May 14, 1966

As she poured the latest order of lemon tea with honey, Jinora couldn't help thinking that today would be a good day to die.

The sky outside was beautiful, cloudless. The trees swayed; the birds chirped their funny little tunes. She was all caught up on schoolwork. She hadn't fought with her siblings once this morning. Her parents had kissed her goodbye on her way to work.

She thought, if the Soviets nuked the city today, she would die content.

"Lemon tea with honey," she called, turning back to shout across the little coffee shop. Korra's Café was run independently by a young woman named Korra Lucassie, who, despite short staffing and two kids, still managed to serve the best drinks in Boston. And so naturally, the café was always packed.

She handed the lemon tea to the woman at the counter, and turned to the next customer. "Welcome to Korra's Café , what can I get… you…"

Oh.

She recognized him, but just vaguely. He was in the year above her. They'd never spoken face-to-face, but she would smile at him in the halls. Like she did everyone. Sometimes, he would smile back. Like he was smiling now, hesitancy in his eyes.

She couldn't help notice that the green of his army fatigues matched those eyes nearly perfectly.

"Coffee, black," he said. "And a ham-and-cheese sandwich. To go, please."

Right. To go. The duffel bag slung across his back might as well have been a giant postage stamp. U.S. Military. Vietnam. Do not return to sender.

"Of—Of course," she said, "one second." She turned and bellowed into the kitchen, "COFFEE BLACK AND HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICH TO GO."

She heard a faint "ROGER THAT," from Korra.

When she turned back around, the boy was laughing. "Wow, " he said. "Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that."

She snickered. "Yeah. And my parents call my little siblings the loud ones."

He chuckled, and she fidgeted with her hair. It was tied back, as usual. Of course, today of all days was the day that Rohan had insisted on tying a bow around her hair tie. Typical. She probably looked like she was twelve again.

But she didn't like to think about when she'd been twelve.

"Um…" she found herself saying. "So…"

"Uh, I have cash." He handed her a few coins.

She cleared her throat. "Oh. Right. Okay. Right." She mentally cursed herself. Slick, Jinora. Real smooth.

"Hey, you go to Republic High, right?"

She blinked. He'd actually recognized her? "Yeah. I'm Jinora."

He smiled. "Kai."

Kai. It was a nice name.

"So…" she said, dropping the coins into the register with practiced ease. Might as well address the elephant in the room. "When did you get drafted?"

"Two days ago," he said. "Happy birthday to me, right? But I knew it was coming. I'd already packed and everything. I'm leaving today, the bus comes in a couple of hours."

"Oh." Disappointment settled in her stomach. She mentally scolded herself. Selfish. He's practically getting shipped off to die.

"But, um," he said, his hand playing with the strap of his duffel bag, "I've got some time. You know, before I have to leave."

Jinora fought to keep her huge smile in check. "I'm off in an hour. Wait for me?"

He grinned, slightly crookedly. "Nothing I'd rather do."

"Never been here before," Kai commented as they wandered down the pier.

"I used to come here all the time," Jinora said, smiling at the memory. "Back when I was younger. My sister Ikki and I would play pirates. Of course, we couldn't get on any of the actual ships, but…" She shrugged. "We improvised."

Kai laughed. "Man. I wish I had siblings."

"They're overrated," Jinora said. "Really. I mean, I love them. And my sister's a lot better now that she's thirteen. But she used to be super annoying. And Meelo is still in the annoying phase."

"So, younger sister, younger brother. Is that it?"

"Nah," she said, smiling softly. "There's Rohan. He's four. He's just the sweetest little guy. He's actually the one that did this." She reached up and indicated the hair bow.

"He's got good taste."

She snorted. "I look like a twelve-year-old."

He scoffed. "You do not. "

"I totally do."

"Incorrect. You're beautiful."

Jinora's breath caught at the unexpected compliment. Kai seemed to realize what he'd said, and his cheeks flushed a fiery red. "I—I mean," he stammered, "uh… well—uh, I mean… yeah."

He smiled at her again, that hesitation back in his eyes. A nervous giggle burbled out of her. "Th-thank you."

He nodded, his smile fading as his gaze wandering across the sparkling water.

"I'm gonna miss this," he said. "The river. I mean, it's not like I've ever been really attached to it, but… it's home. Y'know?"

"Yeah. I get it."

"And it's not like I even really liked Boston at all. But now that I have to leave…"

"Graduation goggles," she said, smiling. "The minute you're leaving a place you hated, you suddenly love it."

He laughed. "Yeah. That's pretty much exactly it."

"My dad described it like that," she said. "He's a veteran. Fought in the Second War."

He nodded. "Well, he got it right. What division?"

"Infantry. Fought in Europe. He was there at D-Day."

Kai's eyebrows rose. "Wow. Is he… how is he?"

She pursed her lips. That was a complicated question. Physically, Tenzin was fine. A little worse for the wear, with a shoulder that always seemed to ache, but mostly all right. He told his children that he was fine. That the war hadn't changed him a bit.

