A/N: So sorry this took so long! I didn't mean for it to, but I felt a little uninspired to write it. Nothing was coming out the way I wanted it to. I think the finished chapter works well though. Enjoy(:

"Are you even listening to me?"

Jinora's head snapped up. She stared into the frustrated grey eyes of her younger sister, and gave her an offended look.

"Of course I am!"

"Liar! You didn't hear a word that I just said!"

Jinora swallowed. She really had not heard a thing her sister had said to her. She was so wrapped up in her own world that even when she asked a question, she couldn't hear the response.

"You were talking about your classes," Jinora replied smoothly.

"Yeah, because you said 'Tell me about your classes.'" Ikki countered. "Look, if you didn't want to know why'd you ask?"

Great, Jinora sighed. Now she had offended her only sister.

She let out a long exhale, and told the truth. "I'm sorry, Ikki," she said sincerely. "I do care, honest. My mind is just running right now."

Ikki jumped off her bed, and walked over to Jinora, who was leaning against the wall. The younger girl's room looked severely underused: there were no wrinkles in the bed, no clothes left about, and a thin layer of dust coated the entire dresser. After getting into Air Temple University of the South, she was hardly ever home. Now, however, was her spring break, so she came home for the week.

"You okay? You wanna talk?" Ikki's eyes widened with sincerity.

Jinora laughed it off, "Yes, I do, but about you. How are you classes? Seriously, tell me again. I'm really interested. My little sis doesn't get to spend almost two full semesters abroad and then not tell me about it!"

Ikki shook her head, and let out a small sigh. "I saw some bison and learned some history. Nothing else to it. Now, tell me what's bothering you."

Jinora opened her mouth to argue, but Ikki's eyes dared her to speak. Jinora closed her mouth again, and pushed past her younger sister. She plopped down on her bed, and groaned.

"I don't even know where to begin." The bus stop? The library? The coffeehouse the wedding the pies? All of it? None of it? Was she really about to tell her sister she think she might sort of have a crush? Maybe?

Ikki was silent as she waited for Jinora to speak. The older girl sat up and locked eyes with her sister, who sat at the foot of her bed.

"I met somebody," she said simply.

Ikki's mouth stretched across her round face. She covered it with her hands to prevent a squeal.

"OH MY GOSH!" she forced herself to whisper—not trusting her voice to not come out as a scream. "Tell me tell me tell me! Jinora, you never like anybody! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy!"

"Woah, slow down," Jinora motioned with her hands. "I—I didn't say—"

"Nope, no excuses. Now tell me about him!"

JInora exhaled. She shrugged, and began to describe Kai. His appearance, his laughs, his sincerity—all of it. And once she'd begun… nothing could get her to stop. And Ikki sat there and listened wholeheartedly. She would gasp at the right time and squeal with delight at others. When Jinora had finally finished rambling, she found she was short of breath. And now it was finally Ikki's turn to speak.

"So he's a cute, rugged orphan boy who has a knack for drawing women and even Meelo liked him! Can I meet him? He sounds perfect!"

"Well he went to the wedding," Jinora admitted.

"Wait so he already met mom and dad? How did dad take it?" Ikki asked carefully. Both girls knew Tenzin had never quite gotten over Jinora and Hasook's break up. He really thought the two were soulmates.

"Dad was fine. We're only friends," Jinora said, her voice void of emotion. Ikki, a perceptive, young women, picked up on that.

"But you wanna be more?" she said with an eyebrow raise.

"Well…" Jinora pondered the best answer to her question. "I'm happy being his friend."

"But you want to be more?" Ikki repeated.

"…I don't not want to be more," Jinora sighed.

Ikki mocked-surprise. "Did my sister just use a double negative?"

Jinora laughed at her sister's expression. "Shut up, it made sense."

Jinora hesitated, and then added. "Besides, he doesn't like me romantically or anything, so it doesn't matter how I feel."

Ikki rolled her eyes, "Or you could tell him how you feel. Throw caution to the wind! Demand his respect!"

"It's not that easy, Ikki," Jinora sighed. "Admitting something like that can ruin a friendship."

"Or start a relationship," Ikki added.

"Whatever, Ikki," Jinora laughed and sighed at the same time.

"Hey, let's go get coffee. C'mon, I really want one a peppermint latte!" Ikki suddenly demanded.

Jinora smiled. "You bet. Let me go get shoes. I'll meet you downstairs."

The two girls left the house, and walked to the small, artsy coffee shop that was just three blocks from their home. As they walked, they finally talked about Ikki's classes.

"Oh my goodness, Jinora, you wouldn't believe how many bison I've seen. The way dad talks about them... but you have no idea how majestic they are in person! I'm serious! They are so graceful despite their enormity. And gentle, too. They are monogamous and care for their young nearly as long as humans do! It's amazing!" an aspiring veterinarian, Ikki had always had a passion for animals.

She had talked the entire three blocks to the coffee shop and hadn't stopped since entering the door. She paused to order her coffee and Jinora her Yerba Mate, but then continued to describe her abroad travels and classes at the Southern Air Temple. As they were walking to a small table near the front, someone finally interrupted Ikki.

