Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Author's Note: Yay, a new installment! Maybe it's because I am married, but I just love these little moments between married couples, and this is really the only collection that allows me free rein to write them.
CelebrationAang's head came up suddenly, like prey animal testing the air for danger. Something had changed inside of him. Katara had moved out of the easy range of their spiritual link, which didn't make any sense. It was the 20th anniversary of the defeat of Firelord Ozai, so they'd come to Ba Sing Se to celebrate as guests of the king. Older relatives or servants were taking care of the children who'd already been sent to bed, so it was supposed to give them a rare chance to enjoy the evening. Where had she gone, and why didn't she tell him she was leaving?
Unfortunately, he couldn't see any option but to finish the dance with his current partner – some high-born Earth Kingdom girl half his age – so as not to seem rude. If Katara were in danger, he'd have a valid excuse for bolting out of the hall, but he didn't sense anything of the kind.
Finally, he was able to politely withdraw from the star-struck teen. She was like many girls he'd long ago learned to ignore, angling persistently to spend a few moments with the Avatar but apparently struck dumb the moment he actually addressed her. Instantly forgetting about her, Aang scanned the room and found his eldest daughter.
Keylana was now a lovely young woman of 17, looking the very image of her mother at that age, only with skin a shade lighter and eyes as gray as storm clouds. Aang was only saddened to think that he would soon be losing her. In addition to her mother's necklace, she wore a betrothal bracelet on her left wrist that Aang had made himself. To make the feeling of loss that much more acute, he suspected that her twin would not be far behind.
"What's the matter, Dad?" Keylana broke into his thoughts. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, it's nothing, really. I was just thinking how fast the time has gone. Sometimes it seems only last week I was changing your diapers."
"Oh, Daddy!" Keylana exclaimed exasperatedly, and Aang smiled at the fact that he'd gotten her to use the more childish title. "Are you sure you're not confusing me with one of my sisters?" Aang laughed out loud at that. Certainly, there were still two toddlers in the house, with more babies on the way.
"Point," he acknowledged before getting to his real reason for talking with her. "I was wondering if you knew where Mom's gone."
"I think she went back to your apartment. She said something about enough festivities for one evening."
"All right. Thank you." Aang left his daughter to her own amusements and stretched out his mind to touch his wife's. He supposed he would understand if her current pregnancy had tired her, but that wasn't what he felt in his head. It seemed more like…anger.
What have I done now? the Avatar wondered. He had no doubt that he was somehow responsible for her mood. Accepting blame for things that upset Katara, especially while she was pregnant, had become second nature. He paused to ask Suki (it was still odd to realize that he had a sister-in-law) if she would make sure all of his teenage daughters were adequately chaperoned before making his way through the corridors of the Earth King's palace.
Due to the sheer size of their family (15 children now and counting), they'd split up into different quarters. The older girls wanted a little space, anyway, so only the four youngest were sharing with their parents. The boys were a bit of a dilemma, since at just 11, they were capable of causing a great deal of mayhem without adequate supervision. This was solved by giving them the charge of the 8-year-olds and placing the four of them in the room right next to Aang and Katara. Truthfully, the 8-year-old girls were mature enough that it was unclear exactly who was watching whom, but that was so much the better.
Aang stepped into their room to find his wife reclining on a divan with her feet up. She'd already had time to change into a loose, white nightdress. She was at five months now, and her abdomen was already quite large. Her body easily gave in now to the expansion required by growing babies, and there were three this time.
"So. You noticed I was gone, did you?" Katara asked in a calm yet icy tone. Aang was not fooled by her relaxed appearance. He knew that his every word would be weighed, and he had to be very careful.
"Yes, and I was worried," he replied blandly. "Are you and the triplets all right?"
"We're quite fine, thank you. I thought you were well occupied, so I might as well leave."
Aang couldn't miss the acid in her tone, but he was at a loss to understand it.
"I was just trying to be polite. Everybody expects the Avatar to be sociable at these things, and I don't go to very many."
"Oh, so now it's my fault you don't get out much?"
"What? No! I never—" Aang spread his hands, completely flummoxed. He cast about for anything he thought might placate her. "You told me to dance with her!"
"That doesn't mean I wanted you to!"
Defeated, Aang sank down on the floor in a heap, putting his head in his hands.
"I will never understand women," he declared emphatically. After 20 years, he would have thought this would get easier.
There was a hissing sound, followed by a shrieking whistle, and Aang realized that the teakettle was boiling on the hearth. Katara levered herself out of the divan and crossed the room. She grasped the handle with a rag, pulling the kettle away from the flames so that it settled down.
Aang watched her move, a little ungainly but still vibrant, full of life, and gorgeous. He rose to join her as she bended a small amount of the steaming water into a cup she had ready with tea leaves.
"Oh, I don't know," Katara spoke finally, though she didn't look at her husband as she used bending to stir the tea, waiting for it to steep. "You're such a good dancer, I thought you should enjoy yourself, but I wasn't prepared for how it would feel to watch you with her."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she's so pretty, and young, and…thin," Katara explained, gesturing in an annoyed manner. "And you still look so perfect. I swear you haven't changed in at least 10 years."
"Um, I'm sorry?" Aang tried, not sure what she was looking for. He didn't spend much time thinking about the way he looked, but he had to concede that his shaved head tended to give him an ageless appearance, and at just 33, he hadn't yet started to gain the weight that might herald his entrance into middle age.
"I'm not even 35 yet, and I have gray hair!" Katara exclaimed as though she hadn't heard him. Aang squinted at her head, and sure enough, there were a few gray strands among the brunette, but they were scarcely visible. However, she was continuing. "I look fatigued all the time, and I'm as big as a house!"
