A/N: Having cloudbaby feelings and I just so happen to have a prompt for it. Enjoy bedtime stories.
Rated T for some sensuality at the end. not a lot though. just being safe.
Aang came through the front door late that night. The sun had already set and the stars were shining down on the little home that housed his family of 4. He tried to come in quietly, making almost no sounds as he shut the door behind himself and locking it. He sighed and took off his outer robe that still had the chill of the autumn air clinging to its threads. Today had been a very, very long day and he wanted nothing more than check on his children and then slip under the covers with his loving wife; all of whom he was sure were asleep. This was not the case. Bumi rounded the corner of the living room and pointed to him
"See? I told you he was home!"
Aang looked up as he was taking off his shoes to see his two children coming up to him. He dropped his shoes and Kya lunged at his leg.
"Papa!" She squeaked out and giggled.
"Hey! There's my Princess!" He said and bent down to pick her up, holding the three year old in his arm with a smile. He looked to Bumi, holding out one of his arms. "And my young Prince!" He said and motioned for him to come. Bumi did and hugged into his side. Aang gave Kya a kiss on the cheek and leaned down to Bumi's level, putting Kya on the ground next to Bumi.
"Tell me, does the Queen know you're up so late?"
"Yes, I do." Came a voice down the hall. He stood and watched as Katara walked into the living room in her long night gown, not bothering to turn on any lights. "Because your children are not good at sneaking around, or listening to their mother."
"Aw, come on mom. We barely get to see him anymore." Bumi argued and grabbed onto Aang's clothing.
"We miss him." Kya agreed.
Katara and Aang exchanged a look. A silent but quick conversation only a married couple could have had.
Will you do something about them?
Oh, come on.
I mean it.
Okay, okay.
Aang inhaled and looked down to his children.
"Okay, you got to see me. Now off to bed. Both of you." He said a little sad that he didn't get to spend more time with them as of late.
"Papa, can we have a bedtime story?" Kya pleaded in the most pathetic way that a little girl could. It absolutely melted his heart and he looked to Katara for permission. She rolled her eyes and nodded, motioning for them to come into the living room. He smiled and looked down to Kya.
"Which would you like to hear?" Aang asked them as they walked towards the couch. Katara propped herself on the end of the large couch while Aang came to the other, Kya sitting in his lap and Bumi sitting on the back near Aang's head.
"Tell us about when you first met mom!"
"Mama, was it love at first sight?" Kya asked.
"Of course it was honey, " Aang answered for Katara. "I'm gorgeous."
Kya and Katara giggled while Bumi rolled his eyes.
"I know what story you should tell." Katara said while running her hand absently over her stomach.
"Which one?" Aang inquired, watching her hand with a smile, holding Kya's hands in his. She cleared her throat and started to sing.
"Two lovers, forbidden from one another…" Her voice rang softly, eyeing Aang.
"A war divides their people…" He sang to her.
"And a mountain divides them apart." They sang together. "Built a tunnel to be together, and if others followed, they'd be lost forever." Aang twirled Kya who had started dancing.
"Secret tunnel." Katara sang.
"Secret tunnel." Aang sang back through his smile.
"Through the mountains." They sang together. "Secret secret secret secret tunnel."
Kya plopped down into Aang's lap and everyone was laughing.
"So what's the story behind that song Dad?" Bumi asked.
"When we were younger, your mom, Uncle Sokka, and I were running from Zuko."
"Wait, I thought you and Firelord Zuko were friends." Bumi said and looked from Aang to Katara.
"We are now sweetie, but back then, he was kind of our enemy." Katara said softly
"Wow… scary." Kya said and hid into Aang's robes.
"No though, this isn't a scary story… We were running for our lives and we got mixed up with some nomads who knew how to get us out of trouble. It was a legendary cave, The Cave of Two Lovers. Legend says that the cave was carved by the two lovers from the song so they could be together without the war interfering. But the pathways made a labyrinth; one that only the two lovers knew how to navigate. If anyone ever tried to follow them, they would be lost in the darkness forever. Knowing this, and having no other choice, we entered that cave where Zuko and his army couldn't follow us."
"What happened?" Bumi asked, completely enthralled.
"They caved us in."
Kya gasped.
"It gets better. We tried to stay together as a group, Sokka tried to map us out with the help of some torches the nomads had. But then something happened that none is us could predict…"
"Tell us! What happened next?!" Bumi yelled, Katara having to cover her mouth. Aang had such a way of telling stories that always captivated their children. It was something she admired about him.
"A whole pack of wolfbats flow out of one of the tunnels, one of them going for your uncle!"
