This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

Oh, you blissfully unaware thing. Yes, relax. Grab that cup of coffee. You enjoy that peace while it lasts.

The Calm

His motorcycle. Of all the methods of transportation in the entire world, he chose to use his motorcycle to come and meet her parents with.

Jinora had both hands on the sides of her face as Kai drove up in front of her house. Sure, his motorcycle was actually kind of cool. Yes, she liked it. It was a part of what made him the bad boy. Her bad boy. It was indeed a very nice bike. Used and a little banged up, but still in great condition especially in Kai's care. As a present from Mako and Bolin on his sixteenth birthday, she knew how much it meant to him.

But this was not the day nor the occasion to be using it for.

She'd thought that being anymore nervous than she already had been was impossible, but apparently that was not, in fact, the case.

"C'mon, babe, don't look at me like that," he said as he took his helmet off. "You know this is my only ride."

"I could have picked you up. You could have taken the bus. Anything. But your motor-"

"Yes, my motorcycle. If you'd picked me up your dad would probably think I'm a freeloader and have yet another reason to hate me. As for the bus, I'd still have to walk quite a ways. The bus doesn't come all the way out into your neighborhood. Besides, have you seen what they charge for the bus fare?"

She groaned, still rubbing her temples despite the fact that they were starting to feel sore. This was going to end terribly. She just knew it. How could she have thought this might be a good idea? Well, of course, it' not like they'd had a choice or anything, but spirits great and small this was goi-

"Look at me, love?"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the feel of Kai's forehead against hers. Opening her eyes, she looked up and met his own tender green ones. She let out a whimper.

"Yes?"

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what again?" she said, wrapping her arms around him as he did the same.

"Panicking. It's written all over your face. Don't be so nervous. We've already talked about this," he pecked her on the lips. "You're not going to break up with me if your dad ends up hating me more than he already does, right?

She let out a sigh and rested her head against his chest. "Of course not."

"And the same goes for me. It won't change the way we feel about each other and we've even got your mom's support. It's going to work out," he held her in a tight hug and leaned her head back to look at him. "Okay?"

"...okay." she said, taking a deep breath and smiling. "At least one of us isn't nervous."

"How can I be with what today is? Oh, speaking of that..." he grinned and opened up his leather jacket to retrieve something. When he produced a book, she gasped. "Happy one year anniversary."

"Is that...?" she looked up to see hopeful eyes staring back at her. Gingerly, she took the book and opened it up to examine the first few pages. "Is this really a first edition of Lao Hai's book of poetry?"

"Yeah... I got lucky and found it on this bidding site. Someone needed the cash and wanted to sell it. I remember you talking about it so... I jumped at the chance."

"Well, I love it, but..."

"But what?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"But I never thought I'd actually ever find one. Only a thousand copies of this edition were ever made. Kai, this is a rare book! It would probably cost you your entire-" something suddenly clicked in her brain. "Wait, is this why I haven't seen you eating lunch for the past month?"

"uh... erm, I'm a little strapped for cash, but it's not a big deal or anything. I'm fine," he said, digging his hands into his pockets. "Do you like it?"

She smiled. It'd be no use arguing with him about it. "I love it. I love it so much," she pressed the book up against her chest with one hand and used the other to bring his head down to kiss her. "Thank you."

"Only for you, babe," he said, taking her hand from behind his neck and kissing it too.

"Well..." she began, looking back at her house. "I have your present. It's in there. In my room."

"Ah, I see. We're going to have to go through the dragon's lair to get it, huh?" he laughed.

Grinning, she said, "That we are. You ready?"

"I should be asking you that," he squeezed her hand in his. "But yeah, let's go."

I think my heart's about to burst, she thought as they walked up to the front door hand in hand. Or stop. One of the two. Is it possible to do both? I suppose if it bursts...

"Focus, babe. Earth to Jinora."

"I am focused."

"Then do me a favor and stop trying to crush my fingers, please."

"Oh, sorry... do you have to bring the helmet in?"

"Not that anyone in your neighborhood needs to steal anything, but Bolin got this for me from Ba Sing Se. I'll riot if it gets stolen. Now, I'll say it one last time, relax. If you get anymore nervous you're going to pass out."

He knocked on the door with the back of his hand that held his helmet. After a few agonizing moments, it opened to the person she had least hoped would answer it.

