Avatar the Last Airbender

A Little Touch of Family

It had become a nightly ritual. Aang sleeping soundly in bed, his warm body snuggled as closely to the beautiful waterbender as physically possible while her arms draped protectively over his slumbering form. It seemed the only way she could ease his troubled mind, the crushing duty to protect the world that settled firmly on his shoulders during his waking hours. Just being near her gave him a sense of peace, a moment of hopeful naiveties that the world could survive without his intervention for a while, and allow him to be in the one place where he was happiest.

Katara couldn't deny herself the gradual smile that often tugged at the corner of her lips as she lovingly stroked the angel-soft skin of her lover's face, drinking in the sense of wonderment she felt whenever her fingers elicited a sigh of comforted release from the young man's lips. She loved him. It was such a simple phrase that could never fully encompass the all-consuming extent of the emotions she cherished for her beloved Avatar. She was addicted to him, it was just that simple. Every smile, every laugh, every flirting glance and enticing, lingering touch and hungry kiss made her need him more, and she prayed to the Spirits that she never lost that rapture. Her only regret was her inability to tell him in words how much he meant to her. But that problem would soon resolve itself.

Often in the early morning hours, she would watch him sleep, fighting her own bitterness that the people so often took him for granted, expected him to fix their problems and save the world. Most days she hid those feelings from Aang, some days she didn't and on those days when he needed her most, her strength to be his anchor, she found her place in the world almost as important as his. The world needed the Avatar, but Aang needed her.

As she maintained her soothing ministrations, his sleeping form stirred from slumber as his gray eyes fluttered open, as smile of serenity dawning his features.

"Good morning," Katara smiled to the waking form of the young airbender who returned her greeting.

"It most certainly is," he replied, leaving no confusion to his meaning as he stared pointedly at her alluring face, earning a graceful blush that painted Katara's features. So long as he would live, he would never grow tired of seeing her flushed cheeks at just the mere compliment offered. That was how he knew he was truly blessed, because she was with him.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked after a moment of contemplative silence, noticing the preoccupied expression on her tanned visage.

"I was wondering," she said after another silence that stretched comfortably between the pair, her fingers never ceasing in their pattered stroking along the subtle curve of his jawline. "Maybe I've never thought to ask before, but would you tell me about Gyatso?"

Whatever the young Avatar expected from his partner, this was certainly not among the many subjects he considered, and the expression dawning across his brow spoke of his apparent confusion. "You want me to tell you about Monk Gyatso? What brought this on?"

Shrugging as well as she could considering she was lying on her side, Katara offered a hopeful smile before continuing. "Well, truthfully I've always been curious. We've never really talked about him. I only know that he taught you airbending, but…I don't know, I guess I've always wondered what kind of man he was. I just never brought it up before now because I knew it was always a painful subject for you and well, I guess now was as good a time as any."

Smiling at her simplified over-explanation she only embarked on when she was nervous, Aang moved his body to snuggle closer to Katara's warmth. For a moment, his eyes took on a very faraway look, as if remembering the times spent with his long deceased mentor before starting. "Well," again a pause fell between the two as Aang contemplated how best to describe the greatest man he ever knew, a man who taught him so much about life and how to be a person who would make him proud. "I suppose if I were to give you an example of the type of man he was, I'd have to say that Gyatso was to me what Iroh is to Zuko.

"In the early days, I messed up, I mean I messed up a lot. There were times I thought I'd never master airbender. But Gyatso never gave up on me. Even at my most desperate moments he'd smile that same, endearing smile he always shared for me and tell me, 'life is never easy young airbender,'" Aang said in a strained imitation of his teacher's voice. "'but life never proves as challenging if you cease to try.' What I think I remember best about him was that, even if I struggled learning airbending in the traditional methods, he would show me that I could learn in my own way. No matter how hard things got, he would always offer a smile, an encourage talk and a different way from the traditions the other monks taught on any lesson I had trouble with.

