He carried her like a sleeping beauty, up a spiral staircase towards one of the small rooms of the Eastern Air Temple. As he struggled halfway up the stairs, with his tiresome breaths and her contagious giggles, it seemed that she was right about the silk gown making her slightly heavier than usual. But nevertheless, the boy refused to admit that his arms were aching, and Katara could see it in his flushing face.
"It's okay, Aang! You can put me down... I won't tell Sokka that I walked those last few flights myself. I promise!"
"Oh-- no-- no-- no..." Aang panted profusely, struggling to walk a few more steps with Katara in his aching arms. "I told him -- I'd be able to carry you all the way up to the tower -- no airbending, no tricks -- and I'm almost there..."
"Aang, please..." Katara giggled, resting her head playfully onto his shoulder. "That was such a stupid bet anyway."
The airbender gave his bride a quick look of annoyance, and the girl smiled meekly.
"Would it be better if we piggy-backed it the rest of the way?" Katara suggested, Aang coming to a complete stop in the stairwell to ponder. "I mean, technically you're still carrying me, right?"
Looking up towards the countless stairs ahead of him, the boy sighed and turned to Katara, with a slight grin forming in his face.
"Um, okay..." he said, but as Katara carefully brought her legs and dress around his lower back, he quickly added "...whatever you do, don't let your feet touch the ground!"
The girl giggled with slight disbelief, placing herself behind Aang without a single toe touching the ground.
"Happy?"
Aang felt a strong rush of relief pass through him, and as he secured his arms with Katara's weight, he gave her a quick nod. The next thing she knew, Aang was practically racing up the stairs with her for the piggy-back ride, laughing, and Katara hung on tightly.
It didn't matter how tired or how reluctant this boy would be at times; Aang always seemed to surprise her with his natural playfulness. Katara couldn't help but laugh along with him, remembering their first unexpected adventure together, penguin-sledding... discovering the carefree spirit who would make her laugh like a kid again. After so many years growing through the aftermath of a brutal war, the most notable change that came to Aang was his voice and his sense of maturity, but what mesmerized Katara was the fact that his sense of fun had never left him.
Perhaps it was because she was too scared to understand the nature of true love... or the fact that Sokka and Toph would tease her about it forever, but Katara felt foolish knowing it had taken her so long to accept the truth.
That this young airbender had stolen her heart from the very beginning.
As the boy calmed his laughter and slowly took the last step, he stopped at the sight of the wooden door in front of him. Aang stared longingly at it, sweat trickling down his temples from the hike up the stairs, feeling somewhat unsure about going any further. Katara felt it, too, looking at the bronze doorknob as if it were an intensifying obstacle.
As Aang turned his head to look at her, Katara smiled and nuzzled her face on one of his shoulder joints, silently telling him that she felt exactly the same way... and that it was okay to be afraid. Gently, she placed a comforting hand on one of his arms, and the boy took a deep breath before he reached out to open the door.
The room was exceptionally small. Aang noted the maroon-based oriental rug that covered the stone floor, with a window to the furthest wall that overlooked the violet night sky. When he let Katara down to survey the room herself, she walked over to touch a small dresser that held a bowl of water with napkins. They had briefly looked around the room their separate ways, seeing how aside from the moon, the only source of light came from a few flickering candelabra that stood on both sides of the newly-made bed.
One bed.
Aang couldn't take his eyes away from it... how plain, and yet how powerfully real it was. He forced himself to look elsewhere, at the small flames that came out of the candlesticks, at the window that welcomed them with a sky full of stars... and finally, he glanced over at Katara as she turned around to see him again.
He could feel a sense of discomfort in her features. She had one hand massaging the back of her neck as she looked at the space around her, but as the closeness and the intimacy of the room overtook her very being, her warm gaze returned to him with another one of her giggles.
"This...um... Is this really weird for you, too?" was all that she could manage to ask, blushing as she tried to keep her eyes on him.
Her darkwood-colored hair was no longer braided up into that pretty headwrap from the wedding ceremony, but instead, it hung loosely down to her waist. As the candlelight fell onto her hair, to the reflection of her blue eyes... all the way down to the violet silk of her two-piece dress. It was like Katara had secretly invited the flickering light to dance along her body.