Her father stood at the door, stone faced and glaring at the two of them. That particular day hadn't been the best between Jinora and her father. It certainly hadn't been as bad as when he found out about her relationship in the first place, but knowing he had to meet the "criminal" who'd been running around with his daughter put the two of them on opposite sides for the day. They'd even almost had an argument about her father labeling Kai as a criminal until her mother had stepped in and put it to a halt.

"Daddy..." she began carefully. "This is Kai. Kai Fong. He's um... he's my boyfriend."

Saying those words had to be the most frightening and relieving things she'd ever say in her life. Her father didn't budge. She grinned and yet he still didn't budge.

"Uh... it's nice to meet you, sir," said Kai, letting go of her hand to reach out for a handshake. When her father didn't take it, he put it down, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah..."

She was about to break the ice and say something when her father pointed at her.

"You. In," he pointed to her and in the house. Then, he pointed to Kai and his current spot. "You. Stay."

"Da-"

"Now, please."

Jinora frowned and looked at Kai, trying to send him a reassuring look. "I'll be right back," she said quietly and followed her father into the house.

She winced at the slamming door. "Dad..."

"Why does he have so many earrings?"

"Da-"

"He has a tattoo on his neck," said her father, leaning against the door with one hand as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"It's just under his ear and it's not even that big. Really, not a big deal at all. Besides, you have tattoos!"

"Cultural tattoos. You know that these are a rite of passage for our people. My father bestowed these unto me. Many people don't even get them anymore, but you know I never pushed or forced them upon you four. Tattoos for the sake of them are different."

She scowled. "They're not for the sake of them! He gets them for reasons! And are you really going to completely write him off when you've barely spoken two words to him!? Because of a few tattoos!?"

"A few?"

"I-I mean, uh-"

"So, you're trying to tell me that you're... friend has more than one unnecessary tattoo, multiple unsightly piercings, oh, and I did saw that one in his mouth, and has a...a-a mohawk on his head?"

"Actually, it's an undercut!" called Kai from the other side of the door.

If looks could have killed, the poor door would have been in pieces via her father. Her father turned back to her, looking almost exhausted from fury and disbelief. "Is this really who you want to be with? A boy who obviously has no future?"

"You can tell all that by just looking at him for thirty seconds?"

"I've been around much longer than you have, young lady and I can see-"

"Tenzin."

Jinora's mother stood a few feet away from them, arms cross and expression even more cross. She frowned at her husband. "Honey, we talked about this."

"Pema, you haven't seen this boy. He-"

"I've seen him around the neighborhood and at the kid's school plenty enough. He seems like a nice boy. Didn't he come all this way just to meet us?"

Her father frowned, his beard shifting back and forth as he seemed to wrestle with that point. Jinora stood, now mimicking her mother's stance. Might as well look like the person who was obviously winning the argument.

"Fine," he grumbled almost inaudibly, deflating. "Let him in."

Jinora nodded affirmatively before turning to open the door. Kai stood there, hands dug into his pocked and eyebrows raised.

"So, uh..." he began tentatively. "Do I need to duck and cover or is it safe?"

"No, no!" Her mother came up beside her as her father grouchily retreated back to the living room. "I'm Mrs. Gyatso. Jinora's mother. It's so nice to meet you! Come in! It's chilly outside."

Kai grinned gratefully, letting her mother drag him into the house by the arm. Jinora followed, taking quiet deep breathes as they went into the living room. Frowning, she abruptly stopped at the sight of her gathered siblings. Meelo and Rohan were watching television, sure, but Ikki certainly had no business being there. In fact, they'd barely spoken to each other since the day she'd made a mess of things.

"Don't you have something else to do with yourself?" grumbled Jinora.

"No," said Ikki, scrunching her nose spitefully. "I can be here if I want."

Their mother sent her a meaningful look and she went silent.

Looking back at the commotion from his spot on the couch, Rohan pointed at Kai. "How come you have four earrings on one ear, but only two on the other?"

"Hm?" Kai blinked at him, "uh, I like asymmetry."

It was Rohan's turn to blink.

"Sweetheart," Jinora nudged him. "He's only 7."

"Oh, my bad. I mean that I like how it's uneven."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks," said Rohan, turning back around to the television.

"He's a cute kid," said Kai, nudging her back.

"He is, isn't he? I think he finds you interesting," she said quietly. "I'm going to go get your present, okay? You going to be alright down here by yourself?"

"As long as there are witnesses..." he said under his breath, daring to steal a glance at her glaring father.

