A/N: No I'm not dead :/. However, I've been working 40-50 hours a week all month, so that's pretty much why I haven't updated and I'm really sorry to keep throwing these excuses at you guys, cuz you deserve better :(. I can't completely promise that I'll update more frequently now because I'm back in classes and working about 20 hours a week. Buttt I will do my best because I miss writing a whole lot. Luckily though, this is a long chapter, so hopefully it somewhat makes up for my absence. Thanks for being so patient, I love you guys. Anyhow, this is sort of a different take on Aang and Katara pre-engagement that I doubt would *actually* happen, but hey, it's fanfiction for a reason.
I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.
At fifteen, Aang had grown from a child to an undeniably handsome young man. So to Katara, it was only natural that so many girls would be after him. It didn't bother her as much as she would have thought it would though. She trusted Aang, and none of these girls were a real threat to their relationship, as annoying as it was that whenever word got out that the avatar would be attending a party or ball, a disproportionate number of young ladies would show up dressed in the most revealing, tight fitting formalwear they could find. Still, even this didn't pose too much of a problem as Aang had taken to staying at Katara's side for the entirety of the evening to show that he wasn't available. Most of the time, this strategy was fairly effective in achieving the desired effect. Everyone could see that Katara was beautiful and she unintentionally stood out as she looked much more elegant in her dresses that were not designed especially for the sake of showing skin. And everyone could tell that Aang was absolutely enraptured with her. Even if there hadn't been throngs of girls to avoid, it was obvious that Aang would've still stuck to his beloved's side like glue for the entire evening. However, if they ever separated, the avatar almost always instantly regretted it. At this particular moment, Katara had wandered off to get a drink, leaving him momentarily alone.
"Avatar Aang." A singsong female voice called to him and he mentally groaned, but put on an air of polite acknowledgement when he came face to face with a girl in a form fitting green dress. Her face was perfectly made up, each neat, black hair in place. "You look really handsome." She didn't, Aang noticed, blush or giggle like many of the other girls did. Rather, a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of her painted lips. From an objective standpoint, Aang couldn't deny that she was beautiful, but that didn't make him feel any better. The way she was looking at him actually made him feel a bit uneasy.
"Thank you." He said formally. The girl playfully made a face.
"So serious. Come on, have some fun. Dance with me." Aang barely managed to force a smile as he shook his head politely.
"Sorry, I'm waiting for my girlfriend, Katara. She's just getting a drink." He explained. The girl pouted.
"Girlfriend, hm? Well, come on. One dance wouldn't upset her, unless she's the jealous type." Aang felt every intention of being nice slip away. This girl was trying to manipulate him away from Katara.
"She's not. I'm not worried about getting in trouble with her, but I told her I'd wait for her so I will." The girl only continued to smile that smile of hers.
"Okay." She said lightly, to Aang's surprise.
"Maybe I'll see you sometime soon. My name's Ayumi." As she turned her back and walked away, Aang inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he should start attending these events in disguise…
Katara was about to return to Aang when a girl in a tight green dress stepped into her path, giving her an odd smile.
"Hi." She greeted. Katara gave her a rather puzzled expression.
"Hi." She answered.
"I just had a question." The girl said casually. Katara raised an eyebrow.
"Okay…"
"The avatar's your boyfriend, huh?" Ayumi asked. Katara nodded warily.
"Yes, Aang and I are together." Ayumi smiled again.
"Well, he seems to think you'd get jealous if he danced with another girl. But I told him that I didn't think you'd be that kind of person. You wouldn't mind if I had just one dance with him, would you?" she asked. Katara realized exactly what this girl was trying to do, but suddenly, she didn't know how to stop it. What was she supposed to say? She couldn't admit to this girl that one dance would make her jealous. Besides, Aang was all hers for the rest of the evening and even beyond that and they probably wouldn't see this girl ever again. Still, she mentally resolved to keep a close eye out before giving her answer.
"No, it's fine." She faked a friendly smile and Ayumi gave her an equally fake one in return.
