A/N. A bit all over the place, but as I said before, if the character is not quite sure of his state of mind, the chapter is going to be chaotic. I have a Hakoda chapter planned, and then the Southern Raiders storyline will kick off!
Letting the liquid in his cup turn around, Aang watched the others. The bottle Sokka had produced had indeed come from the airship, and the stuff tasted rich and very expensive… But it was good. And for some reason, knowing that they had stolen it from under Azula's nose made it even sweeter. The airbender had never even tasted something like it, but he liked it.
The others were also drinking, making conversation with each other. He saw Katara talk animatedly with Suki, but he couldn't quite make out what was being said. Hakoda was in discussion with Haru and the man they had taken from the prison, Chit Sang. Just as he began to think about bringing a cup to Zuko's room, where the firebender probably was trying to forget what had happened at the prison, he decided against it. The prince didn't seem like someone who would like to share his problems.
Hakoda suddenly laughed at something that the prisoner told him, and Aang smiled. That meant that at least… Chit Sang wasn't such a bad person. The Water Tribe Chief was probably quite capable of judging if someone was trustworthy…
Letting his eyes wander further down the line, he settled on Katara. He saw how she took a sip of her drink, and suddenly realized that he had never seen her drunk. Or even tipsy, for that matter! Maybe this would change tonight? As he watched, the waterbender laughed softly when Suki said something. As her laugh drifted over to where he was seated, the airbender closed his eyes, letting the sound wash over him.
It would probably sound weird to anyone else… But all the hurt, all the worries of the last few days… It all went away when he heard that sound. Aang felt stupid for being so easy to sway to another kind of mood, but it was true. Katara always had a calming effect, and it was just… Perfect. Yes, that was the word.
"I know what you are thinking." Hakoda's voice came softly from his right, and the airbender opened his eyes to see that the older water tribe man had moved from his seat close to Haru and Chit Sang and was now sitting next to him.
"What?" He tried to hide his embarrassment.
"That laugh could heal all wounds." Hakoda smiled as he talked quietly.
Ah… Of course, the chief would understand…
"Did… Did her mother sound like that too?" He asked. The airbender didn't know where the question came from. Sure, he had been told Katara looked like her mother, but he had never really asked someone who had known Kya.
"Exactly… It kills me every time I hear her talk. To listen to her is as if Kya is back… And I must force myself not to cry like a child when I realize that it is not her. But Katara… She is exactly like her mother. To listen to someone, you truly love… It is the most beautiful thing there is." Hakoda smiled, patting him on a shoulder.
Aang tried to smile, but the older man had seemed sad. And he didn't know what to answer. What could he even answer such information? And, to add to his hesitation… the airbender wanted to talk to Hakoda. He would surely understand why he was afraid. The chief would understand why he was afraid for Katara.
A hand closed around his shoulder, shaking him out of the spiralling thought he was beginning to have.
"Hey… Aang… I need a favour." Sokka spoke, sounding… embarrassed.
"Sure, what?" the airbender shrugged, taking a sip of his drink.
"Not here… the other side of the terrasse perhaps? The others are talking to each other." His friend still sounded embarrassed, and a touch of shyness could also be heard. Aang just stood up, seeing Katara's big blue eyes follow his movements. He smiled at her, slightly shaking his head. There was nothing wrong.
As he walked towards the darker corner, Sokka's footsteps followed him. Arriving at the edge of the tiled floor, he just sat down, letting his legs dangle into the abyss below. His friend sat down next to him, not even flinching at the canyon underneath them. But as Aang let his eyes go of the water tribe boy, he realized that that was probably out of uneasiness. Sokka was wringing his hands together, just like Katara did when she worried about something.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" It seemed better to begin the discussion.
"Ehm… Well, I get this is awkward, but Zuko is not an option… Haru is not a good idea either… nor are the others, and my Dad… That would be even more uncomfortable. So…you are my only hope." Sokka began hesitantly.
"Only hope for what?" Spirits, where was this going?
"I need advice… About… girls." The water tribe man took chucked the content of his cup down his throat, before refilling it with the bottle he had taken with him.
