"Restraints Lost"

CHAPTER VI

"Grandfather! How was your fishing?" Ti stood up as she saw Khan arrive at the door, a sweet smile on her lips.

"No time to chat! There's a monster in the barn!!" He cried, his face panic-stricken. A look of fear appeared on every one around of the team's face at his words. That was, till Aang laughed lightly, standing up from his kneeling position. Placing his hands together, he gave a small bow to the man before him.

"Good evening sir. My name is Aang and I am the Avatar. The monster in the barn is my spirit guardian, Appa."

Khan blinked. He let his eyes search the boy in front of him.

"The Avatar?' He stumbled before looking back to Ti who nodded. Placing both hands on the back of his head, he swallowed in an attempt at processing the onrush of information. Ti stepped infront of him before looking to her new friends.

"This is my grandfather, Khan. Grandfather, this is Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka."

Khan held up a wrinkled hand in an acknowledgement, his face still slightly pale from his experience at the barn.

"Nice to meet you."

Tiny footsteps sounded as Gram appeared at the door. Squeezing past, she stroken Khan's shoulder before speaking up at him, her tone sincere.

"Hello, dear. This funny little man here is the Avatar!" She exclaimed.

* * * * * * *

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a bed…" sighed Sokka, his eyes scanning a freshly made bed before him.

"You're always happy to see a bed, Sokka." Laughed Katara.

After a small walk, Ti had led the group to their guesthouse, a building that had originally been built in occasions when people would travel far and wide to purchase a couple of finely bred ostrich-horses and needed a place to stay overnight too. Of course, its need had diminished over time and as the Fire Nation raids increased in occurrence, but the building was doing no harm so had remained in its place. With a room on each floor, the decoration was plain but pleasant; stone walls and wooden floors. A spiral staircase led the way to the second floor which they were yet to see. In the current room two single beds stood close to each other, a side pressed against the wall nearest to it.

"There's a double bed upstairs as well-" Ti began,

"-Which I am not going in!" cried Sokka, walking over to one of the single beds and flopping backwards onto it.

"Me neither!" Stated Toph, perching onto the other.

"I don't get why you're so against going on a double bed, they're so much more comfy" declared Katara, an eyebrow arched in the direction of her two companions.

"Well, no offence, but I don't particularly feel like sharing tonight" yawned Sokka, kicking off his boots as he stretched his gangly arms out above him. Both Katara and Aang remained blank-faced till the realization dawned on them.

"WHAT!?" they blurted in unison.

* * * * * * *

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Aang hunched over as he tugged off his boots and threw them to the floor. Pulling off his semi-robe, he tossed it in the same general direction as his shoes. Turning, he saw that Katara was doing the same as him, removing her boots and lifting off her dress to reveal her slim frame covered by her long sleeved under-top and leggings. Feeling his cheeks burn, he pulled back the quilt and laid back, his head sinking into the pillow. Every movement felt so painfully awkward, the mere idea that they were sharing a bed and sharing a quilt made his cheeks burn. Sensing the bed sink minutely, he became aware that Katara had also lain down. There was a minute of terribly excruciating silence until Katara finally spoke up.

"So the water fight earlier was fun, huh?"

"Yeah, it was so great!" He smiled, exhaling afterwards, his arms crossed over his chest. The idea that she was also evidently finding the situation as awkward as him just intensified his embarrassment. He gratefully embraced the dim lighting, it meant that his flushed cheeks could not be seen! Uncrossing his arms, he placed his hands by his sides only to touch Katara's. Both recoiling and pulling their hands away, at the exact same time they both figured that they had made the moment that more unbearable and placed them back where they were previously, tensing at each other's touch.

And then, after a brief scramble as she separated herself from the sheets, Katara found herself on top of him.

She was as surprised at herself as Aang was!

Both prone forms touching, her hands gently rested on his slight shoulders, a leg either side of him as she straddled him. She had no idea what made her do it. It may have been the drive to test the uninevitable, that tension that had been between them from the first time they had first met, or it may have been a spur of the moment action. Mere inches away from each other's faces, the two youths stared into each other's eyes, reading the expressions that mirrored their very own.

"Katara…" He started, feeling the need to speak, but then shut himself up by sitting upright, his lips filling the space that had once been. Both pairs of eyes shut simultaneously as their lips touched, the action that each of them had secretly been pondering over for such a long time. Wrapping her lower legs around his back, her hands remained on his shoulders, her touch as gentle as the first snowflake settling on the unsuspecting ground.

