Howdy y'all, and welcome to chapter 19! I know some of y'all are wondering about Sokka and the Crew. They will be in the next chapter. This one was too important for the characters or Aang and Azula to have a second perspective in it. Hope y'all like the head cannons I made for the other Avatars. That being said, I hope y'all like this chapter because I know I did. Don't forget to Favorite Follow and Review. See y'all next week.
I DO NOT OWN AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER
Usually, it would be Azula who would wake up first in the morning due to her being a Firebender. Today, however, was an exception.
Aang woke up when the sun wasn't up yet. He looked over to see Azula still asleep on her side of the bed and smiled.
Man, she's so cute when she's finally asleep. He blushed and climbed out of bed. He looked out the window and noticed that the sun was starting to show over the horizon. He smiled and walked into his happy place: the kitchen.
When Aang was in his kitchen, there was nothing that he couldn't do. This morning, he was trying to make something similar to his girlfriend's magnum opus, her pancakes. He lit some candles so that he could see and got together his ingredients. He went to the ice box and grabbed one stick of butter, four eggs, and a bottle of milk. He closed the box and placed them onto the counter. He then went into one of the cabinets and grabbed the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract from the Fire Nation, and a loaf of bread. He placed them next to each other on the counter and grabbed a small bowl.
He sighed to himself and started mixing the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar until they were evenly mixed together. He smiled and looked over his shoulder at the still-sleeping Azula in his bed. He then turned on the stove, grabbed a skillet, and placed some butter into the pan so that it could melt. While the butter was melting, Aang whisked together his eggs, milk, and vanilla into the same bowl with his cinnamon. He looked into the cabinet for a small shallow bowl so that he could pour the egg mixture into, grabbed one such bowl, and poured the mixture into it. He looked at his pan and noticed that the butter was melted enough, so he grabbed a slice of bread and dipped both sides of it into the mixture. He placed the slices of bread into the pan and smiled as he heard a light sizzle. Nice! It's all coming together nicely!
Aang then continued this process until half of the bread was used up. He smiled to himself, proud of his work, and grabbed some bacon that he could fry in a separate pan. While he was whizzing around the kitchen, he never noticed that a separate pair of eyes had been watching him for quite some time.
"You know, I never thought that the Avatar would become this domesticated."
He tensed up for a second and turned his body to see his girlfriend clad in a red tank top and leggings. He looked at her and noticed that her hair was still a little wet and that she wasn't wearing any makeup.
"When did you wake up?" he asked while turning back to his bacon.
"Well," she began as she moved to the table and started setting up two places to eat. "When you hear sizzling and swell something sweet in the air, one tends to want to know what's going on." She giggled lightly and smiled at him.
"I'm sorry for waking you up. I tried to be as quiet as possible." Aang grabbed the pieces of toast and placed them into the oven to keep them warm.
"It's no problem. I'm just surprised that you're awake so early."
He chuckled and moved his hand to the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well...I wanted to make you breakfast."
Azula looked at him suspiciously and raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be the one making you breakfast?"
"What do you mean? I always make you breakfast," he stated as he walked over to give her a hug. "Yesterday, I wasn't able to, so I decided to wake up earlier so that I could do it."
To say that Azula was shocked at his words would have been an understatement. So that's why Mai said that he looked sad yesterday. I didn't even realize it!
"Oh, Aang, I'm sorry. I didn't even realize it." She looked at him in his eyes and frowned lightly.
"Hey, it's okay," he said, looking at her and smiling lightly. "You don't need to beat yourself up about it."
"Alright," said Azula. "But like I said last night, I will try to not miss out on another Avatar breakfast." She returned his smile and hugged him a little tighter.
After a few minutes of hugging, Aang decided to move his hands a little. Originally, his hands had been at the swell of her back right at her hips. He slowly slid them down her spine and rested them on her butt.
This, however, did not go unnoticed by Azula who lightly moaned in his ear. W-what's happening to me? I feel so...good. She stiffened slightly which caused Aang to quickly move his hands and release her from the hug. They both looked at each other and blushed.
"I…I'm gonna get in the shower," sputtered Aang. "We have a lot to do today!" And he walked into the bathroom.
