Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Rating: Fairly Soft M

They lived for moments like these, moments when he was tucked away in quiet secluded corner of the palace garden. A soft breeze combined with the warmth of an early summer sun in the Fire Nation created the most blissful type day to Aang. He could only sigh contently while his head rested in the lap of his love, her hands gently stroking over the crown of his head. Katara was happy to watch the serene expression on his face and simply experience the moment with every fiber of her being. She could feel the warmth and weight of his head in her lap, hear the soft intake and release of his breath, smell the fragrance of the palace courtyard carried by that flowing breeze. She took in his handsome, symmetrical features, the very slight growth of hair on his chin, the rise and fall or his chest, and the tattooed hands resting on his abdomen.

Her eyes stopped on those hands folded over his stomach. He was always just Aang to her—goofy, grinning, and never failing to make her laugh. But there were moments the knowledge of his strength, importance, and accomplishments weighed down on her so heavily that she found it difficult to breathe. It was at this moment with a soft breeze, warm sun, and the scent of Fire Nation blooms that she was in total awe of all that he is. She held those hands in her own every day that they were together. Those hands cupped her face and caressed her cheek and those hands had made her jewelry and picked her flowers. They were the hands of her first and only love. But still those hands were able to bend all four elements with an expertise and mastery she wouldn't believe possible had she not seen it with her own eyes. Those hands had been merciful and forgiving rather than vengeful time and time again. His hands answered to the world's need for balance, harmony, and safety while stills showing her with each small brush of his fingers how desperately he needed and loved her.

She never wanted to see anyone else do the things that he could with his hands—she hoped she would never see another bend the elements the way she could. She never wanted anyone else to make her feel the way he did by simply crooking a finger at her or enveloping her hands in his. So she slid the hand that had been stroking the arrow in his head across his face, down his neck and chest to reach for his right hand.

She studied Aang's hand for a moment. His hands had become much larger than hers. He had long fingers. His middle and ring fingers were nearly the same length. His palms were square in shape and the skin was moderately calloused from holding Appa's reigns and firebending. She turned his hand over to examine the back of it. Aang had always been a clean young man so it didn't surprise her to see that his nails were neatly trimmed and free of any dirt. He had a few small scars around his knuckles, likely from sparring and earthbending, but his skin was otherwise perfect. She lightly traced his arrow with her thumb and brought his hands to her lips, holding it there as she noticed that he had opened his eyes and was watching her curiously.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hello," she whispered back, smiling softly at him and keeping his hand pressed against the side of her chin.

"Whatcha doing?"

Her smile grew just a little. "Admiring you."

He returned her smile with an even broader one and sparkling eyes. "Well, it'd be rude for me to interrupt you. So by all means…"

She chuckled slightly before kissing the back of his hand again. He exhaled contently and turned his face towards her. She turned his hand over again and placed another kiss in the center of his palm. She became aware of the slight change in his breathing and the darkening of his eyes. She pressed another, lingering kiss to his palm again and noticed the tension that had taken ahold of his body. This wasn't quite the reaction she had been expecting, but not her curiosity had been piqued.

She moved her lips to the tip of his thumb and kissed him with just the slightest bit of tongue to taste his skin. She moved to his pinky, ring, and middle finger doing the same and gaging his reaction. What had started out as innocent admiration was quickly turning into sensual exploration. She had never imagined that simply kissing his hand and fingers would be so arousing for him…and her. The two had done little besides some very passionate kissing and touching above their clothing and despite being well into adolescence, their sexuality with each other was largely unexplored. Boomerang-wielding hawk-eyed brothers, tactless earthbenders, and ill-timed firelords saw to that. This was a new experience for them both and the thrill of discovery was driving Katara forward.

Their eyes met as Katara continued to kiss his middle finger and then moved to his index finger. She once again kissed it lightly with just the slightest bit of tongue sliding across the tip of his finger. She paused and held his gaze before slowing taking his index finger into her mouth. He couldn't stifle the soft groan that fell from his lips or keep himself from squirming just a bit. She withdrew the appendage from her mouth, placed another kiss on the tip of it, and again slid her lips to the last knuckle, sucking slightly.

He groaned at her ministrations and his eyes crossed. She continued kissing and sucking on his fingers for a few minutes until he felt all self-restraint fly out of the window. He quickly moved from his position with his head resting on her lap to kneeling in front of her, grabbing the back of her neck, and pushing his lips to hers. He kissed her as deeply as he could, breath coming from his nose is hot puffs and soft moans of pleasure escaping her throat.

Katara was lost in in the moment. All she could smell, taste, and feel was him. She was hardly aware of it when her hand meandered from its place on his shoulder, down his chest, and past his navel to caress the bulge that had formed under his trousers.

He gasped at her bold movement and whispered to her, "We really need to stop." However, he took the opportunity to move from her mouth to her neck to place open-mouthed kisses there. When she moaned and arched into him, reality struck again and he sprung away from her with a speed that only an airbender could muster.

He stood, panting and obviously frustrated. "Monkeyfeathers," he gritted out, "Seriously we have to stop."

Despite her similar feelings of frustration, Katara had to giggle slightly. Though he was speaking to her, he was quite obviously talking to himself in regards to stopping what they were doing.

Aang looked over at her and offered her his hand to help her from the ground. He pulled her up and into a tight hug and another deep, adoring kiss. She pulled away and intertwined their fingers to lead him back towards the palace.

"Come on, Sweetie," She said with a besotted smile across her face, "Let's get back before this gets out of hand again."