A/N: Welcome to Kataang Week 2022 Day 4! Today's prompt is Drunk Kataang! Full disclaimer, as a minor I don't exactly have the most experience with drunk-ness so there may be some creative liberties taken. Also, for the purposes of this story, the ATLA legal drinking age is 16 - 18, depending on the nation. Shouldn't matter too much, but just clarifying for any fellow United Statians used to the 21 age limit.
Summary: While Kataang loved each other sober, they couldn't help but find each other's drunk selves equally endearing.
Word Count: 2.7k
Enjoy the story!
The press, particularly the fangirls masquerading as press, had always gotten on Katara's nerves.
She supposed it was a natural consequence of her and her friends saving the world at such a young age and going on to become world leaders and dignitaries, but did they have to be so freaking insistent? Katara was positive that if she had a yuan for every time she'd caught a journalist or a cameraperson trailing them on the streets of Cranefish Town, soon to be known as Republic City, she would have enough money to buy each and every tabloid company.
She loathed reading all of their over-the-top, greatly exaggerated headlines whenever they went out into the city- "Avatar Aang Cheating On His Wife?!", "Councilwoman Katara Keeping Secrets From the People!", "Pregnancy On The Horizon?"- it never seemed to end!
The journalists rarely asked any meaningful questions from her own personal experience, instead sticking to quite… malleable questions, the answers of which they could use to paint you as the four nations' biggest hero or worst enemy, depending on their mood that day.
Due to all the mess it seemed to cause, Katara rarely paid any mind to what she and Aang would be asked during their weekly errands into the city. However, one day while out shopping for the newest shipment of exotic fruits from the southern Earth Kingdom, a particular question caught her attention.
"What is the other like while drunk?"
The reporter asking her looked quite young, maybe in her mid-20s, with thick brown hair up in a bun and a notepad in hand. Though Katara ignored the girl and would never give her answer to the media themselves, she couldn't help but muse on the question; the waterbender hadn't really thought about it before.
Of course, the couple had seen each other drunk many times before. They were only 20 and 22, but that didn't stop Sokka and Toph from dragging them both to the newest local bar they had found once Aang had turned of age. It would also typically be one of the two benders that was designated the "responsible one" for that night, making sure everyone in their little group got home safely. This made for quite an interesting collection of stories to tell, as both Katara and Aang had very vivid and clear memories of the other's drunken shenanigans.
Katara grinned just thinking about the last time Aang had gotten drunk as she added another orange to her basket.
What was Aang like while drunk?
"Affectionate," the waterbender thought, chuckling to herself, "And that was putting it mildly."
Alcohol tended to amplify traits already present in a person, and Aang was no different. Aang was no lightweight, but Drunk Aang, or Draangk as Sokka (and Katara) liked to call him, never failed to entertain Katara with his flirty and hilariously forgetful self.
"Katara?" Aang had hiccuped once, looking at her with as serious a look as he could muster.
The waterbender raised an eyebrow at him, an amused sparkle in her eyes. "Yes, sweetie?"
"I have something very… hic …important to ask you." His eyes were wide and grave, cheeks flushed as he swayed a little on the bar stool.
"Go on, Aang."
"You shouldn't… hic …you shouldn't fall from Appa. You should fall… hic …for me instead!"
Katara looked down very intently at the stone tile of the bar flooring, pressing her hand to her mouth and barely resisting the urge to laugh.
"Sweetie," she began after clearing her throat and sitting back up, her composure regained. "I already have fallen for you. We're a couple, remember?"
The waterbender had never really understood what it meant to have a smile that could light up an entire city, but she thought she was getting the idea now. Judging by the look on his face, Katara swore she could've told Aang that the whole city was on fire and he wouldn't have even given it a second thought.
"Really?" Aang asked gleefully, his seat creaking underneath him as he bounced up and down in excitement. "Do you… hic …think we could get married?"
"My love, we got married three years ago."
The airbender gasped in incredulity before hiccuping again. "No. Way."
Katara scrunched her nose playfully, a smile finally having made its way to her face. "Yes way. I'm pretty sure I was there, Aang."
"You'll never believe this but me… hic …too! Gosh, we have so much in… hic …common we must be soulmates or something."
The airbender gasped again, getting off his chair and taking Katara's hands in his, his eyes staring deeply into hers.
"Katara."
"That's me, sweetie."
"Will you marry me?"
Katara snorted, both in and at the memory as she snapped back to the present, paying the woman who ran the fruit stand 15 yuan. Aang always knew hot to make her laugh, albeit not always knowingly. It was little moments like those that made her fall in love with him even more. In fact, as if the peak of Aang's drunken high wasn't endearing enough, an even sweeter side of him always came out after they had gone home, and it never failed to make Katara's heart melt.
"Kataraaaaaa- hic -aaaaaaa," Aang whined later that night from his position lying on the bed. "I miss youuuuuu."
