Author's note: Well, I guess I'm sold. Kainora became this thing I love so much now. Another tiny ship for my deck.
Legend of Korra and its characters are not mine. Beta'd by littlecajunlady88.
I hope you enjoy the read! And please, leave a review at the end? Thank you a lot!
i.
He's a thief, so that's what he does: he steals from her. Nothing material or of physical value, but steals anyway – as she's passing by him in one of those corridors with tall columns at Air Temple Island, he grabs her wrist, pushes her against the pillar and leans down to kiss her.
She yelps at first, but he knows she doesn't intend to let go; she's a much more skilled bender than him, and she could easily be rid of his touch, but instead she melts against the hand he puts on her neck, the thumb he used to make her tilt her head up, the way their lips touch.
Her hair is growing again, soft strands almost down her chin now, and this is the first real kiss they share. In some ways, he probably approached it wrong, but in reality, everything about it was right.
He is so in love with her.
Jinora's lips part a little letting out a sigh, and Kai's heart flutters. So much for stealing something from her, when she already had stolen his heart.
She leans back just a little and he follows her movements, a little offended by how their lips aren't together anymore, but the wind brings along voices and before Kai could process it, Jinora is escaping from under his arm, starting back on her path with a little giggle, leaving him with his forehead against the pillar. He is probably rubbing off on her, that behavior of his, and he doesn't know if it annoys or makes him proud.
He turns on his side and watches her go, his shoulder against the column, just in time to see her turn around with her cheeks blushed. As soon as she is out of sight, he melts to the floor.
[...]
ii.
When the war was over, and after Varick's wedding, Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Izumi invited everyone to their Ember Island house for a couple of days, which all the kids were excited about. Jinora had only been there once when she was very little, and Kai, well, had never been to a beach in his life, not even during his three years around the world.
Kya set a barbecue in the backyard garden with the help of Iroh and Lin just to piss Bumi off, now that he was forced to follow the airbenders' vegetarian cuisine. Kai heard a joke about barbecued watermelon that actually made him a little sick, so he searched for a quiet place where he could lay down for a bit.
It was a beautiful and warm day at the Island, and he found a big tree to lay under for a while, just until the food was ready. He didn't get to go to the beach yet, but everyone already had changed into beach clothes. As for Kai, he just took off his shirt to cool off a little, but Jinora… he had seen her after she changed. She was wearing a red one piece and it made such a contrast with her skin and her tattoos, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop admiring her.
Beautiful Jinora, with her incredible power and sharp mind.
Kai sighed. Yeah, he was totally in love.
That was so not gonna end well.
Of course they already were together, everyone knew that, but damn… every time she was around, the boy found himself dangerously close to losing his mind and doing something stupid, like stuttering or tripping over his feet.
She always said that he was adorable, but Kai was sure that he was this close to turning adorable into annoying if he didn't get a grip soon.
His thoughts were interrupted when Jin materialized by his side. From his place on the ground, she had legs for days. She kneeled down by his side, smiling.
"Hey there," Jinora said.
"Hey," Kai replied and his eyes followed her as she lay down on the ground too, but with her head next to his. When he looked at her, it was like she was upside down.
"What's up there?" she asked looking up. Kai felt his cheeks warm and diverted his eyes to the top of the tree again.
"Air," he said after a few seconds too long and Jinora hummed.
"I see," she said.
Yeah, now he couldn't see anything but her, it was impossible to not turn his head and watch her profile. Her eyes were shining because of the sunlight escaping through the leaves and the breeze made the shadows dance on her face.
Jinora turned to look at Kai too, and their noses touched, making them giggle. He felt her fingers in his hair, and it distracted him from touching the tip of her forehead arrow. Her eyes were clear, almost golden and her skin was starting to tan a little.
He wanted to kiss her. They hadn't had a quiet moment like that in forever, and it was about time to catch up on all that wasted time.
Kai got up on his elbow. Doing that meant that Jinora wouldn't keep her hand in his hair, but it also meant that he could lean down, closer, that he could reach down and kiss her even if it was a little awkward, a little unorthodox considering how they were laying.
Jinora didn't seem to mind, as she moved her lips in the kiss, locked his bottom lip between hers. Damn, it felt good to kiss her! Like when he'd free fall from Lefty knowing that all he had to do was flip his arms to control the flight, only better, only… it must be how it felt to actually fly.