"Shortstop?!" a familiar voice called from across the small coffee shop. "No way is that you!"

The shorter and younger girl turned around, and her face immediately brightened. "Bolin!" she shrieked. She skipped towards his table, and threw her arms around his broad shoulders. He was sitting down, so her stout form was at the perfect height to do so.

Shortstop was Bolin's nickname for Ikki. The man had towered over the girl since they'd met, and though at once Ikki was self-conscious about her height, she now realized it bolstered her abilities as a gymnast. Her figure of 5'1" allowed for a long center of gravity and therefore floor routines were easier.

"When did you get in town?" Bolin was so excited that he, like Ikki often would, was rambling. "Why haven't you texted me? Everyone wishes you could've made it to the wedding! How is the Southern Air Temple? What're you doing there? When did you get back, again?"

Ikki looked at Bolin, and said, too quickly for Jinora to keep up with, "This morning. Been on an airplane. Me too. It's beautiful. I'm learning how to be a veterinarian. This morning."

Jinora laughed. Bolin and Ikki had a way of only being able to keep up with one another. She pulled up two chairs for herself and her sister, and took a seat in the one near Mako.

"Are you not excited to see Ikki, too?" Jinora poked fun at Mako. She had known the brothers for a long time, and knew that where Bolin was forthcoming and exuberant, Mako was always more reserved.

Mako chuckled deeply to himself. "I think I'll save my welcome when he's finally finished," he admitted. And he wasn't wrong; Bolin and Ikki were still talking. Bolin was often the only one that could keep up with Ikki's incessant talking. Jinora knew she struggled with it.

"How've you been?" Jinora asked. But Heard you spooked Kai, was what was really on her mind.

Mako breathed out, "Kai told you I spoke with him." It wasn't a question but rather a statement of fact. They both knew that they were both aware of Mako's involvement with Kai's disappearance.

Jinora nearly asked how he knew that. She almost denied it. But she'd gotten used to Mako's perceptive abilities. He always had a way of reading people; that's why he was such a good cop.

So instead, Jinora weakly nodded. "Yes, he did."

"So I assume you'd like to tell me something?"

They spoke in hushes, not wanting to interrupt Bolin and Ikki.

"Mako, it's true that I don't appreciate you meddling in my personal life, but I do thank you for looking out for me. It's just frustrating because I can take care of myself. I'm 22 years old, Mako; you still treat me like I'm in high school."

"I do not," Mako argued.

"You do, and I know that your intentions are good so I'm not angry just… bothered. You think you know what's best for everyone. You think you have every pinned to a T. But you're wrong about Kai, and you're wrong about me."

"I am not wrong about Kai," hot anger flooded his face, and his voice rose with it. Jinora didn't care anymore about interrupting Ikki or Bolin. She wanted Mako out of her business. She wasn't mad before, but his incessant intolerance of Kai had thrown her over the edge into anger.

"You are, Mako." The volume of Jinora's voice met his. "I know him better than you do."

"Do you know if he knows anyone on the penthouse of the Earthbender Court?" Makko asked oddly.

"How would I know that?" Jinora said nonchalantly.

"Are you sleeping with Kai?" Mako demanded suddenly.

"What?!"

"Are. You. Sleeping. With Kai?" he repeated with more emphasis.

"Kai and I are only friends, not that that is ANY of your business," Jinora had abandoned all rational thought. She couldn't foresee where this conversation was going, and she didn't care to. She knew Kai was good at heart.

"So you have no romantic affiliation with him whatsoever?" Mako specified.

Inwardly, Jinora screamed yes. But her mixed up feelings were none of Mako's business.

"No," she said firmly with a cross of her arms. That meant it's definitive, right?

"Good," Mako muttered. He took a sip of his coffee and said into his cup, "Because he's sleeping with someone else."

She'd hardly heard him at all. Maybe she could pretend that she'd misheard him. She could fake it. Smile and go along with the conversation and the day and then her life because she wasn't 100% sure what she'd heard.

But she couldn't lie to herself. She'd never really known the definition of heartbreak until this moment. In this moment it felt as though her heart had just plummeted 100 stories. As if Mako had unknowingly reached inside her chest and pulled out her still-beating heart. Then sent it falling into an endless pit of other forgotten body parts and vestigial appendages—only connected to her a thin hair of an artery. Enough to feel the hollowness that grew inside her. Enough to want to sever the tie just so she'd stop feeling so empty.

Then she suddenly found it hard to breathe. She couldn't catch her breath and the air in the coffee shop suddenly felt hot and claustrophobic. She needed AIR! Yea that was what she needed! Just some fresh air to clear her mind and steady her heartbeat.

She rose from the table without a word and went outside to breathe. It wasn't as if she was dating Kai. Kai… Kai wasn't hers. Kai could bang all of Republic City and Jinora would have no say in it.

Then why do I feel this way? She demanded.

Standing on the corner of that busy intersection in the city, she realized what she needed wasn't fresh air. She needed to speak to Kai. Immediately.

She took off at a runner's pace down Lady Ursa Lane. She had to get to Kai's apartment.

A/N: Please review! Anything to let me know you enjoyed the chapter!
Next one should be up soon.