The waterbender blushed as she pulled her head through the opening of her satin nightgown in front of the mirror, quickly walking over to the bed and accepting the embrace of Aang's outstretched arms.
"I'm right here, sweetie," she murmured, her tired muscles relishing in the feeling of her firebending husband holding her so close. "Did you have fun tonight?"
"Yeah… hic, it was fun. I wish I… hic …spent more time with you though, sweetie."
Katara lifted up her head from Aang's chest, quirking an eyebrow at the airbender. "We were together all night."
"I know," he said simply. "It just… hic …it never feels like enough. I wanna be with you more than… hic …all the time."
She groaned internally, her heart fully a puddle on the ground as she struggled to find words to express her love for the one underneath her. Where on Earth had she found such an undeniably sweet and perfect person?
"We can spend more time together tomorrow if you're up for it, sweetie," she finally said after a few moments of internally squealing. "But for now, I think you're gonna need a good night's rest, so let's try and go to bed okay?"
Aang nodded vigorously and peppered kisses all over the top of Katara's head and around her face.
"What?" he asked when she gave him an amused look. "If I'm not gonna… hic …be able to kiss you for the next eight hours, I might as well get it in now."
Katara chuckled, reaching up and pressing a long, sweet kiss to his lips. "I love you so much."
"More than stewed sea prunes?" Aang asked, his face not containing the slightest hint of humor.
"More than an entire buffet worth of stewed sea prunes."
"How about a lifetime supply?"
"More than three lifetime supplies," Katara amended for good measure.
Aang grinned, seemingly satisfied with this answer, before giving the waterbender one last kiss. "I… hic …love you too, Tara. G'night."
"Goodnight."
Katara sighed heavily, though not unhappily, back in the present. It had been a while since she and Aang had gotten the chance to go out; those memories seemed like they had taken place ages ago, though they were good memories nevertheless.
"Everything alright, Katara?" she heard a voice ask from behind her.
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied, greeting the airbender with a quick kiss. "A reporter just got me reminiscing."
"A reporter?" Aang raised an eyebrow. "That can't be good."
"Nothing that bad, for once," she said, weaving through the crowd. "Just a question that got me thinking."
"What was the question?"
Katara looked up at Aang, exaggerating and contorting her facial expressions while speaking in the excited but nasally tone all the reporters seemed to have. "What is the other person like while drunk?"
"Ooh, okay that's actually not a bad question, especially with all the stories I have about you."
The waterbender scoffed, lightly pulling on his sleeve to tell him to stop at the grain stand.
"Like what?" she whispered quietly while looking through the different kinds of rice they had.
"Remember the cactus juice incident?" Aang whispered back, patting a sack of barley.
Katara gasped, affronted.
"You swore we would never speak of that again," she hissed.
"I did no such thing!" Aang said, his voice now an aggressive whisper. "Why in the world would I pass up a chance to share the tales of your shenanigans after thinking Toph's pitcher of cactus juice and rum was just some odd-tasting apple juice? Who would even bring apple juice, any non-alcoholic drink really, to an informal event hosted by Toph?!"
"I was young," Katara said dramatically. Aang snickered, earning him a playful glare as she continued. "Too innocent and too naive for such a harsh world."
"Too drunk and giggly it seemed as well," he muttered under his breath, gaze turning back to the barley as Katara squinted her eyes at him.
"What?" Aang feigned innocence.
"I heard that," she said dryly, and then pointed to a bag of jasmine rice and asked the shopkeeper for its price. "We'll talk later," she whispered as she passed Aang on her way to the till.
"Oh yes, we will," Aang said, sticking his tongue out at her, the waterbender returning the gesture. He shook his head once she was out of sight, chuckling to himself.
Ah, the great Cactus Juice Incident of 106 AG.
Katara, like Aang, was by no means a lightweight, and more often than not the more responsible drinker who knew her limits well.
That night however?
That night was an entirely different story.
Aang had turned 18 a few months prior, meaning it was Toph's turn to finally be of drinking age in the Earth Kingdom, not that the rebellious earthbender hadn't drank before. Naturally, when her parents gave her a rather large fund to spend on a celebration, Toph went all out. Plain water had been quite the scarcity at her party, leading to a multitude of shenanigans taking place that night by various partygoers, though most of them involved either Toph or Sokka.
It was at this event that Aang saw Katara possibly the drunkest she had ever been or ever would be, and to say he found great amusement in the waterbender's antics would've been a dire understatement.
See, there was one thing Drunk Aang was right about- Katara and Aang were quite similar, and it showed in their drunken personas. Though Drunk Katara was by no means as verbally affectionate as Drunk Aang, she was quite physically affectionate, clinging on to Aang that night like a purple pentapus (not that Aang minded of course).
In her ever motherly and responsible nature, she had also tried her best to be the mature one of the group but instead ended up dissolving into laughter every other minute at the smallest of things.