"No! Not Unkie Sokka!" Kya yelled, trapped in her father's tale.
"Yes, and the arrival of the wolfbats scared Appa, making him run into one of the columns of the tunnels. And that's when it happened. The maze we had been walking through as a group started to cave in."
"Oh man!" Bumi said and gripped his hair, on the edge of his seat, perched on the back of the couch.
"I had to act fast. I used airbending to get Sokka and the nomads out of the way, but as for your mom, I had to run and push her in the opposite direction, separating us from the rest of the group. When the dust had settled, it was clear we didn't have much time to get out of caves, the only torch we had was already half gone."
"What did you do, Papa?" Kya asked softly, concerned.
"Well, we found what we thought was the way out. With a little help from Appa, we got the door open, only to find it wasn't the exit at all. It was a tomb where the two lovers were buried. There we read the legend of them. How the man was eventually killed in the war between their villages and how with her amazing earthbending abilities stopped the war single-handedly. The woman was named Oma and the man was named Shu. They named a city in their honor when a time of peace came. In that tomb was also a statue of the two kissing, between them was inscribed 'Love Is Brightest In The Dark'. We couldn't figure out what it meant at first, and we left the tomb, continuing on through the caves. Our torch was seconds from going out and we were feeling hopeless. Your mother took my hand and just as the torch burnt out, we shared our first kiss."
"Aww!" Kya said and held her face, smiling. Bumi rolled his eyes.
"But how did you get out?" He asked
"Well, when we trusted in love, the most amazing thing happened. There were crystals in the cave ceiling that lit up and showed us the pathway of how to get out. We followed the lights and soon we were outside."
"But wait… Uncle Sokka didn't have anyone to kiss. How did he and the nomads get out?" Bumi asked.
"Have him tell you his side of the story some day. Come on. off to bed."
"Aww…" They both said but followed his father's words, climbing off the couch and going to their room down the hall. Aang and Katara followed them, tucking in their children. When Aang leaned down to give Kya a kiss, she yawned and smiled, giving her father a hug.
"Papa, you tell the best stories." She said and closed her eyes.
"Only because you are a good listener." He whispered back.
He walked over to Bumi's bed and ruffled his hair.
"Good night bud."
"Night dad."
Aang walked to the door and just before sliding it closed he turned to them.
"I love you both."
"Love you too"
"Love you papa."
Aang smiled and slid the door closed, walking into his bedroom. He slid his door closed behind him and took off his robes, Katara already in bed. He smiled at her figure beneath the sheets and climbed into bed, wrapping an arm around her waist and giving her a kiss through her hair. She smiled and turned on her back, looking him in the eyes with an odd smile on her face.
"What?"
"Nothing" She said through a chuckle. "I just love how you captivate our children with the stories of our youth."
"Ah, we're still young. You make it sound like we're some old married couple with three kids or something." He said and kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, two with one on the way." She said and rubbed her slightly swollen stomach under her night gown. "Your daughter called me fat today." She said and laughed at his expression of disbelief.
"No she didn't."
"Yes she did." She said and laughed harder.
"When?" He asked, shocked that his perfect little angel could do any wrong.
"During our bath together tonight."
"What did she say, exactly?"
"She said," She took a moment to calm herself from laughing too hard. "Kya said, 'Mama, you ate too much dinner, your belly is puffy like Miki's'."
"Ah, she didn't call you fat, she said you look like a stuffed bison. That's not so bad." He said with a smile.
"Are you saying I'm as big as a bison?" She gasped and held a hand to his chest, trying not to laugh. They stared at each other and Katara broke first, both of them laughing breathlessly. He held her tighter and gave her kisses down her neck, making her calm down and yet heat up at the same time. His hand found its way up her night gown and stroked the soft skin of her pregnant stomach lovingly, slowly.
"What on your mind, Aang?"
"Nothing… I've just been so busy lately. I barely get to see Kya and Bumi… how much less of me will this little one see?"
"Don't talk like that. I know that you love them with everything you have. No one can ever question that."
"Except them." He said and rested his palm against the fullest part of her abdomen.
"Stop. Don't go there. They know you love them. And so will this one. And the next ones."
Aang laughed a little at her.
"You are determined to be the mother of the next generation of airbenders."
"I can't help it, making them is so much fun." She said and kissed him. He pulled back after a second.
"Oh really? That's not how you felt last night." She frowned at his words.
"I was crabby, you know how I can get." He smiled at her remark.
"Yes, yes I do."
She scoffed and hit him in the chest, turning over.
"Good night." She huffed.
"Good night." He whispered into her hair, holding her close and falling asleep with her in his arms.