CHAPTER SIX: The Holidays Part II

Kai nervously knocked on Rohan's door the next night, his heart falling when he saw the nervous look on the younger boy's face. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hello, Kai."

"Jinora and I wanted to take you somewhere. If you'd like to come along."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Kai bent down to his level. "Look, Ro, I'm real sorry about yesterday. I was just in a bad mood, but I wasn't actually mad at you, okay?"

"I didn't do anything bad?"

"Of course not."

"You...you still like me?"

"Of course I do, Ro. I'm sorry I made you think I didn't."

Rohan gave him a small, slow smile. "Where are we going?"

###

Kai's arm was aching when they got to the top of the crow's nest, but it wasn't so bad as he set Rohan onto the ground, and he sat in Jinora's lap, looking up at the sky with wide eyes. There was a tin of cookies and another kettle of hot chocolate situated around a heap of blankets.

"They're so big from up here!" Rohan exclaimed as Kai sat down beside them. Kai placed the tin of cookies in Rohan's lap.

"We also made these for you," he said, "with the help of our ship's cook, anyway." He watched as Rohan opened them, his eyes lighting up as he pulled out a large, misshapen chocolate chip cookie, munching on it happily. "So, are they good enough for you to forgive me?"

Rohan nodded, letting out a soft giggle. "I would've anyway, Kai," he said, and Kai held back a sigh of relief.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Rohan leaned against Kai's upper arm. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean it."

"It's still not okay, Ro. And I'll try to never do it again. You're a great kid, and you didn't deserve that. You never deserve that."

"Kai?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"I'm just glad you're still my friend."

Kai glanced at Jinora, whose eyes were shining, before letting Rohan climb into his lap, pointing up at the sky.

"Look how bright Raava's tail is from here!" he exclaimed, his short, chubby finger pointing along a string of closely-clustered stars.

"You really do know your stars buddy," said Kai. "I'm impressed."

"Some books say there's secret constellations only pirates know," he continued, looking up at Kai. "Is that true?"

"There are constellations pirates created," he admitted. "But we don't use 'em for any good reasons, Ro. Don't worry. You know a lot, and you're way younger than me."

"I wanna know your constellations anyway," he said. "So when you're at school with Jinora, or with the other pirates, I know we're looking at the same constellations."

Kai smiled softly. "Okay, okay. Here's one, then. It's one of my favourites. See that cluster over there? With the really bright star on the end?" The stars were grouped very closely together, with one shining particularly brightly near the top of the cluster, at the midway point. Rohan nodded. "It's supposed to be a sword hilt, but the blade is missing. It represents pirate philosophy."

"Which is?" Jinora asked dryly.

Kai looked at her, his eyes lingering. "Never start a fight you can't win. Don't want something you can't have. And to make the most of what you have been given in life, but never forget to earn it, too." He looked away from her. "In winter, the blade shows up because the stars change position. The day of the blade is the closest thing we have to a national holiday."

Rohan looked up at it in awe. "How do you celebrate?"

"It's...a little bit like a second new year's day. Some people believe that making a gamble on the day of the blade is more likely to be successful. Others go to sea witches to get their fortunes told, because it's supposed to bring good things to your future. Personally, I just like sleeping in." He smiled when both Jinora and Rohan laughed. "But a lot of the crew here, they're more practical, and just use it as a day to...be braver, with their feelings. Good and bad. A lot of relationships are started on that day. But a lot of friendships can also be broken."

"We'll always be friends, won't we?" Rohan asked, stifling a yawn.

Kai ruffled his hair. "Of course, buddy."

Rohan gave him a sleepy smile. "Good." He curled up in Kai's lap and fell asleep, his eyelids drooping closed. Kai and Jinora exchanged a soft smile.

"Should we bring him back?" Kai asked.

"In a bit." She looked back up at the stars. "Is that true, about the day of the blade?"

"Yeah. It can be kind of a dangerous day, though. That's part of why I like to just...stay in. Belief in extra luck can be dangerous if enough people believe in it, surprisingly. Some pirates take it as an opportunity to do terrible things."

"That's not surprising, actually," she remarked. "You do know that most pirates aren't like you, right?"

"I know… just, it gives us all a bad rep, and not necessarily earned, y'know?"

"Ah, yes, earning things. A part of pirate philosophy, or just yours?"

"Both. The first two parts are true, though. About fights and wanting things. Greed and pride can be anyone's undoing."

"It can't always be intentional, though," said Jinora. "I mean, we can't always control what we want, now can we?"

He glanced at her. "No. I guess we can't."

Her cheeks grew warm, in spite of the cold. "And...you never know if you can't have it, if you don't try, right?"

"Trying isn't always enough," he said quietly, looking away. "I've tried and failed to be happy more times than I can count."

Jinora glanced away with a slight frown. "You deserve to be happy, you know."

"Thanks, but… A lot of people who deserved more than I did have gotten much less than I have. I guess the world just has to balance itself out, and someone has to pay the price. I don't mind if it's me, as long as no one else gets hurt."

She laid a hand on his arm. "If something happened to you, it would hurt a lot of people. Yung, your crew, my family. Me."

He managed a small smile. "Maybe that's why I was lucky enough to meet you. To save you. So that you could save me."

She smiled. "I'll be here to save you as often as you need it."

"Likewise."

"It's good to know I've already expanded your vocabulary."

Kai reached over and tapped her on the nose. "Doesn't matter how many big fancy words you teach me. You'll always be cute."

She flushed, shoving him in the shoulder. "Shut up."

"What? I mean it. You're adorable."

"Adorable is for a schoolgirl."

"But," he teased, arching an eyebrow, "you are a schoolgirl?"

