WHOA CHECK IT. Two days, it only took me two days to write this chapter. WHAT. Yeah, and I happen to think it's better than the last two. It's a new direction. It's me kicking my writer's block's ass. Eh... I hope. Well it seemed like it was flowing more easily.

AND HEY GUESS WHAT! This chapter is the first real reason why this story has a T rating YAY! Okay, second reason after Katara's nearly-sex dream about Aang a couple chaps back. BUT ANYWAY.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar

CHAPTER 26

"Shit," Katara whispered frantically. "Someone's coming."

"Nowhere to hide," Aang hissed, casting a panicked glance around the little room. "What now?"

Katara's mind raced. "Uh… um…" she muttered. The footsteps were getting louder. Her wide eyes fell on Aang. "Pin me to the wall."

Aang's mouth dropped open. "What?" he asked flatly.

She grabbed his tie and pulled him backwards across the room. He stumbled after her. All of a sudden her back was to the wall and she was pulling him against her, shoving his jacket off his shoulders.

"Katara, what…" he stammered.

"It's Kaya," she hissed, tugging his shirt out of the waistband of his pants. "Don't let them hear you calling me Katara."

His eyes were glued to her fingers as they hastily undid the first several buttons on the front of her dress.

"Stop looking so shocked, we only have one shot at this," she whispered.

"Oh," Aang finally understood what was going on. "Oh, okay, right." Katara cast a frantic glance at the door. Whoever was coming was only seconds away. She knocked his hat off and grabbed at the waistband of his pants again while he slid one hand down her back and pressed her against the wall. Someone was turning the doorknob. They shared one last panicked glance.

The door opened and two Prohibition Officers walked in. The light clicked on, revealing a young man hungrily kissing the neck of a young woman he had pinned to the wall and who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. The boy's hands were occupied, one dangerously low on her back and the other sliding up into her hair. Her eyes were closed, her mouth slightly open for breath, her hands tightening on his shoulders as his lips and tongue traveled over the sensitive skin of her throat.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing in here?" one of the Officers barked. The two of them jumped in surprise, glancing over at the door. "This area is off limits."

The young man laughed. "Geez, calm down, pal," he said easily. "We were just looking for some privacy."

"Clearly," the young woman added, smirking.

"Take it somewhere else," the Officer replied, pointing at the door. They both sighed and he backed away from her, taking her by the hand and leading her out the door. It was slammed behind them.

"Holy shit," Katara whispered, leaning against the wall and exhaling heavily. "That was close."

"Very close," Aang consented rather numbly.

Katara hurriedly started buttoning her dress back up and Aang took the cue, tucking his shirt in and buttoning his pants.

"You really went to town, Dollface," he laughed nervously, straightening his tie and pulling his jacket back on.

"Says the boy whose tongue just got very cozy with my neck," she replied, smirking in an attempt to distract from how much she was blushing. She reached up to fix her hair, having no memory of when it got so messed up.

"Hey, it was your idea," he shrugged, placing his hat back on his head and reaching forward to help her smooth the wrinkles from her dress.

Suddenly, they both stopped and looked at each other, wide-eyed. The adrenaline seemed to have worn off, and both of them became very aware of what had just happened.

Katara swallowed hard and tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs already seemed to be full of air. "Uh…" she began, eyes wide. Aang slowly removed his hands from her dress, eyes never leaving hers.

"Have I… mentioned… how uh… beautiful you look tonight?" he stammered flatly, blushing.

Katara looked down, licking her lips. "Um… Aang…"

"Kaya, Kuzon, there you are!"

Both of them whipped around in surprise. Sokka and Toph were coming down the stairs. Aang took several rapid steps away from her, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Katara took a moment to hastily scrub at her neck with both hands.

"Any luck?" Sokka asked.

Aang and Katara glanced at each other.

"Butler with dog food," she said blankly, gesturing at the door behind them with her thumb. "And a couple Officers."

"Said it was off limits," Aang added.

Toph frowned. "What happened?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," they blurted in unison.