"Wait a minute! You are asking advice… about girls… from me?" Aang couldn't help but let out a laugh, clearly and loudly. Oh Spirits, this was the best! This was even better than that one-time Sokka had needed his help to flirt with the girl who had been thinking Sokka was the Avatar!
And also… It gave him the best opportunity to mess with his friend! Act aloof! Sure! That had worked so well for him at Aunt Wu's village! No, after that, he had not asked advice from the water tribe boy about… That.
"No need to rub it in Air Head… Please don't." Sokka sighed, but Aang couldn't help but grin as he let the little alcohol that was left in his cup flow down his throat. This was going to be so much fun! Grabbing the bottle that stood between them, he refilled his cup and turned back to his friend.
"Please, tell me what you want to know from the master!" He laughed. This was going to be so good!
"Don't overrate yourself. Remember, I was there for most of your… attempts. I never had much high hopes for you concerning Katara." Sokka grumbled, but even that couldn't stomp Aang's happiness down. Finally, they came to him for advice about that!
"Sure, but I did manage it, so I did something right! That is why you are asking my help, isn't it?" The airbender pocked his elbow into the water tribe boy's ribs, grinning.
"Get off your high ostrich horse, you'll laugh a lot less when I come to the second part of the favour…" Sokka groaned, and Aang felt a small pang of curiosity when he mentioned the second part. What was that going to be?
"Alright… What do you need?" He asked, trying to sound less amused than he was actually feeling.
"How… how did you do it? I mean, what did you say that made Katara… well, how she is with you?" Sokka's voice sounded strangely vulnerable, as if he was afraid of the answer.
"Well… There is no short answer to that…" He began, staring into the starry sky above them. No… There was so much that had led them to this point…
"I've got time…"
"Alright… I didn't realize it at the time, but it had already begun when you two broke me out of the iceberg. I liked her instantly-"
"I'm getting the whole story, aren't I?" Sokka sighed, but Aang continued.
"But it was just a silly crush in the beginning. I didn't act upon it, fearing I would lose her friendship if I did. But… well there seemed to be signs, so I began to do small things. Give her flowers, replacing her necklace when Zuko stole your mother's… I think it worked… kind of, that is. I tried to ask her out to watch the northern lights at the Pole… But you invited yourself!" The airbender spoke, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.
"Hey, I didn't know it was an exclusive Katara and Aang thing!"
"I know, I know… Well, after that… There was this kind of tension between us. We didn't really know what it meant… But when we kissed for the first time… I understood. I liked her, not only as a crush, but… You know, something more. In my culture, loving someone… It's sacred." He didn't feel like explaining the whole one love in your life deal to Sokka… At least, not yet.
"It went on like this until we arrived at Ba Sing Se. Even if the Dai Li was keeping an eye on us… it was just not possible to deny it. What I mean to say… I can only advise you to follow your own instincts. If there is a mutual attraction, and you keep gravitating toward each other, you'll be alright. However, you express it. Everyone is different. Just find out what makes Suki like you, and keep doing that." Aang finished.
That had been the Air Nomad way of thinking. To let everyone decide their own rules, without society pressuring them into something that wasn't entirely natural. It had been for that reason he had never liked the concept of a relationship in the Water Tribes. There, most of the time, something was arranged or at least suggested by the parents… But to just let life make its way, without outside pressure… That was the way to live.
"What do you mean to say is, figure it out yourself? Thanks for your help." Sokka responded sarcastically.
"No, what I mean, don't let anyone dictate how you are supposed to act around the people you like. There are only two people who can judge your feelings for each other, and those are you and the girl in question. Katara liked the flowers, and the conversations we had during the nights we couldn't sleep… But Suki doesn't have to like that. What I mean, discover that and if you like it too, build on that. It doesn't have to be perfect." Aang explained, swallowing the whole content of his cup in one go, but not refilling it. He had drunk enough and could feel it raise to his head rather quickly.
"I never said it was about Suki…" Sokka whispered, but the blush spoke for itself. The water tribe boy was head over heels. And Aang could only be happy for his friend.
