Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Duty Versus Love ❯ Explainations and a Proposal ( Chapter 3 )

LES: For those of you who might grow concerned when reading this chapter, don't worry. There is no Lime or Lemon in this chapter, just some `heavy petting'. I still haven't 100% decided whether or not to have a Lemon in this story, but if I do, it won't be for several more chapters. Also, I've deliberately twisted my knowledge of the Inuit traditions. I studied Inuit marriage traditions for this fic, but it turns out that the Inuits didn't think much about marriage. So, even though the Water Tribe is based on the Inuit culture, the Water Tribe in my story views marriage as a sacred bond between two people.

 

Chapter III: Explanations and a Proposal

 

Several days had passed and, true to everyone's words, they had not given Katara one mention of what the Ba Sing Se messengers wanted or the fact that Aang was preparing to ask for her hand in marriage.

Within a few days of that fateful meeting, he perfected his betrothal bracelet and began work on the Water Tribe necklace, which took significantly less time than the bracelet since he figured out the basics of metal-carving with Waterbending during his work on the bracelet.

Aang sat in his room alone, staring at the two simple-looking objects before him.

For such simple objects, he had put months of effort into their creation. Here was the total accumulation and outward symbols of the love he had felt for the Water Tribe girl since he was twelve years old.

They were such simple objects, but in both their cultures, marriage was considered an unbreakable pact.

The concept of marriage itself was a little nerve-wracking, as it is for anyone standing on the precipice of a decision of this magnitude. But Aang knew that those feelings were simply the normal jitters. He was completely sure how he felt about Katara.

If there was one piece of knowledge that was passed down from Avatar to Avatar, it was what love was. His spirit couldn't have lived several millennia without learning the difference between love and similar shallower feelings.

Aang was one hundred percent sure who he wanted as his wife, and he felt reasonably sure that she fully returned his feelings and desires. But a dark cloud of uncertainty hung over the advent of his proposal: the message of the Earth King.

He had decided to leave the decision up to Katara completely. There were really three ways that it could go. She could do what the Avatar Spirit inside him wanted her to do: to accept him and the plan completely with the knowledge that she'd be his wife and only love. She could do what his heart wanted: to accept his proposal, but reject the plan utterly. Or she could do the unthinkable: reject him completely.

He didn't know what he'd do if she rejected him. There would be no point to his life anymore, and he knew his heart would break if such a thing happened.

Aang moved over to the window, gazing into the sky at the full moon. Ever since he had mastered Waterbending, he had felt the moon's pull just like other Waterbenders.

“A full moon.” Aang muttered to himself. “Princess Yue, is tonight a good night for a proposal?”

Of course, Aang received no answer from the moon. Princess Yue had been a Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, but she had sacrificed her life to become the Moon Spirit during the Siege of the North during the Century War. Now that she was a spirit, he could only speak to her in the Spirit World.

All he knew was that the Water Tribe placed great importance on events that happened during the full moon.

His mind made up, Aang grabbed the two different engagement pendants, and stored them safely inside his robes. He stepped out of his room and walked down the familiar halls with a purpose, heading for the place that he knew Katara was drawn to on the full moon, a natural hot spring below the Temple.

On his way down, he ran into Toph. He knew that she knew where he was going. He could feel his heart pounding roughly in his chest, so she would have no problem feeling the same thing.

“Good luck, Lover Boy.” She said quietly.

Aang grinned at her, whispering quietly. “Thank you.”

He continued on his way, climbing down the countless stairs until he reached the lowest level of the Temple.

The hot spring only had one occupant, just the woman he wanted to see.

Katara looked magical in the moonlight, dressed in the usual white swimwear she used for Waterbending practice. She flowed through the forms easily, with the moon aiding her powers.

Aang walked down the last few steps, and used a small movement to light all the torches around the hot spring.

Katara startled slightly when all the torches sprang to life on their own. She turned around on Aang, slightly upset. “Don't do that! I know the Fire Nation is peaceful now, but the old fears of fourteen years don't go away so easily!”

