Obligatory disclaimer - I do not own Avatar, or any of its characters.
Katara's eyes drifted open. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Then she felt someone shift behind her, and an arm draped itself around her middle. She smiled, remembering, and inched her own body back until she was cuddled up against Toph. I'm back in Ba Sing Se.
It was early morning; by the looks of the sky out the window, the sun hadn't risen yet. The waterbender yawned lazily and laid her own arm over Toph's, weaving her fingers in amongst the earthbender's callused ones. She felt rather than heard Toph chuckle. A face nuzzled into her neck from behind, and the skin was nipped lightly. "Good morning, Sweetness."
"Good morning." Katara turned over and looked at her through her lashes. Toph's black hair was tousled, spread out against the white pillow like a lacy fan. A smile twitched the blind earthbender's mouth. Katara laid her finger against the seashell pink of the lips. "Sleep well?"
"Like a rock." Toph nipped playfully at the finger, making the waterbender giggle. "How 'bout you?" The arm around Katara's body pulled tighter.
"Just fine." Katara let her fingers trail lightly from Toph's shoulder down to her waist. "I'd like to be doing something else, though."
"Hey! None of that." The earthbender laughed, catching her by the wrist. "We've got to get up now. I'm sure we both have important things to do, Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe."
"Hm. Yes, I suppose it would be rude to be late for meetings just because we couldn't get out of bed," Katara agreed. Her eyes sparkling mischievously, she drew her other hand down the side of Toph's neck, bending in to flick at the hollow at the base of her throat with her tongue. "It would be very rude, indeed."
Toph gasped and pulled away, her body rigid. "Knock it off, you!" she said, laughing breathlessly. "I mean it, now, Sugar Queen. We can play later."
"You're no fun." Katara gave an exaggerated pout as Toph got up.
The blind earthbender pulled her tunic over her head and grinned in the waterbender's direction. "No fun, huh? We'll see if you're still singing that same song tonight, Sweetness."
Yawning hugely, Katara sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Mm. I don't do much singing lately, really." Toph smiled a little, fastening the straps of her breastplate. "Ugh, I think we have that meeting with Omashu this morning about the rice imports," she muttered, feeling around on the floor for her dress. "I still don't see why the Water Tribe ambassadors have to be there! We don't even eat rice."
"Because," Toph said calmly, "waterbenders propel all the shipping barges that aren't Fire Nation make, so you need to be there to represent their interests, Miss Ambassador. You know that perfectly well." She strapped her leather bracers onto her arms. "And I have to be there, too, even though I'm neither an ambassador nor a merchant, so suck it up, Princess!" Scowling, Katara flung a comb at Toph's head. The blind earthbender caught it, laughing. "Nice try."
"You are infuriating." The waterbender wrapped her dress around herself and bound her belt around her waist.
Grinning, Toph ran her fingers through her hair, letting it fall back into her eyes. She waved as she went out the door. "See you later, Sweetness! I'll save you some tea at breakfast."
"Oh, shut up! Just because you don't have to do your hair…" Katara laughed, unraveling her hair and beginning to braid it.
By the time she got downstairs, Toph had already breakfasted. The earthbender got up as Katara sat down at the table. She moved to kiss the Water Tribe woman on the cheek. "See you at the meeting, Ambassador!" she said cheerfully. Katara made a face, and Toph headed off, grinning.
It had been nearly two weeks since Katara had returned from the Fire Nation. In her absence, Toph had arranged for her to be made the official Southern Water Tribe ambassador to Ba Sing Se, much the same role that she had played in Zuko's court. The work here was much easier; there was no bad blood between the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. Unfortunately, it was also rather boring much of the time. Most of her work here consisted of negotiating labor contracts and import/export deals. With a sigh, Katara finished her breakfast and headed for the palace.
The rice meeting was about as dry and boring as Katara had expected. When it finally was adjourned (all having agreed to a 2 per cent wage increase and a 5 per cent tariff), she was only too glad to leave the palace and head for Ty Lee's house.
Ty Lee had wound up spending only a few days in Toph's mansion after Katara had returned from the Fire Nation. They'd found her a small house in the Inner Circle of Ba Sing Se, not too far from the Bei Fong estate. She was living there quietly now, still doing what physiotherapy Katara could lead her through. Some of her deep depression seemed to have lifted.
