Kainora's First Kiss


A/N: It's my SECOND Kainora fanfic! I have fallen SO HARD for this ship! They are TOO CUTE! I'm such a sucker for young/first/puppy love!

I've been needing a distraction from work lately, so I wrote this while the toddlers were napping the other day. Thank you, Snowygem - from DeviantART - for proofreading for me and offering some suggestions for how to flesh it out. I referenced ATLA Season 1 Episode 17 - The Northern Air Temple for this fic. Remember the little hermit crab that Teo picks up to show to Aang... and how the Mechanist used fireflies as a light source because of the natural gas?

Yeah, I know, Kai might be slightly OOC, actually thinking about his lessons... but I figure if he's interested in learning about the airbender tattoos because of Jinora (Like he mentions in episode 7 of season 3 - LOK) then maybe it's not TOO much OOC.

Disclaimer: I claim no rights to these characters or the setting of this fic. This was purely created for fun. Characters and the setting are property of Mike and Brian, creators of ATLA & LOK.


"Race ya!" Kai heard her say a second before Jinora flew passed him riding on top of a swirling ball of air. He'd been distracted by his thoughts about the day's lesson – that earning your arrow tattoos required that you master all thirty-six airbending forms. He had asked about who had been the youngest airbender to earn their arrows, for surely Jinora could. Of course, it had been Jinora's grandfather, Avatar Aang because he created a new airbending technique – which was the other way that you could also earn your tattoos.

"Hey, no fair!" he yelled and took off running after her. They were exploring the bottom level of the Northern Air Temple and were currently in a massive hallway that was both wide enough and tall enough that he could have used his glider, if he had brought it with him. "You have to teach me how to do that first!" Of course, he was talking about learning how to make an air scooter, the very technique that Avatar Aang had created to earn his arrow tattoos. Jinora was standing at the end of the hall, where it turned into another, when he caught up with her. "That was mean," he huffed, jokingly, but she wasn't paying any attention to him.

"Look!" Her face glowed with a smile that made her eyes shine – or maybe it was just the fireflies that surrounded them. This lower level was dimly lit and damp, which, combined with the warmth of the season and an abundance of snails, provided the perfect habitat for the little lightning bugs. Either way his heart skipped up into his throat. "Isn't it cute?" she asked.

Kai's response would have been to say that yes, she was – she was adorable, but he had to first swallow his heart back down into his chest. His slight delay gave her time to hold up and display the little creature that she held in her hands.

"It tickles!" she giggled.

Kai found himself looking face to face with a hermit crab, another one of the many little creatures that called the temple home. "Oh… Uh..," he cleared his throat. "I… guess?" Jinora's giggle filled his ears again and brought a crooked grin to his face. The creature had two black, beady eyes, a thick coat of white fur, six legs, and a pair of brown pincers.

"It's fuzzy, feel it!" she said and pushed closer to him to bring the creature up to his cheek.

Kai jerked back a little with surprise. "Ya'ow!" he exclaimed in pain when he felt a sudden pinch on his lip. His hand flew up to cover over his mouth.

Jinora pulled the little creature back to cradle against her chest. "What happened?" she asked, looking at him as if he was the one at fault.

"It pinched me..," Kai pouted behind his hand.

"Awww… you scared it…," Jinora replied with pity for the little crab, and bent her head down close, as if trying to comfort it.

Kai blinked at her, torn by her cuteness and the disbelief that she didn't show him any concern. "Hey, I'm the one who's hurt…," he whined, finally bringing her attention to him.

"I'm sorry, are you okay?" she looked up with big eyes that were full of concern and asked sweetly, but she continued to hold the hermit crab close to her.

Kai moved his hand to touch his sore lip and then ran his tongue over the injury. "Eh, I don't taste any blood," he shrugged, but stared at the way her hands completely covered over the crab in a protective manner.

"Good, because I don't like the taste of blood," she proclaimed and leaned in closer to press her lips over his. "Feel better?" she asked with a bashful smile and cheeks that faintly colored pink after she pulled away.

Dumbfounded by what had just happened Kai stared at her. It wasn't until she shifted from one foot to the other and looked away while she unshielded her little crab friend with one hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear that he snapped out of his daze. He grinned as the blush in her cheeks darkened. "Yeah, thanks." On impulse he leaned in to kiss her cheek and masterfully swiped the little creature out of her hand before he took off running away with it around the corner.

"Kai! No Fair!" her voice cried after him along with the rushing sound of an air scooter.