"You know what I mean." She blushed furiously, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's for someone young, like—like Ikki, or something. I'm almost sixteen. I don't want to be cute. I want to…"

"To be beautiful?" he suggested, his voice going soft. Jinora nodded, grateful that the darkness hid her flush. "Because you are. You're stunning."

"You're not saying that just because I wanted you to?"

"I'm finally saying it because maybe I'm sleep deprived enough to think it's a good idea," he clarified. "You… are so beautiful, sometimes, when I look at you, I can't breathe."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Really." He swallowed hard. "It's kind of happening right now, with the… with the stars in your eyes."

Jinora chewed on her bottom lip, and for a moment it looked like something far too womanly to be cute, and far too tempting. "Oh."

Kai cleared his throat, forcing himself to look away. "We should get Rohan inside, it's...getting really cold." Even if he'd hardly ever felt warmer.

"O-oh. Right." She stood up, and he picked Rohan up into his arms, before climbing down the rope grid with one hand, the other curled around the sleeping kid to keep him secure. Jinora climbed down after him, slowly but more surely, landing more confidently on her feet when they reached the floor of the deck.

Kai nudged her in the side as they walked back towards the mansion, Rohan still in his arms. The kid was heavier this time, too, but nothing he couldn't manage. "Look at you, getting over your fear of heights. I'm proud of you, Jin."

She blushed again—gosh, would she ever stop?—and nudged him back. "I knew you'd catch me."

"Well I'm glad you trust me, anyway." He smiled at her, as they got inside the warm house and went up the staircase. The boy's rooms were at one end of the main hallway, the girl's on the other. "G'night, Gyatso," he said, with that same soft smile that was doing funny things to her insides.

"Goodnight, Kai." She wasn't sure how long they both stood there, till she finally turned away, her stomach fluttering as she walked into her room.

She closed her door behind her and dragged her cold hands down her face. She couldn't possibly, no… she couldn't like him. A small, innocent crush, maybe, but she couldn't honest to God like him.

He was her friend. She was fond of him, and cared about him. That was all. He may be attractive, but that didn't mean she was attracted to him. Or if she was, it was only a teeny, tiny bit. Like how Ikki was crushing on him. That was harmless enough, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

###

"Again."

Panting, Kai lifted his sword, and went to try and find a place to strike at Zaheer. Sparring with the captain himself was a rare occurrence for a good reason, with how taxing it was, but it was always a good, if difficult lesson, that usually went on for maybe half an hour.

This had been going on for three, as apparently Zaheer was determined to make up for lost time.

He couldn't even feel the winter chill, his skirt sticking to his skin with sweat, as more beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He let out a huff when Zaheer blocked his strike again, trying to hold his ground as Zaheer pushed back. The captain used his weight to his advantage, putting more pressure on his sword, and shoving Kai backwards. The boy stumbled, and nearly slipped on ice, staggering when the captain's meaty fist collided with his jaw—although not as hard as it could have, he knew, from watching the man knock people out with a single punch.

Kai tasted blood in his mouth.

"Be better, boy! You think anyone else is going to go easy on you?"

Kai clenched his jaw, pushing himself onto his feet, and he grabbed his sword, swinging it down onto Zaheer's. He grabbed the captain's fist with his other hand when it came at him, gritting his teeth as he dug in his heels. His left foot hit a patch of ice, and Zaheer used the momentum to push him backwards. He slammed the butt end of his sword into Kai's side, and Kai hit the a craggy piece of ice hard in the ribs on his way down, his pants soaked through with snow as he grabbed his dagger, his sword skidding away, breathing hard when Zaheer struck him across the face again.

"Get up, boy."

Kai pushed himself up onto one knee, and then winced, wrapping an arm around his stomach. There was a strange ringing sound in his ears. "I'm trying," he croaked, his throat dry.

Zaheer raised his sword, and Kai wondered if he'd get grazed or slashed, depending on merciful the captain was feeling. "Try harder!" The sword came down.

"Zaheer, that's enough!" Yung's voice was enough to slow Zaheer slightly, enough to give Kai time to roll out of the way of his sword. Yung rushed over, helping Kai onto his feet. "You've worked him for hours. He needs to rest."

"Fine," Zaheer snapped. "Let him be weak. I'm going to go take care of more important pursuits." He stormed off towards the Waterbender, his sword still swinging with every step.

"Kid, are you okay?" Yung asked anxiously, and Kai grunted. "Oh, we should have Longshot take a look at you. He's up at the house because Meelo mentioned something about feeling under the weather."

"'M fine," Kai mumbled, but he let Yung pull his arm along the pudgy's man shoulders anyway.

"Captain was being far too hard on you," Yung said furiously, as they reached the gardens and started up the steps towards the mansion's backdoor porch. "He knows what I've told him about hitting you, and—"

"It's fine," Kai said. "I'm fine."

"No, it is not fine. He's been pushing you way too hard lately. You're a boy, not a weapon. I'm going to have a word with him later, but for now…" Yung looked at him worriedly as they entered the back door foyer. "Nothing feels like it's broken?"

"Yung, I'm fine. Just sore."

"You have a bruise forming on your jaw, you're not alright, young man, and—" He looked up, and found their medic looking at him with raised eyebrows. Tenzin, Pema, and Jinora were standing close behind—Meelo must have already been dealt with and sent back to his room for more bedrest. "Longshot, have a look at him, would you?"

Jinora clamped her hands over her mouth when she got a good look at him, and Tenzin's eyebrows shot up. "What on earth happened?"

"Captain was training him too hard," Yung said with a frown, and Kai rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I'm fine—"

"You have a slight lump on the back of your head," Longshot said, his hand skimming a sore spot along Kai's scalp. "How hard did you hit the ice? Let me see your ribs, and your shoulder, for that matter. Nothing should have reopened but we don't want it to be agitated. And we'll get something for the bruise on your jaw."

