LES: I think I misspoke during the first chapter's author's note, and I just want to clarify something. When I said that I hated the love quadrangle that formed between Team Avatar, that doesn't mean that I have particular hatred for any of the specific pairings. I just tend to roll my eyes at relationship drama, in general. So while the individual pairings are pretty okay, and I'm pleased with how it all turned out, I just don't like that particular cliché.
Chapter II: Double Date
Asami laughed to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom and found that her wife was still laying in bed. Asami had always been something of an early-riser, but Korra was the exact opposite. Asami seriously doubted if Korra had even seen a sunrise since the end of her Airbending training.
But Asami didn't mind. She liked the quiet mornings, drink a nice steaming cup of tea, and read the stock information in the newspaper before Korra would wake up and they could discuss their plans for the day.
Asami padded into the kitchen and set out brewing a cup of her favorite breakfast tea. Their butler had all ready set that morning's newspaper on the table next to Asami's seat. So while waiting for the water to heat to a boil, Asami picked up the newspaper and was about to flip past the front page to the business section when a couple of familiar names jumped out at her.
Naturally, Asami stopped on the front page and read the title of the article. And when she had taken that and the article in, she once again laughed to herself. Oh, Korra is going to be so happy when she hears this news! Asami thought to herself as she finally turned her attention to the business section to read up on today's stock information while waiting for Korra to finally crawl out of bed.
It took a little over an hour for Korra to finally drag herself out of bed. As usual, Korra's first stop in the morning was to the kitchen for a cup of tea instead of getting ready. But Asami didn't mind. Korra looked beautiful, even with her hair all messed up from sleep.
"Good morning." Korra said with a yawn as she poured herself a cup of tea. She took a small sip and breathed a small sigh of relief as the warm liquid helped to wake her up.
"Good morning." Asami greeted. "You should read the newspaper today. There's some very interesting news on the front page." As Asami expected, Korra rolled her eyes and didn't immediately take the paper. She was still a little weary of the media from her early days doing her duty in Republic City, even though everything in general was going much better under President Moon. Zhu Li was everything Raiko wasn't, and knew how to get things done. It was just like they all once told her: anyone who could handle Varrick could handle Republic City easily. Asami smiled. "Go on. I promise that it's all good news."
Finally Korra relented and accepted the paper from Asami. She turned it back over to the front page and almost immediately found the article that she was referring to. Asami waited for Korra to finish reading the article, and was not at all surprised when she leapt up from her chair, picked Asami up by the waist and spun her around gleefully.
"Spirits! This is such good news!" Korra squealed happily. "Kai and Jinora must be so happy! We should go out to Air Temple Island today to congratulate them!"
"I was thinking the same thing." Asami said, giving Korra a brief kiss before she stepped out into the hallway to speak to her butler about clearing her schedule for the day.
"Oh! And we should take them out to dinner tonight!" Korra called to her wife.
Asami laughed before telling her butler to set up a reservation for them tonight.
It was a beautiful day at Air Temple Island, and a far cry from how it looked only a few years ago. With the almost complete destruction of the Northern Air Temple, Tenzin made the decision to make Air Temple Island the main home of the new Air Nomads. It was more centrally located than the other Temples, and the Airbenders loved to spend their free time in Republic City and the Spirit Wilds. So while the Temple had always been filled with Air Acolytes, now the entire Island was alive with Airbending activity. Korra even spotted Opal leading a group of new young Airbenders through their morning mediation, but she did not stop to say hi. There would be time to visit with Opal later.
As she made her way up to the main Temple building, she was quickly greeted by Tenzin. "Good morning, Korra. Good morning, Asami." Tenzin greeted with a smile.
"Good morning, Tenzin!" Korra replied with a smile. "So we saw the news in the morning paper and just had to rush over."
"This is such great news and we are so happy for Jinora and Kai." Asami said. "I know they've been together for several years now, but I didn't think that Kai would ever have the guts to ask for Jinora's hand. Speaking of which, you didn't go too hard on him, did you?"
"Can you ever be too hard on the man who wishes to marry your daughter?" Tenzin asked rhetorically.
Korra softly elbowed her Airbending Master in the side. "You might be able to fool Kai, but not me. You like him. Just admit it."
Tenzin looked around for any sign of Kai. It took several moments. Kai might have given up being a thief years ago, but he could still be plenty sneaky if he wanted to. "I'll freely admit that." Tenzin told Korra. "Yes, Kai has grown into a fine young man, and I am very pleased that he loves Jinora so much. But a little fear is healthy in the relationship between a father with his son-in-law."
