AN: I am truly excited about writing this fic, as it has been rotting in the back of my imagination closet for God knows how long. For clarification purposes, this fic is set to take place a year after the events of the series finale. Everyone is therefore, a year older than what they were at the end of the series (I.e. Katara is 16 going on 17, Aang is 14 going on 15, etc.). I really appreciate reviews and constructive criticism, so feel free to drop a line, and I hope you guys will enjoy reading this tale spun on love, loss, recreation, action, pride and philosophy as much as I will enjoy writing it. Have a nice day. :)

-NightDove

The Thirst of my Soul

Chapter One: Like Very Morning

A ravishing sunrise rose from under the distant trees as Katara stirred awake in her comfy bedroom. Ah, how nice it is to have your own bedroom after so long of having shared tents and sleeping bags with others. Truth be told, she never really minded it that much at the time, but the luxury of privacy has been one she was overdue for.

While she was brushing her wavy chocolate locks, there was a knock at her door. Upon opening it, she was delighted to see her boyfriend.

"Aang." She said before throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"Morning." Said the handsome Avatar after giving the normal peck to her forehead.

"Come on in, I'll be ready in a minute." She said while pulling him into her room. She was late this morning for their daily walk around their part of Ba Sing Se.

The Air Nomad complied politely and sat down on her made bed, admiring discreetly the glow of her beauty so early in the morning.

Little did he know that she too was watching him from the reflection of her mirror, being drawn to how handsome he had grown in such a short time. She kept pretending to brush her hair until she placed the brush down and quietly took hold of the package she had next to it. She hid it behind her back as she turned towards him.

He got up confidently and pulled her into a sweet kiss, cradling with his fingers the crook of her neck. In the midst of such romance, he took out his present.

Damn it, he beat her to it.

He circled around her once before pushing her hair away. Indeed, it is surprising how long hair can grow within a year; Katara's hair was by this time well past her waist. The waviness of it all certainly complimented the design on the shawl Aang draped around her.

He kissed her cheek before letting her hair fall back into place. "Happy one year, my water lily."

She giggled in glee at the tickle of his kiss before turning to face him with the package in her hands. "And to you, my Air Prince."

The Avatar smilingly opened his present to reveal bright shades of orange, yellow and beige: Air Nomad colors. As he pulled the gift out of its package, it unfolded to reveal a hand-made robe. His smile widened to reveal his strong teeth as he pulled off his current robes. The old clothes made a small pile on the foot of Katara's bed while he wrapped his new robes around him. They hung onto him in a way that covered his right shoulder while the left was bare, exposing his developed muscles and famous tattoos.

He stood up and put his hands on his hips, modeling before Katara and the full-length mirror the success of her tailor work.

"Oh Katara, they are great." He said while he admired himself. "And I know when I'm going to use them."

Katara had already folded her shawl. "Oh?" She said as she laid it on the bed. "When is that?"

"Hopefully, the same time you can wear this, too." He replied as he sat down on the bed next to her, patting the folded shawl. He took out a scroll from his old robes and unrolled it before her.

"This," He began, "is an invitation to the Fire Lord's wedding next month. He has invited us as honored guests!"

Katara scanned the characters on the scroll before pointing a finger towards the bottom. "It says here that as the Avatar, the Fire Lord has chosen you to be his right hand man during the ceremony. You will be seated near him and his bride during and after the oaths and are only allowed one guest to join you at the head of the temple."

Aang then let go of the bottom and allowed the scroll to coil back into its original state, leaving him face to face with Katara.

"Is that so?" He cooed playfully as he neared his face to hers.

Katara, smiling back at him, tapped a teasing finger on his chin. "You can look and see for yourself."

The Avatar reached up and took her small tan hand into his large pale one and kissed her fingers. "I'll take your word for it."

His lips were so soft.

"Good." She whispered before kissing his soft, warm lips. The way he kissed her back so tenderly, so gently, it was almost as though she wasn't kissing a man, but a warm, affectionate breeze.

Air. It was like kissing air.

And that was the way it went; a full year of tender kisses, warm embraces, and chatty mornings, and serene evenings. Never was there a flaw in his character around her, he was always charming, romantic and playful.

They would always begin the day with a stroll around Ba Sing Se; travelling around the world had become a common pleasure for Katara, and since her settlement in Ba Sing Se, has sustained her thirst for exploring by walking. Aang, as an easy-going nomad, happily went alongside her.

They relished in the quiet serenity of early morning, happy to be away from the interference of others who reliably would rush out to meet the Avatar and his girlfriend; possibly more famous now for their relationship rather than their past altruistic deeds.

However, the fame did have some pros to it: both Aang and Katara were highly respected around the city, and were often special guests to the Earth King's galas.

They set aside all their normal talks of memories, dreams, jokes, and sweet nothings for the morning to discuss what to do before the Fire Lord's wedding, and how she, as Aang's guest, would dress for the occasion.

Upon their return to the "Jasmine Dragon", they were welcomed with news from Iroh: the Fire Lord would be visiting next week.