20 Questions

Dedicated to the wonderful readers of "The Thief and the Airbender"

If asked why a scowl was always on her face whenever Kai Fong was nearby, Jinora would've given a list of reasons. Some may call her petty, as one of those reasons had occurred six years ago, but she didn't care. You see, there were multiple reasons why she hated Kai Fong:

1. He had broken her ex-best friend Lydia's heart the year prior, but that wasn't news to anyone. He was one of the most popular boys in school, and lots of girls had thrown themselves at him, Lydia being one of them. Even though Lydia had promptly stabbed her in the back a couple months after the breakup, Jinora's distaste for Kai's dating habits had never left.

2. The stupid roar his motorcycle made when it pulled into the school parking lot, always five minutes into class.

3. Oh yeah, he was always late and always disrupted class. To be honest, she preferred the days he skipped school all-together.

4. The way he was so smug about everything and didn't seem to care about anything. The other girls fawned over how 'aloof' he was all the time. Jinora was sick of hearing it.

5. The fact when she was eleven and he was twelve they had gotten into a fistfight on the playground over a game of soccer, and the detention Jinora had served was the one, tiny, infuriating blemish on her otherwise perfect school record.

6. And, last but not least, the fact she couldn't say she wasn't the teeniest tiniest bit attracted to him. (It was because of the growth spurt he got over the summer, she just knew it!)

"Jinora, you okay?" her younger sister's voice broke her stupor. "Hello, earth to Jinora?"

"I heard you the first time Ikki," Jinora told her impatiently, her scowl returning as Kai Fong sauntered down the hallway, wearing ripped black jeans and his black leather jacket. A few girls giggled as he passed; Jinora rolled her eyes.

"You have your 'I-hate-Kai' face again," Ikki piped up.

Jinora sighed. "I'll see you at the end of the day, alright? I have to go to English."

And off to fourth period English she went in a huff of annoyance. God must have some sort of twisted humour, because by some stroke of fate, Kai Fong had ended up in every single one of her classes. She didn't think it could get any worse. She was wrong.

"Partners?" she spluttered to Ms. Sato after class was done. A year long assignment had been set, the class put in pairs. The assignment was to get to know someone you didn't know, by answering a list of 20 questions. "Ms. Sato, you-"

"It will be good for you," the young woman interrupted firmly. "You're one of my brightest students, Jinora. I know Kai may not be your favourite person, but trust me, there's more to him than meets the eye."

Yeah, like maybe another whole file of run-ins with the police. She knew for a fact Kai had been arrested at least once.

"Besides," Ms. Sato continued, "I think this assignment will benefit you greatly as well. There's much more to life than school, you know."

"Fine," Jinora gave in. "I'll give it my best shot. See you tomorrow Ms. Sato."

"Can you believe it Skoochy? I got paired with Jinora Windson. This project's gonna be a nightmare. She's gonna be such a nag." Kai shut his locker, wishing more than ever he had decided to skip school that morning. "And I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"She's not that bad," Skoochy said, "and besides, you know you need something to bump up your grades."

"I know, I know," Kai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "At least she'll be willing to work hard and not slack off. I gave her my email and number, anyhow." Still, the thought of answering 20 pretty personal questions with Jinora Windson was not pleasant. Questions about God, hopes and dreams. And family, and that was always a sore subject. And insecurities, boy would that be fun!

That night, after a ride on his bike around town to clear his mind, and ignoring his foster parents' he shut himself up in his room, getting onto his computer and logging on to his email. Sure enough, there was already an email from Jinora Windson.

I thought we could try to do one question a week. I figure both of our schedules are pretty busy.

sure. Kai typed back. so, question one, what's your full name? She must have been online at the time (and probably had completed half the day's homework) because her response came back very quickly.