Aang grinned apologetically. “I'm sorry, Katara. I didn't mean to scare you.”

Katara sighed. “It's all right. Just don't sneak up on me and Firebend. Let me know it's you first.”

“Actually, Katara, I wanted to talk with you.” Aang sat down on the stone steps. “Join me?”

Katara smiled and moved closer to him, leaning against him. “All right. What's on your mind?”

“It's complicated.” Aang said, a little nervously. “I wanted to talk to you tonight to ask you a question, but I have some things to explain before I ask you. I want you to think about what I say before you answer. Promise me this.”

“I promise, Aang.” Katara said. “Now, what do you want to talk about?”

Aang fidgeted with his fingers. “Do you remember when we got back from the Fire Nation and I met with those Earth Kingdom messengers?” Katara nodded. “Well…” He mentally cursed his luck. He had literally spent months planning the perfect proposal and the Earth Kingdom just had to ruin everything. “Well, the Three Nations are very concerned with the balance of the world, and so am I. The Earth Kingdom has come up with a plan that sort of goes against everything I was ever taught as a monk. But, at the same time, this plan could be the only real chance I have of rebuilding my people…”

“Aang? What is this plan?” Katara asked nervously.

“They… they want me to keep a harem of non-bending women to have my children.” The words tasted like bile in his mouth, and he could tell they were having a similar effect on Katara.

“And… where will I fit in all this?” Katara asked. “Would a Waterbender be allowed in your harem?”

“Nothing is decided yet.” Aang said quickly. He took her hands in his. “Katara, I'm not going to make that decision alone. It doesn't just concern me and my nation, but the woman I love. I'll leave whether or not I go through with this plan entirely up to you.”

“I'm… flattered, Aang. But will the Earth Kingdom ministers accept that I made the decision for you? I am simply your girlfriend and Ambassador. Legally, I have no say over your affairs, whatsoever.”

“It doesn't have to stay that way.” Aang said. “Whether I go through with the Earth Kingdom's plan or not, there is one thing I know for sure: than I love you.” Aang reached into his robes, and Katara's eyes widened. She began to suspect that the question that Aang wanted to ask in the first place was coming near. He pulled two objects out of his robes. Katara recognized one of them immediately as a Water Tribe betrothal necklace. The second object was similar, but smaller and bore the Air Nomad symbol on it. Katara guessed that it was some sort of betrothal object of the Air Nomad people.

Katara burst into quiet tears, but happy ones. The only reason Aang was able to correctly identify that she wasn't crying out of sorrow was the large grin on her face.

“Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, will you marry me?” Aang asked hopefully.

Katara leaned forward to kiss him. “Yes, Aang. I'll marry you.” She whispered between kisses. She pulled away slightly, her hands moving up to her mother's necklace. She carefully unclipped it and Aang realized what she was doing.

“You don't have to take off your mother's necklace.” Aang said. “I'll be okay if you just wear the Air Nomad…”

“Aang, I want to start a new life with you.” Katara said. “I'll always keep mother's necklace for safe keeping, but it's your necklace that I want to wear.” She accepted Aang's betrothal necklace and clipped it in place where her mother's necklace once sat. And then Aang took her wrist and tied the Air Nomad bracelet there.

As soon as the items were secure Katara pulled the young Avatar closer and kissed him gently, but with great passion. “You know I've been waiting for you to ask me that for a long time.” Katara whispered against his mouth.

Aang grinned. “I'm sorry for making you wait. It took me longer than I expected to work out how to make them.”

“Well, I forgive you.” Katara kissed him. “Aang, about… what the messengers said…”

“Oh, yeah.”

“I need some time to think about it. I don't want to share you, but I also understand the importance of saving the Air Nomads. There is one thing I can promise you. I will give you children, Aang. I can't promise that they'll be Airbenders, but I will give you as many children as you wish.”

