Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Duty Versus Love ❯ The Family Expands ( Chapter 20 )

LES: Why am I making Aang's family sound like the mob? I might as well start calling Aang “The Don” and be done with it! Aang becomes an uncle, and also an amount of Sokka-humor that I've been dying to add for a while, but couldn't because of the depressing quality of the last few chapters. The first part of the chapter will still deal with depressing issues, but it won't be the whole chapter this time, I promise.

 

Chapter XX: The Family Expands

 

Aang's period of mourning lasted from the moment of Bumi's death until a few weeks after his state funeral and the crowning of the next King of Omashu.

Since Bumi had no children, he named his heir as an idealistic young nobleman who he felt would be able to lead Omashu in a time of peace.

Aang had talked to the nobleman, and had officially given him his blessing, and Aang did believe that he was worthy to take Bumi's place, but he wasn't Bumi.

Perhaps the hardest part for Aang was the funeral.

It was attended by many state dignitaries who spoke of Bumi only as a King, reminiscing about his years of wise rule and the time he routed the Fire Nation occupation of his city singlehandedly in less than eight minutes.

And then it was Aang's turn to speak. If everyone was expecting him to talk about what a great King Bumi was, they were shocked when he only spoke about Bumi as a person and a friend.

He talked in length about the Bumi as he had known him a hundred years ago: Bumi the child; Bumi the prankster. He spoke about their illegal rides down Omashu's mail delivery system, and how with a combination of Aang's Airbending and Bumi's Earthbending, they would cause a vast amount of destruction.

He then said that Bumi was one of the few people who didn't make a habit of calling him simply `The Avatar', but by his given name. This made the man officiating the funeral upset since he had referred to Aang as `The Avatar' himself.

Aang then finished by saying that Bumi had taught him that being the Avatar did not change who he was, and he had also taught him to see the world for its possibilities rather than what people expected him to see.

This unusual speech caused quite a stir, but Katara could tell that Aang didn't care. He calmly took his seat.

Thankfully, everyone calmed down and the funeral proceeded with no outbursts.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katara was in pain during Aang's period of mourning. It had been nearly three months since Anil's birth, but she was a little reluctant to approach Aang now that she had her sexual appetite back. It had been a few months that actually felt like an eternity since they last had sex, and she wanted him badly.

He didn't even have to do anything to get her all hot and bothered any more. All it took was a glance (and a non-sexual glance at that), or him taking off his shirt, or him holding Anil. Pretty much everything about him turned her on!

But she resolved to wait until his mourning period was over, no matter how much she may want him.

For many days, she could tell that he was still depressed, but one day that changed. He started visiting the people of Omashu again, public appearances that had come to a virtual stand-still following Bumi's death.

He resumed playing with his son and taking walked holding Anil so that he could bask in the fatherly pride of having people tell him he had a handsome son. If Aang had one weakness, it was pride. Perhaps pride was forbidden to monks, but Air Nomad Avatars were different from the rest of their culture. They were never expected to become detached and achieve spiritual enlightenment.

She found Aang one evening studying some letters after she had put Anil to sleep. She felt her desire increase in the pit of her stomach. She desperately wanted him, and she knew that now was the time.

She loosened the ties of her dress until she was displaying a very generous amount of cleavage for her husband's eyes only. She pulled down her hair because she knew that Aang loved to run his fingers through her unbound locks.

She stepped into the Master Bedroom, and leaned against the doorway, but Aang hadn't noticed her. So she went straight to Plan B. She walked over to him and yanked the scroll out of his hands.

“Katara, what are you…?” Aang looked up at her, and his words died in his throat. “What… what…?”

“What, Aang? What am I doing?” Katara finished, tossing the scroll on the floor. The scroll was a very important update from the Earth Kingdom about the status of the Fire Nation Colonies in the Earth Kingdom; but it suddenly didn't seem that important. “What I'm doing is serving my husband. It's been a while since I was last able to perform my wifely duties.” She moved around behind him, caressing his neck and dipping her fingers under his robes to rub his chest.

She felt Aang shiver under her fingers, and he looked back at her. “Are you sure you're okay?” He asked.

She bent down to kiss the side of his neck, and he let out a soft sigh. “I'm sure.”

“Anil?”

“I just put him to sleep.” Katara answered. “We have several house before he wakes up for his late night meal.”

“Oh Spirits.” Aang breathed, standing up and removing his robe with inhuman speed. He turned to face her and pulled her into an intensely passionate kiss.

Katara moaned into his mouth at his fierce kiss, grinding herself against his hips to coax him to hardness.

