A/N: Hello! So sorry for the delay in getting the rest of my Kataang Week prompts up. Here's Day 3...even if it's extremely late. XD Hope it's decent!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Day III: Rainy Days
XXVIII. Bliss
It was raining when Aang finally stepped off the boat and onto Air Temple Island. After two long weeks away from home travelling the world, he was thankful to be home. He had been looking forward to spending time with Katara and relaxing at home, but the minute he reached the front door, he knew something was wrong. All the lights had been turned off and Katara was nowhere to be found which was strange because she always waited for his return and she'd known about his arrival. In all their years together, he couldn't once recall a time she hadn't been waiting to greet him when he returned from a solo trip. The thought that she wasn't even home put a damper on his spirits and he sighed before letting himself in and closing the door softly.
The interior of the house was dark and Aang just slipped off his shoes and dropped his small bag by the door before wandering to the room he and Katara shared. The room was made dark by the hazy gray light streaming in from the windows and the bed was neatly made. It looked as if no one had slept in it for a while. The kitchen was the same. Everything thing was in its place and nothing looked as if it had been used in a while. Sighing, the airbender returned to his room and flopped down on the bed, closing his eyes and attempting to reassure himself that Katara had just stepped out for a while and would be back soon. But the knot in his stomach told him otherwise.
When the Avatar woke up again, it was considerably darker. A steady rain was pounding on the roof and Aang ventured outside the room to see if Katara had returned, but all the lights in the houses were still off and everything had been just as he left it a week ago. With nothing better to do, the airbender made his way to the tower and climbed to the very top. The room up there offered a nice view of Republic City and despite the rain, Aang sat on the window seat and kept the windows open. And for the next two hours, he did nothing but stare at the skyline of the city across the bay and wonder where his wife had gone.
Despite having an umbrella, Katara was soaking wet. She'd been splashed by not one but two carriages rushing by and to top things off she'd dropped her dinner in a puddle and then had to travel back to the restaurant to reorder it. She was starting to wish she'd just stayed home and cooked the meal herself, but she'd been spending the last two weeks at Sokka and Suki's place so she wouldn't be lonely. Suki had done most of the cooking and Katara had gotten used to not cooking for a bit, so when she'd finally decided to head home, she'd stopped at a nearby restaurant that she and Aang frequented to pick up some food. The idea was to take it back to Air Temple Island and have it ready so that when Aang came they could enjoy a nice meal together, but her little incident had ruined that plan. She had to wait another hour before the chefs managed to redo her order (mostly because the restaurant was packed and other customers who'd come before her were still waiting) so it was rather late when she set off for the docks. When she got to the piers, she lost an additional half hour waiting for a ferry but when it became apparent no ferry was coming, she simply waterbent a thick sheet of ice to float on and used her bending to get herself home.
The sight that greeted her at home wasn't much better. Air Temple Island looked completely deserted and, aside from one lemur attempting to eat in the rain, there wasn't much else. All the lights were off in the house and Katara sighed. She had been hoping that Aang would've returned by the time she got back, but it looked like she was going to spend the night on the island alone. The Air Acolytes weren't set to move in for another month, so until Aang came, she'd have no one for company but some lemurs.
"Well," this was a waste," the waterbender muttered to herself, hoisting up the bag that contained her dinner and trudging towards the house. It was only when she'd made it halfway up the path that she noticed a silhouette moving towards her. She nearly waterbent the figure away, but the sound of Aang's voice calling her name stopped her.
"Aang? What…?"
The waterbender had little time to respond before the airbender enveloped her in a tight embrace and then kissed her deeply.
"I was worried," he said. "No one was here when I got back, so I thought maybe you'd stepped out or maybe something had happened."
"I was out getting dinner," Katara admitted. "Were you waiting for me all this time?"
The airbender nodded, unabashedly. "For you, I'd wait forever," he said, lacing his fingers with her.
Katara was about to respond, but the rain suddenly started coming down harder, forcing the two to retreat indoors. Katara set the bag of food on the table and went to join Aang by the window.
"Wow, it's really coming down," Aang noted, glancing at the thick, fat raindrops as they splattered on the ground.
"Looks like we're in for a storm," Katara replied.
"Well, that's good because I'm so tired and not at all ready to go to work tomorrow. Maybe I can take the day off if I call in sick and say I got a cold from the rainstorm."
"But you beat the rainstorm," Katara said, looking puzzled.
"Yeah, but no one knows that," Aang replied, grinning mischievously. "Besides, we'd have the whole day to ourselves."
Katara grinned, suddenly thankful for the storm which brought rain for two more days. And for two days, Katara and Aang did nothing but relax and enjoy each other's company while the heavens emptied above them.
