"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.
Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper
Chapter Seven
177 AG
Kai's hands were sweating profusely, and he was glad that he'd had the foresight to hide them in his pockets as he ascended to the top of the Grand Staircase. He had absolutely no clue what had even possessed him to talk to Jinora like that. This was supposed to be the last time that they would ever communicate, wasn't it? She was supposed to go off and get married to that pompous dick, LingShi, and he and Skoochy were supposed to wander Republic City as nomads with Tahno and Jaya. Spirits, he was a complete idiot. For all he knew, Jinora wasn't even coming.
I'll give her ten minutes, Kai thought, leaning closer to inspect the fine golden gears of the grandfather clock. It was interesting, after all. That part hadn't been a complete lie. Then I'll leave.
When he saw Jinora bounding out of the dining room, taking two steps at a time up the stairway, his relief (and joy) was so overwhelming that he nearly staggered over. He managed to keep his legs from shaking as he turned to face her, trying desperately to act natural around her. "Fancy meeting you here," he said mischievously. She came. I can't believe that she came.
For some reason, she looked a bit awkward, shifting from side to side. She fiddled with her dress sleeve and then stood up straight, her excess energy fading. But her eyes were shining brightly, just like they had when they'd talked on deck. "I wasn't sure what you meant at first," she began carefully, like she was treading onto thin ice. "But I see now that you were talking about…showing me something?"
"Yeah," he said, his eyebrows waggling up and down. His heart skipped a beat when she giggled at his antics. Spirits, I've got to control myself. I feel like I'm one of those uncontrollable puppies that pee whenever someone looks at them. "How'd you like to go to a real party?"
The corner of Jinora's mouth quirked up in a half-smile, revealing perfect teeth. "Only if you'll accompany me."
Kai's response was to grin and nod fervently, gesturing wildly toward the doors leading to the promenade deck a few feet away. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be going with," he said happily, before wanting to mentally facepalm. There is seriously something wrong with me. We're just friends. Just. Friends. Get it together! "Shall we?"
An infectious smile spread across Jinora's face, and Kai couldn't help but think how much prettier she looked when she smiled. Then he shook his head, like a platypus-bear shaking off flies in the summertime. Those thoughts were dangerous, and he'd been trying to suppress them since he'd seen her on the landing before dinner. Not just dangerous, but exceedingly stupid, because Jinora was engaged, and was so far apart from him in terms of class they might as well have been on separate sides of the universe.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to care. This was Jinora, and she'd just agreed to spend the rest of the evening with him. If she wanted to see a real party, then it was a real party she was going to get.
Jinora had been raised on garden parties and afternoon teas, and her mother had taught her from an early age that pubs were dirty places where illegal transactions were conducted or homicides were taken place. She'd never dreamed, in her seventeen years of life, that she'd ever go against her mother's orders and go see how the 'other half' lived.
Her companion opened the door to the steerage dining hall for her with a mock-bow, and laughed nervously to see her face scrunch up as a virtual wave of music nearly bowled her over. It was so much more different than it'd been this morning, where everyone had been talking politely and children had been playing games and Kai had been sitting and drawing with his friends and a little girl.
Now, though. Now the dining hall was nearly full to bursting with people of all ages and genders. Tables had been shoved together to make a makeshift bandstand, where an ad hoc band was gathered near the upright piano, honking lively stomping music on a fiddle, an accordion and a tambourine—so different from the classical violin music she was accustomed to. People everywhere were dancing, some were drinking beer and mulled wine, and some were doing both at the same time. Others smoked, others were even brawling, someone had a poker game set up in the back corner, but everyone was laughing and looked as though they were having a good time.
If this was how the other half lived, Jinora thought, then she never wanted to go back to her half again.
"Welcome to steerage!" Kai yelled over the noise, sounding a bit sheepish as he bit his lip. "Whaddya think?"
She jolted in surprise as she realized that he was searching for her approval. No one had ever asked for opinion before. "It's…" Jinora struggled to find the right word, because this party couldn't just be summed up in one adjective. It was nearly impossible. "It's amazing."
