This is a collab with ThereseDelacoeur on deviantART. She wrote the lines "He licked my palm... Her ocean." and I had to write a shiptastic Avatar fanfic using it for Valentine's Day. I kind of imagined Aang having a pretty eloquent, poetic inner narration that never gets conveyed through his everyday colloquial dialogue. Enjoy!
Her graceful hands glided through the air with the utmost control, her mocha-colored face conveying calm concentration. A stream of water, drawn by an invisible force, followed her movements, smoothly twisting in midair as it made its way to the dirty pot. Katara always used dishwashing as a chance to practice waterbending, and I always sat not-too-far away, pretending to be occupied, but sneaking glances at the water tribe girl when she wasn't looking. Her poise, the delicate motions of her hands and the subtle swaying of her body—she was always most beautiful when she was bending. When she was in her element.
I blushed as she caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye, pausing her rhythm, and realized I had been looking for a little too long.
"Do you need something, Aang?" She asked politely. Her older brother looked up briefly from his maps a few feet away. Toph blew at her bangs, uninterested and bored.
I stifled the first thought that jumped to mind, ("You,") instead covering with "I think I just need some fresh air." I felt the heat continue rising to my pale face as I stood. I was sure I was turning beet red all the way to the top of my shiny, bald head.
"But, Aang, we're already outside," Katara frowned, confused.
"Uhh, yeah," I reached over my shoulder awkwardly to scratch my back with one hand, looking down at the ground. "I'm just gonna take a walk."
"Well, okay, but be careful," She warned tentatively, "There could be fire nation troops around." Lately, Katara had been resistant to any kind of separation between us. I couldn't say I minded.
"I'm sure Aang'll be fine, Katara." Sokka placated, resurging temporarily from the mass of papers in his lap, then submerging himself immediately back into his plans.
I grabbed one of the crusts of bread left over from dinner as I walked away. "I'll be back soon," I called back reassuringly. I could hear the small thwacks of stone against skin and Sokka yelping in surprise, echoed by Toph giggling mischievously, as I left our camp behind.
Katara was exceedingly pleased with our campsite, a clearing that was near both a freshwater stream and a coastline. I headed towards the beach, wandering away from the path to the shore and instead walking along some craggy nearby cliffs. I sat to ponder my fate, my world, and the pretty waterbender who had become my best friend in it.
Whenever I saw water, I thought of her. Drinking and bathing had become dazed, daydream-filled events. Even the blue sky harkened back to her expressive, caring eyes. "Ohh, I've got it bad," I admitted aloud, folding my legs up and propping my head up with my arms, the bread still clutched in my hand. I wasn't hungry. Something else was gnawing at my stomach, and I had a bad feeling that day-old bread crusts wouldn't make it go away.
Lost in thought, I almost didn't hear the rustling in the brush behind me. I straightened and whipped my head around, suddenly aware that I was not alone.
A small feline with sleek black fur stepped cautiously out, eyeing me with a mixture of disdain and consideration. I slowly turned back around so as not to frighten him and allowed him to approach me. For some reason, animals tended to like me. Or attack me. I hoped this cat would choose the former. Soon enough, he padded over to take a seat beside me.
"Hey little guy," I murmured to the pygmy puma. He sniffed the air, his nose leading him towards the bread crusts in my hand. "You want some?" I offered, tipping my palm toward him. He glanced at my face with caution before scarfing down my snack. In seconds only crumbs were left, and the starving creature didn't pause until he had ingested every last speck.
He licked my palm and I absently rubbed his head while I tilted my own head back. It was twilight: the clouds raced and scuttled across the sky, bright pink ships floating in a mauve sea. The sun dripped lower on the horizon, dissolving in a patch of sparkles that dipped and floated on the ocean's waves. Her ocean.
I looked once more at my silent companion. Pygmy pumas were bred to live in cities, where there were plenty of walls to scale and fences to climb.
"You're a little out of your comfort zone, aren't you buddy?" I inquired.
He said nothing, but looked up at me, as if to say, "Aren't you?"
I sighed in silent agreement, returning my gaze to the luminescent blue sea. Which, of course, made me think of Katara. Our whole journey together, neither of us could have imagined. We were just a couple kids. How could anyone have known we would end up on a quest to save the world? And when all this was over, then what would we do? No one else would understand what we'd been through.
That was partly what made me feel like we were meant to be together. In the end, that is. We were doing the impossible together, me and Katara, and Sokka and Toph. We shared a bond no one else knew. And that bond, the bond of ultimate sacrifice—of our childhoods, and of ourselves, if necessary—could never be broken. We were there for each other in the absolute worst of times. What could top that?
The pygmy puma rubbed against my hand, shaking me out of my stupor. I ran my hand down his back, imagining it was Katara's thick, dark hair. The sun fell its last few inches below the horizon, and the sky began to darken to indigo. I knew Katara would begin to worry shortly, but I waited a little longer before getting up, bidding my new acquaintance adieu, and heading back to my friends.
By the time I reached camp, twilight had melted into night, and the stars were making their appearance, twinkling one by one into view. Katara's concerned cries made me pry my eyes from the night sky to see her rushing towards me, her brows knit with worry.
"Aang, what took you so long?" She demanded, hands on her slender hips.
"I was just thinking, watching the sunset." I defended, "It was really beautiful." Almost as beautiful as you, I thought to myself.
"Well, you worried me," She replied in a more subdued tone, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Don't take so long next time." She added, softening.
"Don't worry," I said soothingly, resting my hands on hers, "and I won't."
She enveloped me in a warm hug, which I gladly reciprocated. I breathed in her scent, a mixture of spices and the sea breeze, and I wrapped my arms around her slim waist. After a few seconds she released me, letting her hands fall to my arms and glancing at her brother, drifting off as he tried to explain his latest travel plans to Toph, who had one eyebrow raised. I looked straight into Katara's sweet blue eyes and caught her gaze. My hands were still resting on her waist, smooth to the touch despite our rough conditions, and I held her gaze for a second more as I smiled at her, hoping that would say what I feared to speak out loud, the feelings I dared not voice. Her slightly open mouth morphed into a small, but sincere, responding smile. After a second I let go and turned, feeling a blush rising in my face, and nearly tripped over Sokka's sprawling legs. Leaning against a fallen tree trunk he had been using as a bench earlier, he had fallen asleep over his maps. Toph, apparently picking through the papers to try and 'read' them by feeling the indents in the parchment, exclaimed, "Watch it, Twinkletoes!" and protectively earthbended a buffer of soil between my feet and Sokka's legs.
Recovering my balance, I glanced back at the giggling Katara. I flushed bright red, but sported a cheesy grin and waved to her. She waved back, still laughing lightly, and turned to her pack.
I sighed, turning back around and taking care to steer clear of Sokka and his guardian. I'm never in my element, I thought to myself. I glanced back at the beautiful waterbender. Except when I'm with her.