Jinora Agatha Windson. My mom's best friend's name was Agatha, but still, it's pretty bad I know. Kai was surprised that it made him chuckle. Who knew Jinora Windson had even the tiniest bit of a sense of humour? Tell anyone and I'll kill you. Anyway, yours?

kai fong. parents didn't bother giving me a middle name.

She didn't reply; Kai figured that was the end of their extremely brief conversation, and was grateful for it. No other emails had come into his inbox, and Kai found himself looking curiously at her profile picture. It was of a bright blue arrow, and it looked familar, somehow. Then, he realized where he had seen it before. The teenager crossed his tiny bedroom and pulled open his closet; a couple of red ribbons were hung up, and an old arrest report was crumpled, stashed away in the corner. Near the back of the closet was an old, worn, marital arts uniform, the Academy of Baguazhang's emblem stitched onto the right side of the chest: a bright blue arrow with faded letters spelling the school's name.

Huh, so Jinora had gone to the same martial arts school he had when he was around ten or eleven before leaving due to changing foster homes. Again. It made sense, he guessed. He heard Jinora's father, Councilman Tenzin, was extremely protective of his kids. Of course he would want them to be able to defend themselves. Still, it was weird to find a similarity between him and Jinora Windson, when he thought she was as opposite of him as anyone could be.

Well, this project was going to be interesting, to say the least.

"Hello...?"

"This is Jinora. I would've emailed but my internet's down." Jinora frowned - she had hoped to avoid talking to Kai as much as possible, but then a stupid storm just had to mess up her house's internet.

"Oh, okay... Should we just ask the questions like this to get it done, then?" Kai said, feeling awkward.

"So," Jinora said promptly, "when's your birthday?"

"April 6th."

"That's around my little brother's birthday - he's April 10th. I'm September 16th."

Kai quickly jotted down the date, which had just passed a couple of days ago. "Happy belated birthday then," he said feebly.

"Don't be too enthusiastic," Jinora said sarcastically. Kai half-smiled. Jinora really did have a sense of humour.

"I try," he said. "So, until next week then?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Jinora ended the call. Kai put the phone back in its place, a twinge of disappointment running through him, which was ridiculous. Why on earth would he want to talk to Jinora Windson? Even if she wasn't quite as bad as he thought she would be. Not half bad at all.

3. What's your favourite colour?

brown. Kai replied. It was an unusual colour, but he liked it. It reminded him of what little home and stability he had. And some of his best memories were making mud pies and getting very muddy in the process when he was kid.

Huh.

what d'you mean? He felt a little defensive; brown was a perfectly good colour, after all, even if unconventional. Lots of people liked red or blue or purple.

Nobody ever says brown. It's just interesting. Most of my family has brown eyes, myself included, but people don't really ever think of brown being a beautiful colour, you know?

i guess. what's yours anyhow?

Green.

Three questions down, only seventeen more to go. The project was affecting Kai's life far less than he had expected. He went to school, was late, skipped sometimes. He and Skoochy played cards during first period. He filled his motorcycle up with gas.

There was one morning, however, as he walked into class, late as always, he saw Jinora roll her eyes. Her brown eyes. She was frowning, as if annoyed, but it wasn't the usual scowl. And well, he noticed that her eyes were sorta pretty. Just a little.

Fourth period was given to work on their project. Kai dragged himself over to where Jinora's desk was, plopping down in the seat beside her. A book bag that looked full to bursting hung on the back of her chair, her hair tied back in a bun. She looked up and almost - almost - smiled. "Late again?" she said, voice neutral.

Kai shrugged. "Like always," he said lightly. "Anyways," he clicked his pen and twirled it in his hands. "Favourite movie?"

"Aladdin," she answered. Kai dropped his pen; it hit the floor with a small clink. "Everything alright?" Her brow furrowed a little; it crossed Kai's mind that she looked almost - almost - cute like that.

"Yeah." He hastily picked up his pen and saw that Jinora was trying not to smile. "I was just surprised. Aladdin's my favourite too, and I just thought... we're so different, you know?"