"It's funny, but there was this one time," Aang began, his face lighting in excitement at the memory and Katara could not help but share in that exhilaration, even if she was not present for the event. "Gyatso was trying to teach me to expel wind gusts from my lungs and I kept struggling, thinking I couldn't get enough air in my lungs to blow over a chair let alone a wooden post. So, Gyatso had packed this great, wonderful lunch. But just as I was about to start eating, he stuffed a fruit pie in my face…a whole fruit pie," he said, his eyes alight with laughter at the memory. "Well, obviously I couldn't breath through my mouth so I inhaled through my nose, just as Gyatso jabbed me in the stomach with his fingers. I set a gust of air that blew the fruit pie and the picnic lunch a good quarter mile. That's how he taught me, expel through the mouth while inhaling through the nose and I'd always have enough air. Of course, he made me take my glider to fetch the lunch, so I had to learn quickly about manipulating air currents to stay in the air longer unless I wanted to go hungry, which actually turned out to be the next lesson I had to learn anyway."

"He sounded like a wonderful man."

"He was," Aang said, somewhat sadly, but his smile quickly returned. "But you know, you actually remind me of him."

Katara made a face that told the young man he had said the wrong thing. After a moment of thought, Aang chuckled and shook his head. "I don't mean like that. I mean, no matter how hard things got, you've always been there for me Katara. You've never doubted me and when I felt like I couldn't deal with it any more, you picked me up off the ground and would carry me when I stumbled or give me a swift kick in the rump when that didn't work. So yeah, you have a lot of the same caring qualities I cherished in Gyatso…but you're so much more attractive."

"I should hope so," the waterbender said with a grateful laugh, leaning her head forward to place a soft kiss against his lips. "Do you miss him?"

Shrugging one shoulder, Aang offered only a partial smirk before answering, "Sometimes I do. There are times, especially in our early adventures that I could have used his help. I'm sure General Iroh would be more than happy to offer advice, but I can't monopolize his time either. For Gyatso, it seemed his whole purpose was to just make sure I grew up with the right morals and the right answers. Even when he wouldn't directly solve my problems, he at least guided me to find the answers on my own. I guess I do kind of miss him, now that I think about it."

Again the pair fell to a comfortable silence, staring lovingly into one another's eyes and drinking in their closeness and love when Aang breaks the silence. "So then, if you asked me about Gyatso, can I ask about your mother?"

Now it was Katara's turn to furrow her brow as she realized that she had never really talked to Aang about her mother either. Thinking for a moment, a sad, nostalgic smile crossed her lips before she started, "She was beautiful. I mean, not in appearance, though I suppose she was beautiful in that way to, but I mean as a person. She just had this way about her, that no matter who needed help or what problems were going on in our village she made an effort to be there for everyone.

"She even put up with my father and Bato's antics, which is an act of superhuman endurance I'm sure." She laughed slightly at her own memories before turning her eyes back to Aang. "Unfortunately, that's really all I remember about her, her inexhaustible need to help anyone in trouble. I've tried to model myself after her, set myself to be as good a person as she was…but I can't say I've always lived up to her example. A part of me," Katara broke as a deep, remorseful sigh escaped her lips. This really wasn't how she wanted to lead the conversation, wasn't how she wanted to broach the subject to Aang, but since they were on the subject she might as well see it through. "I sometimes wonder if she'd be proud of me. Do you think she would be Aang?"

The question wasn't lost on the Avatar, the pleading, hopeful question of a girl in a woman's body still desperately seeking the approval of her mother. An approval she could never receive. Bringing his fingers to stroke the curve of her cheek and brushing away the unshed tears with his thumb, Aang offered a sad smile as he nodded his head in answer to the poignant question. "I think your mother would be very proud of you."

The words brought a smile to the young woman's face as she pulled her lover into an embrace that spoke the words that always caught in her throat. For a while they remained that way, until Katara said, "I really wished you had to the chance to meet her Aang. She'd have really loved you."

"You think?"

"Of course," Katara responded, pulling back to gaze at the young man. "You make me happy."

"Well, that's good to know," he joked, a crooked smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'd hate to think you stuck with me while being miserable." After a few laughs earned from their bittersweet memories Aang asked the next question that seemed to be picking at his brain since this conversation began. "So, why did you want to know about Gyatso?"

