Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or anything associated with it except my fanfiction.
I'm sorry, guys. This one'll be kinda short. Today was quite a fiasco for me. I'm also late. As usual.
It's also been a while since I watched the episodes, so please forgive me for any inconsistencies.
Also no edits or revisions. So this'll be an interesting week...
Katara remembered the first feelings of meeting her husband and the sensations that surrounded their mutual introduction.
The sluicing crackle of ice piercing the frigid air. The brilliant glow of a thousand suns that forced her to turn her back. The screams from Sokka that sounded suspiciously like the presumed "girly screams" he was always making fun of. The odd realization hit her that the patch of ice she and her brother were standing on did not bob up and down in the waves of the ocean - even despite all of the disturbances, crashes, and collisions that headed their way back when they still had the canoe...
Was it only a few minutes ago that Katara was awkwardly holding a fragile orb? A potential meal before Sokka skewered the aquatic cage? That eventually led to their boat breaking and her finally snapping? It felt like longer. Stumbling upon a strange figure with glowing arrows inside a random iceberg had the capability of doing such a thing.
And as suddenly as it began, it was over. The iceberg exploded, sending shards everywhere. The peculiar glow became less magnified, more compact, as the figure menacingly walked out of what seemed to be its prison, with a glare that turned Katara's blood colder than the sea. Sokka readied his weapon, positioning himself between Katara and the entity, and for once Katara was glad for his brother's ideals of manly bravado.
Then Katara noticed that the figure seemed almost... weak in the knees. Swaying slightly, the figure's unsteadiness became more and more apparent until finally it crumpled to the ground, clearly unconscious from whatever ordeal it had suffered.
Without a second thought for her safety, she dashed out from underneath her brother's arms, and, ignoring his cries of protest and warning, she clambered over to the figure, and...
It was a boy.
A young boy, for certain. At most a year or so younger than her. It was the first time Katara had seen a boy around her age other than Sokka, yet still, the difference in youth was palpable. His childish features had not quite abandoned his body, which seemed as insubstantial and light as a feather. Katara had no doubt that even the village children could carry him. And he was small. So small. Of course, Katara was already well into her time of growth, but even then, she wondered if the boy was at least a head shorter than her.
But she couldn't occupy herself with height or physical stature for long. For the boy opened his eyes.
And they were a startling, beautiful gray.
As it turned out, he wasn't as short as she first surmised. But he was still plenty short enough. He barely reached the tip of her nose, although it did make things easier if she hypothetically want to kiss him on the forehead. Not that she ever thought of such a thing. Just if she did.
It had been several weeks since they met, and Aang was a bundle of... something. Fun. Immaturity. Freedom. Everything Katara had long forgotten the definition of - Aang brought it back in the most infuriating, delightful way possible. She doted on him like a mother to a child. But he was a child. And for the better part of her life, she had effectively been a mother. So no loss there.
He also got along surprisingly well with Sokka. Despite Sokka's incessant complaints about bending magic mumbo-jumbo, for the most part, they got along handsomely. Which was a relief. Katara didn't need to baby two bickering siblings while also taking care of herself and analyzing the logistics of saving the world. Yep. They were saving the world. One day a drab dull life waiting to see if her father would never return, the next on an epic journey to end the war that took him away.
And it was all thanks to Aang.
Katara tried feeding him as much as she could, but he did not partake of meat, and he believed a little too heavily in fasting. Katara wondered if he was always destined to be so short. She decided it wasn't so bad. Maybe when she was feeling especially bold, she could take advantage of kissing his forehead in case the current situation didn't last.
From what she could see, their height difference had expanded respectably.
He was certainly starting to feel the effects of puberty, but Katara had to lean down slightly to kiss him on the forehead. Of course, there was sitting on Appa where she could easily kiss him on the cheek and enjoy seeing him get flustered, but beyond that, it felt strange to have to look down at whom she considered her best friend in the world. Two years and a head's difference couldn't change that.
Then there was the Cave of Two Lovers... she didn't know what had taken her over back then...
At least he wasn't as short as Toph. For someone shorter than a stump of wood, she had a lot of smackback.
What a difference a few months made.
Even after the devastating lightning strike, Aang made impressive headway - she could comfortably kiss the tip of his nose, although she didn't know why she thought of their height in terms of kisses. Perhaps it made too much of a comedy for her not to do.
He was the sweetest person in the world - whenever his less immature traits weren't holding him back. But she couldn't fault him for it. He was barely a teenager (assuming his birthday had passed - he was never too clear on Air Nomad traditions for birthdays) so he still had the naivety of childhood coupled with the fiery hormones of teenaged years. Ah well. at least the hormones were helping in other ways - as did his bending training.
Katara did not recognize Aang. With well-toned muscles, a slightly deeper voice, and a clear (if incomplete) growth in character distinguished him from the child she was had to tend to. In fact, they were not the same. Aang was grown. And now, Katara wondered what exactly all her thoughts from before meant.
