolin introducing Opal to all of his cousins, Lin and Suyin watching with opposite expressions on their faces to the side.
It rises from the pit of his stomach to settle in his chest, this feeling. It's familiar, he's felt it before – but every single time he feels like he belongs, even years after he first came to know all these amazing people… It still surprises him. It still catches him off guard, the thought that he has people who consider him family now – the thought that he loves and is loved, especially by the person he's holding in his arms – it overwhelms him, sometimes.
'Kai?' Jinora's voice is a gentle whisper just by his ear, but he thinks even if it weren't, he'd still manage to pick her voice out from a screaming crowd. 'Is there something wrong?' there's worry in her tone, and he's quick to appease her.
'No,' he says, as she lifts her head to look properly at him. 'Nothing, I'm just – this just. Feels so… Nice, being with you and your family and all these people. I'm just… Thank you.' He says, finally, and she reaches out to caress his cheek, soft fingers against warm skin.
'There's nothing to say thank you for,' she says gently, intertwining her fingers with his. 'This is where you belong, now. With us. With me.'
'I love you,' he says, and it's stupid because even though every time he looks at her still feels like the first time, it isn't the first time he's said that to her. He knows he loves her and she knows he loves her, but still – every time he says the words aloud, he can't help but feel the emotions erupting in his chest.
Jinora smiles. 'I love you too,' she murmurs, and he presses forward for a kiss. It's light and quick, and when they pull away they're laughing, the giggles bursting forth from a single wave of emotion.
'You call that a kiss?' demands a voice to the side, and Kai looks down to find Rohan staring up at him. He has his arms folded across his chest, and Kai would laugh, but he's looking pretty foreboding right now. 'Give her a real kiss! It's a wedding, love and all that other icky stuff is polluting ALL the air!'
'Rohan, go away,' mutters Jinora, but her brother doesn't budge. He stays there stubbornly, his gaze expectant, and she rolls her eyes. 'Okay, one kiss, and then you go away. Okay?'
'Make it good!' he commands, and Jinora sighs before looking back in Kai's eyes.
'So…' she begins, and he can tell she's feeling a little conscious right now. He puts his fingers on her chin and tilts her face up, pressing their lips together, tasting the inside of her mouth with abandon. Halfway through she begins to smile, and he smiles, and before they know it their kiss has turned from passionate to smiles being pressed against one another, and they pull away. There's adoration in her eyes that are mirrored in his, and maybe they're still a little young, but Kai thinks he doesn't have any trouble imagining himself in Bolin's place, and Jinora in Opal's.
Maybe they have a few more years to go and maybe – well, for sure – he'll have to go through hell and back to get Tenzin's approval, but if it's with Jinora, if it's for this woman who's a whirlwind of calm and love and tenderness, if it's for her – he knows it'll all be worth it.
Rohan clears his throat.
'Now that's more like it.'