Updates to this will be slow. It took me like a week just to find the free time to finish this. That said, I also lack the patience to have any updates Beta read.
None of this will be as good as the first chapter. I was writing that under the assumption that it would be a one-shot, so I was pouring all the emotion I could into it. After all, how else do you fill a page or so when you have nothing else to speak about than a kiss? From now on there will be way more dialogue and a lot less attention to detail. Sorry.
"No, really Twinkle Toes," Toph said through a laugh as she held her tea. "I'm almost tempted to call you a man now."
Aang groaned and dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "This is going to last a while, isn't it?"
Katara, who was sitting to his right, shot him a sympathetic glance. Aang returned the gesture—she would eventually have to endure the same treatment.
"Probably until you get married," She responded, taking a sip of her tea. "I figure by then the joke won't matter."
Katara blushed at the mention of marriage. It had been less than fifteen minutes since this new relationship with Aang had started and already there were mentions of weddings. Were they really that easy to read? Or had her friends actually seen this coming—longer than she had?
"Although I guess I'll get bored sooner than that," Toph continued, waving around the tea in her hand. Some spilled over the table. "Maybe I'll have to make up some new nicknames so I can taunt you on a regular basis."
"Please, no." Katara begged. "I'm still trying to figure out where 'Sugar Queen' came from."
"I still think its sweet," Suki interrupted, bringing the conversation back to its origins, walking towards the table with another tray of tea. "And I'm incredibly happy," she said as she placed new cups of tea on the table. "For both of you."
Aang and Katara gave her a weak, appreciative smile. They also braced for the next wave of mockery from Toph. They loosened a little when it didn't arrive.
"I don't want to waste my good material yet," Toph gave as way of explanation when she felt the change in their disposition.
"I know I'm the new one to the group," Mai spoke. "So, what exactly were you two before today? I always thought that you two were… Well, what you are now."
Aang shrugged. He'd been trying to figure that out, too, ever since the night of the play. She technically hadn't completely shot him down, after all…
"We were just friends, Mai," Katara said. "Just… really good friends."
"Wouldn't have thought so by the way you protected each other," she said, bringing her tea to her lips.
"Just good friends," Aang asserted. He eyed Katara playfully. "No matter how much one of us wanted that to change."
Katara did her best to gaze at him pleadingly, wearing her favorite I'm sorry face.
Sokka took a final gulp of his tea and placed the cup on the table. "On that note," Sokka stood up. "Can you two come with me? I need to talk to you."
Katara and Aang shared a worried glance before slowly rising from their seats.
"If he threatens you in any way, just call me," Suki said quietly, more to Aang than Katara. "I'll put him in his place."
Aang laughed nervously before Katara dragged him off by the sleeve. Sokka had gone outside to the terrace.
"Alright, before we do this, I need both of you to not talk at all. I want this to go as quickly as possible so I can pretend it never happened," Sokka spoke quickly, obviously on edge. "Can you do that?"
With blank stares on their face, Katara and Aang nodded.
"Okay," Sokka breathed. "Like you said, you've been good friends for a long time," he spoke rapidly enough that he didn't listen to what he was saying, but made sure Aang and Katara understood. "So you guys know pretty much everything there is to know about each other."
Aang looked at Katara out of the corner of his eye. Where was Sokka going with this? Katara looked a little scared and… embarrassed? Maybe she knew what was coming.
"Well, now you two are a thing, and pretty soon you're going to run out of conversation topics and look for… other ways to entertain yourselves," Sokka turned around so he didn't face them and brought a hand to his forehead.
Aang flushed. Oh… he thought.
Sokka took another breath. "I have no problem with that, it's what's expected. And so you know, I'm really happy that you get to go through this together, and I want you to know that I trust you. Just make sure that when you do feel like getting all kissy and touchy, that you do it as far away from any of us as possible, and know when to draw the line. I don't want to be an uncle yet."
If it weren't for the dark shade of her skin, Katara's face would have glowed red.
"All I'm asking you to do is be far away from me when you feel like acting like a couple, respect each other, and don't do anything you'd be uncomfortable with," Sokka turned back to them. "Got that?"
They nodded meekly.
"Good," Sokka sighed. "And you, mister Avatar," he leveled a finger at Aang. "Are going to have to talk to my dad."
Aang nodded again. He had figured that much, and even dared to think that he was sort of looking forward to it. Aang respected Chief Hakoda, and telling him the news upfront felt like the right thing to do.
