Aang, Katara and Aria arrived a few days early for Hakoda and Kirima's wedding. It actually hadn't been that long since they had visited - this was actually Aria's second trip to the Southern Water tribe in her short one year of life.
After taking care of Appa and Momo, Aang and Katara went to visit her brother and his wife at their place next door. Katara knocked on the door. It opened.
"Katara!" said Sokka the minute he saw his sister. "And who is this big girl?" he said as he picked Aria up from Aang's arms and swung her around once or twice.
"Un…," Aria tried.
"Go ahead," encouraged Aang. "Try again. Like we practiced."
"Un-ca!" shouted Aria.
Sokka clapped for his niece to show his excitement. "So she's talking now?"
"Just starting to," said Katara.
"As long as she knows who her Unca is, that's all that matters!" Sokka stated emphatically.
Sokka let the family into his house and they all sat on the couches in the living room. Suki emerged from the bedroom area to see what all the commotion was.
"Hey guys," Suki said.
"Suki, you are absolutely glowing," remarked Katara. "You're about 6 months now, right?"
"Just about," said Suki.
The ladies didn't hear what Sokka whispered in Aang's ear. "Yeah, this last trimester has been a lot of fun, if you know what I mean. Much better than those first few months."
Aang whispered back, "Unfortunately, it only goes downhill from here. Enjoy it while you can."
"What are you two whispering about?" asked Katara, finally noticing.
"Oh nothing," said Aang. "Guy stuff."
"Yeah, guy stuff," Katara said as she laughed. "I guess it wasn't that important then."
Sokka's face turned a bit sour at that last remark.
Aang got down on the floor to play a bit with Aria and show Sokka some of her latest tricks. He went into the kitchen and called her name to see if she'd crawl to him. They turned it into a mini-game of hide-and-seek, though the men didn't try very hard to stay hidden. It was actually just a thrill to see the smile on Aria's face when she finally found them. She would sit back on her tiny bottom, squeal and clap her hands.
Meanwhile, Katara and Suki kept talking.
"Suki, have you thought about the delivery at all?" asked Katara.
"A little," she responded. "I'm excited. This pregnancy has been so easy. I'm almost sorry to say that – hopefully I'm not jinxing myself."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine," said Katara. "Who is your midwife?"
"A healer by the name of Manami. She is a recent transplant from the Northern Water Tribe," said Suki.
"I've noticed the population getting bigger and bigger recently. Have there been a lot of immigrants?" asked Katara.
"Tons," replied Suki.
"So, Manami, how is she?" asked Katara.
"She's wonderful actually. I couldn't have asked for anyone nicer or more knowledgeable… well, other than you," said Suki.
"Good to hear," said Katara. "I'll make the assumption then that you won't need me then?"
"Katara, you are always welcome, but I know that you can't be the world's healer. You can't be at every single birth of every friend or relative you have. I'll be fine with Manami," said Suki. "Besides, you have Aria to look after."
"Thank you, Suki. I would be here if you asked me. But I appreciate the fact that you understand that it isn't easy to leave Aria or Aang for any period of time. Life at the Eastern Air Temple goes on and we are very much a part of it." Katara paused. "But you'd better send a scroll as soon as your baby is born!"
Suki laughed. "Of course we will."
OlOlOlOlOlO
Hakoda and Kirima were to be married in a traditional Water Tribe ceremony. The area right outside the village that was made a gathering place for both Aang and Katara's wedding as well as Sokka and Suki's wedding was also going to be utilized for Hakoda and Kirima. The waterbenders could easily clear it off and make it ready for any large gathering even with the additional snow and ice that deposits there over time.
Hakoda approached the front of the sitting crowd and waited for his bride. This was not the most formal of occasions as Hakoda was not really a formal man. He and Kirima decided to make this more of a fun and lighthearted occasion. Katara, Aang, Sokka, Suki, Kanna, and Pakku all sat towards the front of the crowd. Pakku also agreed to lead the ceremony as well.