"Lying," Toph replied in sing-song voice, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Nothing important," Katara amended hurriedly. "Uh, look, come on, we have to follow the butler…"

She turned toward the door and stopped. Aang glanced at her.

"You guys first," she muttered, stepping aside for Sokka and Toph.

Sokka frowned at them but obliged regardless, opening the door and flipping the light on.

"This is weird," he said slowly. Aang and Katara carefully avoided eye contact.

Toph walked over to the bookcases immediately, leaving the other two standing forlornly in the doorway. "There's a door behind this one," she pointed to the case on the far right. Katara edged away from the wall.

"So how do you suppose it opens?" Sokka asked, leaning forward to inspect the old bookcase. It was packed with books of every size and age. There wasn't a single open gap. It was completely dust-free, though it didn't appear as though the books had been touched in years. Sokka experimentally tugged at a slender leather-bound volume only to find that it didn't budge.

"Fake books?" he asked, more to himself than the others. Toph rolled her eyes and shoved him out of the way.

"We don't have time for this, Snoozles," she said shortly. With that, she cracked her knuckles and grabbed the sides, yanking it from the wall and shoving it aside. Aang and the siblings stared.

"Well that was easy," Toph said lightly, strolling through the newly revealed doorway. "Come along, bodyguard." Sokka rolled his eyes and followed her.

Aang and Katara glanced at each other. Aang cleared his throat nervously.

"Um… ladies first," he muttered.

"Heh… thanks…" she replied, ducking her head and following Sokka and Toph.

The four of them paused as soon as they were through the door. They stood at the entrance to a short hallway lined with doors. The muted sounds of barking bounced around the narrow space. Toph strode into the hall without hesitation.

"They're all full of dogs," she said lightly. The other three hastened after her. "There are five or six in every room, just running around, being dogs. No big deal."

"Where's Appa?" Aang asked urgently. "Do you see him anywhere."

Toph was silent for a few seconds. "No," she finally said, very quietly. Aang swallowed hard and looked down. "But I do know where the dog collector is." Aang looked up at her and raced to catch up. "Room at the end of the hall. It's an office. The butler is in that room we just passed feeding the dogs."

"What about the two Officers?" Aang asked. Katara winced and Sokka frowned.

"What Officers?"

"Um we uh…" Katara stammered. "We saw them go after the butler from the top of the stairs."

Sokka scowled but didn't pursue the subject. Katara began to feel rather miserable. Aang didn't comment, but the back of his neck and the tips of his ears seemed to be rather redder than usual.

"They're in the office with the collector," Toph shrugged.

Aang frowned. Without a word he marched the rest of the hall and burst through the door at the end. The others raced to catch up.

The office was a small square room with dark red carpet and wood paneled walls, just like the room with the bookcases. A giant mahogany desk took up most of it, but what immediately drew their attention was the unusual choice of decorum.

"Ew?" Katara said, nose wrinkling a little in disgust. The room was full of dead stuffed dogs, standing all around the floor and the desk and the shelves on the back wall. In the midst of all the taxidermy stood the two Prohibition Officers, one on either side of the desk.

"You two again," one of the Officers growled when his eyes fell on Aang and Katara. They both blushed.

"Who exactly are you?"

The four of them glanced at the desk. There sat the dog collector, a tall, thin man with an unusually neat mustache and an impeccably clean suit. He got to his feet, arms crossed over his chest in irritation.

Aang took a step forward, standing tall. "I am Avatar Aang," he said firmly. "And you have something that belongs to me."

The Prohibition Officers stepped forward, but the collector held up a hand to stop them.

"I suppose you mean the sheepdog," the collector sighed. He shook his head. "Beastly thing, very poorly trained." Aang gritted his teeth in anger. "The men I bought him from said you were dead. Just proves you can never trust a Dragon."

"I don't care," Aang said shortly. "Where's my dog?"

"He's not here," the collector said with a shrug. "I sold him."

Aang became very still. He closed his eyes and took a long breath. Katara placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder that he didn't seem to notice.

"Aang?" she whispered.

"What do you mean he's not here?!"

