April 24th, Saturday, Ba Sing Se
Katara usually loved the sounds of the hectic atmosphere of an airport. The loudspeakers, calling passengers to their gates, the crowd of tourists, the rushed businesspeople... They used to remind her of summer vacation as a child, when she and her family would travel to a beach, usually to Kyoshi Island, to run away from the customary cold of the Southern Water Tribe.
At that moment, however, that environment was giving her a bittersweet feeling.
Her heart thumped loud on her ears, louder than the wave of tourists, as she followed Sokka and Suki through the airport, making their way to the gate where they'd meet their family. A few people already stood before the exit beside them, waiting for their loved ones to arrive, holding signs with their names.
Katara was just minutes away from meeting her dad and grandmother after months apart. Since they had moved to Ba Sing Se, she and Sokka had gone longer without meeting their family, but the last few months had been so crazy for her that all she really needed was a big hug from Gran-Gran.
But then again, it was an ambiguous feeling. She also wanted to hide her new belly bump from her grandmother forever and pretend it never happened.
The passengers soon started to come out of the gate, holding their luggage and looking tired. It made sense, though, given that the flight from the Southern Water Tribe was a long one. Katara bit her nails and held her large jacket close to her body, attempting to hide her stomach.
She drew a sharp breath when she saw Kanna, Hakoda, and her step-grandfather Pakku step out of the gate. Sokka waved, to show the family where they were standing, and as they approached, Katara felt tears come to her eyes.
Even after many years, it felt weird not seeing her mother, Kya, amongst the group. She had died a long time ago when Katara was a kid, but she hadn't gotten over it, and she thought she never would. However, even with a missing piece, the sight of her family still made her heart melt. Looking at their familiar faces for the first time in a while brought her a sense of safety. Their reunions always made Katara feel like she was a child again, running to the familiar embrace.
"Dad! Gran-Gran!" The siblings yelled, being embraced in a big group hug by the father and grandmother. Suki followed right behind, not wanting to interrupt the family moment. She waved to Pakku instead, who just nodded in return.
With her face buried on her father's shoulders, and smelling her Gran-Gran's familiar perfume, the tears in Katara's eyes turned into deep sobs. It was probably one of her hormonal breakdowns, but they didn't know that yet. Her brother was the first to step away from the group hug when he realized the sister was almost collapsing in their dad's and grandma's arms. Sokka and Suki shared a look, and the girl coughed, hiding her face in her hands.
Hakoda looked down at his daughter with concern, patting her head as she kept crying. Kanna stepped back to look at her face too, her wrinkled blue eyes squirmed with confusion.
When Katara realized she was making a scene in the middle of the airport, her heart almost stopped. What if they realized she was pregnant right away?
Keep it cool, she thought, trying to wipe her eyes fast, and putting up a smile on her face.
"Hey, kiddo, are you okay?" Hakoda asked her, his eyebrows still furrowed. He glanced at Sokka, who just shrugged, pursing his lips.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm great. I'm fine. I just... Missed you guys a lot. That's all." She put her hands in her pockets, once again holding her jacket close to her body.
Kanna and her son looked at each other, and then back at Katara. Smiling awkwardly, she felt trapped under their pitiful gaze. Gran-Gran's eyes had always had that effect on her. She used to hate that when she was a child because her grandmother was always able to make her confess when she did something wrong. At that moment, they were simply lost, confused, but still glimmered in an icy blue tone, similar to hers.
The silence was becoming unbearable to Katara. The other passengers arriving from that flight passed around them, bumping accidentally into their shoulders. The family stood in a circle-shaped formation that disrupted the flow of the airport. Altogether with the family's reaction to her little breakdown, she felt claustrophobic, even.
"Hey, it's kind of crowded here. Let's go back to our place, so you can get settled." Sokka was the one to break the silence, receiving a very grateful look from his sister.
Sokka offered to carry Pakku's luggage to the car, to help the older man. In a matter of habit, Gran-Gran also handed Katara her large handbag but was taken aback when Suki grabbed it instead, in a swift motion.
As Kanna stared at the woman with a raised eyebrow, they mumbled some excuse.
"I can't hold your bag, Gran... It's because..." Katara lamented, uncertain.
"Her wrist! She... hurt her wrist last week doing yoga." Suki intervened, saving her from any further questions.
The grandmother's hand quickly grabbed Katara's wrist. Being from a small village in the Southern Water Tribe, Kanna was used to having to take care of many minor injuries. The nearest hospital to her childhood house was about an hour away, so Gran-Gran was very experienced when it came to first aid.
Kanna turned Katara's left wrist, examining it. She faked a wince, remembering that it was supposed to have hurt.
