They were standing outside a bar, and Jinora was not pleased.

"Kai, we can't go in there!" Jinora said, grabbing onto his shirtsleeve as he made to open the door.

"Relax, Jin, there's nothing to be afraid of," he said, prying her fingers off his arm.

She glared at him.

"I'm not scared, Kai. I'm just not stupid. We can't go in there because of these," she said, pointing to the blue tattoo protruding from beneath his mess of dark hair.

"What, they don't serve airbenders or something?" Kai said, "You know that's not true. Li comes here aaaalll the time."

Jinora huffed a sigh.

"That's exactly why we can't go in! What if someone tells Li or someone else that we've been down here? What if someone from the temple is in there now?"

"No one from the temple is in there, Jinora. They were all in a late night meditation session with your dad," Kai said, "Now are we going in or not?"

"Fine, but I'm going on the record saying that this is your worst idea of all time. Including the time that you thought that sneaking into the armadillo lion habitat at the Ba Sing Se Zoo in the middle of the night would end in anything other than you getting twenty stitches and breaking your wrist.

Laughing at the memory, Kai rolled his eyes at Jinora and took her hand in his.

"We're gonna have a great time, Jin. We'll be back before anyone even notices that we're gone."

Jinora narrowed her eyes at her best friend, seriously doubting that statement, but she didn't say anything. Kai opened the door to the bar, and she followed him in. The air inside was warm, much warmer than the winter night outside. It was hazy with smoke, and loud. Patrons shouted to each other in order to be heard over the jazz band that was playing on a small stage next to the dance floor. She had been in nightclubs before, with Korra in Republic City. They had all been new and swanky establishments, where all the pro-benders and their friends liked to dance until the sun rose. Very glamorous places.

This place was different, Jinora noted. It was smaller, for one. It was rustic and more than a little dingy, but Jinora could see its appeal. It was friendlier than any of those places in Republic City, cozy.

Kai nudged her towards an empty booth in the back.

"I'll be right back!" he said, and made his way through the crowd and up to the bar.

Kai returned several minutes later carrying two drinks. He set them down on the table and sat down next to Jinora. She eyed the glass suspiciously.

"What is this, Kai?" she said.

"A drink."

"I hadn't noticed…" she said, "No really, what is this?"

"I just asked barman for the two strongest drinks he had," Kai said, shrugging, "And this is it, apparently. Your first proper drink."

"You do know that I've drunk alcohol before, right? This isn't the first time," Jinora said.

"I know, but it's gonna be your first time getting drunk," Kai said, grinning, "You're almost eighteen. It's a life experience. You get to check it off your bucket list."

Jinora rolled her eyes at him and picked her drink up. She had only come down to the town with Kai in order to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. No trouble was too much to ask for, since it was Kai after all, but if things didn't go disastrously wrong, they'd probably manage to make it home with minimal bruises, cuts, and scrapes. He was trying his best to make her job difficult, she thought, trying to get her drunk. If things were going to go horribly awry, they were going to go horribly awry. She might as well have a good time before they did.

They clinked their glasses together and downed their drinks. It was awful stuff, but it was over in a few seconds. Kai scrunched his whole face up and gagged. Jinora laughed.

"Looks like you're all talk and no walk," she said, smiling at him.

"Looks like you're buying the next round," he said, making a face at her, "Whatever that was, don't get it again."

"Noted," Jinora said, nodding at him very seriously.

At the bar, Jinora decided on a drink that looked a little less life-threatening, and prepared to fork over the cash to the barman.

"Looks like your boyfriend couldn't handle the strong stuff," he said to her, "You got it down just fine though."

Jinora laughed, "He did seem to struggle a little."

"Well hopefully these will go down a little better."

It was only when she had returned to the table and handed Kai his drink that she realized she hadn't corrected the barman when he called Kai her boyfriend.

"You sip this one," she told him, as he took a large gulp, "Keep that up and you'll make yourself sick."

They traded off buying drinks for one another, lounging in their back corner booth, drawing no attention to themselves whatsoever. Jinora knew that it was too much to hope that it would last.

