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

No lanaguage in the world can ever truly describe love. If one tries then they shall be busy doing so for all eternity.

The Wedding

The next couple of weeks were a rush, but Jinora found herself enjoying it all. Everybody she knew was having a hand in the wedding somehow, even Asami to her mild surprise. Not that they didn't need the help. Getting a wedding together in less than a month required all hands on deck. Thankfully, Korra's parents were taking care of the bulk of the work with every service in town offering what they could to the Southern Water Tribe Chief's daughter and famous MMA fighter. To her delight, however, Korra still wanted her own friends to help her personally and asked Jinora to join her, Asami and Opal.

"You want flowers in your hair?" asked Jinora, scanning a surprisingly organized notebook.

Korra smiled wryly.

"Yeah, it's traditional water tribe stuff. Gotta wear a white cap too. I don't really mind and it goes with my dress so." She shrugged. "Why not?"

Jinora nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I can't believe you got that dress for less than a thousand yuans though. It looked like it was supposed to be a lot more expensive than that," she said.

Picking her head up from looking over the notebook Jinora had, Opal chuckled.

"Yeah, believe me. Being a Beifong, these places will give you all kinds of specials as long as you let people know you're using their stuff," she said. "It's like free advertising. And Korra's a big enough name that they'd throw themselves at her feet for it."

Korra rolled her eyes.

"Don't make me sound like some worship idol. Now, Asami. Asami really gets that constantly."

"Speaking of Asami," began Jinora, looking around Opal's apartment. "I thought she was supposed to join us?"

"She was, but she's got CEO stuff you to do," said Korra. "You know how some days get for her."

"Oh..." said Jinora. "Yeah, I guess."

Or did she not want to be apart of actually planning the wedding? wondered Jinora. Sure, Asami and Korra were the best of friends these days, but they were still ex-girlfriends. A part of Jinora wondered if Asami, still single, might have been having a less than easy time with the idea of Korra getting married when there was a time that she used to think they would be getting married.

"She's going to join us later on to help pick out the cake though," said Korra.

Opal looked up from her page in the notebook when someone mentioned cake.

"Oh, I hope you guys are thinking about chocolate," she said hopefully. "I love chocolate."

"Well from the looks of the food list here..." said Jinora, flipping pages with a small laugh. "There's going to be a good amount of chocolate around. Don't worry, Opal. You're covered."

"Good," said Opal, grinning.

Korra leaned over from her seat to look at the notebook again.

"Okay, Jinora tell me what kind of music my mom's got listed down there. Spirits know I love her, but not her taste in music."

-:-:-:-

A few nights later, the day with the girls hadn't gone quite as planned. It hadn't gone wrong, but rather it was something that made Jinora squirm on the inside. Apparently, her playing with her food at dinner was tipping off her family. Finally, Kai said something.

"You okay, babe?" he asked her quietly.

Jinora looked up at him, then glanced at her family who were also staring at her.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said just as quietly. She chuckled little bit. "Why? Do I look funny?"

"No." Kai shook his head. "But you look like something's bothering you."

When she looked at her family again, her mother in particular was staring at her and Jinora sighed. After all this time she should probably know by now that her mother was going to get down to the bottom of things if she didn't say anything anyway.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" asked her mother.

Jinora put down her chopsticks.

"Okay, well," she began, mouth tight. "Today you know we went to that bridal shop? And just... Asami wasn't there again... she's only come with us like once to look at some cake, but that's it. And then Korra told me that she's not going to be one of the maidens at the ceremony."

"Maidens?" asked Kai, raising an eyebrow.

"Korra says that's what bridesmaids are called in the Water Tribe. Like handmaidens in a way," said Jinora. "Traditionally, we're all supposed to be unmarried."

"She's really going traditional with this wedding, isn't she?" asked her mother.

Jinora nodded.

"It's not surprising," said her father, smiling lightly. "Korra's always been very proud of her Water Tribe heritage. I can't see her going it any differently."