"Great! Thanks." And then she was off, turning her back on Katara and approaching Aang with that unsettling smile of hers. Katara continued to watch them uncomfortably as Aang reluctantly accepted Ayumi at last. Though she knew it meant nothing, Katara couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of envy at the way they looked, at least from a distance, perfect together. Ayumi was a graceful dancer as was Aang, not to mention she looked beautiful. Nobody could deny that. Katara sighed and turned her gaze elsewhere.
"Hey." Ayumi said softly when Aang brought them to a stop. "This was fun. Maybe I could see you again tomorrow evening? Or tonight, if you catch my drift." Her voice had suddenly grown too soft, her body pressing against his in a way that he would rather it not.
"Sorry." He answered. "I'm...going to ask Katara to marry me soon. I can't. I would never do that to her." His voice was cold, no longer feigning kindness. This girl was crossing the line now.
"Oh Aang...don't be so old fashioned. You're the most powerful man in the world, no one in your position has only one woman, you must know that." Aang frowned deeply.
"That isn't true. Katara's father and my friend Zuko would also never do that. And even if they did, I still wouldn't. I think you have the wrong idea of what kind of person I am." He didn't linger any longer, heading straight to rejoin Katara and not listening to hear if Ayumi had anything else to say to him before he left.
After several dances, Ayumi practically forgotten, Katara and Aang left the ballroom together to catch some fresh air, and sat together on a flight of narrow stairs cut off from the rest of the palace.
"So..." Aang began, grinning at Katara and eliciting a laugh from her. She laced her fingers with his, leaning against him affectionately, happy to be alone with him.
"I meant to ask you...what did that girl say to you?" Katara's smile faded. "Why, what'd she say to you?" Aang shrugged.
"I was just wondering. She wouldn't leave me alone and then she just told me she'd ask you if it was okay to dance with me. To be honest, I was hoping you'd say no." Katara sighed.
"She said that you thought I'd get jealous and wanted me to tell her that I wouldn't be so she could dance with you." Aang's eyes widened.
"I never said that! I said you weren't the jealous type but that I was going to wait for you anyways." Katara waved a hand dismissively, but inside she couldn't help but feel better. She'd hoped Aang didn't see her that way.
"It's fine." She said. "I figured she was just trying to get to me through you or something. I'm glad we left when we did." She admitted. Aang smiled, relieved.
"I am too. I'd much rather be alone with you than anywhere or with anyone else." He said seriously, his voice low. The words sent a low tingle through Katara's core, and she soon found herself cupping Aang's face to kiss him deeply, feeling him wrap her in his arms and fall willingly into the moment.
"Mmmm..." She sighed contentedly when they parted. It had been a busy week and she and Aang had hardly had any time to be alone together like this and while the kiss had been incredibly satisfying, it had simultaneously wetted her appetite for more.
"Hey, your meeting ends before tomorrow evening, right?" She asked, raising her eyebrows with a smile. Aang grinned.
"Yeah, it does." He started, but then his expression changed, as though he'd just remembered something.
"But I can't tomorrow. How about the day after?" Katara raised an eyebrow.
"Why not? What's happening tomorrow evening?" She asked. Aang sighed. "I can't tell you." He'd hoped he wouldn't have had to say that, but the fact of the matter was that there was no way he could tell her about this, as much as he wanted to. She instantly looked hurt.
"Why not?" Aang inwardly winced. It killed him to keep her in the dark like this.
"Because I just can't. But it's nothing bad, I promise. I'll tell you in a month or so." He said reassuringly. Katara looked like she might be ready to argue about it, but seemed to think better of it and sighed instead.
"Fine." She said softly. Aang pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
"I'm really sorry." He apologized, unable to help but feel guilty about leaving her out, even if it was necessary, for now. "But look, I promise the day after we can spend all day together, okay? It'll be fun." Though she was still disappointed, Katara seemed to brighten slightly.
"Okay." Aang's shoulders slumped in relief.
The next day went by rather uneventfully, with Aang staying holed up in his room when he returned from his meeting and Katara spending the day out with Toph for a change. She still felt a little put off about what had happened with Aang last night, and though Toph wasn't exactly a comforting person, she at least provided a good distraction and prevented her from overreacting.