Kai beamed, looking like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders. "Come on, then," he said, barely audible as he led her through the crowd. She received several stares from the other people in the room—they were either wondering what she was doing here, while others probably thought she was there to break up the party. Either or, she felt like she was taking the biggest test of her life.
They made their way to a group of three people—a tall, dark-skinned boy wearing patched clothes and a pageboy cap, a pale man with ice-blue eyes and a mop of black hair, and a brown-haired girl around her age wearing a blue and green dress. "Guys," Kai said, his voice loud but still hoarse, "this is Jinora Gyatso. Jinora, these are my friends Skoochy Nakamura, Tahno Han, and Jaya Li."
Jaya nodded, saying something that Jinora couldn't understand but thought it was a hello. Skoochy shook her hand politely, pushing up his cap higher on his forehead. Tahno shrugged at her, offering her a glass of beer. "Nice to meet you," the beer-holder said, pressing the drink into her hand. "If you're gonna be at one of parties, you're gonna have to drink like us too."
Not wanting to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth, she fought to get her gag reflex under control as she drank the glass in four gulps, wiping her mouth on her arm. "That's disgusting," she choked out. She hadn't been this appalled since the first time she smoked.
Kai looked sympathetic, but he was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing at her horrified expression. "Never had beer like this, eh?"
"Raava, no." Jinora shook her head fervently, imagining her mother or LingShi or Sir Varrick having to drink this. "It tastes like cheap brandy and stale dishwater."
"Probably is," Skoochy joked, throwing an arm around Jaya as he led the other girl onto the dance floor. Tahno looked like he wanted to run away with him, probably desperate to get away from the awkwardness of the conversation, but he stayed.
"Mister Kai!"
Kai, Jinora and Tahno all whirled around to see a little girl run toward him, her curls bobbing up and down as she bounced up and down next to him, her plaid dress flouncing. Jinora's companion, beaming, picked up the girl and whirled her around. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Xi," he said, smiling, hoisting her higher. "How've you been, sweetheart?"
"I've been good." Miss Xi smiled, showing off two missing teeth. "I've missed you. I haven't seen you since this morning, Mister Kai."
Jinora couldn't help but giggle at how the girl appeared to be completely infatuated with Kai. Then the girl's father, a harried-looking man, came running up to join them next, scolding his daughter for running away like that. "Qin, dear, you know you can't run away from Momma and me like that."
The little girl—Qin, Jinora corrected herself, the girl's name was Qin—pouted, her lower lip quivering. "But—but I wanted to say hello to Mister Kai!"
"Well, why didn't you just tell me and your Momma that?" The father shook his head fondly. "Sorry about her, Mr. Wen. I hope she's not been any trouble, I just think she has a little case of hero's worship."
Kai shrugged it off, kneeling down to place Qin on the ground. "That's okay, she hasn't been any trouble at all," he assured her father. "But next time you wanna see me, talk to your mom or dad, okay, doll?"
The band started up another lively jig, and the people that weren't already dancing shoved their way onto the center of the dance floor. Qin immediately looked up at her father. "Poppa, can I dance with Mister Kai, please, pretty please?"
"Yes, go on, just make sure you come straight back to me, understand?" The father gave Qin a quick kiss on the forehead before walking back to another woman that Jinora presumed was Qin's mother.
Jinora looked over at Kai, who was beginning to unbutton his suit jacket. All of her senses immediately went on overdrive as she saw that he was just wearing a white shirt and suspenders, and she almost began hyperventilating. "What're you doing?" she spluttered, her heart rate skyrocketing.
Kai looked confused as he tossed his jacket to the side, not seeming to understand the significance of him practically stripping in front of her. "Dancing with Qin," he said slowly before his eyes widened. "Oh, Spirits, I'm sorry, Jin, it'll only be a few minutes, okay? I'm sorry, I should've asked you first. My—my bad, I didn't…"
"It's okay, it's okay," she reassured him, laughing at his nervousness. "Go on, dance with her." She sat down at an empty table with Tahno, who was nursing Skoochy's glass of beer. "I'll be waiting right here."
