Guys I am so sorry that I took this long to update but man has these weeks been busy. I will try my best to upload the next chapter soon so you won't be waiting that long for it. Anyways enjoy!
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It was the middle of the day and Katara stood in the center of a large body of water. Her mind kept thinking about last night's argument and a small part of her regretted saying all those things to Aang. But it also allowed for them to begin to get closer in more than just co-parenting.
The waterbender continued to feel the flow of the water as she bent it to her will. Feeling every pint of the liquid that she controlled, when suddenly she felt something wrap around her left leg.
Katara smiled and quickly took over control of the water tentacle that circled her leg. She bent it towards her opponent's feet and froze it, without turning around.
She began to giggle, "I was under the impression that I would be giving you a test."
The man behind her used his fire bending to melt the ice that surrounded his feet. "Well I wanted to see if I could, for once, get you." He continued to melt the ice. "I wasn't able to, but I'm not giving up yet."
"It's cute that you think you can-" She replied while turning around but was cut off guard by Aang standing there, shirtless. It might've only been a little over a year, but his body had changed, a lot. His muscular and well-toned body made her knees weak.
In her mind she thought about all the things she wanted to do to him, and knew she couldn't. And man did it hurt that she couldn't.
"Um, Katara?" the airbender finally said breaking her from her luscious thoughts. "Huh? Oh right. I guess we should start."
The Air Nomad smiled softly and walked next to the beautiful girl standing in front of him. The two took the same stance in preparation for their duel.
A minute went by when Katara began by bending water out of the ground below them and launching it towards Aang. He reacted quickly and switched the water's direction back to Katara, while freezing it.
She quickly collected more water and used the octopus stance as a defense mechanism to block out the icicles. The hair loops girl used one of her water tentacles to grab her adversary's arm.
It took a minute but Aang was able to take over control of the tentacle and froze it so fast Katara wasn't able to blink. The frozen tentacle led to her feet being stuck in ice.
Aang used this to his advantage and used the water to increase his speed when running towards her. He created a wave that submerged Katara.
She coughed out water and looked up to him, "Oh you are so gonna pay for that."
The wave allowed for the ice under her feet to melt, setting her free. Aang bent a water cloak and planned to use it to grab her. He had Katara right where he wanted her, when suddenly his view became foggy.
The girl had changed the element's state of matter to gas to block her opponent's vision. "Where are you?" he asked while repeatedly turning to all sides so he wouldn't get caught off guard.
However when he turned around again he was shocked to find dozens of ice spears facing his direction as the fog began to fade away. Right behind all of the icicles stood Katara with an evil grin on her face.
His astounded face then changed into a soft smile. He began to giggle while still standing with the ice spears inches away from him. "Using the water to create a fog so you could sneak up on me? I gotta say Katara, you never fail to impress me."
She blushed slightly to his compliment and let the icicles melt back into their liquid state. "You weren't bad either, pupil. Considering you hadn't practiced your waterbending in over a year."
"So does this mean I passed my test?" he asked with a playful grin as he bended more water.
"Yeah, you passed." She came closer and took control of the water orb he was bending. "But, let's still do some exercises."
The Avatar nodded his head slightly and stood across from her. The two then began to stream a single water orb back and forth.
Katara wanted to begin a conversation about the previous night, but didn't know where to begin. "So, I kind of wanted to apologize."
Aang raised a brow at her statement, "For what?"
"Yesterday, I shouldn't have said those things to you, they weren't in your control. And it was the grief and the fatigue talking and I just-" She was then cut off.
"Katara, stop." Aang dropped the orb back in the water, "You don't need to apologize for anything, and it wasn't the grief or fatigue talking. It was what you felt. And you shouldn't be apologizing for that. In fact, I'm glad that you said it."
She looked up and locked eyes with him, "You are?"
"Yeah, I like to know what it is that you're feeling." The airbender's smile then faded into a frown and it didn't go out noticed by the girl in front of him.
"And what is it that you're feeling? You look upset."
"It's just that, you were right." He sat down on the sand facing the water.
"I wasn't there. You know when I pictured you telling me you were pregnant with our baby, I could picture myself jumping twenty feet in the air and hugging and kissing you to death. And instead, I didn't even get to see you pregnant. I didn't get to be there for her birth, I didn't get any of that. And why? Because I was trapped inside a stupid box."
Katara sat in the sand next to him listening as Aang's words filled with more sorrow.
"Why is it that I'm always the one that loses time? First I lost a hundred years from being trapped in that iceberg, then I lost weeks from being in a coma after being shot by lightning, and then I lost a year from being trapped in a box by some dark spirits that wanted to get rid of me."