"Indeed, you didn't. But we are talking about her, right?" The airbender smiled as he felt the soft pounding in his head increase slightly.
"Yeah…" His friend sighed contentedly but didn't say more than that. Aang put his cup down next to him, letting his hands rest behind him and staring into the night sky, as silence settled between them.
Today had been a good day, all in all… He had laid Mother Kaashi to rest a few miles to the south, where small windswept mountains made the perfect place for an Air Nomad sky burial. Why had he begun to worry just before coming here with Sokka? Hakoda and Suki were free, and would help them with whatever they were going to do now, and his other friends had come back largely unscathed from the best guarded prison in the Fire Nation! How was that not a thing to celebrate? Why worry?
And… Well, it may seem a bit selfish from him… But he was rather hoping that this good mood would accompany him into his bedroom. Was that his hormones speaking? Surely it was. Of course they couldn't do anything of the sort! Their last try had been rather rudely interrupted, but it had forced them to calm down and realize that they couldn't be doing that, for everyone safety… If more people discovered his feelings for Katara, she would be even in more danger than she already was, with Azula hunting her down in hope to make him surrender himself.
But still… Maybe they could do something that was not too loud? That would be alright, wouldn't it? He could kiss her senseless… Aang loved that glassy look in those beautiful ocean blue eyes every time they kissed… It made him feel rather proud of himself if he was being honest…
"I have another question…" Sokka's voice spoke up beside him, and the airbender turned back to his friend. Yeah… He had said it was going to be awkward, but for the moment, none of the information he had told Sokka embarrassed him.
"Sure."
"Well… Believe me, if there was another person, I would gladly have asked them… But… Would you… Would you give me some… pointers?" The water tribe boy's groaned.
Pointers?
"Pointers? In what?" A nasty feeling began to creep up in his chest. Aang had a very bad feeling about this…
Sokka just looked at him, with an irritated gaze in his eyes.
"Don't make me say it Air Head…" He grumbled.
Oh! Oh!
"No way! I… No! You don't want that!" Aang objected. Of course he wasn't going to fill Sokka in on that particular part of his life!
"Aang! You are the only one I can ask! Believe me, I don't want it either! But Tui and La… You are my only chance…" Sokka pleaded, grabbing his arm.
"No! Are you crazy?"
"Please! You must know some things! Don't tell me you and Katara never-"
"Sokka! I can't tell you that!" Aang whispered, feeling heat rush towards his cheeks. Something, that his friend unfortunately saw too.
"But there has been something! Come on, help me! I… I never… You know? And I don't… I don't want to look like a complete fool." The water tribe boy finished lamely, biting his lip.
Aang sighed. He could understand that Sokka asked this… But spirits, did it have to be him? How could they even discuss this? Shaking his head, he grabbed the cup and bottle and filled it to the brim. If he was going to do this, it was certainly not in a clear state of mind.
Why not Zuko? Haru? For Spirits sake, why did it have to be him?
"Alright. What do you want to know?" He asked, through gritted teeth. This didn't need to be awkward! He wasn't going to give his friend any more information than absolutely necessary!
"This is going to be so bad… Alright… How… How do you start… That?" Sokka nearly groaned as he asked his question.
Oh, was that all? Spirits, that was such a large and complicated subject…
"Well… When w-"
"Wait!" The water tribe boy suddenly interrupted, "Lets.. Let's pretend you did all these things with someone else. Please."
Aang rolled his eyes at that. There had never been someone else, and Sokka knew it. But if it could make it a bit easier for them both… Well, what was the harm?
"Alright… When we did stuff…" Spirits, it was weird to talk in the past tense about things Katara and he did, "It just… kind off happened, when an annoying brother was not too close, for example." He could help but smiled at Sokka.
His friend shuddered and stuck out his tongue.
"Tui and La, this was a stupid plan, wasn't it?" Sokka muttered, "Please… continue."
