Anchor

chapter 31

Jinora and Tenzin's goodbye was more tense than tearful, and the hug Jinora gave her father was more stiff than loving, but if either were very bothered by it, it didn't show. Jinora couldn't hold back tears as her mother scooped her up in a hug, however.

"I'll write to you, I promise," Jinora said, smiling as she pulled away and Pema reached up to wipe away some of her tears.

"Just keep us up to date," Pema requested, and Jinora nodded earnestly.

"And sweetheart," Tenzin added. "Remember, if you want to come home at any time-" Jinora threw him a sharp look, "-then you're always welcome," he finished hastily.

Jinora rolled her eyes. "Goodbye father," she said shortly. Tenzin sighed, pursing his lips, but didn't say anything.

"Give him time," Pema whispered, pulling Jinora into one last hug. "I'll help him come around."

Jinora gave her mother a little squeeze. "Thank you, mother."

She watched as her parents walked down the Waterbender's plank, down the docks, down to the horse-drawn carriage waiting for them. The driver bunched up the reigns and got the horses cantering in a steady pace up the street, around the bend and into town, and then out of sight. It felt a little bittersweet, to watch her parents leave her, but mostly she was relieved. Her crew was her family too now, after all, and didn't deserve his father's snide looks and remarks, even if she knew he was trying to be as accepting as possible.

It would take time, but Jinora was willing to wait.

She watched for a moment as the crew undid the last of the ropes and Appa and Imaru hoisted up the anchor. Slowly, the Waterbender caught the tide and made its way out of the docks, and then harbour, until Port Bosco and even Air Temple Island were just dots on the horizon.

Jinora had just headed downstairs and was outside the infirmary door when she thought she heard a noise and turned around to seek out the source. She was startled when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and then relaxed as Kai's lips brushed against her cheek. "Captain," she twisted herself around to face him, pinning herself in between him and the railing of the ship, "you know you're not supposed to be walking around."

"Longshot's not here Gyatso," Kai shrugged. "I've been driving myself crazy. Besides, I missed you."

Jinora rolled her eyes. "I've only been gone for fifteen minutes."

Kai grinned at her as she reached up to brush her hands through his hair. "Still."

She rolled her eyes again, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Captain, flattery will get you nowhere."

"Oh really Gyatso?" he smirked. "I'm pretty sure it got me into your heart," he nuzzled into her neck. "And your pants."

She pushed him away, snorting. "And I'm going to get you back into the infirmary, where you belong," she said firmly, taking his hand. Kai frowned, looking much younger than 22 for a second, but let her lead him back into the infirmary.

Sighing, he sat down on the bed, kicking out his legs. Jinora's smile faded as she sat next to him, catching the way his arm wrapped around his ribs. "You know you're going to have to take things easy for a while," she said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. Kai sighed again, looking away from her.

"I know," he said sourly. "I just...I hate not being able to do anything. It's boring, and...it makes me feel kinda useless," he confessed. "Everyone in the crew's gotta carry their own weight, y'know, so..."

Jinora wondered how many times Zaheer had threatened to kick him off the ship - away from the only family he had ever known - if he didn't pull his own weight. "I know, or at least I try to. But this is one of those times you have to let us carry you, because God knows you carry all of us on your shoulders even when we're more than capable of walking. Just let us take care of you, please," she said softly, prying his hand away from his side. "Does it hurt?"

"A little," Kai admitted. "But I'm used to it."

"You kind of deserve it," Longshot said quietly as he slipped into the infirmary. Kai grinned sheepishly. "I told you, you have to rest. You're not going to be back on your feet for another two weeks at least, and it's only been two days since you woke up. Now come on Cap, it's time for your painkillers."

Kai groaned as Longshot handed him a small phial of potion, and reluctantly drank it in one gulp, wanting to just get it over with. He shuddered as the bitter taste stayed on his tongue even after his swallowed. Disgusting. He must have been making a face, because he caught Jinora's lips twitching upwards. He pouted.

"Are you laughing at your Captain, Gyatso?"

"Of course not," she snickered.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the sympathy." His frown faded when she pecked him on the cheek.

"I have to go help with lunch," she said apologetically. Chores on the ship weren't actually that bad, and it felt good to do her part, like she was finally, truly, one of the crew. But that didn't mean she wanted to leave Kai. "But I'll be back as soon as I can. Behave yourself."