"JINORA!" Tenzin shouted making the two teens stop right away. Kai dropped his head by hers, his forehead touching the humid grass while Jinora turned to her father with unnerving calm.
"Yes, daddy?"
"Come take care of Rohan for a while, or he'll run straight to the bottom of the ocean while your mother and I have lunch. You know I can't trust Ikki and Meelo on it."
"HEY!" Ikki protested, even though she looked really smug by her father's side. She must've been the one who caught them and ratted them out.
Jinora sat up, tucked her hair behind her ears and then touched Kai's shoulder.
"Yeah, of course. We'll be right there."
We. That magic word made Kai look up at her again and sit up as well. Tenzin didn't seem so happy about it, but he guessed it was better than letting the kids hide in the garden to do things he didn't want to think about his little girl being able to already.
They got up and followed Tenzin and Ikki back to the barbecue area holding hands. As boyfriend and girlfriend, they had a lot of catching up to do.
[...]
iii.
Kai and Ikki got their tattoos together. He was seventeen, she was thirteen. During the preparation, Meelo kept teasing Kai about shaving – according to the boy, to get the tattoos, he'd have to shave everywhere.
"Everywhere?" Kai asked running a hand on his bald head. The air acolyte had left them alone for a while to get whatever it was he needed to get.
"Everywhere, even the butt!" Meelo emphasized and Kai's eyes widened. It was so hard to tell when Meelo was joking or not, it worried him.
"That's not true," Jinora said from the door. She had her arms crossed and was leaning against the doorframe; Meelo grunted.
"Nora! You have got to let me mess with him sometimes!" he complained and she shook her head trying not to laugh. Her eyes diverted to Kai.
"Nice haircut," she said softly and he blushed.
"You think?" Kai asked watching her step closer, his hand still scratching the top of his head nervously. She was supposed to keep company with Ikki, but escaped for a second to check on him.
"Yeah, very air nomad-ish," Jinora said reaching out and touching his head, and this time she couldn't keep the chuckle down.
Kai dropped his hand and blushed furiously. Jinora had a different way of messing around, less obvious than her younger siblings, and it was even harder to keep up with her.
"Remember, it's just hair," she told him. "In no time you'll have your swag back."
"Oh, I didn't know you knew how to use the word 'swag'!" he joked and she hit his chest.
"I know how to use a lot of words, sweetie."
Damn, she kept doing this, kept oscillating between playfulness and seduction like it was no big deal, and the Spirits knew how much of a deal it was for Kai, when his girlfriend could transit from one thing to the other the way she goes from their world to the spirits' world so easily.
Sifu Jinora, granddaughter of Avatar Aang, was his certified death.
She pulled at his robes gently making him lean down, and kissed him, just a peck on the lips. That was all they could manage with Meelo in the room, before he'd start complaining about PDA.
"Woman, don't you have a sister to assist?" her younger brother pointed out with a raised eyebrow and Jinora rolled her eyes.
"See you on the other side, Kai," she said gently, already retreating through where she came from.
Kai sighed watching her go, and when they couldn't see her anymore, Meelo scoffed.
"Keep it in your pants, young man, air nomads believe in chastity!"
Kai looked at Meelo and crossed his arms.
"Do you even know what that means?"
And hell, it was worth it to see the boy blush.
[...]
iv.
It was easier to sneak out in the eastern air temple, because everyone had individual bedrooms on either sides – boys and girls. In her early days, Jinora would stay with her family at the main house, but ever since she was fourteen, Pema convinced Tenzin that she could do the whole rooms experience.
Normally, she would share with Opal and/or Ikki, but not in the East. And that was when she sneaked out.
Sneaking out wasn't something Jinora would normally do, but one's got to understand that it was a special occasion: the three year anniversary of the end of the Earth Empire. Three years of them being able to say that they were living normal air nomad lives.
Tell her that wasn't a big deal.
So yeah, she sneaked out of her room and into Kai's, and she spent a wonderful night there. Who could blame her, really?
The sun rose early, peeking through Kai's curtains, and Jinora already was awake. She wasn't sure she fell asleep, to tell the truth, so mesmerized by him that she was. She kept looking at him in wonder. This is Kai, her boyfriend. Her lover.