"Yeah," Aang said with sincerity, hoping that his face wasn't blushing as much as he felt it.
Gazing at the candlelight that tumbled playfully on Katara's dark skin, Aang smiled as the memories of the secret Fire Nation dance overtook him... remembering the passionate energy that had flowed into a remarkable sign of something that surpassed friendship.
He remembered the warm acceptance of Katara's hand that stayed with him during their improvised routine, from the very first steps of movement to the final dip he had happily tried on her. Those exasperated-yet-tranquil blue eyes that thanked him from below had instantly blocked out all the cheering and the clapping that surrounded them. It's a wonder how the boy's spirit had been raised heavenly by one simple smile he adored more than his own existence, and as he held her in that dipping position... as their lungs mutually fished for the air that was between them... Aang couldn't help but smile from his fulfilled accomplishment.
For the first time in a very long time, Katara felt free.
Like instant karma in his silver eyes... Aang brought out a comforting hand for the girl standing across from him.
Katara admired the boy's hand, the soft light dancing along his own body, and she took a small breath and carefully made a step forward.
Not a moment sooner did Aang begin to do the same.
Aang trembled as he touched the face of his new life, his wife... brushing her lips with the gentle fingertip of his thumbs, and Katara received this delightful contact with a soft giggle, folding her arms around his waist precisely for a hug.
Inside, Aang was glad that those last few years had made him barely an inch taller than Katara, no longer feeling like a foolish little boy when he gazed at her.
Their foreheads met briefly, and as he felt Katara breathe softly against his face, the airbender closed his eyes and leaned over for their lips to touch. The girl closed her own eyes then, and surrendered to that kiss wholeheartedly, letting her hands warmly endure the skin of Aang's back.
The boy made sweet sounds under his breath as they kissed, moving his hands past her ears and around the nape of her neck for more security. Katara knew that her surprising touch had comforted him deeply.
She was scared – terrified, actually -- being able to hold him this much without anything except the outer wind intruding on her imagination. Her fingers gently began to discover the muscles of Aang's back, and the alignment of his spinal column which made him flinch every time she brushed along its natural gaps. Knowing full well that the injury from Azula was still raw to his system, Katara was careful to avoid contact as she explored his back. Everything flinch he made, whether it was the acknowledgement of a bruise or the sudden spark of her simple contact, gradually seemed like it was affecting her own nervous system. She was beginning to feel exactly what he felt, and it brought chills down to her knees.
That kiss held Aang tightly to Katara as he, with much boldness and nervousness... dared to make it more passionate. It was like a secret language he was suggesting to her through the movement of his lips, silently asking her to discover more about his world.
It was something he would have killed himself over, asking Katara through words to kiss together this way. He remembered how the two of them had briefly talked about kissing each other in the Cave of Two Lovers, and despite the awkwardness, Aang had felt a rush of peace just mentioning the idea of it openly. The small fragment of second that the spirits had blessed him with... feeling the slight peck of Katara's lips as the glowing crystals appeared over them... was something that Aang would never forget.
True, the boy had never understood those feelings before, and even then, he thought he was crazy to believe this... but somehow, he knew there wasn't any other person he would want to kiss.
In his mind, he already knew that someday he would want to ask Katara to marry him, even if it meant bringing down Fire Lord Ozai and his followers, traveling for years to restore peace to the three surviving nations... Aang kept that wish in his heart, trusting it long enough to make that moment happen.
And it did. On a very cold winter solstice after the fall of the Fire Empress Azula... when he was helping Katara, Sokka, their father Hakoda and the other soldiers return home on a small ship to the Southern Water tribe.
The airbender remembered how fast the boat had pulled up towards the icy shore, seeing the villagers welcome their old friends back to their homeland, and GranGran walking up to embrace her son-in-law with fragile arms. He remembered how fast Sokka shook the Avatar's hand in partnership and then leapt out of the boat to receive all the hugs from the kids once trained as tribal soldiers.
And he remembered how Katara briefly remained at Aang's side, as the two of them watched the joy that was contagiously running through the crowd, knowing that the long war with the Fire Nation had come to an end. She had turned to him and said simply "thank you" in the most grateful voice that any life-long friend would be able to give.
Many years had passed between them, and as Katara embraced him tightly, the boy felt so much more at home.