The tune didn't last for very long, thank the Spirits, because despite Jinora's flippancy she really did not feel comfortable sitting with Tahno doing nothing but clapping along to the music. It was entertaining to see Kai dance with Qin Xi, or try to, anyways, with her standing on his feet. The crowd was clapping and shouting for more, preventing the band from putting away their instruments.
"I'm gonna dance with her now, alright?" Kai was telling Qin, who nodded once. Jinora froze as Kai held out a hand to her. "You coming?"
"What?" Jinora's train of thought crashed into a brick wall and shattered into a million pieces the size of sand molecules. "Kai. Kai, no."
Kai was unrelenting. "No, you're gonna dance," he said, a smirk flickering on his lips as she slowly got to her feet. "Come on, it'll be fun, come on!"
"Kai!" she protested as they faced each other. "Kai…I—I can't, I don't know—I can't do this."
His smile was electrifying and made her heart skip a beat. "We're gonna have to get a little bit closer," he informed her, taking her right hand in his left as his other hand slid to the small of her back and pushed them closer together, barely an inch apart. She was having trouble breathing.
Kai looked over at Qin, who stood watching them struggle with a confused look on her face. "You're still my best girl, darling," he told her, and she grinned before scampering off.
The music began and they started to swirl around. It was more awkward than anything she'd ever done, being so close to Kai, a man she'd only met yesterday who wasn't her fiancée and her head started to spin. "I don't know the steps!"
"Neither do I!" Kai shouted back, laughing as he twirled her around. "Just move with me, Jinora. Don't think, just—just dance."
Following his advice, she started to get lost in the music, and her feet stopped tripping over each other as she regained her confidence. Jinora grinned at him as she began to get the rhythm of the steps. Hopping and jumping around while still being pressed up against each other, they passed Skoochy and a laughing Jaya, who looked madly in love as they twirled each other around.
A genuine laugh escaped her mouth as she felt free all of a sudden, free like the air had wrapped her in a hug and scattered her across the starry skies. This was totally ungraceful, but it was with Kai, and it was the most fun that she could ever remember having in her life. There was no point in being paranoid, anyways—what with the fray of dancing bodies and twirling skirts surrounding them, she and Kai were practically hidden in plain sight.
"Hang on," Jinora panted, "Kai, stop!"
She bent down, pulling off her high heels and flung them to Tahno, who was laughing as he stuffed them to the side. Then she grabbed Kai's hand again and they plunged back into the swirling storm of dancers, moving faster as the music began to speed up.
The steps became faster and faster, and soon Jinora was glistening with sweat. Near them, a table got knocked over as a drunk couple knocked into it, but they kept dancing. A space opened up around her and Kai, and people watched them go in circles, clapping in rhythm as the band played faster and faster.
Next to them were Skoochy and Jaya, who were whirling each other around like there was no tomorrow. At one point she whirled him around and Skoochy nearly fell over, astonished at the fact that his girl was stronger than he was. Tahno had joined in, dancing with three different girls at the same time. Qin's father was dancing with his wife and daughter. The scene was rowdy and rollicking, and Jinora couldn't get enough of it.
Two songs later, the fast jig ended in a mad rush. Kai stepped away from Jinora with a flourish, taking a gallant bow. Feeling exhilarated and slightly tipsy, Jinora replied with a graceful ballet plié, feet turned out perfectly as the others around her applauded.
They moved to a table, flushed and sweaty. Jinora couldn't help but wonder what her mother would think about her looking and feeling like this. Kai pulled out a chair for her and as she sat down, he sat next to her. Tahno bestowed her high heels upon her, and she laughed, taking them back. Skoochy and Jaya held hands.
"How're you two doin'?" Kai inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Skoochy laughed, pounding Kai on the back good-naturedly. "She doesn't know what I'm sayin', I dunno what's she's sayin', we're getting along just fine."
Jinora grabbed Skoochy's cigarette and took a long drag from it, feeling cocky as Jaya giggled and watched him splutter. Kai was laughing too, and he took a gulp of his beer, nearly choking on it.
As another fast song started up, a few people began to return to the dance floor. Kai looked to Jinora, seeing if she wanted to go, but she shook her head, perfectly comfortable where she was. Thankfully, Kai didn't pressure her into doing something she wasn't comfortable with—another thing that she liked about him.
