Disclaimer – I don't own avatar, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Chapter 7.5
Aang and Katara awoke in the aftermath of the prior nights incidents. Neither could ever remember being so happy in their entire lives, he lay there with her in his arms.
Katara looked into his grey eyes that were scanning hers and hoped she would wake up to him every morning. He leaned in for a quick kiss but Katara made the kiss her own and it became a passionate make out session. The sun began to peer over the horizon and it was time for Aang to get up.
"Go on" Katara said after breaking from the kiss and she pushed him away.
"Noooo, I don't wanna go" Aang whined and Katara just giggled at him.
"You have to" She whispered "Sokka might catch us"
"It would be worth it" he debated.
Katara considered this and said "I don't know about that, Sokka gets a little aggravated when it comes to his baby sister"
"I can take him" Aang laughed.
"He will want to protect me and what not, and I duno his boomerang seems sharp" Katara giggled and Aang pulled he close to him.
"I understand why someone would want to protect you" Aang pecked her on the cheeks "In fact I know this one guy and he would go to any lengths to protect you, he's handsome, and I here he's a very powerful bender" Aang whispered.
"A powerful bender hmmm? Funnily enough I'm to marry a very powerful bender"
"Oh really I had no idea" he failed terribly at lying.
"Yeah, I would say it's the same guy who was eaves dropping outside my reading at Aunt Wu's"
"Oh what a coincidence, I was listening to your reading heh, who would of thought" He joked.
"Oh so you admit it now hey?"
"Anything, if it means marrying you" He said with a small kiss between most of the words.
"Last night was amazing" She said and kissed him back.
"I know, I love you" he told her.
"I love you too" she said pushing him out the door. "Don't let Sokka here you go back to your room ok?"
"Ok, I'll miss you" He said, and he would.
"Me too" She said ran out into the hallway with him dragging the sheet around her body and kissed him and ran back inside and closed the door.
Aang had a grin slapped on his face from ear to ear, he only had to make it to the other end of the hall until he was safe from Sokka, Toph would already know he had been in Katara's room he thought and laughed to himself. One more room to pass, Sokka's he thought he had made it a whispered a victorious "Yes" until an enraged Sokka yelled
"Aang! I want a word with you"
"Shit" Aang whispered under his breath. Aang turned around to face Sokka his features were very cross and Aang didn't know whether to run or not. "I can explain …"
"Ughh why did Toph have to be your stupid Earth bending instructor!" Sokka waved his finger at Aang "This is all your fault.
"It was purely out of – Huh?"
"Toph its your fault she's here!" Sokka Exclaimed "She is so infuriating!"
"Oh er yes, it was purely out of Ummm the need to save the world I'm sorry Sokka" Aang's mind gave a great sigh of relief. "What did she do?"
"I don't wana talk about it" Sokka said and stormed back into his room closed the door and opened it again to say "No more picking up deranged chicks ok".
Aang laughed out aloud and trudged into his room hoping for at least an other hours sleep.
Dream Sequence
Aang found himself in the South Pole and his body seemed to be heading towards a small hut not so far off in the distance. The town was a lot bigger than he remembered, sunlight began to pour over the horizon and voices came from within the hut one was noticeably Toph and the other Katara. Almost out of nowhere Sokka came up behind Aang and asked "What do you think she will call him?" Aang wondered what he was talking about, but heard himself reply "I'm not sure" A babies cry could be heard from within the hut and they started to run, Sokka lifted the curtain door open and Aang followed to find Katara lying on a table cradling a baby with Toph and another man at her side.
Aang uncontrollably handed Katara the blankets he had brought her and then he no longer knew what his body was physically doing. All Aang could see was Katara and her baby boy, they were both so beautiful.
Who is the father? He wondered, but he couldn't look over to see the other man because he was still only seeing Katara and the baby. Was he staring? Glaring? Innocently observing? He didn't know all he knew was Katara had just had a baby.
