A/N. A slighty shorter chapter, setting up the second part of the story! I had wanted to include a chapter where the others discussed what to do, but I guessed this worked just as fine! So… Slightly smutty? But only the beginning!
The first thing Aang felt was the pain in his knees. Spirits, why did his back hurt too? Groaning, he opened his eyes, only to be met with a mass of dark brown hair. Feeling the body against his, he suddenly remembered. How he had slumped to his knees after… After having… After that position against the wall of the hut. How Katara had also sunk to her knees. Had they… Had they fallen asleep like that?
He groaned once more, not because of the pain in his body, but rather out of disappointment. He had planned to make it far longer than that… She had only finished once… And he had twice! He had promised to break their records… And yet, they had fallen asleep… That was just unfair. Why had he fallen asleep!
Opening his eyes, he saw that there was light coming through the cracks in the wall of the hut, so the sun was probably up. But he also heard the constant pounding of rain on the roof, so that meant that the monsoon was once more in full swing… Letting his hands travel down Katara's bare back, he cursed himself. Why? Why had they fallen asleep? But at the same time, he had to acknowledge… Except the pain in his back and knees, this had been the best night he had had since… Since before the comet. There had been no nightmares, nothing… And he actually felt rested…
A soft groan and an exhale of breath against his chest told him Katara had also woken.
"Morning…" He spoke softly, feeling bashful at the fact that they had actually fallen asleep like that.
"Morning?" A very confused and tired sounding voice answered him.
"Yeah… We… ehm… I think we actually fell asleep after…" He didn't finish his sentence, but Aang doubted it was needed.
"Oh… Tui and La… Come on…" He felt the waterbender's forehead press against his chest, and he thought he also heard a curse.
"Sorry." He whispered back.
"We just did a few things…" Katara answered him, clearly not blaming him, "I had plans!"
"I know… I had them too…"
"We should… We should go back. But I don't want to." Katara groaned, and Aang couldn't help but feel the same way. Why go back? They could stay here, and just… Just be. Just let the world do its own thing, and finally be left in peace.
Of course, the airbender knew better than that. He knew that there were things to do, and things to make right. But was it so selfish to want a little bit of time? No one could blame him for that, right? They could, and would… That was certain. In his head, he knew that they should dress, saddle Appa and go back to the camp… But his heart screamed for the same quite as he had experienced during the night. The contented feeling that had spread inside of his chest when they had been making love… That was all. All he would desire in his life. To be left in peace and able to make Katara happy…
"Me neither…" He whispered, slowly disentangling himself from the waterbender's embrace, however much he would have like to stay inside those arms… As he managed to stand up, Aang groaned when his legs felt numb, and the slow, needle-like pain spread throughout his flesh.
"Aang." The slightly less sleepy voice of the waterbender spoke, "Please come back."
He saw that Katara lay down on her back, the expression on her face clearly suggesting that she too felt the same kind of pain in her own body. And his eyes couldn't help but travel over said body. He saw the flash of dark hair before she pressed her knees together, and his eyes looked up, to her chest, where the cold air had clearly had an effect on her nipples… And then, he managed to look into those haunting dark blue eyes… and he realized that she had been looking at him with an amused expression.
"You know that you have the same look on your face when you see something you like on the table?" Katara laughed softly, and Aang couldn't help but feel slightly bashful at that remark.
"I… I didn't…" He began, trying to explain that that was not how he felt at all, but Katara cut him off.
"I like it Aang." At that, the waterbender stretched her arms and legs, and he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering. The camp, the army and Kirashi surely could wait another hour…
Sitting down next to Katara, he imagined all the things they could do… It would be so easy. So easy to stay here and just live a little. The drum of the rain on the roof was accompanied by something else, in the distance, but Aang didn't really care to listen for the sound. Whatever it was, it was not of his concern. Letting his eyes rest on the waterbender's face, he sighed as he sank on an elbow, letting his weight rest on it.
"I'm sorry for falling asleep." He whispered.
"We both fell asleep. I don't even remember closing my eyes… I was so tired…" Katara groaned, closing her eyes. As the deep blue orbs disappeared from his sight, Aang let his own eyes wander to her breasts, watching the raising of her chest with each slow breath.
