Here's another Avatar story for ya featuring none other than Aang and Katara! I love this couple way too much and I've absolutely been deprived of watching the show as of late. You know what I really want though? I want a series about their life after ATLA and BEFORE Legend of Korra. And I know there are comics and I'm in the process of reading them and eating up all of the Kataang fluff, but it's not enough! I need a show. How epic would this be? That's part of why all my stories about them take place in their late teens/early 20s years. That's the stuff I wanna see, their relationships, their marriages, their adventures, their children. But I guess I'll just have to dream big and keep writing my stories for now. Then lay down and try not to cry for deeply wanting more Kataang fluff.
I hope you like this story. It's not meant to be a super long thing. Although maybe I'll write a wedding later...or a honeymoon. Who knows?
Forever
The downside of being the Avatar was dealing with politics. Yes his job was to protect the world and maintain balance, but that involved sitting in on long boring meetings and solving problems.
There were 8 billion other things he'd rather have been doing that day then sitting in on a meeting with King Kei of Ba Sing Se trying to solve a dispute between two political opponents in the Earth Kingdom.
In the end he ended up giving them a common sense answer which bothered him even more because they could have easily come up with this solution on their own.
As the two men stared each other down Aang resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
You're the Avatar, he reminded himself. No matter how ridiculous people get you have to be kind. Set an example.
"So how about you two shake hands and forget this whole dispute ever happened?" he urged. And have this meeting finally be over, he thought.
The two men continued to glare at each other and Aang almost face palmed until they sighed and shook hands.
"There, it's all settled!" he said enthusiastically. "Stick to the plan and tell everyone in Lu Dage to stop picking sides."
"Or else I will have to get the Avatar involved again," King Kuei chimed in.
For the love of god, don't get the Avatar involved again, Aang thought. "Exactly," he said reluctantly.
"Thank you Avatar Aang," they said bowing in respect.
"You're welcome," Aang said doing the same. "See you soon."
The two men left the room and Kuei turned to Aang. "Thank you so much Aang. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't gotten involved. They surely would have torn Ba Sing Se to shreds without your input."
"All in a day's' work your highness," Aang said. "Is there anything else you need today?"
"I think that will be all Aang. Thank you again. Go enjoy the lovely weather."
He bowed to the king and left the palace. It had been several months since the end of the 100 years war and he had sat in on several diplomatic meetings like that, some more heated than others. It wasn't his favorite part of being the Avatar but he would take it over the anxiety that plagued him months ago over the impending battle with Fire Lord Ozai. At least he could say that chapter of his life was over and things had been a lot calmer since then.
It certainly was a nice day, he was glad he hadn't missed all of it. The first thing he did was search for his friends and he found them all sitting in Iroh's tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon.
Katara was the first to notice him. "You're back!" she said excitedly. She got out of her chair and gave her boyfriend a big hug.
"How did it go?"Sokka asked.
"It went, um, well," Aang replied.
"It was hell wasn't it?" Toph said with a smirk.
"I wouldn't be that blunt about it but..yeah it was hell."
"Would some tea help Aang?" Iroh asked. "I just made a fresh pot of Peach Momotaro."
"Sure, thanks!" Aang said happily. He joined his friends at the table, holding Katara's hand, and Iroh sat a hot cup of tea in front of him. He took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. "This is amazing!"
"It's a new brew that I just invented this morning," Iroh said proudly.
"He invented it by accident," Zuko said.
"How?" Aang asked curiously.
Zuko proceeded to tell them the story of how Iroh spilled a lot of tea all over the counter that morning. The whole time he spoke, half of Aang's focus was on Katara next to him. He'd hardly seen her all day and he had missed her so much. He would take being with Katara over going to any meetings or any Avatar duties he had to fulfill. She was way more important to him.
He ran his thumb back and forth her hand in a comforting way. As he did, she looked at him and he found her blushing. It made him blush as well and his heart beat fast. Their relationship was still so new and he found the way she could make his heart beat fast with just one look exciting.
