Chapter 2: Here is a little Kataangst for you kids, but I promise it will have a happy ending. I tried to make it kind of funny in a lovers quarrel sort of way.
Katara had Aang lie down for his healing session so she could target his nervous system a little easier and get his body to stop rejecting water. He was pretty dehydrated. Most people with bad hangovers were, and to add insult to injury they usually vomited for half the day, stretching out their suffering.
Sokka watched the session for a grand total of thirty minutes before he declared himself "out."
Katara snickered at this. "Don't you think Dad will be a little upset that you didn't stay to chaperone us?"
"What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, seriously?" Sokka rolled his eyes. "What are the two of you going to do with him feeling like that? He puked a grand total of five times today. Not exactly a recipe for a great make out session."
"Really? My poor Sweetie," Katara crooned at him, halting the session to lovingly stroke Aang's cheek.
"My poor stomach," Sokka gagged, his finger pointed at his open and retching mouth.
"Shouldn't you be leaving Sokka?" Katara seethed.
"I should be!" Sokka agreed as he stood and headed for the door. "I'll see you guys tonight."
Aang waved half-heartedly at him as Katara went back to working on his temples, trying to drive the pounding out of them. She worked for quite some time with Aang sighing happily at different intervals. Just her presence was enough to soothe him, and somehow the pain was nowhere near as bad with her around. After an hour or so the painful beating of blood began to subside until it was just a dull rhythm in his skull.
At that point she had him sit up and drink as much water as he could. Then she continued along the rest of his chi paths, trying to clear the flow of energy that the toxins had blocked.
"I think I've done about all I can for you," she told him at last, and Aang noted by this time that the pain was pretty much gone. At length she stopped and brought him another large glass of water.
"So much?" Aang noted as he took the cup.
Katara smiled at him, folding her legs underneath her as she regarded him. "I bet Sokka said the same thing to you last night when you went out drinking."
Aang smiled at her and took her hand in his. "I was happy. I wanted to celebrate, but you're right I did overdo it." He took the water from her with his other hand and began to drink, never breaking eye contact with her.
Katara looked down shyly and swept a lock of hair to the side, but when she looked at him again, she found that his gaze was still fixated on her. "Quit it!"
Aang set the glass down "Quit what?"
"Staring at me!"
"I was staring?"
She gave him a playful swat. "You know very well you were. Don't pretend like you didn't know."
"OK, but if you weren't so beautiful I wouldn't have such a staring problem. You do realize that?" He took her other hand in his and kissed them both, closing his eyes to savor the taste of her skin. "So it's your fault," he murmured halfway through his kisses.
Katara cocked an eyebrow "My fault?"
"Yes, it's all your fault." Aang stopped lavishing Katara's hands with kisses. His gray eyes met with hers and a rare perfect moment happened between them. It was a moment when the pull between them was incredibly strong, when the air was reverent and still despite the wild chemistry and magic dancing between the two. They looked at each other for a long time…captivated.
And Katara kissed him.
He sighed blissfully into her mouth and his arms wrapped around her. The taste of her, the feel of her, almost too good to be true, even after three long years of belonging to each other. He could only imagine what sex with her would be like and there was nothing Aang wanted more. His physical reaction to her confirmed that. If he kissed her more than a grand total of 30 seconds his body was literally ready to take her. Many times he pulled out of her arms prematurely, for fear she might detect his response and be offended or angry with him. There was also the concern that he might get carried away and go too far with her; though their physical progress during the last three years of their relationship was painfully slow due to their schedules.
He started to pull away from her then, tearing his face away from hers a little sooner than he really wanted to.
Katara brought her hand up to stroke his cheek. "Something's bothering you. Talk to me," she pleaded.
Aang panted a little, fighting a losing battle against nature. "I don't want to dishonor you."
Katara giggled, "by kissing me?"
"No," Aang shook his head, still panting, "No Katara, I think you know what I mean."
Katara felt heat in her cheeks, but she laughed it off. "Aang, we weren't anywhere near that and you know it."
Aang looked at her "You weren't."
