the thief and the airbender
to build a home
{for NadoGirl18}
[AU - Kai and Jinora both grow up as street kids]
Ba Sing Se's lower ring was a stingy, dank place that reeked of garbage and cigarette smoke. But overall, there were worst places to spend the night, especially since Kai had managed to score a cardboard box that wasn't too wet, and the smell of cabbages wasn't too overwhelming. Maybe he could even find some of the vegetables in a dumpster in the morning?
For now though, he just wanted to sleep. His knee was still sore from when he had slipped on the wet street and skinned it. Being only eight years old meant he wasn't the most adept at first aid.
Sleepiness tugged on his eyelids, and he was just drifting off to sleep, when he heard hiccoughing. Strange... Cautiously, he sat up, resting on the toes of his shoes, ready to run. Very slowly, he peeked out of his box, trying to locate the source of the noise.
There was a girl in the corner of the alley, curled up with shaking shoulders. Despite himself, Kai felt sorry for her. She was younger than him - a year maybe, and didn't look like she'd been on the streets for very long. Her clothes weren't as unkempt or torn as his was, anyway. Perhaps she had run away from a bad orphanage recently, or something.
Should he talk to her, or say something? He had to at least say something. He cleared his throat. "Hey," he whispered, "are you um, okay?"
The girl's sniffling quieted. She seemed to take a moment to compose herself. "Yeah." Her voice shook and he can tell a lie when he hears one. "My orphanage burned down so... there was no where else to go, you know?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I know." He shuffled awkwardly in his box, not sure of what to say. It was then he realized there was enough space in the box for two. And it had started to drizzle, and the sniffling girl was just sitting out there. Kai glanced up at the roof of his box, This is my good deed for the day, I better get something good out of this, he told the Spirits. Good Karma better come his way.
"Do you, uh, want to share the box with me? So you're out of the rain and stuff?" he winced at how awkward he must have sounded. He heard her footsteps against the pavement and the rain. Carefully, she crouched down outside of the rim of the box, and he got his first good look at her. She had short brown hair and bright brown eyes; she was really pretty, actually.
Slowly, she entered the box and awkwardly moved around so she could sit down properly. "Thank you," she said softly, giving him a small smile.
Maybe having the girl there wouldn't be so bad. "You're welcome."
"I'm Jinora, by the way."
He returned her smile. "Kai."
###
"Did you see the look on his face? Priceless!" The thirteen year old gave a whoop of joy. The coins of gold in the bag his hand was clutching clinked together merrily. "We'll be eating well tonight Jin, thanks to your special airbending talents!" Kai had discovered her ability shortly after they met and had gotten rained on and she had used it to dry their clothes. She had never thought she would've ever used it for thieving.
Jinora flushed. "Honestly, it wasn't anything special."
"Not true," he pointed out, "everything you do is special." He seemed to realize what had slipped out and hurriedly pressed on, "We should probably get to the market soon before the shops close to get food."
"Yeah," she agreed vaguely, following her fellow thief out of the alley. "Let's go."
###
"Kai?"
His gaze dropped from scouring the market place for potential victims and onto the teenage girl sitting beside him. "Yeah Jin?"
"Do you ever think there's..." Jinora waved her hands seemingly at nothing, trying to find the right words, which was unusual for her. "Something better, than all this?"
His eyes were full of concern as they locked gazes. "What do you mean?"
"Like... maybe we won't live on the streets anymore?" the sixteen year old looks up at him hopefully. "Like, maybe we'll be able to get jobs and have a better life and like, build a home for ourselves?"
He said, "Maybe," at the time, but by the end of the week she found out he had applied for job. She cried while she hugged him. It took some time but she managed to land a job too, answering phone calls.
Bit by bit, they saved up money, moved up in their jobs. Things started to work out.
###
She kissed him one day when they were at the park, in their new winter coats, on their way home to their only recently purchased flat. It wasn't the nicest flat, nor was it in the best part of the city, but she had already managed to think of it as home within only a few days.
Blushing furiously, he put his gloved hands in hers and didn't let go. She didn't either.
###
It's the first spring after their wedding that Jinora found it. It was gathering dust in the corner of their bedroom closet, sitting there empty. She didn't realize what it was, at first, but then she recognized it. She recognized the little sag in one side and the chip in the other and the way it once fit two little kids on a rainy night years prior.
Kai found her crying and wrapped his arms around her, because he understood.
They build a blanket fort around their little box and sleep there that night, in their first little home, in the home they had built together.
This request is long, long overdue. I hope it was worth the wait!
My fic "Heart Thief" is where the kainora week stuff is going, from now on. Check it out!
I'll be gone from my precious computer for the next couple of days, so no writing time. Hopefully this will be the last time I leave you my lovely readers!
Enjoy Kainora Week! :D