In addition, due to Katara's smaller stature in comparison to Aang, she tended to stay drunk longer, still extremely giggly and cheery even after they had already gotten on the ferry back to Air Temple Island.
"Aang?" she had asked him, eyes wide and innocent as he looked into her sea-blue eyes.
"Yes, sweetie?"
"I wanna be closer to you."
"Sweetie, we're already hugging," an amused Aang replied, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"I know," Katara sighed and buried her head in the fabric of his shirt. "I still wanna be closer to you."
"How so, my love?"
The waterbender tilted her head up to look at him. "Kiss me."
Aang chuckled, leaning down to happily oblige her.
"Happy?" he murmured as he pressed another kiss to forehead.
Katara giggled. "Happy is a funny word. It has two p's but you only say one!"
The airbender snorted at his wife's revelation. "What about 'giggled'?"
She gasped, laughing. "'Giggled' is an even funnier word! It has two g's, but it also has seven letters and 'seven' has two e's!" Katara went on her tiptoes and pressed a bunch of kisses to Aang's cheek.
"What was that for?"
"For showing me such a funny word!"
Aang chuckled and pulled her a little closer as a chilly breeze went by. "You are so drunk right now, Katara."
"Am not!" she huffed. "I am perfectly sober. So sober, in fact, that I can tell you when the next ferry is. It was 2 AM when we left, and it takes us 15 minutes to get from Toph's house to the docks, so the next ferry should be at 2:30."
"Sweetie?"
"I'm right, aren't I?"
"Well, yes, but we're already on that ferry. In fact, we've arrived."
Katara burst into laughter, tears of joy coming to her eyes in seconds. "'Ferry' and 'arrived' are wunny fords too! They hoth bave two r's!" She gasped again. "'Funny' is a funny word!"
Aang stared blankly at the waterbender, vowing to make sure she never drank four cups of cactus juice again. "Yeah, okay, let's get you to bed, sweetie."
The airbender quickly turned Katara around and lightly pushed her to walk off the boat, thanking the captain as he disembarked. He quickly picked her up bridal-style, which resulted in Katara having a whole existential crisis on why "style" had a y and not an e, before using his airbending to jump them up to their balcony and enter their bedroom.
"I'm gonna go change. Do you need any help doing the same, sweetie?" he asked her as he closed the balcony door behind him and opened a few windows.
"Nope," Katara replied, popping the 'p'. "I'll be fine."
Aang quickly walked into his closet and got dressed in his normal sleepwear of a pair of loose cotton pants. He then walked back out and got under the covers of their bed, relishing in the feeling of the soft mattress after standing for the last few hours.
"I'm ready!" Katara giggled as she emerged and joined Aang underneath the blankets.
Aang raised his eyebrow at her, blushing and trying his best to keep his gaze above her neckline. "Sweetie… you're not wearing anything."
"I'm wearing my engagement necklace," she replied matter-of-factly. "'Sweetie' is a funny word too."
"Other than your necklace, I mean."
The waterbender shrugged, laying her head next to Aang's as she rested one of her arms on his bare chest and kissed his cheek. "I told you, I wanted to feel close to you."
Aang blushed and drew her in flush to his body, a grin fighting its way onto his face as he pressed a kiss to her hair. Even drunk out of her mind, at the end of the day, she just wanted him. Aang couldn't believe she was real sometimes.
"Have I ever told you how lucky I am to have you?" he murmured.
"Not-" Katara yawned. "Not luckier than me," she mumbled. "Too amazing for that."
Aang chuckled, lightly resting his head on hers. "I love you, sweetie. Goodnight."
"'Sweetie.'" Katara giggled. "Goodnight."
"What're you so smiley about?" Katara interrupted his trance, having finally returned from the back of the shop.
Aang shook his head and snapped out of it. "Oh, I was smiling?"
The waterbender rolled her eyes. "Is it safe to say it was related to the cactus juice incident?"
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Maybe a little. Any chance we can grab some cactus juice on the way home?"
Katara snorted. "Only if you're the one drinking it. I quite enjoy being proposed to twice in the span of five minutes by the husband I already married, you know."
"Awwww, I was hoping we could find some more funny words," Aang pouted playfully.
"Not a chance," she laughed and paid the shopkeeper for the barley and rice. "C'mon, we have more errands to run."
The two left the shop, just as another swarm of reporters found them and started asking questions.
"Avatar Aang- would you and your wife be able to join us for an interview next Tuesday?"
"Master Katara! Have you found any waterbending regiments that correlate with weight loss for our readers?"
"When are you planning to have children? Will the Air Nation be repopulated soon?"
Aang and Katara gave each other a look and laughed together.
Just another day in the life of two of the most powerful benders in the world.
A/N: #Draangkforthewin. Hope you guys enjoyed and that it seemed realistic enough! See you tomorrow!