Rating: G

Word Count: 564

This was inspired by Tumblr user avatarthingz's headcanon.


Katara stared up at the peach blossoms that loomed over her, absentmindedly counting each individual petal. Through the gaps in the branches, she could see the clear blue sky and the brilliant summer sun streaking down upon the world. Though the day was exceptionally hot, the cool shade of the peach tree was more than adequate in staving off the heat.

She felt Aang's legs shift underneath her head briefly, heard his calm, even breaths as he settled back into his meditation. She leaned her head back to look up to her boyfriend's relaxed expression, his eyes shut as he continued with his ritual. His chest rose and fell in a gentle, almost hypnotic rhythm.

Katara — and, by proxy, Aang — discovered fairly recently that if Aang were to go into a deep enough trance, he couldn't be roused from his meditation by a small physical disruption; anything short of trying to physically move his body, like shoving him or dragging him, would barely be perceived.

The discovery came when she had stumbled upon Aang while he was in the middle of meditation and, simultaneously craving his company and feeling mischievous, went up to him, got down on the ground, and promptly laid her head upon his legs.

Aang didn't so much as twitch, so Katara just decided to stay in that position for the next hour or so.

Needless to say, when Aang came back to awareness and saw her head in his lap, any calm he might've felt from his meditation vanished into a furiously blushing face and lots of sputtering.

(And maybe Katara should've stopped after that one time … but she was stubborn. And intrigued. Also clingy.)

As it started happening more often, however, Aang seemed to begin expecting Katara's face when he shook himself out of his trance, and Katara suspected he was even beginning to enjoy it too. His reactions were definitely far more calm than that first time, almost to the point of being soft.

And she was living for it.

The change in Aang's breathing pattern broke her from her thoughts, and Katara knew, even before his gray eyes appeared in her vision, that he had woken from his trance. He looked down at her and smiled softly, not looking surprised at all. "Hey, Katara."

"Hey, yourself," Katara retorted with a smile, contentment surging through her.

Aang only chuckled in response, and his hand reached down to stroke her hair in a soft, rhythmic movement.

Katara's eyes fluttered shut involuntarily, relishing the touch of his hand against her scalp. She turned onto her side, pressing the side of her face into his calf, and Aang's stroking hand moved to rest lightly on the bun at the back of her head.

She rested her hand on his leg, and in response, his other hand moved to cover it. A sigh worked its way out of her. She planted a kiss against his calf and felt him shiver underneath her. "You know how much I love you, right?" she asked softly, her lips inadvertently brushing against Aang's skin.

Aang's voice was just as soft and loving as he said, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Laying here under the shade of the peach tree, with her head laying in her boyfriend's lap and his hands lovingly stroking her hair, Katara knew there was no other place she'd rather be.


A/N Two more left!