It was becoming a tradition. For five years running now, on the birthday of the Earth King's pet bear, the Avatar was invited to attend. Not just as an honored guest, but as the bear's favorite entertainment.
Most nobles of the Earth Kingdom who attended such a ball were shocked at the idea that the mighty Avatar would be belittled into performing like a clown for a bear. Fortunately, Aang was a playful sort who loved animals. Seeing the joy on a friend's face was always something he looked forward to.
Besides, it gave Katara an excuse to get pampered for a day and dress in the latest exotic fashions. Being the wife of the Avatar had plenty of fun perks. And being the wife of Aang was just plain fun. Even after years of attending formal functions, It never failed that she would walk into their residence after her day at the spa, decked out in a beautiful dress and makeup, and it would take his breath away. Oh, how she loved him.
And in less than an hour, it wouldn't matter what the nobles thought. No matter what his station, Avatar or clown, he would be the proudest man on the planet to boldly strut into the ballroom with Katara on his arm.
For his part to prepare for the evening, he now stood in front of the grand mirror in their parlor, adjusting his symbolic necklace and making sure his formal robes were presentable. It was mostly for show, however. All he really wanted was the opportunity to steal as many glances as he could at his lovely date for the evening.
Which wasn't difficult, since Katara herself was standing right next to him, distracted with carefully applying some last-minute touch ups to her makeup. She shuffled through a bag of supplies she had bought, but she couldn't quite find what she needed.
"Aang, have you seen my blush?" she asked her husband.
Aang now looked openly at her mirror's stunning reflection. He had to agree, that's just what she needed to make her stand out even more.
So he leaned toward her and blew a tiny warm breeze through the curves of her ear.
She emitted a tender, shuddering gasp as the sensation. A tingling feeling of both joy and desire spread through her. She felt the familiar heat rush to her face at the unexpected intimacy.
Aang straightened to continue preparing himself with a satisfied grin and happily announced "Found it!"
A/N: If you recognized this, you're not imagining things. I submitted this to KF and my DevArt account for Kataang Week 2 back in March of '09. Slightly edited here and there.
"What, you gonna make be blush all night?"
"Like I've never done that before."