Disclaimer: Bryke own A:TLA.
A/N: WOOOOO! Kataang Week/10 Days is here! In case you were wondering, here are the prompts:
July 30th – Mythology
July 31st – Ballroom
August 1st – Family
August 2nd – Affection
August 3rd - Councilwoman Katara
August 4th - Intertwined
August 5th - Quirks
August 6th - Desire
August 7th - Midnight
August 8th - Sacred
The ratings will vary for this but will overall be pretty much a T. This is definitely only a T, but Quirks may be an M for adult themes(no outright graphic stuff) and character death.
But anyway, here's the first prompt, Mythology!
When Aang came back from feeding Appa, he was greeted with a rather hilarious sight.
His children, aged 4 and 9, seemed to be in a contest with their mother on who would relent first.
His wife, already in her maternity nightgown, was glaring sternly at her children while they, seemingly unaffected, were putting on their best pouts, while Aang internally laughed.
Aang eventually decided to help his wife and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"Can we please stay up, Mom?" asked his eldest, Bumi.
"Pretty please with cherries on top?" begged his daughter, Kya.
"No," Katara said firmly, her 6-month pregnant belly jutting out from her abdomen.
"Daddy? Pleeeeaaaaase?" Kya asked once more, this time with the quivering lip.
Aang mustered up all of his willpower to not give in before saying, "Come on, kids, you heard her. Time for bed," as he ushered them to their rooms.
"Can we at least have a bedtime story?" asked Kya, adding her last resort, a lone tear, to her pout .
Her mother stared her down for a bit before relenting.
"Fine."
"Yay!" the children cheered simultaneously, before sprinting into their parents' bedroom for their story.
Katara shook her head and quietly said to Aang, "I swear, they definitely got that from you. I can never say 'no'."
Aang chuckled.
"Are you saying if I pout, you won't say no to me?" he asked, pulling her closer to him.
"Maybe…" Katara said, melting into his embrace, "but don't get any ideas."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Katara rolled her eyes.
"It's your turn to tell the story."
"And I know just the one to tell," Aang said, winking.
The couple walked to their room to see their kids already bundled up in the sheets, ready for their bedtime story.
Katara lied down on her side next to them while Aang sat next to his wife, his arm stroking her side.
"Daddy, daddy!" Kya said, "Can the story be mythology?" having just learned the word the day before and determined to use it as much as possible.
"Sure, Sweetie. In fact, I know the perfect story."
"Really? What is it, what is it?!"
"It's a story about a secret tunnel."
Kya's eyes widened in excitement.
"Tell us, tell us!"
Aang grinned at her enthusiasm.
"Once upon a time, there were two villages."
Aang used his bending to make a model of what was happening in the story.
"These villages were at war and hated each other."
Earth models of people fighting and houses on fire appeared.
Kya interrupted, "Just like how the badger-mongooses don't like the lizard-snakes?"
Katara chuckled, "Yes, Kya."
"Anyway," Aang said, glaring playfully at his daughter and relighting the fires in his model, "there were two special people from these villages, named Oma and Shu."
Two clay figures showed up on a mountain.
"Oma and Shu loved each other-"
"Oogies," said Bumi, pretending to gag as Katara rolled her eyes at her son's antics.
"-but their love was forbidden."
"Ooh," said Kya in awe, "but what does forbidden mean?"
"It means it wasn't allowed, like how you're forbidden to go on Appa without your father or me."
"Oh."
Aang continued with the story.
"Even though their love was forbidden, Oma and Shu loved each other enough that they managed to find a way to keep meeting."
"How?" asked Bumi.
"Love always finds a way," Aang answered gazing lovingly at his wife and stroking her cheek.
Katara smiled and nestled closer to her husband, her eyes closed in contentment.
"Oma and Shu managed to learn earthbending from the badgermoles in the mountain, and so they became the first earthbenders."
The figures on the mountain began to move in various earthbending stances and poses while the mountain began to shift.
"They created a network of tunnels in the mountain, so that only they could find each other."
"The tunnels were like a maze. If you didn't know the right path, you would get lost in the mountain."
"And the tunnels could always be changing too," added Katara.
Aang looked at his wife with a knowing glance before they began to sing.
"Two lovers, forbidden from one another
A war divides their people
And a mountain divides them apart
Built a path to be together
Secret tunnel!
Secret tunnel!
Through the mountain!
Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel!"
Bumi and Kya laughed as they finished before yawning tiredly.
"Did they have a happy ending and get married with lots of kids?" Kya asked sleepily.
Aang hesitated before saying, "Yes. They ended the war and founded the city of Omashu," wanting to spare his children the morbid ending.
"And once they died," Katara added, "they were put in a tomb, called the Cave of the Two Lovers, where they could be together forever."
"Love is brightest in the dark," the couple both thought, smiling.
"And that's also where I first kissed your mother."
Bumi sleepily mumbled, "Oogies."
Katara shook her head before the couple both pressed a kiss to each of their children's foreheads before picking them up and tucking them into their own beds.
"Goodnight. We love you," they said.
Upon getting back to their bedroom and lying down, Katara sighed with exhaustion.
"That was a good story you told them tonight."
Aang smiled and lied down next to his wife, her back to his chest.
"Mhmm," Aang nodded sleepily, burying his nose into her hair.
"You know, when we were in the cave, that was the first time I knew for sure I loved you," Aang said.
"I love you so much," Katara said tiredly, her eyes already closed.
Aang smiled softly.
"I love you too, my Forever Girl. More than anything."
The two cuddled together in silence before eventually falling into a deep slumber, both having dreams of when 'Love was brightest in the dark'.
A/N: SO? What'dya think? Also, I literally did this last minute(last week). Talk about procrastination... The timeline that I used for this whole Kataang Week will be the same as for the 10th anniversary so it is mid-November to early December 114 AG(14 years after the war) which means Katara's around 29 turning 30 in the next month and Aang is already 28. Bumi is 9, turning 10 in January, and Kya is 4, turning 5 in February. Finally, PLEASE review! I think I speak for most of the writers on when I say that a lack of positive reviews is what kills someone's motivation to write.