Title: Water Bending Competition (Kataang)
Words: 1497
Rating: T – innuendo
Inspiration: "Annie Get Your Gun!" musical
Author's Notes: Along with all the fun of being a new couple in love, there are often times squabbles along the way as they adjust to each other. While Katara and Aang knew each other well as friends, they were still relatively inexperienced at true love. This begins a series of my competition short stories, written to a 1500 word limit - quite challenging to tell a story with that limit, but hope you enjoy them!
...
Sometimes Katara's pride and headstrong manner boiled over, even at Aang.
Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph were sitting around their campfire about six months after the Jasmine Dragon kiss. Each couple was snuggled up close to each other. They were once again reflecting on the outcome of their victory. That led to a discussion in comparative skill levels in Water bending, a sensitive subject for Katara – and trouble ahead for Aang!
Sokka mused, "I have to admit Aang, it was pretty amazing that you raised the entire ocean tide at the Wu long Forest river delta to put out all those fires. Katara, you should have seen the stranded air ship crews cringe as the waters rose! They had no idea with Ozai defeated, that Aang wouldn't just drown them all!"
Uncharacteristically, Katara squirmed at the mention of Aang having done a superior act of water bending.
She said curtly, "As Aang's Sifu, I would have been very proud to have witnessed it. On the other hand, at the very same time, I was an instant from having my head fried off by Azula! You'll recall I froze us both in a block of ice only a bit smaller than what Pupil Aang's original iceberg was. Besides Sokka, you told me Aang was in the Avatar State. That doesn't really count – that tidal pull was all his lives working for him!"
Everyone blinked. Katara's pride was a little out of character, which got Aang's attention, "Katara dearest – that was me! I drew upon my past lives, but as a fully realized Avatar at that point, I controlled them, not them me! They just enhanced my power!"
Katara chided, "Aang dearest, that's still cheating - I don't have any past lives to draw on anything!"
Toph whispered to Suki, "Aren't we darn glad of that!"
Sokka suppressed a laugh.
Katara snipped, "I heard that! And you stay out of this, Sokka!"
Aang continued to bury himself deeper, "Katara dearest I'd like to think we're equals now!"
Katara ground out her words, "Aang dearest, anything you can do I can do better!
That finally lit the Avatar's uncharacteristic fuse! "No you can't!"
"Yes I can!"
"No you can't!"
"Yes I can, yes I can, yes I can!" Katara screamed. She was beat red, the veins popping out of her forehead, and her eyes were bloodshot and wide open.
Toph whispered too loudly to Suki, "Must be Sugar Queen's time of the month! And it's gotten worse since she and Aang are more 'active'!"
Suki spewed her tea and joined Toph in knee slapping laughter!
Katara spun and fired back,"I heard that!"
Yes, she did hear it, but didn't deny it either.
Sokka tried really hard to ignore all this, and bit back an urge to join Suki's and Toph's laughter, but knew he would live to regret it forever if he did!
And Aang, well Aang just couldn't see straight. Aang actually yelled at Katara, "Then let's fight each other at dawn and let's see who the champion water bender is!"
Sokka finally chimed in, "I'm buyin' tickets to this!"
Suki punched him as Aang glared at Sokka. They all stomped off to bed.
In the morning, the two competitors lined up against each other by the stream. Toph conveniently bent a set of bleachers for her, Suki, and Sokka to watch this spectacle of the two love birds fighting.
Suki said, "Who are you rooting for Sokka? Are you 'guys' going to stick together?
Sokka responded, "Naw, I am going for Katara – blood is thicker than water you know."
Suki retorted, "Yeah, but in this case blood and water are the same thing!"
Sokka reflected, "Point taken. But I'm still rooting for sis – I know better – especially right now!"
Suki pouted, "Well someone has to root for Aang, so I am officially an 'Avatar fan girl' for this battle!"
She turned her nose in the air in a huff.
