Yay, my first update of the summer!
Okay so this idea came to me while watching "THE AWAKENING" right after the "THE CROSSROADS OF DESTINY". Now, don' get me wrong I loved the episode "THE AWAKENING" but I felt some things were still missing, so I added some of what I wish was in there, kataang wise at least, in no particular order.
Scene I: this is just basically the morning of "THE AWAKENING" very short Katara-centric, all that fun stuff.
Scene II: this scene actually come before scene I. But was thought of afterwards. For those of you who have read the comic "THE BRIDGE" in the season three Avatar magazine then you know where I got the entrance for this scene from.
Scene III: this one is my favorite, I really feel like this really would've happen if they would've gone beyond the "you need to rest" line I've been thinking of this one for a while.
Scene IV: just a nice little father/daughter make up moment with some added Kataang, I also feel like Hakoda's thoughts on Aang and Katara's closeness should've been addressed some where in the episode.
Scene V: another one of my favorites, these silent moments between Aang and Katara are always the best! This one just makes me feel happy, and I'm not normally one who gets happy easily.
Scene I.
Katara lit a candle promptly as she always did. It was early morning and she was the first to awaken on that rather muggy summer morning, and as she did every morning she went to Aang's room quietly.
Though every time she came in he looked exactly the same as he did when she left that night.
Usually she didn't even leave the room at night and slept humbly on the floor or crouched over the bedside, and still his face would be the exact same way, not a different wrinkle or lighting difference in sight.
"good morning Aang" the water bender greeted quietly, as if not wanting to disturb whatever was keeping him asleep so long. The candles were lit and she placed them quietly in he wooden slots the pressed her hands together firmly over the side of the air benders bed.
"Good spirits," she began. "I know I've asked you many times to bring back those I've lost, but please I can't lose him, not like this." A tear trickled down her cheek and she knew then it was time to end her silent morning prayer. She bent down as always and planted a soft lingering kiss on the arrow of Aang's forehead.
But wait.
The water bender gasped when she thought she saw his nose wrinkle. She then vigorously shook her as if to dump her hopeful thoughts out of her head.
"No, couldn't be," she whispered to herself. She looked at Aang, his features unmoving again. "No," she stated and got up to prepare breakfast after stroking his cheek gingerly.
She looked back before exiting.
Maybe……today
Scene II.
"Katara, it's cold come sit by the fire?" Hakoda offered to his daughter as the other water tribe men gathered around the fire that breezy night. They were going to invade the near by fire nation ships in the early morning.
"I'm fine," Katara said stubbornly. Her arms crossed and legs against her stomach. She really had no intension of being around her father anyway. "I think I'm going to go check on Aang." She announced a few moments later.
"Didn't you just see him not even an hour ago?" Hakoda asked quizzically. But Sokka urged him to not speak on the matter. When Katara wanted to go see Aang there was no telling her otherwise.
"You might not want to question her about Aang," Sokka pointed out knowingly. "She's a little testy when it comes to him right now"
"I've noticed," Hakoda sighed vaguely, scratching his chin as he watched the young water bender enter the Avatar's tent.
"She just need some more time to heal," Sokka added. "As he heals she heals"
Inside the tent Katara gave Aang another check up. She didn't do any healing more than once a day, fearing it would be too much, but did check on his energy levels, healing activity, and looked fore any signs of infections.
He looked all well, or as well as he could get at the moment, for that night. His chi was circulating as if he were sleeping peacefully and though it was tiny, he was still breathing.
Katara smiled half-heartedly, he looked so perfect there in his slumber. Though the rest of his body was a sight his face seemed to go untouched by Azula's lightning. She ran her fingertips over his soft skin and felt the chill of her skin tighten his. His lips were parted slightly, allowing the little air he breathed to flow in and out, a small muffled noise emitted because of it. Then the small sprouts of hair growing out of his scalp that for some reason Katara didn't tend to, she let it grow, without knowing why.