After they finished their tea, they said goodbye to Iroh and headed out the door. Aang gave Katara a warm embrace.
"I've missed you," she said placing a kiss on his cheek.
"I missed you too…do you want to go for a walk together?"
"Of course," she said with a happy smile.
The rest of their friends caught up to them.
"We we were going to go to the carnival down the street. You coming?" Sokka said.
"We'll catch up to you later," Katara replied.
"Where are you going?"
"They want to be alone," Toph teased.
Aang and Katara blushed. "We were just going to go for a walk," Aang said.
"How romantic," Toph said still teasing.
"We'll see you guys later," Aang said.
The two of them walked hand in hand together talking and laughing. Aang told her about the meeting and Katara agreed that it sounded ridiculous.
"I guess it all comes with being the Avatar," he said.
"If it helps I think you're doing a great job so far," she said comfortingly.
"You think so?"
"For starters you stopped the war, I think that's amazing in itself. And you take care of people and keep guys like them from tearing each other apart."
"You're sweet Katara. I need to spend more time taking care of you though."
"Aw Aang, I understand that you're busy sometimes."
"Still though, you're the most important person in the world to me. You come first and everyone else comes second."
He noticed there was a guy selling boat rides across the lake.
"Do you want to get on?" he asked her gesturing to the boats.
"Sure!" Katara said.
They approached the man selling the boat rides.
"How much?" Aang asked.
"$2 to ride," the man replied. "Hey, you're the Avatar aren't you?!"
Aang nodded. "I am."
"You can ride for free."
"Are you sure?"
"I insist."
"Let me pay you anyway," Aang said not feeling right about not paying for it.
"Really, it's no problem at all. You saved the world, you deserve to ride for free."
Aang shook his head. "I don't want any special treatment for being the Avatar." He pulled some money out of his pocket and handed it to the man.
"Thank you Avatar Aang," the man said. "Pick whichever boat you want to ride."
They chose their boat, they were all the same standard canoes. They didn't bother with the oars, they both used their water bending to push the boat out onto the lake and after a while let the wind push them along.
"This is nice," Katara said. The water was calm, trees encircled them, and white flowers floated down in the gentle breeze and fell to sit on the top of the water which was so clear they could see the fish. "Look, koi fish," she said. She reached down and touched one.
Aang did the same but the jumped up and squirted him in the face.
Katara immediately started laughing.
He wiped the water from his face. "They like you better."
She held his hands and looked into his gray eyes. "Well I like you."
His eyes locked with her blue ones. She was beautiful. He'd thought so from the moment he met her. She completed him, she was everything to him. And with every passing second he needed her more and more. "I love you."
He realized what he had said. Did he really say the L word? Oh no, what was she going to think? He'd never said it before, but he meant it. He loved her. He loved her with every ounce of his being. He always had and he always will. But what about her? He contemplated taking it back.
"I love you too," she finally said.
He couldn't believe it. She really loved him back! Her eyes were deeply sincere as she always was with everything she said and did. They seemed to sparkle, was that what love did to someone? His heart was pounding from joy and excitement. They were leaning close together in that all too familiar way. He finally placed a kiss on her lips. But it was more than what it had been before. It was love, out in the open. He continued to kiss her passionately knowing in his heart that he would always love her.
*WW*
That had been such a perfect day. They had been so young then, their love had been so new. Who would have guessed that it would have grown so much stronger over the next 6 years? She was everything to him now as she had been back then. There was no one else he would have rather shared his life with.
"You look distracted," Katara said settling herself next to him on Appa. Sokka and Suki sat on the saddle while she and Aang sat in the "driver's seat". They were on their way to the Southern Water Tribe to visit their family. "What are you thinking about?"
She always knew him so well. It put a smile on his face. "Nothing much."
"Oh come on, tell me."
"I was thinking about when we first said I love you."
Katara smiled. "That was such a perfect day."
"Any day with you is perfect Katara."
He leaned in and kissed her.
"Eyes on the road!" Sokka exclaimed.