He stirred and opened his eyes, peeking at her; Jinora blushed, being caught starring and Kai smiled, sneaking an arm under her and around her waist.
"You like me," he said as a way of good morning, and she blushed even more, hiding her face with her hands.
Jinora yelped when Kai held her closer and her hands went to his neck; she was partially surprised to see that he was blushing too. She leaned closer, their lips practically touching.
"Yeah, I like you," she said. He smiled more. "I like you a lot."
"I noticed," Kai said.
"You noticed, huh?"
Kai nodded and then he kissed her. Gently at first, with eyes open and soft lips, but the kiss escalated quickly, getting deeper easily. Jinora needed all her self control to not lower her hands under the sheets to touch him all over, and Kai seemed to be having the same trouble, because his hands were incredibly antsy on her back and under her breast.
Before they could go any further, the door of Kai's room opened and Ikki barged in unceremoniously, crossing the small room with five steps and opening the curtains.
"Ikki, what the hell?" Jinora exclaimed pulling the sheets to cover them.
"Good morning!" Ikki exclaimed way too pleased with herself. Jinora frowned. "It's a beautiful morning, isn't it? Good for meditation, and gliding, and feeding baby bison. Did you sleep well, Nora? I hope so. Oh, and by the way, Daddy knows you didn't sleep in your room. Toodles!"
By the time Ikki finished talking, she already was out of the room and Jinora sat up.
"What?" she exclaimed. The door closed and she leaned back on the bed, feeling the end of the world approach. "Shit."
By her side, Kai gasped and she hit him. Sure, it was rare for her to cuss, but this was a special occasion. Jinora started to get up.
"I should get going, maybe I can save our skins-Kai!"
"Shhhh," Kai said, holding her against him and kissing her shoulder. "Five more minutes."
It was hard to say no to him. He was so good at distracting her.
"Five minutes," Jinora echoed a little out of breath. She tangled her fingers in his hair as he kissed up her neck. "Yeah, that's good."
That was great.
[...]
v.
Pepper lined up with Lefty and Juicy. Now that Opal was a Master too, the three friends could start their journey together – it was how they planned all along, back when the new airbenders started to be established at the Northern Air Temple. They were finally becoming the air nomads from Jinora's grandfather's time again, and it felt refreshing. Like freedom.
"It's the Great Divide!" Opal exclaimed pointing ahead at the mountain formation ahead of them.
Kai stood up on Lefty's neck.
"Hey, let's race there!" he suggested.
"How is that even fair?" Jinora protested. "We all know Juicy has shitty lungs, and that Lefty is faster."
With a swift motion, Kai jumped from his bison to Jinora's, landing by her side and putting an arm around her shoulders.
"We won't be racing on them! We'll fly there with our suits!" he explained and Jinora looked at Opal.
"That's more like it," she shrugged and Jinora smiled.
"I'm so gonna kick your asses," she said, standing up on Pepper's back. Kai mirrored her.
"Oh, you think?" Kai laughed and she crossed her arms.
"You don't? Competition is my jam, sweetie, I have three siblings."
"And I have four brothers!" Opal argued. "So who has the heads up here?" she asked pointing at herself.
"You really think your brothers count?" Jinora said with a raised eyebrow.
"I mean, the twins kinda do, but the rest…?" Kai backed her up. Opal narrowed her eyes.
"Besides, you're too sweet to let people lose," Jinora proceeded smirking and Opal practically stomped her feet.
"No! I'm a Beifong!" she got up. "I'm gonna win!"
With a graceful jump, Opal free fell for a few meters before opening her jumper.
"Follow me, Juicy!" she called and Kai and Jinora looked at each other.
"You're evil," he said and her smirk grew. "Also, you realize you gave her a head start, right?"
"She's not going to win," Jinora said with conviction and gave him a quick kiss. "Neither will you."
She ran to the back of Pepper's saddle so fast Kai barely noticed, and called her bison. Before he could even process it, Pepper propped Jinora up with her tail and his girlfriend flew past him like a bullet. Crap, he was really going to lose!
"Let's go, Lefty!" he called, jumping from Pepper, and his sky bison followed him down the divide.
Jinora won.