She picked up the cup, clearly preparing to carry it back to her seat. However, it was too hot, and she quickly set it down again. Aang placed his hands over hers. At least he now had some idea of what was bothering her, and he marveled at how the tables had turned. He remembered a time when he'd despaired that Katara would ever see him as anything but a little kid. Now she was worried that he might no longer find her desirable, when nothing could be further from the truth.
"Katara, to me you will always be the most beautiful woman in the world," he informed her earnestly. She met his gaze at last.
"Really?" She looked and sounded so vulnerable, so unsure of herself. Aang felt a little guilty at being the cause of that, although he wasn't sure what he could have done to prevent it. There were many other things he could have said to reassure her. He could have told her he was well aware that these girls and young women who clustered around were only interested in him because he was the Avatar; they didn't care about Aang. He could have pointed out that she would know through their empathic bond if he actually developed feelings for any of them.
She knew all of this, though, and he didn't think it would help much to remind her. He decided to keep it simple.
"Of course," he assured her. Deciding that the situation called for a little humor, he added, "Why do you think you're pregnant so much?"
"Convenience?" she shrugged.
Aang felt his jaw drop, and his hands fell limply away from hers. He had absolutely no response to that – couldn't believe she had actually said it – but Katara just stood there calmly, absently bending her tea with one hand. Finally, she burst out laughing, unable to maintain a straight face any longer.
"I'm sorry," she giggled. "But your expression was so worth it!" Aang shook his head, glad that she at least hadn't been serious. He used airbending to cool the tea for her, and they returned to the divan. Katara sat down upon it, and he knelt at her feet while she sipped at her drink. Aang put one hand on her taut, rounded belly and felt a kick.
"They feel healthy," he remarked.
"They're boys, aren't they?" asked Katara suddenly.
"What?" Aang was taken by surprise. Although he didn't quite know how it worked, he'd learned that he had an uncanny ability to determine the gender of unborn children. He'd never been wrong, but he usually didn't tell Katara because she preferred to be surprised.
"The babies. They're boys. Come on, you can tell me this time."
"Yeah, they are," he admitted. "How did you know?"
"They seem more active than the girls," she explained. "I feel like I did with Kuzon and Lam."
"Maybe this will be the last time," he suggested, still caressing her stomach tenderly.
"You've said that the last three times," Katara replied, rolling her eyes.
"So? I have to be right eventually." He paused, gathering himself for what he was about to say. "If you want, we could…stop. At least until – until you can't…" Aang floundered, unable to remember what it was called when a woman aged beyond her child-bearing years. He looked up into Katara's face to find that her eyes had widened with surprise.
"You would do that – or rather, not do that – for me?" she whispered. "I mean, that could be years." He swallowed hard but nodded firmly. It would be difficult, but he would do anything for her, and it was important for her to know that. She smiled and stroked his cheek fondly.
"No," she decided. "I don't think I'd enjoy that any more than you would. And I once told Sokka that we would have as many children as the spirits grant. If I tried to avoid that, I would have been lying, and I can't have that."
"Of course not," Aang agreed, trying to hide the sudden exhalation of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Besides," she added, "if I agreed to that arrangement, then no one would be able to blame you if you found…companionship elsewhere."
"Katara!" he chastised, but without any real force behind it. That mischievous glint was in her eyes again, and he knew she was just trying to shock him this evening.
Aang stood up, having an idea. He gently took the half-empty teacup out of his wife's hands, set it aside, and raised her to her feet.
"Let's dance," he suggested. Katara looked down at herself and smiled questioningly up at him.
"I'm not exactly dressed for it," she pointed out sheepishly. "And I've already sent the servants away."
"That's okay. We'll just dance right here. All I need is a beat." With that, Aang put his hand on Katara's chest, finding her heart. He let the rhythm work its way into him as he slipped his other arm around her. Extending his mind a little further, he could also sense the heartbeats of the three boys she carried, strong but much faster than their mother's, playing a counterpoint. Aang turned his attention to Katara, opening up a channel so that she could hear this. She gasped in astonishment, and he looked up to see her face filled with that soft, amazed expression peculiar to mothers. Aang was struck by it and wondered why he'd never thought to do this before.
"I do love you, you know," she murmured, leaning close to kiss him.
"What a relief," he responded lightly. "I thought it was just me."
Slowly, they began to move, dancing to music that only they could hear.
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Author's Note: Another appearance by Avatar Aang, the human ultrasound! It was just too delicious an idea not to revisit. Part of the point of this story is that a good marriage doesn't just happen; it takes work. Are there any scenes you, my readers, would like to see here? I have a few more ideas, but I'm curious about what you're interested in.
Review responses:
Summer Sweetheart: In the last chapter, Aang and Katara had 13 children. In this one, they have 15 with 3 more on the way. I'm glad you're liking this, but I know it can't be as epic as Destiny's Call was. Just filling in the blanks.
DuHSPaZZiNGFeL: Yes, there's a reason this fic is T-rated. I decided to keep it pretty clean this chapter. I've heard there are podcasts recommending my story, but I don't know exactly what they are or who's doing them.
Loupami: Yeah, I thought that was something Zuko would say. So glad you liked it!
Billeh: My 3-year-old is in the stage where everything must be done his way, right now, or he throws a fit. Anyway, thanks!
Kumai290: I know; I thought of putting more references to general cacophony and such in, but I found that chaos is extremely hard to write.
Aangs fangirl1214: You're telling me it's hard to keep track of their children? I'm the one that has to remember their ages, and how many, and decide which ones to name. I'm happy that you were able to get caught up.
ilovekataang: Well, thank you very much! I intend to continue writing as long as I am able and have ideas.