There was that sound again. This time, he actually heard it. And it sounded closer than just before. Still, it was probably just same water falling down from the roof. He slowly lifted his hand, letting it touch Katara's shoulder. Looking at her face for anything like a refusal, Aang only saw that her lips curled slightly upwards in a secretive smile.
"And what are you planning?" She whispered, and he knew what that meant. Consent.
"Oh… Plenty of things. I know you like when I kiss you… There…" He let his hand travel downwards, slowly caressing between her breasts with his fingers. As his hand passed over the waterbender's stomach, he could have sworn he heard the sound a third time. Imagination…
As his fingers reached the hair above her centre, Aang heard another sound. Voices.
Freezing in his position, he saw that Katara's eyes flew open, and not in a good way. Rather, she looked alarmed. So… She had heard it too.
"You… idiot!" He heard the voice clearly now, and realized who it was… What, in the Spirits name, was Suki doing here?
"The only place they can be! We stayed here during our… Fire Nation vacation." The new voice made him jump up, quickly searching for where they had dropped their clothes. Knowing Sokka, who had been the one speaking, his friend would not bother to knock.
"And you don't think they came here for some privacy?" This time it was Toph, and Aang heard the amusement. Spirits… Please, for once… He wished Toph would not live for chaos, and just would imprison Sokka's feet in some clay. Was that too much to ask?
Katara was up too, frantically pulling down the skirt that his had not even realized she had put back on. Still, they didn't look respectable… At all. He was still naked, and Katara's chest was also still bare, and her hair looked like it had gone through a hurricane… and the hut stank. Of sex, sweat and guilt. Spirits, if their friends entered now… Quickly scanning the grounds around the hut, he felt four people move towards them, and they were close… Too close.
"Twenty seconds." He whispered to Katara, whose eyes widened at the realization that they would never be able to hide what had happened. Aang hated the fact he felt guilty… He had nothing to feel guilty about! But the prospect of Sokka entering the hut made him feel like those times when he had been younger and had been caught doing something that was forbidden.
"Here!' She murmured back, throwing him something. Catching the fabric, he realized it was his trousers. They still stank of smoke and ash, and his underwear wasn't anywhere to be seen. Not bothering to look any longer than a mere second, he quickly pulled the trousers up. Everything was better than being naked when that door opened.
From the corner of his eyes he saw white linen, and he quickly grabbed it, throwing it to Katara, who caught it and then just threw it into a dark corner.
"No time!" She whispered, and pulled on the tunic she had apparently found. The moment her head appeared from inside the fabric, the door was thrown open.
Looking to the doorframe, Aang could have laughed if he was not horribly embarrassed. Standing in front of them was Sokka, looking from him to Katara and apparently suddenly realizing what they could have been doing, his pale, ice blue eyes widened in a disgusted expression. Behind him, a furious looking Suki was clearly not happy about the lack of tact from the Water Tribe warrior. He couldn't see the others, but guessed Toph and Zuko were there too.
"Hey?" Aang waved awkwardly at his friend, "What… ehm… What are you doing here?"
"Eh… Did we… eh… interrupt something?" Sokka's voice was as awkward as Aang's, and the airbender realized that his friend had not even considered the option of… Well, finding them like this.
"No!" Katara spoke a little too forcefully, clearly as annoyed as Aang was feeling, but he didn't dare look at her.
"Lie!" He heard Toph's voice from behind Suki, but he didn't see her.
"Shut up!" The Kyoshi Warrior turned around, and Aang saw the horror grow in Sokka's eyes.
A few months ago, Aang would have been terrified of this. But to be honest… There was nothing wrong, right? Anyone with a little bit of common sense could have guessed that they had disappeared from the camp to… To get reacquainted with each other. Any person could have guessed that they didn't want to be found…
"You… You weren't in your tent this morning." Sokka spoke in a thin voice, and this time, Aang dared to glance towards Katara, who rolled her eyes at her brother.
"What a shock." The waterbender glared at the Water Tribe warrior, "So, instead of thinking, La, those two deserve some privacy after all that has happened, you thought, Well, let's crash the party!"