"Do I have to?" he whined.

Yung tried to remain patient. "Kai, you need to take it easy. We'll talk to Zaheer—"

"No, he's on my case enough without you guys making it worse by babying me—"

"You are a child, and he should treat you like one—"

"When have I ever been treated like a child?!"

Yung frowned, and then sighed. "Longshot, take him to his room."

Kai scowled. "Yung—"

"Go to your room, Kai. Now."

He let out a huff, but allowed Longshot to take him to his room, up the stairs while still babbling about medical nonsense. Yung rubbed at his temples.

"Zaheer's been like this all winter," he muttered. More impatient and agitated than usual, and it had only gotten worse since Kai had come back on winter break, and his short 'vacation time' of the actual vacation had been deemed over by the captain.

"Is...there anything we can do?" Tenzin asked uneasily.

"Not really, but thank you for offering, but… this is between us and Zaheer, and he's not used to taking anyone else's orders, but he'll have to get used to it soon enough," Yung said grumpily.

"But Kai's okay?" Jinora checked.

"He should be fine. Longshot's fixed up much worse."

It didn't exactly make her feel better to know that Kai had been worse, but she nodded anyway. "You think I can go up and see him in a bit? If Longshot's done?"

"Go ahead. Having you there might calm him down a little bit. I'm going to wait a little while before talking to him, anyway."

Jinora went upstairs, and when she was gone, Yung let out a long sigh, dragging a hand down his face.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Tenzin asked.

"A drink, maybe," Yung said flatly. "And Lefty. I'll… go get him from the ship."

"We can get one of the servants to do that," Pema said. "Why don't you and Lefty join us in the tea room? We'll have some wine ready for you both."

Yung gave them a small, appreciative smile. "Thanks." He let them guide him into their tea room, after dispatching a servant to go get the other pirate from down at the icy docks. Yung accepted the cup of tea that Pema poured for him with a grateful smile. "Thank you. I don't usually lose my cool with him—and he doesn't usually lose his temper like that, at least not at me, but… it's hard, sometimes."

"I think given the circumstances, you've done a wonderful job with him," said Pema. "But no parent can have all the answers to every problem."

"For example, Meelo has no idea what career he wants to go into, and refuses to talk about it," said Tenzin. "Except for joining the United Forces, which is admirable, but dangerous. And one day Ikki's gossiping is sure to get her in trouble, and Rohan's rather… different than other children his age, and I know he tries not to let it bother him, even if it does. Every child comes with their owns ups and downs to navigate."

Yung took a sip of his tea, and then set his cup down. "Well, what about Jinora?"

A crease formed in Tenzin's brow. "What do you mean?"

"What about her ups and downs? You didn't mention any."

"Oh. Well…"

"She...never really has any 'downs'," Pema said carefully. "No child is perfect, but… she comes pretty close. She's always been so mature, and well behaved. Something that's particularly important for a young lady of our… status. Especially considering Tenzin's political career."

"You've never had any trouble with her?"

"We really haven't. She's always been well-behaved, performs more than well in school, is friendly, well-liked, and has always been a good influence on her younger siblings. I suppose we just got lucky with her."

Before Yung could find anything else to say, Lefty walked into the room and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So, what happened this time?"

"More of Zaheer's training," Yung said, and Lefty let out a low hum. "He hit him twice across the face, and then when I'd said I'd talk to him about it, Kai said I was coddling him."

Lefty winced. "You think getting hit is what made him get defensive?"

"I'm sure it is. Zaheer's always getting on him about being 'weak', that, and…" Yung sighed. "You know how Kai can get sometimes."

"I know," Lefty said with a slight frown. "Do you think it's… he's been sleeping okay recently?"

"I'm not sure," Yung admitted. "I just—he's been through a lot of changes this year. I think—I hope it's just that."

"What else would it be?" Tenzin asked, stroking his beard. Pema too had learned forward in interest and concern.

Yung shared a glance with Lefty. "Kai was on his own for… a very long time, before I found him. The slums of Omashu are no place for a child. Sometimes he can become withdrawn… distant, angry. He stops sleeping, eating. It...happens more often in winter, I think. I don't know if it's because of the season, or because something happened during this time that he wants to forget, or…"

"If you think it's best, we could hire a therapist of some sort, or—"

"That's very generous of you, really," Yung said, "but he doesn't even talk to us, when he's like that. There's no way he'd talk to a stranger, a professional or not. It's usually quick, and he snaps out of it. I've never seen it last more than a week."

"Still," said Tenzin. "If he ever wants… more than that, there are plenty of trained mental health professionals within the city we'd be happy to reach out to. If that's something he wants."

Yung blinked rapidly. "Thank you, Governor. I didn't think that would ever be an option for him, even if he'll do nothing but refuse it." He managed a small smile. "But I'll let him know that it's an option, nonetheless."

"But what are we going to do about him now?" Lefty said. "I mean, I know he'll come downstairs in an hour and apologize, but…"

"We'll keep an eye on him," Yung said. "But carefully, so he doesn't start putting his walls up… I do think Jinora's been good for him, though. He's never had a friend his age before."

"We'll ask her how he's doing, when she comes back down," Tenzin said.

"Meanwhile…" Yung sighed. "Lefty, stick around would you? I'm going to go give Zaheer a piece of my mind."

"I'll help you swab the deck if it goes south," Lefty said, and Yung snorted, getting to his feet.

He clapped him on the shoulder. "Thank you, Akash."

Yung left without another word, heading out into the cold. Lefty scratched at his large belly, before looking out of the tea room when one of the steps of the staircase creaked. Kai was standing on it, with Jinora and Longshot behind him.

