Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or the song "People Will Say We're in Love" from Oklahoma, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Author's Note: You guys were in the mood for a Kataang, right? I don't know about anyone else, but I found it very unlikely that Aang and Katara wouldn't have taken advantage of some of their spare time to go off on their own. They had several days during The Boiling Rock when we didn't know what they were doing, so here's one way of filling in the blanks.
People Will Say We're in Love
Why
do they make up stories
That link my name with yours?
Why do
the neighbors gossip all day
Behind their doors?
"Are you two lovebirds going for another walk?" Toph demanded, making Aang blush furiously and the other three boys snicker.
"This is a beautiful place," Katara sniffed haughtily. "What do you care if I want a guided tour?"
"Yeah, right," Toph snorted. "I'll bet you've seen every corner of the temple three times by now. And I'm pretty sure I know what you've been using them for."
"I – we're just –," Aang stammered, but Katara cut him off.
"Just ignore her," she advised, placing a hand at the base of his neck and gently pushing him away from the group. "Reacting will only encourage her."
"Have him back by lunchtime," Toph called after them. "He still has some bending to work on, you know, and Zuko's been taking most of his time lately."
"Yeah, I noticed," Katara muttered so that only Aang could hear her. Despite her own admonition, he noticed that her cheeks were a little pink, too, and she was muttering under her breath.
I know a
way
To prove what they say
Is quite untrue.
Here is the
gist,
A practical list
Of don'ts for you.
Aang led them to a meadow above one of the cliff faces where the temple was situated. Getting up and down was not easy, but he'd already made several sets of earth stairs to aid in this. He enjoyed showing Katara around, and they'd learned that Toph's abilities worked better down than up, so they had more privacy up here.
"Why does she have to do that?" Katara fumed. "Sokka's bad enough when he's here. Have we given them any reason to tease us like that?"
Well, maybe it's because it's obvious to everyone except you that I'm madly in love with you, Aang thought forlornly. However, he didn't say that. He'd already kissed her; if she wanted to move on from there, he thought it was up to her to give a sign.
"It's not that big a deal," he sighed instead, but Katara didn't seem to be listening.
"There must be a way to stop the others from gossiping about us," she said, pacing around thoughtfully. The obvious solution was to stop spending time together, but there was no way Aang was going to suggest that.
Don't throw
bouquets at me;
Don't please my folks too much.
Don't laugh
at my jokes too much;
People will say we're in love.
"Like what?" he asked, curious as to what she might come up with. Katara stopped pacing to face him.
"For starters, what are you doing?" she demanded, pointing a finger at him accusatorily.
"Picking flowers," he replied. He'd begun doing it almost without thinking, it had become such a routine for these escapes they took. "I always pick flowers."
"Right. And what are you going to do with them?"
"Uh…give them to you?"
"Exactly. Don't you see the problem?"
"Not really."
"It's something a boyfriend would do," Katara explained triumphantly. Aang stared at her, utterly perplexed. Her own logic was presenting the truth to her, yet she was completely missing it. And she called Sokka dense. She continued her argument. "You also laugh at all my jokes, even when they're not very funny."
Don't sigh and
gaze at me,
Your sighs are so like mine.
Your eyes mustn't
glow like mine;
People will say we're in love.
"I always think they're funny," Aang shrugged, sitting back on the grass and dropping the blossoms he'd already collected into his lap. He decided to play along with her. "You don't have to put the flowers in your hair. Or you could pick your own."
"I know, but you're so much better at finding the prettiest ones," she pouted, sinking down to the ground a few feet away. "I don't know how you do it."
"Mystic Avatar power," he responded mysteriously, only half joking. It did sometimes feel like the earth and the things growing on it called to him.
"You look at me, too."
"What?" Aang's heart stopped for a moment before lurching into an irregular rhythm.
"When you think I'm not looking, you watch me," she replied matter-of-factly. She paused and looked down at her hands. "The trouble is, I think it's a little too close to the way I look at you."
Don't start
collecting things;
Give me my rose and my glove.
Sweetheart,
they're suspecting things;
People will say we're in love.
For an agonizing length of time, Aang could only stare at her. Was she saying…what he thought she was saying?
"You…really?" was all he could come up with to say. Apparently, Katara was much better at being furtive than he was. He definitely hadn't noticed her watching him.
"You probably collect things, too," said Katara lightly, not answering directly. "Things that remind you of me. Like I do." With that, she held up the necklace he'd made for her months ago out of Sokka's fishing line. He was astounded that she'd managed to hold onto it all this time – and flattered.
In fact, Aang had already lost several items along their journey that he had kept out of silly sentimentality. At the moment, he had only a scrap he'd saved from her old, torn Water Tribe dress and the small tie she had once used to fasten her braid.
Some people claim that you are to
blame
As much as I.
Why did you take the trouble to bake
My favorite pie?
Emboldened by her tacit admission, Aang drew his torso up straight.
"When you put it that way, I can see why people might talk," he conceded. "It's sounding like there are things you could stop, too."
"Yes, I suppose there are."
"I can think of a few things you didn't mention, though."
"Oh?" Katara raised her eyebrows inquiringly. "Such as?"
"For example, you always make sure to set some food aside for me, without meat."