Katara found the girl in her wheelchair by a window. She turned to the waterbender with a smile. "Hey, Katara!" she said. "Look what I'm learning." She held up something small and colorful. The waterbender moved forward and took it; it was a small strip of weaving, made from bits of red and blue cloth. "Neat, huh? If I can get good enough at this, maybe I can actually make some money of my own again, and not just have to live off other people."
The ambassador gave it back with a smile. "That sounds good," she said gently. "But don't worry too much about the money thing, all right? It's okay. I really don't mind helping you out, Ty Lee."
The former acrobat looked away. "I know. It's not that I'm ungrateful," she said. "It's just that…I'd rather be contributing something. I don't want to be a charity case for the rest of my life."
"Of course you don't." Katara could see that the topic was making the invalid uncomfortable. "So -! Are you ready for today's session, Ty?"
"Sure." Ty Lee smiled timidly. "Let's do it!"
When the acrobat had first been injured, Katara had been certain that she would never walk again. This diagnosis hadn't changed, exactly, but there were some more hopeful signs now. Ty Lee had regained most of the feeling in her legs, and had recently been able to twitch her feet a little bit. Katara had changed her rehabilitation program to include more movement of her legs.
Quietly, Katara knelt down and began to manipulate Ty Lee's limbs. "Push against my hand," she instructed, pressing her palm to the ball of the girl's foot. "Push!" And she smiled a little as she felt the movement. "Good girl."
Her mind wasn't entirely on her work. Is it going to happen again today? She moved on to the acrobat's other leg. Am I more scared that it will, or that it won't? Oh, spirits, Katara, this has got to stop. "Good, Ty Lee! Good. This foot feels stronger already. Keep it up!" Her cheerful tone belied her thoughts.
Slowly, the waterbender rose and took the acrobat's arm. "Pull against my hands. –Good." She was very conscious of Ty Lee's closeness now. It's going to happen again. I can feel it. I should stop this now…I really should… Instead, Katara moved to the invalid's other arm. She stooped over the acrobat, holding the arm bent at the elbow, resting her own hands against Ty Lee's wrist and upper arm. "Pull, now. Pull hard!" She could feel the girl's breath against her neck. Her eyes closed…
Ty Lee's mouth brushed lightly against her jawline. The waterbender inhaled deeply; her hands released. She felt the acrobat's fingers weave into her hair, pulling her down. A moment later, their lips met, and she groaned softly.
Gods, no. Katara let her jaw go slack as Ty Lee's tongue pushed between her teeth. Why can't I stop this? Why am I so damned weak? The acrobat tasted of spice. She felt her breathing quicken; her hands moved up to grasp Ty Lee's shoulders. She was so unlike Toph, whose movements were nearly always rough! The acrobat's hand caressed the side of Katara's face gently.
At last, the kiss broke. Ty Lee leaned back, breathing hard, her eyes half-closed. The waterbender rubbed at her mouth with her sleeve, as if to remove a taint. "I…think that's a good enough session for today," she said, her voice slightly breathless. "You're, um…improving well."
"Yeah." The acrobat looked at her with a small smile. "You're a good teacher."
Oh, spirits. Heat rose up in the waterbender's face. "Thank you." Katara rose to her feet. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, you will." Ty Lee leaned back in her wheelchair, her large gray eyes endearingly innocent. "Have a good evening, Katara."
"I will. See you later." The waterbender left the house.
Guilt racked her as she trudged toward the Bei Fong estate. Gods, if Toph ever found out, she'd be crushed! Why can't I just talk to Ty Lee about it? Why can't I just tell her no? She shut her eyes and stopped walking for a minute, heedless of the people passing her on the street. It had happened for the first time (not counting the impromptu kiss Ty Lee had given her in the Fire Nation) during their second physiotherapy session together. Katara found Ty Lee's touch strangely intoxicating – not nearly as fiery and all-consuming as Toph's, but delicate and undeniably pleasant.
Drawing a shuddering breath, Katara opened her eyes and kept walking. She drew her sleeve across her lips again, but couldn't remove the lingering sensation of Ty Lee's kiss. Damn it.
Just what is wrong with me?