"Alright sweetness. What's eating you?" She asked almost the instant they sat down at a small outdoor café for some tea. Katara sighed, resting her head in hear palms.
"Is it that obvious?"
"I know you, remember? You've been this way since last night. Just spit it out." Toph answered flatly.
"It's about Aang." Katara said quickly and quietly as the waiter set her and Toph's tea on the table before them. Toph looked surprised.
"Twinkletoes? Since when do you two have any problems?" She questioned. Katara thanked the waiter and took a sip of her tea before answering.
"I don't know. But, last night I asked him if we could spend the evening together tomorrow because I know he's free, but then he said no and that he couldn't tell me why, at least not yet." She explained dejectedly. Just thinking about the conversation frustrated her. Aang never kept secrets from her. What could this possibly be? Toph raised an eyebrow.
"Not yet?" She inquired.
"He said he'd tell me in a month or so. And I can't figure out what could be going on now that won't be important a month later." Toph looked thoughtful and eventually shrugged.
"I don't know. But whatever it is, you shouldn't worry about it. Aang's crazy about you, so I really don't think there's much that could go wrong. I'm sure he has a good reason." Katara however, was still playing nervously with her braid.
"Are you sure?" Toph rolled her sightless eyes.
"Positive. You have nothing to worry about. If you still don't believe me, I can't remember ever feeling him lie to you."
Aang stretched his arms over his head and leaned back in his chair, his shoulders aching slightly from sitting here, bent over his work for hours. Still, he kept up his patience. This was a labor of love after all, for Katara. He was just putting the final touches on her betrothal necklace and he couldn't wait to show it to her. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his door. Hastily, he slipped the necklace into his pocket.
"Come in." He called, expecting to see Katara, or maybe Zuko in the doorway. Only, it was neither of them. Instead, that girl from the other night, Ayumi? Stood in the entrance to his room. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Before he could say a word to her, she had shut the door behind her and slowly made her way to his side, that smile of hers playing on her lips. Once again, her hair and makeup were done perfectly and she was wearing an embroidered robe that looked awfully familiar.
"Hello again, Avatar Aang. You seem rather lonely." Aang shook his head, realizing what she was implying.
"I'm fine. Look, Ayumi, I'm sure you're a nice girl, but I'm asking Katara to marry me." He withdrew the unfinished betrothal necklace from his pocket to show her. It was only then that he realized he had no idea how she'd even gotten into the Earth King's palace to begin with, let alone how she'd found his room. "How…how'd you even…?" Ayumi just giggled and tapped his nose.
"My father's in charge of the Earth King's security team." She told him. Maybe I should look into getting one of those too…Aang thought rather darkly to himself. "Anyways." She continued, unfastening the robe to reveal a tighter silk gown underneath. It was only then that Aang realized where he'd seen the robe before.
"Why do you have Katara's clothes?" He demanded, tossing away any attempt at being polite at this point.
"A servant was just bringing it up from the wash, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I used it for one evening. You did tell me she isn't the jealous type, after all. Besides, avatar, as I said yesterday, someone in your position certainly doesn't need to commit to one person. I'm sure she'd understand that." Before Aang could even answer, she had crept up behind his chair and bent down to wrap her arms around his chest and press her lips against his ear. He tensed, ready to wrench himself from her grasp, when the door opened again.
"Aang, have you seen my-" Katara froze in her tracks and Aang's heart stopped. This was not happening. He watched, horrified, unable to speak, as she snatched her robe from the bed where Ayumi had tossed it.
"Aang said I could borrow it, I hope you don't mind." Ayumi said casually, just as Aang stood up from his chair to run to Katara's side and grasp her hands. Before he had a chance to speak, however, she stopped him.
"No, Aang, I get it." She choked out. "You didn't want to tell me what was going on tonight and I think this pretty much explains it. You don't have to tell me anymore about it." She withdrew her hands forcefully from his. "I can't believe you would do this to me…I trusted you."
"Katara, I-" Aang could feel his heart beating entirely too fast, his mouth running dry in panic. He'd never, ever seen Katara look so hurt, so betrayed and it killed him.