It was during that small hug when the boy finally delivered his heart's wish... and although the next few seconds passed through his mind like a blur, he felt Katara's beaming face bring itself closer to kiss him joyously, and Aang became no less than the happiest person in the world.
Those happy memories came through Aang's mind quietly, as he softly understood Katara's gentle mouth, and the sweet taste that she seemed to give him willingly. They were both trembling on the inside, imagining their first night together with so many new possibilities of passion.
Katara kept massaging the muscles of Aang's back, until her fingers found the soft fabric of his traditional airbender's toga, wrapped around at the shoulder. Nervously, her fingers seemed to do the rest of the work as they the wrap slide off of his shoulder to leave it bare, and beautiful.
Aang almost melted, feeling this familiar fabric slip from Katara's mischievous hand. Carefully, he brought himself as close as he could possibly get to Katara's frame, letting his legs and feet brush themselves to her lower body.
She didn't seem to mind this contact, as one of her hands actually came down to acknowledge Aang's waist to keep it sweetly secure. It was an intense feeling of exploration for them, holding a kiss while the rest of their bodies seemed to grow much closer with time.
The airbender stiffened a soft moan as the girl brought a hand below his proper waistline at the back... but with great determination, Aang continued to kiss. He was brave enough even to feel Katara's shoulders while he moved the elegant shawl-like straps of her dress, letting them hang loosely at her respective arms. The softness of her skin, that bare skin that he had forever desired to touch... was making this night more and more real... more unbearable to him...
Suddenly, Aang opened his eyes with a frightened look, unable to catch his breath as he unwinded their tongues and broke their kiss. Katara opened her eyes as well, feeling breathless, as if she had woken up from an intense dream.
"Wh...what's wrong?" she asked gently, her hands becoming less stable on his body.
The boy looked elsewhere, almost too embarrassed to feel this pressure he was sensing in his nerves.
"I... I just...um..." His feet brushed themselves against Katara's own, wondering how he could possibly explain what he was fearing, and yet desiring at the same time. His hands remained planted on her bare shoulders, finally glancing at the flickering candlelight that reflected along her radiant, reflecting blue eyes.
It's funny how they always reminded him of the sky... the airbenders' natural sanctuary.
This warm aura of trust was something that Aang had always felt when he spoke to her, ever since he had told her about his running away from Monk Gyatso and the Southern Air Temple. Katara's eyes seemed to reassure him that nothing... absolutely nothing... was too foolish to hear for her.
The boy's eyes began to water up involuntarily, and he sighed before his voice found its way for words.
"I'm scared, Katara."
The girl's features oddly became less stiff and more at ease, relieved that her husband had felt the same way about this night. "Yeah, me too," she responded lightly, knowing there must've been a lot of emotions running through him. "What's on your mind?"
He closed his eyes to gather his thoughts, feeling Katara's warm presence calm him on the inside. Nervously, he spoke again.
"I'm always going to be the Avatar... the whole world sees me as this powerful bender with a big responsibility, right?"
Aang's feelings and doubts swam around his mind as he tried to find the best words to say next. A couple of small reluctant tears streamed lightly down his cheeks.
"...but... but when I look at you... it's different..." Aang fought the urge to turn over to see the candlelight, leaving himself more raw in front of Katara's eyes.
"I didn't even know how to fight in this war until you came along... and you saw me as the Avatar when I didn't even see it in myself. I was... I just wanted to impress you. I was just a kid."
Katara lowered her eyelids in sadness, enveloping everything that the boy had said to her into her own thoughts. She gracefully continued to rub Aang's back muscles with the close proximity they had together, preparing herself to speak and respond to her husband's frustrations. Katara recorded this as her first official challenge as a wife, supporting her husband with positive reinforcement and advice... but she smiled, knowing that she had done that same thing for so many years already.
She was just about to open her mouth to speak, but then Aang said something else. A final remark that had come from the deepest, most untraceable corners of a boy's heart.
"I'm scared that I don't deserve you."
The girl's eyelids rose immediately at those soft words, feeling completely shaken and surprised. But in a way, very ironic.
Katara felt those words reflect a certain truth that she was always battling with herself, and it made her own eyes glisten with forming tears.