"Yeah... but... I'm just worried, you know?" said Jinora, looking between her parents and Kai.

"What's to worry about?" asked Meelo. "Maybe she just doesn't want to be apart of it. Maybe it's too much."

"Exactly!" pointed out Jinora. "That's what I'm worried about! I'm afraid that after the wedding..."

Jinora slumped. She didn't want her little group of friends to somehow break apart with Korra getting married. Though she was happy for the wedding, that possible idea depressed her. It wouldn't be the same without Asami's gentle touch to everything.

"I really doubt that's the case," said Kai, reaching out and touched her cheek gingerly. "They're not like that. I don't think Asami's gonna be bitter this late into the game. They've moved on."

"I know..." she said. "But what if it's bringing back old memories...?"

"Sweetheart, Kai's-" he father cleared his throat gruffly. "Kai happens to be right. Asami and Korra are two mature young women who I'm sure have had their fair share of talks over the years about their relationship. Asami is a very busy woman and even if she is trying not to involve herself on purpose, I'm sure there's a reason for it."

"I hope so..." said Jinora. "Well, tomorrow we're going to go over to Korra's and figure out whatever we're going to do with her hair. She doesn't want to hire a professional for it since we have to figure out how we're going to put all those flowers in it... speaking of which, Kai don't you have to go with Mako tomorrow? Something for the wedding?"

Kai shook his head.

"Nah, not for the wedding, Mako's pretty on top of that just by himself," said Kai, trying to smile. "It's getting close to the wire with the whole financial aid thing and he's having a hard time with it since, y'know, he never exactly went to college himself... but he's trying. We'll figure it out."

Jinora opened her mouth to say something, but her father gruffly clearing his throat again made her close it and turn to him.

"Financial aid, you say?" asked her father, chewing profusely in between sentences. "So, you're thinking about college?"

"Um, yeah. For a long time now," said Kai, nodding stiffly. Jinora swore he was flushing just a little. "I don't... yeah, my money situation is kind of messed up so I'm trying to figure out how to pay for it..."

There was a moment of silence around the table, the clanking of chopsticks being the only noise of comfort until her father finally spoke, this time, with a certain confidence.

"I can help you with that," he said, actually glancing at Kai. "I've known the people at the financial aid office for years now. At RCU that is. I can help you. Give you the tools you need. Considering your background, I can guarantee that you're eligible for at least a few things if you know where to look. I- I'll, erm... I'll work with you on that."

Kai looked at her father, eyes a little wide and he chewed slowly. Clearly shocked, he swallowed his food and blinked.

"R-really?" he asked, mouth fallen slightly open. "Mr. Gyatso, are you sure?"

"If you're willing to put your best foot forward on this then yes. I'm very sure," said her father.

Kai blinked again, a grin growing on his face just a little, but he still seemed breathless at the very thought.

"Wow, uh... I mean, of course! Yeah, I'd really like that! I... yeah," said Kai, nodding and going back to his food sheepishly. "Thanks, Mr. Gyatso."

Her father cleared his throat again for the third time.

"Of course."

Uncertain of what had just happened, Jinora looked across the table at her mother who was smiling knowingly. That was strange to say the least when the past half year had been her father holding a low key kind of contempt for her boyfriend. Only very recently had he begun showing any kind of real more-than-tolerance behavior toward Kai. Even then, it was pretty rigid between the two up until today.

After dinner, Jinora didn't question it so much. If there was anything from her mother she'd learned it was that sometimes you had to let these things ride out. Still, something about Kai was bothering her. Or bothering him rather.

As they were going upstairs, she took his hand.

"Hey, is everything alright with you?" she asked, frowning at him. "You've been kind of quiet lately. If it's all the time I'm spending about the wedding-"

Kai snorted, amused.

"That is not bothering me. You don't need to spend every minute of the day with me you know," he said, smiling and grabbing her around the waist. "Don't worry."