"Kai, are you—"

"I'm tired," he said, before Lefty could even finish. "Did Yung already go down to the ship?"

"'Fraid so, kiddo. Longshot, what's the situation?"

"Very minor bruising near the ribs, bruise on the back of the head but no concussion, his shoulder is fine," the medic reported. "All in all, it could have been a lot worse."

Lefty nodded briefly, placing a large hand on Kai's shoulder. "We're taking care of it right now—"

"I'm fine," he insisted, then glanced at Jinora, his features softening. "Just tired. I'm going to rest for a while."

"Fine," Lefty said. "We're just a short walk away, if you need us."

"I know." Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "I am sorry for losing my temper, though…"

"Yung knows, kid, but you should probably say that to him anyway."

Kai glanced at Pema and Tenzin, his eyes widening a little, but otherwise his expression didn't change. He looked at the floor. "I'm just gonna go… yeah." He headed back upstairs, waiting a few steps before his pace increased.

Jinora looked over her shoulder, but dutifully came down the stairs anyway. "Can I be excused from my lesson with the Governess today?" she asked her parents, mostly her father.

"Well...I suppose we can cancel just this once," he said carefully, and Jinora gave him a grateful smile, leaning up to peck him on the cheek.

"Thank you."

Tenzin's suspicions were confirmed when Jinora turned and walked very calmly, but walked back upstairs all the same. Pema took his arm, giving him a knowing smile.

"They'll be fine," she said. "And they'll come back down when they're ready."

"Should they really be alone—"

"They'll be fine."

"Trust me, I made sure Kai knows enough that he's not gonna touch a girl with a ten foot pole for a couple of years," Lefty said proudly.

Longshot grabbed his arm. "I'm taking you back down to the ship before you can say another word, Akash. We all know you scarred that boy for life."

"You're welcome," Lefty said to Tenzin, and Longshot dragged him away without another word.

Once they were gone, Pema couldn't help but give a very unladylike snort. "Well," she said, trying not to smile, "they certainly are characters."

"I know," Tenzin said. "I still can't believe how many pirates we've had in our house this year."

"Oh, you like them well enough in spite of that, no matter how much you try to hide it. And there's still plenty we haven't met."

"Don't remind me," he groaned, and Pema laughed softly, kissing her husband's bony cheek.

"And if they're all just as nice, then I'm sure we won't mind. Or at least, they're the pirates I would want to take in our daughter if any ever had to. She and Kai are certainly taken with each other."

"And you're still comfortable with them in each other's rooms, somehow."

"Oh, come now, he's a perfect gentleman, in all the ways that matter. Do you really doubt that he wouldn't treat her properly?"

"It's not that, necessarily," said Tenzin, turning more red by the minute. "But—you know what our crowd is like, and what they'd think. And beyond that, teenagers can grow up to be very different people, and they already come from very different worlds. What seems like a good idea when you're a teenager, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, can turn out to be a terrible mistake later on."

"Then we just have to trust that they're smart people, who will make good choices."

Tenzin didn't say anything else, but glanced up the stairs apprehensively anyway. "If you say so, dear," he said after a while.

"Good. Now, shall I go have one of the maids get some tea ready for us?"

"And another one to tell the Governess her wisdom is not required today? I think so." Tenzin gave her a small smile. "We could use an hour or two to relax, anyhow."

###

"You're sure your head's okay?"

"It only hurts when I press on it." Kai took her hand and guided it to the back of his head, where his bump was. "But it's already getting smaller, I think. Careful."

Her fingers skimmed the sore spot, before she drew her hand away. "I'm glad you're okay."

Kai cracked a smile at her. "You've already said that."

"Well, it bears repeating." She frowned. "I hate seeing you get hurt."

"You don't have to worry, Gyatso. I'm tougher than I look."

Her frown lessened. "Still. If you hit that any harder, you'd have a concussion."

He gave her a small grin. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you cared."

"Of course I care. I care about whether or not you'll become even more of a pain when you're confined to bed," she said, her mouth lifting.

"Definitely more of one," Kai said, his grin widening. "It's a good thing you like me so much."

She snorted, shoving him lightly in the shoulder, even if she was blushing. "As if. Ikki's the one with the crush on you." She clamped her mouth shut, but it was too late. Oh, Ikki would kill her if she knew she'd just said that.

"She does?"

"Don't you ever tell her I said that."

Kai blinked, his eyes thoughtful. "Huh."

Jinora studied him. "What is it?"

"Never thought she really noticed me."

"What, do you like her?"

"No. She's like, twelve?"

"Thirteen," Jinora corrected him, her lungs feeling a little less tight now.

Kai shrugged as though it didn't make any difference. "She's a cute kid but she's a kid, and your sister, so she's almost like… my sister? It's weird."

"Oh, okay." Jinora tried not to let a sigh of relief escape her lungs too loudly. "Wait, does that mean that I'm like your sister, or…?"

"What? No! I mean, uh…" The tips of Kai's ears turned red. "You're not my sister. You're my friend. That's...different."

Jinora looked at him carefully. "Alright. Good."

He coughed. "So, don't you—um, aren't you supposed to be having a lesson with the Governess today?" He impersonated the woman's finicky, stern voice. "'To teach you how to be a proper young lady'—and all that bullshit."

Jinora let out a giggle. "Not today. I had my father cancel."

"Why?"

Jinora laid down next to him. "I just didn't feel like having my lesson today."

"Hmm. Well if you ever want to use me as an excuse, go ahead." He started toying with the ends of her hair, and she shifted her head into his lap. He smiled softly, twirling the end of a strand around his finger, silently wondering how something could be so soft as he slowly ran his hands through her hair.

