i'm the paper and you're the pen
prologue
They meet at a coffee shop. It's nothing particularly special, just a bright, crisp morning on an ordinary day in Republic City, and Jinora has a morning class and it is way too early for her brain to put a coherent string of thoughts together until she's had her coffee.
Looking back on it, she supposes it's her exhaustion that causes her not to notice the young man walking behind her, and as a result she bumps into him when she turns. "Oh - sorry!" She manages to keep her hold on her cup of steaming coffee, luckily, but her notebook and pens go flying. The occupational hazard of being a writer. The stranger stoops low to help her pick up her pens, and even though she's still apologizing as she scoops up her notebook, he's chuckling softly.
"No harm done," he assures her, handing over her pens, and her apologies coming to an abrupt end. Now she's not looking at the floor, she gets her first good look at him, and instantly pegs him as a writer. There's something about his eyes, a bright green, stark in contrast to his darker skin, that makes it seem like he sees twice as much as everyone else, that while everyone is seeing what is, he's seeing what could be. He's a storyteller, like her, if the callouses of his hands are any indication too, remnants of holdings pens or typing the keys of a laptop for hours on end.
Jinora slowly smiles a little. Something inside her has woken up, her tiredness rapidly evaporating. "Alright then." She takes a sip of her coffee, now cool enough it doesn't scorch her throat.
"So are you a writer?" the man asks. He's her age, give or take a year. There's a faded college insignia on his t-shirt. University student, maybe goes to RCU (Republic City University).
"How'd you know?" she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear self-consciously, clicking her pen.
"Just a hunch. No one else would carry around that many pens," he shrugs. "I'm guilty of it myself. I'm Kai, by the way, Kai Fong." He goes to stick out his hand, but then realizes she'd have difficulty shaking it with her hands full.
"Jinora." She glances at her watch. "You know, I really should treat you to some coffee to apologize for bumping into you like that."
They both know it's not really an apology, and neither of them care. Jinora misses class and sips her coffee and finds out that Kai indeed does go to RCU. She figures she deserves a break every once in a while and Kai - Kai makes her laugh. It's been a while since she had laughed so hard.
chapter one: the idea
"So," Kai says promptly, staring at her intently from across the small coffee shop table a few weeks later. Jinora feels like she's under some sort of test, and that she's passing whatever he's trying to figure out. "What do you write?"
"Romance," she answers. "Mostly realistic fiction. Fantasy, too. I really like mythology, my heritage has a very extensive lore. What about you?"
"Sci-fi and fantasy, but no romance for me, I'm afraid. Writing's a hobby, not a passion for me." But from the way his fingers curl around his pen, and the beat-up state of his notebook - pages upon pages of messy, cramped writing - she doesn't quite believe it's only a hobby. "Why, what's your background, Ms. Author?"
"Air Nomad," she says, straightening her back and swelling with pride. Her people had suffered through a genocide, and multiple wars, but they were still here, in her.
"I think I have a little Air Nomad in me, way way back from my grandmother's side. But other than that I'm all Earth Kingdom. But if you like mythology and romance, I might have a story for you," Kai looks up at her and she can see the slight hesitation in his eyes. It's always the eyes.
Jinora perks up with interest. "Go ahead," she says eagerly. She listens patiently while he tells the myth, the story of Omashu, when an idea strikes her so hard she knows it's a great one. Her fingers itch to start writing, and she knows she won't be able to focus on anything else until she gets something down on paper. "They called it earthbending, you said?" she repeats. Kai nods, watching her thoughtfully.
Her thoughts are racing a mile a minute. "Paper," she murmurs, digging through her bag. "Paper, where's that damn pen-" A sheet of loose-leaf and a pencil are shoved into her face and she takes them from Kai gratefully. She spares him a quick, "Thanks," before getting down to work.
Kai tries not to watch her write; he knows he hates it when people look over his shoulder, but after a few minutes of intense scribbling, Jinora drops the now worn down pencil from her fingers onto the table and leans back in her chair. Her paper is covered with words.
"Look it over, for me, will you?" she says, running her aching hand through her hair. Her mind has quieted down, for now, and she wants a second opinion. Some part of her feels nervous, as she's never shown any of her writing to Kai before, but she trusts him. And besides, he was the one who inspired her, after all. Kai's eyes move across the page and when he reaches the bottom, he's grinning.
"This is really cool Jinora," he says, looking up at her. "The idea of the Four Nations is great, and the earthbenders too... But, don't you think it would be cool if there was someone who could bend all four of the elements?"
Her eyes fly open, lit with a kind of fire. "That's genius Kai." He flushes. Jinora chuckles. "So anyway, Kai, what do you say, wanna write a book together and see where it goes?"
Kai smiles softly at her and she knows she can already call him a friend. "Sure thing Jin."
And she's never loved nicknames, but somehow, she doesn't mind it with him.
chapter two: the romantic subplot
"Jin, not to rain on your parade but-"
Jinora doesn't look up from her notebook, going over her worldbuilding notes as she replies, "Already raining on them Kai. So, what is it?"
"Well, your main character ideas is good, and Miki will make a great Avatar and Lee's a good friend for her, but... A romantic subplot between them, really?" Kai spreads his hands imploringly.
Jinora sticks her nose in the air. "Well, yes. They've been friends for a long time, and friendship is the solid foundation for any romantic relationship. It makes total sense they'd start falling for each other. Besides, it's a subplot, not the main focus. You'll still get your fantasy action adventure," she smirks, "don't worry about it. Now, about the worldbuilding, Wan's story will be woven in with Miki's because there were rumours about him being super-human, but she's the one where the term Avatar is coined. Maybe it was originally the name of her birthplace, so she's Miki from Avatar, and then that eventually became Avatar Miki?"
