A/N. I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender

And don't judge Toph too hard, she did what she thought would help lol.

"We need to just knock him out cold, maybe he'll sleep then!" Sokka whispered angrily. Yeah, as if that was going to work. Aang was a notorious light sleeper. And even knocking him out would not help if he just woke up after the first nightmare.

"You really think that will help? Even if we managed to get him down, how are you suggesting keeping him asleep?" Katara retorted. She had left Aang in her brother's care, but he had come back with the news that his talk didn't help.

"Well… We could always just… knock him on the head with a hammer?" Sokka showed her the tool he had been using to make armour for Appa.

"You are not using that on him. If you so much graze his skin with that, I'll freeze you to a tree, and make you miss the invasion." She answered. The mention of the invasion made her stomach shrink. Just seven days… Just one week until she would perhaps be faced with making difficult choices. Or maybe, during the battle, an episode would happen… That would be horrible. Katara didn't want that to happen, not on the day that they could be celebrating the end of the war…

"Just an idea! It's better than what Toph has been suggesting!" Sokka grumbled, putting the hammer down. The moment the tool hit the ground, Momo grabbed it and ran away with it, as if he had heard her brother mention hitting Aang on the head with it.

"And what has she been saying?" Katara asked, rolling her eyes. She could imagine what the blind girl had suggested, and it wouldn't be pretty.

"Well, she had two ideas : First… Well, that you would do things to Aang." Sokka shuddered as he said it, as if it was too disgusting to even talk about it.

"And the second plan was to get Aang as drunk as possible until he passed out." Her brother laughed at that suggestion.

Tui and La! Was Toph serious? Of course, Katara wasn't going to do any of that! Alright, maybe her yoga session in the cave had been the prelude of something… more. She had found those hot springs the day before, and maybe she had been planning something to do with that warm pool of water and Aang… So what? They were fully in their right to do that! But seeing how Aang had been so stressed and tired, she had renounced that plan, and had pushed it into the future. No need to embarrass themselves…

And about getting the airbender drunk? Well, Katara had actually never seen a drunk Aang. During the first few months of their travels, they had drunk alcohol sometimes… But never in large quantities. Aang had been euphoric when he had learned that the people in the Northern Air Temple had made a sort of wine from the barley growing in the gardens there… And he had drunk some, but she had not had the impression it did much to him…

Actually, they had bought some bottles of alcohol because the warriors would land on this island the day before the invasion… And she knew that before battle, some liked to indulge in it. It was not something she would encourage, but still, these people would risk their lives for the plan they had come up with. So why not?

But to use it to get the airbender drunk? No, that was not something she could stand behind.

"No, we have to find another way." Katara answered and saw the sigh of relief from Sokka. The waterbender didn't know if it was because she rejected making Aang drunk or… do other things.

"Yeah, I agree. He needs to get his head straight." Her brother nodded, but just then, Toph came to stand next to them.

"So… I may have done something stupid." The smile on her face seemed forced, as if she tried to make light of some situation.

"What do you mean?" Katara rubbed the temples of her head. This was not going to be good. She had seen how the blind girl had been talking to Aang, and of course, she had probably said something dumb, that had made the airbender go into another crisis, probably creating the biggest stress ball they had ever seen.

"Well, I have some good news, and some bad! The good news is that Aang doesn't seem too stressed anymore!" Toph extended her arms in a sort of victory gesture, but it didn't look really convinced…

"And the other news?" Katara dreaded the answer that would come. Of course, Toph had done something stupid…

"Well, I found out that Twinkletoes can't hold his liquor…" Toph nearly hid behind Sokka, which was quite unusual behaviour from her. But perhaps she had felt the waterbender's heartbeat.

"Don't say you really did that." Katara managed to whisper, too angry to shout. Tui and La, had Toph really done that? And just then, confirmation of her fears walked into her view.