"Like the fact you don't seem to care about anything?" she said, feigning politeness.

Kai frowned at her, narrowing his eyes. "I do care about some things, I'm just not as uptight about school as you are." Hurt flashed across her face and Kai felt bad, but still found he couldn't regret what he had said. "And besides, if there's one thing I've learned, it's better not to care. The more you care the more you have to lose."

He gave her the cold shoulder treatment the rest of the period, and she read her book with a quiet sort of determination not to say another word. Ms. Sato walked by their desks, frowning at how silent they were both being, but didn't sense a word. Kai revoked every sort of nice thing he had ever said about Jinora Windson; how could she say he didn't care?

And why did he care so much about what she thought?

At home, Kai saw he had an email from her. Irritably, he clicked on it.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I did. I was wrong.

His annoyance faded rapidly. it's ok. so anyway, what's your favourite song from Aladdin? He would be lying if he said he hadn't smiled when she had written back, A Whole New World.

"You have a little brother, right?"

This fourth period was undeniably better now that they were talking to each other. Jinora couldn't help but feel a little touched that for the past three days, Kai hadn't been late once. And the roar his motorcycle made wasn't that loud, really. She and Kai were using the team to go over question 4: what's your family like, of the 20 questions. He didn't seem eager to talk about his own family. Jinora wondered if he had a good home life or not; she had never really thought about it before, or tried to look beyond what she had seen of Kai before... Maybe Ms. Sato was right, maybe there was more to Kai than what met the eye...

"Two. And a younger sister. I love them dearly, but they drive me crazy sometimes. Or should that be most of the time?" she smiled, surprising even herself.

"Any aunts, uncles or cousins?" Kai said quickly. If Jinora hadn't grown up with Ikki, the rapid firing off of the question would have fazed her.

"An uncle and an aunt from my dad's side, but neither of them had kids. My mom's an only child. What about your family?"

"I'm, uh..." he trailed off, squirming in his seat, before he lowered his voice, "I'm a foster kid. Never knew my parents. I've been with the family I'm with now the longest out of any of the couples."

Jinora pursed her lips, silent.

"I don't want your pity," Kai said hurriedly. "I'm-"

"How were the other homes? Did - did all the couples treat you okay?"

Kai swallowed back the biting retort he had been about to deliver, taken aback. "Most of 'em did. But one couple... they were really neglectful. I had to steal, to get by. That's how I got arrested."

"Only one time?" Jinora said, and it took Kai a moment to realize she was teasing. "I would've thought you were on first name basis with the police."

Kai smiled. Jinora didn't give a damn about him being in foster care - she didn't even feel sorry for him. It was refreshing change from how most people had reacted (even Skoochy). "Oh I am," he said, playing along, "I just don't want anyone to feel bad that they'll never have a mugshot collection as great as mine."

Jinora laughed, a bright, clear sound, that Kai realized he wanted to hear again.

"What are my hobbies? Hmm... I did martial arts, as a kid you know. My dad sort of insisted on it, but I took to it really well. I still keep up with it, actually, even though I don't attend lessons. I went to the Academy of-"

"Baguazhang," Kai finished, smiling. "I recognized your email profile pic. I used to take lessons there when I was in fifth grade. Small world. And you love to read, I'm guessing?"

"You know me so well," Jinora rolled her eyes. "But I bet you didn't know I'm a black-belt." Kai raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Looks like I was right. I also really enjoy musical theatre, but I'm thinking of pursuing a career as an English teacher..." She glanced down at the list of the 20 questions. "Oops, looks like I just answered number 17 too." Kai checked it off his list, leaving a messy scrawl of english teacher next to it.

"I think you'd make a good teacher," Kai told her. Jinora went slightly pink. "You understand it way better than I do, anyway." The two were in the library, having decided to meet up after school that Friday.

"I - I could always help you with it, you know," she said quietly, suddenly shy.