Katara heard the change in his voice before anyone else did. He was getting too angry too fast. She knew what would happen next. Sure enough, as his breathing quickened in frustration, the air around him began to spin. The tattoos on the backs of his clenched fists began to glow. Katara acted entirely on instinct, stepping directly in front of him. She flattened a hand to his chest and shoved him back against the wall. The action didn't seem to affect him. His eyes remained glued to the collector, narrowed in anger. The collector looked mildly terrified, while Sokka and Toph were just surprised by what Katara had done.

"Aang, look at me," she said firmly, taking his face in her hands and turning his head toward hers. He glared at her. She didn't waver. "Right here, Sparky. Look at me." He fell still when their eyes locked and her voice grew softer. The wind abruptly stopped turning around him. "Just focus on me." The glow receded. He let out a haggard breath. Katara sighed, relieved. "There you are."

Aang was breathing heavily, eyes closed. He wavered on the spot, clearly disoriented, but Katara held him steady with her hands on his face. When he finally opened his eyes and met hers, they widened in surprise. He blushed, and she felt the heat beneath her palms. Only then did Katara realize just how close she had brought them, just how much of her was touching him, just how warm his breath was, how grey his eyes were…

"Uh… you… you okay?" she stammered, unmoving.

"Uh huh," he replied numbly, eyes never leaving hers.

"Good," she said, nodding slowly. She swallowed hard and stepped away from him, allowing him space to move away from the wall.

"What was that?" one of the Officers asked in panic.

"Where's the dog?" Toph asked flatly.

"Like I said, I sold him," the collector said, thoroughly shaken. "To the police commissioner, Long Feng."

"Excellent, thanks," Toph replied, grabbing Sokka by the elbow and dragging him backwards out of the room.

"Hey, wait a-" Sokka began indignantly. Toph just gave his arm an uncomfortable yank and he fell silent.

Katara took Aang's hand in hers and tugged him toward the door. "Come on, Sparky," she whispered. "Time to go."

Aang followed her numbly, casting a dark glance back into the room and slamming the door behind them.

"Okay time to run," Toph said as soon as they were all out the door. With that, they all took off running down the hall. Toph let go of Sokka's elbow, but Aang held firmly to Katara's hand. As soon as they reached the end of the hall, the office door behind them burst open and the Officers were after them.

"Bookcase," Sokka shouted as they tore into the little room. Aang turned around and hauled the bookcase back into place. It was destroyed an instant later by a great deal of flying rock from the other side.

"Uh, I think they're gaining on us," Aang called, grabbing Katara's hand again as he raced past her on the way up the stairs.

"Hey you kids, hold it right there!"

"Not listening, still running," Katara shouted without looking back. The four of them tore into the crowd, scattering party guests in their wake. Many more indignant and angry shouts followed them on their way to the front door.

"Butler, pal, good to see you again," Sokka laughed amiably when they skidded into the entrance hall. "Hey you don't by any chance have our coats like… right here, do you?"

"No time just run," Toph growled, grabbing his elbow again and sprinting out the door.

"Thanks for the hospitality," Aang called back when they were halfway down the drive.

They didn't stop running for several blocks. Needless to say, none of them had any trouble sleeping that night. At least, two of them didn't.

Katara lied awake in her bed for hours, staring at the ceiling and trying her hardest not to think about exactly what she was thinking about. Now that all the running was over, her mind started running instead. It endlessly played back that barely half minute she had spent pinned against the wall. It had passed in a blur, but her senses had imprinted it on her memory in slow motion.

Friction, all she could remember was friction. Deliciously hot friction of his fingertips running down her back, his lips and tongue sliding across her neck.

Katara got out of bed with a frustrated groan and pressed her forehead to the cool window. Little did she know, Aang was doing the same thing at the next window over.

He was in a similar predicament, but he was feeling much warmer and much more uncomfortable than Katara. After all, Katara had done all the unbuttoning. At no point was Aang's hand practically down her pants. Especially considering she'd been wearing a dress at the time. A dress that buttoned in the front, much to Aang's torture.