"Tara!" Aang's voice sounded surprisingly clear, but the fact he used the name for her he always used when they were alone wasn't a good sign…

He looked… alright. Yes, still exhausted, still those little nervous tics… But the muscles in his face weren't twitching anymore, and the glance in his eyes was actually something she knew… Oh no. Not that. Not now.

"I love you, you know!" Aang grinned, falling down next to where she was standing, and pulling on her hand. Oh Spirits…

"How much has he drunk!?" Katara turned to Toph, who was still concealing herself behind Sokka. And her brother was just smirking from ear to ear, watching the airbender, clearly amused by this development.

"Just one or two gulps! The moment he realized what I was giving him, he stopped! And well… I think the lack of sleep didn't help. It went immediately to his head." The blind girl whispered, trying very hard to suppress a smile.

"Tara!" Aang pulled once more at her hand, and the waterbender turned around as quickly as possible, trying to remove the angry glare from her eyes. This was not his fault, and if Toph was to be believed, he had not even known what he was doing before it was too late. No, the fault lay with the earthbender… Who would get the reprimand of a lifetime. After having taken care of Aang.

"Yes?" She tried to avoid saying anything more to the airbender. Although they were together, and had nothing to hide… Well, Katara would prefer revealing how advanced their relationship was under better circumstances. Like, when Aang wasn't drunk. Or tipsy at least.

"You know, I never told you this, but Spirits, your eyes are so blue… L-like the ocean. Hehe… Imagine, you drown in them…" His lopsided grin and the words he was saying made the corners of her own lips go slightly up. Spirits, it was sweet, that even in his state, the first thing he would think of was her… But she really didn't want him to talk any more than this, in front of the others.

"Come on Aang!" She grabbed the hand that had been pulling at her own fingers, and tried to drag him up, "Maybe some sleep will do you some good!". If this actually made him go to sleep for at least a few hours, and without any nightmares… Well, Katara would still be angry with Toph, but at least she would have found a temporary solution.

"I'm not done yet!" The airbender smiled, pulling his hand from her grasp. Oh spirits no…

"You know g-guys! Katara here… she is the best. Really… So kind and sweet…" Aang began to say, and Toph and Sokka… Actually sat down in front of him, to listen. Oh no… She had to shut him up before he was going to say something really embarrassing.

"Alright Aang! Thanks, you're so sweet, but now it is really time to go to sleep!" She said, and even Katara could hear the slight panic in her voice. Spirits, if he spilled the beans about them… He would not forgive himself… And it would be so horrible. Teasing from her friends, Katara could survive. But not if Aang wasn't here to calm the situation of needs be.

"But the sun is still up!" He protested, and his eyes glazed over once more. With that look. The look he had when they talked about doing things… or when he had been with her in the barn… or in that hut.

Oh no. Not that.

"And so beautiful… Guys, you can't imagine how gorgeous she is…" Aang sighed, and it was clear he just kind of forgot she was standing next to him… Spirits, she needed to stop him now, before he talked…

"Thank you so much Aang, but I think it is better if you sleep this off!" Katara crouched down in front of the airbender, to make sure he saw her.

"Oh Katara, there you are!" Aang smiled. The waterbender tried to hold in a sigh. Yeah. Here she was. Apparently, when he had too much to drink… Aang became very forgetful. Shit. Or… maybe it would be a good thing? He had only said nice general things for the moment. Nothing to worry about.

"So Aang, what is the thing you find most attractive when you think of Katara?"

She turned around, aghast. Had her brother… just joined the fun? No. He wouldn't dare! And knowing him… Oh spirits, he would surely manage to pry every last detail from the airbender in this state. Katara had to get Aang out of here, before anything happened!

"S-" Aang pressed his eyes closed and looked like he had just tasted something horrible. After a moment, his face turned back to normal, he opened his eyes and grinned, "She just so… nice. And have you seen her? She is… wow." Aang sighed, with a dreamy look in his eyes. Oh no. Everything but that. Not that specific look!

