HUZZAAAAH it's the weekend! =D Sorry 'bout the delay with this chapter. School pretty much interferes with all of my Kataang-writing-time. –le sigh-
Anyways, I'm so very happy that you guys enjoy the story so far. Considering all the drama is pretty much aside, though, I'm trying to brainstorm more ideas to make the story exciting so I don't have to end it soon. It's a really fun one to write, and I've been told by many people to not stop it anytime soon. XD Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. But in the meantime, bask and enjoy the Kataang fluff! =D Sorry if some of the dialogue in this story has been strange, I'll try to put more thought and effort into it from now on.
Katara was pretty much hyperventilating the next day, worried for herself, worried for Aang. Jet was a very violent person when he wanted to be—she had had a little taste of it, herself, shortly after they broke up. Jet came to her two days later and almost sliced her shoulder with his pocketknife out of fury. Thankfully, they were in a public spot and people saw it when Katara backed away and yelled for help. Jet was immediately dragged away by the police, seeing that he was trying harder in the process of trying to hurt her severely. Katara had walked away with just a tiny bit of blood rising to the surface from a scratch.
So now that she had spoken so haughtily to him the previous afternoon (which she had never done before), she was worried that Jet would go completely insane.
She told Aang this that day in the coffee shop when he pointed out how stressed she looked in her face and eyes. He had said she was nervously biting her lower lip and fiddling with her thumbs, constantly looking out the window. She knew she had to spill.
"Katara." Aang looked at her sadly.
There was a very long pause with slight tension in the air. "Um, yes Aang?" Katara frowned a little, seeing as he wasn't speaking. She liked it when he spoke. His voice was comforting.
He sighed. "I'm just… so sorry. I mean, I don't really know what to say."
Katara stared at him, disappointed.
"But I will say at least," He started again before reaching over and intertwining their fingers. "That I will not allow any harm to come to you. You're my best friend and lover and there is no reason for me to let anyone hurt you."
She shook her head. "I don't need protection. I can take care of myself." She did not say it in a stern tone. Her voice was innocent, yet determined and strong.
"I know you can. I'm just saying that whenever you need help, I'm always here for you. Always. And as your best friend and lover, I will always stand by your side. So don't be stressed."
"And I'm just saying that I can take care of myself, but I fear that if Jet has a desire to hurt anyone within our relationship, it will most likely be you. That is mostly why I am stressing, Aang. Until I know that no harm will come to you, in particular, then yes, I will continue stressing."
Aang sighed, their hands disconnecting as he leaned back in his chair. "What is stress?"
She looked at him, puzzled. "What?"
"What is stress?" He repeated.
"Um… stress is… when you carry physical… and mental tension, fear, and anxiety?"
"Yes," He nodded. "And how does it help your predicament? Explain, please."
"It helps…" she trailed off, realizing how stupid she probably was sounding. She saw exactly Aang's reasoning and calmed down. "Nothing. It helps nothing."
"Precisely. Do you still feel stress now?"
"No."
"And are you going to stress again in the future about this specific situation? Say no."
"No."
"If a problem can be solved, there's no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good."
"I know now."
Aang smiled, proud of his work and seeing how much more content Katara looked compared to before.
Katara smiled as well. "You should be a therapist."
Aang grinned cheesy-like, making Katara giggle.
"But seriously," She said after a few moments. "You're really good at that. You're a very old soul." Her smile softened, making Aang's heart leap.
"A lot of people say that," He smiled back bashfully. "I feel like sometimes I'm over a hundred years old."
"Your spirit is old, I'd say it is at least a hundred years old," She giggled, then she raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Aang had been digging through his school bag, then he took out a pair of headphones connected to an iPod. He scrolled through the music device and then smiled.
"Here," He gave her an earphone which she put in, as well as him with the other one. Beautiful music was being played, very worldly and soothing.
It sounded dreamy, however there were no lyrics. The sound of a whale could be heard in the background, and a man's voice was heard, toning. Katara closed her eyes, listening and visualizing in her mind.
"What is this, Aang?" She asked in a hushed tone.
"Song of the Deep by Kamal." He answered back quietly.
"It's beautiful." Katara whispered. She felt her affectionate feelings for the boy before her increase tenfold. She had never met anyone like him. Everyone at school always called him things like "hot" and "sexy" and "badass". But, in reality, he was far from being badass. She could only guess that maybe he was at times, but for the most part, he was a gentle, tender and beautiful soul. He loved world music that had more meaning than the music being played nowadays—more uniqueness and beauty. She began to notice more about him she didn't notice before. The way he dressed every day was very culturally influenced. He didn't wear sweatpants or jackets or jeans with holes and tears in them. He was never the type that liked to Bling-out, either. He was his own character. She was sure that even if it's been only several days of being together with him, that she felt she was able to label her feelings for him on an entirely new and different level: Love. She loved him.
Still with the music playing in both of their ears, this realization hit her so fast and hard that she felt the need to boldly kiss him—so she did. Aang's eyes widened with surprise, but he immediately wrapped his arms around her and kissed back. He took her backside and brought her closer to him as he leaned back more against his chair so that the public wouldn't notice so much. The wide and thick pole in front of them blocked anyone's view on them.
Suddenly Aang gasped, breaking away when he felt a hot liquid on his loose-pant-covered leg. He hissed in pain and Katara took notice of this as well. One of them or both had accidently knocked over his coffee. Before it dripped on the electronic device, he quickly stored the ipod away.
"Oh my gosh, Aang, I'm so sorry!" Katara exclaimed as she went up front and requested paper towels. She came back with a large pile and quickly tried wiping as much as she could off.
"I'm so, so sorry Aang. That was my fault, I'm sure." She sighed apologetically.
"Katara, stop. Don't blame it all on yourself. It was probably me or both of us." He said, contributing by grabbing some paper towels and rubbing off the coffee that had spilled on the floor as well.
"They're gonna have to mop this spot in particular really well." He sighed.
"Yeah." She replied, pursing her lips.
When cleaning was done, Katara sat up and they both looked straight at each other for a few moments, before bursting out laughing.
"Well that was interesting!" Aang said. She nodded in reply, resting her palms on his knees and leaning up to kiss him deep again.
"I love you, Aang."
His eyes widened.
