Prompt: Panda Lily

Rating: PG13

Authors Note: I do not own Avatar: The last Airbender. But I'm thankful for Mike and Bryan making this great show, so I can write about it :)

Aang is 15, Katara will turn 17 in two months or so. Just in case.

Sometimes he hated his duty as the Avatar. Like in this very moment: he slapped himself with his hand against his head, silently yelling: "STUPID!". The Earth King and his council had kept Aang busy the entire day, not just, as he had promised, only for a few hours. And so the young Airbender had missed the first date in nearly a month with Katara. He was sure, she would not give him another chance, not now, not since he had broken his promise to finally go out with her. Being the Avatar had kept him away from her for too long.

"Is something wrong, buddy?" It was Sokka, looking through the door into Aang's room.
"No. Everything is alright. I just missed my date with Katara." He threw away a small chest with scrolls, all of them reminding him of the duty as the Avatar. "Four weeks, Sokka. FOUR weeks, and I hadn't a single chance to even see her! And then, when I think I could get some hours for her, duty calls and I can't refuse! No, the Avatar has to be there when duty calls, when the world needs him. Does the world not know SHE is my world as well?" He sat down, fists clenched. It was an unusual sight, Aang was nearly never really upset, and Sokka could not help himself than smirking a bit.
Not hesitating any moment, he sat down next to Aang: "See, I'm sure Katara understands what you're doing for the world. I bet she's sad, not mad at you, and will accept your apologize. You hear that?"
Aang nodded. "And how should I do that?"
His friend smirked and told him what he did when Suki was angry with him the last time...

-=o=-

"Katara?" Aang knocked at her door. No response. He tried it again, and suddenly, he felt a familiar presence behind him. It was Toph.
"Looking for Katara? She's not in there."
"Yeah. Any idea where she is?" He was not sure if he wanted to apologize in the public, he had hoped she would have been here.
"Sure. Sugar Queen is having a girl's day with Suki." Toph randomly picked her nose, not caring what Aang was thinking.
"And where? Toph, please, this is important."
Toph gave him a sly smirk: "Oh, is it so? Hmmm, then my answer won't come for free." She felt Aang's slowly growing desperation.
He gave up: "Toooooph ... what is it?"
"A nice bending battle, just you and me, twinkletoes. I feel a bit lazy since I can't kick Firenation asses any more." The Earthbender cracked her knuckles, waiting for his response.
"Okay, you win. But then you'll tell me where I can find Katara?"
Satisfied with his answer, Toph gave him a broad smirk: "Yup. But only then. So, now move your lazy bones! See you on the yard in five minutes!"

It did not take five minutes for Aang to show up on the yard behind their house. Toph was not there, probably still preparing herself for the fight.
He wore a special combat dress Katara had made for him for his fifteenth birthday: it resembled the old dress he had lost in the battle with Ozai nearly three years ago. His right shoulder was bare, the other one was covered by yellow and orange sturdy fabric. Brownish gray pants, quite similar to the one he had used when he was in disguise, crafted by Katara's skillful hands and two dark boots completed his dress.
"Rules, twinkletoes: only earthbending is allowed. And there are no rules." Suddenly she appeared a few yards in front of Aang, emerging right from the very ground she was standing on now.
They fought. Toph bent a couple of rocks out of the ground and hurled them against Aang who skillfully redirected them into a direction where they could not harm anyone. Then he hammered his feet against the ground, causing a small wave racing to Toph. "C'mon, Aang, you can do better!" she yelled, blocking the small earthquake with a tiny movement of her left hand. With her other hand, she bent another couple of rocks aimed at Aang, but this time, she used her senses to control their path. The Avatar yelped in surprise, as the rocks could not be deflected by his own bending, and so, remembering only earthbending was allowed, he bent himself into the ground.
"Yes, go into the ground where I can't 'see' you." she laughed, preparing another attack against her friend. For a bystander it was impossible to find out, if they both were fighting or just honing their skills as powerful benders.
She felt Aang bending himself through the ground and was prepared when he appeared right behind her.
"You lost." Toph said. A huge boulder floated just 2 feet above of Aang's head.
"Oh, I don't think so." Aang closed his eyes and used his chi to grab the boulder Toph was controlling. Two powerful minds clashed against each other: stolidity of an Earthbender versus the might of the Avatar. A long time no one could gain the superiority. Eventually the boulder bursted in thousands of small pebbles, leaving the two benders with a unsatisfying draw.
Aang removed some dust of his dress: "You had your fun, Toph. So, where is Katara?"
"Hmmm ... I would say, she's in her room now." The Earthbender tried not to laugh.
"She's WHAT? But you said she's out for a girl's day!"
"She was. Our fight took long enough, so, you won't need to look for her in the 'Jasmine Dragon' anymore." Toph spat out before she left him behind, feeling Aang clenching his hands to fists.

