Daddy Knows Best
"As the cave kept fading into darkness, the two young people faced each other, their gazes locked. They were nervous, anxious, but it was a good feeling. As the last of the light slipped away they leaned closer, knowing what they had to do."
A pair of wide blue-gray eyes stared in awe up at the storyteller. The small child's mouth hung open in a toothy grin. "What happened next, Daddy?"
Aang smiled down at his daughter, winking, "Now come on, Ooko, if I told you that it would ruin tomorrow's story."
"But..." Ooko's face fell slightly, "but I want to know. Did they get out of the cave? Did they get back together with their other friends? And... and did they..." the six-year-old trailed off awkwardly, her face suddenly flushed red. Aang's grin widened knowingly and he prodded his daughter lightly with his elbow.
"Did they what, 'Ko?"
"Did they... y'know..." her blush deepened before she finished in a hissed whisper, "kiss?"
Aang laughed, kissing Ooko gently on the top of her head, "They're still in love to this day. Now," he stood up suddenly and clapped his hands before tucking the covers of the bed around Ooko's body, "let's get you to sleep before Mommy gets suspicious of you being up past your bedtime again." Aang ruffled her hair affectionately and she giggled in response. "You need anything else, bao bei?"
Ooko shook her head emphatically and, with a few fluid motions of her hands and a toothy grin, drew purified water from the air, twisting it around and dropping it into a cup on her bedside table.
Aang chuckled, once again leaning down to kiss his daughter on the head, "That's my little penguin. Good night."
"G'night."
Aang smiled at Ooko one more time before making his way to leave the room, but as he turned in the doorway to blow out the lamps Ooko's voice caught his ear again.
"Daddy?"
He glanced around. "Hmm?"
Ooko was glancing off to the side nervously, the blush returned, "D'you think I..." she trailed off almost awkwardly. Aang frowned slightly in concern, taking a step back into the room.
"What's wrong, Ko-Ko?"
"D'you think I'll ever fall in love?" she had spoken so quickly that at first Aang wasn't sure he had heard her correctly. The words registered slowly, and with them came a smile.
"Oh, Ooko... one day you'll find someone very special and you'll fall in love with them," Aang winked at her, "and they'll fall in love with you too."
Ooko turned her gaze towards her father expectantly, her face brightening, "Really?"
"I promise." Aang winked at her once more. "I'm the Avatar, Ko-Ko. I'd never lie to you."
A content smile crossed over Ooko's face as she slipped further under the sheets into a peaceful sleep. Aang gave his daughter one last glance as he propelled a ball of air throughout the room, snuffing out the lights before he quietly snuck out of the room.
"Aang."
He froze at his wife's voice, slowly turning his head in her direction with a sheepish grin, "Heh, hi Katara."
Katara shook her head slowly, sighing, "Aang, when are you ever going to learn that—oof!" her eyes widened suddenly as she took a step backwards, clutching her stomach.
"Katara?" Aang rushed to her side in an instant, "Katara, are you all right?" Katara raised her gaze to his, a smile slowly growing on her face as she patted her barely swollen stomach.
"I'm great, Aang. More than great. Our baby just kicked." Her smile broke out into a grin, "And he covered more room than his little foot could normally hit."
Aang's grin widened to match Katara's, his hand instantly moving to her stomach in anticipation, "Does that mean...?"
Katara nodded, "I think he's going to be an airbender."
The result happened in a chain: a strong embrace, an enthralled spin with a touch of airbending, a flurry of lightning-fast kisses, an whoop of glee, before finally ending with a hissed, "Shhhh! You're going to wake Ooko!"
"Oh, right," Aang grinned sheepishly but he still glowed from the news. "Sorry." He took Katara in his arms again, cradling her against him, "I can't believe it... an airbender." He smirked into her hair, "When you were pregnant with Ooko, everytime she kicked you felt like your water was breaking, remember?"
Katara chuckled lightly, "How could I forget?" Her smile faltered slightly then, "Speaking of Ooko... do you really think you should be filling her head with all those stories?"
Aang sighed; he had known this was coming for a while now, "What's the harm in it? They're true."
"Well, yeah, but..." Katara trailed off, loosening the embrace slightly to look at her husband, "I don't think – and hope she won't ever be – she'll be thrust into a sudden relationship like we were." Katara tore her gaze away, her voice falling to a whisper, "... I just don't want you to get her hopes up. Not everyone falls in love."
"Katara." Aang took her chin in his hands, gently forcing her to look back at him, "Our daughter is a beautiful girl, inside and out. She's kind, and funny, and she loves with all of her heart and soul and body and mind," he paused for a second before adding, "like someone else I know. She'll find someone. I'm sure of it."
Katara let out a slow breath, a small smile on her face, "How is it you're always right?"
Aang grinned, shrugging half-heartedly, "I'm not always right. Just with you I usually am. Plus," His smile broadened as he moved to slip an arm around her shoulder, "I'm the Avatar. I do tend to have a knack for these things."
So about a week ago I got inspiration for this little piece on the "Aang as a Father" thread (or whatever it's called) on Kataang Forever. I thought Aang would make an adorable father, so I fiddled with the idea and this is the product. xD
It's just a cute, fluffy little thing that takes place, oh, I'd say 15-20 years in the future.
Comments/crits are loved. :3
Just a note, "bao bei" is Chinese for "sweetheart," usually used as a term of endearment for lovers but in this case it's obviously not that. XD
-WS