"So? You're a vegetarian. I respect that."
"You could just leave me to fend for myself. The others do."
"But that's only because they know that I'll…oh."
"I've also noticed that you tend to avoid meat these days," Aang pressed his advantage.
"I've sort of lost my taste for it is all," she protested. "I'm sure it will come back."
"Sure it will," Aang agreed, in a tone that implied he didn't believe it for a second.
Granting your wish
I carved
our initials on that tree.
Just keep a slice
Of all the
advice
You give so free.
"You do everything I ask you to," Katara resumed the argument, if that's what it was.
"You could stop asking."
Katara seemed to have nothing to say to that. As an apology for having the upper hand, Aang presented her with the flowers he'd collected. As usual, she worked them into the hair she now wore mostly loose.
"It's too bad they have to die," she murmured, and Aang wondered if she were thinking of the old waterbender who'd taught her to pull water out of plants when she needed it.
"Everything dies," Aang replied. "I don't think it's such a bad thing for you to enhance their beauty before that happens." Katara smiled and blushed at the compliment.
"I think you meant that the other way around," she said demurely.
"I know what I said," he grinned back. "Besides, by carrying them around, you might spread flower patches to other places. Together, we could actually be adding to their number. You're the one who once threw an acorn at me to remind me that it was a sign of new life."
Don't praise my charm too
much;
Don't look so vain with me.
Don't stand in the rain
with me;
People will say we're in love.
"That seems like such a long time ago," Katara sighed. Aang privately agreed, but Katara shook it off and brightened again, the teasing note back in her voice. "So, any other tips for me?"
"You compliment me too much," he offered. "And you hover when Zuko and I practice."
"I still don't trust him. Do you?"
"Actually, I think I do." Aang thought he knew the signs of repentance when he saw them. He was all too familiar with guilt, and in Zuko's eyes, he could sometimes see that, along with the desire to make up for past wrongs. "You agreed to let him join us."
"Not exactly," she argued. "I let you make the decision."
"That's another thing. You seem to let my judgment guide in any situation."
"You're the Avatar," she answered, as though that explained everything.
"That doesn't stop Sokka and Toph from arguing with me when they think I'm wrong."
Don't take my arm too
much;
Don't keep your hand in mine.
Your hand feels so grand
in mine;
People will say we're in love.
Katara didn't answer, but Aang realized that she had been inching gradually closer to him as they spoke. He began to put a lot of things together that he hadn't before.
"You touch me all the time," he said softly, almost a whisper. "Arm, shoulder, head…hand." He reached out to her, gently taking one of her hands from its occupation shredding grass. "You give me hugs and kisses. It's no wonder people talk."
"Maybe I should stop, then," she suggested, starting to pull her hand away. Aang prevented her, grinning.
"Actually, I like it. I wouldn't want to give it up." It was all making sense now. Apparently, he'd been missing the signs for a long time, just as she had. Maybe they were both too close to the situation to see it clearly. Perhaps his kissing her had opened a door. He still didn't know why it had taken her so long to walk through it, but that didn't worry him. They were here now, and that was what mattered. Abandoning her attempts to free herself, Katara leaned slightly closer and narrowed her eyes.
"What about the dance party?" she demanded.
Don't dance all night with
me,
Till the stars fade from above.
They'll see it's all
right with me;
People will say we're in love.
"What about it?" Aang breathed. Katara's proximity was making it harder to think, to keep playing the game. His heart was pounding in his ears. He didn't know what Katara was feeling, but the airbender in him sensed that her breathing was quick and shallow.
"You asked me to dance."
"You agreed."
"You were very insistent."
"You enjoyed it." Aang was quite sure of this, but Katara evidently decided not to answer with words. Instead, she closed the remaining distance between them, joining her mouth to his. Aang shut his eyes, completely surrendering to the sensation. When they parted, he was surprised to notice that her arm had circled his neck while one of his had found its way around her back. Their other hands were still joined. Katara was smiling brilliantly, the mirror to how Aang felt.
"You know, I'm thinking maybe it's not so bad to have people talk about us," she said thoughtfully.
"I was just thinking the exact same thing," he informed her, gathering her into his arms. He had a feeling he was going to be late for his training with Toph, but this was worth it.
--
Author's Note: So there it is. It makes me feel better, anyway. While I'm on the topic of The Boiling Rock, I want to let my readers know that I will soon be starting my own version of that episode. It will have what I wish had happened - all the action and twice the shipping! Or something like that.:)
Review responses:
airnaruto45: I will look into it when I have some spare time. First, I have to find some spare time.:) Anastasia is neither Broadway nor Disney, but I might expand the Disney collection to include it eventually.
nutshak: Thank you. I have no shortage of ideas, only of time. I noticed on another review that you told Lyralocke she was your favorite, but that's okay. I'm not jealous.:)
Wishing Only Wounds the Heart: Yeah, for all the time spent in the city, it wasn't as fully fleshed out as it could have been. I kind of had fun with that in Destiny's Call, though.
Vanilla Strawberry: I sort of waver on the spoiler issue. Personally, I don't find that things actually "spoil" me so much as whet my appetite. And when a network does idiotic things like releasing episodes on DVD (or in other countries) before airing them in the US, all bets are off.