"What ya gonna name him Sugar Queen?" Toph asked from somewhere behind Aang.
"Ning" Katara replied beaming up at Aang "Peace" she translated.
"Hmmm Ning, Son of Katara the Mighty and Avatar Aang" Sokka titled the new born.
End Of Dream Sequence
Aang woke up roughly around an hour after he had fallen back to sleep in his bed and instantly remembered the dream he had just had. It seemed so real. Something Roku had told him long ago rang through his ears "Aang sometimes the Avatar's dreams are visions; there is no way to know how to separate the visions from the dreams so always take caution" Aang almost couldn't help but smile at the possibility that had occurred.
Katara could be pregnant and the baby would be his, Aang got out of bed and put his Airbending tunic on. Today was the day before the night of the ball, his dress wear was hanging over the arm of a chair and his speech written down lay on the desk.
When Aang walked in on Toph and Sokka fighting he wasn't moderately surprised, so he walked right pass them and sat down without offering pleasantries. Katara could be heard in the bathroom somewhere. A few minutes passed until Aang could feel her footsteps trace into her room, he drank some tea and waited her to disembark on his day. Sokka and Toph continued to fight like cats and dogs.
"Oh ok so its my fault is it?" Sokka argued.
"Well, yeah!" She screamed back.
"Look I didn't ask you to stay, you had no right"
"She was using you and you know it! As soon as you mentioned Aang she was like, oh Hello, Jackpot!"
"Well why did you have to be so rude?"
"I didn't want her to treat you like that"
"What? Treat me like what? Take interest in me is that it? Be nice to me?"
"No, take advantage. You were off your face"
"Ah I know you were just trying to help, but stay out of my life!" Sokka finished and stuck his nose back in the paper. Toph gave a great sigh, folded her arms and crossed her legs she was clearly enraged about the outcome of the argument.
"What was all that noise?" Katara asked coming out of the hallway and straight to the kettle.
"Just starting a war up between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom" Aang laughed "Did you have a good sleep?" he asked.
"Yeah, it was actually the best…ever" She retorted and Smirks lit both their faces.
"Yeah me to, I feel like a new man" The couple laughed at the boundaries they were edging.
Toph seemed to be smiling too, she obviously knew Aang wasn't in his room the whole prior night and tried suppressing a laugh.
Aang couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear about the dream and last night's situations, it was all too perfect.
"I'm going to feed Appa, does anyone want to come?" he pressured looking at Katara.
"I'll come" Katara said.
"Great ok lets go" He beamed.
"I'll come" Sokka only just managed to say, but Katara and Aang were out the door.
Toph laughed at him and left the table, off into another area of the house.
A little while later Katara and Aang were striding hand in hand to the stables Appa was staying at. Katara swung out an into Aang and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"What was that for?" he asked almost shocked.
"What? Isn't a girl aloud to say good morning to her boyfriend?" She said.
"Boyfriend?"
"Yup, and you don't get a choice in the matter, not after last night anyway" She laughed.
"In that case I don't want a choice, you can do all the choosing from now on ok?" And he kissed her on the lips "Good morning"
"That's more like it" She said and they continued over to the stables.
Aang wondered what he ever did to deserve such perfect bliss, even saving the world was not a great enough deed to earn this love, to him it was indescribable.
"So has my baby missed me?"
"Huh?" Aang turned to her.
"Appa, has he missed me" She said wondering why he reacted so suddenly.
"Oh, right… since when do you call him that? 'Baby'"
"Well you don't know what you have got till it's gone and I have missed him"
"Like me huh?" he bragged.
"No not like you at all… I always knew what I felt and what I had, and I never had you" she said and her smile faded slightly.
"Little do you know, you had me at 'What, what is it?'" he mimicked the first words she had ever said to him.
"Well if I had of known… things would be different"
"Yeah"
"Although, in a way we may not still have been together by now"
"Yes we would have, we would be like married and have a million kids by now" he casually blurted out.
