A/n: Daddy Aang is adorable! Read and review, please! God bless!
Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
Day 2 - Sleepy
"Daddy!"
Despite the exhaustion the Avatar felt, he could not hide the smile that appeared on his features as he held his arms out to receive his three-year-old daughter. The young girl with wild, dark curls ran immediately to her father, burrowing her face in his chest as her limbs clung on to him.
Grinning, Katara entered the room from the kitchen where she had been preparing lunch. She knew Aang would be exhausted after the council meeting he had to attend that morning, so she had given Kya her own lunch early before announcing that she would need to take a nap. Knowing that Aang could not deny the small waterbender anything, she had figured with Kya asleep, maybe the man could get some rest. But it seemed like their young daughter had already trapped the man in her wide, cerulean gaze.
"Hi, Sweetie."
Aang looked up as his wife came to his side and placed a delicate kiss upon his cheek, her lips lingering there for a moment as her blue gaze took in the dark circles that underlined his gray orbs. She had known Aang had been dreading the meeting this morning, a few new laws being put into place that he didn't necessarily agree with, but she hadn't realized how much sleep he had been losing over it. She could feel him toss and turn in the night, but had thought nothing of it since he usually did so anyway. It seemed his stress was a little more serious than she thought.
Whether he was exhausted or not though, Katara could always see the light return to his eyes the minute he walked through their front door and saw them. There really was no place like Air Temple Island to him. This time was no exception.
Aang smiled widely at his wife, shifting Kya to a more comfortable position on his hip as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, resting her head on her father's shoulder.
"Hello, Katara."
Husband and wife shared a smile as the master waterbender wrapped her slender arms around the man's waist and around her daughter as well.
"How did the meeting go?"
The Avatar shrugged, kissing the woman lightly on the forehead before releasing a sigh, "Just as I expected it would. There was some fighting, some disagreeing, and some major setbacks. But we were able to settle it. I don't have to return this afternoon."
Katara smiled at this, relief flooding her body, "Good, now maybe you can get some rest."
Kya groaned, knowing that her father resting meant that he wouldn't be able to play with her. With Aang in the city so much, the young girl had really began to miss her dotting dad. Even though she enjoyed playing with her mother, she couldn't deny that her father's presence was much more calming and playful while her mother's was more paternal and strict.
"Kya, your father needs his rest. You will have plenty of time to play with him later," Katara's words were stern, causing Kya's frown to only deepen as her arms tightened their hold around her Aang's neck.
"Hey," The Avatar murmured to the young waterbender, his gaze full of love despite the sleepiness he could feel coming on, "I promise I will play with you. We can throw a tea party or play with your dolls. Whichever you want to do."
His answer coaxed a grin out of the girl, causing her whole face to light up.
"A tea party?!" She asked excitedly, delighted that her father would attend something that her mother was usually the only participant in.
The young man grinned at his child's excitement, laughing quietly before nodding his head, "Yes, we can have a tea party."
"But," Katara interrupted before Aang could make any further promises, "First, you need to go take your afternoon nap. Then, after that, you can throw your party."
Again, Kya pouted at the idea of having to sleep before she could have her fun, but a yawn soon broke free from her lips prompting her that maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea. Both of her parents chuckled at the adorable expression that made its way on to her face as she tried her best to play off her exhaustion.
"Come on, I'll put you to bed."
Katara had hoped Aang would hand Kya to her and continue on to go take a nap himself, but she also had to take into consideration that the man rarely got to put the girl down for her naps and that was something he genuinely wanted to do. He tucked her in every night and told her all sorts of stories from the times when he lived at The Southern Air Temple, venturing also into the tales of their journey together. Kya's absolute favorite story, that Aang had to retell nearly every night, was also her favorite as well.
The Cave of Two Lovers.
The woman couldn't count on one hand how many times she had walked into her daughter's room and had heard her humming the tune that went along with the tale. For some reason, that story had always left the biggest impression on her.
Katara lifted the ocean colored skirts of her robes and returned to the kitchen, her bouncy, dark curls trailing behind her. Returning to her place over the stove, she stirred the pot rhythmically. Right when she was removing the object from over the heat, she heard a familiar tune making its way down the hall.
Curious, she left her post and walked directly to the source of it. The song was coming from her daughter's room.
Peaking around the corner, Katara spotted Aang laying on top of the covers of Kya's bed, the small girl tucked into his side as her eyes drooped in exhaustion. The curtains were pulled, so the room was dark, but Katara could see the adoring smile on Aang's lips, his mouth forming the words as they flowed through the space like a calming river.
She had walked in many a time while her daughter was singing the "Secret Tunnel" song, but never had she heard her husband sing it. She assumed that he would have had to many times considering their daughter knew it so well, but still it was so strange for her to hear his voice singing the song they had heard so long ago.
The woman stood there, listening as her husband ended the song. A little girl's snores could be heard coming from the room and Katara could feel herself beginning to smile as well.
Aang carefully picked himself up off the bed, his own eyes tired but loving as he leaned down and kissed his daughter's tanned forehead. She squirmed a bit, but didn't wake up from the slumber she had fell into.
When Aang finally exited the room, Katara stopped him from turning in the direction of the kitchen and dining room. Instead, the woman led her husband towards the master suite at the end of the hall.
"Katara, you already cooked lunch. I'll sleep after."
The waterbender shook her head, giving him a stern look, "No, you are going to take a nap now. You're exhausted, and I know you haven't been sleeping a lot lately. The food can wait."
Aang groaned, but allowed Katara to drag him into their bedroom regardless. He was tired, that he could not deny.
After removing his robes and leaving himself only in his pants, the Avatar crawled under the silky red fabric of their covers, a sigh of relief escaping his lips as the cool of the sheets surrounded his body. Katara drew the curtains closed, blocking the sunlight coming in and bathing the room in a false darkness.
Katara crawled in bed next to him, allowing his body to curl around her own. She rested her cheek against the top of his bald head, her fingers tracing the arrows that lay on the skin of his hands as they wrapped around her waist.
"So, do you need me to sing you to sleep?" Katara murmured, teasing evident in her tone, "Or are you good to go?"
Aang chuckled at his wife's words, his face burrowing its way into her neck, nuzzling the skin there.
"You know, I've never heard you sing before."
She could feel Aang smile against her skin, "It's because I'm no good."
"Kya and I would beg to differ."
"Yeah?" She could imagine his silver eyes rolling, "Well, I believe the two of you are biased."
"Oh, whatever."
Aang laughed once again, pulling his wife closer to him. They sat in silence for awhile, Katara's hand trailing up the man's pale arm as she waited for him to venture into dream land. She thought he was about to fall asleep, when she heard quiet murmur come from him.
"Singing would be nice."
Katara smiled, her lips dusting across the top of the young man's head, "Ah, so now you have changed your mind?"
"I never answered before, there was nothing to change," She could feel his soft chuckle against the skin of her neck, "Besides, I love your voice."
The woman rolled her eyes, "Well, you may be the one who is biased."
"Or you just are that wonderful."
Katara's cheeks heated at the geniune adoration behind his words, despite the sleepy state he was in.
"We really are getting more and more cheesy as time goes on."
Aang sighed, placing a kiss on her neck, "I don't care."
Smiling, Katara took a deep breath before beginning, "Two lovers, forbidden from one another - "
She could already feel Aang grinning against her skin, so she continued.
"A war divides their people, and a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be together," Her soft voice drifted through the room, her words lulling the Avatar further into his own exhaustion.
She laughed quietly when she got to the next lines lamenting, "And I actually don't remember the next part - "
She didn't need to. The sleepy Avatar was already asleep on her shoulder.