"I didn't!" Sokka answered indignantly, "After you two disappeared, we had a talk with the others! We have a plan! But for it to work, I needed to find you before the army came back from the town! And you weren't in the tent!"
"So instead of waiting for us to come back, you went on a little field trip?" Aang heard the venom in Katara's voice, and silently cheered her on.
"This wasn't my idea." Suki grimaced from behind the water tribe warrior. The airbender saw Sokka step into the hut, followed by the Kyoshi Warrior, a grinning Toph and a very confused looking Zuko.
"Guessing by your heartbeats and the fact that I sensed you just moments ago with far fewer clothes on, you two were fuc-" Toph began, but Suki turned on her.
"Listen to me. If you finish that sentence, I'm going to throw you to the Unagi on Kyoshi Island. Seriously, we don't need to say it, we all understand. We are being arseholes, and they have a right to be angry." A glare towards Sokka made him swallow whatever he wanted to say, and Aang couldn't help but admire the fact the Kyoshi Warrior had not only made Sokka shut up, but also Toph, which was far more impressive.
"Oh, believe me, I'm not angry." Katara spoke sweetly, and Aang knew that voice perfectly well. It had been the one she had used just after the Western Air Temple, when she had been furious with him…
"Alright, in that case, can we move on and spe…" Zuko began, before realizing his mistake, "Oh… You meant that in a sarcastic way, right…"
An awkward silence settled between them, and one that made Aang acutely aware of several things. He only wore his trousers, Katara's tunic showed the outline of her breasts and in the corner lay her bindings. And their friends were very aware of what they had been doing…
"Could… Could you give us a moment?" He asked thinly, not really in the mood to be as patient as he normally was. The others nodded uncomfortably and he took Katara by her hand, shuffling towards the door. If they wanted to look a little respectable, they needed to reach Appa and the bags on his saddle…
As they stepped outside, he was met by a torrential downpour, one that made it hard to see further than a few yards.
"The stable!" He shouted, pointing towards the big but where Appa had taken refuge the night before, and Katara nodded, mowing the hand he wasn't holding above her head. As soon as she did, the rain stopped hitting his face, and as he looked up, the airbender realized she was bending the droplets away.
"At least we won't be too wet like this!" She shouted above the chaos.
"Less wet than you already-" Toph's voice suddenly sounded from inside the hut, before being stopped by a soft thud. Aang guessed Suki had punched the blind earthbender.
Good. Let her be the one, for a change.
As they reached the barn, the airbender quickly stepped inside to be met with a grumpy Sky Bison. Appa looked downright miserable, and as he looked up, Aang realized that the roof leaked.
"Sorry buddy… I promise to find you better accommodations next time…" the air around him began to sweep up, hitting him in the face with more force than Appa would normally use, "I know, sorry!"
The wind calmed, but the bison still watched him with an accusing look as Aang patted his fur. As the airbender felt his fingers intertwine with the long white hairs, he sighed, still not able to wrap his head around all that had happened. Spirits, he nearly longed back to the days before the comet, when everything was simple…
"There!" Katara spoke suddenly, and turning away from the bison, Aang noted the fact she was bent over the saddle. She had been in that position many times since they had met nearly a year ago, but he had always taken care to look away… But not now, although he knew he should.
"What?" He asked, letting his hand slide away from the fur, and walking towards her.
"I knew it! Still in the bag, that is good!" And with that, he saw she pulled blue fabric out of a bag. One of the dresses… He knew she had been occupying herself by making clothes for everyone at Ember Island when he had been trained with Zuko… But he had never seen them.
"And…" She draped the dress over the edge of the saddle, her arm ducking back into the bag, "There! I knew it." A shock of yellow and orange appeared, and Aang had to smile. Of course… He should have known. He had not looked into the waterbender's bags when they had found Appa, because… Well, on the one hand, he didn't want to invade her privacy… And on the other, he had not wanted to be remembered about how he had failed her…
"Here! It is still summer clothes, but better than nothing…" She handed him the tunic, which, to Aang's amazement, was just like the one she had made for him before the invasion. Then, he saw her eyes on his naked skin.