"But I am. And I know I don't, but the wedding is kind of stressful since it's happening so fast. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything about you..." she said, tugging on the end of his shirt. "Call it intuition, but I just feel like there's something on your mind."

Kai shook his head.

"Besides college?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her near the ear. "Nah. Just you."

Shaking her head, she couldn't keep a smile off her face when she felt his lips on her skin. Well, as long as he was sure he was okay...

"If you're sure," she said, snugging herself into his side.

"Trust me. Nothing's wrong, babe. I promise."

-:-:-:-

The day of the wedding found Jinora astonished at the amount of people that had gathered and the amount of work that had to be done so quickly. Being one of the younger maidens for Korra, Jinora didn't have very much work to do, but Opal and Korra's parents were up to their neck in preparations making sure that everything on the bride's side was all taken care of. In fact, even Bolin and Kai were pretty busy making sure that all was well on the groom's side.

One person she hadn't seen as of yet was Asami and the made Jinora frown with a deep worry.

They wedding was being held in a lavishly decorated Water Tribe culture center near the heart of the city. It was truly a gorgeous venue, colors and decorations echoing the beauty of glass and ice. Water Tribe cultural symbols of the moon and the ocean were everywhere, deeply embedded in the very architecture of the place and even the floor underneath her feet were gorgeous hues of blues, silvers and various shades of white.

The ceremony was going to be held in the very inner temple near the back of the building while the reception would be on the other side. According to Korra, apparently Mr. Varrick of Varrick Industries owed Korra and Mako a favor and owned the property. He seemed to be more than willing to help out with the event.

Concerning the location, Jinora was touched to hear that Mako almost insisted that they have the wedding at the culture center. Korra, being a very proud woman of the Water Tribe, was incredibly happy with the venue and Jinora could see why he wanted her to have it. Her culture was deeply embedded into her and he wanted to make sure she'd have a chance to celebrate that part of her. It wasn't like this was him giving up his own, but he wanted to give her every cause to celebrate. Jinora smiled thinking about it. Water Tribe culture wasn't entirely unfamiliar to her considering her own grandmother was one of the only waterbenders to this day alongside Korra, but she still found herself in awe each time she turned a new corner in the halls.

Despite all of this going on, she still was looking for one person.

Just then, she felt a familiar arm on her back and a pair of lips on her cheek that she knew all too well.

"All done?" asked Kai, his hand on her hip opposite to him.

"Well, there's not much to do," she said, smiling for a moment. "I was just looking for someone."

"Asami?"

"Am I that obvious?" she asked, pursing her lips.

"No, I just know you," he said, grinning. "You should be looking in a mirror though."

"What?" She frowned, mildly panicked. "Do I not look okay?"

"No," he said, grinning and pulling her toward him so they were face to face. He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. "You look gorgeous. You should wear blue more often."

Jinora smacked him lightly though she grinned through a surely flushed face. Her dress was a knee length periwinkle blue one-shoulder. Normally, she didn't wear anything one-shoulder, but she loved the flowers elegantly and subtly wrapping itself on the one strap draped artfully over her upper arm. The dress followed the strap and folded in on itself, wrapping and defining her waist and getting looser after her hips.

"Don't do that..." she said sheepishly. "You scared me."

"Why? Like you'd look less than amazing in anything?" He laughed and buried his kisses in her hair. She smiled at him, but yelped when she felt his hands grab a hold of her behind with an audible smack. "Besides, your ass looks great in this."

"Kai!" she whispered frantically. "We're in public!"

"There's like nobody in this hall," he said, bringing her toward him so that her hips met his.

"Still, somebody could come down this way." She glanced around, pouting. "We can slip out of the reception and you can grab that later, okay?"

He chuckled, kissing her ear.

"Is that an offer or a request?"

She shuddered when he dipped just under her earlobe.

"Both. Now, stop before you make me slip right out of this dress," she said, giggling a little now from the way his lips were tickling her.

"If I must." He sighed, sliding his hands up to her waist. "Anyway, you said that you were looking for Asami?"