Throughout the journey, with Toph, Sokka, and the others... Katara had never perceived herself as strong. Her foolish ambition to become the greatest female waterbender had extended itself into the responsibilities of becoming a healer, the one who always had that small sliver of hope for the group. And no matter how much Toph criticised her about it, she was happy playing the mother role by the howmuch she cared for everyone in that journey.
But she wasn't strong. She had always considered herself just... stubborn... excessively passionate about things like waterbending. And the stories that GranGran told her of the Avatar. And the memory of her own mother, how she fought to keep her family together until the day she was taken. When those passions were somehow threatened to disappear, Katara fought for them... but she would fall into a whirl of pain and unimaginable rage if she didn't complete the task.
The Avatar was surrendering his heart's deepest fear to her, and Katara could only let her trembling breaths speak for themselves. The truth was that the girl had never percieved herself as strong, because she could not accept failure. Seeing that a boy... this boy... looked up to her so much... was almost something out of another person's life.
Aang carried that determination to fight for what he loved, he never gave up and yet stood his ground whenever he saw himself defeated. He had found goodness in Zuko, believing in second chances without questioning them. He was strong even before she had found him in the iceberg. And somewhere along their journey, the girl learned to fight for her own strengths... for her belief that the Avatar could save them all.
She learned to be strong, for Aang.
His hands were still caressing her shoulders as she took in those sad, yet very truthful words, and Katara smiled frankly, letting her head lean closer to her husband's iconic arrow on the forehead. Incredible, how that small bit of contact seemed to pass over her entire form, reminding her of how much she loved him. How much she would love him.
"Aang, listen to me..." Her words were soft, no more serene than the light breeze that was drifting into their room from the window. "If it weren't for you, I would never have gone penguin sledding that day..."
The boy's eyes glimmered into a close, remembering that particular day very well as he cherished Katara's comforting forehead against his own. Almost immediately, he knew where this conversation would be going... and he would not stop those memories from resurfacing in his mind for all the cosmic energy in the universe. Katara smiled, closing her eyes as well and letting her memories do the talking for the next few moments.
"I wouldn't have been brave enough to leave the South Pole, or brave enough to admit how much I wanted to become a waterbender. I never would've had the guts to fly on a glider... or fight off a giant sea monster... or completely humiliate myself trying to stand up for the Earthbenders in prison... or realize how much I love helping people..."
Aang made a small laugh, letting his nose touch Katara's for more intimacy and closeness.
"...and I never would've been able to dance that night," she finished lovingly to him, caressing his muscles as a token of gratitude for what that particular night had brought to her, too. "Aang, I saw you change so much that year... but do you have any idea how much you changed me? and Sokka? Toph?"
"Zuko?" Aang added teasingly, recalling that small fit of jealousy that had long left his system, and Katara opened her eyes to roll them dramatically. The two lovers just laughed, reminiscing about their friends as they nuzzled each other for warmth and understanding.
"I am what I am right now, all because of you..." Katara then stated humbly, but then added her own comical, exaggerated voice to the end. "...so quit thinking about how you're not good enough, or how I'm this untouchable spirit like the Painted Lady... it's ridiculous..."
Aang blinked at the familiar name, and that memory. "But... but it's true!" He exclaimed. "Katara, you're the one who was always there for me... you even brought me back after Azula almost... ... You're are like the Painted Lady, Katara. And, I'm... I'm just not..."
"Aang, you don't have to feel that way about us," she said softly, pressing her head tighter against Aang's to make sure he absorbed every word. "You saved the world when it was needed the most, and you didn't run from that responsibility. I was there because I wanted to fight alongside the Avatar, and I believed that you could do it. We all did."
Katara let those words take a life of their own in Aang's ears, and after a brief pause she slowly embraced him with another one of her signature, yet more intimate hugs.
"You're the most amazing person I've ever met. It's going to be alright..." she whispered to his ear, and boldly kissed her companion on the cheek. "...I love you."
The boy's heart flew joyfully at that assurance, and with a sigh of relief, his nerves seemed to disappear after combing a few locks of Katara's beautiful hair with his fingers. Their eyes closed again as their lips touched for a small kiss... then another soft kiss... and then another one, until they simply embraced each other's bare skin.
As he grasped her locks of hair, Aang could also feel the delicate formation of Katara's spine at her back with the silk fabric of the dress that covered it. She opened her eyes and saw that curious... intriguing look in his features... and Katara could not help but tremble a little.