Katara felt a rush of emotions just then, excitement, flattery, happiness. She was incredibly curious about Aang's body and any clue he gave her about it she treasured. A smile played on her lips. "Sweetie, we're going to be married. If kissing is eliciting a reaction in you…that's a good thing." She took his head in her hands and nuzzled him affectionately "how else are we going to bond or have any babies?"
Aang closed his eyes to enjoy the affection for a moment before explaining. "You're right, and I want that with you more than anything…. But…everything just seems different now."
"Why?"
"It's just..your Dad, your tribe…they're very concerned about things like that," Aang let out a breath… "Things that most people keep private, are public in the Water Tribe….and I feel like everything we do, I do, is under a microscope. Heck, our first night is pretty much going to be public knowledge…"Aang trailed off, sensing that he was not explaining himself well and getting into dangerous waters with Katara as a result.
He was right. Katara's mood shifted from flirtatious to cold in an instant. She looked at him, and Aang saw the storm in her eyes.
Shit.
"Aang," she said pointedly, "you are Ok with having a traditional Southern Water Tribe Ceremony, aren't you?"
"Well I…"
Katara swatted him and he winced, rubbing his arm. "I explained it to you…" Katara almost growled, "I explained it to you the night that you proposed. I went through every detail and you said it was OK! What's changed?!"
Aang gulped. He didn't doubt that Katara was right. She probably had explained every detail to him. The problem is that Aang had taken a small shot of cactus juice before proposing to calm his nerves (on Sokka's advice). He took so little that he remained lucid throughout the proposal, but after Katara said yes, Aang's endorphin levels skyrocketed and combined with the drug to seriously alter his judgment and cognition.
The result was an Aang that whose body smiled and nodded idiotically to everything Sweetie said, but whose mind drifted on a glorious cloud of its own. In fact, his mind ranted with several minutes of the following repeated in various orders: "YES, SHE SAID YES, I CANT BELIEVE IT! I'M GETTING MARRIED! Katara is going to be my wife and she's going to love me and we're going to have babies and…wait, I'M GOING TO GET TO SLEEP WITH HER! YES! YES! YES! YES! I'M GOING TO GET LAID BY KATARA! EVERY NIGHT! BY KATARA! YESSSS!"
The head-contained voice over had continued right through her explanation of the unique Southern Water Tribe Wedding customs. He realized this with perfect clarity the moment he remembered her mouth moving, but no words coming out.
"Well?!" Katara was still indignant and still waiting for an explanation. Her demand snapped him back to the present.
Aang let out a long, defeated sigh. "I wasn't really listening to you…" he amended sheepishly, his eyes pleading for forgiveness.
Katar smacked him again.
"I'm sorry Sweetie! It's just you said 'yes' and I was so happy I kind of spaced out after that…"
"You spaced out? UGGG!" Katara growled. She threw her hands up in the air and then pulled the back of her hair, pacing the apartment with abject anger and frustration. Suddenly she stopped and looked at Aang. Her beautiful blue eyes were like icy daggers.
Aang gulped.
Katara pointed a finger at Aang's chest. "We've already told my dad we're going through with this. So if you don't want to anymore, then you are going to be the one to tell him. Tonight. At Dinner. And if you don't, then you are going to go through every one of my people's traditions with a smile on your face!" She stood on her toes. Aang towered over her, but Katara could still get eye level with him when she really wanted to. And she really wanted to.
Aang almost burst into tears when those blue daggers flashed at him a mere two inches from his face. "Do I make myself clear?"
Aang nodded nervously. He was sure she was about a step away from blood-bending him. Instead she opened the door behind him and shoved him through.
He fell on the stoop just outside her apartment and watched as the door slammed in his face. He winced. "Sweetie," he yelled through the door, "for what it's worth I'm really sorry."
"I'll see you tonight, Aang," she responded, but by that point she sounded more exasperated than angry.
He couldn't blame her.
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Yes, the chapters are fairly short in this fanfic.
This is because I want to update more often than I am in my other multi-chapter fanfic, though future chapters such as the wedding, blanket ceremony, etc. may be longer depending on how they go.