Katara rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, there is no road!"
"We're here anyway," Aang said letting Appa know to land.
They were greeted by Katara and Sokka's family and got situated inside.
That evening they were sitting outside looking up at the night sky. Aang was distracted though. Not by thinking about when he and Katara first said I love you, but by something else. He had to talk to Sokka. He'd been thinking about this for a long time, but he was so nervous. But it was now or never. He decided to bite the bullet and get it over with.
"Hey Sokka, can I talk to you?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Let's go for a walk."
So the went for a walk with Aang being unusually silent and Sokka confused. "Alright, what do you want to talk about?" Sokka finally asked.
"Well, um, there was something I wanted to ask you."
"You can ask me anything, don't look so nervous."
"You see, Katara and I...we've been together for a really long time, you know? And I figured now...it's just the right time to…" He realized he was rambling and sighed. "I want to marry Katara."
Sokka studied him for a moment. "Mm-hmm...so why are you telling me?"
"Well, you're her older brother and I respect your opinion about things. It just seemed right that I ask your permission. So um, would you be okay with me marrying Katara?"
Sokka crossed his arms and looked him in the eye. "That depends, would you love Katara forever, unconditionally, no matter what?"
"Absolutely.""
"Take care of her?"
"Every moment of my life."
"Never hurt her?"
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Well in that case...it's about damn time you married Katara!"
Aang was relieved. He didn't know why he had expected Sokka to say no.
"Are you going to ask my dad?" Sokka asked.
Aang's face fell. In his relief he had forgotten he had to talk to Chief Hakoda. The thought made his stomach dance.
"Don't look like that, my dad is easy to talk to. He's in the house, you'd better do it now."
They walked back to where everyone else was. Sokka joined Katara and Suki sitting outside while Aang went inside to find Sokka and Katara's father sitting on the couch drinking coffee and looking at some papers.
"Chief Hakoda," Aang said as he walked into the room.
Hakoda looked up. "Hey Aang, everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I, um, just wanted to ask you something."
"Sure, go ahead."
Aang sat on the couch across from him and was met with Hakoda's curious eyes. They were the same as Katara and Sokka's and were warm and caring. It calmed Aang's nerves a bit. Sokka had approved of him marrying Katara. Who's to say that their father wouldn't?
"I wanted to tell you that I love Katara. More than anything. She's everything to me," he said suddenly feeling confident. "And I would want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with her. So I wanted to ask for your approval for me to marry Katara."
A smile broke across Hakoda's face. "Aang, you've proven yourself time and time again that you're nothing short of a good man for Katara. I would be delighted for you to marry my daughter."
Aang was overjoyed that Hakoda thought so highly of him. "Thank you so much!" he said surprising him by giving him a big hug.
*WW*
The strange thing about being in the Southern Water Tribe is it was never cold in the house. It was made from blocks of ice for crying out loud. Yet after coming inside from the snowy village, it was like walking into a warm toasty oven. The crackling of the fireplace, the thick animal pelts that lined the walls, warm clothes and blankets, and Gran Gran's delicious cooking. He always felt at home in the Southern Water tribe for these reasons.
They sat on the floor around the living room coffee table in front of the fireplace with a card game and mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. Sokka and Suki sat on one side of the table while Aang and Katara sat on the other side. Hakoda sat in the middle.
"You cheated!" Sokka exclaimed. "All of you cheated!"
"How did we cheat?!" Katara said.
"This whole time you've been cheating. You rigged the deck!"
"Just because you haven't won a single game doesn't mean we're cheating!"
Sokka crossed his arms. "What does it mean then? Huh?"
"Maybe it just means you're bad at the game," Aang suggested.
Hakoda gathered the cards. "We'll play one more round."
"I want to shuffle the cards. I need to make sure you aren't cheating," Sokka said.
"No one is cheating!" Katara exclaimed in frustration. She sighed. "See what I have to deal with?"
"Tell me about it," Suki said.
Sokka kissed her cheek. "You know you love me."
