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

Humans are fickle and indecisive creatures. It is their curse.

The Visit

Raava, where was Kai?

Jinora frowned, looking at her cellphone for the time. He was late by nearly an hour. She'd called him several times and left several messages and by this point she was both worried and upset. Kai was never late from work. Or at least, if he needed to do something or go somewhere then he would call her.

But she hadn't heard a word from him.

By now the rest of the family had all finished dinner and even her parents were a little concerned, her father checking the clock once again in a similar fashion.

"Meelo and Rohan are already getting dressed..." said her father, stroking his beard. "He knows about the tickets I bought him, the boys and I. We're supposed to leave soon... "

Her mother frowned, glancing out the window.

"I even made the pumpkin spice pie for him." Jinora and her mother shared worried looks. "Honey, you said he was excited for that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, he couldn't wait to get home," said Jinora, checking her phone for the hundredth time. No messages. No texts, no voicemails... nothing.

"Perhaps I should go look for him...?" Her father absently grabbed the the car keys off the wall. "Drive his route to work? It did rain earlier today and the roads are slick-"

The door unlocked suddenly and the knob turned. Kai came in, half looking as if he'd seen a ghost and half on the alert for something. He came in, hand dug into his jacket pocket and his hair a bit messier than usual. He ran his fingers through it, apparently not having realized that people were staring at him.

Immediately, Jinora walked up to him.

"Love, where have you been?" she asked, eyebrows upturned in worry. "We were going to come look for you!"

"Wha-?" Kai blinked a couple times and shook his head, grinning oddly. "I'm sorry I'm late. I didn't mean to worry you guys. I just got caught in traffic is all. Bad accident and it kind of backed up traffic. Had to work a bit late too."

"Oh... well, we've been calling you," she said. "Trying to get a hold of you. Texting you, everything. How come you didn't answer us? At least before you got on the road..."

"I'm sorry," he said again, leaning in to kiss her briefly. "I just didn't think about it..."

Her mother frowned now.

"Okay... but just make sure you call next time if that's possible? We were ready to go look for you and even call Mako."

"Oh, spirits, don't do that," he smiled a little and shook his head. "I'd never hear the end of it. I really am sorry, but I'm okay really. I'm okay."

Unsure of what else to say, Jinora nodded, looking back at her mother and father. He sounded so odd at the moment. Strange... still, she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was it that was bothering her about him right now. But... if he said so.

-:-:-:-

Jinora walked into Kai's room only to find him laying down on his bed just staring at the ceiling. The worry she'd felt with him that day hadn't ceased when he'd come home from watching the MMA fight with her father and brothers nor did it stop when she sat with him as he ate dinner. He'd barely eaten and now she knew... she knew something was wrong.

He was so quiet. So distracted.

He was basically living in his own head.

What'd happened to him today? she wondered.

She sat down on the bed, half startling him as he sat up, but Jinora put a hand on his chest to ease him. Under her hand, she could feel his beating heart and even just that somehow tipped her off that something was bothering him. Not that she could explain it, but she knew every inch of him. The way he moved, the way he looked... she just knew.

He smiled at her, taking her hand from his chest and bringing it to his lips to kiss delicately. However, Jinora drew her hand back and rested it on the side of his face.

"Love, what's wrong?"

He tried to smile at her.

"Why would anything be wrong?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her, a hand creeping to her waist.

"Because you're not answering me directly... and because there were no accident reports on the news tonight," she said and saw him flinch slightly. "Tell me what's wrong? Please? You've been distracted all day long and you only ate one little slice of the pie Mom made you. Come on, it's obvious..."

She brought her free hand to rest over his shoulder. "...at least to me."

Kai went quiet, looking at her, looking away, then back at her multiple times. It seemed like he was struggling in his mind with whatever it was that was bothering him. The twitch in his jaw made her realize that he kept almost opening his mouth to speak, but something was stopping him. What was it that was making this so hard for him? Now, it was scaring her to know even if she wondered. Was he hurting somehow? Did someone say something that set him off? Did he do something he hadn't meant to?

