Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA… yada… yada… yada…
Chapter 27
Aang and Katara decided to walk back to her place, since it was such a beautiful day. They made quite a handsome couple, and were attracting a lot of attention. Katara looked like a princess and, of course, everyone knows The Avatar. They held hands and chatted while they walked, and the crowds just parted for them as they walked by. Aang was used to this behavior and seemed oblivious to it. But, all of the attention was new to Katara, and it still made her a bit uncomfortable.
" Aang, everyone is staring." She whispered, nervously.
" Huh? Oh, yeah. You'll get used to it, eventually." He said quietly. Then smiled softly and gently squeezed her hand. " I'm sure they're just curious about who the beautiful princess that the Avatar is walking with, is." He added.
" That's sweet, Aang." She replied, smiling. Gently squeezing his hand in return. Then, she started thinking about that hand, and started giggling.
" What's so funny?" Aang asked curiously.
" Well, I was just thinking about... did you really... you know... use your hand... alot?" She asked nervously, giggling. Barely above a whisper.
" Are you kidding? I was a teenage boy with a vivid imagination. Of course I did." He said quietly, laughing. " Although, I only had images of you from Ember Island four years ago." He added, looking her up and down. " If I would have had more recent images, I would have gotten off a lot quicker." He said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down and grinning.
" Ssshhhhhhhhhh... Aang. Someone will hear you." She whispered, giggling.
" Oh, sorry." He whispered back, smiling.
" How come you didn't include... you know... what I did for you the other night, as one of the most incredible experiences in your life?" She whispered. " Didn't I do it right?" She added.
" Oh, no, no, no, no, no... You did it right. That was amazing." He said sincerely. " Especially that thing you did with your tongue." He added quietly, grinning. " It's just... less intimate. It doesn't feel near as good as being inside you." He whispered.
" Oh, okay." She said quietly, smiling.
" How about when I did it for you? Did I do it alright?" He whispered.
" Oh, you did it alright. It was incredible." She whispered, giggling.
" Oh, good." He said, grinning. " Katara, can we quit talking about this?" He asked. " Cause I'm getting a boner." He whispered, chuckling lightly.
" Why am I not surprised?" She replied, laughing and rolling her eyes.
The two of them walked for a few more minutes, then arrived at Katara's house. It was already noon by now. When they walked in, they could smell lunch cooking. So they went straight to the kitchen.
" Momma! Daddy!" Tenzin shouted gleefully. Then got up from the table and ran at them.
Aang and Katara both got down on one knee to greet him. And hugged him fiercely.
" We missed you, sweetie." Katara said. Aang nodded in agreement, and scooped Tenzin up. Then they all stood back up.
" Glad to see you guys are still with the living." Sokka said, sarcastically. " We were starting to wonder." He added.
" Oh, sorry we're late." Aang said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. " I guess we were having so much... fun... that we lost track of time." He added sheepishly.
" Yeah, well I don't want to hear about your fun." Sokka said, scowling. And Suki giggled, placing her hand over her mouth to stiffle it.
" No... you don't, Sokka." Katara said, grinning. Causing Suki to laugh harder.
" Come on you guys, there's enough food for all of us." Suki said, when she quit laughing.
" Thanks, I'm famished!" Aang said.
" Me too!" Katara added.
" I wonder why?" Suki replied sarcastically, under her breath. Then started laughing again. Aang and Katara both blushed, hearing her comment. Then all of them sat down at the table to eat. Sokka just looked at his wife, then at Aang and Katara. Oblivious to what was going on.
" You know what, nevermind. I don't want to know." He said, waving his hand at them. Then started eating.
After lunch Tenzin was eager to show his father a new airbending move that he perfected while his parents were gone. So he led his family out to the backyard.
" Watch this, daddy!" Tenzin shouted. Then a small ball of air gently lifted him off of the ground and he perched on top of it with his legs crossed and took off around the yard. Giggling with glee.
" Katara! That's my air scooter!" Aang exclaimed, incredulously. " I've probably only showed it to him twice!" He added.
" Wow! That's amazing!" She exclaimed, excitedly.
" What do you think, daddy?" Tenzin asked when he stopped in front of them, his air scooter dissipating.
" That was awesome, Tenzin!" Aang shouted, scooping the boy up. Then throwing him up in the air and catching him.
" Thanks!" He exclaimed, happily. Smiling brightly.
" Katara, do you think it would be okay to take Tenzin to my place for a while?" Aang asked. "I'd like to introduce him to Appa." He added.
" Sure. You might want to pack some things for our trip to the Fire Nation while you're there, too." She replied. " We'll have to leave in the morning, if we want to make it there in time." She added. " I'll pack our things, here." She finished.