"Uh, yeah, sure..." he stammered out. "That - that'd be nice."

Jinora gave him a small smile.

"Judging by your cross, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you believe in God," Kai said, taking the seat in the library next to him, making sure to keep his voice low. He couldn't believe they were already at #7 on the list. He was just glad she had agreed to help him with his English work though. As crazy as it sounded, he didn't mind her company. She wasn't half-bad at all... but that didn't mean he actually wanted to be her friend, or anything... right?

"And judging by your tone, I'm gonna talk a wild guess and say that you don't believe in God," Jinora replied. "Do you believe in anything? Like destiny?"

"I guess... but I do believe in soulmates." He couldn't believe he had just said that; if he had said that in front of his friends they would have flayed him alive, teasing him mercilessly for the rest of high school. Or maybe his life. "You know," he continued when Jinora didn't say anything, "that one person who's like your missing piece, your other half?" He mentally winced. He probably sounded so stupid. And he didn't want to sound stupid in front of Jinora. He didn't know how it had happened, but he actually cared what she thought of him.

"I know what you mean. I believe in soulmates too. And God. My family goes to Church every Sunday. I've always tried to treat religion as a bridge, not a wall, between myself and others, though." She smiled a little at him. "Looks like there's more to both of us than we initially thought," she added, voicing what he had been realizing. "And that we actually do have similarities."

Kai grinned. "Yeah," he said softly, "turns out we do."

You're not half-bad," she added.

Kai smirked, "Same to you."

"I'm so flattered."

He winked, causing her to giggle. "You should be."

"Okay, question #8 is a good one: if you could go back and change one decision you made, what would you change?" Jinora passed the phone to her other hand, stubbornly ignoring the way her heartbeat had picked up when the caller ID had said it was Kai.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Ikki said in a loud, sing-song voice. Jinora flushed and glowered at her sister; Ikki walked away merrily. Jinora was just grateful her father wasn't home. She had had boyfriends before, but was sure that Kai's reputation proceeded him in her father's eyes. And it wasn't like she wanted to be Kai's girlfriend. Or thought he was cute. Not at all.

(Damn that growth spurt.)

Besides, last Jinora had seen (and no she had not taken to staring across the hallway at Kai, not at all) Kai had been dating one of the school cheerleaders. Although that relationship surely wouldn't last long. The boy had more girlfriends in a month than dates Jinora had in her entire life.

"Sorry about my sister," she spoke into the phone.

Kai merely chuckled. "Don't worry about it. So, you go first?"

"Hmm... okay," Jinora finally decided, "it would probably be getting into that fistfight with you when we were kids. I hope you know that detention is the single one I've ever gotten, and it ruined my perfect record... Don't laugh!"

"I'm not," Kai laughed.

"At least try to make an effort," she said dryly. "And the other thing I would change is I wouldn't have been friends with Lydia Burnsby."

"Yeah, Lydia was an interesting girl," Kai said, the bitterness in his voice surprising her. "I dated her once, remember? Wish I didn't."

"God, Kai you didn't..." she lowered her voice. "You didn't lose your virginity with her or anything right?"

"What! No, no. Still a virgin, believe it or not," he said cheerily. "I'm not quite the player everyone makes me out for. I've only had two real girlfriends, and one of those was in kindergarten." Jinora snorted loudly. "What can I say, I was four and really liked the special 24 pack of crayons Cecilia Jenkins had. And she was cute, but that was a bonus."

"And all this time I thought you were a heartbreaker," Jinora teased. "So, why Lydia then?"

"I found out she spread rumours about our relationship, saying all this ridiculous stuff, and just about my 'criminal' record, so I broke up with her. She must've had a thing for rumours, 'cause she spread some about you, right?"

"Yeah," Jinora said quietly. "So - so you heard some of them?"

"Didn't believe any of them," Kai replied. Jinora smiled, a warm feeling spreading throughout her. "You were too much of a stick-in-the-mud."