Smiling in response, Katara answered, "I guess I was just curious. I mean, I figured you probably got your playful learning habits from him. I wanted to know how he taught you, how he influenced you. It was nice to hear you talk about him. I never got to meet the man and he was such a big part of your life that, I guess I wanted to share that part of your life as well."

Aang couldn't ignore that she was again over-explaining things, but he let it slide as he cuddled closer to her once more and rested his head against her shoulder. He knew her well enough to know whatever reason she had initiated all of this would be coming soon.

"Well," Katara continued, her hand moving back to tenderly stroking the side of Aang's face. "It's just, I'm glad we both had such a strong parental influence. I mean, I love my dad, don't get my wrong, but my mom is really the center of who I am. Sounds like Gyatso was the same for you huh?"

"Yeah, I guess he was," Aang said, his eyes drifting closed once more in the presence of the comfort that he felt being in Katara's arms. "Do you think we'd be as good a parental influence as Gyatso and your mother?"

"I'd like to think so," Katara said, smiling slightly as she hid her expression from Aang. "But I guess like all parents, we'd learn by doing. Can always use Gyatso's patience and my mother's compassion as sort of a foundation for raising children, but we'd have to do it on our own…our own way."

"Don't we always?"

Another laugh chimed from Katara's lips as she kissed the top of Aang's arrow and nuzzling her face against the top of his head. "So, do you ever think about it? Having kids I mean?"

"Sometimes," he said, his fingers finding pleasure in toying with the hem of Katara's nightshirt. "But I guess the Spirits will let us know when it's time."

Smiling almost shyly at her own efforts to keep her eyes from spilling over, Katara gripped Aang's wrist and slid it beneath the fabric of her nightshirt, allowing his thin fingers to rest purposely on her stomach. Aang simply swirled his fingers, drawing obscure designs against Katara's soft skin before moving his eyes to meet her direct, meaningful blue orbs. For a moment that stretched the limit of infinity and beyond, they gazed intently into one another's eyes until slow dawning reality settled on the Avatar and the meaning of Katara's question, the placement of his hand against her stomach and the meaningful, telltale look she gave him brought the slow realization to his mind.

"The Spirits say we have about seven months."

A slow, dawning awe encompassed his face, starting at the eyes and spreading to consume his features until he turned his eyes to the place where his hand rested against Katara's skin, the spot where the tiny little life that they created was growing. Eyes softly glistening with unshed tears, a gentle smile parting his lips in fascination as he quickly sat up in bed and lifted Katara's shirt to reveal her stomach, as if he could see through the skin and muscle to his child within.

Katara laughed at the childish fascination exhibited by Aang, her own eyes brimming with unshed tears at the reality that they would be parents, the responsibility, the joy and the reality that they would bring a new life into this world. She let out another laugh as Aang's searching, hopeful eyes moved from her face to her stomach as the fascination soon gave way to joy.

The Avatar spent several minutes moving his finger tips over Katara's smooth belly, ignoring the suppressed laughter her ticklish skin made before dipping his head low and kissing the spot where he was certain his developing child was nestled. He then moved his lips up Katara's body, up past her stomach, over the slope of her breast, against the curve of her neck until his lips found hers. He pressed his lips fervently, lovingly, passionately against hers, pulling away only to pull her into a crushing embrace. He could no longer hold back the flow of emotion that poured from his body as he cried in joyful release all his hopes for the future that existed right here in his arms.

"Thank you," he said desperately, hoping Katara knew what this meant to him. In truth, he had been holding out hope for this for longer than he cared to realize. He wanted a child, a legacy beyond his title of Avatar. A youngling just to call him father…and now, he was going to have that. "Thank you for giving this to me."

Unable to keep her own joy in check any longer, Katara returned his embrace, her lips seeking his out once more as their tears mingled against their lips, leaving a taste both sweet and salty. "I love you."

The words didn't seem to be enough, and yet in the moment of their greatest joy, those words were simply the most fitting.