Day Six: Marriage

Katara stood ankle-deep in the natural pool, moving slowly through her forms and letting the familiar crisp scent of saltwater wash over her. Surrounded on three sides by cliffs, the fourth side of the pool was open, with only a sandbar between it and the open ocean. It was the perfect haven for a waterbender, but Katara wasn't exactly in the mood to enjoy it. Dark circles were like permanent smudges under her eyes, and she was honestly surprised that the water was still responding to her jerky movements.

She gritted her teeth in frustration, but no matter what she did, she couldn't stop going over the reason why she was standing out here at dawn. The trouble had started the previous evening, or maybe it had started even before that, when Aang had gotten a letter from Fire Lord Zuko asking for the Avatar's help in quelling a rash of riots that had sprung up among the outer islands. Usually she went with Aang on all of his diplomatic missions, but just a few hours after they had gotten Zuko's letter another arrived, this time from the Order of the White Lotus. They had wanted Katara to travel to the South Pole and communicate with Master Pakku about the recent expansion of the tribe. Aang and Katara weren't used to traveling apart, but they figured that both of them would be with friends and family, and so they accepted. Both missions would take nearly a month.

It was the longest separation since they were married, but yesterday instead of a joyful reunion they had allowed exhaustion and a heat of the moment comment to escalate into a full-blown argument. The rest of the night had been tense, and for the first time ever they had slept on completely opposite sides of the bed, he facing the window and she the wall. Lying stiffly on her side and very aware of her husband just a few feet away, she hadn't slept a wink, and she was pretty sure he hadn't either. She ended up leaving the bed so early in the morning it might as well have been night.

The sudden crunching of gravel interrupted her thoughts and alerted her to another presence. She knew it was him without turning around, and she knew that he had only made noise for her benefit, to let her know that he was there. She stiffened, waiting, and sure enough a moment later he sighed and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

"I know." She squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of his gentle voice, wanting so much to turn to him. Ever since they first met she had found it difficult to stay mad at him, and his irresistibility had only strengthened as the years passed. That was the primary reason she refused to face him, because she knew she'd immediately give in. Also, she was fairly certain that he was still shirtless, and that definitely wouldn't help her resolve.

She heard him take a few more steps towards her. "Are you going to forgive me?"

Katara sighed, finally letting the stream of water drop back into the pool. "Of course I am. And I'm sorry, too."

Less than a second later she felt his hands on her hips, but she deftly spun out of his grasp, finally facing him. She lifted an eyebrow. "I said I forgive you. That doesn't mean I'm happy with you."

Despite her annoyance, the confused pout that settled on his features had her fighting laughter. Then the spark in his eyes took on a challenging note, and she had barely a moment's warning before he splashed her right in the face. By the time she got over her shock, he was already dancing away into deeper water, a huge grin on his face. Not about to let that stand, she formed an ice board and shot across the water after him. Gathering water as she went, she sent a wave crashing towards him, but Aang easily diverted it with airbending.

"Hey!"

"What are you going to do about it?" He threw a teasing look over his shoulder. She shot out a tendril of water and tripped him up, sending him face first into the pool. At the sight of his long limbs cartwheeling into the water she couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. He popped up with a mock glare, and the chase was on. They danced and weaved around each other, for how long she couldn't tell. It could have been twenty minutes or two hours. Once, he managed to get close enough to gently tug the end of her hair.

"Stop making me smile! I'm trying to be mad at you!" His only response was a cheerful laugh, and she surged after him. By the end, they were more dancing than sparring, and both were laughing too hard to even be effective anymore. Finally, the couple collapsed at the edge of the water.

He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow to face her, and she mirrored him. More serious now, he stroked a hand down her cheek. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No," she reluctantly admitted, but she poked her finger at his chest. "You're awful, though, you know that?"

He leaned over and brushed a kiss across her smiling lips. "In this case, I think I can live with that."

Finally got another long one up for you guys: 900 words. Hope you enjoy :)