"Love, whatever it is you know you can tell me, right?" she asked, pleaded almost. "Kai, come on, this is me we're talking about."

Kai nodded just slightly. He looked down at her, actually bit his lip then sighed.

"I was... somebody came to see me at work today..."

See him at work?

She frowned, confused.

"...who?" she asked.

It took him a moment. A long moment, in fact. He kept opening his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. Jinora let him have his moment to figure out the words to say. It was as if there was a wall he as trying to climb just to get a syllables out of his mouth... like there was some obstacle in his way preventing him from really coming out and saying what he needed to say.

Finally, though, it came.

"I... my mom came to visit me today."

For just a nanosecond, the world around them ceased and Jinora swore she stopped breathing.

When she remembered to, she blinked a few times and just kind of stared at Kai, the way he seemed not to know what to do with the thing he'd just said. Quite frankly, she didn't know what to do with it either and was still trying to get it to register in her brain.

His...?

His mother.

His mother.

His mother who left him in a park fifteen years ago... just came by to visit?

"I-I-I'm sorry...?" she asked quietly, stammering.

Kai pursed his lips.

"Yeah... you heard right..." he said, seeming uncertain. "My mom came to visit me. She, uh... she gave her number and everything."

"What'd she say?" she asked urgently. "Did she... did she say anything to you?"

Kai shrugged and looked away.

"She... she just kind of said she'd been looking for me. That she... I don't know. I can't really remember to be honest..." He looked back at her and it broke her heart. She could see the helplessness in his eyes. "Jinora, I don't know what to do about this. I..."

Feeling her heart twist at the weakness in his voice, Jinora gently brought his face in her hands.

He didn't know what to do at all. It was so sudden. So... random. What did you do when your mother who hadn't seen or so much as called you for fifteen years just came back out of the blue when you were at work? What did you do with that?

"Is she... going to see you again?" she asked, frowning worriedly. "I mean... how do you feel about it?"

Kai swallowed and Jinora could his eyes overbright.

"I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about it. Jinora, I just... I don't know. I don't know... Raava, help me, I don't know.."

"It's okay, it's okay," she whispered back, feeling her eyes sting at the strain in his voice so quiet. "You don't have to do this alone. I'm here, so are my parents- you know- you know they'll stand by you and Mako- M-maybe you need to talk to him. He'll... he's the mother in your life. He was the one that was there. So... he should at least be one of the first one to talk to... don't you think?"

Kai bit his lip, forcing himself to look in her eyes. He nodded.

"Yeah... maybe that's... a good idea..." he mumbled. "In the morning you think?"

"You know he won't mind no matter how early it is."

"I just don't want to dump this on him-"

"Kai, Mako raised you. He loves you. You're basically his son. You are his son. He'd want to know this as soon as possible. You don't have to tonight. Just get some sleep, but... Mako would want to know."

Kai nodded again.

"If I can even get any sleep..."

"I'll sleep here with you," she said firmly, putting her thumb over his lips to silence him. "I will. I don't care what my Dad sa-"

But Kai took her thumb away from his lips and shook his head at her.

"Kai-"

"No, Jinora. I'm finally in your Dad's good graces and I don't want to upset him, okay? And... and anyway... I kind need to be alone for right now... not that I don't love and need you, but this is... a lot... babe, I barely know what to do with myself right now and-"

"You need to figure it out," she said quietly, smiling a little to reassure him. "I understand. I really do, love."

Of course he needed some space and in no was she angry with him. How could she be? His mother was like the ultimate knot he didn't expect. After fifteen years she just stepped back into his life like that? So casually? As if nothing happened? Her biggest wonder was as to why wasn't he angry at her? Or was he? She didn't want to ask.

He had enough to figure out now.