"He won't hurt you," she said before trotting upstairs and to her room. It was in her old book bag nicely stashed away in her closet. The idea came to her when she spotted him sketching in the library one day. Pulling out a sleek, shiny brand new black laptop with the Future Industries logo labeled right on top of it, she smiled. He was going to argue at least a little bit. To be honest, she knew that when she'd bought it, but the one he had now was too old for all the digital art programs he liked to use. This, she hoped, would enable his creativity a bit more. She put it back, hoisted the bag onto her shoulder and headed back downstairs.

"...oh, so you create art?" she heard her mother ask.

"Mm-hmm," said Kai. "I do a lot of digital art. Character designs mostly, but I like to dabble in a few other things as well. Sometimes I'll do something for Jinora when it's been a rough day."

"Speaking of my daughter," her father began pointedly. "How long has this affair been going on?"

"Six months," she said quickly as she came up beside Kai, scowling at her father. Affair. Really, now?

Ikki bolted upright on the sofa. "Liar! It's been a year! It was in her diary!"

"Ikki, I'm goin-"

Her mother cut across her. "Ikki, go upstairs and finish the homework I know you haven't done yet."

Ikki made to make another comment, but one more good look at her mother and she was up the stairs in a flash.

Kai ducked his head, surely trying to hide a little smile on his face. One of these days, she knew, he was going to ask about that diary. Her father groaned, rubbing a spot over his brow with his hand.

"I'm too old for this. I need some tea."

"And on that note, we're going to head out," said Jinora, putting her arm in Kai's. The shorter they kept this meeting, the better.

"On that thing?" said her father, pointing at what she presumed was supposed to be Kai's bike. "No, I don't think so. Jinora, take the extra car."

"You mean..." Jinora blinked. Compared to the family one, the extra car didn't get used quite as much. It was there for emergencies, necessities and when more than one person needed to be in two different places at the same time. Despite the fact that she was of driving age and even knew how, she wasn't allowed to drive it without strict, practically written permission. "You're actually going to let me drive it?"

"I won't have you maimed on that monstrosity outside. So, yes. Just take it."

She felt Kai shift next to her. If there was anything he was a tad defensive about, it was his bike. He was probably resisting the urge to roll his eyes at this point.

"Oh," said her mother. "But you haven't even told us where you're going yet."

"Uh..." Jinora looked up at Kai. Actually, technically she didn't even know where they were supposed to be going. He hadn't given her so much as a hint as to where he was taking her for their most special of days.

He shrugged sheepishly. "Well, it's a surprise. I've kept it from her for a while already. I don't want to spoil it."

"Ah, I see. Is it safe?"

"Definitely. I wouldn't be taking her unless I knew it was one hundred percent safe. No worries, Mrs. Gyatso," he said. "I'll keep her out of trouble."

Jinora elbowed him playfully. Her father snorted as her mother beamed.

"Well, alright. I suppose it's okay since I assume you both have working cell phones," at that, both she and Kai brought their phones out of their pockets to show her. "In that case, I want you two to have fun-"

"No fun at all would be preferable actually-" her father mumbled, glaring daggers at Kai.

Her mother ignored him as they slowly headed towards the front door, Jinora grabbing the car keys on the way out. "Just be back by midnight, okay?"

"Midnight!? Woman, are you mad?" Her father gaped at her mother, almost flabbergasted. "Ten o' clock! Nine!"

Her mother sighed, ushering the young couple out the door. "Be safe you two. And don't forget, midnight!"

"Pema-!"

And she shut the door.

They stood rooted to their spot for a second. Finally, it was Kai that broke the silence.

"Yeah, he really hates me."

Jinora tugged at his arm in hers, urging him to come along with her as they slowly made their way to the car. "But he hated you just about as much as we thought he would. So, no surprises. But enough about that..." she said, putting her head against his shoulder. "Where are you taking me, anyway?"

"Oh, you'll see. I really think you're going to like it."

"Aww, can't you tell me now?"

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" he said, grinning.

She sighed dramatically. "Fine, but than means you drive."

"You sure? Your dad won't execute me for such an offense?"

"He won't know," she said, her mouth twitching into a smile."Besides, you kind of have to drive since I don't know where we're going. But no present until we get there if that's the case."

"Holding gifts hostage?" he asked, throwing his helmet into the backseat as they got into the car. "You're more devious than I thought."

"I guess you're rubbing off on me."

"I'd say something to that if I didn't feel like your dad secretly had a microphone out here."