Azula just stood there. She looked at the table and then back and the bed. What was that? What was that feeling? I mean, I know I like him, but that…that was new. Wait, no it wasn't. The bathroom incident. I felt it then. Or did I? She continued to stand there for what seemed like hours thinking about what she felt. She then remembered the plan that she had come up with yesterday and made her way to the door. She made sure that it was unlocked and sat on the bed.
She looked out the window to the balcony and noticed that the sun was not totally risen. She sighed to herself and smiled softly. I have to say, I didn't think that my life would be going this way. She looked at Aang's spot in the bed and sighed.
Once Aang got out of the shower, he put on an orange t-shirt and brown and black track pants. He walked out of the bathroom and noticed that Azula was pouring orange juice into glasses. He smiled and went over to the oven where his creation was saying warm.
"What's that smell anyway? It's really good!" Azula asked while setting the table for the two of them.
"It's a special something I've been testing out. I made it to rival your special pancakes," he responded while opening up the oven to remove them from it.
"Oh, really?" She smirked when she saw him place them onto the table. "What are they called?"
"I don't know. I don't have a name for them yet. Maybe you can give them one, Sparks." He smirked at his girlfriend who suddenly stopped moving.
"Did you just come up with an original nickname for me that wasn't taken by Ty?" she asked, looking at him with confusion painted on her face.
"Well, you struck me down with lightning and almost killed me, and when you were lightning practicing a couple weeks ago, I thought that it would be a cute nickname for you." He placed the bacon on the table and took off his apron, placing it on the oven handle.
"I think it's dumb, but if you insist on calling me that, then fine." She then looked at him, her face turning icy cold almost instantaneously. "But if you call me that in public, you might want to start preparing for the Spirit World you got that Air Boy?"
"Y-yup!" Aang squeaked nervously.
"Good!" Azula finalized as she instantly went back to normal and smiled at her boyfriend, who sweatdropped.
Wow she can be scary when she wants to be, he muttered to himself as he sat down at the table. He grabbed a couple pieces of the toast and placed them onto his plate. He looked at Azula who had already grabbed her pieces and was currently chewing on one of them.
"Wow! These are really good!" she commended as she continued to eat them.
Aang smiled at her and continued to eat his own breakfast. "I'm glad you like them so much!"
"Yeah! How long did it take you to figure out how to make them?" she asked while taking a sip of her juice.
"Oh, a couple days," explained Aang. "Ever since I had those pancakes, I just had to have my own special creation to rival them."
"Well, they taste fantastic and I love them!" Azula smiled at him. "We should have these on every birthday!" She looked at him and then realized something. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AANG!"
Aang looked at her and smiled. She remembered. She actually remembered my birthday! Maybe she has changed. His smile immediately grew and he got up and hugged her. "Thank you, Azula! Thank you so much!"
"No problem, Aang. I'm your girlfriend! I would never forget your birthday." She returned the hug but then broke it so that she could finish eating her breakfast.
Once they finished eating their food, Aang told Azula to make her way to the balcony and get comfortable. He then started to wash the dishes and put them away. When he was finished, he decided to take a cup of water with him. He walked out to the balcony where he saw Azula in a meditative pose.
"Alright, you ready to go to the Spirit World?" he asked her as he sat down next to her on the balcony.
"Yes! Let's go, Aang," she spoke while looking at him.
He smiled and grabbed her hand. "Alright." He closed his eyes, signalling for Azula to do the same. "All you need to do is close your eyes, and hold my hand. Whatever you do, DO NOT LET GO OF MY HAND UNTIL I TELL YOU TO."
"Alright, I won't. I promise," she affirmed him as she gripped his hand, causing him to wince.
Alright, Aang, he coached himself. You can do this. All you have to do is transport your girlfriend to the Spirit World, making her become the first non-Avatar to go there and survive. How hard could that be? He took a deep breath and centered himself, and, by extension, Azula. He mentally felt the usual pull of his spirit leaving his body and transporting to the Spirit World. He could feel Azula's spirit also being pulled since he was holding her hand.
After a few minutes, he could confirm that they were, in fact, in the Spirit World, and he sighed. Man, I'm awesome. "Alright," he spoke to Azula. "You can open your eyes now, but don't let go of me."