"Great. The way I can see it, I need a bath first." Aang left the yard and entered the bathroom. The shower installed in their house was quite unique: a small pump, invented and constructed by Sokka and the Mechanic, was used to deliver water from a big, subterranean cistern to the shower. The water was heated by a stream of magma below the cistern, pretty much like in the Royal Palace in the Firenation capital.
As soon as he was undressed, Aang sighed relieved when he felt the hot water washing down the dirt and sweat. The young Airbender realized he had changed a lot lately: he was taller, still not a towering man, but the potential was there; he had grown by nearly 6 inches within the last year, reaching five feet and eleven inches now. His chest had also grown a lot, it was broader, more well defined by muscles. But he was not built like a soldier, more like an athlete, wiry muscles, fitting for quick, evasive movements, not for brute punches.
After a few minutes of enjoying the shower, he felt ready to see Katara and to apologize her.

-=o=-

"Katara?" Aang knocked at her door. No response. He tried it again, and suddenly, he felt a familiar presence behind him. "Looking for me?"
He winced, it was Katara. The Avatar rubbed the back of his head, desperately searching for words: "Yeah ... uhh ... Katara ... errr ..."
She crossed her arms, building up a distance between her and him. It was obvious she was waiting, and she was not going to make it easy for him. But in her mind, she had forgiven him already, she just wanted to hear his apologize.
Aang blushed in a deep crimson shade, and words blurted out of him: "I'm sorry, Katara ... I'm so sorry, I broke my promise, and ... wanna beg for your forgiveness ..." Even more words emerged from him, and eventually, he took a step and came closer. "... and so I ask you, do you still want to go out with me?" A small flower had appeared in his hand: a Panda Lily. Three years ago, when he and his friends had met the Fortuneteller, an old and nice woman, he had learned the secret of this beautiful flower.
"Of course, I want!" Katara smiled, and her arms opened for a hug. Aang, taking care of the Panda Lily, did not hesitate to hug her back. With each passing moment their embrace grew closer and closer, until he could clearly feel her heartbeat under her dress, even through his thick tunic.
Eventually they looked at each other. She gazed into his eyes and he into hers, and both knew why they felt that way. Eyelids fell and finally, lips met each other, forcing both to release relieved sighs of sheer happiness. All the trouble of the past weeks was forgotten, the duty as the Avatar seemed to be as far away as possible, but was the most important thing at the same time as well: she was his world, and being with her, making her happy was his duty.

"Would the two lovers please do that at a place, where I don't have to 'see' it?" The two ignored Toph. "Hellohooooo! I wanna sleep, but your heartbeats are ... UGH! Forget it." The Earthbender opened the door to her room and stomped in. The last words the two could hear was "I want blind feet!", then, the door was slammed.


'Thank you, Sokka. Thank you for reminding me of the Panda Lily.' were Aang's last thoughts, before his mind was filled with nothing more than the taste of Katara's lips, the rubbing of her hands on his back, the smell of her hair ...