"Oh really?" She asked in a Katara tone.
"Really" he said with mild confidence.
"Pity we can't change the past"
"Well at least I have you now" he said and leaned in to hug she but she ducked away.
"Come on Avatar, I thought you had me. You're going to have to do better than that to keep me on a tight leash" She joked.
Aang chased after her all the way to the stables where he tackled her playfully into a large pile of hay.
"I got you" he said with a smile.
"I know" She said and they kissed.
Later that day Aang sat in a tree trying to fix his speech a little more, Katara had almost written the whole thing but he needed it to be more him. He found himself constantly wondering what she was doing, feeling, and looking like at the exact moment. He couldn't concentrate; he just ended up writing her name instead of other words.
He wondered if they really would be together for ever or if something would come between them. He couldn't imagine himself without her anymore than he could when he was younger; he was still definitely in love. His speech was finished and he had planned a surprise at the end. Everything was perfect.
Meanwhile, Katara was at her healing clinic mending Ping. (A/N the same guy from chapter 2) She couldn't help but smile at the irony in everything; she felt flustered and dazzled away from Aang and couldn't concentrate.
"I see you have found your lost love?" he asked rhetorically.
Katara returned an admitting smile and blush.
"So how did he ask?"
"Huh?" she mumbled trying her hardest to concentrate on the healing.
"To marry him, how did he ask you to marry him?" he asked with a smile.
"He didn't" she laughed "What gave you that idea?"
"Oh, its jus I have never felt so much love at one time in my presence, your beaming my dear" he said.
"Oh well he hasn't" she said and continued to heal the old man.
"Why not?" he asked randomly.
"Well…" she paused and wondered herself "I don't really know" she concluded.
"Well, it won't be long now. I can tell" he said with a wink and put his shirt back on when she removed her hands.
"I hope so" she said and watched Ping leave through the beaded doorway. She secretly ached for Aang's marriage proposal, but knew trusting in faith it would one day come and hopefully soon.
Familiar faces poured outside The Earth Kings palace whilst an airbender, a warrior, a water bender and an earth bender panicked around the house touching up their outfits, brushing hair, applying makeup and such. Once they were ready they gathered outside the house.
"So everyone ready?" Toph asked.
"Hold up girls start walking without us we will be two minutes" Aang said gesturing himself and Sokka.
"Huh?" Sokka protested and Aang gave him a 'go with it' look and he shut up.
"Ok, hurry" Katara smiled and walked off with Toph, to Aang she looked so amazing words couldn't describe it, but now wasn't the time to be admiring her he had business to attend to.
"What's going on?" Sokka asked when the girls were out of ear range.
"I need to ask you something" Aang said in a concerning voice.
Aang and Sokka caught up to the girls just in time to enter together.
"Hey what to you so long?" Katara asked worried.
"Yeah, we were gona start the party without you" Toph added.
"Oh, Er Sokka forgot his ummm socks" Aang lied.
"Yes, my socks but I have them on now" Sokka helped, pulling his pant legs up revealing his socks in proof.
"Oh ok" Katara said none the wiser.
"Your socks ay?" Toph interrogated, but Sokka cut her off with a 'don't' nudge and she stopped.
"Ok so are we ready for our grand entrance?" Katara asked with a chuckle.
"Yep" Aang confirmed and put out his arm for Katara to take it, she gave him and edgy look at Sokka.
"I told him" Aang assured her and she took his arm with a huge smile.
"Someone's got guts" she said.
"You have no idea" Aang said in his head.
"How about it Toph?" Sokka laid out his arm and Toph took it as a sign of her forgive ness.
They entered in pairs and there names were called out as they did.
"Avatar Aang of the Air Nomads and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe" The crowd roared and died down as Katara and Aang made it to the bottom of the steps.
"Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and Toph of the Earth Kingdom" The crowd inside once again roared all knowing full well they were accomplices of the Avatar.