Her heart suddenly tugged from her chest, as if it were reaching out for the sleeping boy in front of her, and she felt a strange urge to kiss him. Quickly trying to shack herself from the thought only made it stronger, so what was she going to do?
She leaned forward, half conscious of what she was doing and half conscious of her father standing in the opening of the tent.
"Katara?" he asked, and he named being said snapped her out of whatever you would call her state of thinking.
"Huh?" she said quickly, snapping her head up to look at her father.
"Is everything okay?"
"Fine," she smiled wistfully trying to hide her embarrassment and annoyance. Her father nodded and exited quietly, and as soon as his footsteps were unheard she turned back to Aang. The same sleeping Aang that she would've kissed if it hadn't been for her father.
"I'm just crazy that's all, I miss him a lot that's all" she chanted to herself. Strangely not sure if she meant her own words or not.
Scene III.
"I was gone" Aang said quietly. "but, you brought me back" his face was sweating from his finding, and his breathing was enough for him to pass out all over again.
"I just used the spirit water from the North Pole." Katara said in length. "I don't know what I did exactly."
He turned to her, his face of the purest gratitude. "You saved me" he stated firmly, and Katara's heart swelled with an unidentified emotion for him. A strange combination of love, sympathy, friendship, joy, and sadness all at the same time.
She placed a hand lightly on his ear and cheek for what felt like the millionth time since he got into this whole state. "You need to rest" she ordered him quietly getting all to lost in his shining gray eyes, that in this light had the perfect hue of brown in them as well. He nodded once to indicate that he would follow her orders, and attempted to stand up on his own, but failed miserably. He winced and looked up at Katara and she caught on to his silent pled, helping him up from their healing quarters and taking him over to the bed that he had slept on for so long. Katara was almost afraid to put him on the bed, in fears it would take him again in another seemingly endless slumber.
She pulled the covers up over his nose as her mother did to her, Aang's soft gray-brown eyes batting from above the covers. She felt her heart swell once more.
"Promise me you'll wake up this time" she teased, stroking his hair lightly. She could see the corners of his smile at the top of the covers.
"You know I wouldn't leave you twice," he joked quietly, trying not laugh. Katara smiled at him and planted a soft kiss on one of his eyelids, coaxing them to close. He sighed happily and closed his eyes, the corners of his smile still visible until they sank back under the sheets, taking Katara's smile with it.
"What's wrong?" She asked, not wanting to wait to see if he would say anything else.
He shook his head slowly, then opened his glistening eyes. "I'm sorry." He finally mused.
"For what?"
"For making you worry about me for weeks, Sokka told me how lost you looked when I was asleep."
Katara looked down, she did feel lost, but she'd never tell him that or he'd feel…….the way he does now.
"Aang, it's okay though." She promised him. "You're back and that's all that matters." She pulled him into a tight embrace. Her arms pulling his head against her chest, she could practically feel his face burning against her clothes. She pulled away moments later after hearing him yawn and almost got up to leave until Aang grabbed her wrist.
"Stay with me." He said softly, almost sounding like a wine, she couldn't refuse.
She had secretly been waiting for Aang's recovery just to do this very thing. To curl up beside him, wrap her arms around his shoulders and feel his lose, weak grip on her lower back, his sallow breath tickling her neck, his loving sighs of comfort as he slept, and the feel of the soft skin of his temple under her lips as she kissed him there before she closed her eyes as well.
The very thing she was doing that night.
Scene IV.
Katara pulled away from her father after her teary confession of her scowling behavior towards him. She looked up at him and he wiped away her tears earning him a loving smile, but it didn't last when Katara's mind snapped back to reality about a certain injured Avatar treading water. She looked out to the ocean.
"He'll come back Katara" Hakoda said moments later. But Katara just ran up to the ledge of the balcony.
"I have this feeling," She started. "Like-like I'm supposed to follow him, like he's calling to me." Hakoda raised a brow. He remembered Sokka mentioning how Katara had a special connection to Aang but he didn't know it reached this level.
