AN: Hey everyone! So here is my next story! This is a parent fic, since I love Aang as a dad. And there aren't too many good father fics out there, so hopefully this one is good. I came up with the idea last night, when I was up till five or six in the morning due to severe storms. Hope you enjoy it! Please review after you read to tell me your honest opinion. I even like criticism. Constructive criticism is a grand tool to writers.
Anywho…hope you enjoy "The storm is passing over"
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar:The Last Airbender. This is purely fanmade.
Aang watched as another bolt of lightning shot illuminated that sky. It became a tradition of his to watch the storms pass by, especially at night. For the past 7 years, he had someone there to watch them with. It had become a custom. First, Aang would shoot up out of bed at the sound of the approaching thunder, then he would wake Katara up and the two of them would sit, hand in hand and head to shoulder and watch the fury of Mother Nature, before falling back asleep together. Not tonight though. Tonight, Aang let Katara sleep. She was 8 months pregnant with their second child, and he knew that she needed all the sleep she could get. Aang winced slightly as one particularly bright bolt shot across the sky, followed mere nanoseconds later by a deep, booming rumble of thunder that seemed to shake the mountain to the core. Aang let out a breath he had been holding once the thunder had passed, and he then realized that someone was standing behind him.
He would have fallen into a fighting stance, as the vibrations he felt were not Katara, but he could tell that this somebody was tiny, a mere six years old.
"Daddy?" Aang turned around and saw the face of his little girl. His pride and Joy. Eeva. He loved Eeva more than he thought possible, and he could feel his heart tug when he saw how scared she was.
"What is it sweetie?" He watched as she winced and held the blanket she was carrying a bit closer to her.
"I'm scared." She opened her eyes and looked at Aang. Her eyes were a beautiful blue-gray. The specific shade of them would change in the light, but there intensity never changed.
"It's ok sweetie, come here." Aang kneel down on the ground and opened his arms. Eeva ran into them, never letting go of her blanket. She absolutely adored that blanket and would take it everywhere with her. Katara had made it when she first found out she was pregnant. It had a beautiful design woven into it that combined the air symbol and water symbol together. Since the first day she got it, Eeva wouldn't let that blanket out of her sight.
Aang watched as she ran, her dark brown hair whipping behind her. Eeva was an airbender, but she hadn't started formal training yet. She was going to start sometime soon, but Aang decided to wait until Katara had her baby to start teaching Eeva, as it would take a lot of time and effort at first. She would still unconsciously do things, like speed up running, or jumping extra high, little things that make children happy.
When Eeva reached Aang, she jumped into his arms and held on for dear life. She cringed again as another rumble of thunder passed through.
"Is the storm scaring you?" Aang could feel her tiny head move up and down in a nod.
Aang walked over to a chair and sat down. He moved Eeva a bit so she was sitting on his lap. She sat for a few seconds, but when another bolt of lightning hit, she wrapped her tiny arms around his chest and buried her face.
Aang felt awful that his fear of thunderstorms had been passed along to her. Even 111 years after getting caught in the storm that trapped him in the iceberg, he would still cringe and wince, just like his daughter.
"Hey Eeva, wanna know a secret?" He had to find something else for her to think on, so she could try and get some more sleep.
"What, daddy?"
"I'm scared of thunderstorms too." Eeva looked up at him, her eyes wide. She may have only been six, but she did understand that her parents played a huge part in making the world what it is, and she had a faint idea of how powerful her dad was, having seen him in the avatar state a couple of times, due to fire nation rebellions.
"Really? But, I didn't think anything scared you."
Aang chuckled a bit to himself, "Nope, all humans have fears, and I'm human."
"What else are you afraid of?"
Aang stopped for a moment. It was such an innocent question, but he couldn't possibly answer it truthfully. Letting his little girl know that he still had nightmares that Ozai found a new way to firebend and came after Eeva to get to him, or that Azula found herself out of the nut house, and went after Katara… he couldn't possibly put those on a little child.
"I'm scared of losing you. Or losing mommy." 'There,' he thought. 'Specific enough to answer, yet broad enough that she won't fully understand.'
Eeva looked slightly confused. "But…I'm right here daddy. You won't lose me. Ever."
Aang smiled and gave his daughter a hug. "I know sweetie. "
Eeva settled back down, placing her head against Aang's chest. She was just about asleep when a rumble of thunder rolled through and woke her up.
She looked around and noticed that she wasn't in her room. She looked up and saw her dad. He was staring out the window, lost in his own thoughts. He did that a lot.
"Daddy?"
"Hmmm?"
"Tell me a story."
"Alright. What kind of story?" Eeva loved hearing airbender stories mostly, but he was running out of ones that he felt comfortable telling a six year old. He didn't want to give her any ideas.
"A happy one. About you and mommy."
Aang should have known. Eeva had entered the damsel-in-distress-knight-in-white-fairy-tale stage of stories. Though Katara was never ever a damsel in distress, Eeva liked to look at it differently sometimes.
"Ok. How about one with a thunderstorm also?" 'Maybe, a happy story about a storm would calm her fears.'
Eeva's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"
"Ok. This takes place eight years ago. Me, your mommy, and uncle Sokka, Aunt Suki, and Auntie Toph were hiding in a cave…"
The firelord had been defeated almost four years ago, and the fire nation rebellions were worse than ever. Zuko was doing all he could, but the majority of the rebellions were in the Earth Kingdom, so there was little he could do except call in troops to help out.
The Gaang was on their way to an earth kingdom town where some riots had broken out, but they fell under attack during the journey. After about an hour of fighting, the gang decided it would be best to stay out of the town for another day. They found a good sized cave, and decided to make camp for the night.