"And she has such a nice a-" Katara managed to shut him up by slamming her hand in front of his mouth, pressing it as shut as possible. No one needed to hear that exact phrase. Spirits, she had never heard Aang talk like that. Because she knew perfectly well that he had wanted to say ass. Evidently, alcohol removed any shred of reservations the airbender had with such words.

Behind her, Katara heard the snickers from Toph and Sokka.

"If any of you two say another word, I will personally see to it you don't sleep for a week. And then I'll give you something to drink. Then we can all get a laugh." She whispered threateningly over her shoulder, but the chuckles only amplified. Oh spirits why?

Turning her eyes back to the airbender, she understood why. Aang was now fixing her, and which such a look of adoration her own stomach tightened slightly. The airbender was always open with his feelings and emotions… But like this? No. He had never shown, at least, publicly, such an open book for anyone to read.

I love her so much…

It was as clear as day that that was what he meant.

"So, please Aang, tell us more about Katara's… rear." Toph spoke softly behind her, and the waterbender could nearly hear the grin in that voice. She looked the airbender straight in the eye, and shook her head.

Please my love, don't say whatever you want to say. Just shut up and go to sleep.

"Oh guys, it is just… glorious."

Katara closed her eyes. Alright. Not that horrible. That could mean anything! That didn't tell the others that he had actually seen her naked. She could live with this.

"And so soft…"

Oh fuck.

"Alright! Enough!" Katara pulled Aang up, and without further ado, she walked off, gripping her hand firmly around the arm of the airbender so that he was forced to come with her. Behind her, she could hear the roaring laughter from Toph and something that sounded a lot like Sokka muttering something about oogies.

"B-but… I wasn't finished!" Aang protested as she was nearly dragging him away from the others.

"Oh yes you were!" She was not in the mood anymore to tolerate this. Toph had made him drink, against his own will, and after that, had profited from his situation to get information about them. No. That was not alright! Sure, it was perfectly in line with the way the blind girl acted, but no! This was a breach of privacy!

"But… I wanted to tell them how nice you are…" Katara looked at the airbender from the corner of her eye, and saw how he had turned slightly green, probably from the sudden movement.

"But they don't need to know yet about everything!" The waterbender knew it was pointless to try and convince him of all of this now, but she had to say it at least once. Their walk had brought them close to Appa and Momo, who were lifting their head curiously at them. Surely this was also the first time for them they saw Aang… like this?

"I-I know. But Katara… You are my forever girl…" He sighed, closing his eyes and smiling. Spirits… That was… bad. She had to admit that that was one of the worst things he had tried to pass off as a compliment. Mero mana, timro ho, mero premokura, that had been something romantic and… So wonderful. Forever Girl however… Spirits, she knew he meant well, but it didn't exactly wake up passion in her heart.

"Alright… Thanks. Aang, listen to me. Are you alright to stay here for a few moments, with Appa and Momo? I'll come back to fetch you, but I need you to stay here, just for a few minutes." Katara asked the airbender, who smiled, nodding, and fell down next to Appa, grabbing Momo and began to talk to them… In his own language. Spirits, it had been a while that she had actually looked at the scrolls, and so whatever she had managed to learn... was a bit rusty.

That being said, she managed to recognize several words… yes… talking… imagined…. Love her… swords?...

It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but she trusted the animals to keep an eye on Aang. Making sure that there wasn't anything that could happen to him, Katara turned around and began to stomp off. Towards Toph and Sokka.

Oh, they were in for it now! Toph, for everything she had done to Aang, from making him drink to blatantly profiting from the situation to get information. And Sokka, for just looking at it all like it was a joke! No, it wasn't! This was serious! This was not something you did to your friends!

Apparently, they had seen or felt her coming, for her brother and Toph stood next to their campsite, looking bashful and quite embarrassed. So, maybe they had realized that their actions had consequences? She didn't care.