Azula did as instructed and gasped. She looked around at the landscape and was instantly mystified. Luscious green hills were surrounding them on all sides. The sky was a deep shade of purple and the sun and the moon were on opposite sides of the sky. Wild foxes could be seen chasing mice, deer were grazing in the fields, and many other animals could be seen.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice called.
Azula immediately turned around and saw a very tall-looking woman who was wearing a green and white plaid shirt with black jeans and sandals. "Who are you? And how did you know that we were here?"
The unusually tall woman simply laughed and gestured for the couple to follow her. They walked on a narrow path to what seemed like a modern house in the middle of nowhere.
"We have been expecting you!" She turned to Aang, who merely sighed.
He opened the door and saw that there were three other figures running around the house arguing.
"Roku, you didn't even go to meet your own predecessor?!"
"Well, I'm sorry, I had to check on the cake before he…got…here…" Roku turned to the door to see Aang holding Azula's hand and gasped.
"Roku what's wro- AANG, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Suddenly, a figure wearing an orange and white sundress suddenly engulfed Aang in a very motherly hug. She had brown hair, and the same blue tattoos that Aang had. Azula, for one, was very confused.
"Wait, who are you? And why do you have Airbender tattoos? I thought all the Airbenders were killed," Azula said, which made Aang's eyes go wide as he turned towards the person who was hugging him.
The Airbender woman lifted her head and glared at Azula, who flinched slightly. "For someone who is labeled as a prodigy, you sure don't know your history. Take a guess as to who I am."
"Now, Yangchen, Azula just didn't recognize you," Aang reasoned as he let her go. He turned to Azula and gestured to the Airbender Avatar. "Azula, this is Yangchen, the previous Airbender Avatar."
Azula's eyes instantly widened. "You're a previous Avatar?!"
"Of course I am! Who did you think I was?" she replied with a smirk on her face.
"I thought you were Aang's mom or something!" Azula confessed. She blushed immediately and bowed. "I'm sorry if I was rude to you earlier."
Yangchen continued to smirk and then nodded her head. "It's alright. If anyone acts like his mom, it's Kyoshi."
"Wait, she's here too?" Azula asked.
"Yes. Who do you think brought you here?"
Azula immediately turned around and looked at the figure close, realizing that it was, in fact, the Earthbending Avatar.
"We should go inside. The others are waiting and are eager to meet you both. Especially you, Azula," Kyoshi added as she walked past the couple and into the house.
"Who else is here? I didn't think y'all were going to throw an entire party for me. It's just my birthday," Aang said as he walked into the house and looked around.
"Of course we were going to throw you a party!" Yangchen replied. "I mean, you are an Avatar, and we want to show that we appreciate you!" She closed the door and followed them deeper into the house. "To answer your question, Roku and Kuruk are here. Kuruk is out back grilling and I don't know where Roku is."
"I'm right here, Yangchen." A man who looked to be in his 70's and had long white hair and a long white beard appeared with them. "Ah, Aang. Happy birthday, young Avatar."
"Thanks, Roku. It really means a lot," Aang said as he gave the elderly Avatar a handshake.
"No problem, Avatar Aang. Who is this with you?" he asked politely, even though he already knew who the Avatar brought with him.
"This is Princess Azula of the Fire Nation," Aang stated and smiled at her. He then lifted up their hands. "And, she's my girlfriend."
Azula bowed to the enderly man. "It's an honor to meet you, Avatar Roku."
Roke waved his hand and shrugged it off. "Likewise to you as well."
Kyoshi was looking at the couple and looked over at Yangchen. "What's wrong with you?"
"I don't like her," Yangchen stated bluntly.
"Look, I know you don't like her, but it's Aang. It's his birthday after all," Kyoshi replied, still not taking her eyes off of them.
"What would you think if the person related to the mass genocide of your people was standing right in front of you?" Yangchen proposed as she glared at Azula.
"It's not like she can fight him here. Plus, no one knows that he's in the Avatar State right now," The Earthbending Avatar said as she leaned on the wall.
"That's true, but I still don't like this. Aren't you concerned about his well being?"
"Yes, I was. But then I went down and talked to him. He trusts her. I trust Aang. Unless this has been the most elaborate plan ever to kill him, then she's not going to do anything wrong."
