Aang's eyes fluttered open to reveal the soft lump lying in front of him. One of his arms was wrapped securely around it and the other draped over the pillow. He could hear slow, calm breathing and the occasional murmur. Warmth radiated from it and a sweet smell, like flowers on the shore of an ocean, filled his nostrils. Aang sighed contently.

This was his wife, Katara. Her chestnut hair spilled over her back between her and Aang and he buried his face into it, inhaling the fresh scent. His arm subconsciously tightened around her, his fingers brushing her velvet skin.

Aang decided he would wake her as comfortably as possible. He carefully brushed her hair over her shoulder to expose the back of her neck and he nestled his head into the crook. He pressed his lips to her skin and breathed warmly through his nose, feathering down her chest.

Katara hummed in her sleep and scooted closer to him. Aang continued to pepper light kisses along her neck and his fingertips skated up and down her arm, "Wake up, angel." he whispered, stirring the hair above her ear.

Katara let out a quiet groan of disappointment and shifted to get more comfortable. She turned her head to give him a groggy smile, "Angel, is it?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Aang grinned and kissed the tip of her nose, "You'll always be my angel." She giggled and flipped over so that they were facing each other, "You're so dramatic. But I love you anyway." she added with a kiss on the lips.

Aang deepened the kiss a bit; lifting a hand to stroke her cheek, "I love you too."

Katara smiled against his lips. She loved kissing Aang. He was a natural at it and never failed to leave her breathless but still wanting more. She didn't know where he learned to kiss so well, considering he was raised by monks and he was a monk himself…well…after what he and her had done together, Aang could hardly be called a "monk" anymore.

Katara let a giggle slip between her lips then stopped herself.

Aang peeped an eye open and pulled back slightly, "Something funny?" he asked curiously.

She smiled and traced his lips with her finger, "Just wondering where you learned to kiss that well." she told him nonchalantly.

"Oh…" Aang couldn't help but blush a little and shrugged his shoulders, "Well I've had some practice with you I guess…I just try to do it the way you like best."

Katara pulled him in for another, "Mission accomplished." She kissed him fiercely, not wanting to let him go, even if she had to breathe.

Aang seemed to realize this and helped her by filling her lungs again with his bending so they didn't have to separate. The two remained lip locked for several minutes before Aang finally pulled away sharply.

Katara's eyes widened in surprise, "What's wrong?" she asked, disappointed but concerned at the same time.

Aang just sat up and reached his arms over his shoulders, straining to get to his back, "Itch…really bad itch…." he said through gritted teeth. His chest stuck out in front of him as he arched his back as far as he could, "Can't…reach…help?" he pleaded to her.

She laughed and pushed herself to a sitting position, "Oh, you had me worried for a minute there." She scootched over to sit behind him, "Now where is this unbearable itch of yours?"

"Right between my shoulder blades. Ugh hurry it's driving me cra-aaahhhh…" Aang broke off into a pleased sigh as Katara's nails gently glided over the area he had specified. His arms dangled forward and his back slumped, "A bit lower…" he mumbled.

Katara obeyed and lowered her hands to scratch right above his scar. She couldn't help but look away, the ravaged flesh brought back terrible memories and it was too painful for her to look at it.

Aang sensed her discomfort and his mouth twitched into a devilish grin with an idea, "Keep going…you're almost there."

She continued to shift her hands down, being sure to skip over his scar, until she was nearly at the waistband of his pants, "Aang, are you sure you're actually itching here?" Katara inquired suspiciously.

"Oh most definitely…and it seems the itch is moving even lower now…" Aang trailed off and turned his head to look at her through one eye, trying to hold back a grin.

"Is that so?" she replied tartly, "Well then, this should fix it all." Without warning, Katara took hold of the waistband with two fingers and let it whip back against his skin again with a loud snap.

His body jackknifed and he yelped in pain, "Ow! That was not what I was going for!" Aang complained, rubbing the now welting skin.

She stuck her bottom lip out in mock innocence, "It wasn't? Oh, I'm sorry. Shall I make amends?"

He stopped tending to his injury and looked back at her again, "If you would, that would be nice…" he let the grin break out.

Katara returned the smile and returned her hands to his back again. She scratched delicately and slowly, provoking his body to relax completely.

His eyes closed and his head lolled forward, "That feels nice…" his voice was quiet and the words were sloppily mumbled.

Encouraged, Katara leaned her head forward to softly press her lips in the middle of his back, right on the pale blue tattoo that ran down his spine. Her hands converted to massaging his back instead of scratching it, sliding around his shoulders.

Shivers flitted throughout Aang's body and a lazy smile twitched at his lips, "Wow…if anyone's the great kisser, it's you."

She giggled and continued to kiss and massage all over his back. Her lips accidentally brushed his scar and he sucked in a sharp gasp. Katara's head reared back fearfully, "I..I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Aang shook his head slowly, "No…no that felt amazing. Like you were taking all the pain out. Do it again, please?"

Katara reluctantly returned her lips to the mark and, with extreme caution, kissed the taut skin again.

The tension built up there seemed to vanish into thin air almost instantly. Aang let out a long sigh, "Thank you so much."

She kissed it again before tucking her head into the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his stomach, "Anytime, now how about a reward for me too?" she asked with a smile.

"But of course." Aang turned his head and their lips met in yet another mind-numbing kiss.