"So. Where did you get the alcohol from?" Katara seethed, turning to the blind girl. Who, for once, didn't seem very confident…

"I just opened one of the bottles we bought…." Toph answered, and it seemed, truthfully.

Well, that was not that bad. Katara had taken care to buy stuff that didn't actually do too much damage. For it had been to calm nerves before the battle, not to actually go into battle with a hangover.

"Alright. And another thing. If any of you tries such a thing again… I promise I won't be tolerant. This was once. And only once. If you do this again, against his will, and then go on and interrogate him about us, I will be angry. Angrier than I am now." She made sure that every word was clear, and drenched in an angry tone.

"So, there is something?" Sokka spoke up, hesitantly, but Katara just looked at him, and he turned his eyes to the ground.

"That is none of your business. Nor is it yours Toph. We have one clear goal this week. Get Aang rested. Get him confident in his own abilities. Make sure he has every tool we can give him. And that doesn't mean to talk to him like he is an experiment Sokka. Or get him drunk. That means love, compassion and kindness. He is scarred out of his mind, and the only thing we all have been doing is fuel that fear!"

That seemed to get through to their thick heads.

"And how do we do that?" Toph whispered.

"First of all, we need to get him to sleep. Really sleep. Not just a few hours of wine-induced coma. Rest. Sleep. And then, you and I are going to train him! But not the six-hour schedule Sokka suggested. No, just a few pointers. He is already a master waterbender, and close enough to a master earthbender. So, we need to trust him. And the day before Dad arrives, I get him to myself. Not buts. No disgusted sounds. If something happens, I don't want my last memory being training with him. You understand?"

Toph nodded, as did Sokka, and they didn't object to her monologue. Good. That had been the point.

"Alright, Aang says he can sleep wherever he wants, and that is true. But no one, not even Aang, says no to a comfortable place to sleep. So, let's make one." Katara grabbed the pair of scissors Sokka had bought in the last town they had visited, and turned to the herd of wild koala-sheep. The plan had been in her mind before… But that had been for different reasons.

When she had explored the warm springs, the waterbender had not found a comfortable place to lay down… if they wanted. So, she had thought of shearing the koala-sheep to create a soft place… For activities.

"Get me as many of the biggest ones you can find. And I'll shear them, to make a bed." Katara gestured to the herd, and Toph and Sokka scrambled to get going, probably afraid she would do something if they objected.

It took them most of the afternoon. Katara had gone to check on Aang at one moment of the day, but he had been just talking to Momo in a chirping manner… Well, if that didn't show he had gone crazy… But he had seemed calmer, and she had left him to his own things…

She had thought it would be easy, to shear the animals. Turned out, they were rather hard to catch, and even harder to let themselves be robbed of their coat of wool. But at the end of the day, they had managed to finally create a large bed. Toph had bent a rock flat, big enough to let several people sleep on it, and they had laid the wool over it, creating a sort of enormous cloud, made of wool.

Katara was rather proud of the creation. Surely, his exhaustion, the alcohol and the bed would make him sleep for once. She had thought about joining him, so that she could hold him on the bed if a nightmare happened, but had decided against it. Not only would it probably not help if the nightmares really returned… But the bed was also just next to their campsite.

The sun had just set when Aang came walking towards the camp followed by Momo and Appa, on a safe distance. Katara heard him mutter something…

"Chakras… everyone loves chakras… I understand Appa, Momo has been hard on you, but you can't just start a sword fight because you disagree with him."

Spirits, yes. He had really lost it.

Aang walked past them, not even seeing them, and went straight to the bed they had made for him. The airbender walked around it, still taking to himself. Katara couldn't hear what he was saying but the look on his face didn't inspire much confidence. Gesturing the others, she began to walk towards him.

"… Oh look… An imaginary bed made of clouds…."

"Hey! It's real!" Toph interrupted Aang's weird talking, crossing her arms over her chest, "We spent hours working on it!"