"But how do you know that it isn't some elaborate plan to kill him? He's at his most vulnerable state right now."
"Look, why don't you go and talk to her. I'm sure Roku wants to talk to Aang about it. Hell, even Kuruk was hesitant about it, but he came round."
"You know what? I think I will go talk to her." Yangchen went over to where Azula and Aang were sitting and tapped Azula on the shoulder.
"Hey, is it possible that I could talk to you in the other room?"
Azula looked at Aang, who merely sighed and let go of her hand. "Yangchen, you really don't have to do this."
"Oh no, Aang," Yangchen said quickly, trying to put on the most innocent face that she could possibly make. "I just wanted to get to know Azula is all. Nothing to worry about!"
"Alright," he agreed, sighing to himself and looking at Kyoshi, who was mouthing to him "Wasn't my idea."
"Awesome," Yangchen replied as she grabbed Azula by the arm and moved her to a staircase. Both women climbed the stairs and entered a sitting room. She gestured for the Princess to close the door and take a seat.
"Okay," Yangchen began. "I'm just going to be blunt: I don't like you very much." She glanced at Azula, but continued speaking. "I don't trust you or your intentions with Aang, even if you are Roku's great-granddaughter."
"Wait," interrupted Azula. "I'm Avatar Roku's great-granddaughter?"
"Yes. But not the point." Yangchen glared at her and sighed. "Kyoshi said that Aang liked you and that you liked him. I want to hear it from you." She finished speaking and looked at Azula, who was growing slightly pale.
What do I even say? I can't say that I love him. I like him, for sure. I care about him, yes, but Yangchen's a past version of him. It also doesn't help that she's an Airbender, which my family destroyed. Fuck, what do I do? She moved her hands to her face and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Well, are you even going to try to defend yourself?" Yangchen asked, her tone raising ever so slightly.
"Aang is my boyfriend," Azula stated matter-of-factly. "He is now one of the most important people in my life. I would do anything for him." She looked at Yangchen, who was, by no means, satisfied.
"Well, then, why are you taking him to the Fire Nation?" she questioned. "You know, the one place on the map that actively wants him dead."
Azula groaned a little. "Look, I was ordered to go back to the Fire Nation by my father, Fire Lord Ozai."
"Yes, I know who your pathetic excuse of a human being your father is."
"Okay, well, he wanted me back in the Fire Nation, so I took Aang with me."
"So then, what are you going to do when you get back there, hm? Kill him?" Yangchen leaned back in her chair as she continued to grill the young Princess. "I mean, it wouldn't be the first time you've tried."
Azula was slightly taken aback by this. While, yes, she had tried to terminate the Avatar numerous times in the past, she hasn't attacked him in at least two and a half to three months. Honestly, she didn't even notice it.
"Yes," Azula reasoned. "In the past I hunted down and wanted nothing more then to murder the Avatar. I will also be the first to admit that even when he was in my care, I was a total bitch to him. It was only after I saw him at his lowest did I realize I actually cared about him. It was then that I realized that I wanted to help him." She looked at the past Avatar and sighed.
"What do you like about him so much?" Yangchen asked simply as she looked at the Princess, who was trying her best to not lose her cool.
"I love that he is kind. He always wants to help me along with Mai and Ty Lee. He is considerate. He always keeps my emotions in mind whenever he says or does something. I love that he is always eager to learn new things when I'm teaching him the ropes of Firebending. I love how he never stopped being kind and caring, even when I wasn't caring back. I love how good of a cook he is. There are just so many things that make him such a great and unique person." Damn Mai, you keep proving that you are right every fucking day, she added to herself as she watched Yangchen's reaction, hoping that she was satisfied with her answer.
"Alright, so what if you do like him?" pried Yangchen. "What will you do when you get back to the Fire Nation? Will you bring him before your father, or will you hide him and switch sides of the war?"
"I would never betray my father!" Azula yelled, but then covered her mouth.
Yanghcen smirked at this response. "Ah. Well, if you wouldn't betray both Aang and Ozai, who are you picking?"
Azula's mind ceased to work for a bit. She simply looked at the past Avatar with her mouth slightly ajar. She had never been so caught off guard by a question that she was speechless.
Sometimes our greatest weaknesses turn into our greatest strengths.
