Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Author's Note: Chapter 7 review responses are at the end. You can take this chapter title any way you like.

Awakenings

Katara woke with a sense that something was missing. She sat up and saw a silhouette shutting the door and turning.

"Iroh?" she whispered. The figure started but didn't answer. Katara got up and went over to him, registering that Aang's place was empty.

"What are you doing up?" she asked him when she got closer.

"Old men don't need as much sleep as young people," Iroh answered almost apologetically. "Sorry if I woke you."

"Where's Aang?" It might have been the opening of the door that woke her, but Aang's absence struck her more substantially.

"Out for a walk. By the ocean, I believe."

Katara thanked him quickly and set off. She didn't know why she felt like she had to find Aang at this time of night, but she felt drawn.

It didn't take long to find the boy, running through bending movements on the shore. As Katara neared, she recognized some waterbending forms. Not wanting to disturb him, she approached quietly and sat a short distance away to watch.

Since he'd given his usual monk's clothing to a local seamstress to be altered, Aang was wearing a borrowed outfit, just a simple, gray tunic (that brought out his eye color, Katara had noticed) and leggings. He'd rolled up the leggings to his knees, and he was barefoot. He had also given his boots to a cobbler to see if they could be either expanded or reproduced in a larger size. Since the weather was warm, and he didn't require footwear for his bending lessons, he had decided to simply go without for the time being.

Although Katara could understand Aang's attachment to the traditional airbender costume, she couldn't help but think that it wouldn't hurt for him to expand his wardrobe a little. She particularly liked this color on him, and she wondered if she might convince him to take the outfit with him. The young Avatar seemed to glow from within in the faint moonlight, and Katara enjoyed the rare opportunity to watch his fluid grace without being observed.

Gradually, as she watched him perform the set, he turned toward her. She noticed that his eyes were closed, and his arrow tattoos were beginning to glow. Not blindingly, like in the Avatar State, but a soft bluish, reminiscent of when he walked the spirit world. Suddenly, yet without a noticeable break in his motion, Aang began moving differently. It reminded her of some of the techniques they'd seen at the earthbending tournament. Katara stared, transfixed, until he stopped with his palms pressed together. His arrows faded back to a blue that looked almost gray in the darkness, and his eyes opened, resting on her immediately. He paused only a moment, dropping his hands and relaxing his stance.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, and Katara wondered if he was embarrassed that she'd been observing him. She knew she was a little embarrassed at being caught watching.

"I…noticed you were gone," Katara began lamely, not sure herself why she had been compelled to join him.

"I'm sorry," Aang jumped in with an apology. "I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. I was just surprised."

"That's okay. What was that part at the end?"

"I'm not sure. I think Avatar Kyoshi was sort of…moving through me. It felt weird, but not in a bad way."

Aang looked away then, giving Katara the impression that he was keeping something from her. This wasn't the first time recently she'd felt that way, and she tried hard not to feel hurt. Certainly, he had as much right to a few secrets as anyone else – maybe more. Aang seated himself near her, but Katara noted that he was moving a little gingerly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her own feelings forgotten in her concern.

"I'll live," he laughed. "Yesterday's lesson made me really sore, so I was hoping to stretch out and relieve the pain a little. It sort of worked."

"Where does it still hurt?"

"My back and shoulders, mostly."

"Take off your shirt, and turn around," Katara ordered, trying to sound clinical. They were just a healer and patient, right? Right.

As usual, Aang removed his shirt with no hesitation. Katara couldn't remember a time when she was that unself-conscious about her body. Maybe it was because her people lived where it was cold all the time, so they were always bundled up.

Katara bent some of the water from the nearby surf and plunged her hands into it, making it glow. She then spread it across Aang's left shoulder and upper arm, gently working the healing water into his skin and focusing on easing the muscles. When she'd finished that area, Katara gently trailed her fingers along the arrow tattoo that ran down Aang's arm and felt him shiver.