"You'd let me use you whatever way I wanted," she mumbled.

Kai snorted, even if his blush deepened. "Probably true." He paused when she sat up, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So what about you? How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," he said, his voice soft. "I do feel bad for yelling at Yung though. He doesn't deserve that."

"I'm sure he understands. We can walk back to the ship together, whenever you're ready."

"Thanks, Jin." He took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too."

He rested his head on top of hers. "Who would've thought we'd be such good friends? A pirate and a high society girl, I mean."

"Me, obviously," she said, "because I know everything."

He laughed. "C'mon, be serious. I can't believe I have to be the serious one right now."

"You can blame your influence on me," she teased. "No matter how it happened, I'm just glad it did," she said, more sincerely. "You're my best friend."

"And you're mine. And don't worry, I won't mention anything to Ikki."

"Thanks, Kai."

He nudged her shoulder with his. "Of course. What are friends for?"

She smiled, curling into him. "For making sure you get rest. I'll even stay here with you, if you want."

"Your dad won't mind?"

"He'll be fine." They laid back against the pillows, and Kai wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks, Jin," he whispered, and flushed when Jinora pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Sleep well, Kai."

###

When Kai woke up a few days later (the fight with Yung put behind him), he was in a warm bed, with no rocking of the waves beneath him, and a dense mass bouncing on top of him. He opened his eyes to see Rohan sitting on his stomach, patting his chest as he whispered, "It's Festival morning!"

"What?" he answered groggily, and then he heard a familiar laugh, and sat up to see Jinora in a white, flowing nightgown, holding a large box with both hands.

"Kai? Are you awake now?" Rohan asked, and Kai looked back at the boy now in his lap, and nodded with a sleepy smile, picking Rohan up as he slipped out of bed.

"What are you doing in my room, silly?" he asked, placing Rohan on his feet.

"We have a present for you!" Rohan said, and Kai looked back up at Jinora.

"For me?"

"It was Rohan's idea, and he worked very hard on it," she said, handing Kai the box. "I promise we'll let you go back to sleep after you've opened it."

"No, it's okay, I…" He looked back at Rohan. "You made something for me?"

"Jinora helped! Because I'm still trying to learn how to write, so she wrote the words for me, but I did a lot of the drawing!"

Kai glanced at the box with a small, curious smile, before carefully unwrapping it. "How long did you spend making it?" he asked, undoing the bow at the top before ripping the red-and-white wrappings over the box.

"I dunno," Rohan said, looking at Jinora expectantly. Jinora sat down on the end of Kai's bed, pulling Rohan into her lap.

"About a month," she said, "right Ro?"

"Yeah, it felt that long," he said, and both teenagers smiled.

Kai opened the top of the box, then pulled out a thick roll of paper. He looked at Jinora curiously, before unfurling it. It fell past his feet, curling up on the floor, stars and constellations drawn out with neatly-written names underneath, and dates written carefully under that.

"Whoa." Kai's eyes scanned the long scroll. "This is amazing!"

"You like it?" Rohan asked hopefully. Kai grinned, setting the scroll carefully on his bed before picking Rohan up and spinning him around gently.

"I love it! You made this?" Rohan nodded, as Kai set him back down. "This is amazing. Thank you so much."

"I even remembered all the constellations you showed me," said Rohan. "And we wrote down the days when you showed them to us, or told us about them."

Kai smiled appreciatively. "Would you mind if I also showed this to my crew's navigator? I think he'd be really impressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I'll keep it with me always, even when I'm back on the ship."

Rohan's smile faltered. "You're not gonna leave, though, are you?"

He blinked in surprise, then managed a wide smile. "Nah, of course not. Not permanently anyway. It'd just be like...visiting my other family, you know? They were my first family, after all."

Rohan nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. That's only fair."

"Exactly." Kai rolled up the chart, placing it back in the box, and setting it down carefully on his night stand. "Now come on, don't you want to show me what you got for the Spirit Festival?"

Rohan's smile returned, and he nodded, before rushing out of the room and down the stairs. Kai and Jinora exchanged glances for a moment.

"Your other family?" Jinora asked, and Kai flushed.

"It's the best term I could think of," he mumbled. "I mean, the crew is my family but they're also my crew. You guys aren't my crew, but you're more than… you know what I mean."

She smiled. "I know." She took his hand, swinging it lightly between them. "Don't you want to open up your other presents?"

"I have other presents?"

"Of course you do. From the crew, and from all of us. Or we could eat first, Festival breakfast is always amazing." She bit back a giggle when his stomach growled loudly. "Breakfast it is."

Kai tugged on her hand. "Wait, I want to give you your gift first."

"Oh." She blinked and then smiled. "Okay."

He pulled a little box out from one of his drawers, with a crumpled bow on top, and smiled bashfully. "I didn't have time to wrap it properly," he admitted, but Jinora took it eagerly anyway. "But I hope you like it."

Kai watched her face as she opened it, his heart swelling when he saw the way her eyes lit up. "Where did you get this?"

"I, uh, made it," Kai said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We had some spare bits lying around the ship—well, not spare, I had to get the pearl in town but—and then I just… put it together. Imaru helped me a little. He's great with stuff like this."

Jinora pulled the gift out of the box, and the pearl shone in the sun streaming in from behind the curtains, hanging from a carefully crafted chain of thin metal and rope woven together, the rope at any place that would touch her skin directly, to keep from chafing. The pearl hung in a little metal cage-like pendant, like a teardrop. "Kai, it's beautiful," she said softly.

"It's not as fancy as what you could get at a store—"

"It's better. Trust me." She smiled up at him, her cheeks a soft pink. "Help me put it on?"