As soon as firewood was found, the sky opened up and torrents of rain came pelting down from above. This was soon followed by never ceasing thunder and lightning.
Aang tried to ignore the storm and focus on the planning that was being done, but every once and a while he would cringe. Nobody seemed to notice though
Except Katara.
Then again, she noticed everything about him.
Aang had just turned 16, and Katara's 18th birthday was next week. They had been a couple since the day the firelord fell. Their relationship went fully public a few weeks after that, and since then, the rebels seemed to attack Katara more than Aang. Luckily though, everyone had gotten out of this scrap without so much as a scratch.
"Aang." Katara spoke. They had stopped planning a few minutes ago and Sokka, Suki and Toph were all headed to their sleeping bags to get some rest.
"Yeah?" Aang spoke, but never moved his eyes from the storm outside. He seemed, entranced almost, watching the rain fall in its patterns and listening to the thunder move farther and farther away.
"Mind if I watch the storm with you?" Aang looked over and smiled and nodded, Katara went over and sat next to Aang. She put her head on his shoulder and her hand in his.
Aang loved Katara more than could possibly be explained. He felt like he was drowning without her near, and the thought of having to make a life without her seemed to rip all the air out of his lungs.
Little did he know that he had the same effect on Katara.
Aang sat with Katara, but he was deep in thought. He had just turned sixteen. He could propose to her now. They had waited so long, and he could finally propose. He had kept the betrothal necklace he made for her in his pocket every second since his birthday, so he wouldn't miss the perfect opportunity when it arose. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and grabbed the necklace.
With the storm outside, and everyone else asleep, now was the right time.
Aang took a deep breath, but Katara heard a relaxed sigh.
'It's now or never airboy.' His inner self was really pushy sometimes.
"Hey Katara?"
"Yeah?" She spoke without moving. He was kinda glad, since he was so comfortable. He felt complete with her near, but he knew he had to see her face for this. He sat up straighter, making Katara move her head from his shoulder. She looked at him quizzically, and he turned his body, so he was facing her.
"Well…we have been together for a few years now…four almost actually…and, well…" Aang took another deep breath and held out his hand. "Will you marry me?" He opened his had to shown the betrothal necklace. The pendant had the same design that would be on their daughter's blanket in a few years.
Aang knew that it wasn't the best proposal in the world, but he hoped that Katara knew how strongly he felt for her. She seemed in awe and she looked from the necklace, to Aang and back.
Katara smiled, nodded, and crashed her lips against his. As soon as their lips touched, lightning flashed across the sky, as if the spirit world was congratulating them.
After a few more minutes of kissing, Katara took the necklace and put it on in place of the one her mother gave her.
Aang laid down on his back and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. He was ecstatic, but he knew he had to control his excitement. If the rebels found out about their engagement, life would get much, much harder for the couple.
"How does it look?" Aang sat up and looked at his bride-to-be. He smiled and kissed her.
"Your beauty outshines its by a mile." He then smiled.
Katara blushed. "Smooth one Mr. Avatar."
Aang shrugged, "I call them as I see them." He smiled and claimed her lips once more.
He then laid back down on his back, and Katara laid down next to him. She placed her head on his chest and the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat and breathing soon lulled her to sleep.
Aang was awake a few minutes more as he thought about his future. Their future. He and Katara could sleep like this every night for the rest of their lives. He felt like his heart was going to explode. Soon though, he found sleep to be rather enticing and soon he found himself dreaming of the future.
Aang finished his story and looked down to his lap. Eeva was fast asleep, still clutching her blanket, but a smile was on her tiny face. Aang smiled and looked out the window. The rain had finally stopped. He carefully stood up, making sure not to wake up his sleeping daughter, and carried her back into her room. He laid her back down on her bed and covered her up with her blanket.
She snuggled into her pillows a bit and Aang kissed the top of her head.
He whispered, "Sweet dreams little one." He then quietly left the room.
Aang made it back to his and Katara's room and found that she was still fast asleep. He crawled into bed next to her and kissed the side of her neck. She stirred and looked to see his smiling face.
"Where were you?"
"Watching the storm. Eeva got scared so I stayed up with her."
Katara turned over, which was quite a task with her belly as big as it had gotten.
She kissed him. "You're a great dad, you know that?"
Aang chuckled. "I dunno, Eeva thinks so because of the stories I tell. If we didn't have so many adventures ourselves, I don't think I would have half of the storied to tell her that I do."
"Well, you are a great dad, and for much more than your stories."
Aang kissed her as a thank you.
Katara smiled. "What story was it tonight?"
"The night I proposed." Katara sighed at the memory. It was one of the best nights of her life.
Aang moved his hand so it rested on her belly. He could feel a kick and looked up, grinning ear-to-ear.
"It seems like this one wants to come out now."
Katara groaned a bit, "No. He just doesn't like sitting still…like his dad."
Aang's eyes widened, "He?"
Katara shrugged, "He feels different that Eeva did. I'm almost certain this one is a he."
Aang kissed his wife again and laid his head down on his pillow.
He heard a rumble of thunder off in the distance as he closed his eyes.
Now that he thought about it… storms weren't really that bad. If weren't for a storm, Katara would have never found him, and he would have taken longer to propose.
Yep, some storms were definitely a good thing.
So…good? Bad? Stop writing forever? I need opinions please! Oh, and I deliberately left it open who Sokka is with. He is either with Toph or Suki, and the other one is a close family friend. Thought that would make both the Tokka and Soki fans happy!
Till next time,
Nasecoeur