"Thanks," she said, amused. "Keep saying things like that and I might have to remind you of how good of a left hook I have."

Kai laughed loudly. "Is that a threat?"

"Maybe."

Snow was falling thickly, and the library was warm and cozy and packed with students. "Hot chocolate?" Kai asked, looking over her shoulder. "I smuggled it in." He held up a little packet of it. There was a place you could make tea or coffee in the library, but not hot chocolate.

Jinora pulled out a small bag of marshmallows out of her bag. "I had a feeling you might. I swear Fong, you're a bad influence on me."

"And you're a good influence on me. Speaking of which," he quickly went down the list of the 20 questions, "while I'm making the delicious hot chocolate, you should start thinking about what you consider your good qualities to be."

"Well," Jinora started once he had gotten back, accepting the mug of hot cocoa, popping a couple of marshmallows into the warm liquid and firmly ignoring the way her fingers tingled after Kai's had brushed against them. "I'm driven, determined, smart, forgiving."

"Helpful and kind," Kai added. Jinora blushed. "I'm sure there's plenty more, but let me just get those down. Oh, and punctual." He made a quick bullet point list.

"You've been pretty punctual as of late," Jinora said. "Why the sudden change?"

"It was no secret you found me being late extremely annoying. And I sorta wanted to prove a point to everyone that I did care. You'd be amazed at how much it's already bumped up my grades. Thanks for that, by the way." He beamed at her before taking a sip of hot chocolate, then wincing as it burned his throat. "Bad idea."

"What are your good qualities?" Jinora asked.

"I'm ruggedly handsome, for one." Kai waggled his eyebrows at her; Jinora laughed loudly and then quieted down after the librarian glowered at her. She and Kai dissolved into silent giggles. "I'm street smart, brave I guess."

"Funny," Jinora said. "And you have a knack for surprising people. Surprising me, anyway."

"You're pretty surprising yourself."

They had properly finished the question, and Jinora had seen her other friends were here. But the thought of joining them and not staying with Kai didn't even cross her mind as the afternoon went on.

'What do you consider are flaws in yourself?'

Kai stared long and hard as Jinora's email, before he finally typed back: im reckless, i guess. impulsive. insecure. It felt weird putting that out there; he had never been so vulnerable, before. He doubted he could have answered this question though, face-to-face, and figured Jinora probably felt the same, which was why she had decided to do it over email. what about you? It felt strangely like a weight had been taken off his chest, however.

I'm uptight. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I can let my insecurities get the better of me definitely, and my siblings try my patience like no one else... Do you feel lighter, somehow?

yeah, i do.

The next time they were face to face, in fourth period English the next day, they just started laughing. Ms. Sato beamed at them when she passed their desks.

"My least favourite memory is easy; I cried all day when I turned 11 and didn't get my Hogwarts letter," Jinora said. Kai gave her a look of disbelief, snorting. "What's yours?"

"Getting arrested," Kai said simply. It sounded as if he wanted to say something more, or at least had more on his mind, but when he didn't say anything, Jinora let it drop. "My favourite is learning that your middle name is Agatha."

"My youngest brother, Rohan, his birth. It felt like everything was perfect, you know?"

Seeing her next to him, their elbows brushing, the low light of the library lamps making her eyes turn different shades of brown, Kai thought he did know.

Jinora ran to pick the phone, "Hello Kai," she said hurriedly. An involuntary smile came onto her face. "Here about the 20 questions?"

"That," he replied, "and I wanted to hear your voice. Two days is an awfully long period of time."

Jinora went pink. "Shush you. Anyway," she glanced down at her English notes, "we're on question #12. Who has had the most influence on you?"

"My old social worker, her name was Korra. She always did whatever she could to help me, and convinced the police to not have greater charges on me. One of her friends is a detective. I'm still in touch with her today; she really wants to meet you."

"You told her about me?"

"Course I did. I don't know how, but you sort've become my best friend."