Sokka gave Suki an uneasy look, and turned to Toph, "So, Toph, who are you rooting for?"
Toph crossed her arms, "Neither! Remember I'm blind!"
The ice was finally broken a little with a group chuckle.
It was time. Sokka stood up, and in his best "Wang Fire" voice and beard stroking gesture, "You know the rules – first one of you to defeat the defenses of the other and steal a kiss wins! The loser must call the other Sifu for a week! Are you both agreed?"
Katara said, "Yes I agree!"
Aang stated, "Yes I agree too!"
Both were in a much more playful mood now, but this was a still a competition in pride for both.
Sokka yelled, "OK - game on, now!"
Aang lashed out with a predictable blast of water, which Katara effortlessly deflected.
Katara then threw off her tunic, revealing her swim suit – not the usual chaste white bindings, but something more stunning, and heart stopping. It was a very revealing dark blue string bikini! Aang turned red from top to bottom and could not breathe at this amazing new sight of Katara!
Katara smiled evilly and thought, "Distracted - exactly as planned!"
She winked at Suki.
Having Aang completely flustered, she attacked him with a dizzying water volley. She was moving in for the easy victory, but Aang regained his wits, and raised an ice wall between them, drawing it with him. She peppered ice daggers at the growing ice wall, shattering it as she fired at the retreating Aang. She tried to snake water whips through the openings to subdue him.
Aang was not the only male affected by Katara's surprise tactic. Sokka's jaw dropped, and stared, "That's…my…sister?"
Rather than smack Sokka, Suki laughed as evilly as Katara, "Nearly all of her, big guy!"
Suki threw off her own Earth Kingdom tunic, showing Sokka an exact copy of Katara's bikini – only in green!
Suki said in a smoldering tone, "Sokka, do you like my Kyoshi Warrior swim wear? C'mon Sokka, I know a great place to swim at the river fork!"
Sokka's jaw nearly fell off his face and bounced at the sight of Suki's equally staggering string bikini. Suki was a couple of years more developed than Katara. Sokka got that dreamy look. He would have followed her anywhere. And did.
Step two of Katara's cunning joint strategy with Suki was complete.
There wasn't going to be a rational judge for this competition.
Suki and Katara exchanged knowing glances at each other. "Sisters" had to stick together when it comes to tactics to completely throw off their men.
Toph sat and fumed, and said to anyone not distracted enough to hear her, "Tell me why exactly are you people are my friends? I can't get your heartbeats out of my head!"
She sighed, "I'm done. See you love birds all later if anyone lives through all of this!" and stormed off.
With both of the young men totally distracted by their women, the water bending competition disintegrated into a free-for-all between Aang and Katara. They threw everything at each other, as they both got closer and closer.
Aang found an opening, and launched himself - aided by his air bending - within an inch of Katara's determined lips. But just as she had done in subduing Azula, she uplifted a huge volume of water and froze it around them, with Aang's lips puckered for his kiss but now totally frozen in place. His eyes went wide!
Katara thawed the area around her head, leaned in for her retaliatory kiss - which Aang tried to resist - but she got him square on the lips, winning the contest by a nose!
Katara melted the top of the ice so that they could breathe and kiss at the same time. Knowing he had lost, Aang gave in readily to the kiss.
Toph sensed what happened and lamented, "Sheesh! There they go again! I think we should just leave them that way!"
Katara, a little embarrassed, melted the ice structure away.
They laughed and rolled off hugging each other as the water unfroze. But Katara was shivering – a bikini and ice water do not mix! She was almost as blue as her tiny bikini. Aang quickly put his arms around her and warmed her shivering skin by raising his body temperature!
It had been fun, but over the next week Katara got even greater pleasure. Every time he uttered her name it was always "Sifu" Katara – she had won the competition fair and square. Well, sort of. But Aang modified the rules a bit – he had gotten Katara to agree to quick kiss and a hug each time he said "Sifu"!
Toph just walked around shaking her head the whole rest of the week.