He smiled, relaxing. "Sure." He carefully took the necklace from her hands, then stepped behind her, brushing her hair away from the back of her neck. Jinora gathered her hair in her hands along one side of her collarbone, as Kai looped the chain around her neck and redid the clasp. He helped her lift her hair back up so the chain could settle around her neck. "There." His fingertips lingered at her hair, before her fully let go. "You're keeping your hair down for the rest of the day?"

She glanced at him with a small smile, turning around to face him. "Yeah, why?"

"You know I like it when it's down."

She flushed. "I didn't, actually. You've never told me that before."

His voice softened, a wrinkle of confusion forming in his brow. "I haven't?" She shook her head.

"Are there any other things you've forgotten to tell me?" she asked, her eyes searching his face, for what she wasn't sure, as her heart began to speed up when he took a small step forwards.

"Maybe one or two," he said with a slight chuckle, a slight upturn of his lips. Her eyes followed its curve, her stomach doing flips as his fingers encircled her wrist.

"Like what?"

"I'm not that great with words," he murmured, his eyes falling to her mouth. Her throat went dry, but she didn't dare pull away as he leaned a little closer.

"What's taking you so long?" Rohan's voice rang from the hallway, and they both sprang apart, glancing away from one another.

"We should go get some of that breakfast," Jinora said, "and let Rohan show you all his presents."

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Your brother eats all the muffins."

She knew this time he was talking about Meelo, and nodded hastily. "Yes, right, exactly. Well… let's go, then."

"Yeah."

They passed through his doorway together, but were careful not to touch one another. Even if they were only a few inches apart at most, he'd never felt the distance more, especially when… Was she about to allow him to kiss her? He'd kissed a few girls before, just a quick peck here and there, but… They hadn't been Jinora; they hadn't been his best friend. And none of them had been so so far out of his league. He had a better chance of touching the stars than touching her.

Kai tried to push the thought out of his head as he was greeted at the bottom of the steps by Rohan, holding a teddy bear almost as big as him.

"You sure you can handle that thing?" Kai asked with a grin, ruffling Rohan's hair.

"Yep! Help me name him!"

"As soon as I get some breakfast, kiddo. Your brother leave any muffins for the rest of us?"

"Cook made extra! We saved the baccu berry ones for you."

Kai grinned. "Thanks, Ro. Come on, I'm sure your new friend wants some of that breakfast too."

They set the bear down on a chair next to Rohan, and Kai sat between him and Jinora, piling his plate with various breakfast foods, looking gratefully at Pema when she pushed a plate of bacon towards him.

Yung took a seat across from him and stole a piece of bacon. "Morning, kiddo."

Kai grinned at him. "Morning Yung."

"Unique Spirit Festival we're having this fine morning, huh?"

"It's nice not to have to do chores this year, anyway." Kai grabbed another piece of bacon; he'd taken for granted how much he'd missed meat, even if he'd had some of it at school. "Unless Captain has a surprise for me?"

"He does, actually," said Yung, but he was smiling. "But it's one I think you're actually going to like, courtesy of all the crew. You'll get to see it after breakfast."

"The Captain? Giving me a surprise I like? Is he feeling okay?"

"Who knows?" Yung chuckled. "But take a good thing when it comes to you, kid. And I promise, it's a good thing. I already double-checked."

"Of course you did." Kai pushed around the berries on his plate with a fork. "Well now I'm excited," he said dryly, not wanting to think too hard or get his hopes up. It didn't happen often, but sometimes the generational gap between him and most of his crew could really smack him in the face—like forgetting he shouldn't be taken to strip clubs or bars, for example.

"I did, really. No age-inappropriate surprises, honest."

"The last time you said that, I got piss dr—" Kai grew suddenly hyper-aware of Tenzin's presence and went quiet. "You know what happened," he said quietly, and Yung held back a laugh.

"Don't worry about it, kid. This is far more up your alley." Yung glanced over at Jinora, and grinned. "I see he already gave you your gift, kiddo."

Jinora smiled softly, laying a hand over the pendant. "Yes, it really is beautiful."

"He gave you something?" Pema piped up. "May I see?"

Jinora showed her mother the pendant, and Pema smiled in delight. "Oh, it's lovely!" She looked at Kai. "Where did you get this?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, made it. It took a few tries, though."

"Wanna tell them how long you spent making that?" Yung asked with a cheeky grin. Kai glared at him from across the table.

"A few hours."

"Kai—"

"Fine, like, five days. I kept messing up the braiding, and—"

"I think it's sweet," Jinora said with a soft smile, and he had to fight down a blush, shooting another glare at Yung.

"You should go into the jewelry business," Rohan chirped, as Ikki and Meelo came down to the table, yawning.

"That really would be a viable career for you," Pema said, "if you keep making things like this."

Kai smiled bashfully. "Guess that can be my backup plan. Which reminds me… Ikki, I have something for you too."

Ikki's face lit up. "You do?"

Kai got up, plucked a small box from under the Festival tree, and walked over to Ikki. "You've been a really good friend to me here. Like a sister, you know? So I wanted to get you something special, too."

Ikki's face fell a little, but she opened the box excitedly anyway. She pulled out a small bracelet made of rope and shells, a little simpler than Jinora's necklace, but beautiful nonetheless.

"It's amazing," she said with a broad grin. "I love it. Thank you."

"Want me to help you put it on?" Kai asked. She nodded, holding out her wrist, and Kai did the clasp, noting that the bracelet was a little too loose around her wrist. Hopefully she would grow into it.

"I got you something too," Ikki said.

Tenzin cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should finish eating our breakfast before it goes cold, until we exchange any more gifts?"

"Fine by me," Kai said cheerfully, though Ikki deflated a bit. He glanced at Jinora as he sat back down, and swore he saw her let out a sigh of relief. He nudged her lightly in the side. "Something on your mind, Jin?" he asked, quietly enough so only she could eat.