Her trust in Aang never left her for a second, even as she brought his hands closer to her waist, intimately helping them unwind the knot at the back of her dress top. As Aang and Katara continued to gaze at each other, there was a rush of hesitance that came over them, yet inevitably... it came with excitement.
Aang kept his eyes on Katara's own, trying hard not to breathe heavily as their hands finished loosening up the top of her wedding dress. After a few seconds holding the dress piece in place... the soft fabric still covering her body... Katara brought Aang's hands towards his frame, and she let her upper frame reveal itself to the airbender.
The inner-trembling never seemed to stop between them.
Katara gazed at the boy with a curious expression, admiring how his eyes did not seem to blink as he studied a new, beautiful part of her body. A part of her womanhood.
Aang was speechless, his entire body shivering like thunder as he still held the silk in his hands.
"It's okay..." Katara reassured to him quietly, looking at him with a sincere smile built with so much courage. She mentally noted how his bare chest was already shimmering with sweat against the flickering candlelight, and it brought an unrelenquished thirst to her as a waterbender and a woman.
Carefully, she brought her revealed frame closer to Aang's chest and hugged him, letting their skin collide and create a new sense of comfort. This seemed to soothe Aang, feeling Katara's chest almost become a part of him... and he practically tossed the silk to the floor.
Aang kissed her again, letting his fingers happily hike along Katara's bare spine, while his chest received the wonders of her soft breasts against it. Katara shivered slightly from this new kind of contact, but her body accepted it soothingly and she slowly began to massage Aang's butt over his dress pants... without any tension or fear.
That was when Aang felt much more comfortable to continue with their bodies' exploration of one another, burrowing his hands under the fabric of Katara's skirt... slowly removing the tight knot that held it together. And the final part of her violet dress instantly fell to the ground, leaving Katara covered only by an undergarment wrap. The young woman stirred as the air from the room brushed along her bare legs, but she kissed Aang more intently, her hands moving up to his bare shoulders for bodily heat. Aang received that delicately, letting his mouth be consumed by Katara's curiosity.
The girl made a soft moan, letting her legs keep warm by brushing themselves against the fabric of Aang's pants... and almost as if they had rehearsed it together... Katara hoisted herself onto Aang's body, hugging his waist with her slender legs.
Cautiously, Aang held onto her with his arms, feeling the warm sweat already begin to trickle along her jaw-line and down her neck. The boy couldn't resist such an invitation, and he broke the kiss he shared with Katara in order to taste the sweetness that streamed along her neck.
She made a soft stirring of pleasure, from the joy that Aang's tongue brought to her delicate skin.
It was a new taste of discovery for them... something they were suddenly becoming much more comfortable with. Aang drove himself with that passion, nuzzling his nose against Katara's neck, and carried her light body over to the bed that was waiting for them.
"My forever girl..." he whispered, laying her softly down onto the cotton blanket as he continued to feel Katara's light sweat with his nose, nuzzling along her collarbone.
Katara giggled from the tickling sensation, but opened her eyes confusingly. "Fore--Huh?"
The boy's hazel eyes widened with a beat, realizing how ridiculous that must've sounded to her. Aang didn't think a childish nickname could ever escape his mouth, but during that moment of passion... he just couldn't help himself.
Nervously, Aang lifted his head slightly over Katara to see her. "Oh, it's nothing!... It's just a– a nickname I always had up for you."
"Forever Girl?" Katara retorted with an edge of amusement, lifting an eyebrow.
"I know, I know... it's stupid..." Aang seemed to agree instantly with her, but Katara brought his face closer with one hand, and nuzzled her nose against his own, lovingly.
She laughed, admiring the sweaty blue tattoo of the boy's forehead for a moment.
"Actually, it's not as stupid as...Air Buster," she said, promptly planting a kiss onto the boy's proud arrow.
"Air Bust--?" Aang wondered how long she'd carried this nickname for him, but as she quickly stopped his speech with her soft lips against his... those thoughts seemed to melt away instantly.
He closed his eyes and gladly gave in to the girl's passionate kiss, and as Aang gently placed himself over Katara on the bed, that soft kiss consumed all of their worries for the night that was ahead of them.