The Good and the Bad: Kainora

Chapter 10: Becoming One

Jinora slowly opened her eyes and yawned as sunlight filtered through the windows. The sun winked and glinted off the shiny metal exterior of the airship, momentarily blinding her. As the spots in her eyes cleared, she noticed that the top bunk was empty, save for the wire rack situated over her head. Then, Jinora felt a warmth in her palm and realized her hand was laced into another's. Doing a double take, she turned in surprise to see a boy lying on a mattress laid out on the floor and covered with a blanket. His right arm trailed up to his hand, which was interlocked with hers.

Slowly but gently, she slid down to the floor, where she sat on the cool surface. As quietly as she could, Jinora she raised Kai's head a little at a time, eventually cradling his head in her lap. She couldn't help but observe how much younger Kai looked in his sleep. Does everyone look younger in their sleep?

But when she put her hands on him, she could feel something tense in his muscles. It seemed as if he was expecting, itching for something to happen. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't a good thing.

Kai's eyes opened slowly and revealed his blazing green eyes that Jinora was so drawn to.

He started to get up. "Wha-"

Jinora forced him back down, wrapping her arms around him, allowing Kai to lean against her chest. "Nuh-uh, mister, you're not going anywhere today." As Kai seemingly sighed and relaxed, she let out a small giggle. "I'm keeping you right here until we get to the Northern Air Temple."

What happened next was so unexpected that it was one of the very few times Jinora had been caught off-guard.

When she went to hold one of his hands, he suddenly lifted off without warning, startling her. With things proceeding so quickly, she didn't realize that a small vortex had formed in his hands, and it pinned her to the ground, knocking a good amount of wind out of her. In one graceful move, Kai flipped in midair and came down on Jinora, sitting on her abdomen and pinning her arms with his hands.

"Kai, that's not funny!" She tried to push him off, but he was much too heavy and strong for her physically. She could've airbended him all the way to the ceiling, but she was too distressed at the moment to even realize that. "Seriously, that scared me!"

Kai simply smirked. "Good morning, Ms. Pretty," he whispered. At that remark, his girlfriend blushed. Their noses were practically touching. Jinora's heart began beating faster.

Okay, I've heard of people calling me cute, but pretty? That's a first. "How did you sleep?"

"How about..." Jinora simply smiled and sent a gust of wind coming around to hit Kai. He skillfully dodged it and rolled off of her, landing by her side. "...you don't scare me like that again?"

Kai simply chuckled. "Oh yeah? I can do a whole lot worse."

Jinora rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. "I slept really well if you ask me. Of course, no thanks to you."

"Yeah, I just took the mattress down and decided to sleep on the same level as you. It was kind of cold, but worth it."

"Kai!" She mockingly scolded him. "You didn't have to do that!" However, her cheeks were already beginning to redden.

Kai chuckled and chided her. "Your blushing."

"No I am not!"

"Yes you are." He smirked.

"Am not!" Her cheeks continued to redden. "Fine, I am." She sat up and wrapped her arms around him. "But that was very sweet of you." Giggling, she reached up for his hair and ruffled it before giving him a kiss.