The airbender stared at the ocean in front of him before continuing. "I hate that I missed all of that time with you. I wish so much that I could've seen you with your pregnant belly, and been there for you when you needed a foot rub, or known what your pregnancy cravings were. Maybe if it wasn't for what happened, things would be so much more different. Maybe I wouldn't be so hesitant in being with you."
A tear escaped both of their eyes as he continued talking. "I just hate this, I do. I know that I should be trying to leave it all in the past and not think about it, but I can't. No matter how hard I try I just can't get over how mad I am at what happened."
Katara knew that this wasn't like him. Aang was always the one that knew better than to spend time dwelling on topics like this. He was an optimistic, who always chose to look at the bright side of things no matter how dark they were.
Without thinking about it twice she placed her head on his shoulder and he placed his head on hers. They remained like this for a good moment, just staring off into the water and taking comfort in each other's touch.
"Egg custard tarts." Katara finally broke the silence.
"What?" He asked with a chuckle.
She lifted her head but they both continued facing the ocean. "The food that I craved the most during my pregnancy were egg custard tarts. And you should honestly be glad you didn't see me pregnant. I was even more emotional that I normally am. I would yell at someone for the smallest inconvenience and then I would start crying. I also looked like a pregnant whale who threw up every thirty minutes. Let me tell you, it was not pretty."
"Oh please, I bet you looked beautiful like you always do." Blood rushed to Katara's cheeks at his compliment.
"And egg custard tarts, seriously?" Aang asked.
"Seriously, I'm telling you Liang is an exact replica of you. I mean besides her hair, I haven't found any similarities between me and her."
"That's not true."
"It's not?" she asked with a raised brow.
"She hates papayas."
"She does? How do you know?"
"When I took her on that picnic, I fed her some fruit purée and she ate all of them except for the papaya one. She spit it out and wouldn't take another bite."
Katara laughed while imagining that going down. "You know, it's sometimes still so crazy to me the fact that we have a daughter."
"I know what you mean. I mean it's not that surprising that it happened, considering how not so careful we were. I still would've pictured us not having kids for a couple more years, but Liang's just so perfect that I don't really care." He began with a smile but it soon faded. "Sometimes I worry that I won't make a good father, and that you'll be disappointed in me."
Katara finally turned to face him and they locked eyes. "Aang don't say that. You are going to make an amazing father. Actually screw that! You already are an amazing dad. I mean that thing with the papayas. That is one thing that no one else, not even I, knew but you did."
He gave her a soft smile as she cupped his cheek.
"The way that your face lights up when you're with her, how you can get her to stop crying by just holding her, and the fact that you're even worrying about this, already shows what an incredible dad you are."
"Even when you do stupid things like taking her flying on your glider!" She mocked about that incident once again.
"You're never gonna let that go are you?" He asked with a small laugh.
"Nope." They both laughed for a good minute.
"Thank you, Katara. You always know how to cheer me up." He admitted and stared into her eyes.
The two began to come closer and closer, until their faces were inches apart. They could now feel the other's breath on their skin and it sent shivers down their spines. However when Katara closed her eyes and leaned in to close the gap between the two of them, Aang backed away.
She opened her eyes again at noticing this and saw him stare at the ground with shame on his face.
"I can't. I'm sorry. I'm just not ready." He admitted, but wanted to be. He wanted more than anything to feel ready to be with the woman before him. He wanted to allow himself to feel happy again, but for some reason he just couldn't.
"You don't have to apologize."
"But, I do. I keep making you wait around for me, and that's not fair to you. And I'm honestly getting worried that if I keep pushing you away, at a certain point you won't come back." The airbender confessed with a low and almost tearful voice.
She grabbed his hands in hers and stared into his storm cloud eyes, it made him know that he could trust what her next words were going to be.
"Aang, I want you to know that I am always going to be here for you. Whatever time you need to get back to being yourself again, you take it. And don't worry about me, because I will wait for you for however long it takes." She then wrapped her arms around him and he returned her clasp.
Katara held back the three words she wanted so badly to say out loud ever since he woke up. There was a part of her that felt he wasn't going to say them back, so to protect herself she didn't. But now, all she cared about is that he knew exactly how she felt about him.
"I love you. I know it's selfish of me to say that, but I needed you to know. I love you, and you don't have to say it-" She was cut off by him not wasting another second in returning those words.
"I love you too."
She felt as if something got stuck in her throat from the surprise of hearing him say that. "You do?" She asked with an almost tearful voice.
"Of course I do." He let go of their embrace and wiped away a tear with his thumb while holding her face.
"Katara, no matter what happens between you and me, you are always going to be the person that means the most to me. I have loved you since the second that I first saw you, nothing will ever be able to change that."
She smiled at his words and then wrapped his arm around her. He held her tightly and she moved her head closer to his chest as the two stared into the ocean.