She focused on the Airbender woman with a renewed fire in her eyes. She looked determined. "I will choose Aang. I will never abandon him. I did it once and he went berserk. I will never leave his side. If I have to fight my father or the Fire Nation, then so be it. I will not turn my back on him. I will protect him. I will fight with him. His strength is my strength." She continued to stare Yangchen in the eyes and smiled. "I will not let my father or the Fire Nation get their hands on him. You have my word. An elderly lady once told me this in a store: Sometimes our greatest weaknesses can turn into our greatest strengths. I wholeheartedly believe Aang is my greatest strength. And I will do whatever it takes to protect my strength."
Yangchen looked at Azula and was shocked. She didn't think that Azula could become that determined about something that fast. She smiled a little bit and looked back at her. I guess Kyoshi was right about her after all.
"Alright. I concede," she concluded as she got up from her chair and started walking towards the door. "I'm glad that you feel so strongly for Aang. It would be a shame if something happened to him and it was your fault."
"Yeah, but I'm not gonna let that happen!" Azula stated and stood up to follow the past Avatar.
The two girls walked back down to the table and found that Aang was sitting at the table surrounded by Kyoshi who was handing a scroll, Roku, who was drinking from a mug, and Kuruk, who was clearing plates. Aang looked up, saw Azula, walked over to her, and hugged her.
"How did it go?" he asked as he broke the hug.
"It was…interesting," she replied as she sat down next to him at the table.
"Well, I, for one, had a great time talking to you, Azula," Yangchen said, smiling at the girl.
Azula grew slightly nervous. "Y-yeah. It was great talking to you as well!"
Aang looked at his girlfriend and then back at Yangchen. Azula never stutters. Something went down between them, but I don't want to get involved, less I get yelled at by everyone. "Nice!" he remarked aloud. "I'm glad that you both had a great talk. Also, Yangchen, I love the scroll. I was actually gonna talk to her about it soon."
"That's awesome!" Yangchen replied. "I'm glad that you liked the scroll. But remember, it's an Airbender secret, so don't go blabbering to everyone you know," she added as she hugged him.
"Alright, I'll keep them secret. Don't you worry!" He smiled at her and then looked at Azula, who was signalling that she wanted to leave.
"Speaking of the Air Nomads, how are you gonna repopulate them, Aang?" Kuruk asked as he cleaned the dishes. "I mean, since you ARE the last one."
Aang and Azula instantly blushed and stared at the Waterbender. Kyoshi was laughing, Yangchen looked furious, and Roku just sighed to himself. Kuruk looked up and looked at them all confused. "What did I say?"
"I...think we're gonna go back to the Real World now," Aang stated. "Thank you all for a wonderful birthday!" He placed the scroll into his pocket and grabbed Azula's hand.
"It was nice meeting you, Azula!" Yangchen spoke before going up to hug both of them. "I can't wait to see where your relationship goes."
"Aww, thanks, Yangchen!" Azula said as a bead of sweat fell off of her head.
Kyoshi smirked and went up to hug the couple. "I'll talk to you soon, Aang. Even if that old fart Roku doesn't feel like showing up."
Aang laughed as he watched Roku get up and walk towards the door. "Don't worry, Kyoshi. I won't forget."
"It was a pleasure meeting you," Kyoshi said to Azula. "Do keep him in line for us." She stepped to the side to make room for Roku.
"Avatar Aang, it was pleasant to see you on your birthday. I do hope that you are able to stop this terrible war," Roku said as he offered his hand out for him to shake.
"Don't worry, Roku. I'll end this war. Trust me," he replied. He grabbed Azula's hand and walked out of the house, but not before turning back and waving at them.
As the couple walked back towards their point of entry, Aang was thinking about the scroll that Yangchen had given. I was already going to teach her that, but why now? Is something going to happen that would involve us getting separated? What aren't you telling me, Yangchen?
"Aang?"
He looked at Azula who had stopped moving and pointed to the two silhouettes of their bodies sitting on the ground. He sat down in the exact same position that his body was in and closed his eyes. "Alright, all you need to do is sit in the exact same spot and close your eyes. Don't forget to hold my hand."
She complied and did exactly as he told her to do. Once he knew what she was ready to do, he started the process of going back home. He felt the tug on his body and immediately felt that he, along with Azula, had returned to their bodies. He opened his eyes, looked off the balcony, and noticed that the sun was going down.