"Friends, we are here today to witness and celebrate the joining of our brother Hakoda with our sister Kirima into the bond of marriage," said Pakku. "Will the bride please come forward?"
With that, Kirima appeared at the edge of the village and began walking towards the audience who would witness her vows. Slowly, she made her way to Hakoda. He grabbed her hand when she finally made it to him. They turned to each other and began to speak their vows.
"Kirima, you have been a great blessing to me. I didn't think I could ever fall in love again after the death of my wife, Kya. Her premature death was traumatic for both me and my kids and I thought I would forever be numb to all matters of the heart. Then you came along and changed everything. You showed me the light….and your love. I am grateful that you came into my life and I love you more than any man can love a woman. You have already been by my side during hard times. Now I have you by my side in good times. I want you by my side forever more. Kirima, I love you and I hereby declare that I will be honest, faithful, and your best friend through all the years we share together."
"Hakoda, I want to share the rest of my life with you as your wife. I will cherish our friendship and will be your lover today, tomorrow and forever. I will trust you, honor you…laugh and cry with you. I will be faithful and by your side through all the best and worst life will throw at us. I know it will not always be easy, but together we can accomplish anything."
Pakku then stood up again. "Friends, I now declare that these two people have exchanged their wedding vows and that they are now husband and wife. Please congratulate the couple with a hearty round of applause."
Everyone in attendance did just that while the bride and groom shared a kiss.
As Hakoda and Kirima went around and greeted their guests, a few of the helpers moved the chairs that the guests were sitting on and placed them off to the side near the tables. The ensuing celebration began with a feast of traditional Northern and Southern Water Tribe food (since Kirima had grown up in the Northern Water Tribe). After the dinner, the music started and little by little, the guests got up and danced.
A good time was had by all. Sokka and Katara were both very happy for their father. They had been afraid that he would not find happiness after the death of their mother. It seemed that it took them no longer being first and foremost in Hakoda's mind for him to finally move on. And Kirima was a wonderful woman who obviously cared for him very much.
"Wouldn't it be kind of weird to have a new brother or sister?" asked Sokka.
"Wow, my daughter would be older than they would be," remarked Katara. "I wonder if they want kids. Kirima is a little younger than Dad is."
Aria was there at the wedding as well. Aang scooped her up at one point and danced with her in the middle of the dance floor. Then Katara joined them and the family danced together.
When the dance was over, Aang, Katara, and Aria all took a seat back at the table where they were sitting. Aria made her way over to Sokka and stood up next to his chair. "Unca?"
"What can I do for you Aria?" asked Sokka. She grabbed his hand and made a motion towards the dance floor.
"I think she wants to dance with her Uncle," said Katara.
Sokka rolled his eyes, then scooped her up in his arms to take her back out to the dance floor for another dance. Aria squealed with delight. Dancing was definitely something she enjoyed - a trait she shared with her parents.
The party went into the evening hours. Little Aria conked out at about her normal bedtime while resting on one of Aang's shoulders, so he called it a night and went back to the house and put her to bed. Once he was sure she was down for the night, he gathered up some of the scrolls he had brought with him from the Eastern Air Temple, lit a candle and began to read.
Avatar Aang,
How have you been? This is a courtesy scroll being sent from the village of Makapu on behalf of Aunt Wu. She wanted to inform you that her previous predictions have not changed and she sees a great peace in the world for the rest of your time as Avatar. She sends her regards and wants you to know that your second child will be conceived within the next year.
Meng
Aang put the scroll to the side.
There are no surprises in my life, he thought to himself. I wonder how Katara will take the news.
He picked up another scroll and began reading:
Twinkletoes!
How are you baldy? I'm guessing you already know who this is from. You haven't come to visit since I became a Queen! The transition was a piece of cake. It was really sad to see Bumi go, but I guess it was his time. He was 115 after all.