Sokka now pointed at his sister. "And you, miss Avatar, should be there with him."
She blushed and smiled slightly at the name, but gave a short nodded nonetheless.
Sokka began walking, bumping between them as he returned to the shop. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see if Iroh has any alcohol."
They watched as Sokka took a tired seat and dropped his head onto the table, turning it to speak to Iroh, who was mixing ingredients into a teapot. Iroh regarded the Water Tribe warrior with wide eyes and sympathy for a moment before reaching up and pulling a small black bottle out of the pantry. Suki came up behind Sokka and put her hands on his shoulders.
Katara let out a breath she had been holding in. "We're never going to be able to be normal are we?"
Aang laughed. "No," he responded. "I suppose not."
Katara walked towards the terrace railing, distancing herself further from the shop. She stared out at the sky—the sun had just dipped the last of itself over the horizon, but a few stray rays of sunlight escaped over the world's edge, keeping the city illuminated in a warm, orange glow. The moon had just become visible; however it was too bright to see many stars.
"Just what does he think that we're going to be doing together so soon, anyway?" She asked, attempting to sound exasperated. The edge in her voice was dulled, however; she was far too happy with today's events to be genuinely angry. "It's been less than half an hour since we, you know…" she trailed off.
"Since we what?" Aang asked seriously, walking up beside her and staring intently at the profile of her face.
"You know," she looked away bashfully. "Since we first… kissed."
Aang's mouth split into a grin and he turned his head to look out on the city. "I like hearing you say it," he admitted quietly.
"It feels weird to say," she told him. Her eyes suddenly widened when she realized what she just told him. She turned her head to the Airbender and was presented with a very troubled face.
"You- you're okay with this, aren't you?" Aang asked softly, deeply worried. "I mean, if you aren't then we'll just-"
He was cut off when Katara placed her mouth over his. It was nowhere as long or meaningful as the previous kisses that day, but still intoxicating nonetheless. Katara pulled away after just a couple of seconds.
"Hey," she said sternly, but only to reassure him. "I'm the one who kissed you today. I want this, Aang," she watched his expression melt away as she spoke, being replaced with a goofy smile. "What I meant was that, well, you were my best friend. Being romantic with your old best friend is something that's going to take a while to get used to talking about."
Aang's brow furrowed at 'old best friend.' "I still want to be the same friend, Katara," she glanced at him with a confused look. He reached for her hand. "But… more than friends at the same time. I fell for you because you were you. I fell for my best friend. I don't want that to change." Katara felt her heart soar. "Besides, what's the point of being in a relationship if you can't be friends? It'd get pretty hard to tolerate the other person," he added reasonably.
"You're too sweet, Aang," she cooed quietly, beautiful smile gracing her face. She then suddenly laughed quietly and shook her head, staring at the ground. "I don't know how I resisted you for so long."
Aang smiled wide. "I didn't fare as well," he mused.
"No, I guess you didn't," Katara continued her quiet laughter. The giggles suddenly ceased when she felt Aang squeeze her hand. She looked up at him curiously.
"Can I talk to you about what happened on Ember Island?" Aang asked in earnest.
Katara bit her lower lip. She certainly wasn't proud of how she made him feel that day, and so she certainly wasn't looking forward to explaining herself. Aang saw the hesitation on her face and gave her hand another reassuring squeeze.
"Not about what you said," he explained. "I understand why you were confused," Katara opened her mouth to say something, but Aang continued. "I wanted to apologize for what I did. You know, when I kissed you."
Katara sighed. "Aang…"
"No, let me finish," Aang directed her. "You said you were confused, and I should have respected that and it would have been the end. But instead I kissed you even though you didn't want me to and it was wrong and disrespectful and a betrayal of your trust and-"
She kissed him again.
If this is the way she plans to shut me up from now on, I should start talking more, Aang thought.
This time when she pulled away to speak, she left only a few inches of space between them, head still tilted as it was in the kiss. Aang didn't dare to move.
"I was wrong, Aang," she spoke softly. "I was confused because I made myself confused. I was afraid I'd lose you again. I would look at Sokka and Suki and wonder how they could be together and not be afraid. I convinced myself that they were the ones who were wrong and then I told myself to wait until after the fight—after I knew you were alive. I was selfish. And that part of me won and hurt you. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about," Aang tried to convince her. He stared right into her eyes, searching for the unsaid.
