A/N: Since a lot of people liked my first Avatar fanfic, here's another for all of you craving more! Enjoy!
Please Review!
I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender
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Waterbending Practice
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Katara sighed. The last day of her and Aang being together alone had ended yesterday. Ever since the war had ended, she told herself that she should be the happiest girl alive. She, the mere watertribe peasant, had shown the whole world that she was one of the four people who had brought down Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula. She was one of the few watertribe members that was there to watch Prince Zuko's crowning, and most importantly, she was the one who had decided to travel with Aang afterwards.
Toph and Sokka had originally planned to stay in Ba Sing Se. Toph wanted time to reconcile with her parents and Sokka had insisted on staying to help out Zuko, even though Aang and Katara both knew he just wanted to stay near Toph.
So they had set out to travel the world on Aang's flying bison. It had been at least two weeks when they received a letter from Toph saying that she and Sokka would meet them in Ba Sing Se when he went to see Zuko the next day. That day was today.
As much as Katara loved her brother and Toph, she had wanted to travel with Aang alone, and most of all, she'd wanted Aang to say something about the kiss they'd shared before the war and say he loved her. But every time she brought it up, he was crafty enough to change the subject and by the time she noticed, he was saying something about getting ready for bed, meditating, exploring, or finding food.
"Sugar Queen! Twinkle Toes!"
Katara blinked and saw they had already landed in Ba Sing Se. Toph and Sokka had met them, just as they promised, and now there was no hope of Aang telling her.
"Hey Toph," Katara shouted back as cheerfully as she could muster. She jumped down from the saddle, expecting Aang to catch her, but instead, she saw her brother's blue watertribe clothes.
"Welcome home sis," he said before pulling her into a hug.
Even if she was mad that her alone time with Aang was over, she was glad to see her brother. She hugged him back. "I missed you Sokka."
He gave her a tight squeeze before they let go and walked over to Toph and Aang.
Aang and Sokka did some kind of handshake and preformed what Sokka called a "man's hug".
"I gotta go meet Zuko," Aang said, realizing that he and Katara had already flown in late. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Come on Sokka!"
Sokka followed him in a flash. "Right behind you Aang!"
"Since when was Sokka going?" Katara asked.
Toph shrugged. "Zuko thought his plans were…how did he put it? Genius…when he traveled with us, so he wanted Sokka there, just in case."
"Oh," Katara replied.
"You sound cheerful for someone who just spent two weeks alone with her 'secret' crush," Toph said sarcastically, nudging her in the side. "What's wrong?"
Katara sighed. She knew there was no point in lying to her. "Nothing happened. That's what's wrong…"
"What?" Toph yelled. "Two weeks alone…two weeks! And that guy doesn't make a move?" She looked outraged as she flew her hands up in the air. "That is not how an earthbender acts! Not after I've trained him!"
Katara put a hand on Toph's shoulder and the small girl pulled in her flailing arms, settling with just crossing them over her chest. "Toph, he doesn't like me that way," she whispered. "The jokes are old." She was referring to her and Sokka's jeers about the young boy being in love with her.
"That's what you think Sweetness!" she exclaimed. "You should feel his heartbeat at just the mention of your name!"
Katara wondered for a second if what Toph said was true, but quickly dismissed it. "So, how were you and Sokka?" she asked casually, not meaning it the way it came out.
Toph's cheeks were then redder than a strawberry. "We…uh…didn't see much of each other," she stammered, quickly looking away, despite her blindness.
Katara raised an eyebrow, even though Toph couldn't see it. "I can tell you're lying." The tables had definitely turned.
"Oh yeah?" the small girl snapped back. "How can you tell? You don't have my lie detecting abilities!"
"Toph, you're redder than a fire nation soldier," Katara said calmly, smirking.
Toph groaned. "I don't tell if you don't tell?" she asked, defeated.
"Deal," Katara agreed.
--
After the meeting, they'd been offered a fancy house to stay at, and Aang and Katara had accepted without hesitation. After two weeks of riding on Appa, it was like a dream come true. Zuko even told them that they had 300 gold piece's worth of free food for the night and to stock up on for their travels.
"Food, friends, warm beds," Katara sighed. "Sounds like heaven!"
"Well," Sokka said, looking up at the sky. The meeting had gone much longer than planned. "I'm gonna hit the hay. It's dark outside and time for me to sleep."
Toph yawned, and after a few moments, agreed with Sokka. "Sounds like Snoozles has the right idea," she said, "I'm going to bed."
Aang looked at Katara, as if expecting her to agree.
"I'm not tired. I think I'm going to stay up a little longer," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Me too," he said, surprising Katara. She thought that after how he'd acted when they were alone, that he wouldn't want to be alone with her. That he was trying to give her a hint.
She smiled. "So…what do you want to do?" she asked.
A devilish grin appeared on his face as he grabbed her hand. "Oh, trust me, I know exactly what I want to do." He tugged at her hand as he started running. "Come on!"