I really do want you and Katara to visit. I have a great idea that I want to try out, but not until you tell me you are coming. Let me know and I'll prepare everything.
Toph
Aang did a small roll of the eyes. I wonder what she's up to now?
When Aang received the scroll from Bumi explaining that his death was imminent, he worried for both his friend and the city of Omashu. After all, Bumi had been in charge of the city for several decades. The people were happy and comfortable with Bumi as their king. In Bumi's message, he told Aang not to worry about Omashu and that he knew what he was going to do. Imagine Aang's surprise when he received a messenger hawk just a few days later explaining that Toph was the new Queen of Omashu. He was overjoyed for his friend to inherit such a significant position, but was also concerned about Toph's readiness to take on something that big at her young age. Then again, she was about the same age as he was and she had already lived through the experiences of a lifetime in her short number of years.
I do need to visit and see how she's doing as the leader of Omashu.
He picked up a blank sheet of paper and started writing.
Toph,
It was great hearing from you. I received your scroll at the Eastern Air Temple, but as I write this, I am in the Southern Water Tribe for Hakoda's wedding. We'll be leaving here in a day or two and heading to the Fire Nation to see Zuko about an issue with his navy. I'm sure we'll hang around there for a few days afterward. How about I come to Omashu after that? It's on the way back to to the Eastern Air Temple anyway. I would expect to arrive in about 1 week's time. If there are any problems with that, send a hawk to Zuko and I'll get the message.
Aang
Aang rolled up the scroll and placed in a small container and put it aside to go out on the next ship that docked at the Southern Water Tribe.
Most of the scrolls he read that evening were just towns across the world touching base with the Avatar and letting him know any events or occasions that were going on. Aang appreciated all the information, so he could keep tabs on the world. He was thankful, however, that the peace predicted by Aunt Wu - first on this wedding day, and reaffirmed in Meng's note just now - was a lasting one.
After an hour or two, Aang opened the last scroll he brought with him from the Eastern Air Temple. It was from his friend Fei Yen, the Earth King's wife and Queen of the Earth Kingdom.
Aang,
I hope this scroll finds you and Katara well. You haven't been to visit us in quite some time and I wanted to personally invite you, Katara and Aria to visit us in Ba Sing Se and stay at the palace.
There is a personal family issue that Kuei and I need to discuss with you while you are here.
Fei Yen
My poor airbenders are going to be without me for a long time, thought Aang. I guess I have no choice. It's my duty to keep tabs on the world and there is no better way to see what is going on in the Earth Kingdom than to visit the Earth King and Queen.
"Aang?" said Katara as she entered the room.
"I didn't hear you come in. Did you have fun?" Aang asked his wife.
"It was great. Thanks for letting me stay," Katara replied.
"It's your Dad," said Aang. "And besides that, I had some scrolls that I needed to read anyway. I've been putting them off for way too long."
"Anything interesting?" Katara asked as she sat next to Aang on the couch, putting her head on his shoulder and her arms around his chest.
"Our plans have changed," remarked Aang. "We're not going home after we visit Zuko."
"We're not? Where are we going?" asked Katara.
"Looks like we've got two more stops. Toph wants us to come to Omashu. She has an idea," said Aang.
"Oh no, that makes me nervous," said Katara.
"I know," said Aang. "I'm trying to stay positive about it. And then we received in invitation to go visit Fei Yen and Kuei."
"Just a general visit? Or was there a reason?" asked Katara.
"Fei Yen said something about a personal family issue she wanted to talk with us about," said Aang.
"I wonder what that could be?" asked Katara.
"I have no idea," said Aang. "We haven't heard very much from Ba Sing Se in the last year or two – ever since Mizu was born."
"I hope Mizu is ok," said Katara.
"She didn't appear to be in a huge hurry for us to get there, so I'm assuming it can't be anything too serious," answered Aang.
Katara yawned and stretched. "I'm going to get ready for bed." She left Aang sitting on the couch and headed into the bedroom to change into her nightclothes.