"Put an ice compress two times a day and it should be good in no time!" Gran-Gran said, with a soothing smile on her face, before following the men, who had already been walking towards the parking lot.
They made their way through the airport, stumbling across many excursion groups, who spoke very loudly. But soon enough they were out in the car park, breathing in the fresh air of spring.
After they settled the luggage on the car trunk, Pakku looked puzzled at the Jeep standing in front of them.
"There aren't enough seats for all of us." He pointed out, his usual frown never leaving his face.
"Oh, no problem. You guys can just go squished in the backseat." Sokka shrugged, tingling his car key on his fingers.
"Hm... I'd rather go in the passenger's seat." Pakku replied, motioning to get to the front door, only to have it quickly closed by Suki.
The old man stood back, looking at her with an outraged expression. Kanna and Hakoda also looked confused at Suki's behavior, but she just shrugged.
"It's just that Katara's... hip was also hurt in the yoga accident. She has to go to the front seat." She excused her sister-in-law once again, and Katara swooped into the passenger seat before Pakku could stop her, giving her family a faint grin.
"My hip also hurts, from the weight of eighty years of life." He growled.
"Oh, come on, Pakku! Let's all bundle up here in the backseat!" Kanna called him, already seated down next to her son. Sokka gagged at that reaction.
They were soon all settled in the backseat, save for Katara and for Sokka, who was driving his Jeep. The ride back to the city was dreadful, to say the least. Hakoda's tall figure was pressed against the car door, and his knees were almost touching his chest, due to the lack of space. Pakku had his annoyed face glued to the car window, focusing on the streets and dropping a comment about the city's architecture every now and then.
Kanna was the only one who was not so uncomfortable, being the shortest of them all. She grabbed Suki's hand, who was also not in the most pleasant seating arrangement, being squished in between Hakoda and Gran-Gran. In the least smooth way possible, the grandmother brought up her favorite subject concerning the granddaughter-in-law.
"So, Suki, my dear... You've been married for a few months now, and I've heard that Sokka just got a promotion... When are you guys trying for a baby?"
Sokka suddenly choked and started coughing uncontrollably from the driver's seat. He let the car wheel go for a moment, and Katara held onto it, trying to keep the car in a straight line with only one hand.
"Eyes on the road, Sokka!" She yelled. He took the wheel again, mumbling an apology.
The ones in the backseat piled over each other with a sudden movement. Pakku started whispering a prayer to the spirits as Kanna recomposed, looking back at Suki to wait for her answer. She blinked, her blue icy eyes, wrinkled by old age, staring expectantly at her.
"Uh... Well, Gran-Gran... We haven't talked about it yet." Suki said, in an apologetic tone.
"Oh, no! Really?" Kanna's face wrinkled more as she pouted.
"Yeah. We're still quite young." Sokka said from the front seat.
The grandmother crossed her arms over her chest, with a sad look on her face. "Well, I've always wanted to have some great-grandchildren... And I'm not getting any younger. I wonder how much time I have left..."
"Stop that, mom," Hakoda said, still contorted in a weird position in the car. "You're in perfect health. You still have plenty of time."
"I still don't want to wait that long!"
"Don't worry, Gran," Sokka added, muttering under his breath. "I'm sure you'll have your great-grandchild pretty soon."
He received a dirty look from Katara, who had felt her heart stop for a second at his comment.
She glanced through the rearview window, but her grandma's expression seemed distracted. Maybe, as Sokka had only whispered, she hadn't heard him.
Sokka parked in front of her building when they arrived at the place, which was just a block away from her brother's. Hakoda, who was staying in his daughter's spare bedroom during his stay in the city, took his luggage out of the trunk. Katara took the wheel bag, since it was easier to carry, and stepped onto the sidewalk. As soon as the passenger's seat got available, Pakku rushed to get to the front door, sitting down with a stoic expression.
"Bye, guys. See you tomorrow!" She said goodbye to her grandparents, pushing the trolley bag to the entrance of the building.
She looked back to wave at them before she went inside, but her hand froze in the air when she saw that Gran-Gran had been staring at her with a shocked expression. The girl looked down, realizing she had let her jacket open, and quickly grabbed it again, crossing her arms and smiling faintly.
The grandmother furrowed her eyebrows as if she was trying to solve a puzzle. Katara could almost see the older woman's brain connecting dots. The realization came to her wrinkled face, and she took a sharp breath.
Before Sokka stepped on the accelerator, and the car was on its way to the other apartment, she finally caught a glimpse of Kanna's familiar all-knowing look. Her wise eyes glimmered with knowing, and her face twisted with pride.
Oh, shit, she thought, Here we go.