"Well, it just… happened. It isn't something you can really plan, it is just a feeling. But there can be some planning, it is even better. Let's say… You manage to do things with Suki. It would be a good idea to take care of unwanted side effects, like… you know, pregnancy." Aang spoke. This was safe territory! Sure, Sokka hadn't been asking about this… But this was good too, wasn't it?
"And how… How do you do that?" His friend questioned him, this time less awkwardly.
"There is a tea… we have some if you need it." That was as much confirmation that Katara and he had been doing… stuff. Spirits, the world was really turned upside down if he needed to give this kind of advice to Sokka.
"Alright… But, yeah, let's turn back to my actual questions…"
No, please, everything but that…
"How… How do you make it feel… good? I know the basics, and so on… But I know it has to be… enjoyable… For both parties involved." The water tribe boy asked, and then drank deeply from his cup.
Aang did the same. This was going to be such an embarrassing discussion. He was only happy about the fact that the others didn't seem to miss them and were still talking with each other.
"Well… Listening is a good idea. Don't assume you are the best at everything… Just listen to her and implement the things she says. Ka… Well, we did that, and it worked pretty well." Still, he tried to dance around the subject and the real answers Sokka was probably hoping for.
"Air Head… I actually love that advice… But instead of torturing us any longer than necessary, just… just tell me what you did wrong, and what you did right. Sure, it is going to be horribly uncomfortable, for the both of us… But at least, after that, we won't need to continue this." Sokka sighed.
If… If he wanted the truth, and only that… Well, Aang could give it to him, if he really wanted it. As his friend had put it, it would be awkward for just a few moments, but at least, Sokka would have his advice.
"Sure?" He asked. The airbender needed to be absolutely sure before he could even contemplate talking about it.
"Yes. Spit it out!"
"Alright… Foreplay. Very important! She likes it if I play… well, with her chest. Apparently, it's sensitive." Sokka shuddered out of disgust, but didn't interrupt him, "Also, kiss and stroke your hands everywhere. I found that kissing… Well, there, is a good idea."
Aang didn't know where this confidence came from, but his mind wandered to those times he had done that. The soft moans and sounds Katara had made came back in his mind, and he smiled at the memory. It had been so nice and soft, wet, warm and inviting…
"Air Head. Keep that head here. Please." Sokka grumbled.
"Oh! Yes! Sure! As I said, kissing the person in question… you know, there, is a good idea. And believe me, don't let the girl return the favour. If you want to keep… you know, going. Don't let her." Aang had indeed stopped Katara each time she tried to do that. Sure, he had let her do a bit… But never too long. And if what his friend was telling him was true, it would be better to stay in safer territories for the first time.
"Thanks for that horrible mental image. I won't be able to sleep tonight… Other tips?" The airbender saw Sokka nearly gag when he spoke.
"Ehm… Don't concentrate on yourself. You'll enjoy yourself. But… It may be important to do things to her…" Spirits, he knew what he had to tell his friend… But it was going to be the most embarrassing thing he had ever said…
"When we did it the first time, I kind of… I was too overzealous, and forgot… to think about what she would like. She didn't mind, but I did, once I got down off that high… So…"
Shit. Monkeyfeathers. Fuck!
They had the book! Why had Aang been humiliating himself and giving Sokka nightmares! He could just have borrowed him their book! Fuck!
"Wait here!" He put down his cup, and nearly bolted to Appa. They had hid the book inside his trunk, because… well, they didn't need it that much anymore, to be honest. They had already discussed at length what they wanted to try, and it hadn't been their goal to actually do stuff while inside the temple. Or at least, it hadn't exactly been his objective.
Just hoping Katara didn't look towards them, he began to search through the trunk. The book had been underneath the scrolls, and when he saw the soft yellow cover appear, Aang grabbed it and moved back to Sokka.
"You have to promise me to give it back." The airbender said as he sat down, keeping one hand on the book while taking his cup in the other, "You get it until tomorrow morning, it isn't mine… Or at least, not entirely."