Aang's mind started wandering. He daydreamed a little bit about Katara wearing her sexiest nightgown, which led to thoughts of some of their past trysts in the bedroom that had started when she emerged from the bathroom having just gotten ready for bed. He always thought she looked so sexy in her bedclothes. When Aang finally snapped out of it, he noted the hardness between his legs. It had been a while since he and Katara had made love. That was going to change tonight if he had his way.
He followed Katara to the bedroom a few minutes later. She was still in the bathroom when he got there. He undressed and slithered under the blankets completely naked, his excitement still intact. There he sat, in the dark, on his side, hand-on-head staring at the bathroom doorway until she finally emerged.
"Aang! You just about scared me half to death!" she yelled barely seeing him in the bed through the darkness. "Don't you need to brush your teeth?"
"I had some other things I wanted to get done first," Aang said, smiling, with a sly look on his face.
As Katara got closer, she remarked "I know that look. Is Aria asleep?"
"She's in her room dead to the world," said Aang.
"Well then, what did you have in mind?" asked Katara, slinking into her side of the bed.
"Just this," said Aang, pulling her to him and kissing her deeply and fully on her lips.
"It's been too long," said Katara, who felt the butterflies in her stomach and the wetness in her womanhood almost immediately.
Aang rolled Katara onto her back and straddled her. She reached up and grabbed his hardness and stroked it a few times. Aang closed his eyes and exhaled with a moan when she touched him.
He placed both hands on the bed by Katara's shoulders and leaned in to continue the kissing. Their tongues danced with intensity in Aang's mouth and then in Katara's. Their lips opened and closed rhythmically all the while. Aang moved to Katara's neck and over to her earlobe. She hunched her shoulders from the feeling it gave her.
Aang rolled off of his wife and onto one side as he took his free hand and kneaded her breast a few times. He leaned over and played with her nipple with his tongue. Katara arched her back in pleasure ever so slightly. He moved is hand down to her wetness and played with her making her drenched from her own fluids.
She broke the position and pushed his shoulder back onto the bed so that now he was flat on his back. She kneeled above his hips and guided his member into her hot, wet body. She began to move her hips back and forth against him generating a pleasurable friction between the two of them. Aang reached up with both hands to hold both of Katara's breasts as she continued to move back and forth against him.
Aang opened his mouth and began to breathe heavier. Katara always took this as a sign that he was getting close to his climax. But that's when he stopped her.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"Turn over," he requested. "On your hands and knees."
Katara smiled. This was her absolute favorite.
She did as she was asked and Aang came at her from behind. As much as Aang liked every position the two of them shared, he knew that Katara found this style the most pleasurable for her. She had told him it made her feel less controlled and he knew that she was by far her loudest. As a good lover, he wanted to make sure his mate was just as satisfied as he was.
Katara pushed back against Aang hard and with increasing speed. She moaned loudly with his movements into her. Suddenly, he noted her tense up and release. She screamed when this happened and arched her back. This pushed him over the top and after only a few more, almost violent thrusts, he released into her, throwing his head back and letting out a scream of his own.
She turned over and he flopped down beside her. Both lovers were out of breath and covered in sweat from the evening's activity.
"I enjoyed that," said Aang, humorously.
"You did? Good to hear!" replied Katara, also in good humor.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you something," said Aang. "I read a scroll from Makapu tonight."
"Aunt Wu's village?" asked Katara. "What did she have to say?"
"Just to reaffirm what she said earlier about the peace lasting the rest of my life," said Aang. "Oh, and that you're going to be pregnant again within the next year."
Katara's eyebrows arched at the nonchalance of the statement. "Oh really!"
"Number two will be here soon," remarked Aang.
"Only if I let you touch me again," said Katara teasingly.
"It could've happened just now," said Aang.
"Ok, you win. I'm too tired to argue even if you are just playing," said Katara. "But no matter what, I guess it's good to know."