Aang let out a frustrated groan of his own and hauled the window open. They were on the top floor, so it was just a quick jump to the roof. Much to his surprise, the roof was already occupied.

"Billie?" Aang asked.

Billie turned around in surprise. She was sitting on the edge of the roof facing the street.

"Oh, Aang," Billie sighed, smiling. "You scared me for a second." She smirked a little. "Nice PJs."

Aang glanced down at himself and found that he was, indeed, wearing his pajamas. "Oh, thanks," he laughed, a little embarrassed.

"Come have a seat, Avatar," she offered.

Aang smiled and sat down next to her. "You can uh… just call me Aang," he said quietly.

Billie glanced at him. "Not much for the Avatar thing?"

Aang shrugged. "It just came up kind of fast," he admitted. "I still feel like it's sinking in I guess."

"Understandable," Billie nodded. She turned her gaze back to the street and Aang finally took a look around.

"Wow," he whispered. The building wasn't large compared to the rest of the city, but it was in a great spot downtown. The city glittered all around them, humming with night life. "Nice view."

Billie smiled. "Yeah, I've always liked it," she sighed. "So what brings you up to my nice view, Aang?"

Aang was silent for a while. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered, glancing at his bare feet hanging over the edge of the roof.

"Hmmm…" Billie hummed thoughtfully. "Couldn't sleep just because you couldn't sleep or couldn't sleep because your mind is on something?"

After several long moments of weighing his options, Aang decided on the truth. "My mind is on something."

"Something with pretty blue eyes and a mean water whip? And maybe a laugh that always makes you smile?"

Aang stared at her. "Uh… maybe," he stammered.

Billie laughed. A smile tugged at Aang's lips, and he didn't realize why until he noticed how much her laugh reminded him of Katara's. He stopped smiling.

"I can't blame you," Billie chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder. "Katara has been a knockout since she was a little girl, just like Kaya."

Aang glanced over at Billie for a long moment. "You were friends with Katara's mother when you were little?" he asked quietly.

Billie smiled fondly at the memory. "Kaya and I met when we were nine years old," she nodded, then laughed. "But, that was a long time ago." A car horn blared on the street below, then all was quiet again. "So let's focus on the here and now, shall we?"

"Eh, that means me, doesn't it?" Aang muttered, smiling a little miserably at her.

Billie rolled her eyes. "Now what is it with you gangster boys? Never talk about your feelings."

"I don't think any boys talk about their feelings," Aang pointed out.

"Beside the point," Billie said airily, pointing a finger at him. "Now tell me here and now, before anything else is said. Do you love her?"

Aang was oddly calmed by the question. He turned his gaze back out to the city, thinking carefully. "Do I love Katara?" he repeated quietly. He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really know, I mean… I've never been in love before. I don't have any standard for comparison."

Billie grinned at him. "Do you care about her?"

"Of course."

"Does it make you happy to see her happy, regardless of whether or not it was you who made her happy?"

"Yeah."

She turned and looked at him fully, leveling a long, hard gaze straight into his eyes. "If you could, would you change anything about her?"

Aang smiled. "Not a thing," he said quietly. "But even if she does change… I'll keep on loving her."

Billie grinned at him, impressed. "Well done, Aang," she said gently. "You just admitted that you love Katara."

The young Avatar blinked. "Oh," he uttered. "I guess… I guess I did. I suppose I… I do love her."

Suddenly, Billie grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her, pointing a finger in his face. "Don't you break her heart, Aang," she said firmly. "That girl has had enough heartache for a dozen lifetimes, and she's only sixteen. You won't break her heart, will you."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Aang smiled a little. "I would never do anything to hurt her," he said sincerely. "Literally or metaphorically."

Billie sighed, relieved, and patted his shoulder. "Alright, good," she affirmed, nodding. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she has a bit of a soft spot for you."

"I think you would know better than anyone else," Aang replied, smirking a little. Billie chuckled again.

"Boy, you'll give her a run for her money," she sighed, getting to her feet and offering him a hand. "Come on, let's turn in."

Aang smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Billie."

"You're welcome, Aang. Sleep well."