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," he stated as he looked at her and watched her get up and stretch.
"Jeez, Aang," she said as she stretched out her back. "How do you do this everyday?"
He chuckled slightly and jumped to his feet. "Well, you get used to it once you've done it more than 70 times."
She looked at him and smiled, but then glanced at the room and smirked. "Hey, Aang. Why don't you wait out here for a second?"
"Sure! I love watching the dolphins swim at this time of day!" he replied as he leaned over the railing of the balcony.
Azula snuck into the room and found Mai and Ty Lee crouched behind some chairs. "Is everything ready?" she whispered. Once she saw two head nods, she continued. "Alright, I'll call him in." She crouched behind the table and smirked. Man, I'm the best girlfriend ever. "Hey Aang, can you come in here?"
"Yeah, Sparks, I'm coming," he said, walking into the room and seeing that it was totally dark. "A-Azula? You okay?"
"SURPRISE!"
Suddenly, Azula lit all the candles in the room, illuminating the entire room. There was a circular cake on the table with candles in it, as well as ribbons and streamers everywhere and even some balloons. There were three large gift bags sitting next to the cake.
"Ahh!" Aang screamed with delight as he fell back. "What the fuck, guys!" He then stood up and took note of the room that was decorated for his birthday. "Oh my Agni, guys! You did this for me?"
"Of course we did, silly!" Ty Lee said as she went to go hug her friend. "It's your birthday after all!"
"Yes! We wanted to celebrate it with you," Mai spoke with a smile on her face.
"But when did you guys even have time to do this?" Aang asked as he took in everything. It was then where Azula went into detail about her plan and what happened yesterday. Aang looked at his girlfriend and smiled. "You did all that for me?" He looked at Azula who was blushing and smiled at him.
"Of course I would!" she said. "I'm your girlfriend. It's what I do." She hugged him and smiled as she turned to Mai, who was smirking.
"Enough with the hugs! Let's eat this cake and open the gifts!" Ty Lee yelled, which made everyone giggle.
The party itself only lasted around an hour or so. The cake was mostly eaten and Aang had opened all of his gifts and thanked everyone for their gifts, especially the cookbooks. He proceeded to tell them some stories of time before the war and what life was like in the Air Temples. After everything started winding down, Mai and Ty Lee decided that they were going to turn in for the night.
"Thank you both for everything you did today!" Aang said as he watched them leave.
"It was really no problem," Mai replied before closing the door.
Azula looked outside and smiled. The sun was just about to go down, which made the sky beautiful shades of pink, orange, and purple. She got up and walked to the balcony. Aang noticed and followed her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.
She turned, faced him, and smiled. "Isn't the view just beautiful?" she asked as she turned to look at the setting sun.
"Not as beautiful as you," said Aang, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck. Real smooth, Aang. Really smooth.
Azula lightly blushed while she looked at the sun and smiled. Alright, Azula. You've conquered entire cities. What's a little kiss going to do? "Aang, I had a conversation with Yangchen today."
"I know, I meant to ask you how that went," he mentioned, looking at her and smiling.
"Well, it went okay. I just realized some things," She turned to face him and let out a deep breath. You can do it Azula.
"Oh really what did you-MMPH-"
Aang got interrupted by feeling something soft on his lips. His eyes immediately widened and he froze. SHE KISSED ME.
Sensing that Aang wasn't liking the kiss, Azula immediately pulled away from him. "I-I'm sorry...I-I shouldn't have done that," she stammered, but before she could get another word out, Aang came back in for a second kiss, this time tilting her head up. Both of their lips melted into each other and they felt a shock rocket through their bodies. They stayed this way for what felt like hours.
When they did break the kiss, both were huffing, trying to replenish their oxygen, both with light blushes on their faces. Aang smiled at Azula, who returned the gesture.
"Aang," began Azula, "I realized that-"
Aang pressed a finger to her lips and continued beaming. "Whatever you realized, it can definitely wait until tomorrow. Let's just enjoy this moment together."
"Alright, fine. You win," she confessed before leaning into his ear.
"Happy birthday, Avatar," she whispered to him softly before going in for another long and passionate kiss.