Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Flight ❯ The Morning ( Chapter 6 )

Aang pulled the blankets around them and wrapped Katara in both arms. The sun hadn't quite risen and the temple was still cool from the morning dew and canyon drafts. Katara burrowed into the hollow of Aang's chest. I can't believe I just did that! She thought scandalously. I just touched his…Thing! I just made him come…wow. What would Sokka say if he knew….

Katara mentally jumped. They were together now, weren't they? They would have to tell Sokka, and tell Toph, and tell Zuko…well maybe not Zuko so much. Dad would want to know, and Gran-gran and Master Pakku and Suki and…

 

“Aang?”

 

“Mmm?” Amazingly, to Katara, he was starting to fall back asleep. Albeit with a supremely content look on his face, but still.

 

“We're together now right? I mean, Together, together?”

 

He smiled with closed eyes.

 

“Definitely.”

 

“How are we gonna tell people?”

 

Aang shrugged. “I dunno, does it matter how?”

 

“I guess not…I mean, we are going to tell people right?”

 

“Why wouldn't we?”

 

“Well, if we tell them about Us, we'd have to tell them about your air nomad vision.”

 

Aang began idling tracing circles on Katara's hip, eyes still closed. Katara laid a hand on his bare chest and laid her forehead against his. “Aang?”

 

“yeah, I guess we'd have to. I just…I'd feel guilty.” He admitted, sighing and opening his eyes.

 

“guilty?” she started, “about Us? About us being Together?” Her face fell. Aang hastily amended his statement, wanting to banish that sad look as soon as possible.

“No! Never! I'd never feel bad about this.” He took her hand and pressed it against his heart. “Ever.” He kissed her fingers. Katara's expression lifted and .

 

“what did you mean, then?”

 

“I'd feel guilty for them uprooting and following me around the world, again, mind you, and I'd feel almost as bad not telling them before I go-“

“We go.” Katara interrupted, her mouth set stubbornly. “not you alone. Not while I'm around.” Aang resisted the urge to laugh and kiss that stubborn mouth. He successfully resisted only the first urge. He really loved that mouth of hers, no matter what it was doing, but when it puckered slightly into that adorable little stubborn blossom on her face he found it hard to resist. And now, he was ever so thankful that he didn't have to.

 

He kissed her long and hard, cradling her jaw line in his hands. When they broke apart, Katara an adorable flushed and flustered look to rival the adorableness of her stubborn face. Aang almost bent to kiss that mouth as well, but Katara placed her hand on the side of his face.

 

“Aang.” She chided gently. “you were saying? How we are going to tell people about Us?” she prompted. He sighed.

 

“I don't know, it's just that our friends are settling down; figuring out how to live in a world without the war…Sokka and Suki have their Navy Patrols for bandits, and each other. Toph has her Earthbending students…she was even talking about opening a school back in the earth kingdom. Omashu maybe. Zuko…Zuko would flip if he heard of me going on an extended trip! He'd go on and on about how he needs my “diplomatic presence” and my “responsibly”. I know if I told Sokka or Toph they'd want to follow me, and I'd just feel really bad for interrupting their lives…”

 

He sighed, and hugged Katara.

 

“I don't know how long this is going to take. I don't even know if I can even accomplish something like this…I don't even know what my goal will look like in the end. I mean…when I, I mean, we, were trying to end the war; I knew what that looked like. I could picture how the world had been, what the world was without war. There's just so much I don't know. And I'm not ok with dragging my friends into my uncertainty.”

 

“I don't think they'd understand my reasons either…that I'm the Last of my people…”

 

“I understand.” Katara said quietly, so much that Aang almost missed it. “I know what it's like to be the last. Aang looked Katara in the eyes and could almost see the little girl she was remembering being.

 

“I was the only waterbender in the south. The only person with these strange abilities. I wanted, no, longed for someone to show me how to use them. For someone to praise what I did. To use them to help people...” Her tone was nostalgic, with past loneliness cracking her voice. “Sokka would call me a freak sometimes. I'd always get defensive and angry. I tried not to show it, but it hurt. I wouldn't have traded my waterbending for anything, but…” She smiled sadly at Aang.

 

“More than anything I wished I had someone else with my skills to relate to. That's one reason I was so happy to find you…”

 

Aang looked slightly surprised. “but I wasn't even...you didn't even know I was the avatar then.”

“You were a bender of ANY kind. The first I'd really seen other than fire. Besides,” and she smiled mischiviously, “you were really really cute.”

 

Aang chuckled and settled back into the bedding. “Really really cute, huh?”

She gave him a small, embarrassed smile. “So anyway…”

He sighed.

 

“Katara, do we have to decide now? I just want to lay back and sleep in with you. I mean, the sun's not even up yet, Katara.”

 

“Actually it is up.” She pointed toward the pinkening sky out the stone window. “or it's about to.” Aang sighed.

 

“You always have to try and prove me wrong?”

 

“No! I don't always…” Katara's indignant cry faded as she saw his teasing grin. She pouted her lips and gave him a mock glare. She then sighed and settled beside Aang.

 

“We need to talk about this eventually you know.”

“I know.”

“Really?”

“Katara…let's just enjoy the moment, ok?”