She shouldn't have been surprised that Kai was a lightweight.

After all the boastful lies he had told everyone over the years, Jinora should have known that he was a fraud. Drank two whole bottles of wine and was still able to make it through the spinning gates with his eyes closed her ass. From the look of him, it was obvious that less than half a bottle of wine would probably cause him to lose all cerebral and motor functions. She looked affectionately at her friend, who was attempting to make a tower out of their empty glasses. She knew that the alcohol must have been hitting her too, since she wasn't doing anything to stop him.

It turned out she didn't have to. All of a sudden the band broke into a new song, a lively roaring tune that sent all the patrons clamoring onto the dance floor. Kai abandoned his architectural attempts and leapt to his feet, wobbling on the spot.

"Let's dance!" he said, pulling Jinora up with him.

They hurtled onto the dance floor, moving wildly to the music. Jinora was drunk. She was most definitely drunk. And she was loving it! Kai spun grabbed her hand and spun her out, and she twirled unsteadily right back to him, catching herself by throwing her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arm around her waist, attempting to support her. Jinora giggled.

"The side of your head is so fuzzy," she said, rubbing her hand over the fuzzy stubble, "And the top is so fluffy! It's really incredible!"

Kai looked like he didn't know what to say to that, so he just spun her around some more, laughing as she danced around him. It was bliss, Jinora thought, as she twirled. She wanted this forever.

The music slowed, and Kai pulled her closer to him. They swayed together to the smooth, sad song, not taking their eyes off each other. For the first time since she was about twelve years old, she wanted him to kiss her. She wanted to kiss him. But they had agreed that it shouldn't happen. They had agreed on that years ago, when she was only twelve and they had needed to focus on their training and be best friends and what did twelve year olds know about relationships anyways? They would wait until they were older, and if the feelings were there, they would be together. So they had gotten older, but Jinora could no longer tell if the feelings were there. Was he her best friend, or was he more than that? Was the warm feeling radiating through her body due to the alcohol or the way that he was looking at her?

Kai leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. Jinora sucked in a breath. They were so close, so immeasurably close in every imaginable way. Her whole being ached with it. She was going to kiss him. Right then and there. She was going to do it.

"Jinora!" he said, his face mere inches from hers. He stared into her eyes for a long moment and blinked, "I think I'm drunk!"

She let out a long sigh.

"That's because you are," she said, leaning back from him. Next time, she thought. If there was a next time.

He looked at her as if she had just said something very strange, cocking his head to the side.

"So are yooooou," he teased, "I bet the only reason you can stand up right now is because you're holding on to meeeeee!"

For what must have been the millionth time that night, Jinora rolled her eyes at him. She looked at him, her best friend, with his crooked grin, and huge green eyes, and was hit by an overwhelming feeling of warmth towards him. Even if he didn't want to be with her anymore, it was fine. He was her best friend and she loved him more than anyone and she knew he loved her too.

"Hey! You!" Jinora was snapped out of her thoughts as a massive man pushed his way through the crowd, shouting at Kai.

"Kai, who's that?" she asked him, and watched as his eyes widened in surprise when he saw who was coming towards them.

"That's uhhhh, nobody?" he said, entirely unconvincingly.

"You stay right there!" the man shouted, "I'm gonna skin you alive, you little thief!"

"Oh, Kai, you didn't!" Jinora said, a pleading edge to her voice, "I thought you had stopped doing that!"

"Filthy scum fifty gold pieces worth of bread rolls from me!" The man was getting closer.

"Bread rolls?!" Jinora said, "Why would you steal bread rolls?!"

"It doesn't matter!" Kai said, "We've gotta get out of here!"

And suddenly, he was grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the back exit. They barreled through the door, followed closely by the very large, very angry baker. He pounded after them, surprisingly quick for a man his size. However quick he was, though, he was no match for two airbenders, even if they were more than a little drunk. He fell back as they raced out of the village, still hand in hand. The pair didn't stop running until they reached the base of the mountain that the air temple stood on. They collapsed together, both shaking with laughter.