"Yeah, have you seen her?"

Kai leaned to his side a little and nodded.

"Yep. She's coming this way," he said.

Twisting around, Jinora could see Asami approaching her and Kai in a floor length pink gown.

"Hey, Jinora? Have you seen Opal?" asked Asami, shaking her head. "She accidentally ran off with the paper that has our bride's vows and Korra's freaking out a little though I told her she should probably just wing it. That's more her style anyway."

"Yeah, she was talking to her mom in the temple room..." said Jinora. "Asami, I need to talk to you. I mean... can I?"

She felt Kai nudge her.

"Babe..."

She nudged right back, silently letting him know she had to have her say.

Asami blinked at the two of them.

"Uh, sure... of course," said Asami, seemingly curious. "What's up?"

"I just... I've been really worried about you and Korra lately and I wanted to know if you're doing okay," said Jinora rather fast.

"Okay? What-"

"The wedding. This whole thing. Are you okay with it? I don't mean to be a pest, but you haven't really participated in putting together the wedding much and you're not even one of Korra's maidens and I'm just worried."

When she finished, Jinora frowned and stared up at Asami intently.

For a second, Asami just blinked again. Then, she laughed a little, bringing a hand over her eye she did when she was a little embarrassed.

"Jinora, I'm fine," she chuckled.

"Are you sure?" asked Jinora.

Asami nodded with a smile.

"I've just been really busy. I run a company after all. We're launching that new summer sports equipment line soon. The one I was telling you about? Remember? It's been crazy busy trying to get that all ready for launch in the next couple weeks. That's why I haven't been around much for the wedding. As for why I'm not one of Korra's maidens well..." Asami shrugged bashfully. "I'm CEO of Future Industries and I don't want to be standing up there where it's supposed to be Mako and Korra's big day and be a distraction. You know? Paparazzi? There's going to be at least a few journalists attending and I just didn't want to risk taking the attention off the star couple."

"Oh..." Jinora thought about it. That... actually made a lot of sense. As it was, Asami was always being photographed for fashion magazines whenever she attended anything. This was an event, but she supposed that Asami was simply afraid the paparazzi would make it an event about her. Spin the kind of drama that Jinora was very much concerned about.

"See?" Kai nudged her again. "What'd I tell you?"

"Why were you so worried?" asked Asami, her voice soft.

"Nothing I just..." shrugged Jinora. "I just kind of was afraid you were upset... that Korra... was getting married...? I didn't want the wedding to come between all of us I guess..."

Asami smiled gently now, putting her hand on Jinora's shoulder.

"Hey," she began softly. "What Korra and I had is over. We've talked about it before several times. And even a little bit today I'll admit. We're okay, Jinora. Korra and I have both moved on to different things. We're still best friends, but we're different people now. You don't have to worry. The wedding changes nothings in our friendship. I'll always love Korra. Not the way I used to exactly, but always. I'm happy for Korra and Mako. I want this for them. They deserve it and I'm going to be one spoiling aunt when that baby comes along."

As Asami went on, Jinora felt a weight lifted off her chest. The sincerity in her smile was easing and Jinora believed her. She hadn't exactly been sure of what Asami was personally feeling, but hearing that all was well on both her friend's ends made her feel so much better.

"That... that's good," said Jinora, relieved. "I'm really happy to hear that."

Asami nodded, pulling her hand back.

"Good. I'm glad you're not worried anymore," she said. "Besides, I'm actually here with someone else..."

Glancing back, Asami smiled at a red headed woman – Water Tribe it seemed – walking toward them as a trickling crowd began wandering into the hall.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I think the wedding's going to start soon," said the woman, holding out her hand. "Are you ready to go?"

Asami smiled and took the woman's hand.

"Yeah, I am. Ginger, this is Jinora and Kai. They're friends of mine," said Asami. Ginger waved, her even redder lips curving into a small smile herself. Asami began turning to walk away, looking over her shoulder at Kai and Jinora. "We're going to head on in and get our seats. I'll talk to you both later, okay?"