"Sure about that?" He grinned, and it felt good. Good to laugh and to be… happy. Yes, that was it. He was happy.
"I was checking your wound, you pervert." Katara spoke thinly, but he heard the amusement in her voice.
"Ah. Of course."
"Yes. Of course." At that, she smiled.
Pulling the fabric over his head, he fixed it on his right shoulder, and then turned around to give Katara some privacy as she changed. It was something he recalled from before the comet… But it had always been rather awkward to dress and change in front of each other. He didn't understand why, but perhaps that was something normal? Something that would fade… in time. Spirits, he still couldn't believe that there would be time to get used to things.
"Come on, let's see what those idiots want. And why they interrupted… well, you know." Katara grumbled as Aang felt her hand close around his own fingers and pull him towards the door. Glancing back, he saw that Momo perched on one of Appa's horns, and how the bison blew some air towards him in yet another silent mockery.
As they moved to the hut, Katara once more bend the rain away, and before long, they stepped through the doorframe of the shepherd hut… And were met by a thoroughly disgusted Sokka.
"Seriously, they are left alone for two minutes, and immediately they…"
"Ahem." Katara scrapped her throat next to him, and Aang quickly looked towards the ceiling. He didn't want to be involved in whatever sibling… discussion… was going to take place.
"They immediately do… what? Please, enlighten me." The waterbender's voice was thin once more, but had lost all amusement.
"Seriously, no." Suki interrupted them, and Aang was grateful for the Kyoshi Warrior's words. The last time he and Sokka had discussed… Well, this… It had been the most uncomfortable minutes of his life. Except that time Gyatso had explained it. That had been far worse.
"It doesn't concern us what you do in private, and we have no voice in it. Right, Sokka?" Suki spoke, and the airbender heard the unheard threat. Speak one word about sex, and that also stops with us. Watching the water tribe warrior nearly swallow his tongue, Aang saw his friend nod curtly before turning to them once more.
"Alright, let's not talk about that."
"About them fucking each other's brains o-" Toph piped up, but an elbow in her ribs from Zuko made her shut up.
"We have some news." Sokka continued, as if he had not been interrupted, but Aang saw the vein at his temple pulse dangerously, "The army had not yet learned Katara was inside the town."
At that, the airbender frowned. So what? That wasn't very interesting…
"As far as they are concerned, she is still missing. And we want to keep it that way." Sokka continued, lifting a hand up when Aang wanted to speak, "Azula gave you an ultimatum, remember? You had a week to leave the Fire Nation. And that is exactly what you are going to do."
"Excuse me?" Katara interjected, "Do we have a say in this?"
"You do, but it is the best option we could come up with. Azula will burn whatever she can if it means she can reign over the ashes. Removing Aang from this place means she might lose support. If the Fire Nation sees her for what she is, that means they might begin to support Zuko. Not because they are afraid of what the Avatar might do to them."
"As if Aang would do anyth-"
"Sis, he threatened to burn down the Fire Nation! That might make the people somewhat apprehensive."
Looking down, Aang felt his cheeks burn. Yeah… he had said that. And meant it. It was not one of his proudest moments… And one that might come back to bite them. The Fire Nationals already hated him, and he had only given them fuel to that hatred. He was the enemy, and in their minds, Azula was probably fighting for their own good…
"So… Your plan is to let Azula do… whatever she wants?" Katara's voice sounded horrified.
"I didn't say it was a good plan. But it is the only one we could come up with. Let the Fire Nation see the differences between a regime under Azula, or one under Zuko. He controls most of the Fire Nation anyway now that Kirashi has fallen. Only Fire Fountain remains, and that place is under siege by Iroh. So, yes, this is the plan that everybody agrees on." Sokka finished, as if that meant an end to this discussion.
"So, we just let her do whatever she wants?" Aang asked, understanding that that meant countless more deaths, more destruction and more hardships…
"We have no way of finding her anyway. She sailed west, but to where is the question. Our safest bet it returning to the Caldera, and wait for her to make a move… All the while searching for her, of course. But she could be anywhere." Zuko suddenly spoke up, "And… This fighting has to stop. I agreed to become Fire Lord to stop the fighting. If the Fire Nation sees that the corruption ends, that the oppression stops... They might support me out of their own free will."