Suki pushed his arm. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
They played the game and Sokka let out an agonizing cry when he lost.
"Told you no one was cheating," Katara said triumphantly.
Hakoda stood up. "Good game everyone. It's late, I'm going to bed."
"Good night dad," Katara said.
"I'm going to go to bed too," Suki said.
"You don't want to play again?" Sokka said gathering the cards. "I swear I'm going to win this time."
"Sokka, I love you but it's almost midnight," Suki said. "I think a good night's sleep will do you some good."
Sokka sighed. "Fine, I'll go to bed too."
"Good night," Aang said to them. He turned to Katara. "And then there were two."
Katara yawned. "Maybe just one. I'm tired too."
Aang laughed. "Fine." He hopped up off the floor and then picked up Katara over his shoulder.
"Aang, what are you doing?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm putting you to bed," he said as he hopped on an airball and glided to her bedroom.
She laughed. "Aang, put me down!"
They arrived in the room and he put her down on the bed and then climbed on top of her.
"There, you're down, happy now?" he said with a smirk.
"You're crazy."
"But you like it," he said as he kissed her lips. His kisses became increasingly passionate as the seconds wore on. He hadn't intended to but he was quickly losing control of himself. The taste of her lips as they ravaged his, the feeling of her petite warm body pressed against his, her arms around him pulling him closer and closer, she was intoxicating.
Luckily Katara was able to regain control of herself. "My father is going to kill you if he finds you in here."
"But your father loves me," Aang pointed out.
"Not enough to let you sleep with me."
He kissed her once again. "Little does he know," he said with a smirk.
Katara laughed. "And this isn't going to be the night he finds out. Off."
He sat up. "Katara, why do you torture me so?" he said dramatically.
She sat up as well and gave him a loving kiss while running her fingers down his chest. "As soon as we're back home I'll make sure you're satisfied," she said sensually.
His heart beat fast at the thought. "I love you Katara," he said as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"I love you too," she said giving him another kiss.
"Good night sweetie," he said standing up.
"Good night sweetie," she replied.
He left the room and sat on the living room couch. He hated not sleeping with Katara, but very soon they would be able to without objection.
He got to work with the betrothal necklace he had gotten at the market that afternoon. He began to carefully carve the traditional water tribe jewel used to make the necklace being as careful as he could despite his excitement. As the minutes wore on he imagined Katara's face when he gave her the necklace and asked her to marry him. The thought made him excited and nervous all together.
After what seemed like hours he was finished. He held it up but he wasn't sure what he thought of it. He needed a second opinion so he got up and went to Sokka's room.
He quietly opened the door and tiptoed over to the bed so as to not wake up Suki. Then he bent down next to Sokka's side of the bed where he was snoring. Aang started poking him in the cheek. "Sokka, hey Sokka…"
Sokka groaned and opened his eyes. "Aang what the hell? Do you know what time it is?" he said sounding annoyed and sleepy.
"I know, I know. But I just wanted to show you this. What do you think?" he said holding it up.
Sokka squinted his eyes and studied it for a moment. "Why did Momo make Katara a betrothal necklace?"
Aang's face fell. So it really was that bad. He put his face in his hand. "I'm doomed."
"Aw don't worry Aang, it's not that bad. It's just...not good."
Aang rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that does wonders for my confidence."
"Let's see what Suki thinks." Sokka reached over and poked Suki's cheek the way Aang had done to him. "Suki, hey Suki…"
Suki pushed his hand away and opened her eyes. "What...Aang, what are you doing here?" she asked sleepily.
"What do you think of this?" Sokka asked showing her the necklace.
"Did Momo make it?" Suki asked.
"This is horrible!" Aang said. "I'm not good at making things and I can't propose to Katara without a betrothal necklace. My life is over."
"Now hold on, it's not that bad," Suki said.
"Really?" Aang said hopefully.
"Yes it is," Sokka said.
"You can make my betrothal necklace!" Aang said to Sokka.
"Why me?"
"You made Suki's and it's great. You need to make mine, please?"