With confusion evident on her tanned features, she followed along, wondering what he was up to.
Finally, they reached a small fountain near the Ba Sing Se walls. He let go of her hand, much to her disappointment, and took of his shirt.
Katara stared wide eyed at him for two reasons. One, because he had muscles that would make any girl stare in awe at him, and two, he'd just randomly taken off his shirt. "Uh…Aang?" she asked. "What're you doing?"
He looked at and smiled devilishly again. "I want to show you a new waterbending move!" He stepped into the fountain and turned toward her. "I'll need you're help though."
She slowly undressed down to her bindings and got it, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "A-alright," she stuttered.
He smirked slightly and put his hands up in a normal waterbending stance, Katara reflexively doing the same. "This a move used in all four nations, but we only need waterbending to do it."
Katara was confused. "What is it?"
"I'll tell you after I show you," he said, smiling.
Katara just nodded.
"Come here," he said.
"What?"
"Come here and I'll teach you," he said, clarifying. He was waving his hand toward him, beckoning her over.
Without a word she walked over until she was a little less than a foot away and looked at him, knowing something was up, but she couldn't figure it out.
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, surprising her at first. She was about to ask how this helped, when she suddenly felt his chiseled chest against her back. Her insides froze and she felt her cheeks heat up at the contact. She felt weak in the knees, but forced herself to stay standing so that she wouldn't embarrass herself. Her heart was pounding and had sped up, and she prayed he couldn't feel it.
Aang's smile returned. It was going perfectly. He could feel her heart racing.
Suddenly, she felt his hands sliding down her arms and grabbing her wrists. If she was red before, she was now a cherry. When his arms had found their way to her wrists, it had forced him a hair closer.
"Uh…Aang, maybe I shouldn't learn this…" she said hesitantly. She didn't know how much more she could take.
He laughed and it sent a shiver down her spine. "Don't you want to be a waterbending master?" he whispered. She could feel his breath tickling her ear and gulped, praying he wouldn't hear.
"Yeah, but…"
He didn't give her a chance to finish. "Good. There's only four steps to this move," he said. "One, move your hands like this."
He moved her left hand so that it was outstretched to the side of her, and her right hand over her stomach.
'Almost like half of a hug,' she mused silently, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Two," he said, bringing her other hand to her stomach, so that he was hugging her from behind, "Like this."
Her heart sped up all over again. "What was this move called again?" she asked quickly.
His breath was on her ear again, and she didn't even realize she'd closed her eyes at the warm feeling of it. "I told you, I'll tell you the name when we're done."
She nodded, opening her eyes slowly as she felt his grip tighten slightly on her hands, tugging them closer, so he was actually hugging her from behind.
"Three," his voice still childish and playful, "Is this." He turned her around so she was now face to face with him. His face couldn't be more than two inches away. There was a smirk on his lips and a small gleam in his eye as he moved her hands to around his neck, watching her eyes widen in surprise.
Katara didn't know what was happening to her. Her knees were about to go out, so her grip on his neck tightened slightly and she watched his devilish smile grow. She gasped as she felt his hands snake around her waist. She couldn't speak, couldn't move…heck, she could barely breathe!
"And last," he said in a low voice that sent tingles down her spine. He moved his face closer, not breaking their eye contact, until his lips were centimeters away and she could feel his breath on her lips. "Is this." He closed the small space between them as his lips met hers.
Katara couldn't figure out if she was dreaming or not for the life of her, but somehow, she didn't care. If this was a dream, she'd enjoy it to the second she woke up. She kissed him back and felt the power and love he'd felt for her almost overwhelmingly. He pushed her towards him gently, making the kiss a little deeper. He tasted so sweet, like the sweet breeze you feel on a beach.
After a few minutes, she pulled back, gulping for air. Her eyes were still wide and she was still in shock.
He seemed to have expected it though as he said, "This move is called a kiss." He smiled at her. "It's used in all four nations, but we only need waterbending to do it."
Realization finally dawned on her. He'd been planning this.
His face was coming close to hers again and she closed her eyes, anticipating a kiss. She then felt his cheek brush hers and she opened her eyes. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.
A smile formed on her lips, although she still had many questions. "Wait," she said pushing him back a little so that he was now a little ways from her face. "If you love me and were planning on telling me…then why didn't you say anything when we were traveling alone?"
"I was trying to find a romantic way," he confessed, looking away. "You're so wonderful and have always been there for me, that I didn't just want to tell you…I wanted to find the perfect way to tell you."
She blushed at this, and as his stormy, grey eyes met hers, so did he. "Any way would have been perfect," she smiled at him, hold love and gratefulness in her eyes. "But I really appreciate this. Thank you."
He only blushed harder at this. "You know the perfect way to thank me?"
"How?" she asked.
"The fourth step," he said, eyes glittering with happiness.
She giggled, leaning forward and kissing him again. Then, she whispered in his ear, "If it isn't already obvious…I love you too."