"No! Just shut up and don't talk to me!" The last words were swallowed by a sob before she slammed the door. Aang could hear her running down the hallway, forgetting about Ayumi entirely as he dashed out of the room and used his airbending to catch up with her, he had to fix this, had to make her understand…
"Katara, please just listen! She just appeared in my room! I didn't want her there! I was about to-"
"Then why'd you tell me you were busy tonight? Leave me alone!" Her eyes were already red from crying, and the last word rung in the air after she screamed it. Aang had never heard her yell that way before, especially not at him and for a moment, he simply stood there, frozen, before she turned her back on him once again and rushed the rest of the way down the hallway to her own room where she slammed the door, her sobs echoing through the empty hall.
"Katara!" He called. "Katara, please!" This couldn't happen, he couldn't lose her, not after everything, but how could he explain?
"Come back inside, Aang, she just doesn't under-" Ayumi was peeking out from the doorway to his bedroom.
"Get out." He interrupted her, his voice shaking, his hands clenched into fists. The air around them began to stir, the torches that illuminated the hallway beginning to flicker.
"Aang-"
"Leave, now." The wind picked up, and Aang's tattoos began to glow. At last, Ayumi scampered down the stairs, only for another voice to replace hers.
"Twinkletoes, stop! You'll destroy the whole palace if you do this!" Toph grabbed him firmly by the wrist and yanked him back to the floor which he had begun to rise away from. The winds stopped, and Aang fell to his knees, feeling his heart fill with despair. Toph rolled her eyes. "Come on." She stomped her foot lightly, causing the marble floor to shake and Aang to jolt to his feet again. "We need to talk." Aang winced as her fist closed around his wrist again and she pulled him towards the room from which he'd just come, shutting the door behind her before sitting on the bed and glowering at him with her sightless eyes. "First of all." She began. "You need to control yourself. You can't go all glowy inside or you'll destroy everything." She admonished. Aang let out a long breath through his nose and sat next to her, trying to exercise some restraint over the emotions raging within him. He wanted to cry, scream, beg Katara for mercy… "And also, you need to tell me what in the world just happened." At this, Aang couldn't help but allow a few tears to fall. He'd hurt Katara, not purposefully, but still. The very thought made him feel sick.
"Oh, this must be bad." She sighed. "Look, whatever it is can't be bad enough to keep you apart forever, just tell me what happened." Aang looked at her, his breath shaking as he tried to hold back more tears. Toph found herself being thankful for the fact that she couldn't see, because what she was hearing was pitiful enough and she was afraid she might actually end up feeling sorry for her old pupil if this kept up. And she wasn't the best at comforting people.
"I met this girl last night." He began. Toph winced. She couldn't remember the last time he'd sounded so…hopeless. "She wanted to dance with me, but I told her I couldn't because I was waiting for Katara. So then she went over and asked Katara, who apparently said it was okay. So we danced, and then she tried to tell me that I was too powerful to commit to one girl and that she could "keep me company." I told her I wasn't interested and Katara and I left, and then she asked if we could spend this evening together and…" Toph held up a hand, stopping him.
"She told me that part earlier. But why?" Aang sighed, sadly withdrawing the betrothal necklace and pressing it into Toph's hand so she could feel it.
"Wow." She murmured. "Is this...?" Aang nodded.
"Yeah, it is. I was gonna ask her in a month or so when I finished it, but now…she probably never wants to talk to me again. I told her tonight wouldn't work because I had to work on it and it's supposed to be a surprise, you know? But then, that girl from last night showed up out of nowhere, she said her dad was in charge of the Earth King's security or something and she was wearing Katara's robe that she'd picked up off of a servant, and well, that's where Katara came in, and you probably heard the rest." He finished, deciding to leave out the part about Ayumi wrapping her arms around him and…he shuddered, trying to erase it from his mind.
"Yikes." Toph said, handing the necklace back to Aang. "She won't listen to you?" Aang looked down, feeling more dejected than ever. "No, and I don't blame her. I mean, it would be one thing if she'd seen that by itself, but the fact that I said we couldn't be together tonight…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't know how I'll explain it to her."