The kiss was sweet, gentle, barely moving as they purely marvelled over the unfamiliar touch on their lips, taking in the smell of each other's soft skin. Eventually moving his lips softly against hers, Aang ran a hand slowly, unpractised, up her covered back, tangling his fingers in the silky hair that fell so gorgeously down her. Creeping a hand from his shoulder, Katara placed it on the bend of his neck, feeling the bare warm skin against her own, both slightly damp from nerves.

The room was completely still asides from the sticky sound as their moist lips moved against each other's and the occasional snort or whicker from the ostrich-horses resting outside.

Practically sitting on his lap, Katara was the first to take a step forward. Softly prodding her tongue in the minuscule space between Aang's lips, as if asking passively for entrance into his mouth, he complied, and after a second's hesitation, Katara allowed her velvety tongue to venture into the unfamiliar, much thought about warmth of his mouth. Tongue encircled tongue as both youths savoured the other's taste. Hearing a soft moan escape Katara, he smiled gently as he felt her breath shakily release itself from her nostrils.

They were both so new to this, the idea that they were gradually discovering a whole new side of life brought a whole new dimension to everything. To think that he was so intimately entwined with Katara, made shivers spasm through his whole body, focussed mostly towards his now throbbing manhood. Moving his hands from her back, he placed them on her shoulders, softly spinning her around onto her back, untangling himself in the process. Using his arms to support his upper frame, he craned down his neck to kiss her back passionately, their breaths mingling in the otherwise silent air.

Unbuttoning the top half of his overalls, she shyly slid a hand up his chest, taking time to feel each and every groove and mound of the developing boyish muscles along him. Taking this as a signal to do the same, Aang supporting his weight with one arm, the other hand tentatively touching one of her breasts before gaining confidence and increasing the pressure as he slowly, sensually massaged the mound. Another moan fell carelessly from Katara's lips, his name stuttered.

"A-Aang.."

Snapping open his eyes, panicked, Aang spoke nervously.

"Have I done something wrong?"

"No…No Aang, it just feels so… It feels so incredible!" She blushed, glancing down shyly. Tilting his head, a loving smile grew on Aang's soft face. Taking a hand from her breast, he tenderly caressed her cheek, taking her gaze in his.

"You're so beautiful." He blurted. Katara's eyes widened considerably then glimmered with emotion. Leaning up, she clashed her lips to his, her eyes shutting as they once again began to passionately kissed.

Tentatively slipping a hand down her leg, Katata tensed up, her lips parting from his.

"Aang, I don't feel comfortable doing this…"

Hearing her gentle protests, Aang only just managed to suppress the disappointment when he came to spoke.

"Don't worry. It's fine, I can understand if you thought I was moving to fast.." His voice was husky as he looked down at the angelic girl before him. Rolling onto his side, the gap appeared once more before them, the walls of uncomfortable silences rising rapidly between them.

* * * * * * *

Meanwhile, on the floor below, Sokka yawned loudly before looking over to Toph.

"So what do you think of Ti?"

"I think that you blatantly like her."

"Huh?! How dare you jump to such conclusions, Toph!?" He squawked, sitting upwards and banging his head on the slanted wall. Yelping, he rubbed his forehead and jumped as Momo leapt off his lap to Toph's bed. Glaring at Toph who snorted with laughter. He settled back into the bed, and sighed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah."

"Oh... Is that a good thing?" He asked, earnestly.

"Sokka, you've only know her for a few hours! "

Shrugging, Sokka let his eyes flicker to a close. He smirked, then chuckled.

"I wonder how the others are getting on! I bet Aang's resorted to lying on the ground, you know how Katara always sleep talks!"

Author Notes: Told you I'd throw a few more romance scenes in, even if that wasn't particularly M rated, it will get more… Steamy. I thought it was needed to just make things that little more awkward between 'Kataang'. Would really appreciate the vocabulary for Avatar character's clothes!! I know I'm struggling painfully to find the right words, so sorry if the definitions are rubbish/inaccurate/too modern! And I realise that 'pants' is wrong, I have no clue what would be the write word! So yeah, email me them or write them in a review- would really appreciate it!

Daise x