CH 6 | Passions
Katara was going to die, and she knew it. She stole as many breaths as she could while watching the ground rise to meet her faster, and faster still. She was struggling to keep control of her limbs (which seemed to want to wave wildly as if this would suddenly give her flight powers) which amused Aang all the more as he fell next to her, legs crossed with his hands nonchalantly behind his head. He might as well have been sunbathing on the beach.
"You okay?" he called over to her with a smirk. She had a long list of insults that would make Gran Gran blush and she wanted to use all of them on the smug airbender. Instead, she just shrieked. "Okay, okay" he tutted, gusting his way underneath her, pulling her close to his body. There simply was no way to describe the tidal wave of thoughts and emotions she'd undergone in the past two hours. Never had she experienced such a connection with another person- to have met him and then trust him enough to plunge through the sky, accepting him as a human anchor with no visible tether. She buried her face in his neck to prevent herself from seeing the impact, but there was none. And for a moment, where they were and when they'd hit the ground mattered a lot less than the smell of his clean, wind-whipped skin and the feeling of his pulse against her cheek. Once Katara screwed up the courage to open her eyes again, they were seated back on Appa's saddle again and he was clicking his glider shut, laughing throatily.
Now that they were safe again, Katara could appreciate how the thrill of falling had felt and she couldn't help but join in his infectious laugh. "So, you DID like it?" "Yeah, actually!" she said still laughing, wiping a mirthful tear from one eye. "I think I'll like it more next time. Now that I know for sure you'll catch me." For a while they stared at one another, flushed both from the thrill of the fall, and the astonishing ease with which they enjoyed one another's company. "H-have you...? Nevermind..." Aang started to ask. "Have I ever felt instantly connected to someone?" Katara finished the sentence, because she somehow knew what he meant to ask. "—like a person you've been waiting to meet your whole life." Aang said in awe.
It was something she had already realized when they were still on the ground. Katara cuddled the fuzzy infant lemur in her arms, gently assisting him as he relished his afternoon bottle. He was no different than a human babe. Just…you know...hairier. Less than six hours into her new life and her heart had not felt this full since before her mom passed away. "So do you charm women with baby animals on the daily, or just weekends?" she had teased. "Just the weekends, usually. And only when they smell like a barn." He shot back, winking. He had removed Momo's sling and come to sit down next to them. She knew that this would be the normal part of flirting where they started asking questions about each other; What are you studying/why? What's your favorite food? What do you do for fun? But like Sokka had warned, Aang seemed to have a keen sense of how to bring the best out of a person, and that it was only possible to do so when you knew what was at their center.
"What's your passion?" he asked her, piercing her with sparkling grey eyes. Like rainclouds in the sunshine she thought, almost breathlessly. Having never been asked such a question, she hesitated a bit with how to answer. "H-healing. I feel best when someone leaves me without a hurt they had when I met them." Aang beamed at her answer, reflecting a level of admiration that she didn't feel worthy of, having only met him within the hour. Yet, she already felt the same way about him.
"What's YOUR passion?" she returned, now understanding the purpose of the question. The way his eyes sparkle
"Giving joy. Can I show you?" she nodded. Together they stood, and he gently took Momo in his arms, leaning the baby lemur over a shoulder. "C'mon over, Appa."
After a quick trip over to the next building abutting the barn, they put the lemur down for a nap. It was almost hilariously parental as they tip toed back out to where Appa now stood, sniffing at the meadow grass. "I feel best when I share something with someone, and it gives them joy or wonder." He shared, before gently grabbing her into what she thought was a simple hug. She returned it without question, but then felt slightly sheepish when he airbent them up into Appa's saddle. He was just trying to boost me up, not a real hug Katara She thought stupidly to herself. But then he glanced back at her, eyebrows wriggling. "Yip Yip!"
Sokka swallowed half a tamale in one bite as he dialed Katara's number for the third time. It went to voicemail again. Mrmmmph. He bellowed; mouth full.
"So obviously, you're an adult and get to go wherever you want now that you're here. But you at least need to let me know you're alive from time to time, K" he texted her. Her response was a selfie of her and Aang making faces at him. "On our way"
Sokka chuckled inwardly. He knew they were going to hit it off, he just didn't realize how quickly and how well. Then he realized the complications that would come if Aang didn't tie up all his loose ends. He texted Aang, "Do NOT get slutty with my sister. You need to get your shit together first. You know what I mean."
"I know what you mean."
Aang nodded and flipped open his other text messages while Appa lilted down into the street in front of their flat. Opening one of the windows near the bottom of his list he sent two sentences:
"Whatever you'd call what we were doing, call it done now. Take care of yourself."
On the other side of the city, Azula opened her phone a smirked wickedly. "We're done when I say we're done."