"It's a good thing then, because you've probably had the most influence on me in some ways." Was it hot in here or was it just her? She focused on watching the snow fall outside her kitchen window. "You taught me to give people second chances. And to be less judgmental. And have more fun. I can't always be a stick-in-the-mud right?"

"Ah, but you're my stick-in-the-mud."

"That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

"You know it babe."

Jinora blushed furiously. He just called her babe. And strangely enough, she liked it. This boy was weird. She was weird. The way he made her feel was weird. But she liked it; it was a good weird. "I'll start calling you Romeo then."

"Ew, no. Fine, I won't call you babe again. Is Jinorakins or Jinjin out of the question too?"

"How much thought have you put into this?"

"I have a surprising amount of free time, b- Jinora."

Kai refused to look her in the eyes. Jinora would have emailed, but also thought that they were at a stage in their friendship where they could talk about something like this, face-to-face. She knew it was going to be a tough question though, and an extremely vulnerable one too: what are your greatest fears? She opened her mouth, expecting to have to prompt Kai to answer by answering herself, but then he spoke. "It's not being wanted, I guess."

The girl was startled to see his eyes were unusually bright, and he let out a shaky breath. "I've never told anyone this before, but... My parents dropped me off in foster care. Most of the kids were there because their parents had died, or knew their parents couldn't take care of them properly. But mine..." Kai looked up at her, tears welling up in his green eyes. "Mine just didn't want me. And I hate feeling like I'm not wanted, I hate it."

Jinora considered putting a hand on his shoulder, but somehow, that didn't seem like enough. Instead, hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. The two were holed up in the park, full of laughing kids having a snowball fight. They had wanted to tackle this question somewhere private, and there was no way she was bringing Kai to her house; her siblings would go overboard and her father would have a heart attack if he caught sight of Kai's piercings.

The teenager trembled in her arms slightly, as slowly, he hugged her back. His arms were warm, and strong. "I'm scared of not being good enough," she whispered in his ear. "I'm worried of disappointing my parents, but most importantly, myself." She tightened her grip around him. "You're wanted, Kai. I'm glad you're my friend. My best friend."

"You're the smartest person I know," Kai said, his sadness fading. He even cracked a smile. "You're going to do amazing things. Partially because of my constant support, 'cause I'm the greatest best friend ever."

Jinora laughed, giving him a fond look. "Don't forget how modest you are." She looked around the park, the air crisp and bright, the sky a pale gray. "What do you say to getting out of the cold?"

Kai looked at Jinora, smirking. They rounded the corner of the street and into a cafe, eager to get out of the sudden onslaught of rain the day had decided to provide. The snow they had gotten over Christmas break needed to be melted somehow, after all. "You would so choose world peace, wouldn't you?" he said at last. "It's so cliche."

"It's a perfectly thing to wish for," Jinora said indignantly, bowing her head in thanks when Kai opened the door for her.

"But one wish for anything in the entire world? You make the rest of us look bad!" He followed her inside the cafe, the bell above their heads ringing. Christmas lights twinkled, not yet having been taken down from Christmas.

"Way too easy," Jinora replied, and then broke down grinning. "So, to answer question #14, if you could have one wish, what would it be?"

Kai was silent for a while before he finally said, "To be happy. You can help with that you know, by sticking around."

Jinora flushed and leaned up and pecked him on the cheek. Kai turned red, his face burning, but Jinora had already turned to the menu to see what she wanted to order.

"Mottos? They expect everyone to have a life-motto?"

"Apparently so. Besides, I have one."

"Of course you do," Kai said, resting his head on top of hers. They were back in the library, not wanting to be in the park with all the lovey-dovey couples milling around. Seeing as they were both single (Kai hadn't dated any girls since November) they had both come to the conclusion that they would spend Valentine's Day in each other's company, getting to the end of their 20 questions project. Only five questions remained.