Aang groaned and quickly tore off her robe. She wore nothing under it. He grinned when he saw this. He was proud of the knowledge that she had come here, planning on seducing him.

Of course, she hadn't lost the weight she gained during her pregnancy, but Aang loved the way she looked. At first, Aang couldn't find a way to describe what he found so appealing about this post-baby Katara. Sokka, of all people, had discovered it. He said that she had a maternal glow, and so she did. Aang loved it.

Perhaps it was a mixture between Katara's coaxing and the long sexual drought, but Aang was able to become fully aroused much quicker than normal, a fact that Katara noticed. “Eager, are you?” She asked, pulling him over to the bed.

“You have no idea.” Aang replied.

Katara slipped out of his arms and onto the bed, beckoning him to come to her. Aang quickly removed the last of his clothes and crawled over to her on the bed. He hovered over her and kissed her passionately.

“Aang, now!” Katara whispered urgently between kisses. “I've waited too long for this!”

Aang glanced at her and nodded. They both groaned loudly as they came together once again.

“Oh Aang…” Katara breathed as they moved in sync. “It's been far too long.”

Aang groaned as she dug her fingernails into his back, urging him to move faster without words. “We have a few hours, Katara.”

“But I want you now!” Katara responded. “We can go slower the second time, but I want this for the first time.”

Aang chuckled. “Okay.” He gladly picked up the pace.

“Ahh! Oh, Aang, I love you!” Katara gasped loudly.

“Katara…” Aang breathed harshly, holding her closer to his body as he continued to rock into her. “I've missed you… this… so much…” He kissed her passionately.

Katara flipped them over and moved against him desperately. She leaned down, pressing her lips against his bare chest, lapping at his skin.

Aang urged her to move up slightly so that he could kiss her, which he did while gripping her hips and guiding her movements against him.

She sat back up and Aang got the message, also sitting up, using one hand to support himself in this position, and the other hand wrapped around her waist.

Katara paused for a moment, taking a second to gaze into her husband's desire-filled eyes.

“Aang.” She whispered, kissing him passionately. She wrapped her arms around his body as she began to move against him once again. Her right hand traced the line of the blue tattoo down his back, lightly ghosting over his old lightning scar, which had faded with the years, but there was no fixing his tattoo. It remained broken half-way down his back. Her left hand found its way up to cradle his head and neck. “I love you, Aang.” She whispered.

“I love you too… Katara.” Aang whispered, completely unaware that his doom was rapidly approaching.

The new parents were so wrapped up in reestablishing their sexual connection that they didn't notice the sudden increase in noise-level in the mansion. It wasn't Anil. Like most parents, they were hard-wired to hear their son's cries. But because the noise did not fall into that category, they took no notice.

But they most certainly did notice when Sokka burst into the room without any preamble or even a simple knock. “Katara, I…”

Sokka froze; in fact, everything in the room froze. Even the most moronic person in the world could plainly see that Aang and Katara were currently engaged in having sex, and Sokka was no moron, despite popular opinion.

Katara unfroze and pulled away from her husband, drawing an involuntary gasp from him. Then she quickly covered the both with the blankets. “Sokka? What…”

Her question was cut off when Sokka walked purposefully across the room. Without any warning at all, he punched the young Avatar in the jaw.

“Sokka!” Katara yelled, but her voice was drowned out by Aang.

“Ow! What was that for?!?” Aang said, rubbing his sore jaw.

“Exactly!” Katara agreed. “Aang is my husband! We have a child together! Isn't it kinda obvious that we're having sex?”

“Knowing about it is one thing… walking in on it…” Sokka trailed off, glaring at the Avatar. “If you weren't the Avatar and if Suki weren't in labor…”

“Oh Spirits! Suki's in labor?” Katara gasped. “Hold on. I'll be right there!” She took the covers as she rushed for her clothes, leaving Aang with only the sheets and some pillows for coverage.

Aang couldn't bring himself to meet Sokka's eyes. Katara dressed quickly and rushed out of the room.

Sokka lingered in the room, glaring at the blushing Avatar. “I'll deal with you later, Mister Avatar!” Sokka left the room.

