Hey there! I really like the pairing of Jinoochy (even though it's nowhere near canon *cries*) and writing fic for it is my guilty pleasure...so have another Jinoochy story by yours truly. Please leave a review if you'd be so inclined, I'd love to hear thoughts about the story, and if you'd like to read more Jinoochy fanfics!

NOTE - This is kind of the sequel to my other Jinoochy story, Introduction, but you don't really need to read that to read this. But since it does kind of follow that story, Jinora is fifteen-soon-to-be sixteen and Skoochy is seventeen-soon-to-be eighteen. So yeah. Just putting that out there.


The first time Skoochy had visited Air Temple Island, he was absolutely blown away – literally. To start, it was just so different from the city streets, which were loud and crowded and smelled of gasoline from Satomobiles; the island, on the other hand, was serene and had tons of open space and smelled like pine trees. Skoochy wondered off the ferry and made his way up the stone steps from the dock to what appeared to be a practice area for airbenders. He saw this weird contraption that looked like a bunch of panels on sticks set up in a circular formation. Skoochy quirked an eyebrow, curious, and began to approach it. As he got closer, he decided it looked more like a death trap than anything else, and was about to let his long, calloused fingers touch one of the panels when a shout of, "STRANGER DANGER!" met his ears and he turned around only to have a massive gust of air blow him backwards.

Skoochy found himself sprawled on the cold stone ground, his hat having been blown off to who-knows-where, and he looked up, rubbing his head, to find a large wooden stick being pointed in his face. The owner of the stick appeared to be a young boy with a shaved head who had quite a determined look in his big blue eyes as he pouted at the earthbender. "Who are you, stranger, and why are you in my domain?" the young boy asked, his long stick (which Skoochy identified as a glider) getting dangerously close to Skoochy's nose. Skoochy scooted back a bit and raised his hands in surrender.

"Look, buddy, I'm not trying to cause any trouble –"

"What are you doing, Meelo?" Another child appeared, a girl this time, and she seemed to be a few years older than the little boy. Her dark hair was pinned up with two gold baubles on either side of her head, and she was wearing similar clothing to the boy, an outfit composed of dark oranges and golds. When she noticed Skoochy her eyes lit up, a huge grin spreading across her face. When she opened her mouth and began to speak, Skoochy felt as if she had eaten way too much candy from that little shop on Republic City's main street.

"Ooh, who are you? Are you a friend of Meelo's? Wait, I don't think that's right, you look too old to be hanging out with Meelo…are you here to see me? I love having guests! And I love your outfit, it's got that modern look without overdoing it, but you do realize that your clothes are dirty, right? Maybe you should clean them…and your hair! If you want, I can help you brush it…ooh, and then can I braid it for you! Can I, can I, can I?!"

"Uh," Skoochy began, feeling rather flustered and not sure how to respond to the girl, who was currently jumping up and down and clapping her hands, staying air bound for much longer than any normal person should be and then floating back down. But once again, he was interrupted by another voice, but this voice was one that was familiar to him…soft, feminine, and just all around lovely to his ears. It was the voice of the girl he had been coming to see in the first place.

"What's going on, Ikki?" Jinora asked curiously as she walked towards the two children, a frown upon her face and a book clutched to her chest. She turned her head to stare at Meelo, and Skoochy watched her gorgeous brown eyes look up the length of the glider until her eyes were on his. Jinora's cheeks flushed light pink.

"Skoochy?"

"Hey there, doll," Skoochy said, not daring to move in case Meelo decided to chase after him with that glider of his. "You're actually the person I was looking for."

Before Jinora could say anything else, the other girl – Ikki, Jinora had called her – got a mischievous look on her face and began to speak again, faster this time.

"Jinora, is this that handsome earthbender boy you were talking to Korra about two nights ago? The one who you think you might be in –?"