" Okay. Let me get my glider, Tenzin." Aang said. " You're in for a treat." He added, smiling brightly. Tenzin just jumped up and down, smiling and clapping his hands with excitement.
Aang ran in to the house, and returned a few minutes later with his glider.
" I'll see you in a little bit." Aang said, kissing Katara goodbye. " Okay Tenzin, wrap your arms around my neck, and hold on tight." He said to his son. Squatting down so Tenzin could get his arms around his neck. " Hold on tight, because here we go!" Aang shouted, happily. As he snapped his glider open, then lauched in to the air. Katara could hear Tenzin squealing with glee and giggling, as they disappeared in to the sky.
Aang decided to make a few laps over the city, before he went to his place. Since Tenzin was having such a good time.
" This is neat, daddy!" Tenzin shouted in to his father's ear. " Can you teach me to do it?" He asked excitedly.
" Yeah, but we'll need to go to an Air Temple to teach you properly!" Aang shouted back to him, over his shoulder.
" Okay, let's go!" Tenzin shouted.
" Maybe when we get back from the Fire Nation!" Aang answered, smiling. Causing Tenzin to frown.
" Awwwww! Daddy!" He shouted, disappointed.
" Be patient, Tenzin!" Aang shouted back. " I have someone special at my place, that I want you to meet!" He added, grinning. Then turned back toward his place.
" Okay!" Tenzin shouted back, smiling.
Aang landed on his balcony, when they got back to his place. He noticed that the staff had cleaned up the remnants of last nights dinner, when they walked in to his room. " This is my room, Tenzin." Aang said. " I was thinking that you and your mother could come here and stay with me, for a while." He added. " You could have your own room, across the hall. And your mother could stay in here with me." He added, smiling.
" Wow! This place is neat!" Tenzin exclaimed. " Show me my room!" He added excitedly.
" Okay, come on." Aang replied, smiling. Then led Tenzin across the hall to a similar looking room, but a bit smaller. It had a balcony that joined with Aang's, and it's own bathroom.
" Wow! This is awesome, daddy!" Tenzin exclaimed with awe. " Can we stay here tonight?" He asked.
" We'll see what your mother says." Aang replied, smiling. " Come on, let's go downstairs." He added, taking Tenzin's hand.
When Aang and Tenzin got downstairs, Aang found Chuanli and asked him to get the household staff together. He had something that he wanted to talk to everyone about. A few minutes later, the entire staff filed in to the living room where Aang and Tenzin were waiting.
" Thanks for coming, everyone. I hope I didn't interrupt anything important." Aang said. " I wanted to introduce you to my son, Tenzin." He added smiling, gesturing to the boy next to him. " His mother is Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe." He continued. " Some of you may have met her last night. She was my special guest." He added. " I would like for you to treat Tenzin, and his mother, with the same respect that you show me." He continued. " Lady Katara is considered my wife, in my culture, and deserves your utmost respect. As does my son." He added. " Understood?" He asked them.
The staff members each uttered their understanding of his instructions. Then stood quietly, waiting for further instructions.
" Lady Katara and Tenzin may be staying with us for a while." Aang explained. " While we determine where our permanent home will be. So, please, make them feel welcome." He added. " Thank you for your time. You are dismissed." He finished, smiling. The staff members all bowed deeply to him, then exited the room quietly.
" Wow, daddy." Tenzin said. " Who are they?" He added curiously.
" They take care of the house and stuff for daddy." Aang explained. " If you get hungry, all you have to do is go to the kitchen and ask them to fix you something." He added. " You and momma won't have to do anything around here. They take care of it all." He finished, smiling.
" Neat!" Tenzin exclaimed, smiling.
" Come on, there's someone I want you to meet. Then I'll show you around a bit, before we have to go back. If I have time." Aang said, taking Tenzin's hand.
" Okay." Tenzin replied.
Then Aang led him out to the stables, where Appa was kept. And Momo flew up and landed on his master's shoulder, chattering excitedly. Obviously happy to see Aang.
" Oh, sorry Momo." Aang said to his lemur. " I almost completely forgot about you." He added, chuckling. " Tenzin, this is Momo. My flying lemur." He finished, smiling. And Momo jumped down and landed on Tenzin's shoulder, as if he knew what Aang had said.
" Hi, Momo!" Tenzin squealed excitedly. Grinning at the lemur, and stroking his fur.
" And this... is Appa." Aang said, leading Tenzin in to Appa's stable. And gesturing toward the animal. " Appa, this is my son, Tenzin." Aang said to his companion, smiling brightly. Appa grunted a greeting to Aang, then sniffed Tenzin and licked him from head to toe with his huge tongue. Eliciting squeals of glee from Tenzin, and uncontrollable giggling.