"Mine is 'where's there's a will, there's a way'. Would you mind not leaning on me, by the way? You do have a chair, after all." That, and she thought her heart would explode if his chest stayed pressed up against her back, his arms brushing gently against hers, for another second.

Kai shifted and took the seat beside her. Jinora tried to ignore the disappointment threatening to settle in her stomach. "I've figured out my motto," Kai said after a few moments of silence. "'Fall down seven, stand up eight'. It's an old proverb."

Kai's phone beeped. He gave Jinora an apologetic smile and checked it; he had a text from Skoochy. How's your date with Jinora going?

its not a date Kai texted back. As he turned his phone off, and turned back to Jinora, he couldn't help wishing that it was one.

"Seriously, you want to ride on my bike?" Kai arched an eyebrow at her.

"I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle. And get a tattoo," Jinora hummed, snatching his helmet out from under his arm, holding it against her chest. "Come on, one ride."

"Won't your dad kill you? And just because one of the things I want to do is skydive doesn't mean I'm going to jump off a plane in a parachute. Or buy a dog."

"Well, yes. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, if he does find out, he'll blame you for it." They were standing in the doorway of Kai's garage, her having asked to come over. Nervously, Kai had said yes; he had never had her over at his house before. His foster parents greeted her nicely, and then they had gone to the garage, Jinora saying she had a request. But Kai had never thought that the request would be this!

"By which you mean you're totally throwing me under the bus," Kai said.

"Bingo. So, we going or not?" Kai frowned at her. "Please Kai."

His resolve was gone faster than he could blink. "One ride."

"Only need one to cross it off my bucket list," she said, and then pouted when he stole his helmet back. The teenager picked up another helmet and tossed it to her; Jinora caught it and pulled it over her head.

Kai got onto the bike with ease, and then Jinora climbed on after him. She wrapped her arms around his torso tightly, jittery with nerves, her face burning. "Ready?" Kai asked.

"Ready."

It was one of the best moments of her life; it was exhilarating. The wind chilled her to the bone, but in the best way possible. They zoomed down streets, the faster they went, the faster her heartbeat. The rush of adrenaline stole the air from her lungs, all the while, pressed up against Kai. (Damn that growth spurt, and his hair, and eyes.) It seemed to end all too soon, after a twice over around town they pulled back into the garage, their helmets with a little crown of snow.

"You liked it?" he asked, looking at her with anticipation. He got off one side of the bike, pulling off his helmet and leaning towards her, one hand on the bike's seat, the vehicle between them.

"I loved it!" She leaned forwards too, both of them grinning at each other. It took a few seconds of mutual staring for them to realize just how close their faces were; Jinora looked away, bashful, her heart pounding.

Okay, maybe she was really attracted to him.

merry christmas.

You too. Any plans for Boxing Day?

i was hoping to see you, actually

We're having a family dinner but I should be able to see you during the day. We have a question to get through, right?

yeah. what you wanna do when you're older. i know you wanna be an english teacher. im thinking of being a social worker. i wanna do what korra did for me, you know?

Oh, thanks for telling me... can we still meet up though?

of course. i've missed you

18. What would you do if you won the lottery?

Without really planning it, the garage had become their official hangout spot. It was quiet, and nobody bothered them there. And it meant Jinora managed to convince Kai to take her on more motorcycle rides, which got better every time. The two were leaning up against a workbench, bouncing a ball. Kai bounced a ball against the wall; when it bounced back Jinora caught it and then hit it against the wall for him to catch.

"So," Kai held the ball in his hand for a moment longer to check the list of questions before throwing the ball again, "#18: what would you do if you won the lottery?"

"Get my own motorcycle," Jinora said immediately. "Donate most of it to charity. Use it to pay for university. Buy you as many dogs as you wanted." She tossed the ball back to him. "What about you?"

"Keep you from getting your own motorcycle," he teased. "Donate a lot to foster care and university. And since you're getting me the dogs I don't need to buy any of my own."

