Title: Parachutes
Author: tenzins
Disclaimer: nope, not me.

A/N: This one was a bit of a tough one, but hey, that's all okay. I gotta it done!

She's calm.

She always has been. Since the time of early childhood, she was marveled at for her utter composure, and how one could almost forget she was in the room if they weren't paying attention. She slipped away to the library many times this way, escaping her mother's grasp to go find another fable book to immerse herself in. And when finally found, she'd plan again to leave the room and be all alone, with nothing but thoughts and words.

Yet, she had a sense of adventure, a longing, to be like her siblings, so free and spirited. Ikki and Meelo could play for hours, making up scenarios, where Ikki had to play the valiant hero and Meelo was the villain, and they'd chase each other on their air scooters. Jinora would watch, and know that they rarely asked her to play these games, because she'd never been good at them.

That, too, changed.

Five-year-old Rohan sits on her lap, his fists holding his blanket to his chest. He's unusually quiet, and she's apprehensive as to why. She reaches down and tickles him, and he giggles loudly, reaching up to try and stop her.

"Stop sissy," he groans, and she smiles at him. His giggles slow as she pulls her hands back, and his face becomes serious again. He stares up at her with wide, wondering eyes, and she grins at him.

"Do you want to go play with Meelo?" she finally asks, and he perks up. She hangs her head in defeat as he runs off in the direction of outside, his little legs stumbling.

"Be careful!" she yells after him, and he just breezes out the door. She lets out a sigh, and stands up. She stretches straight up, before deciding to head to the library to continue studying airforms for her test. She's almost sixteen, and her father is putting pressure on her to get her airforms perfect.

She sits down quietly in the library, pulling over the book she's been pouring over for the past two weeks. Most of the forms she knows, and has perfected, but she's always believed that there's no such thing as too much practice.

She's staring intently at a move her father's perfected, when she hears someone entering the library. She sits up straight in the chair, her back rigid, when she notices that it's just Bolin. She smiles.

"Hi Bolin," she greets him, and he smiles at her.

"Are you still pouring over those books? Have you gone outside in the past two weeks?" he teases, and she sends him a glare.

"I have gone outside, thank you very much," she snaps, and he frowns.

"I was kidding, Jinora. I know you've been outside, practicing," he insists, and she lets out a breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm just stressed. I want nothing but the best for my test," she confesses, her eyes staring at the book, and her hands clenched on the edges. He bends his knees so he's at eye level with her, and pulls her chin up so she's looking at him.

"You're going to do fine, trust me. You're talented, Jinora, don't doubt yourself," he says softly, his voice laced with encouragement. She smiles at him, a little tear coming to her eye at all of the frustration and worry she's put herself through. He smiles at her.

"And come on, isn't air all about freedom? Why don't you go outside and have some fun?" he stands, and holds out his hand for her to take. She stares down at her book, and then back up at him, before setting the book on the table and taking his hand. He smiles at her as he pulls her out of the library, eventually letting go of her hand as they head outside. She blushes.

"What kind of fun are you talking about?" she whines, and he gives her a look.

"I'm talking about something that makes you feel free, and makes you laugh. What do your siblings play?" he asks as they reach head down to the center of the island, where there's the most room. She scrunches up her face.

"I don't know, they're always so noisy," she complains, and he nudges her.

"The noise is part of the fun," he laughs, and she grins up at him. She barely comes up to his shoulders still. It bugs her.

"Well, then what are we going to do?" she asks as they reach the center of the island, and he puts his hand to his chin. Suddenly, he reaches over and taps her arm, before running off in the other direction.

"You're it!" he yells, and she stands there baffled for a second before she runs after him, following the sounds of his laughter.

"You want to play tag with an airbender?" she yells as she swings around a tree, following his maniacal path. He suddenly stops and turns, and she has to dig her heels in to stop before hitting him. She stares up at him.

"Yes, I do," he states before he takes off again, and she sighs. She runs after him, using the tiniest bit of airbending to try to keep up with him. His legs are stronger and longer than hers, making him faster.

She finally catches up with him and tags his shoulder, and he groans.

"No cheating!" he yells as he chases after her, and she just laughs. She's tempted to use an air scooter, but she refrains as she runs through some of the trees, cracking up at the sound of him maneuvering through them.

"You wanted to play," she says as she turns around and runs right by him, and he speeds off to catch her. She panics for a moment coming out of the trees, and she races down to the dock.

"Oh, I've got you," he hollers up at her, and she looks around. She's certainly caught, and she turns around to face him as he walks up to her. She holds her breath as he stops not but a foot in front of her, and points at her.

"You sure are fast, Nora," he says breathlessly, and her cheeks flare up at the nickname. No one other than her family's ever called her that, and it pulls at something in her stomach. She crosses her arms.

"I'm an airbender. I have amazing speed," she brags, and he crosses his arms to mimic her.

"I heard you laughing. You were having fun," he says pointedly, and she pouts.

"So what if I was," she snaps back, and he shrugs casually.

"But, you do realize you're trapped, as long as you don't cheat," he responds, and she stares at him blankly.

"I don't cheat," she insists, and he raises his hands in a sign of surrender. He walks forward so he's toe to toe with her, and she has to look straight up to see his face. There's warmth on the back of her neck again. She swallows.

"Then in that case, you're it," he says, tapping her on the head.

They don't move for a moment, his head still placed lightly on her head. Her cheeks flare up, and before he can say anything, she flies up into the air and disappears over his head.

"That's cheating," he yells up at her, and he can hear her laugh echoing off the island, and it makes him smile.

A/N: And, as always, reviews are appreciated! :)

-tenzins