"Yeah, we made it for you! A good night sleep will do wonders… we hope!"

That was rich. First, they tried to do things that were never going to work, and now, they were trying to grab the glory for the idea of the bed. Well, if only he was going to sleep. Then she would forgive the others. They had worked hard, and had shown… a bit of regret for their actions.

"No, no, no! The invasion is in a few days! I can't sleep! I have still much to learn! I need to practise!" He again sounded stressed and exhausted… Well, at least the alcohol had worn off apparently…

"Quick, hit me!" He crouched sightly, in a position they had trained for just simple waterbending…

"I'm not going to hit you!" Of course she wasn't!

"Want me to do it?" Katara ignored that quick joke from Toph. At least, she hoped it was a joke.

"Listen to me… You've been training since the day we met. I, and the others, have seen your progress! You are smart, brave and strong enough to defeat him Aang!" She pulled him into a hug, pressing him against her body. Who cared the others saw them. That was not important right now.

"You… You really think so?" The stress seemed to leave his body, for she felt him relax in her arms. Now. Now they had to make sure he was going to sleep.

"Sure! We all think so, you can do this!" Oh Tui and La, thank you. Finally, Sokka said something sensible!

"Yeah! You are the man Twinklestoes!" Even Toph sounded nice.

Katara quickly released the airbender, who was swaying on his feet from pure exhaustion. He turned to the bed and looked at them once more.

"I… I think some sleep wouldn't hurt…"

Yes! Spirits thank you, yes!

He let himself fall face first on the wool, and immediately, a light snoring began to come from the woollen cloud bed.

"Oh thank the badgermoles! He has gone to sleep! Please great spirits, let him sleep through the night!" Toph raised her hands to the heavens, with a smirk on her face. Ah, there was the old earthbender again. And then, Toph nearly ran away, bending an earthtent quite far from the campsite.

"Hehe… Probably in case Aang wakes up screaming again… She told me she hears it louder than we do…" Sokka chuckled, but Katara could sense that he was uncomfortable.

"That would serve her right. Seriously, making Aang drunk? That was her plan?" The waterbender sighed, grabbing the airbender's shoulders and turning him around, to make sur he was comfortable.

"Yeah… A dumb idea… But it came from good intentions, Sis. Even if it had some unforeseen consequences…"

Yeah. He was talking about what Aang had said.

"I know. But it wasn't alright to question him like that. You should know he would never talk like that and would hate himself for doing so." That was true. Aang had never talked about… Well, physical fantasies, if her brother was to be believed. First, she had thought he was just a bit shy, but now, she knew that it was out of respect. Because whatever physical fantasies he had, it involved her.

"Yeah, you are right… But I still want to say something…"

"Oh no, not the big brother speech. He doesn't need that!" Katara rolled her eyes, caressing the locks of Aang's hair softly.

"No, he already got that one. No, I want to talk to you about him. My big brother speech to you, in a way." Sokka smiled gently. Katara tried to hide her own smile. Her brother, for all his flaws, was a big softy. He had claimed Aang was his little brother since the day they had visited the Southern Air Temple…

"Don't hurt him."

That surprised her. Why would she? And apparently, her eyes spoke faster than her mouth could.

"I'm not saying you would! Just… Try not to. I said the same thing to him. You both need to grab the moment, now that you still have it. Don't let him slip through your fingers, just because it would be easier."

But she wasn't! They were together! But of course… Her brother didn't know that.

And with that, he turned around and went to his own sleeping bag.

"No worries… We'll manage anything that the world throws at us, won't we?" She whispered, still caressing the airbender's hair.

"Anything. And we are going to have a nice few days, before my father arrives. And after that… We are going to have a life. Together."

Answers :

Rak : Yeah, I thought about cactus juice, but thought it would be more logical to do this. Of course, his exhaustion would be explanation enough for the hallucinations, but I think this works fine too! And next chapter won't be Katara… or Aang… or even a member of the Gaang.