"Then go" the father said vaguely adding a pat on the shoulder for encouragement. Katara looked out at the storm then her father.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really." Katara hugged her father, and then ran to tell Sokka of the change in plans.
"Bye dad" Sokka said sadly, joining Katara and her father in a group hug.
"Say hi to Aang for me." Hakoda added to lighten the mood, and got the satisfaction of seeing Katara smile lightly.
"We will" She promised, climbing onto the Appa.
"Uh, Sokka," Hakoda stopped Sokka with a firm hand on his shoulder from getting on Appa just yet.
"Yeah dad?"
"Your sister and the Avatar, they're-"
"In love" Sokka finished for him. "Yeah I know, but don't worry I've got everything under control" He jumped on Appa, and winked at his Father when Katara waved.
And with that Appa took off.
"She's growing up isn't she Bato?" Hakoda asked his friend while they watched the flying Bison take flight.
"Yep"
"I mean who would've ever thought I'd raise a child to fall in love with the Avatar?"
Scene V.
Aang came back from injecting the remains of his glider in the boiling lava, a face of defeat and yet relief. Katara came up to him and placed a warm hand of his shoulder. Not knowing what to say she just gave him a look of such pure sympathy that made Aang's eyes water. Before he knew it he dove into Katara's arms, crying into her shoulder quietly, she just stroked his head and neck trying to sooth him.
"So what now?" Toph said aloud not even waiting for the air and water bender to finish their moment, though Aang just tightened his grip on her when she signaled him to pull away. So Katara just looked up at her blind friend and brother.
"Well, I propose we travel to the meeting point for the invasion team my dad and I picked out" Sokka gave out, not really leaving any space for any other suggestions.
"Fine," Toph said dryly and the two looked at Katara, a now silent air bender still clinging to he as if for dear life. Katara nodded for both of them and nudged Aang that it was time to leave. He looked up at her when he pulled away, his face stained with tears. Katara just leaned him back against her shoulder and lead him over to Appa.
The ride on Appa was rather quiet. Sokka steered, Toph mind was obviously elsewhere and Katara and Aang lay on the right side of Appa's saddle, snuggled together despite the summer heat.
"Katara," Aang finally spoke after hours of silence. Katara snapped out of whatever fog she was in at the sound of his soft, pitiful voice.
"Hmm?" She acknowledged.
"I'm sorry" he stated curling farther into the water benders neck. Katara sighed, tired of hearing him always put himself down.
"Aang" started pulling him out of the curve between her neck and shoulder. She forced him to look at her by pulling his chin in her grasp. "Aang, stop that"
"Stop what?"
"Stop always feeling like everything's your fault! You know there are some things the Avatar can't even prevent." For some reason she began tearing up but Aang quickly wiped the tears away as they fell.
He didn't respond but some how Katara knew that he got her point, it was in his eyes, his beautiful gray-brown eyes that were farther accented by the glowing moon behind him.
He leaned his forehead against hers and gave her a smile rich with love, a smile Katara returned unknowingly.
"Thank you" he said warmly, stroking her arm lightly but still leaving a trail of fire down her arm were his finger tips had been. She sucked in a breath when she felt him back down under her chin and resting on her neck. She sighed, loving his breath on her skin.
"Your welcome" she finally responded long after the thank you was emitted, and she was sure he was already asleep.
That is until she felt his lips press against her neck and the smile returned to both of them.
Well, did you like it? I'm sure it was long enough (seven pages on word). But sorry if the endings are really rushed, there's just no good way to end these things! Also I noticed that all these were Katara-centric, maybe because in my opinion she kinda stole the episode…..but I think I'm going to write some more of these "deleted scenes" fics for other avatar episodes……yes, no? Let me know M'Kay.
(and, no, I haven't forgotten about "ALL WE KNOW" it shall be updated!)
Don't forget to review!