"Aang, it doesn't count if you don't make it," Sokka explained.
"What do you mean it doesn't count?!" Aang despaired.
"You're the one that's proposing to her. You have to make it."
"But if I make it Katara will never marry me."
"Aang, that's not true," Suki said. "I wouldn't have cared what Sokka's betrothal necklace would have looked like. Whether Sokka had made me a necklace or not or whether it was the most perfectly carved necklace in the world wouldn't have mattered to me. I would have married him no matter what. It's not about the 's about love. Katara loves you, she'll marry you no matter what."
Aang thought about that and realized Suki was right. When he and Katara first got together he didn't have anything to give her but himself. And she loved him anyway. She wouldn't love him any differently now than she always had. "You're right. I guess I'm overreacting about this a little too much."
"Exactly, it'll all work out," Sokka said. He yawned and laid back down. "I'm going back to sleep. Don't bother me anymore." His eyes were closed and he began snoring again.
"Don't worry about it so much," Suki said sympathetically. "Katara loves you, that's all that matters."
"Thanks Suki," Aang said gratefully. He stood up and headed towards the door, not before glancing back and finding Sokka wrapped his arms around her and holding her close, Suki's betrothal necklace glinting in the moonlight. Soon enough that would be him and Katara.
He went back to the living room and resumed his place on the floor in front of the fireplace. Sokka and Suki were right, Katara would marry him no matter what. But she still deserved a betrothal necklace as beautiful as her. He set to work with a renewed sense of determination and after hours of meticulous crafting, he was satisfied with his work.
*WW*
Aang found Katara walking through the snow. The sky sparkled in a majestic green and purple above them, it was like the northern lights. He ran towards her full of determination and joy. "Katara!" he exclaimed.
Before she had time to say anything he hugged her close to him and kissed her.
"Mmm Aang," she said through their kisses. They suddenly found themselves on the ground in the middle of the soft pillow of snow but somehow it wasn't cold. He found himself on top of her, kissing her as lovingly as he could.
"I love you," she said softly.
He looked into her eyes. "Forever Katara?"
"Forever Aang," she said.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
She was silent.
"Katara?" he said starting to panic. "Will you marry me?"
But she didn't say anything. Her expression betrayed no emotion. Instead of responding she stood up and walked off leaving him confused and heartbroken. The beautiful lights above were replaced by dark clouds and he found himself drowning in a terrible snowstorm.
He woke up with a jolt still full of panic. Instead of being outside in a blizzard he was in his same spot from last night, on the floor in front of the fireplace. The house was quiet, the only sound was his heart pounding in his ears. He couldn't get the dream out of his mind. It made him wonder if he was making a mistake. Would Katara really want to be his wife?
"Look who's finally awake."
He looked up to see Gran Gran coming towards him with a plate of breakfast.
"I must have overslept," Aang said.
"You definitely overslept. It's almost noon," she replied with a laugh. "I saved your breakfast if you still want it."
"Thank you," he said and started to dig in realizing he was actually very hungry.
"Hakoda and Sokka told me you plan to marry Katara. You two will make a wonderful couple."
"You think so?"
"Of course." she studied him for a moment. "Is there something bothering you?"
He set his plate aside and sighed. "Do you think Katara will really want to marry me?"
"I have no doubt in my mind that Katara wants to marry you," she said. "But why don't you seem as sure?"
"I don't know," Aang said sadly. "I just...I love her so much. I don't know what I would do if Katara were to say no."
Gran Gran put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I've been around for a long time young man. I've seen a lot of love. I've experienced love. It's rare that I've seen love as pure as the love that Katara has for you."
"Really?" Aang said in shock.
"The way she looks at you, touches you, speaks to you, anyone with eyes can see that Katara adores you. That's why I have no doubt that she will accept your proposal. You've just got to get rid of your own doubts. It's about the love you hold for each other in your hearts, a love that I can see is as pure as love can be. It will all work out."