Aang felt his mouth go dry. For the last few years, his hormones had really started to take their toll on the young Avatar. At Katara's words, his mind filled with thoughts of making babies, as it would for any warm-blooded teenage boy.

Katara, however, seemed to take no notice of his plight, and only intensified it. “It's a full moon tonight. Would you care to join me?”

Aang nodded dumbly, removing the robe that covered his chest.

Katara grinned in appreciation as his robe joined her own clothing near the stairs. When they were young, she had seen Aang unclothed down to his undergarments more times than she could count when they practiced Waterbending together. But she never really appreciated it then. Even after she grew to love him after the war, she didn't feel a physical attraction to him.

And then he really hit puberty full-force and his boyish body turned into that of a man's, seemingly over-night. It was then that she began to feel the flame of lust growing in the pit of her stomach.

When she turned sixteen and became of legal age to get married, it was like someone fanned the white-hot flames of love and passion in her heart, intensifying her need for him a hundredfold.

And now, here they were… two years late, but engaged to be married. The full moon's light seemed to perfectly accentuate his lean, but muscular form, as if Princess Yue herself were worshipping his body. But, then again, no matter what nature threw at him, he always looked perfect. Nature just loved the Avatar, and always seemed to make him look good.

Aang hesitated in reaching for the sash around his waist that held his pants up. It had also occurred to him that this time was very different from the other times she had seen him in a state of undress.

Katara took the initiative and reached for the cloth, slowly unwinding it from his body.

His breath caught in his throat as gravity took over and pulled the fabric down, leaving him only clothed in his undergarments. Aang took another deep breath. Calm down. It's not like she hasn't seen me like this a thousand times before. But, still, his mind insisted that something had changed. Now they were engaged.

Katara took his hands and pulled him into the water. Aang let out a deep sigh that he had unknowingly heated up with Firebending, making the water hotter. But that just seemed to intensify the feelings coursing through them.

He turned his attention to Katara. Her hands extended towards him, lightly tracing the sky-blue arrow tattoos that ran down the length of his arms.

“You know, Aang, I never told you, but these tattoos are incredibly sexy.” Katara said with a slight blush.

Aang blushed. “Really?” To the Air Nomads, the blue arrow tattoos simply marked a Master Airbender. They had a deep spiritual meaning to his culture, so he had never thought of them as `sexy' before.

“Yes.” Katara said. “As a healer, it is useful to have Chi paths tattooed on your patient's body. But you want to know something else about Chi paths?”

“What?”

“They are very sensitive.” Katara whispered, her fingers now ghosting over the marks.

An unexpected shiver went up Aang's spine. Without much further ado, he pulled Katara into his body, pressing his lips harshly against her own.

Katara moaned into his mouth, her questing hands moving up and down his sides and chest, while his own hands stayed somewhere in the vicinity of her waist.

They moved together through the water until Aang had her pressed into one of the rock walls surrounding the spring. Katara gasped loudly as her back made contact with the cold stone. She dug her fingers into Aang's back and wrapped her right leg around his waist.

Aang gasped as she rubbed against him. He pulled away from her abruptly, gasping loudly.

“Aang?” Katara questioned, breathing hard.

“I'm sorry, Katara. Now's not the right time.” Aang said.

“Aang, we are engaged.” Katara said.

“I know.” Aang said. “I'm sorry. I know things have changed in the last one hundred years, but things were different growing up one hundred years ago. Marriage was seen as a deeply spiritual union, and sex was the physical expression of that union. I know what you are going through. It's just as hard for me to wait as it is for you. But I want our first time to be special… our wedding night.”

Katara sighed. “I guess we were going a bit too far. I'm sorry, Aang. I keep forgetting that things were different one hundred years ago.” She paused. “Well, I suppose I've waited for four years. What difference will a few more weeks make? It's just more incentive to plan our wedding quickly.”

“Whatever you wish.” Aang said.

“Well, what I wish right now is for you to kiss me again.” Katara said seductively.

“Yes, ma'am.” Aang said, gladly pulling her close for a passionate kiss.