If one thing was clear tonight it was that Aang was tired, dead tired. He had spent nearly all day in a council room with a bunch old men who argued endlessly about nothing, in a room that was as hot as the volcano he had bested as a boy, and while sitting in chairs that were about as comfortable as one of Toph's acupuncture sessions. When he got home he greeted his wife with a kiss on the cheek and quickly asked if he could retire to their bedroom, hoping to find solace in the soft sheets. He felt horrible because he knew that his avatar duties took up a lot of his time,(If not both of their time) and when he was free of their weight he wanted to spend as much time with Katara as was possible. But today he just felt drained.
"Thank you for understanding, Sweetheart." Aang said as Katara ushered him to their bedchamber.
"Aang, it's fine. You're allowed to be tired. I know how grueling those meetings can be, trust me." His wife reassured him for what felt like the one-hundredth time.
When he was about to make a rebuttal, Katara placed her long, feminine pointer finger against his mouth to quiet any more protest. "No more talking. Don't you want to get some sleep?" She asked.
He produced a weary smile and nodded in affirmation.
When Katara helped remove his more formal clothing and left him in only his night wear, he let out a sigh of relief when his body came in contact with the fabric of the bed.
"Comfy?" She asked.
He Nodded.
"Good." She placed a kiss to the tip of the arrow on his forehead. "I'll be right back with an extra blanket, okay?"
"Okay, Sweetheart." He replied in a drowsy tone.
However when Katara Returned with the blanket, she saw Aang was sitting in an upright position, massaging his own shoulder.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked.
"Nothing. I just tried to flip to my side and had a weird twinge. I swear those chairs they have make me feel one-hundred twenty when I get out of them. I guess in my case it's two-hundred twenty, though." Aang replied, laughing at his own joke.
"Flip over on your back." Katara instructed.
"Why?" Aang questioned, still half distracted by the pain in his shoulder.
"I'll rub your back. Or do you not want me too?" Katara asked in a teasing tone, knowing that he would never turn down her touch.
"Of course I do!" I just don't want you to go through that for me."
Katara giggled. "You make it sound like touching you is a chore. Believe me, I don't mind one bit and it's not like I won't enjoy myself." She said with a wink "Now Flip over." She instructed once more.
When Aang did as he was told Katara set to work on working out the various knots in his muscles. Neither of them talked much. The only conversation pieces being Aang's occasional muttering of "That feels good" Or "A little lower"
After about fifteen minutes, Katara heard Aang's breathing even out and realized that he had fallen asleep. To finish her work she placed small kisses directly down the tattoo covering his spine.(The longest and sweetest being on his old lightning scar.) After she got up from the bed to get ready for sleep herself, she took a moment to simply admire the look of content on his handsome features. Proud that only she could bring him that pleasure. Aang had noted on multiple occasions that her mix of personality was something that he would always love about her, but also found it to be a little queer. One side of her personality was that an obstinate rebel who was subservient to no one, and the other side being a nurturing caretaker who would do anything for anyone at the drop of a hat. He joked that she was lucky to marry into a race that had both men and women on equal terms, saying that all other men would be afraid of her.(He usually earned a slap to the shoulder for that comment.)
But that was the thing. She could never imagine doing something as intimate as what she just did for Aang, to another man. It warmed her heart to be able to do things for him, and knew from experience that he would do the exact same for her. It was a relationship of equals and each person put back as much as the other took out.
After getting down to her undergarments, she quickly joined Aang under the covers to ward off the night air. For a moment there was total silence until she felt her partner shift, pull her closer and whisper to her, "You spoil me, you know that?"
She chuckled and whispered back, "If I do its only because I love you."