Aang let that sink in for a moment. The dream he had didn't matter, that was just his worries getting the best of him. His love for Katara was all that mattered. "Thank you," he said to Gran Gran.
All of a sudden the door opened and Katara walked in. "Sweetie, you're awake!" She went over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. "Are you feeling okay? It's not like you to sleep for such a long time."
"Don't worry sweetie, I'm okay. I was up late last night, that's all." He gave her a grateful hug. "I love you."
"I love you too Aang."
He caught her grandmother's eye and she winked at him. He returned with a smile. She was right, Katara did love him, he had nothing to worry about.
*WW*
Aang was ready. They were back home, he had his betrothal necklace, and he was ready to take the next step into the next phase of his life, a life that would include her by his side forever.
The two of them were sitting under a big cherry blossom tree by a river near their house. They came out here all the time to relax and practice waterbending. Aang figured it would be the perfect place to pop the question.
Katara was in a playful mood that day. She took off her shoes and splashed through the water. She always looked so at peace when she was waterbending, it warmed his heart to see it. He went in with her and the two started playing around with the water, although Aang was careful to make sure the necklace is his pocket stayed dry.
Something tapped his shoulder.
"Hey Aang," she said innocently.
He looked to his right. "What sweetie?" He looked to his left when he felt a tap on his left shoulder and was suddenly sprayed in the face.
Katara started laughing.
"You're going to pay for that," he said playfully. He chased her out of the water and she ran around the cherry blossom tree. She stood no chance though. As an airbender, he was fast and when he hopped on the airball he was faster. He caught up with her easily, picked her up by her waist and twirled her around then kissed her nose. "Told you you couldn't escape me," he said with a smirk.
She kissed his lips. "I wouldn't want to."
The flowers started to blow out of the tree. He grabbed one and put it in her hair. "Beautiful."
She smiled and blushed. "Thanks."
"I mean it. You're always beautiful. You're beautiful and smart and brave...and everything that's perfect."
She hugged him close to her and kissed him. Her body was warm, her lips were soft. The feeling of her against him sent his heart and mind spiraling into ecstasy. His mind again drifted to the betrothal necklace in his pocket. He was nervous, he'd never been so nervous to say anything to her. But he remembered the conversations he'd had with Katara's grandmother and Suki. Their love was all that mattered. He wanted nothing more than for her to be his forever.
He looked into her eyes. "Katara, I love you."
"I love you too."
"But I really love you. More than anything in the entire world. In the entire universe. You're everything to me. Ever since we first me, since we had our first kiss...as long as I've known you I've loved you. I can't even put into words how much you mean to me."
She put his hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry, I know. You mean just as much to me. Nothing I could ever do would ever be enough to tell you."
"You can do one thing."
"What would that be?"
"Make me the luckiest guy in the world to have the most beautiful woman ever by my side for the rest of my life."
Her eyes got wide in shock as he pulled out the necklace.
"I made this for you."
"Aang…"
"Will you marry me Katara?"
She nodded slowly still in shock. He could see her eyes welling with tears. "Yes," she said softly. She threw herself at him in an embrace that almost knocked him off his feet. "Yes Aang!" She kissed him over and over again. He held her close to him reciprocating her passionate kisses. He had never been so happy in his life. She looked into his eyes. "I would want nothing more than to be your wife."
"May I?" he asked holding up the necklace.
"Of course." The took her mother's necklace from around her neck and Aang replaced it with the one he had made for her. "It's beautiful," she said.
"Like you." He kissed her once again.
"It's about time you proposed Twinkle Toes," Toph said.
"This is so romantic!" Suki exclaimed.
Aang and Katara broke their kiss to find their friends emerging from behind a bush where they had been watching the entire thing.
"Is there no privacy around here?" Aang said although he wasn't mad.
"Of course not!" Sokka said.
"I told you she would like it," Suki said with a wink.
"So when's the wedding?" Zuko asked.
They continued to ask tons of questions but Aang was hardly paying attention. His mind was only focused one thing, his soon to be wife. He couldn't be happier.