She could've hit herself for even thinking that. You're engaged, you enormous twit.
Suddenly, a brute of a man crashed into Tahno, who sloshed his beer over Jinora's dress, staining it yellow. Jinora didn't care—her maid could take care of it, anyways—and she laughed to prove it. But Tahno lunged at the brute, grabbing him and wheeling him around.
"Apologize to the lady, you stupid bastard," Tahno growled.
He whirled around, his fists coming up, and then Kai leapt between the two men, pushing them apart. "Ladies, ladies," he said calmly, his tone joking, "you're both beautiful, now calm down, will you?"
Jinora, Jaya and Skoochy held their breaths, each one of them knowing that this couldn't end well. But Tahno just ended up grinning, and he clapped the other man on the back, even offering him a seat at their table.
Then, because she felt particularly reckless, she walked up between the two men and Kai. "So," she said, "you think you're all big, tough men?" She sat down at the table and patted the seat across from her. The brute of a man sat down, looking absolutely bemused. "See if you can beat me."
The man understood, and he thumped his log of an arm onto the table, wrapping his palm around Jinora's thinner one. It looked like a giant trying to snap a branch, and Jinora began to worry but then decided against it. She could do this. It'd been a while since her self-defense classes but she could definitely still do this. "Count of three."
On the count of three, Jinora banged the man's arm onto the table with enough force to topple three out of the five beer glasses sitting atop it. Kai, Tahno, Skoochy and Jaya's jaws dropped almost at the same time.
Jinora took her hand back and shook it. "I haven't done that in years," she said, giggling as the man looked at her with a kind of grudging awe and respect.
But it was Kai's proud, crooked smile that really made her evening.
"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se—"
"But the girls in the city—"
"They look so pretty—"
"And they kiss so sweet, that you've really gotta meet—"
They threw their arms around each other and finished the song in unison, singing, "The girls from Ba Sing Se!"
Looking up after wiping a tear of mirth from her eyes, she realized that they'd made it back to the first class entrance. Neither of them moved, not wanting the evening to end. Through the doors, she could hear the sounds of the ship's orchestra wafting gently through the night, contrasting from the other sounds below decks.
"Here we are," she said.
Kai shrugged, messing with the collar of his shirt. "Here we are," he echoed, his voice pained.
"I don't want this night to end," she suddenly said, surprising even herself with how honest she was being.
Kai sighed, sounding about as melancholy as she felt. "Neither—neither do I," he answered.
She stumbled over to the rail and leaned on it, looking up at the sky. "The people in my class, Kai, they—they live in such a small little world. Every day for them is like a series of soap bubbles, stretching endlessly. And today—today my bubble popped." And now she didn't want to go back to living in a bubble. She didn't want to go back to facing LingShi and her mother's judgment.
He leaned at the rail next to her, his hand just touching hers. It was the slightest contact imaginable, and yet, all she could feel was that square inch of skin where their hands were touching.
"Look." Kai's words distracted her from her thoughts as he elbowed her in the ribs gently, causing her to look up at the night sky. "It's a shooting star," he pointed out, sounding awed as the star zoomed overhead on a trail of ivory white across the dark black sky. "My mom always said that shooting stars were souls going to the Spirit World."
"My mother says that you're supposed to wish on them," she murmured, and suddenly she became very aware of how close they were to each other. Her skin was tingling, and it felt like a thousand volts of electricity had shot down her spine. But she couldn't bring herself to move.
"What would you wish for?" Kai's voice was soft, much softer than her own. His emerald green eyes shone in the night. They were barely three inches apart, and Jinora almost leaned in, almost completed the distance between them…
But then she couldn't go through with it.
"Something I couldn't have," Jinora whispered, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She hoped he didn't realize how much she was shaking. "Goodbye, Kai. Thank you."
She didn't know what she was thanking him for, specifically, because she owed him so much. She owed him for being so kind to her, for rescuing her from doing the unthinkable, for being such a wonderful friend.
But a friend was all he could be, she now knew, and then she left, slamming the door to the First Class Entrance behind her.
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