"I'll try," he called after her as she shut the door, and heard her chuckle softly. He caught Longshot staring at him and looked at the medic curiously. "Er, Longshot?"

The medic smiled. "Nothing, Cap. It's just nice seeing you two happy."

Kai smiled back at him. "Can't argue that."

Daw had just finished distributing the meat for the sandwiches when he glanced back at Jinora. "Something wrong?" He folded up a sandwich (no butter, specifically because Momo hated it) while he waited for her to respond.

"Captain hates being cooped up," she said finally, tucking away a loose strand of hair.

Daw snorted. "That's nothing new. Cap's in the infirmary more than the rest of us put together. One time Longshot had to tie him down to the bed after he broke his leg because he would not walking on it no matter what anyone did...although not being able to eat with the rest of us is understandably frustrating. I do have an idea though, if you're willing to do a little bit more work."

"For him?" Jinora said with a smile. "Anything."

"Good. We'll need a bit more help though. Could you go get Momo and Pabu for me?" he requested. "I don't think they're doing anything at the moment, and last I saw they were looking for the Pai Sho board in the closet."

"Sure," Jinora said brightly, leaving the kitchen and walking past the sleeping quarters corridor to another dead-end hallway. The closet door was slightly ajar, and Jinora got the strangest feeling she should knock. She decided to follow her gut instinct and rapping her knuckles lightly against the door.

Momo stumbled into the door out of shock and would have fallen over if Pabu hadn't grabbed his hand to steady him. Both boys were blushing furiously, and Jinora suddenly felt like an intruder.

"We weren't doing anything!" Momo squeaked, but the look of disappointment on Pabu's face told her it was indeed true. Jinora had to smile a little, the boys reminding her of how much she and Kai had danced around each other for so long, not willing to admit what was there. Now, she couldn't believe they had ever waited so long when it made them so happy.

"Too bad," Jinora said smoothly. "You'd make a cute couple."

Momo turned scarlet, and looked like a spooked mouse when Pabu took him by the shoulders and kissed him full on the mouth. The redhead quickly pulled away, looking immensely pleased with himself, while Momo looked like he was still trying to process what just happened.

"So," Pabu said brightly. "What did you need us for?"

"I'm not sure, but Daw needs our help," Jinora explained. "It's to cheer Captain up."

"Then we're in," Pabu grinned. "Aren't we Momo?"

A heavy blush had spread over the younger boy's cheeks, and then a small smile, still slightly in disbelief. "Y-yeah." He glanced down and Pabu's hand and grabbed it, before leading the way to the kitchen with a bounce in his step. Jinora and Pabu shared a knowing smile.

Daw told them his idea in a whisper, and Jinora grinned. It was perfect, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it herself.

It was cramped, and slightly uncomfortable, to have the whole crew crammed in the infirmary as well as all the platters and pots of food and stew, but it was worth it to see the smile on Kai's face, the light in his eyes shining on all of them.

They had been out at sea for a few days, and Kai had slowly been making progress. Or, at the very least, he could stand and walk around for a few minutes without getting lightheaded or dizzy. Longshot was taking a break whenever he could, just as the rest of the crew was slowly catching up on sleep. Luckily, the bed in the infirmary was big enough for two, so Jinora had been able to stay with Kai throughout the night. It also helped when the nightmares came, for either of them.

Due to the bedrest, Kai had decided to turn all his unfocussed energy onto reading. Jinora was surprised at how good he was becoming so quickly, but figured that it was more due to Otaku's lessons than her own. The rest of the crew filtered in and out through the infirmary throughout the day, so Kai was never alone (unless he wanted to be).

Jinora had gotten used to spending the majority of the mornings with him, but on this particular day she left earlier than usual. She had a surprise in store for him, and wanted it to be ready by the evening. Imaru, who it turned out was quite talented with jewelry, had helped her little project along.

"Thank you, Imaru," she said, holding the two silver chains in one hand. The man grinned at her as she gave him a hug, even though she was barely as tall as his elbow.

Imaru patted her on the back. "I'm always happy to help. And tell Cap that if he ever wants a ring, I'd be happy to help with that too."

Jinora blushed at what he was implying, but her smile only grew. "Imaru," she chuckled softly.

He held up his hands. "Just putting it out there."

"You're as bad as Yung."

