O is for Orange

"And I---

I love it when you read to me

And you--

You can read me anything."

The sun was low in the sky as they leaned against the tree on the hill over looking the city. It had been a year since the war ended and there were still many loose ends to tie up, the first being the rebuilding of Ba Sing Se. Naturally, the citizens didn't take kindly to the new Fire Lord and his promises of peace, but Aang felt that he was finally beginning to convince them that Zuko promised peace and prosperity, and, exhausted, joined Katara on the hill for an evening picnic.

"I was afraid that you weren't going to make it," she said, looking up from a large bound volume.

"I got caught up in a meeting," he said sighing, throwing himself down on the blanket. "The generals and Zuko fought back and forth for several hours. I'm beginning to think that they don't really want these renovations."

Katara chuckled, setting her book down and reaching for the basket Iroh had lent them some time ago.

"That sounds like Ba Sing Se. You hate it already, don't you?"

"Everything just takes so long, you know? They can't ever just decide on one thing. It's like they enjoy the process."

"Here," she said, sliding a package into his hands.

"What is it?" he asked, sitting up.

"Fried . Suki showed me how to make them last week. I thought you might like them. Now come here," she said, patting the area next to her. "You're not going to spend this whole evening complaining about the stubborn Earth Kingdom generals are you?"

Aang blushed, and swallowed his dumpling. He slid next to Katara and reached into the basket.

"What else is in here? We worked all the way through dinner."

He plunged his hand into the picnic basket and pulled out rice bound in wax parchment, smiling goofy before taking a giant bite. Laughing, she pulled out several other wax bags, some bowls and chopsticks and set them on the blanket. She left one thing in there, the surprise for later, and leaned back against the tree as Aang devoured his rice.

The sun sank lower in the sky as Katara pulled a fruit pie from the bottom of the basket and the horizon grew pink. Aang's eyes grew wide and Katara swore that for a moment he was actually drooling.

"Is that a peach fruit pie?"

"It is!" Katara said happily, cutting him a piece.

"How did you find it?" he asked, laying on her lap and setting the plate with pie on his stomach. "It's an old Airbender recipe that I thought for sure was lost."

"Well, I found it!"she said smiling, leaning back against the tree as Aang proceeded to attempt to bend the pie into his mouth. She took the volume and held it in one hand, propping it against her as her other hand intertwined with Aang's.

"So what are you reading?" he asked, mouth full.

"A book I found in our mailbox this morning. It was addressed to me from the new Head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Se University. She said that she thought I'd enjoy it."

"What is it?" Aang asked again.

"It's a book about Airbenders." Katara replied calmly.

"Read it to me," he said.

"Aang-I-don't think you'd like it. It's stuffy and a lot of stuff in here is painful even for me to read."

"Read it to me anyway," he said. "Everything is better when you read it."

"OK, Aang," she said, squeezing his hand.

She flipped to the back, where some of the folk stories and lore were kept and read the first story she turned to: How the Bison Learned to Fly. The sky turned from pink to orange as they sat under the lone tree on the hill overlooking the city; the Avatar and his Lady, she reading from an old anthropology book and he, silently weeping as memories flooded back to him. He squeezed her hand as the sun finally slipped beneath the horizon.