Jinora threw him a look. "Just eat your berries."

He bit back a grin, taking a large bite of his muffin and berries. When he nudged her knee with his under the table, she nudged back, and he barely held back his smile.

Even if he wasn't on the ship, this year's Spirits Festival wasn't turning out bad at all.

###

"It's nice to finally be alone," Jinora said, as they walked over to the ship.

"Are you confirming that I'm your favourite?" he grinned. Jinora shoved him lightly in the shoulder.

"No. You're just very popular with my siblings, and as your best friend, I like having your attention."

He turned around and started walking backwards, so he could face her properly. "Hmm. Well, you always have my attention."

She flushed, letting out a ringing laugh. "Shut up. And you'll have my attention when you fall on your butt."

"I happen to be the best backwards-walker—" He tripped and fell over onto his back, and Jinora laughed again, before extending a hand to help him up. Instead of getting back onto his feet, he tugged her down with him, the snow clinging to their clothes as they laid in the snow giggling.

"You're the worst!" she laughed, shoving him lightly in the chest as they both stood up again.

He grabbed handful of loose snow and threw it at her. She let out a shrieking laugh, gathering up snow and dumping it on his head.

"Hey!" He wrapped an arm around her waist, hauling her back towards the ground and pinning her, shaking the snow out of his hair and onto her face, as she tried half heartedly to push him away. "Would you look at that. Looks like you can be pretty unladylike after all, Gyatso."

"You started it," she said, wrinkling her nose at him as she tried to stifle another laugh. The snow seemed to glitter in her hair, lightly coating her long eyelashes, and illuminating the pearl pendant at her throat. She rested her mittened hands on his shoulders, brushing some of the snow off his coat; her hand lingered on the one that had been injured what felt like years ago.

Kai's breath got caught in his throat, his smile melting away. "Jin…"

"Yeah?"

He coughed and pulled away. "We should probably get to the ship, before we freeze to death out here."

"Yeah." She took his hand and let him help her up for real this time, her face feeling warm in spite of the cold. "Any idea of what the crew got you as a gift?"

Kai jerked his head towards the ship as they approached the docks. "Not a clue. But I guess I'll find out now, won't I?"

They walked up the ramp, even if Kai found his way to where the rest of the crew was gathered in a circle on the deck blocked by Lefty. "Not until Yung gets here too, kiddo."

"Did you shrink while you were gone?" a skinny, bored looking man called, although Jinora didn't know his name.

"Shut it Ryu!" Kai said, although he was clearly holding back a grin.

"Okay, I'm here," Yung announced, slightly out of breath. "Just give me a moment—and Ryu, stop teasing 'im. One day he'll probably be taller than you."

"If you think having younger brother is annoying," Kai muttered to Jinora, "you should try having older ones."

Yung poked him in the back, before moving to stand beside Lefty. "Alright, Lefty. He can see it. Just close your eyes, okay kid? No peeking."

Kai raised his eyebrows, but shut his eyes, as Yung and Lefty went to stand with the rest of the crew, and Yung took the loosely wrapped gift from Zaheer, and pushed it into Kai's hands.

"Alright, open 'em."

Kai opened his eyes, and though the gift was loosely wrapped, he immediately recognized its shape. "No…" He ripped the paper off, revealing a gleaming blade with a golden, intricately carved hilt. It was a sword, the most beautiful one he'd ever seen. A grin broke out across his face as he took the hilt in his hands, and it was perfectly weighted, the blade perfectly balanced, even better than the one he currently had strapped to his side (although he suspected they must have used that one as a baseline for this while he was gone). He looked up at all of them, beaming. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"Went to Tong Gong, and got it commissioned by a blacksmith," said Yung with a soft smile. "Figured it was time you really got your own, since you are the proper age for a pirate now."

"How much did it—"

"It's rude to ask how much a gift costs," Lefty grinned. "Just know that we were all more than happy to pitch in, the Captain included."

Kai looked back at the sword, his reflection in the blade smiling back at him. "It's…" His eyes burned, and he blinked a couple of times. "It's amazing. Thank you." He looked at Zaheer. "All of you. I'll take good care of it. I promise."

"I know you will boy," the captain said gruffly, but his eyes were smiling. "You'll have a few more days, since it's the holidays, but after new year's day, we're training with that new sword of yours early in the morning, are we clear?"

"Yes, Captain. I won't actually mind it this time."

"Very good. Now, get going with that girl of yours, and do whatever kids do these days. That's an order I'm sure you can follow?"

"She's not my—she's just—I mean, yes captain." Kai took his old sword out of its sheath, placing it on the ground next to him, before placing his new sword in his sheath, pleased when it fit perfectly. "Thank you." He tried and failed to hold back a broad grin, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet. "C'mon, Jin. Let's go." He took her hand and they rushed off the ramp, trying not to slip on the ice.

They went up all the way to the back porch, before Kai sat down on one of the cushioned benches and took his new sword out to admire it again. "Damn," he whistled appreciatively. "I've never seen anything this well crafted before."

Jinora smiled. "It really is beautiful." Her smile faltered, as she pulled a small package out of her pocket. "It makes my gift pretty useless, now, though, but hopefully it still works when you do need it?"

Kai glanced at her curiously, opening the box to find a sword-polishing set, with a letter tucked in the side. "Jin, it's great—"

"You won't need it for a long time, so if you want me to return it and you can exchange it for something else—"

"Hey, you've already given me the best gift ever." He slipped his sword back into his belt, and took Jinora's hand. "You."

She smiled, and then shook her head, almost laughing. "You are such a sap."

"What? It's true." He frowned a little. "Why would I make that up?"