Aang released the breath that he had been holding. He was the Avatar, the most powerful person on the planet. He was nineteen years old. He was a husband and a father. But he suddenly felt like a child again.

~~~~~~~~~~

What Aang quickly realized, however, was that he was glad that he had no obligation to be there. Certainly, Suki did need support, but Sokka and Katara were there for that. Aang felt that seeing to his son's needs while his wife was otherwise occupied was his greatest obligation at the moment.

After he took care of himself, and got dressed, he moved quietly into his son's room while carefully avoiding Sokka. Surely Sokka wouldn't pick a fight with Aang in the same room as his sleeping son.

There was a small looking glass in the room, and Aang examined his reflection with a sigh. His jaw was all ready bruising. He could just imagine people asking him how it happened. What could possibly put a bruise on the Avatar's face?

There was no way Aang wanted to have that conversation. What could he say? `My brother-in-law walked in on me having sex with my wife and punched me in the face'? No one would be able to take him seriously if that happened. And as much as Aang hated it, being the Avatar made it necessary for him to have a good reputation and be respected everywhere.

And, what was worse, it seemed like Sokka wasn't done punishing him.

Aang snorted softly. She's my wife! I didn't do anything wrong! It's not like he's a virgin either! Suki's giving birth to his child right now. Hypocrite!

He sighed to himself. It was going to be a long night. It would take a miracle for him to fall asleep again, and he was the only available to take care of Anil. Aang hoped that he wouldn't get hungry until the actual birth was over, because Aang was not equipped to handle it!

There was a chair in the room, so Aang settled down to watch over his son. The sounds of anguish filled the house, and he sighed once again. Tonight is going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~

Incredibly, Aang managed to doze off in the early hours of the morning, though it was probably only because of sheer exhaustion. However, Aang's sleep did not last long.

Aang felt a disturbance in the air, like an unusually strong breeze inside the room. He was jolted awake. The window was shut to keep out the cold night air, so the breeze couldn't have come from a natural source.

Aang's eyes fell on his son's cradle, and his jaw dropped. He quickly stood and rushed over, and saw that Anil was now awake and obviously preparing to sneeze.

Aang held his breath as Anil sneezed, causing another gust of air in the room; only powerful enough to ruffle Aang's robes. But still, Airbending was Airbending!

Aang burst into tears of happiness as he picked up Anil and held his son close to him. I'm not alone anymore! Aang realized. The Air Nomads will come back! They will be reborn in my son!

Unable to contain his happiness any longer, Aang rushed out of the room towards Sokka and Suki's room, yelling for his wife.

Just as he reached the door, it opened, and Katara quickly stepped out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. “Aang? What in the world is going on?” She demanded, barely loud enough to be heard over Suki's grunts, moans, and threats inside the room.

“Anil…” Aang began breathlessly. “He sneezed! I'm not alone anymore, Katara! I'm not the last Airbender!”

Katara kissed him. “No, you are not the last Airbender. You are the first Airbender.” She took Anil from Aang's arms and kissed her son fondly. “Oh, Aang, this is such good news!”

Aang wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I love you so much, Katara!”

Katara returned his kiss passionately. “I love you too!”

“Excuse me!” Suki yelled from inside the room. “I'd hate to interrupt this wonderful family moment, but I'm sort of having a baby here!”

Katara jumped away from Aang. “Oh Spirits! I'm so sorry, Suki!” She handed Anil back to Aang. “Just hang on for a few more hours; this is going quite fast…”

“Fast!?!” Suki screeched from inside the room. “It's well past midnight, and I've been in labor for hours! If you tell me I'm almost done one more time…”

“Has she started threatening to kill Sokka yet?” Aang asked casually.

“Oh, she's threatened to kill everyone.” Katara answered. “I'll see you soon, Aang.” She kissed him and went back into the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katara was right. Suki's labor was over a lot sooner than her own labor, while the actual birth did take a little longer.

Aang knew exactly when the birth started because Sokka left the room, looking green.

The Water Tribe Warrior looked over at the Avatar with a glare. He obviously had not forgotten what he had walked in on last night, and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to punch Aang in the face again. However, Aang was holding his sleeping son, so that saved him from another bruise.

Well… Aang couldn't blame Sokka for being stressed beyond all reason. Aang only had vague memories of when Anil was born since the whole experience had basically been a massive blur of pain and horror.

Sokka saw the knowing look on Aang's face. “Smug bastard.” The Water Tribe Warrior growled.

“So now I'm the bad guy for having gone through this experience myself?” Aang asked.

