all about us

"Take my hand, I'll teach you to dance.
I'll spin you around, won't let you fall down.
Would you let me lead? You can step on my feet.
Give it a try, it'll be alright"

- All About Us, He is We

Kai couldn't help but grin as he watched Jinora weave in through the crowd on her way to get to him. She had to stop a few times - "Congratulations Master Jinora," or "You look so much like Avatar Aang," - but eventually she made her way to him.

"Hey," she greeted. She looked so different with her tattoos - a good different. Her hair didn't cover as much of her face, and her eyes were even more striking. And now she was a Master. She smiled nervously at him, and reached up tuck a strand of hair that wasn't there anymore; her hand froze in mid-motion. Kai had a sudden urge to grab it, but then she let her hand fall and the chance was gone.

"Hey," he said feebly, his face feeling hot. He tugged at the collar of his robes - after the initial ceremony, Tenzin had herded of them into another room to get changed. The formal robes of pale yellow with an orange hem and band across the mid-section was hot. A flower was tucked into one of the pockets, thanks to Bolin, who winked and said, "You'll thank me little bro."

Kai was struck with a surge of inspiration and brought the flower out of his pocket. The blue matched Jinora's new tattoos perfectly, he noticed. "Here. For you," he added and then mentally smacked himself. Who else would the flower be for? Who else would he even want to give a flower to? He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.

Jinora flushed, smiling at him and his stomach flip flopped. "Thank you Kai." Her fingers brushed against his as she took the flower; his heart hammered so loudly in his chest he was sure she could hear it. Jinora tucked the flower behind her ear, and then looked up at him shyly. She too had changed into formal robes, much like those Avatar Aang had worn on the day Firelord Zuko had been crowned. (Hey, history could be interesting sometimes, especially if Jinora was the one teaching it.) They were obviously different robes for women though, this one being more of a skirt, and showed up her arms more, wearing a smaller shawl.

She was beautiful.

Then Kai realized he had been staring and hurriedly tore his gaze away. "So," he stammered out, "Master huh? That's pretty cool." Cool? The biggest accomplishment in her life is cool? Spirits, he was an idiot.

Jinora chuckled softly. "You can say that again." She looked down at her arms. "It's going to take some getting used to. And," she lowered her voice, and Kai realized it was only for him to hear, like this was something special between them; his face felt warm. "I sort of miss my hair," she confessed.

"Why?" he said curiously.

Jinora bit her lip, avoiding his gaze. "Well, I know it's silly and airbenders aren't really supposed to care about it, but... don't I look sort of weird being bald?"

Kai shook his head. "No," he insisted, "you look all master-y and stuff. You could never look weird Jinora."

She gave him a big smile, before looking around the room. "So, you wanna dance?"

Kai's eyes widened. "Sorry, I don't dance." Besides the music was slowing down into a slow song and that meant holding hands and dancing slowly and it wasn't that Kai didn't want to, but... what if he messed up? Or stepped on her feet? He wanted to disappear just at the thought of it.

Jinora raised an eyebrow. "Don't? Or won't?" He pouted at her growing smile. "Come on, please Kai."

His resolve trickled away within seconds. "I don't know how to dance," he said quietly. She titled her head, studying him with a gentle grin on her face.

"I'll show you then." She held out her hand, looking up at him reassuringly. Hesitantly, Kai reached up and grabbed her hand. It was warm, and soft, and he was sure he was blushing furiously. He let the airbending Master lead him out onto the dance floor. "Now," she turned around so suddenly he almost walked into her. Nervously, he took a slight step back, but she was still holding his hand. "You put your hand here."

She took his other hand and put it on her waist. Kai's throat went dry. She raised her other arm, and thereby, his hand; her fingers slid into the gaps between his own. "It's just like airbending," Jinora reassured him. Kai nodded, still feeling nervous. "I take one step forward, you take a step back."

Kai followed her instructions. To his surprise, it worked. But then again, maybe he shouldn't be surprised. Jinora was really smart. "Then, we'll step to the side together." Again, it worked. "And finally, you step forwards and I step backwards."

Kai grinned up at her as they repeated the motions over and over again. "I'm dancing!"

She giggled. "See, I told you you could do it."

"Maybe you should be a dancing Master too."

She returned his smile. "Nah, I think I'll stick with airbending and being your best friend."

"Sounds good to me," Kai told her, winking. Jinora blushed and laughed. Then, he stepped on her toe. "Oh Spirits Jinora I'm so sorry-"

"It's fine Kai," she couldn't help but smile at his ridiculous expression, "see, my foot's fine." She gave it a little wiggle for emphasis. "And for a first time dancer, you're really good."

"All thanks to you," he pointed out. She looked shyly away, cheeks pink, as they continued to dance together. When she met his eyes again, they sparkled. Then the two airbenders both dissolved into goofy grins and giggles.

Dancing really wasn't that bad, Kai decided.

For Narnianbirthcybertronianspark's birthday because she's a great writer and awesome in general and she ships Kainora (but let's face it who doesn't ship Kainora they're too cute). Happy birthday! :D

I hope you guys all enjoyed this. Love you guys.