But Jinora knew better. She'd seen him seize up at seemingly random moments, seen him flinch at the sound of gunshots on the television. She'd heard him thrashing through the thin walls as he suffered from night terrors.

"He's okay," she said. "I mean, I didn't know him before, so… I wouldn't have been able to see a difference."

Kai nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense."

A voice behind them made them both jump. "Photos! Instant photos! Only one dollar! You two there!"

They turned to see a man holding a rather large camera and pointing it at them. "Instant photo of the lovely couple?"

"Oh, he's not…" Jinora rushed to say as Kai blurted at the same time, "Uh, she's not my…"

"All right, instant photo of the lovely platonic couple?" the man amended, undeterred.

She turned to Kai, and he shrugged. "Why not?"

"Sure," she said to the man, pulling a bill out of her purse. The man snatched it up and started fiddling with his camera as Jinora stepped back to Kai's side. When he put an arm around her, she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry," he said, wincing and drawing his hand back. "I didn't mean—"

She giggled. "It's okay. You just startled me." With a sudden burst of insane confidence, she leaned into him slightly and wrapped her arm around his waist.

His smile was brighter than the camera flash as his arm came around her again.

They were sitting on the edge of the pier, feet dangling into the water, when Kai said, "Hey, so, uh…"

She turned to him. "Yeah?"

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Okay. So, uh, I know you're probably gonna have a boyfriend or something, or…"

She shook her head. "Nope. Completely single."

"Oh!" If anything, this made him perk up a bit. "Okay. Awesome. Okay. This makes this easier. Um… I was wondering…"

She bit her lip. "Yeah?"

"Could I send letters to you?" It came out in a rush. He babbled on. "I mean, I don't really have anyone to write home to. And you're… well… um… I dunno. I just… think you're really sweet, and pretty, and I just feel like I can… talk to you. Like I don't have to pretend to be someone I'm not. And you don't even have to write back, but…"

"Okay."

She said it without thinking, but once the word was out, she realized that she did mean it. She really did.

"Okay?" he repeated, in almost a whisper.

"Sure," she said, beaming. "Sure, you can write letters to me. And of course I'll write back."

His eyes crinkled at the corners. "Cool," he stammered. "Cool. Okay. Um…"

She looked down at the photo in her hands. She'd been fidgeting with it almost non-stop, and it was fully developed now. They looked… they looked cute together. "D'you have any scissors?"

Kai thought on it, then unzipped his giant duffel back, picking his way through it.

"Aha!" he announced, holding up a pair of safety scissors shaped like the Road Runner in triumph.

Jinora couldn't help cackling. "Are those even allowed?"

"I have no idea. Probably not. You should probably take them."

She grinned. "I'm so honoured." She took the scissors and snipped the picture evenly in half.

Kai's mouth fell open. "What'd you do that for?"

"We'll each keep half." She grabbed a pen from her purse and scribbled her name and address on the back of her half, then handed it to him, keeping his for herself. "When you get home, we'll tape them together."

When, she made sure to say. Not if. He would come home. He had to.

"Okay. Yeah," he agreed, giving her a soft smile, as though he knew what she was thinking. "When I get home."

He tucked his half into his pocket. And then he took her hand. His fingers twined in between hers, and they held fast.

He didn't let go of her hand as they left the pier, walking side by side. He didn't let go of her hand as they sat together at the bus stop in front of Korra's . He didn't let go of her hand when the bus finally pulled up in front of them, the door hissing open.

They stood, and Kai turned to her.

"Here's the party bus," he said with a forced laugh.

"Hey," Jinora murmured, taking his other hand in hers. "You're gonna come home. I know it."

His smile became slightly more genuine. "I'll write as soon as I can."

"You'd better," she teased.

Kai chuckled, and he finally pulled his hands out of hers. He seemed to struggle with something for a moment, then lurched forward and pressed a hasty kiss to her forehead before darting up the bus stairs.

"Oh, uh, g'bye," he called behind him, almost as an afterthought, as the doors hissed closed behind him.

Her heart was caught in her throat, her tongue tied into knots. But she waved. She waved as he appeared at a window and slid it open, waving back at her. Her hand stayed in the air until the bus rounded the corner. Until he disappeared from view.

She was still standing there when the door to Korra's jangled open and Korra herself emerged, bouncing little Phoebe on her hip.

"Soldier boy?" she guessed by way of greeting.

Jinora's mouth curved into a small smile as she nodded. The kiss on her forehead was still tingling.

Korra smirked. "I remember those days. Got a few permanent reminders." She lifted her daughter up and kissed her on the forehead playfully. Then her expression turned serious. "Don't get too attached, though. You never know."

"I know," Jinora said absentmindedly, but she was still smiling. Nothing could spoil this moment.

Except, of course, if the Soviets nuked them.

But maybe today would be a good day to survive after all.