"So when are you going to stop giving him a hard time?" Asami asked.
"Oh… I believe a couple more years should do it." Tenzin said with a playful smile that would seem more at home on Bumi's face rather than the strict Airbending Master.
"So where are Kai and Jinora? We would like to congratulate them." Korra said, looking around for any sign of the two Masters.
"According to Rohan, they were kissing at the breakfast table about a quarter of an hour ago. They could still be there, or Jinora could have dragged him off for their meditation by now." Tenzin answered.
"Thanks, Tenzin!" Korra said, rushing off while giving her old Airbending teacher a wave. Asami gave Tenzin a bright smile before following after her wife.
Tenzin chuckled to himself as he watched them make their way into the main building. "Kids these days."
In the breakfast pavilion, Korra and Asami found Jinora and Kai enjoying their breakfast together. Before even a Master Airbender could react, Korra was upon them, scooping both Airbenders up into her arms as they gave cries of shock. They quickly calmed down as they came to the realization that they only knew one person physically strong enough to do this.
"And here's the happy couple!" Korra said with a bright smile, tightening her grip on the two Airbenders.
"Korra… can't… breathe..." Kai gasped, and Korra released her hold on them.
Jinora managed to slip out of Korra's grip, but Kai was not so lucky. He remained trapped in Korra's arms as she hugged him again. Jinora was caught by Asami, who took her hands. "Korra and I just got the news this morning! Congratulations!" She said.
"Yes, congratulations! We are both so happy for you." Korra said, finally releasing Kai from her grip. The young man pulled away, straightening his robes and hair.
"Thank you." Jinora replied. "We are both really happy." She stepped up to Kai's side and took his arm. They smiled at each other fondly.
"Listen, are you two busy tonight?" Asami asked.
The two Airbenders glanced at each other. "We have to teach some classes today, but we should be done by this evening. Why?" Kai replied.
"Because we want to take you out to dinner to celebrate your engagement. Our treat." Asami said with a smile.
"Oh! That would be great! Which restaurant?" Jinora asked.
"Kwong's Cuisine." Asami answered. "It's the best restaurant in Republic City."
While Jinora gasped happily, Kai's face fell. Kwong's Cuisine had a pretty strict dress code, which Kai could not meet. From the time he'd joined the new Air Nation, he had never owned any clothes besides his Air Nomad robes and flight suit. And he very much doubted that the Air Nomad robes would be acceptable.
"Is something the matter?" Asami asked, noticing the look on Kai's face.
"It's just… I don't think I have any clothes that they would welcome in a high-end place like Kwong's Cuisine." Kai said, gesturing to his robes.
Instead of being disappointed, Asami just laughed. "Oh, that's no trouble at all. Mako had the same problem on our first date. We'll have something for you to wear, don't worry. Just show up at the restaurant, tonight, at six, ready to eat."
"Thank you so much. We will definitely be there." Jinora said. "Sorry, but we have to go. It's almost time for our classes to start."
"Don't be too hard on them." Korra said, giving them a thumbs up.
Kai and Jinora laughed. "Thanks." Jinora said. "See you two tonight!"
If there was one definite upside to living in Republic City, it was the night life. From sundown to sunrise, there was always something to do in Republic City. Kai walked down the streets of the city, just a little shocked at how many people recognized him on sight and were shouting words of congratulations at him. Of course, the tattoos were a dead give away. Only a handful of the Harmonic Airbenders had gotten their tattoos at all.
Asami had given him a call earlier telling him to show up a little early to the restaurant, which is why he was standing outside of Kwong's Cuisine an hour early. He didn't have to wait very long when a Satomobile parked on the street next to him and Asami stepped out. "Good. You're all ready here." She said, giving him a smile. "Follow me inside."
Kai fell into step beside her as they stepped inside the restaurant. The host noticed him first, and judging from his expression he was trying to decide if he wanted to allow him into the building with his Air Nomad robes on. The Air Nation had too few members for it to have come up before, obviously. But then he noticed Asami, not that it was hard to miss the Avatar's wife. "Oh! Good evening, Mrs. Sato!" The host said, bowing very low at the waist. "Your reservation is all prepared for tonight. Do you have additional instructions?"
"Yes, I do." Asami said. "I was wondering if we could give my friend here some appropriate clothes for dining here this evening." She passed the host a sizable stack of Yuans.