"Ikki!" Jinora cut her off hastily, her eyes darting from Skoochy to the younger girl. Skoochy watched in amusement as the blush on Jinora's face seem to spread all the way to the roots of her hair. "You were eavesdropping?"

"Sorry, Jinora, but you know Korra's so loud! Besides, you have interesting conversations with her, and she's not even your sister! Why don't you come tell me things sometimes?"

"Because I know by sundown the whole island will know about everything I said," Jinora said crossly. She turned to Meelo. "You can put your glider down. Skoochy's a friend."

Meelo looked skeptical, but Skoochy quickly got to his feet, dusting off his pants. He then proceeded to crouch down to Meelo's height and offer his hand. Meelo stared at it for a moment before dropping his glider and shaking it. "Your hand is clammy," Meelo informed him. Skoochy grinned.

"Sorry, my hands get sweaty when I'm scared. And you, my young friend, sure are a terrifying young airbender."

Meelo smiled at him. "Really?"

"Really."

Meelo quickly released his hand and grabbed his glider, taking off down the steps Skoochy had previously walked up. "C'mon, Ikki, let's go flying!"

Ikki nudged her sister. "I have to go make sure Meelo doesn't kill anyone. You and your attractive friend can have some private time! I'm sure that's exactly what you wanted!" Ikki sped off, roaring with laughter as Jinora clenched her fists and glared after her. Skoochy stood up to his full height and approached Jinora, a smirk upon his young face.

"Is it safe to assume that those are the siblings you told me about?"

Jinora sighed. "Unfortunately. I mean, I love them and all – they do have their moments – but it seems like most of the time they're wild animals. Rohan seems to be the only normal one, but that might just be because his adorable five-year-old self is so distracting."

Skoochy laughed and Jinora smiled up at him. They stared at each other for a moment until Jinora broke the eye contact and stared at her feet, her knuckles going white from gripping her book so tight. "So…did you want something?"

"Just wanted to visit a friend," Skoochy said, and then placed one of his fingers under Jinora's chin, tilting her head upwards to look at him again. He could feel Jinora breathing heavily at the physical contact. "Would you mind giving ol' Skoochy a tour, Miss Jinora?"

"I'd love to," Jinora said breathlessly, and Skoochy could feel his own heart beginning to race, threatening to run right out of his chest. Jinora raised her own small hand up to grab his and removed it from under her chin, intertwining her fingers with his own. He watched with surprise as Jinora tossed the book to the ground, something she never seemed to do. But she honestly didn't seem to care as she said to him, "Follow me."

Skoochy found it impossible to stop smiling as Jinora showed him all around the island, from the dormitories to another cleared out area where she had apparently learned to use her glider for the first time. There was the small strip of a beach right on the edge of the east side of the island, and Jinora told him tales of swimming here when she was younger while he felt sand for the first time, noting the way that this earth was different than what he was used to bending. Then there was the two large forests, one of which Jinora said was a good place for peace and quiet. Apparently, if you climbed the trees high enough, there where little nooks perfect for a girl Jinora's size to sit in. Jinora told him stories about the island and filled him in on some of the history of the air nomads, even explaining what the contraption he had seen when he had arrived was used for. Skoochy was good at listening – besides, it was easy if all he had to do was watch Jinora's profile, admiring her pink lips move as they formed words and seeing the way her brown eyes lit up at sharing information. And the whole time, Jinora did not release her grip on Skoochy's hand.

Finally, the pair had found their way up a dirt path on what appeared to be a large hill, and Skoochy looked around as they found themselves in a gazebo of sorts and only then did Jinora release his hand so she could walk up to the balcony and lean on it, staring off into Yue Bay. Skoochy stood next to her, watching the sun begin to set, giving the sky a magenta glow. "This is where we meditate in the morning," Jinora said softly, watching the clear water ripple below. "My father thinks that the higher up we are, the more in touch we are with our element, and it will help us connect better with our spiritual sides."