The trip took them almost a half hour, but he drove her to a part of town she'd never really been to. It wasn't congested like the downtown district he lived in, but it wasn't like a lot of the places she was used to. Instead, it seemed more like a place for small businesses. Finally, they drove up to a building that reminded her of a little spa resort.

"Creator's Cafe'..." she read the sign then looked at him. "A coffee shop?"

"It used to be a little massage parlor that got turned into a cafe' by the owner. Aside from the main lounge area, they have all these little rooms upstairs and downstairs where you can reserve them for a period of time just to be by yourself. It's like a coffee shop for people who need time to think. And I thought..." he took the key out of the ignition then sat back with a sigh. "I thought it'd be nice for us just to do something normal, y'know? Just get coffee and be with each other. I mean, we hardly ever do anything normal."

She smiled at him. "I know what you mean. The whole sneaking around thing is fun and all, but..."

"It's exhausting?"

"And nerve wracking..." she said. "You sure nobody's going to spot us in here though?"

"Nah. I've come here a few times already and I've never seen anyone even remotely familiar. But just to be safe I booked us one of the rooms upstairs. For privacy. C'mon, let's go inside. I made the reservation from eight to eleven."

When they walked inside, her nose was greeted with the scent of warm cinnamon. The walls were white with violet and grey accents across the room. Aside from the table, they had pillows piled in spacious corners, sheer curtains leading into smaller compartments and other little private nooks and crannies. What surprised her most pleasantly though were the literary quotes artfully painted on the walls. Most of them she recognized from lesser known novels she'd read in the past. It was all just so quaint; she immediately felt comfortable.

She tugged on Kai's arm, whispering, "We should come here more often."

"See?" he whispered back, grinning. "I knew you'd like it."

They walked up to a small desk at the side. He cleared his throat gently. "Hi, I have a reservation under Fong?"

The receptionist looked up above her glasses. "Fong? Yes, yes, we've been waiting for you. You're room's ready if you'd like to head upstairs. It's the one at the very end on the left. It'll have your name on it. Just to verify, it was the sauna room, right?"

"Right."

"Also, I trust you've read our conduct terms?"

He nodded.

"Very well, then. Off you go. It's yours until eleven pm on the dot."

As they began walking away from the desk and up the stairs, Jinora looked at him, puzzled. "Conduct?" she whispered.

He grinned slyly. "It's not a hotel and they clean these rooms after every reservation. In other words, no sex."

"Oh..." she said quietly. When they were out of earshot she playfully tugged on his jacket. "Well, that's no fun."

Taking the bait, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "If I have to return you by midnight then it's probably not a good idea anyway. You take a while to pull yourself together."

"P-please," she said, her cheeks going read against her will. "You must be confusing me with yourself."

"Ha! Is that so? Who was the one that said we needed to stop having those quickies before your Literature class, hmm? Oh and what was that you said about being three chapters behind because you couldn't see straight?"

"Oh, shut up," she pouted.

"Don't get me wrong..." he pulled his arm out of hers and put it around her waist, bringing her close enough to press their foreheads together. "You do drive me crazy. Sometimes I just can't handle how beautiful you are."

She giggled, putting her arms around his neck. "Now, that was very smooth. You're good at this."

"I try. Just for you," he buried his face in her neck and held her close to him.

"Hey now," she pulled back just enough to get a look at him. "Do you want your present or not?"

"I suppose," he said mock disappointedly. "If I must."

She hit him lightly on the chest before letting him lead her into the room that had his last name on it. They hadn't been kidding when they said sauna room. It was a small room, but cozy. The benches that circled it were covered in a sort of purple velvet material, pillows piled in every corner. The middle looked like there probably had been something there with all that space, but now it was just covered in nice plush carpet.

"So, it was actually a sauna?"

"Mm-hmm. Massage parlor and sauna house turned coffee shop. Neat, isn't it?"

She nodded, taking a seat against one of the pillows. "Speaking of coffee, do we just go down and get it?"

"Yeah, we go down and wait for it like a regular coffee shop, but I'll go get it. You have to try their pumpkin cinnamon latte. It's amazing, babe."

"Okay, I'll just make myself, y'know, comfortable..." she said with a coy smile, pulling him down by the arms of his jacket so he bent over and met her lips. Slowly and sensually she kissed him, pulling back only to breathe and show him the meaning in her eyes.

He visibly shuddered as she pulled away. "You're going to make this no sex thing really difficult, aren't you?"

Raising her eyebrows innocently now, she let him go and made a gesture for him to go and get their coffee. He wasn't the only one who knew how to get a reaction.

