AN: For Kainora Week.
Oh, gosh. You see, I actually wrote this one later than the others because I hate clichés so much. I'm actually a pretty cliché person, but hey, I hate them. I was hoping to find a suitable prompt or inspiration via tumblr before I had to write it, as I couldn't come up with a non-cliché thing to write about. And guess what?
I did. And then I changed it about seven times. But I still had a lot of trouble writing this one. I liked the idea, but the words decided to be stubborn and sound so cheesy. But you know, I really like how it turned out, personally. I hope you like it too. I hope.
So, please read and review. I really appreciate critique.
Set after Original Airbenders but before the finale. I guess.
Kai just couldn't make the connection.
Jinora could talk so fluently and easily. She knew words he didn't even know how to pronounce, and he suspected she tried to dumb down what she was saying whenever he was around.
The thing was, Kai never really paid much attention to what he was saying before he met Jinora. His words always came out very simple and very casual. But when he was with her, he felt like he needed to say something with substance. Everything she said made him feel something. Every single word mattered, and that's what Kai liked.
It wasn't like Tenzin, whose words were overflowing of information and meaning. And it wasn't like Ikki or Meelo, who just spit out their words without thinking them through. No, definitely not like them. Jinora was just ... different. But she didn't even put that much effort into what she said, and that's what had Kai frustrated.
"Hey," she nudged him with her elbow. "Are you mad?"
They were laying down on a hill just outside the reach of the temple. It neighbored the bison pastures, and Jinora had picked the spot knowing how much he liked to watch all the bisons. He turned his head to look at her, and he noted how pretty she looked in direct sunlight. "No," he muttered. "Why?"
"You looked kind of mad." Her lips curled up into a small smile.
"No," he said again, and then sighed and turned back to watch the white clouds overhead. "I'm just thinking."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
There it was. That tone of voice she used that made him feel so warm and fuzzy but irritated him at the same time. It was so soft and kind, and it made him feel like she actually cared. Which, of course, annoyed him. Because she always sounded so genuine. And he didn't know how.
He liked knowing things. Knowing what to do, knowing what to say. Knowing airbending and knowing information. What he didn't like was that period of time that was so confusing and irritating, when you were in the process between not knowing something and knowing something. Learning. And he felt like he was in that process forever with Jinora. He knew stuff about her, but he didn't know everything. He didn't quite know what made her mad, or just how she worked. How she made him blush so easily. How she even put up with him half the time. How she felt so like a friend, but he'd never had a friend before, really. How could he know what a friend felt like?
"No," he told her. "It's alright."
"Okay." He couldn't see her, but he heard her smile. "Do you want to go inside or something? Is that it?"
"No," Kai said again. "No, this is nice."
A breeze ran over them, and he liked the feel of the grass ticking his ears. "I like it out here," Jinora told him. "I wish we didn't have so many classes. Then we could do this all day."
"I know," he let out a breath. "I'd much rather hang out with you than with your dad and all those scrolls."
He meant for it to be funny, but instead of laughing, she simply replied, "Thanks, Kai."
Which of course made his face go inexplicably warm.
"I should bring a book out here sometime," she suggested. "Or a couple. I have a few you might like. And then we could read together."
Kai turned on his side so he was facing her. "Or you could just read to me."
Jinora smirked. "You just don't want to actually put effort into reading."
"True," he admitted, "but I like listening to your voice anyways."
Her cheeks looked a bit pink, and Kai hoped he actually said something good. "What?" he whined defensively when she didn't reply. "I would say you have a very pleasant voice."
She smiled, and the color in her cheeks turned richer. "Well, I could say the same thing to you, you know."
Stop blushing, stop blushing, stop blushing, he told himself. "Well, in that case, we could just listen to each other ramble."
"That sounds like a fantastic idea."
"Then, Sifu," he started, and Jinora giggled. "Tell me about yourself."
"You already know a lot," she complained. "I can't think of anything else."
"I don't know everything," he whined. His heartbeat picked up. Was he being too forward? Too creepy? Too invasive?
"Nobody should know everything," she smiled, and Kai was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. "Besides. Information is pointless. You should know who a person is."
He tried to hide how impressed he was with her. "Information is pointless. This coming from you?"
She lightly punched his shoulder. "Be quiet. Books are different from people. Books are nice, but, you know, people are living. You have to work to understand them. They're always changing, and there are just so many varying aspects to a person. Your connection is always different." Jinora turned her head to look at him, and he realized he had been staring. "What do you think?"
"What do I think?" She nodded, and Kai felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach. He didn't know what to say. How would he know what to say to that? "Well, um. I don't know."
"You know," she teased him. "Just say something. I want to know what you think."
"I don't know what to say!"
"Just say anything," she prompted, shifting so she was on her side, gazing back at him. Her brown eyes were really pretty, he noticed, and tried not to blush. Their faces were less than a foot apart. "It doesn't matter what you say. Just say what you're thinking. Just say stuff."
And that confused him further. Jinora didn't "just say stuff." She said things that meant something. She said things with substance. But after a moment of withstanding her expectant gaze, he was encouraged to just spit something out. "I think," he began hesitantly, and a little smile graced her face. "I think that I'm lucky you guys found me. I think that I'm lucky I have airbending, and I think I'm lucky you help me out. I think that I'm happy we're friends, but you're really confusing, and I don't think you know how confusing you are. I think people shouldn't be confusing, but it's kind of interesting when they are. I think that relationships are hard work, and they mean something different than connections."
He stopped to take a breath, and he noticed Jinora was staring at him. It was unbearably silent, and he was glad another breeze came by to cool his face. "That's ... that's really deep, Kai," she finally said. Her voice was soft and quiet and unsure, something he didn't really hear often.
"You think so?" he asked her, and he was surprised at how little his voice came out.
"I think so," she agreed. And then they just looked at each other. He liked the way the light caught in her brown eyes and gave them little tints of auburn and gold. He liked the way the sun covered her fair skin and blurred out any lines, making it look like she was almost glowing. But then she flipped onto her back, and he did the same.
"Do you think ..." Jinora said so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, "I mean, um, Korra said that ... we have a connection."
She made him blush again, he could feel it. This time the heat creeped down into his neck and back into his ears. "I think that," he licked his lips. His entire body was dry. He weighed the consequences of what he could say. "You know, I think that Korra's right."
She smiled. He could hear it in her voice. "You think so?"
Kai nodded. "I think so."
The next day, Jinora approached him before class and asked if he wanted to skip. When they sat down on the hill, she presented him with a book, and she started at the first chapter.