"That was fantastic!" Kai said, "I feel so alive!"

They lay back on the grass and looked up at the cold winter sky, filled with stars.

"Me too," said Jinora, "And a little drunk. I can't believe you were able to run all the way here without tripping."

"Well, we didn't exactly run in a straight line, so I wouldn't be so quick to compliment me," Kai said, "I'm just surprised I can still speak. My head feels so strange."

"You did drink a lot…"

"You drank just as much and you're fine," he pointed out.

"That's because I don't have the alcohol tolerance of a twelve year old," she said, and he stuck his tongue out at her.

Silence fell between them, and Jinora realized that they were still holding hands. She didn't let go.

"Hey Kai?" she said.

"Yeah, Jin?"

"Why'd you steal the bread? You didn't bring it back to the temple, and I don't think even you could eat fifty gold pieces worth of rolls."

He was quiet for a minute, and she felt his grip on her hand tighten.

"I was down in the village last week and I saw these kids, these orphans trying to steal it for themselves. Just a couple of rolls. He caught them and beat them until they cried. So when he was done, I stole it, followed the kids, and gave it to them," he said softly.

"Oh," Jinora said, turning her head so that she was looking at him.

"And then I told them that they can get free bread from the temple any time they want, so don't worry Jinora, I'm not raising a band of criminal street rats."

"Oh," she said again. It was all her drunken self could manage.

Silence again. Jinora tried to remember the names of all the constellations she could see, but they just wouldn't come. Damn alcohol, she thought. It was fun, but she having full command of her mental faculties.

"What're we gonna do?" Kai asked her, interrupting her train of thought.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… after. We've both got our tattoos; we know the bending, we know the history. There's no training left. But like…what do we do? Do we just stay at the temple for the rest of our lives?"

His voice raised, almost imperceptibly, but Jinora noticed.

"It'll all work out, Kai. I know it will," she said, her voice soothing, "We'll travel, we'll see the world and have adventures all our own."

"Mmmm, that sounds nice," murmured Kai, "I like that."

He scooted closer to her, so that they were lying shoulder to shoulder. They had laid like this so many times over the years, in silence, looking up at the stars, dreaming of far off places. They had always dreamed together. They always would.

"Hey Jinora?" Kai said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"You know how when we were kids, we agreed to just be friends, because friends are what twelve year olds need, not uh…romantic partners?" His tone was uncharacteristically shy.

Her heart pounded.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, we're not kids anymore."

He didn't say anything other than that. He let the words hang in the silence of the night, waiting for Jinora to reply. Her head spun, her heart pounded, and she couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"I mean, it's totally fine if you want to stay just friends," he said hurriedly, "I want you in my life, no matter what. As a friend, as a…more than a friend. Whatever. Always. And I'm not just saying this because I'm really drunk."

Jinora laughed.

"I love you," she said, because she couldn't think of anything else to say.

He kissed her. He kissed her and when he did she felt herself fill with so much joy she thought she might burst. She remembered kissing him when she was a little girl. She remembered it being light, like butterfly wings. Soft and delicate and…this kiss was nothing like that.

He kissed her desperately, like he needed her to breathe. Their bodies were pressed together but somehow it just wasn't close enough. She wanted him, every inch of his being. She couldn't get enough. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and she suddenly remembered rubbing the side of his head back in the bar. Jinora smiled into the kiss, trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked, pulling away slightly.

"Nothing," she said, smiling at him, "Just you."

He grinned at her, happy to be the source of her amusement, and captured her lips in another kiss.

They stayed there, just kissing, for what seemed like hours. When they stopped, Kai cuddled Jinora close to his body. She laid her head on his chest, and felt him wrap his arms around her. It was the most natural thing in the world, them being together. They were meant for this, for each other. In every way.

The sun would be rising soon, and someone would discover that they were missing. Jinora didn't care. This moment worth her father's anger and the punishments he would undoubtedly give them. The moment was perfect, and she willed it to last forever.