Squeezing his hand in hers before kissing him and leaving him to his thoughts, she only wanted him to know that she was there for him whenever he needed her.

-:-:-:-

When she woke up the next morning and came downstairs, Jinora raised her eyebrows to see Kai sitting down at the table alone with her parents. From the sympathetic looks on their faces, Jinora knew he must have told them about his mother. As she got closer, she could see him shaking and put her hands over his shoulders from behind. He nearly jumped and looked back at her, appearing something miserable and she hugged him.

She hated to see him like this. It was as if he'd lost all direction in his life and didn't know where to go from here when it'd been just yesterday that the train tracks in his life we're going on without a hitch. Spirits, this wasn't right. He deserved so much better than this and so much better than to have someone come in who once made it cvery lear to him that he wasn't wanted. Now... it was like his mother was reminding him of that all over again.

"You said you were going to call Mako, didn't you?" asked her father, nodding gently. "Perhaps you should go do that before you even think about giving your mother a call?"

Kai nodded back, trying and failing to smile. He put a hand on Jinora's arm, pecking her on the cheek as he got up and left. Jinora let him go, frowning worriedly at his aimlessness, but even more worried about her father's last statement.

"He's going to call her...?" she asked, looking at both her parents.

Her mother nodded, pursing her lips and her father stroked his beard.

"It... is something he expressed a desire for," said her father carefully.

Jinora furrowed her eyebrows.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she said, catching herself. "I mean, I get it, but-"

Her father shook his head at her.

"I'm sorry, dear, I don't think you do. I don't think any of us do. He's having a really difficult time with this. You saw the way he was just sitting there."

She swallowed hard.

She did and she'd never seen him shake like that.

"I know," she said quietly. "I just don't want her to come in and..."

"And hurt him," finished her mother. "I know, honey."

"He should be angry at her," blurted out Jinora, feeling shame at how selfish she probably sounded.

But how dare his mother just come back? How dare she come back after not even so much as a word of goodbye or anything for the last fifteen years? He should have been furious at her. It was what she deserved. Never had Jinora ever felt so truly vindictive, but in this instance her bitterness was showing because, damn it all, Kai had hurt so much because of her. So, so much...

Her mother nodded.

"I know... that's how we feel about it in a way too, but you also have to understand..."

Jinora bit her lip.

"I'm trying," she whispered.

There was a moment of silence between them all, but it was her father who finally spoke.

"Dear..." he began quietly. "You... we all have to realize how long he's probably waited for this."

She looked up sharply at her father. Of course, a part of her knew that too... it was just... Kai's mother didn't deserve him. What excuse could she possibly have? After fifteen years? He was still in the same city for Raava's sake!

Now, though, she wondered how Mako would feel about all of this?

-:-:-:-

"I can't believe that Mako encouraged this..." Jinora rolled over on her bed, adjusting the phone at her ear.

"I can't either. And I really don't. Mako's been a little sulky since that conversation here at home. He's trying not to be but," began Korra. "He's doing what he thinks might be best for Kai. Mako doesn't think she's going to go away is really the thing."

"So, he's not happy about it?"

"Not... exactly. He was pretty quiet after he got off the phone with Kai. It's not exactly easy to hear the the mother of the kid you raised has come back into town, y' know?"

Jinora sighed.

"Yeah... I can imagine."

"How's Kai though?" asked Korra. "Mako said he wasn't doing so well with it?"

"He's confused," said Jinora. "I don't think he knows how he feels about it at all. He's... lost."

"I can imagine," she heard Korra sigh. "I know a little bit of what it's like to have one moment put a wrench in your entire life... I thought that car accident was going to be the end of me in every way."

"But you're still here," said Jinora, smiling a little.

"I am," said Korra quietly. "Kai will be okay. There's probably going to be a lot of feelings. Maybe good and maybe bad. Maybe both... but he's going to be okay. You'll see, Jinora."