She laughed. "That doesn't mean I'm going to help you take care of them, though."

Jinora didn't know how the second to last question, #19: do you believe in true love, had come up while she and Kai had been watching Aladdin in his garage. Maybe it was because of how Jasmine and Aladdin fell in love. Even after all these years, the movie was still as good as it had been as a child, and convinced that the carpet in her living room could fly too.

"I think I do, since I believe in soulmates," Kai added after asking her. The credits of the movie rolled down the tiny TV's screen.

Jinora looked at him warmly, affection for him threatening to overspill. "I doubted it for a while... but, I'm starting to."

They had just gotten back from a motorcycle ride; Kai's helmet had left his hair windswept and messier than ever. It was the first time they had gotten to hang out after March Break, and Jinora had no idea how much she could miss someone - she and her family had been vacationing in Florida with her Aunt Kya. "One question left," Kai said cheerfully. God, she had missed his smile, and his voice. Had it really only been seven days apart? "#20: what is the one thing you want more than anything else in the world right now?" He kept his eyes on the sheet, taking a step back and bumping into her, an apology already on his lips, but it died in his throat when he saw how close they were to each other, merely nose-to-nose.

"You," she murmured, his breath hot against her lips. Jinora leaned in, kissing him hard, running a hand through his hair. She pressed him up against the wall; one of his arms wrapped around her waist. His other hand threaded his fingers through the hair that fell in front of her face. Panting, she pulled away, and they grinned up at each other giddily.

"Who ever thought we'd have so many similarities," Kai smiled, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Just kiss me again," Jinora requested, and Kai was happy to oblige.

If asked why a smile was always on her face whenever Kai Fong was nearby, Jinora would've given a list of reasons. Some may call her foolish, as one of those reasons had occurred six years ago, but she didn't care. You see, there were multiple reasons why she loved Kai Fong:

1. They had shared history that made them both laugh and cry, in a way that no one else understood

2. The wonderful roar when his motorcycle pulled into the school parking lot, always five minutes ahead of class, often with her seated behind him.

3. The way he made a point to see her in between her classes. Even if she was late once or twice, because most of the time one kiss wasn't enough, was totally worth the tardy

4. The way he cared so much about her and was always doing little acts of kindness for her. The other girls scowled and muttered angrily over how much he showed he loved her; Jinora loved hearing it.

5. The fact when she was eleven and he was twelve they had gotten into a fistfight on the playground over a game of soccer, and the detention Jinora had served was the one, tiny, blemish on her otherwise perfect school record, and it was a story that never failed to make them laugh

6. And, last but not least, the fact she was extremely attracted to him because of that damn growth spurt.

"Jinora, you okay?" her younger sister's voice broke her stupor. "Hello, earth to Jinora?"

"I heard you the first time Ikki," Jinora told her, her large smile returning as Kai Fong sauntered down the hallway, wearing ripped black jeans and his black leather jacket. A few girls giggled as he passed; Jinora rolled her eyes, grinning as he spotted her and started to make his way over to her.

"You have your 'I-love-Kai' face again," Ikki piped up.

Jinora ignored her, and wrapped her arms around Kai once he had reached her. She leaned in for a long kiss that made Ikki "Ew!" loudly and the younger girl walked off. "If we keep kissing," Kai said, after breaking apart for air, "we're gonna be late for English."

"I don't think Ms. Sato will mind too much," Jinora replied, kissing him again. They were late for English.

Ms. Sato gave them an 'A' on their project's presentation.

A/N: The longest oneshot I have ever written, finally completed. This, my lovely readers, is for all of you. Thank you so so much for getting "The thief and the airbender" to a mind-whopping 288 plus reviews! I appreciate all of your feedback so much!

The other oneshots on the poll shall be posted within due time. I hope you all enjoyed this. :)

Love you guys a lot! :) Lemme know what you thought of this below!