"Okay," said Jinora, waving. When they left, she glanced at Kai who was looking rather smug. "Oh, shut up I had a right to worry."

"I know you did, but I was still right," said Kai, turning his head up a little when she reached out to absently fix his tux jacket. "And Bolin owes me like thirty yuans."

"Wait. You made a bet?"

"Oh, yeah," laughed Kai. "He's been pretty convinced Asami was seeing someone. I bet that if she was, then she would bring them as a date to the wedding. He bet she'd introduce them either before or after the wedding, but not at. Big mistake."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep a smile off her face.

Asami was happy and that alone made Jinora a lot more excited to be here in general.

-:-:-:-

"Korra..." Mako began, looking at Korra as if he was getting lost in her all over again. "I didn't think we'd ever get here, but now I'm smacking myself silly for doubting otherwise. You're not a perfect person, but you're perfect for me. It's hard... knowing what to say right now. I've never been very good at this, but... I know that I'm the luckiest man in the world because I get to be the one to see you be everything. All I want is a life with you and all the things that comes with it. I love you, Korra."

The Raavanist monk, draped in white and blue, nodded to Korra now.

"Mako. I've faced life with you in my passenger seat for years now. And I want to do it for the rest of my life. You were there even when I couldn't walk. Even when I didn't want your help or anyone's help and felt so in despair... you still found a way to be there. You were always at my heartbeat's reach. I want a life with you because I know that you're always going to have my back. Life is a thousand times more livable with you in it. I love you so much, Mako."

Smiling broadly, the monk nodded again in satisfaction.

"And with that I don't think there's anything more to say. By the power vested in me by the light of Raava... you may now kiss your bride."

The whole room cheered as Mako and Korra dipped in for a deep kiss, the two wrapping their arms fully around the other. Jinora herself had to wipe away a tear as she'd gotten pretty misty throughout the entire ceremony and Kai had to grab her hand.

The entire time, aside from being happy for their friends, Jinora wondered if she and Kai would be having this in a few years time. Would they have the same looks that Mako and Korra had on their faces right now? Looks of pure excitement and bliss as they realized their lives were truly beginning?

She wondered. And she wondered if Kai thought about it like she did.

For now, however, she was just going to enjoy the moment with everyone. She glanced back toward the middle where Asami and Ginger were sitting and laughed a little when she saw Asami grinning, wiping a tear. It would be just like Asami to get emotional at weddings the same way she did.

The reception ended up being quite the party and Jinora was pretty sure she cried all over again when Korra danced with her father. Jinora and the other daughters around the room danced with their fathers if available.

Jinora nearly cried again when Korra's father pulled a sidelined Asami into his dance with Korra. Admittedly, there was probably not a dry eye in the house.

Lights everywhere and the dance floor full, she spent most of her time dancing with either Kai or Korra, Asami and Opal. As for her own family, in a hilariously cute turn of events Ikki had actually been the one to catch Korra's bouquet much to her father's dismay and his mutterings about nobody getting any ideas.

According to Korra, she and Mako had decided to take each others last names, Korra adding Mako's to her own and Mako putting her own before his. They were officially Mr. and Mrs. Iluak-Kirimatsu. It was appropriate really for their relationship and Jinora could hardly see it any differently.

The night went on and, despite her exhaustion, by the time Kai and her had slipped away, she still threw her arms around him in an attempt at an enthusiastic kiss.

"W-wait," he said, leaning away when she leaned it.

Jinora frowned slightly.

"Why?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Looking away, he took her hand and Jinora frowned even more as the moonlight illuminated his nervous face. It was truly a beautiful clear night, the full moon hanging over it all with it's purest light. They stood outside now in a beautiful courtyard, right next to the center's gardens. Still, they only stood outside the door where the curtains draped inside would prevent anyone from spotting them, having not even made it ten feet out of their way before Jinora had reached out for him.