" Hi, Appa!" Tenzin exclaimed, petting the bison's nose. Appa snorted in reply.
Aang removed the bison spit from his son with waterbending, then chuckled lightly.
" Appa is a Sky Bison, Tenzin. He can fly." Aang explained, smiling. " All of the Air Nomads had one." He added.
" Will I have one too, daddy?" Tenzin asked curiously. Causing Aang to frown.
" I'm afraid not, Tenzin." Aang said, disappointed. " Appa and Momo are the last of their kind." He added, sadly.
" Why, daddy?" Tenzin asked.
" Because, Tenzin, they were all killed in the war." Aang explained. " And that's not all..." He added. " It seems that you and I are the last of our kind, too." He finished, sadly.
" What do you mean, daddy?" Tenzin asked curiously.
" Come on, let's take a ride on Appa while I explain it to you." Aang said. Trying to force a smile, without success.
" Okay." Tenzin replied.
Then Aang led Appa out of the stable in to the courtyard. And airbended himself on to his head. " Do you think you can make it, Tenzin?" Aang asked.
" Sure!" Tenzin replied. Then attempted to reach to top of Appa's head a few times, but fell short. Aang boosted him the rest of the way, on his last attempt. " Awwww, daddy. You weren't supposed to help." He said, disappointed.
" Sorry, but you're small, and Appa's big." Aang explained, smiling softly. " It took me a long time to be able to get up here, when I was little." He added. " Okay, Tenzin. Sit tight, and hold on. Come on Momo." Aang said, bracing his son between his legs on the bison's head. Momo perched on Aang's shoulder, and wrapped his tail around Aang's neck. " Yip, yip!" Aang shouted, smiling. Then Appa launched in to the sky.
" Weeeeeeeeeee!" Tenzin squealed with excitement. Looking back at his father, smiling brightly. And they flew silently for a while. Before Tenzin broke the silence.
" Why are we the last of our kind, daddy?" Tenzin asked curiously.
" Well, you see... When the war started more than a hundred years ago, it was because Fire Lord Sozin, the Fire Lord at the time, thought that he was doing something good for the world. He thought he was sharing the Fire Nation's good fortune with the rest of the world, but ended up forcing their ways on the other nations, instead." Aang started. " The Avatar at the time, Roku, was from the Fire Nation, too. And he didn't agree with what Sozin was doing. But, he died before he could stop him." He added. " Then I was born. And the Avatar spirit was born inside of me. Because the Air Nomad's were next in the cycle. You see, The Avatar is born in to the next nation in the cycle after the previous one dies. After I die, The Avatar will be born in to one of the Water Tribes, then the Earth Kingdom, then the Fire Nation." He finished.
" You're not gonna die, are you daddy?" Tenzin asked sadly.
" Not for a long time, I hope." Aang replied, chuckling. " Anyway... Sozin knew that The Avatar would be born in to the Air Nomad's next, and that The Avatar would try to stop him." He added. " So, since he didn't know exactly who The Avatar was, he destroyed all of the Air Temples, and everyone in them. Along with the Sky Bison, and Lemurs." He continued. " I was twelve at the time, and I had left the Southern Air Temple because I was upset. So, I wasn't there when the Fire Nation armies attacked." He added. " But, I had already been told that I was The Avatar, even though they usually didn't announce it until The Avatar was sixteen." He finished.
" Why did they tell you early, daddy?" Tenzin asked curiously.
" Well, I guess it was because they knew that the Fire Nation was going to attack, and try to kill The Avatar. I don't really know why." Aang replied. " I would have been killed, too. If I would have been there. But, I left." He added. " Then, Appa and I got caught in a storm, over the ocean near the Southern Water Tribe. And we were frozen in an iceberg for one hundred years." He continued. " Then, your mother and uncle found the iceberg, and broke me and Appa out. That's how I met your mother. And we traveled the world together while I mastered the elements. Fighting against the Fire Nation, and the Fire Lord. Then, finally winning the war." He continued. " But, when I was freed from the iceberg, I found out that all of the Air Nomad's had been killed a long time ago. When the war started, around the time I disappeared. Making me the last one. Until you came along, that is." He finished, smiling.
" I'm glad I'm here, daddy. So you won't be by yourself." Tenzin said, smiling.
" I'm glad you're here too, Tenzin." Aang replied, smiling softly. " Well, I guess we'd better get back before your mother starts to worry." He added. Then steered Appa back toward Katara's house.