"And Yung turned out to be right, didn't he?" Imaru pointed out. Jinora shot him a look and he teetered. "Oh? I think I hear Ryu calling for me, I'm coming!"

Jinora giggled as the man scampered up the stairs to deal with Ryu's make believe call. Would she and Kai get married one day? Probably not, because he was still a pirate. An engagement was probably as far as they'd ever to able to go, legal wise. And neither of those things would happen for a while (or at least a few months), she was sure.

Jinora shook her head (she'd think about those things another day) as she headed to the infirmary, knocking quietly on the door in case Kai was sleeping. She heard him say, "Come in," before she pushed the door open. His face lit up when he saw her. "Hey Gyatso." He shifted into a sitting position and pulled her down beside him. Jinora happily curled up in his arms. "What're you holding?" he said curiously, trying to steal a peek at what was in her hands.

Jinora evaded his questioning eyes. "Ah-ah," she wagged a finger at him with her free hand. "No peeking, and hold out your hands." Kai rolled his eyes, but did as she had asked. "You're not peeking?" she checked.

"I'm offended. Don't you trust me?"

"No," she teased.

Kai snorted. "Wow, what a pair we are. But seriously, I'm not peeking. Promise."

"Alright." Slowly, Jinora lowered the silver chain onto Kai's open palms. Hanging off the end of the chain was half of an anchor pendant. She held the other half in her hand, intending on keeping some part of Kai's gift to her, but they'd share it, just like they were going to share their lives.

"I know you gave it to me, as a gift," she said, nervousness creeping into her voice as Kai opened his eyes. "But I think it's more fitting this way, we...we're both a little bit cracked, we're damaged, but we-" she shrugged, biting down on her bottom lip and suddenly worried that her idea had been completely stupid as she looked away from him.

Then one of Kai's hand took hers, and the other lifted her chin so she would meet his eyes. "I think it's perfect."

Her face broke into a smile. "Good." She handed him his half of the necklace, and he pulled the loop of silver over his neck. Jinora did the same with her own half, Kai untucking her hair from underneath the chain and lightly running his fingers through it.

He took her free hand and laced their fingers together. "This also fits together," he held up their joint hands, and Jinora smiled.

"You're such a sap," she laughed, giving his hand a squeeze.

"But you love me anyway," he countered. Her smile softened as she snuggled closer to him and buried her face in his chest. His hand went to small of her back, his arm pinning under the curve of her waist, his other hand stroking her hair. There was a quiet clink as their pendants clattered softly against each other.

"Yeah," she mumbled, and he could hear the smile in her voice. "I do."

It was another fine day out at sea. The sky was as blue as the water, the crew of the Waterbender spread out over her deck. Kai had limped up the stairs, missing the sun and the sting of salt on his face. He leaned against the railing, Jinora by his side doing the same, with one arm wrapped around her waist.

"Where do you think we'll end up next?" she said curiously. Kai had yet to give Otaku a new route to map out.

Kai looked around at his crew: Skoochy, slacking off on his steering wheel responsibilities to have a smoke and Imaru was laughing at something Lefty had said; Appa, Momo and Pabu were all mopping off a section of the deck, the bloodstains now wiped clean; Otaku and Yung were pouring over maps, talking in hushed tones. His crew was alright.

Smiling, Kai suddenly felt a wave of emotion wash over him, and blinked rapidly as he looked back to Jinora, pulling her closer. The waves lapped against the hull of the ship as a breeze rolled over the water.

"I don't think it really matters," he shrugged, grinning. He barked out an order for Appa and Imaru to drop the anchor. "But right here is pretty good."

A/N: Well, Anchor is finally finished it feels very bittersweet to say. This fic has become so many things to me, and it's been a challenge and a delight to write it and develop all the characters and to grow to love them in the way that I have. But Anchor would not be what it is without all of you, giving wonderful, heartwarming feedback and constant support of this idea and this story.

So, just, thank you.

And luckily, this isn't goodbye. There shall be another Anchor fic! Its sequel, Compass, will probably be up by December if not much, much sooner. So get pumped for that.

Compass' summary: There are nothing but stormy seas ahead for Kai and Jinora, with her disapproving father, an unplanned pregnancy, and Kuvira capturing and jailing more pirates than ever. Now, the only compass Kai and Jinora have to guide them home is each other.

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

sincerely,
words-with-dragons