Free will… That, Aang could get behind. Sighing, he knew the others were right. And to be honest, this idea was better than fighting. Let the support of Azula slowly dwindle away to nothing, because the people would begin to like and respect Zuko. He actually really liked this plan. A plan where not too many people might die…
"How do you even plan on it to work? Azula is going to fight you, even if you don't want to." Katara spoke irritated, waving a hand.
"She just lost most of what remained of the little forces she had. The garrisons of the colonies are her only choice now, as they haven't declared for anyone for the moment." Zuko shrugged.
"So, she sailed west, probably to turn right back around as soon as she was out of sight!"
"And you don't think I have sent messengers to the colonies to negotiate?" Zuko bit back, clearly annoyed at the fact they were questioning the plan. A plan, Aang realized, that was probably the firebender's. And he recalled how… well, bad Zuko was with this kind of thing. With being diplomatic. Zuko would rather stomp down his foot and tell them what he wanted them to do. So, in his mind, this was him being very nice.
"And that is why," Sokka interrupted them, "We are going to stay. Suki, Toph and Zuko might be able to work out something with the colonies, seen that they are Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. I will stay too, to make sure they don't kill each other, and to think of a better way to defeat that bitch. But for the moment, this is the best option."
Aang glanced at Katara, and saw that she looked rather furious. And no wonder. He knew her… She would want to fight and to help wherever she could. And this plan was effectively sidelining not only him, but also her. Because if he had to leave the Fire Nation, just as Azula had wanted… That meant that for it to work, and make Azula think he truly was taking no side… Katara would have to hide as well. Because if anyone learned that Katara was safe, they would know he would come back to fight on Zuko's side.
"And, where the fuck are you thinking we will be going?" Katara grumbled to his surprise. He had thought she would shout, yell and argue about how stupid this plan was, which, he had to admit, it was.
"Perhaps one of the Air Temples?" Zuko spoke up, but sounding rather subdued, as if he understood that this was not really a good idea.
"Out of the question. We were not going to li… Azula knows where they are." Katara interrupted her own sentence to Aang's relief, because she had nearly said something he was not ready to share with any of the others. In the days before the comet, he and Katara had spoken about… Well, possible places they could live. And he had rejected the Air Temples, simply because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life somewhere his people were murdered.
"Great Spirits, how blind are you people?" Toph suddenly spoke up, for the first time without the teasing edge in her voice. Everyone turned to her, and she shrugged.
"Go home Sweetness, and take that idiot with you. And if possible, also Hakoda. He is getting on my nerves."
Aang realized what the blind girl meant. That they should go to the South Pole…
"Alright. But if you just have an inkling of where she is, you will come and find us. I want to beat her to a pulp." With that, Katara stomped off, back into the rain. Aang guessed that foul mood would disappear as soon as the waterbender realized what this meant. That she would see her grandmother once again… And her home. For the moment, she probably only saw it as banishment, to be forbidden of fighting… But this was good, right?
"Could… Could we leave your dad with you?" He dared to ask Sokka.
"Why?" His friend asked surprised, as if he didn't understand the request.
"Ehm… He doesn't really like the fact I… you know… married Katara…"
"What he means to say Meathead, is that he doesn't want to travel with the constant supervision of Hakoda. Sorry Twinkles, that was my intention. Good luck sleeping with your wifey while Hakoda is watching you. I guess it will be even more awkward than those times you tried with Sokka around."
As his friend screeched something, Aang sighed. Yeah… no kidding Toph. Great. Thanks.
Answers:
Katara2323 : Yeah, I imagined they would want to be all smooth and sensual, but would not be able to keep the pretense up for long. Those two would laugh and joke while doing the deed lol.
Jjsmith103: Thanks! I try to make them about respect and consent, but to add the layer of need and want that makes them behave like this! I hope you liked it, I have other smut planned in the future, but not yet! And perhaps I have been planning a new story for after this one… That includes it too!