"Yes, I do," Katara retorted. "I told you I waited too long. And for the record, I'm glad you kissed me. Both times," Aang's eyebrows raised in surprise. They hadn't talked much about the kiss he gave her the day of the invasion. A moment of silence passed.
"You haven't kissed me, Aang," she said, suddenly gaining volume. He eyed her speculatively. "I'm the one who has kissed you today," she explained. "Why?" she asked.
She didn't wait for a response.
"It's because of Ember Island, isn't it?" Katara answered her own question. "You kissed me, and I ran away," she went on, a hint of self-loathing in her last statement. "You won't trust yourself—you want my permission before you do it again."
Aang didn't think he needed to add anything—she was reading him like a book right now. Katara leaned in even closer, leaving very little clearance between their lips.
"Aang," she addressed him.
Her breath, her scent, her presence. It reeled his mind.
"I need you to know I won't run away," she continued, strength in her voice.
Aang glanced from her eyes to her lips and back. She was very tempting.
"Kiss me," she commanded. The thought of Katara demanding him to do this drove a constrained sound out of his throat. "Please," her vigor faltered and Aang swore he heard desperation in her voice.
That was enough. Aang's eyes glided closed as he dipped his head forward. At first he only gently grazed her mouth with his own, relishing the feel of her velvety soft lips against his; something he couldn't do on Ember Island or the invasion. A rather distraught noise escaped her—almost like a whimpered complaint. Aang, of course, had no idea what he was doing to her. All he heard was a curiously delicious sound.
He could no longer resist, not after hearing that. His lips pressed against hers with gentle yet forceful pressure, giving Katara the assurance she begged of him. His free hand moved to her back—the other still intertwined in hers.
Katara shifted to rest against the terrace railing for support. After all, they would be there, unmoving, for several minutes.
o - o - o - o - o - o - o
It was unbelievably bitter, yet it still had the underlying taste of natural sugar. Actually, it tasted sort of fruity. He wouldn't have believed it to be any kind of alcohol, were it not for the burning sensation he felt as it slid down his throat. Judging by the horrified look Iroh was giving him, he wasn't supposed to be drinking it straight from the bottle.
Oh well.
A lingering pessimistic thought in the back of his mind reminded him that the second half of the Earth Kingdom Government conference was tomorrow and that if he continued, he would be too sick in the morning to attend. That pessimism was extinguished, however, as soon as he reminded himself that he just gave his little sister and her boyfriend a sex talk. He sucked on the bottle's opening, trying to draw out as much of the liquid as he could.
As soon as he could no longer feel the burning sensation (which was quite a while after he drained the bottle), he pulled it away from his mouth with a grunt. What was this stuff, anyway? He squinted at the tattered label.
Lychee Berry Extract… Premium flavoring for use in teas and baked goods… 83 percent alcohol by volume…
He stared at the information for a moment with a blank expression. He then placed the bottle on the table and suddenly stood up. It was too soon to be affected by the alcohol, but even so he knew that there would be no way in the Fire Nation that he would be at the conference tomorrow.
"I'm going to bed," he announced, heading for the concealed stairs at the back of the shop which led to the living quarters on the second floor. "If anyone feels like waking me up, don't."
All eyes were on him until he trudged up the steps and disappeared from sight.
"Oh, Sokka..." Suki sighed tiredly. She stood and followed him up the stairs. Between the alcohol and his bad leg, she wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself.
Iroh grabbed at the bottle that had been left on the table and held it upside-down. A single drop escaped the bottle's lip.
He frowned.
Any problem in the world can be solved with the proper application and consummation of alcohol.
We don't really have much of an idea of what kind of alcohol there is in the Avatar-verse. There was a tavern in the Finale, and it looked like the patrons had mugs of ale, so I just went ahead and assumed that alcohol was more commonplace than we have seen (it is a family oriented show, after all). Lychee Extract was something I based on Vanilla Extract, a flavoring ingredient that usually has its quality measured by its alcohol content.
I'm also going to assume that younger people can drink in the Avatar-verse, even if just wine. Teenagers are of legal drinking age in most countries, anyway. Sokka seems like the type to me who would sit down after a rough day with a nice glass of Scotch.
Also, I hate Aang and Katara's conversation. I can't get it to flow.
Second to last thing, I promise :P Thank you to all who reviewed and will review. I really lack the time and effort necessary to respond to all of you individually, and for this I apologize. Just know that everything you say, every criticism and critique, is greatly appreciated, and all advice is taken with gratitude. Thank you again, guys.
'Till next time.