"That is a tough break." Toph agreed. "But don't give up. I mean, I don't normally say this, but you and her really do have something special. She loves you. I don't think one misunderstanding can last very long." Aang sighed shakily.
"You really think so?" Toph nodded.
"You know what? If she's not listening to you, I'll talk to her. Just sit tight." Aang's eyes widened in surprise.
"You'd do that?" It was very unlike Toph to get at all involved in matters of the heart, and Aang was quite frankly astonished that she was making this a priority.
"Hey, I do have a soul, you know?" She reminded him, punching him in the shoulder. Though, Aang noted, it was a much softer punch than usual. For the first time that evening, he smiled.
"Thanks Toph." She waved a hand dismissively.
"Don't mention it. But don't get too used to it either. This is a special favor."
Katara sat at her mirror, trying to work through a knot in her hair. It had been an entire day since she'd seen Aang, but it felt like at least a week. And today was supposed to have been their day together. She set the brush down and rubbed her temples, bowing her head so that she wouldn't have to see herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red from crying despite her talk with Toph. While her friend's words had been reassuring, they weren't enough to make up for the fact that she had yet to speak with Aang herself. This was only made worse by the fact that she honestly felt she couldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to her again.
"Katara…" As if on cue, she heard her name accompanied by a light knock on the door. Aang.
"Can we talk? Please?" He asked from the other side. Taking a deep breath Katara readied herself for an answer.
"Okay." She bit her lip nervously, a familiar chill running through her when Aang himself stepped through the door.
"Aang..." She breathed. "I'm so…I shouldn't have. Last night…I'm so sorry…" She couldn't for the life of her get the words to come out in the right order. At least Aang seemed at least slightly relieved, though. He put his hands up.
"No, it's okay. I know what it must've looked like and I'm really, really sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I just hope you can understand that I really never meant to hurt you. I feel awful." Katara looked up at him, eyes shimmering.
"I know. But you shouldn't. Toph told me you were telling the truth and deep down, I think I knew you wouldn't do something like that. I was just too angry and confused to think straight and I took it out on you. So, I'm sorry." Aang shook his head.
"Still, I don't blame you. And you deserve an explanation so…the truth is, I was working on a surprise for you and it isn't done yet so I didn't want you to see it. And Anami or whatever her name was…dad is the head of the Earth King's security council so…" Katara waved a hand dismissively.
"I know. Toph told me that part." Aang's eyes widened in alarm.
"She didn't tell you about the surprise though, did she?" For the first time that day, Katara laughed.
"No, she didn't." A rather awkward pause ensued and Aang found himself blushing deeply. Katara's eyes darted around uneasily and she tried again to work through the knot in her hair, only for the brush to get caught once again.
"Oh um…let me help you…" Aang half stammered and Katara couldn't help but smile as she passed him the brush, feeling him take hold of her hair below the roots so he wouldn't pull it out of her scalp (a trick she'd taught him many years ago) before trying to work through the tangle at the ends. She gave a shuddering sigh of relief, more than anything else thankful that Aang wasn't angry with her. He set the brush down and stood before her again.
"You've been crying, haven't you?" He asked softly after a moment. Katara looked away, glaring at a spot on the floor. Before she could say anything, Aang had lowered himself to his knees before her and taken her hands.
"Katara, I'm so sorry, I know I hurt you and I have to be more careful. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you now but-" Katara squeezed his hands in a silent request for him to stop.
"Aang." She interrupted him and slid gracefully out of the chair to join her beloved on the floor. Before he could react, she had cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. He sighed against her lips, wrapping her tightly in his arms and grinning sheepishly when they parted. "Look. It did hurt, but it isn't your fault. I know you're the avatar, and a handsome one at that-" She paused, smiling slyly before continuing "so I have to realize that sometimes things like that will come up. I mean, you never got angry with me when those other water tribe guys proposed to me last year. I just…reacted too quickly because it made me angry. You don't have to feel guilty for that. But…if you still want to make it up to me, the day isn't over yet and we were supposed to spend it together, remember?" Aang brightened considerably, helping Katara to her feet.
"Really? You'd still like to go out?" He asked excitedly. Katara laughed and nodded.
"I'd love to."