"No, no, it's…" She squeezed his hand. "It's sweet. Sappy, but sweet. Sweeter than I'm used to, from anyone, to be honest—much less a boy."

"Boys can't be sweet?" he half teased, his frown lessening.

"They should be as sweet as you, but none of them can seem to manage it." She rested her head on his shoulder.

He gave her a small smile, before it faded. "I'm sorry about what Zaheer said," he mumbled. "About you being my…"

"That's fine, honest. Besides, anyone who ends up with you would be really lucky."

He laughed. "Good one."

Now it was her turn to frown at him. "Hey, I'm being serious."

He arched his eyebrows at her. "Who would ever wanna be with someone like me, Gyatso? Like, for real?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "More people than you think, you idiot."

"If you say so," he said, rubbing his arm. He smiled slightly when Jinora rested her head back on his shoulder.

"You've got a lot of qualities that lots of girls would love. Like, you're really nice, and sweet, and you're not embarrassed to be sincerely kind, like a lot of boys are. You can also make jewelry."

Kai snorted. "Because jewelry-making is at the top of every girl's list."

"As long as you don't make any other girl something as pretty as this," she said, holding up her pendant.

He rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Come on Jin. You know you're the only girl that matters."

Jinora flushed. "Shut up," she mumbled, scooting closer to him. "At least you're warm."

Kai wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Is it okay if we stay out here for a while, before we go back inside?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing."

"Hmm, so if you read my mind, you admit I have one?"

"One that you rarely use, but yes," she teased. Kai wrinkled his nose at her.

"You're dumb."

"You're dumb."

"Kind of," Kai said, and Jinora leaned into him.

"Shush. You're not allowed to say that about yourself. Only I am, because I don't mean it."

He played with the ends of her hair. "Good."

Jinora closed her eyes, tucking herself more firmly into his side, and thought she wouldn't mind staying like this forever.

###

Kai almost wished his training had gone longer, both for the actual training itself—the sword had felt almost natural in his hand, and he'd even come closer to beating Zaheer—and because there wasn't much to do when Jinora was occupied with another lesson with her governess.

He had been instructed not to interrupt after he'd waved at her during his lesson, and it felt like he had been waiting for hours. He had played with Rohan before he was taken upstairs for his nap, and wasn't able to keep up with Meelo and Ikki for much longer than an hour, so he found himself waiting outside the tearoom, practicing his reading.

"Mind if I join you?"

Kai glanced up at Pema, who was holding her own book, and nodded. She took the seat across from him at that little coffee table, and opened up her book.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

"Oh, um…" He held up the cover, which read, A Short History of Piracy in the Gold Coast. "Comfort reading, I guess. Although a lot of it is kind of inaccurate, mostly with dates."

Pema smiled. "Maybe you could write a more accurate book, one day."

"Nah, I'm not much of a writer. But it'd be nice to help, at least with some of the little things… provided it doesn't give any away of our secrets."

"Hmm. Like what?"

"Oh, um…" Kai went back to the table of contents, and found the page on Tiantang. "It got the founding of the pirate city on the wrong date, and the wrong person. It was founded by a woman named Li Wong, not a man like the book says, although she often dressed like one to throw off her enemies. And she was one of the rare pirates to use pistols instead of swords, but they didn't mention that either. She was born in the Si Wong Desert, though."

"Well, I'm sure the academic world could do with your contributions. It's a shame when history is blurred over time, especially when it's so fascinating. Do you know anything else about Li Wong?"

"She actually became really successful. She retired relatively young, and went and spent the rest of her days on Ember Island with her wife and their children. Not many pirates get happy endings like that, and her vision for Tiantang got really construed, but…" He closed the book. "I think she deserved to be happy, in the end. To just...get to rest, with her family."

"That is a lovely way to spend the rest of your life," Pema said. "Settling down and raising a family is hard work on its own, but rewarding all the same. Hopefully you'll have a similar story."

"I've already gotten really lucky, with Yung and you and Mr. Gyatso taking me in. I don't think I'll ever be able to say how… grateful, I am, for that. And I like to think one day I'll get to be really happy like that too."

"Well," said Pema softly, "why wouldn't you get to be?"

"Most pirates don't live long, ma'am. Fewer get to live happily. And things don't tend to… go my way."

"Why?" she pressed gently. "Because—because of your parents?" Her eyes widened when she saw how the boy's face seemed to completely close up, his entire body stiffening.

"I don't see what they have to do with anything," he said quietly.

"I see." Pema kept her tone careful, a skill years of being a politician's wife, a middle class woman in an upper class world, had perfected. "I'm sorry. I only meant that just because you may not have had the happiest beginning, does not mean you can't have a happy ending."

"I just...try not to push my luck, when I get it."

"That doesn't mean you can't hope for something better. I'm sure Jinora would tell you the same thing."

Kai softened just at the mention of her daughter, his eyes turning fond as he unfolded upon himself. "Yeah. She does."

"Then maybe you could try believing us."

"I've never had much to hope for," he said, "but I'm trying." Kai pressed his palms against the rim of his seat, between his knees. He kept his eyes on the floor. "And… Mrs. Gyatso, I haven't had a—a mom in a long time. I mean, Yung's kind of like a mom, but also a dad, so—so if I say the wrong thing, then—then that's why."

She smiled gently. "You don't have to worry about saying the wrong thing to a mom. Just...be honest. We want to help you, if you'll accept it."

Kai raised his head a little, almost smiling. "I've never been very good at accepting help, even when I need it. Especially when I need it. Just ask Yung."

"It's never too late to start trying. It might take a long time, but it can't hurt to try."

Kai nodded. "Thanks, Mrs. Gyatso."

"Call me Pema."

"Okay… Pema."