"Of course, I would be happy to..." The host finally got a look at his face and gasped with recognition. "Oh! You're the Air Nomad who is to marry Master Jinora!"
"Um… yeah. That's me." Kai said nervously.
"Congratulations! It's all anyone has been talking about all day! Am I to assume that this is a celebration of your engagement?" The host asked.
"Just a small one." Asami answered. "It's going to be just me, Korra, Jinora, and Kai."
"Wonderful. Well, shall we get you your new clothes, Master Kai?" The host asked, once again bowing so deeply at the waist that Kai kind of worried for him. Kai gave Asami a nervous look, but she smiled reassuringly at him, so he followed at the host without protest.
An hour later, Korra and Jinora showed up together in another Satomobile being driven by Korra. After months of practicing, Korra had finally gotten the hang of driving. But it still took another year and a half for Tenzin to be okay with Korra driving any of his children around.
Unlike Kai, Jinora was used to attending formal events all of her life, so she had plenty of options for Air Nomad formal wear. She was wearing an elegant silken dress in the bright Air Nomad colors of orange, yellow and red. Like the sunset, the colors shifted from golden yellow to blazing orange down her body, with a red accent scarf around her waist and then up over her shoulder.
The two women walked into the inviting atmosphere of the restaurant and were quickly greeted by the host. "Avatar Korra, Master Jinora, welcome to Kwong's Cuisine. If you would follow me, please, the rest of your party is waiting for you." He bowed low and began to lead them to the upper floors of the restaurant where the private rooms were.
In one of the private rooms, Kai was gently tugging at his collar. Never in his life had he worn anything nearly this fancy, and it was almost choking him. "I kind of feel like a hog monkey dressed up for a circus act." Kai said.
"Nonsense. You look great." Asami assured him. "And I can promise you that Jinora will be impressed."
"Really?" Kai glanced down at the penguin suit he'd been given to wear. Perhaps Asami was right, if only for the novelty of his outfit. But more than anything, he was looking forward to seeing Jinora. He had seen her in formal wear before, but he loved it every time she dressed up. Jinora was a beautiful woman, no matter what she wore, but Kai had always carried a secret fondness for her ballroom dresses.
"Oh, Kai, they're here!" Asami said, and Kai quickly jumped up out of his seat. Despite what Tenzin might say about him sometimes, he had learned his manners. So he quickly rushed to the door to meet Jinora to help her to her seat. But when the door opened his eyes almost fell out of his head.
She was so beautiful that he almost forgot the whole reason that he'd stood up to meet her at the door. But after a moment, he managed to compose himself and offered her an arm. "You look beautiful." He told her.
"And look at you!" Jinora's eyes swept up and down his body. She gently pressed into his side, hopefully so that Korra and Asami wouldn't notice. "We might have to look into getting a suit like this for you. It looks great on you."
And just like that, Kai felt a lot better about the penguin suit. Jinora pressed her hand to his chest, an unspoken signal between the two of them that Kai had learned meant that she wanted to kiss him. So he obliged her, pulling her into a soft kiss.
"How sweet!" Asami said with a smile.
"I know. Young love." Korra said with a laugh. "Now, come on you two! I'm starving!"
Kai was very impressed with Kwong's Cuisine. Growing up as an orphan and then on the streets had pretty much cut off all access to good food. And then he'd become a member of the Air Nation and things had definitely improved. Some of the other Airbenders complained about missing meat sometimes, and Kai did miss it sometimes, but one thing about not knowing where your next meal came from made him thankful for the food he had. So it didn't matter if meat was off the table, Pema and the Acolyte's cooking was still the best thing he'd ever tasted.
But the food was like from another world. Korra and Asami had compared it to the food they'd eaten in Zaofu, which just made Kai wonder how Opal had been able to deal with their meager rations when they were paired together as an Air Nomad team.
And the wine was pretty great too. Kai was no expert, but the wine tasted pleasant in his mouth and had almost none of the bitter after-taste one would normally associate with alcohol.
And one of the greatest things about the wine… it turns out that Korra got a bit talkative when she was tipsy, and was currently telling Kai a hilarious story about Jinora from when she'd first met the young Airbender.
"And then I asked Jinora what I should do about my feelings for Mako, and do you know what she said?"
Jinora currently had her palms pressed to her face in embarrassment. "Korra, please! I was only ten years old at the time!"