On the other hand, the few times she had kissed Aang... were confusing. He was at least a year younger than her, possibly more, with an even wider maturity divide to cross. Yet strangely, it felt... almost right to her, almost as though everything about their friendship had culminated into the blossoming of something else -
But she was confused. There was Zuko. There was age. So many things that ate at Katara's mind. She decided to wait, to see what would happen in a future where, maybe, she would have the option to hold out and see...
It was a little uncomfortable to figure out how to kiss. But they made it work. Somehow.
Aang was still shorter than her, although she swore he became a little taller every week. His stomach certainly expanded by tenfold, eating more than Sokka, much to everyone's horror - except Sokka, of course. And Toph.
She was still a little conflicted, but absolutely at ease with her choice. The only complaint she would have fathomed was her opinion that it might have been still too early, but for once, she let her selfish desires lead the way. To Aang.
"Yay!" Aang shouted with flee as he jumped up and down and slammed his head on the ceiling. He came crashing down in a heap.
"Hey! Not funny! Take it back!" he shouted petulantly at Katara as she held her hand over her mouth in suppressed laughter.
"What? It was kind of nostalgic, back to when you first fell out of that iceberg and I ended up cradling you in my arms... like this..." she hummed as she wrapped her arms around him, marveling at the feeling of comfort and equality and coziness she felt with an Aang that was finally her peer in size.
"Hmm... I could get used to this," Aang murmured contentedly, his face slowly turning into a devilish smirk. "Assuming I don't grow more."
"You started out late. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if you overtook me. And I've had my time having to do the work in this relationship by bending down to you. Hopefully it'll be your turn to reciprocate soon."
Aang groaned. "You're kidding me! It's hard on the other end too? I had to crane my neck up just to see your properly! Not to mention all those times I had to get on tiptoe to kiss your forehead!-"
Katara forcefully yanked him up and pulled him into a kiss. It felt completely different, with no one forced to adjust themselves to each others' height. And Katara savored every minute of it.
"We better be doing a lot of things. This is a cause for celebration. No more adjusting for a while!" Katara cheered.
"Yeah... I suppose..." Aang muttered dazedly, lost in Katara's eyes.
Katara smiled, feeling the rush of warmth throughout her body. "Come on, now, we gotta tell the others. Think of their reactions!"
"Sorry, you're the only thing on my mind right now. And probably will be. Forever girl."
"Well then, you're going to have to deal with my wishes, right? And my wish is to force our announcement on everybody!"
"Ahhh! Don't say it that way! You're making me so nervous -" Aang's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.
Katara briefly pondered as to whether she should call him out on a potential proposal. But she decided to let it go and live in the moment, and extract as much as she could from it as possible. "Let's just go," she said firmly, and Aang meekly complied.
"Taller than me now, huh?" Katara said with a smirk.
Aang listlessly stared down at her - he was now a forehead above her - and gently touched the new necklace she wore - one that replaced her mother's.
"I never really noticed."
"I do. Because I find it entertaining," Katara said, snuggling into his chest. "But love is love."
"Remember the days when you were shorter than me, Aang?" Their children had been sent to bed long before, the house silent except for the two sitting silently by candlelight. They reminisced on old memories, and, surely, inevitably, the topic of their meeting and the resulting shenanigans of their journey surfaced and refused to sink back down.
"Do I," Aang declared. "Kinda hard to forget our first months together." His eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "Wait. I just realized. Ever since I got out of the iceberg, you'ver pretty much been there the entire time."
"As has Sokka," Katara pointed out.
"That's different. Back to focus. Yes. Kind of hard to forget that moment you said I was like Momo."
Katara reluctantly tittered. "Not my finest moment, yes? But in a sense, the statement was accurate. You were so short. So small. I beg to use the word feather to describe you. And not a very plump one at all." Aang lightly shoved her. "I speak the truth! And... and..." she trailed off, reminiscing on different times and different relationships.
"What about it?"
"I would have to bend over. Every. Single. Time. Just to even talk to you. Forget about hugging."
"Glad you decided to remember the kisses," Aang said dryly.
"Yeah. I like remembering the flustered faces you would keep making whenever I so much as pecked your cheek."
Aang's face turned beet red. "Yeah, well once things started heating up and we started doing the real deal, you were the one blushing all the time."
Katara opeend her mouth, and then closed it. "It was... so different. I won't lie, I kind of miss being taller than you. Sometimes it was nice to just have you buried in my arms. Although I like this arrangement much better now."
Aang pouted.
"But I will say, the height difference from when we were younger was quite an inconvenience," Katara declared.
Aang said nothing, but slowly, deliberately, rose up from his seat, reaching up to his full height - almost a head taller than Katara - and kneeled in front of her, nose to nose.
"And do you have that inconvenience now?" he suggested innocently
"No," Katara said, lidded eyes riveted on the man she loved.
Reviewing would be nice I guess.