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing. I just..." He took in a breath. "I have something for you."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small black box as Jinora swallowed whatever breath she had left. His hands were shaking a little, but when she absently took one in her own, they stopped.

Pursing his lips, he looked directly at her with her mouth agape and even her heart seemed to have stopped beating at this point. Box in one hand, he held her own with his free one and took a deep breathe before going on.

"I... I got this for you," he said, opening the box. Inside was a silver ring with a brown stone on top of it. The inherent over shine of it let her know right away that it wasn't exactly real though it was still a rather gorgeous ring. Silently, she put forward her left hand as if to reach out for his again. He caught it, slipping the ring on and burying the now empty box back in his pocket. This seemed to give him more confidence as he took both her hands in his now.

"Jinora, I... I don't even know what to say. I just..." He let out a shaky breath.

"...it's okay," she said so quietly it was almost a whisper. "I'm listening... say anything..."

He nodded.

"Jinora..." he began, taking another deep breath. "Jinora, I love you so much. You are just all the things that make the world right. My world right. You're... you're like that piece of the puzzle that makes everything fit and right and all of a sudden the whole picture makes sense. You're like that one in a million chance at anything in life and that sudden great idea in the middle of the night. You are just... every beautiful color in the world and all the life in them as well. I barely even know how to describe you and that's just how much I can't believe you're with me."

Feeling her eyes sting, Jinora blinked rapidly, his words sinking into her heart. Kai had always been a bit of a poet with her, but... he was outdoing himself right about now.

What was he trying to say though...?

Looking down at their hands, he went on.

"You..." he continued, chuckling nervously and looking up as if trying to fight off the over bright of his eyes. "Jinora, you are all of my aligning stars. My light in the dark. The love of my life. You... you already all of me. And right now... I don't have the means to be your husband right now. I'm even living with you in your family's house, but one day – you and Raava willing – I'm going to make it happen. And I know this ring isn't exactly what you deserve, but... I'm giving it to you as a promise. One of these days here... I swear that I'm going to marry you because I know that you are the only one for me... is that okay?"

Jinora looked down at her ring, feeling Kai pressing his forehead against hers. She grinned, her eyes welling up and had to take a moment before she even opened her mouth.

"That's very okay," she croaked, nodding. "That's completely and always okay. I want you to keep that promise. I want to marry you. Maybe not today, but yes I want to marry you. Yes, yes, yes..."

"Really?" he asked breathlessly.

She nodded again, not trusting her own voice and just turned up into his kiss. They kissed long, hard and repeatedly until their lips got tired. Even through her tears of happiness they still kissed and just wrapped their arms around each other.

Pulling back, she buried her face in his neck.

"You know..." she whispered. "I'm going to have to tell my parents. This is probably going to put you two steps behind with my dad."

Kai shook his head into her hair.

"I actually asked him a couple days ago when he took me to the university. Remember when Mako got called into work? He almost drove off the road when I asked him, but he still said I could go ahead."

She muffled a giggle into his shoulder at the mental image and leaned into him even more when she felt his lips in her hair.

Closing her eyes, she sighed.

Perfect.

I have waited months to write this. Months upon months have led to this moment where, in the end, Kai doesn't ask Jinora for her hand in marriage technically, but he might as well have. He's promising that one day he's going to marry her. One day when they're both more adult. One day when they both have more of themselves together and one day when the time is right. As much as "I'll marry you no matter where I am monetarily" sounds romantic Kai knows their situation and that it's not exactly "normal" but this is the one "normal" gesture of love he can present to her. He can't ask her to marry him in full confidence, but he can ask her if it's okay to promise that he will and all Kai wants is to give Jinora all he has. Of course, Jinora heartily accepts this because it's more than enough. He's more than enough and they just want each other to know that the other is plenty for them. This is enough for now. They'll wait.

As always, I love it when you guys drop those reviews! They really keep me going and keep me motivated to get the next chapter out faster! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!