Korra snorted with laughter. "She said that my situation reminded her about a historical romance novel she'd just read. The female protagonist responded to the guy she loved loving someone else by hopping on a dragon, burning an entire country to the ground, and then jumping into a volcano!" She leaned over and elbowed Kai in the side. "I'm just sayin', kid, don't break her heart! I don't want to have to explain to Zhu Li why a dragon is burning down Republic City."
Jinora groaned in embarrassment while Kai just laughed at the story. "Please, Korra, I was just a child back then! I've matured since then, you know! I would not burn down a country and hop into a volcano anymore!"
Asami laughed, placing her hand on Korra's shoulder. "That's enough, dear. You're embarrassing Jinora." Korra at least had the decency to look apologetic. "So, how are you two feeling? Excited?"
Because Jinora was blushing so hard it almost seemed she was on the verge of lighting on fire, Kai answered. "Yeah, we're excited. A little nervous, too. But mostly excited."
"That's natural." Asami said with a smile. "You should have seen Korra before our wedding. She almost went into the Avatar State from nerves."
"Actually, I kinda did the night before." Korra confessed with a blush. "But it turned out fine. Married life is great, and there's no one I'd rather spend my life with." Asami met her eyes with a smile and they shared a kiss. "And it seems like everyone is excited."
"It almost seems like they are more excited for your marriage than for mine." Korra commented.
"Well, there have been two more Avatar marriages than one hundred percent Air Nomad marriages in the last two hundred years." Asami pointed out. "Anyway, we know that planning a wedding is crazy, so if you need any help we are here for you."
"Actually, there is something..." Jinora began after she recovered from her embarrassment. She met Kai's eyes for a few moments, and then he nodded in agreement. "Asami, I was sort of hoping that you would stand for us?" (A/N: Somewhat modern translation: be a Bridesmaid/Groomsman, but normally only for family.)
Asami looked a little shocked. After all, it was normally family who held that position in weddings, or at least that's how it was in non-Air Nomad weddings. Maybe it was different in their culture? "If you are sure, I would be honored. But isn't that supposed to be your families?"
"What are you talking about? You are like my family. And do you think we could stop Bolin for standing for Kai?" Jinora laughed. Even after all of these years, Bolin had never stopped referring to Kai as his honorary little brother. "And if Bolin stands for Kai, Mako will as well. We want everyone to share in our happy day."
"And what about me?" Korra asked. "You don't want me to stand for you?"
"Well… yes, but only because… well… we were sort of hoping that you would be the one to marry us." Jinora said nervously.
At the look on Korra's face, Kai quickly jumped in. "If you don't want to, you are welcome to stand for us instead. We just thought..."
The shocked look on Korra's face fell away and was replaced by a smile. "You guys… I would be honored to perform your wedding ceremony. You'll just have to get Tenzin to teach me how the Air Nomad ceremony goes. I don't have my past lives to ask anymore."
"Of course. And you'll have plenty of time to learn." Jinora assured her. "Autumn is over half a year away. And there are a few traditions that we cannot follow, simply because of the situation that we are in..."
"It's kind of hard for my family to negotiate a betrothal since I have no family." Kai said, shrugging. Nor did Jinora have a maternal uncle for Kai to get permission to propose to her. Some parts of Air Nomad tradition would have to be left by the wayside.
"No problem at all. If I learned all four Bending practices, I can learn one wedding ceremony, no problem."
"And I'll be happy to stand as your family." Asami said, smiling.
The rest of the evening past in good food, good drink, and happy company. Jinora and Kai couldn't think of a happier way to begin their engagement.
LES: Since the Air Nomads are clearly based on Tibetan culture, I have made an effort to go by real life Tibetan culture when it comes to a wedding ceremony. I have a couple of websites bookmarked on my computer and am doing my best to accurately portray their culture. There might be some missteps. At least one of the websites I'm using was clearly written by someone who had only a passing understanding of English, so it's a little hard to make out. But, hopefully, but putting it all together, I can make something that is not offensive. One of the things I've learned is that it is often not the boy himself who proposes, but the boy's parents, to the girl's parents. Arranged marriage can be a thing in Tibet, but this process can also be started by the boy asking his parents to approach the girl's family for him. But, since Kai has no parents I felt safe ignoring this. I was also interested to read on one of the websites that a boy was expected to get permission from the girl's maternal uncle. Jinora has a paternal uncle, but we don't know if Pema has any male siblings, so I'm skipping that one too.