"I know... it's just hard to watch him go through it..." she said, sitting herself against a pillow. "Anyway... how's the baby doing?"

"Not bad at all. Little sucker's definitely getting bigger let me tell you..."

As Korra talked, Jinora listened, but her mind was still half occupied with Kai. It was scary to think that one little moment in time had completely upended him. Kai always seemed to try and put a little effort into making sure she knew he wasn't trying to avoid her, but at the same time he also seemed to need more time to himself lately. At school, here at home...

And she was fine with that. He didn't need her hovering over him every second to make sure he was okay even if that was what she wanted to do.

That night, she found him after dinner sitting down on the couch, just staring at his phone.

Jinora walked over and sat down next to him, curling her legs underneath her. He glanced at her and flashed a smile, leaning into her when she laid her head on his shoulder. Out of nowhere, he put his phone down, grabbed her hand – the hand with her promise ring on it – and gently moved it around, sliding it back and forth for a moment.

"Do you like it?" he asked her quietly, staring down at the brown stone.

"You know I do," she whispered. "It's the most important thing I own."

She saw him smile again, his first wide smile in a couple days.

"There were other colored stones, but I liked this brown one because it reminded me of your eyes. They always make me feel warm and calm," he said and finally shifted around so they were looking each other in the face. "...can I ask you something?"

"Of course, love," she said, trying not to frown in confusion.

"Do you..." he began. "Do you think I should call her?"

Jinora swallowed for a minute and turned over her hand so she could grab his in her own.

"I think... I think that she will always be something in your life... and I think right now you don't know what," he almost looked away, but he kept his eyes on hers and she went on. "I don't know if it's a matter of should as it is that you need to. You're never going to know what to do until you see her again, I think. No matter what she's done in the past, she's your mother... and you're never going to forget that."

"It haunts me," he affirmed.

She didn't nod, but he knew she agreed.

If he didn't call her then he wasn't going to ever find out if his mother coming back was a good or a bad thing.

Or nothing at all.

In all honesty, Jinora hoped that the woman wouldn't pick up and that she would quietly leave Kai in some kind of peace. But until then, he had to call and see what route this was going to take. In the end, Jinora would always be here for him to fall back on.

No matter what he was feeling, she would be here.

-:-:-:-

When Kai opened the door, there stood a woman Jinora would never forget even if she tried. She had long brown hair and brown skin just a hair shade lighter than Kai's. She was a slim woman, not too short and not too tall. Kai's mother was beautiful. Beautiful and maybe a little alarming when you looked in her eyes. Her eyes were long and the color of a near silver grey. They were just so, so grey that Jinora, at first, wondered if she was blind maybe. The color of steel. The color of smoke.

The woman flashed a friendly smile that Jinora felt was a bit odd on her.

This was Kai's mother?

She looked somewhat young to be his mother, but then again, she remembered Kai remarking to her that his mother was a woman who always did take pride in her beauty as he recalled. It would be no surprise to her that the woman probably took every measure to retain it. Looking at her a second time, the lines of age were more or less absent though there was a wisdom in her walk that told you she was older than she appeared.

Standing beside Jinora, her father nodded and her mother smiled a little.

"Hello," said her father. "I'm going to take it that you're Kai's mother."

The woman's nod was sharp and her smile no less odd than it'd been when she glanced between a mystified Kai and Jinora's polite parents.

"Yes, that would be me," she said, her voice smooth like silk yet heavy as a sword. "And you must be the Gyatso's who've taken my son in. Charmed to meet you all. My name is Hebimi Hema."

Ta da! Here be the first chapter of the last arc in the fic and it's a doozy. Some might have been able to guess Kai's mother would make an appearance, but I have waited so long to write this arc. So, so long. I don't have much to say about it without spoiling, so, just know I'm very excited to write these last few chapters.

As always, I love it when you guys leave those reviews! They always keep me motivated and keep me writing! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!