"I like it," Kai decides, giving her notebook a quick glance. He passes over the laptop, feeling slightly hesitant. It's the first real thing he's written that he's actually really proud of, most of his stuff being pretty old, and he really wants Jinora to like it.
It's agony, watching her read his work, her brow furrowing as she works her way through the words, but when she smiles at him and says, "It's an amazing start. Your grammar's a little messy, but other than that... I knew it wasn't just a hobby."
Something in his chest flutters and heat spreads across his face. Kai rubs the back of his neck. "Thanks Jin," he says, trying not to sound too pleased with himself.
chapter three: ship names
"So Miklee will kiss in chapter thirty, right?" Kai asks, scrolling through his word document. They're camped out on the couch in his apartment, it's 3:04 AM and the TV's playing some dumb romance movie with no sound on, and they're determined to finish this chapter. They've been working on the book for the past six months, and finally, their two leads were going to have their first kiss. It's satisfying, to say the least
Jinora hums in agreement, sipping her third cup of coffee, her arm brushing his while she types. "And to think, you didn't want a romance in the first place, but you gave them the shipname, now didn't you?"
Kai puffs out his cheeks, trying to save his pride. "Well... they're really cute?" he says with a feeble attempt at annoyance. "Besides, he took a blow from a Spirit of Darkness for her. If that isn't love, I don't know what is." He glances down at their word document they're sharing, Jinora's fast fingers flying across her keypad. "You write their scenes very well."
Jinora's cheeks turn pink in the faint glow of her computer screen. "You're better with the action and angst scenes, so I'll let you take over here. Remember, Miki thinks she isn't going to come back from his battle."
Kai rolls his eyes but he's smiling. "I'm aware Jin." He squints. "Don't you think her saying that he's the best thing that ever happened to her is kinda cheesy?" But the line warms his heart all the same, so he doesn't delete it. It's nice though, even after all this time, just to discuss their book with her: he never gets tired of it, and she seems to understand him in a way none of his other friends do, not just in the ways that only another writer could, but in what makes him laugh and cry; in what makes him him.
She's his best friend, just like how Lee is Miki's, and he pours that into his writing that while Jinora's reading over his work when he's done she starts crying a little. "Kai," her eyes shine with tears as she turns towards him, "that was beautiful."
Just like you, an unbidden voice comes into his mind, and he thinks about how easy it would be to close the little distance between them and kiss her. Then Jinora pulls away to talk excitedly about the next chapter, and how tired she is, and the moment is gone.
She ends up falling asleep with her head on his shoulder. He wonders if their shipname would be called Jinkai or Kainora.
chapter four: character questionnaire
"We really need to get to the root of their characters," Jinora explains to him, "so I've drawn up these character questionnaires for both of us to fill out. It'll be interesting to see where our answers overlap."
She's working away happily in silence when Kai speaks up. "Speaking of which Jin, if you could pick a form of an Afterlife, what would you pick?" She recognizes it as #16, but supposes it's a good question to ask not only her characters, but herself too.
"Reincarnation," she says smoothly. "The Air Nomads have a strong belief in it, but I don't know... there's just something about the idea of finding those same people over and over again. Of friendships and relationships transcending lifetimes. I'm a romantic, I know."
"A hopeless romantic," Kai corrects her and she swats him lightly on the arm, both of them laughing. "No," Kai continues, turning more serious. "No, I know what you mean. It's kinda like when you meet someone and you just click, you know? Like you feel like you've known then your whole life."
"Like you," she mutters under her breath without thinking. They both freeze for a second before Kai grins broadly.
"Like us, yeah," he agrees and she feels a surge of affection for him and they both feel a little bit closer than before.
chapter five: coffee
Work and school always seem to have a nasty habit of getting in the way of writing time, and worst of all, Jinora's been having a terrible week, so she's not the best mood when she meets Kai for coffee on a rainy day. He's already ordered for her and she realizes that somewhere along the line of teaching and growing and laughing with each other he's memorized her order.
She's warm before the steaming drink even touches her lips, and the warmth only grows when she makes him laugh, and she thinks, maybe they have a romantic subplot of their own.
chapter six: another beginning
They finish the book. It's the first draft of course, and there's so much editing and revision on the horizon, but Kai swells with pride at the thought and Jinora gets a little weepy. She types the final words, ("Hey kiddo, I'm Lee. I was good friends with Avatar Miki," and in the child's smile, he can see a flash of his friend and grins back) and Kai finds even himself getting emotional.
It's another sleepless night but Jinora's never felt more wide awake, and as she goes to hug Kai, she's surprised to find his lips pressed against hers but doesn't mind in the slightest and kisses him back.
epilogue
They get engaged at a coffee shop three years later. It's nothing particularly special, just a simple, quiet affair in the empty cafe on an extraordinary day in Republic City, and their book, The Avatar, is going to be filling the shelves of bookstores the next morning.
Looking forward to their wedding, Jinora supposes it's only natural that they'll write their own wedding vows. It was the love of the craft ("A passion, not a hobby," Kai declares proudly now) that brought them together in the first place.
At the wedding, when Jinora gets her first good look at her husband to be, it's the tears welling in his eyes that makes her breath catch in her throat. There's something about his eyes, a bright green, stark in contrast to the dark fabric of his tuxedo, that makes it seem like he's never loved her more, and that his love will grow as the days go on, as they continue to write their own future.
And that he's seeing what they could be and what they are, and it's reflected back in her eyes as they say their vows, and she know she's never seen something so beautiful.