"Interesting," Skoochy mused, enjoying the way the only sound he could really hear was Jinora's gentle breaths – they were as light as the wind, and Skoochy had a feeling that if she wanted to she could use her breath to blow him backwards just like her younger brother had. Jinora turned her head to look at him.

"What do you think of the island?"

"It's…different than Republic City," Skoochy replied, turning to stare back at her. "Actually, it's more like a foreign country in my eyes. I know Republic City like the back of my hand, but here I would've gotten lost if it wasn't for you."

Jinora smiled bashfully. "Well, I've lived here my entire life, kind of like you have in the city. You do grow accustomed to your settings after a while."

They were quiet for a moment, just looking at each other, Skoochy admiring the blue arrow on her forehead, and then he thought of a perfect way to break the silence. "So, you think I'm handsome, do you?"

Jinora's adorable blush spread across her face once more. "I…I…Ikki must've heard me wrong…."

"Really?" Skoochy said, leaning forward so his nose was only inches away from hers. Damn her, she was making him go crazy and she didn't even know it. It wasn't going to be long before Skoochy snapped and demanded that she kiss him. "Because I don't mind if you do. My body just seems to have that affect on dames."

Jinora chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, Skooch. It's not very becoming."

"You know what I think is becoming?" Skoochy moved closer so his mouth was right at her ear, and he watched her squirm out of the corner of his eye at the closeness between the two of them. "Everything about you."

He heard Jinora's breath hitch. He grinned, knowing he had her right where he wanted her. He leaned back again so he could look her directly in the face, and he watched as she bit her lip in the most adorable way. "Is that so?" she asked him quietly. Skoochy nodded. She thought for a moment before smiling at him and speaking once more. "Well, you know what you could do that would be pretty becoming?"

"What's that, Jin?"

"Something like this." Before Skoochy knew what was happening, Jinora had grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close to her, her lips finally capturing his. Skoochy could tell that Jinora was new to this whole kissing thing, for her lips were unsure against his, but he put his hand on her cheek, taking control of the kiss, making sure to go slow so he didn't make Jinora anymore nervous than she already was. Her lips were soft and warm and better than everything he had imagined, and he was rather taken aback when Jinora had finally gotten the hang of it and deepened the kiss, her clever hands threading their way into his hair, gripping him tightly. Skoochy grabbed her waist and picked her up so she was sitting on the edge of the gazebo, holding her tight so she wouldn't fall. They seemed to kiss for several days – or, at least until the sun had completely disappeared – when Jinora finally pulled back, looking out of breath. She moved her hands from his hair to around his neck and just stared up at him with those beautiful eyes of hers.

"So what does this mean?" Jinora said in a voice barely more than a whisper. Skoochy raised an eyebrow.

"What does what mean?"

"What does this –" Jinora gestured dramatically between the two of them – " mean for us?"

"Well, Miss Jinora," Skoochy said with a smile as he helped her down from her perch on the gazebo. "If you would like, you could give me the pleasure of being my girlfriend, how does that sound?"

Jinora's smile was brighter than the morning sun. "I'd absolutely love to be your girlfriend, Skoochy." She got up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. His skin tingled where her lips had touched. Jinora released his neck and reached a hand up to mess up his hair. "I believe you lost your hat when you arrived. Shall we go look for it?"

"Sure," Skoochy said, grabbing her hand as they began to walk back down the hill, feeling like he could jump over the moon. The feeling of finally being able to call Jinora his girlfriend was even better than the sensation he had gotten when he had first met the girl. He looked down at her, not able to stop his signature mischievous grin from creeping onto his face. "But there is one place you didn't show me that I'd love to see, possibly before we go retrieve my hat."

Jinora looked confused. "I believe I showed you everything on the island –"

"Almost everything," Skoochy corrected. "There does happen to be one more piece of foreign land you haven't shown me."

"Which is?"

Skoochy stopped walking, and as soon as Jinora did as well he bent down so that his mouth was at her ear again. "Your bedroom."