(Please note that I am not trying to sexualize a relationship between two children. In this story, Jinora is 21 and Kai is 22.)
Pema
For the second time in as many weeks, Pema felt the impression that she ought to go visit Jinora. She knew it was silly; she saw her eldest daughter almost every day, and she lived just across the island, but it still put Pema in a state of slight panic to have one of her children married and out from under her constant care. Jinora had married her long-term sweetheart, Kai, a little more than a year ago, and while Pema trusted him completely, she was still confident that her devotion towards Jinora could not be topped. That was why, on a brisk autumn afternoon, Pema found herself walking in the direction of the quaint cottage that her daughter and son-in-law resided in.
She hoped that Jinora would not be displeased by her arrival. Even after a year of marriage, Jinora was still shy about welcoming her family into her home. This especially applied to Tenzin, who would loom above his son-in-law and evaluate his every move with a critical eye. Pema knew that Tenzin was secretly fond of the boy, but he would never admit to liking the person who took his first child away from him. ("It's not like this is a surprise," Pema had said, after the announcement of Jinora's engagement. "They've loved each other for 10 years.")
As she approached the cottage, she could hear raised voices, and wondered if Jinora had kept the family tradition of Monday music nights. But it was neither Monday nor nighttime. As she got closer, Pema realized that she did not hear singing – she heard yelling.
"I don't understand how you can be so controlling!" That was Jinora's voice, emanating loud and clear from the open windows of the house. Pema's breath caught in her throat. Were they – were they fighting?
"I'm not being controlling, I'm being sensible! You should try it sometime!"
By the time Pema heard Jinora's reply, she had quickened her pace and was nearly to the front door.
"You're driving me crazy, Kai! In fact, I don't even want to talk to you right now!"
There was the sound of the back door being flung open and then slammed, and before Pema could react, Kai had unfolded his glider and taken to the sky. She hurried through the front door, her face flushed. Jinora was standing with her arms crossed, a look of wrath crossing her usually serene countenance, which caused the tattoo on her forehead to furrow slightly. Her pout lessened when she saw her mother.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
Pema hurried to her daughter and embraced her tightly. "I came for a visit, and then I heard – Jinora, what happened?"
As she pulled back, she ran a gentle hand through Jinora's hair, and noted the slight wobble of her lip.
"Kai… Well, he got mad at me for going out on my glider." Her tone turned defiant. "It's not like I'm an airbending master or anything, right?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand," said Pema slowly. She glanced at Jinora's glider leaning against the far wall. "You two go gliding all of the time! You've done it since you were five! Why did he get mad?"
"He's just…overreacting."
Pema raised an eyebrow. "You're not really giving me anything to work with, sweetie."
Jinora bit her lip and clasped her hands together, her face rather pink. Pema couldn't tell if her daughter was going to laugh or cry. Jinora exhaled slowly.
"Okay, Mom. We were going to wait before we told anyone, but… I'm going to have a baby."
Pema suddenly forgot how to breathe. She knew she was gaping, but she didn't know how to stop. Her baby, having a baby? It was wonderful. It was terrifying. It was insane. And Tenzin – oh, Tenzin. Suddenly Jinora was talking again, rapidly this time – "My books say that it's a good idea to wait until the second trimester to make the announcement, and that the growth of the fetus is directly proportional to the amount of people who should know about it, you know, in case…abnormalities occur, and I should go see the Healer again, you know, about the whole gliding thing, but I just went and I don't want Kai to be right and I don't want the Healer to think I'm crazy – "
Her mother had embraced her once more. "Oh, sweetie, congratulations," she laughed, as a few tears slipping from her cheeks and onto Jinora's air nomad robes. "I'm so happy for you two. Oh, my baby." Pema pulled back, her mind racing. It was a lot to process. "How is Kai taking it?"
"He's being completely impossible," Jinora huffed, her glare returning. "He won't let me do anything! I'm not even showing but he still thinks I can't tie my own shoes!" She looked longingly at her glider. "Airbending has always been relaxing and therapeutic to me, and suddenly I'm being scolded for doing it when I need it most."
Pema tried to choose her words carefully. "It might be wise to ease up on the glider time, but I see no reason why you can't go through your normal Airbending routines. See if Kai will go through them with you."
"I'm not going through any routines with him," Jinora grumbled angrily. "He'd just try to control every part of them."
"It's his first baby. He's going to be a little overprotective." Pema was reminded of her first pregnancy, when Tenzin would barely let her leave the house. It took every ounce of self-control she had to not roll her eyes at the memory of his ridiculousness.
"It's my first baby too, Mom, and you don't see me going berserk!"
Pema sighed and tried not to think about how much her daughter looked like her when she was scowling. "Just cut him a little slack, dear. I'm sure he'll be willing to compromise." Before Jinora could retort, she continued, her voice laced with concern. "How have you been feeling? Has there been any morning sickness?"
"I feel a little nauseous in the mornings, but –"
There was a sudden whooshing sound, and the click of a glider being folded. Kai was back.
"You should talk to him," Pema whispered, making her way towards the front door. "I'll come back in ten, hmm? Love you."
Jinora
As Jinora watched the door shut behind her mother, she felt a small twinge of panic. As someone who usually had no problem arguing – er, debating – she couldn't help but find the sensation a bit strange.
The back door clicked open and a familiar head poked through.
"Jinora?" He sounded young, unsure. Kai sidled in, shutting the door behind him with exaggerated caution. A slammed door would surely add more tension.
"Yes?" Jinora stood her ground in the middle of the room, her arms hanging awkwardly at her sides. She was torn between either throwing a chair at him or grabbing his face and kissing him senseless. (Hormones were weird.)
He crossed the space between them and gently took her hands in his, bowing his head slightly. Jinora was somewhat glad of this; she wasn't sure that she could handle looking into his eyes.
"I'm sorry that I raised my voice at you and that I disrespected your judgment," he said lowly, rubbing her palms with his thumbs. "I didn't mean to be controlling, it's just…" He sighed.
"It's just what?" Jinora pressed.
He lifted his head, and green eyes bored into brown. "It's just that, when you told me about the… about the baby, my world doubled in size. You're all I have, Jinora. I didn't mean to yell at you… I just need you safe."
It was hard to stay mad at her crazy airbender. "I know your intentions are good, Kai, but you have to know that I would never do anything to put our baby at risk. Your concern is adorable, but I know what I'm doing, okay?"
"Okay. I trust you. And I'm not adorable," Kai added huffily. Jinora laughed before standing on tip-toe to kiss his cheek.
"Yes, you are."
"Well, all I can say is that I hope this little troublemaker looks like you," Kai chuckled, dropping a hand to run his fingers across her abdomen, "with none of this ugly mug." He gestured to his own face.
"Yeah, hopefully he doesn't get your beautiful green eyes" – Jinora ran a finger along his cheek – "or this incredibly thick hair" – one hand threaded through his hair – "or this delicious mocha skin." She pressed a kiss to his exposed collarbone. She knew without looking that he was blushing.
Jinora could feel the tension rising, and she cleared her throat loudly. "My mom just came by, while you were gone. She…knows now. I told her."
"Yeah?" Kai looked anxious. "What did she say?"
Jinora smiled. "She's thrilled. I think she's still trying to process the fact that she's going to be a grandma, though."
Kai leaned down for a kiss, but was abruptly stopped by Jinora's terrified expression.
"Oh my spirits," she groaned. "We still have to tell my father."
I cannot get Kainora out of my head! They are too cute! Anyway, I'll probably continue this, but please be patient, as I do not know how long it will take. Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated :)