Okay, folks, here's the final chapter in Aang and Katara's pre-dating prologue, hopefully this clears up the development process a lot better.
The Kiss
Two weeks had passed since the party, and a month since Ozai had been defeated.
Katara was finally feeling…relaxed again. Her butterflies were no longer sharp and Aang's warmth was enough to keep a smile on her face all day long.
Needless to say, it was a good two weeks.
Though neither of them still knew what exactly the nature of their romance was, they both knew how the other felt, but were just too afraid to ask and make the good thing they had tarnished again.
"I think we could all use a break in Ba Sing Si…my uncle's finally re-opening up his shop in a few days and wants us all to be there." Zuko informed everyone, and they all seemed content with the fact that they were going to have a bit of a break.
There was so much to be done for everyone at the palace, especially for Aang and Zuko who were up to their knees in the first wave of after war peace keeping and mending fences. But, everyone was happy to be getting a least a little break.
"We can only stay for a week or two maximum," Zuko sternly reminded them, "We don't want to be away too long and leave these guys to handle the peace keeping themselves." Aang could only nod in agreement, knowing just how much common sense the officials and representatives had in really keeping the peace between the nations, and that was very little.
Aang made his way to Katara's room that night, trying to see if she was packed and ready for the early morning airship travel they'd have to Ba Sing Si. Which Aang felt a little odd doing. Zuko informed Aang that the airship was big enough to fit Appa without any problems, but Aang felt a little odd traveling in and airship and not on Appa. The bison's general "I really don't care" mood about the whole operation showed that Appa was long overdue for a trip where he wasn't the mode of transportation.
"Knock knock," Aang greet cheesy when he saw that Katara's door was already cracked open, and found Suki and Toph inside packing as well.
"Are you sure this is going to be enough?" Toph asked, sounding a little worried. Aang corked a brow at the girl's conversation, since none of them had seemed to hear him enter.
"Yes, Toph, stop worrying," Katara assured her. "It only lasts a few days on your first time, so it's not going to be that bothersome."
"Yeah, the only thing you have to worry about it cramps," Suki added.
"Cramps!" Toph exclaimed. "Darn, I completely forgot about those!"
"Toph, calm down…it'll all be…Aang?" Katara assured Toph before realizing Aang was standing in the door way, eyes wide when he finally got a drift of what the girls were talking about.
"Uh…maybe I should go?" Aang said slowly.
"Twinkles Toes…haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Toph yelled, heavily blushing and throwing a pillow at him before he ran out of the doorway, positively scared for life.
Katara ran after him, finding him in the next hallway leaning against the wall, catching his breath for whatever reason and eyes wide.
"You'll live Aang." Katara teased. "Toph is kind of embarrassed, though."
"I'll bet…no offense to her, but I kind of have to keep reminding myself that stuff like that happens to her, because she's a girl and all." Aang smiled oddly, blushing a little.
"Just makes sure that never leaves this hallway…I know Toph would die if Zuko or Sokka found out."
"Yeah, I can understand that." They both laughed off the awkwardness of the moment before falling into a silence. The periods of silence were still prevalent between them two, but they were more on the calming side than the awkward side. Aang reached over to grab Katara's hand, rubbing his thumb over the backside of her hand, and she smiled a little.
"So, I'm guessing you're all packed for the trip tomorrow?" Aang went back to original question he had planned for visiting her that night.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yep."
"Do you wanna have one last walk around the palace before we go to sleep?"
"Sure."
Their walk wasn't the most talkative; they just simply held hands as they walked along the many corridors, occasionally pointing out interesting things they found as they walked but not making any real conversation about it.
And, about an hour later, they found themselves back at Katara's door. Aang grabbed her other hand and faced her, smiling cheeringly.
"What?" Katara questioned with the exact same smile.
"Nothing…just, I'm really happy." Aang admitted and squeezed her hands. "I'm really glad we're…well…you know."
Katara blinked many times, as if she didn't get what he was saying, and then she put two and two together she knew, in his mind, they were already a couple, and she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she could even be around him without fainting.
But she still wanted him…and the more she was with him the more she wanted them to be official.
"Me…too." Katara told him slowly, smiling just as slowly as her words. She squeezed his hands, knowing she was pushing herself a little past her limit, but she was tired of waiting for herself to catch up with him. She knew she wanted this and she was going to dive into it whether she was ready or not. "I'm glad we're together too."
And when she saw the smile that formed on Aang's face, she knew taking the plunge was worth it. He leaned forward, hugging her tightly before pulling back and rubbing the back of his neck, seeming a little thunderstruck.
"Sorry," He instantly apologized, "I got a little too excited, there."
"It's alright…I'm excited too…and I'm sorry I made you wait this long."
"S'okay," He said, shrugging. "All that matters is that we're together and I promise I'll do my best to make sure that the girl I love is happy."
"Aang…you're so sweet." She sighed happily, and bent over to peck his cheek, having every intention of leaving things like that and entering her room, if Aang hadn't grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to face him. His eyes were a little more mature than they had previously been, and she knew exactly what he was fishing for.
He wanted a kiss, on the lips, goodnight.
And then Katara started panicking.
The kiss Aang had given her at the party was a completely different story to Katara, given the situation, but this kiss that Aang wanted at the moment, it was for no reason at all other than to say goodnight, and for whatever reason, casual kissing freaked her out to no ends.
She back away as he puckered his lips towards her. An action Aang didn't miss for a second.
"Uh," he mumbled after he got over the initial shock that they had confirmed they were a couple, but that she had rejected his kiss. "Do I have something in my teeth, or what?"
"No…I'm just…tired…" Katara babbled in explanation and went in her room without any other word, leaving Aang even more shocked than before.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Needless to say Katara was avoiding Aang the next day on the airship. The ride to Ba Sing Si via airship would take around three days, and Katara didn't know how much longer she could go without talking to him. She wanted to just act like nothing was wrong, but what if he brought up her rejection of his kiss? Or worse, what if he tried to kiss her again?
She didn't know what it was about kissing for no reason that scared her so much. It would seem that she'd enjoy it more than kissing under some kind of conflict or stressful event. But she supposed, in those situations, she could cover it up, and blame it on the heat of the moment. What heat could she make up an excuse for if it was just a goodnight kiss?
And then she wondered why she thought she still even needed an excuse?
Her and Aang were together, they loved each other, and they were finally the couple she wanted them to be….and couples usually kissed. For no reason other than love.
So why did that scare her so much?
"Katara?" She heard her name being called while she was in the lounge room, sipping some tea and looking out the window at the fluff of cloud wisps below them. She turned with a gasp, relieved to see that it wasn't Aang in the door way…it was Mai.
"Oh, hi Mai," Katara conjured her best show smile. She had nothing against Mai personally, but it was still odd to be around her without sudden impact of darts, arrows, and blades. But, she was Zuko's girlfriend and she seemed to be so much happier now that her and Zuko were an item.
And then a thought hit Katara…what if Mai could help her out?
"How's the tea?" Mai asked casually, pouring her own and sitting across from Katara.
"It's fine…" Katara trailed, her thoughts more focused on how she was going to bring up the question, but, fortunately, she didn't have to.
"So, you and Aang seem to be closer these days." Mai mentioned, smirking into her tea when she saw Katara's eyes go wide. "Anything note worthy?"
"Well…yeah," Katara started. "And, I actually have a question for you."
"Shoot."
"Well, when you and Zuko first started dating, did you find it weird to kiss him without a reason, you know, at the beginning?" Katara babbled through, trying to make as much sense as possible. Mai just sneered again.
"Of course it's weird to get used to the fact that you can kiss your boyfriend whenever you want." Mai told her, in a matter-of-fact tone. "But, usually you get used to it after the first two or three. Me and Zuko's relationship started with a kiss, so maybe I'm a little one-sided." Mai looked over at Katara from her tea cup. "Why, do you have some kind of issue kissing Aang?"
"Well, I want to kiss him, I really really do…just kissing him so casually, it's really weird."
Mai just laughed, almost bitterly. "I know this sounds very rushed, but it'll pass. Let me guess, he tried to kiss you goodnight?" Katara nodded. "And you turned him down?" Katara nodded. "So now you're avoiding him because you're afraid he's going to bring it up or try and kiss you again?"
"Geez, Mai, are you psychic or something?" Katara teased.
"Not really…Aang already told me what was going on. He's pretty hurt actually…he thinks it's all over between you two."
"What!" Katara exclaimed. "Why would he think that?"
"Because it's Aang, he still thinks he's on thin ice with you already…" Mai explained and Katara looked over at Mai quizzically.
"You two must be really close, huh?" Katara asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Not as close as you'd think…he mostly talks to Zuko, I just happen to be there while the two of them are talking."
"Oh…" Katara trailed…feeling a little foolish.
"He really loves you, you know," Mai told her as she stood. "So next time you're scared to kiss him, just remember that." And with that, she left.
Katara sighed…she had a lot to think about.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Katara made her way towards Aang's room after dinner, which neither Aang nor Zuko were at since they were taking care of some letters that they took with them.
Her breath hitched when Aang opened the door, Sokka and Zuko sharing a room with him, as her Suki, Toph, and Mai all shared a room on the ship as well.
"What are you doing here?" Sokka asked when he opened the door.
"Is Aang inside?"
"Oh…your boyfriend?" Sokka said, but hardly in a teasing manner. He sounded very…serious. Katara lifted a brow and Sokka sighed and closed the door behind him, leaving him and his sister alone in the hallway.
"What's going on?" Katara asked.
"Look Katara, I know you and Aang are, a thing now, but I'm going to have to set some ground rules."
"Ground rules?" Katara repeated with a laugh. "Are you serious? I didn't set ground rules for you when you started dating Suki."
"That's completely different, Katara, you're my little sister and Aang or not, he's still a boy who's trying to date you, and I know how active a 12-year-old boy's hormones can be."
"And what makes you think I'll let Aang do whatever it is you think he's going to do?"
"Because I know how girl's hormones can be too." Sokka said, smirking a little while he thought of how frisky Suki could get at times. "I don't want you two to do anything you'll regret."
"Geez, Sokka, we've barely even kissed, I don't think you'll have to worry about us doing anything for quite a while," Katara got red just thinking about even kissing Aang goodnight. "Trust me."
"Katara…promise me it'll stop at kissing. Small kisses….short kisses…you follow?"
"Sokka, you're being ridiculous. I'm not stupid and neither is Aang."
"Fine, I'll believe you, for now, since I trust you two, but don't make me doubt that trust. I don't want to find you two in each other's beds, okay."
"S-Sokka, please…" Katara blushed madly. And Sokka smiled. She was still so innocent in her own ways, and he knew Aang was too. But there was no reason why he couldn't scare whatever lust was brewing between them before it could happen.
"He's inside getting some sleep…but you can wake him up if you want." Sokka informed her.
"Really, he's sleeping?" Katara asked, sounding a little disappointed. "Oh, well I'll talk to him tomorrow."
"No, no you don't." Sokka held her shoulders and pulled her inside. "He's pretending to sleep, he always does that when he's depressed, you know that."
"He's depressed?"
"Yeah, so why don't you go make him feeling better." Sokka smirked, but then caught himself and his words. "But, keep it appropriate."
When Zuko saw Katara enter the room he smiled, and kicked Aang's bed enough to jostle him awake. He moaned and looked up from the covers.
"What do you want, Zuko?" Aang asked, annoyed and sleepy eyed.
"Your girlfriend is here." Zuko laughed and him and Sokka let themselves out, though Sokka was mindful to keep the door opened a crack, enough to hear anything if anything was to happen against his wishes.
Aang snapped up from his bed, coming face to face with Katara, looking just as nervous and flushed as he was.
"K-Katara." He stuttered, suddenly feeling very aware of the fact that he was only wearing his sleeping pants and noticed that Katara seemed to be hyper aware of this fact ask well. "What are you doing here?"
"I think we need to talk." Katara said slowly and pulled up the chair from the single desk in the room up to the edge of Aang's bed.
"Oh no," Aang sighed, panting a little in worry. "I knew I was pushing it with the kiss last night."
"No, no, Aang, I'm not breaking up with you or anything," Katara hurriedly told him.
"Oh good," Aang let out a huge sigh of relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack." Aang told her, placing a hand over his chest to emphasize his point. Katara couldn't help but smile at his actions, the fact that he was so distraught over the thought of them breaking up made her flattered and a bit smug at the same time. And it certainly proved Mai's earlier point, for at that moment she wanted to kiss him, right then and there, for no apparent reason at all but that she was so in love with him she couldn't contain herself.
But somehow she did.
Aang stared at her for while, watching her thoughts dance across her face and tried to figure them out but noticed that he couldn't. Those emotions and thoughts were new on her, and he smiled because of it. That meant she was thinking about him in a new way. Perhaps, finally, the same way he felt about her?
"You don't have to kiss me yet, not if you don't want to." Aang told her gently, placing a soft hand on her shoulder and she looked over at him, eyes wide.
"No, Aang, it's not that I don't want to….it's just a little scary." Katara admitted to him. "I'm really still getting used to all this, and I guess kissing so casually freaks me out because….because, well, then I'll know there's really no turning back and we'll really be a full fledged couple."
"Are you having regrets?" Aang asked honestly.
"No, of course not!" Katara exclaimed in reply, just as honestly. "After all we've been through, there's no way I could regret any of this…not one moment."
Aang's smile only grew and simply because he couldn't kiss her like he would've wanted to, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling in more onto the bed with him as to not make the hug awkward. Katara readily leaned into him, sighing happily onto his bare shoulder and making sure to savor feeling his bare skin against her, for she knew that moments like that would be few and far between. She blushed at the thought, and Aang felt her cheeks burning against him.
"Sorry," he apologized as he pulled away. "I forgot I didn't have a shirt on."
"I-It's okay…" Katara excused him, and looked over at him. "So, um, are we okay?"
"Yeah, of course we are…are you sure?"
"Sure about what?"
"That you still want to do this?" Aang told her. "We've only been technically together for a day; I wouldn't resent you if you decided against it."
"Aang, I already gave you my answer; I want to be with you…no doubt about it. I just have to get used to actually having a boyfriend….it's a little nerve-wreaking."
"I can concur with you on that one…" Aang agreed, trying to ignore his heavily beating heart. "But it's the nice kind of nervousness." He added with a laugh.
"Yeah, it really is." Katara leaned forward, still having every intention of kissing him, but chickened out at the last minute and kissed his cheek, lingering over his skin a little longer than normal, her breath against his cheek driving Aang mad.
"Katara," Aang breathed, seeming a little out of touch, and grabbed her shoulders as she pulled away. He leaned forward, just as she had, trying to keep in mind that she wasn't ready to kiss him again, but simply couldn't help himself. So he went slightly lower, placing light pecks against her chin and jaw, his finger tips tickling her neck.
"Aang…" Katara sighed as well. Throwing her thoughts out the window and just enjoying the feel of him, overwhelming or not, she could definitely get used to this aspect of dating him.
"Ah ha, I knew I'd catch you two." Sokka's voice broke through the barrier, and the two split apart almost instantly.
"Sokka!" Katara yelled. "The stalking isn't going to become a regular thing with you, is it?"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The last two days on the airship were rather enjoyable. Aang and Katara were together almost all the time and it seemed Sokka made it his goal to make sure they didn't do anything but hold hands. But—big brother interruptions or not—Katara had never been happier.
The first night they had arrived at the Jasmine Dragon was the day before Iroh's grand re-opening, and it was as busy a day as any. Everyone was rushed about to meets with the citizens and the Earth King. But, by the end of the day, everyone was thoroughly exhausted on their so called vacation, but the tea Iroh served them seemed to hit the spot.
The quiet, calmness, and the being together just enjoying a cup of tea….this was what they had been fighting for and had finally obtained.
And it was all thanks to Aang.
Katara smiled at that thought, and looked up only to find that Aang wasn't in his sitting position on the floor of the teashop like he had been before. But, she did notice his shadow going outside the door, petting Appa's beforehand before making his way outside.
She smiled again, and walked outside to follow him.
It wasn't like she didn't have a kiss in mind going out there, but when she was in his arms, and stared into Aang's eyes she couldn't stand not having his lips against hers for another moment.
The build up towards it seemed so much sweeter, and when she pulled back from his embrace and stared into his eyes, Katara knew that this was going to be it. The kiss that started their true relationship.
His lips were sweet, soft, and definitely not as nervous like they were in their previous kisses. Aang was careful as he kissed her, making sure to get the feel of a long kiss before taking it any further, but the sensation was enough for Katara to take charge, and in one swift motion she took his face in the cup of her hands, framing their kiss more while Aang took the hint eagerly and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Katara's arms rested around his neck after a few more moments, sinking into him completely and letting him take over as he continued to pull her closer still.
It lasted….so long. Enough so Katara was getting slightly light headed, but she didn't mind it for a second, not if it meant continuing to kiss him.
Aang was the one who ended the kiss, but it wasn't abrupt, it happened gradually. His lips finally parting from hers slowly enough before he started placing nibbling kisses along her bottom lip, Katara only dazed enough to go along with it. And when the nibbling subsided they were left with simply staying in close contact, their noses nudging each other's every now and then, and their arms still resting closely and tightly around each other. Aang leaned his forehead against hers and smiled, finally opening his eyes and facing Katara's flushed and lovely face smiling.
"Aang…" She lingered.
"Wh-what was that for?" Aang asked breathlessly, smiling a little mischievously.
"…Because I love you." Katara told him quietly, leaning up against his lips as she told him. "I love you so much."
"You do?" Aang's eyes went wide, it wasn't surprising, in a way, but to have her say it the way she did…it was overwhelming and wonderfully refreshing.
"Yes…I do…" She leaned her head onto his shoulder, her lips against his neck and she gave the soft skin a light peck before snuggling further into his robes. Smiling and sighing in relief, as if a giant weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She finally confessed, he loved her back, and everything was fine with the world.
"So you-you kissed me…for no reason at all?" Aang continued to tease her. "Out here during a beautiful sunset on out first vacation after saving the world?" He continued and Katara playfully slapped his shoulder.
"Well if you keep complaining then it won't happen again." She told him.
"I'm not complaining…I'm just making sure what I think is correct. A little confirmation never hurt anyone."
"I know," She told him, pulling away to look at him, her lips on centimeters away from his. She placed her hand on her cheek, sliding it down slowly to cup his jaw before giving him a swift kiss. "I know," She told him again, more gently that time.
"So…what now?" Aang asked after a few minutes of drinking in the moment.
"We love each other," Katara answered confidently. "And we promise that no matter what we stay together." Aang smiled at her words.
"You took the words right out of my mouth." He told her.
Right then Katara kissed him again, and when she pulled back she wore a particularly devilish smile. "I guess I did take the words out of your mouth."
And clank your toasting glasses together my friends because this is the start of a wonderful and simply awesome Kataang relationship!
I'll probably have some more Kataang stories that deal with the first three months of their relationship that weren't featured in FWR, but for the time being, I have about two other chapters I want to post before part 5 starts. One being about what Toph was up to while Aang and Katara were going through all of this and one story that happens between parts 4 and 5 (which, btw, will be a Kataang story). I'm also thinking of posting some stories about my OC character from FWR, Yuexi (who actually seems to be pretty popular…go figure).
Good stuff.
Thank you Kataang4ever14, Kimjuni2, Kataanger476, and momo as gyatso…for reviewing chapter 2!