"Are you cold?" she inquired, although the night was warm.

"No," he responded shortly, but his voice sounded a little tight. Maybe she had just tickled him a little. She brought some more water to her, but Aang stopped her. He laid his shirt on the sand and lay facedown on top of it, resting his head on his crossed arms.

"There," he said. "That should make it easier for you." It did make it easier, as he was no longer moving with her. It was probably also easier for him, since he didn't have to push against the pressure of her hands.

Katara continued her work for a while, trying to ignore the little sounds Aang was making in his throat, sometimes indicating pain, and other times pleasure. She focused her attention on the healing she was performing and observing the contrast of her dark skin against his paleness. Finally, she felt like she had done all she could. When she went to ask if he was ready to go back, she realized that he had fallen asleep. Katara sat back on the sand and smiled affectionately at the slumbering boy, marveling that this skinny little kid could make her feel so…so…what, exactly?

Katara frowned, deciding to study him and see if she could figure out what had been happening to her lately. Gazing at his face, features relaxed in sleep, she felt a tug in her chest. If only he could have more moments like this. She swept her eyes down the rest of his body and was surprised to find that her first impulse was to curl up beside him, feel his warmth beside her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to identify what she was feeling.

"What's going on?"

Katara turned her head so sharply her neck cracked. Sokka was standing on the dune above her. She decided not to bother asking what had brought him out here in the middle of the night.

"Aang was sore from earthbending yesterday," she replied calmly. "I offered to heal him, and he fell asleep while I was working." Her brother's raised eyebrow spoke volumes, but she stared courageously back at him, daring him to challenge her.

"So you've just been sitting here watching him sleep?" he asked. "That's kind of creepy."

"It is not," she retorted in a forceful whisper. Then she realized she'd as much as admitted she'd been doing just that and veered off in another direction. "I was just wondering how to get him back to town. I hate to wake him. He's had a hard day."

"You might have been able to lift him," Sokka pointed out. "He's not all that big."

"Look, I've put enough kids to bed in my life to know that they weigh a lot more when they're asleep."

Shrugging, Sokka crouched down beside Aang and looked at him like he was a scientific puzzle.

"I suppose I could give you a hand," he said, resting his arms on the sand. "If you could just roll him this way…." After a little maneuvering, they got Aang into Sokka's arms, one arm supporting Aang's head and shoulders and the other under his knees. "You're right; he's heavier than he looks," he admitted. He spared a glance for the sliver of moon and began walking, Katara following behind.

"How is anyone supposed to sleep with all this traffic?" Toph complained rather loudly as they entered their building.

"Shut up," muttered Zuko, sounding half-asleep and throwing whatever was close to hand in her general direction, which happened to be his hat. It missed completely, since he wasn't looking. Katara tried not to giggle as she helped Sokka get Aang situated into his sleeping place. She fell asleep still puzzling over her relationship with the Avatar.

Aang woke up the next morning feeling disoriented. Light was filtering into the warehouse, and he could see the ceiling above him, but the last thing he remembered was lying on the beach while Katara soothed his aching muscles. He realized that he must have fallen asleep in the process. Aang sat up to find that everyone else was already up and gone. Just as he was getting to his feet, the large door opened.

"Oh, good," said Katara when she spotted him. "You're awake. Everyone else is having breakfast. I thought you could use a little more sleep."

The islanders had been providing meals for the group in a kind of town hall not far away. Aang and Katara had tried to pay them for at least some of their hospitality, but all such offers were politely refused. As far as Aang was concerned, this was another reason not to stay very long. He didn't want to abuse their generosity.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you last night," Aang apologized.

"That's okay," she smiled back at him. "You were exhausted. How do you feel today?"

He hadn't really stopped to think about it, but now that she mentioned it, he felt quite good.

"A lot better. You've got great hands," he said, then his eyes widened as he realized how that might have sounded. "I mean, healing hands. I mean, you're a great healer! Yeah, that's what I meant, and, um, I hardly ache at all now, so, um, thanks."