Sighing, he left. She put her bag down and began flipping through her new book casually, waiting for him to bring back these amazing pumpkin cinnamon drinks he liked so much. Hopefully, they'd be as good as he said. Pumpkin wasn't really her most favorite of flavors, but she did certainly like cinnamon.

-:-:-:-

Not only were the drinks amazing, but so was their time in that little coffee shop room. He loved his laptop, argued a little bit that it was too expensive for her to be spending on him, but he loved it all the same. She could tell that he beyond grateful. Now, he could take his art to a new level without having to worry about something overheating or crashing on him.

They lounged there, Jinora laid across a bench, reading passages of poetry. He liked it when she read to him. Something about her voice, he said, relaxed him. Sitting on the floor, he put his head back with his eyes closed, almost purring at the way she had her fingers running through his hair.

"You're starting to sound like a cat owl down there," she said, looking away from her book.

"Sorry. You know I like that scratching thing you do to my head. It feels really good."

"Yeah, well. It's too bad I can't make you feel good in other ways since it's our anniversary and all..."

She went to continue with her fingers in his hair, but instead found him now looking back at her . "Jinora... you do know that we don't have to do that just to show love to each other, right?"

"I know," she put her book down and laid her head on her arms. "After everything you've done to make me happy though it just seems... appropriate for today."

"Love... you don't owe me anything you know. To be honest, we could never have sex again and I'd still be happy as long as you'd let me hold you. We do it because it makes you feel good and I like making you feel good. I mean, yes, it's sex. But it's not just that. You're my best friend as well as my lover," he looked into her eyes now, shifted around enough so that he could brush her hair away from her face. "We have fun. We make love. Just sex sounds so impersonal. And... you don't deserve that. You should always have what's special."

She could have cried right there and then that was so beautiful. He spoke to her with such tender love and care that if she hadn't already been laying down then she probably would have collapsed right into his arms. Either her boyfriend had read her entire collection of romance novels or he had the biggest heart this side of the United Republic.

She was going to bet the latter.

Picking herself up and getting onto the floor with him, she put a hand on his chest. "Why are you such a walking sweet talking machine, hm?"

She kissed him, breathing him in and bringing her hand up to the side of his face. He brought his hand up her back and she deepened the kiss as if trying to give him all her love in that one gesture. Though only one of the many reasons, this was a prime example of why she loved him so much.

"I just can't see how my dad hates you so much," she said, pulling back.

"Well, if he ever caught wind of me saying anything like that to you he'd probably have me shot So, let's not repeat that while he's around, okay? I kind of like living."

She laughed, grabbing her book from off the bench and opening it to begin reading more passages.

"Don't worry. It's going to be okay."

All was well. How could it not be?

And there we have it! Chapter 4!

So, that end part I wanted to make a point. Since chapter 1, I've made hints at Kai and Jinora's sexual relationship and if you've read my prequel to this The Weekend (available on my profile) then I've done a lot more than hint. But just like Kai says in this chapter, it's not just sex. It's more than that. I mean, they make love, but the love making is fun. The passion, the teasing, the indulging. It's all fun and just another way for them to show love to each other. What Kai was trying to say is that neither of them should ever feel like sex is an obligatory part of their relationship. They do it somewhat often (for them having a secret relationship) because making love to each other is something they both find enjoyable. Sure, passion can be hot and heavy and filled with emotion, but it's also fun to be passionate with the one you love. That's the point I wanted Kai to be trying to get across.

Reason why I'm saying all this is because there's a good chance I'm going to have a smut chapter in this fic sometime down the road, but I won't ambush you with that and I'll be letting you guys know in advance about that. Since I know that not all of you care too much for smut, I want to plan on making the smut it's own chapter and posting both that and the next chapter so that those who don't feel like/don't want to read the smut can just skip over it. But, like I always try to, there's going to be a point to that scene. I won't throw in some random smut scene for the sake of it just because. There will be an emotional basis and something trying to be expressed in said scene. I don't foresee in being too soon, but I wanted to give you guys my insight on the matter and I hope you guys will continue to stay tuned in the story when that time comes.

One more thing, that comment Tenzin made about cultural tattoos is going to come back and I tried to make it obvious that Tenzin is very bitter about this as when Pema goes to the door, he retreats and never actually truly talks to Kai (except for one time). Though he's bearing this for his daughter's happiness, the troubles aren't over for Tenzin and Jinora.

Also, yeah, you might be able to tell that next chapter is going to be eventful in some way just by the title.

With that, thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!