“I still haven't forgiven you for last night.” Sokka responded.

“Okay, look… you walked in on Katara and I having sex…” Aang began.

“Just shut up now.” Sokka said. “I don't want to hear about what you do with my little sister.”

“It was very awkward.” Aang admitted. “But Katara is my wife. I love her, and I love all the different facets of that love.”

“Aang! I don't want to punch you when you're holding your kid!” Sokka said. “You can't understand how I feel about Katara! If you had a younger sister, you'd know how I feel.”

“If I had a younger sister, I'd want her to be happy.” Aang said. “Hasn't this last year shown you that Katara is happy with me?”

Sokka sighed in defeat. “Look, Aang… I…” Suddenly Sokka was cut off when Suki gave a particularly loud scream, followed closely by the sound of a newborn's first cries.

Sokka was on his feet instantly. A few moments later, Katara stepped out of the door with a loud sigh, wiping some sweat off her forehead. She smiled at Sokka.

Sokka rushed over to his younger sister. “Katara! How's Suki? How's the baby? Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Suki and the baby are both fine.” Katara assured him. “Now, I know you're a chauvinist, so try to contain your disappointment. It's a girl.”

“Disappointed?” Sokka demanded. “Are you kidding? That's great!” He stepped into the room.

Katara gave Aang a look of shock, and then she walked over and sat down next to him. “I thought he would be disappointed for sure.” Katara said disbelievingly.

“Boy or girl, that baby is his, and that's all that matters.” Aang said. “Despite appearances, Sokka has matured…” He gently nursed his bruised jaw. “A little.”

Katara inspected his jaw, and then quickly gathered some water out of the air and used it to heal the large purple discoloring on his face. And then she kissed that spot where it was. “Is that better?”

“Always.” Aang responded, giving her a kiss.

Katara turned her attention to her son, sleeping peacefully in Aang's arms. She gently smoothed down his downy black hair, being very careful not to wake him up. “And don't think I've forgotten about our own good news. You were right all this time. He really is an Airbender. You must be so happy.”

“Words cannot describe.” Aang responded, kissing her. “Thank you so much, Katara, for giving me your love and this wonderful gift.

“There is nothing to thank me for.” Katara responded, pressing her lips firmly against his.

The door opened again, and Sokka stepped out of the room, grinning brightly. “Hey, you guys, don't you want to come in and meet my daughter?” He stepped back into the room.

Katara took Anil and stood up. “I'll put Anil to bed. You go ahead, Uncle.” She added playfully.

“Uncle. Wow.” Aang said in a daze. “And I just started getting used to being a father.”

They kissed and went their separate ways. Aang stepped into the room. Suki was reclined on the bed, looking extremely tired but very happy at the same time. Sokka sat on the bed next to her, beaming with pride. In Suki's arms was a tiny bundle.

Aang couldn't help but stare at the scene before him. Did Katara and I look like that almost three months ago?

Aang smirked. “Is it safe now?”

Suki sighed. “Look, Aang, I'm sorry for anything I may have said about you when I was in labor.” It sounded like a rehearsed apology.

“You called him twenty different names, told him to do something to himself that is physically impossible, and threatened him with five different deaths.” Sokka counted off on his fingers. “Why were you so angry with Aang anyway?”

“Um… I don't remember.” Suki said sheepishly.

“Maybe you were angry at me for pulling Katara out of the room.” Aang suggested.

“Oh yeah! That was it!” Sokka said.

Aang moved over to Suki's other side and gazed down at the baby girl. She was a beautiful infant with strong Earth Kingdom features, but blue Water Tribe eyes. Aang grinned at Sokka. “She sure is squishy looking.”

“Are you kidding? She's the most beautiful baby in the whole world!” Aang rolled his eyes.

He turned his attention to Suki. “Does she have a name?”

“Yes.” Suki said. “Her name is Michiko.”

The name stirred in Aang's memory, and he was shocked that he could actually remember it. “That was the name of Avatar Kyoshi's oldest daughter and founder of the Kyoshi Warriors.”

Suki laughed. “I should have realized you'd know that.” She gazed down at her daughter fondly. “You are so blessed, Michiko. You are named for the daughter of one Avatar, and you are the niece of another.” She kissed her daughters forehead.

 

LES: Lots more Sokka-humor in this chapter, which is only a good thing. I love doing sexual walk-ins, and Sokka was a prime candidate for one. I couldn't resist. Also, some more of Sokka's amusing hypocrisy. Babies are only squishy looking when they aren't yours. Ah, Sokka, how you amuse me. If I lived in the Avatar world, I would probably be Sokka's best friend. Now, on to Michiko's name. Michiko is a Japanese name. I wanted to do a Chinese name, but I didn't like the Chinese names I found. So, let's just say that Avatar Kyoshi really liked Fire Nation names.

 

Michiko is a Japanese name that means “beautiful, wise child”.

 

LES: I'll probably give her a nickname. Something like `Michi' or `Miko'. (shrug).