"You're welcome," Katara replied slowly, and she was looking at Aang like he'd grown a second head. He was mentally kicking himself for sounding like such an idiot.

"I'll catch up with everyone in just a minute," he told her, wanting to be alone for a moment to collect himself. She nodded and left. Aang quickly pulled his tunic on and went over to the nearest wall.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he muttered to himself, banging his head against the wall with each repetition.

"You know, if you're planning to do that every time you make a fool of yourself for a girl, you're going to get a very sore head."

Aang turned his head, still in contact with the wood structure, and saw Sokka standing in the doorway looking amused.

"Is it that obvious?" Aang wondered.

"Let's just say I appreciate the sentiment." Sokka walked over to his things and retrieved his boomerang.

"Does it happen a lot?"

"We're guys, Aang. Looking like idiots in front of girls is kind of what we do."

Aang turned around, put his back to the wall, and slid down it dejectedly.

"Well, that's depressing."

"At least it only seems to last until we get married. Then we can stop."

"What? How? Why?"

"I don't know. It's a mystery." Sokka paused, then gave Aang's arm a companionable nudge with his elbow. "You'd better come and eat. I have a feeling you'll need your strength today. Toph's already fuming about getting a late start. Katara argued that you didn't sleep well last night and needed more rest. I have to get back before they start a bending fight over you."

With that, he was gone. The thought of two girls fighting over him sounded ludicrous to Aang, let alone a bending battle. He was surprised, therefore, to find that Sokka's prediction wasn't all that far off. Of course, they were really fighting over teaching him, and it didn't appear that they'd gone as far as bending (more like a food fight, from the looks of things), but it was still a bit of a shock. Zuko and Iroh had already made themselves scarce. Sokka stood there brandishing his boomerang, a useless gesture, since it was completely wasted on Toph and Katara didn't fear him.

As soon as Aang stepped into the room, the two girls stopped whatever they had been doing. Katara wordlessly handed Aang a plate of fruit, nuts, and biscuits that she had apparently preserved from the chaos. He began to eat, just as quietly. Toph sat with her arms crossed, tapping a foot impatiently. If she could see, Aang had no doubt she'd be glaring, either at him, Katara, or both. Katara had the grace to look ashamed of herself. She opened her mouth to say something, reconsidered, and shut it again. Instead, she stood up and allowed Momo to settle himself on her shoulder. She then simply turned and left, presumably to get cleaned up.

It's going to be a long day, Aang thought as he bolted his food more quickly than was probably healthy.

Author's Note: Sokka's line "I don't know. It's a mystery." is from Shakespeare in Love. I love that line, and it seemed appropriate. And since I know several males are following this story, I do hope no one is offended by my comments about guys. I genuinely adore men, and I'm just trying to be funny, though I suspect even my husband would agree with my assessment.

Oh, and don't worry that I'll slip into some Tophaang here. The cat-fight was due to Katara's over-protectiveness and Toph's spoiled-child need to have things her way. I hope no one's disappointed you didn't get to see it.

Review responses:

xenus: Thanks! Glad you found this story and are enjoying it. I only wish I had so many reviews. On the bright side, I seem to get more each chapter.

loaned: Yeah, I like Iroh, too. He's a great tool as a writer because you can figure he knows a lot of stuff and has wisdom.

Piper Aurora Potter: So glad you've decided to read my stuff after I reviewed yours. I didn't make you wait too long, did I?

frozenheat: Glad to hear it. I must have rewritten that conversation four times, trying to decide how much to include and making sure they were both in character.

abcdefg…: ditto frozenheat comment above.

Ari-Griffin: Thanks! I'm starting to get into some of your work as well.

MyrmidonGuy: Thank you! And thank you for giving me the original inspiration to write this. I'm probably enjoying it at least as much as my readers.