His friend's eyes wondered to what he had in his hand, and Aang recalled the embarrassing moment Sokka had actually discovered it inside his trunk, just before arriving at Piandao's castle. The water tribe boy had believed his little lie that it had been given to him for his sixteenth birthday by people from the Southern Air Temple…
But it had been Katara who had bought it while he had been wounded…
"Sure… Please tell me that that isn't what I think it is…" Sokka spoke hesitantly.
"It is. Be honest, you don't want me to tell you about everything that has happened between me and… Well, I think this will be better! But it is more Katara's than mine… So, please return it before she notices." Aang spoke, pushing the book in his friend his hands.
Sokka turned the book around, seeing the cover. The airbender saw how the water tribe boy frowned as he opened the book.
"But don't show anyone you have this. Read it tonight, and give it back to me tomorrow morning." The airbender didn't want Katara to know the book was being used by anyone else but them… But to be honest, it was better to give Sokka this to help him than explain to him what Katara and he liked to do… with each other.
"Sure… So, this is Katara's?" The water tribe boy hid the book under his tunic and stood up. His friend extended his hand for him to take it
"Shut it… Please." Aang muttered as he was being pulled up by Sokka. Turning around to see the others, the airbender saw shadows move towards them. As the campfire was behind the figures, he couldn't see who they were before they stood just a few feet away.
"Dad is going to sleep in the guesthouse… And so is Suki. We decided to put Chit Sang with Haru so that Sokka can stay with Dad and Suki." Katara's voice sounded slightly slurred, as if she was just exhausted.
The small hope Aang had allowed himself to have died as he realized that Katara's family was probably going to spend the night in one of the rooms close to where he slept… Spirits, why did fate hate him that much.
"The room beside yours seems in a good shape, no?" Sokka suggested.
Sure! Why not!
"You sleep there too?" Hakoda asked, surprised.
"Aang and I share a room there, yes." The waterbender answered tightly. Ah, yes… The airbender knew the difficulties she had had with her father about their relationship. And even if their short reunion before the Day of Black Sun had seemed to help… There had always seemed to be a wall between Katara and her father about that.
Suki, who had joined them, looked at him with a grin.
Spirits, she knew, didn't she? Of course she did… He was perfectly aware that anyone with eyes could realize what Katara meant to him. And that was the problem.
"Ah… Alright." Hakoda didn't seem too convinced, and there were clearly some conflicts in his pale blue eyes, but he didn't say a word about it.
"Come on, to bed. Tomorrow, business as usual." Sokka muttered, and began to walk. As Suki and Hakoda followed the water tribe boy, Aang held himself back as he saw that Katara did the same. As soon as the others were crossing the bridge, the waterbender bend towards his ear.
"No luck… Maybe another day." She whispered. And he knew she too had been thinking about finishing what they had started.
"Maybe… I love you so much, you do know that, right?" He spoke quietly. His conversation with Sokka had been more than awkward, but now that Katara was standing next to him, he felt like nothing could embarrass him.
"I love you too…" Aang felt a head press against his shoulder, and kept standing there, looking over the night's sky with the waterbender.
Life was complex and had become even more complicated.
Hiding away from people who wanted to harm him, his friends and his love… Pressured by an impossible deadline, while people were dying all around the world because of him, being unable to stop it. Having to live in a place he had sworn never to even consider his home again.
But with her next to him… At this moment, with good news all around, just for an evening… It felt possible.
Answers:
Handler : Ah, I have an idea of what is going to happen with that! You'll see!
Rak: Honestly, I felt my last few chapter were rather weak, but I needed to bridge this part to get to the dilemma part! But to read people are enjoying it, that is good news! I really hated doing that to Suki, but it needed to be done!
Alyssa: Thank you so much! I hope you'll enjoy this rather light chapter that didn't add too much too the story! I just wanted to give that awkward discussion a place in the story!
Jjsmith103 : I'm going to delve into Hakoda's fears next chapter, and he is of course going to talk to people, like he is bound to do… So, of course there is going to be a lot of drama! And about Katara and Aang's room, of course he wasn't going to talk about that while the others were there.
Gabriela N Gonzalez: Good to see you back! I hope you are feeling a lot better!