Unconventional
blue-eyes2014

Summary: In which Aang and Katara are in love on their own terms. Kataang, oneshot

Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and of Nickelodeon.

A/N: Yeah, okay, I have a butt-load of things I should be writing instead, but... This idea came to me, and it was too good to pass up. So: Just a little look at what a post-war relationship between Aang and Katara might be like. I'm still new when it comes to Avatar, so any thoughts on what you think might help me would be welcome.


Aang and Katara were probably not what could be called a "conventional" couple. They didn't really act how one would think a hero and his beloved would behave, much to the head-scratching of people who didn't really know them.

For example:

They didn't kiss much. Both of them found it a bit extreme, especially since they were still at the stage where even holding hands was a thrill. Upon occasion, the emotion they felt was so much that they couldn't help but touch lips, but for the most part, they just held hands. (Both loved the feeling of the other's warm hand in theirs, and were rather content to stay at that stage. Kissing would come with age.)

Katara didn't seem very fond of the Distressed Damsel role. She was a Master Waterbender, and would be found fighting side-by-side with the Avatar, rather than looking on starry-eyed as Aang put up a bold and impressive fight. (Although, Katara would be the first to admit that she enjoyed whenever Aang's arms were flung around her as he saved her from debris or the like. She had her pride, but she didn't complain when fate handed her the perfect reason to be in Aang's arms, either.)

They were not afraid to act childish. From just having fun to even petty arguments, neither was afraid to act far younger than they were when around each other. People would sometimes be annoyed by this, but the two would remain unfazed by the dissenter. (Maybe because they spent so much time acting older than they were, it was simply a relief to have someone they could be utterly immature with- who they didn't view in a sibling or even parental light.)

Neither threw around the phrase "I love you." Both found the words, at the same time, far too much and far too little, and all-around the deepest way they could ever convey their feelings verbally. In this way it was like kissing to them, and if they could get the message across without the words, they did. (Nevertheless, sometimes they'd find themselves repeating the phrase to each other over and over, or getting into "arguments" about who loved who more. But a true occurrence of this type was very rare; mostly, they just did it to annoy people.)

They had their problems, small and large. From hogging the blankets to actual dilemmas, there were times when something needed to be addressed. Sometimes an argument would spark; but that always ended with an acknowledgment of being in the wrong, an apology, and an effort to set it right. (Strangely enough, these apologies had a tendency to evolve into one of the above-mentioned "arguments" about who loved who more whenever Sokka was present…)

To be honest, this was not the romance either of them had imagined. (Perhaps that was why, if given the choice, neither would change a thing.)